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call, click or visit an xfinity store today. download rocket money today. >> right now, a key test in robert f. kennedy jr.. s path to health and human services secretary. his fate coming down to just one senator, a republican from louisiana. plus, an urgent call for help from east palestine, ohio. the head of the epa, lee zeldin will join me live. what's the first thing he plans to do to make the village safe? and later, supply chains. stunned. and your wallet could pay the price. the trade war deepening. this morning, the head of the national association of manufacturers will join me with his message to the white house. good morning. pamela brown is on assignment. i'm phil mattingly in washington, and you are live in the cnn newsroom. just minutes from now, a make or break moment for president trump's pick to lead the

nation's top health agency. rfk jr.. faces a critical vote from the senate finance committee, and all eyes are on one of the panel's republicans, senator bill cassidy. his vote will determine whether kennedy advances to the senate floor. here with us to break it all down, cnn's manu raju alayna treene and dr. sanjay gupta. let me go first to you. manu raju. we've been watching you buttonhole senators over the course of the last 20 or 30 minutes. what is the word right now on capitol hill about where cassidy is leaning? >> and the you end up getting run out? >> yeah, and we're waiting right outside the senate finance committee where just in a matter of moments, the big question is going to be, what does senator bill cassidy do? he, of course, is a louisiana republican. he's up for reelection in 2026. he's also a medical doctor who has expressed concern about rfk jr.. s views about vaccines. at last week's hearing, he said that he was struggling with how rfk jr. is dealing just with knocked down the notion that vaccines

are linked to childhood autism. now, after that remark, in which he said he was struggling, he did have extended conversations with kennedy on sunday. but in talking to and talking to cassidy yesterday, he was very clear he was not ready yet to make a decision on how he will ultimately come down. but if he votes no in this committee, that could be enough to scuttle this nomination altogether. but at the moment, phil, we don't know exactly how he'll come down. if he does vote yes, that means he'll join with all other republicans on this committee allowing this nomination to advance by the narrowest of margins, sending it ultimately to the senate floor where he could only lose at most three republican votes on what we expect to be a party line vote on the senate floor. but this vote critical. what will bill cassidy do? someone who has not been in, who is facing a primary challenge already in 2026, someone who voted to convict donald trump in his second impeachment trial, but someone who is taking this nomination incredibly seriously and

concerned about rfk jr.. does he fall in line? does he stand in the way of it? that's what we'll be watching here in a matter of minutes. phil. >> elena, over to you on the north lawn of the white house. manners. context there is critical. this is not kind of the rank and file republican who will go along to get along. he has bucked trump and trump supporters in the past. he has clearly kept his own counsel and really been struggling with this decision. what do white house officials thinking right now? >> well, i actually just moments ago, phil caught up with white house press secretary caroline lebanon. she almost offered a bit of a warning shot to republicans, saying that they expect all senate republicans to line up behind robert f. kennedy jr.. i want to take a listen to what she told me. >> we expect him to be confirmed. and he should be. he's brilliant. he's widely respected. and the president campaigned alongside him. make america wealthy again. that is a very popular slogan, and it's a very popular movement in this country. and there's tens of millions of americans who are hopeful that rfk jr.. will be the next hhs secretary. and we expect all senate republicans to stand tough and strong and vote for him.

>> stand tough and strong and vote for him. of course, as manu mentioned, cassidy is senator cassidy is up for reelection next year. so all of this, of course, weighing heavily on this vote. but i also want to just talk about some reporting we had over the weekend, which is that we know that president donald trump himself, as well as his allies, including vice president jd vance, have been making calls to senators trying to shore up support for rfk jr.. as well as tulsi gabbard, who has her own senate confirmation committee hearing later today. they have been very involved in trying to make sure that they can get these two nominees over the line, especially after we saw both of them and kennedy included, of course, face some of the sharpest and most skeptical questioning, not only from democrats, but also from republicans. now, one quick other thing i do just want to share is that months ago as well, obviously minutes before this key vote, we did see the president post to truth social. i just want to quickly reference what he said. he said 20 years ago, autism and children was 1

in 10,000. now it's 1 in 34. wow. something's really wrong. we need bobby now. this is something we have heard. president donald trump reference before, this idea that perhaps autism and vaccines are linked. i think obviously it plays into this question. and the big concerns weighing on senator cassidy. i do want to be clear, though, study after study for decades, phil has shown that there is no link between vaccines and autism. but noteworthy, of course, given that this is what we are hearing directly from the president, as the senators are considering this vote. >> yeah. sanjay, over to you on that point. like we play this game or we watch people play this game constantly just raising questions. just why could this be happening? i'm not saying anything specifically the facts here. what are they. yeah. >> and just a little bit of the context as well. you know, senator cassidy is a doctor as as manu mentioned, a gastroenterologist who who worked with vaccines, helped set up these nonprofits to administer vaccines, including some of the ones that were a topic of discussion in last week's hearing. so there's

