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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is Interviewed about the ACA; Trump and the Job Market; Paul Mecurio Remembers the Reiners. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 17, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:05]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking just moment ago, what could be a pretty significant development for those following whether those Obamacare subsidies, enhanced Obamacare subsidies, whether or not they will get extended. Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania has signed a discharge petition that is being backed by Democrats, all Democrats, to extend those subsidies for three years.

Now, a handful of moderate Republicans have been looking to Fitzpatrick to see what he would do here, to see maybe if they would sign on it as well. And now if three others join him, it means that there will be a vote in the House to extend those subsidies, really without conditions, for a full three years. That again, new reporting from "Punchbowl" happening just moments ago.

With us now is Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire.

Senator, nice to see you.

I'm sure you're glad you don't have to deal with discharge petitions, being in the Senate and whatnot. But what you do have to deal with, and have been dealing with, is trying to figure out what to do with the enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire in weeks now.

There has been no movement to do anything. There were two votes in the Senate that didn't go anywhere. So, when you look over at the House and see at least one Republican coming on board with a Democratic plan, what are your hopes this morning?

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Well, I think that's very good news to see the House take action. One concern in the Senate has been, we could pass something out of the Senate. But if Speaker Johnson continues to take the position that he's not going to take anything up, then it's dead on arrival when it gets to the House. So, the fact that the House has a bipartisan discharge petition that they're going to hopefully get signed by enough members to be able to get legislation to the floor, that's very good news.

And what we're doing in the Senate right now is there are bipartisan talks that are continuing. They have been constructive to date. I hope that we're -- everybody understands that the situation is urgent, that people are facing this deadline. So, it's not likely we're going to get something done before the holidays. But there is a commitment to come back and to get something done when we get back.

BERMAN: Not before the holidays means that these things technically expire at the end of the year.

SHAHEEN: That's correct.

BERMAN: I know there is a couple weeks sort of mushy period at the beginning of January where maybe you can still get some action before people feel it, but this basically means it won't get done before they go away. You say constructive. Can you give us any sense of what the contours is? I mean, what kind of extension of the enhanced subsidies are we talking?

SHAHEEN: Well, I think there's a recognition that to do anything in the first year beyond clean extension is very difficult. But to think about that in the first year and in the second year to do a number of things that will help address the cost of health care, because in addition to helping people with the cost of premiums, we really need to look at the ongoing increasing costs of health care and what we can do to help address that. There are a number of bipartisan proposals that have been through both houses, actually, and they have not been taken up and signed into law. I think a number of those would help address the costs of prescription drugs. For example, doing something about pharmacy benefit managers would do that. I think looking at how we can provide savings to people without having the insurance companies take a cut out of that is important. So, there's lots of work that needs to be done. And I'm hopeful that there seems to be much more of a bipartisan commitment to address that.

BERMAN: Well, the clock is ticking on that.

SHAHEEN: It is. Very much.

BERMAN: Senator, you're the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Overnight, the president put out a statement that said he is ordering a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela. What's your reaction to that? What do you think it means, first of all?

SHAHEEN: Well, it's hard to know what the White House means. They've been very inconsistent about the policy with respect to Venezuela. We heard Susie wiles say, yes, replacing Maduro is the goal of the policy. We've heard the secretary of state said, no, that's not the goal of the policy. The president says, well, we're interdicting drugs. We're trying to keep drugs from coming into the United States. Something I think we all support. But the way it's being done raises questions of further escalation. We know that Russians are providing additional help to the Venezuelans.

So, there's a real risk, I think, of this conflict escalating in ways that could get the United States into a war, which no one is interested in doing. BERMAN: I mean if you had testimony, if, you know, if Secretary of

State Marco Rubio came to testify, if Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did before your committee, what would you ask them about what the United States is doing in Venezuela?

[09:35:02]

SHAHEEN: Well, we did ask them. Now, that was a classified briefing. So, we can't get into the details. But those questions were asked. I think very few people left feeling like we had gotten satisfactory answers.

BERMAN: You mentioned the interview that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles gave to "Vanity Fair." What did you think of it? Are you a "Vanity Fair" reader?

SHAHEEN: Well, I'm certainly a reader of that interview. It was surprising. I thought she was very frank in answering questions. I was particularly interested in her comments about Elon Musk and the DOGE committee's dismantling of USAID and foreign assistance, because she was absolutely right that what has happened as the result of that is that tens of thousands of people around the world are dying because we are no longer providing the assistance that those countries were counting on to help them stand up their health systems. And that is unconscionable.

BERMAN: There were new details about that. New details about a lot of things in that interview.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, from New Hampshire, thank you for being with us. Hope you have a happy holiday if we don't speak to you again.

SHAHEEN: Nice to be with you. Thank you. Merry -- happy holidays to you, too.

BERMAN: However you want to say it, it's good with me.

