Trump Backs Hegseth Amid Impeachment Push

0:01Happening now, A+++. President Trump gives Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth high marks after he comes out with guns a-blazing, defending himself against an impeachment vote. Also, a second evacuation. New reporting that the U.S. military has moved aircraft from a second U.K. airbase following a threat from Iran. Plus, an Ohio State fraternity is temporarily suspended after this disturbing video surfaces of two people engulfed in flames surrounded by a crowd of people. And a new warning from the FDA linking Ozimbic and Zep bound to a condition that could result in loss of eyesight. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

0:46I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off and you're in the Situation Room.

0:57Happening now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth going on the defensive this morning. He held his first news conference since May to fight back against a Republican-led effort to impeach him. A key House vote could take place as soon as today. What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight. And it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle. A personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it. It's a farce and it's a stunt.

1:40And everybody knows it. Outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massey is accusing Hegseth of breaking laws and violating the Constitution from the war in Iran to the military strikes against alleged drug votes. He says the administration will turn its back on Hegseth. They stand by them until the day they don't. You can't expose any weakness in these press conferences and they still put it at a high probability that Pete Hegseth won't make it until December 31st of this year. You don't think he'll make it till the end of the year? I think there's a high probability he will not make it. Well, this morning, President Trump is defending Hegseth, at least for now.

2:19Quote, Pete Hegseth gets an A++ plus for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated former Congressman Thomas Massey, a total loser. End quote. No love lost between Massey and Trump either. We're following all the latest developments. CNN senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen is here in the Situation Room. And Mani Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill. Zach, let's begin with you. What are the big takeaways from how Pete Hegseth is defending himself? Yeah, Hegseth used his first press briefing in about six months to make a personal appeal to his boss, President Donald Trump, really characterizing this impeachment effort as a fringe push by one Republican congressman, and one that is essentially meritless and a personal attack on him and the president of the United States.

3:05And based on Trump's post after this briefing was over, it seems to have had its intended effect. Now, it will be it must be seen if voters will see it the same way. Obviously, the midterm elections show that Republicans and Democrats are deeply dissatisfied with the Iran war. They want the war to end. And people need to remember that that conflict is still ongoing as the Trump administration has not been able to bring about an end with a diplomatic resolution or a conclusive military victory. But still, Hegseth defending his role in the Iran war, saying that he would do it all again if he was given the chance tomorrow, saying that Massey is launching what amounts to a political spectacle, and also tying himself directly to President Trump.

3:46At one point, comparing this impeachment effort to the impeachment push during Trump's first term, where the president himself was impeached twice but not convicted by the Senate. So all of this together does appear to be the latest effort by Hegseth to remain in his job. And President Donald Trump has a very big say in whether that happens. Now, ultimately, Hexits also did something that we've seen him do frequently when he's under scrutiny, which is to characterize criticism against him as criticism of the troops. Take a listen to what he said today about that. Make no mistake about what is happening.

4:21This is not about me. Politicians in Washington have accused the sailors and the pilots who struck narco-terrorist boats of war crimes for doing their job. Senators, in cute videos, have suggested the same. This resolution is the next step. Put the Secretary on trial today and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow. So the articles of impeachment do not accuse the troops of doing anything to that effect. Hexet, though, trying to deflect blame a bit here. and count himself among the many U.S. service members who are executing these orders. But the articles of impeachment do specifically say Hegseth violated the Constitution and laws in carrying out these orders from President Donald Trump.

5:08All right, Zachary Cohen, thank you so much. All right, let's turn to Manu on Capitol Hill. Manu, does it appear that Massey has enough House votes to advance his impeachment articles? It's going to be close. It's unclear yet because a number of Republicans are still weighing whether to get behind this effort. Remember, tonight's vote is going to be a procedural vote to try to essentially kill this effort. It would require a majority of support to kill the impeachment resolution altogether. But it would only require a handful of Republican defections to join with Democrats to advance this impeachment resolution.

5:40And there are a number of Republicans who are concerned about Hexet's actions while in office and are weighing whether to support it. A couple of congressmen I caught up with last night, one of them, Steve Womack, who told me that he does not support impeaching him, Hexet, but he has raised concerns about his conduct. And also Victoria Sparks, she just was defeated in her race in Indiana and is weighing whether to support it. Do you want Hegseth to step aside? Would you prefer that? Well, you know, again, it's a cabinet position. You know, it's up to the president to decide whether Mr. Hegseth is doing the right job or not.

6:18I personally have some concerns with what has happened inside the Pentagon, particularly at the senior leadership leadership level and particularly as it concerns the U.S. Army, which, as you know, I'm an Army guy, and I have some deep concerns about some of the changes in leadership at that level. This is all just going to be a lot of, you know, just a politic, right? We have to deal with that war. It's a complicated war, ultimately. It has to be resolved, a lot of things, you know, but I'm trying to figure out that we still can pass healthcare price transparency, But you're undecided on impeachment?

6:54Yeah, I haven't. Yeah.

6:58And that's a big question, whether or not some of these lawmakers who are not coming back, the Republicans who lost their races last week, whether they actually vote with Thomas Massey or whether they also side with Republican leadership and the White House. But if Massey does succeed, his chances of passage here in the United States Senate to actually convict Pete Hexitt of high crimes and misdemeanors is essentially nil. Republicans control the chamber still. It required two-thirds majority to convict him. But nevertheless, a vote to impeach him in the House will be a very symbolic rebuke in that chamber.

7:29It certainly would. And I also want to ask you about another issue, these Republican senators who are pushing to delay GOP leadership elections on Capitol Hill. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, that's happening right now behind closed doors, a reckoning of sorts after Republicans had staggering losses and surprising losses in the United States Senate, where the Republicans could be in the majority. They could see a 56-44 Democratic majority if the races in Alaska and Mississippi go the Democrats' way. That is something, of course, nobody expected up here, particularly the Republicans who are meeting right now behind closed doors.

8:06A handful of Republican senators are trying to delay leadership elections that are happening this morning. We do expect that effort to delay it, probably to fail, and ultimately Republicans to re-elect Senate Majority John Thune as the minority leader, as the Republican leader in the next Congress. So that will ultimately happen here, but no doubt about it, soul-searching happening behind closed doors here in the Capitol at this moment. All right, Mani Raju, thank you so much. Very busy day ahead for you there on Capitol Hill. And still ahead, raising the threat level, reports of new threats to military bases in the U.K.

8:39has the U.S. military moving aircraft. CNN is analyzing the tracking data. And later, a fraternity is now temporarily suspended as Ohio State University investigates a video showing two people engulfed in flames. You're in the Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

9:02Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. My guest is Lil Jon. He's a rapper, DJ, and producer known for hits like Get Low and Turn Down for What. In February 2026, his 27-year-old son Nathan went missing near Nathan's home in Georgia. Three days later, his body was found in a pond nearby. Lil Jon has a memoir that just came out called I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me. It takes time to heal. And I kept myself busy that I didn't let myself mourn. I needed to laugh again. I needed to be silly and interact with people and feel other people's energy and make people happy too.

9:47We have to share so other people can see that they can get through it too. Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. You may have noticed gambling doesn't require a casino anymore. You can just open up your phone. It's designed to keep us coming back or maybe never even leaving in the first place. We're going to talk to Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of UCLA's gambling studies program. You're going to learn what your brain is really chasing when you place a bet.

