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CNN This Morning
Trump Signs Bill Forcing Release of Epstein Files; Is the Economy OK? Why It Might Not Feel That Way to You. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 20, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:05]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department now has 30 days to release the Epstein files. So, what are we really going to see? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you trust the Department of Justice? I don't think you can right now. It's sad, but it's the fact.
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CORNISH: There are new questions this morning about what could be made public.
And he's been linked to the Epstein investigation. Now, Harvard professor Larry Summers stepping away from his teaching role.
And former White House officials gathering for Dick Cheney's funeral today. Two current leaders not on the guest list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make no mistake, Ryan Wedding is extremely dangerous. He's extremely violent, and he's extremely wealthy.
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CORNISH: From Olympic snowboarder to alleged snow dealer, how Ryan Wedding landed on the FBI Most Wanted List.
And Melania Trump and Usha Vance teaming up for a visit to military families in North Carolina. They've got a message about the dangers of A.I.
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KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The household survey wasn't conducted in October. So, we're going to get half the employment report.
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CORNISH: Critical jobs data missing because of the shutdown. Job site Indeed filling in the gaps, and their forecast isn't pretty.
It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. This is a live look at the White House.
Good morning, everybody. It's Thursday, November 20. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we begin.
President Trump signing the bill, forcing the release of the Epstein case files. He's going to sign that into law. And now we're trying to figure out what happens next.
The Justice Department has 30 days to unseal the files, with a few exceptions. For instance, to protect ongoing investigations, something Attorney General Pam Bondi has already alluded to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What changed since then that you launched this investigation?
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Information that has come for -- information. There's information that -- new information, additional information. And again, we will continue to follow the law to investigate any leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, in a lengthy social media post, Trump took credit for the bill's passage.
One official tells CNN the law is a chance to, quote, "change the narrative." Trump also blamed the entire controversy on Democrats, despite the fact that the bill passed through a Republican-controlled Congress saying, quote, "This latest hoax will backfire on the Democrats just as all of the rest have."
A new poll from Marquette University suggests it's all backfiring on Trump so far. The poll shows 74 percent of registered voters disapprove of how he has handled the files.
For the survivors of Epstein's abuse, just signing the bill is not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALEY ROBSON, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: There is nothing they're going to tell me that I'm going to wholeheartedly believe anymore. You already failed me, and the government failed me.
And when I cast that ballot for you, for President Trump, I truly, wholeheartedly believed him when he, in 2024, said that he wanted transparency and that he would do this. But how can I believe a government who has ignored me for five administrations?
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Betsy Klein, CNN's senior White House reporter; Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director; and Meghan Hays, former Biden White House director of message planning.
Before we come to Betsy, I want to turn to our messaging people, because the last couple of days have been all about how do you talk about this thing that has had such a wild path over the last couple months? Right?
All these Republicans holding out, and then it's almost unanimous vote to release them.
Mike, what do you make of how the president is trying to spin this? He had a kind of uncharacteristically long Truth Social message.
MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, look, we're -- we're -- when we were here last Thursday. I think the conversation was, how long is this going to drag out? Is this going to --
CORNISH: As long as its Truth Social message?
DUBKE: Exactly right. And now -- now -- we're in a totally new world, because the White House finally -- finally -- this weekend shifted and said, let's put it all out. We had the vote.
And then the big debate was, how long is it going to take the Senate to pick it up? That night, signed, delivered. And now the question is, how long before we get these records? I think they're all going to come out pretty quickly now.
[06:05:03]
CORNISH: But why do you think that? Because a lot of the survivors do not.
DUBKE: Yes.
CORNISH: They're looking at a Justice Department that has put, you know, Ghislaine Maxwell in a softer security prison. And they're expecting, if anything, to get redacted materials.
And now Bondi is saying, look, we've got another investigation with some new stuff I didn't mention before, but we definitely have to investigate it. So, maybe stuff won't come out.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they have the right to be skeptical here. They have been through an enormous ordeal over a long amount of time.
And what Pam Bondi laid out, we have more information. There is more information. She did not offer any details or insight into what that information is and how this has changed.
CORNISH: Yes. Which would not be remarkable if she hadn't prior said there is no more information.
HAYS: OK, so meanwhile, for Democrats, the person who is most, in Congress, under scrutiny for this is a Democrat. The representative from the U.S. Virgin Islands, who was literally taking notes from Epstein on a phone call during a hearing.
I'm confused about this, because Republicans didn't vote to censor her, either. So, everyone says it's bad, but none of them are doing anything about it.
