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State of the Union

Interview With Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Interview With Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX); Interview With National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett; Interview With Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD). Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 23, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): The big bromance. New York City's Democratic socialist mayor-elect and President Donald Trump seeing eye to eye on affordability?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want him to do a great job.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYOR-ELECT: I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability.

TAPPER: Is the White House now behind some of Zohran Mamdani's proposals? President Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, joins me next.

Plus: Mamdani in, MTG out? Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene doing a Beltway mic drop after turning from Trump defender to Trump antagonist.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I refuse to be a battered wife, hoping it all goes away and gets better.

TAPPER: One of her staunchest critics, Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, is here. Our political panel will also weigh in on her resignation.

And broken promise? It's exactly what the HHS secretary said he would not do. Now the CDC Web site promotes RFK Jr.'s false claims linking autism to vaccines. Republican Senator and Dr. Bill Cassidy was the deciding vote on RFK Jr.'s confirmation. He joins me live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is in the Upside Down. The same day that President Trump had an Oval Office lovefest with New

York City's new Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she's going to resign from Congress, essentially chased out by President Trump, she suggests.

Greene has been one of President Trump's most loyal supporters, but the relationship has broken down recently over his handling of the Epstein files. No love lost from the president, who wrote on TRUTH Social -- quote -- "For some reason, primarily that I refuse to return her never-ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went bad" -- end quote.

This just hours after President Trump embraced a former nemesis, Mayor-Elect Mamdani, the two New Yorkers all smiles as they bonded over affordability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: We spoke about rent. We spoke about groceries. We spoke about utilities. We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.

TRUMP: Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have, but a big thing on cost. The new word is affordability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I'm joined now by the director of the National Economic Council at the White House, Kevin Hassett.

Thank you so much for being here, Kevin.

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Good to be here, Jake.

TAPPER: So, Mayor-Elect Mamdani has touted four signature policies to help bring prices down for New Yorkers. There's universal childcare, free buses, city-owned grocery stores, and a rent freeze on rent- stabilized departments.

Is there anything there that the White House will work with Mamdani on?

HASSETT: Look, President Trump made it clear that he loves New York City and he wants it to be successful. And he brought the mayor down to talk about basically those policies and other things that we could do to make life in New York more affordable.

Now, none of those really jump off the page for me as really strong ideas. But I think that if Mamdani cares as much as he appears to for the people of New York, that President Trump obviously does, I think that there's a lot of positive work that can be done together.

TAPPER: Well, right before the election, President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani were elected. Was that just all bluster? He didn't mean it?

HASSETT: Well, it feels like he doesn't mean it now.

And I guess we will have to wait and see what Mamdani does. I think that we are really reassured that we have kept the police commissioner. So, in previous administrations in New York, we have seen law and order really go south.

As you know, Jake, I have lived in New York quite a while. I was a professor at Columbia and NYU Law School. And New York always feels like the safety is on the edge. And so the fact that Mamdani, the mayor, has agreed to keep the police commissioner is a kind of sign that maybe he will be able to work together with President Trump.

We're sure hopeful that we can. And President Trump really wants to work with everybody who cares about the future of the American people. We're at times disagreeing about policies, but I think that the objective of making life better for everybody is something that a lot of people share on the Democratic and Republican side.

TAPPER: Let's talk about affordability.

In a TRUTH Social post, the president said prices are -- quote -- "already coming down" -- unquote. Now, it is true some items are coming down. That's accurate, but, overall, prices are going up. Prices in September were 1.4 percent higher than in January and 2.4 percent higher than they were in September 2024 under President Biden.

[09:05:09]

Is this actual data being kept from President Trump?

HASSETT: No, I -- look, the inflation is coming down. There are a lot of prices that are coming down. Inflation is coming down.

And I think that if you go year over year, then you're putting the really high Biden inflation years for the second half of last year, you're saying that's President Trump's fault. Don't forget that December and January, looking at 0.4's and 0.5's for inflation. So you multiply that by 12, you get really big inflation numbers.

