Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Air Canada Collided with Fire Truck; Trump Reverses Course on Iran; Supreme Court on Mail-In Ballot Grace Periods; Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), Is Interviewed About Trump Saying No DHS Funding Until Dems Pass SAVE America Act; WSJ: Senate Democrats Form "Fight Club" Amid Frustration With Schumer, Talk Of Replacing Him; U.K. Police Investigating Attack As Anti-Semitic Hate Crime. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 23, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: In the segment we suggested. You can bet on anything on online prediction market such as Kalshi, including when U.S. forces will enter Iran. To clarify, while this is a subject matter in other predictions markets, it is not on Kalshi, which is regulated by the CFTC. Kalshi has a partnership with CNN.

All right, thanks very much to my panel. Really appreciate you all being here. Thanks to you at home for watching as well. You can now stream "The Arena" live. Catch up on everyone in the CNN app. Just scan the Q.R. code below. You can also catch up while listening to the "The Arena" podcast. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at thearenacnn. Don't go anywhere. "The Lead with Jake Tapper" starts right now.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: New information just coming in on that deadly crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport. "The Lead" starts right now.

Moment of impact. New video shows when an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck on the runway. Two pilots killed. The warning from air traffic control just seconds before the collision. Plus, ICE agents now at 14 U.S. airports as TSA workers call out or even quit. Passengers forced to wait it out. Hear from lawmakers who could ease this travel nightmare. And President Trump says the U.S. has 15 points of agreement with Iran that could end the war. But Iran denies any talks are happening at all. So now what?

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Phil Mattingly, in for Jake Tapper. We start with breaking news in our "National Lead." An investigation is underway into last night's deadly crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Surveillance footage captured the moment an Air Canada plane coming in for landing slammed into a fire truck on the runway at more than a hundred miles per hour. The collision killed both the pilot and co-pilot, injured two people inside the truck, and sent about 40 passengers and crew to the hospital.

The scene? Chaotic. Some passengers slid on the wing of the plane to get out. A flight attendant who survived found outside the aircraft, still strapped in her seat. Debris scattered everywhere.

Moments ago, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy commented on the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: It's incredibly sad. It's troubling. And I just want to let America know that we are working our hearts off to make sure that when people travel, whether by rail or car or by air, that they travel safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: So, what went so horribly wrong? Before the collision, the fire truck was responding to another plane over an odor-related emergency on the other side of the airport. Air traffic control audio indicates the truck was cleared to cross the runway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUCK (voice-over): Truck One and Company, LaGuardia Tower?

TOWEER (voice-over): Truck One and Company.

TRUCK (voice-over): Truck One and Company, LaGuardia Tower requesting to cross 4 at Delta.

TOWER (voice-over): Truck One and Company cross 4 at Delta.

TRUCK (voice-over): Truck One and Company 4 at Delta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Then just seconds later, the tower urgently ordered the truck to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOWER (voice-over): Frontier 4195, just stop there please. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, Truck One, stop, stop, stop! Stop Truck One! Stop! Stop Truck One! Stop!

TOWER (voice-over): JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Eighteen minutes after the crash, an air traffic controller tells a pilot who saw the crash, "I messed up."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRONTIER AIRLINES PILOT (voice-over): That wasn't good to watch.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (voice-over): Yeah, I know. I tried to reach out to them. We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.

FRONTIER AIRLINES PILOT (voice-over): Nah man, you did the best you could.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: We should be clear, determining root causes of accidents can take a year or longer and often involve multiple contributing factors. We start things off tonight with CNN's Jason Carroll at LaGuardia Airport, which reopened just a few hours ago. Jason, what more are you hearing from officials about this deadly collision? JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Phil, as you can imagine, there's still a lot of questions about exactly what went so terribly wrong out here at LaGuardia Airport. If you see behind me, the Air Canada Express jet is still out there on the runway as is the truck that it collided with. Investigators are the one -- are going to want to talk to everyone who was inside that control tower about what they knew in the moments before the collision. Of course, there have been so many questions, so many concerns about air traffic safety, specifically staffing and control towers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, during a briefing a short while ago, wanted to make it very clear. He said that the LGA control tower was -- quote -- "well-staffed." He said it's a couple of controllers short, but he did want to say that it was, in fact, well-staffed.

