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This Weekend: Trump Beats Drums Of War With Venezuela Threats; This Week: Democrat Tries To Flip District Trump Won By 22 Points. As Democrats Try to Flip Seat This Week, Trump Renews Map Battle; Republicans Return to House in Chaos; On the Political Radar. Aired 8- 9a ET

Aired November 30, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:26]

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MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): War footing. President Trump threatens military action in Venezuela.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The land is easier. That's going to start very soon. Stop sending poison to our country.

RAJU: While at home, in the wake of the National Guard shooting, he clamps down on immigration.

TRUMP: If they can't love our country, we don't want them.

RAJU: Is his furious reaction overreach, or is it what Americans want?

Plus, Tennessee flip.

AFTYN BEHN (D), CANDIDATE FOR TENNESSEE'S 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: I'm Aftyn Behn.

MATT VAN EPPS (R), CANDIDATE FOR TENNESSEE'S 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: I'm Matt Van Epps.

RAJU: Heavy hitters descend on a critical race as Democrats seek to ride their momentum.

BEHN: On December 2nd, I think Tennesseans are going to send a message to the country.

RAJU: Can they actually flip a ruby red seat? Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn joins me live.

And they're back.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We have this joke that I'm not really a speaker of the House. I'm really like a mental health counselor.

RAJU: With costs rising and another critical deadline looming, is Congress spiraling into chaos?

RAJU: INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.

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RAJU (on camera): Good morning and welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.

President Trump is spending the holiday weekend at Mar-a-Lago and on the golf course and sending a barrage of missives on social media affecting politics at home and abroad. Beginning yesterday morning, when he declared the airspace above Venezuela, quote, "closed in its entirety" amid what he says is a campaign aimed at disrupting drug cartels, prompting Venezuela to accuse Trump of an, quote, "illegal and unjustified aggression" against their country.

Meanwhile, at home, he's taking his anti-immigration agenda to a whole new level in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington with a suspect, an Afghan national. Trump now threatening a host of new measures halting all asylum decisions, saying he would pause migration from, quote, "third world countries" while warning that green card holder green card holders from certain countries would have their papers reviewed. And his rhetoric has gotten even coarser.

There's a lot to unpack this morning, and I have an excellent panel to break this all down with. Tia Mitchell with "The Atlanta Journal- Constitution", CNN's Stephen Collinson and "USA Today's" Susan Page.

Good morning.

TIA MITCHELL, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning.

RAJU: Happy past -- happy Thanksgiving, belatedly. Nice to see you all here.

I want to start what's happening with Venezuela, because I think a lot of Americans don't realize what's happening down there. We're seeing the biggest military buildup down there in the Caribbean in decades, and it's not entirely clear what the next steps are going to be. Theres been more than 80 people killed in these more than 20 boat strikes that have occurred. The administration says it is about disrupting these cartels, but the buildup is much broader than suggesting a simple effort to try to get rid of cartels.

Is this what is this? Is this an effort to try to topple the Maduro government there? Is this a possible war that they're preparing for, or is it saber rattling?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: I think one of the reasons why we don't know the answers to that is because the administration hasn't really explained it very well. To your point, it does look like a psyops operation to try and topple maduro, the president of Venezuela, or to get the generals around him to do it for the United States. The administration's argument that this is all about drug trafficking is somewhat curious, because if that was the aim, there might be other places in Latin America where you would start it.

The polls, for example, show massive, overwhelming opposition among Americans to a war in Venezuela. A lot of people think it would be incompatible with the president's, you know, foundational belief of no more foreign wars. But this is a very MAGA thing. I think there's clearly an attempt by the administration to project American power through the Western Hemisphere.

That's not new historically, but they're backing all of these populist right-wing leaders through Brazil, Argentina. The president intervened in the election today in Honduras, saying he was going to pardon the former president of Honduras, who was guilty, found guilty in the U.S. of drug trafficking. So that undercuts one of the big rationales.

