Do I Still Have a Job?
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It's Tuesday, February 25th, right now on CNN This Morning. If you don't respond, we assume you're not around and you're not getting paid anymore, too. Do I still have a job? Many federal workers waking up asking that question this morning as Elon Musk's deadline for federal workers passes overnight. Plus this. The FBI is lost. It's broken. Irredeemably corrupt at this point.

Two Republican firebrands heading up the FBI, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, plan to shake things up at the bureau. What impact will it have, if any, on our national security? Then later. "I do deals. My whole life is deals. That's all I know is deals." "This is like the art of the bad deal."

President Trump touting his deal-making ability as the U.S. aligns with Russia and North Korea at the United Nations. Is America becoming even more distant from its allies? And this. I thought there was supposed to be checks and balances somewhere. How are Trump voters feeling about his first month in office? We'll take you to a county that helped President Trump win the White House to ask them directly.

6 a.m. here on the East Coast. You are looking live at the Washington Monument just down the street from our studios here. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kayla Tausche in for Casey Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us. Elon Musk's midnight deadline for federal workers to detail everything they did last week or risk losing their job has come and gone. So what now? Federal agencies spent the day Monday confounded by contradicting orders from administration officials about whether they should respond to Musk's weekend message.

One IRS employee telling CNN it's bedlam. One message sent to Health and Human Services employees told workers to quote, assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors. Veterans Affairs workers say quote, no one knows who is in charge and who to listen to. That worker adding, it's totally disruptive.

The confusion also playing out in federal court as a D.C. district judge grilled Justice Department lawyers about who is leading Doge. During a hearing over Treasury Department access, Judge Colleen Collar-Cotelli asked, where is Mr. Musk in all of this? Asking, who is the administrator of Doge? The DOJ lawyer didn't have an answer. As the government tried to work out whether Musk's email was legal, President Trump cheered on the effort from the Oval Office.

The last email that was sent where he wanted to know what you did this week. You know why he wanted that, by the way? I thought it was great. What he's doing is saying, are you actually working? And then if you don't answer, like, you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired because a lot of people are not answering because they don't even exist.

Eventually, the Office of Personnel Management informed agencies last night that responding to the email was voluntary and a failure to respond would not quote equate to resignation. But Musk seems undaunted, saying last night workers will be given another chance, adding failure to respond a second time will result in termination. Joining me now to discuss Leah Wright Rigueur, CNN political analyst and historian, Kendra Barkoff, former press secretary to Joe Biden, and Brad Todd, CNN political commentator,

and Republican strategist. Kendra, first off, what's the harm in responding to this email with a few innocuous bullet points about what you did that doesn't betray client or customer information? The harm is the overall thing of what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing. This is not about...

what they're asking for. This is about power. This is about control. And this is about causing mass chaos within a government who is supposed to be doing certain things. Veterans, you know, the Veterans Administration are supposed to be giving out what they deserve to get to their veterans. This is about causing chaos in the administration. And at the end of the day, who is responsible for this? You're already seeing some of the cabinet secretaries push back on this. There's just, there's a sense of just...

undue chaos and this is all about the power. That OPM memo that CNN obtained essentially sent to HR departments saying this is voluntary, if you don't respond you're not going to have to resign or be fired. You would expect, Brad, that that's going to be a major exhibit in a forthcoming lawsuit if in fact workers are fired as a result of this. Well, it will, but in the end what they're trying to get to is they're trying to force federal government employees to declare

Do you agree that you work for the White House and the president of the United States or not? Or do you think you're entitled to just do what you want? There's been this arrogance in the federal bureaucracy for a long time. People think they're going to stay there forever. They don't take orders from the White House. They don't take orders from maybe even anyone. And I think that they're trying to shine a light on that arrogance and force some sort of accountability so that the federal bureaucracy admits that it works for the elected leadership of the government.

Well, I think there's some pause about whether these workers believe they work for Elon Musk, whether they work for Doge, who's calling the shots here. And to be sure, a judge did issue a 14-day temporary restraining order on Doge's ability to access some of these more sensitive systems. But Leah, you're a historian. Put this into context for us. Every administration has tried to cut costs in some manner. So how does this differ?

