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Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces Resignation from Congress Amid Dispute with President Trump; Trump Administration Pressuring Ukraine to Agree to U.S. Peace Plan to End War with Russia; Supreme Court to Hear Case on Gerrymandering Charges against Texas Redistricting Map; U.S. Airlines Preparing for Thanksgiving Travel; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Directs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to Update Its Website to Contradict Previous Guidance that Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism; Justice Department Investigating Possible Issues with Probes into Two Top Democrats; Countries at United Nations Climate Summit in Brazil Strike New Deal on Combatting Climate Change. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired November 22, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: -- welcome in. I'm Omar Jimenez sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield. We're going to start this hour with new comments from President Trump and he responds to really the stunning resignation announcement of one of his biggest former allies. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene now says she will quit Congress in January amid an ongoing feud with the president. Here's what President Trump had to say a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: I just disagreed with her philosophy. I said, go your own way. And once I left her, she resigned because she wouldn't have -- she would never have survived a primary. But I think she's a nice person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Greene's surprising late Friday announcement caps a turbulent five years in office which saw her go from one of President Trump's closest allies to one of his top antagonists. And in a farewell video posted on X, the conservative firebrand lashed out at Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R-GA): Loyalty should be a two-way street, and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district's interests because our job title is literally Representative. Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, trafficked and used by rich, powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now. So what more can you tell us about, I mean, really the surprising resignation announcement?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Omar, this definitely came to a shock for many on Capitol Hill. Marjorie Taylor Greene was definitely known as being a firebrand on Capitol Hill, but very an ardent supporter in the push to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files and in this discharge petition for DOJ to do very much that.

So now, in the beginning, especially of her tenure and when Trump came into office, she was a very big supporter of Trump, and she was seen as a figure on Capitol Hill that was going to push his legislative agenda forward. But really, in these past few months, she became very critical of the president, often citing that he's paying a little bit too much attention to foreign policy and not enough about paying attention to what's happening in the U.S.

And she also became very critical of the Republican Party itself, saying that especially during the government shutdown, that they needed to do more to address the health care crisis going on in this country. And so you have all these small things of her kind of separating herself between her and the Republican Party and creating that distance. And then all of a sudden, when President Trump came forward calling her a traitor, and she was really staying in her statement, putting out why she's resigning, is that she really couldn't take the threats that were just coming against her family, and that being a key reason why now she's stepping down and she's going to resign in January, that playing a very big part.

But it does really beg this big question, and that is, is this going to happen to more Republican lawmakers that start kind of creating a distance between themselves and the Republican Party or become critical of the president themselves? Are they also going to step down or start facing the same type of intensive criticism that she came under when she started separating herself or becoming critical of the president?

And so, Omar, that's something that we're just going to really be paying attention to. But her departure from Capitol Hill is something definitely to be noteworthy, especially just among all the kind of tumultuousness that's been happening on Capitol Hill in the recent months.

JIMENEZ: And with Republicans razor thin majority in the House as it stands right now with some major votes ahead. Camila Dechalus, appreciate the reporting.

I want to get you to the breaking news we've been following. Top officials from the United States and Ukraine are headed to Geneva for critical talks on a U.S. backed plan to end the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will be part of the meeting tomorrow. Russian officials, though, are not expected to be there as President Trump is giving Ukraine until Thursday to accept his peace proposal. The plan would require Ukraine to surrender territory, restrict the

size of it's military, and it forces the country to give up it's goal of joining NATO. CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us now. And, Kevin, you and I were listening to the President Trump speak about this proposal a short time ago. What did he say to reporters? I know you were there.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And, you know, I think listening to the president, it's clear that the pressure is now extraordinary on his counterpart in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As this diplomacy gets underway in Switzerland, the president has set this Thursday deadline for him to agree to this 28-point plan that would end the war in Ukraine. You know, Witkoff and Rubio are on their way now. They'll be joining the Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, who is just in Kyiv last week to talk about this proposal with Ukrainian officials.

