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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
New Push To End Shutdown Hours Before Planned Flight Cuts; Rep. Nancy Pelosi To Retire After Nearly 40 Years In Congress; Tesla Shareholders OK Musk's Trillion-Dollar Pay Package. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired November 06, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: I'm not a goalie, so I wouldn't know. But like, yeah, I'll just put it here for safekeeping. I'll just keep it warm.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yeah. The jokes though, kind of write themselves.
HILL: They sure do.
KEILAR: They sure do.
HILL: Yeah.
KEILAR: THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.
(MUSIC)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. Welcome to THE ARENA. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us on this Thursday.
Right now on Capitol Hill, new hope for a deal to end the shutdown. It appears at this hour that the Senate may stay here in Washington through the weekend. It takes a lot to get them to do that. And it does tell us that lawmakers are discussing a deal to reopen the government.
So, what could possibly have changed? Remember, this is the longest shutdown in history. It definitely could be the "mass chaos", quote/unquote, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, warns, is coming to the nation's airports as millions of Americans prepare to travel for the holiday season.
As soon as tomorrow, the FAA is going to start canceling flights at 40 of America's busiest airports. One source telling CNN that the Trump administration is weighing a proposal that would cut 4 percent of scheduled flights, and that for every day the shutdown drags on, they could increase those cancellations by an additional percent.
United Airlines is preemptively canceling about 200 flights tomorrow, a similar rate of cancellations expected on Saturday and Sunday. Delta Airlines canceling about 170 of their Friday flights. The White House arguing that these cuts and the significant disruptions that they'll cause are not political. Here was the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: People have asked me, why don't you find money for air traffic controllers? Like, that's the purpose of a shutdown. I don't have access to money. I can't find dollars to pay them because the Congress said there is no money. And so, we can't break the law. And so, I can't -- I can't pay them. I'd love to, but I can't. And so, the message is, sit down, figure this out, open the government up. And, you know, let's not hold Americans hostage, especially when they want to travel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So, today, thousands of flight delays have been reported as the air traffic control towers go understaffed. The air traffic controllers have already missed one paycheck. Today, they received a second pay stub for $0.
The president of the air traffic controllers union tells CNN that every day, some controllers are permanently quitting their jobs, while others say they simply can't afford to get themselves to work.
(BEGIN VIIDEO CLIP)
NICK DANIELS, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: They're calling in saying, I don't have enough gas to get to work, to their employer, to their supervisor and manager, and saying, what do you want me to do? They're not calling in sick. They're not calling in protests. They're calling in with real life situations.
These are real people dealing with real life circumstances. And when you don't pay somebody for 37 days and say, hey, just keep showing up and do your best, people are going to have issues and they're mounting daily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: There you go.
All right. Let's get off the sidelines. Head into THE ARENA. My panel is here and we're going to get started with CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean and CNN's Manu Raju, who is on Capitol Hill for us.
Manu, I actually do want to start with you just because the talks that are aimed at trying to reopen the government wrapped up in the last hour, and there does seem to be some significant -- a change in the chatter, shall we say. Is it the flights that's upping the ante? What's the latest from where you sit?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is enormous pressure on senators to reach a deal and end this very damaging shutdown that is having painful consequences each day for the American public and the senators who are negotiating a potential compromise are keenly aware of all that frantic negotiations have been occurring all week. They've been intensifying today.
And the question on the table is whether Democrats can accept what compromise from their demands. Remember, initially, the outset of this fight, they had called for an extension of those expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, saying it must be dealt with immediately. Otherwise, people will see their health care premiums rise.
Well, as part of this compromise, that would not be included as part of this plan to reopen the government. This funding plan would not include health care issues that would be dealt with separately as part of a separate vote to extend the health care subsidies.
But there is no guarantee that that separate vote could pass the Senate. The Republican House, the speaker, would not commit to putting on the floor of the House, or even get signed into law by President Trump.
So, will Democrats go along with that? Not having any guarantee of that becoming law? That is a key question that I put to Democrats today. Some say this would be a capitulation. Others say it's time to cut a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Settling for some kind of vague promise about a vote in the future on some indeterminate bill without any definite inclusion in the law, I think is a mistake.
RAJU: And it would be a letdown to your voters?
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BLUMENTAL: I think voters would rightly see it as a surrender.
RAJU: Yeah. But I mean, some people would think that this is capitulation if you only agree to a standalone.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): You need to understand how the Senate works. We have brought this issue as a major national issue from zero to a major factor I think in the last election. And I think we're going to continue to make it an issue as we approach the next election in the mid-year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And the question if enough Democrats agree with Senator Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat, that they've been able to make health care an issue, not necessarily make it a law, will that be enough to sway? Well, they would need eight Democrats in total to advance legislation to reopen the government. So far as we've seen time and time again, just three Democrats have sided with Republican efforts to reopen the government with no conditions at all attached to it.
