America’s Largest Energy Hub is Running Out of Oil

27:32Do you have any concerns about that? Well, regardless of who he's given money to, it's clear that just about everybody in America agrees that we need to get money out of politics, except for a few justices on the Supreme Court who decided it's just fine. And there's somehow a First Amendment protection for it. So we need a constitutional amendment in order to undo not just CISNs United, but in fact, decisions from decades before Buckley versus Vallejo and others that have somehow or another protected this kind of outrageous amount of campaign spending. We know it has incredibly harmful effects to our democracy.

28:11Clearly, Elon Musk's impact and influence is outsized for any individual or company, and we need reform. So there are two bills now in Congress to start this march toward amending the Constitution. This is going to be a very long journey, I know, but we've got to start now. The thing that I really wanted to ask you about was AI and kind of the role of policymakers on the federal level and I guess on the state level as well. You had a recent Washington Post op-ed you made clear we can't regulate AI, which is something that anybody who comes from your part of California who has watched lawmakers, no offense to you personally, try and get their heads around how to regulate tech, understands exactly what you're saying there.

28:54What does kind of the referee or government role here look like in your mind policy-wise? Yeah, what I think is a better approach is one that really takes advantage of the primordial instincts of these hyperscaling companies. This is an incredibly intensely competitive industry. And what they fear the most is having 50 different states trying to regulate them in 50 different ways. And it seems to me that if we are able to set a threshold for a safe harbor from all of that different kinds of regulation that may be contradictory and conflicting, for those companies that set the best practices for safety, and we know how at least to identify the categories of risk that we need to mitigate.

29:40And there's an agency called Casey that's been hard at work at this for several years. If we can set that threshold, we can establish a race to the top and force them to compete against themselves on safety and thereby really make the technology safer for all of us, rather than pretending that a regulator is going to be able to figure it out. Yeah, it is a fascinating, also slightly terrifying policy discussion at this point in time. I know you're going to be in the middle of it for months and years to come. Congressman Sam Liccardo, appreciate your time, sir. Thanks so much. Hey, great to be with you, Phil.

30:15We'll talk more about Elon Musk and what his trillionaire status could actually buy, plus why Democratic Senate candidate Graham Plattner says President Trump calling him a thug and a pig might be the nicest thing anybody's ever said about him. Stay with us.

30:34You ever have somebody offer to come home with you from the hardware store? I am giving away a room makeover. Where's the catch? Three days to complete this renovation. You have no say in design, and we start today. Oh, wow. You're not just gonna steal everything. Surprise! Ready to get your house cracked? For real? A little dated. It's time to turn this over to us. You guys gotta get out of here. Gotta get out of here. Crashers, all new Monday at 10.30 on HGTV. In our politics lead, growing backlash to this video taken outside of Baltimore Elementary School. Those are immigration agents detaining two people in the school's parking lot.

31:15Agents pulled a man and woman from an SUV in full view of the young children. Now, ICE officials say the school wasn't a target for the operation. Rather, they say the suspect resisted arrest and tried to run. This is the latest incident from the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. It sparked community outrage. I want to talk about this now with the panel. Malik, just to start with you, a DHS spokesperson telling CNN, quote, to be clear, ICE does not target schools, but we will not allow criminals to hide in our nation's schools and put the safety of children at risk. I think what's so striking about this was it seemed like the administration had gone to great lengths not to do things that would draw public attention like this in the most egregious kind of interior enforcement kind of ways since Minnesota.

31:59What's your read on it? I think that you're seeing a totally different type of enforcement under Holman than it was with Christy Noem, which is why he eventually pulled some of those ICE agents out of Minnesota. Here, when you go and look at the local reporting on this, apparently this guy, there was a previous incident with this guy back in April. But then it's also at the local news outlet was reporting that they actually contacted ICE, contacted the governor's office. So they were actually did this in concert with the federal government. It is something different than what we saw initially in Minnesota, but I think it's an important thing.

32:34And that's the distinction that people are missing about this particular case. It wasn't just random. They were searching for this guy. And this particular guy, from what I understand from the reporting, had apparently dragged an officer, I think, a couple of weeks ago or something. So that's why they were actually looking for him. So totally different this time. The problem for the administration, though, quite obviously, similar to the problem that they had in Minneapolis, the video shows these people being pulled aggressively from the car at a school. This clarifying statement put out by DHS says we aren't targeting schools, but so it's kind of a don't believe your lying eyes sort of situation.

33:10And while Malik's description and clarification is important, 99.9 percent of people who see this video aren't going to hear an accompanying clarification. So, you know, to see visual evidence again of the kind of interior enforcement that has turned public opinion on Trump's immigration policies, it's a problem for the administration. Yeah, because it had been a while. We should know, Governor Westmore also with an interesting statement saying like, look, we're happy to work with federal officials, but doing it at a school was the problem in this case. I want to do a hard pivot to Elon Musk. I don't know if you've heard, he made some money today.

33:48He's the world's first trillionaire. It's like Kate Battingfield. He's the world's second trillionaire behind Kate Bedingfield secretly. Last night, Jimmy Kimmel listed just some of the things he could buy with all that money. Let's watch. With that kind of money, Elon could buy every NFL team, all of them, and he'd still have$773 billion left, which he could use to buy all 30 Major League Baseball teams, every NBA team, every Wendy's, every Target store, the Beatles' entire music catalog. He could buy Nike, Macy's, and every Hyundai Elantra ever produced. And would still have$260 billion, $50 million left over.

