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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump Names Housing Chief With No Intel Experience As Acting DNI; California Voting In Critical Races For Governor And L.A. Mayor; Reality T.V. Spencer Pratt Shakes Up L.A. Mayor Race; Blanche: "We're Are Not Moving Forward" With $1.776B Fund; Trump Taps A Leader Of His Retribution Tour As Acting Intel Director; Los Angeles Voters Casting Ballots In Tight Mayoral Race; Reality TV Star Spencer Pratt Shakes Up L.A. Mayor Race; Now: Dems Face Off In Iowa As Party Looks To Flip Senate Seat. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired June 02, 2026 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PEABO BRYSON, R&B SINGER singing, "A Whole New World")

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Songs that everybody knows. Maybe it's the soundtrack of your childhood or as your children watch those movies. Bryson said that his songs represent every hope and promise that you will ever have. A statement from Bryson's family says he was, "surrounded by the love of his family and those closest to him," and they added, "His legacy and music will live on for generations to come." Peabo Bryson was 75. Anderson starts now.

[20:00:43]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Once again, election night in America, big primaries in six more states, some of them central to which party controls Congress next year. Two others in California will be the first step in deciding who the next governor will be and whether the mayor of Los Angeles will keep her job.

One of the candidates in that race, Spencer Pratt, is someone probably better known as a reality show villain from "The Hills."

In New Jersey, where polls have just closed, there's the race to pick a Democratic challenger to this man, Republican Congressman Tom Kane Jr., who has been absent from the House for months. And in Iowa, voters are picking candidates for the House, Senate and Governor.

There's also the backdrop to all of this, the President named a Federal Housing Official, Bill Pulte, as Acting Director of National Intelligence, someone who lawmakers in both parties today said has no qualifications for the job, but who has distinguished himself from the President's retribution campaign against political enemies.

Also tonight, the Presidents so-called anti-weaponization fund. A judge put it on hold temporarily on Friday. Today, the Acting Attorney General claimed it's gone for good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOM BLANCHE, U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are not moving forward

with the fund.

REP. GRACE MENG (D-NY): Not moving forward ever.

BLANCHE: Correct.

MENG: Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, let's start with CNN's Elex Michaelson at a polling location in North Hollywood. What more are you hearing from voters there tonight?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR, "THIS STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON": Yes.

COOPER: Hey Elex, what are you hearing from voters tonight?

MICHAELSON: Yes, Anderson, we're hearing a lot of people that are motivated by this mayor's race. We're welcome to one of the voting centers. You know, it's rush hour on the freeways of Southern California. It's also rush hour at the voting centers as well. Every Californian who is registered is mailed a ballot. They have an opportunity to return it in the mail or return it at drop boxes like this one. But plenty of people still like the traditional way of showing up at the polls. And that is what is happening right now. What we've seen talking to people all day is that spencer Pratt is motivating people one way or another.

There's plenty of people that are driven to the polls because of him. There are plenty of people that are driven to the polls to try to vote against him. People have strong opinions about Mayor Karen Bass as well. We are not seeing as strong opinions when it comes to the race for governor. A lot of voters sort of ended up with a decision that they're not particularly excited about.

A lot of the people we talked to today are going for Tom Steyer, the billionaire democratic environmental activist who spent more than $200 million of his own money on this race. He's spent a lot, especially in the last week, to try to get him over the top. We have seen in polls him climbing. We are starting to see that in talking to people at this particular location. Will it be enough to get him into the top two? Remember the top two advance regardless of party. We don't know, but it certainly seems anecdotally that there's some momentum for Steyer in the closing days -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Elex Michaelson, we'll check in with you later, thanks. John King is tracking tonight's races at the Magic Wall -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, if you just look what Elex was just describing in the California Governor's Race, a lot of people around the country are like what? Democrats, Republicans, same ballot. It's an open primary or what we call a jungle primary in the sense eight candidates, their names, alphabetical order on the wall right now, because we don't have any votes yet. You have Xavier Becerra served in the Biden Cabinet, was the California attorney general. He has moved up in the polls. You have Steve Hilton, former Fox Business host, former Fox host who's trying to make the ballot as a Republican.

At one point, there was a possibility some people thought maybe two Republicans would make the ballot. That seems to have faded, but we'll count votes in a bit. And you go through the other names. You have a mayor here, congresswoman here. Tom Steyer, as you noted, who ran for President back in 2020.

So, a lot of candidates in this primary, the question is, what is California looking for? And as we fill this in, everybody at home not from California says, wait, isn't that a blue state? Yes, it is, but look, voter disenchantment is everywhere, Anderson.

