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Josh Rogin is Interviewed about Trump in Saudi Arabia; Trump Faces GOP Divide; Ventura Expected to Testify Against Diddy; White South African Refugees Arrive in U.S. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 13, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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


[06:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: A few hours ago. Plenty of pomp and circumstance to greet the president. He also plans to speak today at a U.S.-Saudi investment forum. We'll talk a little bit more about his trip ahead here.

Right now, our President Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. The levies getting their first big test today in a little known court in Manhattan, the Court of International Trade, set to hear arguments on whether the president actually has the power to impose those tariffs.

And a short time from now, Kim Kardashian will face the people accused of tying her up with duct tape and plastic ties, robbing her at gunpoint. She's set to testify in a Paris court against the so-called Grandpa Gang. They're accused of stealing millions of dollars in jewelry from her nearly nine years ago.

We are, of course, closely following the first major international trip of President Trump's second term. Moments ago he and the Saudi crown prince meeting with a long lineup of powerful business leaders, including Elon Musk. It's being billed as an opportunity to really strengthen the ties. of course, with three key Middle Eastern allies, while also demonstrating, the president hopes, his dealmaking skills on the world stage. "The New York Times" putting it this way, "President Trump will tour the Gulf this week in search of one thing above all else, business deals. Planes. Nuclear power. Artificial intelligence investments. Arms. Anything that puts a signature on the bottom of a page."

He will also make his way to Qatar and to the UAE on this trip.

Josh Rogin joins me now. He's the lead global security analyst for "The Washington Post" intelligence.

Josh, good to see you, as always.

We look at this, that idea that this trip is really about enhancing the president's -- enhancing the president's image as a deal maker. What do you anticipate those deals will look like for him?

JOSH ROGIN, LEAD GLOBAL SECURITY ANALYST, "WASHINGTON POST INTELLIGENCE": Well, Erica, the president has two sets of deals in mind. One category is Saudi investments in the United States. This is part of President Trump's drive to get every country in the world to invest in manufacturing in the U.S. He wants $1 trillion worth of investment. They'll announce hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of investment. How much of that actually happens is another story.

And then the other side of these deals are the 100 -- the dozens of U.S. executives that he's bringing to Saudi Arabia to do business in Saudi Arabia. That includes Elon Musk, but also the CEOs of NVidia, OpenAI, Palantir, you name it. They'll all be there. All the tech executives. All the tech titans. Because they want to do deals in Saudi Arabia that involve AI, data storage, cloud computing, energy, bitcoin, all of that stuff.

So, that's a big agenda. And again, we'll see how much he can actually get done. And then how much of that actually happens after he -- after he leaves.

HILL: How much does he need in terms of a real win, right? And I say that in the context of coming off of this sort of agreement with China, right, which is being billed as one thing, not - not surprisingly by the White House, something else by China and a number of other folks. How does he -- what does he need in terms of a concrete win, a concrete deal to show?

ROGIN: Right. Well, I think, you know, as we saw with the China deal, there are sort of -- there's sort of a short-term effect and a long- term effect. Even though there was no real trade deal with China, the fact that they deescalated from the maximalist tariffs made the markets happy. In the long term it probably won't pan out the way that they say it will.

Same thing with the Gulf deals. If they announce a bunch of things, the markets will be happy. The stocks of these companies will go up for a while. If they don't pan out over the long run, then it won't really be a win after all. But in this world, in this news cycle, as you know, Erica, one day of news is probably the most that anyone can expect out of any trip. So, I think, for Trump, that's how he thinks of it as a short-term win and will worry about the long term later.

HILL: Yes, I mean, one day you're lucky if you get an hour sometimes, Josh, let's be honest here.

ROGIN: Exactly.

HILL: Is -- is -- is there also a lesson for other countries in looking at -- yes, there will be a lot of focus on these next few days on this trip, but looking at even how China played out. What is the lesson that other countries are getting in terms of making those deals with the U.S.?

ROGIN: Right. I think if I were any country in the world and looking at the China negotiation, the lesson would be just to, don't give in to Trump. Just wait and eventually they'll fold because that's exactly what Xi Jinping did, he just stood his ground and he just waited for the pressure on the U.S. economy to bring the Trump administration to him. And essentially the Trump administration folded. So, if I were any other government in the world, that would be the lesson is, Trump will threaten a bunch of stuff. And then if you just wait long enough, if the pain is high enough, he'll fold.

