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Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is Interviewed about Obamacare Subsidies; Trump Dealt a Blow in Indiana; Simon Rich is Interviewed about "All Out: Comedy About Ambition." Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 12, 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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[09:31:59]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the clock very much ticking on assistance for health care premiums for millions of Americans. They could see costs rise when those extended Obamacare subsidies expire in less than three weeks. And at this point, it does look like they will expire. The Senate failed to move yesterday on two proposed measures. So, what happens now?

With us now is Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican from New York.

It's great to have you here.

You are backing one of two now bipartisan measures. And by bipartisan, I mean it does have support from some Republicans and some Democrats that would extend subsidies, the Obamacare subsidies, at least for a time.

On that narrow question, why do you think it is so important for these subsidies to be extended?

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): Well, first of all, we know that the Affordable Care Act was never really affordable. And so, these subsidies are important to keep these premiums low. The issue that -- what we've brought to the table is a solution that is bipartisan and common sense because it not just extends those subsidies, but it puts in necessary reforms that go after the fraud, that go after some of the ways that insurance companies and their brokers enroll people. We've seen people with Social Security Numbers being enrolled multiple times. It is -- it is really egregious what has happened here.

And so, our solution here not only extends those subsidies, it allows half of the money to go into health savings accounts where individuals can pay down premiums. That is something that is currently not allowed in law today. And it also again reins in insurance companies and their brokers, as well as PBMs, which we know they are the middlemen that are the reason why our pharmaceutical costs are so high.

So, I think this is a very good package. As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, I'm very proud to have introduced this with Brian Fitzpatrick and six other members. Again, half Republican, half Democrat. And we've been pushing for a floor vote. As a matter of fact, a representative from our caucus is meeting with the speaker right now, along with other four major caucuses, to see if we can get an amendment vote on this next week when we vote on the other Republican proposals that will actually drive down premiums by 12 percent as well.

BERMAN: The other proposals aside, Speaker Johnson's been very reluctant to give you this vote, to give any vote on extending the Obamacare subsidies. How do you feel about that?

MALLIOTAKIS: It's very frustrating. And many of us are keeping the pressure up. And that's why I'm with you today, to continue to talk about why this is so critical. This affects about 24 million people across the country, including members of Congress, by the way. We are on the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, exchange. And people don't know that. They think we receive free health insurance. That's simply not the case. This affects seven percent of the nation. In my district it's about 80,000 individuals. So, I think it is incredibly important that we do something.

[09:35:00]

And this is, again, a reasonable solution. It's not a clean extension of the status quo, which is what many of the Democrats are proposing. It is not a complete expiration, which is what many of the Republicans are proposing. This is truly a bipartisan, centrist approach, and we are going to continue to push for a vote. And as you played a clip earlier, President Trump speaking, he understands that this is going to require a bipartisan solution, a bipartisan vote. It's not going to pass along party lines. And so, we need to come together as a group. This doesn't address -- this is a critical, important issue for the American people. And we're hoping that we'll get it done.

BERMAN: Yes, look, and we don't fully know what the president meant by what seemed to be some outreach last night, but we certainly haven't heard him call for a vote on extending the Obamacare subsidies, right? So, what would you like to hear from him on an extension of the subsidies?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, I'd like to hear that he supports our bill, because I think that's the most common sense, reasonable solution that does everything that needs to be done for this moment, gives us more time to work on more proposals that can drive down health insurance costs, but it does rein in insurance companies and the brokers and the PBMs that are the reason why prescription costs and insurance premiums are so high in this country. And it does, of course, provide this temporary extension to keep those premiums down in the time being.

And so this is -- this is, I think, the best solution, which was why I was proud to introduce it with my colleagues. And we're hopeful that we can get the backing of the White House. And, you know, the president has said he wanted to do something. I think this is the thing he should embrace, and we'll see what happens when our caucus finishes its meeting with the speaker today. BERMAN: Your district does not border Indiana, but overnight Indiana

decided not to redistrict their congressional districts. The White House had been pushing them really hard. And the Republican lieutenant governor, Micah Beckwith, confirmed to "Politico" that the White House was leaning on the state senators there, suggesting that Indiana would lose sort of benefits and federal support if those senators did not vote to redistrict.

