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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

White House: Mass Layoffs Could Start In Coming Day; Two People Killed In Attack On British Synagogue; Taylor Swift Drops New, Eagerly Anticipated Studio Album. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 03, 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 for being with us.

I'm Brian Abel. Rahel Solomon is off. It is Friday, October 3rd, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Both sides are dug in as thousands of federal workers worry about whether they'll have a job.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Our balance sheet is looking very grim because the Democrats chose to shut the government down.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): They've been firing federal employees all along. That's a shame.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The deadly events unfolding outside a synagogue on the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Counterterrorism policing has declared this as a terrorist incident.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you thought that Taylor Swift was no longer on top of the cultural mainstream. Think again. Her 12th studio album was just released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

ABEL: Today, thousands of federal workers could end up with pink slips. The White House is threatening to make deep and permanent cuts to the federal workforce, which has been caught in the crosshairs of the government shutdown. The political stalemate is now on day three, and so far, neither side

is willing to swerve. Democrats are expected to vote down the Republicans short term spending plan later today, and the Republican senate leader says it's unlikely there will be any additional votes this weekend, meaning the shutdown is poised to drag on into next week.

The top House Democrat downplaying the threat, saying it's just more of the same from the Trump administration. While the House speaker said this is all the Democrats' fault for refusing to rubberstamp the Republican bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If they don't, and if they keep the government closed, it's going to get more and more painful because the resources run out and more and more things have to be reduced and eliminated. Democrats are the ones who have decided to inflict the pain, not the president.

JEFFRIES: They've been firing federal employees all along. That's a shame. These are hardworking public servants. They need to come to the table. We can go back to the White House, or they can come up here and we can have a conversation to end this shutdown. They're hurting the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, President Trump has been meeting with the White House budget chief to decide which federal agencies will face cuts.

Russell Vought said earlier this week that mass layoffs would happen in a day or two, meaning the ax could fall today.

CNN's Rene Marsh picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Before this shutdown officially went into effect, vote had already gotten the wheels turning in this direction. In a memo, he told agency heads to consider mass layoffs for employees working on programs and projects whose funding has lapsed. There's no other source of funding, and it's not aligned with the president's agenda. Those are the three criteria.

Right now, it is not clear which agencies will see these mass layoffs. But the White House told reporters that the number of employees affected would be in the thousands. But what is also happening simultaneously are cuts to programs the Trump administration doesn't like.

Vote announced on social media that nearly $8 billion in funding for what he calls the green new scam, which was funding for clean energy projects in Democratic led states, had been canceled. It's worth pointing out what is different from what we have seen in shutdowns in the past is that the president is out front and center, not necessarily negotiating an end to the shutdown, but instead saying that he'd use it as a, quote, unprecedented opportunity to essentially make things painful for Democrats. And hollow out the federal workforce and eliminate programs that he doesn't like.

AFGE, which is the largest union representing federal workers, they filed a lawsuit. They say that these mass firings during the shutdown that the Trump administration wants to carry out is illegal. They argue that it is an abuse of power. And they also point out that in order to carry out these mass firings, that they essentially would require people to work.

Again, they are calling this all an illegal abuse of power. In their lawsuit, they say, quote, this is a cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in congressional deliberations. And it should be declared unlawful.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And sources tell CNN that the Trump administration is using federal workers and websites to politicize the shutdown and blame Democrats for the government's closure. Some furloughed workers say they've been directed to use out of office messages, blaming Democrats for the congressional stalemate.

[05:05:03]

Others say their generic automatic responses were changed to replies blaming Democrats without their consent. Several federal agencies have similar messaging on their websites. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example, their page now reads that the radical left in congress shut down the government. All of this is raising concerns about violations of the Hatch Act, which says federal government employees must perform their duties in a nonpartisan manner.

Let's go now to Avalon, New Jersey. Charlie Dent, a former U.S. House Republican who served Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district and is now the executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program.

Charlie, thank you for being with us this morning.

I first want to get your reaction to what you just heard there about these away messages and the blame game openly being posted on government agency websites. That's something we certainly have not seen in previous shutdowns.

So, what's the strategy here? Because I can imagine a world in which that kind of partisanship gets us any closer to the government being back open.

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Yeah, clearly, posting those types of messages on government websites is inappropriate and likely violates the Hatch Act. That was just stated. But let's take a step back here and look at these government

shutdowns. This one that we're dealing with today reminds me very much of the one in 2013. Back then, it was Republicans who were demanding changes to health care that is to defund Obamacare.

It was a strategy that never had a chance of success. But the Republican base at the time wanted a fight. They got to fight. Sixteen days later, the government opened with a -- with a clean continuing resolution, just like the Democrats wanted.

Now the script has been flipped. This time, it's Democrats who are demanding changes to health care.

I'm not saying that the changes they want are unreasonable, and I think they'll probably get them, but not during the shutdown, at least on the premium subsidies for the ACA. They'll probably get what they want, but -- or at least part of what they want, but they're not going to get it now.

And so, Democrats right now are demanding changes to health care. Republicans are insisting on a clean C.R. to fund the government for 50 days. And so, we're going to have a fight because the Democratic base wants one.

