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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries Interviewed About Americans In Limbo As W.H. Delays Health Care Announcement, FBI Seeking Interviews With Dems In Controversial Video; Rep. Tim Burchett Interviewed About Trump On Peace Plan: New Warning On Black Friday And Holiday Shopping Scams; Trump Pardons Waddle And Gobble, Continuing Thanksgiving Tradition. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 25, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[17:00:19]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right. Thanks very much to my panel. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Have a very happy Thanksgiving. Erica Hill is standing by for The Lead. She is going to be talking to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in just a few minutes.

Hi, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kasie. Good to see you. Happy Thanksgiving to you. We will be kicking that off very soon. Thanks.

HUNT: Happy Thanksgiving.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to The Lead. I'm Erica Hill in for Jake Tapper. We begin with our politics lead and there is actually a lot going on. Two days before Thanksgiving, topping the list signals the United States and Ukraine are closer to a plan that could be the first step toward negotiating an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

And a live look for you at the White House. We are standing by to see President Trump leave, heading to spend the long holiday weekend in Florida. We'll see if he comments any further. So we're monitoring that departure. Also cooking, stay with me here, people, this is Thanksgiving week, after all, so yes, the puns will be coming.

Over on Capitol Hill, behind the scenes discussions about health care reform. We were, of course, expecting the Trump administration to announce a plan yesterday, one that we have been told may include a two-year extension of those important subsidies to help Obamacare recipients pay for their premiums. That plan, of course, was suddenly moved to the back burner yesterday, reportedly because Republicans weren't happy about giving Democrats a win.

Also on today's menu, the Trump administration's push to punish the lawmakers who posted this social media video urging U.S. service members not to follow illegal orders. We're now learning the FBI wants to schedule interviews with all six of the Democratic lawmakers involved. And just to round out the bountiful offerings on this Thanksgiving Tuesday, politicians, their consultants and advisers very busy in the kitchen studying the 2025 election results to cook up strategies for the 2026 midterms.

It is quite a menu to present to our first guest, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. He is, of course, the House minority leader.

Good to have you with us, Leader Jeffries. I would love to start with health care and a reality check, frankly, given that we are now five weeks away from the expiration of those ACA subsidies. I was speaking yesterday with Republican Congressman Nick LaLota who told me that before we spoke he had been in meeting a potential deal. Just how much bipartisan work is actually happening behind the scenes right now?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Well, good evening. Great to be with you. We are in the middle of the open enrollment period and tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co pays and deductibles because Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It appeared as if the president and the administration was prepared to extend these tax credits for at least two years or at least provide a good faith proposal for Congress to consider until House Republicans led by Speaker Johnson apparently intervene because they have zero interest in keeping healthcare affordable for the American people. That's very unfortunate.

These Republican extremists have been playing games with the health care of the American people all year and things appear like they're going to get worse because of Republican unwillingness to address the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue in advance of the end of this year.

HILL: So I will say some of CNN's reporting is that a number of Republicans said that they only learned about this after those details were leaked to the press. The proposal, you're right to draw heavy criticism from conservatives who, according to CNN's proposal had panned -- CNN's reporting, rather, had panned the proposal for including an extension of the ACA subsidy set to expire at the end of the year. But you're saying there are no Republicans who want to move forward on this. Can you just give me a sense though, how much support do you believe there is among Republicans, if this is in fact the president's proposal? If this is what he puts forth, how much support do you think that could have?

JEFFRIES: Well, it seems to me that the votes do exist in the House of Representatives as well as potentially in the Senate to extend the Affordable Care act tax credits. But unfortunately, House Republican leaders have zero interest in doing that. This is the same group of people who have brought us this Republican health care crisis that is devastating people all across the country. Keep in mind that Republicans this year in their one big ugly bill enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Fourteen million Americans are on the brink of losing their health insurance as a result.

