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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Majority Of Supreme Court Signals Skepticism In Trump Tariff Case; Voters Back Gov. Gavin Newsom's Redistricting Plan; C.A. GOP Files Lawsuit To Block New Maps After Voters Approve Prop 50; Zohran Mamdani Announces All-Female Transition Team; Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D- MI), Is Interviewed About Senator Warns Trump Wants To Target "Anti- American" Groups; Channel 13: Released Hostage Says He Was Sexually Abused In Gaza. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 05, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks very much to my panel. Really appreciate you guys being here the day after the election. It's always a great -- it's always a great time.

And to those of you at home, thank you for watching as well. You can now stream The Arena live and catch up whatever you want in the CNN app. This is the QR code for that right there on your screen.

We also have another QR code. You can catch up by listening to The Arenas podcast. We are also on X and Instagram at thearenacnn.

Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead."

Jake, I feel like I just saw you in the middle of the night last night for our election coverage. Welcome back. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You did. You did.

HUNT: Have a good show. TAPPER: We were right -- we were right over there just a few hours

ago. We get paid by the hour, right? All right, Kasie, we'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow. HUNT: See you next time.

[17:00:43]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Is the U.S. Supreme Court about to stop President Trump and his tariffs? The Lead starts right now.

The justices sounding pretty skeptical about the president's power to impose tariffs as the plaintiffs argue the president has gone too far. Hear the pushback from court today. Plus historic wins after Election Day 2025, including Zohran Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim mayor, who's making news today about who is on his transition team. What President Trump told fellow Republicans behind closed doors earlier today about the big night for Democrats. And the horrific scene after the fiery crash involving a UPS cargo jet killing three on board with a handful of others on the ground still missing.

What investigators are learning today about what went so terribly wrong.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. A major question today in our law and justice lead, is the U.S. Supreme Court about to stop President Trump's biggest economic initiative, these sweeping global tariffs? Today, a majority of justices appeared quite skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments as they begin to weigh whether Trump acted lawfully when he imposed these sweeping emergency tariffs. In general, tariffs have been seen as the responsibility of Congress except in emergency situations. Trump's actions are being challenged by a dozen states as well as a group of small and medium sized businesses that argue the tariffs and the uncertainty they are causing have driven costs to intolerable levels.

We spoke with one of those tariffs, owner of a wine importer and retailer company, multiple times right here on The Lead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think will happen to your business if the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rules that Trump can keep going on with his tariffs? What will be the practical result for your business?

VICTOR SCHWARTZ, OWNER, VOS SELECTIONS: Contraction. I mean, I think that's been the situation for many people in my industry, we're going to have to find the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, the president's attorney argued that a ruling against the Trump administration would have catastrophic consequences for the nation's economic health. But throughout the arguments, which lasted more than two and a half hours, many of the justices, including three key conservatives, did not appear to be convinced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE: The vehicle is imposition of taxes on Americans. And that has always been the core power of Congress.

NEIL GORSUCH, JUSTICE: What would prohibit Congress from just abdicating all responsibility to regulate foreign commerce, for that matter, declare war to the president. AMY CONEY BARRETT, JUSTICE: Is it your contention that every country

needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? Explain to me why as many countries needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, JUSTICE: It seems a little inconsistent to say that we have to interpret a statute that was designed to constrain presidential authority consistent with an understanding that Congress wanted the president to have essentially unlimited authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Many of the justices seem to be focused on the idea of the separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch, which frankly has been sorely lacking in Trump's second term. Because while Trump continually is pushing the boundaries of presidential power, Republicans in Congress quite frequently turn a blind eye, even when the law or the Constitution says legislative oversight is required. Take for example, the ban on TikTok that Congress passed that President Trump has decided to just ignore just cause (ph).

