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Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt (D-NC) is Interviewed about Congressional Maps; Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) is Interviewed about the Shutdown; Delays at Major Airports Due to Shortage. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 22, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:05]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, the North Carolina legislature has taken a big step forward on one of Donald Trump's top priorities, changing and gerrymandering congressional maps in order to try and secure more seats in Congress for Republicans. Yesterday, the North Carolina state senate advanced the plan for new district -- that would draw new district lines. And here's the thing. Republicans in the state are making zero secret of their political motives here.

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RALPH HISE (R), NORTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE: The motivation behind this draw was to produce a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to North Carolina's congressional delegation. Republicans hold a razor-thin margin in the United States House of Representatives. And if Democrats flipped four seats in the upcoming midterm elections, they will take control of the House and torpedo President Trump's agenda.

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BOLDUAN: Right now, North Carolina is represented by ten Republicans and four Democrats in Congress. The new maps set up Republicans to gain one additional seat. A key factor in this strategy. North Carolina has a Democratic governor, but state law does not give Governor Josh Stein veto power over redistricting legislation. So, that's where they are today.

And joining me right now is North Carolina's Democratic lieutenant governor, Rachel Hunt, to talk about this.

Lieutenant Governor, thank you for being here.

Is this a foregone conclusion at this point?

LT. GOV. RACHEL HUNT (D-NC): Well, it certainly looks that way. The North Carolina house takes us up today, but there is really no way that they are going to keep the Republicans from pushing through this late gerrymander.

BOLDUAN: As I mentioned, the governor can't veto it. What can you do about it then?

HUNT: Well, what we can do about it is change who gets elected in the next election. I don't want people to give up hope. I was elected in 2018, in a district that Trump won by nine percentage points. So, this is going to be an 11-point Republican lean now. But that doesn't mean it can't be done. People just have to remember to organize and to get candidates who are fair and have integrity. That's what we need.

BOLDUAN: You've got right now, as I mentioned, ten Republicans and four Democrats in Congress. This new map sets up Republican advantage in 11 districts. What does one seat change, Lieutenant Governor?

HUNT: Well, this takes away a seat that has historically been held by African Americans. It's in a part of North Carolina where there's a large percentage of African American folks. And Don Davis has been the congressman for a little while now. He is going to run in that district again we think, regardless of the fact that he's been drawn out. You don't have to live in the district in North Carolina to run in it. So, we just need for people to stand up and show the Republicans that we mean business. And we are not going to take this latest gerrymander lying down. We are going to fight back.

BOLDUAN: I was going to ask you about that because when -- one of the way this is -- the way this is going to be likely to be redrawn, is it does target Congressman Don Davis. If he is redistricted out -- redistricted out, it means North Carolina is losing one of its three African American representatives in Congress. What does that say about North Carolina?

HUNT: Well, it doesn't say anything good. Look, we know that we need a fair representation of folks in our state in Congress. And like I said, that's traditionally been held by an African American person. And that's where a lot of African Americans live. We have got to make sure that he continues to run there if he wants to. Even though he doesn't live in that district anymore, he can still run in it. And he's been a great congressman. So, people need to return him to Congress. And we need to make sure we elect a fair number of all kinds of folks to Congress, not just white people.

BOLDUAN: You grew up in politics -- you grew up in a political family with a very famous governor as a father, so you've been around politics a long time.

[09:35:08]

And one of the things that I find fascinating here is how clear and open Republicans are being about how blatantly political the motive is here, that Donald Trump wants it, and so they want to do it. They also point to moves that Democrats are making, especially in California, as being kind of fuel to their fire. Do you wish that Governor Newsom wasn't. quote/unquote, fighting fire with fire, as he said, and maybe North Carolina then wouldn't either?

HUNT: Well, I wish this wasn't the situation that we're in right now. If -- if it did have -- if this hadn't all started with Texas, if Donald Trump hadn't been calling on states to give him more congressional seats, then -- then California would never have had to do that.

This is a terrible situation. Gerrymandering has been around a long time in North Carolina. We know how corrupt -- how it corrupts politicians and, you know, the political system.

