More Government Workers Get Pink Slips
48:20 Share

There's a reason the Sleep Number smart bed is the number one best bed for couples. It's because you can each choose what's right for you whenever you like. Firmer or softer on either side, Sleep Number does that. One side cooler and the other side warmer, Sleep Number does that too. You have to feel it to believe it. Sleep better together. And now save 50% on the new Sleep Number limited edition smart bed. Limited time. Exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you.

See store or sleepnumber.com for details. I can say to my new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, hey, find a keto-friendly restaurant nearby and text it to Beth and Steve. And it does without me lifting a finger. So I can get in more squats anywhere I can. One, two, three. Will that be cash or credit? Credit.

It's Thursday, February 13th, right now on CNN This Morning. Oh, I'd like it to be closed immediately. Look, the Department of Education's a big con job.

More firings at federal agencies. Terminations now underway at the Department of Education and Small Business Administration. It's going to affect a lot of people. Plus... I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed, and I think they have to make peace. Peace talks. President Trump and Vladimir Putin discuss ending the war in Ukraine. What's not clear is Ukraine's role in its own future. What will Ukraine's president have any say? And...

New this hour, Hamas now says it will release hostages as planned this weekend, this after a dispute with Israel over the Gaza ceasefire. Then... If the Senate had a secret ballot, I bet you that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would never have come close to confirmation. Well, now indeed, RFK Jr. is very close to confirmation. Senators start voting on the nation's Health and Human Service Secretary in about an hour.

Just past 6 a.m. here on the East Coast, here's a live look at the Capitol. A little cloudy this morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Sciutto, in for Casey Hunt. Great to have you with us. And new this morning, a wave of firings is now underway here in Washington. Donald Trump and Elon Musk charging ahead at full speed in their quest to drastically reduce the federal workforce. Last night,

Some employees at the Department of Education and Small Business Administration began receiving letters informing them, quote, the agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest. The full scope of the firing is not clear yet. So far, the Trump administration has not said exactly how many people will be impacted. The wider, doge-driven effort to fire employees

federal workers receiving a vital legal boost yesterday. A federal judge allowed the president's so-called deferred resignation offer to proceed despite

Pausing it, the White House saying that around 75,000 federal workers have now accepted the offer, which claims to trade them months of pay in exchange for willingly leaving their jobs. That's close to 4% of the nation's roughly 2 million civilian federal workers. As President Trump and Elon Musk look for more places to slash funding and jobs, the Department of Education finds itself very much front and center. - How soon do you want the Department of Education to be closed?

Oh, I'd like it to be closed immediately. Look, the Department of Education is a big con job. We're ranked -- so they rank the top 40 countries in the world. We're ranked number 40th. But we're ranked number one in one department, cost per pupil.

Join me now to discuss Isaac Doveris, CNN's senior reporter, Meghan Hayes, Democratic strategist, former director of message planning for the Biden White House, and Joe Walsh, former Republican representative for Illinois and host of the podcast, The Social Contract. Good to have you all here. I mean, you know, the question about these cuts, right, is they're clearly popular with some,

When do they start affecting average Americans is the question, Joe. And is there a potential danger there for the Trump administration that folks will begin to notice that they don't get services they used to rely on? Yes, because as most Americans right now really have no idea what's going on. I mean, think about that. Most Americans don't know what Elon Musk is doing. They're not going to feel the impact of this stuff until it hits.

Jim, I say this as a former member of Congress, government's too big, we can look for efficiency and all of that. But I keep thinking about the rule of law. There's a legal way to do this. And this gets missed every time we talk about this. Darn near everything that Trump and Musk are doing right now is being taken to court. And just unilaterally firing federal employees that Congress has already appropriated money for

That story's got to be told. -Megan, the Democrats' strategy seems to be to fight this in court, right? They're still struggling to find not just a message, but it seems someone capable of delivering that message in a convincing fashion. Who's going to step to the fore? Or is the Democratic strategy -- It strikes me the Democratic strategy is just wait for people to feel the pain.