So every administration has not only tried to cut costs, they've also tried to cut the federal bureaucracy. And in fact, they've been pretty successful at doing it. Bill Clinton is a great example of this. Over the course of his two terms in office, he cut close to half a million people from the federal budget and, you know, saved millions of dollars. And it was explicitly about efficiency and getting rid of waste and fraud. However, he did it in a very specific manner. There was a task force that was led by Al Gore. It had four members.

400 people on it. And so they would identify very carefully over the course of eight years, who are these people? What are they doing? And then we have very human conversations to limit the kind of harm that we are doing because these are real people with real lives that also have details, very sensitive and important information. The goal is not to cause chaos, which actually

helps inefficiency. And so one of the things that we should be looking at and the way that we should be trying to understand Dodge is that even as it is accounting for waste and bureaucracy and mismanagement and things like that, it is actually exacerbating those problems. So we should be evaluating that and what are they doing and how are they actually

helping fraud or not helping fraud. Well, in this case, Elon Musk is a special government employee, only has 130 days to affect his own agenda and get his goals accomplished. Perhaps one of the reasons why this has been moving so quickly. That's led some lawmakers to urge him to use more compassion and to the administration more broadly to approach this in a more compassionate way, which President Trump himself addressed from the White House yesterday. Here's what he said.

Elon uses the expression caring. If we had people that cared, just cared a little bit when they did contracts, when they negotiated with outside vendors on behalf of the United States. That's what I'm doing now. I'm negotiating for the people of the United States. So we're doing a great job of it. So the idea that more care should have been exercised when these contracts were being inked or these workers were being hired or these divisions were being set up, Kendra,

Your response to that? Yeah. I mean, I would say Glenn Youngkin was out there yesterday talking about the empathy that he has for the workers in his state. There's probably, I think, around 100,000 federal workers in the state of Virginia. He's out there talking about, you know, this is really hard. People need to plan. People need to have lives. People have children. And it is something that Republicans should take into account. You're also seeing this

not just outside of the D.C. area. You're seeing it in town halls across the country where Republicans are going out there and talking to their constituents, and they're hearing from their constituents that this is a problem. This chaos is causing a problem, not just in the D.C. area, but everywhere. You mentioned what Governor Youngkin said. I just want to play that before we get our panel's response. Here's the governor yesterday.

We need to press forward and drive efficiencies in our federal government. And as a result of driving those efficiencies, I do expect that some Virginians will lose their jobs. And that's why it's so important that we provide alternative opportunities for them.

opportunities for them. Brad, Virginia has a very robust economy. There are a lot of companies headquartered there. What is the down ballot effect in states that might not have such a robust economy, that might not have so many large blue chip employers there? Well, we've seen this kind of disruption due to government policy before. You know, I've

come from a place that was manufacturing based and NAFTA and PNTR just devastated it. A lot of those people lost their jobs. People I know, they had to move to different areas. They had to move to a different place where there were more opportunities, maybe a more booming metropolitan area. So they're, but luckily the government workers in Washington, D.C. are probably not going to have to relocate. Washington's a booming economy and there's always work for people who are educated and have skills. And that's the kind of people that might lose their job in the federal government. Do you expect an exodus out of Washington?

What have we seen in the past? Well, I think one of the things that we have to understand about Washington is the cost of living in Washington. And what have we seen in the past is that by and large, when administrations change, we do see people move out of those spaces. So we're starting to see a trickle down in terms of real estate, in terms of what's going on the market. That also may be natural given that it's

starting to be spring, I'm being aspirational here, but we're also seeing a transition between administrations. What I would be very careful about though is that there is a difference in how we are seeing the kind of explosion or transition because it's not simply political appointees that we're seeing leave right now.

We're seeing en masse these kind of larger, much larger layoffs that affect career and civil employees who normally have not been part of these large mass layoffs that have happened so intimately and so fast. That is absolutely going to have an effect

on the economy, both the economy within Washington, D.C., but larger economies that are dependent upon or have been integrated into the conversation around the federal government. The federal government plays an important role in the economy, and it's one that I think we've really overlooked.

in this larger conversation. There's a lot of institutional knowledge walking out of the building as well with that too. This conversation will continue, but coming up on CNN this morning, two MAGA loyalists who peddle in conspiracy theories now leading the FBI. How former FBI agents are reacting and what they say this means for the country. Plus...