there's a huge context for for senator cassidy in his role as a physician. but yeah, this idea that, look, there was a there was a question mark, could vaccines be related to autism? we're talking in the late 90s. this came up from a now debunked paper, but it still came up and it raised people's questions and their concerns. so it was studied that that that's the point that i think senator cassidy was making. last week. you asked for data. well, that data has been collected. and we talk about huge data. hundreds of thousands of kids. they basically looked and they said, well, let's look at the ones who were vaccinated. let's look at the children who were not vaccinated. let's follow them for a certain number of years. let's exclude certain factors, like did they have a family history? did they have some sort of risk factor? what was their age at the time of vaccination? let's control for all of that and ask a basic question. is there a correlation between vaccines and autism? and the answer has come back repeatedly in many studies, like the one you just saw on the screen. no there's not. so, you know, this this idea that people say, well,

if you show me the studies, then i'm willing to change my mind. well, they they've seen the studies and it doesn't appear that the minds have been changed on the the idea that vaccines might cause autism. so where do you go next? what does that mean? i think that's what we're about to sort of see how that unfolds. >> yeah. and just it's such a great point. the data is there, the studies are there. that's the thing that they've been asking for with the whole just raising questions shtick. it's irresponsible. and they know what they're doing when they do that. so from a broader perspective, i think what's fascinating about cassidy having covered him for years, he's a he's a wonk, right? he's not he's not a big kind of show horse type guy. part of his issues were not just vaccines. it was also just the actual structure of what robert kennedy's job would be. what would it be? what would he be overseeing here? >> i mean, he would be the ceo of the largest health enterprise in the world, and that includes things like medicare and medicaid, which is, as you remember, phil, we were sitting next to each other. that was a

area of questioning for for senator cassidy. tell me how you would, you know, address medicare and medicaid. do you understand the various parts of medicare and medicaid? and is that important for the for the hhs secretary to know these things? i think cassidy was not satisfied with the answers he received at that time. but to your question, it's it's it's hhs is is many different agencies, including cdc, including medicare, medicaid, you know, the the agencies that oversee that, it's close to $2 trillion if you count discretionary spending that hhs has control over. so it's really, you know, you think about anything health, science, public health related in this country. and really the impact on the world. it would be under his auspices. >> manu, quickly over to you, because i think i just saw chairman mike crapo sit down. looks like we're going to get started shortly. the pressure here, the political pressure there is, as karoline leavitt laid out, a movement behind kennedy and his nomination. what are you hearing on the hill on that front?

>> yeah, no question about it. there would be significant blowback for any member who breaks ranks, particularly one who could scuttle and cabinet nominee. a lot of republican senators and democratic senators. they don't like to step out of line with their president of their own party, particularly when it comes to these issues. they like to vote. if they vote no, it's usually in a group which will make it incredibly difficult for bill cassidy to step away from the rest of his party as they're trying to push this nomination forward. that's in committee. and the floor. there are several other republican senators who have not said how they will ultimately vote on the senate floor. phil, one other thing we need to watch out for this afternoon is the nomination of tulsi gabbard to be the next director of national intelligence. she's hanging by a thread because of one republican senator on that senate intelligence committee that senator todd young, just walked into the room. he still would not answer questions. moments ago when we asked him if he would support tulsi gabbard's nomination. so that's something to watch. this afternoon. two key committees, two nominees hanging by a thread by two senators, republican senators who have not said how they will vote. bill cassidy still, at this moment unclear whether he's going to break ranks and

could scuttle this nomination in this committee or will join with his party advancing to the floor, setting up a major test for one of the most important positions in government. phil. >> yeah, a huge day for the nominations. manu. elena. sanjay, stay with me. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be back in just a moment nothing is what it seems in the lockerbie story. >> lockerbie. the bombing of pan am flight 103, february 16th on cnn. >> a lot of people need to replace their windows or patio doors, but they put it off because they think it will be too expensive. hi, i'm anne roemer, i'm here with michael smith from renewal by andersen. you really work with the customers to find affordable solutions. >> we do, and we're the replacement window division of andersen, one of the largest window manufacturers in north america. so we can usually offer our customers larger discounts and better financing than smaller companies or contractors. >> other window companies don't offer your same window and door

installation method. >> our installers have installed thousands of windows. windows are manufactured to precisely fit your specific window openings. being custom built also means you have any beautiful trim that you'd like to keep. we can often install your windows without impacting that trim. you won't get this with most vinyl windows. >> and you offer a free window and patio door diagnosis. >> we do. we'll come to your home and assess your current windows, show you where you might be losing energy, and take measurements. >> then we'll give you an exact price quote. >> so you're not a high pressure company. >> my background is in home remodeling. as a carpenter, i've seen every window problem out there. >> and robert f. kennedy. >> welcome back. you are now watching the senate finance committee meeting, where they will be voting to advance robert f kennedy, jr.. s nomination to be hhs secretary. >> for that to occur, we will proceed with statements. and i will proceed first, then senator wyden, and then we will rotate from one side to the other until

we are at a point where we are prepared for the vote. does that fit with you, senator? yes, sir. mr. kennedy, if confirmed, will have the opportunity to deliver much needed change to our nation's health care system. he has spent his career fighting to end america's chronic illness epidemic, and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency, both for patients and for taxpayers. mr. kennedy has also clearly responded to our questions during the rigorous due diligence process in his hearing. also, and in the course of answering over 900 questions for the record that were asked by members of this committee. in response to members of the committee, mr. kennedy has even amended his ethics agreement, going beyond what is required by the government office of ethics. mr. kennedy has proven his commitment to the role of secretary of the hhs, and i will vote in favor of his nomination.

i strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same. and with that, i recognize our ranking member, senator wyden, for his remarks. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i'll have a brief statement. and then several of my colleagues on our side are also going to make brief statements this morning. we're going to vote on robert kennedy's nomination to serve as our nation's chief health care officer. before we get to mr. kennedy, and why i believe he is singularly unfit to serve as hhs secretary, i'd like to say this the last several days, we've witnessed an authoritarian takeover of our federal government by elon musk and donald trump. they have set their sights on a full purge of anyone in government that doesn't bend the knee and follow their orders. they've taken over the treasury

department's payment system and colleagues. that has a direct effect on major programs within our community committee's jurisdiction. that includes social security, medicare and medicaid, for example, this committee voted for a major reform of pharmacy benefit manager legislation. we passed it 26 to nothing but trump and musk killed it. think what they could do with abuse of the payment system. now, in my view, much of this is of dubious, dubious legality and constitutional authority. and certainly flies in the face of congressional responsibilities. i'll wrap up on this point by saying, i hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not sit by while musk and trump make a mockery of the power republicans hold in their

congressional majority. now, more than ever, the american people need leaders that will stand up to these. abuses. that brings me to mr. kennedy. a recent analysis showed that mr. kennedy has made 114 separate appearances in just the last four years, where he has espoused anti-vaccine views or spread information about the efficacy of vaccines. misinformation, specifically, in 36 of those instances, mr. kennedy directly linked vaccines to autism. last week, mr. kennedy was given ample authority on a bipartisan basis to recant his decades long career peddling. anti-vaccine conspiracies. instead, he spent his time with us dodging and weaving and gave no indication

that, if confirmed as hhs secretary, he would stand by the long settled science surrounding routine vaccinations. just take the samoa measles outbreak as an example. mr. kennedy told me, and i quote, we don't know what was killing them. speaking about the 83 measles deaths during an outbreak of the disease in 2019. just yesterday, colleagues, the director general of health from samoa, called this claim a total fabrication. peddling these conspiracy theories as the nation's chief health officer is going to be deadly for kids across the country. on abortion, mr. kennedy's answers once again raise still more questions. he refused to tell us whether he would blindly follow a directive from donald trump to break the law and end access to mifepristone, and he seemed to

have no understanding of his role in enforcing existing federal laws that guarantee women the right to life saving abortion care. mr. kennedy also failed on several occasions to show a basic understanding of the medicare and medicaid programs. he would be tasked with overseeing colleagues. that alone should be disqualifying. mr. kennedy has given us no reason to believe it will be anything other than a rubber stamp for plans to gut medicaid and rip health care away from the american people and be a yes man if ordered by mr. trump to take an illegal action. i close with this colleagues today. we're going to make a judgment about the future of science in this country. we're going to make decisions that are going to impact the health and well-being of americans for years to come. i agree, and i say this to my colleagues on both sides of the

aisle, that the health care status quo needs substantial changes, so we get better, more affordable care to patients. and that leaves, given my statement, the question in front of us. now, that's pretty simple. do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists making robert kennedy, secretary of health and human services? in my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. and i urge my colleagues this morning to vote no. >> we had everybody here. can i ask that we do the vote now and then do the. why don't you do the 2 or 3 on each? and then we go to the vote. can i go? yeah, we're going to do it. >> so, senator wyden, we have all of our members here. senator wyden and i have agreed that we will have 2 or 3 on each side who wanted to make statements do

so before the vote. so, please, everyone, hold with us while we have those statements made, and then we will proceed to the vote. i know we've got a lot of folks here pushing on some. do you want to vote now? >> let's go, mr. chairman. mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, i've got several colleagues who were under the impression after we talked that we would have 2 or 3. and i'm happy for both sides to make brief remarks. and i'd still like to stay with that. >> i did make that commitment. and so i could say to my colleagues on my side, i would appreciate it if you would hold your remarks until after the vote. we will let a couple on your side have their remarks, and then we will proceed to the vote. >> great. >> thank you. and who would be next. >> senator cantwell? >> senator cantwell. >> mr.. >> mr. chairman. >> thank you. i didn't you know, when you said 2 or 3 people, i didn't know who you had in mind. but being next in

seniority, i appreciate the the opportunity today is very concerning to me because of the future of what i think our nation faces when i think of this issue, i think of my pacific northwest leadership. how paul allen on his own, invested $100 million to fight ebola. i think of bill gates and the gates foundation, not just trying to eradicate polio and work on these issues, but to think of a regime that helps not just our nation's health, but global health. so with the u-dub, the university of washington, the cancer research center, all of these entities are a collaboration of saying we have to go faster in solving these threats to our nation as

it relates to health. now we can have a big discussion, which i think you guys all want to have a big discussion about whether and when what happened in the wuhan province. but i can tell you, we were the first city. we had the first patient. we had the first people who died in nursing homes. we had an emergency room at a hospital who basically was just begging for any equipment we could get them. the whole community stood up and moved as fast as we possibly could, and broke down barriers to save lives. and that is what we have to continue to do. on innovation. we cannot let another country get ahead of us on some sort of warfare issue and not have a response when it comes to a vaccine. so the most challenging i wanted to vote for mr. kennedy in the context of my family's history. my dad stood behind his father the night his father gave the famous speech. i told him in my office, in my family, the kennedys stood up.

