GOP Rep Files Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth, Forces Vote

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0:33Out front next, the breaking news. Hegseth facing an impeachment vote that could come within hours as Democrats are making more gains tonight in the House. CNN projecting tonight Trump ally Lauren Boebert will lose her seat to a Democrat. And Trump demanding his Justice Department investigate Senator Alyssa Slotkin. Senator Slotkin will be out front. And the alleged spy scandal that is rocking the world. New images tonight of the alleged Chinese spy who targeted NVIDIA's CEO, a top Trump ally. What Trump is saying about the allegations tonight. Let's go out front.

1:10And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. And out front tonight, we begin with the breaking news. A Republican forcing an impeachment vote on Pete Hegseth. A vote that I indicated could be hours away. The vote in the House of Representatives could come as early as tomorrow morning. And there are likely enough votes to impeach him in the House. A really important thing to say, right? You still have a Republican House. And Republican Congressman Thomas Massey is the one leading the impeachment charge. He says Hegseth is a threat to the Constitution if he remains in office. But Trump tonight is defending Hegseth.

1:41We have multiple times given Vladimir Putin. Yeah, I'll stand by. So even if he's impeached, you're going to keep your defense secretary? We won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. Massey says he carried out a legal act. You what? Massey says that he's carried out a loser. Massey's a loser. Now, Hegseth says he's not concerned, even though the vice president said it was the war that cost Republicans the House, the Senate and state races all across the country. There's a lot of politically motivated people who may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success.

2:19And so if we want to litigate that, the success of those things, I'm happy to do it all day long. Do you have enough Republican support to defeat Constitutional Articles? Oh, we're not worried about that. All right. All of this coming, and that vote hour is away, as we are getting some more projections. And the Democrats' margin in the House is actually getting even bigger here. We're almost a week out, and some of these final races are coming in. Today, Democrats flipping another Republican House seat. We are projecting tonight that Republican Congresswoman and Trump ally Lauren Boebert is out.

2:53She was defeated by Eileen Laubacher. So you can see now we're making that call by 3 ,237 votes. Making that call today and that win gives Democrats 256 seats. There are still 15 races to be called, which could even make the balance of power even more lopsided. Of those outstanding races, Democrats are leading in three seats currently held by a Republican. So far, Democrats have a net gain of 42 seats. So that's the most since 2018. Democrats also lead in the Senate, 54 seats. And those two high-profile races, Mississippi and Alaska, are still not yet called. However, we can tell you at this moment that Democrats are leading in both of those seats.

3:34Now, Trump, six days after it was clear that this was one of the most crushing losses in political history, is now starting to say it was all rigged. He writes online, does anybody really believe that this quote-unquote election was honest? How could the polls be so wrong? Three exclamation points. Some early voting dumps were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote. It's all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter. Now, obviously, this is sour grapes, but even though the allegations are absurd, I just want to take a moment in the context of them, because sometimes when you throw, you know, seeds of doubt, they can take root, It's important to note that Democrats won in multiple states where Republicans control the count and the elections, like Texas, where Tallarico got more votes in the early vote than Paxton got combined.

4:25But Trump's turn to a rigged election, of course, is not surprising. Actually, what is more surprising is what Trump told The New York Times the day after the election. Then he said that he was, quote, absolutely willing to accept the results of the midterm elections and was prepared to work with Democrats. That was what is out of character, not tonight saying that it was all rigged. Kristen Holmes is out front live outside the White House. And Kristen, you know, you've got Trump making complaints about a rigged election yet again, as he is standing publicly behind Hegseth in the hours before Republicans may have enough votes to impeach him.

5:00And you're learning that not everybody is buying what Trump's saying publicly about Hegseth. What are you hearing? Yeah, that's true. And that was happening before Trump actually spoke about it. And even now that Trump has said this officially, I spoke to a number of allies and advisors who have talked to Donald Trump in the last two days. And they say they think there's a strong likelihood that Hegseth could still be asked to resign if he is, in fact, impeached. It could be regardless. But that's coming from conversations that these allies, these advisors are having with Donald Trump himself.

5:31Now, it's interesting to hear Hegseth there saying, we're not worried about that, when he's asked if Republicans, if they're concerned that Republicans have the vote to actually impeach him in the House. That is not the same feeling for many at the White House. There is concern that Republicans have those votes. They have been asking people on the Hill how they're going to vote. And there is a concern that he could be impeached by the House, though they don't believe it will go anywhere in the Senate. And that would likely mean that there's not a soft landing for Hegseth because it had long been kind of speculated that Marsha Blackburn, the current senator of Tennessee, who's just elected governor, would appoint Hegseth to her senator seat.