So, as we look to see who will be the final two. Just a reminder, when Gavin Newsom last ran in 2022, it's a blowout 59 percent to 41 percent there. But you see all the red swath and inland California. Can a republican win if you get a Republican on a Democrat? That would still be a very steep hill. But again, were in a very interesting year.

So, interesting primaries out there, both for mayor and for governor and several house races as well. That just adds to the volatility and the unpredictability of this midterm year.

COOPER: All right, John, we'll check in with you a little bit. Joining me right now in the studio, republican strategist Shermichael Singleton, former Trump White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin, former special adviser to President Obama, Van Jones, former senior adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod and Bloomberg opinion columnist Ron Brownstein. David, what interests you more? The governor's race in California, or the mayor's race?

[20:05:14]

DAVID AXELROD, CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think both of them are interesting. The governor's race is interesting because if you get two Democrats, you're going to have a war from now until November. If you get a Republican, it's going to be less of one because the state is so Democratic that even despite what John said, likely going to be a Democrat elected. And in the same way who gets into the final two in L.A. Is important.

Karen bass has been embattled over the handling of the Pacific Palisades' fire. Homelessness has been improved, but it's not improved enough for a lot of voters there. But I think she feels for all of this excitement about the Republican reality star who's running, I think that she would love him to get into a runoff with her because L.A. is such a Democratic City that she would be a favorite in that race.

COOPER: Van, do you think someone like Spencer Pratt would make it on the ballot in November? VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he's going to

make it onto the ballot. And look, I know Karen Bass very well. She's incredibly respected. She comes out of the true grassroots, and she rose up to be the head of the state legislature or congress' first woman, head of the Congressional Black Caucus comes back to L.A. She's been a mayor. And so, she's, I think, surprised to be in this foot race with this guy that, you know, frankly, nobody in L.A. probably had heard of six months ago. And I think it has to do with the fact that the problems that L.A. has, they are tough problems to solve.

She came in there saying she's going to do something about homelessness. Nobody cares more than she does. It has been a tough problem to solve. That fire, by the way, was a fire hurricane. It was it wasn't her fault. We've never seen any, when the wind season and the fire season met for the first time, we had a fire hurricane. Our planes couldn't fly to put out the fire, so she had to take the take it on the nose for that --

AXELROD: She also, Van was, she wasn't in town when --

COOPER: Yes, that's, she was like in Ghana.

JONES: Yes, that's true, but had she been in town, she could have done a single thing differently because usually the fire like that, we scoop up the ocean water and dump it. You cannot fly helicopters and air tankers in a hurricane.

So, I like Karen. I hope that she wins. But it's a wake-up call to the entire Democratic Party establishment that some somebody like this, you know, reality T.V. guy can get in there and he's going to I think it's going to be a tough fight. I think he's going to get in there and it's going to be a fight to the finish.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You used the key word establishment, and I think what you're watching in the L.A. Mayor's Race is this anti-establishment sentiment. I know Spencer Pratt; I personally like him. And by the way, don't ever sleep on Republican reality T.V. stars. It was really far for Donald Trump and this is a guy with a scant resume actually able to manage a major city with millions of people in it but he's tapping into something.

People are frustrated; they see the homeless issue. They see drug problems on the streets. They feel displaced still this long after the fires. And he's had these viral ads. I would say they may be A.I. slop ads, but they are getting steam. They are getting in front of people. And he's got serious people backing him.

COOPER: We should point out; he has repeatedly said he's not making sides --

GRIFFIN: He is not behind them.

COOPER: He has retweeted a couple of them.

GRIFFIN: He's shared some of them. He's got some real money behind him as well. So, I do think he at least makes it ahead tonight. But whether that translates into being able to win, he's going to have to have more concrete answers. He's really tapped into like Donald Trump identifying what the problems are. Offering the solutions is a little harder.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, Anderson, the way I look at this and I'll pick up off of your summation, we are still in the era against the establishment. It's as Harvard professor Michael Sandel said this, this push against these technocratic elites, the individuals who lead, who are well educated, a ton of experience. And yet despite that experience, the broader public is saying we're rejecting that because the tangibles are no longer tangible for us.

It reminds me of Bill Clinton when he gave his speech at the DNC convention in 2024, and he spoke about the average layperson, and he said people are coming to political leaders saying we have problems, solve them. And for many voters in L.A., I presume that they do not feel the incumbent mayor has resolved many of their issues. And so, you see, someone who is nontraditional doesn't have a lot of experience, go from zero percent to 22 percent, while the city mayor has been flat lined for the most part, this is a normal in most environments.

JONES: Wake up call.

