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The Situation Room

Trump Administration Cuts Vaccination Programs; Crisis in Gaza. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 25, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

TJADA D'OYEN MCKENNA, CEO, MERCY CORPS: They're like everybody else.

The little food that is available, -- he March blockade that the Israelis put in also affected commercial goods. The little food that is available is extraordinarily expensive. Our team reported that a sack of flour was going for 480 U.S. dollars in the marketplace. So it's just a tremendously dire situation.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: UNICEF says that, what, 80 percent -- this is UNICEF -- 80 percent of those who have died of starvation are children in Gaza.

And now the enclave is on the brink of running out of specialized food that's needed to save these kids. What can aid groups like yours do with so little food and supplies on hand, at least right now?

MCKENNA: Yes, right now, we are providing water and other services, but this is very solvable. It's manmade and it's solvable.

We need a cease-fire. We need Israel -- we need a resumption of the U.N. food distribution points and the U.N. aid distribution system. And we need unfettered access to get food in to serve people. At this point, when people are dying of -- deaths -- this is a long process. And it's a weeks and months buildup.

So you go from long-term nutrition deficit to severe malnutrition, ultimately death. At this point, people need more than food. They need malnutrition treatment. They need therapeutic foods. They need medical care. We need to go in with complete solutions to stop this from really tipping into a mass death event.

BLITZER: As you know, Tjada, Israel says it stopped the previous aid distribution system because it claims Hamas was stealing so much of that food. What do you know about that?

MCKENNA: We have seen no evidence of that.

And there was a report today that a USAID investigation, going back to 2023, saw no widespread evidence of that. But even if that were the case, the way to prevent that, the way to make food aid less of a commodity or less of a hot ticket to be stolen is to flood the zone and make food and supplies widely available. BLITZER: The Gaza Humanitarian aid foundation, which is supported by

Israel and the U.S., for that matter, says it distributed 91 million meals over the last two months alone in Gaza. Is that enough?

MCKENNA: That's a drop in the bucket. It is not enough. And that is a system where they have four distribution sites, as opposed to the 400 that are in place with the U.N. system. People are forced to walk miles and miles. They're forced across military lines to enter that system.

And that's especially difficult for people who are vulnerable, seniors, women, pregnant people, children, to access those sites.

BLITZER: So Israel now has announced that it's going to begin airdrops of food and other humanitarian aid to folks in Gaza. How is that -- how are those airdrops going to be distributed?

MCKENNA: Airdrops are stunts. And then -- they're stunts. They're inefficient. They -- people die getting hit by food. And it's not efficient.

If you're worried about Hamas taking food, you have no control over where airdrops go, no control over the most vulnerable people getting them. And the solution is just very easy. Open the borders. Let aid in. Let aid agencies do their job. Let us do our work.

Airdrops, it's a stunt. It's not meant to seriously address the issue.

BLITZER: Because they say that in order for people to survive in Gaza, you need at least about 1,500 truck trucks coming in every day with supplies. Is that right?

MCKENNA: That's exactly right. And right now, at the most, we have had 200, 100. It's just nothing. It's the bare minimum.

And you have had months of this, of a backup. So what's needed to just replenish the normal systems, as well as feed people day-to-day, you need everything open. You need a cease-fire, so that we can move around and serve people safely.

An extraordinary number of humanitarians have been killed trying to do their work in this crisis.

BLITZER: And very quickly, before I let you go, there's been some criticism in the past few days of the Trump administration for not having a high-level diplomatic envoy deal exclusively with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. What's your reaction to that?

MCKENNA: Whatever we can do to expedite a cease-fire, a return of hostages, and the resumption of the aid systems, people cannot wait.

Every day counts for mothers, for children, for people looking for food and looking for their human dignity.

BLITZER: And it looks like these negotiations that have been going on for the past few days to reach a cease-fire, allow humanitarian aid in, get the hostages out, seems to have collapsed, with the U.S. and Israel withdrawing their diplomatic representation from these negotiations that have been under way in Doha, Qatar.

