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Shutdown May Put National Security at Risk; White House Says Firings are Imminent; Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) is Interviewed about the Shutdown; Attack on Manchester Synagogue; Lee Harris is Interviewed about Federal Troops in Memphis. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 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]

STACY DAVIS GATES, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: Government can engage in Chicago by restoring staff benefits and funding Medicaid and Medicare, not this tyranny.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Stacy Davis Gates, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, thank you for joining us this morning.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking moments ago, President Trump says he's about to hold a meeting to cut jobs targeting Democrats. Some of these cuts, he says, could be permanent.

More breaking news. A deadly stabbing attack at a synagogue on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. What we are learning about the suspect.

And two planes collide on a taxiway at New York -- New York's LaGuardia Airport. We will tell you the new reporting on what happened.

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

SIDNER: Brand new this morning, an urgent warning from the FBI Agents Association. It says that at a time of, quote, "unprecedented national security and criminal threats, this shutdown could endanger national security." Federal law enforcement officers will remain on the job during the shutdown, but without pay. And new comments from President Trump ramping up the pressure on Democrats. He posted this saying, he has a meeting today with his White House budget chief, Russell Vought, quote, of Project 2025 fame, to determine which Democrat agencies he recommends to be cut. Hundreds of thousands of government workers are already being furloughed, with some services being cut as well.

The White House has said that mass firings of federal workers are imminent amid this shutdown. Republicans have been pushing the Democrats to back a seven week funding extension. But the Democrats say the GOP has to come to the table on health care.

Joining me now, CNN's Josh Campbell, and Kevin Liptak is at the White House for us.

Let's start with you, Josh.

This is an urgent warning. What more do you know about the national security warning that FBI Agents Association is saying is a real issue here during the shutdown?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, you know, sometimes these government shutdowns can feel like political food fights as both parties are, you know, lobbing accusations at each other. But for a lot of government workers, the stakes couldn't be higher. And that includes FBI agents.

Now, we're learning that the FBI Agents Association, this is an organization that represents thousands of agents, they told their members last night that they've sent a notice to Congress calling for an immediate end to this shutdown, saying that it could destabilize the ability of the FBI to actually go after various threats. I'll read you part of what the association told Congress. They said that "a shutdown can undermine the FBI's ability to perform its duties at a time when the country faces an unprecedented range of national security and criminal threats from fentanyl trafficking and terrorism to violent crimes against children and cyberattacks." They go on to say that, quote, "curtailed operational resources can disrupt investigations, surveillance, forensic analysis and partnerships with state, local and international law enforcement."

Of course, we have no idea how long this shutdown is going to go, but they're casting a pretty dire warning there. They see the threat, Sara. They're saying that, look, we cannot have this type of instability when it comes to government resources because that's what we use to actually stop these threats.

SIDNER: This is all sort of talking in the context of a short amount of time so far, but is there a lasting consequence that the FBI Agents Association is worried about here with the shutdown?

CAMPBELL: Yes, a couple. I mean they're worried, obviously, if something goes boom, if there's some type of investigation, some type of threat that they're not able to counter. That is front of mind for them. But the association is also telling Congress that, look, the pay -- the paychecks of FBI agents are also now of concern because they're doing the job, they're going to work, like so many other federal law enforcement officers who are exempt. They can't just take off during a government shutdown. But they're not getting paid. And so they say that that obviously is concerning. It could also, the Agents Association says, threaten their -- their security clearances if they get in debt because they can't actually pay their bills because they haven't gotten paid. So, a lot of potential questions here. And that's why we're hearing them sounding the alarm.

SIDNER: Wow. All right, Josh Campbell, thank you to you.

Let's now go to Kevin Liptak, who is at the White House for us.

We are seeing this new threat from the president this morning. What are you learning?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And we are starting to get a better picture of what the consequences of a prolonged stalemate and a prolonged shutdown might be. But we're also seeing how President Trump is looking to leverage that shutdown to advance his political agenda. And he is now saying that today he will be plotting out how he's going to do that with Russell Vought, who's his budget director, saying that he will meet with him to determine, quote, "which of the many Democrat agencies, most of which are a political scam, he recommends be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent."

[09:05:11]

Now, we should note that the federal bureaucracy is not Democratic or Republican. It's nonpartisan. But clearly the president seeing an opening here to go after federal workers, federal agencies, trying to slash -- slash through their budgets.

