Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Republicans Say They Have New Plan To Avoid Shutdown; Prosecutors: CEO Murder Suspects Could Face Death Penalty; Rep. Andy Barr, (R-KY), Is Interviewed About Spending Bill. Rep. Andy Barr (R- KY) And Rep. Gerry Connolly (R-VA), Is Interviewed About Republicans Say They Have New Plan To Avoid Shutdown; 1,300 Plus People Sue Weight Loss And Diabetes Drug Makers; 15 Percent Increase In U.S. Families Experiencing Homelessness. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 19, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: -- on Capitol Hill, where the United States could be just minutes away from a vote to avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers are facing a very real deadline. The federal government is set to shut down at the end of the day tomorrow. And here's the thing, we have no idea which way this vote is going to go. Democrats are not feeling this new deal, which they say was made up by Republicans on their own. And there's even some doubt over whether this new deal, supported by Donald Trump, has the necessary support among House Republicans.

Here's what the proposal reportedly includes. It's a clean extension, three months for federal government funding. This includes a two year suspension of the debt limit. It also includes a farm bill extension and a $110 billion disaster relief package.

Now, just moments ago, as I noted, President-elect Trump supported this writing on Truth Social, quote, "Success in Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good deal for the American people," unquote. But the question is, do Republicans have the votes? Will House Democrats vote for this? If this deal does not pass the House and the Senate before tomorrow night, a shutdown would put key government services on hold and it would mean no pay for hundreds of thousands of federal employees right before Christmas.

We weren't even talking about a shutdown until yesterday because Speaker Johnson had previously negotiated a bipartisan deal and that fell apart when Elon Musk and Donald Trump came out yesterday and publicly opposed that deal. CNN's teams are spread out across the capital tonight. Let's start with Manu Raju and Lauren Fox.

Manu, Republicans say they have a deal, but the question is, do they have the votes?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an open question. And actually, Jake, it seems a bit uncertain that they'll actually get this over the finish line, as not only are Democrats sounding very skeptical, they're downright opposed to this plan. But there are also Republicans who don't like this as well, including the idea of suspending the national debt limit for two years. That is what's under this plan. It came as a result of Donald Trump.

Remember, Republicans for many years, including in this Congress, fought tooth and nail for any clean extension of the debt limit. They wanted cuts to come alongside it. Ultimately, they actually did cut a plan that took months to negotiate last year to raise the national debt limit, actually make it until January of next year, January of 2025, when the debt limit would be breached. That would cause Donald Trump to raise alarm bells just yesterday, demanding that any 11th hour, any deal to avoid a government shutdown needs to include some sort of debt level -- debt limit increase, a debt limit suspension. Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, acquiesced to the demands and is trying to get Republicans in line. But there are Republicans like Congressman Chip Roy of Texas who are fundamentally opposed to the idea of suspending the national debt limit, saying this earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): You can't lift the debt ceiling or suspend the debt ceiling without actual structural reform to save money. That's the bottom line. If you're just going to go add, say limiting, you know, increasing your credit card limit while you don't do anything to actually constrain spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And Donald Trump is having none of it. In fact, put out a post on Truth Social earlier today saying "The very unpopular congressman," in quotes, "from Texas, Chip Roy is getting in the way, as usual, of yet another great Republican victory for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself." And when he was read that to -- by our colleague Kit Maher, he pushed back and said that he was actually looking to simply reform and cut spending. So you're seeing, Jake, Donald Trump is trying to force Republicans to bend to his will. He's going to have success in large part. But getting Republican unity is a totally different question.

And here's the other wrinkle, Jake. It looks likely that under the process to facts fast track to the floor, they'll need two thirds of the full House to get this passed. That means 290 votes. So that means they need to get a significant number of Democrats in addition to Republicans. A huge question uphill climb at the moment to get this out of the House.

