Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Honoring WWII Vets on the 80th Anniversary; Congress Facing High-Stakes Battles; Trump Comments on Chicago being Dangerous; Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D-IL) is Interviewed about the Possible Surge of Forces into Chicago; Dr. Richard Besser is Interviewed about the CDC Changes and American's Health. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 02, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

This is going to be a very important and moving ceremony, obviously, in the next couple of hours. It will start at about 11:00 a.m.

I'll set the scene for you right here. This is the beautiful World War II Memorial. That's the memorial to the Pacific theater just over my right shoulder there. Our photojournalist, Scott Pisczek, will show you how they're setting up the chairs here.

There's a beautiful fountain in the middle of the memorial that is inoperable. So, that's about the only esthetic that we'll be missing here. But it's going to be a great ceremony.

And I say important for a number of reasons, because the Veteran's Administration projects that there are fewer than 66,000 American veterans of World War II who are still alive. This is going to be one of our last chances to kind of hear their stories and capture some of their memories of that day, of Victory over Japan Day and just of their experiences in World War II.

And what's very impressive about this, I got to say, is that there are about 15 veterans that are slated to be here for this event. At least three of them are 100 years old or over 100.

Now, one of the organizers did put in a caveat when I talked to him yesterday. He said, look, sometimes these veterans are not able to show up. They wake up at the last minute, they're not feeling well, and they can't show up at these events. But we do expect maybe about 15 veterans who are -- were there at -- on Victory over Japan Day and can share their memories.

One of them, Jeffrey Donahue, 102 years old. He survived a kamikaze attack in January of 1945 and then a typhoon that almost destroyed his ship in the Pacific. The keynote speaker is a young man named Dave Yoho, who was in the merchant marines. He's all of 97 years old. He's the spring chicken of -- of the group here. So, it's going to be really impressive to see these people on the stage to hear Dave Yoho speak. And, you know, again, this is something that we -- we have to kind of

take in. This is, you know, this is going to be -- these are the firsthand witnesses to the war. This may be one of the last chances that we have to get their recorded memories of what happened. So, it's an important ceremony to capture, and I look forward to seeing it. And we look forward to bringing it to our audience later, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Brian Todd, it's great to have you there. Lucky, lucky for you to be in their presence. Thank you very much.

A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a live look at Capitol Hill. There it is. As Congress returns today, major battles are brewing. The threat of a government shutdown, a surefire showdown over the Epstein files, and a face off over vaccines.

And there's breaking news on that tragedy out of Houston this morning. A man is now charged with murder after the 11-year-old boy was shot and killed this weekend while playing a doorbell prank. That suspect due in court this morning.

And Bill Belichick's college coaching debut at UNC Chapel Hill didn't go as he had planned.

Sara is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Happening today, a whole lot, but sum it up with deadlines and decisions. Congress is returning to Washington after summer recess. Immediately, lawmakers are facing high stakes battles on multiple fronts. And with so much on the line, Democrats are signaling that they are ready for a fight. Just some of the big upcoming battles that are very clearly brewing, keeping the government funded, avoiding a government shutdown, the clash over whether to release more Jeffrey Epstein files and to vote to get more Jeffrey Epstein files. Questions also about what to do about Russia now that the president's latest two-week deadline for peace talks has come and gone.

And Chicago is bracing for a potential surge of federal forces. The president speaking out on that just this morning. We're going to have more on that in a moment.

One of the issues that could have big developments today, the House Oversight Committee is expected to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and their attorneys. There's a bipartisan push in the House that will continue as promised by Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie to try to force a vote and force action to get the Jeffrey Epstein files completely and total released.

But the House left town, you'll remember, early in July to avoid this exact thing. So, where does it stand this morning?

CNN's Arlette Saenz is joining us from Capitol Hill.

What more are you learning today about what's coming?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Congress is essentially picking up right where they left off as they are set to return later this afternoon after that August recess. So, one of the first political fights that we likely will see up here will be around those Jeffrey Epstein files. We anticipate that members of the House Oversight Committee will be meeting privately with survivors of Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

[09:05:01]

And tomorrow they are also expected to attend a press conference with a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Congressman Ro Khanna and Congressman Thomas Massie, a Democrat and Republican, are pushing forward with their attempt to try to force a vote on the House floor over the full release of the Epstein files. They want to use a procedural tactic to get 218 people on board to force this vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he thinks that this is unnecessary and a moot point, as House Oversight has received some documents from the Justice Department relating to the Epstein files.

And here was Congressman Pete Sessions explaining why he would not vote for that discharge petition being pushed by Massie and Khanna.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): The discharge petition is essentially when we're not working together, not when we are working together. And the -- the need for getting the data and the information, all of it, is still apparent to all of us, or at least James Comer recognizes that. And so, we're going to work through what we've got and work together on a bipartisan effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the Epstein issue has been a thorn in President Trump's side, and that could come to a head this week if they are able to move forward with that House vote.