The House might vote on one big beautiful budget bill today, but do the Republicans have the votes? Democratic Representative Nikki Budzinski is here to discuss. A growing rift on full display as President Trump meets with his French counterpart in the White House while refusing to call Vladimir Putin a dictator. "Call Budzinski a dictator. Would you use the same words regarding Putin?" "I don't use those words lightly."

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The nation's premier law enforcement agency is now being led by two staunch political allies of President Donald Trump. FBI Director Kash Patel, now joined by Secret Service agent turned right-wing podcast host Dan Bongino, who Trump has chosen to serve as deputy director. Both are Trump loyalists who have publicly criticized the agency they're now in charge of and entertained conspiracy theories, raising questions about what this new era of the FBI will look like under a second Trump term.

I'd shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state. The FBI is lost. It's broken, irredeemably corrupt at this point. But what the FBI did to Donald Trump, that wasn't law enforcement. It was tyranny. Let's bring my panel back in. Leah, this is quite a departure from the days of J. Edgar Hoover himself.

Very much a departure. And in fact, the conversation and the concern with J. Edgar Hoover while he was head of the FBI was, in fact, that he was too independent, that he was too powerful, that Nixon in particular, Richard Nixon, President Richard Nixon, had very real concerns about J. Edgar Hoover's loyalty amongst his F.

FBI workers, the way that he cultivated an environment where essentially he amassed so much power that he could challenge, effectively challenge the president and have his own agenda. And I think one of the things that it speaks to is one, the power of the FBI and the ability of the FBI to do these kind of far reaching things that go beyond simply being the federal police force or something like that. But in fact, that they have the ability to do things like surveillance, monitor, investigations.

But then the other part of this, too, and that's really different and really quite, I would say, really quite alarming, is that you've now installed two people that have very much said that their loyalty is to the president of the United States. What does that mean for the existing, the 38,000 members of the FBI or the FBI agents?

who actually don't know what they're supposed to be doing now. How does that inspire leadership or how does that inspire confidence in the body that exists? But one last thing that I'll say here too is that by bringing in two people who are not or who have not had an intersection or interaction with the FBI or experience with the FBI, we have to think about what does that mean for organizing a bureaucracy, right? It is a large organization.

How do you manage that? What does that actually look like in practice? He has prior government service, as we were talking about during the commercial break, Kendra. He was part of the Secret Service detail for Presidents George W. Bush, President Barack Obama. But how different is serving in a detail from running 55 field offices and being in possession of some of the most sensitive information and the minutia about all the investigations that the Bureau has ongoing? It's

It's very different, and there are some real problems that he's going to face on day one when he comes in there. People are going to ask him really tough questions about tough investigations, about tough decisions that need to get made, and he's going to have to make decisions in real time that could have an effect on people's lives. This is an organization that deals with counterterrorism, that deals with the most sensitive law enforcement issues

in our country, and it's a real problem. This is Trump's 20th former or current, former Fox News, you know, anchor or person. And I think that what Trump is creating is a sense of a reality show as opposed to real life that people's lives are in effect. - Brad, Republicans are focusing on his resume and on his prior service.

But one of the things that's creating some agita within the bureau, as we've learned through reports, is that Kash Patel told the FBI Agents Association that he would respect the tradition of putting a career officer in the deputy director rank, as has been done for decades.

Why do you think he made this move? Well, I think the president made it. But I think Kash Patel has the hardest job in this administration. Trust in the FBI is at an all-time low. And you have half the country that would almost disband it. We can't disband the FBI. We need a strong FBI that can work on law enforcement functions.

But in order, the trust is so low, and the trust by the president is so low, that you have to rebuild it almost from the ground up. But you have to do so with most of the same people in the agents' jobs. I think it's a real task. And I think you have to, first thing he has to do is he has to build an agency that the president will trust. And then he has to build one that the American public can trust. He has pledged to purge the agents who

played any role in the search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents. He's pledged to evaluate the list of any FBI agents who had a role in any of the January 6th investigations. Do you expect...

the FBI to shrink in a material way? I don't think it'll shrink. I think that there are plenty of talented law enforcement people around the country who can step into some of those roles. The FBI was politicized. It's not just about what they did in Mar-a-Lago. It's also the fact that they decided that people who...

where strict Catholics and went to Latin mass might be at risk of being a terrorist. It said parents that go to school boards might be a domestic terrorism threat. The FBI has a problem culturally that must be rebuilt from the ground up. And so there'll be people there who can stay, who are just career law enforcement people, have wanted no part of politicizing the administration under Joe Biden, they can stay. But there'll be some people who have to go. - And many of those agents are

public servants with specialized knowledge who contribute to nonpartisan work, we should also mention. But it's an important point. To be continued, coming up on CNN this morning, afraid to open emails, federal workers facing another threat from Elon Musk. Democratic Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski joins us live. Plus, President Trump refusing to call Vladimir Putin a dictator as America aligns with Russia at the U.N.