TAPPER: Lauren Fox, Democrats are meeting behind closed doors. Are they going to support this deal at all?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it wasn't very long ago, Jake, we're standing outside of that House Democratic Caucus and we could hear members inside chanting hell no over and over again. And when I asked a member who's inside that room whether or not they were talking about this legislation that was unveiled, they said that is exactly what they were talking about. Now, heading into this meeting, Hakeem Jeffries also signaled he was opposed to this legislation. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It's laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:05:00]

FOX: And we also talked to several Democrats who are heading into this meeting, some of them keeping their powder dry, not wanting to say whether or not they would back this legislation, but others just coming out against it. Richard Neal, who's the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, he said that, you know, presidents do not tell Congress what to do. And we should note, Donald Trump is not the president yet. There's a lot of frustration that despite the fact that Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson have had a very strong relationship in the past, that this was a negotiation that was settled, that they had unveiled the legislation, that everyone was on a glide path ready to pass this legislation and head home for the holidays and now they are back to square one. Democrats do not want to reward Donald Trump for getting involved in this in the 11th hour, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, thanks to both of you.

The panel is here to discuss. Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, you know these members, you served with them, Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart tweeted, quote, "Old bill, new bill," with a photo showing the old bill very big and a much smaller stack, presumably, the new deal. You responded saying, quote, "These people are taking advantage of that you don't know how this works." So how does this work? And what do you make of the chaos of the last day?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, look, so just on that tweet, the 1,500 page bill is an omnibus. That is an actual spending for the whole government. All the continuing resolution is it, it punts that 1,500 page bill that's going to be there. It punts it till March. So I just want to be clear to people, if you think this is some magic thing where now, oh my gosh, we simplified the process.

No, you've just kicked this to March. That's it.

And I mean, look, I am -- I'm watching your coverage and just literally praying, thanking the Lord that I'm not there because I played this Christmas game every year. It appears that this may actually go into some version of a government shutdown. Who knows? But yes, watching the players play.

And then, you know, the thing that really gets me, Jake, is when I was in Congress, we used to be able to have some autonomy as members of the House. We used to be able to have opinions and thoughts. Now they have to look to see what Elon Musk is tweeting to see what they can do. And that's -- that -- if I was a member of Congress right now, I'd be very frustrated by that. And I'm sure many of them are.

TAPPER: David Urban. I spoke to Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee a few moments ago. Listen, what he said when I asked if he was worried about if he votes no that he might get some serious blowback from Donald Trump and from Elon Musk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): One thing I do know is that we've got a three or four person lead and a good case of the flu up here and they're not going to have that lead, Jake. I mean, let's just look at numbers. These things change. You know how this game works. You've been playing it as long as I have.

They're going to need me sooner than -- sooner or later. And I don't see a lot of Democrats cutting any deals with Donald Trump. They're going to need us Republicans to stick together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: He also did say that he, you know, he couldn't -- he wasn't naive. He had to be aware of the risk of Elon Musk attacking him. Who is driving this train? Is it Elon Musk or is it Donald Trump?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Jake, I don't know. It's kind of -- you know, it was a tail wagging the dog, chicken and egg kind of situation. What I don't understand, Jake, is everybody saw Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Mike Johnson, John Thune, you know, half the leadership of the U.S. Government was in a box at the Army Navy game on Saturday sitting there for hours and hours and hours. And I can't imagine that they talked about football the entire time, right? Did this not come up at all ever during the entire afternoon? Did no one say -- the speaker say, hey, I've got a deal.

Let me just run it by you all. Was Elon in the room? Did Elon hold his fire until he was, you know, kind of too late? And Elon Musk doesn't really -- listen, he's a very smart gentleman, but I don't know if he knows how to run the government, right? Making sausage in legislation is an ugly process, right?

So it is -- it's not an auspicious start. The Trump administration hasn't even started yet. So --

TAPPER: Yes.

URBAN: -- I would -- you know, Congressman Kinzinger is exactly correct, that CR just -- is a continuing resolution, kicks the can down the road till March and they're going to have to deal with this again at some point. So, as Congressman Kinzinger points out, that hard stop of Christmas break may actually make people focus and get things done sooner than they normally would do. And maybe that's the only way they get something done was with a hard backstop of having to get out of here at some point, maybe they have a shutdown and then they forced to negotiate. Otherwise, if you kick the can down the road to March, you're going to be dealing with the exact same issues just in the first quarter. TAPPER: S.E. Cupp, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats today wrote on, quote, "Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement to fund our government. The richest man on earth, President Elon Musk, doesn't like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring? Billionaires must not be allowed to run our government," unquote. What do you think this all means long term for the influence of Elon Musk when the Trump presidency begins again?