Now, the lesson for the Gulf trip is a little different. The lesson for the Gulf trip, as were seeing, is, just throw a bunch of money at Trump and his family and his friends and the businessmen that he has in tow. And the fact that President Trump is accepting a $400 million jet as a gift from the royal family of Qatar kind of shows, that's a signal to every country that if they want to get in good with Trump, just give them something very shiny and expensive.

[06:35:07]

Again, that's not necessarily legal, it's not necessarily ethical, but that's the clear message that I think the Gulf trip is showing, at least so far.

HILL: Yes, some interesting strategies at play, that's for sure.

Josh, good to talk to you, as always. Thank you.

ROGIN: Anytime.

HILL: Well, the president just may be getting his one big, beautiful bill to pay for his agenda. If House Republicans can get it across the finish line. The key word there, of course, is if. The bill delivers on several of President Trump's campaign promises, including scrapping federal taxes on tips, overtime pay and car loan interest. Not everyone, though, is on board. There is some real division amongst Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANDREW GARBARINO (R-NY): I don't want to be mean. I -- and I think that anytime it looks like we're actually hurting people, that's going to piss off the American population. And if you piss them off, they're probably not going to vote for you.

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): My colleagues who do not want to address that are burying their head in the sand and already trying to worry about elections next year when the best way to win elections is to actually deliver.

We have to address Medicaid. My colleagues, who are saying that they won't touch it, are the same colleagues, by the way, who want their SALT caps increased.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you say to Chip Roy?

REP. NICK LALOTA (R-NY): Boo-hoo on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: There you go, boo-hoo on that from Republican Congressman Nick LaLota at the end there, who reiterated his dislike of the bill on X, saying, he is still a, and I am quoting, "hell no."

The group chat is back.

Chuck, I could see you out of the corner of my eye just nodding along as we heard from all of those lawmakers there. You're just plotting the next commercial in your head.

CHUCK ROCHA, SENIOR ADVISER, BERNIE SANDERS' 2016 AND 2020 CAMPAIGNS: You know what Democrats like is this Republican on Republican crime that I'm watching. I was just sitting back eating my popcorn.

Now, look, there's a lot of differences between not only the Republican caucus, but the Democratic caucus. I will remind everybody here, I'm a campaign guy. There are 14 congressional seats right now that Democrats sit in that Donald Trump won. So, there is some uneasiness on our side of the board as well, because there's a lot of marginal seats where lots of folks are looking.

These New York and California Republicans are in some of the highest Democratic seats out there. You talk about this local SALT tax and all the things that are going on with them against my good old friend from Texas, Chip Roy, you have way too juxtaposed, if I use that word right, to what you're looking at here.

HILL: I think he did. We're going to give him a yes on that one, right?

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes, I think he did. I think you did.

ROCHA: OK, good. Good.

HILL: Consensus.

How much of a struggle is this then for Republicans at this point?

DAVIS: Listen, it's tough. I mean, we were talking about this in the break. First of all, we have to remember these guys are negotiating in public. What they're trying -- you know, they're trying to take positions that will be beneficial to their districts.

But what's shocking to me is, in a good and bad way, listen, they're trying to take on really, really hard issues, especially with entitlement. I think everyone agrees it's a horrible, horrible spending issue for the government. But House Republicans are walking the plank on taking this vote. And whether you agree or not with the Medicaid work requirements that they're putting in, we don't need to go into all the details, the message that you're going to have, which you should, as a Democrat consultant, is, Republicans --

ROCHA: Cut Medicaid.

DAVIS: Yes, cut Medicaid. We don't like people.

ROCHA: Every time I make another commercial with them taking grandma in her wheelchair, just pushing her off the cliff. HILL: Right. Oof.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: He's not kidding. That was an actual commercial.

HILL: Yes. Oh, no. Yes. Yes.

MATTINGLY: Right. Right. It's --

DAVIS: Did you make that?

HILL: Yes. But also, you know, in the -- in the -- in the group chat in the break, bringing people behind the scenes here, you were also making a note, Phil, that this is -- there is so much here that is politically tone deaf, that's being missed. And that's one of the reasons that we're also in this moment is trying to push things through, trying to do what the president wants, you know, at the top of the list there, but ignoring everything else that is happening, and ignoring what people are saying.

