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Conservative Bloc Wins German Election; Federal Employees Need to Justify Jobs or Face Dismissal; Dan Bongino Named as Deputy FBI Director; Zelenskyy Ready to Resign; Vatican: Pope Still Critical, Shows "Mild" Kidney Failure; Republican Lawmakers Face Voters Angry About Government Overhaul; Mine Workers Tell CNN Elon Musk Claims Are False. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 24, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, Germany's conservative opposition comes out on top in elections with a new plan for relations with the United States. Details plus a look at how the far right did.

Confusion and chaos in federal agencies across the U.S. government as they scramble to respond to an ominous e-mail ordered by Elon Musk.

And we're monitoring Pope Francis' health amid reports of a new problem he faces.

Good to have you with us. Well, the leader of Germany's opposition conservatives says his absolute priority is to strengthen Europe and achieve independence from the United States. Friedrich Merz is on track to become Germany's next chancellor after preliminary results show his center-right bloc will win the country's snap elections.

Sunday's vote also saw a strong second place showing for the far-right Alternative for Germany party followed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in third place. Merz says he plans to get straight to work on building a coalition government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREIDRICH MERZ, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION LEADER (through translation): It's important that we get a government for Germany that is able to act with a good majority in parliament because dear friends, the world outside is not waiting for us and it's not waiting for long lasting coalition negotiations. We need to be able to act very soon so that we can do the right things domestically so that we are present in Europe so that the world takes notice and sees that we have a reliable government in Germany.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: For the far-right Alternative for Germany, the results appear to have turned a party once on the fringes into a significant political force, though it will not be part of any coalition negotiations. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following all the developments from Berlin.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The German election has produced a clear-cut winner, but not necessarily a stable government going forward. The Christian Democratic Union under Friedrich Merz, their main candidate, has won the largest share of the vote by far. Friedrich Merz is a conservative who says that he wants to jumpstart the economy. He wants to get tougher on migration as well.

At the same time, this is a devastating defeat for the Social Democrats, which so far have had the Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Social Democrats have acknowledged this defeat, one of the worst in the party's history, and Olaf Scholz has acknowledged it as well. But that's where the difficulties begin.

Now what has to happen is that a coalition to govern the country needs to be formed. Christian Democrats can't do that on their own. They need coalition partners. And as things stand right now, Friedrich Merz says he's not going to do that with the far-right AfD. He says that he's putting a firewall around them and will not cooperate with them or form a government with them either.

That leaves the Green Party and the Social Democrats. The big problem is that these parties all don't really see eye to eye on a lot of the main issues when it comes to migration, when it comes to the environment, in part also when it comes to the economy as well. So forming a government might be possible, but will it be a stable government? That's going to be the big question.

Voters here in this country though have spoken very clearly. They understand that this country has a lot of problems and they want those problems to be solved. The economy first and foremost, migration certainly as well, but the other thing that looms also here in Europe and certainly for one of the largest countries here in Europe is the war in Ukraine and how that is going to move forward in the future. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump is celebrating the election results in Germany and suggesting the opposition win signals a global shift toward conservative movements. He even linked the outcome to his own election win. In a social media post, Mr. Trump framed the result in Germany as a rejection of policies on immigration and energy, drawing parallels between that country and the United States.

[02:05:00]

Well, Donald Trump's push to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development has now kicked into high gear. The agency told 2,000 employees by e-mail Sunday they would be laid off just before midnight Eastern time, with most remaining USAID staff being put on administrative leave. And millions of other government workers are facing a new deadline that could cost them their jobs.

The Office of Personnel Management sent a mass e-mail demanding federal employees provide five bullet points detailing what they did on the job last week by 11:59 p.m. on Monday. The e-mail does not mention consequences, but Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency tweeted, "Workers who don't respond in time will be dismissed."

Well, several agencies including the FBI, the State Department and the Department of Defense are pushing back, directing their workers not to respond to the e-mail. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from the White House.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This e-mail that has been sent to all federal workers has injected a new layer of uncertainty into the federal workforce that had already been rattled by the first month of Trump's administration. And it's not just rank and file members of the federal workforce.

