ever change. >> go back is the driving theme of the new republican immigration push, and a big reason more immigrants think it's best to stay in the shadows. >> and john king is with us now. john, i was always good at geography, and i know that nebraska's not a border state. so why did you choose to go there? to focus on immigration? >> a couple of reasons. as we expand the project now to look at the midterms and how the trump policy impacts the country, not just in blue states or swing states, but also in red states, remember, yes, nebraska is red, but it has that don bacon district near omaha, a republican who won the district that kamala harris carried in the race for president. that's number one. number two, it is a red state, right? is donald trump willing to disrupt his farmer friends? is he willing to disrupt the meatpacking industry by doing this? so we want to test trump policies as we look forward. yes, mostly in swing states, but also in places that will have competitive elections and that have fascinating stories. >> i look forward to hearing so

many more of them. john king, you've been so helpful tonight. thanks so much for being with us. the news continues right here on cnn. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> good evening. i'm kaitlan collins in washington, a town that is still digesting. tonight, one of the most brazen suggestions ever made by a u.s. president in recent years. i was in the east room of the white house earlier this evening when president trump stood shoulder to shoulder with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, and said all 2 million palestinians should be moved from gaza to other countries. >> the u.s. will take over the gaza strip, and we will do a job with it, too. we'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the

area. >> now, trump had been suggesting all day that the entire palestinian population of gaza be permanently removed, but it was only during that press conference there, just a few hours ago, that he made clear the u.s., he believes, should take over the gaza strip, which as of this moment is still being run by hamas fighters tonight. and where hostages from the october 7th attack are still being held. a very delicate cease fire is in place as of this moment. will owen it was trump's comment there, a statement that triggered a flurry of questions from the white house press corps. and really, some of the leaders in that room and officials across the world, first and foremost, though, being where do those 2 million palestinians go? saying about the gazans leaving gaza, going to other countries? one where exactly are you suggesting that they should go? and two, are you saying they should return after it's rebuilt? and if not, who do you envision

living there? >> i envision a world, people living there, the world's people. i think you'll make that into an international. unbelievable place. i think the potential in the gaza strip is unbelievable, and i think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there. >> but not the palestinians. >> they'll live there. palestinians also, palestinians will live there. many people will live there. but they've tried the other and they've tried it for decades and decades and decades. it's not going to work. it didn't work. it will never work. and you have to learn from history. history has, you know, you just can't let it keep repeating itself. we have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. and i don't want to be cute. i don't want to be a wise guy. but the riviera of the middle east, this could be something that could be so bad. this could be so magnificent. but more importantly than that is the

people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they're living in hell. and those people will now be able to live in peace. we'll make sure that it's done world class. it will be wonderful for the people. but palestinians, palestinians mostly, we're talking about. and i have a feeling that despite them saying no, i have a feeling that the king in jordan and that the general president, but that the general in egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done. and people can live in harmony and in peace. thank you all very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. >> to say that the president's comments are explosive would be an understatement. like trump or not, he has proven repeatedly that he is able to push through things, through, sometimes through the sheer force of sheer will. but i should note that the context here is really important. egypt and jordan have

already said they will not take in expelled palestinians into their nations. we're hearing from two arab officials who spoke with cnn immediately after the comments from the president tonight and say it's hard to even grasp or digest what was just said. the president at one point during that press conference, notably refused to rule out sending u.s. troops to gaza, where again is still being run by hamas and its fighters. when he talks about the riviera of the middle east, as he calls it, it is not a surprise that the president has his sights on sending potentially real estate developers there, or this grand vision for the gaza strip. remember his son in law and his former mideast envoy, jared kushner, once mused just last year about the very valuable potential of gaza's waterfront property, suggesting that israel could remove the civilians there to clean up the area. there is no better source to start this hour than our own fareed zakaria on all of this, and he joins me now. and, fareed, obviously, just to give everyone i was at

