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Two Days To Go Until Trump Faces Biggest Electoral Test This Year; Obama Rips Into Trump As He Stumps For Democrats In Key Races; Two Days Left: Will Mamdani Become Face Of The Democratic Party? As Obamacare Premiums Skyrocket, Pockets of GOP Push for Talks; Interview with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ); U.S. Strikes Alleged Drug-Trafficking Boat; who's Hitting Snooze on Ending Time Changes Once and For All. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired November 02, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:30]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Closing time. With two days until President Trump's big test with voters.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The stakes are now clear. We don't need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy.

JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The whole campaign is based on her hatred of Trump.

RAJU: What grade will they give him?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The country is watching us and we will win.

RAJU: Can Democrats pull off a clean sweep? And if so, what's the message for their party?

Plus, crunch time. The shutdown gets painful. But as moderates start to wobble, what is the end game?

One Republican who wants his party to do more joins me live.

And killing time?

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): We're tired of going back and forth.

RAJU: As your clocks fall back, why is the U.S. hitting snooze on ending time changes once and for all?

INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.

(MUSIC) (END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (on camera): Good morning and welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.

The campaign trail has been intense on the final weekend ahead of Tuesday's elections, the most important since President Trump's return to office. So, what message will voters send to Trump and to the Democratic resistance?

Yesterday marked the return of former President Barack Obama to the trail for the Democratic candidates for governor in New Jersey, and in Virginia, where Obama sounded the alarm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When I think back to a year ago, I remember talking to some people, even some folks who were friends of mine who would say, you know what? This election doesn't matter all that much that whoever the next president ended up being, it wasn't going to matter to them if nothing else, the last nine months should have cured us of that idea because the stakes are now clear. We don't need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, polls show Democrats ahead in two governors races and for New York city mayor. But the New Jersey race is tightening, with Republican Jack Ciattarelli embracing Trump in his bid to upset Democrat Mikie Sherrill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CIATTARELLI: Here's what my opponent will do for the next 72 hours. If you get a flat tire today, it's President Trump's fault. There is nothing she won't blame on the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: All right. Joining me here at the magic wall is CNN's David Chalian. I'll break things down where things stand two days out.

So, David, we know what the polls say. But what does the early vote tell us?

DAVI CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: So specifically in New York City, this is a poll result from Quinnipiac University last week. I want to show you why. When I look at the early vote right now, looking at age breakdown, the early vote.

Here in this Quinnipiac poll, you see that Mamdani wallops Cuomo with younger voters, 18 to 34 year olds, voters above 50. You see that it's a slight Cuomo advantage, a six point advantage. So, obviously, that's a narrow advantage, Manu. But there are a lot more of these voters than there are of these voters, which is what gives the Cuomo world belief that they might have a path here. Take a look at the early voting numbers. So, this is among registered

Democrats, which, by the way, the vast majority of New York city voters are, voters, 18 to 29. In the early vote to date, which, by the way, ends today, 16 percent of the electorate, early voting electorate is 18 to 29. Fifty-one percent of the early voting electorate is 50 or above.

Again, that disparity is what is giving the Cuomo campaign some belief that they're turning out their voters. I will note over the time of the last week, it has been getting a little younger. This isn't quite as young as the electorate was in the Democratic primary, which catapulted Mamdani's victory, but it is still a far younger electorate than we saw four years ago in New York City.

When it comes to New Jersey in the early vote. Take a look at the partisan breakdown rather than the age breakdown. 52 percent of early voters in New Jersey are Democrats, 29 percent are Republicans. That's a big hole for Ciattarelli to dig out of. And in fact, Sherrill is more on track when you look at the partisanship of the early vote than Harris was a year ago in the presidential, when she still won the state by six points.

RAJU: That's so interesting. And Democrats tend to do better in early voting as well. And it can tell us a lot. Tuesday can also give us some indication about whether Democrats have done a better job of winning back some of those voters they lost to Donald Trump in the last cycle.

[08:05:03]

Trump made inroads with people of color, in particular. Talk about that. And New Jersey in particular, where Democrats are focusing in these final days.

Yeah. I mean, I think this is why we saw Barack Obama, where we saw him yesterday. I mean, he was here in Essex County, New Jersey, home to Newark. Okay. Take a look at the demographic breakdown of Essex County, New Jersey -- 36 percent black, a quarter Latino. It is a majority-minority county in New Jersey. Newark itself, 45 percent African American.

