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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire In Lebanon Due To Begin Within Hours; Trump's New Tariff Vow Threatens Higher Prices On Popular Imports; Game On, Trump's Incoming Border Czar Vows Mass Deportations During Texas Border Visit; Walmart Rolls Back DEI Programs After Right-Wing Backlash; 7.4 Million Americans Could Gain Medicare Or Medicaid Coverage For Anti-Obesity Drugs Under Biden Proposal. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 26, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, deadly fighting in Lebanon is expected to pause within a few hours, as a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah takes effect. President Biden touts the agreement. One of his top national security advisers will be joining us live to discuss what this means for the broader conflict in the Middle East.

Also this hour, President-elect Trump's vow to impose huge new tariffs is threatening to increase prices on popular imports from Mexico to Canada and China.

[18:00:03]

Will Americans who voted for Trump to ease inflation wind up with a serious case of sticker shock?

And Walmart is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, responding to the right wing backlash against DEI programs. America's largest retailer and other big companies are feeling the heat on social issues as the new Trump era is about to begin.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Alex Marquardt and you're in The Situation Room.

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is due to take effect just about three hours from now. We are following this breaking story and getting new reaction here in the United States. But for right now, let's get to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who is in Northern Israel. So, Jeremy, give us the latest on this truce and what we can expect in these next few critical hours.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, as you said, we are just a few hours away now from this ceasefire taking effect, ending perhaps what has been a nearly 14-month long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as we have watched these two sides trade rocket fire and airstrikes across this northern border.

That fighting, of course, escalated significantly over the course of the last two months with Israel pounding Hezbollah targets, not only in Southern Lebanon, but also, of course, in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, and Hezbollah intensifying its rocket fire towards not only Northern Israel, but Central Israel as well.

But now this 60-day truce is set to take effect in a matter of hours that will see the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from Southern Lebanon, up to some 20 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel will also withdraw its forces, which have been along some of the first lines of villages in Southern Lebanon for just over a month- and-a-half at this stage now. And the Lebanese military then moving into those areas and will then monitor and enforce this ceasefire going forward. And it is expected to build into a lasting truce if indeed the two sides can get there.

And there is, of course, a major question mark over that, especially as the Israeli prime minister insists that Israel will have the right to enforce any violations it sees itself. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The duration of it will depend on what happens in Lebanon. We keep a whole freedom for military freedom. And if Hezbollah will rearm itself, we will attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And our understanding is that the agreement itself, the ceasefire agreement itself, doesn't actually say that Israel has the right to do that, but there have been assurances, according to Israeli officials from the United States, a separate side letter between the U.S. and Israel, where the U.S. basically says, according to these officials, that Israel can indeed enforce this deal itself.

President Biden said that Israel will retain the right to self- defense, which isn't exactly the same language that the Israeli prime minister used there. So, that will certainly be a major question going forward.

MARQUARDT: Yes, important notes there. Jeremy, you've been speaking to people where you are in Northern Israel about this ceasefire. What are they telling you?

DIAMOND: Listen, there's been extraordinary skepticism in these northern Israeli communities about this ceasefire agreement with a lot of them -- a lot of people here concerned that that they don't trust Hezbollah, that this agreement won't actually make Northern Israel safer, that Hezbollah could re-infiltrate these communities.

And some of these leaders, including the mayor of Kiryat Shmona, who I spoke to earlier today, one of the most battered cities in Northern Israel, he told me that he believes this is a surrender agreement rather than a ceasefire agreement. He actually went to a meeting with the Israeli prime minister this evening as the Israeli cabinet was about to convene to vote on this matter. He said that it was a very contentious meeting that he didn't leave any more convinced about the safety of his community of following the ceasefire agreement following his discussions with the Israeli prime minister.

What is clear is that, for now, before that agreement goes into place, Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon remain a very dangerous place, as the Israeli military continues to conduct airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, also just now issuing evacuation orders for the southern suburbs of Beirut. And we've been having rocket sirens all evening here in Nahariyya in Northern Israel as well. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Yes, still putting out evacuation orders despite the fact that this is supposed to go into effect in just a few hours. Jeremy Diamond there in Northern Israel, thank you so much.

