>> or he could face. >> more time. all right. >> mark, appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> keep us posted. thank you. so much for. joining us today. i appreciate your company. that's going to do it for me. i'll see you back here tomorrow. same time same place. for now i'm ana cabrera, reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >> good morning. 11 a.m. eastern, 8 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. we begin this hour with breaking news from washington. right now, president trump's cabinet members are gathering at the white house for the first cabinet meeting of the president's second term. also among the attendees, tech billionaire elon musk, who has been spearheading the president's effort to slash federal spending and the size of the federal government. this comes as 21 civil service employees resigned from musk's so-called department of government efficiency. they

wrote in a letter that they refuse to use their technical expertise to compromise core government systems, jeopardize american sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services. meanwhile, nbc's garrett haake asked the president yesterday if the email telling federal workers to respond with five bullet points about what they did last week was voluntary or required. >> can you. >> clarify. hopefully once and for all, what your expectations. >> are. >> with this email to federal employees? >> what are you going. >> to use. >> that information for? >> and do you see it as. >> voluntary. >> like. >> opm has said, or mandatory? >> well, it's somewhat. >> voluntary, but it's also if you don't answer, i guess you get fired. >> what it really is. is that. >> what it is. >> is do people exist? with us now, nbc news white house correspondent erin gilchrist, peter baker, new york times chief white house correspondent, former housing and urban development secretary julian castro and lance trover, republican strategist and former

spokesperson for doug burgum presidential campaign. so, erin, what can we expect in president trump's first cabinet meeting? >> well, that meeting expected to get underway at any moment now. and i think it would be fair to expect that elon musk and the work that his doge team have been doing will be at the top of the agenda there. we saw president trump himself tweet a little while ago that, excuse me post on his social media platform a little while ago, that all cabinet members are extremely happy with elon. we got indications from the press secretary yesterday that elon musk would be in the room during this cabinet meeting, and that the cabinet secretaries would be tasked in this meeting with walking through how their agencies are working to do what the president has set out to do at the beginning of this administration to weed out, as he calls it, waste, fraud and abuse. you can expect to hear president trump obviously do most of the talking as he runs this meeting. and then if past is prolog, we know that it's likely he'll go around the table and you'll hear from cabinet secretaries, probably praising

him as a leader and talking a little bit about the work that their individual agencies have been doing. we know that 18 of president trump's cabinet level nominees have been confirmed and are now in position. at least two secretaries, i believe, have not yet been confirmed at this point, and so they will be gathered around the table with him. we don't, jose, at this point, know how long this meeting might go or whether we'll hear any new announcements. we know that, as i said, elon musk will be in the room. we would be interested to see if the president turns to him, if he speaks about the work that he's been doing, despite the controversy that has surrounded it in terms of some of the back and forth that we've seen in terms of the work that he's been doing versus the direction that some federal workers have been getting from cabinet secretaries and their their individual supervisors, in some cases of, of different offices. and so that's all going to be something that we're looking out for in this meeting, jose, to see exactly what level of detail we get about what's been happening in the federal

agencies. >> yeah, i mean, peter, what do you think the significance is of musk being at that cabinet meeting? >> well, look. >> you know, he's driving the train right now on a lot of the things going on across lots of different agencies. so, you know, it makes sense from the trump point of view that he's there to coordinate with the cabinet agencies. given the disconnect over this, what have you done for us lately, email that he sent out that a variety of directors and cabinet secretaries told their people to ignore. it would behoove them, obviously, to kind of get on the same page. now, it's not unusual for people other than statutory cabinet members to be at a cabinet meeting. presidents are allowed to bring anybody they want, obviously, and they usually bring top staffers, senior advisers. clearly, elon musk is a senior advisor, but he's not a member of the cabinet. as a special government employee, he has a different status. he's not on staff, per se. he's not full time in the sense of a government employee, because he's also still running his businesses, and it gives him a unique position that we

haven't seen, i think, in any previous white house. and i think that there will be a lot of attention paid today on how he interacts with the cabinet secretaries. is he deferential or is he issuing instructions? >> yeah. and i mean, the fact that i'm just thinking in the last administration, the president had cabinet meetings towards the end of his administration with the first lady speaking and with his son there. >> yeah, exactly. it's up to the president can do whatever he wants or, you know, eventually she wants in terms of a cabinet. it is interesting that trump did not try to give elon musk cabinet status. that's something within the purview of a president. but again, because he's a special government employee, it would be very, very unusual, if not unprecedented to do that. >> and julian, i mean, i know you've been to so many cabinet meetings as your role as secretary, just this is such an unconventional presidency, an unconventional president. but what are cabinet meetings like in your experience, and how much

actual work comes out of these meetings? >> oh, i. >> mean. >> the. >> plain answer. >> that, jose, is not much. >> i mean. >> these are there are two parts basically. >> first, you. >> minutes that. >> are for the cameras, where the president will say a few words and. >> then generally the cameras go. >> away and there's the. >> meeting that actually happens. >> but even in. >> that meeting. >> generally that part of. >> it, the business part of it, if you will, is still very scripted. fairly produced. >> everybody has the agenda. everybody kind of knows what. >> they're supposed. >> to say. i think that's. >> even more. >> true in these trump cabinet meetings. >> that that. >> sound like dear. >> leader meetings. >> where everybody. >> is just. >> so intensely. praising him. >> i do think. >> though. >> that if there. >> is value. >> here, it. >> is getting a. >> sense of. >> since this is one of the few times when. >> they're all. >> together. >> what does. >> trump say about. >> elon musk? >> how does he treat. >> him. >> in that setting? >> does he give. >> him deference? does he signal to. >> his cabinet members. >> that they. should give. >> elon musk. >> and his dictates. deference

