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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Funding Impasse Enters Day Two With No Deal In Sight; Americans Impacted By Shutdown; Israeli Military Intercepts Ships In Gaza And Flotilla; Greenland Stages Largest-Ever Military Drills. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 02, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:26]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome to our viewers, joining us from the United States and all around the world. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

I'm Brian Abel. Rahel Solomon is off. It is Thursday, October 2nd, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no signs of any tangible progress in funding talks.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Unfortunately, we are here in a government shutdown that the Democrats wanted.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Donald Trump and Republicans shut the federal government down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still working without pay, TSA screeners, customs and border patrol and air traffic controllers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It puts the controllers in a very difficult position. It does weaken the national airspace system.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Agents have begun the federal law enforcement surge to Memphis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come out the other day, someone tried to steal my car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

ABEL: The shutdown of the U.S. government will last until at least Friday, and possibly much longer. The Senate made sure of that by once again failing to pass a funding bill. There will be no votes today due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Democrats and Republicans are locked in this standoff, with neither

side seeming to give up any ground right now. Public anger over the dysfunction could at some point force a compromise, but we are certainly not there yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THUNE: And everybody's now asking the question, how does this end? Well, it ends when the Senate Democrats pick this bill up passed by the House of Representatives and vote for it. It's on the floor of the senate.

JEFFRIES: Donald Trump and Republicans shut the federal government down because they don't want to provide health care to working class Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And health care subsidies due to expire later this year are the big sticking point. Democrats want them extended. Republicans want them gone. President Trump laid low on Wednesday, but his staff warned that layoffs would be imminent.

He later appeared on the right-wing news outlet OAN, claiming the shutdown will let him eliminate federal workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There could be firings and that's their fault, and it could also be other things. I mean, we could cut projects that they wanted, favored projects, and they'd be permanently cut. So, you could say a lot of people are saying Trump wanted this, that I wanted this closing, and I didn't want it.

But a lot of people are saying it because I'm allowed to cut things that should have never been approved in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, the racist and what some people believe is a vulgar A.I. generated video that President Trump posted earlier this week has reappeared. The White House put it up in the briefing room.

The fake video depicts the house minority leader wearing a sombrero and a mustache, while the senate minority leader argues undocumented immigrants should get free health care.

Now, Vice President J.D. Vance claimed the video is not racist and, quote, we are having a good time.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump was not seen or heard during the first day of this latest government shutdown, a fairly extraordinary development here on Wednesday at the White House. The president often is taking a lead, playing a leading role in most any policy, big or small.

But in this shutdown, he sent his Vice President J.D. Vance out to the press briefing room on Wednesday to make the case that, yes, federal government workers could be laid off during this shutdown.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to have to lay some people off if the shutdown continues. We don't like that. We don't necessarily want to do it, but were going to do what we have to keep the American people's essential services continuing to run.

ZELENY: And the word is "layoffs", not furloughs. Of course, that is what happens during most federal workers are furloughed. They are not allowed to come to work. They are paid later on.

This is something different entirely. The Office of Management and Budget is working up a plan to lay off federal workers. Some are calling it DOGE 2.0, if you will. Of course, that remaking of federal government in the workforce that Elon Musk tried to do earlier this year, but then effectively walked away from it.

So, the White House clearly is making moves during this shutdown. But interestingly, the president is not playing a leading role in this.

Now, some White House officials are saying that they believe the president is still holding out hope that a handful of Democrats will come forward, essentially not comfortable with the pain of this shutdown and vote with Republicans to refund the government for a short period of time.

[05:05:06]

That is very much an open question. Of course, three Democrats already have, and independents who vote with Democrats.

But, look, other Democrats say the fight is for a reason. They're pointing to the Medicaid cuts. They are pointing to the health care premium increases that will happen.

So, for all of this, President Trump clearly, of course, presided over a 35-day shutdown during his first term in office. It is very much an open question how long this will go, but for day one, at least, President Trump, taking a rare backseat, at least here at the White House.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: The FBI Agents Association warns this shutdown could put national security at risk. It told its members their ability to do their job could be impaired at a time of unprecedented security and criminal threats. The association says its written to Congress asking that no mission critical federal agents have their pay withheld during the shutdown. It says this is not a political issue and that FBI agents are only concerned with, quote, fulfilling our mission, upholding the Constitution and protecting the American people.

Some remarkable new reporting now from "The Washington Post" on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's long running battle with his own staff and senior advisers, as well as the country's top military commanders. The headline for the piece, "Pentagon plans widespread random polygraphs, non-disclosure agreements and staunch leaks to staunch leaks, according to the report, more than 5,000 personnel would be required to sign NDAs prohibiting the release of nonpublic information without approval or through a defined process.

The polygraph plan builds on earlier CNN reporting that Hegseth had threatened then Acting Joint Chiefs Chairman Chris Grady with lie detector testing because he believed Admiral Grady was leaking to undermine him.