Now it also includes senior managers, including Trump appointees, who are trying to discern one, whether this e-mail that federal employees received over the weekend is legitimate, and two, what to guide their workers to do going forward. And I think this all really began when President Trump said on social media that he thought Elon Musk was doing a good job in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government, but that he wanted him to be more aggressive going forward.

Elon Musk followed that up with his own posts saying that federal workers would receive an e-mail asking them to recount their last week at work and saying if they didn't respond, they would be fired. A few hours later, federal employees started receiving those e-mails in their inboxes, asking them to list out five bullet points of what they did last week and respond no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday. And of course, that launched a whole amount of uncertainty into the federal workforce.

And what you saw on Sunday was a number of different agencies start to tell their workers not to respond. So, for example, at the Pentagon, a leader there sent an e-mail to the workforce that said the Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures. You saw something similar from Kash Patel, the new director at the FBI, who said, for now please pause any responses. And at the State Department, a senior undersecretary e-mailed the workforce there that said the State Department would respond on behalf of the agency to this e-mail.

So what you're starting to see is some daylight emerging between senior Trump officials at these agencies and Elon Musk and his DOGE department here at the White House, really for the first time. Really setting up what seems to be a standoff between some of these Trump officials and Musk to see exactly how far his power expands within the federal government.

I think what is unclear so far is whether Musk's assertion on social media that failure to reply to this e-mail will result in termination. What no one has been able to say is whether that threat is actually actionable. In fact, the leader of a federal union has said it might not be legal. He says that instead this is all intended to be cruel and disrespectful to federal workers and says what he reflects is the White House's utter disdain for the federal workforce.

You heard something similar from a Republican Senator on Sunday speaking to CBS. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it's like, please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people, these are real lives, these are mortgages. It's a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well. We can do both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So you hear John Curtis there telling Musk to inject some compassion into this effort. But I think at the end of the day, it's that lack of compassion that really is part of the goal here, ultimately to try and make the federal workforce such an unpleasant place to work for some of these workers that they resign on their own.

Already, President Trump has seen some success on this -- 75,000 federal workers taking a buyout offer, many thousands more already being laid off. Now federal workers contending with a new degree of certainty as they look to see how to respond to this new e-mail. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

[02:10:02]

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst. He joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So President Donald Trump wants billionaire Elon Musk to get more aggressive with his federal government cutbacks. What might that look like, given we're already seeing very aggressive moves?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, what we're seeing is not only sweeping reductions in personnel, but the virtual or complete shuttering of agencies that were authorized by Congress. And obviously, much of this will go through the courts. But you know, historically, the courts have trouble keeping up with an executive branch that is committed to going in a certain direction.

And certainly, we are seeing no willingness among Republicans in Congress to resist any of this. So the likelihood is that we're going to see some pretty significant rollbacks in the fatality of many federal agencies. And that is a long-term risk for the president and for Musk, because they are basically accumulating debts that they may have to pay off at some day in the form of events that Americans will be very uncomfortable about. I mean, if you make big cuts in food safety and you have outbreaks of

foodborne disease or you cut FAA officials and you have more incidents in the skies, there are going to be a lot of pointy questions from the public.

CHURCH: We are seeing chaos and uncertainty among government agencies after Musk's e-mail ultimatum to federal workers over the weekend. Some Trump appointees, in actual fact, in some of these agencies telling employees not to respond to Musk's mass e-mail. What's going on there? Could this signal an eminent standoff with Musk?

BROWNSTEIN: Now, it's extraordinary to see, you know, the officials at cabinet agencies basically telling subordinates not to respond to this. And in some case, different branches of the same department getting different advice. You know, I've seen reporting with National Security officials expressing concern that even if classified information is not shared in these e-mails that Musk has demanded, in effect telling federal workers to justify their position.

That simply accumulating the names of so many federal employees and their supervisors which you know, Musk insisted, had to be cc'd on the e-mails, accumulating all of that in one place was itself a security risk particularly for agencies to handle national security and intelligence.

So I think there's a lot to unfold on this, and it would not surprise me if we begin to see more Republicans who have, you know, generally, as we said, been very loathe to criticize or break from Trump on anything, expressing concern about this from the right, really, on a national security basis.

