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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Soon: Senate Vote On Ending Government Shutdown; Trump Floats Idea Of $2,000 Tariff Rebate Checks; Lawmaker Says, Whistleblower Says Maxwell Getting Special Treatment; Democrats Turn On Each Other Over Deal To End Shutdown. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 10, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper live on Capitol Hill.

This hour, the U.S. Senate could vote any minute to reopen the federal government bringing the 41-day saga closer to an end. Eight Democratic senators crossed the aisle to join Republicans on a deal. But House Democrats, they're not happy. They're still vowing to fight against the bill's passage. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who voted no, will join us live in moments.

Plus, new allegations that Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is getting special cushy treatment in prison and working on an application to have her 20-year sentence commuted and become free. I'll get a reaction from an attorney who represented multiple Epstein survivors, victims ahead.

Also, could you soon get a $2,000 check in the mail? President Trump suggests sending what he calls tariff rebates to most Americans. So, ignoring the relevant Supreme Court's matter of the tariffs, how soon might those checks be put in the mail? Are there limits on how you can spend the money? Does the president really have the power to start cutting checks?

And parts of the U.S. dealing with more than a foot of snow on the ground today as a dangerous cold snap moves across the country. CNN meteorologists are tracking the latest forecasts as the record-setting cold starts to set in.

I'm Jake Tapper live on Capitol Hill with the breaking news, the Lead tonight, the fast-moving developments on the government shutdown now in its 41st day. You're looking at the floor of the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are voting right this minute, inching closer to the final Senate passage of this government shutdown bill to open the government. It's expected tonight after eight Senate Democrats broke with the rest of their party last night, voting to extend government funding until January 30th to fund SNAP benefits through 2026 and to reverse President Trump's layoffs of federal workers. No deal yet on Democrats' major concern, the skyrocketing cost of Obamacare.

Now, some Congressional Democrats are furious, even calling for Senate Majority Leader -- Senate Minority Leader, rather, Chuck Schumer to step down from that post.

CNN's Manu Raju is also on Capitol Hill for us. Manu, you just spoke with the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. What did he have to say?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is very critical of this deal, Jake, and very -- and I asked him directly about the eight Democrats in the Senate who have voted to advance this deal and are expected to vote on final passage for this bill tonight, giving it approval by the narrowest margins in the United States Senate. Remember, it takes 60 votes in the Senate to clear a filibuster attempt. It's expected to get 60 votes exactly with 8 Democrats and 52 Republicans.

Jefferies would not directly criticize those members, said they'll have to answer that for themselves. He did defend Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, because Schumer himself is opposed to this plan and they're opposed to it because it does not guarantee that of healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act would be extended. It only gives an assurance of a vote by the second week of December in the United States Senate. That doesn't mean it's going to pass. It probably won't pass the Senate, and it's almost certainly not going to pass the Republican-led House, a speaker there, not even giving a guarantee it'll come onto the floor of the U.S. House.

So, I asked Jeffries whether or not this fight, this damaging shutdown that impacted so many Americans and ultimately did not yield an outcome that they wanted, whether the fight was worth it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: What is the shutdown worth it?

REP. JEFFRIES HAKEEM (D-NY): We have waged a battle on behalf of the American people. First of all, Donald Trump and Republicans are the ones who shut the government down. They have the House, the Senate, and the presidency, and the American people know it. And that's been the case for seven consecutive weeks.

RAJU: But at the end of day, you didn't get what you want. So, was it worth making this fight?

JEFFRIES: At the end of the day, the fight lives on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But at the end of the day, the Democrats who did vote for this say that this negotiation really was not going to go anywhere over an agreement to extend the healthcare subsidies now because President Trump has come out flatly opposed, rejecting any calls to extend these healthcare subsidies. And the Democrats said that, look, if we waited a week, we waited two weeks, we weren't going to get a better deal.