The six to three conservative Supreme Court has so far this term also only sided with Trump, including on a major case that limited the power of federal courts to temporarily pause a president's policies. But this time, if this court does rule against President Trump on tariffs, it could mark a rare and significant check on his power. We're going to find out how the court rules by the end of June or potentially sooner.

But let's discuss with CNN's Chief Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic, who was inside the U.S. Supreme Court today during arguments, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig and Brendan Ballou, a former special counsel for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division under President Biden.

So, Joan, it's -- I've only been in the court a few times, it is pretty cool. What stood out to you the most in oral arguments as you listened?

[17:05:07]

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That they were going in two different directions. I'm going to give you two caveats. First of all, I agree that there was skepticism, but there was also plenty of skepticism for the challenger's case. The same justices who you focused on, minus Justice Jackson, because I think she's squarely against Donald Trump. But Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts, who a lot of people have focused on in terms of his questioning whether Donald Trump has this power, said other things that I think should give us all pause.

For example, the chief said something early on about this being the power to tax. The power for tariffs rests with Congress. But then he also said two things that really made me pay attention in the courtroom. One is that this goes to core foreign powers authority. I mean, he asserted that, he said, you know, this is the kind of thing that we defer to the executive on foreign affairs.

And he also mentioned that they have not blocked this. They have not blocked this. So billions and billions of dollars are being collected by the U.S. Treasury. And that prompted Amy Coney Barrett, who expressed the kind of skepticism that you just referred to, Jake. She also said, well, how would you give refunds?

How would this even work? Wouldn't this be a mess? And I'm using her word, a mess. So I actually thought there was plenty of skepticism for the challenger's position too. But now here's my caveat upon caveat is that when they go into their private conference on Friday and vote on this, there might be other atmospheric things that feed including what you said at the end of your introduction that everyone is aware that this is a court that keeps siding with Donald Trump, siding with Donald Trump, siding with Donald Trump, are they going to reverse all lower court judges at this point and say that they can stand -- these unusual tariffs, can stand.

So I do think this is -- I went in there thinking it's a close call and it's a close call coming out.

TAPPER: Elie, what do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So I wasn't in the room, I didn't have the benefit of Joan's direct experience. However, I've listened to the audio of it. I think the conservatives, at least two of them, are going to flip over and side with the liberals. If I had to guess, I would guess that they will strike down these tariffs.

Now the fundamental question is when Congress passed this law, this IEEPA, the International Economic Emergencies Law, back in 1977, did they mean to give the president the tariff power? And several of the sort of swing conservative middle justices noted, first of all, that law says nothing about tariffs. Second of all, no president since 1977, the 48 years since then, has used this law for that purposes. And if you look at the lower court rulings here, there were several Republican appointed judges, federal appellate and district court judges, one appointed by Reagan, one appointed by George H.W. Bush, one appointed by George W. Bush, who ruled that these tariffs are unconstitutional. So you're right.

All disclaimers attach here. Skepticism is the word of the day. But if I'm -- if I had to bet, I would bet that the court strikes down the tariffs. TAPPER: So, Brendan, the administration has already collected nearly

$90 billion in tariffs under the law at issue. We should note that even though President Trump continually says that those tariffs are being paid by other countries, they are not. They're being paid by American companies and American consumers. Now, Justice Barrett had an interesting logistical question about the refunds, which Joan just referred to. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRETT: If you win, tell me how the reimbursement process would work. Would it be a complete mess?

NEAL KATYAL, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY IN U.S. SUPREME COURT CASE: The government stipulated for the five plaintiffs that they would get the refunds. We don't deny that it's difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think the difficulty of that works against the plaintiffs?

BRENDAN BALLOU, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL, DOJ ANTITRUST DIVISION: Absolutely. You know, and this is exactly Joan's point that, you know, for as many, you know, legal constitutional arguments that are being made here, a lot of this is about practicalities. Can this actually be unwound now that it's started? Given that the government's already collected tens of billions of dollars, can that be returned? How can that be returned?