Clearly, the goal of the Sherrill campaign was to get Barack Obama to rally that Democratic base, especially with voters of color.

Another battleground for voters of color is just next door here in Passaic County. Take a look here at the demographic breakdown in Passaic County. It is 43.4 percent Latino. This is the kind of place that drove Donald Trump's narrowing of his margin of defeat in New Jersey four years ago.

In fact, he flipped Passaic County. He won it. He edged out Kamala Harris in this county just a year ago. If you compare that to his race against Joe Biden in 2020, Biden won Passaic by 16 percentage points. But Trump actually flipped it.

And given that Latino population there, you understand why both Sherrill and Ciattarelli have been spending so much time here in Passaic County, Ciattarelli, trying to maintain extend those gains Trump made. Sherrill, of course, trying to thwart that progress that Trump had made with Latino voters in New Jersey.

RAJU: There's so much to chew on there. Thank you, David, for that.

And we have an excellent panel, the two of the best in the business, also, along with David Chalian, to break this all down. Amy Walter with "The Cook Political Report", and CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

Good morning to you.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

RAJU: Happy election almost eve.

AMY WALTER, PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT: I know it's the best time of the year.

RAJU: Best time of the year. Exactly.

So, New Jersey seems to be shaping up to be perhaps the marquee race on Tuesday night, perhaps seems to be the most competitive race. How much do you think this is ultimately going to be a referendum on Trump himself?

WALTER: Yeah. I do think the most important thing about off year elections is it's a chance for a reset. We've been spending so much of our time in politics for the last year, talking about 2024, we've been looking in the rearview mirror about what happened in that election.

Now, we're getting into the fact that Donald Trump, no longer candidate, he's now the president. It is a referendum on him. New Jersey, however, also has a Democratic governor who he's not as unpopular as Trump is in the state. But folks, they're not particularly happy with the cost of living in the state, a lot of it driven by high energy costs.

And so, the governor also a little bit more of a drag on the Democrat than you'll see in a place like Virginia that has a Republican governor. But fundamentally, Manu, my overall point is the electorate is going to look different in an off year than it looked in an off year. And it is driven in many ways by how people feel about the sitting president and the policies of that President, much more than it was back in 2024, about the theory of Donald Trump.

RAJU: Yeah, and we've seen Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican. He's embracing Donald Trump. Trump has not been on the campaign trail. We've seen Trump indorse Ciattarelli, done teletown rallies, Truth Social posts and the like.

And you look at the polls about the enthusiasm gap that exists. It's pretty stunning. I mean, generally, supporters have a 62 percent among in this poll, more enthusiastic about voting, very enthusiastic compared to Mikie Sherrill supporters. That's from just a few days ago. The Democrats believe that Trump is dragging him down. This is what

the New Jersey city mayor said to "Vanity Fair", said Ciattarelli is running a great campaign, but the deal he made with Donald Trump to secure the nomination could be the reason he doesn't win this thing. The Steven Fulop thinks that Sherrill would be up 12 or 15 points if Trump were in the White House.

ZELENY: I mean, I don't know, about 12 or 15, but I think there is no doubt that, look, both sides are betting on Trump, and Ciattarelli needs those Trump supporters, at least a share of them to come out. Otherwise, he doesn't have much of a chance.

But you're right about the change argument. If every election is a change election, it doesn't quite work as cleanly in New Jersey because Mikie Sherrill is trying to do something -- run for governor. That hasn't been done since 1961, in New Jersey and that is she would be the -- effectively the third term of a Democratic governor administration. Usually, it flips over after eight years.

But look, Passaic County, to David's point, that is going to be the place to watch because its where Trump made his gains among Latino voters. I was there a couple weeks ago talking to the mayor, and he's a Democrat, he said, we are looking for voters with buyer's remorse.

So, the question is, A, are all of those Trump voters going to show up in an off year election? No, they're not, but some will. And the question is, the immigration policies, those will be on the ballot.

[08:10:03]

The economic policies, the cost of living. That too, is on the ballot.

And as I've been spending time in Virginia as well, boy, it is a clean change argument there because it is so close to Washington, a stone's throw across the river here. The federal government still shut down. That is weighing very heavy on this -- military families, federal contractors and things.

And they are ready for a change in Richmond. Of course, it's been governed for four years by a Republican, so slightly different in each state. But there's no doubt, Trump is hanging heavy over this entire race as presidents always do in these off year elections.