COOPER: Ron, you know politics better than most, Spencer Pratt told CNN's Elex Michaelson that he believes he'll win as an outsider. I just want to play what he said and then talk to you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER PRATT, FORMER REALITY T.V. STAR AND MAYORAL CANDIDATE FOR LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: I think there's a tsunami of votes coming from all the people that are done with politics as usual. They want an outsider; they want to disrupter. They want somebody who's going to really go stop their tax money from being stolen to increase problems. They want the potholes fixed. They want their sidewalks fixed. They want the street lights. They want to feel safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:10:06]

COOPER: Ron, do you think Pratt has a real shot as a Republican in a very blue city?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, look, I mean, the geometry of the mayor race and the governor race are very similar. You've got at the center of it you've got kind of an older mainstream Democrat who doesn't inspire a lot of enthusiasm. That's Becerra and Bass. You've got an insurgent to their left. That's Raman and Steyer, and you've got kind of a conservative gadfly to their right. That's Hilton and Pratt.

And, you know, I think as everyone has said, I mean, there is a lot of unease in L.A. as in other cities about many of the problems that feel intractable. And it's not only the fire itself, it's just that everything after has been different. Every step has just been really difficult for people dealing with the insurance companies, dealing with permitting, dealing with rebuilding. So, Bass has a lot, you know, a lot of headwinds that she is facing. I do think that in the end, if she can get to the general election, she still has to be favored in a city this blue significantly against either.

Same thing with Becerra, if he gets the general election, he's going to beat Steve Hilton 60-40, and he would probably beat tom Steyer by ten points. The risk for each of them is getting squeezed out in the top two primary by this kind of left right pincer move that they're facing.

COOPER: David, I mean, California hasn't had a Republican Governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

AXELROD: Yes, and he wasn't exactly, he was in some ways this model. He was not a normal Republican. He was a disruptor who was running against the status quo. And so, he was the model but California was a little different at the time. There actually was a history of Republican Governors in California. So, and it's become much more partisan-ized now. So, I think that it would be a different race.

One interesting sidelight to this is Tom Steyer is running a very left race. He's flaying billionaires all the time. And he's proving that there may be profit in condemning billionaires, but being one, so, you can spend almost a quarter of $1 billion doing it.

GRIFFIN: It's a great gig if you can get it.

AXELROD: Yes.

COOPER: We're going to take a quick break.

Coming up next, the President's pick to be acting director of national intelligence has no experience in the intelligence community or national security or international affairs. What does he know that is coming up?

And later, the demise of what many Democrats, as well as former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, called the President's slush fund, which could have awarded millions to people who stormed the Capitol. Is it really gone for good? We'll take a look at that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:16:58]

COOPER: That is a picture of Bill Pulte, the President's pick to succeed Tulsi Gabbard, named today acting director of National Intelligence. And where other DNIs have been former diplomats, National Security officials, military commanders, even chiefs of other intelligence agencies. The newly named acting director is none of these. He has, in fact, no intelligence or National Security, diplomatic experience. He's the founder of a private investment firm focused on home building and housing. Nothing you might imagine the job requires, especially in wartime, to head up an agency charged with coordinating the flow of intelligence about, among other things, threats to Americans at home.

He's not giving up, by the way his other three jobs. He's staying as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, also as chairman of the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. His main distinction, it seems, is his role in the President's retribution campaign.

Pulte has sent a string of criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, alleging mortgage fraud by Fed Governor Alisa Cook. New York's attorney general, Letitia James, former Congressman Eric Swalwell and California Senator Adam Schiff. He's one of many democrats and several Republicans raising doubts about Pulte.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Pulte's experience in the housing agencies was only to weaponize them and politicize them.

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): You're putting in a person whose qualification is to be blindly loyal to Trump.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (D-NC): I don't know of any National Security experience he has.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Mr. Pulte has absolutely no intelligence background. He has no National Security background. The law was written to prevent this kind of appointment. Our intelligence work has always, always been bipartisan. Are we going to finally hit the gag reflex? I hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The Senate's top Republican, John Thune, said, "We don't need a weaponized DNI." He won't have a say in the matter, though, unless the President nominates him for the full-fledged position, which requires Senate confirmation, he did not do that back in his first term, explained why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I sort of like acting; it gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like acting, so we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great Cabinet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Oh, there will be acting involved. Joining the panel right now, former deputy director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner, and John Miller, our chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. Beth, you have someone who has zero experience in the intelligence community taking over as acting DNI, while apparently still keeping his job as director of federal housing finance agency. Does that make sense to you? Is that wise?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No, it's of course not. I mean, you know, it doesn't make sense when what we have at stake here is really the National Security of the United States. And I know that there's a lot of criticism about the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and there should be. But let's remember, you know, why we have the Director of National Intelligence. We have that because of the failure of agencies, some of the 18 agencies now to communicate. And that is what was one of the main reasons why we didn't prevent the 9/11 hijackers from flying into multiple buildings in the United States and killing Americans, right.