10:25And also importantly, how to keep the game from playing you. Gambling addiction, gambling disorder is the hidden addiction. You can't smell it. You can't taste it. You can't see it. You can't have a urine drug test. Who are we talking about here, Professor? Who's the most likely demographic to be affected by this? Literally any single human on earth. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts. Happening now, the U.S. military is once again evacuating aircraft from an airbase in England. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the move at the Mildon Hall base following a threat from Iran.

11:00Flight data analyzed by CNN shows 10 aircraft being relocated to other bases and airports across Western Europe. Just last month, you may recall the U.S. evacuated B-1 bombers from a different Royal Air Force Base in the U.K. following a similar threat from Iran. So let's go live now to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nick Robertson in London. Nick, how much do we know about this actual threat? We know very little about the specificity of it.

11:37reporting that the threat level, security threat level at U.S. bases, including RAF Mildenhall, has gone up a level to level Charlie. It's not clear if it's just the threat level is the cause for these aircraft to be relocated. Five of them going to Germany, four to Spain, one to another base in Scotland, these KC-135 strato tankers, hugely important for air-to-air refuel missions for F-35s, other fighter aircraft. And these bases in the UK, the same as RAF Fairford, where those B-1 bombers were relocated from about a month ago, these are quite large bases, But there are not hard shelters for these large aircraft.

12:29So these large aircraft stand in some cases close to the perimeter or on the runway at these bases. So it's not clear if the Iranian threat is of a drone type nature. Could small drones be used packed with explosives to target these very expensive and vital aircraft on the ground? We don't know that at the moment. But what we do know is that the British prime minister, after the RAF Fairfield security incident, said that almost definitely Iran was behind that. And of course, this comes hard, as we're seeing just in Europe at the moment. The French foreign minister just a few days ago accused Iran of being behind a security attack there on freezers, turning up the temperature in freezers, destroying millions of dollars worth of goods all across France.

13:17So it does appear that the Iranian threat, even at a time while talks underway between intermediaries between the U.S. and Iran to tamp down tensions, it does appear that Iran is able to project a security threat, a potentially increasing security threat across Europe and in particular to these air bases. Nick Robertson and London for us. Thank you for bringing us the very latest. And coming up here in the Situation Room, runway rollover. A small plane, look at this, flips onto its roof. What caused the two people inside to end up upside down? And a rare warning from the FDA added to popular GLP-1 drugs we'll discuss after this break.

14:09An Ohio state fraternity is temporarily suspended and under investigation after a video captured two men on fire surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. We want to warn you what you're about to see is very disturbing.

14:33police say this incident appears to have taken place saturday in a neighborhood dotted with greek life houses including that of sigma alpha epsilon but they weren't alerted until sunday after the video gained traction online so let's go live now to cnn's gloria casmino she is covering the latest from New York. Gloria, what is the university saying about this? Well, Pamela, they are now conducting an official investigation, and that video is upsetting to look at, not just because you're watching two young men catch fire, but also because there's this really large crowd that's surrounding them that appear to just be recording, cheering, laughing, and it's only at the very end that someone appears to try and actually put the fire out.

15:17We know that these young men were taken to a local hospital by a private vehicle. They sustained injuries. They're in stable condition. But as you mentioned, the police were not called until the next day when the video had already started circulating online. We know that the incident happened last Saturday, as you said, in a neighborhood where there are a lot of Greek houses. This is what the university told us about it. They said, quote, Ohio State is committed to a safe and healthy environment and expects students and student organizations to uphold that commitment and the university's values.

15:54As I said, there is an investigation underway and the fraternity is currently under a temporary suspension while the university looks into this incident. We also know that this happened during the weekend of a big football game. so likely there were parties and gatherings that were happening as a result of that game. We've also heard from the national organization of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which represents the local chapter at Ohio State University, and they said, quote, Sigma Alpha Epsilon upholds its collegiate members to high standards of conduct and accountability. Behavior that violates these standards has no place in our organization.

16:36We are committed to holding those responsible accountable and will take appropriate action based on the findings of this investigation. Now, Pamela, you know, this is coming as we are hearing so many different kinds of stories related to these kinds of organizations, fraternities, sororities. Obviously, the Cornell University case has been in the headlines in recent months. But we've also learned about different incidents related to hazing and even students who have died as a result of hazing incidents. We have not yet confirmed whether this was a hazing incident, but we are waiting to hear more details.

17:12And police are also conducting an investigation. Yeah, very disturbing to see that video. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much. Coming up, whistleblower warning. The new CNN reporting that key paperwork around President Trump's construction projects may have been destroyed. How the administration is responding up next.

17:38Happening now, a Massachusetts judge has paved the way for a second trial for Lindsay Clancy. Judge William Sullivan denied Clancy's motion to dismiss her murder charges, saying a retrial would not violate Clancy's double jeopardy rights. The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office has not definitively committed to retrying Clancy and declined to comment on these latest developments. CNN is also waiting to hear back from Clancy's defense team. And the Supreme Court is allowing border wall construction to resume in the Big Bend region of Texas, which includes Big Bend National Park. The Trump administration is relying on a federal law that gives the government the power to waive all legal requirements to ensure quick construction in areas of high illegal entry.

18:19The goal is to construct 300 plus miles of border barrier and roads and the region. And this morning, a new warning about popular weight loss drugs. The FDA says GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and ZetBound could cause a rare eye condition that may lead to vision loss. The report says about one in every 10 ,000 patients using the drugs for a year were affected, and symptoms include blurred vision, distorted colors, and blind spots. And in Orange County, California, scary moments for two people on board a small plane. The Cessna was passing behind a much larger Boeing 737 when a blast from the jet engines flipped that smaller plane onto its roof.

19:00No one was injured, fortunately, and both the FAA and NTSB are investigating. What's happening now in battle? Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth is on the attack against Republican Congressman Thomas Massey, who is leading an impeachment effort in the House. The outgoing congressman accuses Hexeth of breaking the law over his handling of the war with Iran and military operations in Venezuela. Here's how the secretary responded this morning. That's what it is, policy disagreements. Not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.

19:38The proper remedy for a policy disagreement, it's legislation. All right. Join us now in the Situation Room is Democratic Congresswoman from Washington, Pramila Jayapal. She is chair emeritus of the House Progressive Caucus and serves on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees. Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming on. So you heard Pete Hexeth there making the case that this is all over a policy disagreement. You say you are a hard yes on impeaching Hexeth. Tell us more about why under the classification that the Constitution puts out about high crimes and misdemeanors. Well, thank you so much for having me.

20:15He is absolutely wrong. This is not about policy disagreements. I sit on the Judiciary Committee, and I can tell you that the Constitution was designed to give Congress the power, the sole power and authority over war. Pete Hegseth has ignored War Powers resolutions. He never came to Congress. The president never came to Congress. He has presided over an illegal, unconstitutional war that has now cost the American taxpayers not only troops lives but 200 billion dollars just in cost to the American taxpayer increased gas and grocery prices direct cost to the military he's now asking for another 350 billion pete hexeth is a war criminal and i don't use those words lightly but he has literally presided over civilian casualties that were not necessary.

21:10He disbanded the office that is supposed to monitor civilian harm. He has conducted illegal boat strikes off of Venezuela. This is a man who is more concerned about live streaming, military executions, and high T for the defense troops than he is in making sure that we obey both our constitution and international law. serious violations, deserves impeachment. I will be a hard yes. A war criminal, that's a serious charge there. Pete Hegseth, as he made the case today, takes orders from the president, who is the commander-in-chief. Could that be a valid defense for him? That, look, I was just taking orders from the president.