Hospitals, nursing homes and community based health centers are closing all across the country. Republicans in the appropriations process right now are trying to enact devastating cuts to the Centers for Disease Control about $1.7 billion in cuts.

[17:05:02]

That would be the largest cut to the CDC in American history. And at the same time, they're going after medical research, vaccine availability and of course they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which provide affordable health insurance to working class Americans, middle class Americans and everyday Americans. But House Republicans could care less.

HILL: So just real quickly so we can put a button in this, you're saying it is Republican leadership that are responsible for killing this? Are you saying that they have that much power with the president that they are able to go to President Trump and say don't do this and he is listening to them?

JEFFRIES: It's a really good question because on every other issue, House Republicans have basically functioned as a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda. Generally, when Donald Trump says jump, House Republicans just ask the question how high? But when it comes to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, now all of a sudden, House Republicans want Congress to act like a separate and co- equal branch of government. That's extraordinary. But that's consistent with the fact that under Republican complete control of government, all we've seen are costs going up.

The cost of living in this country is out of control. Republicans promised to lower costs on day one. They've done nothing to do that. So housing costs are out of control, grocery costs out of control, childcare costs out of control, electricity bills skyrocketing and now health care costs are about to skyrocket because of the Republican unwillingness to do something about the Affordable Care Act tax credit expiration.

HILL: So, last question for you on this point because I do have some other topics I want to get to get traction on this. You once mentioned using a discharge petition, which of course is the same strategy that forced a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. Where does that stand?

JEFFRIES: Yes, we have over 200 signatures on our House Democratic led discharge petition that will result in just a straight clean three year extension on the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And if House Republican leadership is unwilling to do anything about this issue, all we need are a handful of rank and file House Republicans to join us as Democrats and we can get this done for the American people. So we will be pressing this case upon our return to Washington next week.

HILL: All right, we'll keep us posted. Let us know where you stand on getting those that handful of Republicans.

I do want to move on to what we are seeing in terms of the backlash. The reaction to this video that was put out, of course, by six Democratic lawmakers urging service members not to follow Illegal orders. The FBI is now seeking to schedule interviews with them in response, saying -- those lawmakers saying in response in a joint statement that no amount of intimidation or harassment would ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.

As a Democratic leader, do you believe your members should sit for interviews with the FBI?

JEFFRIES: There's no basis to this FBI investigation unless the FBI actually presents credible evidence as to why they are seeking to interview these four members of the House and two members of the Senate. Then I think we have to look at this whole request skeptically. Again, it was Donald Trump who ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate these members. He accused them of treason. He threatened them with death. And so it's not clear why we should take this investigation credibly.

This is not something where the FBI is trying --

HILL: So, I do just want to point out --

JEFFRIES: -- to follow the law and be guided by the Constitution.

HILL: I do think it's important to point out, we have been told that the -- that the Pentagon is looking into an investigation. And what we know about the FBI, according to our reporting, is that they are seeking to schedule interviews. So are you saying, though, I just want to put a pin in this as well, are you saying that they should not sit for those interviews?

JEFFRIES: No, that's a determination that ultimately will be made by these patriotic members, all of whom serve the country either as national security professionals in the military or both. But what I am suggesting is that we should look at this so called interview request and whatever investigation is underway from this extreme administration very skeptically because it was all apparently ordered by Donald Trump. Now ultimately the members and their lawyers are going to make the determination as to what's the next appropriate step in this so called process related to the Trump administration.

HILL: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, appreciate your time. Thank you.

JEFFRIES: Thank you.

HILL: Well, just a few minutes from now, President Trump is scheduled to leave the White House making his way to Mar-a-Lago where he'll be spending the Thanksgiving holiday. We're going to be monitoring that departure to see if he has anything else to say about the intense talks we know are happening right now to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Also still ahead here, online shopping scams so serious. A U.S. Senator is now sounding the alarm.