Seventy-two passengers on board, many of those taken to the hospital.

[17:05:00]

Many of them at this hour, Phil, has been released. We spoke to one of those passengers, Rebecca Liquori. She was sitting in the exit row. She described what happened in the minutes leading up to the collision. Here's a little bit of what she had to say about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA LIQUORI, AIR CANADA PASSENGER: You heard the pilot try to break like he was trying to prevent the collision that occurred. And as you heard the break, you just -- a couple seconds later, it was just a very loud boom. And everybody just jolted out of their seats. People -- people hit their heads. People were bleeding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: She also talked about how everyone who was on board, Phil, helped each other to get outside of the aircraft, spoke to her husband, and he said when she got home, he just wanted to give her a big hug.

Again, 41 people initially taken to the hospital. Most of those people have, in fact, been released. The pilot and, of course, the first officer were killed. And earlier today, some of the officials described them. Their names have not been released, but they described them as two young men who now will not be going home to their families.

In just about an hour or so from now, we're expecting a briefing from the NTSB where we're hoping, Phil, to get even more details about exactly what happened out here. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Still so many unanswered questions. Jason Carroll with the latest for us at LaGuardia Airport, New York, thanks so much.

I want to turn now to CNN's Tom Foreman, who's at the Magic Wall to walk us through the timeline of this tragic accident. Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You could argue, Phil, that it actually started when this plane took off from Montreal, headed south. It's a Mitsubishi CRJ900, 72 passengers, four crew members from Montreal to New York.

And if you look at the very crucial few moments before this happened, here's the sequence you have to look at. Eleven, thirty-one, before anything over here has happened, there's a United Airlines flight that has a problem. It has not been able to take off, and so they summon with their emergency for help. The fire station is over here. A fire truck is cleared to start moving this way to go respond to this location, 11:31. At 11:36, it's at the edge of the runway here ready to cross, asking the tower if it can.

But at 11:37, that's when Air Canada is touching down, and then there's that confusion you played between the tower, and he come across, and the collision happens. That's when you get into the video we saw earlier of what happened at night there. If we roll it here, you can see the confusion out there. As the plane is here, you can see it tilting up in that position, which we've seen so much today. And, of course, the fire engine hit was over there in some distance.

But that's where it happened, Phil. This very, very short window of just a couple of minutes where there was confusion, miscommunication, whatever it was, that's the NTSB has to find out.

MATTINGLY: And Tom, in the midst of this horror, there's this extraordinary detail about a flight attendant who was found outside the aircraft alive, still strapped in her seat, according to police. We're learning it may actually be the design and safety features of modern airplanes that saved her life. What do we know about this?

FOREMAN: I always feel like a broken record when I say this, especially when you had a terrible tragedy like this. But this is one of the reasons air travel remains generally so safe in this country. When we talk about the seats involved here, it's a type of seat called a 16G seat. They're required. What is a 16G seat? Well, a 16G seat has been required since 1988. 16G means it can withstand 16 times the force of gravity. So, this probably had 12 in business class, 64 in economy. But you think back to that witness a while ago saying people were thrown around, they hit their heads. What you didn't hear is that people were thrown out of their seats or ejected from the plane.

And I think it's important to look, too, at the plane itself in those hours afterward. Most of it, this part is destroyed. That's where those two young men lost their lives. The rest of it though stayed intact even after this horrific conclusion here. Just as importantly, the fuel, which is under the wings in these planes, that portion of it was not disrupted where you could have had a cataclysmic fire out there. So, yes, the seats played a role, the construction of the plane played a role. Any of which, if it had gone differently, could have been much worse than what we saw. It's terrible as it is, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Yes. It's such an important point. Just a remarkable story. Tom Foreman, thanks so much for the great reporting.

Well, in "The World Lead" also, a dramatic scene after another tragic air disaster. A Colombian military transport plane crashed just after takeoff. Between troops and the crew, some 125 people were on board. One person has died. Crews managed to rescue at least 77 others. This was a C-130 Hercules aircraft. It crashed in a Colombian town bordering Peru.