6:09And that would give him the kind of out there and give the administration an out. We have now learned that Blackburn does not intend to appoint him to that seat. I will also note that this is coming at the same time. I'm hearing increased speculation really from all corners of Trump's orbit that Pete Hegseth is going to run for president in 2028. Obviously, what happens this week and what happens in the next several weeks is going to play a role in all of that. Absolutely. All right. Kristen Holmes, thank you very much. Everyone's here with me tonight. John Avalon. OK, in the context of what Kristen just said, that everyone around him says it's a sure thing that Pete Hegseth is going to run for president.

6:45Yeah. How worried should he be that an effort led by a Republican in the House could get him impeached in a Republican House? That's the one that's going to leave a mark, isn't it? That's the one that doesn't help in a primary. And obviously, Pete Huxus looks in the mirror and sees a president who knows what else he sees. But getting impeached by a Republican Congress when the march is this narrow, when Thomas Massey is putting forward the articles and they are legitimate. This isn't just political theater. That's a problem. He also knows he's going to get impeached, if not this time, the next time when Democrats control Congress.

7:20And here's the additional calculus for Trump Co. They have an ability to pick a successor with a Republican Congress during a lame duck now. They won't have that come January. So, you know, he's going to be. Trump's hand could be forced. Yep, that's right. So watch out. And Max, you know, in that context, what John is laying out, right, that if Trump wants to get somebody to replace Hegseth, that he wants to replace him, you know, he might need to act now. Put some context around Trump today defending Hegseth and criticizing people calling for his impeachment. Here he is. Pete Hegseth won two wars.

7:58Oh, let's impeach him. What about impeaching the gentleman from Biden, his person that disappeared for two weeks and nobody had any idea where he was. What about impeaching the people that ran the Vietnam War? What about impeaching that ran Iraq and Afghanistan and all of these other wars? What about impeaching the leaders of these stupid wars that were done when nothing was gained? Again, we're not sure what the two wars are. We know one of them is Venezuela. I guess Trump's saying the round war was one. and happy news to the world. Nothing says you're opposed to forever wars than being a president where no one can count the number of wars you have actually conducted.

8:44It's interesting to see him auditioning to be his own press secretary there as well. But look, once Stephen Miller was appointed to be the chief of staff, the ship sailed on them actually waking up to the fact that the American people have rejected this war. They're doubling down. It seems ludicrous. It seems insane, but they're not going to fire Pete Hegseth. But I do think that they will be astounded by the extent of this impeachment vote, because they may not be listening to the voters, but certainly the Republican members of the House and Senate are. I mean, Tara, now the members of the House and Senate know where the public stands.

9:23So to the extent that maybe somebody was afraid to have a backbone before, voters may have given them one. Well, I'm not going to hold my breath for the intestinal fortitude or lack thereof of Republicans over the last 10 years. But now you have a lot of angry, moderate Republicans who lost, who may now say, you know, find some courage and actually do the right thing. So many of them know that Pete Hegseth was never qualified to be secretary of defense in the first place. I mean, the guy is an absolute disgrace on a number of levels. I run a women's organization. How do you think the women in the military feel that this guy is their secretary of defense when he was incredibly accused of sexual assault, where he denigrates women, particularly women of color.

10:05He's denigrated the top brass of the military. He's been an absolute embarrassment. He's obsessed with beards and testosterone. It's very odd. And what are we doing here? This is supposed to be the greatest military in the world, and he's diminishing it. And Donald Trump is standing by him after a tsunami from the American people, basically rebuking everything this administration has done, including what happened in Iraq. Nobody's won anything in Iraq or in Iran. If we had won in Iran, Donald Trump wouldn't still be up there trying to gaslight the American people into believing we've won in Iran.

10:36We can all see it and we can also see it at the gas pump. And that's why we see the margin getting wider and wider right now still as the vote count comes in. And Lauren Boebert losing. We've got 256 now at the House. I mean, this could go a little bit above 260, as Harry Enten's laid out. So Lauren Boebert loses. And look, she was a major Trump ally. A major Trump ally. This is a really close race, and we knew this one would be close. But, you know, that's another loss. And this was a seat that she'd been moved into that was supposed to be safer. Another one of the redistricting backfired. Colorado, she was moved into a safer Republican seat because she'd been in a marginal district before.