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[17:13:55] HILL: President Trump is set to leave the White House just a short time from now. He's, of course, making his way to Florida, where he'll be spending the holiday weekend. I will also be honoring that departure to see whether he has more to say about these ongoing talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Earlier today, Trump writing on Truth Social there are only a few remaining points of disagreement adding he will only meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin, in his words, when the deal to end this war is final or in its final stages. CNN's Kristen Holmes joins -- Kristen Holmes is joining us from near Mar-a-Lago, where the president will be making his way to a little bit later today, CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us from Abu Dhabi, where U.S. officials are holding talks with Russia.

So, Kristen, first to you, in terms of this optimism that we're seeing from the White House that can only take us so far, what are the issues that still need to be worked out and how much hope is that the Trump administration can actually get both sides on board?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Erica, this is the most optimism we've ever seen. But we've been down this path before in which they feel really good. The White House, the American side, and then it all crumbles at the very end.

[17:15:04]

I mean, it will obviously raise the point of when President Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and certainly seemed to come out of that, saying that they were moving in the right direction.

He brought European leaders to his office, and then, of course, that fell apart then. But what we're hearing from the White House is that they do believe that they are in a better place or the best place that they've been so far. When it comes to those sticking points, the White House isn't disclosing what exactly they are, but it is pretty clear that we can piece together at least what some of the issues are. We heard from European leaders who said that Ukraine needs much more robust security guarantees. That, of course, has been an ongoing issue. Russia does not want Ukraine to be part of NATO in any way.

President Trump has essentially said that he would go along with that, but was looking for, and not just President Trump, but these European allies, more security guarantees for down the line when it came to Russia, so they wouldn't come back. The other issue that we've seen come up time and time again in these talks is territory, and what territory would be ceded to Russia, what territory Ukraine could keep. This has been a huge point of contention, and President Trump himself has gone back and forth on this a number of times. Some points he has said that Russia should get more territory. They've already won it in this war.

And other times he says that Ukraine should keep fighting, that they could get all of their territory back. So this itself has gone back and forth. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy seems to have come to some understanding that there will have to be some territory that is given over to Russia. But whether or not that's the amount of Russia -- of territory that Russia wants and the location that Russia wants, again, this has been a huge sticking point in years before. What we've heard from Russia, from the Kremlin, is that, yes, they did agree to a variation of this plan, but all bets are off if there are any major changes.

And when it comes to security guarantees or territory in particular, those are things they have balked out in the past.

HILL: Yes, absolutely.

So, Paula, to that point, have there been any signs that Russia may be willing to make some of these concessions, some of them substantial, at least in Russia's view?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we've not seen or heard any indication from President Putin that he is willing to compromise up until this point. He's continuing with his maximalist ideas of what he wants to see at the end of this. Now, when that original plan came out, the 28-point plan, Russia was supportive of it. And we know now that is being fine-tuned. So certainly the question is whether or not the updated version is something that Russia will accept.

Let's listen to what the foreign minister said earlier today.

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SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): If the spirit and letter of Anchorage are lost in the key understandings we have documented, then of course, the situation will be fundamentally different. But so far, I repeat, no one has officially communicated anything to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, we do know that there have been meetings between the Dan Driscoll, the army secretary and a Russian delegation here in Abu Dhabi for two days now. That's Monday and Tuesday. So presumably they have some idea of where this negotiation is going. Now, we know from President Trump as well that negotiation will continue here in Abu Dhabi with the Ukrainian side going forward. So potentially we will back and forth with this negotiation.

Now, we have heard from one Ukrainian source with direct knowledge of these talks that progress is being made, that there is a consensus reached on most points. But they pointed out there are at least three crucial areas where differences remain, that's the territory, that's NATO's, that's limiting the military. Erica.

HILL: All right, Paula, Kristen, appreciate it. Thank you both.

Well, just moments ago here in The Lead, we heard from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries about what Democrats want to see in a new health care plan. How much appetite is there for bipartisan conversations before those subsidies expire at the end of next month? We'll get a Republican view next.