Well, back in New York. As you heard from Jason Carroll, we're expecting to appear from the NTSB at the crash -- on the crash at LaGuardia. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as it begins.

[17:09:58]

But first, President Trump reversing course on a new round of strikes on Iran. He says recent talks have been productive. That's not exactly what Iran says. And later, an antisemitic attack in London. Jewish volunteer ambulances deliberately set on fire. New reaction from the target. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: To our "World Lead," Israel says today it struck one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' main headquarters plus several other military buildings in the capital city of Tehran. The strikes came after President Donald Trump said renewed talks with the U.S. and Iran started after he threatened to bomb Iran's energy infrastructure if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We were planning tomorrow on shooting down some of their power plants, and we're not going to hold that up. Hopefully, we won't have to do it. And hopefully, we can make a deal that's good for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:15:00]

MATTINGLY: But Iran's foreign ministry today said there was -- quote -- "no dialogue between Tehran and Washington." That is according to state-affiliated media. Let's discuss now with Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Mr. Ambassador, I really appreciate your time. I'm hoping to kind of pull on your diplomatic, political, historian, long career here. Have you cut through kind of these seemingly divergent statements between the two sides and try to explain what's actually going on behind the scenes here? MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: It's good to be with you, Phil. Thanks for having me on. Listen, one side is going to say there's no talks. The other player is going to say there's no negotiation. But that doesn't mean they're not context.

And the thin line between, you know, negotiations and contacts, obviously, there are communications going on here. And what's not clear is with whom on the Iranian side. If the speaker of the House is saying that he is not -- he is not the POC, the point of contact here, then who is? Is it members of the IRGC, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, or other people in the military, or even a cleric? Nobody knows. But, apparently, they have some type of authorities, sometime of what you would call plenipotentiary power to represent the Iranian government.

And then it comes down to the issues. And the issues are really four from the American side, which is the future of Iran's nuclear program, the future of its ballistic missile capacity, the support of Iran for terrorist organizations, the proxies in the Middle East, and finally, the Strait of Hormuz and whether they'll be reopened.

For Israel, there's also a fourth, which is Lebanon. Lebanon, Lebanon, and very heavy fighting going on there tonight. And in Israel, there's a tremendous amount of questions about what exactly is going on between the United States and Tehran and whether Israel's interests will be addressed in those negotiations.

MATTINGLY: You wrote a piece. Actually, I was thinking about this piece this morning when I saw the president's Truth Social post. I think it was about 7:30 in the morning. Hopefully, you weren't getting a late start as the day got started. But you wrote a piece called "How This War Ends." That was the title of it. And you made clear in that piece, and I don't want to paraphrase in a way that doesn't capture it properly, but basically that if the war ended, when you wrote this, I believe 10 or 11 days ago, that Iran would be able to maintain its sphere of influence in the Middle East. Essentially, Iran would be able to say it had won. That was 10 days ago. Do you feel like that has changed dramatically in the last 10 days to allow for a potential deal that both the U.S. and Israel would be happy with?

OREN: I think the deal ends with Iran retaining its nuclear facilities in any capacity or its ability to make these ballistic missiles. And keep in mind, these ballistic missiles take down not a building, they take down an entire neighborhood as they did just yesterday in one of Israeli towns, or Iran continues to support Hezbollah, Hamas, continues to close the Strait of Hormuz, then Iran will declare victory.

We have to see not just how the West or the United States would define victory, but how Iran would define victory, which is a Middle East definition, which is you win by not losing. If you can come out of the rubble and flash a V sign, then you've won.

However, the flip side of that, if Iran gives up on all of those, it gives up its nuclear program, gives up the ballistics, gives up the terrorists, and reopens the Strait of Hormuz, then I think the United States can safely say it won the war and even by Iranian terms, and the regime will simply not be the same regime anymore because all of those activities are in its DNA, they are a jihadist regime.

So, I think it will come down to that. I think that the definition of victory remains the same. For the United States, it will be changing for Iran.