And what we understand from American officials is that eventually the Russians will be part of these discussions, as well, between the U.S. and the Russians. So you see how this rapid pace diplomacy is now heating up. Now, when President Trump was speaking a couple of hours ago, he was asked whether this plan was his final offer, and he said no. Listen to more of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:6]

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: I would like to get the peace. It should have been -- it should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened. If I were president, it never would have happened. We're trying to get it ended one way or the other. We have to get it ended.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If President Zelenskyy doesn't agree to this deal by Thursday, will you cut off military aid? Will you cut off the intelligence?

TRUMP: Then he can continue to fight his little heart out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So you hear the president there saying that if Zelenskyy doesn't agree to this Thanksgiving deadline, that essentially the war will keep going. He didn't specify what would happen in terms of American assistance, but I think implicit in his answer there is that the president and that the United States would essentially shrug off any responsibility for this conflict.

Now, this plan that the president has put forward is generating all kinds of concern among Europeans and even among Republicans here in Washington, because it does seem pretty heavily weighted to the Russian demands that have been in place since the start of this war, namely, that Ukraine give up the entire eastern Donbas region, that it not join NATO, that it limit the size of it's military. Today, European leaders put out a statement saying that it would be a

good starting point, but that additional work was needed. And they say specifically that they're concerned about the limitations on Ukraine's armed forces.

One of the president's top allies in Congress, Lindsey Graham, the Republican from South Carolina, said that some aspects of the proposal were problematic. And I think Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the Senate, was perhaps the most blunt who said that Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool.

And so I think these intensive days of diplomacy ahead will be very -- it will illuminate what the president's stance is here. But clearly, he's very eager to get this war to an end and very eager for Zelenskyy to sign on to this proposal. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Yes, a lot needs to happen for some substantial pieces to move forward, but I know you'll be on top of it. Kevin Liptak, appreciate the reporting, as always.

Joining me now to talk more about all these developments is Skylar Woodhouse. She's a White House correspondent for "Bloomberg News." Skylar, good to see you.

I want to start with this Ukraine peace proposal, because Republican Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, both criticizing Trump's peace plan, suggesting it's appeasing Putin. But what is the role of GOP pushback here? Could it impact any possible peace deal?

SKYLAR WOODHOUSE, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "BLOOMBERG NEWS": Absolutely. Omar, it'll be very interesting to see what happens. But I think what is Important to note with this Russia-Ukraine war, look, it's been almost a year since President Trump assumed office, and he campaigned on ending the war in 24 hours of taking office. And especially as Republicans are navigating the quickly approaching midterms, they are trying to figure out how best to approach the ending of this war.

And then just one thing to note about what is going on with Russia and Ukraine right now as it relates to Trump's peace plan, European leaders said that the plan needs, quote, "additional work." So it will be very interesting to see how the Trump administration, how Republicans sort of navigate whatever it is they're trying to do as they try and essentially end this war.

JIMENEZ: I want to switch over to the unexpected resignation from Marjorie Taylor Greene amid this fallout with President Trump. How could this impact Trump and the MAGA movement going forward?

WOODHOUSE: Yes. I mean, look, that was sort of, you know, some shock news on a late Friday night. I think it was something that was definitely in the making. What we are seeing right now in the Republican Party as President Trump and sort his MAGA base has taken over the old guard of the Republican Party, is that for any Republican who falls out of line ends up having a shorter career in politics, especially in Washington. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, look, that was she was a very close ally

of President Trump. She very passionately expressed support for his policies. And so it's quite interesting to see the relationship sort of blow up. But Marjorie Taylor Greene, she was very vocal in criticizing the handling of the Epstein files. She was -- she criticized the Republicans handling of the government shutdown, specifically Mike Johnson. So it's been very interesting to see her sort of separate herself from the Republican Party, from the MAGA base.

And obviously, what we're seeing is she is now stepping away. President Trump today did say, you know, that he disagreed with her philosophy but called her a nice person. But it will be interesting to see how Marjorie Taylor Greene essentially moves forward, and if she, as Republicans head into the midterms, if she is maybe going to be that person that maybe brings more Republicans to sort of separate themselves from the Trump MAGA base.

[14:10:04]

JIMENEZ: A very interesting dynamic, especially when you got redistricting battles going on. You have a razor thin majority for Republicans in the House. So it's a very good point to watch for once her resignation takes effect in January. Skylar Woodhouse, appreciate the time. Thanks for being here.