But expect there to be a key moment tomorrow. Will there be votes to try to reopen the government? Will Democrats come along to that, to saying yes on that bill? They just left a caucus meeting that lasted about two hours, Kasie. I talked to many of them while they were leaving. Many still noncommittal about whether they think this is the path forward or whether they think the shutdown will drag on.
HUNT: All right. Well, keep us posted. Manu, it sounds like it could be potentially an interesting weekend up there.
So, Pete Muntean, it's certainly going to be an interesting weekend for Americans across the country who are just trying to get where they're going. Can you help us understand kind of the scale, the magnitude of what people should be prepared for at the nation's airports if the government stays closed for the next few days?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We're talking thousands of flight cancellations. And as we speak, airlines are posting their flight cancellations for the next few days. Delta Airlines just told me it will cancel about 170 flights starting tomorrow, mainly regional flights. United Airlines also told me it will cancel about 200 flights tomorrow. Then again on Saturday, same on Sunday.
But we should reset here. This is now the most direct consequence of the government shutdown on air travel and airlines really blindsided by this mandate from the Trump administration. I'm told carriers were given less than an hours' notice that the FAA would order flight reductions nationwide, starting tomorrow morning.
And here's the reasoning from the Trump administration. Air traffic controllers just got that zero dollar pay stub. Their second of this government shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says that has built stress into the national airspace system, and things have really reached a point where it is no longer safe to operate flights at full capacity.
I want you to listen now to what FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in this surprise announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN BEDFORD, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: When we see pressures building in these 40 markets, we just can't ignore it, you know? And we're not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent, you know, things from deteriorating. So, the system is extremely safe today. It will be extremely safe tomorrow. And if this -- if the pressures continue to build even after we take these, these measures, we'll come back and take additional measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Here are the details in this new directive. If there's no deal to reopen the federal government, the FAA is mandating airlines reduce flights by up to 10 percent at 40 of the country's busiest airports. Multiple airline officials now tell me the Trump administration will start this off at a 4 percent cut tomorrow, then ramp this up to 10 percent through the next week. Where will this be? And I want to show you the preliminary map of the
airports. We're talking everywhere from Florida to Albuquerque to Anchorage. Even some airports with no airline service at all, like Teterboro, New Jersey. I've been cautioned, though, that this list could change because this will likely include at least all of what's called the core 30 airports. Those are the busiest, most operationally critical airports nationwide, though nothing final here, all preliminary. The FAA has not published a final order yet to airlines, and the airlines are really scrambling to adjust here.
All four major U.S. airlines say they're complying with this directive and giving passengers ways to change their flights free of charge.
Then there's this big reaction from Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle. I've been going back to this all day because it's so unprecedented. He called the directive from the FAA unsustainable, saying, quote, "You cannot run the national airspace like this. This is not how a modern aviation system functions." And he even went a step further, suggesting to travelers to consider booking a backup ticket on another airline.
It is such a competitive industry, you'll never hear that again from an airline CEO.
So far, this has not been all that well received in the airline industry because this is not really a small tweak. Aviation is a multibillion-dollar economic driver, and airlines are telling me they're dealing with this like they would deal with mass cancellations, like during a snowstorm.
HUNT: Yeah, I mean, Pete, there may not be a lot of commercial traffic for you and me out of Teterboro, but I wonder what's going to happen if all those really wealthy people who fly those private jets in there start calling the president directly and asking him, why the heck they can't land?
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You know, you never know what's going to move him. Pete Muntean, Manu Raju, thank you very much for that.
All right. Our panel is here in THE ARENA. CNN political analyst, national political reporter for "Axios", Alex Thompson; CNN contributor, "New York Times" journalist and podcast host, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, CNN political commentator, former DNC senior advisor, Xochitl Hinojosa; and CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings are all here.
Thank you very much for being here today.
Excuse me, Scott, how many flights are you taking in the next few days? And are you going to actually get on --
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm literally sitting here having a complete meltdown. I have to leave. I have to go to San Francisco. Then I have to go to Chicago. Then I have to go to Greensboro. Then I have to go to Louisville. Then I have to go to New York.
Please, for the love of God, open the government. I don't mean to make this all about me, but do we really want America's favorite pundit stranded out there in the middle of the country --
XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Why don't they -- Trump -- I don't think Trump wants you stranded either, so this might be good for everybody. If you are suffering, please a direct to camera Donald Trump might help you.
