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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Elon Musk Wields Chainsaw At CPAC To Tout DOGE Cuts; Report: U.S.-Ukraine Restarting Talks After Tense Week; McConnell Announces He Won't Seek Reelection Next Year. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired February 20, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INTELLIGENCE & COUNTERTERRORISM: -- I don't think he could keep them past his government service--
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Yes.
MILLER: --if anybody was looking.
COOPER: And we don't know how many of his detail have actually been deputized?
MILLER: Don't know.
COOPER: Yes. Like much else surrounding what's going on with Elon Musk.
MILLER: Bit of a mystery.
COOPER: Yes. John Miller, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Straight from THE SOURCE tonight.
Elon Musk takes a wrecking ball to the federal government, and a chainsaw to CPAC, literally, what he told the conservative gathering about slashing the federal (inaudible) thousands of jobs.
And President Trump tonight, and his top aides, are ratcheting up the pressure on Ukrainian president Zelenskyy to strike a deal to end the war that Trump claims, baselessly, that Zelenskyy started.
And about those DOGE stimulus checks, Trump and Musk have been suggesting Americans could be getting in the mailbox, the Republican Speaker of the House says, Not so fast.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
As if he weren't already center stage, today, Elon Musk surprised the crowd at one of the biggest annual gatherings of conservatives, and the guy who says he's taking a wood chipper to the federal government, waved around a chainsaw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - ELON MUSK WIELDS CHAINSAW AT CPAC TO TOUT DOGE CUTS)
ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE): This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy. Chainsaw.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That chainsaw for bureaucracy was given to Musk, by the President of Argentina, who you also saw standing there on stage.
The crowd was eating up the entire scene that you were watching, as Musk then dawned those sunglasses, the whole time he was interviewed on stage, where he stretched the truth and kept things light, amid the very real-life consequences happening, right now, for federal workers from his government cuts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: People ask like, How can you find waste in--
ROB SCHMITT, NEWSMAX HOST: Yes.
MUSK: --in, like, in D.C. I'm like, Look, it's like being in a room, you know, and this target, the wall, the roofs and the floor are all targets. So it's like, you're going to close your eyes and go shoot in any direction.
(LAUGHTER)
MUSK: You see -- because you can't miss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The jokes did not stop there. There was also this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: Listen, like if I -- if I steal some Social Security, I can finally buy nice things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, just a few moments later, on the very same stage where Musk was sitting, his nemesis, Steve Bannon, maybe not his, but certainly Bannon's, came out to stir up that crowd himself. Bannon, remember, recently called Musk, a parasitic illegal immigrant, and I'm quoting Steve Bannon there.
But he didn't use his time today to take any more swipes at Elon Musk. Instead, he launched into an unconstitutional battle cry to keep President Trump in office beyond his current term. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, EXECUTIVE AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: The future of America is MAGA.
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: And the future of MAGA is Donald J. Trump.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: We want Trump in '28. That's what they can't stand. A man like Trump comes along only once or twice in a country's history, right? We want Trump. We want Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are here tonight, and so are my White House insiders.
And it's great to have all of you.
Ashley, your thoughts on--
ASHLEY ALLISON, OBAMA WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER, NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN-HARRIS 2020: Don't come to me first.
COLLINS: I'm coming to you first. Because it was not just the chainsaw. It was the jokes about Social Security. I think at one point he said this idea that, with the Russians, Putin could never afford to buy him off, because he's the world's richest man.
Overall, though, what did you make of the appearance?
ALLISON: I'm not surprised. I mean, this is -- they are performers, and that was another show.
But what I have -- I have something to tell the American people. That show is going on tour and is coming to a city near you, and they are going to cut your Social Security, they're going to cut your Medicaid, they're going to cut your Medicare, they're going to cut your Section 8, and you're not going to get money. Your prices are not going to go down.
So, perform all you want. I think we have to continue to remind the American people that this has real impact on their lives, and it's not going to just stop in Washington, D.C.
And they aren't just people that you want to take a chainsaw, when we talk about violence and all the rhetoric and whatnot, like we're talking about human beings, and the jobs, and their children, and their mortgages, and their groceries that they have to pay for that he's saying he's slashing.
So, I'm not surprised by his performance. But these have -- his actions have real-life consequences, and he's making a joke of it.
COLLINS: I mean, it was quite a moment to just watch all of this on stage, as -- you know, Elon Musk is often publicly responding on Twitter and whatnot. But actually hearing from him, as he was being interviewed there, listen to just a little bit more of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: There's living the dream, and there's living the meme, and it's pretty much what's happening, you know.
In Europe, they put people in prison for memes.
[21:05:00]
They just want state control, state control of what you say. They want to -- they want to, you know, take away your guns.
At this point, I'm like, I'm not sure how much of the left is even real.
You see, like, these, these sort of fake rallies--
SCHMITT: Yes.