But I think that there are two other practicalities that are worth just briefly mentioning here. One, you already touched on, this idea that the Supreme Court is rapidly developing a reputation as, frankly caving to this -- TAPPER: Yes, a rubber stamp.

BALLOU: Exactly. Exactly. I think this is one of the few cases where the Supreme Court could legitimately stand up, partly because, you know, it pits conflicting interests of both presidential power and also corporate power. And the conservatives tend to be enamored of both. But also it's because this is something that if the Supreme Court rules against Trump, Trump can't automatically defy it because the taxes have to be reported by the individual companies.

The last thing here that I think is really interesting is the argument that wasn't made, which is about corruption. You know, you look at the fact that the president has not only, you know, gathered power as a -- as an officeholder, but also as an individual, that Vietnam, the Vietnamese government approved a Trump branded golf course --

TAPPER: Right.

BALLOU: -- and shortly thereafter their tariffs were lowered from 46 percent to 20 percent.

[17:10:02]

TAPPER: What a coincidence.

BALLOU: Yes, I was surprised, frankly, that argument that that this is not only an opportunity for expansion of presidential power, but also presidential corruption wasn't really brought up either in the briefs or the oral argument.

TAPPER: Which -- well, why do you think that is? Do you think it's possible because, you know, they -- Neil, who is brilliant, who was arguing for the -- for the plaintiffs, would think like he might think that but that's not going to land well?

BISKUPIC: Yes, that's not -- that's not going to land well. And I'll tell you what, though, did happen. At one point, the chief said something about how these tariffs have been effective. He used the word effective. Because what the Trump administration lawyer made the case on is that these are -- this is not an outright revenue collecting measure.

This is a measure that is regulatory, that's trying to put pressure, use a bargaining chip. And the chief at one point said, you know, we've noticed that these things have been effective. Not that he's going to say, yes, look at the trade we just made with them. But my point is that it cuts both ways. And the chief seemed responsive, at least on that point to how this worked. TAPPER: So, quick speed round and I just need the name not why. Which

justice are you keeping an eye on? Do you want me -- do you want me to throw? Joan? HONIG: Amy Coney Barrett.

BALLOU: Alito, actually, to see if you can make a consensus here.

TAPPER: Oh, interesting. BISKUPIC: Well, I'll go with the chief. I always go with the chief.

TAPPER: Chief Justice.

BISKUPIC: Yes.

TAPPER: You always go with the chief. You should write a book about him.

Joan Biskubic, Brendna Ballou and Elie Honig, thanks so much.

Breaking news from the Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy. He announced that if the government shutdown continues, the government is going to cut airport traffic by 10 percent at 40 airports starting Friday. Our aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is all over this new announcement. But first, California voters approved plans to redraw the state's congressional maps. But the president says votes in California are under a criminal review.

Is that true? No. Is the fight for a 2026 about to hit a new level? Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, (D) CALIFORNIA: No crowns, no thrones, no kings. That's what this victory represents, is a victory for the people of the state of California and the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In our politics lead, that is Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor and a possible 2028 presidential hopeful who scored a major win last night after voters in his state overwhelmingly approved his effort to make five U.S. House districts more favorable to Democrats. This is in direct response to Texas Republicans redrawing their state's congressional maps mid-decade in hopes of moving five House seats to the right ahead of next year's crucial midterm elections. Here now is the California Attorney general, Rob Bonta. He's a Democrat.

So Attorney General Bonta, thank you so much for joining us. Yesterday, while voting was still underway, President Trump posted on social media the following, quote, "The unconstitutional redistricting vote in California is a giant scam in that the entire process, in particular the voting itself, is rigged. All mail-in ballots where the Republicans in that state are shut out is under very serious legal and criminal review. Stay tuned." Do you have any idea what legal review or criminal review he's talking about? ROB BONTA, (D) CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Not at all. And just rantings that are hard to follow. No basis in law or fact that I'm aware of, but consistent with for him to be criticizing the proposition, criticizing vote by mail. Generally vote by mail in California. The elections in California, a blue state that has not supported him and has firmly rejected him multiple times when he's run for president.