How comfortable are you with that kind of pressure?

MALLIOTAKIS: Look, I've been very clear for the last five years, since I've been a member of Congress, I do not support political gerrymandering. I don't care if it's a Republican state, like Texas or Indiana, doing it, or if it's a Democrat state, like California or New York. As a matter of fact, in New York, I'm facing a frivolous lawsuit by Democrat Washington attorneys trying to claim that my district somehow disenfranchizes minorities, when I am the first minority as a woman and Hispanic to represent this district. It is a terrible attempt, a desperate attempt to silence the only Republican district in the city of New York and eliminate the only conservative voice in Washington that we have.

And so, I'm against political gerrymandering, and I will continue to speak out regardless of who does it.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Nicole Malliotakis from New York, thanks for being with us.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A huge explosion caught on camera. What triggered this terrifying moment in one California neighborhood.

And some of the funniest names in show business headed to Broadway. The man and the mind behind "All Out" joins us.

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[09:42:41]

BERMAN: All right, state senate Republicans in Indiana just dealt a serious political blow to President Trump and the (INAUDIBLE) Indiana Republicans perhaps two more congressional districts there. So, why did these state senators resist so much pressure from the president himself and the president's political team?

With me now, I think, he's getting his microphone worked on, CNN senior chief data analyst.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, look there.

BERMAN: He speaks so loudly he doesn't even need a mic.

ENTEN: No, I don't need a mic. That -- that's -- that is called on the spot training right there. Phil absolutely doing perfectly with that mic on. Hopefully you can hear me now. BERMAN: I was doing this. I was stretching. Stretching to Harry Enten.

ENTEN: This is stretching. That's called stretching.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, as you know.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: OK. State senate Republicans in Indiana resisting the president and all this pressure. Why might they feel emboldened to have done that?

ENTEN: OK. You know what, Donald Trump, I'm going to borrow a quote from my favorite Rocky film, Rocky four, he's not a machine. He's not a machine, he's a man. He's a man. And what are we talking about here? Strongly approve of Donald Trump. OK, this is 2024 Trump voters. In March it was 66 percent. Look at where we are now. It's just 50 percent of 2024 Trump voters strongly approve of him.

Look, Trump voters still like Donald Trump, but they don't love him as much. And that means there's a permission structure to actually go against him. And that is exactly what you saw in Indiana. As I said, he's not a machine. He's not a machine. He's a man. You can go against him as exactly they did in Indiana.

BERMAN: And "Politico" was reporting that there were threats from the White House to them. Basically, I will break you to quote Rocky four, and they must not have believed it.

ENTEN: No, they did not believe it one iota.

BERMAN: All right, so let's talk about redistricting writ large here. Where do things stand right now?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, where do things stand right now? You know, Donald Trump started these redistricting wars with the idea, hey, this could give us an edge going into the 2026 midterm elections, which normally go against the White House party. You know what? It's basically turned into a nothing burger because, look, likely redistricting gains for 2026. We got the Democratic gains on the left side. We got the Republican gains on the right side. Democrats, five in California, one in Utah, because of the Supreme Court, and then Texas, four for Republicans, Missouri, one, North Carolina, one, Ohio, one. That's seven. That's six. It's basically turned out into a wash. Maybe Republicans plus one seat.

[09:45:01]

But the bottom line is, Donald Trump made us go through all of this. And the end result is, it really doesn't change all that much.

BERMAN: And just to be clear, there's no guarantee the districts go this way.

ENTEN: No.

BERMAN: It's just what the experts, like Dave Wasserman and you, think is likely to happen there.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: So these are in the states where it's sort of a done deal now.

What's left in terms of what else could be redistricting?

ENTEN: Yes, what else is left? Again, it's, again, likely mostly a wash, because in Virginia, we're looking at Democrats potentially gaining up to three seats. Then in Florida, Republicans, one, Louisiana, one. Of course, we're going to have to wait on a Supreme Court decision there.