MATTINGLY: What do you believe are the odds that, within five days, a deal like that is reachable?

OREN: I think that may perhaps, as was the case with the Gaza negotiations, which in the end were successful and Israel was able to repatriate its hostages from Gaza, that you can make a framework for negotiations. And the framework would say, OK, we're going to address the issue of the nuclear and the ballistic and the terror. The way that a framework was made, the 20 points that were negotiated by Mr. Kirchner and Mr. Witkoff last January and February in Gaza, I think that you can accomplish within five days and you can certainly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

MATTINGLY: Yes. It will be fascinating to watch, obviously, a pause on some level, but also strikes continuing on others as well. Former Ambassador Michael Oren, really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

OREN: Thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: A major question before the U.S. Supreme Court today. Should mail-in ballots be counted if they're received after Election Day? Here are what conservative justices said about those so-called grace periods, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: In our "Law & Justice Lead," the Supreme Court's conservative majority appear poised to upend mail-in voting throughout the U.S. The justices seem to divide along partisan lines over a Mississippi law during today's oral arguments that allows ballots to be counted that arrive at election offices up to five days late, so long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia allow regular mail ballots to be accepted after Election Day.

Here to discuss is David Becker. He is the CEO and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. David, really appreciate your time. Let's start with the arguments themselves. What was your takeaway from that? DAVID BECKER, CEO AND FOUNDER, CENTER FOR ELECTION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH: Well, I was really struck by how much the arguments focused on the issue of whether or not it was a good idea, that about a third of the states had decided to allow for ballots that were voted on or before Election Day to come in a few days later.

[17:25:02]

There's a disagreement amongst the states on here for very valid reasons. There are variables. For instance, how reliable the mail is, how far voters might have to go to deliver a mail ballot in person at the last minute. Those are all things that could be considered. And those 14 states vary greatly in terms of political leanings. It goes from the red state of Mississippi to the blue state of California. And the justices seem really concerned with whether this is a good idea, and they pose several frankly rather unlikely hypotheticals around this situation.

But what this case was supposed to be about at its core is who gets to make that determination. Do the states get to make that determination or has Congress already set a rule on this and said all ballots have to be in by Election Day?

And on that issue, there really isn't much doubt. Even Congress doesn't believe it has set that rule yet. They continue to try to pass legislation that would do that. The White House doesn't think Congress has set that rule yet because the White House included that in their executive order from about a year ago.

So, it was unusual that we saw the justices focus so much on this kind of unusual hypotheticals. I'm not so sure about the tea leaves here. I think there were a few justices that were still trying to figure this out and determine whether or not the Constitution and/or Congress has expressly stated that mail ballots that were voted on or before Election Day have to be in by the close of polls on Election Day. I think most of us who've been following this for some time know that that's, in our history, not been the case, and Congress has not set a clear rule on that.

MATTINGLY: Yes. And we should be very clear to leave reading with the Supreme Court. Always be careful. We don't always know where they're going to go. And certainly, Amy Coney Barrett and John Robertson really tipped their hands one way or the other, had tough questions for both sides. We are going to have to see how this plays out.

I do want to turn to another issue, though, before I let you go. In California, the sheriff of Riverside County sees more than a half a million ballots cast in a November special election, saying he's investigating potential election fraud after receiving a complaint from a local citizen's group. The sheriff, Chad Bianco, is also a GOP candidate for governor. I will acknowledge double taking a couple times when I saw this headline. What did you make of this step?

BECKER: Well, it isn't the first time that we've seen a candidate for an election who perhaps thinks he might have an uphill battle, try to spread disinformation about that upcoming election. I want to remind everyone who's watching, that special election in November of 2025 was on Prop 50. That was the proposition that would have allowed for California to enact its mid-decade redistricting plan, which was favorable to Democrats. That initiative passed 64 percent to 36 percent, 3.5 million more votes for the yes side than the no side. California has paper ballots. Those paper ballots were audited and confirmed many, many times.

And so, this warrant is very, very unusual. It hearkens, of course, back to that Fulton County federal warrant that we saw several weeks ago that is actually going to be heard in Atlanta by a federal district court judge who's going to review that this week.