So inflation is coming down and the prices of a lot of things are coming down. But the bottom line is -- and this is something that I really would like to emphasize -- is that because of the higher inflation and because of the higher interest rates, the typical mortgage for the average American in the U.S. went from about $1,200 to about $2,400.

That's the monthly payment. At the same time, because grocery prices went up at 1.9 percent, on average, 5 percent, then that added hundreds and hundreds of dollars more of expenses per month. We did some estimate at the National Economic Council that, all in, the extra monthly cost or extra annual cost for all that stuff, the higher mortgage and everything else under Joe Biden, was about $25,000 for a typical family. And so we're making progress. The mortgage rate has come down a couple

hundred dollars a month. A lot of grocery prices have leveled off or come down. But there's a lot of progress to be made and we understand why people are frustrated.

And it goes to show why inflation is such a terrible thing and was such a powerful political influence. I'm sure that inflation is one of the main reasons why Trump won in a landslide.

TAPPER: Right, but the prices are up more than 2.2 percentage points from last September compared -- September 2024 compared to today.

And, yesterday morning, President Trump posted on TRUTH Social -- quote -- "I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my political career. While my great work on the economy has not yet been fully appreciated, it will be. Things are really rocking."

I don't know what poll numbers he's referring to, because CBS News/YouGov has 75 percent saying the president's not focused enough on lowering prices. FOX poll, Trump's lowest economic approval rating of his second term, just 38 percent, a plurality, saying he's actually making things worse.

Vice President Harris writes in her book about President Biden that top Biden aide -- quote -- "Mike Donilon would filter the data from the polls and present the numbers in soothing terms" -- unquote.

Is that happening with President Trump too?

HASSETT: Well...

TAPPER: Is he only getting the most positively skewed polling information?

HASSETT: Well, Jake, as you know, I'm not the poll expert, but the people that are, are briefing the president all the time.

And the bottom line is that, if you look at where the economy is moving, that there have been a lot of positive movements. And so you mentioned the prices. You keep going back to Joe Biden's higher prices of the fall, but real wages this year are up about $1,200 so far this year because of all the jobs that are being created by the trillions that are coming in for capital spending and so on.

And real wages, which is real purchasing power, dropped about $3,000 under President Biden. And so I think, in the end, people are going to look at their pockets and decide, am I ahead or am I not? And I think that they're going to find that they're ahead.

There's one thing that we have also noticed if you look at sentiment, which isn't really polling, that sentiment tends to go really south when there's a government shutdown. And that's something that just happened now. We saw a Michigan survey that was very disappointing.

TAPPER: Let me just ask you. Prices are about to get a whole lot worse if Obamacare subsidies are not extended. There is a bill, a bipartisan bill in the House. Congressman Don Bacon

is the lead Republican or one of the lead Republicans on that, a Republican from Nebraska, to address some of the issues that Republicans have with the Obamacare premiums, while also extending them.

Is that something that President Trump would sign if it arrived on his desk, some sort of compromise to extend these premiums, so so many Americans, millions don't have their premiums go up without any support?

HASSETT: Well, what President Trump has said is that he's looking forward to working together with Congress to work on this problem.

The bottom line is that I think that what Republicans are saying is that, when we started to put the big subsidies into Obamacare, that basically most of those subsidies went into the insurance company profits. And so, in fact, the inflation for the Obamacare premiums was about double that for private insurance.

And so what President Trump has said is, let's give people the money in something like a health savings account and let them decide which Obamacare policy they want to buy, and that will help put down their pressure on these runaway premiums for Obamacare.

TAPPER: All right, Kevin Hassett, thank you so much for your time. Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving with your family.

HASSETT: Thanks, Jake. Great to see you. And happy Thanksgiving. I hope it's good in Philadelphia.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Thank you.