But at the top of lawmaker's agenda, really, heading into the next month will be trying to avert a government shutdown. Lawmakers have just four weeks to pass bills to fund the government to keep it open. And so far there's no indication of just exactly how this will be resolved. Democrats want to see further checks on President Trump's power, as well as potential changes to that domestic policy agenda bill that he had passed over the summer. Democrats also argue the fact that the White House decided to unilaterally claw back nearly $5 billion in foreign aid last week that was already approved by Congress, that that will complicate these efforts to reach a resolution. The White House, so far, has signaled they are not willing to make concessions on this front, really setting up the high-stakes that lawmakers up here on Capitol Hill are facing as they're trying to avert a government shutdown on September 30th.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Arlette, thank you so much for your reporting.

John.

BERMAN: All right, just moments ago, new attacks on Chicago from President Trump and a new promise to impose federal law enforcement to fight crime on the ground. He said, quote, "Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the world by far." He added, "I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in D.C. Chicago will be safe again and soon."

Now, we should note that Chicago does not rank in the FBI's top ten list of the most violent cities in the United States. And you will see Memphis, Nashville, Kansas City there. Those are all cities, Houston, in states with Republican governors. And the president not threatening to send in the National Guard to those cities.

Now, having said Chicago's not in the top ten, it was a violent weekend there. At least 56 people shot, seven people killed. Chicago's violent crime rate, though, is dropping. So it is that complicated picture.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for the latest on what the president's saying.

Good morning, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, John.

And look, I mean, it's clear, very clear from -- if you've been following what the president has been saying over the last week or so and what he's been posting, a couple posts this morning included, he is really fixated on Chicago right now. And what we did, you know, what we're learning is, one, my colleagues and I broke the news last week that they are planning a major surge in federal law enforcement officials, specifically immigration related officials. That includes ICE and customs and border patrol and other agencies to Chicago to deal with immigration.

But all of that coming as the president continues to argue that he wants to try and do what he is doing here in Washington, D.C., in Chicago as well.

Now, I do want to be clear in my conversations with White House officials, they've told me that the operation we're likely to see begin this week, we're told it's expected to begin on Friday, is really going to be immigration focused. That's about it. It is not about domestic crime like it is here in D.C. They still have to work out some of the details of that because, again, Chicago is in a state of Illinois. They have a governor. Not really the case here in D.C. And so there's some legal questions about what the president and this administration is actually able to do. But as part of this immigration push, we're told it's similar to what we saw happen in L.A. earlier this year.

We are also seeing National Guard troops kind of being put on standby and being prepared to be sent to Chicago to help with that. And so, all of this coming as the president, and you said it, is posting again this morning saying essentially that Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the world, calling out the Illinois governor, J.B. Pritzker, specifically saying that he needs help badly. He just doesn't know it yet. I mean he is clearly escalating his rhetoric on Chicago and making very clear what he wants to do there, which is exactly what he's doing here in D.C.

[09:10:03]

It's just a question or not of whether he can actually get to, you know, send the type of -- of federal law enforcement agents there that he has done in this city.

BERMAN: Based on your reporting, we should start to see some of it by the end of the week.

Alayna Treene, at the White House, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now to talk about this is the lieutenant governor of Illinois, Juliana Stratton. She's also running for the U.S. Senate seat that Dick Durbin will be vacating.

It's -- Lieutenant Governor, thank you so much for being here.

I want to read, just because the president did -- is speaking out about this on social media just this morning. Here's what he said to get you to respond. "At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, eight people were killed. The last two weekends were similar. Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the world by far," the president writes this morning. "Pritzker needs help badly. He just doesn't know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in D.C. Chicago will be safe again, and soon."

Resilient But John did point out, so did Alayna Treene, Chicago's not in the top

20 of cities when it comes to FBI crime stats on violent crime, and not in the top ten when you talk about overall crime rates. So, facts and data are critical.

But if, Lieutenant Governor, the president is saying that this morning, what do you think is going to happen?

LT. GOV. JULIANA STRATTON (D-IL): Well, first of all, let me just say that Donald Trump is not focused on public safety. Look, anytime that there's crime anywhere in our state or around the country, we want to -- continue to see progress being made. And we are making progress here in Illinois and in the city of Chicago.

But this is not about public safety. And this is not about making our residents safer. What Donald Trump wants to happen is he wants to manufacture a crisis. He's going to, as we just talked about, there's going to be a surge of ICE enforcement efforts. He knows that people will see those efforts and then want to pick out people. Good, decent people will be heartbroken to see their neighbors being snatched off the streets and stuffed into unmarked cars. He wants to flame, you know, inflame tensions. And he wants to make sure that -- that he can cause some sort of crisis, that he can say that he's coming to the rescue.