WOODHOUSE: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to hear a case that could change the course of the midterm elections, as we were just hinting at there. Justice Samuel Alito last night issued a temporary block to a lower court ruling that would keep Texas from using its newly redrawn congressional maps. Now, remember, they were reconfigured at the request of President Trump specifically to help Republicans keep control of Congress next year. A lower court said the new maps are unconstitutionally based on race, with Texas primaries set to begin in just a few months. State officials are arguing that it's too close to the election for federal courts to get involved.

Our Julia Benbrook joins me with more. So, Julia, what can we expect to see next with this case?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Omar, late last night, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower court's order that blocked the new congressional maps in Texas. And that pause came just days after the federal court ruled that the new map is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

Now, as far as what's next, the overall impact here, this could have a huge impact in Washington. That map was drawn to help Republicans try and gain five Democratic held seats, and the GOP holds a razor thin majority in the House of Representatives right now. So depending on how this plays out, it could help determine who controls the House next term, which, of course, then impacts what President Donald Trump is able to accomplish in his final two years in office. Now, Texas did say to the Supreme Court that they hope to see this

quickly. They wanted to see the lower court's ruling blocked by December 1st, and they were hoping that the process would be expedited.

I also wanted to highlight some specifics in that filing, something you alluded to. Part of their argument is the timing of all of this and how it could impact things. They wrote, quote, "The chaos caused by such an injunction is obvious. Campaigning had already begun. Candidates had already gathered signatures and filed applications to appear on the ballot under the 2025 map. And early voting for the March 3rd, 2026, primary was only 91 days away."

Alito has asked the groups that challenge the Texas maps to respond to the emergency appeal by Monday evening, so he is suggesting that he is going to move quickly on this. The case will likely be referred to the full court soon, and Alito's administrative order will remain in place until the nine justices have reviewed it.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, Julia, obviously, were talking about Texas's process here, but it's not the only state that is that is joining the effort to use redistricting to change the makeup of Congress, right. What are we seeing across the country?

BENBROOK: Yes, the legal challenges to these efforts led by both Republicans and Democrats will continue to play out in the coming weeks. In fact, just last week, the Justice Department sued officials in California over maps there that are drawn to give Democrats an edge. An important thing to highlight there is that California voters did vote to override the previous maps. But no doubt we're going to see this impact play out. And like I mentioned earlier, depending on how all of this plays out, it could have a huge impact on Capitol Hill.

JIMENEZ: All right, Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.

Still to come, a bill just signed by President Trump gives the Department of Justice less than 30 days to release the Epstein files. We're going to take a look at what could happen once any names are made public.

Plus, new guidance on autism and vaccines, what RFK Jr. directed the CDC to change that's causing controversy among health experts. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:42]

JIMENEZ: Thanksgiving just around the corner. And if you are traveling to see family or friends, you definitely will not be alone. AAA projects 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday period stretching from this Tuesday to the following Monday. That is 1.6 million people more than last year, a new record high. AAA, says most of those folks, nearly 90 percent, will travel by car. So be careful out there on the roads. But the FAA predicts it will be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in 15 years, with more than 52,000 flights expected to take off next Tuesday alone.

So who are the people tasked with watching all those planes and helping you get home for the holiday? CNN's Pete Muntean takes us behind the scenes at a Southwest Airlines operations nerve center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, good morning Southwest.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is mission control for your Thanksgiving trip from storms --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some scattered showers with isolated thunderstorms.

MUNTEAN: -- to software snags.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll keep you updated if that status changes.

MUNTEAN: Three hundred workers here inside Southwest Airlines Network Operations Control in Dallas are diving headfirst into the biggest travel rush of the year. Justin Lebon is helming what's called the bridge, and reporting to him are about a dozen different divisions on the floor, all monitoring everything from crew schedules to space launches to keep 800 airplanes moving.

[14:20:5]

JUSTIN LEBON, NETWORK OPERATIONS CONTROL DIRECTOR, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: We move about 500,000 to 600,000 people a day. And you never know what's going to walk through that door with a problem.

MUNTEAN: Thanksgiving is this team's latest challenge after the government shutdown forced Southwest to cancel hundreds of flights a day.

ANDREW WATTERSON, COO, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: That's about what you'd see from a very bad winter storm.