the white house all day to catch everyone up. what had happened is before prime minister netanyahu even got there, trump was suggesting that palestinians should leave gaza, that it's not livable, that it's going to take 10 to 15 years to rebuild because of all the destruction there from the israeli strikes since october 7th, since this war has started. then he repeated it again in the oval office, with netanyahu seated by his side. and then he came out at that press conference, and that is when he made the news on his own without being asked by a reporter about the u.s. taking over the gaza strip. obviously, an extraordinary statement from an american president. what are your takeaways, fareed? >> well, it is breathtaking, and one doesn't really know where to begin. you asked the the central question, caitlin, which is where would these people go? there are 2 million palestinians in gaza who have lived through several wars, several, you know, incredibly intense bouts of

violence with israel because they want to live on their land. um, the as you say, the neighboring countries, egypt and jordan, have both categorically have repeatedly said that they are not going to take people in. so it's not entirely clear how this happens. the united states would have to invade gaza, would have to expel hamas, would have to conduct counterinsurgency operations against an insurgency there that would that would exist, would also have to persuade egypt and jordan to take these these refugees. and, you know, one has to point out, outside of all the geopolitical issues, that that raises, this is a president who came in saying he wanted to focus on america first. he didn't want us engaging in any grand global projects. well, i mean, this is another war in the middle east and the last war in the middle east. we took part in, uh, ended

up stretching out much longer, was much more complicated and cost about $2 trillion. so, you know, it seems very unlikely that this can go smoothly. you can imagine american power forcing the egyptians to do something, forcing the jordanians to do something. but you're going to have to put military on the ground to get hamas to cede power, to get the palestinians to move, to secure that area. and that is another that is another military intervention in the middle east. and i thought president trump ran in 2016, explaining that that was precisely why he was running. he wanted to stop america's senseless adventures in the middle east. >> yeah, that's what he has repeated time and time again. he said, no new wars on his watch. he has talked about that. but also just in this moment for a region that is going to be waking up to these comments from the president. i mean, i've been messaging with sources already.

even an israeli official acknowledging how difficult this would be to implement what it means for the cease fire deal that is in place right now. i mean, if you're hamas, which is obviously the other party of this agreement, and they see the u.s. president saying we're going to take over the gaza strip, does this mean the cease fire deal still holds, or that, i mean, there are still hostages being held by hamas. there? >> i suspect that the cease fire deal has its own problems. as you know, essentially, israeli troops have to withdraw from certain parts when you get to phase two. that's a very tough bar for israelis. the finance minister has said he's going to leave the coalition if that happens. so i think that that has its own dynamic. but you're right to point to the question of hamas. what will hamas do? hamas will dig in because hamas will say, look, there is a prospect that there is going to be an effort to forcibly displace the palestinians, which means we are going to dig in. we are going to try to make sure

that we are, you know, we are there to launch an insurgency if it needs to happen. and it's really important to remember that no matter how powerful you are, if you are in a foreign territory against a local insurgency and you do not have the support of the population, that is a very hard military operation to succeed at. that's what we discovered in iraq, in afghanistan, in vietnam, you know, so this is this is not likely to be that easy. and hamas, my guess is, is preparing for the prospect that they are going to have to resist some kind of american involvement. now, whether it gets to all that, you never know, because president trump, he may you know, he may forget about all this tomorrow. but but you know, it's important to point out what he is articulating is essentially a kind of israeli right wing fantasy that has existed for a long time, that somehow the palestinians leave

gaza and the west bank, and that you end up with an israel from the river to the sea. and, you know, you've sort of solved the problem. the you know, the reality is the palestinians don't want to leave. and i don't think the president said anything that's going to make it more likely that they will want to leave. >> and it's not clear at all where they would go to watch prime minister netanyahu's reaction, as this was being said, was was remarkable in and of itself. fareed zakaria i couldn't think of anyone better to start the show with. thank you for for joining us with your insights. and my next source tonight is the israeli journalist nadavayal nadav. we met in israel as i was as we were covering, you know, the aftermath of october 7th, this war that has been raging for for 16 months. uh, what's your initial takeaway? what are you hearing from sources tonight on on this remarkable announcement from the white house great to join you, caitlin. >> well, first of all, as far as the israelis are concerned, and specifically netanyahu and his

