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FEMA Cuts Target CORE Teams; Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) is Interviewed about the ACA; Venezuela Detains Several Americans; Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Interviewed about Homicides; Josephine Hunt is Interviewed about Social Media. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And one of the key proposals is to cut the agency's staff in half.

Now, what we're looking at here, what has just unfolded, this is far from a 50 percent reduction of the agency. We're talking about just a few dozen staffers. But what we're waiting to see at this point is what is going to happen to the thousands of employees whose contracts expire after January 4th over the rest of the year. Remember, right now we are just talking about this sort of broad termination of all FEMA employees whose contracts expired in the first four days of the year. I've spoken with senior officials at FEMA who were in the dark on this, who said this -- the cuts here feel very arbitrary. Perhaps they say a sign that more cuts are coming in this attempt to shrink the agency.

But I will note, the Department of Homeland Security has told me, as of now there is no new policy for these workers. They said that "the CORE program consists of term-limited positions that are designed to fluctuate based on disaster activity, operational need, and available funding. CORE appointments have always been subject to end-of-term decisions consistent with that structure and there has been no change to policy." So, what they're essentially saying, Omar, is, contracts end all the time and we reserve the right to let people go if they're no longer needed.

But what they didn't address were these broad terminations that we've seen here in this case, which so many people at FEMA have now told me are extremely out of the ordinary. They've been talked about, speculated about for months now. The question is, what's going to happen to all those employees who are expiring in the weeks and months ahead.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Gabe Cohen, appreciate the reporting.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a new year and a new financial reality for millions of Americans relying on the Affordable Care Act. The enhanced subsidies that kept premiums lower are officially gone, leaving many people with just two options, pay the steep prices or go uninsured. There is a fierce battle on Capitol Hill over an extension. The House is expected to vote on a Democratic proposal to extend the subsidies for three years when Congress returns next week.

Joining me now is Democratic congressman from Virginia, James Walkinshaw.

Thank you so much for being here.

Look, I want to quickly play what your colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, said about these subsidies and what the House is expected to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): We spend twice as much on health care in this country than any other industrialized nation and have worse outcomes. So, it will pass. I will -- it will pass in the House, the three-year extension. I've told Hakeem very pointedly we would have Republicans supporting that. Now we got to work with the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Do you have confidence that it will pass, that there will be an extension of these subsidies for Obamacare?

REP, JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): Well, I think Congresswoman Dingell is right, it will pass in the House. What we're hearing today from Senate Republican leadership is they don't intend to move on the legislation, even if it has passed the House. I think they're going to face a lot of pressure. I think you'll have a bipartisan vote coming out of the House to extend the tax credits for three years. And Senator Thune and Senate Republicans, I think, would be wise to take up that legislation and pass it in the Senate as well.

SIDNER: Republicans consistently criticize Democrats, saying that you're the ones that chose to make the enhanced ACA subsidies temporary when you had control. Do Democrats have some responsibility for the situation that people find themselves in now?

WALKINSHAW: Well, Democrats in Congress have been advocating to extend the tax credits throughout all of 2025, put forward legislation that was blocked by Republicans in both the House and Senate time after time after time. So, the burden here, the fault lies with Republicans who have refused to do the simple thing and pass a clean extension of the tax credits that millions of Americans rely on. We can do both. Look, we can pass a clean extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits to prevent these premiums from doubling, tripling or quadrupling for some American families. And we can have a longer conversation and dialogue about ways to bring down the cost of health care for everyday Americans. We can do both, and we should.

SIDNER: All right, I want to move on from this. It is a really important issue and I'm sure we'll be talking a lot about it over the next several days and weeks and months.

I do want to ask you about what's happened here in New York. The new mayor is in place. He's already signed five executive orders. And Zohran Mamdani is staying true to his word, that he's going to govern as a Democratic socialist. And in a speech he said that, and I'm quoting here, "we will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism." Is that how Democrats should govern, in your mind?

WALKINSHAW: Well, look, the Democratic Party is a big tent. And that big tent absolutely includes Mayor Mamdani.