RAJU: And we saw that enthusiasm gap really explains one big reason why Democrats are excited to see Barack Obama on the campaign trail in these key states in the final days of obviously, the biggest Democratic surrogate there is out there. He very much was attempting to try to nationalize this this race and tie it to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Every day this white house offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain old craziness. He's deployed the National Guard in American cities and claimed to be stopping crime waves that don't actually exist. Weve got masked ICE agents pulling in unmarked vans and grabbing people off the streets, including U.S. citizens. Don't boo. Vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: What do you make of that message and the effectiveness of that argument?

CHALIAN: Well, the message is pretty consistent with what Barack Obama is saying over these last several months, as he has stepped up his criticism of the current president on a whole bunch of issues. He also has had some criticism for some of these institutions that he sees capitulating to the Trump administration, whether it be law firms, or universities or the like.

But the messenger is the point here. Obviously, in the closing days and to Amy's point about what this off year electorate looks like, Barack Obama's mission is to try and make sure that some of those folks, like you said, looking for buyer's remorse, that they actually come out, that his mission is also to juice turnout among voters of color. Where we saw Donald Trump make significant inroads across the board.

Now, we should just remember, as were talking about this, all four key elections that were watching on Tuesday night, the California ballot measure initiative, Virginia, New Jersey and the New York City mayor's race. This is all on blue turf. This is all on sort of the DNA of these places is more Democratic than Republican.

I'm not suggesting that that makes this easy for anyone. We know that Democrats have problems, but I think part of Barack Obama's mission is to sort of make sure the natural DNA of these places turns out.

WALTER: And, David, I think that is such an important point, because, again, what we've been talking about for the last year is Democratic sort of intraparty fighting. The fact that Democrats themselves, as party members are not happy with the party, not happy with leadership, feels like its feckless and rudderless. Are they going to turn out? Are they inspired?

The one thing we know for that, we've been watching for the last eight years is there's one person who does inspire Democrats. It's not really Barack Obama. It's Donald Trump.

ZELENY: And if you look at the candidates in both of the states, that's also so interesting because Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, they were part of that blue wave back in 2018. Manu, you well remember them arriving into the House of representatives as the Democratic majority makers.

So, will they do it again? Of course, the circumstances are different. The challenges are more in New Jersey, but it is sort of Democrats are looking for a shot in the arm, but this is not going to lead them out of the wilderness or offer a clean path forward, because New York, of course, complicates some of those moderate messages.

RAJU: Which is a perfect tease to our next segment, which we'll talk about it as well. And in addition to this, a Republican who is actually breaking from the party line is the government shutdown is set to become the longest in history. He will join me live.

Plus, voters may be on the verge of electing a 34-year-old Democratic socialist to run the nation's largest city. What that and the potential of a Democratic sweep on Tuesday could mean for the party's future? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:18:47]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: No New Yorker should ever be priced out of anything they need to survive. And we believe then, we believe today. We will believe tomorrow that it is government's job to deliver that dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Zohran Mamdani has dominated the New York City mayoral race since his stunning primary win this summer, cementing himself as a leader of his party's left flank both in the city and nationally. So, if he does win, what will Democrats take away from the 34-year-old's rise from a Queens assemblyman to the first Muslim mayor of the nation's biggest city, who has embraced his Democratic socialist ideology?

My panel is back with me now.

So, David, when you look at Tuesday, assuming Mamdani does pull it off, what are you going to look at in terms of the coalition that he will build potentially for this victory here? And what will that tell us about what Democratic voters want right now? Is this just a New York thing, or is this -- can this be translated nationally?

CHALIAN: It will certainly tell us what Democratic voters in New York City want. There's no doubt about that. I do think there are some things that the party would be wise not to ignore and just treat it as only New York City. And that is sort of the message itself, a relentless focus on affordability, to sort of meet voters where they are.

[08:20:03]

The communications that the candidate has put forth, whether his ability to connect with voters through this and videos, through his interviews, his relentless attachment to his message and how he engineers the kind of enthusiasm that we are seeing among young people, especially all of that is important. It's not all going to be able to be applicable to other places. Every campaign, every electorate looks different, but that doesn't, I think, mean it should be ignored entirely. There is -- there will probably be some lessons learned.