right wing coalition, they just won the lottery. this is how they see it. this is, as fareed has said, a long time idea within the hard right in israel. i would say the far right in israel, that will be massive emigration of palestinians either from judea and samaria or from the gaza strip. and israel will be able to base itself in these areas. now, i should say that the president was quite clear in one of the answers to the questions, that he doesn't think that there should be new settlements at the gaza strip. and he was talking about the united states taking ownership of the gaza strip. well, as far as the israelis are concerned, this government is concerned benjamin netanyahu, ron dermer, who was in close contact with steve witkoff and with the white house towards these declarations today. this is a fantastic idea to have the united states there. i would caution in the sense that if you actually listen to what the prime minister has said, and he was standing,

sitting beside the president, he didn't say anything about this specific plan at all. he talked about israel's war aims. the published war aims of israel to make sure that the hamas rule doesn't exist in the gaza strip, and the hostages are back home. >> yeah, he was saying it was an interesting idea to pursue and to look at and to explore. but he didn't say yes, i agree that we should fully do this. i was listening very closely to that. i want you to listen to when trump was asked this idea of the u.s. taking over a sovereign territory, his answer to that question from a reporter. >> mr. prime. >> minister. >> do you see this idea. >> as a way to expand the boundaries of israel and to have a longer peace, even though the israeli people know how important that land is to you and your citizens? just as the space is inherited by the palestinians as well.

>> i do see a long term ownership position, and i see it bringing great stability to that part of the middle east and maybe the entire middle east. and everybody i've spoken to. this was not a decision made lightly. everybody i've spoken to loves the idea of the united states owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent. >> now, he did not say which which leaders he's spoken with. we know king abdullah of jordan is coming here next week. we've heard saudi arabia say previously that they believe any normalization deal between saudi arabia and israel has to include the establishment of a palestinian state. what do you think leaders in the region make of this claim? >> look, the fear of leaders across the region. i'm not talking right now about israel. the fear there, according to my sources, is that this would lead to a sort of destabilization in

in their own street and local public. the palestinian issue specifically, after more than a year of a war, is something that has been at the top of the news cycle across the middle east, a major source of friction and criticism towards different arab regimes. and now it seems that those moderate arab regimes that are allied with the united states are now hearing from the u.s. and idea about the displacement of palestinians. this is how arab leaders are seeing this. and less than an hour ago, the saudi foreign ministry, as you said, caitlin issued another pr, you know, notice saying basically there should be a palestinian state. we're not going to have normalization with israel. we're against any idea of displacing palestinians. and by the way, if you actually listen to what trump said, he didn't speak about displacing forcibly, you

know, um, expelling the palestinians. he was talking about a sort of a suggestion, an offer of relocation of sorts. it wasn't completely clear what would be the mechanics of this. what would the palestinians be offered? and as far as i know, israelis don't hold a coherent plan to see this as happening. and they themselves were surprised to the extent of the president's commitment to this idea. so the idea was floated in talks between jerusalem and washington before this press conference. but the level of commitment shown by the president to the idea of ownership was surprising. >> yeah, it built throughout the day and then was an outright declaration amid questions about the day after. and gaza nadavayal, you are going to be very busy. check in with your sources. keep us updated with what you're hearing. thank you. and up next, we're going to have more on this remarkable breaking news out of the white house. what fellow white house

reporters are hearing about this proposed takeover from gaza of the by the u.s.? also tonight, the fbi has just turned over information about 5000 employees of theirs who worked on january 6th cases. the attorney, who is suing on the behalf of those agents, some of them is my next source. >> it's the news. >> welcome back. >> but it's also kind of not the news. >> joe kent dana bash do that. >> you know. >> there's three lesbians on this panel. >> am i one of them? >> if you drink tap water and your balls still work, please clap no, michael. we don't fact check it. we don't care, man. why all the information on this show? so terrible? >> have i got news for you returns february 15th on cnn and stream next day on max. >> for generations, this ally to the north has been by your side. ontario, canada. a partner