[08:35:02]

And I'm excited to see the things he might be able to do in New York City. Obviously, New York City is a unique place. I represent Virginia. I went to school in New York City. And it's a wonderful but unique place politically.

So, what's going to work for him in New York City probably won't work for every Democrat everywhere we have to run and compete and govern across the country. But we're a big tent, moderates, progressives.

SIDNER: All right. We're looking at pictures of the inauguration there from New York where, as you mentioned, you did go to school here, which is why -- one of the reasons why I asked you the question.

I do want to ask you this. There is something a lot of people may have missed because it was released at an interesting time in New Year's Eve. It's the testimony of special prosecutor Jack Smith on his investigation into Trump's role in January 6th, the attack on the Capitol. This is his congressional testimony. I just want to let people to hear a really important part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SMITH, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: The evidence here made clear that President Trump was, by a large measure, the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy. These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, as part of this case, does not happen without him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Most culpable, most responsible person in this conspiracy.

First of all, I want to get your take on why and when it was released, why it was released at that time, and if there is something that Democrats plan to do now that this has been made public.

WALKINSHAW: Well, I think it's obvious why it was released when it was released. Republicans in Washington don't want to acknowledge Donald Trump's culpability with respect to January 6th. He compounded that culpability with the mass pardoning of the 1,500 plus folks involved in January 6th, including a lot of folks who have gone on to commit violent crimes in communities across the country. So, they don't want the American people to hear the truth that Jack Smith laid out in his testimony. I think, moving forward, look, we're coming up on the anniversary of

January 6th in a couple of days. Democrats in the House will be holding a special hearing to talk about the issue. I don't think it's something we can ever let go. The fact that a sitting United States president, Donald Trump at the time, tried to subvert the results of a free and fair election and then cheered on a violent mob who attacked the Capitol, leading to the death of police officers, tried to kill the vice president of the United States.

Look, when the history books are written about Donald Trump, January 6th will be in the first paragraph. This will hang over him for the rest of his life and long beyond the end of his life.

SIDNER: Congressman James Walkinshaw, I do appreciate you coming on, on this day. Thank you.

All right, new this morning, Venezuela's leader says he's ready to talk with the U.S. about drug trafficking. President Nicolas Maduro's new comments come as the U.S. pressure campaign against him has intensified in recent months, including U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats and a CIA strike on a Venezuelan port facility. Maduro saying this about the U.S. government, quote, "if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we're ready to that."

CNN's Sean Lyngaas is in Washington for us.

Sean, tensions are rising, and that is an understatement, between the United States and Venezuela. Is Maduro holding out an olive branch here? Is that how this is being seen?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Right, Sara, I think -- I think that that is how it's being seen. It's a potential opening. But as we reported yesterday, Maduro may have some newfound leverage in those talks because at least five Americans have been detained by Venezuelan authorities in recent months. And of course, that coincides with the pressure campaign that you mentioned from the U.S., which is coming from all sides, you know, ships in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, and the CIA drone strike that CNN reported on last month that knocked a facility in -- off the coast of Venezuela as well. So, there's a lot for -- that these leaders could talk about, but I'm not sure how effective those talks will be. It really remains to be seen.

I think an olive branch is the best way to put it. And I think we can say right now that U.S. officials, including at the State Department, are really trying to get ground truth on how many Americans are being held in Venezuela and what can be done to free them, Sara.

SIDNER: I did want to ask you if we have any details on the Americans who are detained. Obviously, as you put it, this -- this is -- it could well be a move by Maduro to put himself in a different position with the United States, as the United States continues to attack boats and is threatening more action.

[08:40:09]

LYNGAAS: Right, Sara, we don't have a ton of details. We're reaching out to the families of those reported who are detained. We're trying to confirm some of the names. There was a big prisoner release yesterday in Venezuela that human rights groups reported on. However, those were all political prisoners being held in the aftermath of the contested 2024 election in Venezuela. And a human rights observer told us that none of the released appeared to be American. So, it's still an ongoing search.

SIDNER: Well, I'm sure the families are terrified and hoping for some resolution here.

Sean, we will be checking back in with you. Thank you. I do appreciate it.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, I want to bring in retired General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander.