And what we know is that we are going to follow the law here in Illinois. We are going to do everything we can to protect our residents. And we're not going to allow this president, who wants to manufacture a crisis, who wants to, quite frankly, make the military presence on American soil something that people normalize. We are going to speak out. We are going to be prepared to do everything we can to protect the residents of our state.

BOLDUAN: The governor said Sunday that there had been no communication, no outreach whatsoever from the Trump administration to his. Has there -- are you aware that any communication has occurred between the administration and leadership in Illinois since then?

STRATTON: Well, we do know that ICE has informed our Illinois state police department that they are going to begin operations sometime later this week.

But I want to make sure that everyone understands that communication is not the same as coordination. So, we got notice, but there's been no direct communication with the governor, there's been no coordination, not just with our administration, but with local law enforcement. And so, if this really is about, what do we need to do to promote public safety and create safer communities, why would there not be coordination with our administration? Why would we not work with local law enforcement that's already on the ground and has relationships with our communities across the state and across the city. So, this is not about public safety. It's not about coordination.

And I just want to say this. You know, as somebody who has worked on these issues of building safer communities throughout my career, there's never been an expert that I've spoken with directly who has said what we need is the militarization of federal troops, or we need federal troops on the ground to be the goal of how we get to safer communities.

What people are looking for, the exact things that Donald Trump is stripping away. We need access to education, but he's dismantling the Department of Education. We need access to health care, and he's stripping away Medicaid. We need families to be able to put food on the table, and he's stripping away SNAP benefits and -- and making the cost of groceries go up.

[09:15:05]

These are not the things that get to the root causes of violence or crime. And we are going to stay focused on doing what works here in Illinois, it's been working, and we're going to continue making progress. We're not where we need to be, but we're headed that way.

BOLDUAN: The White House really slammed the governor and was critical of his statement this weekend, calling if -- if National Guard moves in, calling it an invasion, he said it would be. Do you think that goes too far in calling an invasion? Are you playing into the White House's hands in using the language?

STRATTON: No. What we are doing is calling out what's happening, which is, we are looking the -- at the rise of authoritarianism right in the face. I mean this is a president who is a weak man, who wants to be the center of attention, and he wants to manufacture a crisis so that we can distract from his failures. And so, this is an invasion. This is him sending, you know, a surge of ICE enforcement and -- and also wanting to hopefully, in his mind, federalize the National Guard so that people will feel that it's normal to see troops on the street, armed guards or tanks. This is not normal. And we cannot normalize it.

And so, we're calling out what he is doing because what he wants to do is he wants to see a crisis so that long term people will say, oh, look, this is what we needed. It's not what we need. There's no emergency here in Illinois. We have not asked for this. He's not coordinating with us. And people of Illinois have made it clear, this is not what we want. And we will not roll out the red carpet for a wannabe dictator.

BOLDUAN: What remains a mystery this morning is what it looks like when he says, we -- I am going to make Chicago streets safer beyond what you have -- you have laid out, which is immigration enforcement. So, that remains a big question today.

Lieutenant Governor, thank you for your time.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., preparing to face tough questions from the Senate after upheaval at the CDC over vaccines. This tension could reach a boiling point this week.

New accusations against the Trump administration for, quote, "making a mockery of science." This time it's over climate.

And millions of Americans waking up losers. You did not win Powerball. The next jackpot, well over a $1 billion. What you need to know by Wednesday to keep $2 in your pocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:45]

BOLDUAN: This morning, students at Harvard are returning to class with the campus in turmoil as the university continues to face its -- continues its battle with the Trump administration over federal funding. A federal judge is expected to rule soon in the school's case against the president. Harvard had asked for a decision before tomorrow. TBD if that will happen. But billions of dollars in research funding is at stake. We've highlighted that over and over again.

This comes as another American institution is facing uncertainty over its federal funding. The CDC, the agency lost about a quarter of its staff during widespread layoffs of federal employees led by the Trump administration earlier this year. And last week CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after clashing with the HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., over vaccine policy, according to sources.

Now, joining me right now is former acting director of the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser. He and other former CDC leaders have been speaking out, are speaking out, arguing, among other things, that Secretary Kennedy is endangering every American's health.

It's good to see you, Doctor. Thank you for being here.

You had said in this opinion piece that you all put out this call to action really is that your goal in speaking out was to make sure that people understood this is not normal what's happening at CDC and HHS, that shouldn't be allowed to continue in order to try to keep attention on it. Have you heard anything from the HHS secretary or the department at all in response?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: You know, Kate, this is a call to action. And it's a call to action to a number of different groups.