11:11So it just shows the depth and breadth of the wave. Now, this is even in Colorado. Look, there are upsides. She goes to the theater with less scrutiny going forward. That's a that's a quality of life improvement. But they're going to be. I'll let people Google that if they're curious. But but I mean, you know, this just so many Trump loyalists have been wiped out because they were were enabling a behavior that their constituents, even in conservative districts, said no mas. It's important to note, though, she was also one of the only Republicans who stood up alongside Thomas Massey concerning the Epstein files.

11:43Her, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Thomas Massey. And she was the one they pulled into the situation room, remember, last year? They were like, and tried to intimidate her into not voting in favor of the Epstein transportation, transparency, I can't talk tonight, transparency files. So I'm not surprised that she wasn't exactly in, you know, they weren't helping her. So maybe Trump should think twice before calling that one rigged. Yes, that's right. But Max, you know, he's back to the rigging. And that and that I think the real surprise was that it took a week. Yeah, I guess it's because he wasn't on the ballot this time.

12:18It took him a little bit to wake up to the fact that this was about him. Exactly. It was still about him. He's also waking up to the fact that this is a different Democratic Party than the one that previously took the House. This is a party that isn't going to be distracted by any of their ideological differences. You know, I remember in 2018, there was that that was dominating the news cycle for quite some time. It's not a Democratic party. It's going to get overtaken by like a Trump focus. You know, that they are going to focus in on the things they ran on. And I think he's pretty intimidated by that.

12:55OK, now, can I just ask, do you think Max is being hopeful or is Max being real? And I'm just referring to the fact that people like Dario Liza Chevalier, who is an avowed Democratic socialist with very different points of view than the ones that Max Rose and many moderates hold, is also in the House. And there are many like her. She is. But actually, there are only seven. We can quantify how many members of the DSA there are. And if this was a narrow margin for Democrats, that could be a real problem for Hakeem Jeffries. But it's not. It's really big. And so that tail's not going to wag the dog.

13:26So you think they really get marginalized? I think they'll, look, I think it takes both wings to fly. And the progressives will have a loud voice. But the DSA isn't going to call the tune here. And the DSA didn't win the Democrats their majority. It was moderates in the middle of the country who did. And so I think they're going to be, everyone's going to be laser focused on the economy and affordability. That's something that unites the coalition. They're going to be focused on cracking down on corruption, as they should be, accountability. But I don't think they're not going to get spun around the axle of the far left.

13:52Well, I was just going to say they should learn the lesson from the Tea Party, right? John and I lived through the Tea Party era when they came in and thought that they had a mandate. And the moderates in the Republican Party thought they could manage them, and they didn't. But they came in in a much larger number than the DSA candidates have come in for Democrats. So I know that Hakeem Jeffries is breathing a sigh of relief because he's not going to have to have to deal, manage them in a way that he thought before. It's going to be better for him because he's got such a large margin. But what about the Tea Party?

14:22Brad Lander, Congressman-elect of New York, wants more impeachments. And he wants, he wants Cash Patel. He wants, I mean, you know, he's going through the list. Is that, are there going to be more than him? I've known Brad for a long time. He spent a lot of time in elected office. But I can tell you there's a certain euphoria that comes with being a new member of Congress. And he might be getting ahead of himself in terms of declaring who will be impeached and who will not be impeached by the House Democrats. But there is absolutely no doubt that what we're living in right now is the confluence of anti-corruption and affordability issues.

14:57So you're going to see investigations being conducted that really probe the deeply corrupt nature of this administration. And those may lead where they're going to. But that doesn't mean it's a distraction from the affordability issues that propel these folks into office. Well, let's see if they can make that case. All right. They should make that case, though, because that's what people want. And if you're going to go after accountability, they should. If this bar isn't set here of what should be impeached or who shouldn't be in office, then I don't know what is. So I think they should do it.

15:26Go for the people around Trump, not necessarily Trump. Make them offended. And this is the discussion that we're going to be having and that they're going to be having over these next weeks. All right, next, the breaking news. We're watching three House races that could be called at any moment. All three of them would be big pickups for Democrats. So we're going to go to the magic wall, go through them here as we're hoping for possible calls. Plus, President Trump saying this about Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin.

15:59Well, Senator Slotkin is here next to respond. And President Trump with a final offer tonight for Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White to be his next press secretary. Set bump. Stand by your brake master. In three, two, one. Effect. Hey, 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.