as they. >> go. >> and try and do. >> all of their slashing and burning of government. >> agencies, especially. >> because in the last 48 hours, we saw some of these folks push back against a mandate. >> that that. >> elon musk. >> had sent back. >> that's what i'm going. >> to be looking for. >> and julian, just again, back to your experience on this. when does the actual contribution of a secretary with the president, when does that contribution actually occur? i'm just thinking, you know, there were cabinet members that were, you know, meeting with president obama throughout, you know, the two terms. when did you see your contribution being most effective? when you met with the president? >> that usually happens. >> in one on. >> one meetings with. >> the. >> president or. >> staff meetings with. >> the. >> president to. >> give him updates. >> it rarely. >> happens. i think. >> in these. >> cabinet meetings, these. >> are generally short meetings. >> they are, as. >> i said. fairly scripted.

>> there may be. >> some exchange of ideas. >> but mostly this. >> is for the president to articulate. >> his agenda. >> put the put on the table his priorities to. >> the cabinet, and for them to. >> get a sense. >> of what's really important. >> for him. so, you know, there's some of. >> these cabinet members that are going to interact with. >> him all. >> the time. >> if you're the secretary. >> of. >> defense. >> obviously, marco. >> rubio and the. >> secretary of. >> state. >> there are others. >> that are. >> going. >> to. >> interact with him, probably a lot. >> less department of transportation. >> or. >> epa, certainly these these agencies. >> that. >> he has no. regard for. and for them, really, it's the. once every. >> six months or so. >> where they may get to meet. >> with him one on. >> one or. >> to brief him. >> on something. >> but these cabinet meetings themselves. >> really, i found. >> them to be. >> perfunctory. >> almost made for tv meetings. and so there's where you see how the production outlines are carried out in front of the cameras. and lance, nbc's jonathan allen reports on the department of government efficiency that, quote, critics

say, musk's chainsaw approach to slashing government programs, contracts and workers is having the opposite effect, sowing such confusion that it is hamstrung. the bureaucracy's ability to serve the public and even carry out key parts of trump's own agenda. that's what critics are saying. that hasn't mitigated any of doj's activities, though. >> of course not. >> i mean, they. have to. >> move fast. >> they're moving fast. >> they have. >> to move. >> fast, because if they. >> didn't move. >> fast, the same bureaucracy. >> would do. >> what they're already trying to do, which is slow. >> the ship down. i mean, they. >> just don't have a choice but to move fast. and i would point to. >> the harvard poll that came out in the last 48. >> hours. >> that says 72%. >> of. >> this. >> country likes the idea of doge. they like the idea that people are going. >> in and cutting things. >> and so if they. >> sit around. >> and wait for the democrats and the bureaucracy to keep their. >> team. >> of effort going, nothing would. >> ever. >> get done. so they have to continue at this. >> pace. >> moving forward. and as elon said a couple of weeks ago, yeah, look, they're.

>> going to. >> break things. >> things will. >> get. >> broken when. you move at. this pace. but when. you recognize. >> that certain things. >> didn't. >> need to be broken or should be fixed, then they're going to fix that. we've already seen that happen in a couple of instances. so i don't think it's that big of a deal. and i think it's great that he's going to. >> be in this cabinet meeting. >> i think it's also telling that the president has him. >> in. >> this meeting, because it speaks to how seriously he is taking this effort to. get this bureaucracy under control. and i think it's a good opportunity. >> for them and the cabinet. >> to meet and talk and understand and get aligned on the president's priorities in terms of doge moving forward. >> and so as doge moves forward, lance, you know, when you say that it's going to be inevitable that things are broken along this process, the reality is that some of those things, many of those things that are broken, are human beings, people that have been going to work at the federal government, people who have lives and homes and children in school. in other words, where do you think, lance, or is there a point in which the things that are broken

become people that are affected? >> yeah. no one likes to see anybody lose a job. certainly. i mean, that's that's obvious. but i think the public has been very clear about this for many years on end, that they feel that this government itself has grown so large and so uncontrollable that it's not even answerable to the president of the united states. and i don't think there's any certainly no question. >> in. >> my mind about that. and so to the size of it needs to get scaled down. does that mean there are going to be job losses? yes, unfortunately. but there are also private sector jobs out there to which people are qualified for, can go to. and by the way, people in the private sector deal with these types of downsizes all the time. and so yeah, while we don't like to see anyone lose a job or a family affected, i think when we think about the taxpayers dollars. >> and how. >> it's being spent here in washington, that's something that has to be taken into account as well. >> absolutely. and peter, nbc's garrett haake also asked the president if elon musk speaks for him. here's how he responded. >> is he speaking for you when

he says you'll be terminated? >> everybody speaks for me. >> i'm the one. i'll take responsibility. you know the old statement, the buck stops here, right? the famous statement. >> well, i can say the same thing. the buck stops here. what should we take away from those comments? >> well, look, he's backing up elon musk. i think that he knows that there is in washington a kind of a parlor game, wondering when they may actually split up. right. whether these two giant figures eventually fall out because a lot of people in trump's orbit do ultimately fall out with him, and he's trying to say, no, that's not happening, though. space here between us for the moment. but when he says, yeah, he speaks for me, everyone speaks for me. the problem is everyone is saying different things. and i think that's sort of a moment of confusion at this point. if the cabinet agency is saying, don't answer elon musk's email, elon musk is saying if you don't answer a second time, you might lose your job. and the president says it's somewhat voluntary, but then you might lose your job. you know, you just a lot of people are sort of at wit's end.

