Trump and Republicans Clash Over “Anti-Weaponization” Fund

25:15Oh, I don't mean forcing, but if any of them want to name names. Absolutely. Well, certainly, yeah. Anyone who wants to share more information should come to us at the Oversight Committee. We've said we'll provide a forum, private or public, for anyone who wants to do that. Absolutely. Kellen described in graphic detail some of the sexual abuse that she says she endured by Epstein himself. She also blamed Ghislaine Maxwell for some of his wrongdoing, saying, quote, Maxwell turned Epstein into the monster he became. Is the committee going to continue trying to seek information from Ghislaine Maxwell?

25:45Absolutely. And I think Ms. Kellen's testimony yesterday highlights why this concept that Trump continues to float or consider that Ghislaine Maxwell should be pardoned is so flat out wrong. Maxwell was at the center of this. she was as abusive in many ways as Epstein was, as Ms. Kellen and others have shared with us. She shouldn't have been moved to a cushier prison situation. You know, a lower... Pardon. Yeah, shouldn't be on the table. It should be ruled out. But clearly, there's some information she has that Donald Trump wants to make sure it doesn't get out to the public. Have you found out why she was given this nicer prison to go to, this lower security prison?

26:23Like, I mean, was there... It's really odd, right? Because she talked to now acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said that President Trump had nothing to do with anything, and then all of a sudden was transferred to a nicer prison. Well, that's exactly why we're going to be questioning Pam Bondi on the 29th of this month. She's going to be asked detailed questions about that, what conversations took place with the president or anyone at the White House with Todd Blanche about that conversation, that meeting that he had with Ghislaine Maxwell. He's refused to give straight answers about that.

26:55He claims she wasn't moved to a less secure prison situation. That's in contradiction to the facts and what even folks in those prisons have told us. So we're going to ask Pam Bondi tough questions about that. Last question for you. So one of the leading proponents of making as much of the Epstein files public, Thomas Massey, Congressman of Kentucky, was defeated in his reelection bid, targeted by President Trump. I've seen floated by Massey allies the idea that he should just go to the floor of the House and name names and read files that we in the public don't have access to. For those who don't know, members of Congress cannot be sued for libel for things that they read on the floor of the House.

27:42There's this protection for it. Do you want him to do that? I want him to reveal any information that he has. Absolutely. He's done some of that already. He may feel even more free to do more of that. And I think you'll see him over the next six months before the end of his term continue the, in my view, courageous fight he's taken on behalf of these survivors to get accountability and transparency. Do you think he was targeted because of his role in getting the Epstein final? I think that was a big part of it. Yeah, I think the tens of millions of dollars spent against him by Trump and the MAGA machine, part of the Epstein cover up, no question.

28:15Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw of the great Commonwealth of Virginia. Thanks for being here. Also in our Law and Justice League, the British investigation into Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. You might know him as the prince formerly known as Andrew or the Andrew formerly known as Prince, I guess, may be expanding. Today, police urged the public to come forward with information as they may examine allegations of sexual misconduct. This is all part of a broader investigation to accusations that the then prince shared confidential information with now dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he was Britain's trade envoy.

28:48Andrew vehemently denies any and all wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein and any personal gain from his role as a British trade envoy. Let's bring in CNN royal correspondent Max Foster. Max, what pushed investigators to make this public plea? well it's interesting so a general misconduct inquiry into his role at the time when he was a trade envoy in this country so we were under the impression that was just in relation to potentially swapping files with epstein state secrets but the police are making clear they have also been looking at it as broad misconduct including sexual misconduct particularly into in relation to a woman who claimed that she was taken to address here in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes.

29:32They have reached out to her lawyers. She's not currently cooperating with them, but as I understand it, there may be some sort of negotiation going on there. I think the purpose for this briefing, though, was to call for witnesses. There's a real determination amongst the police here to investigate properly, but they need witnesses to come forward and give them the evidence. So that's really what today was about. But it is obviously, to the public's knowledge, at least at this point, a second case, because a previous case of Virginia Giuffre, who sadly died by suicide, obviously isn't involved in this case.

30:08But she made much more serious allegations about Andrew. That was settled out of court without Andrew accepting any culpability. But it does broaden this. And it does show, I think, that in this country, the police forces are doing all they can with not enough witnesses, whereas in the United States, there seem to be lots of survivors and witnesses willing to give evidence and not the same level of investigation. So two juxtaposing positions on either side of the Atlantic. Yeah, maybe we should invite Scotland Yard over here to get to the bottom. Max Foster, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up, the hot mess in the wake of the Democratic National Committee's so-called autopsy into the 2024 presidential election, complete with misspellings and glaring omissions about what went so terribly wrong with the Democratic campaign for president.

30:52And now growing calls for the DNC chair to resign. We're going to talk about this one next.

31:03In our politics lead, calls are growing for DNC chair Ken Martin to resign over how he handled the release of the party's autopsy of the 2024 presidential election. Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts is calling for Martin to exit, telling Axios it's, quote, utterly nuts it took us this long to release the autopsy. Congressman Mark Pocan tells Semaphore, quote, there doesn't seem to be a plan to turn things around and the clock is ticking. November is literally around the corner. I believe it's time for him to move on. Let's bring in the panel. So, Martin, this is just not good.