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18:07Breaking news. Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith spotted tonight for the first time since Election Day. So that's a big deal. Haven't seen her in almost a full week. She is a sitting senator. The Republican senator is trailing Democrat Scott Cologne. She repeatedly refused to answer questions from reporters, saying only, quote, we're still counting votes. Now, this comes as House Democrats are on the verge of expanding this historic victory over Republicans. They've got a net gain of 42 seats, which brings their total in the House to 256 seats as of this moment. There are 14 races to be called that could significantly affect the balance of power from here.

18:45And that includes a handful of races in deep red districts, which are we just obviously at this point, they're still counting right on the cusp of potentially turning blue. Harry Anton is out front to tell us a lot of things, including things we don't know. So can we just talk about these three outstanding races in particular that are too close to call that could flip that you think matter most? Yeah. OK. So, you know, right now, what do we got? Democrats projected 256, Republicans 165. But let's go to the uncalled races. There are three races where Democrats currently lead, but they are uncalled.

19:15at this hour. And these are nutter butter in terms of how Republican they have traditionally been, Aaron. So we'll first go to Tennessee. We're going to go to Tennessee. Remember, Tennessee had redistricting. They were trying to get out all the Democrats. But Democrats had a little bit of a surprise for them. Look at this race where the Democratic candidate Victoria Broderick is ahead by just 280 votes. This is a district, Aaron, that voted for Donald Trump by over 20 points. There was no way anyone thought that this district would be competitive, but the Democrat is currently ahead there, even if by a small margin.

19:51We'll go over to North Carolina, okay? Another state where we saw redistricting, right? This is a district that went Republican, went for Donald Trump by nearly 20 points back in 2024. But look at this. Chuck Habbard, look at the margin here. It's just 99. I mean, I don't think we've ever seen this many races this close. This close, right? This is what happens. The wave, all of a sudden these races that you wouldn't think would be competitive, But Virginia Fox, the longtime incumbent, very much in trouble. And then finally, we're going to zoom all the way out and we're going to go to Minnesota.

20:23We're going to go to Minnesota. Minnesota nice. It was very Minnesota nice for the Democrats this time around. Tim Walz's old district, Jake Johnson. Look at this. Up 321 votes at this hour. Another one. I mean, OK, so these are all just incredibly tight, right? Incredibly tight. OK, now that brings me to Mississippi. You know, we hope to be able to call that at any moment. Right. And they didn't do a lot of counting over the weekend. No. So they came in to do some counting. Obviously, this would be an incredible history made. You would have a black Democrat in Mississippi if the Democrat wins.

20:57What do you see here? Yeah, what do we see here? Well, I think the key nugget here is it's just at this point, look at this. The blue line, which is Scott Cologne. The red line, which is Cindy Hyde-Smith. What you just basically see is this very steady race where Scott Cologne basically got a little bit more ahead on Friday. But there simply put, have not been that many votes that have, in fact, been counted. We're waiting on those affidavit ballots. We'll see ultimately if those go Democratic. Traditionally, they have. But of course, this year has been the year of the unexpected. So we'll have to wait and see on that.

21:28All right. And every vote must be counted. Now, tell me something else I don't know. I'll tell you something else you don't know. You know, Scott Colombe obviously trying to make history as the first black senator since Reconstruction in the great state of Mississippi. But one of the reasons that he is doing so well in Mississippi is because of how well he did with white voters. Look at this. Mississippi white voters. Look at the share of the vote he's getting. He's getting about a quarter, significantly more than Kamala Harris's 16 percent or Barack Obama's 13 percent back in 2012. Yeah, that is really, really interesting.

21:57Right. Actually, that's double. It's double. He is doubling up on Obama's share of the white vote. And of course, Mississippi majority white. You got to win white voters for a good share of them. And Colombo is doing that. All right. Harry Anton, thank you very much. And I want to go out front now to check Taylor, the chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party and a Mississippi state representative. Representative Taylor, so I appreciate your time. You hear Harry going through some of this. So Scott Colombe is on the cusp of history, but it is the cusp. We are waiting for the final count. Obviously, the race is still too close to call.