I mean, that's unfortunate. I don't think that's going to be a good service for our country. I think that will be seen in the midterms. I do think that will end up being what happens. I don't think Democrats know who the messenger is going to be. I don't think a lot of members of Congress are stepping up to the plate. Thank goodness for these legal organizations that are out there suing because members of Congress really are not

providing that leadership right now. And I think they are starting to, but it seemed like they got caught a little flat footed. I'm not sure what more they can do. I don't think protesting outside of these agencies is really helpful. I think it makes them look breathless. And I do think until people realize that their services are being cut, they are not going to understand what's going on here. So I think this is going to be something that will be felt in the midterms and in 2028, which unfortunately, Donald Trump will not feel the effects of. This will not impact Donald Trump. It will impact the Republican Party moving forward. Unless he decides to run again.

which he does occasionally say publicly. Isaac, I wonder if that speed is part of the strategy here, right? As you keep pushing before folks notice and before you know it, 5%, 10% of the federal workforce is gone. Yeah, the speed is definitely part of the idea here. Look, we're three and a half weeks into the Trump presidency and a lot has taken place. A lot of

moves to fire and cut have been going on. And though these legal challenges are going on, they take time. Even if they're successful, it will be weeks and months from now for them to fully go through. And there's also clearly part of the strategy from the Trump folks is

they'll win some of these lawsuits. And they got good news yesterday on one of them, right? So the more things that they can throw out there, it's like playing the odds, basically. Joe, I wonder, is there any limit to Republican support for this president? I mean, if you look at the cabinet confirmations, right, going in, a lot of Republicans were saying,

Republicans were saying there is no way Tulsi Gabbard would get through or RFK Jr. or Pete Hegseth. And, you know, privately, privately, Republicans would express opposition, not publicly. And eventually they all came around. Is there a limit to Republican support? No, Jim, no. And it's early to yell. My God, look back. Matt Gaetz would have been approved.

Yeah, looking back so they all would have been approved when Trump won in November his hold on this party Became permanent and it really incorporated everybody before the November election Jim I'd have Republicans privately tell me he's gonna lose and that's a good thing. They're all on board now Yeah, so there's gonna be no help from Republicans right but also

Donald Trump isn't the only person that can have these Republicans losing their job. People vote for them. So I just think that a better strategy here would be to go into local media markets and make their constituents understand some of the things that they are voting for, because they can also be challenged by primary people that are not from Donald Trump and from other Democrats. So it's interesting to me that they think that Donald Trump is the only person that controls their future, because it's not. Their constituents do.

- Well, we'll get a test in a couple years. - They know Donald Trump controls those base voters. - And they've certainly scared a lot of these senators, for instance, on these cabinet votes by saying, "We will primary you. "And by the way, I have a guy here next to me "who has the money to do it, to fund it on his own." Stay here, there's a lot more to talk about straight ahead on CNN This Morning after a 90-minute phone call.

On the fate of a war that Russia started, President Trump announces a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin on the horizon. Will Ukraine play any role in peace talks on its future? Plus, Democrats try to land their punches in the House's Doge subcommittee's first hearing. We're going to discuss live with Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey.

Make the Kennedy Center, quote, hot again. President Trump now the head of the iconic performing arts organization. How he says he's going to shake it up in the midst of his ongoing culture war push. So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn't like what they were showing and various other things. We're going to make sure that it's good and it's not going to be woke. There's no more woke in this country. This podcast is supported by Sleep Number.

There's a reason the Sleep Number smart bed is the number one bed for couples. It's because you can each choose what's right for you whenever you like. Firmer or softer on either side, Sleep Number does that. One side cooler and the other side warmer, Sleep Number does that too. You have to feel it to believe it. Only Sleep Number smart beds let you choose your ideal comfort and support, your Sleep Number setting. Sleep Number smart beds learn how you sleep and provide personalized insights to help you sleep better.

The new Sleep Number Climate Cool smart bed lets you adjust up to 15 degrees cooler on either side. It's perfect for couples who struggle with sleeping too hot. Sleep better together. And now save 50% on the new Sleep Number Limited Edition smart bed. Limited time. Exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you. See store or sleepnumber.com for details.

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm

I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

A truly monumental shift in U.S. foreign policy. Donald Trump calling for direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin to end Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the American president's opening move to make major concessions, giving Russia several of its chief objectives before those talks even begin.

They've been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO. And I'm OK with that. Do you see any future in which Ukraine returns to its pre-2014 borders? Well, I think Pete said today that that's unlikely, right? It certainly would seem to be unlikely. They took a lot of land and they fought for that land and they lost a lot of

They lost a lot of soldiers, but it would just seem to me, and I'm not making an opinion on it, but I've read a lot on it, and a lot of people think that that's unlikely. Of course, President Trump didn't say there who took Ukraine's land. It is Russia.