MATTINGLY: Yes. And also, you know it's getting rough when Manu Raju is not wearing a tie on Capitol Hill. I just want to point out, that was unsettling for me. I wasn't sure just how difficult we're in it now if -- if Raju's not wearing a tie.

HILL: That's his sign, people. Keep an eye on the neckwear.

MATTINGLY: I think we're -- people need to understand, you step back and you realize, the president has a lot of red lines that his administration has made clear has to be in the big, beautiful bill. No tax on tips. No tax on Social Security. Deductions for -- for car loans. These are things that cost a lot of money.

There are priorities that both Senate Republicans and House Republicans have on their own, that they are trying to squeeze in to this big, beautiful bill. This bill is going to cost a lot of money as is because you're extending those 2017 tax cuts while including the president's must-have red line items on taxes as well. And you're trying to squeeze this all into a procedural process that is very, very difficult.

At the start, if everything was going great and all 220 Republicans in the House and 53 Republicans in the Senate were in complete and total alignment on everything, it was going to be hard. That, obviously, is not the case, which makes it extremely difficult.

The one thing that everybody has to keep in mind is, the view inside the White House has long been, they ain't got no other choice. Whatever we come up with, everybody's going to have to vote yes because if you vote no you're killing the cornerstone of the president's agenda. And the only thing you can take to voters at the midterms, Democrats are probably saying, hey, either way you want to go, we're happy to take that.

HILL: Right.

MATTINGLY: We think we can win on it no matter what.

[06:40:02]

HILL: You do you.

Speaking of our friend Manu Raju --

MATTINGLY: Yes.

HILL: Of -- who's following your lead, apparently without a tie.

MATTINGLY: He wishes.

HILL: I also just want to play another moment that he had in speaking with -- I believe it's with Senator Rand Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): I want to take a massive automatic tax increase off the table, but without returning to a reasonable pre- pandemic level of spending, I don't see any way I can support more -- more tax cuts and more deficit spending. We should not be increasing the deficit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, Ron Johnson there. We know there are a minimal number of votes that can be lost here. What do the next few days, hours look like?

DAVIS: Well, first of all, I would hate to be on the Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce Committee today because they're going to be up all night. So, that's -- they're going to get these probably through committee. They go to a procedural thing called Rules Committee on Monday. I don't want to go to in the details. And then they're trying to -- they're going to try to vote on this on Tuesday. And then everyone goes home for Memorial Day. You come back and you try to do it in the Senate.

But with Ron Johnson there, you -- Ron Johnson, Rick Scott, Rand Paul that are pretty big budget hawks. Rand Paul's never going to vote for this bill no matter what. So, you lose one vote off the top, and then you've got the Murkowski Collins on the moderate side and McConnell on the moderate side. It's going to be very difficult. Very difficult.

HILL: It's also -- it's -- I mean it's tight for -- it's certainly not the -- not the most -- we see it all the time, frankly. It is such a tight window, right, that has been -- you know, even if it's been moved a little bit, but that you are up against this clock, which, again, to Phil's point, I mean, this is -- you might as well be serving up the Democrats on a silver platter at this point.

ROCHA: And it's the only time you really ever see anything happen in Washington is around deadlines.

HILL: Yes. ROCHA: And these folks cannot put a schedule together to save their life, to get things done. They're marking it up this week. We've been talking about it, for those of us in D.C., and talking about this for months. They keep saying we're going to -- because the margins are so thin. And then within the Republican Congress you have all these different ideological thinking patterns that are just opposite of each other.

So, they're really thinking that they can rely on a few of those Democrats I just talked about to, quote/unquote, bail them out. And I just don't know if they'll be there this time.

HILL: Not sure they'll be there.

We're going to take a quick break. You can go find a tie.

MATTINGLY: I was going to -- I was going to talk about --

HILL: You want -- you want (INAUDIBLE) with me?

MATTINGLY: I was going to talk about the Rules Committee.

ROCHA: Oh.

HILL: I -- actually, as you started talking about that, I was thinking, Mattingly, behind me here, is living for this.

MATTINGLY: Don't -- don't get me going. Don't get me going.

DAVIS: No. Just like CFIUS. You want me to talk about this stuff all the time.

HILL: Yes. Yes.