So not aware of what he's referring to, we haven't seen anything -- any evidence of a criminal investigation. Maybe chalk it up to wild rantings, but maybe we'll see something in the future. But not aware of anything now.

TAPPER: We should note that President Trump has voted by mail in the past.

BONTA: Yes.

TAPPER: He votes in Florida.

BONTA: That was established.

TAPPER: He just not -- he generally speaking has voted -- well, he's voted by mail. A group of California Republicans, they've already filed a federal lawsuit challenging this new map, arguing, quote, "violated the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution when it drew new congressional district lines based on race, specifically to favor Hispanic voters without cause or evidence to justify it," unquote. What's your reaction to the Republican lawsuit?

BONTA: This is another lawsuit in a litany of lawsuits, all of which, up to now have been firmly rejected by the courts, none of which have had any traction, any legal basis, and all of which have been dismissed up to now. We'll see what happens with this one. But I will say the people of California voted. They voted loud and clear, overwhelmingly. They -- Trump was not on the ballot, but he was on the ballot.

His specter loomed large. This was a referendum on Trump. People want affordability, they want lawfulness, they want the Constitution, they want democracy. So I think that their voices should be upheld and the will of the voters should be honored.

TAPPER: Last night, during his victory speech, Governor Newsom called on his friends, meaning Democrats in Virginia, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Colorado, to, quote, "meet this moment," meaning he wanted redistricting mid-decade done by those states as well. Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley, who you know from California, he opposed Prop 50. He's pushing back. Here's some of what he said in a social media post. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): It's a race to the bottom that degrades democracy everywhere. It's both a symptom of our country's political divisions and a troubling new trend that is sure to make that division even worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Is he wrong?

BONTA: No. Maybe this is an area for bipartisan collaboration. If Congressmember Kiley wanted to offer a bill that required every state to have an independent registering commission, I bet there'd be a lot of Democrats that get behind that. California had one. It was the right thing to do. But we can't have unilateral disarmament where we're tying our hand behind our back and allowing others to manipulate the process and create more districts. It needs to be the same rules for everybody.

And Governor Newsom is asking other states to meet the moment to neutralize the abuse of power by gerrymandering in red states. That's what Prop 50 was about to neutralize the five districts stated in Texas.

[17:20:07]

TAPPER: Yes. You know, so I asked former Governor Schwarzenegger, Republican Governor of California, about that basic argument, the idea that Texas started it and he said that's not true. I'm going to spare you my Arnold impression.

BONTA: Thank you.

TAPPER: He said that's not true. I mean, if you look at New England, which votes Republican 40 percent of the time, they have literally not one Republican House member. His argument is there isn't independent redistricting. It didn't just start with Texas doing it mid-decade. There has been a lot of gerrymandering forever.

BONTA: I don't disagree with Mr. Schwarzenegger on the fact that gerrymandering exists and it has definitely existed in the past, definitely in red states. But Prop 50 is a direct response to Texas's redistricting. You can put aside whatever happened in other places at other times, and I don't deny that there has been gerrymandering, but that's what Prop 50 is. It is the response to the Texas redistricting that President Trump asked for and Governor Abbott agreed to.

TAPPER: So last night, Governor Newsom also had this warning about President Trump in next year's midterms. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWSOM: Donald Trump does not believe in fair and free elections, period, and full stop. If you think I'm exaggerating, consider his announcement just a few weeks ago to send rapid response teams all across the United States and all 50 states, tens of thousands of members of the military prepared for urban deployment. A preview of things to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Are you worried about these election integrity fights becoming actually partisan and hindering actual votes?