MCKENNA: All that's doing is pushing more people to death. That does not serve anyone. People need to get back to the table and do their political jobs.

BLITZER: Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, thanks very much for all the important work you are doing. Thanks very much for coming in.

MCKENNA: Thank you for bringing attention.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

And, as things intensify in Gaza, there are doubts that a truce will soon be reached between Israel and Hamas. We're going to bring you all the new developments, as the U.S. and Israeli negotiators have actually now left the bargaining table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:39:33]

BLITZER: Right now, the hope for a cease-fire in Gaza and the return of hostages is dimming big time.

The U.S. and Israeli negotiators have walked away from negotiations that were ongoing with Hamas in Doha, Qatar. President Trump just addressed this as he left the White House for Scotland, saying Hamas didn't want to make a deal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They pulled out of Gaza. They pulled out in terms of negotiating. It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal.

[11:40:04]

I think they want to die. And it's very, very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now for analysis is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He's also a White House and national security correspondent over at "The New York Times," the author of an important book entitled "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West."

David, thanks for joining us.

A senior Hamas official says a breakthrough in these cease-fire talks was actually close. But the special U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, says Hamas was being -- quote -- "selfish and not acting in good faith," his words. So what happens now? DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well,

first of all, we're getting wildly different accounts of where this is.

So you just heard President Trump and Mr. Witkoff. The Israeli prime minister's office told reporters a different story, saying that they had recalled the negotiators for consultations, but said that discussions were going on and they did not view this as a breakdown.

And then Hamas itself, as you just noted, said that they had basically agreed to most of, but they didn't say what, of the Israeli proposals that were basically brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. So we don't even have agreement on where the negotiations really stand.

And it looks like it's the U.S. that is saying that they are wildly far apart.

BLITZER: Here in Washington, David, the State Department is saying the U.S. is still committed to trying to reach a cease-fire and hostage release agreement. Witkoff, the special U.S. envoy, says they will -- quote -- and I'm quoting him now -- "consider alternative options" at this point.

What could those -- quote -- "alternative options' look like?

SANGER: Well, he said alternative options to get the hostages back. So, I mean, Israel could try to mount rescue operations. Those are pretty risky.

At this point, there are probably 20, 25 hostages who are believed to still be alive. And I think part of what's going on here is that Hamas recognizes that, when you get to such small numbers of hostages there, their own leverage declines.

Now, when Prime Minister Netanyahu was in Washington a few weeks ago, he made it pretty clear that what he was interested in was a temporary cease-fire, but that, when that was over, then Hamas had to lay down its arms or would be wiped out by the Israelis.

So, he's not thinking about a permanent cease-fire here. He is thinking about restoring Gaza to Israeli control. He hasn't come up with an alternative proposal to that.

BLITZER: On another sensitive issue, while I have you, David, I want to highlight an analysis by our Stephen Collinson on the entire Epstein saga.

He writes this -- and I'm quoting now -- "The political storm that is obscuring the agony of victims who lost any opportunity for justice when Epstein took his own life in prison is simultaneously blotting out a larger-scale catastrophe abroad. What's your take on this?"

SANGER: So, I read Steve's very good column and commend it to people to take a look at. Here's my view. The Epstein case, obviously, as any domestic scandal would, is taking

up all the oxygen in Washington. But, meanwhile, the two biggest negotiations that President Trump says he had under way to save lives do appear to be floundering.

And that is, of course, the one we just described, and you just played before the commercial break, the horrific images of starvation that are under way among the Palestinians in Gaza, and, of course, the continuing Ukraine-Russia war, which the president this morning said, well, maybe Zelenskyy and Putin would get together in two to three months.

Well, do you remember, Wolf, when he said it was -- that the Russians had to come around within weeks -- that was a few months ago -- or there would be significant consequences? This is one that he keeps pushing down the road as well.

BLITZER: David Sanger, as usual, thank you very much for your analysis.