MATTINGLY: We can do CFIUS. We can talk about reconciliation in general.

(CROSS TALK)

HILL: To your credit --

MATTINGLY: Senate parliamentarian.

HILL: To your credit, Mattingly --

MATTINGLY: We could do three blocks on Elizabeth MacDonough.

HILL: How many times, over the last several years, have I said to you, thank God for your notes. Phil Mattingly sends a mean note to the entire CNN news department.

MATTINGLY: You and three other people appreciate me.

HILL: Mapping it out.

MATTINGLY: And I appreciate your appreciation. HILL: I paid them, and you're welcome.

Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, it is day two in the trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs. The key witness, his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, expected to take the stand today. That's ahead.

Plus, how the CEO of a major airline is now trying to convince you it's safe to fly.

More from the group chat after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:21]

HILL: Freak offs, baby oil, domestic violence. All of these being addressed during the federal sex trafficking trial of rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs on day one. This morning, everyone will return to that courtroom. The first witnesses to take the stand on Monday recounting very graphic, explicit details at times. One of them saying that Diddy paid him to have sex with his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, on several occasions. And also saying that at times the witness says that he saw Diddy abusing Ventura.

I do want to warn you, this next video is disturbing. It was played in court. You may have seen it here after it was published by CNN last year. This is a 2016 hotel incident. You see Sean Combs in the towel there dragging, beating Ventura in a hallway. His lawyers have called that video indefensible, but they say it shows domestic violence, not the sex trafficking charges which Combs is facing at trial.

The court artist summed up the defense's arguments so far. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE CORNELL, COURTROOM SKETCH ARTIST: They are saying this was domestic abuse. This was ugly. This was unconscionable. This was unforgivable. But it wasn't what he's being charged with here. This isn't what he's on trial for. And, you know, maybe it will just be a bump, but it's, you know, it's a pretty dang memorable bump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now, Imran Ansari, trial attorney and former prosecutor. He represented Harvey Weinstein in numerous civil lawsuits.

Imran, when we -- when we look at this, as we just heard from the sketch room artist there, and as I've heard from a number of attorneys over the last several hours, this is what you need to do as the defense, right? You are going to lean into this video. It is uncomfortable. It is explicit. But leaning into those moments and making the case, this is not why my client is on trial. That being said, how much does that linger? How much will all of that stay with this jury even after just day one? IMRAN ANSARI, ON-AIR HOST AND LEGAL ANALYST, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK:

Well, I think that's the theme from the defense standpoint that's going to have to carry to summations and, ultimately, when the jury deliberates. And when you have ugly facts and evidence, like that video, from a defense standpoint, you have to embrace it and then differentiate it from the actual charges and crimes that your client is charged with.

And that's what we see the defense team for Diddy doing here. You can't escape that video. It's really hard to watch. It's ugly. But it's going to be something that they're going to have to contend with throughout the course of the trial and the strategy saying that this is domestic violence, not sex trafficking, is something that they're going to have to push until the final day before that jury.

HILL: They've all -- you know, there's also the -- not just that, yes, this is domestic violence, it's not what we're here for, but also that these are consulting -- consenting adults, rather.

[06:50:06]

When Cassie Ventura takes the stand, how do you anticipate that questioning will go from the defense side, given that they're saying, look, you were a willing participant here.

ANSARI: It's going -- well, they're going to have to treat Cassie Ventura very gently on cross-examination. I expect the prosecution is going to put her before that jury. She's going to have a very compelling set of facts to testify to before that jury. And we're going to see that video played. And we're going to probably see that video played time and time again. We saw that with the George Floyd video in -- in the trial against Derek Chauvin. And I think we're going to see that here in this case. It's an ugly piece of evidence, but it's powerful for the prosecution.

When you have Cassie Ventura on the stand, the defense is going to have to look at that witness and treat her gently. You don't want to put the jury off with cross-examination, but then again they're going to have to do the job they have to do for Diddy from a defense standpoint, and that is get out that this was all consensual. She knew exactly what she was getting into in terms of these sexual encounters, and that it is not a crime. The prosecution, on the other hand, is going to be telling the jury another set of facts.