31:35He has been facing pressure to release the report after defending claims he was flip-flopping on his promise to do so in this interview with Pod Save America's Jon Favreau earlier this month. Take a listen. Why not release the full report? What's in the report that you wouldn't want to publicize? Yeah, there's no smoking gun in the report. And I know that's what everyone's so eager to learn, the smoking gun. Guess what, John? But if there's no smoking gun, why wouldn't you just release it then? Because we want to keep the focus on the lessons. So, Rob Farrity, you were the deputy campaign manager for the Biden 2024 campaign and then the Harris 2024 campaign.

32:12You said there's no way Ken Martin can stay as DNC chair. Do you think he's going to step down? Well, it's hard to say, Jake. My sense is it's a harder process than it appears from the outside. So, you know, it's hard to say whether or not he will go. Is there an obvious replacement? There isn't really. I mean, there's a lot of, you know, the group chat parlor game today is trying to name who. John Tester or whatever. Yeah, names like that. But, you know, it's hard to say what the mechanism is by which that would happen. But I do think that he does probably need to go. I mean, this is a really challenging mistake, and there's a trust-building process that I think we need to go through.

32:46I have to say, Jonah, the bigger story to me than the fact that this autopsy is poorly written and badly constructed and contains a bunch of errors is like, I mean, as Ken Martin says, there's no smoking gun. That's the problem. I could tell you the three smoking guns. Yeah. No, I mean, like almost all of the... First of all, they're talking about waiting so long to release the autopsy. It's like waiting so long for Thanksgiving dinner, and then what's brought out is a nearly raw turkey, right? I mean, it's like, it's not even an autopsy report. It doesn't have conclusions. It doesn't mention Joe Biden running for re-election, being too old, any of that.

33:21It doesn't mention Gaza. It doesn't mention, I mean, it doesn't mention things that various partisans within the Democratic Party wanted it to be about. And like it turns out, it's just like an incomplete nothing burger of a mess. And it's, you know, it might as well be the new holy text for the religion of Dems in disarray. Yeah. It's just it's like. And so I think it's an embarrassment for Ken Martin. I think it's an embarrassment for Democrats because it's it's not. What is it that Talleyrand said? It's not even a crime. It's a mistake. I mean, it's just a mess. So and Kristen, you know how even though Republicans are facing headwinds because of President Trump and dissatisfaction with high prices, registered voters aren't happy with Democrats either.

34:07That doesn't mean they're not going to win the House or maybe even the Senate. But a recent New York Times poll, New York Times-Siena poll found 70 percent of those polls. So they're dissatisfied with Democrats, 26 percent satisfied with the party. Trump and high prices might be enough to help them, but it's going to be a problem. Yeah, we are in a moment where it feels like both of America's major political parties are actively trying to lose at every possible turn. Right now, the best thing Republicans have going for them is the fact that Democrats have not yet been able to coalesce around a leader, a message, a platform, really anything besides Trump is bad.

34:43And Democrats are fortunate that that very well may be enough, because right now, Donald Trump is committing political malpractice on a daily basis. At a moment when gas prices are really high, when they're feeling unsettled about things like the war in Iran, doing things like, hey, I'm going to find$1.7 billion and I'm going to give it to... I mean, just the number of things that the president seems focused on doing that are the exact things you would do if you wanted to throw the midterms away is extraordinary. And yet it's what keeps happening. And yet Democrats still doesn't feel like they're fully capitalizing on this moment as much as they probably could be.

35:19You're the Democrat at the table. do you disagree? I mean, what is the Democratic agenda? Yeah, look, I think Democrats are focused on trying to bring costs down despite Donald Trump's best efforts to make them go higher. I mean, every day Donald Trump is hitting the prices go higher button with some decision he's making. And I think focusing on affordability is the right maneuver for us at this particular time. And yeah, Donald Trump is going to help us a lot on the way there. So I want to ask you, Jonah, President Trump's on the campaign trail with Congressman Mike Lawler of New York today. It's one of the most competitive congressional districts there is.

35:49New York's 17th. Harris won it. There are only three House Republicans who represent districts that Kamala Harris won, and Lawler's in one of them. And that same New York Times-Siena college poll gave Trump an approval rating of 37%. I mean, do you think it's smart for Trump to be in the district with Lawler? I think it would be dumb to try to tell Trump that he can't go. But no, at some point we may see a classic prison break where we actually see people running away from Trump. The problem is right now I don't think anybody can afford to do it. But I agree entirely with Kirsten. It's like he's a democratic plant these days.

36:37Trump. Trump, yeah. I mean, like picking Paxton. I mean, you can just go down an incredibly long list. And I don't see how, you know, the basic flaw is that he's governed as if the marginal voters who basically voted against Harris or for the pre-COVID economy, he assumed they were all super MAGA. And they're not. And they're bolting away. And he can't see it. And I wonder, when you do your focus groups, when you read the polling, I mean, it does seem as though, do voters see the same thing we see? Do they see this, he's focused on the slush fund, the so-called, he's focused on his billion dollar ballroom, he's focused on the reflecting pool.

37:19It is this like Marie Antoinette kind of presidency, you know, like people are literally having trouble making ends meet because of the war in Iran. And he said that he doesn't think about them when he's negotiating with Iran. Well, the problem that it's created politically for Republicans isn't just that it's really firing up Democrats. Every time Donald Trump does something like this. It further reminds Democrats of why they need to crawl across broken glass to vote in November. But for Republicans, while Donald Trump still firmly has hold on his MAGA base, as you've seen with his ability to determine who wins a Republican primary, it is what I call sort of normie Republicans, Republicans who are not MAGA, but are an essential part of the Republican coalition.