WALTER: Yeah, I think that's really important. And we're starting to see this idea to, in Democratic primaries, of old guard versus new. Do we need to go with the status quo that the predictable. Maine Senate race being a very high profile example of this, go with the tried and true two-time elected governor who has proven to be a statewide vote getter but isn't particularly inspiring, is a lot older or the new young, untested candidate who has said a lot of things on the Internet, but also has a really, substantial following among Democratic primary voters.

So, I think we're going to see that kind of debate between sort of the old guard and the new. And in this case, not just new, but coming from a more progressive sort of the Bernie Sanders wing of the party messenger, in many of these high profile races.

RAJU: Yeah. What lessons will Democrats take from this to the leadership and the like? The -- first, the -- how voters view Democrats right now, this is a Washington post poll that was just out this morning, 68 percent of voters in this poll believe Democrats are out of touch. That is, 6 in 10 believe the same thing about Trump and the Republican Party. But more view that of Republican Democrats right now. And the question, too, is if they do win in these states, will they change anything? Will they double down on some of their tactics? Do they believe they need to fight more? Will they moderate more and the like?

That's a question I put to Chris Murphy, the Democratic senator from Connecticut, who told me, we've seen a temporary boost in people's feelings about Democrats because they feel finally see us fighting. And so, if we do well, and I expect well do well, you know, I hope people will pay attention to the fact that we've recovered a little bit of our standing a little bit, but not enough of our standing, given that we finally decided to stand up to this guy.

So, if they sweep all three races, Chris Murphy if his view holds, they'll say, we've got to show it to fight Trump more.

ZELENY: They will. But I think the question is how. And I think when you really listen to what Abigail Spanberger in Virginia is saying, and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, they're focusing much more on specific elements of the Trump policy, much less of the sort of larger issues of democracy and much more of the Trump administration has done this to you. They are taking away this from you. The infrastructure project in New Jersey, for example, closing the government in Virginia.

So, I think how the fight is, is also part of this. But look, there's not going to be a simple answer for how Democrats rebuild here. There never is, until there is a new party leader.

But I do think that one thing that party leaders I've talked to will try and say that look, it has to be a big tent. There has to be room for a moderate in Virginia if she wins, and a new mayor of New York City. But one thing is clear, Republicans are going to be very delighted. The president, chief among them at the new mayor of New York City if Mamdani wins because he is going to become the new fall and they're going to try and say he is the Democratic Party now.

So, this whole conversation -- RAJU: They have been saying that.

WALTER: Yeah.

ZELENY: For sure, for sure.

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY: And some new funding things and things, I mean, like withholding funds from New York. So, this fight is just the beginning as the party is trying to work its way out of the wilderness.

CHALIAN: I do think Chris Murphy has a one point here, which is that part of what's driving the Democrats brand numbers down so much, excuse me, is Democrats themselves are fighting.

ZELENY: The infighting and you talk to voters. I talked to a voter in Charlottesville just last week, and she said Democrats have to stop fighting one another. That is the only way we're going to win. So, I think that is exactly the point.

RAJU: That's a good point. I do want to talk about the California ballot initiative, too. That's obviously another big race coming on Tuesday. That is, we've seen 2020 presidential candidates all across the campaign trail. On other states in Virginia and New Jersey, in particular. Just a map of some of them that are on -- that we've seen on the campaign trail.

But then the question is for Gavin Newsom, perhaps much more is riding on for a for a potential 2028 candidate, Gavin Newsom. And the outcome of what will happen in the California ballot initiative, which would potentially add up to five Democratic seats if this gerrymander goes through.

[08:25:01]

This is what Newsom said yesterday while he was campaigning for this ballot initiative known as Prop 50.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: A year from now, what this is all about is Democrats getting back on our toes, not our heels. Getting our mojo back. We're back. The biggest story, you know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: You've been covering this so closely. The significance of this for Newsom. And if this initiative goes through, it seems like if the polls are correct, the Democrats could get a victory here as well. What this means for the race, for the House?

WALTER: Yeah. What this means is without California, Democrats would be in much worse shape going into 2026. In fact, I'd say California is the reason. If it passes, that Democrats ability to be able to take -- flip the House is still in play. If it if it loses, that makes it a lot harder.

RAJU: Yeah. No question about that. And well see if it loses. That will make potentially Gavin Newsom's path in 2028 a little harder. We'll see. That's a long ways away and something well be discussing here on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY, of course.