And so, you know, we cannot, you need an ODNI that actually is forcing that integration. And you have a person being put in here that doesn't get along with anybody except President Trump. You know, it's not going to make relations with CIA better. It's not going to be making relations with FBI better. He already is at loggerheads with DOJ and that's a real problem, because those are the agencies that are going to prevent the next intelligence failure.

COOPER: I mean, he's, John. He's pushed the Department of Justice to go after Letitia James and other cases which have fallen apart spectacularly. What do you make of him as DNI?

[20:20:57]

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think the thing that people in the Intelligence Community are worried about is he's going to have almost unfettered access, basically unfettered access to, intelligence from 17 U.S. Intelligence agencies. But not just that, also intelligence shared with us by our foreign partners and that's an awesome number of secrets to keep for anybody. But in the hands of somebody who's been basically carved their identity out as a political hit man, that raises any number of questions of what is he going to do with that information?

Second point is he's got a responsibility as DNI to ensure that there's no sign of foreign interference into the election process. And for someone who's acting job could take him through the midterms, that also gives him the power, depending on whether they like the outcome or not, to characterize election integrity any way he wants.

COOPER: So, he could have an impact, I mean, if President Trump wants to mix claims about election integrity yet again in the midterms, Pulte could be an accessory in that.

MILLER: He could call for an investigation. He could cherry pick one set of intelligence facts against another. It positions him to throw a wrench into things.

COOPER: Beth, how concerned should people be about that?

SANNER: Well, I think we only need to look back in our history. And I'm not saying that the repeat of history is inevitable, but this is what we need. Our congress and Americans to be wary of. You know, in the 1970s, the Nixon administration politicized or actually weaponized the intelligence community. They had the FBI, the CIA, and the National Security Agency spying on Americans.

And that led to the Church Committee and that led to reforms of the intelligence community to prevent that from happening again. But when you put people in whose main claim to fame, the only thing he has in common with Tulsi Gabbard is retribution, then you kind of are setting us up on this path. As John was saying, that, you know what? If what if he uses these powers in order to, you know, throw a monkey wrench into the into the works, but worse, you know, to really use information and maybe American's information.

COOPER: Shermichael, does this seem like a good idea to you?

SINGLETON: No, no, no, I think it's unlikely that he could even get confirmed based on the statement from leader through --

COOPER: --but he doesn't need to be confirmed to be --

SINGLETON: Well, correct. But I think the idea of him being confirmed is likely not there because the support isn't there. I think the reason you're hearing from a number of Republicans, including those that have been pretty stalwart supporters of the President, is because you're looking at a world that's pretty much on fire from the Middle East to Russia to China, you need someone with experience. You need someone to John's point, who can share the intelligence with our allies. As many Western Countries are looking to the United States to figure out what is the directive as we face Russia, as we face a growing China that's becoming more aggressive.

I'm not certain that Bill Pulte is the best person for this role. Maybe housing is one thing, but if I were given the President advice on this, Anderson, I would say, let's find somebody else.

AXELROD: But let's be clear, the experience that he has is the experience the President wanted. He wanted loyalty and that is the prism through which he's looking at this, what we're talking about as a bug. The President considers a feature. His experience in the spy world is spying on people's mortgage papers and trying to dig up stuff for politics.

And in terms of what he could do, remember, Tulsi Gabbard was down in Fulton County --

COOPER: She showed up --

AXELROD: -- and they were seizing voting machines. So, the President is putting people in these very sensitive positions who can be political actors on his behalf. It's really concerning.

GRIFFIN: Well, and what is so remarkable is that there are qualified Trump loyalists who also have National Security experience. You had that in Tulsi Gabbard. I would argue Ric Grenell is more qualified. He's a polarizing figure, but he has credentials to be in that role. Anyone who sat on the House Intelligence Committee or Senate Intelligence Committee, that's a Republican could do the job and likely be loyal to Donald Trump.

This stands out to me because it's wanting to keep him in an acting capacity to bypass Senate confirmation, and that this is a clearly, clearly partisan actor that has no background. Now, you took this a much scarier place and you're the expert, John. But I was thinking just somebody who has no training in handling classified information. When you suddenly have exposure to our highest state secrets, you can put our intelligence in a dangerous place very, very easily when you simply are not trained to handle it and this guy is not trained to do that.

COOPER: John, he would have access to --

[20:25:29]

MILLER: He'd have access to everything. I mean, as the leader of the Intelligence Community, you are cut into the feeds from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence, Navy Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, the FBI, DEA, Coast Guard, there's nothing you can't access. And for somebody, I mean, I don't want to repeat myself, but for somebody who's known as a political hit man, that's a lot to get your hands into and start looking for things. If your main job is not to be an intelligence professional.