MUSK: --where there's like hardly any people. And the media will, like, frame it, and like, you know, get all six people, you know, in the frame.
(LAUGHTER)
MUSK: I wasn't really, like that interested in being political. It, just, like, there was at a certain point, no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, that was like a -- his Twitter feed come to life, essentially.
SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: A 100 percent.
COLLINS: But what did -- what did -- what do White House officials think of what he had to say today, in that surprise appearance?
RODRIGUEZ: I mean, I think it was the reception that people were paying attention to, in the White House.
And it's the fact that Elon Musk is incredibly popular in this crowd of conservatives. I mean, you could hear people yelling, We love you, and him saying, I love you back. And, I mean, the whole performance around it, there was something that felt to me, of him walking out sort of like a WrestleMania where the crowd is cheering--
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: WrestleMania, yes. RODRIGUEZ: --and so excited, and he's feeling so triumphant.
And I think one month in, while, yes, there are so many headlines around the real-life consequences of what is happening right now, the people who are being laid off, the agencies that are fearful that they're next and that they might be cut, or they might be facing really huge spending cuts. I think that is a reality that was not present at CPAC today, because he's basking in the popularity, he's basking in the power and influence that he has.
And I think it's important to remember. I mean, Elon Musk is not someone who has been involved in U.S. politics for a long time. He's a newcomer to this. So really, we're only a month into the Trump administration, but he's clearly enjoying this power and influence and throwing it around.
SOLTIS ANDERSON: Imagine that you get a time machine, and you beamed this clip back to yourself, like 10 years ago, it would--
COLLINS: Or to Elon Musk, 10 years ago.
SOLTIS ANDERSON: --to Elon -- it would be incomprehensible. You'd be like, What on earth is happening?
And I think it's important for people to remember, like, CPAC is a pep rally for the right. It is the pep rally for the MAGA movement. And so, I'm so glad you likened it to WrestleMania.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
SOLTIS ANDERSON: Because that's really what's going on here.
But also remember that Americans have been hearing politicians, for decades, do this kind of gesturing that, I'm going to go to Washington and I'm going to make them squeal, I'm going to go to Washington and I'm going to blow things up. You see it in campaign ad after campaign ad after campaign ad. And it doesn't really happen.
And so, that's part of why Donald Trump and Elon Musk are getting this really long leash, and really big enthusiasm from conservatives, because they've been told this by politicians and leaders on their side for so long, and no one's ever done it until now.
COLLINS: I think that's a great point, in terms of where they are going with this, and what they're using to justify what they're doing, saying, It's long overdue, it's not something we've seen.
Jeff, I mean, just in the -- in the polling that we've seen, there's a new poll today, though, that says a majority believes that they've gone too far, in terms of using presidential power, and cutting federal programs.
Overall, for Trump's job approval is 47 percent approve, 52 percent disapprove, if you look at the numbers here. But on going too far, they said, 52 percent said, using presidential power and cutting federal programs. Over 50 percent on those numbers. JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Which is high -- which is high, I mean, and that's -- it goes to what Ashley was saying in the very beginning, is that this does have a real-world impact, and that real-world impact is going to start kind of bubbling up in the polling. And if that's -- if that's what we're seeing now.
I mean, I think, I don't know if it's the same poll, but the -- a similar poll that I saw today also had Democrats' approval rating way, way, way in the tank. So, President Trump's polling may be being heard a little bit by some of the more controversial things that he's doing, but he's still riding high compared to the opposition.
ALLISON: Yes, I--
COLLINS: Yes, does that show that criticizing Elon Musk is not enough for Democrats--
ALLISON: It's--
COLLINS: --to run on and to exist on?
ALLISON: Elon Musk -- Musk is not running for president. He didn't run for President. Like, the American people can't vote Elon Musk out. I want to get in your time machine, and go to the future, and get past this chapter. But in the polling, yes, I think -- or even, let's go in the future for five -- and five months, right? I think Donald Trump's approval ratings will be lower than they are now.
The question for Democrats is, how do you get your approval ratings higher than his, and get the American people to connect to you? That's why I'm like, Don't take the bait when he puts a meme on that he's king. It's problematic. He's not a king. We live in a democracy. And yet, don't take the bait when Elon Musk goes up on stage, with a chainsaw, because it's a show for them. Focus in talking to your constituents.
I also think that Republicans -- you're right. A lot of Republicans have said, I'm going to come and do this and do that. And they haven't. Because when you start doing this and doing that, it starts affecting your constituents, in your red state. And so, your constituents are like, Wait a minute, I need that farm subsidy, or, I need that grant for my Head Start.
And so, when that rubber hits the road, and they actually have to negotiate this bill that's coming out, I think that some of -- his approval ratings are going to go further in the tank as well, because he's going to want to cut programs that folks don't want to be touched.
COLLINS: Well, and speaking of that, Steve Bannon was also there. He has been the biggest critic, maybe, in this circle, of Elon Musk.
ALLISON: Yes.