Coming up: Marjorie Taylor Greene stuns Washington by announcing her resignation. I'm going to talk with somebody who's been repeatedly a nemesis of Greene, Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas,

Plus, Senator and physician Dr. Bill Cassidy joins me to talk about the red line that RFK Jr. just crossed on the CDC Web site, plus Cassidy's plan to address Americans' soaring health care premiums.

Stay with us.

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[09:14:22]

TAPPER: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia stunned Washington once again this week. She announced that she's going to resign from Congress on January 5.

Here to discuss is one of Greene's biggest adversaries in Congress, Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us.

I want to start with the shocking announcement from Congresswoman Greene. What went through your mind when you first heard she was going to resign on January 5?

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): You know what?

Honestly, I was like, you have got to be kidding me. You're on the other side of the president for one week and you can't take the heat. Imagine what it is to sit in my shoes, to not only be on the opposite side of him, but to have people like her who are constantly fanning the flames of hate.

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And imagine what those threats look like when you literally are someone like me. But, at the end of the day, I know that I serve the people of Texas 30, and so my job isn't to be there and necessarily do whatever is going to make the president not be on my back, but instead is to focus on making sure that I can push forward with policies that are positive for Texas 30.

TAPPER: Here's an excerpt from her resignation video. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREENE: Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, trafficked and used by rich, powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, she seems to be suggesting that it is their disagreement over the release of the Epstein files that is causing this shocking political breakup. What's your response to that?

CROCKETT: I mean, listen, he's upset with Thomas Massie, and so he's gone after him. He's upset with Boebert. He's upset with any Republican that actually signed the discharge petition.

But, somehow, they were able to weather the storm. So this really speaks to the fact that Marjorie, who has been an instigator of a lot of this hate that we see as it relates to the MAGA movement, it's just interesting that I don't know if she really fully understood how bad she was making it for other people.

And now that they're doing it to her, I just got to say, well, why is it that everyone else is able to stand, and you can't?

TAPPER: The House Oversight Committee, which you're a member of, said Friday night that your committee is expanding its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Do you have any idea what this expanded investigation might include?

CROCKETT: I do not, not at this point in time. We are -- well, I will say leadership is keeping it under wraps to make sure that we can hopefully not have many more obstacles. If you will remember, we decided that we were going to put out a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell, and the next thing you know, the president's henchman showed up to herself, and the next thing you know, we didn't have our sit-down talk with her, which I imagine would have gone a little differently if we had.

So we're keeping that tight-lipped for now.

TAPPER: The chairman of the Oversight Committee, James Comer of Kentucky, says that Democrats are just trying to use these files to smear the president.

Do you -- just to be clear, do you or your colleagues have any idea about what's in these files, one way or the other, relating to Trump or not?

CROCKETT: Absolutely not.

I mean, here's the reality. If we did have that information, I don't know that we would need it necessarily to be released. And we know that the Republicans keep saying, figure out what it is that Democrats have done and make sure that you can pull out the Democratic stuff and make sure you get rid of all the Republican names.

Listen, I don't really care who is in the files. At the end of the day, right is right, wrong is wrong. And if you are truly about law and order, then we should be looking for who it is that has broken the law and in what ways.

And we need to better understand who potentially in government allowed for a lot of these things to take place, whether we're talking about the fake immigration paperwork that we have heard from a lot of the survivors, whether we're talking about other foreign governments that have participated and who it was that allowed for that, whether we're talking about the sham organizations, the sham modeling agencies that were nothing but a front for trafficking.

We need to know whether or not they still exist in some other iteration. This is about not only making sure that the survivors get justice, but making sure that there aren't others that are going through a similar system right now.

TAPPER: There was a back-and-forth this week after you accused former Republican Congressman, now EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin of accepting campaign donations from Jeffrey Epstein. It turned out it wasn't convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It was a Long Island neurosurgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, different person.

You corrected the record. However, now the neurosurgeon is telling "The New York Post" that he is threatening revenge against you. He's going to donate to your campaign, so you have to admit you accepted money from a Jeffrey Epstein, if not the Jeffrey Epstein.