Joining us now from the White House is the principal deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer. Jon, thank you so much for joining us on this really important day.

This ceasefire deal has been in the works for a very long time. The administration has been trying, but failing, to broker this deal even before Israel launched the ground invasion into Lebanon.

[18:05:01]

So, what do you think it took for this deal to come together now?

JONATHAN FINER, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, I think I'd say a few things about that. First and foremost, as your opening indicates, none of this was inevitable. It was not inevitable that this deal would come together. And it was, in many ways, the persistence of President Biden, of our diplomatic team and of negotiators from the two countries involved that led to this moment.

But there were predictions that this conflict could go on for months, even for years. And so, fundamentally, this is a far better outcome than I think many predicted.

Second, and this is really important, this is a good day for the people of Israel and the people of Lebanon. Notwithstanding the comments that you read earlier, this gives at least the prospect of people who have been driven from their homes by the fighting, hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of what's called the blue line that separates Israel from Lebanon now have the chance to return to their homes. And that is not a small thing, but implementation of this agreement will be key. And we will be very vigilant to any attempts to disrupt what the two parties have committed to as part of this process today.

And then third, and I think this is also important, and the president really underscored it in his remarks, we are going to test whether this creates space for further progress either towards a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, and towards the broader effort toward regional integration ultimately, including normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia that the president and our team have been working on for many months, including long before October 7th.

We are going to test that proposition and see how far we can take this momentum. MARQUARDT: I do want to ask you about Gaza in just a second, but I want to get your reaction to some comments from Trump's incoming national security adviser, Congressman Mike Waltz. He just tweeted that, quote, everything is coming to the table because of President Trump. To what extent do you think that is true, that Trump played a big role here and the Israelis being willing to make this deal now with Hezbollah?

FINER: You know, it's interesting. I won't say too much about this, but I heard lots of predictions that this deal would not come together because perhaps the government of Israel or the government of Lebanon would only want to do this deal in the context of a new administration, in the context of after the transition. Actually, the opposite ended up taking place. Now, you're reading me a comment that suggests actually the deal only took place now because there's going to be a new administration.

Frankly, I don't put a lot of credence in either of those views. I think this deal was the result, as I indicated, of some incredible persistent diplomatic work by our government, by the other governments involved. And, fundamentally, I think it's also important to point out that the threat that Israel faced across the border that Hezbollah unleashed on Israel on October 8th, the day after the October 7th Hamas attacks, and that Israel has faced ever since then, Israel dramatically diminished throughout the course of recent weeks. And I think that work backed by the United States is a big part of why we got to this agreement today.

MARQUARDT: There was a glimmer of hope, Jon, back in September when the White House announced that a 21-day truce would go into effect. Israel quickly rejected that. Now we're learning that Israel does have the right of what the president called freedom of action in Lebanon. So, does that mean that Israel is allowed to strike in Lebanon as it sees fit?

FINER: I think it was the prime minister who used that phrase, not the president. What the president has said, and what the agreement clearly captures, is the inherent right to self defense, and by the way, for both countries. Nothing in this agreement reduces Israel's ability to defend its sovereignty, its people from the threat that still exists, by the way, across the border, even though it has been diminished. And the United States will continue to stand up for that, notwithstanding this agreement, which we believe fundamentally makes both countries safer and the people on both sides of the blue line much safer than they were before today.

MARQUARDT: When you look at the death toll in Lebanon, more than 3,000 killed in the southern part of the country, dozens of villages wiped out, huge destruction in the center of Beirut. Does the administration approve of the way that Israel went after Hezbollah all across Lebanon?