JENNINGS: I think the Senate is going to -- I think they're going to vote on Friday. Maybe -- maybe we'll get this thing opened up and I'll make all my -- all my engagements. The people out there need their Scott Jennings. I'm just saying.
(LAUGHTER)
HUNT: Lulu --
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I can't follow that.
HUNT: Scott's personal ego and schedule aside, there are a lot of, you know, people in America who are going to feel the effects of this shutdown for the first time around aviation, right? They may not be federal employees. They may not be on snap benefits, but they may, you know, have a flight schedule. Thanksgiving is coming up.
Is this really going to make -- can this make the difference? Is this --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, it did last time. It did last time. It will this time. There's nothing that gets Americans more upset than feeling like they can't get. Look at -- look at Scott. Scott is actually exhibit A. They can't get to where they're going.
JENNINGS: Like your freedom of movement is like you can't do it. People get --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And also -- and also -- listen, the knock on effects of this is not just about getting on a flight, it's about all the money Scott is going to spend whenever he goes to his next place. It's all the tourists that go or the business travelers or all, you know, families going to visit their loved ones.
I mean, this has a lot of knock on effects. And so, it is bad for business. It is bad for America. And it will move the needle, I think.
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But the question is, who does it move the needle for, Republicans or Democrats in this case? And we still don't know the answer yet.
I mean, based on the sources I've talked to, they are still far apart in terms of the concessions because of what Manu was talking about before. Because even if you get enough Senate Democrats, it's not a guarantee that Mike Johnson in the House is going to put anything up for a vote. And if you're the Democrats, just shut down the government for 40 days --
JENNINGS: However, however, we did hear the president say this week --
HINOJOSA: That's exactly what I was going to say, Scott Jennings.
JENNINGS: -- sounded like maybe he wants to get the government open.
HINOJOSA: Yes.
JENNINGS: And if he were to tell the House Republicans, you know, maybe it's time to get the government, don't you think that would make it?
(CROSSTALK)
HINOJOSA: I agree --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: You admitted that this is all in Trump's hands.
HINOJOSA: Well, I agree, I agree with Scott.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is indeed in Trump's hands. You're right.
HINOJOSA: Tuesday was a big day for our country. And I think for Republicans. And Donald Trump admits that the government shutdown may have had an effect on Republicans losing. I think that Trump is feeling the pressure because this looks bad on him and his administration.
And I agree he needs to call Speaker Johnson because right now, Speaker John Johnson is saying I did my job. I'm not going to make a commitment to Democrats about when we're going to vote for ACA subsidies. I don't need to do anything else, but Donald Trump can fix this whole thing. And I think he actually might for once, because he's feeling the pressure.
THOMPSON: Remember, the C.R. that the House passed, then went on -- the House Republicans have laid out? It only keeps the government open for a few more weeks.
JENNINGS: Now we're going to have to do something.
HINOJOSA: Yeah, and this is a problem.
THOMPSON: So, November 21st, it would only open the government until November 21st, unless the House comes back and extends it. And November 21st is the week before Thanksgiving.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Facts, facts, facts. Oh my God.
HUNT: Pressures, Xochitl, on Senate Democrats here to do something because there was a lot of, you know, honestly, I heard two sets of things on Tuesday night as the results were rolling in. Democrats were saying, this is going to stiffen our spines and stiffen our resolve. And I had a number of Republicans saying exactly what Scott has been saying, which is like, whoa, this is going to mean that the president is going to feel more pressure to get the government back open. It seems like that's actually what's happening.
But what does that mean in terms of the spines of Democrats? Do they feel like they need to stand stronger and therefore not do this?
HINOJOSA: Well, I think Democrats have stood strong so far, and I feel like what everything that happened in Tuesday's election just shows that they're -- what, you know, everything that were doing is working. Costs are not going down.
And actually and they make a really good point when it comes to health care costs. Health care costs have already gone up. So, they are trying to solve the problem.
Either way, whatever happens if the government stays shut down and they hold the line, they're going to continue to say costs are up because of Donald Trump and the shutdown is continuing because of Donald Trump.
[16:15:00]
And if for some reason there's a deal, they're going to say Democrats helped you lower access or lower prices of health care. And so, I think either way, it is a win for Democrats.
THOMPSON: Why would the Republicans give them that win?
HINOJOSA: Well, because right now, they're facing the pressure. And right now, costs aren't going down. And Republicans control everything at the moment.