So, it's very unclear, I think, exactly what the strategic goal is of the administration.

RAJU: And speaking of the polls, as you as you mentioned it, just the CBS News poll just out recently about whether Americans would favor U.S. military action in Venezuela, just 30 percent, 70 percent would oppose.

[08:05:01]

I mean, to Stephen's point, typically when you see a military campaign, there is a buildup, there's a messaging strategy. We saw this with George W. Bush in the Iraq War. There's really been none of that with the Trump administration right now.

SUSAN PAGE, USA TODAY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: In fact, an even higher percentage in that poll said the president needs to explain what's going on there. Three fourths of Americans said that two thirds of Republicans said they needed to hear more explanation from Trump before moving ahead. So clearly, this would be, I think, politically here, a risky maneuver and one hard to square with the pardon he's promised now to a Honduran president who has undergone due process and been convicted, as opposed to the people, the 80-plus people who have been killed at sea, who have not gone through due process before being killed by American forces.

RAJU: And there are these questions that are building on the Hill, too, about the campaign that's going on there.

Yesterday, we saw the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee come out and demand answers about a military strike that occurred, a boat strike that occurred in early September, in which Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, apparently ordered everyone who was on those -- that vessel to be killed. There's some concern about the way that it was conducted that could have violated the rules of armed conflict. MITCHELL: Yeah.

RAJU: It just shows you the -- you don't really see this kind of bipartisan calls for information investigation when it's Republicans leading these committees asking the Trump administration for details.

MITCHELL: It's bipartisan. It's both the House and the Senate. And I think, you know, we don't have a lot of information, even about the 80 people who were killed. And -- but the little bit that has been reported as media has been digging is that they were relatively low level, on, you know, the hierarchy of drug trafficking. They were probably just regular people who were hired to do the transporting, not necessarily the masterminds behind the operation.

So again, the question is, if you're just killing the mules, so to speak, does that really affect the operation? Because at the end of the day, probably the cartels saw them as dispensable as well. So, I just think there is so much problematic about these killings, about the buildup, about what the plan is for Venezuela.

And I think most Americans, not just -- I mean, Trump, as we've talked about his whole campaign, was centered around ending foreign wars, focusing on domestic issues. But even beyond that, I think a lot of people in America are just like, why Venezuela? Why now? Why in this way? It just doesn't. There's just not enough evidence or information.

RAJU: And I want to get back to what you referenced earlier here, Stephen, about this, pardon that Trump gave to the former Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, because what the Trump administration is saying is that this Venezuela campaign is about to disrupt these drug cartels. They say they campaign on it. This is what this is about.

Well, Hernandez was given an $8 million fine by a U.S. judge just last year and sentenced for 45 million -- 45 years in prison for his role in drug trafficking.

This is how "The New York Times" put it. So, the two posts displayed a remarkable dissonance in the president's strategy as he moved to escalate a military campaign against drug trafficking while ordering the release of a man prosecutors said had taken, quote, cocaine fueled bribes from cartels. It goes on to say, prosecutors said, that Mr. Hernandez for years allowed bricks of cocaine from Venezuela to flow through Honduras and route to the United States.

Trump said in his pardon about why he did it, he said. He said many people said that he was treated very harshly and unfairly.

COLLINSON: Yeah, and that seems to be the rationale that he was a former president who was forced to face justice. We've seen this before, in fact, in Brazil with the president looking after his political allies. Clearly, it's completely incompatible with the idea of a drugs war. But at the same time, I think this is a president and an administration that's increasingly seeking to use its power for its own purposes while it can and perhaps isn't as much worried about polls and the Constitution and power as perhaps it should be, given the fact that a lot of Republicans are worried about how this all plays out in the midterms.

PAGE: You know, the fact that the Republican chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee are willing to announce that they're going to investigate this, demand some answers from the Trump administration, strikes me as one sign of the erosion we're beginning to see with President Trump's standing, even with his own party.