FINER: Look, there was a horrific cost to this war. There's a horrific cost to the war in Gaza, as we've been quite clear about and I've talked about now for many months. But Israel also faced a horrific threat across its border, a threat that, in this case, it did not provoke. That threat came to Israel on October 8th in the aftermath of the October 7th attacks, when Hezbollah chose, it's stated in solidarity with Hamas to begin attacking Israel and Israel ended up being compelled to defend itself.

So, I'm not going to get into the puts and takes of who did what to whom during the course of this conflict, certainly not on the day in which a deal has been reached to resolve it. I acknowledge very much so that there has been horrible suffering in Lebanon and in Israel. And we're very glad that as of 4:00 A.M. local time tonight, that that suffering should be brought to an end and we will be working on implementation of this deal.

MARQUARDT: And you did mention Gaza. Can you explain to me how you hope to use this moment to step up efforts for a Gaza ceasefire, what you might do in concrete terms, whether Secretary Blinken or Director Burns might be heading back out to the region to try to strike a deal?

[18:10:09]

FINER: So, I won't get into the tactics, but what I will say is I think there has been the belief on the part of Hamas that perhaps the eruption of a broader regional conflict or the eruption of a conflict across the border between Israel and Lebanon might distract the IDF in some way, might take the pressure off of Hamas in some way. Actually, I think the reaching of this deal, the conclusion of this deal further isolates Hamas.

And so what we will be testing is whether that leads to a negotiating position that can allow us to finally reach an end to the war in Gaza through the only way that we believe it can ultimately end, which is a diplomatic agreement that leads to a ceasefire and a deal that gets the hostages home at long last.

They have been gone far too long. As I think everybody knows, Hamas, unfortunately, has been refusing to engage in recent weeks, perhaps in the hope again that the distraction of the Israeli military or the eruption of these other conflicts would take the pressure off of it. I think, definitively, it is clear today that that is no longer going to be the case.

And so we will see whether this creates the space and the momentum to try to get a deal there too.

MARQUARDT: Certainly eyes turning back to Gaza.

Jon Finer of the National Security Council, thank you so much for joining us, Jon.

FINER: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Just ahead, from cars to sneakers, how prices on all sorts of items could rise if President-elect Trump ignites a new trade war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00] MARQUARDT: There is rising anxiety around the world tonight that President-elect Trump is on the brink of igniting a global trade war. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich reports now on Trump's new pledge to impose steep tariffs on major U.S. trading partners and how that could hit Americans in their wallets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A trade war is brewing.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to tariff the hell out of them.

YURKEVICH: The casualty, the American consumer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to see higher prices.

YURKEVICH: On his first day in office, President-elect Trump says he's putting a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada. China will get hit with an additional 10 percent tax on top of existing tariffs. The reason, Trump says, incentive for these countries to stop the flow of migrants and illegal drugs coming into the U.S.

GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: I suspect we'll encounter some new headwinds that our industry will have to navigate.

YURKEVICH: Mexico, Canada, and China are the United States' key trading partners. The U.S. imports the majority of cars and car parts from Mexico, so the price of your car could go up. America's top import from Canada is oil. The tariffs could send gas prices up $0.25 to $0.75 in some regions. And the U.S. imports a lot of electronics from China, in addition to sneakers, toys, sports equipment and furniture. For example, China makes a sneaker, a U.S. company buys it, pays the import tariff, and then makes a choice, eat the cost or pass it to you.

Before the higher tariffs announced Monday night, Americans could expect to spend $2,600 more each year under Trump's original tariff proposal. Inflation is expected to rise by 1 percent. U.S. retailers like Steve Madden are already moving production out of China to beat the tariffs and keep prices low for U.S. consumers. Small businesses don't have that same option.

RYAN ZAGATA, PRESIDENT, BROOKLYN BICYCLE COMPANY: There isn't really an easy solution beyond passing that cost onto consumers. Small businesses are very much uniquely challenged. I don't have the option of calling up Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan to do a bond offering to build a factory.

YURKEVICH: And then there are retaliatory tariffs, which could also impact U.S. businesses who export to other countries. Mexico's president hinted at that very notion Tuesday.