SANGER: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up: millions of dollars ripped from vaccination clinics by the federal government here in the U.S. Those crucial shots are key to protecting children across the country.

We're going to take a closer look at the effects of these latest cuts by the Trump administration.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:49:24]

BLITZER: New this morning, millions of dollars in federal funds have been pulled from state and local vaccination programs without explanation. The cuts come after a review of funding agreements by the Department of Health and Human Services.

But immunization programs across the United States are already struggling to address an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases like whooping cough and measles.

Let's bring in CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

Meg, what is going on? What is happening to some of these programs that are so very important in saving the lives of kids and adults?

[11:50:04]

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, I mean, this is funding that is appropriated by Congress under the Public Health Services Act.

This is money that goes to data collection on vaccination rates, on providing shots for underserved kids and adults, also for monitoring the safety of vaccines and fighting misinformation around vaccines.

And so we understand that the Department of Health and Human Services conducted a lengthy review of this funding, which delayed some of the funding getting to cities and states, but also that, when the funding did come through, in some circumstances, it was less than those jurisdictions were expecting.

Immunization programs overall were told to expect about $418 million in funding, and actually received $398 million, so a shortfall of $20 million, according to reporting from our CNN colleague Brenda Goodman.

Now, she talked with the Department of Health and Human Services about this, and specifically about the delay. They said -- quote -- "The Defend the Spend initiative is a department-wide effort to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively, transparency, and in alignment with this administration."

And they did emphasize they're committed to working with grantees to resolve outstanding issues as quickly as possible, Wolf, but pretty jarring to public health departments that are already in a shortfall.

BLITZER: So what is happening to these programs as a result?

TIRRELL: Yes, the result is that, in some cases, workers were furloughed who are working on these immunization programs. Some cities have said they have had to lay off workers in these vaccination programs completely, so those jobs are gone.

And this comes on top of cuts in COVID era funding, billions of dollars from these public health departments that have resulted in almost 600 working in vaccination programs losing their jobs. So this infrastructure is really getting dismantled.

We heard from one expert, Brian Castrucci, the CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which advocates for public health workers -- quote -- "We're watching the dismantling of the public health safety net in real time" -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Meg Tirrell, thank you very much for that update. Appreciate it.

Coming up: The start of the NFL season is just around the corner. This season, HBO's "Hard Knocks" will bring you the sights and sounds from the Buffalo Bills training camp. We have a preview and we will share it with you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:57:44]

BLITZER: Before we go today, we have something very special for you.

On August 5, HBO is giving you an inside look at my team, the Buffalo Bills, with the new season of "Hard Knocks." Both HBO and CNN, by the way, share a parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Here's a preview of what's coming up. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS: It truly takes everybody to have team success. It's not just the leaders that matter. It takes a whole village.

We're going to do whatever we can to bring the Lombardi back here to Western New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys ready back there? Far away.

SEAN MCDERMOTT, BUFFALO BILLS HEAD COACH: Now that you're inside the building, it's what you do with the opportunity that matters most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Josh Allen is Superman right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see the best player in the building wearing number 17. It's Buffalo versus the world. There's just one thing left to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to make this city proud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about hanging a banner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not done yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iron sharpens iron. It's good to see the boys out there competing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bills Mafia showed up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The expectations, the adversity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what motivates and strengthens us.

ANNOUNCER: Are you kidding me?

MCDERMOTT: Resilient, tough, that is Buffalo to the core, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And as many of you know, I grew up in Buffalo and am a huge, huge Bills fan. I have been my whole life. And I may be biased, but Josh Allen, in my opinion, is the best quarterback in the league. He's who I think of when I hear those words here in Washington often said the Big Beautiful Bill. I think of Josh Allen.

I'm a devoted member of the Bills Mafia, as we call it. And I love going to games at over at Highmark Stadium. I got the chance earlier this year to have the stadium all to myself, walk on the field, and tour the Bills locker room, even taking a picture in Josh Allen's locker.

I, for one, can't wait to watch the new season of "Hard Knocks."