37:58If they don't turn out, you are not going to win. And it's those voters who, are they going to complain to me in a focus group about the ballroom, maybe not, but they're basically just going to say, this doesn't really feel like what I love. And I don't feel like if it's, it's worth turning out for. And if there's, they're not at risk of voting for Democrats, but if they don't turn out in November, and if Republicans don't find a way to say, here's what the stakes are, here's why you've got to participate. That's going to be the kind of turnout differential that is why midterms are always so hard for the party that is in power.

38:31But just like turn that up to 11. Rob, if you were king of the Democrats right now. Who would you appoint to be in charge of the message and everything going forward until November? Oh, I mean, the thing is, is I think that there's a lot of different people who can have a great message on this. But who is the best one? Who's the best? I mean, is it Buttigieg? Is it Harris? Is it Hakeem? Is it Schumer? Look, I think we've seen folks like John Ossoff really stepping up in Georgia, painting a really visceral image of corruption. Buttigieg has been doing really great in a number of Western states on a tour there.

39:05So, you know, I think there's a lot of great voices who are stepping up to tell the story of how the party is focusing on affordability. And thank you all. We should note that the congressman who voted no time for the DNC to turn things around is Mark Vesey. I misspoke, not Mark Pocan. Congressman Pocan has also agreed, though, that DNC Chair Ken Martin should step aside. We saw an uproar from Senate Republicans over that$1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, but the tone is not the same among House Republicans. Stay with us.

39:40Welcome to The Lead. I'm Dick Tepper. This hour, a new report claims that a White House official tried to ban voting machines used in more than half of the states in the United States. Reuters detailing how this was part of a larger discussion about ways that the federal government could take control of elections away from the states. I'm going to get reaction from a Republican lawmaker in just a moment. It's also Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. firing the leaders of a key health task force that decided which preventative services, such as mammograms or colonoscopies, Americans could get at no cost.

40:13One of those fired doctors joins us live to explain what this could mean for your family's health care and why the group hadn't met in so long. And we're ending our week with a heartwarming update to a story we brought you yesterday about that homeless veteran named Tom who left his dog Jake at a fire station. and the crew embraced Jake, begging the crew to take care of Jake while Tom got the help he needs. And now the community is rallying around Tom. Wait until you hear how they're stepping up to help this veteran rebuild his life.

40:47The lead tonight, Republican lawmakers reaching a breaking point. Senate Republicans openly revolting against President Trump's$1.776 billion dollar anti-weaponization fund. The issue becoming so toxic for Senate Republicans, they didn't even vote on Trump's priority immigration package over fears they couldn't get enough votes to pass it. And now the Senate is gone for their Memorial Day recess, leaving Trump fuming. And the fractures within the Republican Party do not necessarily stop there because after realizing they lacked the votes to stop a measure limiting Trump's war powers in Iran, largely because of absences.

41:23House Republican leaders abruptly canceled that vote, just barely shielding the president from yet another public defeat on Capitol Hill. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. And Kevin, how are Trump officials handling this growing backlash to President Trump's fund? Yeah, it really seems as if they're still trying to get their arms around it. You know, officials I've talked to really seem to be taken aback by this revolt among Republicans in the Senate, in part because this is not a place they are accustomed to being in. You know, we really haven't seen this kind of open rebellion in the Republican Party since really President Trump became the standard bearer of the GOP.

42:01And I think, you know, Todd Blanche's appearance before the Republicans yesterday really just underscored that they were not anticipating a lot of this blowback. He went up there without any answers to the questions they had about exactly how this fund would work, and it essentially backfired spectacularly. Now, when it comes to the fund, what officials are saying is that they don't expect to make any changes imminently, although the White House did say that they, quote, look forward to having additional conversations as needed. President Trump himself is offering, you know, quite a defensive stance on it, saying that he is helping others who are so badly abused by an evil, corrupt and weaponized Biden administration receive at long last justice.

42:43Now, obviously, the fund is just one issue that is dividing the White House and Republicans at the moment. You mentioned Iran. Obviously, that issue, increasingly unpopular with the president's own party. You also have the ballroom that the president is asking a billion dollars for security after saying that there would be no taxpayer dollars that goes to its construction. At the end of the day, this is kind of a numbers game. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate. that the more Republicans that the president criticizes or endorses their challenger, the fewer Republicans who are going to feel obliged to feel loyal to him in any way or vote for some of these are very, very critical priorities.

43:21So clearly a very toxic dynamic that is emerging that the White House still at this point, I don't think, has figured out how to solve. All right, Kevin Liptec at the White House for us. Thanks so much. Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska joins us now. Congressman, I know you're not happy with the Senate leaving town before voting on Trump's broader immigration enforcement package. Senate Republicans clearly felt they didn't have enough votes to get it passed because of concerns about this so-called anti-weaponization fund, especially concerning to so many of them is the idea that January 6th defendants who beat up cops could potentially get some of this money.

43:53What are your thoughts about the fund? Well, first of all, you know, for the last couple of years, I've heard a lot of concerns from my constituents about the weaponization of the DOJ against pro-life activists, against people who stood up and were holding school boards accountable. So I understand the sentiment among a lot of Americans, especially pro-life Americans. I was knee-deep in housing legislation last week, so I'm not fully read into this. But I can tell you one thing, not one penny of any fund should go to anybody that was inside that Capitol fighting and violently attacking our police.