One tariff will be followed by another in response and so on until we put common businesses at risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (on camera): Now, there are people that support President- elect Trump's tariffs, mainly in his inner circle. One such person is Elon Musk, who has called tariffs highly effective. Billionaire Bill Ackman says that tariffs can be used as a weapon to help inform foreign policy, the economy and politics and President Trump's pick for secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessemt, has said that he supports targeted tariffs, not blanket tariffs, not excessive tariffs, because he believes that that can actually be harmful to the economy.

So, it'll be interesting, Alex, to see if he is confirmed whether or not he will share that point of view with President-elect Trump. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Yes, it certainly will. Vanessa, thank you so much for that report and please stay with us.

I want to bring in our political experts and expand this conversation. Mara, to you first. Many believe that Donald Trump will use tariffs selectively as a bargaining tool to incentivize these other countries to help tighten U.S. border controls over drugs and migrants, that kind of thing. Do you think Trump is going to follow through with these broad tariffs or is this more of a bluff?

MARA LIASSON, SENIOR NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: We don't know. In the past, his threat to put big tariffs on other countries has been a bluff. And he tends to threaten, or, for instance, when he renegotiated NAFTA and came up with something called the U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, the two agreements were hardly different at all, but, of course, he said one was hugely better. So, we'll see.

I mean, I think it's going to be very hard for Mexico to wave a magic wand and stop fentanyl from coming into the United States. Demand has a lot to do with it and there are a lot of customers for fentanyl inside the U.S.

So, we don't know if he's bluffing. Is this just a negotiating tactic? I think the markets think it is. They don't think he's going to go through because the consequences economically to all those people who voted for him hoping he would bring down the price of eggs will be pretty harsh.

[18:20:04]

MARQUARDT: And, Scott, to that point, if this is indeed a bluff, if these countries call that bluff and don't really make any big concessions, do you think Trump would move forward with broad tariffs really at the expense of the American people, the people who just put him in office?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think they need to be prepared to reap the consequences of ignoring Donald Trump. In fact, I already read that Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, and Trump had what he called a productive conversation on the phone yesterday. So, I think he's already getting some response here. They need to listen to the president, because he has a legitimate point. You have people flowing over the border. You have deadly drugs flowing over the border. Yes, there are big economic issues at play here, but there are national security issues and life and death issues at play. He ran on this. He also ran on securing this country from the kinds of illegal immigration and illegal drugs that are crippling communities.

My sincerest hope is that they take him at his word, that he will go through with it, because if they do, then they will come to the negotiating table right away and we can get something productive done on immigration and drugs and we don't have to go through with this in the way he's laid it out.

But I'm kind of glad he's taking a firm hand with them. He needs to because they have been failing, and they've been bad neighbors on this to the United States.

MARQUARDT: But, Scott, he also ran on lowering inflation. So, if these tariffs actually fuel more inflation, is there another plan for him to lower it? I mean, that is what a lot of his voters wanted to see.

JENNINGS: Yes, we'll have to see how it plays out. I mean, it's absolutely true that particularly Mexico, you know, so much is tied up in the U.S. supply chain. And that's absolutely true. And I'm really hopeful that they listen to him and that they pay attention to him and that they understand the American people aren't going to stand for having a terrible neighbor to the south anymore.

MARQUARDT: Maria, back in 2018, you wrote about the trade war under Trump and you wrote, quote, as expected, these countries are now retaliating with tariffs of their own that will hurt U.S. farmers, manufacturers and blue collar workers, the same people who voted for Trump. Do you think, Maria, that many of those affected in 2018 who just voted again for Trump know that these tariffs were part of his plan? So, couldn't this imply that they trust that Trump will ultimately make their lives better?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think what happened in 2018 and afterward is kind of a scramble, because then the pandemic came. And what people don't remember is that because of Trump's dismal handling of that pandemic, the American economy went into a tailspin and hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost. Millions of Americans died.