34:29I, for what I'm tired of people being like, you can't spend, I would try. I would try to spend all that money. But I want to ask you the same thing I just asked the congressman last block. Like, as a Democrat, you saw what Elon Musk did in 2024. Like,$270 million, that was huge and essential. for Republicans. Does that concern you? Well, let's be clear. I mean, he was already rich to begin with. He was already able to plow an enormous amount of money into Republican candidates and Republican causes. You know, but in fact, there was some public backlash against that. I mean, remember, he inserted himself into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race quite publicly and lost and was rejected.

35:08So, you know, when all of the anger, not all of it, but when a lot of the anger in our politics is directed at the very wealthiest, at billionaires, for somebody as controversial as Elon Musk to now be the world's first trillionaire and for his buying power to be laid out in the way that Jimmy Kimmel did, I actually think that winds up generating more political backlash than anything else. And he already had a lot of money. He already had a lot of money that he was putting into political causes. All right. I mean, to be fair, I don't think you're gonna have a lot of lawmakers be like, no, sir.

35:38Oh, of course not. Oh, and I have no doubt. Everyone has their billionaires. I think that the conservatives at this point, we probably just will have our own trillionaire, but I'm fine with that. If I could be a trillionaire, I don't, I would believe in shaming people for money. That's kind of like a Democrat thing. Conservatives, Republicans, we don't shame you for having money. Yeah. And if it's a political problem, you just be like, I'm going to start a C4 and we'll just chill with that. We don't want to tell anybody. But you gotta still, if I win, if I get money like that, you can't leave your job if I give you money, though.

36:07You gotta still be working at CNN, because it's great. Oh, wait, you're paying me now? Yeah, I'll give you some of it. I'll spread the love around. Hell yeah, Malik. Okay, main Democratic Senate candidate Graham Plattner out with a video today responding to President Trump calling him a thug and the worst person to run for office. Take a look. That might be the nicest thing anybody's ever said about me. And the reason he's doing it is that he's scared. He knows. He knows that we're coming after him to make sure that the Epstein class, that Donald Trump and all of his depraved billionaire friends who think that they can get away with disgusting acts, think that because of their money and their power and their wealth and their influence, that they're above the law, they're about to find out that they're not.

36:56And it's got them terrified. And they should be. I'm going to let you both take a swing at this. Malik, it's been an interesting week. It is. A few weeks, months for Graham Plattner. What's your take on the video? Well, I mean, he's doing what he has to do. I think Republicans are really happy that we're going to be running against a Nazi who actually, if you go back and look at some of his Reddit posts, kind of blamed women for their own rape. So this is who he's running against. He can have all of this conversation about Donald Trump. And we've seen much like in the Virginia race with I think that was Jay Jones.

37:29Democrats have no problem. They will throw principles out the door in order to win. Now, they could say that Republicans do that, too, but they criticize Republicans. Ever so slightly. Yeah, they were. They criticize Republicans for that. So I am we are absolutely fine with Mr. Nazi and the guy who kind of fantasize and fetishizes about rape. We are absolutely fine about that. I will say the more Donald Trump attacks Graham Plattner, the better I think it is probably for Plattner because Plattner needs to win Biden-Collins voters from 2020. He needs to bring some of those people who split their ticket, voted for Biden in 2020 over.

38:02And so the more Trump makes this about Trump and not Graham Plattner, probably the better for Graham Plattner. Now, that's working in the D.C. race, too. We were talking about that during the break. We'll leave it there for now. I think we're gonna have a lot of time to talk about Graham Plattner in the months ahead. Appreciate you guys both. Have a great weekend. Thanks so much. Well, a live look now at Orlando. Right now, a memorial marking 10 years since the Pulse nightclub massacre. Hear from a doctor who treated victims and how that day changed his own life.

38:32Breaking news. New details about a deadly standoff today in Midland, Texas. Authorities say a man wanted for trying to kill an officer Wednesday fired at passing cars as police closed in on him. One person was killed. Ten others are injured. Police say the gunman killed himself. Well, now a live look in Orlando, Florida. A church memorial marking 10 years since the deadly mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub. 49 people were killed, more than 50 wounded. CNN's Randy Kay talked with a surgeon who helped save many lives that night, but says his life changed forever. I'm calling them at 2 o 'clock in the morning.

39:10I was like, this is not a prank. This is not a drill. Trauma surgeon Chadwick Smith still remembers waking up his fellow surgeons as dozens of shooting victims from the Pulse nightclub arrived at his hospital. The club was just blocks from Orlando's regional medical center. Minutes before 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016, shots were fired inside Pulse. People are running, glasses are getting dropped, and then, you know, people are passing me. Like, I'm getting covered in blood from other people. A man armed with a semi-automatic assault rifle and handgun took aim at hundreds of people on the dance floor.

39:49I went to the bathroom. When I come out, I see the guy, boom, boom, and shooting like crazy. Ten years later, Dr. Smith is still moved by what he witnessed, 44 shooting victims from the club, some dead, others close to dying. Nine patients total lost their lives that were brought to our hospital and really were on death's door when they arrived. But torso injuries and extremity injuries, gunshot wounds to the head. Complicating matters? At 3.25 a.m., he recalls an alert was activated from inside the hospital, a Code Silver. A Code Silver in our hospital is an active shooter on the premises. You're sitting there trying to deal with all of these ill and injured people, and then you realize there may be a threat to your own life.

40:38We barricaded the doors and nobody stopped. The alert was canceled about an hour later. While Dr. Smith and his team worked to save lives, families looking for loved ones gathered outside the nightclub. We texted him, called him, and he's not answering the phone. I hope he's not one of the dead people that are left at the club. The shooter locked himself in the bathroom with victims, turning an active shooter situation into a hostage standoff. About three hours after the first shots were fired, police at the club used explosives and an armored vehicle to break through the bathroom wall. That was a breach.