BONTA: Not the fights, but the federal government's interventions. They are purporting to be send -- purporting to send election monitors into states, but they're being sent by a president who has tried to interfere with elections in the past. Asked the Secretary of State in Georgia to find him 11,000 plus votes. Has found by a congressional oversight hearing and by a court to have been part of an insurrection to overthrow a lawful national election. He issued an executive order that we struck down because it's unconstitutional trying to create a citizenship ID requirement and not have vote by mail ballots count -- counted if they were cast at a certain time.

He's weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice to go after his political enemy. So we have to see the context within which he sends these monitors. But we just -- we send our own observers to watch their monitors to make sure they do only what they're supposed to do and nothing else to stay in their lane and not interfere with our elections.

TAPPER: And did they?

BONTA: We didn't have any events that were reporting yesterday and maybe it was the deterrence of our observers watching them, maybe not. But I thought it was, you know, that old phrase, an ounce of prevention is better.

TAPPER: All right, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

It's been about 24 hours since these images started coming in, the scene of that fiery crash in Louisville, Kentucky. 24 hours later, investigators are on the Runway where that horrific scene unfolded. This is video from just moments ago. We're going to go live to Louisville next with the new details about this crash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:42]

TAPPER: In our national lead, investigators have found the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from that UPS cargo jet that crashed shortly after taking off from the Louisville airport on Tuesday. Three people aboard the plane and at least eight people on the ground were killed, bringing the death toll to 11. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says that number sadly could go up. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, the left engine detached from the wing while the plane was taking off. The ensuing explosion caused severe damage to businesses near the airport.

CNN's Isabel Rosales spoke with one of those business owners who says three of his employees are missing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two businesses were directly impacted, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts. ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of those businesses, Grade A Auto Parts, belongs to Sean Garber.

SEAN GARBER, CEO OF GRADE A AUTOPARTS: I've never been in a war zone, but I would have to imagine it is what a war zone looks. All of our buildings in the path of the airplane are destroyed.

ROSALES (voice-over): As a business owner, Garber says he never could have imagined dealing with something like a plane crashing into his company. He received the tragic news over a FaceTime call with his CFO.

GARBER: Right when she was FaceTiming me, a massive explosion occurred. She said to me the scrap office blew up and I couldn't imagine how any of our offices would blow up.

ROSALES (voice-over): Garber says 25 of his employees were at the facility at the time of the crash. Three of them are still missing. He says watching the videos of the impact was beyond difficult.

GARBER: I believe that people didn't do something they should have done, which means this was an avoidable incident, and that, to me does not sit right and is upsetting.

ROSALES (voice-over): The crash ignited up to 38,000 gallons of jet fuel, sparking a fire that stretched nearly half a mile. And at least 16 families have reported loved ones unaccounted for, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. The NTSB says investigators have recovered the plane's black boxes and that all the video footage of the crash, including airport CCTV video, is already proving critical to the investigation.

[17:30:00]

TODD INMAN, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: We have viewed airport CCTV security coverage which shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll.

ROSALES (voice-over): For nearby business owners, the focus now is finding those still missing and eventually on rebuilding.

GARBER: The most important thing for us is figuring out where these -- where these three people are and -- and identifying the customers that were there so we can provide information to their families, comfort them and make certain that that process is as painless which it can't be for them and then turn our focus on to our business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: During my conversation with Sean Garber, a sobering confession, he told me that he thinks that those three missing employees he says they're gone. He thinks that based on what he saw being allowed back to the site of the crash today to look at what's left of his business, a mangled metal mess, chaos, he told me he thinks that that's unsurvivable. Right now he's working with officials to recover potentially surveillance footage that he hopes will be helpful in spotting those final moments right before the crash and also data accounting for the customers that were there to begin with. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Isabel Rosales at the Louisville Airport, thank you so much.

Coming up next, what President Trump is saying today publicly about last night's election results and the big wins for Democrats.