21:54What we have seen throughout history is there have been courageous defense secretaries who have told the president that they will not do certain things that are unconstitutional. Pete Hegseth could have done that as well. But he has actually built his reputation around using military might, U.S. military might, in ways that are unprecedented, that are against the Constitution, as I said, and that have resulted in severe loss of life and violations of international law and domestic law. Yes, he reports to the commander-in-chief, but the secretary of defense is responsible for ensuring that the military conducts itself in a way that is consistent with our constitution and with international law.

22:38That is not what Pete Hegseth has done. You were in the House when Democrats impeached President Trump twice. Today, Hegseth made this comparison. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed. Both times he came back stronger. And the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet. They will fail again. What is your response? My response is that the American people have spoken. They also believe that this war was unconstitutional, that it has created tremendous harm for the United States.

23:21It has made us weaker in the eyes of our allies. And I think what you will see is a hard yes, not only from Democrats, but I believe that there are going to be Republicans. Of course, Thomas Massey is the sponsor of the impeachment resolution. But I do think it is important for the American people to see us holding Pete Hegseth and all of the corruption that we have seen in this administration from cabinet members on numerous levels. We will be holding all of those people accountable. It is important. I think the American people have spoken decisively. And that is not just in blue states like mine.

23:57That is in places like Texas and South Carolina, elsewhere, where the American people are saying, how is it possible that we have a president and a cabinet that continues this corruption, that continues to ignore the Constitution? They have to be held accountable. And I think people are demanding that. So you say that the Constitution lays out very clearly what is lawful and what is not, and that Pete Hegseth violated that. He is making the argument that up next after him will be the actual troops that carried out these orders. What do you say to that? I mean, I saw the Trump administration going after members of Congress who served in the military.

24:36These are folks who were in all the branches of the armed forces who came out and reminded troops that they have the right and the ability to have courage to stand up to orders that were illegal. Donald Trump went after those people. Pete Hegseth went after those people. And I think that is just outrageous. Our troops deserve only to be sent in to thoughtful missions. This Iran war was a war that was not only unconstitutional and illegal, Pamela, but it also had no plan, no exit strategy, no plan to protect our troops. And I think that is an incredible disservice. And I think that we will continue to honor our troops and hold accountable the leaders, the Secretary of Defense who sent them into that war.

25:30Who else besides Pete Hegseth would you want to see impeached? The list is fairly long. I call it the, you know, it's an embarrassment of cruelties, frankly. There's a lot of corruption in this administration. Let's get to work in the next Congress taking on all of the ways in which this president has enriched himself. There are numerous secretaries. I think Todd Blanche is also at the top of my list. You know, I am very deeply involved with the Epstein survivors, and I believe they demand justice. They deserve justice, and Todd Blanche has blocked that. He has turned the Department of Justice into a weaponization of members of Congress against the American people.

26:16And he would probably be at the top of my list as well. But listen, I'm focused on delivering for the American people. So our agenda is to really connect these two things. They are connected. I don't think they are different. I think the fact that Americans can't afford their gas, groceries, health care, is because we have an administration that has been interested only in enriching themselves, only in putting forward and violating articles of the Constitution that protect the American people. So we will do both things, Pamela, and I'm looking forward to that day when we get to take over the gavels in the House.

26:50So how do you strike that balance? Because you heard the senator elect from Kansas, Adam Hamilton, he flipped Kansas, and he said, look, we can't spend too much time investigating. Like, that's not what the American people want, ultimately. They want us to lower those prices, and they want, this is about affordability, you know. So how do you strike that balance between accountability and affordability and delivering on those promises? Yeah. To me, they're not different, and we can do both. And actually, they are deeply connected. If you think about why the cost of groceries and gas is high, it's because we had a Secretary of Defense and a President who enacted an unconstitutional war and took the authority away from Congress.

27:34If you look at health care in this country, we have a President who has slashed health care for tens of millions of Americans while saying that we don't have money for that, but at the same time, he was enriching himself with crypto schemes, investing in a golden ballroom, you know, investing in anything that put his name on a building. And so I think that these are very related. And I think that what I have heard as I went across the country, including in really tough states that that flip to blue, is that people want to see accountability because they know that that there is so much corruption, and it is tied to the fact that they are getting nothing while the wealthiest billionaires, Trump's family members, Trump himself, are continuing to profit.

28:24And that discrepancy is part of what accountability is about. So to me, we can do both things, you know, and we're gonna have a lot of opportunities. I think we should be careful and thoughtful about picking the things that make those links most clearly evident. And so we will do that. I'll be the chair of the Immigration Subcommittee. This is an area where, again, along with affordability and corruption, the number three issues that voters went to the polls on was the cruelty from ICE and CBP and masked men that are showing up in their streets to take away their neighbors, their family members, their community members, their workers.

29:02And so we will hold this CBP and DHS accountable, and we will ensure that we restore humanity instead of cruelty to the immigration system. Just one last question for how you want the leadership to be. Do you want Hakeem Jeffries to lead the Democratic majority in the House? Well, you know, I think back to last year and I think about how Hakeem Jeffries was really instrumental in making sure that the shutdown was about health care and that we really held the line on the shutdown. That was something the Progressive Caucus was out first to, and he united the Democratic Caucus on that. Same thing on not funding ICE and CBP.

29:44This is very different than Chuck Schumer in the Senate. And I think that now what we need to do, what it always comes down to is what are the things we want to make sure that the next speaker prioritizes and how bold is our vision going to be? That is always a negotiation, not really about am I going to vote for you or not, but really these are my priorities. Because at the end of the day, you can't beat somebody with nobody and nobody else is running for speaker of the Democratic House that I know of. So that's the phase we're in right now. We're setting out our priorities. I know I want a markup on the Medicare for All, my Medicare for All bill.

30:22I want universal health care from birth to death, and we can get there. And I want a vote on the floor on that. I know that I want to rein in ICE and CBP. I know that I want to make sure we take on corruption, ban stock trading. These are all the things that I need to make sure that the next Speaker of the House has a plan for and is on board with. And so those are the conversations that are happening right now. All right, Representative Vermeule Jayapal, thanks for coming on. Appreciate your time. Well, first on CNN, House Democrats are demanding the Trump administration preserve documents related to the president's construction projects around Washington, including his proposed triumphal arch.

30:59It comes after sources tell us whistleblowers warn that key paperwork on President Trump's pet projects have already been destroyed ahead of expected scrutiny when Democrats take control. We are joined now by CNN Washington correspondent Sondland Serfati. So bring us up to speed on your new reporting, Sendlin. Yeah, Pam, there's a lot of concern among congressional Democrats, specifically about this period between now and January, when the new Democratic Congress takes over, and when there certainly will be an added layer of more aggressive scrutiny, specifically around these pet projects of President Trump's.

31:31Now, the Natural Resources Committee, this is typically not a committee we hear a lot about in terms of oversight, but they have jurisdiction over federal lands, national parks, So they will be bringing an aggressive level of oversight to many of these President Trump's personal projects, the arch golf course, many, many others. And congressional sources tell us that they have heard from multiple credible whistleblowers who have approached their committees over the last few weeks, warning of potential document destruction at the Department of Interior, specifically around these pet projects. So to follow up on that, they have now sent up over three dozen document preservation requests to agencies, to private entities like Lockheed Martin, John Deere, the Department of Interior, National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, requesting them to, in essence, stop all document preservation, retain all records.

