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The Situation Room

Trump Hints At Big Progress in Ukraine Peace Talks; NBA Head Coach Facing Judge in Mafia-Linked Gambling Probe; Democratic Lawmakers Face Bomb Threats After Trump Accuses Them of Seditious Behavior. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 24, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, NBA coach in court, the Portland Trailblazers, Chauncey Billups is expected to enter a plea in the rigged poker games case tied to the mafia.

Plus, a possible Trump healthcare plan could help millions in limbo as Affordable Care Act subsidies expire in January. We are taking a closer look at what's in that proposal.

And pulling out all the stops, how some retailers are trying to woo inflation weary customers.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, making progress, peace talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine continue after receiving backlash for containing too many concessions for Russia. Will they seal the deal before the president's Thanksgiving deadline?

And what's next for Marjorie Taylor Greene days after her shocking resignation? The congresswoman clears the air about her plans for the White House.

And the Wild, Wild West, the Cowboys make a comeback against the Philadelphia Eagles, keeping their playoff dreams alive.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

New this morning, as Ukraine recovers from another deadly Russian drone attack, there is a new sense of optimism for potentially an end to this war. This morning, President Trump hinted that U.S. and Ukrainian officials are making, in his words, and I'm quoting him now, big progress in Geneva as they try to hammer out a 28-point peace plan.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, moments ago, said his country's delegation is now returning home and that he expects a full report this evening. Here's what he told a Swedish parliamentary delegation earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, and look for compromises that strengthen but not weaken us. And we will continue explaining how dangerous it is to pretend that aggression is something one can simply overlook and move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A short time ago, the Kremlin said one version of the U.S. plan could, in principle, form the basis for a final peace settlement.

CNN's Alayna Treene's joining us from the White House right now. Alayna, President Trump's tone on these talks seems to have changed a bit just 24 hours ago, he was scolding the Ukrainians for what he called a lack of gratitude. What's the latest?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, a very different tone today, Wolf, with the President posting this morning. Essentially, he said, don't believe it until you see it, but something good may just be happening. Far more optimism now, not only from him, but, of course, one of the key players in all of this, which is the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was in Geneva having talks with the Ukrainians. We've heard very positive language from him as well, essentially saying, quote, we've made substantial progress, he told reporters in Geneva. Today was the best day we've had in our entire ten months on working on these issues.

Now, of course, there is still much to be discussed, much to be hammered out, particularly after you, you know, heard from so many different United States allies, I mean, even lawmakers here in Washington about that initial 28-point planned that looked to be conceding too much to Russia. However, after these negotiations in Ukraine, you heard from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, it looks like there might be enough to keep these negotiations moving forward, which is far more -- far better and more positive than what we've seen in recent weeks with really these talks being in limbo.

BLITZER: And, Alayna, we're also following some breaking news just coming into The Situation Room. The president apparently just got off the phone with China's President Xi Jinping. What do we know about their phone conversation?

TREENE: Yes. We're still getting more details, Wolf, but I spoke with a senior White House official who did confirm to me that the two spoke this morning. This is one of the first conversations they're having, if not the first conversation they're having since they met in person on the sidelines of that APEC Summit and South Korea last month.

Look, there's a lot that still needs to be worked out between these two countries, particularly when you look at trade and really wanting to put -- continue to put pressure on trying to live up to the commitments that they've made.

[10:05:05] Now, the president, I'm told, has continued to have positive things to say about the Chinese president behind closed doors, but, again, all of that is really hinging on them, following through on their commitments, particularly when you look at soybeans, for example, them agreeing to buy a substantial amount of soybeans by a deadline of early next year. Those are things that I think are still being worked through and talked through to make sure that China follows through on what they've laid out in that summit.

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene over at the White House for us, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, time to face the judge. Portland Trailblazer's head coach Chauncey Billups and 30 other defendants are set to appear in a Brooklyn courtroom this hour over their alleged involvement in a gambling scheme. Billups is accused of helping run rigged poker games linked to the mafia. He has denied all involvement in illegal gambling through his attorney.

BLITZER: CNN's Mark Morales is joining us right now. What do we expect in court this morning, Mark?

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: We're expecting to see every member of the scheme appear in federal court today, and that includes NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who was the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers at the time of his arrest.

Now, his lawyer says that they plan on fighting these charges. That process begins today when he's expected to enter a plea of not guilty.

Also, appearing in federal court today will be several capos and soldiers who are connected to some of New York City's most notorious mafia crime families. And what we're seeing here is a new twist on something old school, meaning that, traditionally, the mafia would use card games to fund their operation. But what we're seeing here is that they're using advanced technology to rig those games. They're using electronic card readers that will tell you what cards are coming out, to hidden cameras, to even X-ray tables, all designed to trick high rollers out of their money.

In all, they were able to get about $7 million, according to prosecutors. And, again, they'll be in federal court later today. This will be the first time that they'll be before a judge since their arraignments. There's a lot of housekeeping items that prosecutors have to discuss. One of them is evidence collection.