The Trump administration siding with Russia against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Kremlin's war on Ukraine. America now at odds with its longtime European allies as casualties mount on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The US also pushing through its own UN resolution, making no mention of Russian aggression or acknowledging Ukrainian territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin now saying he could see working with American companies in the future. We would be ready to offer cooperation to our American partners as well.

When I say partners, I mean not only administrative and governmental structures, but also companies, if they showed interest in working together. I want to stress that we certainly have much more of such resources than Ukraine. Russia is one of the leading countries when it comes to rare metal reserves.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us live from Kyiv. Nick, how is Ukraine reacting to this news after three years of steadfast U.S. military and financial support? Look, I think there has been obviously shock and disappointment over the past week, but it's been a remarkable seesaw and whiplash, frankly. Yesterday morning, European leaders were here to express their physical solidarity.

with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And there was a feeling that it was Europe trying to suggest it could go it alone, potentially without the Trump administration. But then we had this remarkable intervention by Francis Emmanuel Macron, who appears to have, for much of the time speaking, it seemed fooled Donald Trump, but appeared to have brought the United States back

into the European security agenda, suggesting that they would be there in solidarity if the French and the British put peacekeeping troops on the ground, not suggesting that the US might have a material role there, but would return as a deterrent. And that, I think, along with the suggestion from President Donald Trump sitting alongside Macron, that indeed Zelensky would come and visit him.

in the coming week or two to potentially sign a rare earth minerals deal, which has become really the key plank of future US-Ukraine aid. There's been another stretch of optimism here, but above it all, I think there is this lingering fear and suspicion that the Trump administration's agenda is increasingly closer to Moscow than, of course, it was when the Biden administration were the main key military and financial backer.

for Ukraine here. A lot of disappointment about the revisionism that we've been hearing. That initially sparked President Zelensky's comment that began the spat between him and Trump over a week ago now, where he said that Trump was living in a disinformation circle. Sorry, that was Wednesday when that comment was made. That then sparked Trump to call him a dictator. But it was that notion that Ukraine started the war that somehow that began Zelensky's comments and of course is really at the heart

of this US resolution, refusing to say Russia began this. And that's, I think, for many people a concern because that revisionism plays into Russia's narrative. There are some advocates of the Trump administration who suggest that if you want to make a deal with people, you can't spend the whole time being antagonistic towards them. And others who say we tried a reset with Russian relations at the beginning of the Obama administration. It didn't work. They only really understand strength.

So many differing opinions about what will work and what may work. Certainly the war has got increasingly complex and difficult for Ukraine. Will fresh thinking change that? We simply don't know. What we do know is that Trump himself

has, it seems, after the visit from Macron, not entirely flipped. We don't know what practically has changed, but that rare earth minerals deal seems a lot closer now. The idea that he'd meet Zelensky, well, that was frankly unthinkable, potentially 48 hours ago. The men's relationship seemed in free fall. So we are seeing things change radically, but that does mean they can also change back again, not so much in Ukraine's favour. And that

resolution really sticking in the minds of so many who've observed this horrific Russian assault on Ukraine over 12 000 dead civilians over the past three years it's just odd to see the main backer of Ukraine refuse to suggest Russia was the aggressor and indeed join Russia in a U.N uh General Assembly vote remarkable

It is remarkable. It is a 180 degree shift from where the Biden administration had been in condemning Russia at the United Nations with its allies for the four years prior. Although, you know, I think that many would say that that did not have a material impact on the trajectory of the war. We will see, as you say, whether this does. Nick Payton Walsh, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up on CNN This Morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking a page out of Elon Musk's book, announcing that he plans to create his own version of Doge for the Sunshine State. Plus, how the first month of President Donald Trump's presidency is going over with his supporters in Colorado. I voted for that. I love it. What did you vote for? I voted for a president that was going to put America first.