I think the lack of transparency here by the sheriff is really troubling. He is not releasing the warrant. He's not releasing the affidavit. We don't even know what underlying crime he might be claiming to investigate. But we do know that the outcome of that election was correct. It was confirmed multiple times, again, with the paper ballots and audits that California has statewide.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Troubling. I would also say probably telling from the political strategy that clearly is on some level a part of this. David Becker, I know you are very busy these days, for better or worse. Always appreciate your time, sir. Thanks so much.

BECKER: Thanks so much, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Well, two of the most divisive issues in Congress right now, funding DHS and President Trump's legislation to overhaul federal elections called the Save America Act. I just alluded to it. Today, he urged U.S. senators to stay in D.C. over the Easter break to get it done. His words? "Do it for Jesus." Hear his message yourself next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm tying Homeland Security into voter identification with picture and proof of citizenship in order to vote. And those two items are the most important thing having to do with Homeland Security. So it should be part of the Homeland Security Bill. And I'm requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. You don't have to take a fast vote. Don't worry about Easter going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus, OK? Make this one for Jesus. That's what I tell him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: In our Politics Lead, President Trump, they're tying any deal to resolve the partial government shutdown to the passage of a Republican-sponsored bill which would overhaul federal elections. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Joe Morelle of New York. He's the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections. Can I just start with the idea of tying the SAVE America Act to the negotiations that have been ongoing and seem to be fairly close to a breakthrough on government funding? How do you think your Republican colleagues would react to that?

REP. JOE MORELLE (D-NY), RANKING MEMBER, ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE: Well, look, I think many of them are frustrated and as angry as Americans are right now. I don't know that Jesus has a position, but he probably cares about taking care of the hungry and the homeless and those who need assistance. And look, we could do this pretty simply. There's clearly going to be a continued debate about ICE and ICE agents and whether they're going to follow the rules of law enforcement.

[17:35:05]

But in the interim, we could certainly fund TSA. We can fund the Coast Guard. We can fund FEMA. We can do all that. That's effectively what Senator Thune was trying to convince the president of over the weekend. And instead, he says no to a bipartisan agreement which would have funded all of this and instead ties it to his desire to make it harder for Americans to vote.

You know, if you submitted this as a novel to a publisher, they'd reject it. as craziness. But here we are in the Trump world trying to decipher all this. But I'll tell you what, it's harder for Americans to vote. He wants to make it harder. It's harder to pay your bills, harder to feed your family, harder to pay for housing. And I think he knows that and he knows that the verdict this November is going to be awful for him. That's why he continues to talk about ways to make it harder to vote, harder to register to vote, make it easier to purge voters off the voting rolls, et cetera.

MATTINGLY: I think one of the most interesting dynamics, the decision to do that essentially means that the funding issue is not going to be resolved. And the reason why is there are no Democrats who I know of who want to vote for the SAVE America Act. And so if they're tied together, there's no pathway in the Senate. For Republicans who say, look, this is voter I.D. Voter I.D. is a 70-30, 80-20 issue when you actually poll people. Why is that not the case?

MORELLE: Well, first of all, this bill is not about voter I.D. I think we could have a deal on voter I.D. I talked to Senator Schumer the other day and he agrees with me. That's really not what this bill does. What this bill does do is make it incredibly difficult to register to vote. No more mail-in registration. No more going online and registration. You have to go to your board of elections, which in rural communities could mean a three-hour drive.

You'd have to present proof of citizenship. If you're a woman with a different last name now because you got married, you have to go through bringing your marriage license, et cetera. Plus, it gives all the data to the Department of Homeland Security. And they're going to use their database, and they've done this in states that are compliant, purging the voter rolls.

So you might find out after registering to vote and voting for many years that suddenly the Department of Homeland Security has thrown you off the voter rolls without your knowledge. You show up on Election Day and they say, sorry, you can't vote and you can't provisionally vote unless you brought with you your birth certificate, your passport, some other kind of identification, which proves you're a U.S. citizen. It's crazy.