[18:05:00]

Meantime, the consequences were piling up for the American public, whether it's travel delays, whether it was furloughed workers not getting their paychecks, federal food assistance drying up and say, this is the best deal they could take, get on the table right now. But that is the minority of the minority view in the Democrats here on Capitol Hill and the ones who are very upset or sharply criticizing this deal.

But at the end of the day, they don't have the votes to stop it, Jake. It's expected to pass the Senate tonight and then by Wednesday expected to pass the House likely by a very narrow margin as well. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Manu Raju with the latest, thank you so much.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins is at the White House right now. Kaitlan, President Trump was playing hardball with Democrats and with the public in many ways when it came to fighting to prevent SNAP benefits from being paid and on and on. How is President Trump feeling about this deal?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, also with Republicans, Jake. I mean, he was posting nonstop over the weekend about getting rid of the filibuster regardless of what happens here. And so when we went to the Oval Office earlier today, I asked the president whether or not this deal that is making its way on Capitol Hill right now through the Senate, as Manu just noted there, whether or not it has his backing, and this is what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Mr. President, do you personally approve of the deal that's happening right now in Capitol Hill to end the government shutdown?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, it depends what deal we're talking about, but if it's a deal I heard about that's -- certainly, you know, they want to change the deal a little bit. But I would say so. I think based on everything I'm hearing, they haven't changed anything and we have support from enough Democrats and we're going to be opening up our country. It's too bad it was closed, but we'll be opening up our country very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, obviously, Jake, for the government to be fully reopened, it's got to make its way through the Senate, then go over to the House, which has not voted in nearly two months before it comes over here for President Trump's signature there. But he was signaling that, yes, they do have the Democrats on board for this.

And, Jake, as Manu noted, the Democrats are not getting their chief demand here, which is an extension of those ACA subsidies, and the president mentioned that and referenced that in the Oval Office earlier because there were three Republican senators standing there by the Resolute Desk, Senator Katie Britt, Jim Risch and Lindsey Graham, and he said that Republican senators are going to be working on a healthcare resolution here, he said working very hard on that in a short order. But, Jake, obviously there's huge questions of what that's going to look like, what any Republican plan here when it came to addressing these healthcare costs that have been rising, what that's going to look like. And this has obviously been something that has been, you know, a long time saga ever since Donald Trump's first term in office.

And so whether or not there is any solution in sight, given what the House speaker, Mike Johnson, told you and what we've been hearing from Republicans still remains to be seen as that deadline at the end of December of when these extensions of these subsidies expire, what's going to look like after that is anyone's guess right now.

TAPPER: Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. And don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins, tonight. She's sitting down with Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the head Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

Joining us now here live on Capitol Hill, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, he voted no on last night's steel. Thank you for being here, Senator Sanders. I was noting that you should have those famous mittens that you have from the inaugural meme.

You're about to go cast your vote on the floor of the Senate. You're going to vote no. You and Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin are going to try to force a vote to extend the Obamacare subsidies. How would that happen? Do you need 60 votes or 50, 51?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): We're going to need on this one 60 votes.

TAPPER: 60 votes.

SANDERS: All right. And it is absolutely common sense. I think no sane person wants to see 20-plus million people see a doubling in their healthcare premiums and pave the way for 15 million Americans to lose their healthcare through cut massive cuts in Medicaid. So, all that we're doing is saying, all right, Trump is saying, you know, after four years of being president before, after four years out of office, after a year as president, he's now beginning to think about the healthcare crisis facing America, very, very good.

All right, why don't we just simply extend the Affordable Care Act for another year and take that year to decide what way forward for America. As you know, Jake, we are the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people despite spending twice as much per person as any other country, I happen to believe that the solution is Medicare for all, expanding Medicare, pick up every man, woman, and child. It's the cost effective way to do it. Republicans have another idea. Let's debate it. But let's address the crisis in healthcare.

TAPPER: So, there are 48 Democrats. Do I have that number right?

SANDERS: 47.