THOMPSON: Can I just -- can I just say something? It is clearly, though, a tactic of the Trump administration, what they've just done with the FAA and the airlines. I mean, that just suddenly a couple of days after the election, they're like, wow, we're having a big problem today, as opposed to any other day of the week. I mean, this seems like this is intended to put pressure on Democrats to come to the table because people are going to be pissed off.
And as I've always said, nobody wins a shutdown. Up to a point, you can win it. But when it gets to really, really hurting people, I think everyone just gets upset.
JENNINGS: I agree with you. I don't think anybody wins these things. And I actually think a year from now it will be, you know, long in the past, people won't really be thinking about it.
I mean, I don't really understand what Democrats I think they got into this mess because of pressure from the left. Chuck Schumer is having a meltdown because AOC is threatening to primary him. They don't really know how to get out of it. I mean, after all, Obamacare is a Democrat law. The subsidies are a Democrat idea.
And the sunset was put into law by Democrats who want to. Make hoping that Republicans want to make it into a you want to make it into a Republican problem. This is a Democrat health care debacle that you want to throw onto --
HINOJOSA: Thank you for admitting that we lowered costs of healthcare.
JENNINGS: You're saying, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying Obamacare lowered health care costs in America?
HINOJOSA: I think we made it more affordable. And there and because of the subsidies, because of the subsidies.
JENNINGS: Is this like --
HINOJOSA: It is lower?
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: Honestly, you think health care in America is cheaper since Obamacare?
HINOJOSA: We have we have increased access to Americans and the subsidies that were supposed to --
(CROSSTALK)
HUNT: Scott, what is the Republican plan? What is the Republican alternative plan? Honestly, what is for health care?
Well, I understand you want to say Obamacare. I mean, cost of healthcare have skyrocketed since Obamacare was implemented. Absolutely the case, whether or not it's Obamacare that caused that or simply the way.
JENNINGS: It's our health care system.
HUNT: Okay, so how are you going to fix it? Because that's the problem --
(CROSSTALK)
HINOJOSA: Republican --
HUNT: The challenge has been Republicans have never been able to articulate a plan. Right? An alternative plan for Obamacare. That's been the political problem.
All right. We have to get to this breaking news. It's related to the government shutdown. Food stamp benefits and funding for that program known as SNAP.
CNN's Rene Marsh is here with more.
Rene, what's your new reporting?
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, this federal judge in Rhode Island, just moments ago ordered the Trump administration to make full November payments for the SNAP program and do it by tomorrow. Now, this judge told the administration's lawyers that they had not complied with his original order, which said that the administration had to, at the very least, disburse partial payments for the SNAP food assistance program by Wednesday.
Well, Wednesday has come and gone, and many states and people who rely on this benefit still have a balance of zero on their cards. This judge was quite angry, and at one point he said people have gone without -- gone far too long, without and not making these payments for them. Even another day is simply unacceptable.
He also went on to say without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry. This should never happen in America. In fact, it is likely that snap recipients are hungry, as we sit here.
A lot of strong words from this federal judge. Again, he is ordering that the Trump administration release funds as far as snap goes to states by tomorrow. If you remember, the Trump administration said that they would make partial payments. The judge originally gave them the option to move around other money within the agency to fill the need to allow them to perhaps make full payments for the month of November. But the agency declined that. They said they would only use this emergency fund to make partial payments.
Well, today, not only did the judge say that they need to make those payments by tomorrow, but he is saying that they need to make full payments. So whatever states were supposed to get in full, if the shutdown was not happening, that is the amount of money that they have to receive. Will it happen by tomorrow? That remains to be seen.
HUNT: All right. Rene Marsh for us -- Rene, thanks very much for that report.
Coming up here in THE ARENA, Congressman Ro Khanna will be here live. We're going to discuss the impacts of the government shutdown prepares to come to an airport near you. And the retirement announcement today from his fellow Californian, Nancy Pelosi. How the former speaker's decision will impact the present and future of the party.
Plus, what the president is saying today about Tuesday's election after Republicans failed to win any of the major races.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We just lost an election, they said, based on affordability.
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It's a con job by the Democrats. The Democrats are only good at con and cheating on elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I will not be seeking reelection to congress with a grateful heart. I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative. As we go forward.
My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history. We have made progress. We have always led the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing today that after nearly four decades in Congress, she will not seek reelection next year, a decision that was made on the heels of her party's sweeping victories on Tuesday.