And these databases, the Department of Homeland Security, are very -- have already been shown to be completely inaccurate. And they are affecting the lives of potentially millions of people and voters. I don't know why the President wants to make it harder to vote in America, why he wants to make it harder for you to afford your gasoline, afford food, afford housing. But this is the first president of American history that I'm aware of that's trying to make every part of Americans' lives more difficult. And I don't understand it.

MATTINGLY: Your conversation with Senate Leader Schumer about a voter I.D. bill, walk me through kind of what the structure of a bill that Democrats and potentially Republicans could get on board with. Voter I.D. has long been an anathema to Democrats in terms of how it has come up in proposals proposed by Republicans.

MORELLE: Well, first of all, every state, and we do have 50 different sets of rules because that's how the framers set it up. Every state has some form of voter identification. That may not be photo. Most have photo. But some do not. They use an Arizona handwriting signature analysis. But we could have it as long as it is simply to prove that someone is who they say they are.

So student I.D. should be available. Driver's identification should be available. All those, we could come up with a bill that does that. And so that, but that's just a red herring. That's not the issue. I think they're trying to distract from it because they don't want people to know that it's giving data to Homeland Security, that it's making it harder to register, that it's making it harder to vote.

I call it Jim Crow 2.0. And it is that. It makes it more difficult. The thing that most Americans should be able to do, the President calls it a privilege. He said it in the State of the Union address. It is not a privilege. It's a right. Everyone has the right to participate. And we'll only achieve the fullness of this democracy when every American participates.

MATTINGLY: Democratic Congressman Joe Morelle, we appreciate your time, sir. Thanks so much for coming in.

Well, some live pictures this hour from Texas, looking at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where the wait to get through security is taking, get this, four and a half hours later on The Lead. The ongoing debate in Washington is the source of the problem.

[17:39:34]

Plus, the so-called Democratic Fight Club forming to take on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: In our Politics Lead, a new "Wall Street Journal" article is shedding new light on the growing frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer among some of his fellow Democrats. The story reads in part, in more than four dozen interviews with Democratic senators, candidates, current and former congressional aides, activists, and advisors, many said the concern about Schumer's leadership was widespread. Meetings between Democratic chiefs of staff on Senate business often veer into airing discontent with Schumer and how to pressure him to step aside as leader after November's elections.

Among the Democrats who are reportedly increasingly dissatisfied with Schumer's leadership are Senators Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith. My panel joins me now. Sabrina, I know you love Dems and disarray stories because we don't ever have them in Washington.

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: We have them less. Yes.

MATTINGLY: Here's my question. Here's my question about this. I also remember everybody talking about how Harry Reid was going to get bounced and Mitch McConnell was going to get bounced and Paul Ryan was going to get bounced and John Boehner kind of did get bounced. How real is this?

[17:45:05]

SINGH: I think you're always going to see within a party some discontent with leadership. That story also reported that some members were upset with Schumer's picks for different candidates, that he was picking more centrist candidates, backing centrist candidates, and not some of the more progressive wings of the party. You do see this within the caucus often.

I mean, Speaker Pelosi, who I think was one of the most effective speakers the House has ever seen, always had discontent within the caucus. So I don't think this is a surprise. I frankly think it's going to be a conversation that's ongoing. But what will happen in November? I mean, that's up to the caucus to decide if that's Chuck Schumer or someone else that becomes leader. But right now, I think he has the votes to remain in power, and I don't see anyone else challenging for him right now or, you know. We'll see what happens in November.

MATTINGLY: Mike, what I think has been interesting, Democrats have been very unified, particularly over the course of the last six, seven, eight months. I think there was one funding fight that Schumer kind of got cross-eyes with some of his people on. That hasn't been the case of late. What do you think of his strategy?

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, OK, well, two things. They've been unified in their dislike of Donald Trump. I don't think they've been unified on an agenda. And I think we've seen that with the Democratic primaries that have been out there. And Illinois is a perfect example. We just saw that last Tuesday, where you had progressives versus moderates and how that shakes out.

