Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Federal Judge Halts Mass Federal Layoffs Amid Shutdown; WNBA Surge: Are the Players Seeing the Payoff? Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: And most people assume it was created by an unlucky rat that got trapped in wet cement on a sidewalk. The site has become a magnet for tourists. You see what people are doing here. They keep leaving coins and other objects.

[06:00:15]

Well, now biologists have compared the imprints with features of similar animals in Chicago, and they concluded the rat hole was most likely created by a squirrel, or possibly a Muskrat. Sorry to disappoint everybody.

The researchers say they are proposing renaming the landmark Windy City's Sidewalk Squirrel.

Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The shutdown, layoffs, and leverage, with government workers caught in the middle. Can anybody really win?

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): And anyone thinks that tomorrow, they'll suddenly start negotiating, I think is smoking what is illegal in many states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Forget how long it will last. How many families will it hurt?

And the CIA's covert action in Venezuela. Beyond blowing up boats, what could U.S. spies be doing in Maduro's backyard?

And troubling text messages and group chats revealed. Did some young Republicans take the wrong message from MAGA's idea of free speech?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I just want to speak directly to the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Zohran Mamdani appearing on FOX. The message he delivered and the offer he made to President Trump.

And the automaker Stellantis announcing it will reopen a shuttered assembly plant in the U.S. So, why is Canada upset?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A banner year for the WNBA. But are the players about to walk out?

It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. And here's a live look at Capitol Hill. Good morning, everybody. I

t's Thursday, October 16th. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we start.

The Capitol, because more federal workers are losing their jobs as the government shutdown and this political standoff drags on.

Some of those firings now on hold as a federal judge in San Francisco ordered the administration on Wednesday to immediately stop the layoffs, ruling that they're unlawful.

And in her decision, the judge said that the planned layoffs were politically motivated, adding, quote, "The politics that infuses what's going on is being trumpeted out loud in this case."

So, the ruling pauses the layoffs of more than 4,000 federal workers across seven agencies. And that began last week. So those include workers at the IRS, the Treasury, cyber security workers at the Department of Homeland Security. Also, hundreds of CDC employees. Health and Human Services has seen nearly the entire special ed staff at -- and also the special ed staff at the Education Department.

And White House budget director Russ Vought says he's just getting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSS VOUGHT, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: We're definitely talking thousands of people. We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy. Not just the funding, but the bureaucracy that we now have an opportunity to do that. And that's where were going to be looking for our opportunities. I think we'll probably end up being North of 10,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Meanwhile, on the Hill, Democrats and Republicans seem as far apart as ever. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): If my Democratic friends stick to their guns and say, We're not going to open up government until you -- you tell us your plan and we want -- and we want to make sure it works for fixing, the health care delivery system. They're going to be waiting. We're going to be shut down a long time.

SANDERS: Ever since Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill was passed, we knew this was happening. They've refused to negotiate. And anyone thinks that tomorrow, they'll suddenly start negotiating, I think is smoking what is illegal in many states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent for "NOTUS"; Doug Heye, Republican strategist; and Meghan Hays, former director of message planning at the Biden White House.

I'm going to start with my partizans on messaging, because I was -- I was watching Republicans this week. Mike Johnson and others, and I heard two lines of talking points.

One is this is Chuck Schumer's fault. This is Chuck Schumer's problem, and you need to put pressure on him to end it.

And the second one was, Democrats are being unreasonable, and everything you see that's happening is their fault. Do you think the voters are actually seeing it that way?

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It depends on who we define as the voters. Both parties are talking to their bases.

CORNISH: Well, independents. That's who I'm always talking about, right?

[06:05:03]

HEYE: Well, it's -- I think it's --

CORNISH: Because it's not like Schumer is the most beloved Democrat ever. So, I don't think there's a bunch of Democrats that are like, oh, yes, we should, you know, fight for him.

HEYE: I don't think it's clear at this point. And part of it is they're not necessarily paying attention to all the machinations in Washington. And there are so many machinations in Washington constantly, especially --

CORNISH: But you don't think it's left Washington? Like with the airports. And like, if you go to a national park right now, like, the doors are open.

HEYE: That's about it.

CORNISH: Yes.

HEYE: And that was true in the 2013 shutdown, when I worked in the House of Representatives. Obama's administration blocked off the World War II memorial, for instance. And we saw national parks being closed. That happens in every shutdown.

The reality is, we always have a situation in these where one, one party or the other says, look, we've done our job. We passed a clean C.R.

CORNISH: Yes.

HEYE: Now it's up to you to do your job. You're not going to hold us hostage.

This time, the difference is it's Republicans who are making that argument. It's usually the Democrats.

CORNISH: Although gentle plea from me to all messaging, please stop saying "hostage." Like, what are we doing post-October 7th? Stop.

Jasmine Wright, I want to go to you for a second, because Russell Vought is like, yes, excited. This is my time.

JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NOTUS": Yes.

CORNISH: Is this an extension of the DOGE project? Meaning a window of opportunity to hack away at what he calls the bureaucracy?