But that didn't seem to be something that the American voter blamed on Trump, because, look, they were focused on their own costs and on the inflation that was really hurtful to the vast majority of Americans. And that's why they voted for Donald Trump.

But that's why I think Donald Trump has got to be careful here, because he is absolutely going to overreach if his own, if his -- if the only fix to the economy and to, frankly, immigration and drugs are these tariffs or even the threat of tariffs. I mean, why doesn't he just first before this huge threat and sending everybody into a tizzy, why doesn't he sit down when he gets into office with the president of Mexico, the prime minister of Canada, to say, how can we deal with this?

The fact that he doesn't do that, to me, screams that he's not interested in real negotiation, that he's not interested in the real solution, because this is who Donald Trump is. He first goes for the chaos before the real solution.

And to me, it also demonstrates that he doesn't really understand what the solution is. He doesn't understand immigration policy. He doesn't understand drug policy. It's a huge demand here in the United States for fentanyl, and that's why a lot of it keeps coming over. And there's also a huge demand for workers. And so why doesn't he talk to his CEOs, who are the ones who are hiring undocumented workers and figure out a solve and then go to Canada and Mexico to say, let's do this, but let's do this together.

MARQUARDT: And, Vanessa, I want to come back to you. Should people start thinking about buying certain items now in case these tariffs are implemented and those prices go up?

YURKEVICH: Yes and no. I don't want to set off any panic buying right now. But if you are thinking about making a larger purchase, like a car or a T.V., number one, you can capitalize on holiday deals that are going on right now. But also, you could beat some of the higher prices that folks are expecting with some of these tariffs.

We are also seeing that retailers, whether or not they believe these tariffs are actually going into effect, they are bringing in merchandise early and they're bringing in more merchandise. We're going to see this month about 13 percent increase in imports next month, about a 6 percent increase in imports.

[18:25:02]

Columbia Sportswear, for example, they're saying that they're buying merchandise now for next fall to keep prices lower and to make sure that their customers feel like they're getting affordable deals.

It's also interesting to note, though, whether or not these tariffs, particularly on China, will have any exemptions. When President Trump was in office the first time, Apple, Tim Cook lobbied to try to get Apple exempt from those tariffs, and he was successful in that. And that was because Apple produces its iPhone in China, and that would have raised the cost of iPhones here in the U.S. and people would have been very unhappy with that.

So, as we watch this going forward, it'll be interesting to see if these tariffs in fact do go into play, and whether or not he's going to give any exemptions to companies, like Apple, which are huge around the world, but also really important to his voter base here in the U.S.

MARQUARDT: Mara, you just heard Maria talking about laying out these tariffs without talking to other countries, without negotiating with partners. What is this promise for tariffs one day one tell you about Trump intends to prioritize his foreign policy? LIASSON: Well, I would be surprised if he did open negotiations first. That's not his way. He said he's going to govern like a strong man. He's going to come in with big, decisive action. And he just said, day one, I'm putting these tariffs on.

Now, the other interesting thing about this is it seems like the markets say, oh, he's just doing this as a negotiating tactic, and it won't happen because other countries will come to the table and they'll do what Trump wants in terms of fentanyl and immigration. But the other thing you hear a lot from Donald Trump and his supporters, his advisers, is that tariffs, he says tariffs is the most beautiful word in the English language, that tariffs bring in so much money that they will solve the deficit and we won't have to make all those hard choices that we've been told about on Medicare and Social Security, that tariffs are actually a form of income. I mean, I think they're ignoring the fact that they're a form of income paid by higher prices from the American consumer. But that's another thing. I mean, maybe he wants the income from tariffs.

MARQUARDT: Well, this was certainly one of the most blockbuster announcements of this transition. Thanks to you all for joining me to cover all this.

Coming up, Donald Trump's incoming border czar visits Texas as the president-elect prepares for mass deportations. More news right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

MARQUARDT: Donald Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, is hitting the ground running, visiting Texas today and vowing to carry out the president-elect's plans for mass deportation.

