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Bomb Threat Targets Dem Rep. Goodlander's NH Office; Dem. Veterans In Congress Remind Troops Of Their Duty To Disobey Orders If They Are Illegal; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She'll Leave Congress; Top U.S. & Ukrainian Officials To Meet In Switzerland Tomorrow; Trump Heaps Praise On Mamdani After Oval Office Meeting; Trump Says His Russia-Ukraine Plan Is "Not My Final Offer". Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 22, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:44]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN Newsroom. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And new tonight, threats are escalating against six Democrats in Congress, all veterans, who appeared in a video reminding service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders. Five of them now say they've received bomb threats or threats to their lives after President Trump accused them of, in his words, seditious behavior, punishable by death, and suggesting they should be investigated by the Defense Department.

Here's part of their video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Americans trust their military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But that trust is at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This administration is pitting our uniformed military.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And intelligence community professionals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Against American citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like us, you all swore an oath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To protect and defend this Constitution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But from right here at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: A spokesperson for Representative Maggie Goodlander says her New Hampshire office received a bomb threat last night. They say law enforcement responded swiftly and determined there was no credible threat.

We are joined now by Congresswoman Goodlander. She's a former U.S. Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer. She also serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Congresswoman, thanks for your service. Thank you for being here with us tonight.

I first just want to get your thoughts on these new threats that your office has received and concerns both for your safety and for your staff's safety.

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well, Jessica, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. It's -- look, here we are, the President of the United States, our commander-in-chief, is the most powerful person in the world. And when he says something, people listen. And his words have real-world consequences for real people.

I'm so grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders who confirmed that there is no current credible threat and for responding so swiftly. This is just not who we are as Americans. There's no place for political violence in this country.

And I'm ready to get to work. I really -- it's what I came to Congress to do. And this is -- it wasn't to get into a back-and-forth with the President that ends up causing real harm to real people.

DEAN: And we've heard a lot of Democrats, your Democratic colleagues, speaking out condemning the President's reaction to that video. Have you heard anything from Republican colleagues of yours?

GOODLANDER: You know, I think anyone who seriously takes a look at what the President said, it's just not the case that saying what the law says is a crime. It's just not the case that being clear in this moment, especially in a moment when we have a President and a Secretary of Defense who have pushed us across legal boundaries that we've never seen before, reiterating a basic commitment to this Constitution, to federal law.

This is our job as lawmakers. And we will not give up the ship. We will continue to do our job.

DEAN: Were you surprised that the President said what he said?

GOODLANDER: You know, it's -- there's a lot that happens these days that's shocking but unsurprising. There's just no place for this kind of rhetoric in our country. And it's just not right. It feels to me in a lot of ways like a distraction from the issues that I really came to work on.

And, you know, people are feeling a lot of pain in our country right now. The President has made choices that have put us on the cusp of a full-blown health care crisis. And we are working around the clock to make sure that we prevent a death spiral from the consequences of the President's so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, H.R. 1, which made the biggest cuts to health care in American history.

The impacts were felt immediately and acutely in my home state of New Hampshire. We've had already two community health centers closed as a result of these cuts. And we've got families that are facing sky-high health care costs the year ahead if Congress doesn't take action, if the President doesn't take action. And that's what I'm focused on doing, my job.

DEAN: Yes. And take us back to the video. You made it with five other veterans like yourself. Was there a specific order or incident that you all said, OK, we feel compelled to speak up on this? What prompted you saying this is something we need to do?

[16:05:14]

GOODLANDER: Look, we all love -- we came together as a group of people who have served our country, who love our country, who believe in our Constitution, and who have seen that we're living through an extraordinary and unprecedented moment where we have a President who has a track record of pressing the boundaries and of giving orders that -- you know, when I -- I'll just tell you, when I served in the Navy, I served under three presidents and under six secretaries of defense.

One of them was Secretary of Defense Esper, who stood up and spoke clearly to the President when he suggested an unlawful order like shooting on peaceful protesters. He stepped up and he spoke clearly when the President was suggesting he might invoke the Insurrection Act to send American troops to American cities.

We don't have a secretary of defense who is standing up in the way that Secretary Esper did. I serve on the House Armed Services Committee, and when Secretary Hegseth came before our committee, I asked him a very simple question that has only one answer. I asked him if he would abide by a decision of the United States Supreme Court, and he refused to commit to doing so.

So, look, that is unprecedented. It puts our service members in a terrible situation, and it's just not who we are as Americans. And so this is the basic commitment to our Constitution that led us all to come together to say what the law is.