22:26They didn't count over the weekend. They say they're counting again now. When do you expect a projection? Well, we're hoping any day now, probably even by tomorrow. One thing we know for sure is that Scott Colombo has done the work, that this has been an extremely well-funded, well-organized campaign that has us right here on the precipice of winning this very valuable election. election. And to be honest, I know for a fact that there are very few places that Cindy Hyde Smith can go make up this difference. And we're confident that Scott Colombe will name the victor within 24, maybe 48 hours. All right.

23:05So you think between 24 and 48 hours, and I know, you know, Mr. Colombe had told me he felt he felt he was 100 percent sure that that's how it was going when it got there. So, you know, President Trump today is stoking claims about election fraud. And Chuck, he'd waited a week to do so. At first, he said he'd work with Democrats, but now he's out in a more traditional way for him, saying, does anybody really believe that this, and he puts the word election in quotes, was honest. Now, he didn't get into Mississippi specifically, but Mississippi does not have a set procedure in place to trigger a recount of representative.

23:39In fact, it's the only state in the United States in which that's the case. So do you worry that if Cologne wins, that Republicans are going to fight the election result or would you actually support some sort of, you know, complete recount? Well, you know, it's interesting that you say that. We know that the RNC, the chair of the RNC has basically said that, listen, we're not going to contest this race, that we believe that this is a fair race being run and we're not going to do anything to say anything different. The same has been said by other folks in the state. But for Donald Trump to be positioning himself, talking about that there's some type of election fraud.

24:22Let's just state the facts. We're in the trifecta here in Mississippi with a governor, lieutenant governor, Speaker of the House, all being Republicans, that the Senate just got their supermajority broken, but we still have a supermajority in the House. But more importantly, Michael Watson, a staunch Republican, is the election, is the Secretary of State, and therefore oversees all these elections. So there is not a Democrat in sight that has the ability to negatively control the outcome of this election. The onus is on some of these tricks and boondoggles that Republicans have put in place to actually suppress the vote.

25:01But it's not us doing it. Well, and I think it's important you lay that out. I don't like to live in a world where we have to say, well, you know, it's important. No Republicans are in charge because that means that Democrats can't do the things Trump says. But we are in a world where those things need to be said. And it's important that you lay it all out like that, Representative. So, Cindy Hyde-Smith, we haven't seen her in a week. And I know, obviously, we have seen Scott Cologne quite a few times. I spoke to him on Friday. But Cindy Hyde-Smith, we hadn't seen her yet. She was spotted on Capitol Hill tonight.

25:29She didn't answer questions from reporters. She simply said, we're still counting votes. Why do you think we haven't seen her publicly since Election Day? We're not very surprised here in the state of Mississippi. This is actually more of the same from Cindy Hyde-Smith. Some of us called her Cindy Runnin' Hyde-Smith because she seems to have a way of not engaging with her constituents, whether Republican or Democrat. So we have not seen her at a town hall or even dealing with our own constituents in the past six years. So her not being up front and center right now is not a surprise. And also, too, you have to remember that when Donald Trump came to Mississippi and afforded her the microphone, she took about 10 seconds just to praise his word and none of her own.

26:19Yeah, that was very short and it was an odd moment. Representative Taylor, I appreciate your time and thanks so much. It's good to talk to you. Aaron, thank you for having me. All right. You heard what he said. Representative Taylor expects a call here in the next 24 to 48 hours, formally on Mississippi. And next, Trump calling on his Justice Department to investigate our next guest, the Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin, again, and she responds here next. And we've got some new details in now about that alleged Chinese spy plot targeting the CEO of NVIDIA, a CEO who has been by Trump's side again and again and again, including on a trip to China where he sat with the Chinese president also at the White House state dinner.

26:59So the New York Times reporter who first broke this shocking and incredible story is our guest.

27:14Tonight, the Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin putting Trump's Attorney General Todd Blanche on notice. Her attorney, Preet Bharara, warning the Justice Department not to investigate Slotkin after Trump posted, quote, The senator from Michigan, Alyssa Slotkin, is saying that she is going to go after all young people that believe in Republican values and that give even the slightest inclination to be a Republican. That imprisonment should be against those extortionists and Republicans should get smart fast. By copy of the statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act immediately.

27:46Well, Trump seems to be referring to comments that Slotkin said last month at a University of Chicago event. I want young people coming out of school to say, should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity. I want them to be like, Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want. And so let me avoid participating in that. I want that deterrence message sent. Out front now, the Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan. And Senator Slotkin, the president is ordering the DOJ to look into you, in his words, immediately. Your lawyer is asking Blanche for a clear public statement, saying that the DOJ won't pursue this investigation.