As you can imagine with 31 different defendants, and for a high tech case like this, there is a lot of evidence from iCloud storage to cell phone records to electronic devices that were taken at the time of arrest. There's a lot that prosecutors have gone through and there's still more coming.

The other thing that's going to be discussed are going to be plea agreements. Prosecutors say that it's still too early to have discussed substantial plea agreements, but they're already in the beginning stages and they are hopeful that they'll be able to get at least some of the members of the scheme to take a plea.

Wolf, Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Mark, we appreciate it. Thank you so much, Mark. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right there's other news we're following. Still ahead, President Trump renews calls for the arrests of six Democratic lawmakers. Up next, we'll speak to the House Republican Conference chair, Lisa McClain, about the president's threats.

BROWN: And devastating revelation, JFK's 35-year-old granddaughter announces she is dying of cancer and now she's calling out her cousin's HHS cuts.

You're in The Situation Room

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BROWN: Happening now, thousands of homes across Ukraine are without power after overnight Russian strikes damaged energy facilities across the country, this after delegations from the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe met in Geneva, Switzerland, for talks to end Russia's war.

The Trump administration's plan, however, is giving even some Republicans pause over concessions to Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): In 1994 Budapest, Ukraine gave up all its nuclear weapons in exchange for what? For nothing, and then Russia invaded. There was no security agreement.

For, without that, I would not advise Ukraine to sign this. They can't sign an agreement like the Budapest and then allow Russia to invade again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: With us now to discuss this anymore, the House Republican Conference chair, Elisa McClain of Michigan. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us.

Where do -- from your position, where do things currently stand as far as the Trump Administration's peace plan for Ukraine? And does it concern you that so many members of your own Republican Party appear to be deeply divided over it?

REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI): Yes. Listen, this war has been raging for far too long, and I applaud President Trump for trying to bring peace to this region. And, look, Wolf and Pamela, we have to start somewhere. This is a negotiation process, and I think the president is starting somewhere, right? Is it perfect? Is this going to be the end deal? I don't know. I don't think so, but, again, we have to start somewhere. And I'm confident that the president will put together a package that keeps the American people in mind and puts together the best deal for the American people as well.

BROWN: And as we know, Secretary of State Rubio said, progress has been made, but he wasn't specific on what that progress was. But based on what we do know, this peace plan could cede see territory to Russia that Russia hasn't seized, and the U.S. would de facto recognize Crimea and other Ukrainian territory forcibly seized by the Kremlin as Russia. Does that reward the aggressor and punish the victim here?

MCCLAIN: Yes. I mean, it doesn't -- if you're sitting in Ukraine seat, I don't know if that's a good deal for you, but that's not up for me to decide.

[10:15:06]

That's up for the two parties to decide. So, to me, I keep going to, let's see the final process. And during the negotiations, it's never -- it's always a give and take, right? It's never what it appears to be.

So, I'm optimistic. Again, I'm actually excited that we're talking about peace. This is very different than where we were before and let's wait and see where the final product is. And, you know, I've been in business, right? When you are in a negotiation process, it's never 100 percent and 0. We both sides wish they got a little bit more, but at the end of the day, both parties are further off than they are where we stand today. So, that's what I'm hopeful for.

BLITZER: We're also learning that your fellow Republican, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, is pursuing what's being described as a discharge petition to actually force a vote on the Russian sanctions bill. Why the delay on the sanctions package when it has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate?

MCCLAIN: I think we want to give the president as much leverage and as many tools as we possibly can. And as it pertains to the discharge petition, as it -- as we stand right now, when we're dealing with big, consequential issues, like we're dealing with right now, I think it's a much better process to use the committee process and have thoughtful, considerate debate and discussions about what the final product should look like as opposed to a knee-jerk reaction and just putting a discharge petition on the floor.

Let's debate this in committees with thoughtful debate, because there is no perfect product, and I think something this big really needs to have some thoughtful consideration.

BROWN: I'm going to turn to domestic politics. Several of the Democratic lawmakers featured in a video urging members of the military to disobey illegal orders say that they have received bomb threats after President Trump accused them of, quote, seditious behavior punishable by death. I want you to listen and to watch what your Republican colleague in the Senate said about that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Everybody knows that the president is famous for his unfiltered social media, but if you take it face value, the idea that calling your opponents traitors and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible. There are a number of other ways to describe it, but it's not something that is helping the country heal wounds. I think it stirs things up and, really, I think we can do better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Do you agree with Senator Paul there?

MCCLAIN: No, what I agree with is what the president did. The president actually brought attention to the seriousness of the video that the Democrat senators put together. Think of what the Democrat senators are doing, telling rank and file military members that they can obey unlawful orders, you don't need to follow your commander-in- chief, right? That is extremely dangerous not only for the members but also for national security.

So, I think what we did was point out the oath of office that they should -- that they had to uphold, we reminded them of that oath of office. And for the Democrats to put out this video as an obstructionist just doesn't make sense. That is not what is supposed to happen. Go ahead.

BROWN: No. I understand you disagree with what the Democratic lawmakers said in that video telling troops to disobey illegal orders. It stems from the Nuremberg's defense, so I understand you have questions about that, right. The president, though, in response to that, said that that was sedition punishable by death and reposted a post about, you know, hanging because that's what George Washington would have done. But do you condemn threats of violence against your fellow members of Congress? Can you condemn that?