but when he answered, senator cassidy's question and he couldn't even give him the answer that yes, the data is there to support vaccines today. i don't need any more data. all of a sudden, i saw this world that we got affected by in seattle not being stood up for. i need someone at hhs who is going to say, we are going to be a leader in medical technology, science, vaccines. we are going to fight foreign powers. we are going to be there to provide global health. and i don't want a recalcitrant, i need a leader. and that is why i'm voting no. >> thank you. senator wyden and i have agreed that senator warnock will now speak following senator warnock. we will proceed to the vote. and then anyone else who wants to make remarks will be allowed to make remarks. senator warnock. >> thank you so very much, mr. chairman. at a rally a few

months ago, donald trump said that he was going to allow mr. robert kennedy to, quote, go wild on health go wild. of all the things that i can think of that i'd like to see a secretary of health and human services do go wild is not on the list. mr. robert kennedy is manifestly unqualified for the job he seeks, and in both my live and written questions, for the record, he failed to commit to protecting access to affordable health care, failed to commit to protecting the people who are protecting us. the problem that the cdc has is that every day these noble civil servants and workers protect us from dangers that we don't see. and often you don't get credit for protecting people from things that they don't see. i simply do not trust him to oversee the cdc. he's

unqualified, and i dare say everybody here knows it. we need a serious person at the helm of the hhs an agency responsible for about half of the health, the health of about half of all americans. mr. kennedy appears more obsessed in chasing conspiracy theories than chasing solutions to lower health care costs for working families in georgia, and to make sure that we are protected. the last thing we need is a dilettante dabbling in conspiracy theories. at hhs, i cannot vote for a nominee who is not going to lower health care costs for georgians. who is going to undermine basic science in public health? who puts his own interests above the health and the well-being of others? for the health and well-being of

all of our families, the people who count on us to think about them in these rooms of power. i urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look past politics and think of country, and to find the moral courage to do what's right. i oppose this nomination. >> thank you. senator warnock. we now have not only a quorum, but all members of the committee are present. i move that the committee favorably report the nomination of the honorable robert f. kennedy, jr.. of california to be secretary of health and human services. is there a second? second. there is a second. the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. grassley. >> aye. >> mr. grassley. aye. mr. cornyn. mr. cornyn, i mr.. thune, mr.. thune i mr.. scott. mr.. scott i mr.. cassidy, mr.. cassidy i mr.. langford i mr.. langford i mr.. daines mr.. daines i. mr.. young. mr.. young. i mr.. barrasso mr..

barrasso i mr.. johnson mr.. johnson i mr.. tillis mr.. tillis i mrs.. blackburn. mrs.. blackburn i mr.. marshall. mr.. marshall i mr.. wyden. no. mr.. wyden. no. miss cantwell. no. miss cantwell. no. mr.. bennett. mr.. bennett. no. mr.. warner. mr.. warner. no. mr.. white house. mr.. white house. no. miss hassan. miss. hassan. no. miss cortez masto. miss cortez masto. no. miss warren. no. miss warren. no. mr. sanders. no. mr.. sanders. no. miss smith. no. miss smith. no. mr.. lujan. no. mr.. lujan. no. mr.. warnock. >> no. >> mr.. warnock. no. mr.. welch. mr. welch. no. mr. chairman. chairman. votes aye. mr. chairman, the final tally is 14 ayes. 13 ayes. >> the vote was. would the clerk please restate the vote?

>> mr. chairman the was 14. ayes. 13. ayes. >> the. the vote was 1413. the nomination is reported favorably. we will now turn to other senators who would like to make a statement. since i asked my republican colleagues to hold off at the outset, i'll go to the republican side next. first, senator tillis. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i voted. >> i today, and i want to just briefly explain why i believe. >> in my 65 years, i'll be 65 in august that mr. kennedy will be one of the first people. >> we have been watching the senate finance committee vote on robert f. kennedy's nomination to be the secretary of health and human services. it is very rare these days on capitol hill that you go in to a hearing or a business meeting like this and don't really have an idea how it's actually going to land. all eyes were on one senator, senator bill cassidy, republican of louisiana, and just two minutes before the committee started its vote, cassidy posted on x. i've had a very intense conversations with bobby and the

white house over the weekend, and even this morning i want to thank vice president jd vance specifically for his honest counsel with the serious commitments i've received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on, like healthy foods and a pro-american agenda. i will vote yes. you see cassidy walking out of the hearing room now, the vote was 14 to 13. this is a major step forward for robert f kennedy jr.. s nomination to lead the department of health and human services, a major victory for the trump white house and for president trump himself, for whom kennedy's endorsement and the coalition that he helped bring in was not only a huge political win, but also has been a focal point of his cabinet selections. clearly the most high profile of them, but also the most endangered. until this moment. here's bill cassidy now. >> okay. >> but what about you were troubled last week. what changed? what changed? what changed? >> oh, sorry. >> hey, manu. manu, it's phil. do you have me?