And so I think there's a lot of, to your point, there's a lot of that conversation going on. But we also have seen in poll after poll after poll that Democrats don't like Democrats. You know, the job approval rating in a recent poll had 42 percent approve, 48 percent disapprove of the job approval. And that's Democrats talking about fellow Democrats.

So I'm not really surprised that some of the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party is looking at Schumer. And frankly, there are rumors about Jeffries as well, that discontent in the House. So my question is, they've got a historic opportunity to gain control of at least one of the chambers. Are they going to be able to do it as a unified party? If it's just hating on Donald Trump, sure. But if they put an agenda together, I don't know where they're going to go.

SINGH: Well, I will say, you know, Democrats have outperformed Republicans when it comes to special elections. And of course, you saw huge wins in Virginia and New Jersey this past year in November. So I think actually there's momentum for Democrats building. There is a message coalescing around affordability. And that's frankly something that we haven't heard Republicans talk about or this administration talk about in a very long time. So I actually think Democrats do have a united message and, you know, are looking pretty good to perform well in the midterms in November.

MATTINGLY: Mike, on the Republican side, your side of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a bit of a pickle here, I would say. You know, the President said pass the SAVE America Act. Said stay in town for Jesus and do it. Jesus could count votes. I'm pretty sure. Certainly John Thune can, 60 ain't there.

DUBKE: Right.

MATTINGLY: This is a government shutdown is now tied to this. What's the way out of this?

DUBKE: Well, we've got --

SINGH: What is the way out?

MATTINGLY: I read this. I have been racking my brain.

DUBKE: Let me tell you what I called and told Leader Thune. No. Yes. I mean, he's -- he isn't a bit of a pickle, to use your metaphor here. The difficulty is the President also said we're not going to vote on anything else until we get the SAVE America Act passed. I just don't think it's going to pass. So right now he's keeping members of the Senate in Washington for the most part through -- and there's rumors now through the recess of next week to pass this piece of legislation. You've got people that are running for reelection and others. So it's -- you've got the midterms running up against the wishes of the President. I don't know how Thune gets through this because, frankly, the votes aren't there. And the White House at some point is going to have to recognize that.

MATTINGLY: And they've navigated legislative affairs fairly well over the course. And certainly they've got the course of their agenda.

DUBKE: Right.

MATTINGLY: How do you navigate this? This is alleged affairs. This is the President.

DUBKE: This is very -- there is -- yes, exactly. There is one person in the White House who this is very important to. And it happens to be the boss. So he's got to say.

MATTINGLY: Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters announced she's going to run for reelection. I believe she's in line to be the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee again. I also believe she's 87 years old. This has been a debate within the Democratic Party for obvious reasons since 2024. What do you think that?

SINGH: Well, it's again, we are having a conversation as a party about our -- who's going to be the next leaders. I think you have a young crop of leaders coming up that are going to continue to rise. It is up to the voters if they want to reelect Maxine Waters. I have no doubt that she would get reelected, but it is up to the caucus if they will put her in charge of the Financial Services Committee, should Democrats take back the House.

And that is ultimately a question for the caucus to have a deeper conversation about. I know Republicans do set term limits or age restrictions on members and when they reach certain leadership positions. Maybe that's a conversation that gets opened up in the Democratic caucus that remains to be seen. But ultimately, it is Congresswoman Maxine Waters decision to run. It is the voters choice if they choose to reelect her.

[17:50:10]

MATTINGLY: Would you volunteer to have that conversation with Maxine Waters in the House Democratic caucus?

DUBKE: I would not.

SINGH: You know, Phil, I have not been asked. So I'm -- I have not been asked.

MATTINGLY: I'm just saying if you're a member right now, you think this is going to be a great pack of lunch, man, that'll be an interesting conversation.

SINGH: Well, I think the good thing is that should Democrats win in November, there is going to be a very exciting new class of candidates coming up, and it will be a very interesting conversation to have in November.