We've been waiting for years for this to happen. It's been predicted again and again. But his approval rating is down to a record second term low. Republicans are increasingly nervous about what's going to happen in the midterms to them in next year's election.

RAJU: Meantime, he's announced all these immigration efforts as well. While this is all happening in Mar-a-Lago, the shooting of these National Guard members happened in Mar-a-Lago.

[08:10:06]

One of them, sadly was killed, another one fighting for his life. Trump then going on social media saying he would go all out on a whole wide range of actions. While he was in Mar-a-Lago -- of course, he was -- he was playing golf. He posted this on social media, playing golf with the LIV golfer Brooks Koepka, the former NHL great Wyne Gretzky, the Fox News host Bret Baier. That happened yesterday. Trump posted a chip shot that he made also as well, pinned that to the top of his Truth Social account.

But he was also announcing pretty aggressive immigration actions. Among them, halting all asylum decisions, pausing the visa issuance for travelers with Afghan passports, saying that he would permanently pause migration from all third world countries. And it goes on.

The question is, how much can he actually do and whether the American public likes it? To Susan's point before you jump in, look at Trump's handling of the issue of immigration right now. Sixty-two percent of American adults disapprove, 69 percent of independents disapprove of his handling of immigration. This used to be his strength.

MITCHELL: Yeah. And the perception was that Trump was initially when he came back to the White House, he said, I'm doing what I was elected to do, which is crack down on immigration. So, this polling indicates that people think he's gone too far because it's not like he hasn't done what he campaigned on, but he did it in a way that I think some Americans perceive as extreme.

And now, he's announcing more policies that in many ways are not only extreme, but again, it's the lack of focus. What are we trying to accomplish here? Because if this is about the very tragic killing of the national guardsmen, then then we need to know more about the motives behind that killing to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

By all accounts, this individual accused of killing the national guardsman was vetted, was a legal immigrant, legal. So, some of the things that the president is announcing don't seem to really be about anything other than more extreme immigration rules. RAJU: Yeah, I have to go back to thinking of how they explained it.

Kind of just like the way the Venezuela campaign, they said they were going to do the largest deportation force in history. Trump campaigned on that. Sure.

But then when they were asked after they won, well, what does that look like? They didn't quite explain it. They said that we'll get rid of the -- you know, the most violent criminals and, you know, but it's like, okay, then what? And we've seen this go much further than the most violent.

COLLINSON: And I think the what was popular was securing the border, which was one of the great criticisms of the Biden administration. If you look at the polling, every time it gets more extreme, the numbers go down.

I think the narrative after this terrible killing of the Guards member and the injuring of the other one was they're trying to expand the available pool of people that might be in favor of tougher immigration measures, because that is ideologically what a lot of people in the White House want to do. Past experience suggests that that may not be possible. And in some ways, I think it's also trying to obscure any questions about where these Guards placed in vulnerable positions by the people that sent them there in the first place.

RAJU: Yeah. All right. Well, much more to dissect there.

And next for us this week, Democrats think they just might be able to flip a deep red district in Tennessee. And both President Trump and AOC are diving in.

The Democratic candidate, Aftyn Behn, who has Republicans on edge, will join me live.

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[08:16:49]

RAJU: This week, the center of the political world is a ruby red congressional district in Tennessee. The type of place where Democrats would ordinarily never have a chance. But both President Trump and the GOP congressman who recently resigned coasted to victory in Tennessee's seventh district, which encompasses parts of Nashville and wide swaths of rural areas.

But suddenly, with less than 48 hours to go, both parties have poured millions in the final stretch, with Republicans scrambling to avert an electoral disaster.

Joining me now is the Democrat who hoped to flip this seat and narrow the GOP's razor thin House majority, Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn.

Representative Behn, thank you so much for being with me this morning. Really appreciate your time. As you know --

BEHN: Thank you for having me.

RAJU: Absolutely. As you know, this is a district that is solidly red. Both Trump and GOP Congressman Mark Green won it by about 22 points. But your record is pretty progressive. So, is that really in line with the more conservative voters in your district?