>> yes. yes, i have you. phil, we were just. i don't know if you just caught that. we were just trying to catch up with bill cassidy. the key vote, of course, in all of this, he. we asked him what got him to. yes. remember what happened last week at that senate finance committee hearing? he said he was troubled. he was having a hard time getting to. yes because of robert f kennedy's previous views and long held views about vaccine skepticism, his hedging about whether or not vaccines are linked to childhood autism, mr. cassidy, a medical doctor, had had trouble getting to. yes, but something changed. and what changed over the weekend. he did not answer that question. just now. he said he's going to speak on the senate floor at 11:40 a.m. eastern. he said that. watch for that. so we'll be watching for those remarks. but he did post on x about his view and about what everyone wants to know how he would ultimately vote. that happened just moments before this vote took place. he said he had very intense conversations with the white house this weekend and with bobby kennedy jr.. he said he

spoke to jd vance as well. he said he had received serious commitments from the administration and the opportunity to, quote, make progress on the issues we agree on, like healthy foods and a. pro agenda. no mention in that statement about vaccines, no mention about how those concerns that he expressed last week changed. but this vote decisive, sending this to the senate floor. and now it will be up to the full senate to decide what to do. we do know that there are some senators who have not said what they will do. the two perennial swing votes, senators lisa murkowski, senator susan collins, what will senator mitch mcconnell do himself a childhood polio survivor, someone who believes very strongly in the issue of vaccines, someone who voted against pete hegseth for defense secretary on the senate floor? what will he do? but that's three senators. what will some other members who have not said? what will they come down? but at the moment, republican leadership is very confident in the aftermath of bill cassidy's vote to support him going forward, that potentially that he could get confirmed maybe once again, seeing vice

president jd vance do something that is very rare in american history, which is to break a tie in the senate to confirm a cabinet nominee. we'll see if we get to that point. but at the moment, bill cassidy's decision to back this nominee, a huge one, one that advances this controversial nomination to the senate floor and this divided committee, all democrats voting against this, raising serious concerns about rfk jr.. but at the moment, bill cassidy's concerns have been alleviated. phil. >> hey, manu, i'm hoping you can shed some light just kind of on on what it was like in the room around the room right now. i was trying to make the point right after the vote. it is very rare that we go into something like this and it's a jump ball. we have no idea which way it's going to go. it's all on one. senator. i can think maybe 1 or 2 times in the 15 years i've covered capitol hill, where it's been like that. what was the sense of things. >> on tulsi gabbard? >> yeah, it was unclear. i mean, look what it was. so perhaps for one reason, one a telling sign of how the serious republican leadership was taking this moment. john thune, the senate majority leader, came to witness what was happening inside the

room himself. he would have to make a decision on how to proceed if ultimately, cassidy broke ranks and voted against this nomination, he had said that he would be unlikely to try to advance a nomination if a committee decides to vote against any cabinet nominee from going to the floor. so there was a keen interest among top republican leaders about what ultimately would go down here. but no question about it. a lot of drama in this room. typically, you're right. we know how members will come down. but bill cassidy was struggling. i mean, even as last night, i asked him repeatedly about how he was viewing this, he had not made a decision as of last night. he said he had more conversations into this morning, so we'll see how much his own political future played into this as well. of course, he faces a primary threat in 2026. he already has angered the maga right with his vote to convict donald trump in the second impeachment trial. we'll see that weighed in on any of that. he does not want to weigh in on, but what his ultimate calculation was. but whatever assurance he got was enough to

get him to. yes. which is why republican leadership and the white house is breathing a lot easier now that perhaps the most controversial pick cabinet pick clearing a major hurdle and potentially on his way to confirmation by next week. phil. >> yeah, it's a huge win. also fascinating senate majority leader actually showing up to the vote itself or around the hearing room as it was ongoing. manu, stick with me. i want to turn to you now, sanjay gupta, because they put the whip counts and the politics and the kind of where the conference dynamics are aside. cassidy manu detailed the struggle that he'd had so. well, we we saw it publicly play out certainly privately. we've reported on it, he says in his statement that he was given serious commitments related to robert f. kennedy jr.. from a policy perspective, we don't know what those are. he's supposed to lay them out later. what are the types of things, given the concerns? you heard him talk about on both a programmatic side, but also on vaccines specifically, do you would you want committed to by