28:32Have you gotten any response from the DOJ? We have not. I mean, all we watched was what I consider kind of a coordinated play by the attorney general to go on all the Sunday talk shows and talk about this issue. And, you know, given that I've seen this movie back in February, the same play was run. The president said the DOJ should investigate me, take me to a grand jury, try to criminally indict me. And they went through with it. We're just looking for some clarification from the attorney general. Is that the same thing they're going to do this time? So we have not heard anything from them. So you mentioned February, right?

29:09This isn't the first time this has happened. And that was when they tried to indict you over the video, right, reminding U.S. military and intelligence personnel of their right and obligation to refuse unlawful orders. And as you point out, grand jury did not indict you. So so now Trump's doing this again. I mean, Senator, do you think that's that this is essentially personal? Well, certainly I'm triggering him in some way. I mean, I you know, I don't I don't know why he keeps name checking me from the Oval Office. I think the American public sent a very clear signal on Tuesday night about him personally and his role in American politics, about costs and corruption.

29:49And he wants to talk about anything but costs and corruption. And so I think he's turning, you know, trying to flip the script and focusing on other people instead of focusing on the message that was sort of generationally sent to him this last week. But, you know, I think it demonstrates, I guess I would say I've seen this move, but in other countries, right? Authoritarian leaders in places like Eastern Europe or in the Middle East often will target their political enemies for what they say. They'll try to arrest them. They'll put them in prison. And I think it's a go-to move for a crumbling authoritarian government.

30:27And that's what it feels like to me. He's so desperate after the message that was sent that he's just trying to say, look over here, look over here and put the focus on someone else. And, you know, he has obviously made it personal about you, incredibly pejorative terms. I mean, after your comments about young people joining the administration, here's part of what he said, Senator. Slotkin is a lowlife who's ruining her state, just destroying her state. But what they're doing is really discouraging people from going into politics. No, they've weaponized government, the Democrats. That's what they've done.

31:07So he calls you a lowlife who has weaponized politics so people don't want to go into government. What's your response to that? Look, what I actually say repeatedly, and I will continue saying, is that if you violate the law or abuse taxpayer dollars, you should be held accountable. And if you're a young person who's thinking of getting into government, make sure that whatever you're going to be doing, you're not going to be asked to do something illegal or that violates basic law on use of taxpayer dollars. That's the only thing. You're not violating the law? No problem. Get into politics. Do whatever you want to do.

31:42We love that. But what I'm going after is this just incessant obsession he has with enriching himself and with giving contracts, federal contracts, to his friends and his family, which, again, on Tuesday, I think the country sent a very clear signal about. So he can pretend it's about whatever he wants. He can lie about what I said. He can call me a lowlife. He can do all those things. His reaction, his overreaction on this issue, his sensitivity on issues of corruption and on illegal orders reveals more about him and what he's sensitive about than it does about me. I want to turn to your own party, if I may, Senator.

32:18Chuck Schumer said very flatly, I mean, very clearly, quote, I'll be reelected as majority leader. Now, I just wonder if you share that confidence. You've signaled you're not voting for Schumer. You haven't closed the door on running for your, you know, yourself. So I guess I'll ask this to point blank. Are you going to run for majority leader? Well, look, just like Tuesday was a signal to President Trump, it's also a signal to Democrats. right, that people want two things. They want a new generation of leaders and they want big and bold ideas. So whoever wants to be majority leader should come to the table with a plan.

32:56What are you going to do to govern differently? And then what are your first 100 days? What are your priorities? What are you going to focus on? And whether it's him, whether it's someone else, that to me should be like a basic requirement of getting the job. And just to me, that's why I've been having these conversations with people all day. I met with Chris Van Hollen today, Senator Van Hollen, to have that conversation. He and I don't agree on everything, but we agree, as we've been hearing from our colleagues, that there's appetite for demanding to see what anyone is going to do differently in the new Congress.

33:28And just quickly before you go, are you close to making a decision about your own choice here? I think there's just, there's so many conversations happening. Literally, it's a live issue. And senators have just gotten back into town. So it's like a it's a hot potato right now. All right. Well, Senator Slott, can I appreciate your time? And thank you very much for taking a few moments out to join us. Thank you. And next, new image is tonight of the suspected Chinese spy who targeted NVIDIA's CEO. As we're learning new details about the plot, the alleged plot and Trump's response. The New York Times reporter who has investigated this story for over a year is out front next.