BEHN: Well, the reason this race is competitive is because the Washington Republican agenda of delivering us an economy that works for everyone has not delivered. And I think it's hilarious that Republicans and their billionaire friends are trying to spend millions to save a seat that they should win without thinking but if we flip this seat, it will send a message that the Republican Party needs to get serious about lowering health care costs.

RAJU: Before we dive into some of those aspects in your race, I do want to get your views on your party because there's been a debate for -- since last year about the way forward in the party and the like, and voters still have a very low opinion of Democrats per many public polls. Even one recent poll showed that just 29 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Democrats.

So, what about your view about your party and your party's leader, specifically about your party's leaders? Do you have confidence in your party's leaders

BEHN: Well, I've -- you know, I've been running this race as a Democrat that cares about affordability. And I think that's what's going to win it for us.

I think that there is a new generation of leadership in the party, and especially from the south where you know, we want to see Democratic leaders that step up, especially in moments like this that require a fearless, bold leadership.

[08:20:02]

And that's, you know, what I'm offering the district. And I think it's resonating with voters.

RAJU: If you had a chance to, would you vote for Hakeem Jeffries as speaker?

BEHN: We represent very different districts. And I've got 48 hours to flip a congressional district and really send a message to Washington, like I said, that they need to get serious about health care costs.

Honestly, I haven't thought about it. But I want to say that I have been really grateful as someone who has organized in the South, her entire life, I've been very grateful for the national support in this race.

Tennessee is often a state that is overlooked and disinvested in and to see national surrogates and national supporters, providing monetary support and jumping in, it really means a lot to all of us. We welcome it all. RAJU: Speaking of that, I mean, because we are seeing both sides

sending these big name surrogates in these final hours before Tuesday. And tomorrow, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez holding a tele- rally for you. Are you in line with her ideologically?

BEHN: Well, like I said, I think that there is a strain of the Democratic Party that cares about holding corporations accountable and lowering costs for working families. And my politics are one, an alignment of that. I've been as a state legislator, I've worked to eliminate Tennessee's regressive grocery tax. As an organizer, I work to make health care more affordable in the state of Tennessee.

And so, I think those are the Democratic leaders and candidates that I really resonate with, are those that are trying to lower costs for working families.

RAJU: Yeah, because Trump has been calling, you, quote, the AOC of Tennessee. So, I mean, aren't you just feeding into that narrative by appearing with her?

BEHN: Like I said, were really grateful for the support across the political spectrum. And if you, and for your listeners, the tele-town hall also features former Vice President Al Gore, who is a Tennessee legend. So, I look at it as iconic that you have -- you know, Democrats from all political stripes joining in on this moment and saying, you know, we are standing up to what is happening in Washington, and we want to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

RAJU: Yeah, because some of those you are campaigning with, including AOC, have called for ICE to be abolished. You have sharply been -- sharply critical of the ICE raids in Nashville. But do you think that ICE should be abolished?

BEHN: Like I said, I've got 48 hours to flip this congressional district, and have been dogged about the message of affordability. And that's not what I'm hearing in the district. What I'm hearing is people, especially rural voters, are driving four hours to a hospital without care. We've got veterans that are going without -- you know, care because the V.A. hasn't been fully funded.

And so, these aren't the issues that I'm hearing about in the district. What I'm hearing about is that grocery costs are high, utility bills are high, rent is high. And there's no kind of end in sight.

And so, my message has been one to lower costs, and I think it's resonating across the district, which is why this race is so close.

RAJU: But you have been critical of the past on these ICE raids. Do you think they should -- all these ICE raids in Nashville should stop?

BEHN: I mean, it's been hard. I am a -- in my district. I represent a Hispanic community. And I'm also a social worker. And so, prior to that ICE incident, I was out knocking doors in my district, talking to Hispanic constituents who said that we are concerned about the overreach of our federal government.