For more on that, I want to bring in CNN's Priscilla Alvarez. So, Priscilla, Texas is essentially providing a blueprint for handling the border to the incoming Trump administration. How are they planning on working together?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Sources tell me that Texas is serving as a road map for how they want to see cooperation look like between states, especially border states, and the federal government.

Now, up until this point, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been operating what he has called Operation Lone Star. He started that in 2021, only months after President Joe Biden took office and as an affront to the Biden administration.

Now, it's not unusual for state authorities to work with federal authorities along the border. That has happened for years. But this operation went a step further and the federal government so that they were ultimately disrupting what they were doing at the border. Of course, this included busing migrants to Democratic-led cities, blocking a part of the Texas-Mexico border to federal agents, and also setting up those buoys in the Rio Grande. And that also resulted in lawsuits by the Justice Department.

So, as you can tell, there has been this ongoing feud between the Texas governor and the president over the handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. But now, with the incoming Trump administration, that relationship is going to look a lot different. You're seeing there images of Tom Homan. He's the incoming border czar. And he spent the day along the Texas Mexico border with Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

So, all of this is part of the Trump team sort of plans out how this cooperation is going to look like as they try to free up more federal personnel to work on interior enforcement, that being part of President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation promise.

Now, I'm also told by sources that President-elect Donald Trump is also considering Texas Border Czar Michael Banks to serve in U.S. Customs and Border Protection. So, all of that tells you that this is going to be a very different relationship with a Trump White House and one they're going to be leaning in on where this administration is trying to keep them at a distance. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much for all that reporting.

Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs of California. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us. You do represent a district close to the southern border that Priscilla was just talking about. How are you preparing to prevent those mass deportations that the Trump administration is planning?

REP. SARA JACOBS (D-CA): Yes, look, I know the Trump administration is talking about Texas as a model. I think San Diego can be a real model. Because we have shown that with the right resources with the right infrastructure, there can actually be an orderly and humane process to address people coming to the border.

But I'll be honest, none of these are really solutions to the problem, which is that we haven't fixed our immigration system. We haven't changed it since before I was born. And I'm young, but I am not that young, like we do not have an immigration system that actually reflects the needs of our economy, the needs of families.

And we -- and the Trump administration's plan is to punish individuals in an unprioritized way, in a way that's going to wreck severe havoc on our economy all across the country, let alone in San Diego, where our economy is so tied to Mexico, instead of actually addressing the real problem, which is that we need an immigration system that actually works.

[18:35:08]

MARQUARDT: And on that point about your economy being tied to Mexico, I want to ask you about Donald Trump's pledge to impose tariffs, not just on Mexico, but on Canada to the north and China as well. The market seemed to view this as a negotiating ploy, essentially a bluff. Does that suggest that it is unlikely that Trump will follow through with this? JACOBS: I mean, it's so hard to know what Trump is actually going to do or not do and what he will follow through on. But I can tell you that these kinds of tariffs, even talking about it in this way, is deeply harmful to our economy. Because people -- you know, we're going to start seeing companies raising prices in anticipation of these tariffs, let alone the fact that actually after the pandemic, there was this big push to do what we called friend shoring or bringing a lot of our supply chains to friendly countries, like Mexico and Canada, so that we could control the supply chain more, so that we had it closer, we had easier access to it, and this is actually going to harm our national security if it pushes those supply chains away from those countries like Mexico and Canada that are close to us and that we can rely on as friends.

MARQUARDT: I have to ask you about the international news today, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. I know that you have family in Israel. Are you confident that this truce between Hezbollah and Israel is going to hold and that Israel's in the northern part -- Israelis, rather, in the northern part of the country, will be able to go home?

JACOBS: You know, I am incredibly grateful to the Biden administration for their tireless work to get the ceasefire deal done. It's long been in the works. And I think it's incredibly important. We've seen the harm that civilians have encountered because of this conflict. I feel confident that Israelis will be able to return to Northern Israel, that the Lebanese families will be able to return to Southern Lebanon, and that we'll be able to see a resolution and cessation of hostilities there in the Lebanese-Israeli border.

