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Marco Rubio Says Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Sold to Fund Government Services There; Shutdown Looms as Democrats Push for DHS Reform, Threaten Funding; Growing Calls for Kristi Noem to Resign or Be Impeached; Police Believe Substance Sprayed on Ilhan Omar Was Apple Cider Vinegar; FBI Serving Warrant at Fulton County Elections Office as It Investigates Alleged Voter Fraud; V.A. Imposes Near-total Abortion Ban. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 28, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN, (D-NH) RANKING MEMBER, SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: -- be audited?

MARCO RUBIO, (R) UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Correct. Well, the audit will be on the expenditures. At the front end, we'll tell them this is what the money can be spent on. Again, I'm not talking about all the other revenues the Venezuelan government may have. We are talking about the revenues from the sanctioned oil.

At the front end, we will say this is what the allowable expenses are, and then they will agree to fund as part of the overall cost, they will pay and fund an audit system acceptable to us to ensure that that's how the money was spent.

SHAHEEN: And can you report to this Committee once that audit system is set up?

RUBIO: Oh, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Now, he said there are a few options being discussed for what that auditing is actually going to look like. But I do think it's notable that he's saying that this is a short-term solution.

But he also said that the Qatari offshore bank account is being used because there are creditors in the United States who want these Venezuelan revenues right now because they're owed money by the Venezuelan government. By keeping it an offshore account, those U.S. creditors don't have access to it. We'll have to watch and see how long this short-term solution actually exists, given that that issue is clearly not going away anytime soon.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": That is a really interesting point. And he is also meeting today with Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan Opposition Leader who gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump. What's the expectation of this meeting?

ATWOOD: We don't know exactly what they're sitting down to discuss, but it is noteworthy that she just met with President Trump and Marco Rubio just a few weeks ago. And Rubio was asked by lawmakers today what he made of Trump's assessment that Machado doesn't have the respect or support within Venezuela to lead the country. And Rubio didn't speak to the concept that she doesn't have the respect.

But he did say, listen, when it comes to the support that's needed to lead the country right now, it is the people who have been controlled by the regime who are actually in control of the police and the forces in the country, the revenues in the country. So, they really need to be the one to stabilize the country.

He said the vision is to get the country stabilized, so that it can have a future that includes Machado. But we'll have to watch and see how long this takes. He really didn't give any specific time frames other than to say things need to look different in the next few months.

KEILAR: How long does that take? How long does the Qatari bank account take?

ATWOOD: Yeah.

KEILAR: A lot of how long does it take. All right, Kylie, I would thank you so much for that reporting. And ahead, Senate Democrats are vowing to block a government spending package unless changes are made to immigration enforcement. Will that lead to government shutdown? We'll talk about it next.

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[13:36:44]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The federal government is now inching closer to a partial shutdown on Friday as Senate Democrats draw a hard line on Homeland Security funding. This follows the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.

Republicans are split on whether to allow Democrats to change the bill, which would force the House to return to session and set up what would be a tricky vote among lawmakers. Top Democrats and some moderate Republicans are also urging President Trump to fire Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, citing failures in Minnesota.

Joining us now to discuss is Republican Congressman, Kevin Kiley of California. Congressman, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. There are a bipartisan group of lawmakers that have called on the president to fire Noem. I wonder if you personally have confidence in her right now as DHS Secretary.

REP. KEVIN KILEY, (R-CA): Well, ultimately, it's the president's choice. My role is to try to steer policy in the direction that I think is best for the country, whoever the secretary is. And so, the president is standing by her right now. And so given that, I'm going to try to make sure that we can bring the temperature down in this whole situation and try to find the common ground that we need to prevent further tragedies like we've seen from happening.

SANCHEZ: And so the question of bringing the temperature down, some of her comments have drawn scrutiny. She essentially misrepresented what happened to Alex Pretti, if she relied on inaccurate reports as has been suggested from the field or from Stephen Miller or Gregory Bovino or anyone else, who should be held accountable for putting out that view, that false impression of what happened?

KILEY: Yeah, well, that's why we need a full and transparent and independent investigation. And I think that's what you're going to see here. And I know that the officers involved have been placed on leave. Of course, the president has rejected some of the initial characterizations that came out himself. He's now sent Tom Homan to oversee the situation in Minnesota.

And I think you're seeing folks on both sides try to steer this in the right direction, saying let's bring the temperature down. We already had reforms, by the way, in the existing Homeland Security Bill when it came to body cams, when it came to funding for interactions with the public.

But I do think that an important part of that is figuring out how we can have a more orderly transfer of custody for the folks that everyone on both sides agree ought to be the highest priority with immigration enforcement. And that's those who are here illegally and have committed crimes and pose a threat to public safety.