but for the president, i think it's actually an issue that they don't mind having out there. it's a it's an easy to digest issue for the public. people say, yeah, i understand what the problem is. having an email in which you have to list five things you did last week that seems perfectly logical. it may not be very serious way of figuring out who is valuable and who's not. but, you know, a lot of americans aren't going to find that all that offensive. and i think that the white house doesn't mind that that's a storyline right now. >> aaron gilchrist, peter baker, julian castro, lance trover, stay with us if you would. we're keeping a close eye on the white house, where the president is going to be holding his first cabinet meeting of his second administration. that's apparently about to begin. any minute now. we're going to bring that to you live. but up next, breaking news. the us and ukraine have outlined an agreement over sharing rare minerals. meanwhile, a major win for house speaker mike johnson after republicans passed a multi-trillion dollar budget resolution containing key

pillars of the president's agenda. where this all goes next, we're going to look into that. plus, the white house expanding its immigration crackdown while weighing a new pathway to citizenship. if you've got $5 million, you could get a gold card, too. we're back in 90s. you're watching jose in 90s. you're watching jose diaz-balart re ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ get 0% apr for 60 months on 2024 gmc ev models. that's up to $17,200 in average finance savings. ♪♪ two unlimited lines for $30 each. that's just. $60 a month. so switch.

>> to the carrier. >> ranked number one in. >> network coverage satisfaction. visit consumer. >> cellular today. >> lumify. >> it's kind of amazing. wow. lumify eye drops dramatically reduce. >> redness in one minute. >> and look at the difference. >> my eyes look brighter and whiter. whiter. >> for up to eight hours. with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, can come and go. but if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. if you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. this is no time to wait. the hour. we're continuing to await the start of president trump's first cabinet meeting, but we also have

breaking news out of ukraine. president zelenskyy says the u.s. and ukraine have reached an agreement giving the us access to kiev's rare earth minerals. the deal does not yet include security guarantees by the us, a key pillar for ukraine. but the president of ukraine says that he expects additional negotiations to take place. ukraine's president confirmed that he has been invited to travel to the us on friday. no final decision has been made there. and we're learning the delegations from the u.s. and russia are set to meet in istanbul, turkey, tomorrow in a follow up to their summit in riyadh in saudi arabia. according to turkey's foreign ministry. joining us now is nbc's matt bodner and hagar chemali, former spokesperson for the u.s. mission to the un and the treasury department. she is also former director for syria and lebanon at the white house national security council under president obama. so, matt, what do we know about where this deal stands right now? >> thanks, jose. well, i think right now the ukrainian

government is reviewing it. zelenskyy spoke today, and he actually said directly that he has not yet seen this final draft. his ministers have been reviewing it. he's been getting sign offs from them. but his final review is yet to come. that's expected either tonight or tomorrow, of course, before a presumed visit by zelenskyy to the white house as soon as friday. so there's obviously been a lot of back and forth on this. what we're seeing is a deal that is being described, at least on the ukrainian side so far, essentially as a framework agreement for establishing some sort of us ukrainian joint fund in which 50% of the revenues will go to the united states, 50% directly into ukrainian reconstruction investments or something of that type. but it definitely seems as if a lot of the specifics have not actually been worked out. so they're moving forward as far as we understand, with, again, a framework agreement. so some some sort of agreement to keep the ball rolling, keep negotiations going. but obviously this had been a big hold up in the broader picture

of the trump administration's efforts to negotiate an end to the war. >> yeah, i mean, the president has been talking about this. there's been a back and forth for some time now. but how did we get to this point? >> it's a good question. essentially, what appears to have happened is that the white house dropped what the ukrainians felt was was a very egregious ask, a very egregious demand. and that was this number of a $500 billion debt, as zelensky and other ukrainians have have described it, that was somehow going to be expected. ukraine would pay them back. and obviously, zelensky has been very clear that that if anything like that was going to happen, they needed hard security guarantees. and what we're seeing, at least so far in the way this is being described, is that neither side really appears to have got what they wanted on this count. i think the specifics of the deal, as we understand them, are different from that sort of very maximalist position that the white house brought to these negotiations with ukraine. obviously, the idea of a mineral deal largely originated with zelensky several months ago. so

in short, it's because, as the ukrainians have described, the us dropped the idea of a ukrainian debt to the united states. >> yeah, that's what they dropped. but then the ukrainians dropped any security guarantees at all by the united states for this 5050 sharing deal. hagar, can you help us take a step back and tell us what this deal would mean for both the united states and ukraine? and it's so unusual. i can't recall in recent history of the world, something like this being carried out. >> sure. so there. >> are there are two sides to. >> this, a part that's completely unprecedented and a part that's. >> not that abnormal, actually. >> so the part that's. >> unprecedented is you. >> mentioned is the. >> fact that you have. >> any deal. >> where we are. >> giving military. >> aid and that in exchange, we're getting. the resources. >> of a. >> country and that it's. >> it's played. >> it's. >> laid out apparently. >> and we don't know. >> all the terms of. >> this deal, to be. >> fair. >> but that. >> it's laid out in a way where.