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The new season of United States of Scandal has bribery, fraud, undercover agents, and politicians suffering from a moral virus. You know, the usual. United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper, premieres Sunday, March 9th at 9 on CNN. People are saying it was the best month for a president in our country's history. I hope that's right, but I feel it's right. We've done a lot of things in a very short period of time, four weeks.

As I've said before, it's my hope that my greatest legacy, however, will be as a peacemaker and a unifier. I want to bring peace, not war. It's too early to tell how history will record the early days of Donald Trump's second term, so we decided to ask some of his supporters. CNN's John King traveled to Colorado's 8th congressional district to talk to four Trump voters about the president's first month back in office.

The Spoma Ranch spans more than 100 acres, home to 60 horses and one last bison. This little guy down here, his name is Trouble. A bit ornery at times. Yes, Trouble. You know, it's like Trump. I really don't like him as a person. I think he's arrogant.

Kind of a jerk, but... David Hayes is a funny man. I tried farming for a while and I would rather get run over by a bison. The Northern Colorado ranch has been in his family since the 1880s. The White House and Washington are far away.

We got like hot dogs. Yes, Hayes wants the government shrunk, but he doesn't see a coherent plan. And he doesn't trust Elon Musk, doesn't believe what he says, doesn't want Trump letting Musk poke around Social Security or tax files. I don't know how many people he's fired. And, you know, Musk keeps saying, well, I found a billion dollars of waste here and Social Security, there's

hundreds and hundreds of people that are collecting it that are between 100 years old and 150. Can you believe any of that crap? You can't substantiate it, but you can't believe it. So that's a trust issue. -A blue-collar rural guy in one of the nation's most competitive congressional districts, a three-time Trump voter who calls the president unfocused and arrogant. But Democrats should hold the celebration. -But if you had to do over tomorrow and you had to pick again between Trump and Harris, what would you do? -I would still do Trump.

So conservative independent, is that fair? Very conservative independent, yes. So would Esmeralda Rivera's Wray. She smiles when asked about Trump's frenetic first month. I voted for that. I love it. What did you vote for? I voted for a president that was going to put America first. I voted for a president that was going to secure our borders.

And I voted for a president that was going to make sure that we were respected throughout the world. And I believe I'm getting that. Greeley is the northern edge of Colorado's 8th, a congressional district that is 40% Hispanic and has a significant undocumented population. Ramirez-Ray is a court interpreter for defendants who don't speak English.

She agrees with Trump that some who cross the border illegally are violent criminals, but she wishes he would add that the overwhelming majority are good people. I was raised as a migrant worker working in the fields. Those are the people that are out there picking their crops. So even though I support Trump, I don't believe that he's the end-all, be-all savior of humanity. Nobody is. Now this one...

We've had Canadian hoser for a long time before all this stuff came up. All the fights with American and Canadian hockey players and everything. Like Hayes, Todd Waffle says Trump can be arrogant and pompous. But like Ramirez Ray, he's a fan of the early pace. I like him going full speed.

Let's get things done. Let's find out if the policies work, they don't work. But yeah, this is the baby brewing system. Boil it up there. Waffle started satire brewing seven years ago. Business is good, and he constantly debates expanding. But a plan to boost sales by adding canning machines is on hold because of Trump tariffs on aluminum. When you fly enough, you understand, you know, uh...

Buckle your seatbelt. Turbulence ahead. Walthall's approach is a trademark of many Trump voters: accept the things that make you cringe to get the things you want, like a better economy and a stronger border. Trump's going to say what he's going to say. And yeah, some of it's going to be exaggerated, some are not going to be true, but at the end of the day, I think you've got to sift through all that. Is he going to get things done? Is he going to get the country moving the right way? Let go right in front of your eyes.

Just like that. Austin Jenkins voted for lower taxes and less regulation. That would help his small businesses, including his cocktail bar and the Greeley Hatchet House. You seem like the lesser of two evils in my opinion.