DEAN: And the President suggested in an interview Friday that the Defense Department is investigating you and your colleagues. Have you heard anything on this? Is there anything -- any information you've received on any potential investigation?

GOODLANDER: You know, the idea that saying simply and clearly stating what the law is would trigger an investigation is just so far out of the boundaries of common sense, it leaves me at a loss for words. I -- this is not how we should be spending our time and resources. We have serious problems to address in this country, and that's what I'm focused on doing.

DEAN: All right, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

GOODLANDER: Thanks for having me, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. After finding herself embroiled in a public political falling out with President Trump, Congress -- Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene now says she is stepping down from Congress. She says, quote, "I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for."

CNN's Camila DeChalus has been following this. Camila, this is just a situation that has continued to evolve, now ending with Greene's decision to resign. What more do you know?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Jessica. Marjorie Taylor Greene's resignation announcement definitely came as a shock to everyone, not just members of Congress but across the entire Republican landscape.

Now, early on in her tenure, she made it very clear that she was a strong supporter of President Trump and said that she would do whatever she could to really push his legislative agenda forward. But in the recent months, she became increasingly critical of the President, often accusing him of focusing way too much on foreign policy and his agenda there and not enough on the issues that are impacting Americans here in this country.

And now she did not just only shy away from criticizing him but also her own party. Especially during the government shutdown, she became openly critical of the House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that he needed to do more to address the growing health care crisis in the country.

Now, it's also notable to note that even though she's considered a polarizing figure on Capitol Hill, during the last few weeks here, she also took part in a big bipartisan push to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files, and that did not go over well with President Trump on his end. He did not hold back in criticizing her, and he even went as far to call her a traitor.

Now, this is pretty just notable. I just given the fact earlier on. She was such a supporter of him. And you kind of see this kind of separation that she took, not between her and the President, but also her and the Republican Party. And it's still something that we're kind of seeing shape out in these upcoming days, especially while she's done a lot to just kind of go across the aisle and kind of work with her Democratic counterparts.

DEAN: And, Camila, what have we heard from President Trump?

DECHALUS: Well, it's pretty notable, Jessica, that even earlier today reporters asked about her and what he thought about her resignation, and he called her a nice person, but also said that, you know, the only reason why she is resigning at this point is because she knows that she would face a really hard and challenging primary. And he was open, saying that he would support someone challenging her.

Now, I think it's pretty notable at this time that Margie Taylor Greene did not say what she plans to do after leaving office. But, Jessica, her departure does beg an even bigger question here, and that is will we be seeing more Republican lawmakers leave office once they start to begin to openly criticize the Trump or even the Republican Party while he still remains in office?

DEAN: Yes.

[16:10:08]

DEAN: Yes. And will they be willing to do that?

Camila, thank you so much for that reporting. We really appreciate it.

Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet tomorrow in Switzerland to discuss President Trump's proposal to end Russia's war on Ukraine. That plan calls for Ukraine to give up territory and limit the size of its army, a point which European officials highlighted in pushing back on that draft earlier today.

Let's bring in CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak, who's been following these developments. Kevin, the President giving Ukraine just days to agree to this deal. He's now saying it's not his final offer. What more are you learning about how this is evolving?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And I think it's clear that President Zelenskyy in Ukraine is now facing more pressure than he ever has to try and bring this war to an end. And it was evident just listening to President Trump earlier today that he thinks this plan is the way to do it.

Now, he was clear this is not his final offer, and I think that will be reassuring somewhat to European officials, many Republicans in Washington who have been critical of this 28-point proposal because it does at this point seem like a Russian wish list. You know, it would require Ukraine to give up the entire Donbas region, to limit the size of its military, to give up some of the long-range weapons capabilities that it's received as part of this war.

So it does seem clear that this diplomacy that will begin tomorrow in Switzerland will be critical in trying to get Ukraine's own imprint on this plan. And so we know that Steve Witkoff, the President's foreign envoy, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will be in Geneva to meet with the Ukrainians. Our understanding is that meetings with the Russians will follow soon after that.

I think the big question, and I posed this to President Trump earlier today, is what happens if Zelenskyy does not agree by that Thanksgiving deadline. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would like to get the peace. It should have been -- it should 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, so.

LIPTAK: 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 the President not specifying exactly what the consequences would be of Zelenskyy not agreeing to this proposal, I think implicit in his answer, though, is that he's going to shrug off any responsibility for this conflict if the Ukrainians don't agree to this proposal. I'll just note that European leaders who are meeting today say this plan needs some work. They say that they're concerned in particular about the provision that would require Ukraine to cut down the size of its army.