When my father was in office, this was not the case. And he led for 20 years this state to be a great political engine, a great economic engine. Our public schools were fantastic. Teachers wanted to move here. And look where we are now. We are passing legislation instead of passing a budget, which would give people salaries they could live on, good teachers in public schools, health care that they could afford. But, no, we are just passing politically motivated laws.

BOLDUAN: Lieutenant Governor, let's see what happens today and also what it means then for tomorrow.

Lieutenant Governor, thank you for your time.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, ahead, new reporting for you this morning that some Republicans, ramping up pressure on President Trump to find a solution to the shutdown.

And the Louvre back open this morning after that stunning robbery of an estimated $100 million worth of crown jewels. Two new clues, a helmet and a scooter. We'll talk about it, coming up.

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[09:41:30]

SIDNER: New this morning, some Republican lawmakers now calling on President Trump to jump in and help get negotiations going over the government shutdown. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also demanding a meeting with the president. Earlier this hour our John Berman spoke with Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who says he would support Republicans if they used the so-called nuclear option to bypass Democrats and pass a bill to reopen the government.

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SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I'm always going to vote country over party. I'm always going to vote over paying the military over my party. You know, I'm always going to vote for the two million Pennsylvanians that depend on SNAP over party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining us now is California Congressman Jimmy Gomez.

Congressman, thank you for being here.

Does what Senator Fetterman say resonate with you on any level? REP. JIMMY GOMEZ (D-CA): Senator Fetterman has lost his way. I think

he's abandoned the working class base of Pennsylvania and doesn't understand that they are under tremendous strain when it comes to cost of living increases. That's across the country, when the cost of gas, food, utilities, insurance goes up, up and up, that is crushing people.

So, then they're facing increases in health care subsidy -- in health care cost per month and thousands -- if hundreds of dollars that lead up to thousands of dollars per year. And he wants to basically open the government and let these subsidies go away, hurting his own people. So, what he's saying doesn't make sense because he's not helping the people that he purports to represent.

SIDNER: But -- but he did talk about SNAP, which -- which certainly helps those who are in dire need. Does that resonate with you at all where he's saying, look, you know, it looks as if my -- my colleagues are voting to help some people now by hurting -- or voting to hurt some people now by trying to vote to help others later when it comes to certain -- the health care subsidies, as we can do that after we've got to open the government. How do you see that?

GOMEZ: I think that he doesn't know how to negotiate, to be honest with you. I think that he -- if he basically get -- gives the -- the hostage takers, the legislative hostage takers of the Republicans and Donald Trump, who control the entire federal government by the way, what they want, they're never going to deal with the problems, that they're just going to pass another one big beautiful bill that cuts benefits and SNAP that he tends to forget that they already cut and Medicaid and give -- to give tax breaks to the richest individuals in the country. So, Senator Fetterman needs to really kind of learn how to do his job and then get back to work.

SIDNER: All right, let me ask you about what is happening with immigration there in Los Angeles. You represent a very diverse district in Los Angeles, including Eagle Rock.

U.S. Marshals say one of their agents and an undocumented immigrant were shot by federal agents in L.A. during a targeted traffic enforcement operation by ICE. Federal agents say that they opened fire after the suspect rammed two law enforcement vehicles that had boxed him in, trying to apprehend him.

Here's what DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, said. She -- she blamed the incident on rhetoric from politicians who she said urged undocumented people to resist arrest. How do you respond to that accusation?

[09:45:04]

GOMEZ: Well, I think, once again, they're probably cherry-picking facts or making up facts all -- altogether. And that's because the DHS and Homeland Security, as well as ICE, have been just lying from the get go of what's going on here on the ground.

They -- when I went to the -- a good examples is, when I went to the ICE detention facility, and they didn't let me in the first couple of times, they said because there was a thousand protesters outside. There was no one outside. There was reporters outside that had it all on camera, and it was empty. But they were -- they were saying there was a thousand protesters. They tend to make up facts and lie to the American public to justify their -- their actions.

First, there should -- people have a right -- have certain rights under the law. They can exercise those rights. They should not try to flee or resist arrest because they can -- somebody can get hurt. But the fact that that -- they're saying that that occurred, I don't necessarily believe them. I don't know what the facts are. But I can tell you this, that they do lie over and over again to justify what occurred or what they did in the process.

SIDNER: How much immigration enforcement do you want to see? How should ICE operate, in your view?