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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. 1-800-217-1487 now or visit us at fund.com. >> i'm rafael romo at the georgia. >> state capitol. >> in atlanta. >> this is. >> cnn. >> breaking news tonight. as president trump is now refusing to rule out the possibility of using u.s. forces to fulfill his pledge that he made tonight in a stunning white house press conference to have the united states take control of the gaza strip. the president said he sees a quote, long term ownership position of the

territory and made clear in a question that i asked him tonight during that press conference that he sees the potential for real estate there we have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal, and i don't want to be cute. >> i don't want to be a wise guy. but the riviera of the middle east, this could be something that could be so bad. this could be so magnificent. but more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they're living in hell. >> my deeply sourced white house insiders are here to take us behind the scenes. tonight. pbs newshour's laura barron-lopez. npr's asma khalid and reuters jeff mason all here at the table. let me just read what senator chris a democrat on senate foreign relations, said tonight to our morgan when he was asked about this proposal. now, he is a democrat. obviously, he's not trump's biggest ally. but he said,

quote, i am speechless. that's insane. i can't think of a place on earth that would welcome american troops less, and where any positive outcome is less likely in this situation. >> i mean, i think. >> he's probably channeling more than just democrats with that comment. i think we'll be curious to see what people in the region say tomorrow. but the the idea of u.s. troops being there, the idea of it being a real estate riviera, from the money, quote, that you got out of your question to just the fact that trying to upend history from of decades and decades of u.s. policy there, some people no doubt do think that's insane. >> and you mentioned people in the region already. it's the middle of the night in saudi arabia. saudi foreign ministry just issued a statement reiterating that its position is no deal, no normalizing relations with israel without a palestinian state. they said that their position is unwavering. they are not willing to compromise on that. and so that was in stark contrast to what we heard from president trump tonight, talking about how everyone was supportive of this plan. the question is who's everyone.

>> and what he was articulating. he declined to to say which leaders he had spoken with, what trump was articulating as his basis from this. and nadav made a good point that trump was not saying they should be forcibly removed, but he was proposing it as this better idea for palestinians, saying that they don't want to live in an area that has been decimated by israeli strikes. but but he was essentially arguing that how gaza and its relationship with israel has worked in the past decade, since it's existed hundreds of years, that that essentially it's not worked before. so why keep doing the same thing? was the argument he was articulating tonight. right. >> he's trying to say, why attempt to continue down the path of a two state solution. but i mean, that, again, to everyone's point. this is not going to go over well in the region. there's already forceful pushback. i mean, you have to wonder, three days ago, arab nations responded to trump when he was floating the idea of egypt and jordan taking palestinians. and they said, no, three days ago. i mean, is he

now because he has the the prime minister here using this as a negotiating tactic to try to apply pressure on them? i mean, that's one question that this raises. >> and it's not just democrats. i should be clear that we're hearing from lindsey graham is a huge ally of president trump's. he responded tonight to to our reporters on capitol hill, jeff, and said, i think most south carolinians would probably not be excited about sending americans to take over gaza. he said it was problematic, he believed. but this is kind of something that we this real estate aspect of this, when he called it the riviera of the middle east to me, was something that that jared kushner has articulated before. obviously, someone who knows this region well. he was trump's envoy to it in his last term. >> he was applying his worldview and his political view and his business perspective worldview to this region, looking for a place to put hotels, potentially looking for solutions that are outside of the box. no doubt. i mean, it's almost reminiscent of him saying during the

campaign to black and brown voters, look, what are the democrats done for you? what do you have to lose? he's kind of saying that on a much different stage and a much different way in an area that is that's going to affect, you know, so many people. >> and this is go ahead. >> yeah. no, i was going to say, but i don't want to sort of minimize what he is saying because, i mean, whether it's with force or not, i mean, he's talking about the massive movement of over 1.5 million people. i mean, this is not something that happens in and it's not supposed to legally happen in the modern era. and i think sort of his way of couching this all in the context of real estate, i don't want to lose the fact that this is something that many nations in the region would say is deeply unethical, it is deeply immoral, and it's just not supposed to happen in the modern context. >> and is it legal? something else that he absolutely did not address tonight. >> which was a question that kelly o'donnell posed to him in terms of the mechanism of how you would just take over a sovereign nation and what that would look like essentially, going forward in terms of what