44:30That is a bridge too far. I don't know that that's even something that could happen. If it is going to happen, it needs to be stopped. I disagreed with the pardons of J6 insurrectionists at the time. I said that, and I want to be very much on the record. None of those insurrectionists should have anything to do with that fund. In no way were they victims. They should have paid a price for that. And that's where I think a lot of people in the House are as well. Yesterday, House Republican leaders abruptly canceled this vote that would limit Trump's war powers in Iran, just as Republicans appear to be on the verge of losing the vote because of absences.

45:08I want you to take a listen to Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts on the House floor right around the time that the vote was pulled. Are we not voting on it because the American people are sick and tired of this illegal war that is costing tens of billions of dollars? Gas prices are through the roof. people can't afford. People can't afford their groceries. Is that why you're pulling it? You guys don't have the guts or the balls. The House will be in order. Now, I know Congressman McGovern wouldn't win an election if he ran against you and your conservative Nebraska district, but you're going to have a town hall soon, and I'm sure you're going to be hearing about high prices and the Iran war, and not because people are happy about either one of them.

45:53Well, prices are too high. I mean, the gas price is too high. Grocery prices are high. I don't like any of that. And I want to be straight up and acknowledge that. I also don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don't want them to have a dirty bomb. I don't want it to get into our country on our soil or be used against our allies. And so, you know, we did see prices come down substantially last year at President Trump. And we all celebrated the reduction in gas prices. We've been investing in energy independence. We've been making the kinds of decisions that will long term put us in a good position.

46:24But you and I both know this is connected to the conflict in Iran, the strait and everything that's happening there. I want that solved as soon as possible. And, you know, the other thing that comes with that, let's say it does get solved next week. It's still going to take another month or two just to get all that traffic moving in that important corridor. So this is not over right away, but I do see light at the end of the tunnel. And I'm hopeful that we can land the plane and finish this operation in Iran. You know, I've talked to experts on the war in Iran who have said, you know, the issue as to why previous presidents didn't give the orders to go to war in Iran the way that President Trump did starting on February 28th this year isn't because President Trump is courageous and they were weak.

47:06It's because every time there was a war game about such a military conflict, it ended in a morass that the United States could not extricate itself from. I mean, you must have heard the same thing as well. Are you not concerned at all that the president doesn't know how to end this? For the first time in 50 years, we have a U.S. president that is not putting up with their, call it whatever it is, we're not putting up with it anymore. Instead of sending them a plane full of cash to let Iran continue to invest in terrorism, Look at what this president has accomplished together with Israel against Hezbollah, against Hamas.

47:48Think about the conversations we were having 24 months ago after that brutal attack in Israel. We have made substantial progress. This country has been funding it. They have to be held accountable. We have made some great strides. And listen, nothing happens overnight, certainly. We would like the same situation in Venezuela to repeat itself in the Middle East. that isn't happening right now, but it's going to happen. We will be fine long-term and the prices will come down. Americans are paying more at the pump and we have to be very seriously combating that. And I do think the president cares quite a bit about that, but he's also not going to cut and run.

48:27I mean, look at what we did in Afghanistan. Now, these are two very different situations, but nobody I talked to, and I just got a haircut earlier this afternoon. My barber said, listen, we've got to finish the job. We're there. We've got to finish the job with this country that has vowed death to America, and the prices will come down. So I do think especially older voters that have been dealing with this their entire adult life, they want this handled, and they want to move on. Reuters is reporting that last year, Trump's election security czar Kurt Olson tried to ban Dominion voting system machines by asking whether the Department of Commerce could declare their components national security risks.

49:06Reuters said that the plan ultimately collapsed, but that this official was trying to invalidate these voting machines ahead of November's midterms. What's your reaction? Well, I think states should run their own elections. I don't, under Joe Biden, I didn't want the federal government telling us how to run elections. And it doesn't matter who's in the White House. This is something that's reserved to the states. I live in a state where I have a high degree of confidence that our elections are safe and fair. We just saw a very bitter primary in the second congressional district, and the Democrat who lost and was in second place had the confidence that the votes were accurate and conceded within a couple of days after the election.

49:47So I have all the confidence in the world that states that take it seriously, you can believe in the results, and I also think we should be giving them extra resources to make sure that election integrity remains a top priority. It doesn't matter what party you're in. It doesn't matter if you're even with the party. Everybody wants election results that you can believe and you can trust. Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska, thank you, sir. Good to see you. Hope you have a meaningful Memorial Day weekend. You too. Have a good weekend. This week, President Trump said he would speak to the leader of Taiwan in what would be an unprecedented move.

50:20U.S. and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since 1979. If you were wondering, I was 10 years old. So will this call happen? I'll ask the Taiwanese ambassador to the United States next.

50:40In our world lead, we're going to take you to Taiwan, where leaders say they have heard nothing from the United States regarding the hold on the planned$14 billion of U.S. arms sales to the island democracy. That's despite the fact that America's acting Navy secretary said this just yesterday. I have not spoken to the Taiwanese. However, we are we have done some military foreign military sales to them. And it's just right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury, which we have plenty, but we're just making making sure we have everything. Joining us now to discuss Taiwan's ambassador to the United States, Alexander Yui, thank you so much for being here.