[17:10:10]

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, a couple things, this is the kind of chaos that Trump brings. And now attaching Elon and other voices, you know, into this mix is only creating more chaos. As you know, Speaker Johnson negotiated this bipartisan deal for months. And just a couple days before the deadline, Elon, who is not president, comes along and torches it. And Donald Trump, who is not president yet, comes along and torches it and sends everything into chaos.

This isn't how you'd run a student council, let alone a government. It's not based on plans or strategy or even politics, it's just impulses. And that's not responsible. And that's not fair to Donald Trump's voters who voted him in to do some very specific problem solving. They didn't vote for Elon Musk, they voted for Donald Trump.

But I think the thing that Bernie Sanders is doing is kind of goading Donald Trump. He's saying, you know, all of these headlines about President Musk or Speaker Musk, every time that comes up from a Democrat or a Republican or the press, I think it's a real chink in Trump's armor. And as soon as Trump figures out that Elon Musk is bigfooting him and making him look pretty weak, I think Trump is going to marginalize him real quick. He'll become just as irrelevant as everyone else who has taken up Trump's spotlight in the past.

TAPPER: So, Congressman Kinzinger, you've been through this before. I don't know that Donald Trump has, maybe he forgot or maybe he just thinks the sheer force of will and personality will cause people like Congressman Chip Roy or Congressman Tim Burchett or all these members of Congress who vote against spending bills, maybe he just thought, like, well, he would just declare that this is a victory for Republicans and they'll all go along it. But, I mean, I know Chip Roy pretty well. He's not going to vote for a spending bill unless he really thinks there's a serious effort being made to take care -- to take care of the problem of these structural deficit spending issues.

KINZINGER: Yes, I mean, look, Chip and I, well, we like each other, but we would kind of go at loggerhead sometimes over these issues. And -- but I respect him because he really believes it and he believes his way to do this is the best way, that sometimes you have to use the debt limit as leverage. I don't believe in that, but he does, and I respect that.

And so, I think the one thing Donald Trump is going to have to come to terms with is he doesn't have the majority he had when he was president the first time. We had pretty sizable majorities or maybe were in the minority at a point. But when we were in the majority, it's like, look, he ended up have knowing and being able to cut deals with Democrats. He actually could play the role of bringing Republicans along to deals he cut with Democrats. Now what he's doing, it seems to be, is alienating everybody, trying to rely on just Republican votes and yet alienating the majority makers in the Republican Party. It's going to be a harsh awakening for him.

Maybe he changes in January, but I mean, this is not a good start. And this ultimately is really setting that government off for a really bad January. And that's not where they want to be in the first 100 day honeymoon.

TAPPER: Thanks to all. Appreciate it.

So much more in our breaking news ahead, a House Republican and a House Democrat are going to join me ahead with their take on this chaos on Capitol Hill.

Plus, the other big story right now, the suspected CEO killer is back behind bars. This time he's in federal custody. His high profile defense attorney just reacted to the new federal charges stacked against her client on top of the case from New York State. What she had to say, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:44]

TAPPER: We're also following breaking news in our national lead. The dramatic scene playing out in New York City this afternoon as CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione was flown to the state from Pennsylvania. Officers in bulletproof vests swarmed the suspect as he got out -- off a police helicopter and they escorted him into lower Manhattan where he made his first appearance in front of a federal judge. Mangione did not enter a plea today, and now he will be staying in the same federal prison where Sean Diddy Combs is being held. And it was also once home to R. Kelly and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.

Mangione's attorney just spoke with reporters outside court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, MANGIONE'S ATTORNEY: We're going to respectfully decline to make any comment at this time, but Mr. Mangione appreciates everyone's support. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, who's live outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Shimon, what happened inside court today?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, just when you look at everything that happened today, quite an extraordinary day from the way they transported him. But this was really an unexpected day. I mean, this was sort of things developed here that no one expected. In the morning, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office swooping in, charging Mangione now with four federal counts in connection with the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO. Very significant.