TAPPER: 47 Democrats. I mean, you'll need 13 Republicans. SANDERS: Right. Do I think we're going to get it? No, but I think we're going to put them on the record, going on record and say, look, we are voting now to force 20 million Americans to see a doubling in their healthcare premiums.

[18:10:06]

If they want to cast that vote, that's their business.

TAPPER: So, I had the speaker of the House on not long ago, I mean, just minutes ago, and he said that Schumer didn't get anything out of the deal. Do you agree?

SANDERS: Basically. Well, it wasn't Schumer. I mean, you had eight Democrats who, for a variety of reasons, decided not to continue to fight. And needless to say, I think that was a terrible, terrible mistake. I think what Tuesday's election showed is the American people are sick and tired of Trumpism, the idea that we have a president now who is prepared to literally starve children and illegally cut back, refuse to expend SNAP money is outrageous. And the idea that you have a president now who wants to double premiums for 20 million Americans is equally outrageous. We had the American people on our side. We should have continued that fight. I think the Republicans would've yielded.

TAPPER: Schumer voted no or is going to vote no along with you. He did last night. He's going to do it again. But a lot of Democrats are blaming him because he is the leader of the Democrats in the Senate. And some of your allies, like Congressman Ro Khanna of California and others, are saying Schumer should step down from his position as Democratic leader in the Senate. Do you still have confidence in him as leader of the Senate?

SANDERS: Look, Schumer and I have very fundamental disagreements about where the Democratic Party should be, and I am strongly supporting candidates for the Senate who are not part of the Democratic establishment or believe in Medicare for all, who are prepared to take on the big money interest and fight for working people, all right? I have a very different vision of where the Democratic Party should go.

If Schumer steps down, who is going to take his place? The truth is, progressives in the Senate right now are a -- I think there are about eight or nine of us. We are pretty much of a minority.

TAPPER: I want you to take a listen to the Senate highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, who's retiring next year, he voted yes on the deal. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): I've served in the Senate for 29 years, and I've never seen that kind of offer from a Senate majority. During the historic roll call last night, I walked across the aisle and met with Senator John Thune, the Republican leader. I told him that I was counting on him to keep his word on this agreement. He assured me he would. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, this is part of the deal that there will be a vote in the Senate on extending the Obamacare subsidies, as you and Tammy Baldwin are introducing again earlier, I mean, tonight. And they're going to -- if it fails, it will come up again. Do you believe Thune is going to keep his word and have this vote in?

SANDERS: Yes, I suspect that he will, but it's more or less a meaningless gesture because you could pass it here in the Senate, but as you well know, you got to get past the House. You got to get it signed by the president of the United States. Do you think the president of the United States is going to sign that bill? I don't.

TAPPER: As you know, premiums are going up, not just in Obamacare. They're going up for everybody.

SANDERS: That's right.

TAPPER: And one of the reasons that we've been told is because people are having trouble -- healthy people are having trouble affording it. They're dropping out of the insurance market. And so the unhealthy people who are in the market, their premiums are going even more exponentially up than they would have.

SANDERS: Absolutely. I mean, that is the -- look, that is what happens when you don't have a universal healthcare system. What we, as the wealthiest nation on Earth, should be doing is guaranteeing healthcare to every man, woman, and child, and then you don't run into that problem. You're insuring healthy people. You're insuring people with cancer, et cetera.

The truth of the matter is, right now, the function of the current healthcare system is to make huge profits for the insurance companies and the drug companies. It is a wildly inefficient, bureaucratic system that is driving doctors and patients and everybody else crazy. It is unaffordable. We need to get rid of it. In my view, move to a Medicare for all single payer program.

TAPPER: Your fellow independent from New England, Senator Angus King, was asked this morning to respond to your criticisms of the Democrats who voted yes last night. He said -- his response was, what's your strategy, man, end quote, standing up to Donald Trump didn't work.