41:19That was a breach. Our SWAT officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The suspect is dead. By the time it was over, 49 people were dead and nearly 60 wounded, leaving a community shaken, including this doctor, all these years later. For a few years, I didn't go to sporting events. I didn't go to concerts. I like to know where the exits are and sit in the back of a movie theater. Randy Kay, CNN.

41:52Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. This hour, we are approaching the next deadline in the legal battle over the Kennedy Center and whether President Trump's name has to be removed from the building. The center asking an appeals court to intervene by 7 p.m. Eastern. Our teams are outside the Kennedy Center and tracking every development tonight. Plus, the White House signals optimism on a potential agreement with Iran, with negotiators saying they are close to finalizing terms. But this isn't a deal to end the war, more like a deal to negotiate for 60 more days. So what happens next, and how soon could the Strait of Hormuz reopen?

42:28And we are just a few hours away from Team USA's first match of the 2026 World Cup as they try and win it all on home soil. CNN's teams are live outside the stadium in Los Angeles where fans are already gathering for tonight's marquee faceoff.

42:47The lead tonight, the fund, the fight, and the fine arts. A decisive day in court for three of President Trump's pet projects. First, a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia killed the$1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund with an order to indefinitely block the proposal. And the cage match will continue. A federal judge has rejected a request by two Virginia residents to block President Trump's UFC fight from happening this Sunday, his 80th birthday, we should note, on the White House's South Lawn. But right now, all eyes on the legal battle taking center stage in D.C. crews are standing at the ready to remove President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center if Justice Department lawyers once again lose their appeal against a judge who ruled the president's name must come off the building by 11.59 p.m.

43:37tonight. CNN's Betsy Kline is outside the Kennedy Center with an update. Well, Phil, the clock is ticking on a pair of deadlines that could determine the fate of this sign behind me, just the latest in this legal back and forth. In In short, back on May 29, a federal judge ruled blocking a planned closure for renovations at the Kennedy Center that was expected to start on July 7. He also ruled in that decision that the board's decision to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center violated the law because they did not have authorization from Congress. In that decision, the judge said they had 14 days to remove all the exterior signage and any references to Trump-Kennedy Center on the website, in email signatures, or in any marketing or promotional materials.

44:24That deadline is 11.59 p.m. tonight. This afternoon, a judge denied a request to freeze that deadline, and then the Kennedy Center escalating its effort to avoid compliance. They are asking an appeals court to freeze this ruling, and the Department of Justice is asking for a decision by 7 p.m. tonight, very, very soon. If that freeze is denied, this could mark the first time that one of President Trump's major efforts to impose his mark on Washington, D.C. is undone. And we saw early in his second term the president taking steps to reshape the Kennedy Center's board of trustees. It elected him chairman, and since then he has overseen major programmatic and leadership changes here at the Kennedy Center.

45:11That has led to slumping ticket sales, as well as major artists pulling out of planned performances, which some saw as driving that desire to temporarily close. Now, we saw Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. She is the Democratic lawmaker who filed this lawsuit here earlier today taking a victory lap. But the Kennedy Center for now making clear that they are not backing down, Phil. Betsy Kline, thanks so much. I want to turn now to Sky Paraman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward. Ward Sky, you're in the middle of like 99.9 % of the legal battles, of which there are quite a few with this administration.

45:46But I want to turn to one of the other major legal moves today, which is Democracy Forward represented the plaintiffs in the anti-weaponization fund case. Your reaction to the judge's order today indefinitely blocking that fund? Well, we were really pleased that the judge saw this for what it was. It's a threat to the American people. And she really was open to hearing from the government if they have from the Trump administration? Did they have an answer? How do they reconcile what Todd Blanche has said before Congress and unsworn statements that the fund is not moving forward with the fact the president is out on television saying he thinks it's a great idea and would be disappointed if it didn't move forward?

46:21And why won't the Department of Justice come into court and put sworn statements before the court? That's what they operate on is facts and evidence. And so you saw the judge say, look, unless you can come here with sworn statements, we're blocking this fund while the case proceeds. So we were really pleased with that. I think it's a win for the American people and it's certainly a win for our clients. You bring up a really important point in terms of what DOJ was willing to do, what they haven't been. Because when you talk to administration officials, they kind of do a little wink and nod thing about like, yeah, no, like we're going to listen to what the courts are saying right now, but like the president's still really into this.

46:54And we had a story, my colleague Evan Perez had a story reporting that some of the president's allies have suggested using settlements from the Justice Department probe into whether banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan, closed accounts of defendants charged in the Capitol attack and others because of political reasons to compensate these people. Like they're trying to find workarounds here. What's your level of concern that they will? Well, the judge was really clear. I mean, she issued a very comprehensive order that says, you would have to tell me that this fund is not going to continue under any name, under any kind of shell game in order for me to just trust, you know, to sort of trust what you're you're saying here.

47:31But we have seen this administration try to skirt court orders in so many of the cases we are litigating. I mean, they're at the court right now trying to get out of their obligations with the Kennedy Center. But we are very confident. We've been able to force the administration to comply with court orders. We've been able to mobilize the public. When ordinary Americans see this, it doesn't matter kind of what political side you're on. People expect that the president of the United States is going to follow court orders. And so we're confident that we will be able to, with this judge's order, be able to enforce compliance.