And when you have jurisdictions like Minneapolis or in California, where the state law is one that impedes federal immigration enforcement in a way that forces these operations to take place in the community, that unfortunately increases their risk.

And so, I think that there's plenty of common ground that we can try to find here in order to allow immigration enforcement to proceed in an orderly, in a standard way, in a way that protects public safety as it has through every administration in modern history.

SANCHEZ: Would you have confidence in this DOJ to lead that full and impartial investigation, given some of the comments that we've seen even from the FBI director shortly after the shooting took place?

[13:40:00]

KILEY: Well, I think you're going to see accountability and scrutiny from a lot of different angles. And so, we, for example, have an oversight hearing coming up on Capitol Hill that my colleague, Andrew Garbarino, the Head of the Homeland Security Committee, has called where you're going to have all of the different agency heads that have a connection to immigration enforcement that are going to come in. Folks on both sides of the aisle will be able to ask questions.

And then when it comes to the investigation of this particular incident, I want to see maximum transparency so that the public is ultimately able to see how the conclusions that they reach are reached and people are able to judge for themselves.

SANCHEZ: I wonder, Congressman, if you think Republicans should negotiate changes to ICE policy in order to keep the government funded.

KILEY: Well, I have a big problem with leveraging a government shutdown at the last moment here, when we had already bipartisan agreement on these spending bills. And as I mentioned, the Homeland Security Bill itself, number one, had bipartisan support. And number two, did have some reforms and some funding for things like body cams and for training.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: For example, Congressman, on the question of body cameras, for example, there may have been guidelines in the law attached to funding. But throughout the last year, we've seen issues that were adjudicated in court where ICE agents, federal agents, were refusing to wear body cameras. So it may be in the law currently, but it isn't necessarily being carried out.

So I wonder if that should be looked at, again, if you're willing to negotiate with Democrats on that to keep the government funded.

KILEY: Yeah, absolutely. I think that there's plenty of room for negotiation and common ground here when it comes to reforms, when it comes to transparency, when it comes to training. And I think on the other side of that, we want to try to rein in some of these sanctuary policies that even Alejandro Mayorkas, not exactly a paragon of border security, said were very harmful when I had the chance to question him before the House Judiciary Committee a couple of years ago.

So I think that, there's plenty of common ground we can find there, here in order to protect officers, to protect Americans, protect the public, protect the right to protest and allow immigration enforcement to proceed. I'm not sure that holding up funding for TSA, as well as the immigration agencies, causing folks to miss paychecks and shutting down the government again is the right way to go about that. But I do think we can find a deal here.

SANCHEZ: Lastly, Congressman, you spoke about protecting a number of different groups. I did want to ask you about protection for members of Congress and get your reaction to President Trump suggesting that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar probably had herself sprayed.

This is according to an interview he did with ABC News. She was hit with this unknown substance. We're showing video of it now. It turned out to be apple cider vinegar. Fortunately, not something that could have truly harmed her health. Do you think it's hypocritical for the president to suggest after two assassination attempts on his life, after the murder of Charlie Kirk, that the political rhetoric needs to be toned down as he continuously, personally attacks this sitting member of Congress this way?

KILEY: I'll be honest. I didn't hear the president's remarks. But I think that all of us are very concerned about the rise in threats against lawmakers, against our officers who are out enforcing immigration law or our law enforcement officers. We've seen this huge increase in threats.

And I do think it's something that we all need to take very seriously. If we have threats materialize against people who are engaged in public service, then that's a threat to the very foundation of our system of government. And it certainly will deter capable people from wanting to serve in the first place.

So I do think that's something we need to treat with the utmost seriousness.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Kevin Kiley, we have to leave the conversation there. We do appreciate your time.

KILEY: You bet. Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course. We're following some Breaking News right now out of Fulton County, Georgia. The FBI there says it is serving a warrant at an elections office. Some brand new reporting when we come back. Don't go anywhere.

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[13:48:47]

SANCHEZ: We're following Breaking News out of Fulton County, Georgia. That's where the FBI says it is serving a warrant at an elections office.

KEILAR: CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent, Paula Reid is with us now. Paula, what are you learning about this?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, here's what we know as of right now. The FBI confirming that this search is connected to an ongoing investigation. And a source tells CNN that this is part of an effort by the Justice Department to seize election records and pursue allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Now, the metro Atlanta area is, of course, the centerpiece of President Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. The Justice Department has previously sued the county to try to obtain these records. That litigation is ongoing.

Now, another important piece of context here is that in the first Trump administration, under then Attorney General Bill Barr, the Trump Justice Department looked into these allegations and did not find enough evidence to pursue a full-blown investigation. But here, the second Trump Justice Department is back and serving the search warrant. That is what we know as of now. I think also important to point out, President Trump has a lot of history, legal history in this county.