[16:25:09]
First elected to Congress in 1987, Pelosi established herself as one of the most powerful figures in Democratic politics, and in 2007, she made history as the first ever female speaker of the House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Tonight, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of my own as the first president to begin the State of the Union message with these words, Madam Speaker.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: She is known for her sharp negotiating skills, political shrewdness. The 84-year-old guided her party through four presidential administrations. You may remember this moment she ripped up a copy of President Trump's State of the Union Address. Perhaps one of a number of legacy defining moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: Mr. President, please don't characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting.
An impeachment is not a pleasant experience, but the president gave us no choice.
There's a domestic enemy in the White House. And let's not mince words about this.
A shameful assault was made on our democracy. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
For that reason, congress has returned to the Capitol.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: All right. My panel is back.
Lulu, big picture -- what did Nancy Pelosi mean as -- I mean, she is the most powerful woman in Washington history.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She is. And that is her legacy. But also, I think it's not just her gender. She was an incredibly powerful speaker. She rallied her troops. She kept them in line. She was someone who was feared. She was someone who was also respected.
And I think, you know, the other bit of her legacy, though, is a little bit more complicated, which is, you know, she managed to usher through Obamacare, which is a signature piece of legislation. But I think, you know, when you look at the impeachment of Donald Trump and you look back at that era, I think the judgment is still out on whether or not that was really the right move.
So, I think that there's a lot of -- a lot of complicated history with Nancy Pelosi. But regardless of it all, she was an incredible role model for female politicians.
HINOJOSA: Yeah. I mean, I think she's the most successful speaker in history. One thing to note is that nothing would ever go to the floor unless it was going to succeed.
HUNT: Right.
HINOJOSA: She knew how to negotiate like nobody else. I don't think there is anyone in the Democratic Party or in the Republican Party for that matter, who could negotiate, like Nancy Pelosi. And it's almost like what you would see her in those pictures where she would get after people, you know, whenever she was presiding over the House or whatever it was.
It was like she was the grandmother of 10. She was the grandmother also of the House, and she knew how to whip everyone into shape when she wanted something done. She would also go to the president, United States, or whoever and said, I can't get this done.
And so, she was just -- she's a real leader, and we don't -- I mean, it's hard to see someone like her in the next sort of generation.
HUNT: So, speaking of getting things done when she wanted them, one of the moments that will stand out in her tenure is the moment that she pushed President Joe Biden out of his reelection bid. Let's watch the interview that ultimately presaged that move. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
INTERVIEWER: Does he have your support to be the head of the Democratic ticket?
PELOSI: As long as the president has -- the president -- it's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.
INTERVIEWER: He has said -- he has made the decision. He has said firmly this week, he is going to run. Do you want him to run?
PELOSI: I want him to do whatever he decides to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Alex Thompson, what -- put that moment in the pantheon?
THOMPSON: Well, I mean, if you -- it was an unprecedented action to help depose the nominee of the party just four months before the election. And, you know, she did that because Nancy Pelosi has always prided herself on caring more about the party and what she believes the country than letting personal loyalties get in the way. The thing is that she has tremendous personal affection for Joe Biden and members of the Biden family believed that that should have been enough for her not to do that.
But Nancy Pelosi saw an electoral map in her mind where Democrats were going to get wiped out down ballot. If Joe Biden was going to be the nominee, they were going to potentially lose, you know, 57 -- the Republicans would have a 57-seat majority in the Senate and several at a much bigger majority in the House.
And so, she made -- you know, I think, a very difficult decision to push aside her friend in order to help the party.
[16:30:07]
HUNT: Scott Jennings, how do Republicans look at Pelosi? I mean, obviously, the president and we can play in a moment, a little bit of what he said. I mean, they have their sort of animosity seems to be deeply personal.
But in talking to Republicans on Capitol Hill over many years, many of them, she made them really angry. But at the end of the day, there was often grudging respect for some of the things that she -- skills that she brought to the table.
JENNINGS: Oh, yeah. You know, there were people who respected her legislative ability. And, you know, being a political boss -- I mean, she was the boss of her conference.
HUNT: Nancy D'Alesandro.
HINOJOSA: Yeah.
JENNINGS: And, you know, there is, you know, for political operators, a lot of respect for that. I'll tell you this. I don't know how much we raised over the years off of sending out fundraising appeals based on Nancy Pelosi, but it was a metric butt ton. I'm telling you right now, putting Nancy Pelosi in fundraising, mail or fundraising emails would always produce.
And by the way, it's not often that someone can become a titan of both Washington and wall street. Republicans will remember her as one of the most successful and prolific day traders. She beat the S&P 500 by 559 percent in her stock portfolio. She's worth a lot of money. She did an amazing job.
So, what a blow for the financial houses today on Wall Street. I'm sure they're mourning.
THOMPSON: Just getting an elbow, right?