the next step is here. but the one thing that was very clear was trump was serious. this isn't something that he was just kind of floating out there. i mean, he had been building to it all day long. he meant what he said. essentially, there's no walking this back from the white house podium tomorrow. >> no, he definitely meant what he said. and i think we'll see the white house support him tomorrow. in the statements that he made. but yes, i think it should definitely be taken seriously. i think it's also striking that this all comes at a time where the u.s. well, he wants to view gaza as a place of development, which is absolutely just stunning. and for the reasons that asma just laid out. but at a time when the u.s. is kind of retreating from other areas of the globe and retreating in terms of humanitarian assistance. >> it's not very america first maga. noninterventionist republican party that we have seen here in washington as of late. i mean, this feels very old school. what republicans may have pushed before. but but you know, trump prides himself on saying no new wars. and now he's not ruling out the idea of

sending u.s. forces into the into the gaza strip. >> it is expansionary, which is a new part of trumpism. i mean, talking about greenland, talking about the panama canal, and now talking about gaza. it is also aid, which is a little bit the opposite of what the message that he's been sending over the last few few days about getting rid of usaid. >> yeah, a remarkable press conference, to say the least. and we've all been there for some pretty remarkable ones. great to have you all. and your reporting here at the table up next tonight, also here in washington, this headline is fbi agents are suing the trump administration because the agency has been turning over information about the investigators who worked on january 6th cases, raising questions about potential mass firings. i'm going to speak to the attorney who is representing some of those fbi agents ahead. >> cooked books. >> corporate fat cats. swindling socialites. doped up cyclists, and yes, more crooked politicians. i have a feeling we won't be running out of those

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>> guilt has the designers that get your heart racing at insider prices. new everyday. hurry! they'll be gone in a flash. designer sales at up to 70% off. shop gilt.com today. >> tonight, the fbi has complied with demands from the justice department to turn over information related to 5000 agents, approximately, and staff who worked on the january 6th investigations of the rioters who attacked the capitol. two different sets of agents and employees are now suing the justice department. and my source tonight is pamela keith, one of the attorneys representing some of the fbi agents involved. and it's great to have you here. can you just tell us how this lawsuit came about? i mean, i think people have been waiting to see if they would take a step, but can you just tell us how this started? >> absolutely. >> several of our. clients who are. >> long term fbi. agents got. >> a message on saturday or sunday night. >> saying. >> hey, here's this survey that we want you to fill out that specifically identifies what you

did with respect to january 6th cases. were you actively involved? were you a supervisor? how many cases did you work on? in what ways? and these people have been with the fbi for years over many different administrations, and they've never been asked anything like that before. so that's what got our phones ringing as we started to look into it. we saw that this was an effort to aggregate information and identify people who were particularly active. on january 6th issues, and that got us very, very concerned. >> and did they ultimately fill out this questionnaire? >> well, it's it's a big organization. some people actually filled it out. some people's managers filled it out for them. one of our concerns is that there may be people who are former agents or former employees who are now part of this aggregating of information and don't even know it. so that is part of the reason. >> so even if they didn't fill it out, their name could still be submitted. we know the list was submitted to to the justice department. we're told it didn't include the names of the

agents, but it had their their identifying numbers. are they concerned that their names will be used or will get out there? >> absolutely. um, no system is foolproof. no system is hack proof. we don't know who is going to get access to this information. and the people who get access to this information may not themselves be under any obligation not to share it. once it's out on the internet, it can't be brought back. so it's not just the intention of the administration that's at issue. it's that when you aggregate this kind of information, you you create a target for malign actors, be they domestic or international. >> and do. do your clients here that you're representing the agents that are part of this? do they believe that that the reason they were asked this question about their involvement and what they did is ultimately with the end goal of firing them? >> i think that's a fair assumption. and given the context, i think we have to assume that's where this is going. again, we can't ignore