CHURCH: And why aren't the Democrats doing more to fight back and oppose Trump and Musk, blowing up federal government services and jobs?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Look, there is a genuine debate in the Democratic Party. I mean, you know, there was a view after Trump won the popular vote that they -- that it would be a mistake to reprise the tactics of 2017, the era of the resistance, and to fight him on every front. You know, Churchill like on the beaches in the alleys, and all of that, and then instead Democrats would be better off if they basically focused on one message above all, that Trump promised to solve your problems but if you look at his agenda what he's really doing is making his rich friends even richer and he's not doing anything to make your life easier.

There are too many things that Trump is doing that is threatening to too many Democratic constituents in for that matter, unnerving to too many independent voters for Democrats to simply Trump remain focused on this core issue, which they want to, you know, center in on the budget debate that's going to be happening next week in the House, arguing that Republicans are cutting programs that benefit the middle class, to fund tax cuts for the rich that historically has proven a powerful argument.

But I think what you are seeing in these town halls is not only pressure on Republicans, it's pressure on Democrats. And I think, if you look at the polling, the wide level of discontent among Democratic voters, about Democratic leaders, it's untenable for them to remain relatively recessed on some of these other issues while trying to focus their fire on that one central front. I suspect the pressure will be irresistible for Democrats if we do more on more issues sooner than later.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, many thanks as always, appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: President Donald Trump says Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and right-wing media personality will be FBI Deputy Director. In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump called Bongino a patriot with quote, "incredible love and passion for our country."

[02:15:06]

Bongino, a longtime Trump ally, thanked the President on X, this position does not require Senate confirmation.

Well, Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year. Why the Ukrainian president now says he would be willing to step aside under certain conditions. The latest, next.

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CHURCH: The heads of the European Union are now in Kyiv arriving just a short time ago to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Meantime in Washington, Emmanuel Macron hopes he can convince Donald Trump to include Europe in any deal to end the war. The French president is set to sit down with Trump in the hours ahead. Macron says he will warn him not to be weak in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also meet with Mr. Trump this week.

[02:19:59]

President Trump said on Friday that Macron and Starmer have not done anything to end the fighting.

Well, the U.S. President has also been slandering Ukraine's leader as a dictator, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's ready to step aside in the interest of his country. Here he is on Sunday at a news conference in Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): If it's about peace in Ukraine and you really want me to leave my position, I am ready to do that. Secondly, I can exchange it for NATO if there is such an opportunity. I'll do it immediately, without a long conversation about it. I am focused on Ukraine's security today and not in 20 years. I don't plan to be in power for decades. Therefore, that's my aim and my dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more from Kyiv.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's important to put a bit of context around the comments by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he would resign if it brought peace to Ukraine or if Ukraine became a NATO member. Firstly, Ukraine isn't likely to become a NATO member anytime soon. The U.S. has been set against it and of course they probably wouldn't get that membership while they were at war. So that's highly unlikely to happen.

Secondly, if Zelenskyy did step aside, well that wouldn't really bring peace necessarily. It would usher in elections or some anointed successor. I'm not even sure how that would even necessarily work. I think the chaos there would leave Ukraine probably further away from peace. So he's outlining circumstances that are probably quite remote, but I think it's a reflection of the awful week that's been had.

And Zelenskyy's desire not necessarily to cling on to power personally indefinitely. He sort of laughed when he was asked if he was offended by being called a dictator by President Donald Trump and said that if he was a dictator he'd be offended, but he's not so he wasn't. And I think this is really a sign of how the two men's relationship has begun to overshadow so many of the complex tasks between the United States and Ukraine that have urgently been on the table over the past week, particularly the rare earth minerals deal.

I asked the president himself whether or not he felt that if they failed to sign that, it could impact future USAID and also about his relationship with President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Do you think you can mend your relationship with President Trump? And secondly, have the American side spelt out to you what happens if you don't come to an agreement over this rare earth minerals deal in terms of what it means for USAID?

ZELENSKYY: As I said we want successful agreement and if we will understand each other with partners, I hope that it will be. We will sign this -- the first agreement or memo on which base we will prepare other documents. So I hope that it will not have influence on other steps of the United States and they will not cancel or stop or freeze any support especially military support to Ukraine. This is crucial for us.

