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Second Federal Court Agrees Trump's Tariffs Are Unlawful; Elon Musk Says His Time In Washington Has "Come To An End"; Judge To Order Trump Admin Not To Make Changes To Harvard Student Visa Program Indefinitely; Judge Hears Arguments As Harvard Fights To Keep Intl. Students. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[15:00:55]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A tariff roadblock, a court reining in President Trump's sweeping economic powers, putting his trade war essentially on pause and throwing a wrench into his plans to remake the U.S. economy.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And diplomas for Harvard grads and a court fight for Harvard's lawyers as the university celebrates commencement on campus. Off campus, the school is waging a legal fight for the right to enroll international students.

And startling testimony at the criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs as a former assistant accuses the media mogul of sexually assaulting her.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Two court losses in two days. A second federal court has ruled that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to use an emergency law to justify his global tariffs. It comes after a three-judge panel yesterday blocked most of Trump's tariffs, saying that this 1970s-era emergency legislation doesn't give the president unlimited powers to invoke tariffs. The Trump administration is now fighting to stop this stunning ruling and threatening to take the case immediately to the Supreme Court if the appeals court doesn't rule in his favor.

Let's take you now live to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, what is the White House saying about these setbacks?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. I mean, they really spent the time railing against the court system overall, saying the courts had no place in these tariff negotiations or in these tariff discussions. They also said that these were judicial activists or rogue justices. A lot of talking about how this would go to the Supreme Court, and they urged the Supreme Court to intervene here, but believing that they have the rights or they believe that they will win on an appeal. So, I just want to go through exactly what exactly this ruling meant, because this is the core part of Donald Trump's entire agenda, is these tariffs, is the economy. So, this court pauses some tariffs. That would be 10 percent on universal tariffs on most goods coming into the U.S., 30 percent of tariffs on China, 25 percent tariffs on some goods from Mexico and Canada. But it doesn't end everything.

Some tariffs will still be in place. That includes 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, as well as 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles and vehicle parts. But, of course, all this raises the question. There are only two-ish trade deals that have actually been done so far. We know that there are dozens of countries that are currently in negotiations with the United States.

The question is, why would they continue to negotiate while this is ongoing, while this court battle is playing out? Karoline Leavitt, the Press Secretary, was asked that in the briefing. Here's what she said.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Other countries around the world have faith in the negotiator-in-chief, President Donald J. Trump. And they also probably see how ridiculous this ruling is, and they understand that the administration is going to win, and we intend to win. We already filed an emergency appeal. We expect to fight this battle all the way to the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, while they are calling them judicial activists and rogue judges, they spent a lot of time on this, not just in this press briefing, but in pushing back to this ruling, as well as other rulings in immigration. I do want to say something about this panel of judges that made this unanimous decision that was part of the U.S. Court of International Trade.

There were two Republican-appointed judges on that panel. Again, unanimous decision to block Donald Trump. One of them was appointed by a Democrat. And of those three judges and of those two Republicans, one was actually appointed by Donald Trump himself. So, it's a little bit of a discrepancy here when you hear rogue activists when they actually belong to the same political party. And one of them, again, being appointed by Trump himself.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us from the White House. Thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: The world's richest man is leaving Washington.

[15:04:59]

Elon Musk announcing on X that his time as a special government employee has, quote, "come to an end," promising, though, that DOGE will, quote, "strengthen over time and become a way of life. Musk, of course, became the face of DOGE, leading a massive and controversial overhaul of the U.S. government, gutting key agencies and laying off 10s of thousands of federal employees.

During his time in Washington, protests around the country erupted, with many boycotting and targeting Tesla dealerships, some violently. Some protesters set Cybertrucks on fire. Musk now says he will put his focus on his tech companies.

Ross Gerber is with us now. He's a Tesla investor. He's also the co- founder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management.

And Ross, I hear you are thrilled about this.