>> where the us. >> is getting. >> paid back for that aid. and it. >> seems just based on. >> on president trump's. >> statements. >> that the. >> goal is to pay back retroactively. so that's also a. >> little piece of it. >> that's a bit unprecedented. when we give aid. >> as the us government and. >> a. >> former president. >> gives aid. >> you're not. >> usually expecting, unless it's explicitly. >> said so, that. >> you are. >> purchasing that aid. >> usually that's. >> laid out very. >> explicitly from the beginning. >> so this part. >> is unprecedented. >> what isn't. >> what isn't. >> abnormal is the us making deals for minerals and. resources among within. >> geopolitical deals. >> and with. >> an effort. >> to spread. >> american influence. or to have. >> better relations. >> with countries. >> right before biden left. >> office, for example. >> he. >> was in. angola finalizing a deal. >> for a railway. >> that would transport. >> minerals from congo. >> from the democratic republic of congo to the. >> united states. >> minerals that that. >> are in our phones and cars. >> and so on. >> so not.

>> unheard of for the united states. >> to pursue deals. >> but that's different, isn't it? isn't that different? i mean, sorry to interrupt you, but that's that's a different thing, isn't it? i mean, this is a deal to get a country to essentially retroactively pay back for some of the aid and assistance they received militarily. i mean, this is i don't know, it seems as though those are two totally different things. >> well, they are they. >> are different. >> they are different. >> but but they're but the. goals are not that dissimilar. >> and what. >> i mean by that is that ultimately you're talking. >> about the. united states. >> putting its national. >> security objectives. >> or. >> economic objectives at the forefront. >> and. and. >> this is. >> president trump's style. >> i'm not. >> trying to. >> to justify it. >> i want to be very clear here that i'm not trying. >> to legitimize this approach. >> mainly because i. >> don't like the idea of reneging on a deal of, of any. >> leader saying. >> hey, actually. >> we're going to make.

>> you pay back. >> what was originally given to you and what. >> you thought. >> was given to you. >> as pure aid. >> i don't like that as an. >> american who worked. >> in. foreign policy. >> because i think that that makes it seem. >> like our allies cannot. >> trust us. >> or trust our words. however. >> what. >> i do want to. >> be. >> clear on is. that it is. >> not new. for u.s. administrations. >> and. >> by the way, in the. >> trump administration. >> he also. >> tried to pursue. >> deals with ukraine as well. on its minerals. >> and resources. it's when you look at our. >> efforts in. >> the. >> middle east. >> that's why. and it. >> doesn't. it transcends parties. and that's why i. >> mentioned the. >> biden. >> the biden situation, angola, what i see with what's happening now, by the. >> way. >> is zelensky. >> being a. >> very adept. >> leader and knowing that he has to. >> evolve his. ways if he's going. >> to work with. >> president trump. >> who pulls the purse strings. >> and i'm not. saying i like it. >> i'm just trying to analyze it as to why this is. >> unfolding the way it is. >> not bothering. thank you both so very much. appreciate it. any moment now, president trump is expected to meet with members of

his cabinet for the first time since his white house return. we'll bring that to you live. but up next, president trump's massive budget resolution cleared a key hurdle last night. what it all means. plus, inside the trump administration's new plan to locate and potentially deport unaccompanied migrant children in the us. watching children in the us. watching jose diaz-ba 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... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa! jordan's sore nose let out a fiery sneeze, so dad grabbed puffs plus lotion to soothe her with ease. puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job on indeed, it's easier for talented candidates to find it.

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small businesses. >> what was it. >> like when trump got elected? what was the. >> i. >> mean, what was the reaction, do you. >> think about ice. >> coming to knock on. >> your front door. >> for president trump's first. >> 100 days? alex wagner travels to the. story to talk with people most impacted. >> by the policies. >> were you there on january? >> i was. >> there on january 6th. >> did it. >> surprise you that you were fired, given how. resolutely nonpartisan. >> you have been? >> and for more. in-depth reporting, follow her. >> podcast. >> trumpland with. >> alex wagner. >> and these are pictures from

right outside the white house. when we're expecting the president to begin his first cabinet meeting of his second term. any minute now, of course, we're monitoring for you and bring you all the information as soon as it begins. but meanwhile, i can tell you that there's new reaction this morning after house republicans adopted a narrow adoption of a multi-trillion dollar budget resolution last night, it's a major step in advancing president trump's agenda and a big victory for speaker mike johnson. the measure calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, along with 2 trillion in spending cuts, in addition to new spending on immigration enforcement and the military. it asks for 880 billion in cuts to federal programs. some of the cuts, republicans say, will come from reduced medicaid spending. joining us now, nbc's melanie zanona. melanie, it's good to see you. thank you. so what exactly was this victory for speaker johnson all about? how