48:01And she's calling them in, I think, in seven days. She wants a status report of what the government's doing here. So I think there'll be more to come for sure. The administration is going to be able to have the UFC fight on Sunday. Just your thoughts on their ability to, I don't think win or lose is the right framing on that. It all happened very, very fast. It's cleared the way now. Do you think that's a justified administration priority at this point? You know, we were we were in court all day today. And so I'll have to catch up on all the other court rulings that came out. But what I'll say overall is the administration is losing in court far more than they're winning.

48:35And they're losing, frankly, in front of judges in many instances that were appointed by Republican presidents or even President Trump himself. So they have like an overall losing record, even with some of the setbacks that people in communities have seen at the Supreme Court and otherwise. But what we need to do is stay focused. I mean, we have elections in this country coming up. You have a really bad situation out of Ohio that I'm sure you'll talk about tonight with intimidation of voter advocacy organizations happening at the hands of the federal government. And so it's not surprising that the president wants to create a distraction, wants to create a conversation around whether he can hold an event outside of the White House or not.

49:11We're really focused on what affects people and communities. And that's this rank corruption that we're seeing by the administration, which we're in court challenging and really just call on all Americans to stay focused. We need to stay focused on how we're going to make our voices heard, how we're going to protect the right to vote of all Americans in this country and not be so distracted by the president's sort of outrages of the day. I'm glad you brought up what's happening in Ohio because it's fast moving. I think as I was coming on this, I was still trying to get my head around all of it.

49:39But it raised kind of a question in my mind of I think maybe people don't recognize that the pendulum has swung in the legal venue to a degree that in the first few months of the administration, people thought like they're moving too fast. No one can catch up with them. they're just breaking everything or doing things that they want to do, and the courts aren't fast enough to be able to adjust to it. I think the pendulum has swung pretty significantly in terms of the courts have caught up, the people who are fighting in those courts have won a lot more than they've lost over the course of months at this point.

50:09As you look forward, how are you thinking about elections given some of the things we've seen? Well, look, I mean, it's clear that the administration, we don't have to wait until November to find this out, it's clear that the administration is engaged in efforts to undermine the ability of people to vote, whether that's trying to intimidate people, trying to distract people, or trying to take the American people's data, which of course we're fighting about in court right now. So we know the threat's there. We don't have to wait to learn if there's going to be a threat to the election. It's there.

50:36But what we've seen is that people in communities have been able to swiftly respond to these threats. So we are going to do everything we can as lawyers to make sure that we're in court every single day, if we have to be, we hope we don't have to be, but every single day to bring the cases that need to be brought to hold the administration to account. But we are the first folks to say, the lawyers that are in court every day, we're the first people that are going to say to the American people, it's not going to be the institutions that is going to save this election or save this country. It's going to be the American people.

51:03And this administration continues to underestimate the power of ordinary Americans. You've seen millions of people take to the streets, even when the White House was threatening them. You see people in communities that may not get along on all political issues that are standing up for their neighbors and saying, I don't know what sides we used to be on, but this isn't something that we want for our country. And so this is going to be an all-hands-on effort. So lawyers are going to have a huge amount of work to do, and we're prepared to do that day and night. But also the people. The people are going to have to make up their minds that we're not going to let anyone take our vote.

51:34And I think that the people will prevail. Sky Perriman, I know you're busy. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much for coming in. Well, new CNN reporting reveals the U.S. military last month was preparing a ground mission to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. But after learning about the likely consequences, President Trump paused the plans. One of the reporters behind this CNN exclusive story joins me live to explain next.

52:04In our world lead, the White House is expressing optimism over a potential agreement with Iran that would restart negotiations. essentially move on to a phase two of negotiations, a key issue both sides would still need to hash out, dismantling Iran's nuclear program. This, as new CNN-exclusive reporting shows the U.S. military actually prepared just last month to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. But President Trump stopped the mission from happening. CNN senior national security reporter Zach Cohen is with me now. Zach, this is a fascinating behind-the-scenes story. Walk people through what you found.

52:35Yeah, Phil, it's clear that this very risky military operation, one that would require hundreds if not thousands of U.S. forces on the ground in Iran, was much closer to being greenlit than I think most people understand. And that's really emphasized by this anecdote involving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Cain. Last month, Cain was in Europe meeting with NATO officials and was quietly rushed back to the United States to CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida for an in-person briefing about this military operation to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. Of course, important because it is a key component needed to build a nuclear weapon and also central to Trump's entire reasoning for starting this war in the first place.

53:12We're told that after this briefing, just hours long in Tampa, Cain traveled to D.C. where he subsequently briefed President Trump on these options. We're told that President Trump heard what Cain had to say and ultimately paused any movement on the operation, was really concerned about the possible backlash from the Iranians, retaliation. Also, that this would extend the war and would also further damage the global economy. But still, the fact that this was an idea that was being seriously considered just weeks ago, May 19th was when this trip Dan Cain was on happened, really points to just how serious the military was about possibly moving forward with this operation, which, again, the risk involved in this is significant, we're told.

53:53And hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. troops on the ground in Iran navigating tunnels, trying to secure nuclear material, is something that was on the table and remains on the table even as the Trump administration is moving towards this memorandum of understanding, which ironically, one of the most unclear answers at this point is how will Iran's nuclear program and the material itself be dealt with as a result. You make an important point. It remains on the table. There are still military options that the president has that his teams have created for him. This was great reporting by you and our colleague Natasha Bertrand.

54:23Great job, Zach. Zach Cohen, thanks so much. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York joins us now. Congressman, really appreciate the time. Just to kind of start with the big picture here, the White House officials clearly expressing optimism about reaching an agreement with Iran. This would be a first step and a notable one at that, but one that certainly leaves all of the kind of hard details going forward still to be determined and hashed out while the threat of potentially shutting down if it opens. The Strait of Hormuz remains. Do you feel like this is enough, given what the administration wants?