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I mean, it's bad judgment, for sure, on her part, but they're not going to do anything, because they know that they've also done things probably similar in testimonies. And they don't want all of their correspondence to be called up.
And we just had that bill where they, some of the senators are going to get $500,000 for having their phone records looked at to see who they were calling and receiving calls from.
CORNISH: So, if this sounds confusing, you're not the only one. I want to play for you Joe Rogan, one-time Trump supporter. Here's him trying to make sense of what's supposed to happen next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Epstein files.
JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: I heard there's no files. I heard it's a hoax. And then all of a sudden, he's going to release the files. Well, I thought there was no files.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man.
ROGAN: He wants an investigation now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen --
ROGAN: Like, what is going on?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAYS: I think that's where -- I think that's where Donald Trump wants us to be.
CORNISH: Mike.
DUBKE: No, no, look. Well, first of all, going back to -- it's mutually assured destruction. They didn't censor her, because they. Exactly. You are exactly right, first.
Secondly, I'm saying everything all -- you know, all the time right now and why they should be skeptical, the -- the victims of -- of Epstein's heinous crimes.
But I think all of this, Washington wants to put it behind them. Maybe the Democrats don't yet, but the White House definitely does. That's why I think --
CORNISH: The White House definitely does.
KLEIN: The White House does. The president has been trying to move on from this for six months now.
DUBKE: And he -- and it failed. And it failed.
KLEIN: But then, he launched a new investigation that's just going to keep it in the headlines and keep generating --
CORNISH: That was my question. Once you launch a new thing, all the people who really care about this will have the right to keep asking about it.
DUBKE: Yes.
HAYS: A new investigation is what's going to keep the files under wraps. And that's why I don't think we're going to see all these files. They're going to say they're still under investigation so they can keep that. They have the right, then, to not release them.
But this is the only issue that the American people are united on. That is -- the polling is showing that. And it's been doing this for months. So, it's -- it's not going away.
CORNISH: Yes. We should note, the Marquette poll found 43 percent of Republicans approved of how he has handled this. Needless to say, that drops down to the teens for independent voters.
I think a lot of people want to put it behind them, but we're going to talk about it more on the show today. Because it is basically a lot of open questions.
Coming up further on CNN THIS MORNING, a Florida Congresswoman indicted, accused of stealing millions of dollars in disaster aid. How investigators say she actually spent that money.
Plus, the September jobs report will be out later this morning, seven weeks late.
And the Justice Department's case against Jim Comey is now hanging by a thread. Why a judge is questioning the indictment.
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[06:13:24]
CORNISH: It is almost 15 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning round-up.
Florida Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is facing theft and money-laundering charges. The Florida Democrat was indicted on charges of stealing $5 million in FEMA money meant for COVID vaccine staffing.
The Justice Department accuses her of using a significant amount of money to support her 2021 congressional campaign. She is facing 53 years behind bars, if convicted.
Today, Washington, D.C., hosts the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney. President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance will not be there, because they weren't invited.
The four living former V.P.s will be there, along with former presidents Bush and Biden.
Cheney died after battling pneumonia and heart disease. He was 84 years old.
President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani set to meet tomorrow. The president said he'll host the, quote, "communist mayor of New York City" in the Oval Office.
Mamdani says he asked for the meeting and wants to speak to the president about affordability for New Yorkers.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, from Olympian to fugitive. A Canadian snowboarder added to the FBI's Most Wanted List.
Plus, Wall Street versus Main Street. The stock market is booming, while many Americans are struggling to find a job.
And good morning, Baltimore.
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CORNISH: So, is the economy, like, really OK? Because if you're out of work or struggling to find a job, you are not alone.
The White House and the economic data say that -- that things are strong. But for a lot of Americans, especially young people, it doesn't really feel that way. So, why does the economy look good on paper and feel different in real life?
So, on my podcast, "The Assignment," I was talking with CNN business senior writer Allison Morrow to help explain that gap.
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CORNISH: Because the unemployment rate for young people is 9 percent in August.
ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yes.
CORNISH: And I was like, I'm sorry, what? That's -- that's 2009 numbers. You know what I mean? That's great recession numbers for the under 25s. And we're talking college-educated, non-college educated.
MORROW: Yes.
CORNISH: To see an unemployment rate getting near 10 percent.
[06:20:02]
MORROW: And I think a lot of that is -- is fear of A.I., fear of uncertainty about the overall strength of the economy.
So, if you're a big company, and you would normally hire 300 people, and, you know a percentage of those are entry level, you might just hold off. You might just not post those jobs; or post them, but not actually hire on them, because you're waiting to see whether this economy is going to hold steady or whether you're going to end up six months from now with a stock market bubble that collapses. And then you have to deal with a recession.