All right, we are standing by for former special counsel Jack Smith to arrive on Capitol Hill. You're looking at live pictures from inside there. He is going to testify behind closed doors to members of the House. Now, he wanted it to be in public, but they insisted on it being a private set of testimony. We'll tell you what we're learning there.

And then a first of its kind race that requires a special explanation. Why these people are running backwards and why they're doing it in Antarctica.

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[09:41:26]

BERMAN: All right, we know that President Trump is going to address the nation tonight from the White House. Not exactly sure what he's going to be talking about, but you might imagine that it will be about the economy because of the, frankly, enormous concerns that Americans have been showing about where things are headed.

Let's bring in our chief data analyst, Harry Enten, for the very latest on sort of the environment that the president will be speaking in tonight.

How would you describe that environment when it comes to the idea of jobs?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: You know, John and I were talking beforehand, and we just looked at these numbers. Bad. Bad is the word of the day because we had that jobs report yesterday. Unemployment rate reaching the highest levels in like four years I think it was.

U.S. direction on jobs and employment. This is an instance in which the real data actually started to follow the polling data in terms of how Americans feel. Look, in January, the majority -- excuse me, the plurality of Americans said that the U.S. direction on jobs and employment was on the right track, 40 percent versus 32 percent. Going in the completely wrong direction here, folks. Now 51 percent, the majority of Americans, say the wrong track. The right track number, going underwater, 27 percent. We're talking about a 24 point spread here in terms -- in favor of the wrong track versus an eight point spread in terms -- in favor of the right track in January. That is a major switch there.

BERMAN: You know, one of the things that I think is worth pointing out here is, some people say that Americans have just become grumpy about the economy in general. That's not what we're seeing here. We're actually seeing a change from when they were feeling good about jobs to now feeling bad about jobs.

ENTEN: There was a lot of optimism going into Donald Trump's second term and Donald Trump's administration has erased that like a good old pencil.

BERMAN: OK, what about approval just on jobs?

ENTEN: Yes, what about approval just on jobs? Well, again, look here, bad is the word of the day. Trump's net approval rating. I mean look at John shaking his head off to the side there.

BERMAN: Yes.

ENTEN: You know, we're talking about 19 points underwater. Now, that is significantly lower than Donald Trump was -- he was in the positive territory in January of 2025 at a plus eight point net approval. And December of 2017, if you want to go back to Trump's first term, he was breaking even. We are looking at some of the worst numbers that Donald Trump has ever had on jobs and employment. It's not just about inflation anymore, folks, it's also about a key part of the economy when it comes to jobs and employment, where the numbers have also gone south.

BERMAN: All right, so how does this compare to the end of President Biden's term? ENTEN: Now this, this is just such a tremendous slide in terms of

understanding how piss poor Donald Trump's numbers are right now because, look at this, net approval on jobs and employment, minus 19 points. That is 11 points worse than Joe Biden, who, of course, had to wave adios amigos goodbye because his numbers were always so poor on the economy. But Joe Biden was just eight points underwater when it came to jobs coming. Donald Trump is double digits worse than Joe Biden was at the end of his presidency. That is a real siren that should be going off outside the White House right now.

BERMAN: And it may be that they see the direction this is headed, which is why he's speaking to the country tonight. But, of course, a lot depends on what he says and how he says it.

ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right.

BERMAN: All right, so one of the things that people have been looking for is what's the Fed going to do? Are they going to keep Fed -- the rates where they are? Are they going to cut them, which is what the White House wants. What are people betting on now?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, what are people essentially looking at? The betting markets, right? And it's one of those things where essentially, you know, if you cut them, then the idea is, hey, you can spur the jobs market. But, of course, that could also be bad for inflation. Chance that the Fed Reserve in January maintains the interest rate? This, Donald Trump isn't going to like this, 77 percent chance, even though they just cut.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you, as always, for this.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

[09:45:01]

BERMAN: We got a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So here is some good news for you. FIFA is now trying to slash prices for some World Cup tickets. This is, of course, after what really was global outrage over how expensive ticket prices were getting, with some in the thousands of dollars. Well, now fans who have attended previous games for some teams at home and on the road will now be able to get $60 seats. Congrats to all four of you.

So, the reality is that a very small portion of the people who are looking to attend this global event -- or that is just them.

[09:50:05]

FIFA is still facing some serious criticism over how bonkers ticket prices have become, and likely will remain. The games will be hosted in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in 2026, J.B. And leave it to some marathon runners stuck in Antarctica to level up their downtime. They were in -- they were there for the weekends Antarctic Ice Marathon, which happened Saturday. While waiting for a flight to pick them up 600 miles from the South Pole, they staged what they are calling the first ever backwards mile run. They ran the course in reversed in the bitter cold. One runner decked out -- well, I see a penguin. Probably some other fun things. Maybe even a snowman coming up. And, of course, there was a winner. A runner from Canada.