And of course, this Tuesday -- well, CNN will bring you live coverage of the election results all night long, starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. Or stream it on the CNN app.

All right. Next, as health care costs surge this weekend with a blue state Republican worry, the GOP shutdown strategy could set up his party for an election day disaster. I'll ask him in a minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:07]

MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: As the government shutdown is set to become the longest in history this week, the central fight is whether to extend expiring subsidies under Obamacare. Democrats have been demanding an extension, while Republican leaders say reopen the government first before anything else.

Caught in the middle is the American public hurt by this unfolding crisis. So how will this get resolved?

Joining me now, a Republican congressman who's also a former Democrat, but now an ally of President Trump's, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Really appreciate your time.

REP. JEFF VAN DREW (R-NJ): Thank you. Good to be with you. Thanks for having me.

RAJU: Absolutely.

Republican leaders have said they will not consider this extension or any extension over these expiring Obamacare subsidies until after the government is reopened.

But as you know, Americans are starting to see their premiums rise, including in New Jersey, where some families could be forced to spend as much as 30 percent of their income on health care.

Given that, are you ok with the way your party leadership has been handling this issue?

VAN DREW: Look, I'm fine with the way. They've been handling it because I really want to give what I think is an objective viewpoint to this, not a partisan one.

We're just simply asking to keep government open. When I say we, I mean Republicans. You know, for those watching and listening out there, the Continuing Resolution is a little mini budget for seven weeks.

It's Joe Biden's budget. There's nothing in there from Trump. There's nothing in there from Congress. There's nothing Republican in there. It is a continuation for seven weeks of Joe Biden's budget.

It is unparalleled and unheard of that the, you know, Democrats would not support this and vote for it.

I know why. Because if Chuck Schumer was to cooperate and vote for it, then the most radical part of his leadership is really going to go after him.

(CROSSTALKING)

RAJU: But Mr. Van Drew --

VAN DREW: You can't negotiate --

(CROSSTALKING)

RAJU: I was going to say you've raised some concerns -- you've raised concerns about health care and the impact of having a plan or not having a plan for the GOP.

What are the political ramifications for Republicans as we head into the midterms if the GOP does not come up with a plan on health care?

VAN DREW: Let's be clear we need to get the government open to do all the things we need to do. Republicans want to do that.

Let's be equally clear. As soon as we do that, we've immediately got to start doing something about the Affordable Care Act subsidies. It is very, very important, those tax credits. It is not fair to the American people. Many of them depend upon it.

Now, should we change it? Absolutely. I think in the beginning we need to do a renewal with some minor changes, moderate changes, and then look for a better system and work for a year and make sure we come up with a better system.

This has failed. It's cost a fortune. It's been wonderful for the insurance companies, but not good for the government, not good for the taxpayer either.

So if we do both of them --

(CROSSTALKING)

RAJU: But are you concerned about the -- are you concerned about the backlash from voters if the GOP does not come up with a plan here?

VAN DREW: it is politically stupid. It does not make sense to come up with no plan dealing with health care that's real. That really helps people.

And this is -- let me explain something. I'm a conservative and there's a lot of conservatives in the Republican Party. But just like Trump is, I really believe he is, whether you like him or not, a populist conservative that cares about real people.

You can't be the party of no, you can't take health care away from people. You have to have a plan. And the plan is to come up with something better.

That's not going to happen in a few weeks. That's going to take a good part of the year to have something substantive and real that works. And we can do that.

[08:34:48]

RAJU: What did the president say? I know you spoke to him recently. What did he -- what did he say when you talked to him about this?

VAN DREW: Yes. He doesn't think Obamacare is good, neither do I. You look at how much the cost has gone up. We're subsidizing a subsidy now.

The insurance companies have done wonderfully. The drug companies do wonderfully. The president feels that it isn't good, but he totally understands where I'm coming from.

And he does not -- again, like him or not, I obviously like him -- but whether you do or not, he does not want to hurt people. Those are the conversations I had with him over Medicaid in the past where we did come up with a good compromise plan.

We need to do the same thing with health care. It is -- I'm telling you, the midterms are going to be a whole lot harder if Republicans just sit there and say, we're just going to let it lapse. We're not going to do anything.

That's unacceptable, and I'm going to speak up about that, as you know, Jen Kiggans and I led a letter where we had 13 members of Congress on that letter that said, as soon as this is over and the shutdown is over, we have to go forward and do something real about health care.