34:07And Trump with an offer for the UFC CEO. So let me ask you the big question. Dana, would you like to be press secretary of the United States of America?

34:32Breaking news. President Trump now says the FBI is looking into reports that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy. The New York Times, which first reported this story after a year of work, revealed that Trump was briefed last year about the alleged espionage plot targeting Huang and didn't do anything about it. Well, Trump says he spoke to the NVIDIA executive today about the reports. I did speak to him today just to see if he's feeling all right, how you doing. And I asked him about that. And he said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy.

35:10I asked him that question. Did you have any idea that she was a spy? He said, I had no idea that she was a spy. And I really believe him. Okay, well, I mean, you wouldn't expect him, no matter what the case is, to have said anything different in that conversation. Will Ripley is out front with new images. The woman you see here, whispering in the ear of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, is at the center of an alleged spy scandal rocking the tech world. Her name is Alice Huang, her Chinese name Huang Le, no relation to Jensen. She's a tech executive some 20 years his junior. The New York Times reports U.S.

35:47intelligence believes China's top spy agency recruited Alice Huang to gather information about Jensen. The Financial Times reports U.S. officials believe the two had a romantic relationship. CNN has not independently verified those intelligence findings. But we have obtained newly surfaced photos showing them together, drinking wine at a luxury California golf resort. CNN geolocated the pictures to Cordova, south of San Jose. They appear in a WeChat post on Alice Wong's account from September 2024. CNN also obtained her travel records showing she was in California at that time. She's visited the U.S.

36:2510 times since 2017. Her last trip was in March 2025. when this photo shows them together at NVIDIA headquarters for the company's annual conference. CNN also geolocated a separate undated image appearing to show the pair dining in Shanghai. And there's this video from May 2025 in Taipei at a group dinner for tech executives. Their body language shows a friendly relationship. Then they leave together in the same car. A photo posted the next day shows them standing together in that restaurant's kitchen. Jensen Huang apologized to NVIDIA employees in a statement yesterday. I was unfaithful to my wife.

37:04My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry. He did not identify the other person. Several U.S. outlets have reported American officials suspect Alice Huang of feeding intelligence to China and helping Chinese companies illegally obtain advanced AI chips. NVIDIA's board of directors announced an independent investigation and it reports Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence. The board says it has no reason to believe company secrets or national security were compromised. And NVIDIA says it has confidence in Huang and his leadership team.

37:39Singapore business records identify Alice Huang, or Huang Le, as a former director of data center company Megaspeed, a buyer of billions of dollars in NVIDIA chips. Now, the Financial Times reports Alice Huang and a business partner pitched Chinese investors on a Southeast Asian data center project worth hundreds of millions of dollars. One investor says they claim to have no problem securing GPUs, NVIDIA's coveted AI chips, and they named Chinese conglomerate Alibaba as a client. CNN verified an Alibaba subsidiary lent money to Megaspeed's Malaysian subsidiary, Speed Matrix, which pledged its business as collateral.

38:20President Donald Trump, who is close with Jensen Huang and has traveled with him to China and seated Huang at the same White House dinner table as Chinese leader Xi Jinping is standing by the NVIDIA executive. He said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy. And I really believe him. Mr. President. Huang has the president's ear and has pushed to loosen restrictions on NVIDIA chip sales to China. How many years have you known Jensen? Around 26. Veteran technology journalist Tim Culpin has covered Jensen Huang for decades. There was a blacklist and a whitelist of companies that were approved to buy certain chips from NVIDIA.

39:00And being able to whisper in the ear of the CEO of the company, can you get me on the whitelist? It's like saying to your buddy, can you get me on the VIP list for the call nightclub? You know, China rejects the spying allegations, saying the so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely groundless speculation and an attempt to smear and malign China. Here in Taiwan, where Huang is from, they call it Gen Sanity. From throwing the first pitch to touring night markets, Huang is mobbed wherever he goes. I think he enjoyed the fame. And he would go around and famously sign the boobs of a fan. And he always wanted to grab that opportunity to sell the company.

39:43And selling NVIDIA was selling himself. He personified, I am an NVIDIA. NVIDIA is me.

39:52here in taipei nvidia is planning a major new taiwan headquarters aaron and its success really matters to investors and chip makers not only across this island but around the world huang founded nvidia 33 years ago he's the face of the company but he actually owns less than four percent of it and nvidia's board says it still backs him but of course that board eventually answers to shareholders so if this investigation changes their confidence in him even jensen huang could find himself fighting to keep the company that he built. All right. Well, thank you very much. And I know you've been reporting on this.