ROSS GERBER, TESLA INVESTOR: Yes, I mean, this is the best news for Tesla in at least a year and probably since he bought Twitter. So, you know, hopefully he'll continue to be focused on Tesla and we'll get better results out of Tesla in the future because, you know, the company really needs this focus right now. And it's a crucial time for the company with the imminent launch of Robotaxi and getting all of its products, you know, back - sales back, really.

KEILAR: The damage to Tesla hasn't just been the lack of time that Elon Musk has spent on it. It's been reputational. Do you worry that the brand is permanently damaged by Elon Musk's political expeditions?

GERBER: You know, it's hard to say something like permanently, because obviously we've seen lots of examples where companies have been able to repair damage, you know, and Chipotle being a perfect example of them. Tesla just added this executive to their board who has extensive experience dealing with, you know, burritos that poisoned people.

So, you know, I think that it's solvable if Elon wants to solve the image issues and wants to make amends with its customers. Elon certainly has the ability to do that. I think it's really whether he has the desire to change and do things that will help repair the brand in a way that would meaningfully increase its sales.

KEILAR: And I want to ask you a little bit about that. And I admit, I need to know a little bit more about the Chipotle situation. But that's one of those things where certainly when it came to, I would say, people working at Chipotle, maybe they weren't doing it on purpose. Is that fair to say? The poisoning of the burritos?

GERBER: Well, no, they weren't like poisoning. It was just the food supply chain was messed up and a lot of people were getting sick ...

KEILAR: Yes, okay.

GERBER: ... at Chipotle ...

KEILAR: Okay, so ...

GERBER: ... or at a lot of Chipotles. And it was a real big issue.

KEILAR: Yes, a huge issue. Okay, so let me ask you about this, because Elon Musk, the way he approached DOGE was purposeful and it was cruel. So, I mean, is there another example that you can think of that might approximate more what he has done here? GERBER: Well, with Elon, you know, he tends to do things nobody else has done, like, for example, leaving a very lucrative career at Tesla to sort of become the whipping boy for the Trump administration's attempt at cutting expenses, only to find out that they're actually increasing the government budget and expenses by an enormous amount.

So, you know, I feel like Elon is a little bit naive and wanted to get involved with the Trump administration. And it sort of ended up working out very poorly for him and certainly around the optics. So, I don't think there's a comparable situation and I think the damage is pretty deep. And that's why I think, you know, repairing this brand is not going to be as easy as, let's say, fixing some bad burritos, you know?

KEILAR: Yes. No doubt. I mean, this is going to be a case study, right? And I wonder what you think about this group ...

GERBER: Oh, yes.

KEILAR: ... this group of Tesla investors that wrote this letter does not include you. It urges Elon Musk to commit to at least 40 hours a week at Tesla, saying that his undivided attention is needed to repair Tesla's faltering sales and stock price volatility. Do you think that's the key? What do you think the key is?

GERBER: Well, I think the letter is kind of silly at best and sort of a desperate attempt to really change the discussion around the completely inept board of directors. See, the board of directors of Tesla should have been dealing with this from the start, even back to the Twitter days, you know, when he bought Twitter that - the board should have been involved and gotten commitments from Elon on what he was going to be doing and not doing.

But to go in and say, oh, Elon, we want you to work 40 hours a week. You're talking about a guy who works 168 hours a week. He doesn't take days off, you know, so it's almost laughable because when he's now refocused on Tesla, 40 hours would be an extremely light week for Elon typically.

And so, you know, now that he's refocused on Tesla, I'm much happier. Getting him out of DOGE, I'm much happier.

[15:10:00]

And if we can keep the divisive tweeting out of, you know, the public psyche, that would be incredibly beneficial to Tesla. So, the longer he's not in the news, the better it is for Tesla, and that's for sure.

But they've got to do something positive, something to change the momentum around the brand to being back to what it's really about, which is solving climate change, selling EVs that are safe to drive, that will save human lives because of autonomy. Tesla has a wonderful story that needs to be told. And they just need the CEO to start telling that story.

KEILAR: Yes, it was, you know, going gangbusters before he made a professional switch there. I do wonder, I have to say, if those hours would be in person, which, of course, I say with irony.

