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House Vote to Reopen Federal Government Expected Tomorrow; GOP Senators Predict Voters Will Blame Dems for Skyrocketing Health Care Costs; Battle Reignites Over Epstein Files as Congress Heads Back to D.C.; Jamie Raskin Says Whistleblower Says Maxwell Gets Special Treatment in Prison. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 11, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:32:45]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": With the Republican-controlled House set to vote tomorrow on ending the government shutdown, the divide within the Democratic Party is widening.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And now, some lawmakers are calling for Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer to resign after a group of moderate Democrats broke ranks and struck a deal with Republicans that would lead to a vote on extending ACA subsidies, but didn't actually extend them, which was their key demand in this whole shutdown battle.

Let's discuss with Michael Smerconish. He's a CNN Political Commentator and host of "CNN Smerconish," also the Host of SiriusXM's "Michael Smerconish Program." Michael, great to see you as always. We're hearing from Independent Senator, Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats saying that the shutdown strategy had two goals. It was to stand up to Donald Trump and to get some resolution on these subsidies, and neither was accomplished. Do you agree?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I also heard him quoted as saying that it just wasn't working, right? And I think that's probably true. All they have to show for it is the vote that will come, and there's no guarantee that that vote will also be taken in the House. It'll be taken in the Senate, but who knows if Speaker Johnson will call for it. My own personal view on this is that the eight who voted, who are now facing that -- the base wants to brawl and they're facing all that antipathy from the base of the Democratic Party.

But Boris, Brianna, you've heard that old expression about the teacup and the saucer attributed to either Jefferson or to Washington. I think that the eight were acting as the saucer, meaning the cooling influence to make sure that the red hot passions didn't carry the day. Too many people were getting hurt. And the Trump administration for once, that TACO analogy, Trump always chickens out, didn't apply. That's not to give him credit for bravado, but they weren't getting anywhere. So, how many flights are going to be interrupted? How many soldiers are going to go without a paycheck? How many times are we going to worry about a flight, SNAP, the food stamp payments, and on and on and on. They just showed no give. So I think that's why the eight ultimately capitulated and probably didn't have a choice.

KEILAR: Yeah, it did not feel sustainable, for sure. And yet, when you look at those eight, right, I mean, you're looking at folks who don't have to kind of answer for their vote for a while.

[13:35:00]

That's really important. We understand, hearing from Tim Kaine, that more broadly, I think there were Democrats who maybe would have to answer to voters who were OK with what they're doing. And these are the folks who kind of stood in and took the shot. Right? So, what do you think about the blow back they're getting from the folks on the left?

SMERCONISH: I totally agree with the way you just characterized it. If the math were different and if they needed 11 votes, my hunch is that there were probably 11 votes to be had within the Senate Democratic Caucus, but there are probably like three people right now breathing such a sigh of relief that they didn't get brought into this, so that they would be held accountable if they stand for election next year. We'll never know exactly how many votes, but it was pretty significant, right?

And some pretty big names in the Senate, ultimately, Tim Kaine among them, running mate for Secretary Clinton not that long ago. So, I think that it's telling not only that they got the numbers, but who those eight consisted of.

SANCHEZ: I'm also curious to get your thoughts on the position that Leader Schumer is in now. Cynics argue that he was doing all of this and fighting with Republicans on a spending bill that he effectively was OK with just a few months ago because he didn't want to get primaried. Now, it seems like he's going to get primaried anyway.

SMERCONISH: Right. And I -- he didn't vote for it, right? He wasn't one of the eight, when all was said and done. But I think somebody needs to get blamed by those who are so impassioned. We've seen a number of signs, not only the outcome of the election, which was a clean sweep for Democrats just a week ago, but not long prior. 2,700 No Kings rallies, seven plus million people coming out. I mean, the base of the Democratic Party is inflamed and the midterms aren't going to come soon enough for those emotions to be solved.

But I think at some point, they have to recognize that elections have consequences. And at least until next fall, the president controls the House and the Senate and also the White House. And there's just not a hell of a lot that they're going to be able to do to thwart him.

KEILAR: And I know when it comes to these subsidies, these Obamacare subsidies that Democrats were demanding, Republicans don't like them, Michael. They feel like an entitlement to Republicans. And yet, the fact is without them, Americans pay a lot more. And affordability is just killing Americans right now. It's so tough for them. How do you see Republicans having to relate to that issue when it comes to healthcare now? Are they going to have to move forward with a sort of fixing that affordability issue when it comes to healthcare? Are they really going to be stuck holding the bag on that?

SMERCONISH: I'm not dependent upon any subsidies, thankfully for me. I opened the envelope on Saturday, it was in the mail, and my premium for my family and me goes up 22.6 percent next year. So, I think one of the most important points that needs to be made here is that like everybody's health insurance is going up and it's out of control. The Affordable Care Act has always intellectually made sense to me. Everybody get in the pool, everybody get insurance, and if we all have insurance, then we can take it -- then we can take care of the people who are least fortunate among us, those with preexisting conditions and those who can't afford insurance.