MARQUARDT: To that point, Israel pounded the center of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, today. You've seen over the course of the past few weeks dozens of Lebanese villages being destroyed and thousands of people in Lebanon being killed. And you yourself have spoken out against the U.S. providing offensive weapons to Israel. Do you think that this deal with Hezbollah could have been achieved sooner, or this war prevented all together, if the U.S. had used its very considerable leverage of that military aid over Israel?

JACOBS: Absolutely. I think that it's important that we recognize that, you know, what powers American strength is our values and our ability to build international coalitions. And we need to make sure that we're living up to those values equally to all of our partners and countries around the world.

And so I don't think we should be sending offensive weapons until we get, you know, ceasefire agreements in Lebanon, in Gaza, until we make sure that the Israelis are actually operating in the same way to protect civilian harm that we would. And a lot of our documents show that has not been the case. In fact, we're still seeing not enough aid going into Gaza. And I have real concerns about that and real concerns what our continued support for offensive weapons means moving forward.

Now, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't support Israel. I think we should continue defensive weapons, Iron Dome, all of that. But we should be more sort of strategic about how we're engaging in this partnership.

MARQUARDT: Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs of California, thanks so much for joining me.

Coming up, we will check in on your Thanksgiving travel forecast as experts predict a record-breaking season.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

MARQUARDT: Some 80 million Americans are expected to travel for this Thanksgiving, but winter weather, as often is the case, could cause headaches.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Thanksgiving travel rush is already off to a blistering start from roads to transit hubs, to airports, where the Transportation Security Administration has already screened more than 5 million passengers since the start of this week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten-hour travel day, but only for the holidays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had more success going to the airport than driving on Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holiday travel is a pain in the ass.

MUNTEAN: By the end of Tuesday, another 2.8 million people are expected to pass through airports nationwide, with 2 9 million expected on Wednesday, the busiest day for air travel leading up to the holiday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are going to be days where we are just at full capacity.

MUNTEAN: In all, AAA predicts 80 million people will travel 50 miles or more over seven days, a forecast extended from five days for the first time.

AIXA DIAZ, AAA SPOKESPERSON: What we have noticed is that a lot of people, because they have that remote hybrid flexibility now, leave at different times. So, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon are going to be very congested on the roads.

MUNTEAN: The early start may not stay easy for long. Airlines are watching snow in the forecast for some major airports like Denver, as the Federal Aviation Administration is warning of potential flight delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.

United Airlines says in a new memo that FAA issues at its Newark hub have impacted 343,000 passengers this month, FAA Chief Mike Whitaker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe.

MUNTEAN: Even still, the federal government is monitoring how airlines perform with new refund rules in place for the first Thanksgiving rush ever. Airlines now owe you automatic cash back if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed by more than three hours.

[18:45:06]

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Any airline that fail to proactively offer refunds to passengers could be in violation of federal law.

MUNTEAN: The new pressure comes as a just released Senate report shows airlines made $12 billion over five years by charging for so-called junk fees, like seat selection and carry on bags. It's insult to injury on what's to be another travel rush for the record books.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): The airlines are relying more and more on these junk fees as a source of revenue and they are obscuring them. Very often, you as a passenger won't know how much you're being charged until after you buy the ticket.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN (on camera): Airlines insist that separating out fees makes tickets themselves cost less, though AAA says the average cost of airfare has gone up about 3 percent since a year ago. The good news is, for the 70 million people driving that is cheaper. The average cost of a gallon of regular gas now $3.07 -- Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: All right. Pete Muntean, thanks so much for that report. A busy few days coming up on the Muntean beat.

Coming up, another major company is ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

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[18:50:29]

MARQUARDT: Walmart is now backing away from some of its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, as it's known.

CNN's Brian Todd has been taking a closer look.