did it come to fruition? >> yeah, it was quite a dramatic scene on the house floor last night. house republicans were scheduled to vote on several bills with that budget blueprint right in the middle. but heading into that vote series, it was very clear that republicans did not have the votes to pass it. there were about four republican holdouts that were standing firm in their opposition. so when it came time to vote on that budget blueprint, they actually skipped over it and went to the next bill. so a lot of members, including republicans, thought that was over, that they were going to vote on the budget blueprint for the rest of the night. some of them left the capitol, started going home, back to their houses, back to their offices. but behind the scenes, there was a furious whip effort underway, with republican leaders trying to wrangle and twist arms with those remaining holdouts. they took some of them into a private room just off the house floor, and at one point, even president donald trump himself got involved, got on the phone trying to flip at least one of the holdouts. some of these people were given assurances that there would be an effort to address federal spending and to do federal spending cuts. that had been a big concern of some of these

holdouts. so they called the vote back on, called everyone back to the capitol. and in the end, they narrowly passed this budget blueprint with just one republican defection. so a big, albeit messy win here for speaker mike johnson last night. >> and so, melanie, what happens next for this? >> well, believe it or not, last night was probably. >> the easiest. >> part in this entire process. and that is because the senate and the house need. to agree on a single. budget blueprint. and the senate passed their own version, which is very different. than what the house passed last night. one of the central sticking points is whether to make donald trump's tax cuts permanent. and in the house version that was passed last night, there just wasn't enough room. they had given a dollar figure for the ways and means committee to do these tax cuts. there's just not enough room to do that. there's also concerns over medicaid. so once they agree on the budget blueprint, then they have to actually write the policy. so very easy to see why the hardest process is yet to come. >> melanie zanona on capitol hill, thank you very much. great seeing you. we're following breaking news out of west texas,

where a school aged child has died from measles. this is the first death from measles in the us in a decade. the child was not vaccinated against the disease, according to the city of lubbock's health department. the outbreak in west texas began in late january and has grown to 124 cases, mostly children, and we continue to monitor the white house, where president trump is about to hold his first cabinet meeting of his second administration. but coming up, the special program president trump says he's weighing that could provide a pathway to citizenship and a gold card for $5 million. plus, a groundbreaking announcement from dhs, which is now creating a registry as the trump administration ramps up its immigration crackdown. we'll tell you a little bit more about this next. >> work. >> play, blink, relief, work, play. blink relief.

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details, visit dental now.com. >> physicians mutual, physicians mutual. >> 35 past the hour. this morning, the trump administration is broadening its mass deportation plans, creating a registry of all migrants in the us illegally. anyone over the age of 14 that's undocumented will be required to self-report their immigration status or face fines or prosecution. the administration is also launching a new operation to locate, potentially deport unaccompanied migrant children. it comes as the president said he is considering creating a new pathway to citizenship, a gold card that would cost $5 million. this is

laura strickler joins us this morning. laura. good morning. so let's talk about this this registry. i mean, this could impact potentially millions of people. what exactly did the government say about this registry? who would it affect, and is it taking effect already? >> so thank you, jose. so we had a hint of. >> this in one. >> of the first executive orders. >> that trump signed. >> on day one. >> it described. >> the. >> rollout of a new. >> effort. >> by the department. >> of homeland security to identify all unregistered illegal aliens. >> it's putting into. >> practice a law from. 1986 that unauthorized immigrants. should be registered and fingerprinted. >> if they're in. >> the us for more. >> than 30 days. >> as of yesterday, there's a new website. >> where these. immigrants will be required to. >> apply for registration. >> failure to comply. >> with. >> this quote will. >> result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor. >> prosecution. >> so who is the government

saying needs to register. exactly. because, you know, are we talking about the people that have come in the last 2 to 4 years, or are we talking about the more than 10 million people who have been here for decades, many with u.s. born children? who are we talking about? and then, i mean, is this actually law of the land? >> well. what we know right now and we're learning more. >> is that the. >> the website is. >> live and that the expectation is. >> that anyone. >> who's been in. >> the us. >> for over 30. >> days needs. >> to register. >> and it. >> appears that. >> this might be. >> presenting new potential. for criminalizing. >> their presence in the united states. so we're. >> we're learning more. >> as to. >> who exactly. would be required. >> to register. >> and meanwhile, tell us more about this new operation to find unaccompanied migrant children in the country. >> yes. so what. >> we've learned is that.

>> ice is. >> planning a. >> nationwide operation to. >> locate and potentially. >> deport children. >> who came into. the us without a parent. >> or legal. >> guardian, according. >> to two sources familiar. >> with the plan. if a judge determines they have no legal. basis to stay in the. >> us. >> they could be put on a path. >> to deportation. >> now, while timing for this is not. >> clear, we have. >> heard that this. operation to locate the minors could begin as early as this week. and here's the backstory. >> as you know, more than 290,000. children crossed the. border since. >> fiscal year 2019. >> that includes. >> under the first. >> trump administration, and they were not given notices. >> to. >> appear. >> in court. >> laura strickler, thank you so very much. i want to continue speaking with you going forward on all of these developments. appreciate your time. new today, we're hearing from migrants who were detained at the us naval base in guantanamo bay, cuba. a new report in the washington post details how some migrants say they were. well, they actually tried to take their own lives. some also reported being

frisked and put in cages. joining us now from caracas, venezuela, is one of the reporters behind that story, ana vanessa herrero. it's always a treat to speak with you. i know you spoke with several migrants that were held in guantanamo. apparently they've all been taken out of that. they're now back in venezuela. what did they tell you? >> well, exactly. >> as you were saying. horrendous things. >> that they had. >> to endure during their time there. first of all, they never got access to any kind of defense, any kind of help. they didn't get access to lawyers or any kind of social workers that could. >> explain to them what. >> was going on and how. >> long they were going to. >> stay there. >> but and after. >> that, after the first. >> days, they started. >> getting very worried. some of them told me that they started hunger. strike and then that