In Texas, one family's home is a little too merry and too bright, at least according to their Home Owners Association. The family says their HOA is threatening to fine them $2,500 for their big Christmas lights display. Adding to it all, they say the HOA is actually holding and hosting a neighborhood decorating contest, with one category being called Griswold. And if you've ever seen "Christmas Vacation," there really isn't much further explanation needed on the confusion over this.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning we are standing by for Nick Reiner to make his first court appearance. He is now formally charged with first degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele. We are learning more about his troubles going back years. Rob and his son, they spoke about how they navigated these issues almost ten years ago. They were doing interviews for the film "Being Charlie," which was written by Nick and is loosely based on his struggles.

I want you to listen to how they were discussing it then.

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ROB REINER: Deep down he trusted that we loved him and that we were there for him. And that put a little bit of a break on certain things. I mean it's a -- it's a -- it's a desire to survive, you know?

PAUL MECURIO: Yes.

R. REINER: And that put a little -- and I think that's where we made the mistake is that we didn't trust that he would -- that he had that.

NICK REINER: Well, I think I'm lucky in the sense that, I have parents that care about me. And because of that, when I would go out and do, you know, things, like drugs and stuff like that, I'd feel a tremendous amount of guilt because I'd think, oh, the -- you know, they're thinking about me right now. They want me to do good. And most people don't have -- no, not most people, but some people don't have parents that are, you know, have any interest in them.

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BERMAN: It really is just so hard to hear that now.

BOLDUAN: I know. BERMAN: With us is Emmy Award winning comedian Paul Mecurio. He's the host of the podcast "Inside Out with Paul Mecurio." And he was the man you saw a flash frame of him there. He was the one doing that interview.

PAUL MECURIO, EMMY AWARD WINNING COMEDIAN AND HOST, "INSIDE OUT WITH PAUL MECURIO": Yes.

BERMAN: Just, what's it like to think back? What was it like to be with them at that moment talking about the struggles?

MECURIO: It was -- it was beautiful. It was two people in love that had gone -- look, addiction doesn't -- you don't pick it, it picks you. And not just the addict, but the family. And it was two people who had been through this and got through the other side. And there were two key words in those two slots (ph). One was Rob saying "mistake" and Nick saying "lucky." And those two words to me meant appreciation for each other, respect for each other.

I'm a parent. You're parents. Parents watching. Biggest fear I have is I'm making a mistake like every day because there's no instruction manual, right? So, for Rob to admit, like, we made mistakes, but we figured it out. And that was the same tone from Nick.

And so, the other thing that was fascinating -- I'm a parent. You know, as parents, we -- even subconsciously treat our kids one step beneath us, right? We're in charge. None of that in that interview. If you watch Rob's just behavior and demeanor, little like this, it was Nick's moment. Rob wasn't going to overshadow. And to see it, to hear what happened, I could have never predicted it from that, because what I saw there were two people that respected each other, and then, through communication, they found each other through the work that Rob did and the film.

And so, when I sat with them, I saw nothing but a perfect story that came full circle.

BOLDUAN: You know, and addiction -- any family that has dealt with addiction knows that -- I mean it is hard to explain. It's complicated. The road is tough and heart-wrenching and long.

MECURIO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And you see that with this family.

But I was also thinking of, you know, as someone in your work, you pull from life experience to put it into your work.

MECURIO: Right.

BOLDUAN: But in such a way that they did in this film, I can't imagine exposing, you know, I can't imagine talking about just, you know, what my family has gone through in such a public way would be -- wow.

MECURIO: Well, that was the thing that -- and then going back and looking at it again, because I hadn't watched the interview in a long time, is the honesty and the candor, which is hard to do generally in life.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

[09:55:03]

MECURIO: About something like this. To be admitting mistakes. Both sides. You totally felt like they'd been through a lot of therapy and a lot of things, and they worked it -- they were working it out. And so, what I found and what they said was they made this as much for them, if not more so for other people out there that might be going through the same thing. So that ties into Rob and his history as being a social activist and caring about human beings and a humanitarian, that he was willing to pull from his life to create a piece of art that was cathartic for he and his family and his son, but also they hope for the millions of people around the world that might be dealing with something like this.

And he didn't have to do this, right? He could have just stayed in his mansion and counted his money and do whatever, right? And so, when you see what I saw were two people that just were in love with each other and respected each other.

BERMAN: Makes it so much harder --

MECURIO: Yes.

BERMAN: Now to think to even try to begin to understand something that may not be --

MECURIO: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: You know, able to be understood.

MECURIO: Yes. Yes. It -- heartbreaking.

BERMAN: Paul Mecurio -- it doesn't even begin to describe it.

MECURIO: Yes.

BERMAN: Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you all the time. Thanks for coming in.

MECURIO: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you all so much for joining us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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