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Sen. Merkley's Speech Protesting Trump Passes 16 Hours; Wave of Russian Strikes Across Ukraine; Trump's Crime Crackdown Plan in Court. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 22, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, with the help of other Senate Democrats, is now 16 hours into a speech on the Senate floor. Merkley is protesting what he views as President Trump's undemocratic and repressive grip on the United States. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Americans are ringing the alarm bells about the authoritarian takeover of our country. There is nothing normal. There is nothing legal. There is nothing constitutional about this authoritarian takeover. Quite the opposite. It is shredding our Constitution. Demolishing our separation of powers. Destroying the checks and balances. This is an extraordinarily dangerous moment. An authoritarian president proceeding to attack free speech. Attack free press. Weaponize the Department of Justice. And use it against those who disagree with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All of this with the federal government shuttered right now amid a very partisan divide over spending and healthcare, among other issues. Let's go to CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju. He's up on Capitol Hill. Manu, why does Senator Merkley's move matter right now?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's Democrats trying to show their opposition to this Republican's plan to reopen the government, as well as Trump's administration. But the actual outcome, how this will actually affect things on Capitol Hill, particularly as we're headed into one of the longest shutdowns, or perhaps the longest shutdown in the history of the United States government, if it exceeds 35 days, it's going to have virtually no impact on that ultimate debate.

Republicans, by and large, are dismissing Senator Merkley's speech, which is now ranking about the seventh largest -- longest in the history of the United States Senate. Remember, in this speech, he's not allowed to sit down. He's not allowed to go and use the bathroom. He has to actually hold the floor during that time. Some members of the Senate can come in and speak to him and give him a bit of a break, but he still has to stand the whole time, and we'll see how long he ultimately goes. The record is more than 25 hours. Cory Booker set that earlier this year.

But ultimately, what will happen with the shutdown, Wolf? That is the big question that continues to dominate on Capitol Hill. Republicans want to pass their bill to reopen the government with no strings attached. Democrats want a negotiation and an extension of expiring subsidiaries under the Affordable Care Act. And increasingly, Democrats are calling for Trump to get directly involved in the negotiations with Democrats to avoid a shutdown. This is what Senator Cory Booker told me just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Is there any sense that Democrats are willing to back off your approach here, given that the shutdown is going to get worse and worse for people?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Again, Donald Trump has a responsibility to end this shutdown. He's getting ready to do another trip overseas to negotiate on foreign policy issues. What he should be doing is calling Democrats to the White House and negotiating with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:35:00]

RAJU: But Republicans say the plan is for -- the push still remains the same, that they want Democrats to vote first to reopen the government before they would agree for either Trump or Republican leaders to engage in any sort of negotiation here.

So, Wolf, despite what we're seeing on the Senate floor from Senator Merkley, one of the longest speeches in the history of the United States Senate, ultimately the situation is the same. Government is shut down, and both sides are on opposite sides of the spectrum about how to proceed here and how to reopen government. Wolf.

BLITZER: Our chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, up on Capitol Hill. Thank you very, very much. For more on the government shutdown, I want to bring in Republican Congressman Brian Steil of Wisconsin. He's the chairman of the House Administration Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, Capitol Police and your committee overseas, U.S. Capitol Police, they are now working without pay. We're seeing federal workers -- it's hard to believe this is going on -- waiting hours at various food pantries here in Washington because they're missing their paychecks. Republicans control, as you well know, both chambers of Congress. They control the White House as well. What do you say to Americans who hold your Republican Party accountable for this shutdown?

REP. BRYAN STEIL (R-WI), ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CHAIR AND FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: It's absolutely frustrating and unacceptable that United States Capitol Police are required to work but are not getting paid. They already missed part of a first paycheck. I'm concerned that they're going to miss the next paycheck. The answer is the Democrats in the United States Senate need to come to the table and reopen the government. Yes, we have more than 50 votes, and more than 50 votes are there to reopen the government. But under the Senate filibuster rules, we need 60 votes to do it.

BLITZER: In the Senate?

STEIL: In the Senate. So, it's a minority of the United States Senate led by Chuck Schumer that's driving the train to keep the government closed. They're putting politics over people, and real people, as you just said, are getting hurt by the antics of the Democrats in the United States Senate.