This charge now makes Mangione eligible for the death penalty, a decision that will have to be made months down the line by the Trump administration. And what we essentially had was Mangione here in court today, as you said, he did not enter any plea. Today was his first appearance. He was told of what the charges were. He did tell, significantly, the judge that he did understand his rights.

The judge asked him that. He said, yes, I do. This now essentially presents perhaps a legal issue for this case. You now have state charges pending here by the Manhattan district attorney on murder charges. And now you have these federal charges in connection with the same crime.

So for now, the federal case will take precedence. It will go and then we await for the state case. We also, Jake, quickly learned of some new information in the notebook that the FBI and the NYPD, which are playing a significant role in this investigation, we expect to see Mangione again back in court in January. Jake.

[17:20:09]

TAPPER: All right, Shimon Prokupecz in New York, thanks to you.

Let's bring in former NYPD Lieutenant Darrin Porcher, Criminal Defense Attorney Stacy Schneider, and Jeremy Saland. Jeremy's also a former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Darrin, what do you make of this absolutely massive photo op with the NYPD and the mayor? Was it necessary to have that much of a show of force?

DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: Well, Jake, you have to take in consideration the public knew that he was coming in or arriving in New York today. So we want to go -- revert back to the teachable moments from when El Chapo was brought here back in 2017. They saw a level of success in terms of how El Chapo was transported from point A to point B and brought to the courthouse. So it made all the sense in the world because common citizens knew that he was there. Ultimately, this is on live television, and so we need to ensure that this is airtight and we don't have any issues in relation to the security of Mr. Mangione, because, remember, we have a lot of sympathizers that support what he did, which is totally ludicrous.

But at the same token, the NYPD needs to provide the necessary fortifications to ensure that this runs smoothly.

TAPPER: Jeremy, what do you think?

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER PROSECUTOR, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: You know, I'm shaking my head here, and I'm thinking I was waiting to see this all go in slow motion. It was almost Hannibal Lecter esque, not to sound so glib. As they're walking this guy out, the number of people there, you would think it was a presidential detail with the Secret Service. It was too much. But this is really prime because what's ultimately happening here and the Fed sort of power grab, we call it bigfooting, to try to take this case, to get in the spotlight.

This case is not a federal case. This case is not a murder one case for terrorism. This case is not dealt in this way if this was a domestic violence, assault and ultimately murder crossing state lines. This is a murder two case that I think is being handled improperly in such a way that I believe it's going to galvanize those supporters in the wrong way because it's overcharged. It's the wrong message.

Let's handle it. And let's not forget it's about Brian Thompson, not about the Southern District getting that photo op, or for that matter, prosecutors in New York.

TAPPER: Stacy you heard Shimon reference this notebook that authorities say was in Mangione's possession when he was arrested. In one entry, Mangione allegedly writes that, quote, "The target is insurance, because," quote, "it checks every box." That sounds like pretty strong evidence.

STACY SCHNEIDER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, they're going to use that as evidence in the case to try to show that this was an act of terrorism. And the definition of that is an intent to coerce or intimidate the public.

But the interesting thing, and I think it's going to come up in the defense of this case, is the, you know, alleged perpetrator, Mangione, he's the one charged. He never distributed, or anyone else, for that matter, distributed any information to the media. Law enforcement distributed the alleged contents of the notebook. Law enforcement distributed his earlier words that I'm going to get the parasites, or this is targeted to the insurance industry. Generally, someone who is going to commit an act of terrorism to make an impact is going to broadcast the message. And that did not happen in this case.

The broadcasting of the message came from all these numerous leaks purposefully. If they want the public to know, for some reason, every aspect of the evidence they're collecting in this case, that's also highly unusual. Besides this orchestrated perp walk with the mayor of New York City walking behind the defendant in the case, and the mayor is also indicted. So this was bizarre.

