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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Says U.S. Will Extend Ceasefire With Iran; Trump Administration Unveils Plan To Overhaul Air Traffic Control System. Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE), Is Interviewed About Trump Extends Ceasefire With Iran Until Negotiations Conclude; The Scandals That Led Chavez- DeRemer To Resign As Labor Secy; GOP Rep. Mills Faces Expulsion Threat Amid House Ethics Probe. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 21, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:23]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks to my panel. Really appreciate you being here. Thanks to you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can always stream The Arena live. Catch up whenever you want. And in the CNN app, scan that QR code below. But of course, don't go anywhere. Jake Tapper is standing by for The Lead. Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Hey, Kasie. Good to see you. We'll look for more tomorrow in The Arena.

HUNT: See you tomorrow.

TAPPER: Trump's ceasefire with Iran has been suspended. The deadline for it indefinitely. The Lead starts right now.

Breaking news with a ceasefire that was set to expire in exactly 24 hours, President Trump is now ordering the U.S. military to off on any attacks, keep up the blockade on Iranian ports. But he's going to wait until the Iranians are ready to respond. We're going to sort out where this unstable situation stands right now.

Plus, it's just a few minutes before hearing about her alleged corruption, Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, just before that was supposed to happen, she resigned from Congress. And she's not the only high profile woman in politics being shown the exit.

And grilled on the Hill. Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh. He insists he will not be a, quote, sock puppet for President Trump. But his sketchy answer when asked straight up, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election has some people concerned.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper and we're going to start with breaking news in our World Lead. A short time ago, President Trump announced that he is no longer imposing a deadline for the Iranians to respond. He extending the ceasefire that was set to expire tomorrow. At this time.

He's extending it again, it sounds like indefinitely. He posted on Truth Social, quote, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our military to continue the blockade and in all other respects remain ready and able to and will therefore extend the ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted and discussions are concluded one way or another, unquote.

In other words, the deadline has been replaced with what sounds a lot like the opposite of a deadline, an indefinite time period. The ceasefire extension comes just one day before it was set to expire tomorrow, 5:00 p.m. Eastern and amidst a muddle of mixed messages from President Trump and his team about this war, the second round of peace talks with Iran were supposed to have started yesterday.

President Trump told ABC News on Sunday morning that Vice President JD Vance was not going to head to Pakistan to do the peace talks. Then Trump apparently changed his mind. He told the New York Post yesterday that Vice President Vance was on his way to Pakistan to head up the peace talks.

They're heading over now. The New York Post quoted Trump saying, they'll be there tonight. Islamabad time. Now the Post later updated its story, taking out a reference to specific timing.

We should note Vance remains in Washington, DC. He has never left for Pakistan, despite the President saying he was on his way. And as for Iran, Iran never fully formally agreed to be there for the negotiations, with a bunch of mixed messages from them as well.

Trump's claim about Vance's travel is only the latest in a series of false, unproven or confusing comments that the President and his team have made about the war in just the last few days. Last Friday, nearly 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Trump posted in all caps, quote, the Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business, unquote.

45 minutes later, he declared the straight situation over. About 30 minutes after that, he posted, quote, Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the world, unquote. Sounds like great news.

But Iran did in fact close the Strait of Hormuz again the very next day. They said they did so because the Trump ordered blockade of Iranian ships was still in place.

As of this morning. During his interview with CNBC, President Trump sounded unlikely to reopen the crucial shipping strait for Iran.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The blockade has been a tremendous success. They said two days ago, we will open the strait. I said, no, we're not going to open the strait until we have a final deal. No, we want to open the strait. They said, we're not opening. We totally control the strait. Just so you understand, for all the fake news out there.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

[17:05:10]

TAPPER: Even more confusing. Also new today, the U.S. has intercepted a second Iranian ship. The Defense Department releasing this video calling it a sanctioned vessel, previously sanctioned by the US. It is noticeable that the U.S. intercepted this ship in the Indian Ocean. That prompts the question, is the U.S. now extending the blockade on Iranian ships in the strait, far beyond the strait?

This latest interception took place nowhere near the Gulf of Oman, where U.S. forces seized that first Iranian ship Sunday.

Also, during his CNBC interview earlier today, President Trump offered this tidbit about one of the ships that has been intercepted.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it which wasn't very nice. A gift from China, perhaps. I don't know, but I was a little surprised. But because I have a very good relationship and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi. But that's all right. That's the way war goes, right?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: The White House has not clarified which ship the President was referring to. But we should note, just last week, President Trump threatened to take serious action if reports turned out to be true about China preparing to send weapons to Iran.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: I hear news reports about China giving the shoulder missiles, what's called a shoulder missile, anti-aircraft missile. I doubt they would do that because I have a relationship and I think they wouldn't do that. But maybe they did a little bit at the beginning, but I don't think they would anymore. No, but if we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is a staggering. That's a staggering amount.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: No news from the White House today about President Trump imposing a 50 percent tariff, given the fact that he suggested China was providing something to Iran in that ship. Although we don't know any of the facts behind any of this, and this was just in the last week.