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HILL: We are back with our World Lead. In the hopes of finalizing a deal, President Trump says he's directing special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Well, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll meets with the Ukrainians. According to Trump, only a few remaining points of disagreement remain.

Joining me now, Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, it's good to see you this evening. So coming out of these back and forth talks, it does appear that Ukraine is closer to agreeing to this amended U.S. peace plan. The wild car here, as it often is is Russia and whether Putin will agree to some of these concessions. What is your sense tonight of where the negotiations stand?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I sense they're very close. And I think by the end of the year this thing could be resolved. President Trump has always been a great negotiator and he puts good people at the table. I believe he's done it on both these cases.

I think the hang up, of course, is going to be the amount of property that Ukraine will secede to Russia and if in fact they will, any at all. And I think that's always going to be the hang up in this thing.

HILL: You talked about President Trump's skill as a negotiator. Your colleague, Congressman Don Bacon, said he doesn't believe that President Trump ultimately will support Ukraine's interests in these peace talks and also takes issue with the president saying that Ukraine has shown zero gratitude. Here's a little bit more of what he told CNN yesterday.

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REP. DON BACON (R-NE): He tends to blame Ukraine for Russia's invasion. I don't get it. And so I do not have confidence. The president has periodically said the right things, but more often than not seems to waver back into the Russian camp, the invader camp.

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[17:25:08]

HILL: Talking about the president being in the invader camp there. Would you agree with his assessment that President Trump does seem to waver back to Russia's camp as he said?

BURCHETT: No, ma'am. I think he just wants to end this war. It's not our war. We didn't start it. Russia's GDP is somewhere between France and Canada. I think he understands that. And whatever it takes to get them to the table is what he's going to do. Nobody knows better than Donald Trump that Putin's a wild card, ma'am. He's nobody's favorite. I mean, he's KGB to the core, but -- and this thing needs to get over again.

But I think the president is -- the concern of the president is that we are -- we get further drag into this and he doesn't want American troops on the soil over there and putting them in harm's way ultimately, which is what some folks in Congress would like to see. And that's ultimately why a lot of them are critical of President Trump, because he wants to limit our involvement.

And my colleague Don Bacon, I believe, has voted for every cent, the hundreds of millions of -- billions, excuse me, with a B, billions of dollars that we sent over there. We sent Ukraine our missile defense system. And then you've got some of the war pimps in Congress that are pushing for this because of their financial gain. They own stock in our missile defense companies. And that is the ugly truth that both parties are engaged in and it needs to stop.

HILL: I know that's a concern you have raised consistently. So we'll continue to follow these negotiations, see where they end up. I did also want to ask you about where we stand when it comes to health care. We just spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He said the Democratic leaders are aiming to bring their health care plan to the House floor for a vote by potentially using a discharge petition, which would, of course, bypass Republican leadership.

He said he only needs a handful of Republicans to join Democrats to make that happen. How much bipartisan support do you think Democrats could actually get?

BURCHETT: Well, Leader Jeffries calls it the Republican health care crisis, when in fact it's Obamacare, not a single Republican's voted for it. He's talking about the more money because that we -- it was supposed to be temporary money during COVID and it's becoming permanent. And fixing the problem, ma'am, is not throwing trillions of dollars at it. That is not going to fix it. We need to get back to fixing this problem.

President Trump's offered something. He offered two years. The Democrats, during their bogus shutdown, they wanted one year, and now President Trump's offering two. And now the Democrats are coming back saying they want three. They need to kind of decide where they're going to land.

And they need to quit calling it the Republican health care crisis, because it is 100 percent their creation, and the way they want to solve it is throwing more money at it. President Trump has put a plan on the table, and everybody (inaudible) clutching their pearls and gnashing a teeth, but the reality is that's how you do it. You put something on the table and you get people talking about it. Fifteen years we've had to deal with this. Both parties hate this program, and we need to do something about it. HILL: So two quick questions, because we're tight on time. You're talking about what we understood was going to be the president's plan that was pulled back in terms of announcement could be coming next week. Is there enough Republican support if that plan is extending it -- extending the subsidies by two years?