SANDERS: Well, maybe Angus didn't notice the elections on Tuesday. I thought that they worked pretty well. Maybe Angus is not noticing the polling, which shows that, correctly, people understand that Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House. They're holding Republicans accountable. And you got to stand from, this is tough stuff. And Angus is right, a lot of people are hurting. Nobody feels good about this. Nobody feels good about federal employees not getting a paycheck, but we are winning, in my view. I think the Republicans are on the defensive, and, in my view, it was the vote the Angus cast was the wrong vote.

TAPPER: All right. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent from the great state of Vermont, thank you so much for being here.

SANDERS: Thank you.

TAPPER: We appreciate it.

In the Oval Office this afternoon, President Trump once again floated this idea of sending Americans $2,000 tariff rebate checks.

[18:15:06]

How would that work? Would it work? That's next.

Plus, the new announcement from HHS Secretary RFK Jr. today that could affect millions of women across the United States.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Money Lead, President Trump today, once again, floated this idea of sending Americans $2,000 checks that he calls tariff rebate checks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to issue a dividend to our middle income people and lower income people of about $2,000, and we're going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump's own treasury secretary was non-committal about the proposal.

Let's check in with CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich. Vanessa, first of all, just to reiterate, the tariffs are paid by American consumers and American companies, but more importantly, how would this even work?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, President Donald Trump has an idea to solve American's growing affordability problem.

[18:20:00]

Send them a check. Not just any check, though, a $2,000 check using the money his administration has collected from tariffs. The idea is similar to the stimulus checks that many Americans may have received during COVID.

Is it possible not without Congress? Financially, not yet. The Trump administration has collected $220 billion in tariff revenue, according to the Treasury Department, but more than 163 million Americans filed tax returns in 2024. So, handing out checks to all those Americans would cost $326 billion. But President Trump said high income earners would not be included and he believes that there would be money left over to pay down the national debt. And while $2,000 is a lot of money, Americans have historically used stimulus checks to pay down debt or make a big purchase. So, it doesn't solve the ongoing affordability crisis and concerns. And all that spending all at once could fuel more inflation making things more unaffordable.

And then, Jake, of course, there is the Supreme Court of this all. If they rule against President Trump's tariffs, the administration may have to return that money, about $100 billion to date, to the U.S. businesses and importers that paid them, leaving much less for checks for Americans. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

Some breaking news from Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, authorities say eight people were injured when a mobile people mover crashed into a docking area as it was pulling up to the concourse. These people, mover vehicles in Dulles, they used to take passengers between airport concourses. Investigators are now on the scene trying to figure out what went wrong.

A major medical announcement today as the FDA says it's going to remove the black box warning on many hormone therapy treatments from menopause. A leading OB-GYN is going to join me next to explain exactly what this means for women.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our Health Lead, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced earlier today that the FDA will begin the removal of black box warning labels on many hormone replacement products used to treat the symptoms of menopause. These warning labels flag serious or life-threatening risks that may be associated with the product.

I want to bring in board certified OB-GYN Dr. Gillispie-Bell. Dr. Bell, the warning label was added after a 2002 study saying that the risks increased for taking it after menopause. One of the biggest hiccups in that study seems to be that most of the participants were over 60, whereas most women begin menopause between 45 and 55. Do you think hormone replacement therapy is safe for those women between 45 and 55?

DR. VERONICA GILLISPIE-BELL, BOARD CERTIFIED OB-GYN: Yes, absolutely. As you mentioned, the study that was released in 2002, the Women's Health Initiative study, 68 percent of those women were between the ages of 60 to 79, and so some of the conclusions that have been drawn are probably more so related to their age. And after doing a secondary analysis, we know that younger women actually do benefit from hormones. They are safe. And I have to say that black box warning has been such a barrier for women being able to get the treatment that they need. TAPPER: Because of that study, many women steered away from using these medications. What does the removal of the black box warning mean for women dealing with the symptoms of menopause?

