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The Situation Room

Price Tag of Thanksgiving Dinner?; Stores Prepare For Black Friday; Did Kristi Noem Defy Judge's Order?; Trump Administration Targets Democratic Lawmakers. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired November 26, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:03]

DANIEL BRUNNER, FORMER FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: And these are -- I know -- I have been on both of those squads. They're capable, excellent agents, but they're not the best-equipped. They're not the best trained in public corruption.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Right.

BRUNNER: They're great in conducting interviews. Domestic terrorism goes after white supremacists, black supremacists, animal rights activists, that sort of thing -- investigation.

I spent four years on a domestic terrorism squad. I'm quite familiar with it. And never once was I tasked to go interview a member of Congress, a member of a political party.

BROWN: Right.

BRUNNER: So the fact that domestic terrorism is involved really indicates something different.

BROWN: Yes, I mean, just to take a step back, just how extraordinary this is that you have the FBI seeking interviews with sitting members of Congress, right, of the opposite party of the administration in power for making a video saying, disobey illegal orders.

I mean, this is not the normal course of business for the FBI.

BRUNNER: Nothing has been the normal course of business since Kash Patel took office at the director's office.

Everything has been turned upside down. The FBI is not their normal course of action. I know a lot of people are saying, well, this is what we asked for. This has been generational changes in people with excellent knowledge and training in how to conduct federal investigations, because FBI agents are not cops.

And I know Kash Patel loves to say that, let cops be cops. FBI agents are not cops. They are trained to do these types of investigations, long-term federal violations, investigations of federal violations. The fact that these individual sitting members of Congress are being interviewed, which I'd be very surprised if -- these are voluntary interviews. They are not custodial. So I'd be very surprised if they voluntarily sit for these interviews, especially if they have attorneys. I'd be very shocked to hear that they actually sit for these interviews. That's telling that the federal -- the FBI should be focusing on large criminal cartels, drug smugglers, terrorists that are infiltrating our country.

Those are the crimes, long-term RICO investigations, which the FBI should be focusing on. And knowing what the word is coming down from the Department of Justice and the FBI,those long-term investigations will not be conducted anymore.

I was a RICO agent. I know about RICO. These are not types of crimes that need to be investigated. If there's a federal violation, yes, an investigation should be conducted. But looking at the larger picture, that's what federal resources, FBI agents should be focusing on, large-scale criminal organizations.

BROWN: All right, Daniel Brunner, thanks for coming on.

BRUNNER: My pleasure.

BROWN: Just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM: She ignored a judge's orders and sent migrants to one of the toughest prisons in the world -- the new details about the Trump administration's controversial deportation tactics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:37:18]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, the DOJ is acknowledging that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem allowed deportation flights to El Salvador to continue despite a judge's order to stop them.

CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein joins us.

Betsy, this is quite the admission and -- that involved President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act in order to speed up deportations earlier this year. We talked a lot about that and the Abrego Garcia case as well. What is the administration saying this morning?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Pam.

You might recall that, back in March, a federal judge ordered deportation flights carrying migrants from the U.S. to a mega-prison in El Salvador to turn around. But the Trump administration pressed forward with those flights anyway, and now we are learning new details about who gave that order.

According to a Department of Justice court filing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is the official who made that call to keep those planes headed to the CECOT prison.

I just want to read to you from that DOJ filing. It says: "Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove provided DHS with legal advice regarding the court's order as to flights that had left the United States before the order issued."

It goes on to say that: "After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the court's order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador."

Now, these controversial flights were at the epicenter of President Trump's mass deportation campaign. The Trump administration has argued that the president was using authority from that 18th century Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Now, this federal judge who called for those flights to be halted is moving forward with a criminal contempt inquiry to determine who was responsible for flouting his orders, and he will decide if there could be punishment, Pam.

BROWN: All right, Betsy Klein, thanks for bringing us the latest on this front.

And coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM: survival of the fastest. We will see how two retail giants are competing to get those packages to your door at lightning speed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:44:14]

BROWN: Happening now, a SITUATION ROOM special reports.

Stores are gearing up for one of the biggest shopping days of the year, Black Friday. Retailers like Walmart and Amazon are already slashing prices. The two titans are going head-to-head this holiday season, with Walmart looking to speed up its delivery time.

CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich joins us.

So tell us more about Walmart's strategy here, Vanessa.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela, it used to be that if you were a last-minute shopper, you really risked not getting your holiday items on time. But retailers know that there's a lot of money to be made, especially with last- minute shoppers, if they can guarantee that your packages will arrive on time and in record time.