And so, as a lawmaker, I represent 60,000 voters. As a congresswoman, I'll represent, you know, 400,000, 700,000 voters. And so, I take into consideration the real issues that these voters and my constituents are living with, one of which is they -- you know, they don't want their federal government overreaching in their communities.

RAJU: Some of the -- your past tweets have gotten attention, including in 2020 when you posted, then deleted -- then deleted a post that said, quote, "Good morning, especially to the 54 percent of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified." And another, you appear to support -- supportive of a demand to, quote, "defund the police". Do you regret posting those comments?

BEHN: Yeah. So that during the George Floyd moment when the entire country was demanding accountability and safer policing, and what I've always believed is that communities need investment, they need investment to be safe. They need investment in mental health responders, first responders and youth programs to reduce that crime.

And, you know, I was a private citizen back then, and now I'm a lawmaker. Like I said, I represent 60,000 voters with diverse political opinions. And what I hear from families across the seventh district is that they want safe neighborhoods and they want to lower the cost of living. And that's where my priorities are.

RAJU: So do you -- so, should you not have posted those?

BEHN: Like I said, I'm a lawmaker now and so I wouldn't post things like that now and haven't, because I've definitely matured.

[08:25:00]

And I think that speaks to the moment as well, that I've spent 10 years organizing in a state to ensure that communities are able to access investment for, you know, community response and safety. And I'll do the same as the next congresswoman for the seventh congressional district.

RAJU: I do want to ask you about an attack line from Republicans, because this has been -- this is a comment you made in 2020 about Nashville. It's gotten a lot of attention in your race. Let's -- let's listen to this

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEHN: I hate this city. I hate the Bachelorettes. I hate the pedal taverns. I hate country music. I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an "it" city to the rest of the country, but I hate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: I know you said those comments were taken out of context, but I want you to -- I want to ask you about it because I'm wondering, do you think it was a mistake to say that? BEHN: Once again, I was a private citizen. Nashville is my home. Do I

roll my eyes at the bachelorette parties and the pedal taverns that are blocking my access to my house? Yeah, every Nashvillian does, but this race has always been something -- about something bigger. It's about families across middle Tennessee that are getting crushed by rising prices, while Washington politicians and billionaires argue about this type of nonsense.

And so, once again, I've been steadfast and dogged in my message about addressing the affordability crisis in Tennessee. And like I said, the race is close because that is what I've been doing.

RAJU: So, this fall, after 43 days, the longest government shutdown in American history, just six Democrats voted with Republicans in the House to reopen the government. Virtually all Democrats, including your party leaders, voted no because there was no new health care policy included in it. So, if you were in the House at the time, would you have voted with your party leaders to keep the government closed or with Republicans to open it?

BEHN: Well, to highlight an anecdote from the district that I think encapsulates how voters felt. I was at a health care town hall in Clarksville and a black female veteran who works at the social security office burst into tears. This was during I think the government shutdown had just ended perhaps, and she, in her tears, said, you know, why do I have to trade my pain for someone else's? Alluding to the fact that, you know, the Democrats you know, were holding out to ensure the ACA subsidies.

So, I want to flag that I think there's a lot more nuance in politics that were -- were not giving credit for. And I'm someone who always listens to my constituents and more importantly, like a lot, most people don't want to think about government and the fact that they've had their government front and center. For the past nine months or 12 years or 12 months speaks to the fact that they just want a government that works effectively for the people and to deliver lowering costs for them.

And so, I just, you know, there's a lot of nuance, and I'm someone who always listens to my constituents. And I would have taken that into consideration in that vote.

RAJU: So, if you had, it's a yes or no vote. So how would you have voted?

BEHN: At this point, I'm not a congresswoman. Like I said, I would have wanted to hold a bunch of town halls across the district to see what folks thought, because I heard from a lot of -- especially employees that work in federal government, that they've gone two and a half pay periods without pay. However, I've heard from constituents who also want to ensure that the ACA subsidies remain. So, you know, it was a tough decision and I would have voted with my district.