GILLISPIE-BELL: I think that for women it will allow them to feel more comfortable with taking hormones. I know for my patients that are suffering from symptoms related to menopause that even sometimes when I go through the study and I break it down and explain that actually for women that were between the ages of 50 to 59, that they saw not an increased risk of the things that are on in the black box warning, they still have a lot of hesitation. So, I think by removing that gives them more confidence that the hormones are safe.

TAPPER: I want to play something that RFK Jr. said earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: For more than two decades, the American medical establishment turned its back on women. Millions of women were told to fear the very therapy that could have given them strength, peace, and dignity through one of life's most difficult transitions, menopause.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Despite the lack of evidence, this administration has repeatedly linked autism to acetaminophen, the only over-the-counter medicine pregnant women can use to treat fevers, we do know that if left untreated fevers can be dangerous for both the baby and the pregnant person. Do you think this administration is repeating the same mistake by scaring women into not using something that could possibly help them, the same way that RFK Jr. was faulting the American medical establishment for how they treated hormone therapy prior to today?

GILLISPIE-BELL: I think it's a mistake to fault the medical society. In fact, different societies, like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have actually advocated for removing that black box warning for a very long time. So, I don't know that it's necessarily the medical establishment.

Again, the study was released and the FDA is the one that placed the black box warning on the medications because of some of the findings in the study. So, I think to point fingers at physicians, providers, the medical establishment is not necessarily the best way to go.

As always, we want patients to talk to their providers and so we need to establish and instill our patients that they can have trust with their providers.

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, thanks so much, always good having you on. Is Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell getting special treatment in prison? A Democratic member of Congress says that's what he's heard from a whistleblower. Those details are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, new questions today about whether Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of the late pedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein, whether Maxwell is getting favorable treatment in this minimum security.

Maxwell had been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022 for taking part in that years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse and traffic underage girls. She was transferred to a minimum security prison camp in Texas earlier this year shortly after she spent two days being interviewed by the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche.

But now, Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is writing a letter, has written a letter to President Trump saying that he has been told by a whistleblower that Ghislaine Maxwell's meals have been customized and delivered to her, and that she's been awarded special privileges, including visits from guests who bring with them personal computers and that she's been given a service dog in training to play with.

[18:35:06]

The Justice Department has not replied to our request for comment.

With us now is Jennifer Freeman. She's an attorney who represents some of the survivors of Epstein and Maxwell. First of all, we should note CNN has not been able to independently confirm or deny the allegations, but, Jennifer, what is your reaction to what Congressman Raskin is saying?

JENNIFER FREEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN VICTIMS: I've heard similar reports. I've also heard, and these are just -- I can't confirm them either, reports that someone did complain about the preferential treatment and was promptly transferred to a higher security prison. I don't know if that's true but that is what's being reported.

TAPPER: Raskin's letter also alleges that Maxwell is working on a commutation application to get out of prison. She would apply -- she would send this to Trump, presumably. Its exact contents and whether it's been submitted, that was not immediately clear. What's your message to President Trump about such a commutation application, if he was being asked to commute her sentence, and then how would your clients react if such a thing were to happen?

FREEMAN: That would be very distressing, disgraceful, and upsetting, if there's any effort to move forward with a suggestion of pardon or commutation. And it also doesn't make sense, Jake, because the grounds for commutation are typically things, like wrongful conviction. Well, that's not going to apply here. Jury of her peers held she was a sex trafficker. Another example would be rehabilitation. That is also not going to be possible since she has not expressed any remorse. Another example would be that it's a nonviolent crime, and that doesn't seem to apply either.

In fact, I took a look at the particular form that you'd have to fill out, her attorney, would have to fill out. And one of the questions on the form was, what was your role in the offense? And do not admit facts or minimize your role. And do you accept responsibility for your criminal conduct? So, she's going to have to -- if she goes forward with this, she's going to have to address those issues.

TAPPER: Jamie Raskin, Congressman Raskin's letter also demands that President Trump make Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, before he was in government, he was a former personal attorney for Trump, available for a public hearing. Would you like to see that? Would you like Todd Blanche to sit for a public hearing?