What's your response to that? (LAUGHTER)

CROCKETT: Listen, if there's anybody else who's alive and decides that they want to donate just so that you will be on my FEC report, I am here for it. I will take your donation, especially since Jeffrey Epstein is now deceased. I don't think that it will be confusing whatsoever that it was not him, unless he's come back from the dead. So we will see.

TAPPER: So you are, we're told, weighing a decision on whether to jump into this Texas Senate race challenging Republican Senator John Cornyn for his seat, although it's unclear that Cornyn will survive a Republican primary.

[09:20:00]

You said you had a meeting this week with pollsters to discuss your chances. Did you have that meeting? And, if so, how did it go? Are you still thinking about running?

CROCKETT: I am still thinking about running. We did get our polling back. So we are moving on to the next phase to determine whether or not this is -- would make sense in the moment and if the infrastructure can be built out in the way that I see it being necessary to actually be able to win, as well as we are continuing to look at the polling on the other side.

Listen, they are in a civil war right now on the Republican side as it relates to who will become their nominee. John Cornyn has served the state of Texas for decades at this point in time in some capacity. And, right now, I don't know if he's MAGA enough to make it through his primary.

But we are evaluating all things and seeing what it would look like to put together a team. And we will make a final decision by Thanksgiving on whether or not we're going to ultimately move forward.

TAPPER: What did the polling information that you got back show? I mean, is it a calculation of whether or not you're going to be facing Cornyn, who might have more appeal to moderates in your state, centrists in your state, as opposed to a more MAGA candidate who potentially defeats Cornyn in the primary that you might or any Democrat might have a better chance against?

CROCKETT: I will tell you this, that, head to head, we are doing really well against Paxton. I will say that.

I will also tell you that we are actually within the margin of error as it relates to John Cornyn. So, to be perfectly honest, the only reason that I'm continuing to consider whether or not I do this is because my polling says I can win. That is the bottom line.

But, at the end of the day, a poll is a poll. And so you need to actually be able to execute on that. So, whether it's Cornyn or whether it's Paxton, we feel confident that we can get this done. The thing is, we obviously would prefer to have Paxton. TAPPER: Right. He will be easier to beat.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. Have a great Thanksgiving with your family.

CROCKETT: Same to you.

TAPPER: Next on STATE OF THE UNION: Health care premiums are about the skyrocket for millions of Americans. Republicans are scrambling to come up with a plan.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy joins me next with his proposal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:44]

TAPPER: Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he personally instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change on its Web site the subject of vaccines and autism this week to something highly disputed by the scientific and medical community.

It now reads -- quote -- "The statement vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim. Scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism" -- end quote.

Again, just to be crystal clear, experts say that those statements are false. The American Medical Association posted Friday -- quote -- "Despite recent changes to the CDC Web site, an abundance of evidence from decades of scientific studies shows no link between vaccines and autism. Extensive and rigorous studies consistently show that vaccines are safe and effective" -- end quote.

Joining us now to discuss, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. He's the chairman of the Senate Health Committee. He's a medical doctor.

Dr. Cassidy, I know you want to talk about your health care proposal, and I promise you we will get to it, but I do want to ask you, because RFK, Jr. promised you that he wouldn't do this. Here is an exchange you had with him during his confirmation hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): If the data is brought to you and these studies that have been out there for quite some time and have been peer-reviewed and it shows that these two vaccines are not associated with autism, will you ask, no, I need even more, or will you say, no, this -- I see has stood the test of time and I unequivocally and without qualification say that this does not cause autism?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Not only will I do that, but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise. CASSIDY: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Dr. Cassidy, he lied to you.

CASSIDY: Well, first, let me say what is most important to the American people, speaking as a physician, vaccines are safe.

As has been pointed out, it's actually not disputed. It's actually quite well proven that vaccines are not associated with autism. There's a fringe out there that thinks so, but they're quite a fringe. President Trump agrees that vaccines are safe.