HINOJOSA: Yeah, really trying to get some opposition research.
HUNT: That's a classic Scott Jennings by the way. Like I'm beginning to view what you just did there as like the Scott Jennings on TV.
JENNINGS: I want Trump to put her in charge of the Social Security Administration. We could all retire in six months if we let this lady manage our portfolios.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you know what I think for me was -- you know, I sat with her right after the loss in 2024. And one of the things that I am always struck by with Nancy Pelosi is how ruthless she is, but how pragmatic she is. She is all about results. If you remember how she would run -- when you were running, all the Republicans were running against her and sending out those fliers, which she was telling her caucuses disavow me.
HUNT: Yep.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Tell people I'm the worst person in the world. Tell you, you know, that California liberal, we're going to depose her once we get there. I don't care, as long as you win.
And that, to me, is the mark of real leadership that she had.
JENNINGS: The best legislative leaders have enough sense and a thick enough skin to absorb those kinds of attacks if it's in their best interest to do so. You know, McConnell did this in the Senate for the Republicans. He never minded being the -- you know, catching all the spears in that way either.
And so, the best legislative leaders with that kind of instinct where they don't take it personally, you know, it doesn't bother them. The conferences often reward them with longevity because there's just not that many people that have that gear, you know, who can do that, you know?
HUNT: Especially in this town where the egos are so sensitive to be able to set it aside in the -- in the interest of something bigger than yourself.
HINOJOSA: That's right.
JENNINGS: Winning.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Winning. She was about winning politics.
HUNT: It is -- it is --
JENNINGS: Winners make policy. Losers go home priceless. HUNT: Priceless.
All right. Coming up next, here in THE ARENA, the trillion-dollar ultimatum from the man who's already the richest human being on the planet.
But first, Congressman Ro Khanna will be here live with what's really going on with the shutdown. And if we're actually maybe getting closer to opening the government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:37:42]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
On Capitol Hill this hour, there does seem to be an emerging potential compromise that could reopen the government. What exactly it is, we don't know, because at this point, nobody's talking about it.
Senate Democrats emerged from a critical party strategy session pretty tight lipped about where they plan to go from here.
Joining us now in THE ARENA to discuss, Democratic congressman of California, Ro Khanna, the vice chair of the congressional progressive caucus. And he, of course, sits on the House Oversight Committee.
Congressman, thank you so much for being here.
I'd like to start with a check-in from you. What are you hearing from your Democratic colleagues about whether there is a willingness to potentially take a deal that may be on the table and reopen the government?
REP. RO KHANNA (R-CA): Kasie, a lot of the House Democrats are here. We're ready to vote today on extending crew pay, on extending SNAP benefits. As you know, the Congress is out of session. But, you know, what we're hearing on the Senate is that there is negotiation, that there has been progress.
What many House Democrats want to make sure is that there is some extension on the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. I mean, that's been the whole fight. We can't have the premiums go up. And so, we're waiting to hear the details. But there has been talk that there has been progress.
HUNT: Do you think that Senate Democrats should take a deal where they're just promised a vote on subsidies, or is that not good enough for you because of the dynamics in the House?
KHANNA: It's not good enough for me because that's just a Washington thing. I mean, who cares how you vote if people's premiums are actually going to go up? My interest is in actually making sure that people don't have to pay $2,000, $3,000 more a month on their premiums that we don't have folks losing health care in this country.
So, I'm open to negotiation and compromise. But at the very least, we need to get some relief for people whose premiums are going to go up.
HUNT: Let's talk a little bit about the elections on Tuesday and how they're influencing both this process, but also kind of Democrats across the board. Obviously, the winds were deeper, broader. They went down ballot. But of course, the question where will Democrats go from here?
And I'm sure you probably know Jonathan Martin over at "Politico", formerly of "The New York Times". The lead of his story, the night after -- said "The Night Democrats Finally Stopped Losing", and he wrote, quote, "Winning can paper over a lot of problems."
[16:50:05]
What do you think Democrats need to take away from Tuesday about how to win and why you won?
KHANNA: Well, Jonathan's a very thoughtful reporter, but this was a huge victory for us. I mean, we had a defeatism. We had a sense of dread, of whether Trump's lawlessness could be stopped and the magnitude of Mikie Sherrill's win, the magnitude of Abigail Spanberger's win, the magnitude of Zohran Mamdani's win was inspiring.
Young men came back to us, Latinos came back to us, South Asian Americans in New Jersey came back to us.
I think the key is that they all offered a positive vision. They were talking about how they should lower costs. They were talking about jobs. They were talking about what they would do for people.