32:24The letter that went out overnight said that they must preserve all existing documents, recover anything that has been deleted, and suspend any document destruction. Now, specifically on this account that the Department of Interior has some sort of document destruction going on, the Department of Interior said that's 100 % false. They tell CNN in a statement, quote, the department follows all federal records management obligations as directed by the department ethics officials on the likely chair of the committee however he is promising a new day here in washington when it comes to oversight of these projects he said everything is going to be on the table it is going to be an entirely new day and how is the administration responding the administration is saying that the president is really super charging these projects he He is focused on seeing many of these through before his time comes to an end in the office.

33:19But important to note here, the Department of Interior, of course, part of the administration, saying that there is no document destruction going on. All right, so Linservati, thank you so much. Appreciate it. And coming up, NASA is looking for the next generation of astronauts. How you, yes, you could apply. We'll speak to an astronaut up next.

33:43Happening now, inflation is heating up. Consumer prices rose 0.4 % last month above economists' expectations. So let's go live now. The CNN senior reporter, Matt Egan, what do these numbers tell us, Matt? Well, Pamela, this was a hotter than expected inflation report just a week after an election that was dominated by concerns about the cost of living. And this worse than expected report was driven up by things that you really can't avoid, including prices of food and gasoline as well. So prices were up between September and October by 0.4 percent. That might not sound like a lot, but that's a lot higher than what's needed to get inflation back down to normal.

34:26And that's above the 0.3 percent that economists had been anticipating. Now, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not release an annual figure because of the government shutdown that was happening at this point last year. They couldn't collect all the data they need. But economists, including at the Cleveland Fed, they're estimating that the annual rate was around 3.7%, which is, of course, way too high. When we look at the trend for monthly inflation, you can see how this metric, it did tick lower when gasoline prices came down, as there were hopes for a resolution in the Iran War. And then it moved back up.

35:01And really, the last three months, it has been elevated. Now, some of the categories to pull out here, one of the biggest drivers was shelter. That accounted for about a third of the overall increase in inflation. That's rent and other household expenses. Also, we're seeing increases for food at home. That's groceries and restaurants. Those figures were elevated. And then you can really see the impact of the war as well because jet fuel costs have gone up. So airfares or airlines are passing that along to all of us travelers. And one other thing to call out is baby food and formula surging by 5.1 percent on the month.

35:38That is the biggest on record. So bottom line here, this is just more evidence of the cost of living problem in this economy. Yeah, I mean, gosh, baby food and formula. Wow. I mean, that is essential, right, for a lot of parents. Tell us more about the gas prices that are falling. Right. Well, so there is good news on that front. In recent days, we have seen gas prices continue to come down. And look at this. The national average in the U.S. is now just below$4 a gallon. It's the first time that we've had sub -$4 gasoline since mid-July. Gas prices down by 17 cents in just the past week. However, we should also note that obviously it is not cheap to get gas right now.

36:20At this point before the Iran war started, gas prices were below$3 a gallon. Why is this happening? A lot of it has to do with the fact that oil prices have come down. There are hopes from traders in the oil market that there's going to be some sort of a diplomatic breakthrough. And so that has helped drive down oil prices. But, of course, a lot of this is coming after the fact that inflation just went in the wrong direction again, and it does remain too high. Pamela? All right, Maggie, and thank you so much. We appreciate it. And happening now, NASA is looking for its next generation of astronauts.

36:53The agency said it's giving U.S. citizens the chance to live in space and work on the moon. Other projects include building a moon base and laying the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars. With us now is NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. Hi, Nicole. So what do you think about NASA's push here to recruit astronauts to live and work on the moon? Hi, thanks for having me. It's absolutely exciting. We have so much opportunity in this next era of human spaceflight. So I hope everybody's really excited for this. You lived and worked aboard the International Space Station. That comes with its own set of challenges.

37:29What new challenges would come with living and working on the moon? There's going to be a lot of new challenges, I have to be honest. And so we're looking for people that have technical excellence, absolutely, but also those that can work on a team, that can solve problems, and that can adapt in a really difficult environment. Can you tell us a little bit more about what kind of challenges you foresee? Absolutely. I mean, we're doing something that's never done before, right? We're going to build a moon base on the south pole of the moon, and we're going to have sustained human presence on that south pole.

38:05And so we are going to lay it out. We have great engineers, but there's always going to be technical challenges. We're going to have a great plan, and then we're going to have to adapt as that plan changes. So NASA expects to make its final selection in late 2027 and begin training the next class of astronaut candidates. When do you believe we will actually see astronauts starting to build structures on the moon? Well, I think it's going to start with, you know, Artemis 3 that's going to test out the rendezvous with the landers next year. And then we'll see boots on the moon after that. We'll begin with robotic missions, setting up habitats, the connectivity that we need.

38:42and then you'll see humans. We're gonna take a building block approach to this. And there's a lot of development and technology testing that needs to be done. What is the point of a moon base? What would it accomplish? What is the point of a moon base? What would it accomplish? Well, the moon base will accomplish a lot. See, we need to learn to operate in this austere environment without constant communication with Earth. And there's a lot of resources on the moon that we need to explore. And so developing those operational capabilities and advancing the technology so that we can further explore eventually to Mars.

39:16This is the next step. All right. So for those who are interested in this opportunity, what is your advice to them? I'd say if you are passionate about human spaceflight, science and engineering, I encourage you to apply. You can go to nasa.gov slash astronauts if you want to lead the next era of human spaceflight. All right, Nicole Mann, thank you so much. And here's what's coming up all new. At the top of the hour, we're going to go one-on-one with newly elected Democratic Congressman Dr. Adam Hamowy. His top priorities now that he's in Washington. That's all new next hour.

40:02Happening now, defiant Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth comes out swinging at his first news conference in six months. slamming impeachment efforts and doubling down on what he calls the success of the Iran war. And a new trial for Lindsay Clancy, why the mother accused of murdering her three children could soon face another trial. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off and you're in the Situation Room.

40:37happening now defense secretary pete hexeth lashes out at a gop-led impeachment effort a key house vote could happen today the embattled pentagon chief is the focus of bipartisan anger on capitol hill over the war with iran and other military actions hexeth for his part is not backing down It's a farce and it's a stunt and everybody knows it. In the 250 years of our American Republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations. And in our case, successful ones at that. I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.

41:30President Trump gave Hegseth rave reviews for his fiery news conference earlier this morning at the Pentagon. Quote, Pete Hegseth gets an A++++ for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated former Congressman Thomas Massey, a total loser. End quote. And sources tell CNN that Trump and his new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, are encouraging Hegseth to fight impeachment efforts for now. Massey is still a congressman until January. He accuses Hegseth of breaking laws and violating the Constitution and believes the defense secretary is probably down to his last couple of months on the job.

42:04Well, first of all, impeachment is actually kind of a polite thing. I'm not proposing he go to prison. I'm not proposing that he be exposed to civil liability. We're just saying you need to be out of a job right now. And when the Democrats get control in January, they are not going to be as polite as I am. CNN senior national security reporter Haley Britsky is here in the Situation Room. So, Haley, the contentious tone of this news conference began even before Secretary Hexeth walked into the room. You were inside. What more can you tell us? Yeah, Pam, so we had something that I've never seen happen at a Pentagon press briefing before.

42:44A security official came out ahead of time, said we were getting a special announcement, and that announcement being that any reporters who were unprofessional or got out of line would be removed from the room. They didn't really offer further explanation about what that would mean, what an act of unprofessionalism would be in this scenario. Obviously, there were questions from reporters in the room on shouting questions, if that would be a problem, something that you know happens in these briefings all the time, especially at the White House. So that was already kind of uncertain footing that we were starting the briefing on.