So I visited with America's largest retailer, Walmart, at one of their next-gen fulfillment centers Greencastle, Pennsylvania, to see just how they're trying to be the speediest this holiday season.

[11:45:12]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARAT SMITH, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, WALMART U.S. SUPPLY CHAIN: We are in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, the home of one of our newest next-gen facilities. It is a 1.5-million-square foot building, massive building.

YURKEVICH: Lots of space.

SMITH: We're all about speed in these fulfillment centers. Our goal is to get to your doorstep as fast as possible. When you click buy, we can actually get it out of the Internet onto a trailer going to your house within 30 minutes.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): In a world where shipping speed wins the day for consumers, Walmart is racing to be the fastest this holiday season.

(on camera): People want things faster and faster. Are these next-gen fulfillment centers your answer to Amazon?

DAVID GUGGINA, CHIEF E-COMMERCE OFFICER, WALMART: In this respect, we're talking about speed. If we create a great customer experience, that drives more orders, and more orders drives density. And density allows us to lower our costs to operate.

So, yes, the next-generation fulfillment centers, along with our vast 4,700 stores in the U.S., are our answer to helping customers get great value and great convenience.

SMITH: So the first step is unloading. And you can see the boxes moving to what we call our second step, which is simply taking the items out of the container and putting them into the tote.

YURKEVICH: And how many steps is it normally?

SMITH: So our other fulfillments have about a 12-step process.

YURKEVICH: Twelve.

SMITH: And we have simplified that down to five steps.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Walmart heads into the holidays following another strong quarter. Revenue rose 5.8 percent led by a 27 percent spike in e-commerce. But online or in stores, every U.S. retailer this season is competing for wary shoppers.

(on camera): Walmart says they are ready for a lot of your holiday ordering and spending. This fulfillment center in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, says that they can process 100,000 packages every single day. The question is, are you, the consumer, going to be doing a lot of spending?

There are tariffs, there's higher inflation, and there really is a lot of economic uncertainty.

There's a lot of talk right now about affordability. How is that being discussed and thought about when you are planning how to show up for consumers?

GUGGINA: We're focused on saving people money so that they can live a better life. We focus on operating at everyday low cost so that we can deliver everyday low prices on a consistent basis.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): There are four Walmart fulfillment centers like this one moving 50 percent of all volume. They're twice as productive as its older facilities.

(on camera): The movement I'm seeing, a lot of it's being done by the machines.

SMITH: It's absolutely done...

YURKEVICH: Is that by design?

SMITH: That is 100 percent by design. Have you ever received a box that might have been too big and a really small item in it?

YURKEVICH: Yes, a tiny item and a huge box.

SMITH: Really frustrating. This machine is taking the dimensions of the items that you just clicked buy on. We're building a custom-made box for your specific order.

YURKEVICH: I'm about to ship someone their very important product. I'm marrying the box that was made and the products that they ordered. So it's all coming together right here. Someone ordered a pulse oximeter, very important, going into a box.

SMITH: Don't forget to scan it.

YURKEVICH: No.

(LAUGHTER)

SMITH: So this is the scanner up top. There you go.

YURKEVICH: There we go. OK. Here.

SMITH: Now hit the button. Nice job.

YURKEVICH: I think I slowed down someone's delivery time by about 30 minutes. Apologies to whoever that was.

SMITH: I think we will be OK.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Walmart has been attracting more middle-to- higher-income shoppers in the last few years. Its typical customer base, lower-income Americans, are also under pressure. The company says it's trying to provide greater value where it can by cutting costs here.

SMITH: As soon as they leave this conveyor belt, they're going to a trailer and hitting your doorstep within the next day, same day or even two-day delivery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Now, in order to execute that level of speed, you can't just be a retailer. You really have to be a tech company or even an A.I. company, which is what Walmart believes they are too.

We are seeing from Walmart that they are planning to open their fifth next-gen fulfillment center in California. That is to better service the West Coast, get people their items much faster over there. But these are not going to replace all the fulfillment centers across the United States, according to Walmart.

But because of the level of automation, as you just saw, Pamela, it's really hard not to see that this is the future of the company. When you're banking on speed, this clearly is the way to do it, Pamela.

BROWN: It certainly is.

All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, great reporting there. Thank you so much.

YURKEVICH: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: And coming up: Many Americans are worried about the price tag for Thanksgiving dinner, so they're turning to alternatives.

[11:50:00]

The SupermarketGuru joins us after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Happening now: Restaurant reservations for this Thanksgiving holiday are spiking 13 percent higher year over year. That's according to exclusive data shared with CNN from the booking platform OpenTable.