Plus, the newly elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, how he's making news today about his new transition team. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:36:04]

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK MAYOR-ELECT: I'm so proud to be standing here today as the mayor-elect of the greatest city in the world. I look forward to being the mayor for every person that calls this city home, that includes the Jewish New Yorkers that voted for our campaign and those that didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, that's New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani earlier today, fresh off his historic election victory, announcing an all-female slate of transition advisors as he prepares to take over City Hall in January. Here's what President Trump said about Mamdani's victory this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you want to see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday's election in New York where their party installed a communist as the mayor. We're going to see how that works out. We want New York to be successful. We'll help them a little bit, maybe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in Christine Quinn, the former speaker of the New York City Council, and Alyssa Farah Griffin, CNN political commentator and former White House communications director in the first Trump administration. So we're learning about the first senior official to resign following Mamdani's big win.

New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker is reportedly going to step down next month. A person familiar with his decision told Bloomberg it was, "influenced by his Zionist views and belief that he could not continue to serve under Mamdani. The person said Tucker concluded that remaining in the administration would be inconsistent with his principles."

We asked the fire commissioner to comment, and we were sent a copy of his resignation letter, which confirms he plans to step down and, "will ensure an orderly transition." So, Christine Quinn, you're a former speaker of New York City's City Council. What's your reaction? And might this portend something for a Mamdani mayorship or -- or not?

CHRISTINE QUINN, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WIN: You know, people often move on, commissioners, deputy mayors. It's not a surprise. Look, everyone knew Eric Adams wasn't getting reelected. So people could have been looking for a job for quite some time.

But, you know, President Trump said, look what New York did. What New York did was send a message that the issue of affordability, the fact that people are getting run out of urban America because they cannot stay in the neighborhoods they grew up in because they can't afford the rent, because their income have -- incomes haven't kept up. That's what people care about. And it's that focus that New Yorkers said, we want that. And that's a great focus for Republicans and Democrats across the board.

TAPPER: I want to play part of the mayor-elect's message to his opponent, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, during last night's victory speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Alyssa Farah Griffin, you say you heard echoes of your former pros -- boss, President Trump, in the victory speech. Explain that.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, it was a moment for Mamdani to be magnanimous and to show that he could rise to the occasion and unite New Yorkers. Listen, he performed very, very well on the campaign. He's no doubt an incredibly talented politician.

But there are New Yorkers who are waking up this morning who are fearful of what his -- his mayoral ship is going to look like. Jewish Americans who are very concerned about some of the very heated language he's used, now walked away from in the past.

But also business people who make their living in New York and are concerned about what the future of the country's economic capital could look like under a socialist. And I think it was a moment where he could have taken the Abigail Spanberger approach, thanked his opponent, said he wants to be mayor as much for those who didn't vote for him as for those who did.

And it felt like instead a very, very divisive speech, pitting people against each other based on their socioeconomic status. A missed moment for somebody who I think a lot of folks were thinking could be the next Barack Obama. And instead it felt like he was really doubling down on the core base that elected him rather than trying to breach a broader swath of New Yorkers.

[17:40:09]

TAPPER: The National Republican Congressional Committee is not surprisingly already out with a new ad that stars Mamdani. Here's a little clip of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A radical left earthquake just hit America, the epicenter, New York. Now the socialists are celebrating. They call it progress. We call it chaos. Bureaucrats instead of doctors, social workers instead of cops, this is the future House Democrats want. And your city could be next. Stop socialism. Stop Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Christine, New York City obviously is a country unto itself. But we should note Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and mayor-elect Mamdani, all of them made affordability the issue in their campaigns. Do you think one of them in particular is the new face of the Democratic Party?

QUINN: You know, these ads where they make Nancy Pelosi or former mayor of New York Bill de Blasio, you know, into communists. We're used to those as Democrats. They always do that every year. What I think and hope the face of Democratic politics moving forward is all of the elected officials out there at high levels and at local levels who are drilling down not just talking about affordability but addressing it.