He's not mentioning who is still fighting to occupy that land and gain more of it. In fact, not once did the president say the words "Russia" or "rush in" during those remarks in the Oval Office. He did, however, talk plenty about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump described his conversation with Putin as "highly productive" and noted that the two leaders agreed to visit each other's countries. President Trump later added that Saudi Arabia will likely host the first round of talks between the two.

One man not invited at this point is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As Ukrainians prepare to mark three years of war and over a decade since Russia first invaded their territory, President Trump isn't even sure they're vital to these talks. Ukraine is an equal member of this peace process. It's an interesting question. I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed and I think they have to make peace.

I said that was not a good war to go into, and I think they have to make peace. That was not a good war to go into. The president seeming to suggest there that Ukraine chose to be invaded by Russia. Since 2014, Ukraine has lost almost a fifth of its territory to Russian and Russian-backed forces in the countries south and the east.

And since Russia's full-scale invasion coming up on three years ago next week, thousands, many thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed. Hundreds of thousands more have been wounded in Europe's bloodiest war since World War II.

The U.N. estimates more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, many by Russian drones and missiles, striking deep and deliberately into cities and towns far away from the front lines. All of this amounting to a fundamental change in America's approach, not just to Ukraine, but to Europe, to NATO, and to America's allies. Here's Trump's own former National Security Advisor, John Bolton.

President Trump has effectively surrendered to Putin before the negotiations have even begun. He has now, it seems, exactly what he wants. Putin doesn't want to negotiate with Zelensky. He wants to negotiate with Trump because he thinks he'll get more out of him. And he's absolutely right. I think Putin couldn't be happier. I tell you, they're drinking vodka straight out of the bottle in the Kremlin tonight. It was a great day for Moscow.

Panel back with me now. Joe, the Ukraine war used to be a bipartisan effort. When I was in Ukraine for the invasion, when I returned, Democratic and Republican lawmakers said quite clearly and publicly they support Ukraine, this shall not stand. That has changed. The facts of the war have not changed. That has changed. Do you see the Trump administration preparing to abandon Ukraine here? Completely.

Jim, this is just so infuriating, but you just got to cut to the chase. I mean, none of this is surprising. And it makes sense what Trump is doing. He's negotiating for Putin. He's siding with Putin. An American president is siding with Vladimir Putin. Three years ago, Putin invaded a sovereign country. I mean, think, this is just madness that three years later,

Trump and Putin are getting together, as you said, we're Zelensky, to negotiate some sort of peace deal. When Putin invaded that country and my former party will be absolutely silent. This is despicable. Megan, did Democrats fail, including Kamala Harris in the election, fail to explain sufficiently and successfully to American voters why

a war like Ukraine or more broadly standing up to Russia matters to them? Yeah, I do think they did, but it's also hard to explain why democracy is on the line with NATO countries when people can't afford their groceries because they are worried about their issues here domestically and not worried about their foreign policy issues and things like NATO, which are extremely important to withholding democracy and keeping wars off of our own shores.

And so I do think we weren't successful in explaining that, but we weren't successful in solving the problems that were immediate to people to be able to have them understand why some of these other issues that are much more abstract in their minds are important. - Isaac, in the last administration, when Trump went beyond what used to be bipartisan US foreign policy, he had checks inside his own administration who told him, well, like a John Bolton, that ain't right, that's not in our interest, or John Kelly or others.

They're all gone. And now, it is true, he does have people in his administration, Marco Rubio, Mike Walz among them, who previously thought these were important things, and their public comments back that, but it doesn't appear that they're moving the president off this change now. No, the people that he appointed to his administration, he wanted to be completely infielty to him and following him.

also in Congress, right? You look at these confirmation votes, people who voted for Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, who put themselves forward as being very serious about national security issues and taking all these things in real, real depth before, but have voted for people that they have previously been very critical of themselves. Lindsey Graham, incredibly critical of Tulsi Gabbard. Yeah.

but voted for her to be the new director of national intelligence. But look, with Trump here, I think you have one of four things basically going on. One is possibly what Joe said, that he's just doing what Putin wants. Two is that he's

actually going at this from a position of weakness, saying, "I don't really care, it doesn't affect me," but actually not taking a strong position for America. Three might be that he actually doesn't care, right, and it doesn't matter to him. And four is that he has a view of the world where he wants to

Let other countries do what they do. Maybe China will go into Taiwan now, but maybe he'll go into the Panama Canal. And what will happen at that point is that he will say, we've been following this standard procedure here, but it is the new Trump world order as far as American influence around the world and what it will respond to. That's bad news for Ukraine. It's bad news for Taiwan. It's bad news for the NATO alliance, of course.