RAJU: During this shutdown, the speaker has made a decision to keep the house out of session since September 19th, all in this effort to accept -- to pressure Senate Democrats to accept the GOP plan to reopen the government. But Democrats simply are just not budging.

And the House has really done no legislative business at all for more than six weeks. So, Congressman, are you ok with the Speaker's decision to keep the House out of session for well over a month.

VAN DREW: The Speaker, he makes a decision and, you know, we work together to make that real, to make it work. However, I wish -- I really do want to get back and work. I wish we had, you know, actually codified and done some of Trump's executive orders and made them into statutory law.

I think we could -- I think we can do two things at once. So I respect the Speaker. I support him in what he did. If -- I don't want to be the Speaker, ever -- but if I was, I would have had us come back and work on all those other issues, but not to be held hostage by the Democrats.

(CROSSTALKING)

RAJU: But you do want the House back in session? But you do want the House back in session.

VAN DREW: Yes. But it's not -- We cannot make opening government contingent upon getting a health care plan done because we wouldn't open government for months.

RAJU: Yes.

VAN DREW: It's not going to happen that quickly. You can't bang that through in a few weeks. So they're being disingenuous in what they're saying in the Democratic Party.

RAJU: So Mr. Van Drew, you've been on the campaign trail in New Jersey. Voters, of course, are going to elect a new governor this week. I'm wondering -- do you think Tuesday will be a referendum on President Trump and his policies?

VAN DREW: I don't know. You know what, maybe a little bit. But it's also about the individual state.

Look, Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey got a real chance. I really think he's going to win, which is amazing in itself. It's extraordinary, understanding that there's almost a million more registered Democrats in this state than Republicans.

So it's something we've never seen before. It's very, very rare.

However it is about the affordability in New Jersey, the cost of everything -- the taxes, the tolls, the fees, the -- being a sanctuary state and most of all, the cost of energy.

(CROSSTALKING)

VAN DREW: One of the reasons Jack is doing well is because energy has gone up tremendously under this administration. They closed five gas plants down, one nuclear plant, had no substitution or replacement except the subsidized foreign companies for windmills that fail.

RAJU: But just very quickly, if Democrats do win the governor's race in your state and in Virginia, and do you view that as a warning shot to the president and the Republican Party?

VAN DREW: No, I don't. I really don't. I think it has to do with Virginia. And I think it has to do with New Jersey. Now, if we had half a dozen swing states, remember, we're not really a swing state as much as just some folks say. We're still a purple state.

I believe we're going to win, by the way. But if we had half a dozen swing states that went Democrat, all of them, that would be different. These are Democrat states. If we win, it's extraordinary. And it's really good news for Republicans.

If we don't make it say in Virginia, we're going to make it in New Jersey. But wherever, that's sort of to be expected.

RAJU: All right. Congressman Jeff Van Drew, really appreciate you coming on this morning, joining us and sharing your perspective.

VAN DREW: Thank you.

RAJU: Thanks for your time.

Coming up, just visiting? Does President Trump plan to make history at the Supreme Court. We'll explain. That's next.

[08:39:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: Overnight, a new strike in the Caribbean. The U.S. military bombing another boat it said was carrying alleged drug traffickers. The attack is the 15th known U.S. military strike on suspected drug smuggling vessels by the Trump administration, killing at least 64 people.

And now the president is arguing he does not need a congressional green light to keep up the strikes. According to "The Washington Post" and "New York Times", the Justice Department told Congress the strikes don't fall under the 1973 War Powers resolution, a Vietnam era law, which sets a 60-day limit for military actions not authorized by Congress.

Our panel is back.

We've seen concerns from members about not getting briefed. Democrats were left out of a briefing on Capitol Hill last week, prompting this reaction on Capitol Hill.

[08:44:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS, (R-SD): We've talked to the White House about it. We told him that this should be on a bipartisan basis.

This is an unfortunate situation, and I wish it wouldn't have happened this way.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I think -- I mean, I don't -- I don't think that any administration should leave out any party from a briefing of that level of importance.

And I think their justification -- I mean you can argue it and no doubt people will -- but I don't think that something of that importance shouldn't be shared.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RAJU: And that was after Mark Warner, the top Democrat in the Senate Intelligence Committee, was furious about being excluded.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: For sure. And look, this is something that we are going to learn a lot more about that 1973 law. All because about what the definition of "hostilities" is, that is going to be front and center in this.

