Major Iowa and NJ Primary News, "Weaponization" Fund Scrapped, Trump & Bibi Talk Call: AM Update 6/4

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0:32Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on SiriusXM Channel 111. It's Thursday, June 4th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. We were outspent, opposed by the establishment, told to wait our turn. Well, tonight, we're not going to wait anymore. As primary night results continue to trickle in, consequential results in Iowa and New Jersey shake up the map. The Trump administration abandoning a nearly$1.8 billion fund designed to compensate Americans unfairly targeted by the government. Is that true? Did you speak to him in those terms? I did.

1:10I always say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. President Trump now confirming reports of a heated phone call between himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As both say, they're on the same page for the most part. In a historic showdown on Capitol Hill over the future of college sports in the era of the transfer portal and massive NIL deals. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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2:25Their U.S. customer service team is standing by to help you switch in as little as 10 minutes. Just dial pound 250 and say Megan Kelly to claim unlimited high-speed data for just$34.99. Again, dial pound 250 and then say my name, Megan Kelly, to switch to America's wireless company, Pure Talk. As primary results continue to roll in across races in several different states, a stunning upset in Iowa's GOP gubernatorial primary. Republican Zach Lane, a farmer and businessman, toppling sitting Congressman Randy Feenstra in the race. Lane, a political outsider backed by the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA movement, running on an anti-establishment conservative platform, while focusing in on an Iowa-first agenda.

3:14Feenstra entering the race as the favorite, armed with name recognition, establishment support, and an endorsement from President Trump just days before the primary day. But voters handing the nomination to Lane in a very tight battle. Here, Feenstra announcing his concession Tuesday night. I just called Zach Lane, said, hey, you gotta carry this torch. We gotta keep this state red. You gotta make sure you beat Rob Sand. I'm all in to help him out. We are gonna make sure that we have him as the next governor. Lane declaring victory soon after getting that call. I don't have to tell you this, but nobody thought this could be done.

3:49We were outspent, opposed by the establishment, told to wait our turn. Well, tonight the people of Iowa had something to say about that, that we're not going to wait anymore. They said Iowa doesn't belong to the political class. They said our state does not belong to the lobbyists, special interests, and corporate giants who for far too long have had way too much power in our state. The victory reshaping the race to replace outgoing Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, a two-term incumbent who did not run for re-election, setting up a high-stakes November showdown with Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand.

4:27A few states over, another noteworthy victory in New Jersey, with political newcomer Adam Hamawe winning New Jersey's crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. New Jersey's 12th congressional district is very heavily Democrat. Hamawi, a retired army combat surgeon, building his campaign around his military service, humanitarian medical missions to Gaza, and outspoken criticism of Israel's war in the territory. Here, Hamawi declaring victory Tuesday night. It wasn't easy running this race. Things got nasty. My family was attacked. My values were questioned, and my patriotism was There once was a time where this might have worked, when racist and anti-Muslims attacks would have turned an election.

5:17But tonight, we proved that this era of American politics is over. Hamawi, who immigrated to the United States from Egypt as an infant, overcoming a field of a dozen candidates, aided by support from progressive groups and a super PAC that spent heavily on his behalf. His victory coming despite attacks from critics over his appearance as a defense witness in the trial of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, known as the Blind Sheikh, a cleric linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamowy's campaign dismissing those criticisms as guilt by association. Hamowy explaining his relation to the Blind Sheikh in an interview with the media outlet Insider NJ.

5:57He wasn't, you know, preaching like no death and destruction all the time. I mean, he has certain views that he spoke in certain forums, but that's not what he did every single day. It was a blind old man that, you know, people, you know, volunteered when he needed, you know, some kind of service because he couldn't take care of himself. And so that's that's that's kind of all the association is. There's nothing there was nothing back then and there's nothing now. With the primary behind him, Hamaway now advancing to November's general election as the clear favorite in one of New Jersey's safest Democratic seats.

6:30Meanwhile, counting is still underway in key California races, including the race for governor and the race for Los Angeles mayor. As of last night, no final pairing in the runoffs has been declared. The Trump administration's controversial fund to compensate people who were victims of government quote weaponization is over before it ever really began. During a Tuesday appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche telling lawmakers the so-called anti-weaponization fund would not be moving forward, much to the surprise of Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York.

