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Boycotts Over DEI Decisions; EPA Staff to be Slashed by 65 Percent; Several Injured in Suspected Car Ramming Attack in Israel. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

REP. DAN MEUSER (R-PA): And frankly, that's the direction we're going, and we didn't see inflation occur under the past Trump administration, even though these tariffs were initiated. So, we're not expecting it now. Now, if it does occur, we can pull it back.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Dan Meuser, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

MEUSER: All right. Thank you, Erica.

HILL: Still ahead here, how a growing number of black consumers are hoping to make corporate America feel their disappointment as more companies drop their DEI programs.

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HILL: Boycotting corporations that are rolling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and programs. A growing number of black customers are choosing to take their business elsewhere. The movement itself is being called a spiritual act of resistance.

[10:35:00]

It follows President Trump's executive orders, specifically targeting DEI programs. Companies including Target, Amazon, and Walmart, all at the center now of the backlash. CNN's Eva McKend joins me with more. So, this is, as we have seen in the past, fighting back with the wallet, trying to hit the bottom line, Eva.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Erica, we have spoken to dozens of people involved in this and it is remarkable to see the extent to which black consumers in this country are owning their buying power.

Reverend Jamal Bryant out of Georgia, he's one of many faith leaders calling for a boycott, urging black Americans to stop shopping at Target and to sell their stock in the retailer for lent, a 40-day period from March 5th to April 17th.

Now, quarter Targets brand identity has been this association with championing diversity, so it is no small issue to see them out of all places retreat from these stated values and not put up much of a public fight against the conservative war on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Why Target? You may wonder. Take a listen to the reasoning here.

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Walmart has rolled back their DEI, so has Lowe's and McDonald's and Amazon in some respects. Why Target?

REV. JAMAL BRYANT, ORGANIZING "TARGET FAST" BOYCOTT: Target because they are a publicly traded company. We were able to find the demographic spending trends of a Target, 12 million a day. Seeing what that means and for that 40-day window, we're going to be able to track what was the spending lapse? How did we have an economic impact? Target is the first. It is not the only.

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MCKEND: The pastor in conversation there with our colleague Victor Blackwell. So, essentially other corporations, Erica, are being put on notice. They're beginning with Target, but they aren't ending with them. This is a fight against corporate America more broadly.

And I'll end with this. In the wake of George Floyd's death in 2020, the retailer made certain commitments like expanding black employee representation by 20 percent. It is these commitments advocates are pushing for the brand to restore. The company is not responding to the boycott directly, only saying they will continue to help all guests feel seen and celebrated. Erica.

HILL: Eva, I appreciate it. Thank you. We are going to take a quick break here. Stay with us, you're watching CNN Newsroom.

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HILL: Staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as environmental groups and activists, left stunned after President Trump made this statement during his first cabinet meeting.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I spoke with Lee Zeldin and he thinks he's going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from Environmental. And we're going to speed up the process too.

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HILL: Gina McCarthy joins us now. She was named EPA administrator by President Obama. And in a recent New York Times op ed-out this morning, she and two other former EPA leaders, Christine Todd Whitman and William K. Reilly, responded to Donald Trump's threat, warning Americans they'll miss the EPA when it's gone.

It's good to have you with us. I do want to point out here that a White House spokesman later clarify the president's comments saying that he meant to say 65 percent of the EPA's budget would be cut, not the staff. That being said, were 65 percent of the budget to be cut, what would that mean practically?

GINA MCCARTHY, FORMER EPA ADMINISTRATOR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it would mean that the agency would sincerely be handcuffed. The agency itself right now is staffed by very capable people. We don't want to lose that staff.

But honestly, this is all about how we protect our health and our safety, how we protect our natural resources. This is not a percentage game. This is an opportunity to recognize that people in this country have had EPA to protect their health and wellbeing since 1970 with the Clean Air Act Amendment, the Clean Water Act Amendment, the Safe Drinking Water Act. We do what Congress dictates by law that we need to do when EPA is an implementing agency to protect all of us. That's the important thing to remember.

So, while we can talk about how many percentages of people we're going to lose, every one of those people is valuable to you and I and our families. That's the important thing to remember.

HILL: You know, I hear you when you say this is not about percentages. It certainly is about people, as we know at the end of the day.

MCCARTHY: Yes.

HILL: But you did also note in that op-ed with your colleagues that there are ways you believe the EPA could be more efficient. So, we are living with an administration now that is all about cuts and efficiency. If you were to speak with Administrator Zeldin, where do you think he should focus those efforts to make things more efficient at the EPA?

MCCARTHY: Well, I think the important thing to remember is that you have to follow the laws that have been written by Congress. We're not -- we don't make those laws up, we implement them. So, it's all about how we work with cities and towns that get 40 percent of the money goes to -- that goes to EPA is spent in cities and towns.

So, reach out, sit down with the program staff at EPA, look at opportunities to downscale where those efforts are not as important as others. I'm not suggesting that EPA is perfect, but what I am suggesting is that there needs to be a thoughtful process to recognize what is the EPA, what is our task to do, and how do we deliver that task in the most cost-effective way?