JONES: I just hope nothing bad happens. And that's the main thing is something really bad could happen when you have people who are unprofessional, they're in there doing the wrong thing and people can die in America. I think we've gotten a little bit lazy. We've gotten a little bit soft. We can't remember 9/11, but we could be right back there. And I think the Trump administration needs to take a step back from these kinds of --

AXELROD: We should remind people this is the office that prepares the President's intelligence briefing. I mean, that alone should send chills down people's spine when you have someone who's completely ill- equipped or trained. Leaving aside the moral and ethical dimensions of the guy, this is a this is a problem.

MILLER: And I think we also have to look at our foreign allies, as Shermichael brought up. It's they expect the leader of the Intelligence Community to be a peer, to be a serious person, to be someone they would take seriously. And now let's localize that.

COOPER: Right, their willingness to share information.

MILLER: It's going to be based on trust and confidence. And now localize that to the actual heads of the intelligence agencies that he will be overseeing. They also expect the person that they are seeking policy guidance and, and oversight from to be a peer or an equal. They're not going to take him seriously.

SINGLETON: And it's pertinent now because we're trying to resolve the conflict with Iran. And so, if the President is looking at the politics of this, I'm saying, Mr. President, we want the right person with the right experience to resolve this quickly. COOPER: That's almost done. Beth Sanner, John Miller, appreciate it.

Coming up next, acting attorney general Tom Blanche declares the end to the Presidents so-called anti-weaponization fund. We'll be joined by the Senator who's grilling up Blanche made it plain that the money might have gone to violent January 6th felons.

And later, a closer look at the L.A. mayor's race and the former reality star is hoping to become a finalist tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:32:12]

COOPER: Even as we continue to follow primary returns across the country, there are key developments to talk about in what was already being seen as a political liability for the President this fall, namely the demise of his so-called anti-weaponization fund, what many on Capitol Hill were calling a slush fund, Republicans and Democrats, came as after Republican lawmakers mutinied and a federal judge put it on hold.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice said it would abide by the ruling. Today, on Capitol Hill, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declared it gone for good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: We're not moving forward with the fund. You're right that there's a date that in the case in the East Virginia in June, but we are not moving forward with the fund, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So no taxpayer dollars for January 6 offenders, he's saying, from this fund. However, Blanche said today a separate agreement shielding the President, his family and business from tax audits of past filings, that still stands. All of these, you'll remember, stemmed from the President's settlement of his lawsuit against the IRS.

Joining us now is Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. Senator, you heard the acting attorney general's statement there. Although he refused to commit to put anything in writing, is that enough to actually reassure you that this fund will not move forward?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): No, it's not, Anderson. And if the attorney general means it and the President means it, they should have no problem locking that decision into law, which is why I and others will be proposing amendments to the bill the Senate will be taking up this week, the so-called reconciliation bill, to make it clear that no funds may be go to support this slush fund. And if the administration and Republicans mean what they say, they should join us in supporting those amendments.

COOPER: The -- you know, Blanche has said that the only -- that only part of that settlement they would not be moving forward with is the fund, that nothing has changed, those were his words, with the order that bars the IRS from investigating the President, his family or business for past tax issues. That's been estimated to be worth like $100 million to him. Do you believe that is a legally justifiable settlement?

VAN HOLLEN: No, I don't. And we'll also be offering amendments to make sure that the Trump and the Trump family doesn't get this effective get out of jail free card when it comes to any unpaid taxes. I mean, that is also a giveaway to the Trump family.

And it was done under the total control of this Justice Department and the President's former personal lawyer, now the acting attorney general. So we need to block that. And we will look for every option to do so. And then lock down this so-called, you know, new decision that the attorney general made.

Let's be really clear, Anderson. The only reason they're changing their mind is because Republicans had to leave town last week rather than face these votes.

[20:35:07]

So I will not accept the situation where we get into a bait and switch. They say one thing, then we pass a bill with no amendments locking it into place. And then the President wakes up, as he often does, and changes his mind. We can't have that.

COOPER: You sit on the Foreign Relations Committee, obviously. What do you think of the appointment of Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence who -- a man who has no actual experience in intelligence?

VAN HOLLEN: This should be an absolute nonstarter across the political spectrum for two reasons. First of all, as you say, this guy's got zero experience, zero background when it comes to national security, when it comes to intelligence. And the law governing this position requires experience. So that's, you know, count number one.

Count number two is the only reason he's been selected by Trump for this job is he's completely ingratiated himself to the President by becoming his sort of political instrument for going after some of the President's political foes. He's been using this at his different current portfolios with different housing agencies and literally using the information that he has there, in many cases making up information, to go after the President's foes.

Let's make no mistake. We know that's why Trump picked him. That's not the right reason to pick somebody who will be the most powerful intelligence officer in the United States of America.

