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Speaker Johnson Says Venezuela Operation is Not a Regime Change; Trump issues Veiled Threats, Implies Other Countries Could Be Next; DHS: Hilton Canceled Agen Hotel Reservations in Minneapolis; Corporation for Public Broadcasting Shuts Down After Funding Cuts. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 06, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Next, Homeland Security versus Hilton. The government accuses the hotel chain of refusing to house ICE agents. Some 2,000 could be headed to a key location soon.

And then pulled from a fire escape with the home ablaze. And it's all caught on camera.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, gunfire erupting near Venezuela's presidential palace in the capital of Caracas. Venezuelan officials, you can hear the sound there, say police opened fire after drones were spotted flying without permission. Though there is some word this morning that this may have been a misunderstanding.

It comes, of course, just days after the U.S. military launched an operation that took out Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and it speaks to the confusion over who is now running the country. Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, says she is planning to return home as soon as possible. She is also praising Trump and says she would give him the Nobel Peace Prize that she won. and that he campaigned for.

But the president has said Machado lacks the respect to lead the country. Ultimately, he says he is in charge there. Today, the president will huddle with House Republicans at a closed door retreat as Democrats accuse him of having no plan for Venezuela.

Joining me now, we're CNN senior political commentator Adam Kinzinger and CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. Adam, first to you, you've been largely supportive of the idea of the U.S. move against Maduro and his oppressive regime. He has not, President Trump, talked to the leader of the opposition, Maria Machado, since the raid took place. Now Trump is still insisting that the U.S. -- he is in charge of Venezuela as Maduro's vice president was sworn in as president. Do you understand who's in charge here and what's going on?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, and neither does Donald Trump, neither does the administration. They don't know. What was it? I think the Washington Post reported yesterday that a source said the reason the opposition leader is not going to be put in charge is because she won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Donald Trump wanted her to give it to him.

I mean, if we are doing foreign policy on the basis of a 12-year-old's hurt feelings, I mean, America should be very worried about that. So to the extent I'm supportive of Maduro being captured and tried, sure, he is a terrible man, but you'll need to have a post-game. The post- game is not simply, we're going to leave the same people in charge, or we're going to work with our version of Maduro if they allow us to have access to oil, and this is the problem, is the administration has not told the American people. Certainly, they haven't told Congress.

Evidently, they did tell oil executives prior, though, what the plan is, and I think that should concern most Americans, to be quite honest with you.

SIDNER: David, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, had an explanation for what he says is going on and how the U.S. is going to have the country go forward for the time being. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: This is not a regime change. This is a demand for a change of behavior by a regime. We have a way of persuasion because their oil exports, as you know, have been ceased. And I think that will bring the country to a new governance in very short order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, again, he says, we're not talking about regime change here. We're going to ask the current regime in place to make changes. Does this make sense to you?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Sara, this is the ultimate example of coercive diplomacy. And I think some might even go as far as saying that it's a coercive if virtual occupation. We don't have American troops on the ground right now.

And so it is not a classic takeover of a country the way the USA occupied Japan or even Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But it does have elements of that, which is to say that we've got a U.S. military force, a huge armada that is sitting right off the coast still. And the president has made it clear he will come back in again if the government doesn't do his bidding.

And I think as Adam pointed out here, what the intent here is to do is to say, just show us a pathway in which American companies can come in, get repaid for facilities that were nationalized and then develop and profit from the oil. And the president has said that the Venezuelans, of course, will also profit.

[08:05:00] But he hasn't laid out what that plan is. And to many Venezuelans who supported getting rid of Maduro, I think you could see significant opposition to the idea that the United States is essentially telling them how they will use their most precious resource.

SIDNER: The president made clear that he may not stop at Venezuela. He mentioned Colombia, he mentioned Cuba, and very specifically, Greenland, saying he wants it. His closest advisor, Stephen Miller, talking to our Jake Topper, said, quote, obviously, Greenland needs to be part of the U.S. Adam, what does this signal to you?

KINZINGER: That was one of the most psychotic interviews I've ever seen, by the way. I mean, it just really was disconcerting. Look at it. Obviously, Donald Trump has made it clear that the Western Hemisphere is America's. It's his, right?

And this is a danger when you talk about, then what's the future of Russia? Is he going to allow them to kind of go into Ukraine? What does this say to China and Taiwan?