It's a major change and we're watching it play out before our eyes. Stay with us. Other news at home. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just hours away from all but certain confirmation. The Senate to vote on the vaccine critic as the nation's health and human services secretary. Plus, breaking this morning, Hamas now says it will release Israeli hostages over the weekend as the ceasefire deal calls for. We're going to have more on that when we return.

New this morning, Hamas now says it will release hostages as planned on Saturday. Earlier in the week, it had threatened to postpone the next hostage release, accusing Israel of breaking, violating the ceasefire deal. President Donald Trump urged Israel to cancel the deal if Hamas followed through on the threat. As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off and

Let hell break out. The terror group said it made the decision to go ahead with the initial plan after positive talks with mediators. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now. Salma, is the feeling now that this, at least the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, will hold now?

It feels like things may go ahead as planned on Saturday. I think everyone is taking things a day at a time, Jim. So what we understand now is after what was described as positive talks that were led by Egypt and Qatar. These are the mediators, of course, behind this ceasefire deal in addition to others.

After those talks, Hamas did say it will go ahead with the exchange on Saturday. So normally we see just that morning. It happens just a few hours before the actual exchange takes place, that Hamas releases the names of the hostages to be released that day. And then in exchange, we've seen several hundred Palestinian prisoners at a time being released from Israeli prisons. Hamas saying that will go ahead, but it reiterated its stance that it wants to see the ceasefire deal implemented now.

all of this began because Hamas accused Israel of violating the deal. Specifically, they were concerned about tents, shelter, which are very needed right now in Gaza. Of course, most people have been displaced. Homes are in ruins. Hamas says it needs that vital aid to come into the Gaza Strip and accuses Israel of blocking it. Now, Israel says this isn't taking place, but behind the scenes, unofficial sources have

said that that is happening that we are not seeing these tents and shelters come through the enclave as they're needed again these are minor in in the grand scheme of things these are more minor disagreements that are being hammered out in these negotiating rooms the more major issue of president trump trying to relocate all of gaza that still very much looms over these ceasefire talks so the hope for now for these mediators is that saturday

goes off as planned for Hamas. The hope is that they demonstrate that they are a willing partner in these negotiations. And for the Arab world at large, they're trying to bide their time here, Jim, until they can propose an alternative that they hope and pray Trump will at least listen to. We know Jordan and Egypt certainly not comfortable at all with the prospect of absorbing an entire people. Salma Abdelaziz, thanks so much.

Still coming up after the break, Kash Patel's nomination fight to lead the FBI faces a critical vote today. Plus, President Trump given an okay to move forward with his buyouts to shrink the federal workforce. We're going to break it down live with Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey. Coming up. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government. If we're going after waste, fraud, and abuse, let's start with abuse. Abuse of power.

Have you ever spotted McDonald's hot, crispy fries right as they're being scooped into the carton? And time just stands still. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba.

You know what's smart? Enjoying a fresh gourmet meal at home that you didn't have to cook. Meet Factor, your loophole in the laws of mealtime. Chef-crafted meals delivered with a tap, ready in just two minutes. You know what's even smarter? Treating yourself without cheating your goals. Factor is dietician-approved, chef-prepared, and you-plated. Pretty smart, huh? Refresh your routine and eat smart with Factor. Learn more at factormeals.com.

There's new information just into CNN after a car drove into a crowd in Munich, Germany. We're now learning at least 20 people were injured. Police say the car rammed into a group of protesters. All happening just hours before world leaders are set to visit Munich for a high-level protest.

Security Conference. Vice President J.D. Vance is leaving Paris now for Munich. CNN's Sebastian Schuchla joins us now from the scene. And wow, quite a scene behind you. Any sense now as to whether this was deliberate?