MATTINGLY: Take my warning now, new candidates, if you want to -- I've tangled with the former chairwoman before. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller died over the weekend. Mueller became a household name, obviously, in 2016 as a special counsel who led the probe into Russia's election meddling. Trump celebrated the death posting. Robert Mueller just died. Good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people. Mike, I want to remind people what the Vice President said about celebrating someone's death. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a First Amendment in this country. The First Amendment protects a lot of very ugly speech. But if you celebrate Charlie's Kirk -- Charlie Kirk's death, you should not be protected from being fired for being a disgusting person. If you're a university professor who benefits from American tax dollars, you should not be celebrating Charlie Kirk's death. And if you are, maybe you should lose your job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Explain this.

DUBKE: How? How would you like me to explain this? Because he's right. I mean, the Vice President is right. I -- there is no explanation for it. As we kind of just crossed over the line, I'm sure I'm not the favorite person in the White House right now talking about the SAVE Act probably not going anywhere. On this particular thing, this was, you know, I have no way of defending the President on this language.

And I have sat on this set and said when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, we really need to -- we really need as a country to think of the language that we use and how we describe it and I agree with the Vice President on this. And so, you know, I have got nothing for you on in terms of the defense here.

MATTINGLY: It's OK to be a good human being sometimes. Not you specifically.

DUBKE: No, I did not think you were inferring that upon me.

MATTINGLY: No, I appreciate you guys both very good human beings. Mike, Sabrina, thank you guys very much.

Well, a live look at today's deadly crash site at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The damaged Air Canada plane still visible there on the scene. The NTSB is set to give a news conference at the top of the hour. We're going to bring that to you live.

Plus, that anti-Semitic attack in London. Arsenal sending Jewish volunteer ambulances on fire. CNN on the ground in the area targeted. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:57:02]

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, police in London are looking for these three suspects seen here on CCTV setting ablaze to multiple ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue group. The attack took place early this morning outside a synagogue in London's northern suburbs of Golders Green, home to the city's largest Jewish community. Residents there were awoken by flames and loud explosions in an attack police are treating as an anti-Semitic hate crime.

An Islamist group has allegedly claimed responsibility for the incident. However, counter-terrorism police leading the investigation have not confirmed this to that point -- to this point. CNN's Clare Sebastian reports from that London suburb where police have evacuated some residents as a precaution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in a community already on high alert, few would have predicted this. Explosions rattling this north London neighborhood in the early hours of Monday morning as fire engulfed four ambulances parked outside a synagogue.

GEDALE WEINBERG, LOCAL RESIDENT: My wife and I got disturbed by a huge explosion at 1:45 a.m., because we live literally 50 yards away from where we are now. And we thought, OK, what's going on here? What's happening? And then 10 minutes thereafter, a bigger explosion. Sounded like a bomb.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The fire brigade says the explosions were caused by gas cylinders igniting inside the ambulances. No one was hurt. The U.K.'s counter-terror police are now leading the investigation, which police say is focused on three suspects. CCTV emerged showing three masked figures setting one of the ambulances alight.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a horrific anti-Semitic attack. And of course, my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts will be with those in the vicinity, the residents who are understandably very concerned, a Jewish community across the country deeply concerned.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The ambulances belonged to a Jewish volunteer rescue organization serving both Jewish and non-Jewish residents in this area.

DEAN COHEN, LOCAL COUNCILOR: This is a direct attack on the Jewish community on -- you cannot get more low than destroying ambulances that are there to save lives.

SEBASTIAN: Well, this is a very visible Jewish community here in North London. There are lots of synagogues and shops and Jewish schools lining these streets. So while people tell us that they are shocked and in disbelief, frankly, that ambulances would be targeted, they're also saying that they were worried something like this would happen.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Security had been stepped up around Jewish sites across the U.K. after a deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue last October.

DOV FORMAN, AUTHOR, LOCAL RESIDENT: Things could get a lot worse. This violent anti-Semitism is going to get worse and this won't be the last attack against the Jewish people. If we continue just to kind of try to tackle the spread of the fire and not go to the root of the anti- Semitism, the extremism that's running rife across society today.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Last year it was Yom Kippur. This year, preparations for Passover marred by violence.

[18:00:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This the ambulance that saves lives, whether you're Jewish or non-Jewish.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Anger and fear here rising. But another Middle East war is worsening what they say is a climate of hate.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)