And if you look at the consequences of not taking vaccine, there's two children dead in West Texas from not taking a measles vaccine. There's a woman pregnant who lost her child because she was exposed to someone who did not have the measles vaccine. There's children in my state who died from things like pertussis recently because they weren't vaccinated.

So, discuss this with your doctor. Vaccines are safe. That's the most important message.

TAPPER: Earlier this year, you started sounding the alarm about those two unvaccinated children in Texas who died. And, obviously, measles is a vaccine-preventable illness.

How worried are you that this change to the CDC's Web site and Secretary Kennedy's other actions are going to result in more dead Americans?

CASSIDY: Anything that undermines the understanding, the correct understanding, the absolute scientifically based understanding that vaccines are safe and that, if you don't take them, you're putting your child or yourself in greater danger, anything that undermines that message is a problem.

And so I want to make America healthy again. I want to -- I agree with President Trump, vaccines are safe. And so I just encourage everybody, if you have got a question, discuss with your physician.

[09:30:03]

I will say, Jake, I have never met any parent who wasn't a pediatrician as well who actually reads the CDC Web site. So the most important thing is discuss it with your child's physician or your physician. Vaccines are safe. They're indicated. Please get vaccinated. Protect yourself. Make your family healthy.

TAPPER: You were the deciding vote that allowed RFK Jr. to ascend to the role of health secretary. Here is how you explained that vote on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CASSIDY: If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations without changes.

CDC will not remove statements on their Web site pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So you just said that you have never met anybody other than pediatricians who read the CDC Web site, but, back then, you were talking about the importance of the CDC Web site.

Watching this, did you give RFK Jr. too much credit? What are you going to do now to push back against this?

CASSIDY: Well, first, I'm not minimizing these changes. They are important, because you need to send the consistent signal that vaccines are safe. I will just say that. And, again, President Trump agrees that vaccines are safe and important and that that should not be undermined.

If you -- as we both know, there's an asterisk associated with that change on the Web site. And the asterisk reflects a conversation he and I had, but I will leave it at that. The fact is, the scientific community agrees that vaccines are safe. Talk to your physician. Keep your family safe. Don't be misled.

And don't let your child be one of those who dies who wouldn't have died had your child been vaccinated. That's all I can say. Speaking as a physician, as a parent and a grandparent, there are things more important than ideology. There's things that are important as your child's health. And get your child vaccinated.

TAPPER: As you know, this goes way beyond just vaccinations. A member of the Kennedy family this weekend, Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK's granddaughter, she has a moving essay in the New Yorker about her fatal cancer diagnosis.

And in it, she writes -- quote -- "As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby" -- that's a reference to RFK Jr. -- "cut nearly a half-billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers. He slashed billions in funding from the NIH."

And she goes on and on and on. RFK Jr., according to his own family, is causing real damage to the health of the United States of America. You don't seem willing to criticize him by name at all, unlike members of his family.

CASSIDY: So, Jake, clearly, clearly, this conversation, you want me to be on the record saying something negative.

And, of course, it makes news if Republicans fight each other. I get that. TAPPER: I don't even know that he's a Republican.

CASSIDY: I'm rather focusing upon -- or whatever. But you know.

But I'm all about, how do we make America healthy? And I speak as a physician. And I don't think the tit for tat is what people are about. I don't think the inside the Beltway, oh, he said, she said, he said, he said.

I think what's important, Jake, and what we should be focused on right now is, how do we make America healthy? You mentioned health care costs. Right now, some insurance policies are so expensive that people cannot afford the deductible, so they don't get the needed care. That actually has more of an impact upon making people healthy than the "New Yorker" essay, which is a good essay, I understand. I'm not minimizing.

But if we're actually going to speak about what's important to the American people, get vaccinated, discuss with your physician, but also how do we help it so you can afford the health care?

And so, Jake, I know it's titillating, but I think we need to move beyond the titillation and actually what matters to the American people.