WALSH: And the president?

ZELENSKYY: My relationship with President Trump? It never was in such best way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now the awkward laughter in the room there, I think a reflection of the ugly reality of what we're dealing with here, the free fall in relations between Trump and Zelenskyy has overshadowed so much this week. And in public, the two sides are so far apart it seems on this rare earth minerals deal. Zelenskyy rejecting the half trillion dollar demand from the Trump administration that appears to have been in earlier versions of the agreement.

It may still be in the current document under discussion. Negotiations indeed continue today. He rejects the notion that this previous aid was debt accrued by Ukraine, calling it grants. That's true. The Biden administration did not necessarily suggest the money would have to be repaid. But the current draft, as far as we know, publicly does not contain the security guarantees or promises of future aid that Ukraine so urgently needs.

So that, an enormous hurdle and one that, acrimony, frankly, we've seen on display in the past week between Trump and Zelenskyy, is certainly not helping. So, yes, awkward moments perhaps, a wry laugh from the Ukrainian president when asked about his relationship with Trump, but a reflection, I think, of the exceptionally complex and unprecedented times that we're in. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

CHURCH: Earlier CNN spoke with Russian opposition politician and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza. He says that as the U.S. brokers peace talks, President Trump is appeasing Russia's leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION POLITICAIN: It's pretty clear that there will be some sort of a negotiation leading to some sort of a settlement probably in the next few weeks. We've seen this from the very clear position of the American administration. But we are only talking about a temporary ceasefire agreement. This is not a peace agreement. Let's not fool ourselves.

Because the only real, just, and lasting peace would mean Ukraine reclaiming all of its lawful territory occupied by Putin's forces and returning to the recognized borders of 1991. It looks very unlikely this will happen now. Also, any real peace agreement will have to include security guarantees.

[02:25:00]

And there can be no security guarantees for Ukraine or actually from Europe as a whole, as long as Vladimir Putin's belligerent, aggressive and illegitimate regime, let's not forget this. We haven't had a free and fair election in Russia in 25 years. Putin is not a legitimate president. He is a usurper and a dictator.

And as long as he remains in the Kremlin, Ukraine's not going to be safe, Europe's not going to be safe, so the only way to actually secure peace, stability, security and democracy of the long term on the European continent is to have a democratic and peaceful Russia, to have a lawful, legitimately elected democratic government in Russia that would respect the rights and freedoms of our own people and that would abide by the civilized norms of international behavior. The only way to make Europe whole, free and at peace, as the phrase

goes, is with a democratic Russia. Only when that day comes, and it will, only then we can say that Ukraine is secure in its borders and that Europe as a whole is free and peaceful, and in fact that there's a guarantee of real peace in the international community. Only when there's a democratic Russia. will we have real peace, stability and security in our world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza speaking with CNN's Jessica Dean. Well, meantime, President Zelenskyy is praising the absolute heroism of his nation. Here's the video tribute he posted within the past hour to mark the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ZELENSKYY (translated through text): Three years of gratitude. Three years of support. Three years of unity. Three years of assistance. Thank you for these three years of us standing together in defense of our state and our people. Thank you for every battle, Ukraine has won. Thank you for every position that we -- all Ukrainians -- have secured. Thank you for your contribution to our shared future. Thank you to our warriors for their bravery -- you are the best in the world. Three years of full-scale war is a very long time, but the Ukrainian people have defended their right to independence and to a state of their own. Thank you all for your support.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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[02:31:34]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The Vatican says Pope Francis had a good night in the hospital, slept and is resting. That follows news that the pontiff is now experiencing mild kidney failure.

And while they say it is under control, it's another unwelcome health complication for the 88 year old. He's still in critical condition as he fights double pneumonia in hospital. The Vatican says he's still on oxygen but has not suffered another acute respiratory crisis, as he did on Saturday.

While he missed delivering his second straight angelus prayer Sunday, Pope Francis did take part in holy mass inside the medical center, joined by those who are caring for him.

Well, Catholics around the world are, of course, anxiously awaiting updates on the pope's health. Our Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Sunday mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where concerns for the popes health are center stage, even as he remains in a Rome hospital battling double pneumonia.