COLLINS: He doesn't -- he doesn't think his support is genuine. He's been heavily critical of him. [21:10:00]
He was on stage today, and had a very interesting, I guess that's the word I'll use, look into his view of where this movement is right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: And the reason the J6ers are here, and they're patriots, is because that was a Fed-surrection, totally set up by the FBI.
(CHEERING)
BANNON: They stole it. The system is so big, so corrupt, so powerful.
Fix bayonets, we're charging again.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: That is why Kash Patel is the director of the FBI.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: That is why Bobby Kennedy is the head of the HHS.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: That is why Tulsi Gabbard is at DNI.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: That is why Pete Hegseth is across the river in the Pentagon.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BANNON: Fix bayonets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: January 6 obviously was not an inside job despite them continuing to push it.
But it is fascinating to hear him talking about Trump's cabinet, as Trump himself -- and he's also talking about Trump running for a third term. As Trump himself twice today has now mused about that, and joked that it's going to be a controversy. But it is something he keeps saying a lot lately. MASON: 100 percent. I mean, you were both at that event, I think this--
(Crosstalk)
COLLINS: At the Black History Month.
MASON: At the Black History Month. And he just kind of throws it out there and gets laughs, he gets applause. He did it today. He's certainly done it multiple times recently. Then he kind of puts the attention on the media, and says, Oh, if I say this, then the fake news will do X, Y, Z. But he keeps saying it.
And the fact that Steve Bannon brought it up, in a place like CPAC, where he's -- it's an auditorium or a room filled with supporters, people take this seriously. And that is kind of the dilemma in covering this White House too, is it's our job to take it seriously.
He may pretend that he's kidding. But when he has somebody who's such an acolyte that Steve Bannon is, even if his sort of cache is a little bit lower than Elon Musk's right now, when he speaks? People listen, and people take that seriously. And it's the same with the conspiracy theories that Bannon is talking about here that has clearly influenced the choices that President Trump made for his cabinet.
ALLISON: Can I also say, I think this is why people before the election kept harping on January 6. And then, on the first day of the Trump administration, when he pardoned all the January 6ers, including the people who were violent against law enforcement, people were so alarmed.
Because when you actually listen to some of the interviews of those folks, I think he was calling them the J-bayonets (ph), or whatever, that they were saying that the reason why January 6 was OK is because the election was stolen.
And so, if you're doing an investigation, here is like you're told to follow the evidence. And the evidence, the breadcrumbs, that are being laid down right now is for that in January '28, if we don't face a constitutional crisis before then, we could potentially face one now.
And so, we have to pay attention. We don't need to reflect on the past so much. But we can't forget what happened, because it can be an indicator what's going to happen in our future elections--
MASON: Right.
ALLISON: --in the next four years.
MASON: And speaking of things that President Trump keeps repeating. He keeps repeating that that election was stolen.
ALLISON: That's right.
MASON: Despite also expressing joy for the fact that he's president now, and will get to go to the World Cup and the Olympics, he hasn't let that go. And so, you have to assume that he's not going to let some of these other things go either.
COLLINS: Yes, it's a great point there, Jeff.
Thank you all for being here. Political insiders, White House insiders, great to have you both.
Some breaking news up next, because my next source has new reporting on the deal that President Trump is heavily focused on. It's at the heart of his feud, right now, with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
And why Trump and the world's richest men are now setting their sights on Fort Knox, where gold is stored?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going to inspect Fort Knox. We want to make sure that we actually have, you know, 400 tons of gold, or whatever the hell it is.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We've got some breaking developments, this evening, over the war in Ukraine, this feud between President Trump and President Zelenskyy, and a full-court press by the White House to end what Putin started.
Trump wants something incredibly valuable that Ukraine has, and Zelenskyy so far is resisting making a deal until he gets commitments for what his country desperately needs, to fend off Putin. That, of course, U.S. security.
After meeting with Trump's envoy to Ukraine and Russia today, that's Keith Kellogg that you see here with Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy says he has hope about reaching an agreement eventually here.
That's a notable change from the grim prospect we were hearing, earlier this week, when the two were trading barbs, after Trump said that Zelenskyy needed to hand over half of Ukraine's rare earth minerals. That's about $500 billion worth of lithium, graphite, uranium, all critical to powering future technology. That's why the U.S. wants it so badly.
And now, Axios is reporting tonight that there is a new, or at least a revised deal that is under consideration, and both sides believe a deal is looking more likely.
My next source is the reporter who broke that news, Axios' Barak Ravid.
And it's great to have you, Barak.
Tell us what is different. Because the issue seemed to be that the Ukrainians felt like this deal was being forced on them, and they weren't really getting a lot in return.
BARAK RAVID, POLITICS & FOREIGN POLICY REPORTER, AXIOS, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good evening, Kaitlan.