It came out of the Heritage Foundation. I mean, it's very conservative in its outlook. And I'm sorry to get long-winded, but the point is, when this brouhaha passes, we still have a major health insurance problem to fix in this country. And if there's a cogent Republican alternative to the ACA, I've yet to hear it.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Repeal and replace. Replace with what exactly? Michael Smerconish, we love it when you get longwinded. No need to apologize for that.

(LAUGH)

SMERCONISH: OK. Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Always. Coming up, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to swear in Representative-elect, Adelita Grijalva, as soon as tomorrow after House lawmakers get back to work and she intends to provide the final signature to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files in their entirety. We're going to discuss with the attorney for some of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers when we come back.

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[13:44:15]

KEILAR: The battle to release the Jeffrey Epstein files returns to Congress as House lawmakers head back to Washington. The newest Congresswoman-elect, Adelita Grijalva is expected to finally be sworn into office as soon as tomorrow, after waiting for more than a month for that. And she has pledged to sign a discharge petition that would force a vote on releasing the files.

CNN asked Minority House Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, when he thinks the Epstein vote will happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D) MINORITY LEADER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Well, that's up to Republicans because they clearly have been engaging in a pedophile protection program over the last several weeks. It's insane that they've refused to swear-in Representative-elect, Adelita Grijalva. And we know that the reason why they've done it is because they're trying to hide the Jeffrey Epstein files from the American people.

[13:45:00]

Those days are over because as soon as Representative-elect, Adelita Grijalva is sworn in as the next Congresswoman from the great state of Arizona, she's going to sign that discharge petition. And Mike Johnson can no longer hide from this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Speaker Mike Johnson tells CNN a vote on releasing the Epstein files is a moot point because the House Oversight Committee is already investigating. We're joined now by Attorney Arick Fudali, who represents 11 Epstein accusers. Eric, thanks for being with us. I wonder if the survivors you represent think it's a moot point.

ARICK FUDALI, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING 11 EPSTEIN ACCUSERS: They don't think it's a moot point, certainly, and they absolutely hope that a vote happens. And perhaps more importantly, that this administration follows the rules of that vote. That's yet to be seen. This is not an administration that likes to follow rules for the sake of it. So, I'm not very optimistic, neither are my clients. And you have to remember that they have been wronged. These clients, these survivors have been wronged every step of the way by this administration, by past administrations, by the FBI, by the Department of Justice, by the attorneys, the District Attorney's office in Florida.

It just hasn't ended there. Even by the Bureau of Prisons where now Ghislaine Maxwell is getting a resort treatment. So they just keep, continue to be wrong. So they're hopeful, but not very optimistic at this point, unfortunately.

KEILAR: You were at that September presser that got so much attention, it featured Epstein's victims speaking out, many of them for the first time. Have you been in contact with Congressman Khanna or Massie or Congresswoman Greene who led that press conference about when exactly this discharge petition could move forward?

FUDALI: No, it's all been very hush-hush. I'm really -- I'm sort of in the dark here and a lot of my clients are also sort of in the dark as to when this move is moving forward. Now, I think it's pretty clear that whatever power that those who want the files released have is limited. We've been sitting here for weeks and weeks and weeks waiting for this person, this Congressman to be sworn in, so then there could be a vote.

So again, we're all sort of waiting, sort of cautiously optimistic that something is going to happen. There will be a vote, there will also perhaps be a subpoena or an order that these files need to be released. But again, given everything we've learned about how Jeffrey Epstein and his associates continue to get special treatment, how Jeffrey Epstein continues to get special treatment even beyond the grave, how Ghislaine Maxwell continues to be given special treatment despite the fact that she's a convicted child sex trafficker who belongs behind bars in a maximum security prison, there just isn't a lot of optimism right now, until we see the full unredacted files released, of course, other than the names of the survivors.

KEILAR: So -- and I wonder what the survivors are most hoping to learn from this. Is it new information that -- new information to them? Or is it having revelations from the files shared with the public, maybe information that they don't feel they can share or they worry about sort of their legal liability if they were to share?

FUDALI: That's a great question. I think it's the latter. I think my clients and many of the survivors I've spoken to really just want public exposure, public accountability for the world and for the United States of America to see what type of sex trafficking web Jeffrey Epstein actually wove, the type of people who were in his sphere, the type of people and the actual individual people who aided, who abetted, who stuck with him.

Even after that 2008 sweetheart deal, where at the very least he was a registered sex offender, I think we all want the public to see what really went on. Now, of course, there's a desire for the survivors to see their own files, to see what sort of investigations went into their own allegations and their own cases. What was ignored, what was it? But I think for the most part, they want full public accountability and exposure and then closure for themselves, so they can move on from this nightmare that has been following them for decades.