And we saw that playing out yesterday. Russell Vought saying that he would cut or cancel or pause tens of billions of dollars in funding that had already been approved. Some meant for green energy initiatives. Most of them in blue states. But also two major infrastructure projects in New York City. And, of course, New York represented in Congress by the top two Democrats who are involved in this, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.

We also heard Russell Vought preview some of the layoffs that could be in the offing. In a call with House Republicans yesterday, he said that those could potentially begin happening in the next one or two days.

And, you know, ordinarily a shutdown is not an opportunity to make permanent cuts to the federal workforce, which really just underscores sort of the unprecedented nature of what President Trump is doing here, really looking to inflict the maximum amount of political pain on Democrats as part of this.

And we did hear from the president, as well as the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, yesterday, sort of detailing how they're approaching all this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, there could be firings and that's their fault. And it could also be other things. I mean, we could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they'd be permanently cut.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We believe that layoffs are imminent. They are, unfortunately, a consequence of this government shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, as of this morning, many hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed, which means they're not on the job and they're not being paid. Many more, including TSA agents, military service members are reporting to work, but are also not being paid.

And you can also see the politics of all of this turning very sour. President Trump continuing to post that A.I. video of Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero. Hakeem Jeffries has said that it's racist and bigoted. But when we heard from the vice president, J.D. Vance, yesterday, he said that the president was joking and that we're, quote, "having a good time."

Sara.

SIDNER: I don't think the federal workers are having a good time. We will see what happens with all of this and how long it all goes.

Kevin Liptak, thank you to you. And thank you to our Josh Campbell.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat from California, who was on the House Budget Committee.

Congressman, you've had a chance, I think, by now to read this new statement from the president, says he's having a meeting with Russ Vought today to talk about cuts that could be permanent. Your reaction?

REP. JIMMY PANETTA (D-CA): Yes, you shouldn't be meeting just with his cabinet. He should actually be meeting with Democrats. We should be negotiating to get our way out of this government shutdown. You're hearing about the potential damage that a shutdown causes, and you're hearing about the extra damage that President Trump and his administration are going to cause with these types of cuts and layoffs and mass firings. Instead of focusing on that, he should be focusing on getting the government open. And that takes negotiations.

Look, John, I've been in this position about four terms now. I've been through 29 continuing resolutions to keep our budget open. And I can tell you that each and every one of those 29 CRs were a result of actual negotiations. Democrats and Republicans coming together to talk their way out of this situation, reopen the government. But at the same time, Democrats are also making sure that we're fighting for people's health care.

BERMAN: Clearly, the president is making these threats to try to put pressure on Democrats here. What kind of pressure do you feel when he's threatening, and Russ Vought or threatening permanent job losses?

PANETTA: What this administration needs to realize is that when they cut 18 billion from infrastructure from New York, when they start to have these mass firings of federal employees, they're not just hurting Democratic states, they're not just hurting Democrats, they're hurting Republicans. They're hurting law enforcement. They're hurting public safety. They're hurting good paying jobs. They're hurting working families. This is not just about hurting Democrats, this is about hurting

America. And, unfortunately, this is the type of administration that we've been dealing with. But they need to realize that in order to get out of this, you're going to have to negotiate. You've got to get back at the table and you've got to be ready to actually have serious conversations. No more of these posting of memes and joking around. This is a serious issue. People's lives and livelihoods are at stake. And, unfortunately, we're dealing with an administration that I believe just doesn't understand that or the only thing they do understand is being cruel and cutting jobs and hurting working families.

BERMAN: If they're going to go through with this, though, what leverage do you have?

[09:10:03]

How can you protect these workers and this funding?

PANETTA: Yes, this is something where we have to understand that we have to come together, not just as a party, but literally as a country. And the people in red and blue states have to make sure to hold their representatives accountable and put pressure on them. From the very beginning we've said, we have to negotiate, like we've done in the past 29 times that there's been continuing resolutions. But unfortunately, this time, Republicans, who are in charge of the House, Republicans who are in charge of the Senate, and you have a Republican in the White House, they are in charge, yet they're failing to negotiate. They didn't negotiate when they passed the CR out of the House. They didn't negotiate when they put up those votes in the Senate. Now is the time to negotiate. Democrats and Republicans need to come together, open up the government, protect our health care and reduce costs.

BERMAN: The real action, forgive me, is over on the Senate side here, right, where Republicans do have a majority, but Democrats have the opportunity to block things from being passed here.