First, you're right, that's what the Ukrainians felt over the last week or so, since Secretary of Treasury, Bessent, came to Kyiv, and basically told Zelenskyy, Here's the piece of paper, sign it now. And Zelenskyy said, I just saw this thing two hours ago, I'm not going to sign it. And that was set this crisis in relations that we saw over the last few days.
[21:20:00]
I think what happened over the last few days, since Munich, since the Munich Conference, and since the meeting between Vice President Vance and Zelenskyy, last Friday, is that there were some revisions in the U.S. text. For example, this whole idea that the agreement will be under the jurisdiction of a court in New York, I think the U.S. sides understood that it's not going to fly.
And I think there is an idea of trying to broaden the scope of this agreement, so that it will not only be what are we going to do with this minerals, but whether this is part of a somewhat bigger picture in the U.S.-Ukrainian relations.
COLLINS: What was the talk about the, it being in the jurisdiction of a New York court?
RAVID: In the original agreement, as in every legal document, there is at the end of the document, there was a line that said that any disagreement between the parties will be discussed in a court in the State of New York, which obviously this is not how you deal with international agreements.
Usually, this is -- those agreements are being dealt with through international courts of arbitration, or other similar institutions. So, I think it took time, a few days, until people understood that you cannot really discuss a bilateral agreement between two countries in a court in New York.
But I think what is interesting is the main change happened after the meeting between U.S. envoy, Keith Kellogg, and Zelenskyy. And I think that from what I hear, Kellogg is still there. He's going to be in Kyiv, until tomorrow, and they're going to try and seal this deal by then. I'm not sure they're going to be able to do it. But that's definitely the goal, to try and seal this deal until tomorrow.
COLLINS: All right, Barak Ravid, then we'll probably see you here, tomorrow night. Thank you for that great reporting.
RAVID: Thanks. COLLINS: And as Barak noted there, looming over this deal that the U.S. is pushing is this undeniable tension between Trump and Zelenskyy.
And today, I questioned Trump's National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, about Trump's assertion that Ukraine started this war, which is not true. Given, Waltz has written extensively about who is responsible for this, as a former member of Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You wrote in an Op-Ed in the fall of 2023 that quote, "Putin is to blame, certainly, like al Qaeda was to blame for 9/11."
Do you still feel that way now? Or do you share the President's assessment, as he says, Ukraine is to blame for the start of this war?
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, it shouldn't surprise you that I share the President's assessment on all kinds of issues. What I wrote as a member of Congress was as a former member of Congress.
Look, what I share the President's assessment on is that the war has to end. And what comes with that? What comes with that should be, at some point, elections. What comes with that should be peace. What comes with that is prosperity that we've just offered in this natural resources and economic partnership arrangement, an end to the killing, and European security, and security for the world.
This is a president of peace. And who here would argue against peace?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Of course, no one was arguing against peace.
My source tonight, Democratic senator of Michigan, Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst.
And it's great to have you here, Senator.
Because before this, you served in the House with Mike Waltz. You actually were both on House Armed Services together. There's a picture of the two of you in Ukraine, standing side-by-side with Zelenskyy, as we could see here. What did you make of that answer?
SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Well, look, I mean, again, I served on the Armed Services Committee, the entire time I was in the House with Mike Waltz. And we used to agree on, frankly, a lot of things related to national security. And, I think, the diplomatic way of saying it would be that he's evolved.
I think, what I've heard from Republicans in the Senate, all week long, is how they don't agree with the President. This isn't how they view Vladimir Putin. They understand who started the war, and that it was Putin, but -- and some of them are starting, starting, baby steps, to say something. But I see what Mike was saying today is just, he's representing the President, and he's going to bend his views in order to be supportive to the guy, who gave him the big job.
COLLINS: On the minerals deal that Barak Ravid was just reporting on. What do you believe the Ukrainians must get, if they do agree to sign over half of the rare earth minerals to the U.S.?
SLOTKIN: Yes, well, I was with Zelenskyy this weekend, in Munich. A group of us, in a bipartisan basis, senators, flew over there, and had a meeting with him. He talked about how he was put -- you know, shoved this piece of paper, and said, Sign it. And he said, This is very strange, I've never read it.
But I think if you're the Ukrainians, everyone knows this thing has to end in a negotiation. Everyone knows the Ukrainians are not going to win. The Russians aren't able to move forward. So, we're going to have a negotiation.
[21:25:00]
I think, if you're Zelenskyy, you have to expect and ask for a security commitment of some kind, right? If you're going to sign over half your minerals? I mean, think of us, as Americans. I mean, we would never do this.
But if you're going to even contemplate that as a Ukrainian, you've got to really get, in return, some sort of assurances that Putin can't just invade you again, right, this isn't going to restart in two years or four years. So, you're looking for what that means from the Europeans, from the Americans. And that, to me, is going to be a sticking point for Zelenskyy, no matter what.
COLLINS: Yes, and also questions about what this deal looks like, especially in terms of sanctions that are on Russia, and what happens there.