But the thing that concerns me is, first off, Colombia. You may not love the current president of Colombia. I'm not a huge fan of his, but Colombia is a historic ally of the United States. We have worked for decades in Colombia using our special forces, the Green Berets, to actually go after drug cartels and drug producers there to great success. That's one way to flush that one completely down the toilet.

And then Greenland obviously is part of Denmark, a NATO ally. What happens if we attack them? It is important for Americans to understand the United States is not restricted in any way in Greenland. It's not like we have real concerns with Russian subs up there, so we try to do something in Denmark tells us, no, we can pretty much do whatever we want in Greenland. So this is an exercise in pride.

If we want to try to buy Greenland from Denmark, that's acceptable or whatever. But this idea of a military takeover, it's psycho. And quite honestly, it's very dangerous for the future of NATO and general security.

SIDNER: David, I am curious when you see the pronouncements being made about other countries after seeing what happened. in Venezuela, does this now give permission to countries like China and Russia to act accordingly?

SANGER: You know, I think that the reaction for both Xi Jinping in China and Vladimir Putin in Russia will be twofold. The first is they have to be a little bit humbled by the precision of the operation that got Maduro out. I'm not sure, I actually think the administration was right, it's not clear any other power could have done that.

At the same time, they have to love the precedent, right? If the arguments that the U.S. has made about Venezuela have some significant parallels to the arguments that President Putin made about the need for Russia to take over Ukraine -- although he maintained that Ukraine had been formerly, you know, previously part of Russia. And for Xi Jinping, who regards Taiwan as an outlaw province, again, you've provided a reason.

And the president has not yet come out and said, here's why this is different. And here's why dictators around the world should not believe that merely power rules. And that was the most striking part, I thought, of the conversation that Stephen Miller had with Jake Tapper, which is it was essentially an argument that we are in a world, again, like the late 1800s, where power makes the difference and the only difference.

SIDNER: Yes, an imperialist sort of mentality. Adam Kinzinger, David Sanger, thank you both. I do appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House now announcing plans to send 2,000 federal agents to Minnesota as the Department of Homeland Security is now accusing a major hotel chain of refusing service to ICE agents.

And a major overhaul setting in now to childhood vaccines all across America. Recommendations for those shots. The number of shots recommended for kids in the U.S. now slashed. We've a new update and list and what it means ahead.

New AI-powered robots that can cook and clean, yes please, how they may change the way that we live?

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, the Department of Homeland Security is accusing the Hilton Hotel chain of refusing service to agents by canceling their room reservations in Minneapolis. This comes as the agency is preparing for an escalated immigration enforcement there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS, DHS: We are seeing a widespread campaign, primarily by Hilton Hotels, to try and bar our law enforcement from being on the ground. What's happening is we were seeing that our law enforcement officers, when they were using their government e-mails to try and get a government rate for their rooms, they were being turned away, told that they could not get a room at these Hilton Hotels.

The hotels were Googling the names of the guests, finding out that they were involved with immigration enforcement work and saying that they couldn't stay there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's go to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez for the latest on this. Priscilla, what are you learning?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is happening as the Department of Homeland Security is surging federal agents to Minnesota, 2,000 or around 2,000 in total. That is a much bigger presence there than they had previously. And for those reasons, with all of these agents deploying from all over the country, they're having to stay at local hotels. And that is where all of this began.

[08:15:00]

As you heard there from Homeland Security spokesman, woman, Tricia McLaughlin, what occurred was that when there were federal agents who were booking hotels with their government e-mails, they received an e- mail that has been shared by the Department of Homeland Security, partially redacted, from a Hilton.com address that said in part this -- and let me quote it here.

"We have noticed an influx of gov reservations made today that have been for DHS and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property. If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation."

Now this property is in Lakeville and that property is owned and operated by Ever Peak Hospitality and they also released a statement and said this incident did not align with their policy and that they would be in touch with the impacted guests. We also got a statement from Hilton and I'll read that to you.

It said quote, "We have been in direct contact with the hotel and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies." So echoing there. "They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter and are contacting impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. Hilton's position is clear, our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination."