BLITZER: But other than messaging against Democrats, what specific concrete steps are Republicans taking right now to end the shutdown? I don't see the president or the Republican leadership going out of their way to invite Democrats to go and meet, sit down, and try to work this out.

STEIL: Well, I think what we're looking at is an opportunity to reopen the government and then begin those negotiations. The Senate Democrats would like to negotiate while they're holding a hostage. Holding the hostage or preventing people like the United States Capitol Police or soon our troops to not receive their paycheck. The answer is to reopen the government and then complete the negotiations on fiscal year '26 appropriations as well as other policy priorities. But putting the cart before the horse and trying to negotiate while the Senate Democrats hold hostage paychecks for hardworking Americans, I think is unacceptable.

BLITZER: Do you think President Trump should actually sit down with Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries in the House to hammer out a deal before, as he leaves the country, his upcoming trip to Asia?

STEIL: Well, the president has a lot of obligations. He's done great work at bringing peace in Israel, working in other areas. So, I think it's important that the president keeps doing his job. That said, what the Democrats want in the United States Senate is to negotiate with the president of the United States while they hold hostage the government being closed. The answer is to pass the clean CR. This is a CR that has been passed time and again by Democratic senators in the United States Senate. What changed is not the policy, what changed is the politics for the U.S. Senate.

BLITZER: But as you know, that clean CR, Democrats want an extension of what's called the Affordable Care Act, the subsidies that expire at the end of the year. But even if you disagree with the shutdown being used to leverage the issue, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, annual premiums for subsidized Obamacare enrollees, including many in your state, are expected to skyrocket by an average of 114 percent, from $888 this year to $1,904 next year. Voters of all political stripes, including your constituents in Wisconsin, will feel this pain big time. Is that acceptable to you?

STEIL: We want to make sure that people have insurance and that that insurance is affordable. The Democrats are really good at naming bills, really bad at policy. They put forward the Affordable Care Act. It made insurance unaffordable for so many Americans. The program as drafted by Democrats, and again, they put in place the sunset when they passed the law. The bill has massive flaws. We can go back and look at the Treasury report when Biden was in the White House that shows significant waste, fraud, and abuse in the program. And so, an extension of it as currently drafted --

BLITZER: But why not keep the subsidies going in order to keep the government open?

STEIL: Because I think what we could look at is there's a minimum significant reforms inside that program. And so, what we're saying is let's have that debate, let's have that discussion, but let's do it while the government is open and operational rather than allow the Democrats to be holding a hostage while they engage in these negotiations.

[10:40:00]

BLITZER: The -- before I let you go, Congressman, President Trump said yesterday he, quote, "would be" seeking millions of dollars from his own U.S. Justice Department as compensation for past investigations into him. He noted he would give the money to charity, but as a fiscal conservative, are you comfortable with the president of the United States possibly receiving, what, $230 million from the Justice Department, from U.S. taxpayers?

STEIL: The president suffered massive legal bills as a result of massive overreach by Biden's Department of Justice. I think it was incredibly unfair the way that he was attacked by Biden's Department of Justice, and I think we're going to watch this play out.

BLITZER: So, you support what he's doing?

STEIL: I think it's the right question to ask. I think what we saw was a weaponization of the Justice Department under the Biden administration. Countless people had millions of dollars of legal bills because of the political actions taken during Biden's term in office.

BLITZER: So, you want taxpayers to give him $230 million?

STEIL: I think it's the right question to ask. I think what we saw was the United States Department of Justice engaged in an incredibly partisan action during the Biden administration, and many people were dramatically injured by this, the president included.

BLITZER: And if he were to get millions of dollars from the Justice Department, and he says he's going to give that money to charity, should he be able to deduct that as a charitable contribution and avoid paying income tax?

STEIL: Well, I think a lot of this is really the payment for the legal bills that he was forced to pay as he was under constant attack by Biden's Department of Justice. BLITZER: So, you support what he's doing?

STEIL: I think it's the right question you should be asking.

BLITZER: Well, I'm just asking you, do you support what he's doing?

STEIL: I think it's the right question. I think there's a lot to play out inside the court case, but the fact that Biden's Department of Justice was so aggressive in such political action against so many people, including the president of the United States, that a lot of people were dramatically injured by the actions that were taken.