Ross Gerber, thank you so much for being with us.

GERBER: You know, we'll be working at the factory for sure.

KEILAR: Ross Gerber, great to be with you. Thank you so much for joining us.

GERBER: Yes, thank you.

KEILAR: Still to come, a federal judge ruling in favor of Harvard. What it means for President Trump's efforts to ban international students from the university.

Plus, A former employee of Sean "Diddy" Combs recalling the moment she thought the music mogul was, quote, going to kill his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. How the shocking testimony played out in the courtroom.

And later, a Trump administration report on children's health raising questions about vaccine schedules is reportedly riddled with errors. It even cites non-existent sources. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:15:59]

KEILAR: A big setback for the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on foreign students. Today, a judge blocked the State Department and DHS from making any changes to Harvard's student visa program. This decision came during a celebratory moment on campus. Harvard grads were receiving their diplomas at commencement ceremonies today as that court hearing was taking place. CNN's Danny Freeman is with us now from Harvard.

And Danny, this was a win for the university. How are people there reacting to it?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting, Brianna, this was technically, I guess you could say a win for the university, but it really just went back to the status quo of essentially the past week since the Trump administration first made that threat against international students. And then that restraining order was put in place.

But what that means essentially is that a lot of these international students that we've been speaking with over the course of the week still pretty much are in a state of limbo and essentially reliant on whatever happens next in this court proceeding to figure out what they're going to do with their lives, whether it's stay at Harvard and risk it, potentially move to another university, but then risk potentially the Trump administration facing or rather pointing its ire towards other universities in the country as well over international students and these visas. So, yes, it was a celebratory atmosphere on campus today for commencement. I'll note the president of Harvard, Alan Garber, he got a standing ovation just when he walked on stage. And that's of note because he really has been the face of the university's resistance against the Trump administration in all facets, including federal funding fights as well.

But I want you to listen to what one graduating international student had to tell me about this moment here on campus. And remember, he is done. He got his diploma today, but he still is very concerned about the other international students in that community that remains here on campus.

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LEO GERDEN, HARVARD GRADUATE FROM SWEDEN: People are truly panicking because they don't know whether they will be able to come back next semester, whether campus is going to look the same. I think that is really hanging over all of this commencement week because we're about to leave a place that might not look the same next semester because without international students, Harvard is not Harvard.

Harvard thrives on the fact that it can bring together the best and the brightest from all around the world, put us in the same dining halls, in the same classrooms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, Brianna, commencement wrapped up a little while ago, the main event, of course, that is. There were a lot of speakers. No one, it seemed, really mentioned the Trump administration or President Trump by name. But there were a lot of nods to the administration that really came across as poignant in this moment, especially the way that some of these students did it.

But perhaps one student, his name is Thor (ph), he got on the stage and he said that while he understands that there is a national battle occurring right now over education in America, again, not mentioning the Trump administration by name, but framing it that way, he said that it seemed clear that while the university is imperfect, he was proud to stand today with this graduating class, the faculty and the President, in his words, with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of veritas, Harvard's motto, is worth defending.

That's kind of the moment that I think we really, really saw punch through today, which was, like you said, a celebratory day for the university. Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Danny Freeman, live for us from Cambridge. Thank you for that report, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's get more perspective now from Harvard Law Professor, Ryan Doerfler.

Professor, thanks so much for being with us. I just want to start with the judge deciding to keep the administration from making any changes to the student visa program. And in your eyes, how significant is that for the university? And do you see this legally as an indication of where this fight is headed?

[15:20:00]

RYAN DOERFLER, HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR: I mean, it's very significant, but I think in some ways it's also expected just in that the course of action that the Trump administration pursued here was so flagrantly lawless. And I think you could really see that the judge issued an initial temporary restraining order really within a matter of hours of Harvard issuing its complaint. And so, I think this was an expected outcome. But of course, this is part of a much larger battle between the university and the administration.