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And you'll only do that if you do outreach to the staff, you look at where those opportunities are, and you talk to cities and states who EPA partners with every single day. If you can do that, there will be ways in which I'm sure cost savings will be found. But the important thing is make sure that that doesn't put people at increased risk. That's what we need to protect. HILL: You mentioned what is the EPA? So, I know you also wrote in that op-ed, it's an agency that sets standards and regulations according to science and the laws, as you noted, and funding approved by Congress. The Washington Post is reporting that Administrator Zeldin wants Donald Trump to rescind a 2009 scientific finding that concluded greenhouse gases are in fact a threat to public health and welfare. As you well know, that finding is the foundation for a number of climate regulations in this country. Is it possible to have an EPA that is not science based?

MCCARTHY: No, it -- clearly, EPA is a science-based agency. That's how we do our work. The endangerment finding clearly went all the way to the Supreme Court and was seen to be a solid understanding that we need to address the issue of climate change because it does endanger all of us.

So, if we have to go through that legal process one more time, I guess we will, but it seems absolutely ridiculous not to recognize that climate is a risk to all of us. And part of the efforts that EPA has been doing is to make sure that, again, we work across our country and internationally to be able to address this challenge in a way that will protect people and also save considerable amount of money.

Look, EPA, it has to look at being the most cost-effective agency it can, because that's how it operates. We don't have exorbitant amounts of money. What we have is expertise, what we have is science, and what we have are laws we need to implement. And every step of the way, that's what EPA does to save as much money as they can, but to get the job done well, and quickly, and safely.

HILL: Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, really appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you.

MCCARTHY: Thanks for having me.

HILL: I do want to get to some breaking news now out of Israel, where police are investigating a car ramming attack as an act of terror. Everything we know about that attack, coming up. Stay with us.

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HILL: New this morning, Israel says it is sending a team of negotiators to Cairo to resume talks on extending the ceasefire deal in Gaza. The announcement coming just days before the end, of course, of the first phase of this deal. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live in Jerusalem at this hour. So, what more do we know about where things stand? I mean, this is in some ways a positive development, obviously.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without a doubt. But keep in mind that negotiations over phase two of this ceasefire agreement were supposed to 16 of this ceasefire. We are now reaching the conclusion of phase one, which is day 42 this coming Saturday. And still, there really have been no substantive negotiations. The Israeli prime minister today agreeing to send a delegation to Cairo, albeit one that does not include the head of Israel's negotiating team, Ron Dermer, the minister of strategic affairs. But three Israeli officials, including the prime minister's coordinator for hostage affairs, Gal Hirsch, the deputy head of the Shin Bet and Ophir Falk, a foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, will be heading to Cairo.

What they may be looking to do, though, is not necessarily reach an agreement over phase two of this ceasefire, they may be looking to extend phase one to see how many more hostages they can get out of Gaza without agreeing to an end of the war, without agreeing to withdraw all Israeli troops from Gaza.

And indeed, an Israeli source is telling us that Israel is hoping that they can get more hostages freed as early as this Saturday as they look to extend that phase one deal. Not clear yet whether or not that is something that Hamas will go for, but certainly, Hamas has shown a willingness to compromise in order to extend this ceasefire agreement.

Phase one is pretty much done at this stage. The bodies of four Israeli hostages, the last four of the total of 33 Israeli hostages released during phase one of this ceasefire, were handed over to Israel early this morning. 643 Palestinian prisoners were transferred from Israeli jails to Gaza and to the West Bank. And now, again, the question is this uncertainty around what indeed will come next.

We know that the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was supposed to travel to the region this week. His trip seems to be delayed and postponed once again, as U.S. officials wait to see whether or not any progress is born out of these upcoming talks happening in Cairo. Erica.

HILL: Jeremy, I also do want to ask you about this breaking news. Local police saying they're now investigating a car ramming attack and six people being sent to the hospital. What more do we know about what happened there?

DIAMOND: Yes, that toll has actually now risen to 10 people being taken to the hospital as a result of this car ramming attack that happened in Central Israel in the town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur in the northern part of Central Israel.

[10:55:00]

Of those 10 people taken to hospital, two are in serious condition, one is in critical condition after the driver of a car rammed into pedestrians who were waiting at a bus stop. It appears that that driver then attempted to flee the scene, according to multiple reports. But police say that they were able to stop this vehicle and that they, quote, "neutralized" the suspect. That typically means that Israeli police killed the suspect with gunfire.

We do not yet have any confirmed details about the nature of the suspect, but police have said that they are indeed investigating this and consider this to be an attempted or a -- not an attempted, but a terrorist attack carried out on Israeli soil.

Last week, of course, we know that Israeli authorities had a very close call as three buses who were in depots without any people on board them exploded in Central Israel on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. And certainly, there are heightened concerns about future terrorist attacks here in Israel. Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Jeremy, I appreciate the updates on both fronts joining us from Tel Aviv. Thank you. And we'll be right back.

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