Thank you for being here.

I just want to start with Trump administration officials believe that the Maduro regime is detaining the Americans to build leverage against the United States. I mean it's a tactic many American adversaries tend to use, including Russia. But based on the dynamic with Venezuela right now, do you anticipate these detainment being effective at all in gaining leverage against the United States?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: I don't see them as being effective right now, but I think they can continue. And they also give Maduro some status, let's say, with his backers in China, Iran and Russia, because it shows that he's pushing back against the United States and using tactics similar to what they might use in such circumstances.

JIMENEZ: And even in some of the other countries, for example, when an American is detained, how does having Americans detained change the nature of engagement with a country, if at all?

CLARK: Sometimes it does change the nature of the engagement. Sometimes it's a mistake. Usually you have diplomatic representation that goes in to find out what's going on really. Sometimes it's a mistake. Sometimes there's leverage. And sometimes these Americans are held for years waiting for some new administration to come in and offer sweeteners or waiting for new circumstances. This is what happened in Belarus. It's happened in Russia. And it could happen in Venezuela.

So, until we really put pressure on Maduro, what he's actually done in a way is make himself a greater target by detaining Americans. It's more reason to go after Maduro. This may backfire on him.

JIMENEZ: Well and the Trump administration hasn't been shy about saying that part of this pressure is to get Maduro out of -- out of office there. And I guess, to your point there, do you anticipate Maduro's regime ending based on how things have been laid out to this -- to this point? And if so, what would be the significance of that? CLARK: He's going to hang in there and hang in there, Omar. He's not

about to go anywhere. He's got a lot of strength there in his armed militias. Just in the popular strength, his popularity is still there, sufficient to put up a strong resistance to any American ground intervention. And as the international situation evolves, you'll see Russia and China trying to do a little bit more to support him and help him, to put pressure on the U.S. administration.

So, I don't think we're going to see a dramatic change in Venezuela anytime soon, but we are putting a lot of our military forces down there at a time when we've got a crisis emerging in Taiwan, we also have problems obviously in Ukraine.

JIMENEZ: And before we go, I did want to just get your take on the current situation in Ukraine. And the CIA recently assessed Ukraine was not targeting a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his allegations to President Trump that that was the case. But obviously the backdrop of all of this is the ongoing high- level attempts at diplomacy and peace. My question to you is, how do you view the current relationship between battlefield public messaging and diplomatic peace negotiations?

CLARK: The public messaging on the battlefield by Russia is designed to weaken Ukraine, weaken American support for Ukraine, and divide the Europeans. And so it really doesn't have that much relationship to what's happening on the battlefield. Now what's happening on the battlefield is strong Ukrainian resistance. But let's understand also that the major objective militarily for the Russians is to shut down Ukrainian traffic out of Odessa and the ports on the Black Sea. And so, their movements in Zaporizhzhia or at Odessa are worrisome indeed.

I think we have to keep our eyes on the military situation, Omar, because Putin really has no desire to end this conflict short of obtaining his objectives, which is all of Ukraine.

[08:45:05]

And so, he uses this diplomacy to stall, to divide allies, to separate us from our natural interests in Ukraine. And he's going to continue to throw out disinformation of things like efforts to attack his residence. By the way, that was a summer residence that he -- that was supposedly attacked, which he wasn't at. In any case, it's a pitiful attempt by Russia at disinformation. But we can expect to see more of that and hopefully the administration will stand very firm behind Ukraine with more support, more sanctions on Russia, enforcing those sanctions, getting funding to Ukraine. And I'd like to see a resumption of US. military assistance to Ukraine, especially in the air defense area.

JIMENEZ: A dynamic to watch moving forward, no doubt.

General Wesley Clark, appreciate the time and perspective.

All right, coming up for us, a new law taking effect aimed at safeguarding the mental health of young people. Why one state is limiting social media use for children. And the K-pop sensation BTS making their long-awaited return. When you can listen to their new album. We've got all that and more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:01]

JIMENEZ: An historic achievement for the city of Baltimore this morning. The city recording the lowest number of homicides in nearly 50 years. And homicides dropped more than 30 percent compared to last year. Non-fatal shootings also dropped almost 25 percent. And these numbers have been dropping since 2022.