51:19We appreciate it. How shaken is Taiwan's confidence in the U.S. following what you just heard there? Thank you, Jake, for having me in your program. Well, as you mentioned at the beginning, we haven't heard anything of the sort, as we know. About the hold? No, we haven't heard anything from that yet. So as far as we know, it's the same as what everybody else has heard, which is President Trump will make a decision on the arms sales fairly soon. And we obviously expect and hope that we will get the arms cells because we need the arms cells to maintain a strong defense for Taiwan. But I mean, this is pretty unprecedented, the idea that it's even a decision to be made, not to mention the fact that the president said that he discussed this with Xi Jinping when consultation is specifically one of the principles that the U.S.

52:12committed to not do with China? Well, as far as we know, again, the important take from President Trump's visit to Beijing on Taiwan is, which has been repeated by President Trump himself, by Marco Rubio and many officials afterwards, including Ambassador Greer, etc., Ambassador Waltz in the U.N., that there is no change in U.S. policy in Taiwan. Before, after the trip, there's been the same. And we take the word for that. And we are reassured that there's no change in US policy on Taiwan. So Taiwan is not reevaluating its own defensive positioning at all? I mean, it's, again, our communications in the United States is very fluent, it's concurrent.

53:01So discussions about how to beef up Taiwan's security is also in the constant communications. So it's not that it's one set and it stays, you know, because we're constantly also to update our strategies or how to defend the island with asymmetric warfare. For example, how does a small country defend against a big one such as Ukraine? So we're all constantly taking different approaches and recommendations. So it's an ongoing process. President Trump has now twice suggested that he might be willing to talk to Taiwan's President Lai. Has anyone from the White House reached out at all to arrange that call?

53:38Well, I think I'll leave it to the United States to make any announcements. I mean, we, again, the fact that President Trump, President Xi talked about Taiwan, and I think extensively during his two-day stay in Beijing, we are the stakeholders, Taiwan. So I think it's appropriate and reasonable that also at high level communications be held between Taiwan and United States. Would President Lai be willing to sit down with President Xi of China as Taiwan's opposition leader did recently, if given the opportunity? Of course. Our president actually, during the last few days, has mentioned in his statements that, first of all, we want to keep the status quo in the entire straits.

54:25We're not the aggressors. We're not to change anything. The name of my country is the Republic of China. The flag is the one that's falling behind me, or it's here in your program. We're not intending to change anything. There's no independence movement, per se. Everything is as is. And he's willing to talk to the mainland Chinese leader, if need be, but has to be on an equal footing of mutual respect. It's not as you're the breakaway province talking to the central government. That's not acceptable. But talking is good, the same way he's been talking, Xi Jinping has been talking to leaders of different parties, the Kuomintang Party in Taiwan.

55:05The problem with People's Republic of China is they still think that Taiwan is an outpost, a hold of the KMT faction in Taiwan. It's a continuous fight that the CCP, Communist Party, and KMT engaged 77 years ago. So somehow they're unwilling to talk to other political parties because they cannot accept the fact that Taiwan is a democracy. We have elections, and the ruling party right now is called the Democratic Progressive Party, and they refuse to do that because they acknowledge, again, that it's a PMT holdout, and that's how they treat Taiwan. But again, they have to realize that we have evolved, and actually we've never been subject to each other.

55:50We're not subordinate. In the Republic of China, Taiwan is not subordinate to the people of the Republic of China, and vice versa. So we have to talk, willing to, as equals. Taiwan's ambassador to the United States, Alexander Yui. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Jake, for having me on your show. It's going to be a wet and stormy holiday weekend for millions of Americans. We're going to check in with the CNN Weather Center for the latest forecast, as well as with our team at the United States' busiest airport.

56:23In the National League, a live look at Springfield, Virginia, just south of D.C. AAA predicts this Memorial Day weekend will set a record for travel with some 45 million people going out of town. And of course, they're paying a lot for it because the national average for gas is at$4.55 a gallon. That's the second highest average to ever start a Memorial Day weekend, an hour. Right now, this hour is not a good time to start that travel. This evening is thought to be one of the very worst times to get on the road. And given higher airfare this year, airports are also quite busy. Uh, CNN's Ryan Young is giving us a situation from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

57:03Jake, we know this is basically the official start of summer. The holiday season's in full swing. Look at the lines behind us here at the airport. This is Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and we've seen the security checkpoint lines. You see them three, one minute, 60 minutes. Different from what we've seen in the past in terms of all the people who crushed this airport during that government shutdown. As we walk this direction, you can see how the lines have sort of filtered their way out here. Also, 39.1 million people expected to hit the roads. So it's not just air travel, but the economy has been impacting people as they decide to hit the roads or hit the airways.

57:36We talked to some passengers who are excited about the summer starting. Well, we are all teachers and we just got out of school about a couple hours ago and we're traveling to New York City. So you weren't afraid of hotel prices? You weren't worried about the... No, no, we work hard. Were you worried at all with prices being up or dealing with holiday travel at all? Well, actually, we're always concerned about that, but it's my niece's graduation, so we had to make it happen. Yeah, the lines are here, and I can tell you, even the folks that we talked to said they are aware that prices are higher, but they are so excited about hitting the road for summer.

58:08Jake, tell us, what else are they going to spend their money on? Because at this point, they want something to look forward to. All right, and thanks to Ryan Young. As for the weather, many of us are going to see a soggy holiday weekend. And let's go to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar for the forecast. Allison. It is going to be a soggy holiday weekend for many folks in the eastern half of the country. Widespread rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches. But it's not out of the question to get 4, 5, or even 6 inches, especially in some of those areas where you get the thunderstorms that have the downpours.