And then just some Republican reaction in Washington. The close ally of President Trump, Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, said that parts of this proposal were, quote, "very problematic and can be made better." Perhaps blunter was Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the Senate, who said, quote, "Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool."

Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Kevin Liptak with the latest from the White House. Thank you for that.

Still ahead tonight, President Trump heaping praise on New York City's next mayor in their first face-to-face meeting that took place in the Oval Office. The big takeaways that has both Democrats and Republicans kind of scratching their heads tonight.

And the fight over new congressional maps in Texas that would give Republicans more seats, likely more seats. It heads to the Supreme Court, why Justice Samuel Alito is blocking a lower court ruling.

Also, we're going to hear from a three-time Trump voter in a key state about if she thinks the President is actually living up to his campaign promises. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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[16:18:32]

DEAN: Today, President Trump saying he will only send the National Guard to New York City, quote, "if they need it." This comes as Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani surprised both sides of the aisle yesterday with a seemingly productive meeting at the White House. After months of exchanging insults and feuding, the two appeared to hit it off in their first face-to-face meeting. The President now saying he's rooting for Mamdani to succeed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. It was a great meeting. I enjoyed the meeting. We had a great meeting.

I think you're going to have hopefully a really great mayor. I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great. He has a chance to really do something great for New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN Correspondent Gloria Pazmino is joining us now. Gloria, the -- there are so many dynamics here, but of course, worth reminding people, Trump is a New Yorker. He is always quite invested in what's going on in New York City. There was a lot of back and forth during the campaign, which you covered extensively. So now, as we sit here today, as Zohran Mamdani preparing to become mayor, what might all of this mean going forward?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is exactly why this relationship is so important, because we know that the President, a New Yorker, a person who grew up here, made his name and his fortune here, has been focused, remains focused right here on New York City, even though this is a town that has resoundingly rejected him in every election. But Trump, you heard him there talking about it yesterday, is concerned about New York.

[16:20:00]

He even went as far as saying that he wants to make sure that Mamdani succeeds, that he wants to help not hurt New York City. So that's why this relationship was so important. But because the two men had been at such odds with each other and the language and the rhetoric had been so heated during the campaign, it wasn't clear how they were going to get along or if they were going to get along at all.

And the reality, Jessica, is that, you know, there are real issues at stake, like whether or not Trump would deploy the National Guard, and even the fact that we are hearing the President today say he will only do it if New York needs it, is a big development that Mamdani's supporters and his allies here in New York City are seeing as a win after this visit by the mayor-elect at the Oval Office yesterday.

Now, we've been speaking with New Yorkers throughout the day who, as you know, tend to be extremely opinionated and highly skeptical of what goes on. Many of them told me that they are being cautiously optimistic as this relationship begins to play out. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So you saw the clip. What was your reaction? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't like the guy, but I'm glad that he was able to go in there and do a good job with the President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping that Mamdani does what he has to do to do what's right for the city.

PAZMINO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a lot of theater.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Trump continues to be the most transactional President we've ever had. And if people are smart, then they find a way to give him something which may be meaningless, but it's important to him. And then he loves you and rolls out the red carpet.

PAZMINO: Are you guys supportive of Mamdani at this stage? Do you want to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll wait and see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to give him a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Jessica, you know, just to give you some context about where we are right now, we're standing next to Central Park near Columbus Circle, and this is an area of New York City here in Manhattan that almost went 50-50. 50 percent of people here voted for Mamdani. The other half voted for Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who was also running in this election. So we were able to get kind of a good mix of people who supported Mamdani.

And as you saw there, people who are still kind of skeptical and waiting to see what he does. We should remember, Mamdani still doesn't take office for several more weeks. He will officially be sworn in on January 1st, and it's very early in this relationship. As you know, the political winds shift on a dime.

So we'll see if the sort of rapport and the friendliness that we saw inside the Oval Office yesterday will continue after Mamdani takes office. Jessica?

DEAN: We certainly will.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that.

Axios Senior Contributor Margaret Talev is joining us now to talk more about this and several other things. She's also the director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship at Syracuse University.

Margaret, really good to see you. Listen, yesterday --

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: OK.

DEAN: So everyone was sending around clips of this meeting. Republicans, Democrats, I think we're all kind of caught off guard by how productive, let's say, this went, how cordial this went. Now we have this news from Trump today saying he'd only send the National Guard into New York City if they needed it. And at this point, he doesn't think they need it. What was your read on all of this?