I want to bring in the mayor of Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott.

Thank you for being here, just to take the time.

And just to review, to end 2025, murders down over 30 percent compared to last year. Over the past five years, murders and shootings down almost 60 percent. And, yes, there was a spike everywhere in 2020, but this brings the city to its fewest murders in almost 50 years.

What is the playbook here?

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, BALTIMORE: Well, listen, and for us, Omar, we didn't have a spike during Covid. What we decided to do in Baltimore is what so many cities have done in the past and that we're really focused on, is understanding that we needed a comprehensive approach to reducing gun violence through a lens of public health because gun violence is a public health issue and focusing on all of the things, not one of the things, right? We have our group violence reduction strategy where we focus our police on the small groups of folks who are most likely to be the victim or perpetrator of gun violence. And we give some folks opportunities. They get a letter from me telling them to change their life or else. We give those folks help. And when you think about the folks that have taken that help, over 90 percent of them have not recidivate. Over 90 percent of them have not been revictimized.

But we don't just stop there. That work goes alongside the work that our police officers do every day, seizing over 2,400 guns last year. I worked to go after gun companies and gun stores, like Polymer 80 and Hanover Armory that were fueling guns on our street. And then we also have our historic investments into community violence intervention through Safe Streets, through We Are Us, through the Peace Team, our hospital-based responders, our community groups and organizations like Challenge to Change and Ten Day of Family. In Baltimore, we're doing all of the things.

Our police are making great solid cases for our attorney general, our state's attorney, and even our U.S. attorney here to prosecute. Everyone is working together. This progress that we've made is for all of Baltimore to acknowledge. We're not celebrating. We have a lot of work to do. A lot of work yet remains. But we have to acknowledge where we are and where we are today and understand that this is Baltimore's victory and we're showing folks how to reduce violence the right way.

JIMENEZ: You know, even with these drops, as you mentioned, you know, it's still people being killed. And I know one life is too many. But then when you when you look at the crime rates, even with these decreases, the city is still in that upper echelon, at least higher than New York City and Chicago. And I wonder, we've talked about the policy initiatives you all have undertaken, but do you get the sense that there is a shift in culture? If so, how do you shift that culture?

SCOTT: Well, you shift that culture by working with the community. As I always say, the people closest to the problem are going to be closest to the solution. That's why community violence intervention is such an important part of this comprehensive violence prevention plan that I laid out five years ago, Omar. We said that we were going to reduce gun violence by 15 percent each year. We've been blowing that number out of the water.

But one of our Safe Streets workers said last month that when asked by Justin Fenton (ph), who you know, what does she think is one of the big drivers? She said just that, it's a shift in the culture. And you cannot shift the culture without the people. And that's how we're shifting the culture. People are buying into this strategy because it's not the mayor's strategy, it is Baltimore's strategy. It was built with Baltimoreans in every part of the city. People working together to change the culture and do the most important thing that a community can do, and that's save lives.

JIMENEZ: And while this is part of a nationwide trend where violent crime is on pace for major decreases compared to last year, it's been especially significant there in Baltimore.

Mayor Scott, I got to leave the conversation there, but I appreciate you being here this morning. Happy New Year.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Omar.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Omar.

In Amsterdam, an historic church destroyed that was built more than 150 years ago. It caught fire. You can see the flames there after midnight on New Year's Day. It was built back in 1872. Police are investigating the cause of the fire. But the Netherlands traditionally does ring in the new year with fireworks, like many other places. It causes hundreds of injuries and damage every year. Two separate fireworks accidents this year killed a man and a child there.

All right, don't call it a comeback. The global K-pop phenomenon BTS is making their highly anticipated return. The band will release their first album in four years. BTS has been on hiatus while the members fulfilled their mandatory South Korean military service. The new album set to drop in March.

And this morning fire investigators in Missouri say a local police chief accidentally started a fire at a nursing home.