43:16But the secretary proceeded to sort of give the defense that we expected him to give. He called the impeachment process, you know, said that it was over things that were simply policy disagreements, that it didn't rise to the level of impeachment. He attacked Congressman Massey and his efforts there, saying that they had plenty of support from Republicans. and Secretary Hegseth also said something that he has done in the past where he sort of says that any criticism of him is criticism of the troops who are carrying out these orders. He said that, you know, you put the secretary on trial today, the men and women who carried out these orders tomorrow, that this puts a target on the backs of American warriors.

43:55So sort of deflecting some of this criticism. Obviously, we have not heard lawmakers saying those things, coming out and saying that the women who carried out those orders should be the ones held responsible. But he also really tied himself to President Trump, showing, as you read, seemingly successfully getting the president to back him and continue supporting him, sort of likening his impeachment effort to what the president went through as well. Let's take a listen to what he had to say. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office.

44:28Both times they failed. Both times he came back stronger. and the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet. They will fail again. And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every day of the week. So we heard from President Trump shortly after this briefing saying that Pete Hegseth gets an A++ for his defense against Massey. But we're going to see ultimately what that means in Congress. We're expecting this key procedural vote later today on this impeachment effort. We have heard from Republican sources previously that many Republicans expect this to pass in the House because Secretary Hegseth does have a very contentious relationship with Congress, which he tried to deny this morning, saying that they work very well with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

45:23That is not what we've heard from sources over really the last year and a half, Pam. All right, Haley Britsky, I know you'll be keeping an eye on all of this. Thank you so much. Let's continue this conversation with retired Army General Wesley Clark. He's the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and founder of Renew America Together. So what do you think, General? Do you think Secretary Hegsus should resign? Well, I think there's a lot of weight on both sides of this, Pam. First of all, it is political. Secondly, it is, of course, an attack on a surrogate of the president. And that's clear. There are many things that Secretary Hexeth has done in the Department of Defense, to put it mildly unconventional.

46:08But I think he has certainly chilled the atmosphere. I think top ranks in the armed forces are very cautious about what they say, who they say it to, how they can work together, and obviously concerned about the kind of recommendations they could make to him. And so this is a very difficult thing that the Department of Defense is going through and difficult for our, especially for our top leaders. A number of them have been replaced without explanation or at least without a real cause to justify it. The Secretary's been on a culture war here. And all this comes on top of the fact that he's the least qualified Secretary of Defense that we've ever had.

46:58He was approved by the Senate, and so that's on the Senate. They approved him. And so there's a lot of truth and a lot of merit on both sides of this case and a lot of heat. And so we just have to see where it goes. It's certainly not good for the armed forces that the secretary of war is being impeached, but it's also not good for the armed forces. Some of the cultural war that he's inflicted on them. I just said on Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and she said she believes Hegseth is a war criminal. Do you see any evidence of that?

47:39You know, that's also in the eyes of the law depends on, you know, who's enforcing the law. It doesn't seem to me that it was legal to kill these people in the boats. They were not military combatants. They were not, under the Geneva Convention, enemy combatants that could be attacked and killed. And yet we've done this. He seems to be very proud of the fact. We know that a number of them were not involved in drug trafficking. And now the department has changed the way it does things. At first it was killing survivors. Now, in some cases, we've rescued survivors from this. So, yes, those are actions that could be brought under international law.

48:30And it was the United States that actually helped create the International Criminal Court, but then we refused to join it. And now we've sanctioned its members. So this is a, let's put it this way, panel, it's a very gnarly area. And ultimately, of course, it does come down to the politics of it. This is a political effort of impeachment, and it is essentially, fundamentally political. And so you can cite these specific acts. Any impeachment process is political, right?

49:05Ultimately, it's political. I mean, yes, you can say he's guilty of war crimes. And who's going to enforce that charge on the United States? It's only the members of Congress who can do that. So it is political. But the American people have spoken. They don't like this administration. That's what the vote in Congress was about. Now, was it about the Iran war? Was it about Venezuela? No, in my view, it wasn't. But there's a lot of pushback from people in the armed forces about how Secretary Higseth is managing his job, and that's coming out through this political process. How does the Iran war end at this point?

49:53I think the best that we can hope for is some kind of negotiated settlement. And if we're lucky, Iran gets acknowledged as one of the custodians of the Strait of Hormuz, but it doesn't charge and it doesn't exercise its authority in actual fact. But we're not there yet. And I think what you're seeing unfolding here is an effort by the administration to trade off Ukraine to Russia in return for Russia squeezing Iran and trying to get a settlement for the conflict. And that's a very dangerous and bad trade. And so this is unfolding over the next several weeks, starting today with these discussions with the proposal the administrations put out there about answering and helping Russia to redefine the security architecture in Europe.

50:52As the Europeans have said, we already got a security architecture. It's Russia that's violating it. So it starts with that, pressuring Ukraine to give in and accept neutrality, go back to the agreements that were never agreed back in April of 2020, limiting the Ukrainian armed forces to 80 ,000, keeping them out of NATO, doing a lot of things like this to please Russia in an effort to get Russia to then squeeze Iran so that we don't come out of this conflict weaker. Problem we've got, Pamela, is there's no readily identifiable military path to a solution to the conflict right now. We just don't have it.

51:36So it is diplomatic. And then we don't have the leverage diplomatically. So just to very quickly follow up, you said if we're lucky, then Iran would come out of this and be recognized as having some control over the Strait of Hormuz. I mean, that would be more than they had before this war, right? And that's exactly right. We've entered a war in which we were militarily successful in attacking the targets. We had tactical effect. We had operational effect. But we did not achieve a strategic outcome that's acceptable to us. Instead, Iran has played rope-a-dope. And in the meantime, as a result of bombing pauses and fruitless negotiations, we've given time for the Russians and the Chinese to strengthen the Iranian forces.

52:29So they're actually probably stronger than they were when they began. They've got longer-range missiles. They've got better target acquisition. They've forced our Navy further away. We're doing the best we can to eliminate their ability to block the Strait of Hormuz militarily, but they're still attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. And so it actually has sort of backfired on us. And so we can say, as Secretary Hagseth did, hey, we've been really successful. We have. We did take out a lot of targets. But the targets that we took out did not translate into strategic success. And that's been our problem.

53:09Retired General Wesley Clark, thank you. Thank you, Bambi. Looking ahead, looming deadline. Thousands of Mississippi voters have hours to make sure their provisional ballots get counted in a Senate race that could go either way. It's still too close to call right now. Cologne is still ahead, though. And the Trump administration ramps up efforts to end the war in Ukraine as deadly Russian attacks keep coming. You're in the Situation Room. We'll be right back.

53:42Happening now, a deadline looms in Mississippi to make sure all the votes are counted. Right now, in the Senate race, Democrat Scott Cologne has a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. But a week after the election, it is still too close to call. Thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still need to be processed. Right here is a live picture from inside a ballot processing center in Hines County. But Colom is confident he's going to keep his lead. We're really just waiting for Hines County to finish during that county. And my understanding is they're going to be finished by Wednesday morning, and then it's going to all be over.

54:18because, as I said, the Wednesday morning after the election, I followed Mississippi politics. It always, the affidavit and absentee ballots always treated Democratic. I knew that there were a lot of ballots out in Hines County. And if you look at what happened on Election Day, a lot of those ballots were going to be for me. And it's time to start focusing on the people of Mississippi. I'm ready to serve as their next United States Senator. Senator Hyde-Smith is back on Capitol Hill this week. she would only tell reporters, quote, we are still counting votes. CNN's Tom Foreman is here in the Situation Room.