Let's turn back to Trump extending the cease fire with Iran, which just happened in the last hour or so. Joining us now, former U.S. Special Forces lieutenant colonel and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Ambassador Roger Carstens. Ambassador, good to see you again.

What do you make of President Trump extending this cease fire? It sounds indefinitely.

ROGER CARSTENS, FORMER SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: You know, Jake, thanks for having me on. Yes, it sounds like that's what he's trying to do. I think in terms of what I am interested in always, and that's bringing hostages home. I think in a way, when you extend a ceasefire like this, you lose a little bit of leverage.

I think in my perfect world, we would have ended the ceasefire and at least had the threat of military force never to in the effort to increase leverage, which could be used not only to achieve our political military aims, but also to bring some of the six Americans that are held by the Iranians home to the United States.

TAPPER: I want to get to those Americans in a sec. But I want to also ask the Trump administration is considering imposing a new round of sanctions targeting Iran. Would that help in getting Iran to negotiate not only for some sort of peace deal having to do with this war, but also to release these Americans?

CARSTENS: You know, I would say that we've sanctioned Iran with pretty much everything at any point on every single part of their, their economy, their political life, et cetera. I almost can't imagine another sanction really causing any pressure to the Iranian government.

You know, I think the threat of military force, however, that's a different story and I think that's very real. But adding a few more sanctions to the stack that are already, that have already been levied on Iran, I just really can't see that adding anything.

TAPPER: In the midst of all this, of course, you've already noted there are Americans at two at least that the U.S. designates as being wrongfully detained by Iran. Right now the Foley Foundation says there are at least six as you note.

The two that the U.S. designated as being wrongfully detained are Reza Valizadeh he's a 49-year-old Iranian American journalist, and Kamran Hekmati, he's a 70-year-old Jewish Iranian American. Both have been detained in Iran for more than a year. Believed to be held in a notorious prison in Tehran.

Are these detained Americans part of the negotiations at all? I don't recall hearing anybody in the administration say that they are.

CARSTENS: You know, Jake, all we have is that story that came out in the Washington Post on 10 April saying that prior to JD Vance heading off to Pakistan that the Americans would be brought up as part of the negotiations.

However, after the negotiations took place in Islamabad, I've heard nothing and no one that I've known has heard anything about the Americans being a part of those negotiations. I mean, you can -- you know where my head's at. I encourage the administration to make this a part of their negotiated aims and let's make an effort to try to bring him home.

[17:10:02]

TAPPER: To the west of Iran is Kuwait, where a Kuwaiti American journalist is being detained. His name is Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. Press freedom advocates say he was arrested after sharing videos related to the Iran war, such as this video on March 2nd of a U.S. fighter jet crashing west of Kuwait City. Could Eldin be part of negotiation talks even though it's not related specifically to Iran?

CARSTENS: Jake, you remember what happened when we made a grand bargain with Russia on the 1st of August of 2024, we did what was called enlarging the problem. We expanded the amount and the, I guess, numbers of hostages held in different countries to bring together a deal that might have been inconceivable had it been just done in a bilateral channel. So there's a chance that he might be brought into this.

Also, additionally, Kuwait might be able to, or be willing to just make a good deal with the United States to let them know that, look, you know, publicly we're going to have this stance, but privately we'd like to send a very clear message to the United States by releasing him back to you.

So my hope is that, that he gets released soon. I know that they've -- the Kuwaitis have ramped up their national security laws and he actually came and perhaps posted the video online at a very problematic time. But clearly he's a journalist trying to do his job and he's an American citizen and we need to work to bring him.

TAPPER: Yes. And Kuwait's supposedly an ally of ours, by the way. Before you go.

CARSTENS: Yes.

TAPPER: I was hanging out with Trevor Reid yesterday. He's doing great. I know you had a lot to do with.

CARSTENS: What a great American.

TAPPER: Him getting free. So thank you so much. Ambassador Roger Carstens, thanks so much. Breaking news here in D.C., we're standing by to hear from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Cash Patel. As the civil rights nonprofit the Southern Poverty Law center has announced that they just learned they're being investigated by the Justice Department. But first, inside the scandals that led Lori Chavez-DeRemer to leave her post. Being urged to leave her post by the president as labor secretary.