MUNTEAN: Andrew Watterson is Southwest's chief operating officer.

WATTERSON: So, it wasn't that bad. Not easy, but it did not stress the network at all.

MUNTEAN: Southwest says, even still, 83 percent of its flights arrived on time, a testament to improvements it made after its massive schedule meltdown of 2022.

WATTERSON: We have redundant technology. We have better staffing, better decision-making. And so we're able to handle these large-scale events very well.

MUNTEAN: These numbers are the flights that Southwest is monitoring in real time. There are about 500 flights in the air right now, but the day is still pretty young, and the airline still has about 2,500 flights left to complete for the entire day. On the biggest days of the Thanksgiving rush, that's like moving the population of Minneapolis.

STEVE WEST, V.P. NETWORK OPERATIONS CONTROL, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: That's our goal is to complete the schedule.

MUNTEAN: Steve West heads the command center and showed me the scope of the work that goes on here. On this day, teams are monitoring bad weather coming for Las Vegas and Phoenix, both major bases for the airline. The goal here is to maintain what's called A-30, that's getting flights to their destinations no more than 30 minutes late.

Is this stressful? It seems kind of stressful.

WEST: It can be. But you know, these guys have been doing it for so long that it becomes natural for them.

MUNTEAN: For Justin Lebon, he says just 10 people not making their connections becomes personal. It's why he's confident Thanksgiving for the airline will be something to be thankful for.

LEBON: It's looking pretty good. I think the weather next week is looking pretty good. We always kind of stay, you know, about a week ahead, looking at general trends and everything, pretty good spirits and everything. So, we're looking forward to it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Me personally, I try not to think about everything going on behind the scenes, but I'm glad that there are people keeping a close eye. Pete Muntean, thank you for showing us.

Everyone else, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:20]

JIMENEZ: Just in to CNN, Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, revealed in a "New Yorker" essay that she's been told she has less than a year to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The 35-year-old says doctors found out last year she has a rare version of leukemia, and that the genetic anomaly is found in less than two percent of the specific type of cancer cases. The cancer was discovered shortly after Schlossberg gave birth to her daughter in May, 2024. She also has a three-year-old son.

She says she's undergone a number of treatments since that diagnosis, and says following a recent clinical trial, a doctor told her she could only be kept alive for a year at most. It's a powerful essay. If you get a chance to read it, check it out.

Meanwhile, we are learning more about the new guidance on autism and vaccines on the CDC's website. In an interview with "The New York Times," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he directed the CDC to update its website to contradict its longtime guidance that vaccines don't cause autism. The website now says that statement is not based on evidence. But public health researchers strongly refute the updated guidance, saying it misleads the public.

Here to discuss is Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, founding director of Rodham Institute at Georgetown University Medical School. Dr. El-Bayoumi, just what are your thoughts on this change? Let's start there.

DR. GIGI EL-BAYOUMI, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, RODHAM INSTITUTE AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL: Well, I think we have to kind of step back, because this is not public health. When we talk about autism and vaccines, first of all, that's been refuted over and over again. But what gets lost in the story is what vaccines do. Did you know that in 400,000 people that got vaccinated with shingles, half got vaccinated, half did not, the vaccinated group had 40 percent less dementia. Do you know that a number of vaccines actually prevent cancer? HPV -- cervical cancer. Hepatitis b -- liver cancer. Do you know that there is a vaccine that's being used for cancer?

I mean, the story that you just shared about, you know, JFK's granddaughter dealing with cancer. I mean, so this idea of debunking, debunking cancer -- I mean, sorry, vaccines in general and stating that they are harmful does a lot more harm than the issue of autism and vaccines.

JIMENEZ: You know, some might be looking at, I guess sort of the political aspect of this. But, you know, from a clinical standpoint, how do changes in federal messaging about vaccine safety, for example, actually translate to affecting public trust and vaccination rates?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, I think you hit on a key word, and that is "trust." The trust among -- with health care, the health care ecosystem, with science, even with education, certainly with politics is at an all- time low. And so when we're talking about these public health measures, and as a clinician, that trust has to be rebuilt.