COOPER: Senator Chris Van Hollen, I appreciate it. Thank you.

A lot more ahead on tonight's primaries in six states, including a crucial vote underway in Los Angeles, where voters are picking the mayoral candidates they want to see on the November ballot. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:41:18]

COOPER: Heated primary race is underway tonight in Los Angeles. Voters deciding who they want as their mayor. The front runners in battle of incumbent Karen Bass facing off against most notably a city council member and a former reality TV star Spencer Pratt.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now from Pratt's election watch party. So how how are people there feeling?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I would tell you if they were talking to us, Anderson, but I just want to kind of give you a lay of the land here. We're actually at a Don Antonio's Mexican restaurant. And come look here.

You can see that this -- these teams, these media teams are moving out of the Pratt event because they're now saying that this is, yes, an election watch party, but not for the public. I'm just going to run and take a quick peek. You can see that there's a setup, but where the press originally was and where we're being told to clear out of is a place where his supporters are going to gather.

But they are asking us to completely leave this event. We're told that there is going to be someone to speak with us eventually, but not at this time. This isn't a traditional campaign.

He's an unconventional candidate. And there's obviously a lot of interest. Look at all of these cameras here. But as far as what it's going to look like tonight, we don't quite know yet. The hope from his supporters, we've met quite a few of them as they put ballots, primary ballots in for him to be on the November ballot, is that he will make it because he is different, because there's a lot of frustration and anger among people in Los Angeles, especially as they're trying to rebuild.

But as far as whether he will, whether this, you know, lack of a traditional campaign is going to take him into November, we just have to see when the polls close at 8:00 and those ballots start being counted, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Kyung Lah, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Let's check in again with John King, who's tracking tonight's results from New Jersey at the Magic Wall. John?

KING: I don't get to kick the cameras out, Anderson. I guess I got to stay here and do this all night. You know, a lot of props to Kyung there. Forgive me for taking an extra second, but it's hard to do that on live television when they're kicking you out of the room. A lot of props to her for that. That is different.

You mentioned New Jersey. We'll get to California in a little bit. Waiting for the results there. We're not until after 11 o'clock here in the east. But some fascinating races on the map tonight, including a lot of House primaries.

And in New Jersey, one of the races the Democrats think is absolutely critical as they try to take back control of the House. And it's a race that has a lot of drama. First to the Democratic race. Rebecca Bennett is the front runner. She's the favorite of the establishment. She's a former military helicopter pilot.

There was some mischief money spent in here, some Republican PACs spending it to money trying to help her opponents because they understand they believe, too, Rebecca Bennett is the stronger candidate.

We haven't called this race yet. Some have. But we have not. We're just being conservative. Thirty-five percent of the vote. And you want to get up higher. Ms. Bennett, they're clearly running at 47 percent. The favorite.

She's running against an unopposed Republican, Thomas Kean. He's unopposed tonight. He hasn't been seen in months, Anderson. Has not been in Washington to vote, has not been seen publicly in months. The son of the former governor, Tom Kean, as well.

His campaign only keeps telling people he has a mysterious illness and they'll be back to us soon. And we will see him soon. But that's not the Democrats thought this was a big target for them anyway. They think because the congressman has essentially disappeared that they can make the case that wouldn't it be nice to have a congressman who might actually show up. So we'll see how this plays out.

Bennett in the lead here as we watch these numbers come in.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks so much.

Back now with the panel here in New York. Which race interests you?

GRIFFIN: Well, this one actually does. This Republican congressman who's essentially been missing for three months, he's missed over 100 votes. Listen, illnesses happen, but you've seen people like Steve Scalise show up when he was fighting cancer. Like people still show up for the job or if they feel like they're not up to the task, they pass the baton.

This is something Republicans, myself included, have hammered Democrats on with Biden and with his age and concerns about his ability to go on.

[20:45:04]

So it's really remarkable that he's still on the ballot. There are no basic answers to questions about where he's been. He's literally essentially missing for all intents and purposes and just secured the nomination.

AXELROD: Yes, I've heard of ghost voters, but ghost candidates is a different thing, a different thing.

COOPER: It's hard to go missing these days. I mean, it's hard --

GRIFFIN: I have baby three months ago and I'm at work. Three months is (INAUDIBLE).

AXELROD: Yes.

COOPER: Shermichael, how important do you think it is to be perceived as an outsider?

SINGLETON: I mean, I think it's incredibly important. And I think you're seeing that in California. You look at it with Donald Trump and his return.

What's interesting to me, though, is will we get to a point where we have an outsider who actually is able to do the job, someone who has real gravitas, understands policy, someone who's sort of a bipartisan figure that can bring in Republicans and Democrats? I'm waiting to see that because that to me could be a culturally changing figure, someone that could excite younger voters, Gen Zers about the future.