TALEV: I mean, certainly it's like political theater at its finest. But what does it mean? We don't know yet. If you're Mamdani, you'd rather have that meeting than a meeting that goes right out of the gate terribly, right? And if you're like Zelenskyy or Marjorie Taylor Greene, you're studying the video on the Mamdani video thinking, how did this all come together?

But you can see the contours of how these men need each other. And you can see, even though their politics are very different, that these are both people with highly elevated communication skills who are natural movement leaders. And Trump admires people who are telegenic, photogenic and, you know, sort of prolific communicators. So he obviously sees that in Mamdani.

Mamdani needs President Trump not to inundate New York City with the National Guard and needs him to not cut off federal funding because it will make him very hard to govern. And President Trump is way underwater on the economy right now, according to national polling, including from Fox.

And the economy was like his issue, you know, especially with anything that looks like a swing voter. It was the economy and immigration. And now he's underwater on it. Mamdani won not just by exciting younger voters, but because of his message about affordability, economic pain, you know, fairness for the working class.

So they each have something they need out of one another. But I think as we've seen it again and again, the only thing you can count on with President Trump is that you can't actually count on anything. Like, I don't think you can look at yesterday's meeting and predict what the relationship is going to look like a year or even a month from now.

[16:25:14]

DEAN: Yes, totally. And as you're talking through that and, you know, it's so important to remember all those layers, it is interesting because the President does really seem to respect what he would, you know, winners. He likes winners. He likes people that are good at what they do.

And to your point, you know, Mamdani strategically knows that he has to be able to -- if he can't make sure that he has federal funding and that the city isn't inundated with the National Guard from the jump, it's going to be very hard for him to do all of these things that he had made these big promises about during his campaign.

TALEV: I think it's going to be very hard for him to do some of the things he promised in his campaign anyway -- DEAN: Yes.

TALEV: -- no matter what. And the risk for President Trump is if he goes sort of full negative, full clash with New York City, Mamdani will be able to blame the problems of governance on Trump and not on Mamdani. And that could have a boomerang effect. So I think you're seeing both of these leaders trying to gauge.

I mean, we know how they both feel about each other. They've already said it before yesterday's meeting. But they're both trying to gauge what are the most politically helpful ways for each of them to pursue this relationship in sort of the early, you know, pre-governance stage for Mamdani and a crucial period for President Trump when, again, he's really seen in terms of public opinion, his fortunes turning underwater.

DEAN: Yes, it is. It is politics. That's what it is. You know, all of this happening on the same day that Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she's retiring or she's resigning from Congress. And it's just kind of a wild turn of events that I think any anyone with a crystal ball, I don't think could, you know, you can't predict this stuff.

She says she's leaving Congress a full year before her term is up. Were you surprised by that?

TALEV: Yes, I think everybody was surprised by the suddenness of that announcement. But, of course, the President and his team have been sort of testing the idea of, you know, cutting her loose and whether to primary in her district, perhaps with a candidate who she defeated in the past. And so, again, I think, you know, perhaps there's more on the story to come out.

But if you just take it at face value, she didn't want to get primary in her own district. And as she has, you know, insinuated, it's -- she is predicting now that Republicans will lose the House majority in the midterm elections, that a Democratic majority will mean more investigations into President Trump. And that, you know, the prize of winning might not be that great a prize anyway.

But on the other hand, she may have simply seen that the writing was on the wall and it's better to go out on your own terms. I think one question is, what role is she going to play now in the future of the Republican Party on the sidelines as a commentator? What's the difference between MAGA and America First? Is the coalition fracturing?

I mean, this is -- we're talking about controversial but profoundly successful communicators. This is someone with a tremendous social media presence who has kind of morphed her brand and figured out how to pull some of those levers with her very large following. Is this the last we're going to see from Marjorie Taylor Greene? And if not, what does that new form look like and how will it impact President Trump or the future of the Republican Party?

DEAN: What does that look like moving forward?

Margaret, great to see you. Thanks so much.

TALEV: You too. Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, President Trump gives Ukraine a deadline in just days to accept his 28-point proposal to end the war with Russia. Why many allies say the deal gives too much to Russia. More on that coming up here in the CNN Newsroom.

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[16:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: President Trump has given Ukraine just days to accept his plan to end Russia's war. But he also says it's not his final offer. Top U.S. officials will meet tomorrow with Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers in Switzerland to discuss the next steps. A U.S. Official says the meeting will happen quickly, with a Russian delegation.