TAPPER: I'm going to turn to your health care plan because I know you really want to talk about it, but I will just say, this isn't about titillation. This is about the fact that you are the chairman of the Health Committee and you voted to confirm somebody that, by all accounts from the medical and scientific community and his own family, including his dying cousin, this health secretary is actually making America less healthy when it comes to vaccines and studies.

But let's turn to your new health care plan because I know you really want to talk about it. You're proposing this change to Obamacare subsidies. You want the premium tax credits to be converted into federal contributions into health savings accounts -- we just heard Kevin Hassett say a similar thing -- so that Americans can use this for out-of-pocket health care costs.

There are, right now, millions of Americans who are about to lose health insurance in weeks when these Obamacare subsidies expire. Is there anything in your plan that will stop that?

CASSIDY: Absolutely.

If you take the same amount of money that under the extended -- there's two types of Obamacare subsidies. There's the baseline. We're not touching that. There's the other, which are called the enhanced, started under the Biden administration because Obamacare policies have become so expensive, so expensive, they had to subsidize the subsidy.

[09:35:15]

What we would do is take the enhanced premium tax credits and would still make sure that patients don't pay too much as a percent of their income for the insurance, but we would take the extra amount that's available and put it into a health savings account.

Now the person, when they have a policy with the $5,000 deductible, has $1,000 or $2,000 in their health savings account to help pay for that. And the way we afford it, when you give money to insurance companies, 20 percent of that goes for profit and overhead. That's under the Obamacare law; 20 percent goes for profit and overhead.

And, by the way, they have to give you permission to get the care that you know you need. Under our plan, 100 percent goes to take care of patients. It goes all to the patient. And they get -- they don't have to seek permission. They can use all that money for the care they know they need.

It gives power to the patient. So, yes, we're working on it. Yes, we can do it. And, yes, I think we can have it ready for 2026.

TAPPER: Several Republicans are also pitching different health care plans of their own, including Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott. Have you gotten buy-in from other Republicans in the Senate for your plan? Have you spoken with President Trump about it?

CASSIDY: So, Rick Scott's plan is more for 2027. He's got some really good stuff, a lot of stuff that we are overlapping. And so we have to certainly consider, how do we lower health care costs in the long term?

If you will, I think it's a two-step process. First step would be, what do we do about this coming year? Because we have got to help Americans this coming year. Obamacare has become the Unaffordable Care Act, and these deductibles that people have are just unaffordable too.

So how do we help them this coming year? And then how do we help our entire country after that? And Rick's more about after that. I'm for after that too, but also about this coming plan year and working very closely with the Trump administration.

I was texting yesterday, because I worked all day yesterday on this, and texting last night with members of the administration. Let's get it done.

TAPPER: Republicans are working up against a tight deadline. I mean, Obamacare subsidies are set to expire in just over five weeks and there -- your party has yet to come to a consensus on a plan.

Do you have full confidence that this can be done before America spirals into an even worse health care crisis than it's already in?

CASSIDY: So, yes, I do.

Henry Ford once said, whether you say you can or you say you can't, you're always right. And, by the way, a lot of the legal framework of what we hope to do is already in place. What we're really talking about is about Americans still being on the exchange, but choosing a bronze plan, instead of a silver plan.

And the metal levels, you can look up, but bronze plans tend to be less expensive. Why? Because they have a higher deductible. But, wait, we're going to get people money in their health savings account that helps pay for that deductible. So, on net, the cost of being insurance -- of being insured is less.

The cost of the premium, plus the cost of deductible, would be less under our plan than under the status quo. And did I say, power to the patient. You can get the health care that you know you need, as opposed to the health care that the insurance company gives you permission to get.

So we think it's a better plan, power to the patient, not profits to the insurance company. And I think it can be ready.

TAPPER: All right, still to come -- thank you so much, Senator, Chairman and Dr. Cassidy. Really appreciate it. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving with your family.

CASSIDY: You too, Jake.

TAPPER: Still to come: What's next for Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene after her stunning resignation announcement? Is 2028 calling?