Now, of course, this incident has really blown up in that it has gained a lot of traction on -- among many circles, including my own sources, about what happened here. There's confusion around why they were denied, but now Hilton and this particular property says they are trying to resolve the matter. And again, John, the administration has been playing -- or has been placing additional emphasis on Minnesota and its Somali community, which is also ensnared in this welfare fraud scandal.

So this is going to escalate in the coming days, more specifically, the immigration enforcement. And I'm told that it will not only include the Somali community, but any undocumented immigrants living in the state.

BERMAN: In other words, we will be hearing from this region again very, very soon. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much for reporting on this. Appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: The agency that helps fund public broadcasting in the United States votes to shut itself down. What this now could mean for NPR and PBS and more.

And here is a quote for you. The pack is expanding. There are three new dog breeds now to tell you about.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: And a stunningly fast end of an era for public media. After nearly 60 years, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has voted to dissolve itself, forced to take the drastic measure after the Republican-held Congress voted to defund it at the behest of Donald Trump. The private agency has steered federal funding to PBS, NPR, and hundreds of public television and radio stations across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sesame Street is brought to you by a Ready to Learn television cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education through the Public Broadcasting Service, and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Many of us grew up listening to that. CNN chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, joining me now. What does this mean for PBS television, for radio as well?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, this is a really concrete example, you know, Project 2025. There was lots of talk about Project 2025 before the election, before Trump's reelection. Well, this is a concrete example of Project 2025 laying out a vision for the Trump administration and then Republicans following through by the end of that year.

And now, later this month, the dissolving of public media's financing arm will take effect. PBS and NPR and local stations across the country have been preparing for this moment for several months because the defunding of public media happened by President Trump and by congressional Republicans last summer. So this is now taking effect. But there was some talk, even up until last month, about whether the Corporation for Republican Broadcasting would try to stay alive in some form, would try to basically go into hibernation so that it could be brought back to life if Democrats take control of Congress and then start to refund public media.

But no, the corporation says it's not going to do that, it is dissolving altogether. And partly, here's why, here's what Patricia Harrison, the CPB president said in a statement. She said, quote, "CPB's final act is to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks."

So it becomes a question now about whether federal funding is ever possible in the future. I mentioned this new gambit, this new hope that Democrats will regain power in Congress and that the Democrats will choose in the future to send some money toward local TV and radio stations. But if Democrats or maybe some Republicans someday in the future decide to do that, they're going to have to do it in some new way because there won't be this national governing body to go ahead and disperse the money.

Here's what Ruby Calvert, the head of the CPB's board, said in a statement about this moment. She said, "Even at this moment, I'm convinced that public media will survive and that a new Congress will address public media's role in our country, because it is critical to our children's education, our history, culture, and democracy to do so."

As in so many political arguments, the two sides mostly talked past each other during this debate about publicly funded media. Supporters and Democrats basically said that it was important for children, important for the country. Republicans accused PBS and NPR of being biased. And so that's where things stand now. These outlets are still online. These stations are mostly still operating, but they now have a financial hit. And some of them say it's more important than ever to get viewer and listener donations to stay alive.

SIDNER: Right. And some of them are very small areas. They serve a population that doesn't have a lot of access. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that reporting this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Some good stuff for you this morning. Arkansas has rolled out a new tool aimed at making traffic stops safer for people with autism and people with mental illness.

[08:25:00]

It's called the blue and green envelope program, an idea designed to prevent confusion in moments that can quickly escalate and turn stressful. The blue envelope is for people with autism. The green is for those with mental illness. The idea is the driver hands the envelope to an officer when they are stopped, and that then allows the officer to adjust his or her approach to that driver.

For Danny Graham, whose son has autism, this feels like, according to him, a layer of new protection for his child out on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY GRAHAM, SON HAS AUTISM: I just think the more education everybody involved has, the better off it'll be. But I think just it's just just a safety issue for all parties involved.

There's been autistic People tased because they're acting quirky and and no fault of the policeman thinking that, hey, this person may be on drugs or whatever. He's not complying. He's acting irrational.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Seems so simple and so easy and so smart. Anyone can pick up these envelopes at a state revenue office in Arkansas -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, simple, but super thoughtful too --

BOLDUAN: Right.

BERMAN: -- impressive.

BOLDUAN: Right.

BERMAN: All right, a troop buildup along the Venezuelan border as tensions with the U.S. mount.

An SUV drives straight into a restaurant during dinner. New details on what happened to the people inside.

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