54:50So tell us more about what's going on in the ground in Mississippi. The clock and the calendar are running out. That's the main thing that's happening right now. Take a look at the schedule that's happening right now with this in terms of the final part of the counting here, how they move through it. What you're seeing now is that, yes, it's a very, very close race right now. But when you look at what has to come in today, what has to happen next, that's where you get into the part where they're just running out of space here. They now have to go through to resolve all these issues today for the absentee ballots.

55:22They have to certify in the counties by Friday, and the Secretary of State has to certify the election results by December 3rd. Could things happen during there? Yeah, they probably could, but it has been pretty steady all along that Cologne has been out front by a little bit, remaining there, And with the clock running out, his prediction may prove right. But we'll see. We'll keep watching the count until we know. And while we wait on Mississippi, other results are still trickling in. Overnight, CNN's decision desk called another tight race involving one of Trump's big supporters. Yeah, yeah, Lauren Boebert out in Colorado.

55:57This is interesting because if you wanted any proof that this was a referendum on Donald Trump, look at what happened to Lauren Boebert in the 4th District there. She was beaten by Eileen Laubacher, who ran the Democrats there. Normally, the area where she beat her, Boebert had moved to this area because it was so strongly Republican. And back in 2024, when the state went for Kamala Harris, almost this entire district went for Donald Trump, and in a strong way. And yet, Boebert here got in trouble. This was even after Trump endorsed her and called her a MAGA warrior. She had a very, very up-and-down political career through all of this.

56:34But she won that same district by 11 points two years ago, and now she's been beaten. Very telling. Yeah. The results are also in for a closely watched ballot measure in California. Tell us about that. Yeah, this was the billionaire's tax. A lot of people were very interested in this. Do you go in and put a tax against people with a whole lot of money? It would have imposed a one-time 5 % tax on billionaires would have impacted about 250 people. The money raised would have gone to mainly to health care. There were other people who disagreed with this and said they thought there were downsides to all of this.

57:08The main thing that you saw there, you know, they thought it would hurt business. You can see it there, cause job losses, and doesn't address other budget concerns. That was sort of the con to all of this. One of the really big things that a lot of analysts have pointed out, though, is that roughly$400 million was spent opposing this measure, very little in support of it because there wasn't sort of a natural group to go out and support this. So it was really bathed in money here on the side saying, don't tax the billionaires. You'll just drive them and their businesses away. Did that make the difference?

57:43We don't know. Because they rejected it, right? Yeah, they rejected it. It could be a measure of all that money coming in, or it could be that people have not yet sorted out how they feel about this idea of taxing people with a whole lot of money, especially when a lot of those people work for companies that those people run. And they may say, I don't want you to put all this tax on this person because you'll get the money, but they'll move their business to Texas or somewhere else, and then I'm out of a job. So I think maybe it's a combination of money and people a little undecided on this. Tom Foreman, as always, thank you so much.

58:16Well, new this morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth with a defiant message after Republican Congressman Thomas Massey filed articles of impeachment against him with a key vote expected today. He called the impeachment push against him, quote, a spectacle and a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment, end quote. Let's discuss with CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and CNN political commentator, Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis. Anderson, thank you so much, ladies, for coming on. I want to go first to you, Kristen. You know, Hexeth was defiant.

58:50He didn't offer any new information. What do you think the goal of this news conference today was? I mean, I think the goal is to try to rally the president to back him in hopes that having the president 100 percent behind him, that that will reduce Republican defections. Right now, with Republicans still in control in the House and still with the numbers they have in the Senate, he needs to make sure that the Republican Party stays united in support of him. You will remember that 20 years ago, Republicans lost badly in the midterms in 2006. And the very next day, the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, resigned from the post.

59:29A lot of the backlash in that election was around the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan not going well. Arguably, the 2026 midterms are a lot about cost of living, but created, made worse by the conflict in Iran. Vice President J.D. Vance coming out saying, this is what I think the problem was. So there is a lot of attention on it. Is Hegseth the right man for this job? He knows he needs in the short run to hold the Republican Party together in support of him. And he was making several parallels to Donald Trump, basically arguing this is an extension of the impeachment efforts against Trump. He was also using some of the same lines that Trump has used over the years, basically saying, you know, they're coming after me and then they're going to come after the military.

1:00:09You remember Trump saying, yeah, the government's coming after me. You're going to be next. I mean, he was using a lot of those same arguments. What do you make of how he's trying to frame this, Maria, that this is really an attack against the military? I think Kristen's absolutely right. This was for an audience of just one person, Donald Trump. But then what does that do to the message and to the image of the rest of the Republican Party, many of whom I do believe understand what happened on Tuesday? If you listen to what Hegseth said, it is as if he had no clue what happened last Tuesday because Tuesday was a reckoning of rage by the American people.

1:00:46And he, I believe, was a big target of that rage in general because of the Iran war. And so for him to be talking like none of this happened, I think does not bode well for Republicans in the House and the Senate, does not bode well for Republicans in the next two years. And so I think that I actually have a prediction, which is we might not even have to get to impeachment for the Democrats when they come in next time if it doesn't work this time around. Because I think Donald Trump's going to get rid of him. We know that Donald Trump supports you until he doesn't. If he sees the attention continues to be on Hegseth about what a horrible secretary of defense he has been, he talks about the troops.

1:01:28I guarantee you, and I've seen some reporting on this, the troops do not like him. They do not like the image that he portrays abroad. He's an embarrassment. He is focusing on completely the wrong things, getting rid of top brass who had tons of years of experience. So I think at the end of the day, he could be the sacrificial lamb for Trump and the administration to at least show, if they want to, that they heard the American people in some small way. We'll see. Right now, though, I mean, Trump is giving him an A+++. What do you think, Kristen? Well, Donald Trump doesn't like to back down. But I do think that there are a lot of folks that think they can run the Donald Trump playbook.

1:02:09There's really only one person that can run the Donald Trump playbook, and that's Donald Trump. We saw a lot of candidates in this midterm try to— Yeah, Max Miller, for one. He was trying to fight back— Defiant, push boundaries, and I just think that a lot of people think they can be Donald Trump, and there is only one Donald Trump. Right. I think that's an important point. So I had a Democratic congresswoman from Mila Jayapal on earlier, and I asked her about who else would she want to impeach. And she said there is a long list. And she also said Todd Blanche would be at the top of her list. I mean, is this a smart strategy for Democrats to go after Trump administration officials in this way, do you think?

1:02:46Well, I think it's smart of them to make sure that the American people know that they're going to hold this administration accountable. accountability, the issue of corruption was a huge issue for the American people in these midterm elections. So Democrats absolutely have got to respond and show that they will be holding administration officials accountable. I think Hegseth is going to be the first one. I do think Todd Blanche is on that list. I think Robert F. Kennedy is on that list. I think people from Homeland Security are on that list. What that looks like, though, Pam, whether it's hearings, whether it is impeachment, I think remains to be seen.

1:03:25I think it's important for the American people to understand and realize that even as Democrats are talking about holding the administration accountable, they will also be focusing like a laser on affordability. It is not either or. It's both and. At what point do you think it could backfire for Republicans, Kristen? Backfire for Republicans? In terms of like if Democrats go too far with their investigations and impeachments and all of that, like is there a point you think it could go too far and that it would backfire on the Democrats? So I think so. I think in part because right now Democrats have, by virtue of having won as many seats as they did on Tuesday, they now have some folks that are there saying, my voters are mad.