ARCHBISHOP RINO FISICHELLA: We feel Pope Francis close to us, even though he is in a hospital bed. We feel his presence among us in this compels us to make our prayer even stronger and more intense, so that the Lord may support him in this time of trial and illness.

LAMB: The faithful have been gathering outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital, keeping vigil underneath the statue of former Pope John Paul II and waiting for word on the patient being treated on the 10th floor.

Over the weekend, the Vatican says the pontiff's condition remains critical. New blood work shows mild signs of kidney failure, which is said to be under control. And he's still receiving high flows of oxygen after suffering an asthmatic respiratory crisis, disheartening developments for those praying for a speedy recovery.

NORMANDO BIZERIA, CATHOLIC FROM BRAZIL: I came here for the pope and it's a -- it's a symbolic time. And I think that all the prayers and the support that he can get, we -- we must, must -- we must support the pope at this moment.

LAMB: That support in the form of prayers, get well wishes and masses is spreading throughout the world.

In Buenos Aires, the city where Pope Francis was born and served as archbishop, a special service was held for the pope that moved some Parishioners to tears.

IVETTE RODRIGUEZ, CATHOLIC PARISHIONER (through translator): For me, he's an idol, between these people who spread good kindness and love for others. Why do these idols have to go? These are true idols who give so much, who dedicate their lives to others.

LAMB: Another mass for the pope was held in Nairobi, Africa, having one of the fastest growing Catholic populations in the world.

PRIEST: Our prayers to god for Pope Francis.

LAMB: And in the Philippines, where about 80 percent of the country is Catholic, a global outpouring of care and concern for the pope.

And in a written message on Sunday, the pope acknowledged those prayers, saying he was grateful for all of them. Prayers if not affecting his physical condition, seemingly lifting his spirit.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A senior Hamas official tells CNN any future peace talks with Israel are contingent on the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.

[02:35:09]

They were meant to be freed after Hamas handed over six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel says it won't release the prisoners until Hamas guarantees the end of humiliating ceremonies during hostage releases.

As the first phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza comes to an end, Israel is warning that it could resume intense fighting at any moment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has military plans ready to go if needed. The IDF says it's ramping up operational readiness around Gaza after what it described as a situational assessment.

Israel is moving tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time since the end of the second intifada, more than 20 years ago. Palestinian authorities are slamming the move as an escalation of aggression. The Israeli defense minister says his country's military is expanding its operation in the Palestinian territory. He's telling troops to remain in some refugee camps for the coming year after about 40,000 people were evacuated.

Several Palestinians told CNN the Israeli military made them leave, and they don't know when they'll be allowed to return.

Mourners came out en masse in Beirut on Sunday. Tens of thousands flooded the streets of Lebanon's capital to take part in the long delayed funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A formation of Israeli fighter jets flew just above the event, in what the IDF called, quote, a clear message to the Iranian backed proxy group.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military released what it says is video of Nasrallah's assassination. Nasrallah was killed nearly five months ago in a massive Israeli airstrike in the suburbs of Lebanon's capital.

And we'll be right back.

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[02:40:16]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, now to the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards in Hollywood with the stars themselves select the best performances across film and television. On Saturday, the cast of "Conclave" won for their outstanding performance in a motion picture depicting the secretive process of selecting a new pope.

Zoe Saldana continued her awards season sweep, landing the outstanding female actor in a supporting role award. This, for her part in the Netflix cartel crime film "Emilia Perez".

And Hulu's hit TV series "Shogun", won big for their take on Japan's warrior past. The ensemble cast took home the award for outstanding performance in a drama series and individually, Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada won for their performances in leading roles.

I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.

And for those of you in the United States and Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Stick around.

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[02:45:30]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.

U.S. President Donald Trump's actions in Washington are impacting people across the country. And many voters are not pleased, with some Republican lawmakers facing angry crowds at town hall meetings in their districts.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, perhaps these are signs that the Republican honeymoon may be over. As some of these lawmakers are back in their districts during a recess from Congress for the next several days, many of them have been holding town halls in their communities where they are getting an earful not just from Democrats, but also Republicans who are frustrated about the way that the Trump administration has been enacting its agenda. Also, the role that Elon Musk is playing in the federal government and a lot of questions about the federal layoffs and whether or not there will be cuts to some benefits, such as Social Security.