54:56Well, look, obviously we want to see all of the final details, but of course the war cannot continue in perpetuity. And I think the number one objective was to address Iran's nuclear capabilities. And certainly over the last, you know, three plus months, we have seen the administration take significant action through the Department of War to take out their ballistic missiles capability, their drone capacity, their naval fleet, seize control of air superiority. That ultimately, coupled with the removal of the Ayatollah, the clerics, the leadership of the IRGC, forced the Iranians to actually start negotiating in good faith.

55:42And when the president put the blockade in of the Strait of Hormuz, that crippled Iran's economy. They were losing$500 million a day. So for the first time in a very long time, you have a real negotiation. Now, trust but verify, the proof obviously will be in the pudding. The objective is to get the nuclear material, the highly enriched uranium, as well as to stop their financing of terror proxies. But this is a first step in the right direction as you get a longer-term agreement here that ultimately will result in the removal of the nuclear material, the ending of the terror proxies, and the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of the mines that Iran put in the strait.

56:31These are positive steps forward. Obviously, we want to see the final agreement. But I think the bottom line here is, for the first time in 47 years, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. In terms of what we've seen from the framework, and again, you make a really great point. There are a lot of details here, very, very important details that we still need to actually see in writing for the framework that's been kind of laid out and briefed by administration officials. But the piece on financial relief for Iran or reciprocity on the finance side, it was described by an administration official earlier as they will accrue it over time based on their compliance with the provisions Do you believe that Iran getting back its frozen assets in any mechanism is a good pathway forward here?

57:19Well, remember, under the Biden administration, they released billions of dollars in frozen assets until we pushed back against it. And they allowed the illicit oil trade between China and Russia to go, frankly, unchecked. It's why Marco Rubio and I passed the SHIP Act and why I fought to get the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act. We want to cripple this network. Now, in order to get relief, in order to ease sanctions, in order to get some access to these frozen assets, they need to fully comply. And I think certainly a phased approach is the right one. You're not going to turn over cash. You're not going to just lift sanctions.

58:01We want to see the proof in the pudding on the enriched uranium, on stopping financing of terrorism, and obviously on a fully open Strait of Hormuz without Iranian interference. So they're not going to just get cash handed to them, which is frankly what the Biden and Obama administrations tried to do. It'll certainly be something we'll all be watching. I know you've been deeply involved in these issues since you've been a lawmaker. Certainly will be as well from the hillside. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York. Thanks so much for your time. Thank you, Phil. Ten leaders across party lines offer a roadmap for people seeking courage in a divided America.

58:38The hardships and lessons featured in a new book. That's next.

58:48In our politics lead in a divided America, a new book offers a compelling challenge. Have the courage to do what's best for the public good despite your personal sacrifices. Jake Tapper interviewed the author of Courage Can Save Us, Ten Extraordinary Americans in the Fight for Our Future. It profiles ten individuals, all currently serving in office, half of them Republicans, half of them Democrats, a majority of them also veterans. And the author, Marine Corps veteran Rye Barkat joins us now. He's also the founder of With Honor, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to getting veterans elected into public office.

59:23So, Rai, why did you choose to profile these 10 politicians, nine of whom are veterans, the other is a former FBI official? Thanks, Jake. I co-founded the organization with honor almost nine years ago with the late David Gergen, a mutual colleague and mentor, both of ours and another Marine that I had served with in the Iraq war. in order to fight polarization by helping to elect veterans that take a pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage, including the courage to work across party lines, not to bend your policies, but to still have trust and be able to talk with each other. We took a lot of inspiration from the old World War II veterans, which, of course, Congress used to be as high as 70 % veteran, and now it's down below 20%.

1:00:04So I've been doing this full-time for the last nine years, and I've met some extraordinary Americans, And I decided to pick 10 of them that are equally divided across party lines and are focused on serving with courage when it calls for it. And importantly, I define courage as being distinct from bravery, which is a notable attribute and which is instilled in military service. But bravery can be instinctive. It can be self-serving. Courage, on the other hand, is a decision to face risk, to understand the risks and still choose to serve what the Stoics referred to as the common good. Common good can be your family.

1:00:45It can be your friends. It can be your community. It can be your country. And right now, these are 10 that are focused on serving their country. They're not perfect. They have their flaws, but they maintain trust across party lines. And so I focus on them. I focus on where their courage comes from, what courage is, and then moments of political courage, which is, of course, for most Americans just seems to be in complete short supply, but still exists. And we want to celebrate that. We want to point it out. We want to see more of it both in public office as well as in our own lives. So I've interviewed, I think, all 10 of the individuals in your book, and they're very different.

1:01:28I'm wondering if there's anything that surprised you when you got to know more about them, anything that surprised you about how you see them demonstrating courage beyond their service. Yeah. So one of the great pleasures of writing this book was spending years getting to know their families and their battle buddies. And I spend the first third of each chapter talking about their upbringings. And in every case, there was a parent and often a mentor that instilled a sense of service. And they gave those character values to put the good of others ahead of yourself. And so I love that. We kicked off the book last night with Congressman Don Bacon's chief of staff, who survived a life-threatening injury and also serves in his own way with courage, and Governors Westmore and Mikey Sherrill.