But Jenkins finds the first month unsettling. Not a fan of tariffs or executive orders by the dozens or Musk popping from agency to agency. I thought there was supposed to be checks and balances somewhere. So where do I want to let go? Shoulder height? Right in front of your eyes. Plus, he sees fear in the Latino community, wishes Trump would find a more compassionate way to improve border security. I think there's a better way to go about it. I don't know if it's necessarily just force them out. Trump, of course, won't be on the ballot next election.

but this district will help decide whether Republicans keep their tiny House majority. The cost of living is getting crazy here in Colorado, and I hope that they would have some kind of an impact of helping that. The new Republican congressman won by just 2,000 votes. His 2026 re-election prospects will likely hint on Trump's performance. On whether swing voters here see the president as focused on the big issues or veering too far off target. John King, CNN.

Greeley, Colorado. There's a metaphor in there somewhere, him being at the Hatchet House there. I can't figure out which is the metaphor. Leah, generally, those voters were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. How long do we see these honeymoon periods last? And we have very few data points on a second term

not contiguous president. - Right, although there's a couple of things that we can extrapolate from this. And essentially, voters will give Donald Trump as much as the economy and Elon Musk will allow. And so I think it's really important to pay attention to those two indicators.

Why? Because we're not actually talking about the loyalists. Donald Trump loyalists, MAGA loyalists are going to support the president no matter what. We're talking about the small sliver of voters who may have crossed over, who may have been feeling the burn of the last four years, these kind of economic hardships, and are starting to express some kind of hesitancy about the things that they are actually feeling. They actually matter. They really matter, particularly for midterm elections.

And so as we begin to see these various things happening, these various things happening with tariffs, with slash and burn, the actual effects of people on the job, are costs lowering, right? Are the prices of things, material things in their lives, in their lived experience, are those things changing? If they change, if they, for the better, then you see people who, they will reward Trump for it. If they don't change,

they will punish him for it. And one of the things that we're already seeing is that Trump's, and through new CNN polling, Trump's numbers are starting to slip, specifically because the voters feel like, voters like the ones we just saw in that clip, feel like he hasn't done enough on the economy, and like there is a real question about executive overreach, particularly with Elon Musk. We did hear from that final voter saying that he didn't like the tariffs, he didn't like the way that Trump was going about some of these things, it was too chaotic, but by and large...

Most voters echoed the sentiment from Trump's first term, which is, "We don't like the style, but we like the substance." - Harvard-Harris poll came out yesterday, and by a very wide margin, people think they prefer Donald Trump to Joe Biden, and that's what he's gonna be judged against for a while.

I think John King picked the right place to go, Colorado's 8th district with Gabe Evans, a freshman Republican, Hispanic, former police officer. That is the crux of the battle for the House. He won the toughest House race last time, it'll be the toughest race this time. I think I take away from that piece what I'm seeing from polls. People think that Trump is directionally correct.

They accept that the country was really on the wrong track and it's going to take some drastic action to change it. There may be some things get broken in that process. Everything won't be perfect, but they want a president who's taking action, shaking things up. I guess the question, Kendra, is how much gets broken in that process?

process. Well, and that's exactly right. I think there's a very fine line that they're walking. I think they've very much crossed over it multiple times. I think you saw that with what some of the viewers were talking about or the voters were talking about. It is a fine line, but there is a little bit of leeway he's getting. But at the end of the day, the egg prices are still not down, right? You're still going to the store and you still can't find eggs half the time. The economy is not doing better at the end of the day, and that's what a lot of the voters have voted for.

We will stay tuned. We will keep it here. More from our panel coming up ahead on CNN this morning. Doge in the Sunshine State. Florida's governor announces a plan to replicate Elon Musk's Doge team, what it could mean for local agencies. Plus, federal workers facing a second order to respond to an email outlining what they did that week. Congresswoman Nikki Bozinski joins me live to discuss the turmoil unfolding among federal workers.

I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. We have to find out where these people are. Who are they?

Millions of federal employees are waking up this morning wondering what else might be in store from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Last night's deadline imposed by Musk on federal workers to respond to an email outlining what they did last week or risk losing their jobs has now come and gone. It remains unclear how many employees have responded. The Office of Personnel Management clarified just hours before the deadline that responding to the email was actually voluntary.

but President Trump defending the firing threat from the Oval Office. I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. We have to find out where these people are, who are they? And we said, if you don't respond, we assume you're not around. And you're not getting paid anymore, too. Musk says workers will, quote, get another chance to respond or yet again risk termination. Some federal employees spoke out to CNN about the latest moves from the Trump administration.