HILL: As we are -- as we are watching that, also another case in Paris today. Kim Kardashian set to take the stand. She's going to testify about the time that she was the victim of an armed robbery in Paris. This was nearly a decade ago. She spoke about it with David Letterman on his Netflix show. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: Before he duct taped my eyes, because that was the last thing, he -- I saw he found my whole jewelry box and, like, held it up like, a-ha, you know, like, we got it. But I kept on looking at the concierge because I didn't know who he was. And I'm like, what is happening? Are we going to die? Just tell them I have children. Like, I have babies. I have a husband. I have a family. Like, I have to get home. Tell them take anything. I'll never say, like, I saw them. Like, take everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, you hear her talking about it there. It's fascinating. You know, our -- our colleague in Paris, Saskya Vandoorne, has done some great reporting on this leading up to the trial. And it is really interesting, the reaction that there was in France versus the reaction in some ways that there was in the U.S. at the time when this happened. What are you anticipating out of this trial?

ANSARI: I mean this is a serious incident. Now, we see Kim Kardashian. It's easy to associate with her with some lighter subjects. But what happened to her in Paris, the allegations against, I think, these ten defendants there is pretty serious crime with her being essentially bound and them stealing thousands, if not millions worth of material from her. So, I think it's going to be interesting to see her take the stand in France. Of course, she's going to be translating or testifying there with a translator. But she's taking it seriously. She's flying back there. She's a willing witness for the prosecution there. And she wants to see justice. She said that time and time again, it's been a traumatic experience for her. So, I think she's going to be taking the stand and telling the -- the court exactly what happened to her. And it was a serious incident.

HILL: Imran Ansari, good to have you here this morning. Thank you.

ANSARI: Thanks for having me.

HILL: Fifty-two minutes -- almost 53 past the hour now. Here's your morning roundup.

Today, the Menendez brothers facing the possibility of freedom. After seven months of hearings and court filings, a two-day resentencing hearing will begin. Lyle and Erik Menendez are both serving life sentences for killing their parents in 1989. This is just one of several avenues, of course, in their bid for freedom. Their attorneys are also pursuing a new trial.

For the first time Taiwan is testing a U.S. supplied rocket system, like the one Ukraine has used against Russia. Taiwan could use this to hit targets in China if there is a war between the two. Taiwan has faced military pressure from China as Taiwan has rejected its sovereignty claims on the island.

United Airlines CEO says it is absolutely safe to fly. That's after, of course, a series of air traffic control issues has led to major delays and cancellations at Newark Airport. In an effort to help ease some of those problems, United cut about 35 flights in and out of Newark.

Fifty white South Africans granted refugee status by the Trump administration are now on U.S. soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The administration expediting their processing as refugees for alleged discrimination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIA BEEDEN, SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEE: We've been forgotten. It's very hard for us to travel. It's very hard for us to get visas. So, to suddenly hear that a country like the United States is offering us refugee status was a really big deal. And I was so excited. I felt so relieved. It just felt like a lifeline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The president of South Africa, though, strongly rejects with the claims of why they need this refugee status.

[06:55:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Those people who have fled are not being persecuted. They are not being, you know, hounded. They are not being treated badly. And they are leaving ostensibly because they don't want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, all of this, of course, comes as the White House has suspended refugee resettlement for pretty much everybody else, including people fleeing famine and war.

The group chat is back.

It is remarkable, right? So, remember on Inauguration Day, the changes that were made, I'm looking at my notes here, in terms of refugees, there's been a real pushback, right, for fast tracking these white South Africans, especially because, as we heard there, there are also some questions about the claims of what they're actually fleeing and what they experienced. And yet what's not happening for, say, Afghans who helped the U.S. or even their family members.

Phil, what are you hearing in terms of the political calculus here? Is there any?

MATTINGLY: Not that I can -- I think what's so striking is the split screen yesterday of announcing publicly that they are taking away temporary protected status for Afghans --

HILL: Right. MATTINGLY: The same exact day that they -- pretty much the only proactive effort they've made to welcome refugees or to ease the process for refugees coming into the country is for these individuals. The president making very clear yesterday at his press conference that -- or in his remarks to the press, this isn't about race. This isn't about what they look like, their height, their weight, anything like that. It's impossible to make that distinction when this is very much a -- a focus and fascination, fixation for right wing individuals. Members of his administration, before they came into office, have been among those individuals.

And the fact of the matter is, is that the president is announcing, in public, that this is a genocide. It's something that historically takes months of bureaucratic infighting to decide over that declanation (ph) And he's just saying it out loud when there's not necessarily explicit evidence that that's the case.