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[17:16:15]

TAPPER: In our National Lead, a massive overhaul is on the way for the nation's air traffic control systems. Today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an ambitious plan to quickly update radar software and more in a way that he says will make the skies much safer. CNN's Pete Muntean was there for the rollout. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear to land.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Trump administration's major overhaul of the nation's air traffic control system is happening right now following collisions involving commercial flights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, stop, stop.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Air traffic control outages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our scopes just went black again.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): And years of warnings from airlines.

CHRIS SUNUNU, PRESIDETN AND CEO, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA: Men and women sitting up in those towers, basically putting it together with shoestring and duct tape.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Nick Daniels is the head of the union of air traffic controllers.

NICK DANIELS, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: The aviation system has continued to lag behind and it's become unreliable.

MUNTEAN (voice-over0: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he is spending $12 billion allocated last year to replace aging technology like copper wires connecting air traffic control facilities with new fiber optic cable.

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, they said it would take more than 10 years. That's absurd. We're getting this done at the speed of Trump.

MUNTEAN: These are the paper strips that air traffic controllers have used for decades to hand airplanes off from controller to controller. Part of this effort will replace these paper strips with digital displays.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Duffy tells me he needs another seven to $10 billion from Congress to finish the job by the end of 2028. That money will be for software updates, including using artificial intelligence and to forecast flight delays before they begin.

DUFFY: AI can give prompts to a controller and then the controller decides whether they want to use that prompt or not. We are never going to outsource the national airspace to AI tools.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The transition has not been seamless. Rolling out new tech at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year, delayed flights raising concerns that upgrades will add complexity for controllers. DANIELS: We do slow down the system, we ensure that they're used to it and then we bring it and ramp it right back up to speed. At the pace of the controllers say, OK, we're ready to operate.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Short staffed controllers say they are ready for any technology that makes their jobs easier. Now the question is whether Congress will buy the White House's pitch to finish what it says it started.

DUFFY: Everybody wants to do it, but they have to have the heart to find the funding mechanism to find the money and send it our way.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to Pete Muntean for that report. The breaking news on our World Lead, President Trump extending the deadline for a ceasefire with Iran to let negotiations play out. When will those negotiations happen? Why replace a deadline with what sounds like the opposite a deadline. More reaction, next.

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[17:23:36]

TAPPER: Back to our breaking news. Just in the last hour, President Trump announced he is now extending the deadline for the end of the ceasefire with Iran. He posted in truth social in part, quote, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. The deadline for the cease fire was this time tomorrow.

Now it is put off indefinitely. Joining us now to discuss, Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska. Congressman, this deadline for Iran has been replaced with, frankly, what sounds like the opposite of a deadline, an indefinite time period. What do you make of this development?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Well, I think the president wants to know who he's dealing with. Listen, we've got generations of martyrs here. They don't come up with a business plan. Their goal is death to America. And we're trying to, you know, find a peaceful, good long term solution here where Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon and we got to figure out who we're working with.

And I think the president is right to extend the deadline, but I think they got -- they've got the message that he's not messing around. I think he said no more Mr. Nice Guy. This has to get fixed. You know, as this is happening, I've got the Nebraska cattleman in my office right now. It just so happened they were double booked with you today, Jake. And we're talking about some of the issues that this creates for agriculture. We certainly want an end to it.

[17:25:00] TAPPER: I'm sure it creates a huge issue for agriculture because the diesel prices are through the roof and that affects the cattlemen that you're talking to, as well as a whole bunch of people in the agriculture industry. What do you tell them?

FLOOD: Well, I mean, we've been on the record talking about the need for E15, and that's what I've been working on today. Ironically, the cow calf operators are having a pretty good year. We've got a smaller herd this year than we've had in 50 years. There's challenges, but the president knows how important it is, number one, to finish things the right way with Iran, but more importantly, to open up the Strait of Hormuz, and get that oil moving and get that fertilizer going.

It's an issue that we're talking about in Nebraska. And so we're paying close attention, and we want a peaceful result. But we also don't want to live this way another 50 years with a country that's a huge state sponsor of terrorism. They've killed enough Americans. It's time to get the job done as long as we're there.

TAPPER: So when the president posted and you referred to this tweet just a minute ago, it's the no, no more Mr. Nice Guy tweet, I believe. But when he said, or I might be conflating tweets, but in any case, at one point he threatened that, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, unquote, referring to the people in Iran. You didn't condemn those words when asked. You said that President Trump often uses very strong rhetoric to achieve his goals. What goals has he actually achieved?

FLOOD: Well, to be honest, I did speak out against some of those in a subsequent interview, just like, minutes after the one that you're referencing.