that. as candidate donald trump made multiple, campaign stops in which he promised retribution, vengeance, especially with respect to the january 6th cases. he also took no time to fire some of the doj attorneys that worked on the january 6th cases. not all of them, obviously, but many. and so you have to ask the question, what is the legitimate business interest in aggregating this information? >> well, and i think there's one argument that we've heard some allies of trump make when it comes to leadership at the fbi and who he wants in that position. but are a lot of your clients here more rank and file agents who were assigned to these cases? they didn't. did they seek them out? >> absolutely. caitlin. this survey was sent to thousands of employees that are not necessarily supervisors. rank and file people, people who've been with the agency for decades, staff, people who are not even agents. people, for

example, like it technicians and people who work on gathering of crypto information. these are people who have made a career out of serving the people of the united states and executing their duties. they shouldn't be on anybody's target list, and they should not be disturbed because they don't get to choose which assignments they take up and which ones they reject based on political reasons. and so they shouldn't be targeted for political reasons either. >> what happens next here in this, in this. >> well, we filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to the district court of district of columbia. and that procedure asks a judge to put a stop on things so that there's time to assess what's to do next. >> and have they heard anything from the their bosses or from the justice department in terms of because the deadline was was noon today, i believe. have they heard anything since that happened? >> my clients have not. and our team is working closely with

democracy defenders norm eisen and mark zayd's group. they're representing the agent association, and they're a great team to work with. they have not heard any specific information or intelligence about what's going to be done with all of this. we're hoping that we filed in time for the judge to put a stay on publishing or sharing this information. >> and can i ask you you mentioned norm. our audience will be certainly familiar with him. he's been on cnn many times, but but to allies of the president who may look at this and say, these are critics of the president who are helping the helping people file this lawsuit that you filed today. you yourself have obviously criticized trump. what would you say to that? >> i would say that it's irrelevant. my personal feelings about donald trump or his administration have nothing to do with whether or not this move is lawful, and whether or not it puts at risk the national security of the united states of america. and we believe that it does. we can say with certainty that the agents are already scared. they're already very concerned. people are afraid of

losing their jobs, but they're also afraid of their families and themselves being put at risk. that doesn't help the united states remain safe, and it doesn't help the fbi in its future efforts to recruit and train the next generation of agents. >> how many agents did you ultimately hear from here, and are you still hearing from more.? >> as of approximately 6:00 pm today, we still had we had 18 additional agents that reached out to us from from the filing today. so it's a great deal of people who are reaching out. there's a tremendous amount of interest in this lawsuit because people i think generally, whether you're democrats or republicans, genuinely appreciate the efforts that our fbi, our cia, our clandestine and intelligence services really do to keep us safe. >> pamela keith, thank you for joining. and please keep us updated on what happens next here and whether they do hear from from the senior leadership at the doj. >> absolutely. thank you for having me. >> thank you very much, pamela. keith, also here with me now,

cnn legal analyst and former federal prosecutor elliot williams. elliot, do they have the power to fire people because they worked under or worked on this investigation or. >> well. >> the. >> constitution, the constitution. >> says that the government can't. >> fire you because of your political views and decades of hr. human resources rules say that there's process for firing somebody. so no, they can't. but the simple fact is who's stopping them? caitlin, this is the problem that we are in right now and are going to be in for some time until somebody steps up in a court says that they can't. they can fire whoever they want. >> but who does? the firing here is that i mean, pam bondi is obviously getting confirmed as the the attorney general. what kash patel has not been confirmed. what does that look like? >> i think what it would look like is terminating the employment of an individual. so it would come from the hr office within the fbi. and then as you're seeing here, those employees would then sue to have their rights restored. and they have they have a quite, quite strong lawsuit here to protect their rights.

>> but if they. so you think they could succeed in court potentially. >> i think they can could succeed in court because of the first amendment free speech issue here. these are employees who are, in effect, being punished for what their perceived political views are, right? >> it's remarkable. elliot williams, thank you. we'll continue to see where this goes from here. and of course, what the future of these lawsuits is. we do have more breaking news this hour. plenty of it so far. more ahead. new reporting tonight from the wall street journal that the cia is just offering buyouts to the entire workforce. and what some officials say is a bid to bring the agency in line with president trump's priorities. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th on cnn. >> i always. >> wanted to. >> know why i'm the way i am. my curiosity led me to ancestry. it was amazing to see all the traits that i've gotten from my mother in my dna. it's a family thing. >> it's a family thing.