And again, I go back to that tangible thing, Anderson, of so many Americans realizing that the American dream doesn't seem like it's something that they can reach for. And the person who can speaks with that, but also brings along the ability to get things done, I think is like a dream ideal candidate.

JONES: Yes, look, I mean, part of what's going on in California is that we just don't have that person. And so, you know, I know, you know, pretty much all these folks. You know, Becerra is somebody who is liked, but he's not necessarily respected because he didn't do as good a job in the Biden administration as people wanted him to.

And so he's almost a front runner by default because he's so, you know, liked in the state, but nobody thinks he's going to fix the state. So that's why you see not a lot of enthusiasm there. Tom Steyer, I've known for 15 years, 20 years, been a stalwart on the front lines when it comes to climate. You know, he's done a lot on that issue.

He's able to spend a lot of money to get his message out there. But there is a kind of distaste in the state for billionaires and feeling like we got too many rich people running the state in the first place. He's kind of walked down the line.

And here you have, you know, the biggest state. You've got everybody from Silicon Valley to Hollywood, and we've not been able to find a candidate that is really in the Democratic Party, that has really just put this race to bed.

AXELROD: But, Van, I mean --

SINGLETON: Don't you think the time is right, though, for the type of candidate --

JONES: Yes, sure it was.

SINGLETON: -- who is culturally crossing barriers?

AXELROD: Listen, there's --

SINGLETON: You can bring both sides.

AXELROD: -- no doubt that there is a really strong anti-establishment mood in this country. People think that the system is broken, that it's rigged, that it doesn't work for them. You know, cities have challenging problems and so on. And I think you're going to see that expressed in votes across the country.

California is an interesting case, though, because it's such a vast state that you can almost rise up as Becerra has. It's like social promotion. You just keep moving up because people know you, you're familiar.

And then, you know, Steyer, he has been a champion on the environment, done good things on kids. But he kind of bought this kind of progressive kit and consultants who came along with it. And he's putting $200 million and whatever against a record all time for anybody in a state race.

I'd keep my eye on Iowa, though. This is an important race tonight. You know, Donald Trump won Iowa by 13 points. He's now seven points underwater in Iowa because Iowa has been hammered.

COOPER: Yes.

AXELROD: It's a farm state hammered.

COOPER: Can you talk more about Iowa in just --

AXELROD: Oh, I'm sorry.

COOPER: I do want to quickly just get Ron Brownstein in because I feel Ron, I'm sorry we feel -- we left you there on the West Coast. What do you make --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

COOPER: -- of Spencer Pratt? I mean, he's made Mayor Bass's response to the fires the focal point of his campaign. Is that resonating with voters?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, sure. I mean, there's -- like I said, there's a lot of unhappiness with the -- particularly the aftermath of the fires and how difficult everything has been in Palisades and Altadena. But it's a very different thing getting to 25 percent of the vote in this first round and 50 percent of the vote in the next round. So even if he gets to the finals, we'll see how he goes.

Can I just make a quick point about New Jersey and Iowa?

COOPER: Please.

BROWNSTEIN: Maybe kind of lead you to Iowa. You know, that New Jersey 7 District that Tom Kean Jr. is in is a kind of place that Democrats pretty much have to win to get back to 218. And in 2018, they wiped out almost all of the Republicans left in white collar suburban districts north of the Mason-Dixon line.

There are only a handful of them left. New Jersey 7, the Don Bacon seat in Omaha, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, Mike Lawler in New York. And at a time when Trump's disapproval rating among college educated voters is over 60 percent, Democrats really have to cash in on those.

But it's the kind of districts that will come up that are going to be at play in Iowa that are really going to decide how far Democrats get, because they've already won most of those white collar suburban districts that are competitive. And to really kind of push out any kind of majority that they can defend, they have to win more of these blue collar districts that have been so strong for Trump and Republicans in the last 10 years. And Iowa's that.

[20:50:02]

COOPER: Ron Brownstein, thanks very much. Everybody else stick around.

Up next, as Ron mentioned, we're going to check in with Jeff Zeleny in Iowa, where a Democratic showdown is happening. Candidates hoping for a chance to flip Senator Joni Ernst's seat after she announced her retirement. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Election night in America, the state we previewed before the break, Iowa, where polls close at the top of the hour. Democratic voters, they were choosing between state representative Josh Turek and state Senator Zach Wahls to go against the Republican de facto nominee in the race for Joni Ernst's soon to be vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Our Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is at Turek headquarters in Des Moines. So talk to me, us about the primary race and how it could shape Democrats potential path to a Senate majority.