1:02:22Both of their parents also joined us. So, you know, the parenting and mentorship is a real theme that runs through this book. So the organization with honor recently shared your analysis with Politico showing that the number of Democratic and women veterans running for Congress this year, that's at a record level. A Democratic strategist told Politico, quote, the effort to bring more left-leaning veterans' voices onto the campaign trail has been stepped up in recent months amid President Donald Trump's military moves. What do you make of that? Yeah, well, I believe with honors, the only organization now that tracks veterans running for Congress across all parties, and about 10 percent of the veterans that run were independent, about 40 percent Democrat, about 50 percent Republican this cycle.

1:03:06But very encouraging trend, actually, even in all of our divided times. For the first time since we started the organization back in 2017, we have the highest numbers. It's almost 20 percent higher than the 2017 cycle. We have more post 9-11 veterans coming in. And then very significantly, the number of women combat veterans, women veterans, rather, has doubled this cycle, more than doubled. And both parties emphasize the role of service. Veterans also happen to be one of the few groups in America now that still has trust across party lines. That's a sacred thing and something not to take for granted.

1:03:43The other group, the group that has higher trust, incidentally, are nurses, also a service oriented profession. But I do think it speaks to the respect that veterans still have, again, across party lines. And also, frankly, some of the qualities of the training to instill discipline, to sign an oath that you will give up to and including your life in service to the country, if so called. You know, these are individuals that know about hardship posts. It doesn't mean that all of them are necessarily part of the solution. You know, With Honor only typically only supports about 10 percent of veterans that run each cycle who take this pledge to serve and to stay respectful across party lines.

1:04:26Some don't. But many are have great attributes for this type of service. And Lord knows we need it. I think we also need courage in our own lives. I've written this book for a wide audience. I hope it will be adopted and by schools in particular for students who are looking for a sense of purpose. And that's something that service can provide. Again, the book is called Courage Can Save Us. Ten Extraordinary Americans in the Fight for Our Future. It's out now. Ry Barkat, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Great to be on. I'm Coy Wire outside the stadium here in L.A. where the U.S. team is about to make their World Cup debut.

1:05:01We talked to some of the players, asked what they think their chances are heading into this World Cup. Can they do better than Phil Mattingly's Buckeyes did against Indiana and Miami in college football last year? That and more coming up.

1:05:21In our sports lead, it's day two of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the first match here in the U.S. will kick off tonight in California. Team USA taking on Team Paraguay in Los Angeles, where fans are already gathering in anticipation. Our very own Coy Wire and Josh Campbell are right in the thick of it. And as I said, Coy in Los Angeles, which is in California, which is also where Stanford is, which is your alma mater. And they went four and eight last year. So keep running your mouth about the Buckeyes. But in the meantime, give me the vibes on the scene, Coy. Listen, Phil, I still love you. For years of anticipation, countless dreams and enough hype to fill every single stadium in this World Cup.

1:06:06This is the moment the US starts its World Cup journey and for the players This is a moment they've been dreaming about since they were kids in their backyard juggling a ball Dreaming about a packed stadium that's chanting their name We asked Christian Pulisic and some of the other guys about what they're gonna be feeling in the moment listen Probably be looking up at my family and friends in the stands who've supported me Throughout all this so there'll be a lot of emotions It'll be a proud moment representing the U.S. home soil in a World Cup. I mean, very special. Very happy motion, and, you know, tears come, tears come.

1:06:41But, yeah, I can't wait for that moment. Full circle moment because, you know, as a kid dreaming about being in that position, wearing the crest, and being able to hear the national anthem, I think it's something that, yeah, it makes dreams come true. Some of the players told me they're trying to stay calm. Others told me, like 21-year-old Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the team, he said, I'm nervous and I'm not afraid to say it. The butterflies have arrived. They've unpacked their bags and they started collecting rent. Phil, it's going to be a fun time tonight. Oh, it has to be. Josh, for the fans that are attending the game tonight, we can see the lines, we can see the people all around you.

1:07:20What are they going to encounter security-wise? Well, first I have to tell you that every time that I follow Coy, we go from talking about fun stuff to then talking about calamity, which is my beat. But we'll tell you what's happening here. All these people behind me, you could feel the energy. Everyone's excited. But there is a massive law enforcement presence that is here at Los Angeles Stadium. You can see as the crowd go around, they have to actually go through this very extensive layered security, checking for weapons, checking for anything that might be dangerous. That's all happening there.

1:07:49But as we flip around, you can see kind of what's the nerve center of this massive law enforcement effort. This is the law enforcement compound where you have multiple command post vehicles, the SWAT teams, the bomb technicians, multiple agencies, local law enforcement, as well as the feds here as well. Now, I spoke to some of the officials earlier talking about how they've been preparing for this event. They say they're worried about everything from possible terrorism, transnational threats and threats from the sky. Have a listen. Some of our biggest concerns are drones. We're working very closely with our local, state, and federal partners on counter UAS operations.

1:08:27We've been trying very hard to get the message out to the public that you shouldn't be flying your drones in areas where there's a temporary flight restriction. The additional enhancement is we have more explosive detection canines involved and we also have a federal presence. While we always have a good public safety matrix, it's probably increased by 33 % for this. Now, the drones are a concern, and they have actually sophisticated technology out here that can actually defeat a drone that can help identify where the perpetrator is. Bottom line, you know, there's this massive security presence, Phil, but according to law enforcement sources, no known credible threats.

1:09:05Coy, we should note that Josh was implicitly saying that, like me, you are the worst. That's what he was trying. He was trying to be kind about it. But I do want to ask you, since you talked to all the players, despite our feelings, our mutual feelings about you, what are the expectations from the players themselves about where they go in this term? So, Phil, again, I still love you, Phil. Tonight feels bigger than 90 minutes. This is the next chapter in a story of how soccer went from this niche sport in America to one now that has the opportunity to change the entire narrative. They're going to face Paraguay.