TAPPER: OK.

FLOOD: Listen, I do not think that we should speak that way about ending civilizations. America is great not because we're strong, but how we use that strength. And so I do think there's value in holding the Iranian speed to the.

Listen, they are experts in delay, delay, delay. I talked to somebody who was on the team that was supposed to be investigating whether or not they had nuclear weapons when they were working for the United Nations. And it was just a shell game. Listen, they only understand one thing. It's sheer force. It's military might. We're dealing with people that are avowed martyrs. You know, we take out the ayatollah, we get his son, we continue to work through the ranks. And then you've got people that are stepping up saying they'll be the next. They're willing to die for their country.

Listen, this is a, this is a dangerous regime. They want death to America. You've got to deal with them very forcefully. And to that end, I agree with President Trump.

TAPPER: So the Strait of Hormuz was open before the war began, and now it is one of the major factors to end the war, which seems like a problem that -- I'm not saying that there weren't problems before. Obviously, the Iran nuclear program, obviously the ballistic missiles, obviously the funding of terrorism, I'm not belittling that.

But the Strait of Hormuz issue that is affecting the gentleman behind you, that was not an issue until February 28, when the President authorized these attacks.

FLOOD: Listen, for the first time in 50 years, the United States is done with these folks. We are done with their threats, with their vitriol, with their anti-American terrorism ways. These are the things that happen when you try to end a regime's efforts, that are hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon. And when you talk to people that are martyrs. What would Iran do right now if they had a nuclear weapon? They would use it. They would absolutely use it.

If we walk away now, this issue will revisit us again in five years, 10 years. Whenever they recalibrate, we're in this thing. Let's finish this thing. When I talked to Nebraskans that have been dealing with this since 1979, that they're sick of it. They're sick of this country. They're sick of the way they treat America, the way they operate in the Middle East, the way they kill Americans, they prop up Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah.

Listen, we got to go in there and finish this. I think a lot of Americans understand that, yes, there are reactions to that. We want those resolved, but now is not the time to cut and run.

TAPPER: Right, but you say that we are done with them, but they're not done with us. Right? Because they've closed the Strait of Hormuz and it's driving up costs in addition to diesel fertilizer for America's farmers. Let me just --

FLOOD: What are President Trump's options? Just to let them continue operating so that they can delay and delay and delay and then go back and recalibrate their program and have a nuclear weapon. Listen, we're talking about a country that wants to use a nuclear weapon to end, you know, literally end civilization in nations like Israel to target Americans or give that guy, God forbid, nuclear weapon to somebody that could use it on our soil. We're dealing with an operation here full of martyrs.

And we have to take a hard line. We have to connect the dots. Understanding there is short term pain. But as we've seen with President Trump and a lot of his initiatives, things do get better. We got to go through this to get our goal accomplished.

[17:30:00]

TAPPER: Right. But what -- I guess that's my question. What's the goal? Because the ballistic missile program has been badly hurt. The nuclear weapons program had already been hurt from the strikes last June. And now those nuclear materials are buried even further underground, we're told. The --

FLOOD: But for how long.

TAPPER: That's my question. Like how does this end? When does it end? What's the metric? When are we going to know it's over so the gentleman behind you can say, OK, good prices for diesel and prices for fertilizer are going to start coming down in X number of months. Like what is the actual endgame here? What does have to happen other than the Strait of Hormuz opening?

FLOOD: Well I can tell you that senior leaders of Congress others like myself we are in classified briefings getting updates on what's happening. The President the White House the Congress we're going to have to sit down and we're going to have to number one understand what it's going to cost if there's a supplemental and what that money will go for. And the President's going to have to lay out its strategy as we work our way further into May and that supplemental arrives. There'll be an opportunity for us to see where we're going.

We have made good progress. We have severely dismantled a lot of what Iran's capable of doing. But they, you know, if we stop now and I've talked to a lot of folks in my home state they think stopping now is cutting and running. We are getting their attention more than we ever have in the last 50 years. Now is not the time to cut and run. Let's figure this out. Let's take the steps that need to be taken.

TAPPER: Right.

FLOOD: And let's as a country support a President that's finally doing something about one of our sworn enemies.

TAPPER: I guess I'm just confused because President Trump has been saying for weeks that he won. The war is won. The U.S. won the war. And Hegseth and others have said that the Iranian Navy is at the bottom of the sea and they don't have the capability of doing the missile construction that they did. The ballistic missiles and the nuclear material is underground. I'm just -- I'm trying to understand what the metric is other than opening the Strait of Hormuz for this to be over for you say nobody wants to cut and run. OK. But what still needs to be done.