But I think the broader point, Congress is just beginning to maybe think about flexing its muscle here. I mean, they've been basically thwarted on the power of the purse and also war authorizations.

I mean, many congresses have been furious at presidents of both parties for not coming to them. But this is really going to come to more of a head here. So we are just seeing the beginning of this.

But as you said, the 15th strike in the Caribbean, it is a policy of this administration, and it's up to Congress to see how much they stand up to him.

RAJU: You know, there's a history in this country, the Pentagon saying, listen to us, trust us.

ZELENY: For sure.

RAJU: And then that's not going the way that they're actually claimed it went.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: But the politics of this, the recent history is what's instructive here, which is that this is a Republican Party totally in service of Donald Trump.

I mean, you go back and look at when Barack Obama was in the White House and dealing with this same issue about the War Powers Resolution and authorizing military action beyond 60 days. It was part of a NATO coalition over Libya.

But John Boehner, the Republican speaker, obviously the opposing political party made a lot of hay of this and real concern.

I don't hear Speaker Johnson right now up there really questioning Donald Trump's ability to move forward.

RAJU: He hasn't really done a whole lot of that.

Meantime, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court is set to consider a pair of challenges on Trump's tariffs. Huge case with massive global ramifications and political ramifications.

Trump is saying he may actually go to the oral arguments and attend that in person, which really has not been done before. I think we researched it's been a long time since that's actually happened.

AMY WALTER, PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT: But it goes right back to David's point, which is the party is Trump, Trump is the party. And also, this isn't really about the future of tariffs and the executive authority for other presidents. It is about him.

RAJU: Yes. And the question is going to be if Trump loses on this case, the ramifications would be so severe. We have to recoup all this money internationally, maybe to return it overseas.

And what does it mean for Trump if he wins? Also a huge boost for Trump's ability to set economic policy.

All right. Hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep today. But Congress is actually trying to do away with those time changes. But one man is standing in the way. More on that next.

[08:47:39]

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RAJU: You may feel a little more rested this morning having that extra hour of sleep since clocks jumped back an hour overnight. But what you may not realize is that there is a feud on Capitol Hill about whether you should have to change your clocks at all.

There is a bipartisan bill to make Daylight Savings Time the permanent law of the land. Even President Trump backed that idea back in April, saying that changing clocks was a, quote, "big inconvenience and very costly".

But this past week, one of Trump's biggest allies, Senator Tom Cotton, blocked a bipartisan push to advance the bill.

Now, back in 2022, a similar bill quietly passed the Senate, but it did not get a vote in the House. Cotton said this week he had missed his chance to block it back then, and that he was not going to make the same mistake twice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): If permanent, Daylight Savings Time becomes the law of the land, it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans.

The darkness of permanent Daylight Savings Time would be especially harmful for schoolchildren and working Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But the senators who are pushing the bill say Americans would benefit from more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Why do you want it so badly?

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Because I think it's a miserable day for a great many Americans when suddenly they have to go home in the dark.

In addition to the fact that shifting back and forth every year twice is just a big waste of effort and inconvenience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Senator Tommy Tuberville, another Trump ally, but one who backs the bill, said the president is staying out of the feud because he's looking at the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): One of the most talked about things when I go home, Coach, when are we going to keep the time the same? Keep it Daylight Savings Time? Were tired of going back and forth and it's you know, it causes a lot of anxiety. And I think that it's important.

I'd love for the president, and he started to step in on it. But he looked at the polling and it's pretty even for some reason across the country.

RAJU: Have you talked to him about it?

TUBERVILLE: Yes. And a lot of people have talked to him about it, but you know, if we go back and four or five months ago, he looked at it and it stood an executive order and he said, you know, it's too close. It's too balanced.

[08:54:49]

TUBERVILLE: I mean, you know, we just there's no reason to make a change unless it's really overwhelming one way or the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So all that means things will be dark in the evenings for the foreseeable future.

That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju and follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS. You can also follow me on TikTok and Instagram.

And new this week if you haven't heard, you can now stream INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY live or catch up later whenever you want in the CNN app, as well as access exclusive reporting, read unlimited articles and watch our Award-winning original series and films, and much, much more. To learn more, visit CNN.com/watch.

Up next, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Jake's guests include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.

Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.

[08:55:39]

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