Yeah, Jim, we just don't know. As you just said, the only things we do know are that 20 people have been injured in this scene and the attack that took place behind me. I'm going to just step out of the way. You can survey the scene. Police officers have been going through meticulously the boots, the trunk of that white

car there. And as you can see, there is an enormous amount of debris that has been left by the attack and the 20 people at least who've been hurt here. You can see, you know, the remnants of shoes. You can see those tinfoil blankets which are used to keep people warm as they're delivered first aid. The only thing that we do seem to know is that the incident was perpetrated against a trade union group here in Germany that was demonstrating

And so we're still waiting to learn exactly what has happened here. But a police officer told me just before you came to meet Jim and that we still don't know if there have been any fatalities yet. They said they're just not prepared to comment at this time. But as you mentioned, Jim, you can see this is an intersection and there are police in every single direction. But not only that, the police are crawling all over this city. So questions will be asked. How did this attack happen?

allow itself to come about and how did it happen? And you know, we have heads of state, we have governments, we have policy makers, we have the Vice President of the United States, we have the Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, coming here in a matter of hours to discuss world issues at the Munich Security Conference, of which there is police everywhere. There are police in hotels, there are police outside cafes, there are police outside

the pedestrian areas and more importantly Jim on a local level just for Germany this is another attack that has taken place inside this country which is grappling with the issue of immigration and attacks that have been perpetrated by immigrants we don't know the ethnicity of this man just yet but those will be the questions that will circle now inside Germany and just trying to figure out how has this happened again. Yeah deadly and deliberate attack on a Christmas market just

during the holidays in Germany as well. Sebastian Schuchler, thanks so much. All right, turning now to this, the Trump administration forging ahead, working to implement its agenda, including downsizing the federal government's workforce. - The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign. The president spoke about that at every rally. The people voted for major government reform, and that's what people are gonna get.

And as all of this happens, Democrats have little leverage in the fight with a Republican-controlled Washington. Still, they're pushing back against Trump's latest moves, often in court, questioning his use of billionaire Elon Musk in his effort to cut government waste. Musk, of course, not elected.

I'm trying to figure out exactly what it is that the Republicans believe our job is because right now they have relinquished their constitutional duties over to an unelected bureaucrat. If this committee were serious about rooting out waste from our federal government, then today's whole hearing would be about how Musk and Donald Trump are firing the independent watchdogs who've done this work for decades. In the last Congress, Chairwoman Greene literally showed a dick pic in

in our oversight congressional hearing. So I thought I'd bring one as well. Now this, of course, we know is President Elon Musk. He's also the world's richest man. Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey of Maryland. I gotta ask you about that because Democrats are looking for a voice now and looking to convince the American people that they can manage this better. Was that moment an example of good Democratic leadership on this? I mean,

I don't even want to say, I mean, you know the phrase. Was that a smart messaging moment? I mean, I think the issue is whether we can break through, especially with legacy media and be heard. Right now, the president has the platform. He's got the megaphone. It's been a challenge for Democrats to break through that and have our voices heard on what our concerns are. You heard there about Elon Musk and I think the things that he's doing.

without having any election behind him. He hasn't been vetted. No security clearances for him or his team. I think we're all legitimate issues. But I think the larger point, though, is actually Trump won on the economy, and he's not doing anything to deal with that. In fact, it's going in the opposite direction. Your district in the D.C. area, and now you have

major cuts underway to the federal workforce. And I'm certain there are folks in your district who work for the federal government here. What will the impact of that be? Just a beginning on the Washington community here. And I should also note, as many have, that a lot of federal workers don't work in Washington. They work around the country. So other communities are going to be feeling this. Yeah.

Yeah, that's right. 80% of federal workers work outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. And, you know, there's two types of impacts that could be had. Certainly from an economic standpoint, a region like ours could be certainly affected. There are other regions where, for example, they have large installations. Virginia, for example, has a lot of

of impact that it could be facing as well. But the other is, you know, the services that are provided by the government, what gets cut when these services are cut, when these employees are cut. And, you know,

inspecting the water, the food, all of those things, air traffic control, TSA, border patrol, all of those things are, I guess, on the chopping block because instead of being surgical about it, they're using more of a chainsaw in the way they're going about this. Is that basically the Democratic strategy here? And I've heard this from Democrats, that they're basically waiting and relying on Americans feeling the pain

of Donald Trump's policies and that then benefiting Democrats. Is that the plan? And do you think that's a sufficient plan? - That's certainly not my goal because what that means is that people get hurt. I mean, depending on what you cut, let's say Meals on Wheels, for example, you could actually have people die based on that. And I don't wanna lose people in the effort to make a political point,

But if we're not able to stop the Trump administration from doing some of these cuts, that includes USAID and the impact around the world, kids could starve to death. So we need to make sure we do everything we can to prevent that. But if that's something we're not able to block, that will be the result.