TAPPER: Jeremy, you know Mangione's defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, we know here, too, at The Lead. She was a commentator for us earlier. What kind of defense do you think she's going to go for Mangione?

SALAND: Yes, I think you have to lead with the lead. I think you have to lead with the insanity defense, in part, whether that's ultimately, he was unaware or incapable of understanding his actions morally, ethically, legally, that's got to be a piece of it. It's either going to mitigate or it's going to negate that intent, argument being you may have committed the act, but you didn't commit the crime because you lacked that intent due to that mental defect. So I think that has to start there and you build from there.

TAPPER: All right, Stacy Schneider, Jeremy Saland, Darrin Porcher, thanks to all of you.

Around this time yesterday, were talking about President-elect Trump trashing the spending deal worked out by House Republicans and Democrats. Today, he calls the new deal crafted only by Republicans a success. But is it? A House Republican and Democrat both on Capitol Hill will join me with what they're hearing next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:04]

TAPPER: And we are back with our politics lead. A vote on the bill to avoid a government shutdown is now expected to happen in just minutes around 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Multiple sources are telling CNN President- elect Trump is trying to whip up support for the new Republican proposal after he and Elon Musk sank a bipartisan deal yesterday. Trump posted just moments ago, quote, "All Republicans and even the Democrats should do what is best for our country and vote yes for this bill tonight," unquote.

Joining us now, Republican Congressman Andy Barr of Kentucky. Congressman, are you going to vote for this bill?

REP. ANDY BARR (R-KY): I will. I will because it's the skinny CR. It's the more fiscally responsible bill. Yesterday's bill, the bloated CR was 1,547 pages long. This one is 116 pages long. But it's not the brevity of the pages, it's the fact that this bill actually focuses on what we need to be doing, which is keeping the government open and delivering the disaster relief. It doesn't have all of these extraneous unrelated provisions, provisions like PBM reform, congressional pay raise money for the Global Engagement Center, which is a censorship agency within the State Department, or reform of hotel tick -- and ticket fees. There's more that we discovered in -- that -- that was jammed into this bill.

So there's a reason why the American people responded to the calls from President-elect Trump and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to oppose yesterday's bill. And I'm glad they did, because it signals a new day in Washington. No longer business as usual. We've got a $36 trillion national debt. And we've got to be fiscally responsible.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Well, I mean, if you want to take on the national debt, it's not going to be done with this legislation, as you know that it's going to take major structural reform and either major spending cuts or tax increases or a combination of both, including going after Medicare and Social Security. This legislation taking out $190 million in pediatric cancer funding is not going to solve the problem of -- of the deficits.

BARR: The point is that we need to do business differently. We need to think more innovatively. We need government efficiency. That's why I support this DOGE effort. And no, one bill like this is not or a change from the C.R. yesterday to the C.R. today is not going to, in and of itself, of course, balance the budget. But it's -- it's a change in culture. That's what we need, a change in culture.

And of course, you're missing one important thing, not just mandatory spending reform and fiscal discipline. That's imperative. We've got to do that. But if we can't even do the little things right, if we can't even do a C.R. right, how can we do the big things right? And -- and furthermore, we also need to be focused on growth, economic growth.

And when government is bloated and when government is inefficient and when government uses these bloated C.R.s at the end of the year, that is an impediment to economic growth. We need to unleash this economy so that what we owe starts to shrink as a share of the overall economy.

TAPPER: So you said to the Associated Press that -- that your voters, Republican voters, listen to Elon Musk. So I'm -- I to take from that, that you think Elon Musk gets a lot of credit for killing this bill and that he is kind of spearheading this effort?

BARR: Well, Jake, look, I believe in the separation of powers. I believe in an independent Congress, and I believe in Congress asserting its power of the purse responsibly. But I think it's a breath of fresh air to have a businessperson, a successful innovator, frankly, the Thomas Edison of our era, saying, hey, let's do things differently in Washington.

Washington's broken. That's why the American people voted the way they did in November. They want innovative thinking. They want government efficiency. And they don't want business as usual, which was -- which was really what yesterday's C.R. was all about, was business as usual in Washington.