A seventh unoccupied house has collapsed in North Carolina's outer banks amid large swells and rough surf from Hurricane Imelda, and what was Hurricane Humberto. You can see the debris that's scattered across the beach in Buxton. At least 19 homes have now collapsed due to beach erosion.

The National Weather Service says strong winds from the storms could cause minor coastal flooding.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Imelda has been battering Bermuda. The core of the storm passed over the island early today. Imelda is now a category one hurricane with sustained winds of 90 miles an hour. A few hours ago, its center was about 80 miles east northeast of Bermuda. Imelda is heading into the cooler ocean waters of the North Atlantic, where it's expected to weaken further. Good news there.

A startling sight at New York's LaGuardia airport as two Delta Airline regional jets collided on a taxiway Wednesday night. Delta says the wing of one aircraft slammed into the cockpit windows of the other in a low-speed collision, they say, that sent one person to the hospital. Both planes were operated by regional air carrier Endeavor Air.

New York Port Authority says the incident did not impact airport operations. Scary moment.

Intercepted at sea. More boats in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla are being stopped by the Israeli military. The latest in a live report ahead.

Plus, President Trump says National Guard troops are now in place in Portland, Oregon. It's the latest Democrat-run city where the president has sent in federal officers and the National Guard on claims of fighting crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:20]

ABEL: A live look at Capitol Hill here in Washington, D.C., where a government shutdown is underway.

Congressman Jonathan Jackson is a Democrat representing Illinois's first district in the U.S. House. And he is joining us now from Chicago.

And, Congressman, here we are starting day two of this shutdown. And I first want to know what your caucus, what Democrats in the house are doing to move closer to reopening government. And if there has been any discussions with Republicans right now.

REP. JONATHAN JACKSON (D-IL): Well, the Democrats, we were in Washington, D.C., on yesterday, the day before, prepared for work. The Republicans were a no show. This has been a ruse, if you will. If it weren't affecting so many people, you would call it a frost. But in a -- this is a fraud that's being committed -- being communicated by the Republican Party.

Republicans are in charge of the executive branch. They are in charge of the house of representatives. And in some ways, they have too much influence over the United States Supreme Court.

The Republicans have the keys. They've boasted about every bill that they've passed on a partizan basis. And now they're trying to take this last bit of this health care cut and cram it down. The poorest, most vulnerable people in the nation, 80 million people rely upon the Medicaid system. And 18 to 16 million people will lose their benefits and their coverage.

And we put a stake in the ground and said, no more. This has to stop. People are trying to give the president the benefit of the doubt. But he has been ruthless and reckless and attacking the poor.

ABEL: Let's talk about President Trump, because he seems to be prepared to use this moment to slim the federal workforce even more.

[05:15:01]

Take a listen to what his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and Senator Ted Cruz, had to say about it. And then I want to get your reaction on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We believe that layoffs are imminent. They are, unfortunately, a consequence of this government shutdown.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think that is fantastic. And what it's going to do is its going to cause Democrats in Congress to scream and weep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So, Congressman, is that the effect?

JACKSON: Yes. The budget -- first, sometimes it's the debt ceiling that they've tried to impose. And now that they're not concerned about the debt or the deficit, now they've passed on their tax cuts to the wealthiest people, now they're going to use this whole idea of the Medicaid and saying that there's fraudulent waste, fraud and abuse. Mr. Elon Musk said he was going to tackle that. He first said he was

going to go in and save $2 trillion, then $1 trillion. Then he ended up saying they've secured $150 billion.

Where are the people that they wanted to say were abusing the system? People that are not citizens do not qualify for the Medicaid. I mean, they ought to read the law. There is no rampant abuse in there.

The effect of this has been in the past, more poor people have been kicked off of the system without being guaranteed any work. So they're saying they're doing it for the purpose of work requirements. Where are they going to work?

Sure, there's work to be done and we are all for that. But this is not that purpose. This is weaponizing these cuts. And the target is always been Medicaid. This is not by coincidence.

ABEL: Congresswoman, for those at home who may not be following every single turn of this shutdown, explain for us why -- why are Democrats using this particular moment to try and get movement on health care? Why not? Over the last handful of months leading up to this, why not pass temporary funding with a continuing resolution so people aren't out of work or paychecks while making your argument with Republicans and working on some sort of compromise? Why?

JACKSON: Well, we have been and have continuously tried under the leadership of Leader Jeffries. They've been willing to have this conversation. The Republicans have been no-show. They are no-show in Washington today.

It's the same pattern. It's just now come to the attention of millions of Americans that the Republicans stop doing town halls. There was not one debate on the one big ugly bill, not one, under the Affordable Care Act, there were over 100, and they had their amendments accepted.

Not one Democratic amendment was accepted. There was not one time there was not one debate regarding this $5 trillion tax giveaway. So that's an appropriate question for speaker Johnson. They've never had a debate that you and I can refer to.

ABEL: Well, Congressman, I'd like to know potentially what you are hearing from your constituents about this. Are you feeling pressure one way or another? And at what point does party unity begin to fracture, to pressure? How long can this go?