WRIGHT: It's definitely a window of opportunity. I don't know if it's an extension of the DOGE project, because it's not being run by Elon Musk. It's being run by Russ Vought, who, unlike Musk and other folks at DOGE, has studied these type of issues. What you can do in a shutdown, whether or not you can do RIFs.

CORNISH: Yes.

WRIGHT: For years and years and years, not just the last four years when Donald Trump was not in office, but for years before then, this has kind of been his thing.

And so, I think that, yes, you're seeing this White House feel like they have an opportunity. They're saying it out loud, and you're seeing them act on it.

I asked one White House official whether or not they believe or the intention of doing these RIFs, was to set a precedent. That kind of exists in a gray area. Right?

Shutdowns -- I mean, layoffs during a shutdown have never happened. And they said it's not the intention. But if we are doing it, then so be it. And we believe that we are on the legal right foot here.

CORNISH: Right. Which is why we're talking about the court so much.

WRIGHT: Exactly. MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING AT BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: But Russell Vought didn't study hard enough, because a judge yesterday just said that it was illegal to do this. So, Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit -- and now it got put into place -- that they are now able to lay off these people. It's against the law.

I know they don't believe in the rule of law, but the American people still do. And this is -- just goes to show you that the court system is still the backstop for what this administration is doing.

CORNISH: But in the meantime, to your point, I do think --

WRIGHT: Until I guess, it gets to the appeals court.

CORNISH: -- the people are feeling it. I want to play an example for you. In the CNN town hall last night, Senator Bernie Sanders took a question from an audience member. Here that is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We're going to do everything that we can to bring an end to this terrible shutdown, which is hurting you and which is hurting a million federal employees and millions of people who use federal services.

But also, we have got to be cognizant that, if Trump wins this fight, our healthcare system could well collapse. And tens of thousands of people could die every single year.

I don't want to look at it like a political fight. We're going to win it, because the American people are on our side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: What struck me about this is you have this woman from Mississippi. She's like, I can't get a home loan, because the department that is supposed to do that work is not. Not just airports and national parks. Right?

And she was saying to a Democrat, look, help.

And I want to ask you, it's fine to have a plan to go in. What is the exit plan out?

HAYS: Well, I've always said you shouldn't close down the government unless you have a plan to open it. So, I don't actually know what the exit plan is.

I think that when people start getting their notices about how much their full healthcare is going to go up, and when people miss their first paycheck, I think both people will act a lot more. Both sides will act a lot more swiftly.

CORNISH: OK, we're in the middle of annual enrollment, I think. Everybody check your H.R. inboxes.

In the meantime, you guys stay with me. Here's some of the stuff we're going to talk about today on CNN THIS MORNING.

Is it a power grab? How the conservative Supreme Court might help Republicans actually strengthen their hold in Congress.

Plus, a sticky situation. The new lawsuit involving your kid's favorite snack.

And your job is to swear me in. A congresswoman-elect responds to House Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to seat her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Speaker Mike Johnson says he won't swear her in until the House is back in session after the government shutdown ends. Nope. Those two things have nothing to do with each other.

Thus, I say, hey man, I'd love to come to your child's clarinet recital. But you know, Toyotathon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:14:12]

CORNISH: It's 13 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning roundup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swear her in! Swear her in! Swear her in!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swear her in! Swear her in! Swear her in!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swear her in! Swear her in! Swear her in!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: "Swear her in." Democrats ramp up the pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson. They want him to swear in Arizona Congresswoman- elect Adelita Grijalva.

Johnson said that he will not seat the Arizona lawmaker until the House returns to session, which likely not until the government shutdown ends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Bless her heart. She's a representative- elect. She doesn't know how it works around here.

REP-ELECT ADELITA GRIJALVA (D-AZ): How offensive and how patronizing. Really? I mean, I do know that two members of Congress were sworn in in a pro forma session. We've had several since I've been elected, and yesterday, my race was certified. [06:15:01]

And so, that's how things work. Your job as speaker is to swear people in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Grijalva, the longtime daughter of a congressman, says that Johnson is refusing to seat her because she would be the last signature needed on a discharge petition to force the release of the Epstein files.

And Stellantis planning to move production of the Jeep Compass to the U.S. The automaker announced a $13 billion investment yesterday after President Trump imposed a 25 percent auto tariff on Canada.

The company previously said it would reopen a plant in Ontario. Canada is threatening to sue.

And those crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you're probably packing right now are at the center of a new lawsuit.

Smuckers suing Trader Joe's, claiming the grocery store's new frozen PB and J's are too similar to Uncrustables. Both are circular and have pie like crimping on the edges.

Smuckers says it violates their trademarks.

And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, Zohran Mamdani's direct-to- camera appeal. How the Democratic socialist used a FOX interview to talk straight to the president.

Plus, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you win, you get a beautiful, beautiful Tiffany crown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: It's been an incredible year for women's sports, and a new league could redefine competition and opportunity for female athletes.