In 2017, when Trump was last in office, he signed legislation that said, if a president wants to lift sanctions on Russia, or return embassy properties, he must seek congressional approval first.
What happens -- I guess, does he have to do that? Or what happens if he does not seek that 30-day congressional approval before lifting sanctions on Russia?
SLOTKIN: Yes, I mean, I think, we, right now what we have in the Senate, you know, the Republicans have the Senate and the House, and they're just not exerting their power as an equal branch of government vis-a-vis Trump. And maybe they will one day, but they're just not right now. And so, my expectation is that they would have no problems if Trump said, Well, I think, Putin is the good guy here, and I want to relieve him of all these sanctions.
I think it should come back. But I just don't feel my colleagues are sticking up for the principles that they believe in.
COLLINS: So even though it's the law--
SLOTKIN: So, I don't expect to see that.
COLLINS: Even though it's the law, you think there will be no pushback if he doesn't follow that?
SLOTKIN: Or maybe it'll be an easy stamp. I hope not, right? I, like I said, I've seen more senators come forward in the past week and, like, dip their toe in the water of criticizing Trump than any time since he was sworn in.
So, I'm hoping that they understand -- again, I always think of Ronald Reagan, right? Ronald Reagan is sort of the hero of the Republican Party, who won the Cold War, who was so clear about the importance of American leadership and not succumbing to Soviet or Russian leadership.
I know that a lot of my Republican colleagues are unhappy. Now, I need them to have some backbone and stand up for what they believe.
COLLINS: On this war, overall. We just are looking at this in terms of what is the answer here? And given that it's gone on for three years, it could end today, of course, if Putin pulled out his troops, which he clearly--
SLOTKIN: Yes.
COLLINS: --he does not plan to do right now.
But when people look at this and say, There is a point that the Trump administration has, that this has gone on, there has been no solution yet. What is the realistic option here, in your view?
SLOTKIN: Yes, like I said, I think most people -- like, again, I was in the Munich Security Conference, which is kind of like Lollapalooza for national security people all over the world. It's everybody. And there wasn't many people who were saying, Let's keep the war going.
Everyone understands there's got to be a negotiation. And I think the Ukrainians, in their heart of heart understand that. But it has to be a just and durable peace agreement. It can't be something that crumbles in five minutes. And it can't be something that sets the example for places like China, that the United States just sides with an aggressor, and you are OK to go invade your neighboring country.
So, I think, it is some sort of discussion of what happens with eastern Ukraine, and then what kind of security assurances the Ukrainians can have, so that they don't have to fear they're going to be invaded every four years. And that, to me, is the heart of some sort of deal.
COLLINS: Yes, we'll see what it looks like.
Senator, it's great to have you. I know you're on Hill. There is a vote-a-rama happening, where Democrats are pushing back on Republicans. SLOTKIN: Indeed.
COLLINS: We'll see how long -- how long do you think it's going to go for tonight? What -- how--
SLOTKIN: All night.
COLLINS: How long are you--
SLOTKIN: All night.
COLLINS: --estimating being there?
SLOTKIN: I mean, people are burrowing in, I think it's going to be all-night.
COLLINS: OK. We'll be watching it closely.
Senator, thanks so much. Great to have you.
SLOTKIN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. As we are watching this vote-a-rama, as it is billed on Capitol Hill. We'll tell you what a vote-a-rama is. Also, there was a major announcement about one of those senators today. We'll fill you in, right after a quick break.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This is a live look at the Senate floor tonight, where Republicans are taking the first step to try to advance President Trump's priorities.
Senators are about two hours into a marathon vote session that is known, on Capitol Hill, as a vote-a-rama. It is likely, though, to set up a clash with the White House, because President Trump threw his support behind the House plan to move his agenda, which is one big bill.
But if you needed a reminder, as you look at what's happening on Capitol Hill tonight, that this is Donald Trump's Republican Party. Today, we saw Senator Mitch McConnell, perhaps the biggest symbol of the Republican Party, before Trump came to Washington, announced he will not seek a historic eighth term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Representing our Commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: That announcement was met with a 30-second standing ovation from his colleagues on both sides of the political aisle.
McConnell also turned 83 today. It's his birthday. He is the longest- serving Senate Leader in U.S. history. His retirement will mark the end of a 40 consequential years in office, like him or not.
[21:35:00]
Recently, McConnell has sparred with President Trump, as his time in the Senate comes to an end. And while he did vote to confirm Kash Patel as the FBI director, we've seen him vote against three of Trump's cabinet nominees, more than any other Republican senator on Capitol Hill.
Now, the President told me, when I asked him about him voting against RFK Jr., last week, in the Oval Office, that McConnell wasn't voting against his nominees, he thought McConnell was just voting against him.
But actually, if you look at their history, it shows McConnell has been a major instrument in Trump's legacy.