1:09:38And the players told me they know they are physical, they are feisty, and we can't let that rattle us. I asked the players ahead of the game what they're going to be feeling heading into this huge moment. Listen. You know, we already believe we can win, and we're a hungry, competitive group of guys. If you string together enough wins and good performances, you know, the stars are the limit. We believe collectively that we can do something really special to change soccer in this country forever. We're looking forward to going out there and making the nation proud. I think on the outside, people maybe would doubt us in a sense, but why not us?

1:10:20Why not us? You're going to be hearing all these fans chanting. They've been out here for an hour and a half already, kickoff still hours away. To say their hype would be the understatement of the year. I still love you, Phil. Back to you. Koi Wire, Josh Campbell, two of the best in the business, Two good pals. Enjoy the vivusolas. They seem like a challenge. Talk to you guys soon. Well, President Trump primaried Senator John Cornyn out of a job, and now Cornyn, predicting Trump, is about to have, quote, the most miserable two years of his life. Our panel weighs in next.

1:10:57In the law and justice lead, the Trump administration has approved Paramount Skydance's bid to take over Warner Brothers' discovery. This would include the Warner Brothers Movie Studio, HBO, and this network, CNN. The merger still faces a potential antitrust lawsuit from a coalition of states. The European Union and the UK are also reviewing whether the deal could harm competition. Well, in our politics lead, following his crushing defeat by Trump-backed challenger Ken Paxton, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas has a lot of things to get off his chest. He's sharing it in a lengthy interview with Carl Hulse of the New York Times, including this grim prediction for the president's post-midterms.

1:11:34Quote, he's going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term because I think November is going to be a disaster. Let's talk about it with the panel. Cornen says he's not looking for payback or retribution, but did say this about the president after failing to get Trump's endorsement. Quote, if he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody. There's never going to be good enough for him other than 100%, you know, slavish adherence to what he wants. But obviously that's not what the senator's role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances.

1:12:07Mark Short. Let's start with you. A lot there. Do you have any thoughts or personal experiences with what the senator is talking about right now? Well, look, Phil, I think the Senator Cornyn has had a remarkable career, not just in the Senate, but as attorney general, as a Supreme Court justice. He's a man of principle and certainly would not have the same character flaws as the current nominee does. I think a lot of his criticism though would carry more weight if the last year and a half he hadn't been trying to curry favor with Donald Trump, holding up copies of The Art of the Deal and promoting him on social media, changing a lot of his positions on things like filibuster.

1:12:43So if there'd been a consistency, then I think that some of the criticisms perhaps would carry more weight. I do share his concern about what the midterm cycle looks like. I think it's going to be very challenging for Republicans. But I'm not so sure for the president it may be the most miserable two years because I think that he got his one big beautiful bill accomplished. I don't know what else the legislative agenda is. And so I don't think he's as concerned about what happens in Congress as people think he may be because their careers are more on the line in the elections than his is. Yeah, you make a really good point.

1:13:19You know what's going to be miserable? Being a Republican lawmaker in two years in the minority. What won't be? I think Trump kind of enjoys... Go ahead. I don't even know that it'll be too miserable for Republicans to be in the minority. I mean, they're going to turn all their ire, including the president, on Democrats. I mean, it's going to be a hard road to hoe for Democrats because they're going to have to play defense and offense at the same time. I mean, they're in the minority now, which is the easiest job to have in Congress. And they've not mastered that job yet. So I agree with Mark.

1:13:44I don't know that it's going to be so tough for the president, especially considering that we don't have the levers that I had when I worked for Pelosi. When I was running the opposition against Trump, we had attorneys. I mean, we had IGs. We had whistleblowers. We had, you know, the law backing us. Now the Supreme Court's giving this guy immunity. So I'm not so sure how they're going to be able to hold Donald Trump accountable. And the president likes having a foil. That's my point. He's going to drag him all the way into the mud. He's going to have a great time with Democrats. So there's another lawmaker who also didn't do great in her primary.

1:14:15That'd be Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, out of a job after, will be out of a job after losing her bid for South Carolina governor, losing by a lot. She came in fifth place. She posted on X, quote, people keep asking me, will you get revenge on Trump for ending your political career? The answer is yes. I'll be adding to the unemployment number in January. Actually, on some level, like I think she probably just wants to see if she can go viral on Twitter as often as possible here. But my broader question is, there's a number of lawmakers right now. There's, I think, if you think McConnell and Tillis and Cornyn and Cassidy in the Senate side.

1:14:47There's some Republicans in the House side as well. Are Republicans going to start breaking more sharply from Trump as we get closer to the midterms? I mean, all the people you just named are no longer going to be in Congress come November. So it's what Mark said. It's like Republicans always seem to find religion once they lose. You know, why not find it while you're still in office? So, I mean, but what we are seeing right now is sort of what I call the revenge of the GOP walking dead. You know, all the people who Trump politically ostracized now are coming after him and are actually wearing him out.

1:15:19But I think, you know, in the long term, I think the lesson that Nancy that we can sort of derive from Nancy's run is that going viral does not translate to winning an election. And the second I would say is this is another example of how Donald Trump's consolidating power. I've never seen a more powerful president in my lifetime in terms of his ability to consolidate power and really run his party like a, you know, a sort of an extension of himself, you know, an extension of the White House. It's pretty incredible. Yeah. Look, he does what he says he's going to do. And he's he's able to take people out like I've never seen before.