robert kennedy? >> well, i think what this seems to have boiled down to watching the hearings with you last week. phil was on one side. you have these these commitments to make america healthy again, which i think everyone, just about everyone is is supportive of the idea that we're not very healthy, especially given the amount of money that we spend. on the other side was these conspiracy theories regarding vaccines and autism. and it was, you know, kind of a scale. i think it seemed in senator cassidy's mind, doctor cassidy's mind. he talked about it specifically, you know, during the hearings. and i just want you to listen to a little bit of how he framed it last week. >> that is why i've been struggling with your nomination. there are issues. we are ultra processed food, obesity. we are we are simpatico. we're completely aligned. and as someone who has discussed immunizations with thousands of people, i understand that mothers want reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary, safe and

effective. we agree on that point, the two of us, but we've approached it differently. and i think i can say that i've i've approached it using the preponderance of evidence to reassure. and you have approached using selected evidence to cast doubt. >> so i got to tell you, phil, i doubt that there was any sort of concessions made with regard to vaccines and autism in those private discussions. just again, from hearing what senator, what robert kennedy was saying during the hearings, he was he he wasn't conciliatory in the sense that saying, hey, look, i'm willing to change my mind. he did say, show me the studies. but again, the studies have been there. so he's seen the studies and he hasn't changed his mind. so i'm not sure what would. so i don't know what the policy promises were that were made to to senator cassidy, but i think it was on this side of the equation on the make america wealthy again side of the equation in terms of hopefully reducing costs. i mean, if you look at the cost of health care in this country, $4.9 trillion

is spent on health care, and we have some of the worst results overall in the developed world in terms of mortality and chronic disease and things like that. and the numbers have just been going up 7.5% increase. so over $14,000 per citizen is spent on health care. that is an area that i think everyone agrees needs to come down. and we are very sick. i mean, you know, we have some of the highest levels of chronic conditions, two or more chronic conditions. 30% of americans have that. so these are probably the areas where they found consensus. phil, my guess is not around vaccines and autism. i think senator cassidy was willing to let that go. >> yeah, it's the balance that we've seen throughout this nomination process of on the make america wealthy again element of things. there's a lot of agreement, maybe not on the specific details, but not only is there a movement behind it, it's very popular. but also doctors like yourself making clear there are valid points here. and then on the vaccines and how that kind of weighs out. should also note senator cassidy, when he was doctor cassidy, oversaw a vaccination program for hepatitis b for

children in baton rouge. over 38,000 people. so it's not just academic studies with him. it's real world experience as well. but he is officially a yes doctor. sanjay gupta, manu raju appreciate you guys walking us through all of this, sharing your perspective. thank you. >> thank you. >> well, still ahead, a cnn exclusive. epa administrator lee zeldin will join me live next. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th on cnn. >> want a next level clean swish with the whoa of listerine? it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean with listerine. feel the. whoa! >> you'll love this! centrum silver is clinically proven to support memory and older adults, so you can keep saying you mastered it. you fixed it, you nailed it. you did it with centrum silver. clinically proven to support memory in older adults.

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dude, i really need a new phone. check out my new samsung galaxy s25 ultra. it's got galaxy ai. imagine this thing running on our superfast xfinity mobile network. and i also heard that it can do multiple things with a single command. —with google gemini. let me try it. add recipes with overripe bananas to my “dessert ideas” note. that's what you chose to ask it? i had other things planned. ask how to get up to one thousand dollars off the new samsung galaxy s25 ultra with xfinity mobile. cancel it for you. >> really? >> yep. all you have to do is tap a few buttons and they take care of it. download rocket money today. >> i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon. and this is cnn. >> vice president jd vance is vowing to finish the cleanup in east palestine, ohio, from that toxic train derailment that happened two years ago this week. vance visited the small

community yesterday on the anniversary of the disaster. now, your call in 2023. a norfolk southern train skidded off the tracks, sending 1 million pounds of hazardous chemicals into the soil, water and air. now a senator from ohio, jd vance, cosponsored the bipartisan railway safety act. it did not advance in the u.s. senate, but he seems confident it is still possible. >> i do think that is a very viable and a very reasonable goal. i do think that we continue to need to do better at rail safety in this country. and i even talked to the fire chief a little bit. he's got strong views about rail safety. probably how we could make the bill a little bit better, but also how we can make sure that common sense rail safety makes its way into our public laws. >> now, joining the vice president on that trip was the new head of the epa. lee zeldin appreciate your time this morning. joining us just a few weeks after you started at the agency. i guess to start with, on the policy side of things, what we were talking about with vance was referring to there is a legislative response that he

worked in a bipartisan capacity to try and get across. in the last congress. there was also a request from the governor back then, but also we heard from east palestine residents yesterday on this show about the epa declaring a public health emergency. vance was asked about that yesterday, said, i'm not totally sure it would be as relevant as it was 18 months ago, but that's within your authority. is that something you're considering? well, first vice president vance point should be well taken. it has been 18 plus months since that particular aspect of the conversation was. >> really heating up. we're coming near the end of cleaning up contaminated soil. epa has led an effort to get rid of 220,000 tons so far. cleaning up the water. there's been 70 million gallons of water that have been treated. so it's something that, as you pointed out, affects the land. the air, the water. and we're hopefully