Together, in his first term, they reshaped the Supreme Court, as we see, as Leader McConnell helped get three conservative Supreme Court justices confirmed. They also remade the lower courts, though, as well, confirming more than 200 judges across the appeals and district courts.
And you can't forget when McConnell voted to acquit Trump, in his second impeachment trial, after January 6th had happened, despite saying that Trump was practically and morally responsible for what happened. It was that vote that helped Trump return to power today.
My next source is a long-time adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell. Scott Jennings is here.
And Scott, just hearing this, it's not a total surprise to people around him, I'm assuming, maybe not to you either. But what does the Senate look like, for Republicans, if there's no Mitch McConnell in it?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO MITCH MCCONNELL: Well, look, it's going to look like -- I mean, you see the kind of people who are getting elected right now, and they're all really good. People, like, Jim Banks, for instance, from Indiana. There's a number of -- Schmitt from Missouri.
There's a number of young, up-and-coming senators, and they all represent the modern, current version of the Republican Party that has undoubtedly been remade and shaped and shifted a little bit, under the leadership of Donald Trump.
And so, because of -- because of his leadership, because of the direction of the party, I think it's natural for new senators to follow along, and want to make him successful, and want to run on his issues. But in my opinion, in no way does that diminish the leadership of Mitch McConnell, what he accomplished over 40-plus years, 42 when he's finished.
And not only was he a longest-serving Senate Republican leader, he is the longest-serving senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky in our state's history. If there was a Mount Rushmore in Kentucky, it would be Lincoln, Clay, Barkley and McConnell. I mean, he is one of the most consequential figures, in American political history, certainly for the last half or full century.
So, I think it's natural for the party to evolve, especially when you have such a dominant figure, like Trump. And I don't -- I don't really see any real friction or story here between them, other than this was -- this was expected, and McConnell's had an amazing run.
COLLINS: Yes, evolved is one way to put it. I mean, the party is just so firmly in Trump's grasp, and it has been reshaped in his image.
And what does it say, though, that for what you just talked about there, of how, how much McConnell has played a role in this, what does it say about the state of the Republican Party that when -- when one of the most consequential leaders leaves, and the response from the MAGA wing, from really a lot of the Republican Party, has been, Good riddance, to McConnell.
JENNINGS: Yes, look, couple things.
Number one, I think it's natural for politicians to want to follow their president. So today, Donald Trump is the leader of our party. It's natural for the new senators to want to follow Donald Trump.
When Mitch McConnell got elected in 1984, Ronald Reagan was the president, and it was natural that he wanted to follow Ronald Reagan, and the people who came up in that era consider themselves to be Reagan Republican. So, I don't find that to be that unusual.
I would just point out to my friends, who support Donald Trump today that if it weren't for Mitch McConnell holding open that Senate seat in 2016, I'm not sure Donald Trump would have been elected the first time. I mean, that was a consequential move, saying no to Merrick Garland, and then also getting Amy Coney Barrett there at the end of the term as well.
What they did together, politically, and as a policy matter, has changed this country, and is going to shape our politics for decades to come. And so, I understand the back-and-forth, I understand the personal friction, I understand the attitude towards it today. But I actually think they're both linked.
And I think because they're linked, and because they did such consequential things together, we're going to look back on this era, on this period, but kind of as a Trump-McConnell era, if only, not only, but in a major way, because of the Supreme Court.
COLLINS: Yes, that Supreme Court seat was obviously so critical.
I want you to listen to what, in his closing speech, that McConnell said about, as he was ending about his appeal on foreign policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONNELL: Thanks to Ronald Reagan's determination, the work of strengthening America's hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate. But since then, we've allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term, I have some unfinished business to attend to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Is there any question in your mind as to what he is -- or who he is talking about there?
JENNINGS: Well, he strongly believes that we need to have the biggest, strongest military in the world, and that we have money to spend here, and all the reason in the world to do it.
[21:40:00]
He has a very clear view of American foreign policy, and American national security, that is rooted in his coming-up in the Senate under Ronald Reagan. He believes strongly in hard power, soft power too.
But his full focus, I can tell you, after talking to him about it for a long time, his full focus -- and he's the Chairman of this Subcommittee on Appropriations for Defense spending -- his full focus is going to be making America's military as strong and as large as possible.
He once told me, by the time he was done with the defense budget, he was going to make John McCain look like a dove, and I fully believe that's where he's going to put his full attention.
And guess what? I think a lot of Republicans are going to cheer that, because in order to win wars, and to keep wars from happening, you need to be the biggest kid on the block. And we're the world's preeminent superpower, and he's going to arm us like we are.
COLLINS: Yes, just notable to see that, as the Defense secretary is calling for cuts. We'll see which ideology there wins out.
Scott Jennings, in a hat, great to have you here. Thank you.
JENNINGS: Yes. Well, I'm west to the Mississippi. When I get out west of the Mississippi, the hat comes out. That's the -- that's the truth.