BURCHETT: If it fixes the -- if it fixes the program, I suspect there would be.

HILL: OK.

BURCHETT: But if it doesn't, again, he brought it to the table so we would talk about it, which is what we're doing now. We've had more movement in the last 48 hours than we have in 15 years. So President Trump once again is --

HILL: Our reporting, though, is that a number of conservatives were not happy, to your point, were not happy with that proposal. So if, in fact, there is --

BURCHETT: Yes.

HILL: -- an issue with that, if there was this discharge petition that was brought forth, would you sign that to move things forward?

BURCHETT: I'd have to see what's in it, but probably not. You know, Gary Palmer has a plan that's been in under Democrats and Republicans. It's House Bill 1776. We ought to start taking a look at that. That's how you negotiate, ma'am.

President Trump understands the negotiation. He brought something to the table, and the Democrats can't try to crush it enough. And it does more than they've ever done in the past. And again, they don't want to solve the problem, they want to point fingers. They need a problem for an election year, and that's exactly what they're trying to do is to scare people.

At least President Trump's offering a plan.

HILL: Republican Congress -- oh, looks like we just lost a shot as he was finishing his thought. Our thanks to Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee for joining us, and apologies for the technical difficulty at the end there.

Well, as we continue to move forward here on The Lead, so many people, of course, shopping online. I'm sure you have been inundated with Black Friday e-mails for probably the last month or so, and that is leading to more and more scams. We have a very important scam alert to share with you, one that is so urgent. A U.S. senator is actually looking to warn Americans about it now in the two days leading up to Thanksgiving. That's ahead.

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[17:34:14] HILL: In our Money Lead, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they're going to be here before we finish the Thanksgiving leftovers. In fact, I'm sure you, like all of us here at The Lead are being inundated with emails about the deals that there.

But before you click, an important and serious reminder, there are scammers out there who are looking to get you. And in fact, the warning so serious a U.S. senator actually wants to talk about it. The top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. Joining me now, Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

Senator, good to have you with us. These phishing emails that they mimic major U.S. retailers, we're talking about brands like Walmart, like Target. Those phishing emails have surged by more than 2,000 percent. They surged that much during last year's holiday season.

And I know they are getting more sophisticated. So how much more difficult is it to actually spot a scam this year?

[17:35:00]

SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH) RANKING MEMBER, JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE: Well, it's very difficult. Erica, thanks for having me on and thanks for helping me spread the word about these scams. We saw a 2000 percent increase last holiday season over the previous one in these phishing emails that as you say, look like they're coming from a legitimate retailer.

There are also -- there's been a doubling of fraudulent websites that also look like they belong to a legitimate retailer. So I want to make people aware that with Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming, the scammers are out in force and there are things you can do to protect yourself because you've saved money all year so you can buy your loved one holiday gifts and you really want to make sure that you can hold on to that money.

HILL: Yes.

HASSAN: Scams generally are costing people millions and millions of dollars. It's a trillion dollar industry now globally and it's outpacing the illicit drug trade.

HILL: Continues to grow. We know you can hold your mouse over the email address to see if it's legit. Obviously double check those websites.

From a legislative perspective, is there anything in the works or anything that the government can actually do to stop these scams? Especially when I know a number of them will originate overseas.

HASSAN: Right. So first things is people -- if you get an email or a pop up website that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Get out of that email, off that website and go back into the retailer's website the way you normally would to make sure it's a legitimate website. Use two-step authentication. And if you're being pressured in one of these emails or on the website

to pay in non-traditional ways like with gift cards or crypto, that's probably a good sign or if you're being pressured to ask fast.