some some inmates fainted. they were taken to this sort of hospital where they were treated and then sent back to this isolation cells. and some of them tried to take their own lives. >> a person. >> i spoke to specifically. >> said that. >> he tried to do so several times and couldn't do it, and he sounded. frustrated that he that he couldn't do it. but but he also shared the stories not only of his experience, but other cellmates that were in the same, in the same building as him, and how he heard the shouting, the screaming of people trying to commit suicide, and. how this, of course, affected. >> them. >> until today. >> and i know the u.s. government has said that the migrants sent to guantanamo are, quote, the worst of the worst. what did you learn from people that you spoke to? and i guess a secondary question, ana, is the people that are returned to

venezuela are returned to venezuela aboard a regime chartered airplane, and they're back in the country that they left because of its authoritarian, almost totalitarian nature. yeah. >> well. >> my colleague silvia and i and the team behind this reporting carefully went through all the, the, the records, the criminal records, if there were so and we couldn't find any other than the fact that they crossed the border illegally in the first place. so we, we, we were talking to people who never committed a crime in venezuela or any other place where they were at while they were traveling to the united states. and also, yes, that is very worrying for them. actually, one of the people we talked to said that he is wishing he hopes to get back to the united states because he never committed any

crime, and they are not planning to stay, of course. right now, it's extremely hard for them. it's been it's been quite a traumatic experience. but yes, in the future they don't see themselves here because of the conditions. >> yeah. i mean those conditions are continue to deteriorate. ana vanessa herrera, thank you very much. let's go right to the white house. i understand that president trump is about to begin his first cabinet member. good cabinet meeting, i should say. let's listen in. >> sir. >> you want. >> me to walk. >> over there? >> thank you. >> jimmy. >> thank you. mike. >> let's see how it works. >> okay. >> okay. >> thank you very much. we appreciate you being here. and we put together a great cabinet. and. >> we've had tremendous success. and we've been given a lot of credit for having a very. successful first month. >> and we. >> want. to make. >> that many months.

>> and years, actually. but we're going to have many. >> good months and we're going. >> to have many good years. i hope. and i solve a. >> lot of problems. >> we're doing very well with russia, ukraine and president zelensky is going to be coming on friday. that's now confirmed, and we're going to. >> be signing. >> an agreement. >> which will be a very. >> big agreement. >> and i want. >> to thank howard. >> and scott for the job. >> you guys did in putting it together. really did an amazing job. and that will be on rare earth and other things. and as you know, we're in for probably $350 billion. europe is in for 1 billion, $100 billion. and that's a big difference. so we're in for probably three times as much. and yet it's very important to everybody. but europe is very close. we have a big ocean separating us. so it's very important for europe and they hopefully will. >> step up. >> and. >> do maybe more than they're doing and maybe. >> a lot more. the previous.

>> administration put us in a very bad position. but we've been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back. and we're going to get. >> a. lot of money in the future. >> and i think that's appropriate. because we have taxpayers that are shouldn't be footing the bill, and they shouldn't be footing the bill at more than the europeans are paying. so it's all. >> been worked out. we're happy. >> about it. and i think. that very importantly, we're going to be able to make a deal. >> most importantly. >> by far, we're. >> going to make a deal. >> with russia and ukraine to stop killing people. they'll stop killing young russian soldiers. >> and young. >> ukrainian soldiers and other people. in addition. >> in the towns and cities. >> and we will consider that a very important thing and a big accomplishment, because it was going nowhere until this administration came in. they hadn't spoken to president putin in two years. and so we'll we'll keep you advised before we. >> begin the cabinet. i'd like to have. >> scott and a couple of people

say a few things. >> but most importantly, where. >> are you? >> right here. this is a gentleman. >> who's going places. >> the head of hud. and he's going to say, you all know him and you're going to say grace, and then we'll have a meeting, right? >> thank you. very much. >> thank you, mr. president. let's pray. father, we thank. >> you for this. >> awesome privilege, father, to be in your presence. god, thank you that you've allowed. us to see. >> this day. the bible says that your mercies are new every morning. >> and father god, we give you the glory. >> and the honor. >> thank you, god. >> for president trump, father, for appointing us father god, thank you for anointing us to do this job. father, we pray you will give the president, the vice president, wisdom, father god as they lead. father, i pray for all of my colleagues that are here around the table and in this room. >> lord god. >> we pray that we would lead with a righteous clarity. >> father god. >> as we serve the people of this country. >> and every prospective agency,

every job that we have. father, we would humble ourselves before you. >> and we would lead in a manner to call us to lead and to serve. father, the bible says. >> blessed is the nation. >> whose god is the lord. >> but father, we today honor you and in your rightful place. father, thank you for giving us this. >> opportunity to restore faith. >> in this country. and be a blessing to the people. >> of america. >> and lord god, today in our meeting, we pray that you would. >> be glorified. >> in our conversation. in jesus name, amen. >> amen. >> god. >> it was a very good job you did. you've done that before. >> haven't you? >> so scott turner's. >> a terrific young guy. he's heading up hud and he's going to make us all very proud. right. thank you, mr. president. thank you very much. >> great job. >> in just over. >> one month. >> illegal border crossings have plummeted. by numbers that nobody. >> has actually ever. >> seen before. >> it's much more. >> than 100%. >> and we've unleashed american energy at levels that will soon