And, you know, the blame game goes on. Typically -- typically, the party that makes the policy demand, in this case, it's the Democrats, usually gets blamed. But this is the era of Trump. And if you're looking at polling today, it seems a lot of voters are blaming the president more than the Democrats.

But same time, you know, the government is going to reopen. Senate Democrats are in a little bit of a bind or a pickle here, because they know at least seven of them will have to vote for whatever the agreement is to open the government, because 60 votes will be required to pass this appropriations bill, which is what a continuing resolution is.

ABEL: Sure.

Let's talk a little bit more about that C.R. because Democrats argue what's offered by Republicans isn't a clean C.R. and point to rescissions and also what they view as not negotiating in good faith because of President Trump freezing funds already approved by Congress previously, some say a sign -- say that's a sign that any bipartisan funding will get adjusted later in a partisan way.

But Democrats are also not offering a clean C.R. They have partisan policy demands as well, including those rollbacks of parts of the so- called Big, Beautiful Bill.

Why can we not just get to a clean or mostly clean C.R., then hash out differences? What's so different now compared to the Biden era where 13 C.R.s were passed?

DENT: Well, the bill is a fairly clean C.R. It -- as I see it anyway. I mean, I think they added $1 billion for Washington, D.C., added money for member security.

But the Democrats are correct to insist that the rescissions that have been -- that have occurred, violate previous agreements that were negotiated in Congress on the spending bills. That's a very big issue that must be resolved. And it sets a terrible precedent, in fact, because someday there will be a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress that may decide to rescind moneys that Republicans and Democrats agreed to, that would be very problematic for Republican members.

And so, if I'm a Republican in Congress, I want this issue resolved on the rescissions, too, because someday the shoe will be on the left foot. And what goes around comes around.

And so, Democrats, I think, are correct, to make -- to insist that would ever agree -- agreements are reached will not be overdone by or overruled by the administration through a unilateral rescission.

ABEL: Congressman, I do want to play for you what Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday when asked about firings of federal workers. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Can you give us an estimate on the amount of federal workers that the Trump administration wants to fire during the government shutdown? Are we talking hundreds? Are we talking thousands?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, it's likely going to be in the thousands. It's a very good question.

[05:10:00]

And that's something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here again, is unfortunately having to work on today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Having to work on. Do they have to be doing that, Congressman? Because this hasn't happened in previous administrations during shutdowns, flat out mass firings instead of furloughs?

DENT: No. Of course, the administration does not have to mass-fire people. In fact, in more normal times, I don't think a president of either party really likes the idea of having to furlough federal employees.

Most presidents don't want a shutdown because their job is to execute the laws of the land. And it's really difficult to do that when the government is shut down.

It seems -- and the president has said a lot of good things can happen during a shutdown. That is completely contrary to what I've heard from many other president in the past, who really wants to avoid a shutdown.

And so, and that's -- you know, like I said, ordinarily, the party making the policy demand would be blamed for a shutdown. But when the president makes statements like that and the OMB director, you know, is talking about mass firings, well, then guess what? The blame may shift back on them.

And I just don't know that -- I think at some point, these -- this shutdown and these firings could, you know, backfire and whiplash back onto Republican members who will be impacted.

You saw some of the cuts that have already been announced, like up at the MTA in New York, the Gateway Tunnel. You know, there are a lot of Republican congressmen from New York and New Jersey who want that project to be completed. This isn't helping them.

So, I think the longer this drags on, the worse it is for everybody.

ABEL: And we'll see just how long it drags on.

Former Congressman Charlie Dent, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

DENT: Yeah. Thank you.

ABEL: U.S. states looking to prepare for emergencies are facing a new challenge now as the Trump administration puts a hold on the awarding of federal grant money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is ordering states to prove their population counts before they can get funds. And states must also confirm that deported migrants are not included in the total. FEMA says some states may be getting inflated payments because most of the grant money is distributed based on population.

Critics call this an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. Now, last year, FEMA awarded more than $300 million in grants to help fund local disaster readiness efforts.

And in its latest attempt to reshape higher education in the U.S., the Trump administration is now pressuring nine major colleges and universities to sign on to a series of conservative reforms. In exchange, they'll get expanded access to federal funding.

Now, the compact for academic excellence requires schools to remove factors like sex and ethnicity from admissions consideration and foster a vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus with no single ideology dominant. It also puts a 15 percent cap on international students and requires schools to adhere to definitions of gender based on reproductive function and biological processes.

Now, the White House says schools that sign on will get a competitive advantage and be given priority for grants and invitations to White House events.

We turn now to hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is set to be sentenced in the day ahead following his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyers say Combs intends to address the court. Ahead of his sentencing, Combs submitted a letter to the judge pleading for mercy and a second chance. He wrote that he is humbled and broken and that he got lost in the drugs and the excess.

Federal prosecutors are asking for Combs to serve more than 11 years. The defense wants him sentenced to 14 months with credit for a year already served.

The Jewish community in Britain reeling after an attack on a synagogue, leaves two people dead and more injured. What we know about the suspect just ahead.