JACKSON: Well, look at the consequence if there is no unity. We're going to have five hospitals closed in the city of Chicago. Health care providers are now beginning to pull out of certain markets because they can see what's coming.

We know that in -- that the insurance rates are going to increase substantially. Some even double. We've heard from people that have children on the spectrum of autism that are guaranteed certain levels of care that will have it lost if this coverage is been removed.

It's cruel. And at the same time, we're talking about giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest people in the nation. If we don't have the money, I understand it.

But they're passing the money to the wealthiest people. We want to see functioning hospitals. We want to see children going to school. This has become a disaster. This program has already been implemented in Arkansas and in Georgia. And what was the effect? Tens of thousands of people having been cut off. They're trying to increase the work.

Reporting requirements, not showing people where there is work and then what they're doing is, it was struck down in Georgia by a federal court because they said, you've kicked off 95,000 people, and this is cruelty. They kicked off 18,000 people in the state of Arkansas just by trying to manipulate work requirements.

This program came into existence with Medicare at the same time as Medicaid. What does it cover? Forty-one million people. Who's going to be affected? Sixteen million people can be kicked off just by them playing around with the formula.

There is no waste, fraud and abuse in the system. They've never shown any receipts. They've never come forward with anything like that. And now you're going to see people, in great misery.

[05:20:02]

So, the Democrats said, enough is enough. We're not going to see people's insurance skyrocket. At the same time, you're passing off tax breaks to the 1 percent.

ABEL: And we'll see just how much pain for everyday Americans it will take before something gives here.

Congressman, there are so much more that I would like to cover with you, but I have run out of time for now, so I hope that you will come and join us again.

Congressman Jonathan Jackson, thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you.

ABEL: Organizers of a Gaza bound aid flotilla are vowing to push on undeterred, even as more vessels are being intercepted by the Israeli military. The Israeli foreign ministry confirms some ships were stopped and the detained passengers will be deported.

Among those detained, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Israel says the navy had contacted the flotilla earlier and asked it to change course.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is following developments and joins us now from Rome.

And, Ben, first, it was that fire from what the flotilla group said was an attack. Now, this IDF interception.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it began last night, Brian, at around 9:00 p.m. local time. That is local time in Gaza. When about 70 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza. Well within

international waters. The Global Sumud Flotilla started to report that they were some of their boats were being rammed by Israeli vessels, others were being hit by water cannon. At this point, it appears that of the approximately 44, 45 boats that were taking boats and ships that were taking part in this flotilla, around 40, according to the flotilla spokespeople, around 40 have either been intercepted or are assumed intercepted because they have not been. They have. They've been out of contact for at least six hours.

Now, one of those boats, the Mecano got within it appears around 15 kilometers of the Gaza coastline, very close. But its tracker appears that it's not moving anymore, and it doesn't seem to have gotten any closer. After that. Now, this news that this flotilla has been stopped has sparked protests in many countries.

Here in Italy, for instance, we saw protests here in Rome, in Pisa, Florence, Turin, Naples and elsewhere. There were protests in Belgium and Turkey, in Spain, in -- even as far away as Argentina.

Here in Italy, there's going to be a strike going into effect this evening. It's going to affect public transport. And we know that on Saturday there is going to be a very large demonstration. Against or in support of the flotilla and against the war in Gaza. Many people here in Italy are appalled at what they've seen over the last two years. They're angry with their government. That has really done very little in terms of trying to put pressure on the Israelis to relent in its campaign there.

And so, we expect going to be very busy over the next three days here in Italy. And we're seeing -- obviously, we're going to see protests elsewhere, because even though president Trump on Monday announced a breakthrough with this 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, there is deep, deep anger at many western governments where the people of those countries feel their governments simply have not done enough to stop the bloodshed in Gaza -- Brian.

WEDEMAN: All right. Ben Wedeman, for us in Rome -- Ben, thank you.

Greenland is staging its largest ever combat exercises meant to deter aggression from Russia and China. Why some say the display is really a message for the U.S. president. That's ahead on EARLY START.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:28:45]

ABEL: Greenland is staging its largest ever military drills with a publicly stated aim of deterring Russia and China, but many are wondering if the war games are really a message for Donald Trump.

CNN's Matthew Chance is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a vast landscape, remote and virtually untamed. But Greenland has emerged as a key arctic battleground as Russia and China vie with NATO allies for Arctic influence.

CNN was invited here by the Danish military to observe their biggest ever combat exercise, dubbed Arctic Light.

Much of Greenland, ruled by Denmark for three centuries, is a moonscape of jagged ice, a frozen desert rich in resources the size of Alaska and California combined.

Danish military officials say this unforgiving terrain is virtually unconquerable, but they're still training hard to repulse any would be attackers.

SEREN ANDERSEN, COMMANDER DANISH JOINT ARCTIC COMMAND: We are here to protect Greenland, and in order to protect Greenland, we have to train. And because if you're not up here and conduct training, you're not able to defend Greenland. So that's what we're doing.