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>> now. >> we're following more breaking news tonight on the trump administration's blitz through the federal government. now that we are over two weeks into the second trump term, the wall street journal reporting that the administration, the cia has just offered buyouts to the entire workforce at the cia. what the reporting says is that employees were offered eight months of pay and benefits. if they leave the intelligence agency. part of trump's efforts to downsize the government. even the cia and put more people in these positions who are closely aligned with his view. i'm joined tonight by the veteran journalist garrett graf. garrett, on this. i mean, what do you make of this this what was your initial reaction to this report from the wall street journal? >> i mean. it is as. >> shocking as any. >> other development that we are. >> living through right now. >> you know, one of. >> the things i think is. >> one of the. >> only truths. >> that we have in the trump era. is the. inconsistency of the.

>> logical consistency. >> of one announcement to another. for a lot of reasons, you could. imagine that on the same night that you were announcing that the u.s. might take over gaza, you would not want to gut the intelligence agencies that help us understand that part of the world and mitigate risks to the united states, here and abroad. on the same day that you are also looking at neutering the fbi's entire counterterrorism program here at the homeland, that, for instance, some of these decisions in one category might have downside risks in another. >> can i can i ask you about part of this? because a cia spokesperson said that this move was part of an effort to infuse the agency with renewed energy, as they put it. and they also said that trump's cia will have a greater focus on the western hemisphere, targeting countries not traditionally considered adversaries of the united states, saying, for example, they could use the cia to to to use espionage to give trump more leverage in his trade negotiations, potentially spying on mexico's government amid the ongoing. spat.

>> i think quotes like that show how little any of the people involved in this actually understand the mission of any of these federal agencies that the cia and other intelligence agencies within the united states like the part and parcel, the opening ante of what they do is help inform the president's negotiations with foreign leaders. i mean, this goes all the way back to, you know, the snowden revelations where we were monitoring angela merkel's cell phone like this. this is some of the most basic work that the cia is already doing. and i can i can tell you, because i have spoken to former officers who are involved in this, but like, that's exactly the type of work that the cia is already doing. >> which trump knows about because he brought up the merkel surveillance to her face at a press conference in his first term. i remember it in the east room where he was today. what happens if everyone at the cia takes this buyout? because we heard today, i think it was 20,000 people in the federal workforce had already taken these offers of buyouts. if the

entire cia. let's just say, for example, that they did. what does that look like tomorrow? >> i mean, nothing good for the united states. and that's true, you know, at any one of these agencies, these these workplaces, i think, you know, i think part of the challenge of this is understanding that the goal here is just the chaos and the wreckage that, that, that i don't think that there is any grand plan beyond these buyouts. you know, it's certainly not a cost cutting measure to throw away decades of experience and millions of dollars in training that we have invested in these workforces. um, but, you know, any one of these federal agencies is like any other workplace. there's a very small number of people on whom sort of the whole operation lies. i mean, the people who know the institutional history, the people who understand how the systems and the operations work. and when those people leave, the whole thing seizes up.

>> yeah. and we're already just talking in the last segment about fbi workers who are suing the government because they feel like they're being unfairly targeted and about to have a mass purge. kash patel as we're watching, basically everyone trump is lined up on capitol hill get confirmed, despite initially thinking maybe they all wouldn't. what does that look like? do you think when kash patel takes over the fbi? >> i yeah, i think the challenge is i've covered the fbi for almost 20 years. at this point, the fbi that i have covered my entire reporting career, the fbi that has existed since the day that j. edgar hoover died in may 1972 is already over. that institution is already dead. and we are arguing right now over the wreckage of what it might be when it is rebuilt at some point in the future. and i think that this is. >> what does it look like for the next four years? i mean, they very clearly have plans that are being, you know, if you don't like trump and you're watching this, this is not the