BLITZER: All right. Republican Congressman Brian Steil of Wisconsin, thank you very much.

STEIL: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, a new wave of Russian attacks overnight. New video just coming in to CNN showing the moment a drone hits an intersection in northeastern Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

BLITZER: New this morning and overnight, a wave of Russian air attacks against Ukraine has left at least six people dead as President Trump hits pause on yet another summit with Vladimir Putin. Harrowing video posted to social media shows the moment a drone struck an intersection right near a mall in the town of Sumy. First responders rushed to put out fires after drone strikes damaged homes in Zaporizhzhia.

And 10 people had to be rescued in Kyiv after debris from an airstrike hit an apartment tower. Today, Russia conducted a planned strategic nuclear force drill under Putin's supervision. Moscow says the drills involved all three components of the nuclear triad. We're talking about land, sea, and air.

CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance is joining us from Moscow right now. Matthew, President Trump says he doesn't want his time wasted with another summit with Putin unless there's a good chance of success. What is Russia saying in response?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, first of all, Wolf, they're saying that it wouldn't be a waste of time, that there's still preparations going on behind the scenes to see if they can find some common ground to form the basis of a face- to-face meeting between President Trump and President Putin of Russia. But I think from the Kremlin's point of view, they may have already achieved a significant diplomatic success.

Remember, Putin called Trump last week on the eve of the meeting with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine in the Oval Office to get in Trump's ear to try and emphasize to him how escalatory they believe the provision of Tomahawk cruise missiles would be to Ukraine in terms of the relationship between the United States and Russia. And, you know, he was always a bit reluctant anyway to provide those kinds of long- range weapons. But it seems to have done the trick from the Russian point of view. And now, they're just keeping on the process of talking about whether they should meet face-to-face.

The problem is there is a major disconnect between what President Trump wants, which is basically an end to the fighting right now along the current battle lines, and what President Putin is prepared to accept. Because he's still emphasizing that he wants the whole of Donbas in eastern Ukraine handed over to Moscow, even areas that he has not yet conquered. And that is not acceptable at the moment, at least to the Ukrainian side.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Matthew Chance in Moscow for us. Thank you very, very much. I want to discuss what's going on with Puck's founding partner and Washington correspondent, Julia Ioffe. She's the author of a brand-new, truly excellent new book entitled "Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia From Revolution to Autocracy." Julia, thanks very much for coming in. What do you make of this proposed summit between Putin and Trump now falling apart?

JULIA IOFFE, FOUNDING PARTNER AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, PUCK: Well, I think I'm glad that Donald Trump learned from the last one, where Putin said a lot of nice things, including about Yaroslav the Wise and read the American president a history lecture. But I'm glad he learned that this is a waste of his time and that Putin is not truly interested in peace, that he's not truly interested in any kind of compromise that would lead to even a ceasefire. He wants the whole thing. He has not budged off his maximalist demands. And I think, finally, President Trump has learned that lesson.

What I don't understand is why he has taken off the pressure off of Putin, why he has taken away Ukraine's leverage. If he does so desperately want a ceasefire or a peace deal in Ukraine, on par with what he did between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he shouldn't have taken the Tomahawks off the table.

BLITZER: Why do you think he did take those Tomahawk cruise missiles off the table? It looked like there was going to be a big deal and this would have enabled Ukraine to launch, you know, Tomahawk cruise missiles 1,000 or 1,500 miles deep against various targets inside Russia, including in Moscow. But all of a sudden, that proposal went away.

IOFFE: Well, because Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump because they had a two-hour long conversation on the eve of Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy. And he told him -- I mean, Donald Trump told us, he said -- I said, Vladimir, I want to give Ukraine the Tomahawks. He said, don't do it. So, I'm not going to do it.

[10:50:00]

I'm sure he is simplifying the conversation a little bit. But, you know, this idea that we don't want to give these weapons to the Ukrainians because it would be escalatory or would anger the Russians, well, the Ukrainians -- Trump didn't give the Ukrainians the Tomahawks, but Vladimir Putin just hosted a massive nuclear test. So, he's not -- just because the U.S. didn't escalate didn't mean that Putin responded in kind. He keeps on escalating.