Kash Patel is on the cusp of being confirmed as the FBI director. And it's interesting because Patel, going back to the first Trump administration, when his name was floated in the latter days of the administration to lead the FBI, there were many Republicans in the Trump administration who said, no way. And that's been true with a lot of Trump's cabinet picks this time around. Initially, they said, no way. And one by one, they've been confirmed. What will his leadership mean for the FBI? Do you fear that he will use

the organization to go after Trump's political enemies. I do, because he said that that's what he would do. Now, he obviously backed away from that during the confirmation hearings, but...

Basically, that's what he's been saying. He wrote a book that laid that out. He had an enemies list in the book. And to your point about Republicans who stated concerns about it, you know, those are people from the first Trump administration, like former Attorney General Barr, NSA advisor John Bolton. I mean, people that were very much in the loop who got to know him and worked with him have stated that he's like the last guy who should be FBI director.

But, you know, if he gets confirmed, I think it's a real risk for the United States. The team that Trump is bringing in to lead, you know, defense, national security, and public safety, certainly from the attorney general spot,

I think are really undermining the safety and security of the United States. There's a phenomenon in Washington, you might be aware of it, I'm sure you are, of Republicans privately criticizing some of these moves, including these nominations to cabinet secretaries, but fearing the repercussions if they said anything publicly. And I've certainly heard that. Do your Republican colleagues speak to you privately and say, oh, this is a bridge too far, wish I could do something about it, but can't?

Yeah, I've heard that for sure. And, you know, Gates was part of that, too. Now, the difference between Gates and this crowd, Gabbard, Kennedy, Hegsmith, you know, he was derailed before it came to the point where they had to vote. Right. But, you know, if it comes to a vote, apparently they're going to vote for whatever Trump puts in front of them. Congressman Glenn Ivey, appreciate you taking the time this morning. Thanks for having me.

Coming up next on CNN this morning, Confirmation Day, also for RFK Jr., how the vaccine skeptic is now in near certainty to become the head of Health and Human Services. Plus, President Trump says negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine will begin soon. A key piece to that puzzle, Ukraine ceding its own territory. Trump said that he had a nice phone call with Vladimir Putin. Putin was like, I told you I wouldn't forget Valentine's Day. And I knew it.

The only awkward part of the call is when Putin said, "Is the president there?" And both Trump and Elon said, "Yes." Three years ago next week, Russia invaded Ukraine, sending tanks and soldiers across the border and raining missiles and bombs down on Ukrainian cities. It had hopes to topple the capital in three days and absorb the entire country.

It had 75% of its conventional forces postured against Ukraine. Russia deployed intelligence operatives from the FSB to forcibly replace Ukraine's elected leaders. U.S. intelligence believes it intended to kill the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Vladimir Putin, to justify the invasion, denied Ukraine's right to exist or even its history as an independent nation, which he continues to do today.

Yesterday, President Trump said this was, quote, not a good war for Ukraine to get into, as if Russia's full-scale invasion was Ukraine's choice. It wasn't. And right up until the final days before the invasion, the Ukrainian leader was speaking to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about a peace plan.

Russian leaders took part in those discussions as well, even as they were massing their forces and Russian commanders were intercepted by Western intelligence finalizing their invasion plans. Many were understandably skeptical, given Russia had repeatedly violated peace plans and, let the record show, had already invaded Ukraine in 2014, taking possession of Crimea and parts of the east.

I was in Ukraine during the invasion, and what struck me when I returned was the bipartisan outpouring of support for Ukraine against Russia. Then-Senator, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, publicly questioned Putin's mental state and even chided skeptics of Ukraine's readiness to join NATO as those who, quote, either don't know what they're talking about or are lying, end quote.

Then-Congressman, now National Security Advisor Mike Walz, said, quote, I think it's absolutely in America's interest to stop Putin cold. End quote. The facts of Russia's ongoing invasion are straightforward. Russia invaded Ukraine with the goal of taking over an independent nation. Those facts have not changed. Only the politics in this country.