Now, these town halls have been taking place all across the country here in New York. Wisconsin, Georgia and Saturday night in Trinity, Texas, where Congressman Pete Sessions was prepared to deliver what he thought was going to be a routine update about the work that he's been doing in Congress. Instead, he got a barrage of questions and accusations from his constituents regarding the role of Elon Musk, the federal layoffs, as well as Social Security benefits.

Now, according to "The New York Times", there were several attendants in this town hall who got up and questioned him. At one point, one woman saying, when are you going to wrest control back from the executive and stop hurting your constituents? She was talking about the mass layoffs and agency closures, which she believes are unconstitutional.

Then there was another gentleman who asked about Social Security. He said, will you be courageous enough to stand up to them? Now, this is something that both Elon Musk and President Trump have said, that they are focused on. Social Security Administration and whether or not changes need to be made to that program.

Now, many of these lawmakers are holding town halls in person, which means that constituents can come out and sort of confront them. And that's why we're getting a lot of these videos where constituents are booing and shouting down their lawmakers. Other lawmakers are having these town halls either virtually or on the phone. That allows for perhaps a little bit more control, crowd control, trying to filter the type of questions that they're getting.

But even there, they're getting a lot of pushback and criticism.

I want you to take a listen to a Republican, retired U.S. army officer. This is what he had to say to Congresswoman Stephanie Bice in Oklahoma.

CONSTITUENT: How can you tell me that DOGE with some college whiz kids from a computer terminal in Washington, D.C. without even getting out into the field? After about a week or maybe two, has determined that it's okay to cut veterans benefits?

REP. STEPHANIE BICE (R-OK): Did you know that the V.A. was in charge of payments for illegals for -- for housing? Basically the V.A. --

CONSTITUENT: No, I'd like for you to send me -- can you send me that reference so I could research that? Because no, I'm not aware of that. And I would tell you that that's a red herring, a false flag.

PAZMINO: He was not the only frustrated caller at that town hall. A lot of questions about Social Security, about federal funding cuts and about mass layoffs and about Elon Musk. We are expecting to see many more of these town halls into the following week -- in Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, just to name a few, there are town halls that are scheduled.

And the question will be whether or not we continue to see this pattern of criticism, both from Republicans and Democrats, and whether or not lawmakers take those concerns back to Congress when they're back in session.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: As Elon Musk and DOGE bulldoze their way through the government, Musk is taking aim at how federal retirements are processed. It's done by hand in an old limestone mine in Pennsylvania. That's true. But workers there say while the system is far from perfect, some of Musk's claims are not accurate.

[02:50:03]

CNN's Gabe Cohen has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beneath the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania -- really is just off some rural road -- an old limestone mine houses one of the most remote and secure government offices.

You can see the entrance. It looks like that's about as far as you can get before you have to go through security.

Nearly 700 civil servants here process almost every retirement from the federal workforce. We're here in Butler County because of recent comments that Elon Musk made about this facility and about the people who work here, comments that have really rocked this rural area.

ELON MUSK, CEO OF TESLA MOTORS, LEADER OF DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: There's a limestone mine where we store all the retirement paperwork.

COHEN: From the Oval Office last week, Musk criticized the operation as one that epitomizes government inefficiency.

MUSK: It's like a time warp. And the elevator breaks down sometimes, and then nobody can retire. You can do practically anything else and you would add to the goods and services of the United States in a more useful way.

DANIEL BONGINO, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CONSPIRACY THEORIST, RADIO SHOW HOST, AUTHOR: Is this the freaking Flintstones?

COHEN: Those comments got a lot of pickup.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: Musk wants to rescue these government gremlins from working underground.

Does President Trump promise we're going to shut this cave down?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, he does.

COHEN: The federal workers here are on edge. They got a memo warning them not to talk to reporters.

Are you ready?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yep.

COHEN: Okay. How are you feeling?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good. Better.