My panel will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREENE: Republicans will likely lose the midterms and, in turn, be expected to defend the president against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.

TRUMP: Once I left her, she resigned because she wouldn't have -- she would never have survived a primary. But I think she's a nice person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What a mysterious and bewildering breakup.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene explaining why she's leaving Congress January 5, directing much of the blame at President Trump.

My panel is here to discuss.

Congresswoman Elfreth, that's your colleague announcing that she's stepping down, seemingly blaming most of it on Trump and seemingly blaming it on the breakup over the Epstein files.

REP. SARAH ELFRETH (D-MD): Yes, listen, she did the right thing this week unequivocally, signing that discharge petition, releasing the Epstein files.

TAPPER: Was that this week? ELFRETH: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

ELFRETH: Monday. It's been a long week.

And she's right on health care affordability. Now, she's welcome to sign that discharge petition and actually get the ball moving on ACA subsidies. But she's also contributed to the chaos that is the institution. And between her and a couple other actors, I mean, this week in particular, it just felt like we were a reality TV show.

Andy Cohen might as well be producing us at this point. And we all have an obligation to turn this ship around, because the American people are just rightfully distressed about the whole thing.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Shermichael, Shermichael, I want you to listen to what Congressman Ro Khanna said in reaction to her stepping down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): She probably has more populist instincts than J.D. Vance, who is the front-runner on the Republican side. It would not surprise me if she runs in 2028. And I actually think she's more in touch with some of the populism that fueled Donald Trump's rise than Trump and Vance are these days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:45:04]

TAPPER: Now, I don't know how much our friend Ro Khanna is being a mischief-maker there, but what do you think about her running for president?

(LAUGHTER)

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I absolutely don't see that. I have also heard people say, well, maybe she will run for Senate in Georgia. That's unrealistic to me.

I think the president's new posture against her makes that very difficult for MAGA-leaning Republicans in the states. And then the second question becomes, well, could she run as a more traditional conservative, contextually speaking, someone like a Kemp?

Well, those Republicans absolutely dislike Marjorie Taylor Greene. So I'm thinking there's some other opportunity, perhaps in the media ecosystem, that she's looking at.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

SINGLETON: But I think her future life in politics is over, Jake.

TAPPER: What do you think about the speculation she might run for president?

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, I think she's a swampy grifter, and she's going to do whatever it takes to make money.

I mean, Marjorie's pension does not vest until January the 4th. So she's resigning on January the 5th.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

TODD: She also knows that, by dropping out, she makes life hard on Mike Johnson for six months. We will go down to 434 members of the House. Majority is still 218. She's undermined Mike Johnson every chance she can get. She's undermined the president every chance she can get.

Also, she can draw attention and clickbait to herself. So I think her next move will be something to make money.

BEDINGFIELD: I totally agree. I think we're going to hear the announcement of "The Take With Marjorie Taylor Greene" or what have you at some point in the next few months. That feels like realistically the next place for her.

And I was going to say the same thing. She's trying to make life as hard as possible for congressional Republicans moving forward. There's obviously a lot of personal grievance with Trump. And she's certainly, I think, done admirable -- not just admirable, but important work in holding Trump's feet to the fire, keeping congressional Republicans moving forward on forcing the Epstein disclosure.

So I can certainly acknowledge that for her. But I also think this is emblematic of the larger trajectory of the MAGA movement. Trump is starting to enter slowly a lame-duck period. And you're seeing divisions, not just on the Epstein issue. You're seeing it on questions around Israel. You're seeing it around questions of American...

TAPPER: Health care subsidies.

BEDINGFIELD: Health care subsidies.

TAPPER: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: American assistance overseas. These questions are only going to continue to foment. And we're -- it's going to be a challenge for him to continue to have the same iron grip that he's had on the Republican Caucus.

TODD: Well, the portion of the so-called Republican Party that's anti-Israel and pro-welfare can leave. And if Marjorie Taylor is going to start that exodus, that's fine with most of us.