But again, this basically cancels out. So, all this talk about redistricting, we've done so many segments on it. And at the end of the day, meh.

BERMAN: We'll never get those hours back. But, Harry, what are the prediction markets then think about who is going to control the House, because that's what every -- this is all about.

ENTEN: Yes, that's what it's all about, right? So, OK, chance of winning the House in 2026. You go the day before the Election Day, it was pretty tight between the Democrats and Republicans, right? Democrats with the 58 percent chance, Republicans with a 42 percent chance. But since Election Day, it's all basically gone in the Democrats' direction. They are the clear favorites to take back the House three to one. That's not a guarantee. But at this point, Democrats are in the driver's seat.

BERMAN: Chief data analyst Harry Enten, we heard every word of that. Great job with the microphones. Great to see you.

A lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

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[09:50:46]

SIDNER: This morning, what happens after a construction crew apparently hit an underground gas line under a home? A Ring doorbell camera captured the moment that the house explodes, shredding it to pieces. At least six people had to be taken to the hospital because of this.

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SIDNER: Sheesh. That happened in Hayward, California. One witness said it looked like watching a war video. An investigation is currently underway.

All right, the U.S. Mint is unveiling its design for a special series of coins celebrating America's 250th birthday. For one year only, new designs will appear on the nickel, the dime, quarter and half dollar. Even pennies will be back for a short run. John's clamoring to get to those. Anyway, it will feature the dual date 1776 and 2026, and have unique designs reflecting key moments in American history.

And if you happen to miss the Taylor Swift wildly popular Era's Tour in person, you can get a good look in the comfort of your own home. The new six part docu series just released. The series goes beyond the scenes, behind the scenes, and everywhere else. It shares some very candid moments and the enormous efforts it took to create and do the show. The series also touches on how Taylor Swift navigated the really difficult emotional stress of multiple security threats during her shows in Europe.

Kate, stop gossiping.

BOLDUAN: I -- what?

SIDNER: I know what you guys are doing over there.

BOLDUAN: Let's do -- let's focus here.

SIDNER: I know what you're doing. You're preparing deviousness.

BOLDUAN: Sara, get over here.

Some of the biggest names in comedy are converging on Broadway, joining forces for a new show called "All Out: Comedy About Ambition." The show will feature a rotating cast of comedians like Eric Andre, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Jim Gaffigan, and clearly many more.

Over the course of 12 weeks, four actors appear at a time reading hilarious stories about ego, envy, greed, and ambition, all written by comedian and author Simon Rich.

What is all hilarious?

Rich, who has worked on "Saturday Night Live" as well --

SIDNER: He's funny.

BOLDUAN: As many other projects that you have no doubt heard of. The Broadway debut of "All Out" is tonight.

And Simon Rich is here with us ahead of that.

Thank you for waking up and coming over.

SIDNER: Hi.

SIMON RICH, HUMORIST AND WRITER: Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: What's hilarious about ambition?

RICH: Well, I think it's the characters that don't quite achieve their ambition. I think my favorite character in the show is probably Paul Reveres' horse, who basically delivers a kind of tell all celebrity memoir about Paul Reveres' midnight ride and makes the reasonable point that he maybe deserves more credit than he -- than he got for the ride since he did all the riding. BERMAN: He did everything Paul Revere did and more, right?

RICH: Exactly. So, Eric Andre (ph) plays that horse this week. But it's a rotating cast. So, people come in and out. It's very similar to "SNL" where they kind of parachute in for a week or two. And that's what's fun about it is a different cast pretty much every week.

BOLDUAN: Oh, a thousand percent.

BERMAN: Well, if it keeps on changing, do some people do it better than others?

SIDNER: Oh.

RICH: Well --

SIDNER: Don't answer that. He's setting you up.

RICH: Objectively, there is an answer to that question, but I won't give that answer.

BERMAN: But there is an answer.

(CROSS TALK)

RICH: Mathematically, yes, but.

BERMAN: He's --

SIDNER: He's still ambitious and does not want to be crushed. So, we're not trying to get this man in trouble.