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CORNISH: Now because of the government shutdown, the long-overdue September jobs report is finally being released today, almost seven weeks late.
With less data to work with, experts are still trying to figure out the true health of the economy. Job site Indeed has its own forecast for where hiring is headed.
And joining me now is Laura Ullrich, Indeed's director of economic research for North America.
Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.
LAURA ULLRICH, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH FOR NORTH AMERICA, INDEED: Good morning, Audie. Thanks for having me.
Just very briefly, before we get into it, how easy is it to figure this stuff out now that there are real question marks from the Bureau of Labor Statistics? Right? The chief economist fired. Now these delays. Where are your numbers from?
ULLRICH: Well, I won't pretend that I'm not excited to get more data from the BLS this morning. I definitely am.
But at Indeed, we -- we are really lucky to have the internal data that we have, to be able to look at both the labor demand and labor supply.
CORNISH: So, your data is showing you that health care, civil engineering, home health, these areas are up, that there are more job postings in these areas.
ULLRICH: Yes.
CORNISH: Meanwhile, looking at things like media communications, science, R&D are down.
Can you talk about these shifts? Because I think people will look at it on its face and say, probably A.I.
ULLRICH: Right. Yes. And A.I. is impacting the market, but we really don't think that's the dominant thing impacting the labor market right now.
There have been, over the past two years, there's been a lot of growth, especially in the health care and social assistance subsector. And that really has made up for some of the job losses we've seen in other sectors, like business and professional services and technology.
So, we see it as really kind of a tale of two labor markets, where some parts of the economy are doing quite well and others are struggling.
CORNISH: Where do you see some of the shifts? Meaning, are employers not hiring because of policy reasons, what they see coming out of the White House, given like whatever month it is?
Or do you see it aligning with other economic trends?
ULLRICH: We do attribute much of what's going on in the labor market to economic uncertainty.
When things are uncertain, I think Allison made great points in the podcast. When things are uncertain, businesses, people have a harder time making decisions. They might slow down that decision making, right? They may choose not to hire while they wait.
And so, that does lead to this kind of overall macro view of this low- hire, low-fire environment that we continue to see.
CORNISH: But when you say "uncertainty," uncertainty from where? Right? Like, is it --
ULLRICH: Right.
CORNISH: -- because of tariffs? Or do you see it in areas that are tariff-touched sectors of the economy? Is it because of other issues?
ULLRICH: Yes and yes, I would say. I think it's all of the above. It is policy uncertainty. In our trends report, we -- we highlight immigration policy uncertainty as one of those -- those factors.
But it's also -- it is uncertainty about A.I. and the future of that and A.I. investment. It's uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy and interest rates. It's -- it's uncertainty about the current administration's economic policy.
So, I think it's all of that together creates an environment where, for some companies, it's difficult to move forward.
CORNISH: Laura, what's your advice to young people who are sending out resume on resume, getting basically no responses? And then out in the world, they've got an economy where Apple is selling a sock for your phone, and they can't afford Chipotle guac.
Like, what could you possibly tell them that would make them feel good about this situation?
ULLRICH: Absolutely. It is a tough market for young workers, because if companies aren't hiring a lot, and they're also not laying off a lot of people, then there aren't a lot of new positions being created for these young workers.
However, we do see strengths across some sectors, as I mentioned previously. We also see a lot of strength in certain geographies.
So, we talk about in our report that in the smaller MSAs, the smaller metros, in the U.S., they're -- actually have much higher job postings levels than we see in the largest cities.
So, I would say for young people, first of all, just keep moving forward. Keep applying, keep building your resume, even if that takes additional volunteer work or something you weren't planning on doing in 2025 or 2026.
But also broaden your outlook on where you might start your career, as well. You may have a hard time starting in the tech sector, for example, right now, but there are positions, tech positions open in healthcare and other sectors.
[06:25:10]
And it might be in a location that you didn't plan on originally, but there are job opportunities out there across the U.S.
CORNISH: OK, Laura, I hope we can have you back. Thanks so much for talking with us.
ULLRICH: Thanks for inviting me. I'll come back anytime. Thanks.
CORNISH: All right. We talked about a lot of things on "The Assignment." If you want to check out this latest episode, it is out now. They're out every Thursday.
And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, for a former Olympian turned alleged drug kingpin. Now the FBI is offering a $15 million reward to get him in custody.
Plus, today's the deadline for the royal, formerly known as Prince Andrew, to let the House know if he will testify in the Epstein investigation.
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