RAJU: Okay. All right. Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I really appreciate your time. BEHN: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

RAJU: Absolutely.

Next, my panel is back to weigh in on this high-stakes race.

Plus, the battle over gerrymandering. Why? One Republican in a key state is saying no to President Trump.

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[08:33:08]

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: So you just heard my interview with Democrat Aftyn Behn, who is suddenly in that high stakes House race. But do Democrats really have a chance to flip that deep red Tennessee seat?

And what about President Trump? Why, with everything else going on, has he set his sights on strong-arming Indiana Republicans?

My panel is back to answer those questions.

So first, on Aftyn Behn, I asked her about would you vote to keep the government open? She didn't exactly say -- she didn't say. She said she would take into consideration her constituents' concerns. Asked if she thought ICE should be abolished -- she's showing up with AOC tomorrow in a tele-rally -- she wouldn't say directly. Wouldn't say if she would vote for Hakeem Jeffries as speaker. She leaned very hard on the issues of affordability.

It just speaks to the fine line she has to walk at this critical moment.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, USA TODAY: Yes. So she's pro affordability. That's what I take.

RAJU: Right.

PAGE: But unwilling to really express opinions on other things. And yet, as you say, having AOC come in to appear with her, if she's trying to go for turnout of Democrats, seems to me she needs to be a little more forthright herself. And if she's trying to walk a line to attract Independent-minded and maybe some Republican voters, she needs to speak out more, it seems to me.

If -- for her to win this race would be a surprise. The fact that we're talking about the possibility she could win this race is a surprise. And whatever happens on Tuesday, a warning sign for Republicans.

RAJU: Yes, I was curious if she was going to dive into, you know, she has a progressive past, if she would really dive into it, embrace it, and say, this is who I am.

I'm going to fight for this, because this is where the politics are. This is where she sees her district at this moment, especially given who she's appearing with or she has appeared. These Democrats have helped her in this race so far.

[08:34:50]

RAJU: Al Gore, she mentioned coming tomorrow as part of that tele- rally. Pramila Jayapal, who's the leader of the congressional -- one of the leaders or past leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, appearing with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And then Kamala Harris was out there recently too on a get-out-the-vote rally.

These are people that not necessarily you would consider, you know, moderates.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes. I think she's trying to do two things. On one hand, she is trying to give the appearance that she will, and I mean, I think its genuine.

She wants to show voters, particularly in those rural areas, that she is Prepared to be a congresswoman for all of her constituents, which means even if she's a progressive member of the State House, she wants them to believe that she will be open-minded and listen to their concerns and be prepared to moderate her stances if that's what the district is reflecting.

But on the other hand, she has an election she's trying to win on Tuesday, which is why she's having all these surrogates from progressive to more moderate establishment Democrats to help get out the vote, because I do think their polling must be showing them that it's close enough that she could actually pull this out if Democrats turn out.

RAJU: And that's the big thing, because Republicans are -- both are spending tons of money, both sides in this final stretch. And Democrats really hope to ride their wave of momentum, which we've seen in special elections this year.

If you look at the 2024 House Margin versus this special election margin, if you compare apples to apples, those same districts how they did last cycle versus a special elections this cycle, Democrats are doing better in almost -- in every single race by double digits, significantly improving their performance from the year before.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: And I think this tells us what a godsend this affordability question is. It's because this race encapsulates the dilemma that Democrats have.

They know they need their base to come out, as you said, to win these elections, but they need to talk to a much wider cohort of voters.

Now, the question this election poses is whether affordability is such a powerful argument that it can, you know, overcome some of the suspicions the more moderate voters have about these Democrats. And does it diffuse the normal MAGA attack lines like this person's you know, very left wing? They were for defund the police, et cetera, et cetera.

Is affordability such a powerful force that it can supersede all of this?

PAGE: You know, there's -- we've talked about redistricting or we're going to talk about redistricting, there's a little warning flag about redistricting here.

This is a district that was created by Republicans in 2022 to be a safe Republican district.