Following that, we are joined now by former defense secretary and CIA director in the Obama administration, Leon Panetta. He also served as White House chief of staff under President Clinton. Secretary Panetta, thank you so much for being here with us. Let's talk about this proposal. It calls for Ukraine to make some big concessions to Russia, including giving them some land. What do you think in terms of feasibility -- workability of this plan as it stands today?

LEON PANETTA, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think it's important for the United States to remember the lessons from World War II, which is that you really can't appease a tyrant who invades a sovereign democracy and expect that you're going to get any kind of lasting peace. And I think that's true here. Basically, the agreement favors Russia. It provides a territory that they wanted. It basically undermines Ukraine's ability to secure itself by reducing its military, reducing the weapons that it can use, banning any kind of foreign troops to be there.

And so, it really does undermine Ukraine's ability to be able to protect its democracy. And for that reason, I hope that the president does recognize that this is not a final offer. And he allows Ukraine and their allies to be able to make a response to the terms of this plan so that it can preserve, rather than undermine, Ukraine's sovereignty.

[16:35:31]

DEAN: And so, what leverage, if any, does Zelenskyy have to try and extend this Thursday deadline that the president says he set? Or do you think that you -- potentially he comes back with a counterproposal?

PANETTA: No, I think the important thing right now is for President Zelenskyy, working obviously with our European allies, to be able to look at the terms of this plan, make revisions, make changes, indicate areas where Ukraine might accept it. And then hopefully, open a period of negotiation between Ukraine and Russia that would allow them to reach the terms of a peace agreement.

Look, Ukraine is the victim here. Ukraine was invaded by a tyrant who basically said Ukraine does not deserve to be able to govern itself. And we saw -- we saw that in World War II. And so, it's really important because Ukraine has spilled blood in this war and fought courageously. They have earned the right to determine what terms ought to be included in any kind of peace settlement.

DEAN: Well, and there is, I think, to your point, a lot of concern for a lot of Ukrainian allies about rewarding Russia for doing exactly what you just said.

PANETTA: No, I think that's absolutely right. I think it would be damaging to the credibility of the United States if that happens, because what would -- what would be the result? It would be a message of weakness by the United States, not only to Russia, by the way, but also to Xi and China, to Kim Jong Un and North Korea, to the supreme leader in Iran, and to terrorist adversaries around the world.

It would be a dangerous undermining of the United States' credibility in the world if it happens. So, I hope that more patient and more common-sense individuals engage to be able to achieve an approach that will, in fact, produce a lasting peace.

DEAN: Yes. And asked by our colleague Kevin Liptak today, the president was -- he asked if Trump would cut off military aid if Zelenskyy didn't agree to this. And Trump's response to that question was, in his words, he can continue to fight his little heart out. How -- does Ukraine have a realistic chance of continuing to do that without U.S. support?

PANETTA: You know, the one thing we've learned is that Ukraine's fight here has been very courageous and very brave. And they really have done remarkable things in terms of protecting their country. For anyone who's watched Ken Burns's American Revolution, there are moments there where the United States suffered defeats, suffered setbacks, and yet the United States and our patriot forces continue to fight.

Why? Because it was for their country. And because it was for freedom. And that's exactly what the Ukrainians are doing right now. And for that reason, I think the United States, frankly, ought to continue to support Ukraine so that ultimately, we can force Putin to the table to negotiate a real peace and not try to impose the terms of a settlement on a country that has fought so bravely to protect its democracy.

DEAN: Yes. Secretary Leon Panetta, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

DEAN: Still to come. Texas is back to using its new GOP-leaning Congressional map, at least for now. The latest hurdle in the battle over redistricting here in the "CNN NEWSROOM." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:44:31]

DEAN: After months of controversy, the Supreme Court will decide if Texas can use a new GOP-friendly congressional map in next year's midterm elections. Yesterday, Justice Samuel Alito signed an order temporarily blocking a lower court ruling that found Texas's new redistricting plan is likely skewed based on the racial makeup of the four districts. The map's boundaries were redrawn as part of President Trump's plan for Republicans to gain more votes and maintain control of the House during the 2026 midterms.

Let's bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook. Julia, talk through how this ruling could affect the primaries coming up.

[16:45:05]

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. So, late last night, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito paused a Lower Court's order that blocked the new Congressional maps in Texas. So, that pause came just a few days after a federal court ruled that the new map is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. This could have a big impact on upcoming elections, as well as here in Washington.