40:23I want to go now to Tripp Mikkel. He's a New York Times reporter who's been breaking news on this story from the beginning. In fact, he's been investigating Jensen Huang's relationship with a suspected spy for over a year. So Tripp, you, I think it is safe to say, know more about this than anyone, maybe not even with the exception of U.S. intelligence, which gave a warning to Donald Trump about this. Now, Trump says that he was told about this intelligence, you know, linking Jensen Huang and this alleged spy. Trump said, quote, not too long ago. Does that add up? I mean, your reporting shows that Trump is actually known for quite a while.

41:02Yeah, our reporting found that the president was briefed on this relationship, this close relationship that Jensen had with Alice Wong roughly a year ago. And so that would go back to last fall. Maybe he thinks roughly a year is not that long ago. He did contradict himself a little bit between what he said yesterday when he was asked about this situation. He said he was asked if he had any regrets about not taking action on that briefing, which he chose not to do. and he said he had no regrets. And then today he was just creating a bit more distance from himself and knowledge of this surveillance and this spy operation.

41:45And I'm just trying to understand here because obviously a year ago is a really long time when it comes to something as essential to national security as AI chips are, right? I mean, this is at the core of the fight between the US and China and who's going to dominate this most important area in the world. Alice Wong worked for a Singapore-based company that bought billions of dollars of chips from NVIDIA, right? And chips that China wants. What more can you tell us about her background? You know, she's a mysterious figure, right? I mean, this company and she both burst on the scene in 2024 and began to buy billions of dollars in NVIDIA chips and quickly became one of the largest customers for NVIDIA in Southeast Asia and caught the attention of people in the U.S.

42:37government because they were suspected of potentially smuggling some of those chips back to China itself. I mean, it is really stunning. And again, really stunning that the President of the United States finds out about this a year ago and opts to do nothing. I know during the course of your reporting trip, you heard one thing about the relationship she established with Jensen Huang that really stepped, jumped out to you amidst all of the incredible details here. What was that? Yeah, early on, we were focused on this photograph that you just showed of her seated beside Jensen Wong at an industry party.

43:13And we spoke to the person who took the photograph, who's a tech executive, and he told us that while they were sitting there, Alice Wong said, would you like me to get Jensen here? And within a few minutes of that or not or shortly thereafter, Jensen showed up and walked in. And, of course, as you all highlighted in your reporting, like he's a rock star. You know, this is, you know, like getting, you know, the queen of England to like walk in, you know, in England or something like that. I mean, he's just a huge, huge figure. So it caught everybody's attention that she clearly knew him quite well in 2024.

43:50for. Yep. And that puts this, dates this back. And, you know, thank goodness for your incredible reporting. As I said, there's nothing more important to U.S. national security than this. And this breaking is so important, thanks to your work. Tripp, thank you. Thank you. Appreciate you having me. And next, Trump with an explanation tonight as to why he offered UFC CEO Dana White the job of press secretary.

44:24Tonight, Trump and the UFC CEO Dana White appearing together tonight in the White House briefing room after Trump offered White the role of press secretary, which he later called a joke. So let me ask you the big question. Dana, would you like to be press secretary of the United States of America? Would you like that if you just want to stay with this ridiculous UFC? Thank you for the offer, sir. I do not want to be in politics. I am devastated to hear this. Trump then even posted these two AI-generated videos depicting White as press secretary, a job Trump publicly encouraged him to take, saying, quote, Dana, please take the job.

45:09It was a bizarre post, and it caused some to think that maybe somebody came to Trump and said, hey, you should dominate Dana White as press secretary, because there is a Dana White who served as Pentagon press secretary during Trump's first administration. OK, so there is somebody with that name. Now, she responded to that speculation, writing to everyone texting me. Congratulations. Thank you. But you have the wrong Dana White. Trump explaining or trying to say that this is not the case. He didn't mess it up. It was all just because he'd had a very bad press day. All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us.

45:43AC 360 with Anderson, of course, starts now. So I got news for your ears, the podcast. I am your host, Michael Ian Black. We are talking about the final polls going into the midterms, the hot races getting the most attention. Trump's final argument. Have I got news for your ears? Check us out on Apple, Amazon Music, wherever you get your podcasts. Even better, you can watch the podcast on Spotify.