So I welcome the feedback from this DOGE organization. Vivek and Elon Musk telling the politicians in Washington, listen, the American people deserve better.

TAPPER: Republican Congressman Andy Barr, thank you so much. Merry Christmas to you.

Let's go now to Democrat --

BARR: Thank you.

TAPPER: -- Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia. He was just elected by his party to be the leading voice against the incoming Trump administration on the Oversight Committee. He beat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in that vote. Congressman, we have a lot of news to discuss. I do want to ask you briefly how -- how you're feeling after your recent cancer diagnosis?

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (R-VA), INCOMING RANKING MEMBER, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: I'm feeling fine. You know, I'm in treatment, it's going well, prognosis is good. My energy's back and I'm ready to, you know, get into the struggle.

TAPPER: So House Minority Leader, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he is a quote, hell no on this pared down spending bill. Is that your vote as well?

CONNOLLY: I'm going to follow certainly, Hakeem Jeffries in opposing this bill because at -- at -- at the very bottom of the line, we have cannot hand over government to unelected oligarchs who are trolling the trough for their own self benefit like Elon Musk. I couldn't more fundamentally disagree with my colleague you just had on, Mr. Barr.

C.R.'s funding of government don't bloat government to the point where it suppresses economic growth. We just announced economic growth. It was 3 percent, 3.1 percent and 3 percent the quarter before. That's some of the highest growth rates recorded in years. There's nothing suppressing economic growth. As a matter of fact, strategic investments in a budget make a lot of sense. Mr. Barr kind of overlooked the fact that Mr. -- Mr. Elon Musk has some self interest in this C.R. And we want to know all about it.

But it's also about trust. When you shake hands and say we got a deal and then it goes -- it gets blown up by outside people who are unelected. Apparently Elon Musk is a surrogate president in the United States and Mr. Barr is fine with that. Well, I'm not. I didn't vote for Elon Musk and neither did the American people.

[17:35:14]

And he may have advice he can give the President, but he ought not to be interfering and directly -- directing and targeting legislators in the Congress to give up their own independence and their own judgment in favor of his, which I fear serves his interest.

TAPPER: Do you think any Democrats are going to vote for this bill? Because, as you know, it's likely that a number of Republicans are going to vote against it. People who always vote against every spending bill, like Congressman Chip Roy, and it might come up three or four votes short, if not more. Do you think Democrats should fill that gap if need be?

CONNOLLY: Well, over and above the issue of trust, Jake, which has been broken, I mean, you know, your word is your bond up here. And if you're going to break your word, then how can we trust any deal going forward? But secondly, the debt ceiling limit increase that Donald Trump and Elon Musk have asked for is a ruse to allow the Republicans to pass an enormous tax cut to extend the former Trump tax cuts which will add trillions of dollars to the national debt.

The very opposite of what Mr. Barr just asserted. You know, he doesn't like debt. Well, actually, you're about to add to it. And that's why they want the debt ceiling increase in this bill, not next year.

TAPPER: I'm sure that if this government funding bill does not succeed when it's voted on in a few minutes, that Donald Trump and Elon Musk will blame Democrats. How will you respond?

CONNOLLY: Well, I think it's patently obvious for the public that that's not true. We're not the ones that blew up the deal. He was, Elon Musk, President Musk. I'm sorry, not President Musk, that's President Trump, isn't it? But they're the ones that blew it up. We didn't. We -- we had a deal and we agreed to the deal and were prepared to vote for it any way the speaker decided to put it on the floor.

After all, remember, it was the speaker who gave us imprimatur this. He approved it. And he agreed with Democrats and shook hands over it. And they're now breaking that bond -- breaking that bond of trust, and we don't have a deal. And if you want to have a deal, you got to make sure that when you agree to the elements of that deal, you stick to it.

TAPPER: Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia, thanks to you. Appreciate it. And I hope that your health continues.

CONNOLLY: Pleasure Jake.