1:04:12I'm in a very blue district. I want to go after all of these people. But there are others who are in Trump plus seven, plus eight, plus nine districts who are Democrats who have to say, I'm focused on policy, not people. And so I think that Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have a very difficult task ahead of them, trying to hold together what is now a very, a caucus that represents a very diverse swath of this country that I think not everyone is looking at the question of investigations with the same level of rage or personal focus rather than, I just want to see policy issues getting addressed, things that I think the administration's done that I would like to change the policy on.

1:04:56So then how do Democratic leaders handle that for those Democrats and those rudder areas? So I think they have to be very focused on the messaging because there are many committees in Congress, in the House of Representatives, who have a myriad of responsibilities. You have the Oversight Committee. You've had Robert Garcia on. You've had Jimmy Raskin on. They're going to be focused on this issue of accountability. That is going to be their homework. Then you have other committees that are going to be laser focused on the issue of affordability, making sure to bring back Medicaid, making sure that the Affordable Care Act can have the subsidies that Republicans ripped away, making sure to hold Republicans accountable on the Iran war, maybe not give funding for that anymore, making sure that Congress continues to have that responsibility to show the American people that they are focused on this issue of affordability, affordability, lowering costs, lowering inflation, which is still the number one issue.

1:05:54I think if Democrats can show transparency that they are focused on both of those big things, I think they're going to be fine and they're going to show the American people that they are doing what they so clamored for in these last elections. All right. Maria Cardona, Kristen Soltis-Anderson, thank you both. Thank you. Appreciate it. And coming up, the new ruling that might clear the way for Lindsey Clancy Part 2, The mother accused of murdering her three children could be tried again after the first one ended with a hung jury.

1:06:28Happening now, Lindsay Clancy could be tried again for the deaths of her three children after a Massachusetts judge rejected her motion to dismiss murder charges. The judge ruled a retrial would not violate Clancy's double jeopardy rights. Prosecutors have not committed to retrying the case and aren't talking about these latest developments. CNN is also waiting to hear back from Clancy's defense team. CNN's Jean Casares is in New York. So walk us through this ruling and the next steps here, Jean. You know, you're so right, Pam. This is a very important ruling. And we heard the argument in court.

1:07:02We saw where the judge was going, but now it's official. Now it's in writing. We have it. the judge has said that there was a reason to call for a mistrial and to discharge the jury. Now, the defense has focused, as we all know, on the lone holdout juror. And based on the final two notes from the deliberating jury, the foreperson, he wanted that juror questioned in open court. He wanted that juror discharged from the jury. An alternate would come in. And the notes were, Number one, that the juror, according to the foreperson, is unable to follow the instructions. So the judge then, one by one, under oath, asked every juror if they could follow the instructions during the deliberation period.

1:07:46They all said yes, so they went back in. He also read reasonable doubt instruction. And then a second note, he is acknowledging doubt but refusing to apply the law. Well, the judge determined that acknowledging doubt does not mean he cannot look at doubt to see if there is reasonable doubt or if beyond a reasonable doubt she should be convicted. And he ultimately decided this was a juror that just believed that the prosecution had met their burden. I want you to read. I want you to listen as I read part of this order today that came down. The judge writes,

1:08:49a favorable outcome to the case, the court's primary concern must be protecting the fairness of the proceedings and avoiding the possibility of a coerced verdict. And Pamela, he said, the judge said that by questioning this juror, when he believes he was deliberating, there was nothing that said he wasn't, could result in a coerced verdict. And that would be a disaster to our jurisprudence, he just said, in this order. All right. Gene Kassaris, as always, thank you for laying it out for us. We'll continue to see what happens next. Up next, here in the Situation Room, President Trump has his usual negotiators in Abu Dhabi right now for talks aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine.

1:09:33Why European allies worry they could get left out in the cold.

1:09:43Happening now for the first time in nine months, there is a fresh round of Ukraine peace talks. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jerry Kushner were there, along with representatives from Ukraine and Russia. The session in Abu Dhabi lasted more than four hours. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy called the talks constructive. The war is now dragged on for more than four years, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there is still a long road ahead. It's not like something that's on the verge of being solved in the next 24 hours or anything like that. But what's really important is that the Europeans are at the table.

1:10:15They'll be discussing with our people. They've been working very closely with Jared and Steve, who were there on every step along the way. And it's actually our goal at some point to expand this trilateral. So it's not just the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, but also that the Europeans be represented at that table directly with these talks. CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Payton Walsh joins us now. So Nick, how important is this acknowledgement that European allies be at the negotiating table in some form? I mean, it would not think it to be particularly odd, right, for the United States to say its key NATO allies, who it's long been decades-long alliance with, ultimately against Russia to be party of a discussion about peace or a larger infrastructure for peace across Europe and for them to have a seat at the table.

1:11:02But it's been something that Russia's been hostile against, and it is a key change. Really, the only key difference I think we're seeing in these talks compared to a similar version that happened in the middle of last year. In Abu Dhabi today, the Europeans, that's United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, sent key officials who had before this important summit between the United States, Russia and Ukraine, they had a preparatory meeting. Now, part of the White House's push here, after months, it's fair to say, of pretty awful relations between the US and Ukraine, part of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, president's envoys in this, Their broader negotiation tactic here is to frame this as a wider, in Trump's words, big, beautiful deal, about a wider pact almost between Europe and Russia for a security infrastructure.

1:11:50It kind of panders a little bit to Russia's view of the problem here, as essentially their invasion of Ukraine, nearly five years old now, as being a symptom of NATO and Europe being too aggressive towards Russia. Remember, Russia, it was that invaded Ukraine. But perhaps what we're seeing here is Kushner and Witkoff trying to rephrase this argument to satisfy that broader Russian demand and to ensure that whatever peace comes out of anything here lasts longer and deals with the wider issues here. But outside of that, there's very little room for optimism here. Just as this meeting was happening, Rubio's counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said, oh, OK, not a good idea to have the Europeans there, but let them sit in a hotel, to quote him.

1:12:34He also rejected a key demand or offer from Ukraine and for a while the United States for an immediate ceasefire. He said that would just simply let Ukraine rearm. And so I think when we see slight glimmers here of a bid to recast this or renewed emphasis or energy after the breakdown in U.S.-Ukraine relations over the past months, we're also seeing Russia really saying, look, it's not interested in the ceasefire and thinks the Europeans being at the table is a bad idea. This is ultimately, I think, about the US-Russia relationship. Do Kushner and Witkow, after the talks continue tomorrow and end, do they take the results of them to the Kremlin like we've seen in the past?

1:13:13That's possible. But ultimately, it's Vladimir Putin here who has made it clear he's not interested in an end to this war until he has his goals accomplished and then are accomplished at this point. So, yes, lots of talk and positivity about how there's progress today. No actual practical sign of it yet. and still the major obstacles in place. Pam? All right, Nick Payton-Walsh in London, thank you so much. And just ahead, from Army operating rooms to the halls of Congress, we're going to talk with newly elected Congressman Dr. Adam Hammowy.

1:13:49Happening now, as new members of Congress get their bearings on Capitol Hill, the House is gearing up for a key vote in the effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Here now is Democratic Congressman-elect from New Jersey, Dr. Adam Hamowy. He is the first Muslim elected to Congress from New Jersey and also a veteran Army combat surgeon during the Iraq War. Also want to note, you are credited with saving Senator Tammy Duckworth's life. She says that you are her surgeon and you helped save her life, which is a really interesting back story. Yes, it was an honor. I mean, I saved so many people and the fact like I was able to follow them.