nearing the end of this process. hopefully the contamination of the soil is is something that can be finished by sometime this spring. that's the goal. there's also a lot of litigation that is going on right now with the company, and you have different class action suits, settlements with the local government, settlements with people. what's very important is that long term there is health monitoring and environmental monitoring for many years to come, and that we're also helping the economy of east palestine be able to recover as well. getting back to the heart of of your question of whether or not there's a health emergency that is needed, that is not something that i've been advised of since i was just sworn in, just less than a week ago, but it's certainly all over our radar. after hearing that question yesterday. >> what else did the community ask for the epa to do? obviously, the epa has been on the ground. i think hundreds, if not more, epa and epa aligned officials as part of this cleanup. what do you want to

change from what was happening before you came in? >> well, first we have to finish the cleanup. this has to get done urgently. there is a goal currently to have this done by this spring. i would love to see that deadline met. the people of east palestine deserve it. and we don't want to have to see shifting deadlines and dates long into the future. what we do need to see long into the future, as i had just referenced, is that health and environmental monitoring for for people to feel confident that they're not going to be abandoned for years to come. vice president vance has taken this effort quite personally. it was the first real high profile incident that took place after he was sworn in as the junior senator from ohio. he led he was on the ground. and when i was sworn in, i heard from the vice president immediately saying, your first trip, you're coming with me to east palestine. this is something that is very

important to him. and in turn, it's going to be very important to the epa. most important to the heart of that last question you asked is just getting this cleanup done urgently. >> yeah, i think it was three weeks after then-senator vance was sworn in in the u.s. senate when he got that phone call. had been working on it throughout his time in the chamber. i want to step back and sorry for saying weeks all the time has kind of meshing together at this point in a very, a very accelerated administration. the first couple of weeks of the administration, your role is critical to the president's kind of broader agenda, particularly on energy, climate, environment, conservation, permitting issues as well. when you look at kind of the workforce that you're coming over the top of from the last administration, very different policy priorities from the last administration. how do you see this playing out? >> i think it's important for our team to be showing up. i was just briefed yesterday that on mondays and fridays, the epa

headquarters was was averaging about 5 to 8% capacity. i mean, think about how low that number is. we need people in the office collaborating, working together. we need to be productive and efficient. as far as ramping up efforts on the ground right now in los angeles. epa has just launched what is the largest wildfire cleanup in the history of the epa. as of today, the last number that i got, we have over 1100 people in the field cleaning up hazardous materials. we're still finishing up in western north carolina, but i think it's very important, phil, that we have our team here in headquarters and in the regions showing up, working hard and making the american public proud. >> and that's been certainly a push by the administration writ large as well. you were quoted shortly after being sworn in that every single agency, every single cabinet official has a mandate to have a workforce reduction. obviously, efficiency and cleaning out the government has been a pretty significant

focal point of this administration. right around the same time, i think more than a thousand employees in your workforce who had been working a year or less at epa, got emails telling them because they were on that probationary period, they could be fired at any time. what is the plan and what was the point of that email well, first off, that email, which i believe went to around 1700 or so employees, were two people who were probationary employees. >> it's just restating what that means. what we're seeing right now is that a lot of employees are taking the fork in the road. that is, they can choose to leave the federal government and get paid through the end of september. we just instituted a voluntary early retirement opportunity for people, which is being warmly received from a number of employees who are looking for that option. and

it's important for us to just be efficient and productive. we have core statutory requirements that are in law that epa needs to do exceptionally. it's important that we're able to execute on our mission, which is protecting human health and the environment. and as as i laid out this morning in announcing an initiative to power the great american comeback, i think it's important that while executing that first pillar of pursuing clean, safe, healthy air, land and water that we are looking at what's in our jurisdiction to help unleash energy dominance, to make america the a.i. capital of the world, to have permitting reform and to bring back american auto jobs. and that's just a sample of some of what we could do to be part of a solution, because the american public spoke last november, that they have great concern over economic issues, to be able to pursue their american dream. and that's something we're sensitive to. >> you mentioned the fork in the road notification that came from the office of personnel

management. kind of echoing an email that elon musk sent to twitter. then twitter employees back in 2022. do you have a doge team? i think every agency is supposed to have a doge team as laid out by the executive order. are they in your building right now or are you working with them? >> so i'm hoping to have a meeting with someone either today or tomorrow. again, i was just sworn in late wednesday night. i have had phone conversations with individuals involved in doge, and i have actually been greatly encouraged by how productive those calls have been. it's clear that they want to assist us. they're not looking to come into the building and and not work with us. if they have any recommendations for efficiencies with regards to grants that maybe went out the door and something was done wrong, something wasn't done. following the law. i want to hear that there was something during the

transition period where a video came out where where someone with the the epa, a political appointee in the last administration, was talking about how they were rushing to get billions of dollars out the door by inauguration day, and he was referring to it as tossing gold bars off the titanic. that motivates me to want to come in and and be able to wrap my hands around all of the money that has gone out is going out, will go out. and to make sure that we're being good stewards of tax dollars. if doge wants to help with that personnel and more. so we could do a better job, i'm all for it. >> i think part of the reason why i ask is because your approach, you know, i was struck by and this tracks with how i knew you operated on capitol hill as well, making very clear that how important it was for the actions you took as administrator to have a level of durability. right. because if you took a wrong turn, if you cut a corner, they would immediately be challenged in court, and that would be problematic in terms of rolling back rulemakings, regulatory reform, things of that nature, which seems to be the complete opposite of what we've seen. the