Because if we can actually do our jobs and make people's lives better, allow them to stay in the neighborhoods they grew up in, help them get into better jobs that really pay a living wage, then we will continue to grow on the support of the American people that we saw across the board last night. And that really is the job of elected officials and a political party.

TAPPER: Last night, there were several historic firsts among some of the Democrats elected. Obviously, Zohran Mamdani, the very first Muslim mayor of New York. Also, Mary Sheffield became the very first woman elected mayor of Detroit. Abigail Spanberger, the very first woman elected as governor of Virginia. Virginia's new lieutenant governor-elect is the first Muslim woman elected statewide in any state in the United States. Erica Deuso, the state's first -- first openly transgender mayor that's in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Christine, your response?

QUINN: Yes, I think it is great. I think it shows that diversity is one of the greatest strengths of the Democratic Party. And it also shows that some of these issues, like transgender rights that the Republicans have just beat a drum on over and over and over, are not a concern to most of America. America is concerned that they don't have enough money to pay their groceries.

They're concerned that tariffs and inflation have cost them money and made their lives more difficult, made their paychecks go not as far. That's what people care about, not, you know, opposition or fear to transgender people that the Republican Party has tried to stoke. And Americans want their government to reflect their country, which is the greatest melting pot.

A country built on the, you know, sweat and tears of immigrants who've made us such a great place. And I think that message came out from all corners of America, even small towns in Pennsylvania.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

[17:43:41]

Coming up next, a senator with a deep resume in national security who warns that the President's recent actions could turn the U.S. into a surveillance state. That senator will join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our National Lead, it is not just the President pressuring the news media to cover him more favorably or deploying the National Guard to American cities against the wishes of mayors and governors. There's another presidential action that Democratic city -- critics say you need to pay more attention to, his quest to go after what he calls domestic terrorists.

Now, just over a month ago, after the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, President Trump issued a memorandum titled Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence, unquote. It's referred to as NSPM-7, National Security Presidential Memorandum number 7. The goal of NSPM-7 is to go after and identify what the President calls anti-American, anti-capitalist, or anti-Christian groups and the, "networks, entities, organizations, funding sources, and predicate actions behind them."

Joining us now, Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is sounding the alarm about NSPM-7. She's also a former CIA analyst who served in Iraq. Senator, you recently said that you think President Trump is preparing to bring the full weight of the government against Americans that he merely perceives as enemies, not necessarily who are domestic terrorists, and that this could turn the U.S. into a, "surveillance state."

Now, the ACLU notes that this memorandum doesn't actually create any new powers or and doesn't, so -- so explain why this is so dangerous in your view.

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Yes. Well, look, he tasked the Department of Justice to come up with a list of domestic terrorists, right? And the definition, as you alluded to, but it went on in that document, to be very broad and not always include violence, right, people who have alternative views on the family or on Christianity.

[17:50:03]

In American law, what defines a domestic terrorist is very squishy because of freedom of speech. There are domestic terrorists on the family or on Christianity. In American law, what defines a domestic terrorist is very squishy because of freedom of speech. There are domestic terrorist acts, but we've never had, like, a formal list of domestic terrorist groups.

The President and his staff, Stephen Miller, have talked about groups on the Democratic side that could be, you know, put and listed as terrorists. He referred to them as terrorists. But I just think a couple steps ahead from my CIA background is what does it mean if he comes up with this new list, he pushes the extent of American law, he says, I don't care, I'm going to make my own new category.

The -- the full weight of the federal government targeted on those folks means sending the Department of Justice, sending the IRS, Department of Treasury. Does that mean the intelligence community? Does that mean other entities in the government will now be turned inward on American citizens?

And just like we don't know the names of the foreign terrorist groups that we're now shooting at in the Caribbean, why would we ever think that this list of domestic terrorist organizations would be put out in public?

And I just know from my time in government, you know, if you start putting the full weight of the intelligence community, for instance, against these domestic terrorists, suddenly you have CIA officers, NSA officers, looking at American citizens, which is a big no-no, a big illegal act after Watergate.