TAPPER: You know, what's interesting about this is, like, previously, the Republicans that President Trump has essentially chased out of the party or chased out of service are more traditional mainstream-ish characters. Thom Tillis is retiring. Don Bacon is retiring. And then, of course, you have the whole history of Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney, Jeff Flake, Bob Corker.

SINGLETON: Yes.

TAPPER: This is the first -- and maybe I'm wrong, but as far as I can remember, this is the first, like, MAGA Republican that he has essentially chased down.

SINGLETON: Well, yes. And it's because of her posture on the Epstein files, which the president, by the way, ultimately did sign. So, at some point, I presume the American people will know what's there.

I think this is a bit of political posturing from Democrats. They had an opportunity in, what, 2021, 2022, when they controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House, to do what they're now saying is at the feet of Republicans, what they're attempting to blame the president on.

And despite the president's criticism of Marjorie Taylor Greene, think about someone like Thomas Massie, who the president has criticized significantly. Massie appears to be raising a lot of money. I'm not exactly sure, Brad, if he will lose that race. We will see.

But I bring that up as an example to say that, if she did not decide to step away from Congress, she probably would have won her reelection, from some of the local polling I have seen.

TAPPER: Yes.

Let's turn to another subject that also has to do with your colleagues, which is...

ELFRETH: Yes.

TAPPER: ... there are six Democrats in the House and Senate who issued this video basically saying to members of the military, reminding them you don't have to disobey -- you don't have to obey illegal orders.

President Trump talking about how that's sedition, which it isn't, and talking about how it's punishable by death. And then, last night, he wrote on TRUTH Social -- quote -- "The traitors that told the military to disobey my orders should be in jail right now. It was sedition at the highest level, and sedition is a major crime."

Again, sedition needs to involve a threat of force, which this did not. And also he didn't say disobey orders. He said disobey illegal orders. But, that said, what's your reaction?

ELFRETH: Well, I'm really grateful I woke up in a country where the president doesn't dictate who goes to jail, number one.

Number two, I serve with a lot of these folks on the Armed Services Committee. We all sworn oath to the Constitution. They served their country in uniform. They were simply advising their constituents on a really sticky legal issue.

And we should be concerned, most importantly, with not just the safety of our military, but the legal liability of our service members.

SINGLETON: Democrats are a joke. The military troops are trained to know what to do if they're given an act that is illegal. They will not follow it.

Why did they do this? Because they were hoping that the president would respond the way he did. Thankfully, he cleaned it up. But there's no political gains out of this.

BEDINGFIELD: Can I just say, I grew up in the South. We have a phrase a kicked dog hollers. And the president's response here indicates that he's a kicked dog.

And I think the fact that he's gone to this -- in a moment of incredible political high intensity in this country, to go immediately to this should be punishable by death is an incredibly dangerous thing.

[09:50:09]

TAPPER: Very quickly.

TODD: This is highly irresponsible by these Democrats. They are trying to shred the chain of command.

No one's giving illegal orders, and every soldier knows they don't have to obey them. This was a dangerous, irresponsible move.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: So, happy Thanksgiving everyone.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful time with your family and friends.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Much more to come on this Sunday morning, including two more surprise announcements from the nation's capital.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:55:07]

TAPPER: It was an exciting week for the STATE OF THE UNION family here, as we welcomed not one, but two new babies on the same day.

First, our executive producer, Rachel Streitfeld, gave birth to a wonderful baby boy. He weighed five pounds, 11 ounces, 18 inches long. And, just hours later, our supervising producer, Greg Hughes, and his wife, Molly (ph), welcomed their baby girl, Hazel Patricia Hughes (ph). She weighed seven pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

We're sending all of our love and support to Rachel and Greg as they soak up this special time -- look at those faces -- special time with their family. We can't wait to meet these adorable new babies. Congratulations, guys. We love you.

Thank you for spending your Sunday morning with us. "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" starts next day.

I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving with your family and friends.