FREEMAN: I think that would be appropriate given that he did interview her with very little knowledge prior knowledge about the case. I think that would be fully appropriate to do that. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but I think it would be a good move.

TAPPER: What do your clients think is going on here? I mean, with Todd Blanche meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, and then she gets transferred to a minimum security prison, where there are all these accounts that she's treated unusually well, and anybody who complains about it is punished, now she's talking about her sentence being commuted, what do the survivors think? Not about how awful it is, because I know they think that, but why this is happening?

FREEMAN: They are deeply concerned that this is more of the cover-up of the Epstein files, which have not been released. Hopefully, we're getting closer to that, but that's another aspect of the cover-up. I did ask some clients today if you'd like to hear their comments on this development or possible development of the commutation, I'd like to read a few of them, if that's okay.

TAPPER: Sure.

FREEMAN: Here's Annie Farmer who testified at the trial at Maxwell's trial. Maxwell is a convicted sex trafficker and felon who's been accused of lying under oath. Her latest attempt to escape accountability makes it clear she has no remorse for her crimes. Any special legal treatment for her could not only be profoundly insulting, it would be downright dangerous for survivors.

Liz Stein, who I know you've interviewed, said, as survivors, justice is the one measure of truth we have left. Ghislaine Maxwell was tried, convicted, and sentenced in a court of law, and her sentence should be upheld like anyone else's. So, not happy, they're not happy, and they're very concerned that while the trajectory that they see developing in the public eye where there's a movement towards the release of the file, there was a press conference to discuss that, the actual step --

[18:40:03]

TAPPER: Yes.

FREEMAN: -- to them, whatsoever.

TAPPER: Okay. Jennifer Freeman, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Coming up next, more from my exclusive interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom on an issue that could be one of the main topics of conversation if he decides to run for precedent in 2028.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, the stagnant U.S. economy and the growing cost of living were top of mind for voters in Tuesday's elections. So, what solutions does the governor of one of the most expensive states in the United States, what does he have to say to address the affordability crisis? Here's more of my interview with California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: One of the messages from Tuesday from election night was affordability and how worried people are about just being able to get by. It was obviously the focus of the mayor-elect of New York, but it also was what the new governors of Virginia and New Jersey talk about. California is, I don't need to tell you, one of the most expensive states to live in, housing a persistent problem, as you just mentioned.

[18:45:04]

Last year, nearly one in five Californians was living in poverty. This is an issue for your citizens for your voters.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: That's why we did $11 insulin. That's why we just did $60 billion package to lower utility costs, which are up 5.1 percent, just electric costs so far this year likely to go up over 10 percent.

That's why we did 129,000 subsidized childcare slots. Why we created a brand new grade pre-K for all and fully implemented to reduce costs by tens of thousands to the most significant housing reforms in state history, and did something that we haven't done in two decades, is we actually changed the curve, the bending that curve on homelessness, where we saw a 0.45 percent increase, which was lower than 44 other states as a nation, saw a surge in homelessness.

So, we're finally starting to turn the corner --

TAPPER: You have more homeless than any other states.

NEWSOM: We've had for decades. It's a disgrace.

TAPPER: It's a horrible situation.

NEWSOM: Horrible.

And you're seeing the benefits of these investments in cities like San Francisco. You're seeing these cities begin to recover and you're seeing a renaissance. And we also are starting to address those issues in a different way.

Back to affordability. It's also about wages, $25 minimum wage we did for health care workers, $20 for fast food workers. That's part of the equation as well.

So I'm really proud of what California has done from free community college to universal health care, fully implemented, 6.4 percent among the nation's lowest uninsured rate. We're here at 16.4, to put it in perspective, in Texas.

So those are all efforts to substantively address those issues.