MCCLAIN: The threat -- there should never be threats of violence, period, by anybody, by either side, right? That's why we live in America, right, because we don't have to deal with issues like that. Threats of violence are never acceptable, period, end of conversation.

I think what the president was doing though was reminding you of the oath that you did take, and there are consequences. So, you can have freedom of speech, but freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. And that was the reminder, I think, in that. So, everyone focused on the, I can say whatever I want, yes, you can say whatever you want, but there are consequences for what you say, and I think that was the reminder he was giving those senators.

[10:20:03]

BROWN: But what kind of messages it sends to someone who may be unhinged that what they did was sedition punishable by death and that they are traitors? And as I mentioned, several Democratic lawmakers have received, you know, bomb threats after that post. I mean, are you willing to consider their point of view here that someone who is unhinged could see that as, you know, take that seriously what the president put out?

MCCLAIN: Absolutely. We see that all the time. I can't tell you how many death threats I have because of the rhetoric that is out there, right? And, again, acts of violence should always, always, always be condemned. Just ask the president, right? He had his -- an attempt on his life twice, right? So, that's not positive.

But take a look at who started this. Those senators got online and said, hey, go ahead, disobey some orders if you don't agree with them.

BROWN: Illegal orders.

MCCLAIN: If you think they're unlawful. Talk about illegal orders. Talk about the problem with that, right? Talk about the issue that they started.

The problem with the Democrats is they started it, and then when we come in and correct the truth with the other half of the truth, they lose their mind. Perhaps we should just all follow our oath of office and remember that we live in America, which is the best country that anyone can ever live in. So, why shouldn't we celebrate that? We've got to stop this Trump derangement syndrome because it really is not helping anybody.

BLITZER: Well, I just want to be precise, Congresswoman. Should members of the U.S. military or the intelligence community, for that matter, obey what are clearly illegal orders if, in their mind, what they're being told to do is something illegal? Should they still go ahead and follow those rules?

MCCLAIN: You're asking an an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal or illegal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Wouldn't you agree with that? So, that's an interpretation. And what the president has done is not illegal, right?

So, I would say follow the chain of command. Follow your commander-in- chief. That's the oath that you took because if you leave everything up to interpretation, you could interpret things one way. I could interpret things another way, and that is a very dangerous situation to put this nation in.

BLITZER: Yes, they keep pointing though that during the World War II, these Nazi officers were following the chain of command. They were obeying illegal orders, and they went ahead and slaughtered Jews during the Holocaust, which was clearly illegal. But they were -- at Nuremberg, at the trials of these Nazi generals, they were saying they were simply following the orders. And as a result in the U.S., they don't want military personnel to be doing that.

MCCLAIN: Right. And I think we're a long way from the Nuremberg trials and the slaughtering of Jews. If you want to talk about the slaughtering of Jews, we can have that conversation all the time. It may be for another time with all the rhetoric that's on the other side of the aisle.

However, I think what we should do is follow the commander-in-chief, and everything that Trump has done isn't illegal. So, I don't even know why we're talking about this. If you don't agree with my situation, you don't get on a public video and say, hey, you don't have to follow the orders if you don't agree with them, hey, you can interpret them however you want to interpret them. That's extremely dangerous.

BROWN: And, look, as I said, it's fair to have questions about, you know, our job is not to defend that, right? But our focus is on, you know, how the president of the United States responded.

And just to be clear, Democrats on the other side of the aisle are not calling for the slaughtering of Jews, just to make sure we are all on the same page with that as well.

Congresswoman Lisa McClain --

MCCLAIN: Well, I would love to have a conversation.

BROWN: Go ahead.

MCCLAIN: I'd love to have a later conversation on that because look at all the anti-Semitism that's happening. Look at everything.

BROWN: But it's on both sides. I mean, anti-Semitism is on both sides of the aisle.

MCCLAIN: They might feel -- if I could just finish, they might feel a little bit differently on that. But that's a different conversation for a different day.

BLITZER: We will continue this conversation down the road. Congresswoman Lisa McClain, as usual, thanks so much for spending some time with us. I appreciate it very much.

BROWN: Thank you. We'll be right back.

BLITZER: More news coming up.

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BLITZER: A CNN exclusive this morning, Karen Evans will take over FEMA as acting administrator. She might not necessarily be a household name but staff inside the agency already know her well. Her nickname is actually, and I'm quoting now, The Terminator. More than a dozen current and former FEMA insiders who spoke to CNN anonymously for fear of retribution say she got that nickname for terminating grants, contracts and people.

BROWN: CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now in the situation room. So, tell us more what you're hearing from your sources inside FEMA about this incoming administrator. GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Karen Evans actually came into FEMA back in the spring. She was a senior adviser at that point. And she was really tasked with being an enforcer for the Department of Homeland Security and for Secretary Kristi Noem.

[10:30:00]

If you remember back to that point, Noem and her team were really pushing this narrative that FEMA is bloated and it's partisan and it may need to be --