1:14:26But to see her advance and become eventually in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, it represents all the other people I took care of. And it's good. Hopefully many more people went on to live great lives like that as well. Yeah, we hope so. So given the fact you're a veteran, you have a military background, do you support this impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Hegseth? I do. I mean, I think what's been happening over the last two years and how he's conducted himself has been a disgrace. and we need to have accountability and we need more people in positions, especially as Secretary of Defense, that represents the values of, you know, the United States and the people who serve in our military.

1:15:08He tried to make the case today that it'll be him now and then members of the military next who are carrying out these orders. What do you say to that? Carrying out the orders of what? I mean right now he's decimated our leadership in the military. You know, so rather than making a stronger military, he's weakened it by taking those with experience out. And, you know, what we need to do is remove the ones who are actually impeding us in advancing and hold them to it. But he tries to say that the neighbors of Congress are going to then target the troops who are on there. Is that true? That's not true at all.

1:15:45We're trying to support the troops. He's the one who's targeting our service members. When you say that, What do you mean? Well, look at all the admirals and generals that have been removed just because they stood up and had, you know, the courage to say that what you're doing is wrong and that this is not lawful and refusing to kind of just bow down to whatever he's ordering. You mean when the leadership, members of leadership that were fired, that he fired? Correct. Okay. How does impeaching Secretary Hegseth assist in your caucus's goal of putting an end to the conflict in Iran and lowering prices for everyday Americans?

1:16:22Well, one is we could end the conflict, which is increased gas prices, it's increased, you know, prices in our supermarkets, everything that's coming in around the world is related to the Iran war right now. And holding him to account also is the other half of this is having accountability for this administration and the crimes and the corruption. people are profiting off this war, and he's one of the people at the top. I want to just talk about the history behind you winning Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. I mean, Muslim candidates have made historic gains this election, despite anti-Muslim rhetoric on the campaign trail.

1:17:00What do you think about that? Do you think that this marks an end to that kind of political rhetoric? It's a step in the right direction. It's not the end. Unfortunately, there is a politics of hate and a division that's out there. We've shown that it's not working, but we still have some work to do. What kind of response have you gotten since you won? I've gotten hate myself, and it's not just me. I expect that jumping into politics, but it's against my family, against my co-workers, against my friends. But hate is loud, and what we showed last Tuesday is that that's not the majority. Americans are seeing through this that, you know, rhetoric is really a distraction to the real issues that the American people face and the people of New Jersey, you know, want to fix healthcare, they want education, they want childcare, they want, you know, our gas prices to go down.

1:17:58And so their, you know, their use of hate is just because they have nothing else to talk about. I'm sorry that your family and friends have gone through that. That's unacceptable, you as well. You have been critical of Israel. You've called for cutting off all military aid to Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome. Would you oppose funding for any missile defense systems that could protect U.S. troops in the region as well? Well, U.S. troops is one thing, but we're talking about aid to certain countries. And it's really following our own laws. Leahy laws say that we should not be providing any military aid to any country who's violating human rights laws.

1:18:34So that's Israel right there at the top, but any other country as well. And we're not asking for a new law. We're just asking for enforcement of what we currently have in place. So what about the defense missiles that could help protect military members of the U.S. and the region? When our military moves around, we have our forces that move, and that's not necessarily part of any kind of aid system. So when we go to any theater, we have, you know, our military's there. So our batteries will move, and it belongs to us, and it's under our control. That's different than giving it to someone else.

1:19:06So you don't want any aid at all, any funding for military resources, equipment to Israel? Correct. Do you see Iran as the adversary and Israel as an ally to the U.S.? Well, now what I see is that we were pushed into this war by Israel. It's not helping Americans. Americans didn't ask for it. It's illegal. It's immoral. And at this point, I think the United States and the Iranis want this war to end. Do you see Iran as the adversary? I see we pushed them into a fight, and so I think we both have to step back and say, is this helping either one of us? Are they the adversary? We're making adversaries when we should be making friends.

1:19:47They've been saying death to America for decades. We've been saying death to Iran for decades as well. And so what we need to do is use diplomacy. They've killed a lot of Americans. And we've killed a lot of them as well. So you don't see Iran as an adversary? I see that we are pushing Iran into a fight when we have the leverage to kind of bring them to the table. And we did that during the Obama administration, and we could do that again if we use, you know, diplomacy, our leverage, our both economic, not just military power, to create friends in the region, to pressure them as well, and to bring peace to the region if we want to.

1:20:25So do you see Israel as the adversary then? I see, you know, I want America to succeed. And so I want America to be at peace. I want America to have as many friends and allies around the world as possible. And we do that by, again, exerting our diplomatic and economic power to the benefit of people to make more friends rather than make more enemies. And I see that we are moving in the wrong direction. I think America today is less safe, you know, since we started the war. We are, you know, more, we've created more enemies. We've lost allies because of this. And that doesn't make, doesn't help anyone, including, I'm not even like talking about the economic impacts that we've had.

1:21:06So basically, bottom line, you don't want to say whether Israel is an adversary or ally and same with Iran. I'm saying that that doesn't help us. We're in the middle of a war right now that is making American lives worse. We're putting our troops at risk. We're creating, you know, an economic crisis that we don't need. And so the blame game doesn't help. So how do we get out of this? Yeah, but as a member, you know, you're going to be a representative, right? Member of Congress. I think people want to understand your views and have clarity of how you view various countries and whether, you know, you view the country that we're currently at war with, whether or not you agree with the war as an adversary and whether you think it's a worthy objective to make sure that they don't have nuclear weapons that could be used against our allies.

1:21:54I think that is a worthy objective. There's different ways we could do that. We could do that by going into war, putting our troops at risk and creating an economic crisis. Or we could do it diplomatically like the Obama administration did. You know, I don't agree with the Iranian government. I think it's an authoritarian government. It's a dictatorship. It's not good for its people. But going to war this way is not it's made it actually worse. It's made it more radical and it's created a crisis here at home that we didn't need. How do you suggest, and Dean, I know you want to go the diplomatic route.

1:22:27How do you see that? I mean, what diplomatically do you see happening here at this point? We did this before. It's not like we have to reinvent the wheel. I mean, we had them make concessions, and we had them on the track so that they wouldn't get a nuclear weapon, and we tore it up and threw away that treaty with the first Trump administration. I want to ask, before we let you go, who do you think is best suited to lead the Democratic majority in the House. Do you think it's Hakeem Jeffries? I think we're we're deciding that right now. So I think America spoke up this week saying that we want to change and what we need to talk about is what that what does that change mean?

1:23:09I think it's a change in direction and how we run this country. It's not about one person but it's about policies and you know addressing the issues that we were all elected on. I was elected on healthcare, not bombs. You know, we need to be taking those resources from war, putting it back home to fix our healthcare system. So this is not a Reagan endorsement for Hakeem Jeffries. It's about what's he going to do if he is elected to leader, you know? So we want to know how are you going to take this country in a different direction if you want to be elected. Okay. And we have to have that discussion.

1:23:40All right. New Jersey Congressman-elect Adam Hemmowitz, thank you so much for coming on the show, doing this interview, and taking the time. We appreciate it. My pleasure. Thank you very much. And best of luck. Thank you. Thank you all for joining us this morning. Inside Politics, our friend and colleague, Dana Bash, starts now.

1:24:18on music, wherever you get your podcasts. Even better, you can watch the podcast on Spotify.