BERMAN: But I want to delve more into this. I don't want to let you off the hook here.

So, you know, do you ever say to (INAUDIBLE), like, you need to be more like Jon Stewart, I'm sorry, or --

SIDNER: Wow.

BOLDUAN: I mean --

BERMAN: Or is he not one of the ones who does well?

RICH: I'm Switzerland. Everyone's great.

SIDNER: Where do all these ideas come from? Because I, at first, was like, I wonder if this is autobiographical. But apparently you didn't -- you never lived Paul Revere's horse.

BOLDUAN: He is not Paul Revere's horse.

SIDNER: A horse's (ph) life. So --

RICH: I've never been a horse. Yes, I mean, but I've always loved to write from different perspectives. And the weirder they are, somehow the more personal they become. There's a story in this one that's told entirely from the perspective of New York City.

SIDNER: Oh, I'm going to like that.

RICH: Played by Abbi Jacobson, with a -- with an ax to grind against young people who just basically destroy the streets with their -- with --

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE).

RICH: Yes, with their stilettos. And, yes, I've always enjoyed writing from unusual perspectives

BOLDUAN: Did it -- do they -- when you approached the comedians to join you, what is that conversation like? I mean, I assume that everyone's like, absolutely, yes, but maybe not. Like, is there convincing to be done to get someone to come join you on Broadway?

[09:55:04]

RICH: Well, for a lot of people it's their Broadway debut, which is really exciting because it's people who I know, you know, from the world of TV and film.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

RICH: But Broadway is its own very unique experience. I've always loved, like, comedy, Broadway revues, like "Beyond The Fringe" and, "The Penn and Teller Show," which I saw as a child.

BERMAN: Oh, wow.

SIDNER: Oh, yes.

RICH: And "The Full Moon," "The Clown Show with Bill Irwin." And this is sort of in that, in that category, but sort of updated for --

BERMAN: I can't believe this is opening tonight and you're here with us this morning.

BOLDUAN: I know.

SIDNER: What are you doing here?

BERMAN: First of all --

RICH: It's really important, I think, you know, with all the consequential issues of the day for your -- for your viewers to hear from me, a comedy writer who specializes in talking horses.

BERMAN: We couldn't agree more.

But -- so, you had a show like this last year about love. This one is about ambition. What other major subjects are you thinking about exploring?

RICH: That's it. BERMAN: That's it? There's nothing else?

RICH: (INAUDIBLE)

SIDNER: Not like hatred or something else?

RICH: Nothing. No, that's probably it. (INAUDIBLE) written about (ph).

SIDNER: That's it. That's where it --

BOLDUAN: No, just like rage. Rage is a really good one (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: He's left that to you. He's left that to you.

SIDNER: Oh, really? I wonder -- I wonder who would really enjoy the rage one.

BOLDUAN: Both of you stop. This is about Simon, guys.

SIDNER: OH, yes, right. That's correct. Simon's here visiting with us.

BOLDUAN: What are you most excited for the audience to see?

RICH: I mean, in addition to these incredible performers, we have an amazing rock band, Lawrence.

SIDNER: Oh.

BOLDUAN: Oh, that's right.

RICH: Which is just -- they're absolutely fantastic. And they play original songs throughout the show. And they're just a wonderful band. And it's been so fun to see them live on stage.

SIDNER: We're going to be -- be able to come like live in your head, by the way.

BOLDUAN: Well, I mean, I was like, we are excited to come when you invite us.

SIDNER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

SIDNER: Oh, I'm, by the way, I'm --

BOLDUAN: Simon Rich.

SIDNER: I'm on the website already.

BOLDUAN: You rock. Thank you.

RICH: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SIDNER: I'm getting tickets.

BERMAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Congrats on tonight.

RICH: Thank you. Thanks a lot.

BERMAN: Congratulations.

That's all for us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Have a great weekend.

SIDNER: Do you know how to read? What are we saying?

BOLDUAN: To read?

BERMAN: I don't. THE SITUATION -- it's Friday. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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