[13:50:00]

Back in 2003, the district attorney filed charges against then former President Trump and 18 others for their alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Eventually, that county no longer had that case. It was taken away from them because the District Attorney, Fani Willis had a romantic relationship with the prosecutor overseeing that case. That gave what the court said was an appearance of impropriety.

So, that county no longer overseeing that case. But clearly, President Trump has a lot of history in this county. And as we get more details about exactly what the FBI is looking for, we will update you then.

KEILAR: All right, Paula Reid, we'll stay tuned for that. Thank you.

Still ahead, doctors warning a near total abortion ban quietly enacted at the V.A. earlier this month could put women's lives at risk. And we're just minutes away from a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve. We'll bring that to you live. Stay with us.

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[13:55:30]

KEILAR: Veterans Affairs Secretary, Doug Collins is on Capitol Hill today facing lawmakers for the first time since a new abortion policy at the V.A. quietly went into effect on New Year's Eve.

SANCHEZ: It's a near total abortion ban that doesn't allow concessions for rape or incest. Opponents say the leaves veterans with fewer options than women in federal prison. CNN's Brian Todd is here to tell us more about the new restrictions. Brian, why did the V.A. change the policy and are there any instances in which the procedure would be allowed?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very few instances, Boris and Brianna. They're not really saying why they changed this policy, but as you just mentioned, this is a near total ban on abortion and abortion counseling as well at the V.A. Under these new V.A. rules, abortions are even in the cases of rape, incest, and in some cases, when the health of the mother is at risk. Of course, this applies to women veterans who go through the V.A. system for reproductive care.

Under the new V.A. rules, abortions will only be authorized by the V.A. in cases of ectopic pregnancies, that's when a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, in the cases of miscarriages, or if a doctor determines that the mother's life is endangered if she carries the fetus to term. We've spoken to women veterans and reproductive rights groups who are outraged at this. One such women's veteran is Lauren Feringa.

She's a former army combat medic who herself has gone through the V.A. to get abortions. This is what she told us, quote, "This is all insane. Women have to be the only authority over what goes on with their bodies. If you're not going to provide care for a woman who's been raped, it seems dystopian."

With this rule, guys, incredibly enough, female veterans who go through the V.A. system for abortion services now have less access to it than female inmates who are incarcerated in U.S. federal prisons. Female inmates who are in federal prisons are allowed abortions in the case of rape and incest. Female veterans who go through the V.A. are not.

We did reach out, of course, to the V.A. for comment on this. Peter Kasperowicz, the Press Secretary of the V.A., said this, quote, "The Department of Justice issued an opinion that states the V.A. is not legally authorized to provide abortions." That opinion was handed down on December 18th. But Peter Kasperowicz did not, guys, elaborate on why they removed rape and incest as instances in which a woman can seek an abortion through the V.A.

KEILAR: Did these reproductive rights groups or other groups as well, veterans advocates, see this coming?

TODD: They didn't really see it coming and they are outraged. Brianna, you have done a lot of reporting on military sexual trauma, some great reporting in recent months on these very severe cases of it. That's what they're worried about, these women's rights and reproductive groups. They're really worried about the instances of women in the military who suffer military sexual trauma.

What is their recourse going to be if they need the V.A. to get an abortion? Jackie Wang, she's with the National Women's Law Center, she said this, quote, "When we think of the number of women veterans who have suffered military sexual trauma, it's unconscionable that the administration would implement a policy like this." It is really concerning with women's rights and reproductive groups.

SANCHEZ: Secretary Collins is set to be grilled by some Senate lawmakers in a matter of hours, and meantime, there are a number of lawmakers moving toward enacting legislation to change this policy, right? Tell us about that.

TODD: That's right. There's a Congresswoman, Julia Brownley, who's leaving office soon. She's introduced a bill that would basically add abortion and abortion counseling back into the rules. That's unlikely to pass because the Democrats don't have the power to do it. Similar effort in the Senate, Senators Richard Blumenthal, he's of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

Senator Patty Murray and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn all this. But again, the Democrats really don't have the power to do it.

KEILAR: That's right. Brian Todd, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Amazon has announced it is laying off another 16,000 employees. It's the company's second round of large-scale job cuts in just three months, and it's part of a larger push to take advantage of efficiency gains from A.I. and in turn reduce its workforce.

Future staff reductions were not ruled out, but Amazon says waves of layoffs every few months won't become what it calls the new rhythm. Also a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed, wounded, or gone missing in the war with Ukraine -- 1.2 million. It's the highest casualty rate for a major military power since World War II.

Overnight, Russia continued its deadly strikes across Ukraine, hitting a civilian train in the northeastern Kharkiv region. They killed at least five people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is describing the attack as an act of terrorism.

SANCHEZ: And outrage in Italy growing over a U.S. plan to deploy ICE agents to assist security --