TAPPER: You've likely seen the commercials or know someone using popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic. Now there are lawsuits around potential side effects. Those details are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:49]

TAPPER: In our Health Lead, we are seeing more lawsuits these days as drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound become increasingly popular. Nearly one in eight adults are taking these medicines to treat diabetes or to assist with weight loss, according to a recent KFF health survey. The new lawsuits claim that the drug manufacturers did not sufficiently warn the patients of crippling side effects, as CNN's Nick Watt reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICIA, FORMER OZEMPIC USER: I'm always going to the bathroom. I had to prepare myself for this. And I don't know how long I could sit.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patricia is one of the 15 million or so Americans who've taken Ozempic or one of the other so called GLP-1 drugs. She is diabetic.

WATT: What did you kind of hope it would achieve for you?

PATRICIA: Lower my A1C and help me to lose weight.

WATT (voice-over): She's a veteran.

PATRICIA: This is my battalion I was in. Can you pick me out?

WATT: There. Am I right?

PATRICIA: Yes.

WATT: Yes.

WATT (voice-over): She did lose weight. Her A1C did fall. Then she says her doctor doubled the dose as suggested by the manufacturer. And within two weeks --

PATRICIA: I was going so often, it began -- I began to bleed. When it became bright red blood, I knew it was hospital time.

WATT (voice-over): She saw a doctor in the E.R.

PATRICIA: He said, you have a lower GI rectal infection and you're hemorrhaging.

WATT (voice-over): More than 1,300 people have already filed suit against the makers of these drugs over side effects they say they suffered and inadequate warnings. Patricia plans to file soon.

WATT: And how many clients do you have now on this?

ANDREW VAN ARSDALE, PATRICIA'S ATTORNEY: We have over 6,000 clients.

PATRICIA: It doesn't say it on the pamphlet that you're going to be hemorrhaging.

WATT: And if it had said that on the --

PATRICIA: I wouldn't have taken it.

WATT (voice-over): The label does warn of diarrhea, but not hemorrhaging.

VAN ARSDALE: I do think we'll find evidence that they were aware that some of these reports were coming in and maybe they didn't do enough about it.

WATT (voice-over): The maker of Ozempic declined an interview, but gave us a statement that reads in part, Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims. The known risks and benefits are described in their FDA approved labeling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may have seen photos of celebrities and others showing off dramatic weight loss.

WATT (voice-over): These drugs are now ingrained in the Zeitgeist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Party time, guys.

WATT (voice-over): "South Park," "SNL."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since my doctor prescribed Ozempic for Ramadan, I've never gotten more work done.

WATT (voice-over): And so many commercials in between.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.

WATT: I can hum the tune from the commercial. VAN ARSDALE: There's a reason you can hum the tune. There's a reason everybody knows about this because of the amount of money they're putting into the marketing of these products.

PATRICIA: I heard about Ozempic on the T.V.

WATT (voice-over): Patricia has now stopped taking it, but she says is still suffering.

PATRICIA: Uncontrollable diarrhea.

WATT: Which makes life quite hard to live?

PATRICIA: Right. So I stay pretty much close to the house. I still have the effects of uncontrollable going to the bathroom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:44:57]

WATT (on camera): Now, there are, of course, many, many people happily taking these drugs and getting great benefit from them. Patricia and her lawyer are not saying that these drugs should be banned. They're saying that the companies, the pharmaceutical companies, should put a lot more effort into researching the potential side effects and should make those warnings far more explicit. For them, there is, of course, a long and complicated legal road ahead. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Nick Watt, thanks so much.

Up next, we're taking a look at one organization working to help some of the most vulnerable in our communities, kids and families experiencing homelessness.

Plus, what you need to know about an Amazon strike and what thousands of workers are demanding before they return to work. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:20]

TAPPER: Now to our series Homeless in America and a group that accounts for a large percentage of the homeless population in the United States, but is often overlooked because it can't always be seen. After years of declining family homelessness increased by 15 percent between 2022 and 2023. So we traveled to Boston to learn how one organization is working to help some of America's most vulnerable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You say good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Monday don't forget your green leaf. TAPPER (voice-over): You'd never know it by looking at them, but the children in this school have at one point or another experienced homelessness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell me how you feel so far since you've gotten here? Show me with your thumbs.