I had the chance to speak with Democratic Senator Chris Coons last night. And I want you to listen carefully to what he's saying here. He's absolutely supporting the Democratic action right now and he wants to see the guarantees for an extension of the Obamacare subsidies. But listen to what he says about a possible avenue for making a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): There is agreement that we should be willing to negotiate an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies and a reform to them. Republicans want to reform them. Democrats want to extend them. And they're insisting, as of now, that we all vote to reopen the government, and then we'll start negotiating. I'm encouraging them to be serious and concrete about who will negotiate, how, over what, and with what deadline.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: What about that? If you squint there, you can sort of see the contours of a proposal. You tell us what we will be talking about in a very specific way after we vote to reopen the government. Is that a way out?

PANETTA: Look, I think if anybody can articulate a kabuki theater it's Chris Coons, in the sense that I respect everything that that gentleman says. He's an amazing senator. And he understands the importance of these types of constructive conversations that are negotiations, that actually lead to something concrete and ensuring that basically we can reopen the government and protect our health care. I think if anybody understands that, he can. And that's what he was trying to say when it comes to having these types of conversations based on the relationships that they have there in the Senate.

But as we know, they need seven Democrats. That's why they should be negotiating. That's why they should be having these discussions. That's why someone like Chris Coons is at the forefront of these types of conversations, where they're actually talking about doing the right thing when it comes to reopening our government and protecting our health care.

BERMAN: Look, I -- you've been at this a while. I could see the wheels turning as you were listening to word by word what Chris Coons was very carefully saying there. We'll see where these discussions go over the next several days.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, from California, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, breaking this morning, we are updating this story. At least two people were killed, three others now reported seriously injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack. It happened outside a synagogue in Manchester, England. The assault, especially horrific because today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish faith.

Now, video was posted on social media appearing to show the suspected attacker. You're seeing a picture there. A still of that video. And a different bit of cell phone video posting online shows officers pointing their weapons at a person and then a person on the ground in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Just seconds later, gunfire can be heard at that scene.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is in London.

Clare, what is the latest on this story at this hour?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, I just want to bring you one quick update. We've just heard in the last couple of minutes from Greater Manchester Police that they're saying now three people have died, including the offender, they say, who was shot by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers. That is coming directly from Greater Manchester Police. They had said earlier that they weren't able to confirm whether the suspect was deceased because of suspicious items on his person. They said that a bomb disposal unit was called and was at the scene. They have said, as part of their update in the last couple of minutes, that there was a loud noise heard at the scene as specialist resources gained entry to the suspect's vehicle as a precaution.

So, all of this essentially has been unfolding throughout the morning. But what happened initially seemed to happen very quickly. At 9:30, officers were called to the scene. Within ten minutes, they said shots had rung out. Four people initially reported injured. Now we know of two bystanders killed, three more said to be in a serious condition.

And all of this, of course, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, a very solemn event usually.

[09:15:02]

Now, the British prime minister has cut short a trip to a major European summit in Denmark. Take a listen to what he said as he left that summit today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The attack in Manchester this morning is absolutely shocking. And all of our thoughts are with those affected.

I'm on my way back to London. When I arrive, I will chair an emergency cobra meeting. I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, additional police resources being deployed. We've heard from the mayor of London, who said that they are also adding security. Now, security had been stepped up over the past couple of years around Jewish synagogues and other sites, anti-Semitic attacks on the rise according to groups who monitor those things. But, obviously, this has put the level of alert even higher.

More reactions coming in just to bring you from the king. King Charles saying he's "deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester." The Israeli embassy in the U.K. calling it "abhorrent" and "deeply distressing." The Muslim Council of Britain saying, "we unequivocally condemn this act of violence."

So, extreme shock as we hear more details coming out about this incident today.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Clare. And you're clarifying that the shooter and the ramming suspect has now been killed and is dead. All right, thank you so much. Appreciate your reporting this morning and that update.

And up ahead, Memphis becoming the latest target of the president's promise to crack down on crime in cities run by Democrats, as Attorney General Pam Bondi announces more than 200 officers have been federalized in that city.

Also, Meta and Facebook using your personal information to target ads at you. How your conversations with their A.I. chat bots could reshape what you're seeing on their platforms.

And a Massachusetts police officer is being called a hero after this rescue here, a woman in a burning car. That story, ahead.