58:39Now, Saturday early morning, the focus is really going to be across the northeast and the mid-Atlantic. But by the afternoon and the evening hours, you really start to see more of those showers and thunderstorms firing up in the southeast, specifically closer to the Gulf Coast. By the time we get into Sunday, you've still got a lot of those widespread showers across the northeast and up and down the eastern seaboard. But once again, you still have a lot of these showers and thunderstorms right there along the Gulf Coast. Those same trends will continue into Monday as well. It's the rain showers and the extra cloud cover that are actually going to keep temperatures well below average for places like Atlanta, Raleigh, D.C., New York, Boston, and all of them looking at at least 10 to 20 degrees below average.

59:17However, out into the west, it's quite a different story where temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees above average for the holiday weekend. All right, Alison Kanchar, thanks so much. The World Health Organization gave an update on the Ebola outbreak today, calling the situation on the ground deeply worrisome and likely much worse than we know. That's next.

59:46In our health lead today, the World Health Organization raised the Ebola threat level to very high in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease is spreading rapidly inside Congo with more than 700 suspected cases and at least 177 deaths. Outside the country, health officials say the global risk remains low, at least as of now. The WHO says there is a possible antiviral treatment that could be used by people who are exposed to Ebola to prevent the disease from developing. In our health lead, the two doctors who led the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force were fired last week by Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.

1:00:23That task force determines what preventive care, such as, for example, mammograms or colonoscopies, what preventive care Americans can receive at no cost. But this task force has not met in more than a year, and half of the 16 seats are, as of now, unfilled. Joining me now is one of the doctors fired by RFK Jr., John Wong. He's a general internist at Tufts Medical who had served as the chair of the task force. Dr. Wong, thanks for coming on. I want to play what RFK Jr. said last month about the task force. When asked by House lawmakers what he was doing about getting federal investments and research to translate into stronger detection and diagnosis of chronic disease.

1:01:04Take a listen. Our task force has been lackadaisical. it's not been doing its job. If it had been doing its job, we would have early screening for Alzheimer's. But in the letter RFK Jr. sent you last week, he said your removal was the result of a review of the governance of the task force. And he added, quote, this action is administrative in nature and is unrelated to your performance or many years of dedicated service to the task force. It is not to be understood as a removal based on your leadership or contributions. To the contrary, the department is taking this step to help protect the task force and preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work, unquote.

1:01:43So what do you make of that reasoning? You know, when I was told of our termination, I had a flood of emotions. The first was surprise. The second was disappointment. And then I became confused. I'd been a member of the task force for five years. I've been part of the leadership chair group and, as you mentioned, had just become chair in March. And it recognized, you know, for me, I'd been volunteering my time with thousands of hours devoted to reviewing evidence and the latest research to make recommendations to help keep people healthy. and then why was this happening? I then became worried.

1:02:39The task force has always had chairs. Now there were no chairs and historically the chairs have been on the task force for at least four years. None of the remaining members have had four years of experience. Chairs have historically had deep knowledge. And I began to become worried and asked, why would they want to create instability for an institution for patients who are cared for by primary care clinicians who rely on our task force recommendations to keep them healthy? So why hasn't the task force met in more than a year? Well, our three in-person meetings were postponed and they have not occurred.

1:03:33I can say that we meet weekly, virtually. So we continue to do the work. We did as much work as we possibly could on each of the statements. In fact, we've had a number of recommendation statements that have stalled at various stages. So RFK Jr. says he wants to change the makeup of the task force beyond primary care physicians. They want specialists, including anesthesiologists, cardiologists, oncologists, radiologists, obstetricians, to consider serving on the task force. Is that a good idea? Let me just start by saying, you know, the task force historically has been comprised, as you mentioned, by 16 primary care clinicians.

1:04:20We have experience and expertise in evidence-based medicine and preventive health. The experience we have is in primary care. Our recommendations are for primary care clinicians. We make those recommendations based on evidence that we determine to help people to live longer, healthier lives. Now, when you think about our recommendations, we have over 80 of them, and they range from babies to older adults. And to be very clear, we always consult specialists who are relevant to our recommendations and greatly appreciate their expertise. You mentioned mammography. Breast cancer specialists, for example, are incredibly important for breast cancer mammography, and we want to hear from them.

1:05:16And I will say we do hear from them. But, for example, when it comes to the makeup of the task force as a whole, what would they say about the recommendations that we do for, say, vision screening in kids, you might ask? Yeah, makes sense. What might that do going forward? Dr. John Wong, thank you so much. Appreciate it, sir. The new chairman of the Federal Reserve was sworn in today as Americans are grappling with inflation, high gas prices, climbing mortgage rates. Will Kevin Warsh bring major changes to the Fed? That's next.

1:05:56In our politics lead, former President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, sat down with conservative podcaster, anti-Semite and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens. She's obviously known for many wildly insane statements. In the wide-ranging interview, Hunter Biden talked about his drug addiction and at one point defended Owens for questioning the government's account of Charlie Kirk's assassination. Candace's questioning includes deranged suggestions that there's been something nefarious about the behavior of widow Erica Kirk in all of this. Here are just a couple of the things Owens has said unsupported by facts in her series Bride of Charlie, I should note.