1:15:54It's going to cost him like another hundred twenty million dollars in Texas. But like, you know, do do you long game, not necessarily always his plan. Mark, I want to ask you about this. Take a listen to what Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN's Manu Raju about why he doesn't want another person on the ballot in Alaska. I'll explain why after you listen. And it's meant to confuse Alaskans. It's federal and state case law. You don't have the right to run for office if your primary intent is to confuse the voters and rig the election in favor of someone else. And that's exactly what this guy's doing.

1:16:33So for people unaware, and it's Alaska, so we'll give you a break if that's the case. There's another Dan Sullivan running for the Senate seat. Different middle initials. So I assume different middle names. Like even their campaign logos are very, very close to one another. Dan Sullivan, the serving senator, says like this should be legal. This isn't fair. This is malfeasance on some level. What do you think? I think the Democrats put forward another Dan Sullivan to run as an independent. I think people need to understand. Democrats are claiming credit for that. Oh, come on. You know, as well as I do.

1:17:08And it's clever. It's a clever move, honestly. It's disingenuous. But I think that people appreciate that in Alaska, there's only one congressperson because of the size of the population. And so the Democrats did recruit a former Democrat congresswoman to run. And so she has a large name ID. And in a cycle like this, this challenge for Republicans is going to be tough. And if somebody siphons off any percentage, even if it's 2 or 3%, it could cost the election. But I think these things should be decided at the state level. I think that every state has their own election laws, and it should be decided there about this candidate's eligibility for the ballot and not a federal decision.

1:17:45Do you think Democrats definitely made this happen? Well, I don't know if they claim no responsibility for it, but I will tell you it's clever and it's very gangster, and so I can appreciate it. I'm into it. Let's see how this thing turns out. Yes. Oh, we have to go. I want to ask you real quick, right now, real quick, 20 seconds, Senate map. Democrats better than 50-50 shot at this point? I'm feeling very good about it. I'd say Democrats a little bit better because I think they're going to do a lot better in the middle of America through the heartland than we're appreciating right now. The Ohio numbers are wild to me right now.

1:18:16We'll have to keep an eye on it. Mark Short, Ashley Etienne, thank you guys. I appreciate it. High school students from across the country in Washington, D.C. today competing in a civics contest tied to America's 250th birthday. The prize? $150 ,000 in scholarship money. We're introducing you to some of those competitors next.

1:18:39In our national league, 20 teens beat out thousands of their peers for a chance to win President Trump's civics contest for America's 250th birthday. Despite the patriotic theme, not all are feeling the spirit of the red, white, and blue. Here's CNN's Sunlin Serfati. My most prized possession for this competition, which is my laptop. top. All my study material is on here. 16-year-old Ashant Jawali is one of 20 high school students competing this week in D.C. in President Trump's National Civics Competition. I've gone through all the reps. It's just my time to perform. A son of immigrants, Ashant says this moment has brought mixed feelings.

1:19:18While I may not agree with our current administration on really any aspect, I am able to understand, support, and really put a large part of my weight behind the principles that have led to this sort of point in time. The idea for the Presidential 1776 Award... We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding with a birthday party. ...was first hatched by President Trump as part of the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary, with the stated goal to produce more patriotic Americans. A national civics and American history challenge that dares you to take the impossible civics test.

1:19:59Encounter what he has called radical gender and diversity ideology in schools across the country. American parents are not going to accept indoctrination in our schools. However, patriotism in the time of Trump has become a thorny topic for many young Americans. What does patriotism mean to you? That's a tricky question. It's a pride in being from where we are in the home of the free. But it's also recognizing that while we may have this kind of spirit within us, it's not exactly realized yet in our world. Gen Z has become more pessimistic about the country's future and President Trump than other generations.

1:20:4141 % of Gen Z are proud to be Americans, compared to 58 % of millennials. And 77 percent of people aged 18 to 34 are disapproving of the way the president is handling his job. A big part of patriotism is really like understanding as much as you can about your country because it's not just, you know, blindly following everything that your country does. I think that examining especially the past of your country and seeing like the founding principles that it was built on, which is what this competition is specifically meant to evoke. Even though participants said they did not see the fingerprints of Trump's ideology on the contest, some wondered how the president's involvement would reflect on them.

1:21:23There definitely is some sort of pause, I think, is the best way to say it. There's definitely a pause when it comes to, like, okay, how am I going to present this to my family or people that I know? Will they be able to understand my motivations? Others embraced it. I don't think love of your country and understanding of your country should be a partisan issue. I don't think that one political party owns that idea. I think all Americans own that idea equally. There's nothing to feel conflicted about. 8 ,000 high school students entered the competition. One winner will be given$150 ,000 in scholarship money.

1:21:53That's basically life-changing. The real reward, many said, is the knowledge this generation will go on to use. It doesn't matter who's doing this or what's going on. What matters is that the youth that is going to ultimately govern America in the next decades, they are the ones getting this universal knowledge and really bettering themselves. Sunlin Serfati, CNN, Washington. Our thanks to Sunlin for that great report. Well, coming up Sunday on State of the Union, Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen and ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. That's Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN. And I hope you'll join me for my new video series, CNN Breaks It Down.

1:22:30We are tackling the most pressing questions in business and politics. You can find the episodes on CNN.com slash watch. Remember that out front, so it's now. Remember that.

1:22:45This is CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, thrilled to introduce the new CNN weather app. Be prepared for anything with comprehensive coverage from real experts like me. Download the CNN weather app on iOS today. From the descendants of history makers involved in the Louisiana Purchase to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Discover the untold stories of American expansion in the CNN original series, This Land. Now streaming on the CNN app.