How is that trust rebuilt? Well, first of all is to listen, listen to the concerns of patients, communities, groups of people, parents. Number two is to educate. When I tell my patients, for example, that shingles vaccine example and reduction in dementia, guess what? There is never anybody that said, no, I don't want the vaccine. So I think that messaging trust, the importance of -- for heaven's sakes, we're all in this together. You know, when somebody does not get vaccinated, yes, that may affect that child or that adult.

[14:30:03]

But there are people walking around who have cancer, who are on immunosuppressants, who are older, people who have M.S., all kinds of illnesses. And guess what? Those people are going to be at the mercy of those who did not get vaccinated.

I wish we would start talking again about how we as citizens of the United States of America, have not only an obligation to ourselves as individuals, but to our families and community. Whatever happened to love thy neighbor? I think we need to kind of get back, because guess what? We have lost the plot. We need to remember what these vaccines and what these public health measures are for.

JIMENEZ: And I know you touched on some of it, but I mean, how should health care providers communicate with families who, one, may now be confused or alarmed by the CDC website update? And how much of an impact do you think COVID had on the environment we're in right now?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, I mean, let's start with the COVID issue. People are just saturated with that, and there's been a lot of distrust and mistrust. I'll tell you what we did at the Black Coalition Against Covid to turn that around. It's a national organization. And what we did is we actually used the community itself, whether it was leaders in the churches, whether it was community members, other fraternities, sororities.

So I think the idea that the physician should be the messenger I think gets it wrong. I think first there has to be education of those people that are trusted agents within the community, that they can go ahead and say, you know what, this information, let's relook at that. Let's look at the history. The Tuskegee issues, for example, that that actually was not true that people were injected with syphilis that made them sick.

It is important to get down to, why are people distrustful? What are the facts? But that's not going to be one individual, one group of people. It's going to be public health practitioners, leaders in the community. It's going to be public health messaging. It's going to take a village, as we say well,

JIMENEZ: Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, appreciate you joining our village for a few minutes here. Thank you. Thank you for your time and perspective.

EL-BAYOUMI: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right, up next, several of President Trump's critics have now become targets of federal prosecution led by Attorney General Pam Bondi. We're going to take a closer look at the potential cracks in those cases. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:17]

JIMENEZ: As President Trump ramps up calls for investigations into his political opponents, the Justice Department is looking into possible issues with probes into two top Democrats. Sources tell CNN, the Justice Department is investigating whether Trump administration officials enlisted people impersonating federal agents in the mortgage fraud investigations into California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors are also looking into whether grand jury materials gathered in James's case were shared with people who weren't authorized to review them.

Let's discuss more now with former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. He's also the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Thank you for being here. Essentially, we have an investigation of the investigation. What do you make of this dynamic?

NEAMA RAHMANI, PRESIDENT, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS: Omar, there's a lot going on here, obviously, in terms of how the DOJ even initiated this investigation into Senator Adam Schiff. There's reports that folks in D.C. maybe have access to materials without a subpoena or search warrant, in which case that would be a problem, because any evidence could be suppressed.

Now, it's not a complicated case. We're talking about Schiff's Maryland residence. Was it his primary residence? And how did those mortgage documents make their way to the DOJ? If they were accessed unlawfully, if there is a prosecution, Schiff's lawyers may be able to get those documents suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree.

JIMENEZ: You know, there are possible issues in another investigation as well into one of the president's adversaries. You know, the DOJ now says the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey wasn't reviewed by a full grand jury after prosecutors admitted this week that not all grand jury members saw it. Can you just help us understand, either in the previous investigations we were talking about or in this case, I mean, what exactly do you think is happening here? Let's start with Comey. And does that provide him a good chance at getting this case dismissed?

RAHMANI: I think so, Omar. We should start with Comey, because that was the first of these, you know, so-called political prosecutions. Then we went to Letitia James, and then John Bolton, and maybe we'll get to Adam Schiff's as well. But it's important that it's first because it was Lindsey Halligan who replaced the interim U.S. attorney there in Virginia, Erik Siebert, who stepped down rather than filed these charges.

And her first criminal case, the first time she's ever prosecuted the case, she goes to the grand jury and she gets an indictment against John Comey. Well, she gets a partial indictment because she's unable to get an indictment on one of the three counts. So what seems to have happened is the grand jurors, after two hours, said, were going to agree to an indictment on counts two and three.