RAJU: It's chopped up.

PAGE: They chopped up Nashville into three different congressional districts in order to make it. So that's exactly what they're doing in states like Texas.

And the warning sign is, have they, by diluting these Republican districts, will they really run a risk of losing some seats that they thought were safe Republicans?

RAJU: It's such a good point, because that's exactly what's happening in Indiana right now. The State House is convening tomorrow to deal with this gerrymander that Trump is pushing very hard, pressuring State Senate Republicans who are resisting his efforts so far to fall in line, threatening primary challenge with them repeatedly saying in Truth Social a few days ago, "I will make sure that those people supporting me win their primaries and go on greatness, but if they don't, I will partner with the incredible, powerful MAGA grassroots Republicans to elect strong Republicans."

Not -- a not-so-subtle threat.

But there has been some pushback. There was one Indiana Senate Republican, Mike Bohacek, whose daughter has Down Syndrome. Says he's a no on redistricting. And he cited Trump calling this really outrageous social media post where he called Governor Tim Walz, quote, "seriously retarded".

I mean, that is a terrible word that people don't -- should not be using these days.

MITCHELL: Yes.

RAJU: The President of the United States is using that, calling the governor of Minnesota using that word. And as a result, he might have lost a vote, a key vote.

MITCHELL: I mean, I think it's more -- it was a vote he never had, but that post probably further solidified this Indiana state senator from saying, you know, you want us to -- you're trying to bend our ear and you want us to be open to you. You haven't proven that we should trust you on this.

You haven't proven that this is the right thing to do in this Truth Social post that was full of problematic statements that many perceived as racist, xenophobic.

You know, he went after a female member of Congress, and then he used this term that's very problematic.

You know, again, I think Indiana state senators are like, we don't see it for you and this is a reason why.

RAJU: Yes. We'll see if Trump often gets what he wants, particularly with state legislators. We'll see if the Indiana Republicans fall in line as well.

All right. Next, an unruly caucus, resignations and a leader who jokes he's more of a mental health counselor. As Congress returns, will chaos reign?

[08:39:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: Yes. They're back.

The House has barely been in session this fall, with Speaker Johnson keeping his chamber out of Washington for nearly two months during the government shutdown fight. But the chamber is back tomorrow for a pre- Christmas sprint.

And now many of his conference have a question that sounds a lot like that famous line from the movie "Office Space" -- what would you say we are doing here?

The frustration about the way forward comes amid warnings of more retirements or even resignations.

My panel is back with me.

I mean, that's the question. Because they passed a giant bill in July -- the Big, Beautiful Bill. It has a ton of stuff in there.

[08:44:51]

RAJU: But since then, they've been sort of rudderless. And that's the frustration you're hearing from House members, particularly if you look at the calendar here.

They've barely been in session, the Speaker kept them out for two months in -- about two months, and they had the August recess and those days in white on your screen are the days they were not -- have not been in session. So hardly any days since July.

MITCHELL: Yes, I think it's -- again being speaker of the House, it's a tough job. He, you know, he came in under tough circumstances. He's been trying to avoid government shutdowns, trying to help President Trump carry out his agenda. And I think also that slim majority, there are a lot of really restless House members.

And -- but I do think the Big, Beautiful Bill turned out to be really problematic because it was so unpopular. So on one hand, they did give President Trump what he wanted. But I think they spent a lot of political capital on it. And quite frankly, it was the precursor to the affordability message

that Democrats really drove home during the government shutdown.

So I think it's just been -- it's -- he's between a rock and a hard place because they don't really have an agenda for themselves. And Trump's agenda isn't really popular.

RAJU: Yes. And they -- when they're in Washington, typically they like to drive towards doing something like what are -- they're not driving towards doing anything at the moment, which is why you're seeing all these censure resolutions, people going into these tit for tat and these battles, rather than a larger message on what they're trying to deliver and what they're trying to send to the American public ahead of the midterms.

PAGE: And a problematic debate about what to do about extending the Obamacare enhanced subsidies.