COLLINS: OK, Indiana Jennings, thank you so much.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Congress today, we heard from the House Speaker Mike Johnson. He gave a reality check to Trump, and this idea that we keep hearing, are taxpayers going to get a cut of the government cuts? We'll tell you what he had to say, next.
[21:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Trump and his top aides are now openly floating this idea of giving Americans a cut of the savings they say will be generated by Elon Musk and DOGE.
But before you look in the mailbox for a check, there are some major hurdles to this happening, and that includes getting a top Republican on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: It's money that's taken away from, from things that are destructive to the country, that -- and from organizations that hate you, to you. That's awesome.
(APPLAUSE)
MUSK: I talked to the President, and he's supportive of that. And so, it sounds like, you know, that's something we're going to do.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Politically that would be great for us, you know, you can send everybody a check. But really, we have to think of it, I think, in a--
ROB FINNERTY, NEWSMAX HOST: That just got everybody's attention, by the way.
JOHNSON: Yes, I know, I know.
FINNERTY: I just saw everybody look up, all the sudden.
JOHNSON: I know.
FINNERTY: Yes.
JOHNSON: But -- but if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My economic source tonight is Justin Wolfers, the Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
And what House Speaker Mike Johnson was arguing there is that instead of sending part of this, or a portion of this, to Americans, that we've got to use it to pay down the debt.
When it comes to this aligning with Trump's economic priorities, what do you make of this?
JUSTIN WOLFERS, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Look, at one level, I love this. Let me tell you why. DOGE is getting a whole lot of headlines, because people -- our brains aren't wired to make sense of the huge numbers governments deal with. Millions of dollars sounds like a lot. Cracking billions of dollars sounds like a lot. But our deficit is trillions of dollars. And so saving, say, a billion dollars sounds like a lot to you and I. And if we'll get to get that as a national dividend, we then understand how little it is, and how little that Musk has done.
Each billion dollars he saves buys each American $3, so one cup of coffee. Add up everything on the DOGE website, right now, you're at $6.5 billion, which means he's got enough to buy you a cup of coffee in January, in February, in March, and then his savings have run out.
COLLINS: So, why do you like this idea? Tell me more about this.
WOLFERS: So, on the one hand, I like it because it's transparent.
There's a lot of people, right now, feeling that our fiscal house might be in order, because finally, we put a businessman to look after government. And what's happened is that businessman hasn't understood how government operates, and he's gone looking in all the wrong places in order to find money.
Things like cutting federal payroll just won't cut it, because the simple fact is, the federal government doesn't pay that much in payroll. It's the big-ticket items like Social Security and Medicare, or tax cuts for the rich.
So one, it's transparent, we'll understand how little that he's getting done.
And two, there are three things we could do with any savings we get. One is pay down the deficit, and I think Mike Johnson is on to something here. What Trump has said he wants to do is, instead, is the Trump tax cuts. That's tax cuts for the rich. So, this is cutting services that all Americans enjoy, in order to pay for tax cuts for a small number of people.
And the thing I like about the DOGE efficiency dividend, at least as advertised, is we all get it, and at least some of us will all get to share in whatever savings there are.
COLLINS: OK, but if that happens, sending a check to Americans is economic stimulus. I mean, everyone's familiar with that, especially with the COVID checks that people got.
The question is, Trump came into office because, in part, of high inflation. And so, I asked his economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, today, is this an inflationary policy? And this is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: On these potential checks that you might send out from DOGE, is there a concern, as you're thinking through this, that they could be inflationary?
KEVIN HASSETT, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: Oh, absolutely not, because imagine if we don't spend government money and we give it back to people, then the -- you know, if they spend it all, then you're even. But they're probably going to save a lot of it, in which case, you're reducing inflation.
COLLINS: OK. So you're--
HASSETT: And also, when the government spends a lot, that's what creates inflation. We learned that from Joe Biden. And so, if we reduce government spending, then that's -- you know, reduces inflation. And if you give people money, then they're going to save a bunch of it. And -- and when they save it, then that also reduces demand and reduces inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What are your thoughts on that?
WOLFERS: Well, I think Kevin is a fast-talker there.
Look, there's one part in which I think he's right, but he hasn't told the whole story. You're right to say that if we give people more money they spend it, that will cause inflation.
[21:50:00]
But what will happen is the Fed will see that's coming, and so the Fed will jack up interest rates on all of us, raising your house payment, raising your car payment, and that's what will choke off inflation instead.
But there is still something nice here. If the choices are, Give whatever money we save to the very wealthy, or give some of it to all of us, there is actually something quite egalitarian about, and it's the first time I've heard anything egalitarian coming out of Trump tax policies.
COLLINS: Yes, though we do know Trump wants lower interest rates, so it's interesting if this would cause higher ones.
Justin Wolfers, great to have you tonight. Thank you for your analysis of all of this. We'll see if it happens.
WOLFERS: A pleasure.