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[09:21:12]

BERMAN: New this morning, dozens of arrests in Memphis after the president ordered National Guard troops there. The president suggested this week that American cities could be used as a training ground for the nation's military. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced 53 arrests and the seizure of 20 illegal firearms in Memphis since Monday.

With us now is Lee Harris, the mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee, where Memphis, of course, is located.

So, this federal task force, which includes National Guard, is on the ground in Memphis. What's been the impact so far, Mayor?

MAYOR LEE HARRIS (D), SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE: I don't know that we've seen a tangible impact yet, but there are hundreds of law enforcement agencies on the ground here. And, you know, we want to cooperate. We want to be supportive of domestic civilian law enforcement agencies, the DEA, the FBI, the TBI, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and so forth. I think the problem is the presence of the National Guard. There have been some National Guard sightings. Not much. We don't think the National Guard is here in full force yet. But we do have some concerns about the National Guard coming to town because, you know, that will put us all at risk for a variety of reasons.

BERMAN: I'm interested in the language you use there, we don't think the National Guard is yet there in full force, which indicates to me that there's -- some of this you're still not sure about. What kind of communication have you had with the federal government?

HARRIS: Yes, that's exactly right. So, this all started with Donald trump going on another cable show and promising to send the military, the National Guard or whoever else he wants to Memphis and Shelby County, to Tennessee communities and to occupy it. And so that -- that would -- I mean that started a chaos in our community that raised a whole lot of anxiety. After that, the president had a second press conference where he also talked big and caused more chaos in our community. Our governor stood -- stood by as all this was happening, which was a serious disappointment for many of us.

And then from there, we -- we haven't had much communication. We've had recently one press conference from the governor, but we don't know how many of these National Guard assets are coming to town. We don't know where they will be stationed. The governor said he doesn't know whether or not they'll be carrying arms or not. He said they might be carrying arms, but they might not. And so that's not the kind of transparency that we need when we're talking about something that, you know, shouldn't happen in America.

BERMAN: I mean you're well aware that Memphis is top of the list in all kinds of different national crime rankings, whether it comes to homicide rate or violent crime here. So, what kind of a difference could federal assistance make?

HARRIS: Well, I'm not sure it makes any difference over the long term. And the reason why we're at the top of those lists is because we've had a divestment from both state and federal partners. So, the FBI office under the Biden administration was pulled out of Memphis. The TBI crime lab under the Governor Bill Lee administration was pulled out of Memphis. The gun violence intervention funds was cut by President Trump. And right now, we're facing a real severe, severe strain in terms of economic opportunity. And we had Pam Bondi, she came to town yesterday, and she was about 20 minutes from a town called Staunton, Tennessee, which has been, you know -- was on the rise for a moment before Inauguration Day. And now that town is really in jeopardy of losing the largest development project that our state has ever, ever announced.

We just had an announcement the same day she was there, that companies were pulling out. And this is largely because of their separate strategy on tariffs. And so, we need the economic opportunity. We need -- we need a real conversation about guns because the proliferation of guns is a direct consequence of state official action to spread the gospel, so-called gospel, around guns and communities like ours. And so, we've got guns on street corners and in cars, and they end up in the criminal stream, and that is what is, you know, that's -- that's a -- that's a major negative impact on -- on -- on -- on our residents.

[09:25:02]

BERMAN: You heard the president say he -- he wants the military to use American cities as training grounds. What's your reaction to that?

HARRIS: I -- I can only be -- I think we all should be very, very fearful. I mean just because we are fearful of what may come in America as it is changing dramatically before our eyes, that doesn't stop us from being able to take action, to stand up and resist. And so, yes, I see Donald Trump using the military in unlawful ways to target Venezuelans. I see him making big promises to occupy more cities and, you know, very anti-American ways and ways that are against the Tennessee constitution. And I am fearful of what he may do next.

But that doesn't mean we can't speak out, that we can't challenge it, that we can't choose a side. And let's -- when I say sides, I'm not talking about partisan sides, John. I'm just talking about the American traditions that -- that the -- the traditions that we all celebrate, it's the freedoms that we all enjoyed prior to Inauguration Day. I want to go back to that. And that's going to require all of us to do something.

BERMAN: Mayor Lee Harris, thank you very much for being with us today. This morning, an investigation underway after the wing of a Delta

plane slammed into the cockpit of another on the ground at New York's LaGuardia Airport. We're getting new pictures in. Look at the shredding right there.

And, quote, "there is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl. Not anywhere else." That is from a homeland security official saying that ICE could be at the Super Bowl this year.

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