7:05So look, we're not moving forward with the fund, period. The reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a long time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who had their government weaponized against them. The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund. Not moving forward ever. Correct. The confirmation coming a day after Axios, citing two senior administration officials, said plans for the fund were, quote, dead for now. Meng and federal Democrats pressuring Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal defense lawyer, to commit to rescind, in writing, the acting AG's May 18th order establishing the$1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.

7:53Blanche repeatedly refusing to commit, like in this testy exchange with Meng. You and Associate Attorney General Woodward signed earlier documents regarding the settlement and this fund. Would both of you now sign and release documents reversing the DOJ's position on the fund? I'm not. We're not moving forward with the fund. I'm not sure what that means to sign documents reversing. There's nothing to reverse. We're not moving forward with the fund. The acting AG instead telling the subcommittee the fund, created as part of a settlement with the president to end his$10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his 2019 and 2020 tax returns, quote, wasn't set up yet, and there were, quote, no commissioners named.

8:37The taxpayer-funded anti-weaponization fund designed to compensate individuals who claimed they were politically targeted or unfairly prosecuted by the federal government, facing legal challenges and bipartisan scrutiny from the start. Opponents labeling it a, quote, slush fund for President Trump's allies, including January 6th defendants. And Senate Republicans holding off on a vote originally planned for last month to fund ICE and Border Patrol due in part over concerns about the funding, according to NBC News. GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas revealing on his podcast how a May 22nd meeting between Blanche and Senate Republicans about the fund went sideways.

9:18Fiery does not begin to cut it. Almost every Republican senator was there. So my guess is there are probably 45 senators in the room. at least half of them were blasting the attorney general and they were pissed the entire meeting. They were screaming at the acting attorney general and he was trying to lay out the legal basis. And by the way, the legal basis is, is quite sound. Blanche telling lawmakers that scrapping the fund does not affect the part of the settlement that in effect prevents the IRS from investigating president Trump, his family and his businesses for existing tax violations.

9:56In the wake of Blanche's testimony, Senate Republicans now moving forward with the reconciliation package to fund the Department of Homeland Security's immigration agencies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune telling reporters Tuesday that he is, quote, hopeful Republicans have the votes to pass it. Coming up, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissing claims of any rift growing between them after the president confirms a profanity-filled phone call between them this week. And as massive money floods into college sports, a hearing on Capitol Hill seeks to create rules for amateur athletes.

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11:21It's an elite protection unit that will fit your life, not the other way around. SimpliSafe has an exclusive discount for you. Right now, you can get 50 % off your new system by visiting simplisafe.com slash Megan. That's half off at S-I-M-P-L-I safe.com slash Megan. there is no safe like SimpliSafe. President Trump confirming reports that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quote, effing crazy during a recent call between the two leaders. As the conflict in the Middle East drags on, rumors of a rift between the two leaders circulating, broken in reporting from Axios. Speaking on Miranda Devine's Pod Force One podcast, Trump saying he was frustrated that the ongoing negotiations with Iran were once again jeopardized by Israel attacking Lebanon.

12:13Now, Axios reported that you had a phone call with Bibi Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in which you were angry with him. You said, are you effing crazy? What are you effing doing? I helped you stay out of jail. Is that true? Did you speak to him in those terms? I did. I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. And, you know, at some point I said, Bibi, we've got to stop this. We've got to stop it. But I have a very good relationship. We've done well, done well together. He always says we could never have done it. But everybody knows that we could have never done it without the United States.

12:54But we've we've I've worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I've worked very well with him. We had a you know where he I'm a wartime president. He's a wartime prime minister. Very important part of the world. and I think we've done very well. We've gotten along very well together. Israeli drone strikes reportedly killing 11 in Lebanon this week, according to the Associated Press. The strikes coming just one day after Mr. Trump posted that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to dial back fighting. Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group, launching strikes in response. Prime Minister Netanyahu joining CNBC for an interview Wednesday, saying that he and Trump talk every two days, and while there is definitely some disagreement, Their main goals align.

13:38Well, I'm not going to get into details of our conversations. We've had thousands, well, a lot, a lot of them. And if you think this is a crisis, you should be in some other conversations. But we've always found a way. We have so many agreements. We agree on the main things. We want to get Iran, the nuclear program in Iran, finished. We want to make sure that Iran doesn't pose a threat to Israel, to the Middle East, to America, that it doesn't develop nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, not only to Israel and to every capital in Europe, but to every city in the United States. That's our common goal.