Joining me now is Alexander Vindman, retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army and former Director of European Affairs for the National Security Council. Always good to have you on. Thanks so much for joining. Thanks, Jim. Looking forward to the discussion. Did you hear in President Trump's words yesterday and the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsess' words as he was in Brussels, plans for this administration to, in effect, abandon Ukraine?

Yes, I did. I think Trump wants a peace deal. He said he was going to have it before inauguration. He said he was going to have it day one.

he has no plans to get there but he wants a deal so he he's a kind of personality that needs to learn lessons on his own his own way nothing that happened before matters so the council of marco rubio mike waltz or anybody else that says that you need to drive a hard bargain with russia is irrelevant they're going to go in with trump's own tone which is appeasing putin uh

pandering to him, catering to him, somehow trying to ingratiate with Putin to get Putin to compromise, and meanwhile pressuring Ukraine. This obviously is the worst kind of way to go into a negotiation. Ukraine is willing to bend over backwards. There is nothing that's pretty much off the table except complete capitulation, which is what Trump is

kind of demanding on articulating Ukrainians are not going to do that no matter what kind of conversation uh the president had with with Putin and Putin only will operate under the premise of pressure he will bank the things that were given he was given yesterday the uh uh you know agreement that Ukraine wouldn't join NATO that Ukraine would see territory that uh Ukraine will ultimately uh

lie outside Europe and he's going to move forward from that position. So it's just a terrible start to any peace negotiations. Does Ukraine have any credible plan B? European nations, some of them say they will stick with Ukraine, but they don't have nearly the military that the U.S. does or the resources. Without the U.S., is Ukraine in effect out in the cold?

It is out in the cold, but it is not entirely lost. I think the narrative is completely wrong that Russia

absent US support that Russia will devour Ukraine in its entirety. That's just not the reality. Ukraine will end up in a weaker position. It will not get the kind of support for some critical systems it needs, primarily artillery, long-range systems. A lot of the stuff that we provided them otherwise is frankly not irrelevant and not that relevant on the battlefield anymore. They have their own things that they're developing with their own defense sector, drones in particular.

the europeans will be there to back them up not in the same way that the us kid but the ukrainians will carry on they're going to take a massive hit on morale with the us dropping out as a supporter it'll make things harder on the battlefield but we need to understand that russia is having a very very difficult time russia is taking massive losses

Russia has no military means to achieve its aims except for a slow-grinding, attritional warfare campaign that really has no prospects of achieving anything major in the coming months. The best thing that they could hope for is bluffing the way they are, trying to see if they could win a deal with Trump, where Trump takes his foot off their neck.

figuratively speaking, for the economy, which is teetering on the and gives them a lifeline. That is what they're hoping for. That is a good chance that they might get that. And that is extremely dangerous and kicks the can down the road for peace talks. Do you see anyone in this Trump administration, Rubio and Walz among them, previously strong supporters of Ukraine, speaking up to the president and saying the country cannot let Ukraine fall?

I think that tension is playing out behind the scenes. There's no doubt about it. You could hear, you know, just days ago, Marco Rubio saying he's going to the Munich Security Conference and that the most important topic on the agenda would be Ukraine. Mike Walsh also said,

articulating somewhat of a similar strong line but it was always going to end up where Trump was going to get his way where DJ Vance was going to get his way all this behind the scenes kind of negotiating really kind of shifts to whatever Trump says publicly or kind of lays out and they are going to fold or fall in line let's say not fold because they might still try to fight that fight behind the scenes but they're going to fall in line and carry through with what the president says

Yeah, there's been a lot of falling in line of late. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, we appreciate you joining this morning. Thank you, Jim.

It is close to 54 minutes past the hour and here's your morning roundup. Elon Musk now saying he will withdraw his almost $100 billion bid to purchase OpenAI, but he has one condition. The Doge head who founded a competing artificial intelligence company, we should note, says he will back off if OpenAI remains a nonprofit organization. New this morning, more Trump tariffs. President said to enact

taxes on goods imported from many of America's trading partners, including India, Brazil and Vietnam. Those new tariffs designed to match tariffs that many other countries place on American goods. At scary moments after UnitedJet went off the runway in snowy weather at St. Louis' airport, the plane slid onto the grass, as you can see there, after landing. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Emergency crews managed to get everyone off safely.