be reported. but we think we're going to get it going very quickly. we have incredible people. on the energy front. i think we have really great. >> people on. >> every front. i'll let you. >> know if they're not. >> good, but i think. >> they really are. and we're. >> fighting every day to get the prices down. the inflation is stopping slowly, but part of the reason it's. >> stopping is because of. >> high. >> interest rates and other. >> problems that we inherited. but we have to get the prices. >> down, not the inflation. >> down, the prices of eggs and various other things. eggs are a disaster. the secretary of agriculture is going to be showing you a chart that's actually mind boggling what's happened, how low they were with us and how high they are now. but i think we can do something about it. madam secretary, and i think you're going to do a fantastic job in that position. one of the most important initiatives is d.o.j, and we have cut billions and billions and billions of dollars. we're looking to get it maybe to $1

trillion. >> if we can do. >> that, we're going to start. >> getting to. >> be at a point. >> where we can. >> think in terms of balancing budgets, believe it or not, something you haven't. heard in. >> many. >> many years, decades, actually. and it's a big whether it's. >> this year. >> or next year, i think we'll be very close to balancing budgets. and the d.o.j. is very important. and ellen is here to give you a summary of what's. >> happening. >> some. >> of the things they. >> found, some of the horrible things they. >> found, some of. >> the theft and fraud, and we call it waste and abuse, but a lot of fraud and probably some fraud that we're not going to be. >> able to prove is fraud. >> but when you hear. >> the names and. >> the places where this money is going, it's a disgrace. but we've requested that a lot of people, we want to make sure that the people are working. so letters were sent out and i. >> think everyone at. >> this table is very much behind it. >> and if. >> they if they. >> aren't, i'd want them to. >> speak up, but they're very

much behind it. letters were sent. >> out to people. >> just. >> to find. >> out if the people exist. >> do they work? who do they. >> work for? where are they? you know, where have they been working? have they been working for other. companies or. >> other entities at all. >> being paid by the government? so they have two jobs, but they're supposed. >> to. >> have one. and the letter. asks some simple. >> questions. >> like, what. >> have you. >> done lately? and if they. >> can answer that because i can. >> i can tell you everything i've. >> done for the last long. >> period of time. a lot more than a week. >> and in. >> many cases we haven't gotten responses. usually that means that maybe that person doesn't exist, or that person doesn't want to say they're working for another company while being paid by the united states government. so there's a lot of interesting things. it's very unique. but we have a very unique situation because we have a lot of people that were scamming our country. we have a lot of dishonest people. we have a lot of people that. >> took advantage of. >> a lot of. different situations, and we're not going to let that happen. >> so i'm going to ask if it's.

>> possible to have ellen get up first and talk about doge, because it seems to bel. >> say that. >> there is. >> a large group of people in this country that have such admiration for what we're doing. i got elected with a tremendous vote, winning every swing state. >> winning the. >> popular vote, winning the counties by. >> thousands of counties. >> i think it was 2800 to 500, 2800 counties, two, 500 counties. think of that. and so we have a mandate to do this. and this is part of the reason i got elected. i got elected based on taxes and based on many things on the border, but also based on balancing budgets and getting our country back into shape. and this is a big part of it. so, ellen, if you could get up and explain where you are, how you're doing and how much we're cutting, and it's an honor to have you been a tremendously successful guy. he's he's really working so hard and he's got

businesses to run. and in many ways they say, how do you do this? and, you know, he's sacrificing a lot and getting a lot of praise, i'll tell you. but he's also getting hit. and we would expect that. and that's the way it works. so i'd like to have elon musk please say a few words. thank you. >> thank you, mr. president. >> well, i actually just pour myself a couple of tech support here. >> because. >> this is actually. >> as crazy. >> as it sounds that. >> that is. >> almost a literal description of the work that the team is doing is helping fix the government computer systems. many of these systems are extremely old. they don't communicate. they're a lot of mistakes in the systems. the software doesn't work. the so we are actually so it's a it's ironic, but it's true. the overall goal here with the doge team is to help address the

enormous debts that. >> we. >> simply cannot sustain as a country, a $2 trillion deficit, the interest rates, just the interest on the national debt now exceeds the defense department's spending. >> we spend a. >> lot on. >> the defense. >> department. >> but we're. >> spending like over. >> $1 trillion. >> on interest. if this. >> continues, the country will go become de facto bankrupt. >> it's not an. >> optional thing. >> it is an essential thing. that's that's. >> the. >> reason i'm here. >> and taking. >> a lot of flack and getting a lot of death threats, by the way. i mean, like, stack them up, you know? but if we don't do this, america will go bankrupt. that's why it has to be done. and i'm confident at this point. knock on wood, block on my wooden head, the. >> a lot of wind up. >> there that. >> we can actually find $1. >> trillion in savings. >> that would. >> be a. >> roughly. >> 15% of the $7 trillion budget. >> and obviously that can only

be done with the support. of everyone in this room. and i'd like to thank everyone for your support. thank you very much. this this can only be done with with with your support. so this is. >> it's really. >> it's a support. >> function for the. >> president and. >> for the. >> agencies and departments. >> to help. achieve those savings and to. >> effectively find. >> 15% in. reduction in. fraud and, and waste. >> and we bring the receipts. >> so people say. >> like, well, is. >> this real? >> just go to mozgov. we line. >> item by line item. >> we specify. >> each item. so and we and i should say we also we will make mistakes. >> we won't be perfect. but when. >> we make. >> mistake we'll fix it very quickly. >> so for. example with usaid, one. >> of the things we. >> accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola. ebola prevention. i think we all want ebola prevention. so we restored the ebola prevention immediately. >> and there was no interruption. >> but we.