TAPPER: A lot of people in California think of you -- I mean, there are the people that are experiencing homelessness, but then there are also the people who are worried about their neighborhoods being ruined by encampments. And they don't want to be cast as cold hearted because they want to be able to walk to and from school with their kids without being harassed by somebody who is mentally ill or addicted to drugs or, I mean, which is a lot of the people, not all, but a lot of the people in the homeless community.

TAPPER: A lot of people self-medicating with drug or alcohol addictions, with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, paranoia. And that's why I went forward as a Democrat supporting Republican-backed effort at the United States Supreme Court and did an amicus brief that would allow us to clean up encampments more effectively. That's why we created, for the first time in state history -- by the way, when I got here, there was no statewide homeless plan, no strategy. It was all outsourced to the cities and counties. That's completely changed in the last few years.

And we also created a $1 billion, 750 million, to be exact, billion- dollar home encampment resolution grant program. That has been a game changer. That's why cities like San Francisco and others that have taken advantage of it are finally seeing street population and street numbers go down. The unsheltered numbers start to go down and address those quality-of-life issues, which are absolutely legit.

And there's no compassion stepping over people in the streets and sidewalks. There's no compassion allowing people to live in those conditions and the encampments and tents. And we had a permissive attitude for years and years, decades now in California. And we're shifting that of a new housing accountability unit that now includes a homeless accountability unit, requiring plans. We actually have bonuses for those that are producing the best results and outcomes.

And we flooded the zone with the most significant mental health reforms. And this -- we could spend an hour just on this in the nation. One of the most exciting packages of fundamental behavioral health reforms that's going to produce results, not just for people out in the streets, but for our kids, and those that are struggling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: I want to turn now to my panel. We have with us in the really frigid weather here. I should note, just in case they look, their teeth start chattering. We have with us Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw, former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, both of them from the great Commonwealth of Virginia.

Any thoughts on Governor Newsom and how Democrats are taking on this issue of affordability?

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): Well, I think what he's saying is going to resonate with a lot of people. We had a similar approach in Fairfax county. You know, my view is if someone is homeless, unhoused, get them access to the services that they need, get them access to shelter. But we can't allow large encampments. Doesn't help anyone, doesn't keep anyone safe.

So that's the right approach. I think Democrats can embrace that across the country.

TAPPER: What do you think about how Republicans are talking about affordability?

BARBARA COMSTOCK (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, really, since Donald Trump came in this year, we've heard about, you know, golden bathrooms, golden.

WALKINSHAW: Yeah.

COMSTOCK: You know, his new ballroom. Weve heard about really everything but affordability. He's told us that everything is costing less, but in fact, it isn't. So --

TAPPER: What are the prices like in Northern Virginia when you go to the grocery store?

COMSTOCK: Well, I'm fortunate that my husband does the grocery- shopping more for me, so -- but he tells me that the prices are up and my daughter is in Virginia also. Certainly, beef prices are up and restaurant prices certainly are up. And I know a local restaurant that been very popular is saying it's hard to keep a family restaurant.

[18:50:01]

TAPPER: Yeah.

COMSTOCK: It's hard to keep the doors open because prices are so high. So yes, the prices have continued to go up. Gas prices are not $2 as Trump keeps saying.

So, affordability was a big winner. And for Abigail Spanberger, and she was so disciplined on sticking to that. She had a housing plan, you know, affordability. She was talking about that from the beginning. You know, last spring, she put out a plan. You know, she certainly was talking about you know, affordability in

every aspect of, you know, the plans that she put forward and you are just hearing about cultural issues on the other side, which now even Republicans from the top down are critical of, even though those were the exact issues that Trump has been focused on all year.

TAPPER: Yeah. Let's talk about the effort to end the government shutdown. There's this deal that's going to go through the Senate. It looks like eight Democrats are going to join with almost all Republicans. And it's going to come to you. It's going to come to the House of Representatives.

Your colleague in the House Democratic caucus, Ro Khanna, posted on Twitter last night, quote, "Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced." Hakeem Jeffries says that he's still effective and shouldn't be replaced.

Who do you agree with?