So I just wanted to bring some attention to this because Donald Trump is fundamentally changing how we use the government and particularly law enforcement and the uniformed military against the American people.

TAPPER: For people watching, on the right side of your screen is images of President Trump arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He -- he just came back from Miami. So you just said that U.S. law on domestic terrorism is squishy because of the First Amendment. Can you explain that?

SLOTKIN: Yes, we just don't have the same laws that we do, let's say, on going after al-Qaeda or ISIS. It's always been an issue of concern, right? What is the -- is the definition of a terrorist? We -- we know that in previous generations, groups like civil rights groups, Martin Luther King, you know, was wiretapped and looked at as a terrorist.

I've heard concerns from left wing, from the right wing, from everybody in between about who gets to label who and in what administration. So it's always been a squishy part of law. There are -- there are terrorist acts, right? Blowing up a federal building is definitely a terrorist act. But it's just been squishy in law.

But what we know about the Trump administration is they don't care that much about the squishiness. They've been willing to push the boundaries on law and then just wait to see if the courts actually react. So that's my concern when I saw this document. What was the President thinking in terms of coming up with this list? Who's on it? And then what does that mean if your name is on it? What's going to come after you?

I -- I just think it feels to most Americans fundamentally not who we are to have the federal government not working on making things easier for the American people, but turned inward on the American people.

TAPPER: Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SLOTKIN: You bet.

[17:52:59]

TAPPER: We just moved this next story into the top spot on CNN.com. The Transportation Department is planning to cut air traffic this week if the government shutdown does not end. This would be a pretty big deal. What CNN's learning about the potential impact is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our World Lead, the body of the very last American Israeli hostage, Itay Chen, returned to his family in Israel. His father was here on the lead just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBY CHEN, FATHER OF DECEASED HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN: The President can make it happen, but everybody is watching him, and only then, you know, we could say that the U.S. came on top with the victory of getting all of the 12 U.S. citizens that were taken on October 7th have indeed returned back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Nineteen-year-old American Itay Chen, murdered by Hamas, now back with his family. Meanwhile, living hostages, now free, are recounting the hell they went through in Gaza. Our Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond reports on a new Channel 13 interview, part of which was shared exclusively with -- with CNN, where an Israeli hostage reveals he was sexually abused by the Islamic Jihad militant group, terrorist group. Be advised, Jeremy's report contains details that are very disturbing.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, Rom Braslavski was held hostage in Gaza for more than two years. Released last month under the ceasefire agreement, he is now alleging that he was subjected to, "horrific and humiliating sexual assault during his captivity." Braslavski told Israel's Channel 13 Hazinor program that he was stripped naked and tied up while he was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one of the militant groups in Gaza. We've obtained an exclusive clip of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROM BRASLAVSKI, FORMER HOSTAGE (through translator): They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up from the -- when I was completely naked, I was wiped out, dying without food. And I prayed to God, save me, get me out of this already. And you just say to yourself, like, what the hell is going on?

It is sexual violence, and its main purpose was to humiliate me. The goal was to crush my dignity. And that's exactly what he did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Did they do more things like that?

BRASLAVSKI (through translator): Yes. It's hard for me to talk about that part specifically. I don't like to talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And you can see in his eyes there just how difficult it is for him to talk about this. He describes each day in captivity as surviving another day in hell, only to wake up to another hell the next day. Palestinian Islamic Jihad did not return our request for comment.

Other Israeli hostages though, have alleged that they were also sexually assaulted or abused in captivity. But Braslavski is the first male freed hostage to allege that he was sexually assaulted. The U.N.'s Special Rapporteur for sexual violence previously found, "clear and convincing information that hostages in Gaza were sexually abused." Jake?

[18:00:02]

Welcome to the Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour we are following breaking news. Flights will be reduced at dozens of major U.S. --