So, Brian, why is Walmart doing this?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alex, much of this involves very public pressure from Donald Trump and his allies, from conservative activists and others. More than four years after the pendulum swung toward DEI among major American companies, analysts say there's now a very noticeable swing back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): America's largest retailer and largest private employer takes a major step on a huge social issue.

Walmart says it's rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, also known as DEI. The company says its ending racial equity training programs for employees, reevaluating programs that assist minority owned suppliers, and is winding down its Center for Racial Equity, a nonprofit Walmart has set up to address racism in society.

ERIC DEZENHALL, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: This is a big deal because corporations seem to be going in this direction.

TODD: In addition to Walmart, major American companies like Lowes, Ford, Harley-Davidson and John Deere are scaling back their DEI programs and their support for Pride marches and LGBTQ events. Many companies had embraced DEI following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

ALLAN SCHWEYER, PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, THE CONFERENCE BOARD: I think the pendulum might have swung fair a fair bit towards DEI after the George Floyd situation, and I think it started to swing back.

TODD: One possible reason for that, President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly blasting DEI on the campaign trail.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not going to be woke.

TODD: Ad Trump nominating cabinet members like defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who has said woke culture needs to be removed from the U.S. military.

ANNA PALMER, FOUNDER & CEO, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: I think they're going to be having a lot of scrutiny when it comes to die in the federal government, but also with companies that do work and do contracting with the government as well.

TODD: And some of the pushback to DEI programs is the work of Robby Starbuck, a former Hollywood music video director who's now a conservative activist.

ROBBY STARBUCK, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: We have to fight back.

TODD: Starbuck has engaged in a popular online campaign against companies diversity programs.

On X, Starbuck posted that the Walmart DEI rollback is, quote, the biggest win yet for our movement.

SCHWEYER: There's no denying that Robby Starbuck has a following that he's able to apply pressure on organizations through social media and otherwise.

DEZENHALL: You are seeing something that we haven't seen before, which is the capacity of conservatives to pull off a boycott because they now have a media base.

TODD: One conservative boycott that really took off didn't have anything to do with DEI programs, but did affect a major American corporation last year.

After Bud Light featured a transgender actress and influencer in a promotion, conservatives called for a boycott of the brand and musician Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting at a stack of Bud Light cases.

DEZENHALL: I thought that the bud light effort was really very problematic because it was seen as a deep insult to their base, even though it was not intended that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): By most accounts, the activist Robby Starbuck is nowhere near finished with his campaign against DEI initiatives. According to "USA Today", Starbuck says he is preparing a new list of companies to target for the holiday season declaring that his side is now winning the battle of public opinion on this issue -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: Brian Todd, thank you so much for that report.

Coming up, the new proposal to get costly anti-obesity drugs covered for millions more senior citizens and lower income Americans.

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[18:58:30]

MARQUARDT: New tonight, the Biden administration wants to make costly anti-obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound more affordable for millions of Americans.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard has details on this.

So, Jacqueline, how would this work?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Alex, the way this would work, this proposal would require Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss medications specifically for patients who've been diagnosed with obesity.

The Biden administration says this would really target and treat obesity as a chronic disease. The administration says that this potentially could help about 3.4 million people with Medicare, about 4 million Medicaid enrollees but, Alex, remember, this is just a proposal. So, we have to wait to see what will happen if it will be made final. Experts say this will not be finalized before we transition into a new Trump administration. So we have to really wait and see what will happen with this proposal under a new White House.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, the incoming Trump administration may not be in favor of expanding coverage of these anti-obesity drugs. HOWARD: That's exactly right. And we already know that Trump's pick to

lead the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. He has said in the past that he sees money better spent on providing good food to people than on medicines like this. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we spent about one fifth of that giving good food, three meals, a day to every man, woman and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: So again, Alex, this is a proposal to really watch, to see what will happen as we transition into a new administration.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, certainly lots to come on the medical and health front under President Trump and those that he has chosen, like RFK Jr. to lead those fields under his administration.

Jacqueline Howard, thank you very much.

I'm Alex Marquardt here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thank you so much for watching tonight.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.