[11:55:00]

Thanksgiving comes at a time when the cost of groceries is climbing. For some items, prices rose in August at the fastest pace in three years and increased again in September. That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it's unlikely people seeking lower Thanksgiving costs will find them at restaurants either, where prices are rising much faster than groceries.

So, joining us now to discuss all of this is Phil Lempert. He is the founder and CEO of SupermarketGuru, an online resource that analyzes trends in the food industry.

Great to see you, Phil. Nice to have you on.

So, bottom line, will Thanksgiving dinner be cheaper or more expensive for families if they're staying at home, they're going to the grocery store or cooking at home compared to years past?

PHIL LEMPERT, FOUNDER AND CEO, SUPERMARKETGURU: Actually, according to the American Farm Bureau, it's down about 5 percent over last year. But let's not forget, since the pandemic, food prices are up close to 25 percent.

BROWN: Oh, wow. So what's -- can you give us a sense of what's more expensive and what's not? Because I just mentioned the Bureau of Labor Statistics, right, saying -- talking about some groceries are going up, but some groceries are also going down, right?

LEMPERT: Yes.

So, keep in mind that when we look at BLS data, included in that is beef, which is up the highest that it's ever been, eggs higher than it's ever been. But when we look at Thanksgiving, turkey is actually down about 16 percent, on average about $1.34 per pound.

However, I will tell you the best buy that I have been able to find on turkey is actually from Amazon. Now, frozen peas, that's up 17 percent. Rolls, dinner rolls, are down about 14 percent. Milk is up 16 percent. Sweet potatoes, get this, Pamela up 37 percent.

BROWN: So then how is the Thanksgiving dinner are cheaper than this year?

LEMPERT: Well, again, because of the turkey. That's the most expensive part of it. That's down. Cranberries are down. And also what we're really starting to see this year -- it started last year with Walmart and Aldi -- that what they're doing is they're bundling things.

And a lot of that bundle, except for the turkey, is their own store brands, which is why at Walmart, you can feed 10 people for 40 bucks. Same thing with Aldi. Target has a deal you can have four people at $20. However, here in California, where we have Erewhon, their turkey dinner that serves four to six people, that's going for $439.

BROWN: Oh, my goodness.

So, for Walmart, though, for example, Walmart is putting fewer items in its bundle, right, compared to years past. And that could explain why it's cheaper this year?

LEMPERT: Correct.

BROWN: OK.

LEMPERT: That's correct. And Aldi is 27 products. Walmart is 20 products. So you really got to pick and choose and go online to see who has those best deals.

But, also, if you haven't gotten your turkey yet, let's not forget that it takes three to four days to defrost a turkey in the refrigerator. So if you haven't gotten your turkey yet, you're going to be in trouble.

BROWN: Yes, you're behind.

LEMPERT: Exactly.

BROWN: All right, so for those of us who have procrastinated on the turkey front or other fronts preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, and we have to hit the grocery store last minute, how would you advise us to save some money?

LEMPERT: Well, number one, make sure you understand that the biggest problem that we have got in saving money is that we waste food. So, if you have 10 people coming, typically, turkey, a little under a pound a person.

Also, use those leftovers. Make sure you have that shopping list, and also shop around for deals. The best deal that I have been able to find is really Aldi's deal that's out there. So if you're near and Aldi, go there.

BROWN: Aldi's, yes. All right, good to know.

So what do you make of our reporting in that restaurant reservations for tomorrow are 13 percent higher year over year?

LEMPERT: You know, it's interesting, because people are lazy, especially around Thanksgiving time, where you don't want to have to entertain people.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMPERT: You don't want to have to cook for 10, 15 people. So I think what we're seeing is those restaurant reservations are for smaller groups, two people, four people. It's not those huge reservations.

And, as you pointed out, going to a restaurant is more expensive than ever before, not only because of the food cost, but also the labor cost. Restaurants are really understaffed. So what they have to do is, they have to pay their people more than the normal, and especially on Thanksgiving Day.

[12:00:03]

Don't forget that these people work on tips for the most part. So, if you're going out for Thanksgiving, make sure you tip well.

BROWN: So maybe people -- that's good advice. And maybe people are making those reservations because they just don't want to cook, not because they think they're going to get a better deal.

Really important insight, Phil Lempert. Thank you so much. And I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

LEMPERT: Thank you. You too, Pamela.

BROWN: Thank you so much for joining us this morning. I hope everyone watching also has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

"INSIDE POLITICS" with Audie Cornish starts right now.