HILL: Yes.

HASSAN: Now in terms of what we can do in Congress, we are investigating scams not only once at holidays, but globally. We are investigating the way different platforms are used by scammers. There are overseas scam compounds that connect to the internet by Starlink, for example. So we're pushing Starlink for information. There are dating websites and apps that are used by scammers. So we're pushing them to take steps to protect their customers.

And after we continue our investigation and people can go to hassan.senate.gov to not only read the alert about scams and how to avoid them, but also to take a survey if you are scammed about the type of scam you've been victimized by.

HILL: Yes.

HASSAN: But what you -- what we're looking at is whether and how to have a holistic cross government approach and cross private sector, the private sector, government have to work together, all ultimately centralized reporting so that these scams can be shut down really fast is important.

HILL: Yes. Well, we'll be watching for all those developments. Before I let you go, I do want to get your take on another really important headline we're following. Earlier this week you called President's health care -- the president's health care proposal, which again hasn't been publicly unveiled yet. But you call this a starting point for serious negotiations. Are you actually negotiating with any Republicans right now?

HASSAN: There are conversations going on between Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate right now. It is really important that these tax cuts that help Americans who buy their health care on healthcare.gov get extended.

In New Hampshire, a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 a year is going to see a $15,000 increase in what they have to pay for their premiums if we don't extend these tax cuts. The American public wants us to do this. As I said, it is a good thing that the president appears to have a proposal. But we have a very short time to get this done.

The window for getting this done is really the next two to three weeks. And it's going to take people coming together extending these tax cuts.

My Republican colleagues and some of my Democratic colleagues too also want us to do things to lower the overall cost of care. And there was actually a really good bipartisan package last year that Elon Musk killed that we could continue to work on and lower costs.

But the first thing we have to do is make sure that people who need to buy their insurance now during this open enrollment period can afford to do that so they don't lose their insurance --

HILL: Yes.

HASSAN: -- which would we know that devastating.

HILL: But we know the clock is ticking. So it is good to hear from you that there are discussions and hopefully we'll have some update on those, perhaps even over the holiday. Who knows. Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan.

HASSAN: I hope you too.

HILL: Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

HASSAN: Thank you.

HILL: Still to come here. Still to come, the bad jokes, the distasteful attacks served up at today's turkey pardoning. That's ahead.

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[17:44:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today we continue a time honored American tradition that's a -- well-trained turkey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Today at the White House the president using his pardon powers to keep Gobble and Waddle off any Thanksgiving table as customary. The event came mixed with a few political jokes this year. President Trump taking jabs at the previous administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He used an auto pen last year for the turkey's pardon. So I have the official duty to determine and I have determined that last year's turkey pardons are totally invalid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Folks watching likely expected some jokes, even aside of politics, of course, from President Trump, but perhaps not the sharp attacks leveled at Chicago's mayor and the governor of Illinois.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob. But I would never want to talk about his weight. I don't talk about people being fat. On a more serious note, as we gather around the dinner table, I'd like to lose a few pounds, too. By the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:09]

HILL: Let's bring in the panel. So, Bryan Lanza, I guess this is just -- this is where we are in this moment, right? Everything has to be hyper political.

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: I think it's been that way for the last 20 years. Everything's hyper political. I think Trump just has a gift of picking the right issue that just irritates the left even more. And he digs in. That's just who we have as a president.

HILL: So this is where we are. Let's move on from the Turkey party, shall we? Because we actually do have a lot to get to. So we look at this. Punchbowl News spoke with a senior House Republican who fully pinned the state of dysfunction on the House speaker, saying this entire White House team has treated all members like garbage. All. And Mike Johnson has let it happen, saying morale has never been lower. Going on to say Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.

Given that assessment that we're seeing from that unnamed House Republican, Sabrina Singh, do -- how do you think Democrats are actually playing this moment?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I don't think there's too much to play. I mean, I think the Republicans are sort of combusting on their own. I mean, it's Republicans in chaos right now.