TAPPER (voice-over): Five days a week at Horizons for Homeless Children in Boston, more than 200 kids are given free access to education, playtime, and meals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have we been doing every day in community muting, we've been doing what? We've been --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been breathing. And what kind of breathing have we been doing? We've been doing what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Triangle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A shape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Triangle breathing.

TAPPER (voice-over): The program has been a lifesaver for moms like Karian, who struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety after the birth of her second daughter.

KARIAN, MOTHER OF CHILD ENROLLED AT HORIZONS: It was really bad. I was all over the place. I couldn't concentrate.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian and her daughters moved in with a family member, but when that got too crowded, they moved into a shelter where they lived doubled up with another family.

KARIAN: It wasn't really ideal, you know, it was too crowded. We were all in one room, so they were all cramped up.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian worked overnights at a fast food chain to make money for her family while caring for them during the day. But her youngest daughter started to struggle.

KARIAN: She was very, like, in her shell. She wasn't really growing, you know, like, her developmental growth wasn't doing good. She has speech delays and everything.

TAPPER (voice-over): Developmental delays are a common problem for children experiencing homelessness. It's an issue that the CEO and president of Horizons, Kate Barrand, has been trying to address for years, not just as a housing crisis, but as a public health crisis.

KATE BARRAND, PRESIDENT & CEO, HORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN: At the age zero to six, your entire brain is being formed. If you're homeless during that period, it can cause significant challenges to your brain development. So children who've experienced a period of homelessness are four times more likely to have developmental delays. And if those developmental delays aren't remediated that will follow them.

TAPPER (voice-over): Last year, families with children made up about 30 percent of the homeless population across the United States. And more than half of all families experiencing homelessness live in the nation's largest cities.

BARRAND: Cities like Boston are a perfect storm for family homelessness. We have high housing costs. We have a huge gap between the minimum wage and a living wage in the city of Boston, we have significant child poverty. So when you put all those together with the high cost of childcare on top of it's impossibly difficult for families.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian learned about Horizons through the shelter she was staying in. Then her family's life changed dramatically.

KARIAN: She's going to age out of here. So that gives me like, OK, a sense of security. She's going to stay here until she goes to kindergarten and she's getting everything she needs, you know, the nourishment, the warmth, not only education, the warmth, you know, that makes me feel, you know, calm.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian now has her own apartment, her GED and a new full time job. Most importantly, she's now on the same schedule as her children.

KARIAN: They're extremely happy now they have that consistency, you know what I mean? It's a huge sense of relief, you know, that we're all in the house at the same time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: So Karian was fortunate that her shelter was able to get her the help she needed and put her in touch with Horizons. But it has a 200 person long wait list and relies on a combination of both federal funding and charitable funding.

[17:54:21]

Breaking news on Capitol Hill, debate right now on the House floor ahead of a vote to avoid a government shutdown. That move only a mere two hours after President-elect Donald Trump blessed a new version of a deal worked out by House Republicans. More coverage of this very busy evening, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we are following the breaking updates in our Politics Lead this looming federal government shutdown. Moments from now, the House of Representatives will vote on a new spending bill proposed by Republicans today in an effort to appease last minute demands from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Congress has to pass a deal before the end of day Friday or the federal government will partly shutdown, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks. This proposal is already facing chants of hell no from House Democrats. And we'll bring you this critical vote as it happens in minutes. In our National Lead, the FAA announced nearly two dozen temporary restrictions on drones over parts of New Jersey, banning them from flying over power stations and various infrastructure. This is not the first set of drone restrictions to be put in place since the mysterious sightings of drones began, but this would be the most sweeping to date.

And our Money Lead, teams -- teamsters union drivers are on strike against Amazon in four states right now, demanding higher wages and benefits. They're also on the picket line because Amazon refuses to acknowledge them as Amazon employees despite the fact that they wear Amazon vests, drive Amazon vans and exclusively deliver Amazon packages.

[18:00:10]

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on the TikTok -- at TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show whence you get your podcasts. All two hours just sitting right there waiting for you to listen and enjoy.

The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer and The Situation room. I'll see you tomorrow.