doge operation do in gsa and opm, kind of in the places that they've been up to this point. does that concern you? >> listen, my my interaction with doge so far has has been one that i've only been encouraged by. i care greatly as as you pointed out, it's important to follow the rule of law. and we have tens of billions of dollars coming through the epa in recent years, and there's a lot of money going through the epa going forward. and i just i want to be a good steward of tax dollars, and i want to be able to work with with anyone to help identify any type of efficiencies. i can't speak to how the interactions are going elsewhere. i can only speak for my own personal experience, and i have found doge to to be in a position where they want to offer recommendations, they want to support us, they want to help us do a good job. i'm all for that. >> epa administrator lee zeldin i said weeks. i think it's been

days on the job since you've been sworn in. i appreciate your time this morning. thanks so much. >> thanks, phil. >> we'll be right back. >> amazing. jerry, you got to see this saying that. >> trust me, after 15 walks, gets a little old. yeah. >> stop waiting. start investing. >> e-trade from morgan stanley. >> ontario, canada. stable and secure. when the world around us isn't, you can rely on us for energy to power your growing economy. and for critical minerals crucial to new technologies. we're here right by your side. >> where are you headed? >> where am i headed? am i just going to take what the market gives me? no. i can do some research. >> you know, that's backed by jp morgan's leading strategists like us. >> when you want to invest with more confidence, the answer is jp morgan wealth management. >> that moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. and our shirts from custom ink help bring us

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popping the question to taylor swift. the opening night of the super bowl. well, it had it all. cnn's coy wire was there. coy. what have we got? >> i did not know about that hard-hitting news. good to see you, phil. welcome to new orleans. the iconic jackson square. here it was incredible opening night. if this super bowl is going to be anything like the last time these two teams met in the super bowl two seasons ago, we're in for quite the ride. that game was two point shy of being the highest super bowl, highest scoring super bowl ever. now the eagles, they are led by their quarterback jalen hurts who was phenomenal in that game. he set a super bowl record for a quarterback by rushing for three touchdowns. now he has mvp candidate running back saquon barkley on his side this time. and their defense is playing lights out. so look out. the chiefs of course are led by quarterback patrick mahomes. he's putting together one of the best stretches we've seen by any quarterback in nfl history. five super bowls in seven seasons, three of them wins. we caught up with some of the stars

last night to ask them about this big moment. listen, you just got to take it all in. this is part of it. >> you got to enjoy it. so i'm happy to be here, happy to have conversations with you guys. um, at the same time, you know, it's a business and you stay locked in, but today, you enjoy. >> it kind of brings you closer together when people are. rooting against you, you just kind. >> of if you come a tighter. brotherhood in that locker room and you know that we're doing it the right way and we can bring it, bring. >> it, bring. >> ourselves together. have chiefs kingdom with us and go out there and try to win the game against everybody. now, phil, there are festivities all week long, and we found out there are some surprises too. yesterday we caught up with new orleans saints. all linebacker demario davis and his wife tamela, who surprised a nurse, a clinical nurse supervisor at university at the university hospitals here in new orleans, stevie kells. she's been living in new orleans for 30 years. she helped treat 26 patients about a

month ago on that tragic terror attack that took place in the early hours of new year's day. here's some of that moment and the reflection on what it was like to surprise stevie with some tickets to the. >> super bowl. >> i love doing things like that. i get super excited, almost like i'm winning. i don't know, how do you feel? >> it was. >> it was unreal. >> this is a resilient city. and that response began with the first responders, those who were on the scene and those who were, you know, had to react quickly. and she was there. so it means a lot. and so to be able to give back to somebody who's given so much, it was awesome. that's what it's all about. >> that's what it's all. >> about for sure. >> phil demario davis, his wife tamela, they are like saints in this city of the new orleans saints changing lives with their devoted dreamers foundation and their partners, ashley stevie was in shock. it kind of hit her later when she found out she's going to the super bowl, she said. i'm a kansas city chiefs fan. i can't wait to call my boyfriend. he's not going to

believe this. so an incredible moment here to kick these festivities off here in new orleans. >> i love that story. keep them coming. coy wire coy wire. thank you so much. well coming up, price surge at waffle house is the hike on eggs. they're just the tip of the iceberg. well, more. >> kick off in new orleans is brought to you by clearchoice dental implant centers. visit clearchoice. com today. >> dear doctor kay, i used to think i was never meant to be beautiful. i was teased because of my teeth. i didn't like the person looking back at me in the mirror. i never thought i could afford dental implants. you and your team work within my budget and help me feel confident in the plan we made together. i love my new smile. thank you. >> congratulations! you have a beautiful soul, cynthia. >> finance the smile you want for as low as 148 a month per arch. schedule a free

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