The email was, you know, yet another scare tactic meant to humiliate, dehumanize, demoralize the federal workforce. And in fact, you know, we want to go to work every day. We, you know, are accountable to the American public and not to a billionaire.

Joining me now to discuss Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, a Democratic representative for Illinois. Congresswoman, thank you for being here. You just returned from some time back in your district, which employs many federal workers, and I'm sure you heard from a lot of them. What is the sense on the ground? What are they saying? Yeah, I think people

People are really concerned and worried. I mean, one of the things I think people don't appreciate is that 85% of the federal workforce actually resides outside of the D.C. area. In the 13th district that I represent, I have 9,300 members of the federal workforce that live in my district. These are our neighbors. These are folks that are delivering our mail. These are people that are working within the VA administration to make sure that veterans are getting the health care that they deserve.

And so what I heard when I was at home is just a lot of panic, a lot of confusion. There's a lot of confusion as you covered some of the email communication that Elon Musk has put out and then conflicting information about what those emails mean. And quite frankly, it's a lot of bullying. I feel like that's happening with the federal workforce. So a lot of concerns that I bring back to Washington. You served as chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management during the Biden administration. What would it look like

If you were on the receiving end of that [email protected] email and you were flooded with all of the responses from hundreds of thousands, in some cases, federal employees, how possible is it even to take the accounting of who responded and who didn't respond and then notifying them of their termination? Well, exactly. Not only is it confusing, but what you're seeing is this administration is actually making mistakes.

You know, first let me say that when I had the opportunity to serve as chief of staff at the Office of Management and Budget, I served firsthand the professionalism, the thoughtfulness of the federal workforce. And the fact that they would be bullied as they are being right now and getting these emails is really just

horrific. But what I would say is that this administration in their rush to make these decisions are clearly making mistakes. You saw that at the CDC, you saw that at the USDA. One of my big concerns because I serve on the House Agriculture Committee is the rising cases of bird flu. What you saw as this administration, again, fire scientists within the CDC and the USDA that are going to combat this public health crisis.

So a lot of mistakes, I think, are being made. And my apologies for mixing the acronyms of OPM and OMB early in the morning. I do want to ask about some of the feedback that your Republican colleagues are getting, because there were several town halls that have now been receiving a lot of coverage. And in some of those cases, we've seen voters say Congress is supposed to be the check and balance. Where is Congress in all of this? Do you get any sense from your Republican colleagues that they are

beginning to start to oppose some of these moves, or at least the way in which they're conducted? Well, I think you're seeing some Republican senators, even some Republican House members that are saying this is moving too fast. You're seeing them speak to some of the cruelty with which the federal workforce is being handled. I think there are some real concerns on both sides of the aisle as it regards to Elon Musk and how this administration is carrying out, looking for efficiencies. Look, I would say

As a Democrat, I support looking for efficiencies. I support us looking at our federal spending and where we can maybe find some savings for the American people. But the way this administration is doing this, almost literally with the chainsaw, is too much for the American people. There's been a question of to what extent Doge will be a galvanizing force for Democrats

going forward, at least in advance of the midterms. And billionaire Mark Cuban was a big supporter of Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He campaigned for her. But he's also been vocal about Democrats' own messaging and where he believes it should go. I want to get your reaction to what he said. Here's Mark Cuban.

If you gave the Democrats a dollar bill and said you can sell these for 50 cents, they would hire 50 people to decide if they really, to try to figure out how to do it, and then would not know how to sell a dollar bill for 50 cents. If you gave it to Donald Trump and said sell this dollar bill for two dollars, he'd figure out a way, right? He'd tell you that two dollar bill is, you know, is huge. I learned that the Democrats can't sell worse.

So harsh words from a stalwart of the Democratic Party, but is there some truth in it? Well, look, what I would say is what I just said before, is that we can find efficiencies. We can find ways to cut red tape. I've actually introduced bipartisan legislation on the House Veterans Affairs Committee to cut through some of those red tape.

that red tape that exists within the VA to help veterans get easier access to care. I think we can as Democrats and Republicans be looking at those types of efficiencies, but that's not what this administration is doing. You know, when we saw just yesterday another round of layoffs at the VA, I serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, 1400 more people

to be laid off. And what I'm thinking about on that committee is when we're trying to address veteran suicide rates, when you're cutting jobs for folks that are actually answering those suicide hotlines, how is that in the service of our veterans? And not an agency that's ever been accused of being overstaffed or overfunded. It is understaffed, actually. We appreciate it. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, we really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much.