And good morning to Seattle. Sorry about the Mariners. Kind of a tough loss last night. But guess what? You still lead the series and have another shot against the Blue Jays today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:57]

CORNISH: The WNBA coming off an enormous year, one of its most watched seasons ever, and it's brought stardom to some of the league's key players. For instance, last night, Chicago Sky's Angel Reese walked the runway at the Victoria's Secret fashion show in New York. First professional athlete to do so.

You've got Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark, who, of course, has raked in millions in sponsorships and brand deals.

But on the court, the top players still aren't seeing the payoff. They're in the middle of a pretty rough union negotiation.

And I was talking about what's going on when it comes to compensation for women's sports. CNN contributor Cari Champion was on this week's episode of "The Assignment."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORNISH: And when I look at the UFC striking a deal with Paramount+, WWE deal with Netflix, Apple getting soccer, like everybody in the world of what's left of TV is in line.

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Wants a piece of live programing. Yes. No, I -- I do believe women's sports is benefiting from that. I absolutely do believe.

I don't know if they're seeing the dollars, though. And when I say "they," I mean the women.

Yes, fan base is growing. Interest is growing. People want to be invested in it financially, and they want to say they went to a game and/or are part of some sort of franchise or some sort of group that is representing women's sports.

But these ladies will tell you in every -- every professional sport, there's so much more. Except for tennis. Tennis might be the only sport, might be the only sport where the women walk away with equal prize money, thanks to a woman named Billie Jean King and Venus Williams. You know what I mean? It's one of the few sports where the women can say, I've got my money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CORNISH: OK, so it's interesting that you brought up tennis, because the husband of Serena Williams is the founder of a new league called Athlos.

Alexis Ohanian is trying to make the point of paying women properly.

We're also going to talk now with someone from this new track and league -- track and field league, which is Kayla Green. She's the chief marketing officer at Athlos.

Kayla, thanks for joining me.

KAYLA GREEN, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ATHLOS: Thanks for having us.

CORNISH: We've been seeing not just the WNBA, which, you know, 30 years in, but Plan B, Unrivaled, which is another league. There are all of these pro league women things that are coming up. And I was wondering what you think the tipping point is for why now? GREEN: Yes. I mean, I think what we're seeing is a lot of media

coverage now. And the -- the time on the screen is happening. It's not happening at parity yet, but it is starting to grow.

And I think the rise of social media, I think many of these athletes telling their own stories on their -- on their own devices, fans love it. Fans love these stories. Fans love to follow these athletes and -- and their rise and their greatness.

And I think what's happening is the fans are really saying, we want to see more of this. We want to see more of it on the big screen. We want to see it live.

Athlos, we -- we -- we held our event last week, Friday. We -- we've now seen over 4 million people tune in across all of our different platforms where Athlos was aired. The demand is certainly there.

And so, we're seeing the rise of the excitement of this sport that is finally, you know, getting -- getting the attention that it's -- that it's deserved.

CORNISH: It's interesting because when I think about track and field, it makes sense. When the Olympics are on, I'm absolutely glued to the track and field events, and those women do become stars.

And what was the goal in making this kind of live event spectacle and trying to turn that into something that an audience can be engaged with all the time?

[06:25:06]

GREEN: Look, they don't just put on their shoes and run once a -- once every four years. These athletes are competing year-round in a league called the Diamond League.

And you're right, the viewership does spike once every four years. But why should it?

This is one of the simplest sports to understand. It is one of the oldest sports in humanity. And so, you know, the role of Athlos is really to continue to sustain that momentum beyond the Olympic years and continue to grow the excitement for this -- this beautiful sport and the athletes who make it this incredible sport.

CORNISH: One of the things the WNBA has wrestled with is these rivalries have been depicted in kind of nasty ways, off court. You've got some fans, maybe not behaving the best, some sexual harassment of athletes.

How are you thinking about that at Athlos, as you also are trying to grow something new with women at the center?

GREEN: Look, you know, the -- the reality of social media is that, you know, there -- there still is behavior that, you know, is not becoming. And it does create sometimes barriers for these athletes to post on social media, because it's impacting their mental health. Or, you know, there is bullying online.

Athlos has actually built its own app called Inner Circle, which is completely protected. And it's a way for athletes to continue to build a following and for fans to watch. As you know, they -- they put spikes on the track and continue to practice and compete.

And so as part of the league that we're building, we're also creating a closed-loop social network to really allow these athletes to continue to tell these stories, to monetize their content, and continue to grow their following, but do it in a way that is -- it's healthy and protected.

And I think you're going to continue to see a little bit more of that play out. Especially as athletes really do take, you know, take nil into their own hands. And, you know, they control those narratives and where those narratives are told.

CORNISH: That's Kayla Green of Athlos. Thanks so much.

And we're talking about the growth of women's sports this week on "The Assignment." We have all kinds of cultural conversations. And episodes drop on Thursday.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the redistricting fight we saw play out in Texas this summer could soon be even easier for Republicans. And that might be thanks to the nation's highest court.

Plus, one of the most significant evacuations in Alaska's history after a devastating storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]