[14:40:00]

So Halligan's office, they prepared a clean indictment. But by the time that clean indictment is presented to the grand jurors, they're apparently sent home. So the foreperson and one other grand juror is there. They sign the indictment. It appears to be what they agreed to, but because they didn't have a quorum or at least 12 grand jurors present, it may be a procedural defect that will get the case dismissed.

And this is why it's a problem. Because they waited until the 11th hour, the five year statute of limitations will have run on Comey's alleged false statement to Ted Cruz and others in that Senate Judiciary Committee. So if the indictment is dismissed, it can't be refiled, and Comey won't be prosecuted at all.

JIMENEZ: And another legal dynamic we are following here is President Trump signed a bill that would release all of the Justice Departments files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But within that bill, there are several exceptions that could complicate or delay disclosure. And I just wonder for you, what are you actually expecting to be released here? Because I think a lot of people have a lot people have a lot of different ideas on what releasing all the Epstein files actually means.

RAHMANI: So there's a couple of things I'm looking for. First is there are certain categories of information that will never be released because under federal law, they can't. So we're talking about grand jury materials, right, can't be released. That's an issue in the case. And anything that identifies victims of sex abuse. So expect to see heavy redactions when it comes to victims' names.

I'm looking to see what Pam Bondi does. Does she assert the law enforcement privilege, say that this is an ongoing investigation into folks like Larry Summers, Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, in which case the DOJ doesn't have to produce these files. Or are they going to assert the deliberative process privilege. That's a privilege that protects the DOJ from having to disclose investigations that are closed.

Here's the important thing to know. At any moment, the Trump administration can release the Epstein files. It is their privilege. Or they can choose to fight this. The Epstein files transparency act was a great moment of bipartisanship there in D.C., and it means a lot to the victims symbolically. But practically speaking, it doesn't have much, if any, legal effect if the DOJ asserts these privileges and refuses to make those files public. Then of course, a judge, federal judge, and likely a court of appeal will have to sort through this and see what gets produced and what doesn't.

JIMENEZ: Of course, not, everything can be so simple. Neama Rahmani, appreciate the time and insight. Thanks for being here.

RAHMANI: Of course, Omar. Talk soon.

JIMENEZ: All right, still to come, we're going to look at the decisions that are coming out of the international effort to fight climate change and how those decisions were impacted by the absence of representation from the Trump administration. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:25]

JIMENEZ: New this afternoon, countries at the United Nations Climate Summit in Brazil have struck a new deal following tough negotiations. The agreement calls for tripling the amount of funding assistance for countries dealing with severe climate impact. What's missing from the agreement is a roadmap -- is a roadmap to get away from using fossil fuels around the world. The Trump administration did not send any high-level representative to attend the conference.

Joining us now is Bill McKibben. He's a climate scientist and founder of Third Act, also the author of the book "Here Comes the Sun." Thank you for being here. What's your reaction to the agreement that was announced today?

BILL MCKIBBEN, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: More of a whimper than a bang, I think, to end this conference. You know, most of the countries of the world wanted a fossil fuel phase out commitment, but Saudi Arabia and Russia led the charge against it and were able to block it because agreements really have to be reached by consensus at these things. China didn't really step up fully to fill the vacuum left by the U.S. boycott of the conference. But clearly, they've become the biggest player as they roll out clean energy technology across the planet.

JIMENEZ: And let's talk about that relationship a little bit, because there is sort of this global power struggle, global soft power struggle, I'll put it that way, Between the United States and China in a variety of aspects, but sort of the conventional thinking is, as the United States steps back here, then China has an opportunity to step up there. Is that what you're seeing in this case? And how do you view the relationship between the two, particularly when it comes to clean energy and climate?

MCKIBBEN: I think in kind of unprecedented fashion in the course of nine months, the U.S. has surrendered technological and economic primacy on this planet to our theoretical chief adversary, the Chinese. They're now dominating the energy transition while we try to wring the last dollars out of the 18th century technology of fossil fuel.

And you could see that playing out. Without the U.S. to cover for them, it's sort of pathetically obvious that Saudi Arabia and Russia are just trying to keep the fossil fuel thing going a while longer, but the developing world is clearly swinging in behind Chinas clean tech approach, mostly because it liberates them not only from the U.S. or other oil suppliers, but also really from China.