It is 55 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup. You can feel it. There's a fresh new enthusiasm, a new verve, a new energy in America. We're on the cusp of a new golden age in America right now.

Former Republican presidential candidate and biotech millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy kicks off his 2026 campaign for Ohio governor Monday after exiting the Doge task force. Trump responding on social media, quote, "He will be a great governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my complete and total endorsement."

Rudy Giuliani's years-long legal saga with two Georgia election workers is now over. Giuliani faced a $150 million defamation judgment in the case for false statements related to the 2020 election. The exact dollar amount of the final settlement was not disclosed. In just a few hours, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a slate of new opinions, which

issues they will rule on is generally unknown. We are closely watching for cases dealing with vaping, ghost guns and a death row inmate in Oklahoma who the state's Republican attorney general believes should not be put to death.

Denny's joins the growing number of restaurants struggling with the nationwide egg shortage. The popular diner chain has added a temporary surcharge to its egg-based meals at a number of locations. The current shortage has been sparked by an ongoing bird flu outbreak that's wiped out flocks dating back to 2022.

And a source with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles tells CNN the team would quote "be honored" to visit the White House. Rumors on social media swirled this weekend claiming the Eagles turned down an invitation. The source tells CNN the team is still waiting on that invite.

And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to follow in the footsteps of Elon Musk and President Trump. On Monday, the one-time Republican presidential hopeful laid out his plan to create a Department of Government efficiency in his state.

We are creating a state DOGE task force that will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida in the years ahead. This will be a one just similar to the federal DOGE. It's going to be a limited amount of time. It'll be a one-year term. It will sunset following the completion of the mission.

The term for the Florida version of Doge is set to run through March of next year. My panel is back. Is imitation the best form of flattery here? I think it's pure flattery. I think it's all it is. I mean, Rick Scott was governor of Florida for eight years. He modernized the government, cut things back, made Florida the model, really, for state governments in the country. Ron DeSantis has managed to take

not screw that up for eight years. And now I think this is an attempt to try to get back in Trump's good graces. At a state level, have we seen this before? So I think we have seen it before. I think we have, particularly with Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis every couple of years comes out and says that he is going to engage in efficiency and cost cutting and things like that. It's particularly ironic, I think, to Brad's point, given that the last four governors of Florida have been Republicans.

So are we cutting waste from ourselves? Is it self-reflective? It's not quite clear. There's also the tension, the longstanding tension between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis because Ron DeSantis ran for president of the United States. So I think part of this is not so much, you know, oh, we're actually really going to cut waste and do all of these draconian things, but instead is about a pretext for, you know, essentially kissing up to Trump, but also saying,

setting a difference between the DeSantis administration and the person that Donald Trump has anointed to essentially run for Republican, the next governor of Florida, which would be Byron Donald. So setting up a contest. - Yes, that animosity between DeSantis and Trump has been the elephant in the room for some time here. - It has.

The thing that I heard that I think was really interesting is that he said we're going to take the next year to do it. What we are seeing in the federal government right now is this slash and dash cuts across the board. People are losing their jobs in a very short period of time. I think it's very interesting that he said he's going to take the next year, which to me seems like he's going to do it in a more responsible way, which is to be said. Perhaps use the federal government as a cautionary tale in some respects.

People want the government to move fast and change things. That's what it means to be unhappy with the status quo. And I think Democrats should help Republicans do it. You know, when Bill Clinton cut the workforce, as we mentioned earlier, he had 55 Democrats in the Senate decide to help him cut government. You couldn't find five Democrats in the Senate who would be for cutting government right now. The Democrat Party is out of place here. Yes.

Yeah, we can have a whole conversation about that. They didn't even go to Congress to have the conversation, you know. We'll get a cup of coffee off set, continue this conversation. There is a lot more to be had there. Perhaps they're also after Elon Musk's deep pockets in the next gubernatorial race. We will see. My thanks as always to our panel, Brad, Kendra and Leah. It's been a pleasure to have you guys today. Thank you for our viewers, everyone for joining us. I'm Kayla Tausche. CNN News Central starts right now.