Then an explosion and a fireball. Look at that. Crews scrambling to put out the flames at the largest oil refinery on the U.S. West Coast.

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[05:18:43]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Refineries on fire.

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ABEL: Look at that. Lighting up the night sky. An explosion and huge billowing fireballs erupted earlier at a Chevron refinery south of Los Angeles. This is happening in the coastal city of El Segundo. The city's mayor says there are no reports of injuries so far, and authorities don't know what caused it yet.

An L.A. County official said the fire is likely to affect air quality. People living nearby are being urged to stay indoors, as a result. We are hearing flights at the main international airport, LAX, that's not too far away, have not been affected.

The Chevron Refinery is the largest oil processing facility on the U.S. West Coast, processing more than a quarter million barrels of crude oil each day.

And we now know the names of the two people killed in an attack on a Jewish synagogue in Manchester, England. You're seeing live images here of the aftermath of that scene.

Fifty-three-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz were killed when a man rammed his car into the synagogue and then stabbed people. It happened on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. As people gathered for a morning prayer service.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more from Manchester. And first, a warning, his report does contain some graphic content.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): As the injured lay in the street, armed police shout at the alleged attacker, whom they identify as Jihad al-Shami, a British citizen of Syrian descent, whom they say was wearing what appears to be an explosive device.

Then shoot as he refuses to comply.

The deadly events unfolding early Thursday morning outside a synagogue in the northern city Manchester, on the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community, Yom Kippur.

Gary Wernick was inside the synagogue.

GARY WERNICK, SURVIVOR OF SYNAGOGUE ATTACK: I saw somebody, somebody I knew, sitting in a chair, or being put in a chair, covered with blood. And I realized it was not a place for me to be.

I went back. At that point I knew it was a serious incident.

ROBERTSON: And what do you think can happen at that moment?

WERNICK: I can get killed.

ROBERTSON: You thought that could happen to you?

WERNICK: Yes.

ROBERTSON: You might die.

WERNICK: Yes.

LAURENCE TAYLOR, HEAD, UNITED KINGDOM COUNTER TERRORISM POLICE: Two people have died. The attacker has been shot dead by the police. Based on what we know, counter-terrorism policing has declared this as a terrorist incident.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In this exclusive CNN video, shot in a residential street barely a quarter mile from the synagogue, two 30- year-old men were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, and taken away. Police say a 60- year-old woman arrested on the same charges, too.

ROBERTSON: Do you feel safe living in the U.K. now?

WERNICK: Britain, I think, has always been unsafe.

ROBERTSON: Is this a safe place to bring your girls up?

WERNICK: No.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Police also praising the public for their quick actions, preventing even more bloodshed.

CHIEF CONSTABLE SIR STEPHEN WATSON, GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE: There were a large number of worshippers attending the synagogue at the time of this attack. But thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of the police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access.

ROBERTSON: The attack so serious, the British Prime Minister cut short a trip to Denmark, returning in a hurry to the U.K. to chair a meeting of his top security officials.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): For some, it will feel too little, too late. Across the U.K., anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise. So too, the fear that something like this could happen.

VICKY, MANCHESTER RESIDENT, LIVES NEAR SYNAGOGUE: We do have Orthodox people on this road. They're probably not safe now and we have lots of children. For somebody to know today's Yom Kippur, I just feel this has been definitely planned.

ROBERTSON: And after his security cabinet meeting, the British Prime Minister saying that this was an attack on Jews because they are Jews. Around here, people feel that this is one of the worst anti-Semitic attacks in the U.K.

It is a collective trauma that will be felt way beyond the victims' family and friends.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Nic Robertson reporting there.

We want to bring you an update now on a story that we've been following for the past few days. You see it here. Video showing the moment when Israeli forces intercepted the final boat taking part in the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. The vessel was livestreaming when Israeli troops approached and ordered those on board to raise their hands. It was one of 42 vessels that set sail trying to break through Israels blockade of Gaza.

Activist Greta Thunberg was among hundreds of passengers detained in recent days.

We'll have more on this story and a live report coming up shortly.

Taylor Swift's newest album is out, and fans could not be more excited. Details on "The Life of a Showgirl" after the break.

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[05:28:54]

ABEL: Fans around the world are listening to Taylor Swift's eagerly awaited 12th studio album. It was released just a few hours ago, a mix of breezy and literary ballads with a total runtime of about 42 minutes. Let's take a listen to some of it. (MUSIC)

ABEL: "The Life of a Showgirl" features 12 songs Swift said she wrote while on her Eras Tour last year. It's about her experiences during the tour and her life with fiance, football player Travis Kelce.

Earlier, fans showed they are more than ready for the new music. Swifties in Minnesota lined up well before the midnight release to buy the album and maybe share some trivia about their favorite artist.

Joining me live now from Nashville is Annie Lawrence, a social media content creator and pop culture expert known for her coverage of Taylor Swift on her "A Swiftie Story" socials.

And, Annie, I'm about part of the way through. About halfway through the new album so far this morning, but I got to get your review.