The fact that you have the president, one of his staunchest allies, walking away from her seat, and the president basically casting Marjorie Taylor Greene out of the party. I mean, it just goes back to the fact that this president has no loyalty other than to himself.

And so Republicans are really just folding in on themselves. And I think from a Democratic perspective and from the political perspective here, let them do that. Keep focused on the message, which is, you know, we're continuing to fight for health care premiums to be extended. We certainly made some incredible points during the shutdown, that cost of living, grocery prices are too high for everyday Americans.

And that's something that I think Democrats have been very good at keeping focused on. And we just need to keep doing that, not just now, but all the way into the midterms for next year as well.

HILL: Bryan, what do you make of that assessment about Speaker Johnson?

LANZA: Listen, there is chaos in the House, and I think the speaker is, it falls solely on the speaker. Doesn't fall on the White House. It falls on the speaker to protect their members. And if he's put their members in a very difficult position, I think the membership needs to look and say, is this the speaker that we need protecting us? And they're going to have to answer that for themselves. Right.

But I think at the end of the day, you know, whatever conversation that's critical going forward, at least this administration sees it. And we've seen the pivot. It's pivoting back to the economy. It's pivoting back to affordability.

You've seen President Trump roll back some tariffs related to agricultural products which are going to bring the food prices down. At least that's the hope. I mean, you're seeing an administration more focused.

And, and for me, it's whether it's chaos Republicans this week or chaos Democrats that week or the following week, I think the media does a good job of that. I mean, it was just 10 days ago, 14 days ago, we talked about how the Democratic Party was in chaos because they capitulated to President Trump on the budget.

And so, you know, I think that part's noise, but I think the adjustment of focusing on affordability is the long term goal of this administration.

HILL: To focus on affordability. It's interesting you talk about noise because I am curious to just get your take on this other bit of reporting that there's this group of liberal senators calling themselves the Fight Club who are quietly challenging the Senate Minority leader, Chuck Schumer.

They're worried that leadership is using a dated playbook, according to reporting in the New York Times, noting that views of the Democratic brand are at record lows, that the group is arguing the party must embrace candidates who are willing to challenge entrenched corporate interests, fiercely oppose the Trump administration and defy their party's orthodoxy?

Sabrina, what does this tell you about how deep the frustration dysfunction has become on the left and what that could mean in terms of messaging moving forward?

SINGH: Well, look, I think that it's two separate items here. You know, in terms of messaging, I do think Democrats across the spectrum, whether you are someone that has, is not happy with leadership. You're still singing from the same songbook in terms of when it comes to affordability, grocery prices, health care, Democrats are aligned on the message.

There are Democrats, of course, that are taking issue with some of the leadership, don't agree with some of their decisions. That is a conversation that will play out in the Democratic caucus and of course, as we get closer to the midterms.

But I think generally speaking, what you are seeing here is Democrats being united in one front, not just against this administration, but against health care costs rising. And of course, you know, to Bryan's point on the affordability, the Democrats have been really, really focused on that. And I think this administration has let some of the news of day sort

of get away from that affordability message, whether it's, you know, making comments about governor's appearances or things like that. Democrats have remained focused. And I think that's where we will continue to be during the midterms.

HILL: We are going to have to leave it there.

[17:50:00]

We are out of time, but good to see you both. Happy Thanksgiving.

LANZA: Thank you. Have a great Thanksgiving.

SINGH: Happy Thanksgiving.

HILL: And while we are talking Thanksgiving, I hope that you will join us here on CNN for Thanksgiving in America. We are bringing it back Year two here. Big parades, big performances. I will be joining you alongside Sara Sidner and John Berman. Our live coverage begins Thursday morning, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. And don't worry if you're traveling. It's also available on the new CNN app.

