WATCH: Anderson Cooper Melts Down On-Air, Curses At Republican Guest For Fact-Checking Him

On Tuesday, Anderson Cooper nearly lost hold of his mild-mannered facade while battling a Republican guest defending the Trump administration’s bid to root waste and fraud from the federal budget.

President Donald Trump and Special Employee Elon Musk joined together on Tuesday to lay out a startling series of findings as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s investigation into federal spending. Among them, Musk claimed, is evidence that money appropriated to the Federal Emergency Relief Agency was spent on “luxury hotels” for migrants living in New York City.

That $59 million should instead have gone to hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina, former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu told Cooper.

A heated back-and-forth kicked off after Cooper characterized Musk’s conclusion as not factually accurate.

“Some of the details that have come out, like the $59 million spent on luxury hotels, it’s actually not– ”

“You’re talking about the FEMA money? The FEMA money that was used for migrants? That’s okay now?” asked an incredulous Sununu.

“No, I’m not… I’m not saying it’s okay. Don’t put words in my mouth,” Cooper responded.

“So, would you stop that? Stop that process?”

“Don’t be a dick,” an exasperated Cooper shot back. “What I’m saying is that the portrayal by him is not factually accurate. He’s talking about luxury hotels.

“They’re… you can… I- I’m not as bi… look, I was in hurricane Katrina, I saw what FEMA does!”

“Until he sends you a personal text, I get it,” Sununu appeared to say during crosstalk.

A clip of their exchange ends with Cooper leaning back in his chair, rolling his eyes.

WATCH:

By Wednesday morning, mainstream media outlets were rushing to declare Musk’s summary of FEMA’s spending disingenuous. After he fired four top agency officials for what a spokesperson claimed was “circumventing leadership to unilaterally make egregious payments for luxury N.Y.C. hotels for migrants,” the New York Times wrote that the money in dispute was never meant for hurricane victims.

In 2023, Congress established the Shelter and Services Program to dole out $650 million in grants to groups that helped resettle new migrants amid a historic influx into the United States. Of that money, New York officials have said that $237 million was allocated to help cover part of the city’s $7 billion tab for settling tens of thousands of new arrivals.

After New York applied for initial SSP grants in April of 2024, $59 million was sent to city officials, $19 million of which was spent on hotels, with the rest on food, security, and other shelters.

Although no money was transferred from FEMA’s disaster budget to undergird migrant resettlement efforts, Musk and President Trump appear to be making the point that the Shelter and Services Program should not have been established to reward migrants who fled to the United States and are now being deported in record numbers.

Earlier in the CNN segment, Gov. Sununu chastised his fellow panelists for doubting the veracity of Musk’s promise to expose all the waste he claims is littering the federal government’s budget.

“You talked about $2.3 billion that was saved last year. These guys are saving $2.3 billion a day,” he said. “You’re not gonna be satisfied until [Musk] shows up with 10,000 pages… it’s all going to come.”