One of our -- our big goals is that we're hoping that by keeping attention on this issue that -- that Congress will do its job. You know, Congress plays a really important oversight function when it comes to the actions of the administration. And they've been missing in action. And there's a lot that they can do to call this secretary in and ask questions as to why he is dismantling a critical piece of -- of our health security in -- in America.

It's also a call to action to medical societies that are starting to make recommendations that we can trust in place of some of the recommendations that the secretary is making that aren't based on science and evidence.

BOLDUAN: The secretary is set to head to Congress and testify before I believe it's the Senate this week, on Thursday. I mean, in your call to act -- in your call to Congress to do its job, its oversight authority and responsibility, I mean, have you heard anything from relevant committees or specifically especially I'd even say key lawmakers like Senator Bill Cassidy, who was a critical voice and vote in getting RFK Jr. confirmed?

BESSER: Yes, you know, Senator Cassidy is -- is critical in this situation. And I was really pleased to see him put out a call for the -- the committee that advises the CDC on vaccines, they're supposed to hold a meeting in a couple of weeks. He said that meeting should not take place. And the reason for that is that Secretary Kennedy removed all the experts from that committee and brought in quite a number of anti-vaccine advocates who, who, who agree with his take on vaccination, but are not the people who should be making recommendations to the -- to the country.

[09:25:04]

I hope that in those hearings that that Senator Cassidy asks some hard questions and that we understand why the secretary is so, so intent on destroying the Centers for Disease Control.

BOLDUAN: You know, the president was on social media yesterday. He gave another example. It's like trying to walk some -- something of a fine line between touting his successes and for some reason not angering or getting in the wrong side of RFK Jr. and the MAGA base of vaccine skeptics. You know, Operation Warp Speed, he has called it one of -- his greatest accomplishment in the development of the Covid vaccine in 2020. Now, Trump says that he wants more detail. He wrote this in part, "many people think they are a miracle that saved millions of lives," meaning the Covid vaccines. And then he writes, "others disagree. With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer and I want it now."

And I'm just curious, what do you do with that? Because what amount of data, quite honestly, do you think, given RFK Jr.'s history, what amount of data is there that is going to convince RFK Jr. to -- to change the views that he has publicly held for 20 plus years?

BESSER: Yes. You know, Secretary Kennedy is one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine advocates. And so, I wouldn't look to him for -- for -- for evidence. You know, I -- you know, I would agree with the president when he -- he said that -- that Warp Speed was one of the crowning achievements of his administration. The fact that within a year of a new infectious agent plaguing the world, we had multiple, highly effective and safe vaccines was -- was absolutely unthinkable. And the reason we got there was that for -- for more than two decades, the National Institutes of Health had been investing in the science and the technology.

Now we have a secretary who has canceled further research on that technology, has supported the major cuts to the National Institutes of Health, which funds universities around the nation to do important science work. We're giving up our position as the leader in health, in the leader of understanding new diseases and new -- new treatments. And -- and that just shouldn't be. I'm -- I'm hoping that if -- if we draw enough attention to this, those people who've been elected to -- to support, defend and protect people around this country, our elected representatives, will say, no, this is unacceptable. We're -- we're not going to -- we're not going to take this.

BOLDUAN: My question, though, then becomes, if the silence remains, which is what it seems there really has been in response to RFK Jr.'s moves, what does -- what do you do with that?

BESSER: Well, I think what we do is -- is -- is we recognize that we are in big trouble. You know, we look to medical organizations to make recommendations. We look to the private sector, philanthropy, to try and step in. We look to state health departments to -- to try and provide vaccines for people in their states, even though they won't have the federal dollars to -- to support that.

You know, I -- I worked at the CDC for 13 years. I ran emergency preparedness and response for four years during the Bush administration. I was the acting director at the start of the Obama administration. This isn't about political ideology. This is about, do you believe in the science that will help protect people here and around the world and will you support that?

You know, that's the reason that we came together, nine individuals who'd run the CDC, from the Carter administration through the Trump administration, to say, something has to change. This is an extremely dangerous situation for our nation.

BOLDUAN: And that's the -- I don't know if it's a catch 22 or what it -- what it -- you describe it as, but that is -- that's what it is. It's the call constantly for more science, release the science. But in believing the science is the step that seems to be what doesn't occur.

Dr. Richard Besser, thank you very much. John.

BERMAN: All right, we do have breaking news. Just moments ago we learned that a judge has ruled that President Trump's use of the military in Los Angeles did violate federal law.

Want to get right to CNN's Katelyn Polantz for the details on this.

Katelyn, what can you tell us about this ruling?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Did violate federal law and, moving forward, Donald Trump can't just send federal troops into cities in California. That's what's happening in this ruling today. It's from Judge Charles Breyer sitting in San Francisco.

[09:29:55]

And this case, it was about the state of California's unhappiness with the way that Donald Trump and the defense secretary employed the use of federal troops after there was unrest around immigration proceedings in