1:06:37Straight to jail, straight to jail. Look, I have seen enough, ladies and gentlemen. I've seen enough. Erica Kirk should be dragged into a police precinct for questioning. I have a hunch, a growing hunch, that Erica and Jeffrey Epstein may have crossed paths. Something is not sitting right with me about how she just keeps dancing around Jeffrey Epstein in her life. This is not even the most offensive thing that Candace Owens has said in the last year. But we should note, Erica Kirk is not even mentioned in the Epstein files. And of course, there's no evidence she had anything to do with her husband's assassination.

1:07:18Remarks about Kirk's assassination have earned Owens a defamation lawsuit from Charlie Kirk's former security chief. But given that that is the context of Candace Owens' comments and questions about Charlie Kirk's death, I want you to take a listen to Hunter Biden's take on Candace's campaign about Charlie Kirk. And the criticism of you for asking the questions for someone who was like a brother to you, it's like, what the F are you talking about? That's what you're talking about. How dare you? Panel's here to discuss this and more. I also want you guys to take a listen to Candace Owens and Hunter Biden questioning the assassination attempts against President Trump.

1:08:04We're supposed to believe he survived four. What do we have? Four assassination attempts. the first president that's ever survived four assassination attempts. They quietly, they lied to us about things. I mean, even the recent White House Correspondents Dinner, there was so much theater to it after, so much theater. And now it's kind of, okay, Secret Service maybe shot each other, and we're just going to kind of quietly move on. But Trump needs a ballroom. By the way, it's going to cost a billion dollars now. And by the way, it's not from donors. And by the way, we're going to do it. Like, it's just like, it's just the constant, like, talk about gaslighting.

1:08:35Kate. Yeah, Kate. It's terrible. It's terrible. Lifting up these kinds of conspiracy theories is extremely irresponsible. She's somebody who fans the flames of these dangerous, unfounded conspiracy theories. This is a huge part of the problem. I think the expansion of media into independent journalists, podcasters, there's a lot of value to it. There's a lot of voices that get lifted up that haven't previously been lifted up. And I think there's a lot about it that's very good for our democracy. Of course. This is not. and she, you know, raising these kinds of things and Hunter using his platform to validate them, that's troubling.

1:09:15And by the way, we didn't even play some of the, like, hideous anti-Semitic things, but including, up to and including, like, elements of Holocaust denialism. And so, you know, I think just normalizing her, you know, I hate to see Hunter doing that. What do you make of this?

1:09:35there are a lot of people who in the extended Tucker cinematic universe that I can criticize and I can argue with I actually think Candace Owens has straight up mental health issues and she's one of these people who if you were going to put a poster child for do your own research it would be Candace Owens she Googles like, give me famous anti-Semitic things to repeat. And then she brings out things like the Talmudic Jew and all of this hateful 19th century, 20th century stuff that she rehabilitates. Protocols of the elders of Zion stuff. Yeah. And so it's someone who I think has legitimate bipolar mental health issues, talking to a self-confessed crackhead.

1:10:24And the one thing that brings them, it's sort of the, it's the Molotov of Ribbentrop packed for morons, right? And the thing that brings them together is this desperate need for attention. And the fact that they get attention for saying this stuff is its own reward. But all of the stuff that Candace Owens says, all of the stuff about, you know, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there's, it used to be in our life, you could have left-wing, right-wing media and all that kind of stuff. The thing that would drive the conversation about an assassination or assassination attempt would be this thing called a courtroom where people were obliged to follow the laws, the rules of evidence and bring facts.

1:11:05There is a trial of the actual assassin going on. None of this has to do with Israel. Candace has been harassing Erica Kirk, who's the widow of Charlie Kirk. And it's the most deranged thing. I was just so surprised to see Hunter like justifying and supporting her campaign. Right. Well, and one thing I would say, you know, you raise his issues with drugs and he has spoken and speaks very movingly about the challenges that he's been through. And so that was part of why it was particularly disappointing to me to see him do it on this platform. I think he's very honest and very candid about the struggles that he's been through.

1:11:43And I think that that has probably helped some people. And I think that he is able to connect in a way that actually I think is moving and important. I hate him doing this with her in a way that validates the insane, outrageous things that she says. I also think Hunter's wife is Jewish, and he's sitting down and boosting, offering credibility to one of the modern world's most notorious anti-Semitism. Anyway, let's move on to actual people of importance. Kevin Warsh, sworn in as Fed chair as a pivotal moment for the U.S. economy. Here's President Trump talking about his new Fed chair. I want Kevin to be totally independent.

1:12:23I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don't look at me. Don't look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job. Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, that's a good thing. He wants complete independence. Sure. And you see how he is reading. He's not even looking up, right? We're hearing these words because he's looking at the page and he knows he needs to say them. The first time he's asked about this, where he speaks off the cuff, I suspect we're going to hear something very different. I mean, don't forget Jerome Powell was a Trump appointee as well.

1:12:55Yeah. I mean, Trump would say he should cut interest rates. He should cut them right now. I mean, he would say that. He's been very, very clear about what he wants to see from his Fed share. There's also the problem, which I'm only marginally joking, maybe not even joking at all. I don't think at some level Trump understands how the Federal Reserve works. Oh, of course not. And the thing is, is that Jerome Powell does not set interest rates. It's a vote. And you need - With a committee. With a committee. And there's a process to it. And it's only one kind of interest rates. It's just the overnight thing that they - Kevin Warsh could be a total lickspittle.