And so, you know, this is going to have to play out for weeks and months. And even on this issue in particular, I think what was interesting is that you saw the administration, I think, anticipating this outcome here, filed it with hours before the court was set to meet, filed a letter saying that actually now we're not withdrawing Harvard's SEVP status immediately. They have 30 days to respond, which was an indication that the administration had not followed the statutorily required procedures if it wanted to revoke Harvard's status.

SANCHEZ: The government continues to argue that Harvard has not created an environment free from violence or anti-Semitism. I'm curious to get your response to those allegations, but also where you see the line between a university's autonomy and the government's duty to protect students.

DOERFLER: Yes, I mean, so I think that is a complicated question. I think I would point actually to one of my colleagues, Ben Eidelson (ph), along with co-author Debbie Hellman (ph) at the University of Virginia, who wrote, I think, a really thoughtful, careful piece that's forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review's online component on Harvard and other universities' obligations under Title VI.

And as Professors Eidelson (ph) and Hellman track, it's a very context-specific determination of what obligations universities have, trying to strike the delicate balance between, on the one hand, again, protecting the rights - civil rights of students, in this case, Jewish or Israel-aligned students, but on the other hand, the rights to freedom of speech, rights to protest of students who are on the other side of that divide.

And so, I think what you've also seen internally at Harvard is that sort of ongoing delicate negotiation and a real effort to strike a reasonable balance in a complex circumstance. And I think that sort of internal deliberation is exactly the sort of thing that you would want to see from a university. And so, in this context, to see the administration claim that Harvard is sort of letting anti-Semitism run rampant on campus, I think that just has no relationship to reality. And Harvard has been sort of - there's been a very serious internal discussion about how best to deal with these issues. And I think moreover, it's I think - it's quite clear that the invocation of anti-Semitism on campus is really, just to be totally frank, a pretext in this setting, right? I mean, you see the rationale put forward by the administration in terms of why Harvard needs to be punished shifts by the minute, right? It's - in one moment, it's anti- Semitism. In the other moment, it's a DEI. Sometimes it's to do with climate science. Other times it's because we've hired former politicians like Lori Lightfoot and Bill de Blasio. And now most recently, apparently Harvard has some sort of relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, which is news to me.

And so just that real range and inconsistency of motivation cited by the administration itself really makes it difficult to take seriously that it's a concern with anti-Semitism that's motivating the administration.

SANCHEZ: So, CNN earlier heard from a - an official at Harvard stating that there were some international and even U.S. born students reconsidering enrolling at the university this fall. We also understand that the State Department is reviewing all Harvard University affiliated visa holders, so not just students. This would also be faculty and staff. I wonder what you've heard about any hesitation that folks aligned with Harvard or in the orbit of Harvard have about returning to campus this fall. And what kind of message you think that sends more broadly about higher education in the United States?

DOERFLER: Yes, absolutely. And so, I think - I mean, most immediately, I know both students and colleagues have been reluctant to travel, right, reluctant to leave the U.S. during the summer for fear that they will not be able to return. And I think more broadly, I think both students and faculty are contemplating what their futures might be.

But as you suggest, I think actions by the administration indicate that this is not just about Harvard, right? Sort of, you know, days after Harvard's SEVP status was revoked, that the administration announced that it was suspending interviews for all foreign student visas, right, affecting the entire sector.

And so, this creates a real chilling effect, not just here at Harvard, but across the higher ed, higher education in the U.S. more generally.

[15:25:03]

And as you said, in terms of what it says about higher education in the United States, the American university system is really a crown jewel, right? I mean, it is a system of higher education that is an envy of the rest of the world. And it is being threatened right now. And that is just a tremendous blow to the nation. It's a tremendous blow economically, politically, and really to no apparent end.

SANCHEZ: Professor Ryan Doerfler, we have to leave the conversation there. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

DOERFLER: Thank you. SANCHEZ: Up next, we head to New York for the latest on the Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal trial. Our reporters have been inside the courtroom following all of today's explosive testimony. We'll break it down in just a few minutes.

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