[08:55:02]

The police chief in Vienna, Missouri, is seen on surveillance video responding to an accidentally -- accidental 911 call at that facility. Investigators say he smoked a cigarette and then placed it in a planter. About 90 minutes later, well, you can see the result. Video showing a small fire ignite in the planter, which then spreads to the building. The police chief later told investigators that he tried to put the cigarette out before leaving. Thankfully, no one was hurt in that fire.

All right, now to a story that a lot of parents are going to want to pay attention to, a big change for families in Virginia. A new social media law is now in effect there, designed to get children to spend less time on their phone apps. It limits anyone under 16 to an hour a day on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat unless a parent decides otherwise. Supporters say it's part of a growing effort to protect children from the stress and addictive nature of social media. It's already facing, though, legal challenges from, as you might imagine, tech groups who argue that it goes too far.

Joining me now, Josephine Hunt. She's an educational leader in youth mental health prevention.

I want to look at this because that's one state doing something. California has done something. People are doing this piecemeal. But what are you seeing happen to young people when it comes to the use of social media in schools. You're an educator, you're a parent.

JOSEPHINE HUNT, EDUCATIONAL LEADER AND TEACHER MENTOR, BERGEN CO. PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NEW JERSEY: Yes. Yes. As an educator for over 22 years, as well as a parent of three daughters in their 20s, absolutely there's been a huge epidemic now of mental health crisis where our children and students are just really suffering from a lot of frustration, anxiety and tension. Just a lot of demands are coming on to them, especially through social media.

SIDNER: What do you -- what do you see happening to them? Is there a sense of, I want to be like the people I see on Instagram, or is it bullying? Is it, you know, seeing other friends do things that they're not involved with? What is the crux of some of the anxiety that's been caused by constantly checking into these social media apps?

HUNT: Well, it's typically just being turned on all the time, right, and the blue light as well. And so that's a lot of emotional exhaustion. And so, when we're expecting our students at schools or even our children at home to be emotionally regulated, it's very difficult if they're being very emotionally exhausted by that kind of work on the screens.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you, there's a growing discussion about whether schools themselves are contributing to student distress. From your perspective, how has the learning environment changed for kids?

HUNT: Tremendously I mean I teach for public schools. And so -- and I'm a big proponent of it. And they are very progressive and forward thinking and responsibly cultural -- culturally responsible for students. We're really looking at where our students are developmentally so that we can meet them, especially with the phones. They're getting pockets now where students have to put their phones away so that they're not as distracted.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean that -- it's a really hard thing. I mean we talk about students, but adults are distracted with their phones.

HUNT: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: We're no different in many ways. You've said that schools are increasingly taking a fix the child mindset. What do you mean by that?

HUNT: So, we try to sometimes fit our students and children into these molds that we really should be considering of doing it the other way around. So, of course, we have to have standards and benchmarks but looking at where our students are and who we're teaching in front of us and then adapting it to meet their needs is probably best.

SIDNER: I have, you know, a question that, you know, parents might need some advice on, you know, how to create a resilient child. What you need to do to try to teach your children how to deal with the stresses in life, including how to deal with social media and the constant stresses. As you say, they're constantly sort of like awake trying to deal with this emotionally at the same time.

HUNT: Well, Jonathan Height (ph) says it really well. We over parent our children and students in the real world, but under parent our children and students in the virtual world. And the virtual world is way more dangerous than the real world. And we sometimes think otherwise.

And so, for parents and educators, we've really have been working a lot on productive struggle. And so, allowing our students to feel discomfort with challenges and so forth. It's been great because with public schools, like our programs that we're actually implementing and teaching our kids, they're are actually components that teach teachers of that -- to anticipate students to show frustration and anxiety in certain subjects and how to proactively and preventatively handle that. Because as a reactive response, it's very inefficient.

SIDNER: Yes, I think it's really interesting that you say distress. We all are going to experience it. So, how to deal with that needs to be taught so that the students can get through life better and easier.

Thank you so much for being here, Josephine Hunt. I do appreciate you coming on. It was helpful.

HUNT: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

SIDNER: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

[09:00:06]

JIMENEZ: Chaos, terror, grief in Switzerland after