Well, of all the days to travel around Thanksgiving, today is expected to be the busiest one, at least when we're talking about air travel. A live look at Boston's or no, sorry, this is earlier today at Boston's Logan Airport. We're going to take a closer look at some of those problem spots and also where the weather is wreaking a little havoc. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:55:14]

HILL: In the National Lead, this month marks 80 years since the U.S. released the last inmates from Manzanar in California. That's one of 10 internment camps across the country. This one held some 120,000 Japanese Americans, treating them like a national security threat. Decades later, CNN Stephanie Elam spoke with two women who were then just girls about this grim chapter in America's past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These Japanese Americans never considered themselves enemies of the state.

JOYCE NAKAMURA OKAZAKI, FORMER PRISONER AT MANZANAR: We were not enemy aliens. We were citizens. And if were not U.S. citizens, were people who had green cards. We were incarcerated, were in prison, and were in concentration camps.

ELAM (voice-over): Most of those camps, which were surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards and towers, were officially closed 80 years ago this month.

ELAM: In December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Two months later, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. They were taken to camps like this one. This is Manzanar, out in the vast high desert of California's Eastern Sierra.

All told, some 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken to 10 camps throughout the west and Arkansas and held till nearly the end of 1945 after the end of World War II.

ELAM (voice-over): Los Angeles native Joyce Nakamura Okazaki was just 7 years old when her family was forced to board a train to Manzanar in April 1942.

OKAZAKI: It was an old rickety train and the soldiers were right there. They were on the train with us, took us to Manzanar in the dark.

ELAM: While the barracks from 80 years ago are no longer standing, they've built these recreations to give an idea of what these Americans were dealing with. When the prisoners arrived here in Manzanar, they had to give up almost all of their property, saved two suitcases and as well as their privacy as multiple people were assigned to each barrack.

On top of that, they were dealing with extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, as well as dust storms that would filter in through the rafters.

OKAZAKI: There was a shortage of barracks, so we had to move in with my grandmother and two aunts. They had filled the bags with straw so we had mattresses to sleep on. There was no running water in the unit. You had to walk to the latrine. It was just a toilet with no walls or doors around it.

ELAM (voice-over): While Okazaki was in the camp, she and her mother and sister were photographed by Ansel Adams, something she says she was happy to do, but didn't understand why she and her family were being held.

OKAZAKI: I was with my family and that was my safety.

ELAM (voice-over): But as an adult, she made some sense of the nonsensical.

OKAZAKI: Racial discrimination, war hysteria, and then poor administration. Those three things very important for why were put into camp.

JUNE AOCHI BERK, FORMER PRISONER AT ROHWER CAMP, ARKANSAS: I think we had about a week to get ready.

ELAM (voice-over): Born and raised in Los Angeles, June Aochi Burk was 10 when her family of five was forced to leave their home on May 7, 1942.

BURK: We had an three bedroom house, everything furnished. We had to leave everything behind. We lost everything. ELAM (voice-over): For five months, they and others were held in horse

stalls at Santa Anita racetrack east of Los Angeles, managing to remain patriotic, even those who weren't born in the States.

BURK: I don't think we felt anything else but American. Under armed guards, barbed wire, but we're celebrating the Fourth of July.

ELAM (voice-over): From there, Aochi Burk's family was moved to a camp in Arkansas.

BURK: It took four days, four nights to get there by train. The barracks were all black tar paper. The ground was all brown and the sky was all gray. So everything was black, brown and gray.

ELAM (voice-over): Yet she says she felt safe and everyone was able to move freely about the camp, with many parents shielding their children from their harsh reality. As the prisoners were released years later, they were given $25, about 450 in today's money, and a train ticket.

The caveat being that they could not initially return to the West Coast. There was no formal apology or reparations until 1988.

ELAM: Why is it important to preserve and then share the history of these places where people were held against their will?

[18:00:00]

OKAZAKI: It's important to remember your history so that it is not repeated again.

ELAM (voice-over): Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)