COLLINS: And when we come back. Going for gold. Elon Musk and President Trump have been brainstorming their next project. It involves Fort Knox. Why? Harry Enten is here to tell us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We hope everything's fine with Fort Knox, but we're going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, President Trump is going for gold, not at the Olympics, but at Fort Knox.
The President says he wants his administration to check whether those vaults, at the Kentucky installation actually hold all of the gold that the U.S. claims is being stored there, which is being openly questioned by Elon Musk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: Like, this is your gold, by the way. It's the--
(CHEERING)
SCHMITT: Do you--
MUSK: It's the public's gold.
SCHMITT: Do you think it's not there?
MUSK: I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHMITT: You just want to see it.
MUSK: Yes, we want to go see it and just make sure--
SCHMITT: Yes.
MUSK: --like, somebody didn't spray paint some lead or something, you know?
SCHMITT: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: CNN's Senior Data Reporter, Harry Enten, is here.
Harry, I do want to put a caveat here that Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, did say all the gold is present and accounted for.
Where -- where did this come from? How much gold is there? What?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DATA REPORTER: What is going on, Kaitlan Collins? This is the most bizarre thing I've ever heard. As you mentioned, his own Treasury Secretary says the gold is in Fort Knox.
I guess, it's coming from the angle that there is a lot of gold in Fort Knox. I mean, we're talking north of $400 billion worth of gold in Fort Knox. Look at that. $434 billion in the market value. It's literally 2 percent of the world's gold is there in Fort Knox. But I honestly feel like this theory of the case is something that I might have cooked up, when I was writing a sixth grade, I don't know, screenplay, and then the teacher would have sent -- faulted me for something that would be so outrageous, and sent me back to the drawing board.
COLLINS: But there is secrecy around the gold vaults. But such a question of where this came from, and why they are interested in seeing what's happening there. I mean, this is the government, they are the government. So they could theoretically check.
ENTEN: Yes, they could -- they could theoretically check.
This is not something that hasn't happened before. Back in 2017, during the first Trump administration, in fact, the then-Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, went and checked to see whether or not there was gold. There is the picture right there. He's standing with the gold. He's literally there with the gold. I'm not sure you could get any clearer than that.
Indeed, there have been a number of times that folks have gone in, and actually have checked whether or not they're gold from outside of the government. This is the third such instance. I think it happened last time, back in the 1970s. And more than that, they audit the Fort Knox every single freaking year, OK? They audit it every year.
COLLINS: They audit it?
ENTEN: Yes, they audit it. They literally look, they say, Is the gold there? It turns out the gold was there, as recently as late last year.
So, this idea that the gold isn't there is a complete fantasy. It just feeds conspiracy theories. It's there. The Treasury Secretary says it's there. And anything else is complete bizarro-land. I'm really not sure where the heck they dream this stuff up. But this one is definitely on a higher level of the conspiracy-theory-land.
COLLINS: So, we don't know where this notion that it's not there, or it's worth questioning came from?
ENTEN: I have no idea. I'm sure someone got in Elon's ear, and was like, Where is this gold?
But the bottom line is, we know where the gold is. This is what the whole situation is. This is what is so bizarre. The government can check. They literally can check. And they have checked.
We literally had the Treasury Secretary go on Bloomberg Television, and say, The gold is there. He said, I'm going to look at the camera -- just as I'm looking at you right now, Kaitlan Collins, and talking to the audience and saying, The gold is there. The gold is there, my friend.
COLLINS: That -- can we put up that picture of Steve Mnuchin again?
ENTEN: Please. COLLINS: He actually looks really cool in this picture. It's quite -- it looks like something that was not taken just a few years ago. It looks like something was taken--
ENTEN: Maybe--
COLLINS: --30 years ago.
ENTEN: Yes. Yes, maybe like in "Goldfinger." He looks like he might almost be in "Goldfinger," right? And that, to me, is one of my favorite facts about Fort Knox, right? Is the fact that the whole idea was "Goldfinger," the villain in that film was essentially going to make the gold radioactive, and thereby devalue the entire thing, so his gold would be worth a lot. That's one of my favorite gold facts.
The other favorite of my gold facts is you can actually get golden rabbits right--
COLLINS: I knew there was going to be a prop.
ENTEN: --right there. You knew there was going to be a prop, and they taste pretty gosh darn good.
[22:00:00]
And the other thing is, you can get gold-plated medals for finishing the New York City Marathon. I didn't finish it, but I did run about a quarter mile, two years ago. My girlfriend actually finished it. She's in far better shape than I am, because I eat chocolate on national television.
COLLINS: A quarter mile. My dad does love your segments, Harry.
ENTEN: Yes.
COLLINS: We'll see what he has to say once we're--
ENTEN: We'll see. Let me know after the show.
COLLINS: I'll send you his review.
Harry Enten, thank you for eating chocolate on live TV.
ENTEN: Bye.
COLLINS: Thank you for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is up next.