WALKINSHAW: Well, I have rock solid confidence in Hakeem Jeffries as the leader of the House Democratic Caucus. I've never met Leader Schumer or had a conversation with him. So, I'll trust Leader Jeffries' judgment for the time being on this issue.

And look, I think Barbara is right. Affordability is a huge issue. It was in the Virginia elections, and that's why we're so focused on this health care affordability issue. If we don't act, premiums for Virginians will go up on average of $1,200 and some a lot more.

That's an issue that has to be addressed. I hope it gets addressed this week in the House. If not, we'll take the fight to December. If we don't get it done in December, we'll take the fight to next year, including to the ballot box.

TAPPER: Assuming that -- I'm going to throw some assumptions, assuming that the bill makes its way through the Senate. Passes the House pretty much on a Republican Party line vote, Trump signs it, and then it comes up for a vote again in the Senate. The Obamacare subsidies vote, with which Thune has promised. It does not pass.

Democrats say this is a proof, and we're going to use this as a cudgel against Republicans. They are the ones voting to have your premiums go up. Is that going to be effective?

COMSTOCK: Well, listen, I guess I would look at it from the standpoint, you know, I was in a swing district in Virginia as a swing district Republican. I would say, you know, look at Jeff Van Drew, a Republican, has said the moral thing to do is to vote for those subsidies.

You've heard Marjorie Taylor Greene has been on the warpath on these subsidies. I think they're right. I mean, that's certainly one of the things that Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill were talking about. People are looking at health care costs that are going to go from, say, $500 a month to $2,000 a month. That's when a family drops their health care coverage. Now, that's the kind of thing that instead of Donald Trump going down

and playing golf all the time, he should have been here working with people. He hasn't had a health care plan for 10 years. He didn't have one the last term when he was here for four years. I mean, the frustrating thing, when I was here, I didn't vote to overturn Obamacare when we had the ultimate vote to overturn it because they wouldn't guarantee preexisting conditions. They didn't have a plan. And he still hasn't had one.

So if they want to I mean, Democrats are giving them a chance to save themselves. And Jeff Van Drew is right. I usually would not say Marjorie Taylor Greene is right --

TAPPER: Right.

COMSTOCK: -- but she has been right on this one. I think, and -- of all people, the speaker has some of the most -- people who are going to get these subsidies. And his very own district and more people in red districts are going to get these subsidies. And this is the key affordability issue is health care.

TAPPER: I don't know if you talk to any of these frontline Republicans who are in these districts that are either Kamala Harris districts or Trump won them, but by under five points. But 19 of them wrote a letter to Speaker Johnson, I think saying, we really want to vote on this. And Johnson, when I interviewed him earlier today, he would not commit to it. Those are Republicans who seats you guys are going to be fighting for.

WALKINSHAW: That's right. And those 19 Republicans should have been interested in that issue all year long. And Republican Democrats have been talking about this. Republicans have blocked bills before over the course of this year to deal with this issue.

Now, we're at the 18th hour like were at the end of the line. Families are seeing those premium increases skyrocket. And if we don't act now like this week, that's going to be locked in. So, it's too little, too late from those 19 House Republicans.

[18:55:00]

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

Next, we're heading to the CNN Weather Center for the latest forecast as a bitter and dangerous cold front moves across the United States, as you don't need to tell me. We're feeling it right now. It's dropping more than a foot of snow in some places. Not yet here, though.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our national lead, more than a foot of snow in the Great Lakes region, marking the beginning of record-breaking cold across the United States. The heavy snow is expected for the next few days in the northeast. Chicago has already seen a burst of snow ten inches north of the city. This brutal winter onslaught in the Midwest is being driven by the same arctic air mass that's crashing across the eastern two-thirds of the country.

This is not just a cold front. It is a full-scale polar plunge, states even as far south as Florida could see, temperatures fall dramatically. Flurries were seen in the north Georgia mountains today and it's cold, I can tell you that right now.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bluesky and on TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

Take it away, Erin.