GOMEZ: Well, I think that the national -- the federalization of the National Guard, basically this national police force that Trump's trying to put all over the country, is unacceptable. One of the things that we want to basically see is an ICE, as well as a Customs and Border Patrol that respects the rule of law. They're not respecting the rule of law, as we see.

And then, at the same time, we also understand that he create -- he passed $175 billion in his one big bill -- beautiful bill, which is basically a slush fund that he's going to use to build up ICE and CBP across the country. That's not acceptable. And we're going to fight back and try to take that money away from him.

SIDNER: Congressman Jimmy Gomez, I do appreciate you getting up very early there in Los Angeles for us.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, hundreds and hundreds of delays at airports across the country. What's the cause and what does it mean for your flights?

Plus, a daycare center set on fire. And the person responsible, caught on camera running away.

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[09:52:04]

SIDNER: This morning a man's in custody after the Secret Service says he drove his car into a security gate outside the White House. The White House perimeter was briefly locked down as agents and D.C. police went to investigate the scene. No injuries have been reported. The motive behind the crash remains under investigation.

And this morning, a Georgia daycare owner is working with investigators to figure out who that person is that tried to burn down her business. Now, Ring camera shows the person breaking into the daycare and then pouring gasoline down the hallway. You see what the result was there. They lit it on fire. The building, he also tried to light on fire from the outside. The owner says this is the second attack on her daycare, which was supposed to open next week. The building, still standing, although lots of damage, though no one was injured.

And this morning, as if he hasn't already had a wild ride in his life, Travis Kelce wants to help save Six Flags. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end and team of investors bought a 9 percent stake in Six Flags. The merger last year between Cedar Fair and Six Flags has largely failed to increase attendance at the company's parks. Kelce says the investment is a personal one. He says he is an amusement park lover.

John.

BERMAN: Good for him.

All right, new overnight, staffing issues causing delays as some of the nation's busiest airports. We're talking about Chicago's O'Hare. That was a 38-minute delay on average. Newark, they were up to an hour. There were also issues at Houston as well.

Let's get to CNN's Pete Muntean for the latest on what's causing this and if it's just going to keep getting worse, Pete.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Talk about a roller coaster ride for air travelers, John. Short staffing means that sometimes the FAA has no choice but to put these delays in place to keep things safe. And it all added up to thousands of delayed flights last night.

The reality is, this will likely get worse before it gets better, as you allude to there. There's really already, and we've been talking about it for years, a major shortage of air traffic controllers nationwide. They're reporting to work right now without pay during this government shutdown. And all it takes is a handful of them to call out sick to trigger a ripple effect across the air traffic control system.

Last night, staffing shortages hit United Airlines pretty hard. Newark and Houston are among the airline's biggest hubs. About 16 percent of all United flights nationwide were delayed on Tuesday. Southwest also hit hard. The shortages caused Houston Hobby, it's the smaller Houston airport, a Southwest hub, to go into a ground stop for part of the evening. The airline delayed 500 flights nationwide by the end of the day.

Most of the shortages last night were at FAA terminal radar approach control facilities, which handle flights down at lower altitudes as they're coming in and out of major airports. But the problems were limited to just five FAA facilities. We're talking less than 2 percent of all facilities nationwide. Just one more example of the outsized impact of these shortages.

[09:55:03]

A lot of people have said to me that staffing has been a problem for the FAA for all time, and that's true. But we ran the numbers, and so far there have been 193 air traffic control staffing shortages during this government shutdown. That's more than four times the number over the same period a year ago. Controllers got a partial paycheck last Tuesday. They'll get their first zero paycheck this coming Tuesday. And we'll see if this shutdown ends by Thanksgiving, when air travel is expected to break records and the system will be pushed to the limits, John.

BERMAN: So, Pete Muntean bringing the math here to show that this one is -- it's worse than it's been. We appreciate your reporting, as always.

MUNTEAN: Never do math live on TV.

BERMAN: Believe me, we don't even try, as we're trying to count down to the end of the show here and failing.

SIDNER: We leave that to you.

BOLDUAN: I'm trying to -- exactly. What are we supposed to --

BERMAN: We've been failing.

BOLDUAN: Nineteen seconds and you --

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE) you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SITUATION ROOM" up next.

Literally was like, math.

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