[20:55:06]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, there is no question that Iowa has steadily morphed into effectively a red state, but Democrats feel more optimistic about their chances in Iowa than they have in years. And Republicans I've been talking to also acknowledge deep concerns about the farm economy, about rising diesel and gas prices, about a Medicaid cuts, about rural hospital closures. All of these issues are going to be on the ballot in the fall.

But this Senate race specifically, it's an open seat. Joni Ernst, the Republican, decided to not seek a third term. So a very competitive Senate Democratic primary tonight. The winner will face Ashley Hinson, who is a Republican member of Congress.

But it's not just the Senate race. The governor's race also is open. And there are at least three competitive House races. And you'll remember back in 2018, in the first midterm election of the first Trump administration, Democrats won three House seats, helping them to win the House majority.

So for all of those factors coming into play, it gives Democrats some hope. It is no -- it's certainly not a sure thing here, just given the makeup of the state. But Iowa has something else that is an interesting political fact that Ron Brownstein was talking about earlier.

It has more counties in America than any other state that voted twice for Barack Obama, and then again three times for Donald Trump. 31 of those counties. So there is a sense here that voters have the ability to go both ways. But this is certainly testing the proposition of if voters have an appetite for Democrats in what clearly is now Trump country.

Anderson?

COOPER: Yes. Jeff Zeleny, thanks very much, Jeff. Appreciate it.

Back with the panel. How -- do you feel just -- I mean, you're a Democrat, do you feel optimistic?

JONES: Look, I do. I think that people are mad and angry and frustrated in our party. And I think that you're going to see a blue wave, not just a blue wave, but a blue tsunami. And I also think that you're going to have a lot of Republicans who are just going to sit it out.

They voted for a President that said he was going to put them first. He's going to make sure that they had good jobs and no inflation, no wars, he gave them the opposite. So I think you've got a head of steam that's building on the Democratic side.

I think also don't underestimate this voting rights attack, not only from Supreme Court, but from Trump, has energized a lot of voters. It's actually been pretty quiet the past year, but you're seeing every African-American group in the South is now on full tilt mobilization. So I think that Jon Ossoff in Georgia is going to benefit from that.

I feel the blue wave coming.

COOPER: David?

AXELROD: Yes, no, I -- look, if you look at the President's approval rating, which continues to fall, if you look at his numbers on the economy, which is far and away the biggest issue and the reason he got elected and the level of disappointment that people feel in him over that and his inability to focus on it and all of that has made this a very caustic mix for Republicans who can't even separate themselves out from him. Because if they take a move in that direction, he swipes them and, you know, and goes after them.

Ashley Hinson, who's running for Congress in Iowa, started off her campaign by saying, I'm running to be President Trump's top ally in the U.S. Senate, and she strongly defended his tariffs. The tariffs hammered Iowa as much as any state in the country.

COOPER: Yes.

AXELROD: That's a terrible position to be --

COOPER: Alyssa, just -- I just -- a quick one, I want to talk about Maine. How concerned do you think Democrats should be about what's going on in the Senate race tonight?

GRIFFIN: Very. I mean, Susan Collins is formidable. She's won that for 30 years. She's an incredibly good politician. And I think that the hits keep coming on Graham Platner. Listen, we could forgive some sex maybe, but then you've got insulting veterans, Purple Heart recipients.

The list goes on and on. And it spells an image of somebody who just doesn't have good character. And when Democrats have really made their position, we're running against the character that's in the White House.

COOPER: Does that -- do you think that matters because you're right --

GRIFFIN: Well, because I think Democrats want to run against the bad character of Donald Trump. Running someone like him is really, really hard to defend. And I think he's going to be really a burden to carry for many years ahead if he were to win.

SINGLETON: Look, I want to go to Iowa. I get your points, David. I hear Van. But let's go back to the fundamentals. Since 2016, GOP voter registration has surged to nearly 40 percent. Donald Trump improved his performance in the state compared to when he ran the first time.

Both U.S. senators continue to improve their performance every election cycle. There's a 200,000 voter registration gap between registered Democrats and Republicans. These are mathematics. These are fundamentals.

They don't change merely because the President is unpopular. Republicans have a stronghold in the state of Iowa, and I expect us to maintain that seat.

AXELROD: Your presumption is that those Republicans are going to vote and there's a real enthusiasm gap. And then you get to independents who are the largest group.

SINGLETON: Sure.

AXELROD: And he's got a 23 percent approval rating. And these elections are always a referendum on the man in the White House. So you combine all these factors. I was going to be tough. It's not going to be an easy race. But Democrats have a good candidate for governor there and --

JONES: We shouldn't even be talking about Iowa. I mean, given what you're saying --

SINGLETON: Well, that's --

JONES: And we are, because of what David's saying.

COOPER: We were out of time. Everyone, thanks.

Our coverage of election night in America continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. See you tomorrow.