1:13:34I don't think he is. But he could be a total loyalist lickspittle, just following orders, a remote control automaton. He could not by himself change interest rates, particularly not now when inflation is rising. And so I think Trump is destined to be really disappointed with Warsh, and Warsh is going to have an unpleasant time. Quickly, at today's story, are an injustice, Thomas, who administered the oath of office, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. At the same time, the court is considering a case challenging Trump's attempt to fire a different Fed governor, Lisa Cook. Conflict of interest? The optics are not great.

1:14:05I mean, no, I think that's not ideal. Yeah. Thanks to both of you. We'll be right back.

1:14:22Tomorrow marks four weeks since a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents Association dinner here in Washington, D.C. As it turns out, that's enough time for a third of the country to conclude that that isn't really what happened at all. Of course, it is what happened, but here's CNN's Tom Foreman from the land of conspiracy theories.

1:14:44Immediately after the attack at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, social media bristled with hundreds of thousands of posts. It's obviously staged. It was all in the script. Fake. This was not a real assassination attempt. Now polls show those doubters are still out in force. They are trending more Democratic and younger, but some Republicans are also unsure if this really was an attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump. And that's no surprise for Katie Sanders at PolitiFact. We've watched misinformation become more mainstream in the last couple of years, and the type of people, the background of people who are embracing this information has also changed too.

1:15:27So a lot of people reacted to this comment by the press secretary earlier in the evening. It'll be funny. It'll be entertaining. there will be some shots fired tonight in the room. She was explicitly talking about political shots in the president's upcoming speech. But questions rippled online. What did Caroline Levitt know? In the confusion of the moment, some early reports suggested the suspected gunman had been shot, killed, or had fired numerous times himself, all of which fed the claims of fakery when none of it proved true. Although it is normal and fast-breaking news because people make mistakes.

1:16:05The suspect in this case, he was not struck by gunfire. With Trump facing sharp disapproval over the war in Iran, soaring gas, grocery and housing prices, his ballroom and more, the idea of him bearing up bravely against a potential assassin struck some critics as just the kind of distraction the White House might want to fake. I wasn't worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world. After all, conspiracists say the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania during the 2024 campaign produced one of the most striking political images in years and put Trump in a sympathetic light for many voters, even as he, too, has often pushed unfounded conspiracy theories.

1:16:55He has helped fuel this storm where people don't know what to think and don't know what to trust. And now it's being used against him and people's belief in these narratives about attacks on him. And when you throw in Trump's tendency to be dramatic and to say things that are patently false, yeah, it's not surprising that some of the polls are running rampant with people saying there must be something else at work here, even though authorities, to be clear, say this was an authentic attempt on the president's life. Anyway, speaking of the truth is out there, the Pentagon did release more UFO files today.

1:17:32What do they show? What stands out to you? Two weeks ago, we had some. Again, these are more modern releases now, more modern accounts. A lot of the videos, or a dozen of them here, seem to address modern things. For example, one from 2021 from Syria. You see that dot in the middle there? That's the UAP they were following. And there's a sudden acceleration that they talk about where it just sort of shoots off into nowhere, which they don't seem to be able to explain. We can't explain either because we don't know much about where this came from other than what it says on the video that was released.

1:18:03Another one was over Lake Huron a few years ago, and the one over Lake Huron shows what appears to be an attack on it where it gets blown apart here by something fired from a fighter jet up there. But, again, we don't know much about it. There seem to be reports later that that might have been a weather balloon sort of concurrent with that Chinese weather balloon thing out there. But nonetheless, for people who are prone to be fascinated by this, this is enough to keep them fascinated. Well, I'm fascinated. It keeps going. CNN's Tom Forma, thanks so much. We want to end our week with a positive note, an update to a story we brought you yesterday.

1:18:39We introduced you to Jake the Dog. His owner, Tom, a homeless veteran, left him at a fire station in Fort Worth, Texas, with a note explaining that he was a homeless veteran, and asking the firefighters to care for Jake while he got the help he needs. Jake quickly settled in at the firehouse, the crew saying he found the perfect recliner to nap in. He patiently waits for them to return from every call. The community has stepped up to help Tom, the veteran. Tom was gifted an RV camper yesterday where he will be able to live. The fire department's homeless outreach team has been helping Tom get to his medical appointments and get the RV equipped with the necessities he needs.

1:19:18The fire department says it's not clear what comes next in the story, but they did pass along this message from Tom, quote, although never once looking for the attention he has gotten, Tom wants to express his overwhelming gratitude for the love and support he has received from not only our community, but from across the country, unquote. Our thanks to Tom for his service, to the firefighters for everything they do on a daily basis, especially, of course, this deed with Jake and for the community rallying around a veteran in need. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, I'm going to talk to Republican Senator Tom Tillis, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Democratic Senator Cory Booker.

1:19:56That's Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Blue Sky, and on the TikTok at ChickTapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. I hope you have a very meaningful Memorial Day weekend. I will see you Sunday morning on State of the Union. Erin Burnett out front starts now.

1:20:24I'm Eva Longoria, and I'm setting out to really experience France to savor its world-celebrated cuisine and explore the country's rich history. Eva Longoria, Searching for France. Now streaming on the CNN app. Influential journalist Cara Swisher is taking a hard look at the longevity industry. There's so much bad information that the really good information gets drowned. The new CNN original series, Cara Swisher Wants to Live Forever. Now streaming on the CNN app.