That map aimed to help Republicans flip five Democratic-held seats there. The GOP holds a razor-thin majority in the House right now. So, any seats that are up for grabs could play a big role in who holds the majority next term. And then, of course, that plays a big role in how much President Donald Trump can accomplish in his final two years in office.

Now, in the filing, Texas did ask the Supreme Court to move quickly. They want to see that lower court ruling blocked by December 1. They're hoping that this process will be expedited. And throughout that filing, there was a focus on timing here. I want to pull up part of it that focused in on just how quickly things are happening at this point.

They said the chaos caused by such an injunction is obvious. Campaigning has already begun. Candidates have already gathered signatures and filed applications to appear on the ballot under the 2025 map. And early voting for the March 3, 2026, primary was only 91 days away.

Now, Alito asked the groups that challenged the Texas maps to respond to the emergency appeal by Monday evening, suggesting that he is eager to move forward with this quickly. The case will likely be referred to the full court soon. And then that administrative order signed by Alito would remain intact until the other justices have had time to review the case. Jessica.

DEAN: Julia Benbrook, with the latest, thank you so much. Still to come. Pennsylvania propelled President Trump back to the White House for a second time, and now his voters say they're still waiting for him to fix the affordability crisis. Our John King went to Bethlehem, PA, to speak to trump voters who say they're struggling to stretch their dollars. You'll hear from them next. You're in the "CNN NEWSROOM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:00]

DEAN: Our catholic exorcisms on the rise in the U.S. CNN's David Culver went to Arizona, home to a fast-growing catholic diocese, to find out. Don't miss a new episode of "The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper: The Exorcist." It's one whole hour, one whole story, tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on CNN, and you can watch the next day in the CNN app.

President Trump is trying to dismiss the affordability crisis. But as CNN's John King discovered, voters in the swing city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, say they're still struggling to make ends meet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Bethlehem is blue-collar, full of people living paycheck to paycheck. Full of people who come to Jenique Jones for help.

JENIQUE JONES, PA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: My business assists people in repairing their credit, managing their finances, and basically being financially organized.

KING: So, if you're busy, times are tough.

JONES: Absolutely. Completely.

KING: And you're busy right now?

JONES: Super busy.

KING: What kind of stories are you hearing?

JONES: My husband lost all of his overtime. My kids' daycare went up. Can't afford the cost of food, using credit cards for everyday expenses, no money left after their bills are paid. Pretty much just a whole bunch of financial mess.

KING: We changed presidents at the beginning of the year.

JONES: We did.

KING: And the guy who moved into the White House said that he was going to fix it. Several times, he said it would be easy.

JONES: Absolutely.

KING: Has he fixed it?

JONES: Absolutely not. I'm definitely waiting for him to fix it.

KING (voiceover): Jones is a three-time Trump voter, but she says he has simply failed to keep his promise to lower the cost of living.

JONES: I'm very let down by that. Very, very let down. Because I feel like it's only gotten worse.

KING (voiceover): This is Gentlemen's Barber Shop. Customers gripe a lot about rising costs. Ashley Ruiz tries to help.

ASHLEY RUIZ, PA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: I'll tell the client, hey, if you get it cut a little shorter, the haircut will have a longer lifeline because I want them to feel like they're getting a service that will last longer so their money goes further.

KING (voiceover): She gets it because she does the tough math at home. Rent, food, childcare.

KING: All of them.

RUIZ: They are a lot higher. So, I try to make wiser decisions and hope that things will get better.

KING (voiceover): Owner Ronald Corales is another three-time Trump voter. When clients or coworkers grumble about costs, Corales urges patience.

RONALD CORALES, PA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: Well, hopefully, soon, you know. Like it's --

KING: But it hasn't happened yet.

CORALES: Not really. We don't really see it at the moment. Like I said, I think we have to give him some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: That was John King. Thank you for that. Still ahead in our next hour, a CNN exclusive, as we speak with the Chicago woman who was shot by a border patrol agent during immigration raids. You're in the "CNN NEWSROOM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:27]

DEAN: You're in the "CNN NEWSROOM." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And new tonight, President Trump says the U.S. proposal to end Russia's war on Ukraine is not his final offer, ahead of key talks tomorrow in Switzerland. A U.S. official telling CNN top U.S. Diplomats will meet with Ukrainian officials and European national security advisors on the sidelines of the G20 today, which the U.S. has boycotted. European leaders pushed back on several points in this deal.

The plan, calling for Ukraine to make some pretty major concessions, including capping its army and giving land over to Russia. And it calls for the world to allow Russia back into the global economy.