HILL: Right.

MATTINGLY: It's -- I'm not really sure how else to frame it, other than it doesn't really track with any other logic.

HILL: It also typically takes months, if not years, to vet refugees, right, before they are brought to the U.S. Another important point. There was always a way of doing things. It's fascinating to me, too, that you have the episcopal church coming out and saying, after nearly 40 years of partnering, of working with the government to help resettle refugees, whether its housing help, helping with jobs, they're essentially saying, we're out at this moment.

How do you spin that? If you're a Republican, you say, well we don't want you anyway. I mean it sends a very big message.

DAVIS: Well, and I -- I do. Yes, it does. And, you know, he's been having this issue with South Africa since he came to office. Obviously, there's many that believe it's because Elon's in his ear. We don't know. I don't know that.

However, the thing that's kind of near and dear to my heart, especially since the Bush days, is, you know, we spent a lot of time with women and girls in Afghanistan and the Taliban coming back, obviously, as they are now, and the women and girls especially, not that I don't care about the men, men, but I mean that's a really big statement that they're not going to have a refugee status in our -- in our country anymore, or asylum. So that, to me, is the most bothersome out of all of that.

HILL: Yes.

ROCHA: The system is broken. People in Congress, on both parties, have been spineless to fix it for a long time. Take it from a Latino from immigrant family. My firm, as everybody knows, is run by two immigrants, like the immigration system, the refugee system, the asylum system. Like, we've just put band aid over band aid and not really looked at trying to fix it in its totality. So, you get all these one-offs and then you have no system to what Phil's been talking about, to where it's just a bunch of chaos.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And here we are.

I don't know if chaos is what you're all keeping an eye on today. How about that transition? But let's go down the line.

MATTINGLY: That's smooth.

HILL: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: That was really -- that was really good.

HILL: Thanks. I learned from you, Mattingly. What do you got?

MATTINGLY: We've been talking a lot -- we've been talking a lot about the plane from Qatar, the potential new Air Force One. When it comes to these types of issues, the Trump crypto meme coin, dollar sign, all caps, Trump, the dinner that had been offered, which is essentially a quid pro quo dinner, if you invest money in a Trump entity, totally walled off in private from things. The -- the deadline was yesterday. The vast majority of the people and the 220 finalists were -- had wallets that were foreign based. We talk about conflicts of interest and how this is all playing out. Keep an eye on that.

HILL: Yes, we'll keep an eye on that.

Chuck.

ROCHA: I'm keeping an eye on this budget. And can we raise some money to put some safety rails on aircraft carriers? A $100 million worth of two airplanes have just slid off the -- off the deck of the boat into the ocean that I pay taxes. Elon Musk, if you want to get to DOGE and save some money, just put some rails on the side of the boat so we quit losing our planes over the side.

DAVIS: They have to be strong rails.

HILL: You might get some bipartisan buy in on that.

ROCHA: Absolutely.

HILL: You just might.

DAVIS: They have to be strong rails.

ROCHA: It ain't hard.

DAVIS: So, for us nerdy Washington people, what's happening in the House this week and next is like the Super Bowl of politics. So, I will definitely be watching the drama.

HILL: All right.

ROCHA: You and Phil are nerds.

DAVIS: We are. We are. ROCHA: Y'all -- all y'all talk about is the -- is the committees and stuff.

HILL: That's right.

MATTINGLY: It's warm. The water's warm. Come in here.

ROCHA: Now, mine would have -- if I could understand all that.

MATTINGLY: I -- I -- I see.

[07:00:00]

This is like the John Kennedy, Senator Kennedy. Like, I don't understand how any of this works. No, yes, you do. That -- like a fox. Like a fox.

HILL: He just likes to pretend that he doesn't.

MATTINGLY: I know this game. Tester used to do it, too. I know it. You know what -- don't even try that with me, Chuck.

HILL: You can't get that past Phil Mattingly. Yes.

ROCHA: Oh, he does have a high radar.

HILL: He sure does. Don't be fooled by the lack of a tie.

MATTINGLY: That's right.

HILL: Thank you all. Thanks to the group chat. Thanks to all of you for waking up with us this morning. I'm Erica Hill, in for Audie Cornish. Stay tuned. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.