KEILAR: You mentioned special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell, and there are Democrats on the House Oversight Committee who -- the Democratic Congressman, Jamie Raskin, is saying that a whistleblower has said she's getting special treatment to the tune of using a gym in the off hours, therapy dog, special meals, and that she's working on a commutation application. And he sent a letter to the president about this. If that is true, what kind of questions does that raise for you about why she would get that kind of treatment?

FUDALI: I'm not sure it raises questions. It raises anger. It raises outrage for me and the survivors. Ghislaine Maxwell doesn't deserve puppies. She doesn't deserve special meals. She doesn't deserve any special treatment. She deserves to be behind bars, rotting in prison where child sex traffickers go. She is a child sex trafficker. She was a convicted child sex trafficker.

[13:50:00]

The fact that Donald Trump did not immediately dismiss the notion of commuting her sentence or giving her a pardon is so mind-boggling , appalling to me. It's so gross to me. If he -- if the fact -- if Donald Trump actually goes through with it and either commutes her sentence, gives her a pardon, then there is no other explanation other than that Donald Trump is pro-sex trafficking and anyone who continues to follow him after that is pro-sex trafficking.

It is suspicious enough how she ended up in this minimum security resort. Anything further would just be so far beyond the line that if anyone continues to follow Donald Trump after that, it would be a real indictment of their character.

KEILAR: Arick Fudali, thank you for taking time for us today. We appreciate it.

FUDALI: Thank you.

KEILAR: And ahead, on the rise, the number of American households that are living paycheck to paycheck. We'll have a look at the data next.

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[13:55:48]

SANCHEZ: As air traffic controllers endure their second $0 paycheck of the government shutdown today, new data shows just how many close -- how close many Americans are to financial catastrophe even in normal times. Bank of America reveals nearly a quarter of all households this year are living paycheck to paycheck, spending almost all of their income on necessities. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now live. So Matt, what are some of the takeaways in this data?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Boris, living paycheck to paycheck is an obvious sign of financial stress. And yet, this is something that more and more Americans are experiencing. Now, Bank of America, by examining its internal data on its millions of customers, they found that about 24 percent of households are living paycheck to paycheck. Now, that's a slight increase from last year and this continues a years-long trend where this metric is moving in the wrong direction.

So, what exactly does it mean to live paycheck to paycheck? Well, they defined it as households that are spending over 95 percent of their income on necessities, right? Housing, gasoline, groceries, utilities, and childcare as well. I would just note that all three of these are big-ticket items that have gotten more expensive. Now, the good news, relatively speaking, is that Bank of America found that the increase here among households that are living paycheck to paycheck has actually slowed a little bit in the last year. And that's because really among middle-income and higher-income households, there hasn't been a big change. It's been status quo.

The bad news though, is that there has been a significant increase in the percentage of low-income households that are living paycheck to paycheck. So two years ago, this was at 27 percent. You can see now, it's at 29 percent going in the wrong direction and that's because, unfortunately, wage growth has really slowed among lower-income Americans, right? A lot of times, their paychecks are not keeping up with prices.

Let me show you an example. They broke down, Bank of America, generational differences here in pay. The blue bar shows the wage increases for lower-income households. And you can see among millennials, lower-income pay was up by less than 2 percent. So that actually trailed inflation. Higher income, 6 percent. That's a huge difference. Similar story for Gen X, where higher-income households, their wages are up by about 4 percent year-over-year. So, a little bit ahead of that 3 percent inflation.

But look at this, no increase at all among lower-income Gen X households. So, no wonder they feel like they can't keep up. Now, as you & I imagine, there is some geographical difference as well. Bank of America found that the highest share of households that are living paycheck to paycheck, a lot of states in the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast here, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, also out west, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico as well.

Look, I think the bottom line here is this figure really speaks to the economic anxiety that's out there. President Trump in that Fox News interview that aired yesterday, he really sort of dismissed these concerns about the economy, about affordability, chalking it up to a con job by Democrats and saying that the polls are fake news. But look, this is not based on a poll. This is based on internal data. And Boris, it shows that this economic anxiety and financial stress is all too real. SANCHEZ: Yeah. Matt Egan, thank you so much for that reporting.

Brianna?

EGAN: Thanks, Boris.

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour, at least 10 people are dead and 30 injured after a car explosion in India's capital region on Monday. The blast happened near Delhi's famous Red Fort monument. It ignited several other cars. Footage of the aftermath, capturing some of the chaos there at the scene, as you can see here. Indian authorities are not commenting on who might be responsible for this.

Also, 18 people were injured after a vehicle shuttling passengers from an aircraft to a terminal at Washington Dulles Airport crashed into a terminal drop-off dock. It's unclear what led this vehicle, which is also known as a mobile lounge, to hit the dock. Officials say all the passengers who were hurt had non-life threatening injuries and they were treated at the hospital.

And police in Louisiana need help identifying --