And a measles outbreak in West Texas has now grown to 24 cases. And now there's another one in New Mexico near the Texas border. The patients all unvaccinated. Most children ages 5 to 17, some hospitalized. Last year, there were 285 reported measles cases across 33 states. So to that point, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,

who is a vaccine skeptic himself, is on the verge of taking over America's health agency. In the coming hours, the Senate is set to vote on his confirmation to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services after he largely won over some Republican senators skeptical of his views on vaccines. Democrats holding the Senate floor Wednesday to oppose him.

Americans didn't vote to bring back measles. Americans didn't vote to bring back polio. Mr. Kennedy masquerades as a crusader for healthy foods and someone who just wants to, quote, "just want to ask some questions, just want to study the science." America, the Senate, don't be fooled. RFK is not the best or the brightest. He will not bring back Camelot or make America healthy again.

but his ignorance of science just might make people sick again. And yet he's going to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. You know, to have that measles outbreak is notable, Joe Walsh, in that that's the fear, right? Is that if you elevate a vaccine skeptic to this role, that that increases what is already a phenomenon here, vaccine skepticism, which has measurable consequences, the return of diseases.

Why didn't that move Republican senators off his nomination? Donald Trump. I disagree with Senator Elizabeth Warren. This is what we voted for. America voted for RFK Jr. to head up a $2 trillion health portfolio in America. Senator Bill Cassidy, a guy I served with in the House, a doctor, a physician, who in his bones knows that Kennedy's not qualified, is voting for Kennedy.

This is what, it's Trump, this is what they voted for. Listen, Senator Mitch McConnell, I mean, he voted to advance the nomination. Not clear if he's going to vote for him. Suffered from polio himself. And by the way, there are concerns about polio returning as well. I mean, I don't mean to direct fire at the Democrats, but these are arguments I think you could say you lost with American voters in this last election. Oh, absolutely. And I think Democrats are trying to do what they can here, but the fact of the matter is they do not have the majority of the Senate. And

It could have all been a different story if 15,000 people in Pennsylvania voted a different way. I mean, these elections have consequences, which we were talking about earlier in the break, but this is what America voted for. RFK was supporting Donald Trump. He was out there saying these things. His views are not unknown to the American people, so this is what they want. Some Republicans agreeing to vote for RFK, they say, with conditions. Have a listen to what Senator Josh Hawley said.

I'm going to vote for him based on his commitments to me, based on life, that he said that he would implement President Trump's agenda from his first term. He was very clear about that. He made a series of commitments to me, both privately and publicly. You believe him on that abortion issue? Yeah. He testified under oath that he would reimpose all of the pro-life protections. Well, if he doesn't do that, what a big problem. Because he told me under oath he would. So, yeah, I believe him. If not, it's not going to be pleasant. Yeah.

I mean, that's quite a large issue to flip on for your Senate confirmation here, but it appears there's another senator willing to take RFK Jr. at his word. And there are more. Katie Britt from Alabama said, well, I've got

We've gotten commitments that we won't have NIH funding cuts that affect people in Alabama. Susan Collins in Maine also have gotten these commitments. Look, these are Republican senators who keep saying, yeah, I believe him. He's not going to do all the things that he said he would do or he's talked about doing. And they're doing all these acrobatics every which way around. And it's because of one of two things. Either because they support doing whatever Donald Trump wants or because they are scared of not doing whatever Donald Trump wants. And that is what's going on here. It is not because...

I think in at least some of these cases, they have truly internalized the belief that they think RFK Jr. would be good as the Health and Human Services Secretary. And you hear them saying it between the lines of what they're saying publicly and some of them and what they're saying privately.

Joe, does Trump get what he wants on his spending package as we approach negotiations there? No, I actually think that's where there's going to be a battle. I think on the budget stuff, Freedom Caucus, some of the more conservative members are going to really push back. And we've seen that there's precedent for that. We've seen that before with the Freedom Caucus holding their line. Joe, Megan, Isaac, good to have you. Thanks so much. I'll buy you a cup of coffee. Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Jim Sciuto. CNN News Central starts right now.

There's a reason the Sleep Number smart bed is the number one best bed for couples. It's because you can each choose what's right for you whenever you like. Firmer or softer on either side, Sleep Number does that. One side cooler and the other side warmer, Sleep Number does that too. You have to feel it to believe it. Sleep better together. And now save 50% on the new Sleep Number limited edition smart bed. Limited time. Exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you.

See store or sleepnumber.com for details.