chaos of of round one. and these initial weeks, like we're just in the third week now, two weeks in, they're they're well executed. and they are they are carrying out exactly what they said they were going to do. so what does that actually look like, do you think? >> let me give you two very specific examples. it looks like 9/11. and it looks like corruption. it looks like 9/11 because the fbi that is being neutered right now, particularly the agents working on domestic terror and and foreign terror involved in these january 6th prosecutions, are exactly the people tasked day in and day out with preventing the next 9/11. >> that's a remarkable analysis to to see what that could look like. obviously, we'll stay in touch with you on this as we do see what that looks like as it takes shape. up next here. speaking of the cabinet. rfk jr.. just closed in on becoming the nation's top public health official after securing a key vote despite years of pushing discredited vaccine theories with the help of a former doctor

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for all those making it big out there... ...shouldn't your mobile service be able to keep up with you? get wifi speeds up to a gig at home and on the go. introducing powerboost, only from xfinity mobile. now that's big. xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half vs. t-mobile, verizon, and at&t for your first year. plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us. 1-800-217-1487 now or visit us at gofundme.com this is cnn, the world's news network. >> robert f kennedy jr.. s confirmation vote to become america's next top health official is expected to happen next week, after a senate panel advanced his nomination today, a key step in getting to that. and the key yes vote that everyone was watching today was republican senator bill cassidy.

he's a former physician who had reservations that were very clearly expressed about kennedy's anti-vaccine views, and also faced a fierce pressure campaign from both sides of the aisle. cassidy ultimately stuck with republicans and said he got assurances from rfk jr.. >> now. >> mr. kennedy. >> and the administration reached out, seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting. the public health. >> benefit of. >> vaccination. to this. >> end, mr. kennedy and the administration committed that he and i. >> would have an. >> unprecedentedly close, collaborative. >> working relationship. >> if he is confirmed. these commitments, and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make america wealthy again, is the basis of my support. >> and my sauce tonight is doctor richard besser, the former acting cdc director under president obama. what did you make of what we heard from

senator cassidy here, given what a critical vote he was, and also how skeptical he seemed of rfk jr. in his hearing. >> you know, i have to say, i. >> was extremely disappointed. i had my heart set on him for a lot of reasons. he's a doctor. and as a doctor, one of the things that you pledge is to do no harm. and, you know, as i. look across this administration and the people who are being selected for cabinet positions, i don't think that there's anyone on that list who could do more harm or i expect might do more harm than rfk. >> were you at all? did it give you any consolation to hear what rfk or what senator cassidy said about the assurances that rfk jr.. and people in the administration made to him about vaccines or going to the to the health committee on capitol hill and talking to them first? >> yeah. you know, i don't i

think that people will say just about anything to get through their hearings. and it's so important to look at somebody's track record. so you have someone like rfk jr. who has done more than just about anybody to undermine parents confidence in the vaccines that they give to their their children. you know, as a as a pediatrician, you know, i was a pediatrician for over 30 years, and now as head of the robert wood johnson foundation, very focused on this idea of trust. and, you know, the conversations i would have with parents, they would ask me really good questions and i would say, go to the cdc website. it's got information you can trust on the on these questions to have someone to see what's taking place right now with the cdc website is is shocking. but to think that the person who could be the secretary of health and human service services, who oversees that, could be in a position to make sure that on

that website is information that gives parents pause. >> and you believe he'll use all the powers that are afforded to him in this position. because i've heard i've heard some republican senators who maybe were on the fence say, well, there's a lot of people who work there. he's not the only one, but he is in charge. >> he he is in charge. and you know what you want to see in that person in charge is that they are relying on the expertise of the people in the agencies. and what we're seeing right now is the clearing cleaning house in so many different departments and agencies. so for him to come in with a with a strong belief that vaccines are dangerous, that there are no safe and effective vaccines, and to be in that role is extremely dangerous and will cause some parents who want to do the right thing for their children to make the wrong decision. >> do you think he ultimately gets confirmed with cassidy coming across the line to say yes, he's going to vote for him? >> you know, i don't want to. i don't want to say that at this point because, you know, i want every na