>> do need to move quickly. if we're. >> if we're to achieve a $1. >> trillion deficit reduction. >> in in financial year 2026, it requires. saving $4. >> billion per. >> day every day. >> from now through the end of september. but we can't do. >> it and. >> we. >> will do it. >> thank you. >> do you have any. >> questions of ellen while we're on the subject of those? because we'll. >> finish off with that. >> and if you would have any questions, please ask. you could ask me or ellen. go ahead please. >> thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. >> mr. musk. >> i just wanted to ask. >> you, the president trump put. >> out a truth social. >> today saying that everybody in the cabinet was was happy with you. >> i just wondered if that if. >> you. >> had heard. >> otherwise and. >> if you had. >> heard. >> anything about members of the cabinet who weren't happy with the way things were going. and if so, what are you doing to address those? any dissatisfaction? >> the rest. >> of the cabinet speak just for a second. is anybody unhappy with that? if you are, well,

throw them out. >> of here. >> anybody unhappy? i got. >> a lot of respect for elon and that he's doing. this and some disagree a little bit. but i will tell you, for the most part, i think everyone's not only happy, they're thrilled. so go ahead. >> i'm grateful. >> president trump. >> has put together, i think, the best cabinet ever. literally so. and i do not give false praise. >> this this is an incredible group of people. >> i don't think such a talented team has. actually ever been assembled. i think. >> it's literally. >> the best cabinet that the country has ever had. and i think the company should be incredibly appreciative of the people in this room. >> thank you sir. >> quiet, please. yeah. okay. >> mr. president. thank you. mr. musk. are there about. >> half. >> of the government. >> employees so. far appear. >> to have responded to. your request.

>> for what they've. >> been doing over the past week. is there a. >> timeline in place for next. >> moves for. >> people being fired? >> and when can. >> people expect to see. >> results. >> from them? >> yes. >> well. >> to be clear, like the i think that email perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review. >> but actually. >> it was a pulse check review. >> do you. >> have a pulse? do you have a pulse and two neurons. so if you have a pulse on two neurons you can reply to an email. >> this is. >> you know, i think not a high. bar is what i'm saying. >> this is. >> should be anyone could. accomplish this. but what we are trying to. >> get to the bottom. >> of is we. >> think. >> there are a number. >> of people on the government payroll who. are dead, which is probably why they can't respond. >> and some people. who are not real people, like, they. >> literally fictional individuals. >> that are collecting paychecks. somebody's collecting paychecks on a fictional individual. so we're. literally trying. >> to figure. >> out, are these people real? are they alive? and can they

write an email, which i think is a. reasonable expectation for the american public, would have at least that expectation of someone in the public sector. >> roughly a. >> million employees. >> it's not a high bar, guys. >> come on. roughly a. >> million employees have responded so far to this email. does that mean that the remaining 1 million or so federal employees now risk being terminated? and is it your understanding and expectation when you post a directive on x that the cabinet secretaries will follow that order? because several agencies have instructed employees that this is voluntary or not to respond? >> yeah, well, i mean typically. so i guess there was a like last week, the president encouraged me via. truth social and also by a phone call to be more aggressive. and i was like. >> okay, you know. >> yes, sir. mr. president, we will indeed. do that. >> the president is commander in chief. >> i do what the president asks. so and i said. can we send out

an email to everyone just saying, what did you get done last week? the president said yes. so did that. and you know, we got a partial response. we're going to send another email. but our goal is not to be. capricious or unfair. it's we want to give people every opportunity to send an email. and the email could simply be what i'm working on is too sensitive or classified to describe. >> but literally just. >> that would be sufficient. you know, i think this is just common sense. >> and what is your target number for how many workers, employees you're looking to cut total? >> we wish to keep everyone who. >> is doing. >> a job that is essential and doing that job well. >> but if. they're if. >> the job is not essential. >> or they're not doing the job well, they obviously should. >> not be. >> on the public payroll. >> no. >> i just. >> like to add wait a minute, wait, wait. i'd like to add that

those million people that haven't responded though, elon, they are on the bubble. you know, i wouldn't say that we're thrilled about it. they haven't responded. now, maybe they don't exist. maybe we're paying people that don't exist. don't forget we just got here. this group just got here. but those people are on the bubble as they say they may be they're going to be gone. maybe they're not around. maybe they have other jobs. maybe they moved. >> and they're. >> not where they're. supposed to be. a lot of things. >> could have happened. >> i wouldn't say that. biden ran a very tight administration. they spent money like nobody's ever spent money before. wasted money. the green new. >> scam, all of the different. things they spent money on. >> and you've seen that. you've seen that with some of. >> the things that. >> i read in speeches. i read them in people can't believe when i read them. 20 million here, 30 million here for, you know, a little educational course on something. circumcision rite. circumcision,