14:09That's what we set out to do. And to expand the circle of peace, as the president and I did in the Abraham Accords together. So we have common goals. Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements. We always find a way to work them out. And we do so as great friends. Mr. Trump, in the Pod Force One interview, echoing Netanyahu regarding Iran's nuclear program and saying that gas prices in America will come back down. We don't have very much inflation. Look, if you take away just the price of gasoline, the energy, we have very little inflation. We're doing very well other than this.

14:46But that's a big puller, energy and gasoline and all. That's a big factor. We want low gasoline. I had it down to$1.85 a gallon. Think of it,$1.85 an Iowa range. I think as soon as it ends, it's going to come. It's already, by the way, it's already way down. You know that. I mean, I saw it the other day. It's$98 a barrel. So everyone said it was going to be$300,$400 a barrel. It's$98 a barrel. But that's not a big price to pay if you look at the possibility of them having a nuclear weapon. It's not a very big price to pay. Meanwhile, further military escalation coming from Iran. Iran hitting a terminal at Kuwait's main international airport yesterday and killing at least one person with dozens more injured.

15:32The attack coming just days after the facility reopened following other war-related closures. Kuwaiti officials saying all commercial flights were suspended. Kuwait's government condemning the attack, warning it reserves the right to respond. The U.S. saying it carried out retaliatory strikes against an Iranian military facility and that air defenses intercepted several incoming threats, preventing casualties among U.S. forces. Iranian media reporting Tehran has halted communications over efforts to extend the ceasefire in its conflict with the U.S. and Israel, though President Trump still insists negotiations remain on track.

16:11A historic hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday aimed at bringing order to a college sports system many see as needing fixing. In the era of name, image, and likeness, or NIL, payments on the rise, and the transfer portal making it easier for college athletes to switch schools like they're professionals. The hearing coming one week after U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington introduced the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, the bill providing the NCAA with an antitrust exemption to enforce several rules that have been challenged in court in recent years. Those rules would include limiting athletes to transferring schools only one time without penalty.

16:50limiting athlete eligibility to a maximum of five years, prohibiting former professional athletes from playing in college, and prohibiting schools from poaching a coach from another school during their sports season. Here, Senator Cruz opening up the hearing. As a lawmaker, it was not my intention to try to insert Congress into college sports. College sports came to Congress because changing the law is the only way to fix the legal chaos that we're seeing right now. Congress, unfortunately, helped create the legal environment in which college sports now operates. Federal antitrust, broadcasting, and interstate commerce laws shape what schools and conferences and governing bodies can do.

17:34If college sports cannot enforce basic rules because of the laws that Congress wrote, then Congress has a responsibility to adjust them, and we're the only people who can. Among those called to testify, legendary former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who's been very outspoken on the matter in the past. During his testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Saban calling for a national framework governing NIL payments and the transfer portal to be created, warning the current system is drifting toward professional free agency. I believe we want an education-based model that compensates athletes fairly, protects athletes properly and still preserves development, competition, opportunity, and tradition.

18:16That is what this bill is trying to do. It isn't perfect, and I'm sure many, many adjustments need to be made, but this is a serious bipartisan effort to bring order to a system that badly needs fixing. I don't think this is bipartisan. I think it should be non-partisan. It's that important in terms of college athletics, in terms of the future for young people. It protects athletes. It protects opportunity. It protects competitive balance. It protects the sports that do not always generate revenue but still matter. The seven-time national champion also pointing to the rapid growth of NIL spending, noting Alabama's collective funding growth during his time with the program.

19:00My first year we had collective at Alabama,$2.7 million. Next year,$7 million. Next year,$10 million. I retired. Next year,$17 million. Next year,$24 million. Now you have schools that have close to$40 million rosters. So if we continue to do that, we're going to lose Olympic sports. We're going to lose non-revenue sports. We're going to lose scholarships. And basically what's going to happen is you're going to have football and basketball succeed, and we'll have club sports for everything else with no scholarships. That's horrible. I mean, we can't let that happen. Supporters of the Protect College Sports Act, like Saban, warned that without reform, schools could cut non-revenue sports and college football could eventually splinter into a super league dominated by the wealthiest programs.

19:47The proposal faces opposition from major conferences like the SEC and Big Ten, which say key issues remain unresolved. That'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party. Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.

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