COHEN: And yet five of them and a former supervisor sat down with us because they say many of Musk's claims were false. We're masking their face and changing their voice because they're scared of retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody has kind of been silenced at this point. We all need these jobs.

COHEN: Tell me about that elevator.

MUSK: And the elevator breaks down sometimes, and then nobody can retire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no elevator. No elevator at all. You walk down into the mine, it looks like any other office building.

MUSK: The most numbers of people that could retire possibly in a month is 10,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure where that number came from.

COHEN: There is no limit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no limit.

MUSK: All the retirement paperwork is manual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not true. It's not.

COHEN: Built in the 1950s, transformed from a mine, it was renovated over the years into a temperature and climate-controlled facility. It's owned by a company called Iron Mountain. And private companies also store vulnerable items like film reels and photographs.

But it's not just Musk who criticizes the processing of retirement claims. For years, this office has been criticized for processing too slowly, over-reliance on paper, and insufficient staffing. Some of the workers we spoke to agree the system needs updating.

But completely shutting this facility down would devastate Butler County where the federal government is the biggest employer. It's also Trump country. He got nearly two-thirds of the vote here, and the mine is just 20 miles from the fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated.

Did you support President Trump?

JASON MCBRIDE, MARION TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Yes. I think he's the president of the people. That's the message this area has.

I need two large for the underground.

COHEN: Jason McBride is a supervisor in this tiny town.

MCBRIDE: Thanks for choosing McBride. Could I help you?

COHEN: And runs the only restaurant, this pizza shop.

MCBRIDE: Okay, buddy. What's your number? I'll give you a call when I enter the mines.

COHEN: They deliver into the mine almost daily.

MCBRIDE: I just would hate to think that a stroke of a pen in Washington D.C. could change the future of our area. Whether you're the gas station or you're the pizza guy, it would be detrimental to all of us.

COHEN: If he shuts down that facility, will you still support him?

MCBRIDE: No. We'll have to wait and see on that. Good people dedicated their lives to this facility for the federal government, and they deserve to be heard.

COHEN: Who did you vote for in November?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump. First time I ever voted.

COHEN: First time you ever voted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was never even registered to vote before that. When he talked about government employees, we didn't think that was going to be us. I wish I could take it back because I feel like now my whole livelihood could be changed because of him being president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Our thanks to Gabe Cohen for that report.

U.S. immigration officials launched a new round of enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ICE is not welcome in this neighborhood or in any neighborhood. You guys are all terrorists that should be ashamed of yourself for doing this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Videos posted on social media by community activists show what appears to be federal agents outside a residence east of downtown L.A. Activists can also be seen using megaphones to tell residents not to open their doors.

The agents seem to eventually drive off about 150 activists from a local group patrol the L.A. area throughout the day. That's according to one of them, and it's unclear how many arrests were made Sunday. It follows recent crackdowns in Chicago and New York.

[02:55:03]

An American Airlines flight got an Italian air force escort when it was diverted to Rome on Sunday. Two air force jets were dispatched due to a potential security concern on the flight. It was ultimately deemed non-credible. The flight was headed from New York to Delhi, India, when it was diverted. American Airlines says the flight landed safely in Rome and law enforcement inspected the plane for re- departure on Monday.

The death toll in Kentucky has now jumped to at least 21 victims after a powerful storm brought widespread flooding and damaging winds across parts of the U.S.

Kentucky has borne the brunt of that severe weather system. More than a months worth of rain drowned much of the state in less than 24 hours. It brought water levels to historic highs and set into motion deadly floods. Kentucky is unfortunately no stranger to natural disasters. Just over two years ago, catastrophic floods killed 43 people and devastated parts of the state. Well, the U.S. bird flu outbreak is causing egg prices to surge across

America, and that's forcing many bakeries to consider raising prices if they haven't already. Government data shows that wholesale fresh egg prices were almost 200 percent higher in January compared to the previous year. That is the fourth biggest annual increase based on records going back to 1992. While data suggests prices for bakery products have not risen meaningfully yet, that could change if bakeries don't see some relief soon.

One bakery general manager tells CNN that fluctuating egg prices are not new, but this time is different. He put it simply, quote, eggs are outrageous.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

Stay with us.

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