They were not talking that much, frankly, about Donald Trump. They treated him more as a lame duck -- about to be lame duck. And they were all --
(CROSSTALK)
HUNT: Well, Mikie Sherrill talked about Trump quite a bit.
KHANNA: Well, she talked about it in the context of the shutdown and in the context of the federal workers being affected. But if you look at what she really, in my view, focused on, it was the utility cost. She said, I'm not playing around. I'm going to freeze those costs. She talked about the cost of living and childcare.
So I think that there were positive campaigns. But, you know, I mean, look, I think these wins have stiffened the spine of the Supreme Court. Suddenly, now, they're asking questions about Trump's tariff policy.
And you've seen a change amongst Republicans. Senator Thune saying he's not going to agree to Trump's ending the filibuster, even though there I actually think we should end the filibuster.
But I just think there's been a zeitgeist momentum shift in in a way that I haven't seen since Kamala Harriss loss.
HUNT: Interesting way to think about it.
Congressman, when -- I assume you watched part of or perhaps all of Zohran Mamdani's victory speech on Tuesday night. I'm interested to know if you felt like he did enough in that address to talk to people who didn't vote for him, because there were a lot of Democrats in New York that didn't.
KHANNA: Well, look, one, I was impressed. He quoted Jawaharlal Nehrus, freedom speech. I thought, he's so authentic. I mean, he doesn't hide from who he is.
He said he's going to be the mayor for everyone. He put out on Twitter just yesterday a explicit condemnation of antisemitism at a Jewish school that I thought was very strong. And frankly, I saw in the comments that people who hadn't voted for him appreciated that. He's building an administration with people like Lina Khan, who was a Biden administration respected person.
So, I do think he's going to reach out. I think he's going to build a coalition, and people aren't going to agree with everything he does. But he has the temperament, in my view, to be a bridge builder.
HUNT: And where do you think the party should go? Big picture as you look ahead to picking a leader in 2028. I mean, obviously Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger ran their campaigns with a different kind of orientation and feel than Zohran Mamdani, who came at it from the very progressive lane. You of course, yourself have worked with Bernie sanders and are part of the progressive wing of the party. How do you see that piece of it coming together?
KHANNA: I think we need an economic populist message. I call myself a pro-growth progressive. We need to realize 70 percent of Americans don't believe in the American dream. The institutions haven't worked.
I don't think we can just run on a kind of moderate centrist, vanilla platform. We need to run on a transformational platform because the goal, Kasie, can't just be to win. It should be to build an enduring majority.
And I do believe after this, we can have a new progressive era that actually tackles income inequality. But for 2026, what's important is that we have a big tent. The campaign Abigail Spanberger ran may not work in New York City, and the campaign Zohran Mamdani ran may not work in Virginia. And we need to recognize that we're going to have good candidates in different geographies tailored to their states and their districts.
HUNT: Very briefly, sir, before I let you go, you mentioned income inequality. Do you think that Elon Musk should be a trillionaire? Is that a thing we should have?
KHANNA: I said, I'm all for Elon becoming a trillionaire, as long as we can have a 5 percent trillionaire tax, we would have child care, $10 a day with childcare workers making $20 an hour for the 5 percent trillionaire tax. My problem is not the wealth generation. It's that it hasn't been
taxed. Have a wealth tax on all these billionaires and trillionaires. By the way, there are more of them in my district than anywhere in the world. And if I can be for taxing them more, it shouldn't be a hard vote for the other 434 members of Congress.
HUNT: Fair enough. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you very much for being with us today. Appreciate your time.
KHANNA: Thanks, Kasie.
HUNT: See you soon, I hope.
KHANNA: Thank you.
HUNT: All right. Coming up next. The will they or won't they trillion-dollar decision that Tesla is making today.
[16:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: It's not a money thing. It's a reasonable control thing over the future of the company, especially if we're building millions, potentially billions of humanoid robots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): The real issues are that we are increasingly living in an oligarchic society, where a handful of billionaires who are incredibly greedy. These are not nice guys, want it all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So now, Bernie Sanders might have a trillionaire to worry about, on top of that.
Tesla could give Elon Musk the chance to become the world's first trillionaire. Shareholders are currently meeting to vote on Musk's new pay package.
[16:50:00]
It could be worth nearly $1 trillion in stock over the next ten years.
So, just to try to put in perspective just how much money a trillion is, if one of these blocks represents $1 billion, you need 1,000 of these billion dollar blocks to hit a trillion. It's about this many. It's a lot of billions of dollars.