[14:50:07]

Yes, you have to pay them for the solar panels, but once you've got them, then you just depend on the sun, which heretofore has come up pretty much every morning.

JIMENEZ: Yes, so far pretty consistent. You know, you never know.

Does this agreement matter if it doesn't include a roadmap away from the use of fossil fuels, or if it -- you've got the biggest polluters in the world that aren't necessarily at the table, like China, for example, in the same way that that the United States was not quite, I mean, not at the table at all, really, for this?

MCKIBBEN: I think probably the agreement matters less than what's happening in the real world economy now. And that is this very, very, very rapid spike in renewable energy. The world is generating a third more power from the sun this fall than we were last fall. That's really the place that change is happening, and it's beginning to be reflected in these international dialogs. I have a feeling that technological and economic shift is leading the negotiations, not the other way around.

JIMENEZ: Bill McKibben I appreciate you being here. Thank you for taking the time, and come back soon.

MCKIBBEN: A real pleasure, man. Take care.

JIMENEZ: All right, you too.

We'll be right back, everyone.

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[14:56:09]

JIMENEZ: Voting is underway for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. And while you cast your vote, we're checking in with past CNN heroes whose impact keeps growing. Among them is 2016 CNN hero Sherri Franklin, an animal advocate who has saved the lives of thousands of senior dogs. Anderson Cooper shows us how her organization is moving onward and upward.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SHERRI FRANKLIN, CNN HERO: Watching these old dogs spend their last weeks in a cold, hard, loud shelter made me realize that we need to give these dogs an opportunity to get the love and to give the love that they still have left.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sherri Franklin's passion for senior dogs inspired her to found Muttville in 2007, a rescue dedicated to saving older dogs from shelters and helping them find loving forever homes.

FRANKLIN: Chulo (ph) has got a new mommy, because he's getting adopted.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need somebody to hug.

FRANKLIN: And he needs you to hug him, so thank you.

They have changed people's lives with their gratitude, with their tenderness.

COOPER: She was recognized as a CNN Hero in 2016, an honor she credits with giving senior dogs a voice and helping her expand her mission.

FRANKLIN: Thanks to the exposure and the credibility, we have been able to save over 13,500 senior dogs at Muttville. We've even opened a whole new community center here in San Francisco.

COOPER: Muttville's new 18,000 square foot facility is a thoughtfully designed, cage-free shelter. Every detail supports senior dogs, from acoustic floors that absorb sound to ramps and soft surfaces, and all furniture is donated or secondhand.

FRANKLIN: We wanted to make something really different. We wanted to make something that people would enjoy coming to, not the scary animal shelter that you're used to, a place where dogs can also relax and enjoy. Our adoptions are through the roof. Our dogs are happy, and all the humans that are in our community are also just thrilled to be a part.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JIMENEZ: To learn more and vote for CNN Hero of the Year, go to CNN.com/Heroes.

All right, people gathered in the rain to watch America's hometown Thanksgiving parade in Plymouth, Massachusetts, known as one of the nation's only historically accurate chronological parades. It featured floats representing each century from the 17th to present day. Marching bands walked alongside pilgrims. Little kids watching on two. There was even a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the movie "Jaws." The weather didn't seem to dampen spirits as the parade ended with the jolly old Santa Claus himself there and his nice little float.

And you can join CNN Thanksgiving morning for live coverage of the biggest parades across the country and special performances and appearances by The Four Tops, Brad Paisley, The Temptations, the Harlem Gospel Choir, and more. Our own John Berman, Erica Hill, and Sara Sidner host "Thanksgiving in America." Live coverage starts, as you might imagine, Thanksgiving Thursday morning at 8:00 eastern on CNN. And you can watch on the CNN app.

And finally, good news for those who are eager to hit the slopes. A powerful storm system, again, stay with me here, powerful storm system dumping fresh snow out west just in time for Thanksgiving. Mammoth Mountain in California and Mount Rose Ski Tahoe have opened for the season. The resorts didn't need much help from their own snowmakers, which is always a good thing. Mother nature gifted them more than 30 inches in --