BLITZER: And these latest airstrikes by the Russians in civilian areas, a preschool was attacked, a little kid was killed. I mean, it's really heartbreaking to see what's going on. Before I let you go, I want to talk about your excellent new book, "Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy." Talk a little bit about why you wrote this book.

IOFFE: Well, I wrote this book because I'm tired of talking about Vladimir Putin, because for so many years in my career, I was always being asked what does Vladimir Putin want? What does Vladimir Putin think? And I know that Russia isn't just Vladimir Putin, that it's a bigger, more interesting country. And I decided, how can I tell the stories of -- the history of Russia and the stories of its people without really talking much about Putin? And I decided to tell the story of the women of the Soviet Union, of Russia, and the women in my own family, who people around me -- in America kept telling me are extraordinary. My mom is a doctor, her mom was a doctor, a cardiologist, her mom was a doctor.

I had two great-grandmothers who were doctors. One great-grandmother, who was a PhD in chemistry, ran her own lab in the 1930s in Moscow. One grandmother was a cardiologist. The other, who just passed in February, sadly, was a chemical engineer who oversaw the lab at the water purification plant that provided drinking water to the Kremlin.

And everybody in the U.S. kept saying, wow, these women are so extraordinary, you have to write a book about them. And I said, they're totally normal Soviet people. There were tens of millions of women just like them. And so, to tell the story, to explain to Americans how the extraordinary became ordinary, I realized you have to tell the history of the whole radical experiment by the Bolsheviks to fully emancipate women, and how that experiment went terribly wrong.

BLITZER: It's really a terrific book. Anybody who reads this book will learn a lot about the history. And it's entitled once again, "Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy." Thanks very much, Julia, for writing this book.

IOFFE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Excellent new book.

IOFFE: Thank you.

BLITZER: I recommend it very, very highly. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: The NBA is officially back. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder tip off against the familiar face. And it was a California matchup between Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. And the LeBron-less Lakers.

I want to go right now to CNN Sports Anchor Andy Scholes. Lots of action last night, Andy. But fans of inside the NBA, like me, for example, will now have to watch on a new channel tonight.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, that's right, Wolf. Our friends Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaq, they're going to be back tonight, 6:00 Eastern. Actually, right down the hall from where I'm sitting right now. But they're going to be on ESPN for the very first time. You know, inside the NBA. One of the best shows in all sports, right, Wolf? Excited to see what they have in store for this season.

But it tipped off last night, actually, with the world champion Thunder. As you mentioned before tipoff the Thunder raising that first ever championship banner. And then they got their fancy ring. The Rockets, meanwhile, they rolled out the tallest starting lineup for an opener ever. Average height, 6 foot 10. Kevin Durant was playing shooting guard.

Now, reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he had just 11 points through 3 quarters. But then he just really turned it on. This bucket tied the game with two seconds left. So, we went to overtime. Fast forward to Double OT. KD going to go to Alperen Sengun. This puts the Rockets up 1 with 11 seconds to go. Sengun at 39 points. But then SGA just showing off his handles. He finally gets KD to foul him on that play there. He makes both free throws. SGA scored 24 of his 35 in the 4th in overtime. Thunder ended up winning in a thriller to open the season. 125-124.

Elsewhere, the Lakers were hosting the Warriors in the other matchup on opening night. LeBron missing this one with Sciatica. First time in his career he's missed the season opener. Now, without him, Luka leading the way for the Lakers. He poured in 43 points. But Jimmy Baller and Steph Curry were just too much. Steph putting the game away with this deep three in the final minute. The Warriors ended up winning that one. 119-109.

Wolf, your Wizards at the Bucs tonight in their opener. How are you feeling about them this season?

BLITZER: I love my Washington Wizards, as you know. And I can't wait to see them win, win, and win. Let's hope.

SCHOLES: The only direction for the Wizards right now is up.

BLITZER: I'm ready for that. Up is good. All right. Andy Scholes, thank you very, very much. Always good to have you in the Situation Room. And the next hour of the Situation Room starts right now.

Happening now. Louvre heist investigation. The head of the museum is facing questions right now after more than $100 million in jewels were stolen. What we're learning right now as the thieves are still on the run.

Plus, President Trump's crime crackdown plan in court. What the administration argues as it fights to send the National Guard --

[11:00:00]