If you spent $40 every second of every day, it would take 289 days to spend $1 billion. And if you did the same thing with $1 trillion, it would take you 792.5 years to go broke. The other option would just be to give the entire population of the United States $3,000 at a go.
Our panel is back.
Scott Jennings, I'm going to put this one to you because Donald Trump has run his campaign as an economic populist, and he has won over a lot of working class voters. And they have not in the past begrudged him his own wealth. They have seen him as someone they could aspire to become.
But at what point is like this too much, right?
JENNINGS: I disagree, and I think you -- I think often when we discuss populism in politics, we ascribe a level of resentment to America's working class. It doesn't exist. They believe in the American dream. They believe in working and working hard and getting ahead.
And they believe that people who create companies and create value and create jobs for people, that's what we do in America.
Elon Musk came to America. He created this company. It creates lots of jobs. It's innovative. I mean, he's one of the most important people on planet Earth.
And so, if he can have that kind of success and it -- and it lifts up people along the way, the people who work for Tesla, the people who buy their products, this is a good thing. This is the American dream. We shouldn't begrudge someone for having success in America.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's two things about this. First of all, it's obscene. And the split screen of people not getting snap benefits and Elon Musk getting $1 trillion is not a great one.
The second thing I'll say is that this is actually structured -- they're not just handing him $1 trillion. They're actually trying to give him an incentive to work harder. And so, he might not ever get $1 trillion. We should be clear.
But the very idea that you need to incentivize Musk with $1 trillion to focus on his companies and not be distracted by other things, is, I think, also just in terms of the way our economy works, deeply problematic. Either he's invested in the companies that he's doing or he's not.
Why does he need $1 trillion dangled in front of him in order to do that? He's already got more money than anyone could do with.
And by the way, if you want me to focus on this panel, $100,000 will do it. I'm just saying.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: Really quick. Who gets to decide, Lulu, like, at what point you don't get paid anymore? I mean, these are private individuals creating private companies that create incredible wealth for the people who invested a --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It involves a lot of work.
JENNINGS: I'm just --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, what I'm saying is it looks a little bit like self-dealing. There are people in the Tesla universe who are invested in the company, who think that this is a bad idea.
HUNT: Alex?
THOMPSON: You say there's no resentment among working class Americans, but you did just see Mamdani win over 50 percent of the vote in New York with a message about -- about some of this wealth inequality. And you also have seen Bernie Sanders, his, you know, class-focused wing of the party, you know, do decently well in 2020.
But I'm just saying, like, there is a resentment level at the, you know, in parts of the party and parts of the country about the level of wealth. And you have seen Donald Trump, despite talking about all the elites, he's been hanging out with a lot of A.I. CEOs the first nine months, and a lot less working class people.
JENNINGS: Just to debate your point, if you look at the splits on Mamdani, he won people with college degrees and advanced college degrees, people with anything less than that, associates high school, less than high school. They did not --
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: The working class did not -- he has positioned himself as a hood ornament for people --
HINOJOSA: But the working class --
THOMPSON: Could someone with a college degree not be working class?
JENNINGS: The people who voted for Mamdani, and you look at the splits and the people who voted for Cuomo, the working class, they were not buying the socialism that he was saying.
HINOJOSA: Well, the working class -- Democrats won the working class in Virginia and New Jersey. And I think that what based on what costs and what's happening in the Republican Party, I wouldn't be surprised if they also win the working class next November.
One thing that's interesting, that's just disgusting about all this. I don't mean he makes $1 trillion. He should be taxed. I kind of agree with Ro Khanna on this, but at the same time, this is the man that cut 200,000 jobs from the federal government. He's not just some CEO. He caused great pain to federal workers.
And so it's not that he is just like here making money and doing great for America. No, he actually -- there are people still employed right now that can't get jobs in the D.C. area and across the country because of Elon Musk. He has messed up so many people's lives, and I think that is why people are so upset, because he's just not some guy that is like this trillionaire -- potential trillionaire is he -- there are real consequences to his decisions.
[16:55:04]
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Plus, he wants to build a robot army. I don't know, that's kind of scary to me.
HUNT: I -- if you're going to have to pay me a lot of money, maybe not $1 trillion, but a lot of money to get in a robotic car. I'm just going to say that.
All right. My thanks to THE ARENA text chain for joining us today.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNT: All right. One update before we go, while we were in that commercial break, that trillion-dollar Musk pay package was in fact approved by Tesla shareholders. So now, of course, it's up to them to build that kind of value. But it is on the table as a possibility.
Thanks to my panel.
Don't forget you can now stream THE ARENA live wherever you catch up in the CNN app. Just scan that QR code below on your screen.
"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