RAJU: A vote could happen by mid-December in the Senate, but the Republicans don't know how to handle that.

PAGE: You know, the last Republican speaker who liked this job, I think you'd have to go back 20 years to Denny Hastert, right? Or maybe Newt Gingrich before he was -- before he had to resign.

This has been a very tough job in the -- in the era of the Tea Party movement and the MAGA.

RAJU: Yes. And those -- we know how that ended up for some of the speakers that have succeeded them. And you're seeing just all this dissatisfaction among the members in the rank-and-file, about whether they'll actually stay in Congress.

Just look at the house members who are leaving at the end of this term -- 17 Democrats, 23 Republicans. This is -- 39 House members are planning to leave congress at the end of this term right now. That's ten more than at this point in the 2024 election cycle.

And just yesterday, Troy Nehls, another Texas Republican, said he would not run for reelection, could be replaced by his identical twin brother conversely.

But beside the point, it is also notable about the amount of members who are calling it quits.

COLLINSON: And I think Marjorie Taylor Greene talked for a lot of lawmakers when a lot of them are asking themselves, what are we actually here for?

Part of that is that there's not really a big legislative push coming from the White House. The president just sees passing bills as, ok, I got to win. He's less interested sometimes in what's in it.

I don't know how the Speaker is going to get out of this Obamacare situation, because if these subsidies expire at the end of the year, Democrats -- the Democrats I've spoken to are absolutely ready to write those ads in the midterm elections on health care.

The president before Thanksgiving, when he was going down to Mar-a- Lago, he seemed to indicate that he thought he needed to pass an extension to these subsidies.

But for Republicans who've come to Washington from very conservative districts voting to save Obamacare is a terrible vote for them to take.

RAJU: I mean, that's why they came forward. Trump signaled he was going to move ahead with an Obamacare vote or do something on health care, got some pushback. And then we haven't seen a health care plan from the White House.

MITCHELL: And I mean, again, what Marjorie Taylor Greene has been saying, where's our plan? And Thune has guaranteed a vote on something by mid-December, you know. So that's in a couple of weeks.

I think Republicans also are just running the risk of, again, those ads writing themselves because they don't -- there are many House Republicans that aren't going to vote for extending those subsidies.

RAJU: Difficult, difficult votes in the weeks ahead.

All right. Next in our political radar, why a key meeting in Florida today has many in both parties, including top Republicans, quite nervous.

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RAJU: Topping our political radar, three stories that we're watching this week.

First, today outside Miami, a critical meeting as the world watches nervously. As the war in Ukraine approaches its four-year anniversary, a Ukrainian delegation meets with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. As President Trump ramps up pressure on Ukraine to back a peace deal with Russia.

It comes two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide resigned amid a corruption probe. And after a bombshell leak of a phone call between Witkoff and a top Kremlin aide, where the two appeared rather chummy and Witkoff expressed his deep respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin. All amid fears among prominent members in both parties that the Trump administration is pushing hard for a deal too heavily-tilted towards Russia and at the expense of Ukraine.

The big event of the week, an expected meeting between Witkoff and Putin.

Also this week, first lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her new production company Friday on social media. It's called Muse, after her Secret Service code name. [08:54:45]

RAJU: The announcement comes ahead of the January 3rd release of an eponymous Amazon documentary she produced about her return to the White House.

And finally, Iran's soccer federation will boycott this week's 2026 World Cup draw here in Washington, claiming the U.S. denied visas to members of its delegation.

The Trump administration issued a travel ban on citizens from 12 countries, including Iran, earlier this year.

It said there were exemptions for the World Cup, but it was unclear if that included the draw. Iran has asked FIFA to intervene.

That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju and follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS. You'll also find me on TikTok and on Instagram.

And remember, in the United States, you can now stream INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY live or catch up later on the CNN app and just visit CNN.com/watch for more.

Dana Bash's guests on "STATE OF THE UNION" include Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.

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