FLOOD: Making sure that there is no more nuclear weapon that comes out of Iran, period.

TAPPER: But what's the metric for that? I mean because it sounds as though they're pretty close to having achieved that if the missiles are destroyed the way President Trump and Pete Hegseth say they are and --

FLOOD: Pretty close isn't achieved. And by the way a lot of this is handled in a classified setting with actual metrics and actual updates. And that is not something that can be shared on CNN or any other network right now. You know we are into this now. We have a mission to rid ourselves of a nuclear prepared Iran. The people of America have checks and balances and that there's going to be a request for supplemental. There are certain limitations on how long the President can engage in this way.

There's going to have to be an opportunity for it. There's going to have to be an opportunity for the White House to share with Congress where they're at. And I know that the guys behind me that are 100 percent for not only the cattle industry but national security and safety from a terrorism sponsor. We want it all. We want all of the above. And I think we can have it.

But it doesn't happen on a 24 hour news cycle. It happens over time and it happens when our military leaders can go to bed at night knowing that we don't have to worry about a dirty bomb or a nuclear bomb landing somewhere in Israel or in the United States.

TAPPER: Republican Congressman Mike Flood, thank you so much. And please thank the gentlemen behind you for what they do. We all appreciate it so much.

Coming up next, the multiple allegations that led to the forced resignation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. Secretary of Labor.

[17:33:59]

Plus, the departure today from Congress of a Democratic congresswoman. The fraud allegations that led to her stepping down. We'll dive into those. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: We're taking a closer look now in our Politics Lead at the multiple scandals that led to the ousting of former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. There were allegations, for example, of personal trips disguised as business travel, allegations and a complaint of Chavez-DeRemer having a sexual relationship with a member of her security team. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty takes a look now at the mounting investigations that led to her departure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: The team that you have assembled is really an honor to serve with, so thank you, Mr. President.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great. Thank you very much.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lori Chavez- DeRemer's ouster as Labor Secretary follows a tumultuous tenure plagued by allegations of misconduct, scandals, and a pattern of disturbing behavior.

CHAVEZ-DEREMER: It is an honor to appear before you as President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Labor.

SERFATY (voice-over): In January, reports surfaced that the agency's watchdog was investigating Chavez-DeRemer for several things, including complaints that she was having a sexual relationship with a member of her security team, attempting to use business trips as excuses for personal travel, asking staff to design work trips to align with personal events in other states, a UFC fight in Chicago, and a Morgan Wall in concert, among others, and allegations that she was drinking on the job, sending staff to pick up alcohol, a source tells CNN.

[17:40:04]

In one text message and a complaint obtained by "The New York Post," the Labor Secretary asked her staffer to bring her a Rose wine to her hotel room while traveling on a work trip. Do they sell by the bottle, she asked. When the staffer says they are out, she writes back, how about the Josh Sauvi B.? In a statement on X, Chavez-DeRemer says she believes the allegations have been peddled by high-ranked deep state actors, which she claims are working to undermine the Trump agenda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And the former secretary's lawyer, in a statement to CNN this afternoon, says that the secretary is not aware of any findings that she broke any law, and emphasized that she resigned to pursue projects in the private sector. Meantime, it's very notable this is the third cabinet secretary, all women, to go since last month, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.

Then there is today's resignation of Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Can her departure pressure Republicans to take action against one of their colleagues, who also faces very serious allegations? We're going to talk about that with our panel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:38]

REP. MICHAEL GUEST (R-NJ): After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in my best interest and the interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time. Signed, sincerely, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, member of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Translation, I'm resigning before I get kicked out. In our Politics Lead, that is the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, Michael Guest, reading a resignation letter submitted by embattled Florida Democratic congresswoman, now former congresswoman, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned just hours before the committee was set to recommend a punishment, including possible expulsion from the House of Representatives. The lawmaker has been charged with stealing $5 million in FEMA funds and making illegal campaign contributions. She faces a criminal trial next year regardless. She denies any wrongdoing.

Here to discuss is our panel. So the Florida lawmaker posted on social media, "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida's 20th district." I don't know how she's going to better fight for them. Not in Congress then, OK, but anyway. She goes on to say, "We should be very careful about the precedent we're setting in this country. We do not punish people before due process is complete."

I hear that, Sabrina, but by the same token, the standard for being in the House is not the standard for being found guilty or not guilty in a court of law, right?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right, I mean, I think everyone is entitled to due process, and if there was a pending court case, she is entitled to that. But this is something that was being taken up by the House Oversight Committee. And at the end of the day, I mean, she misappropriated funds and used them for herself, I mean, stealing them for her own campaign. That is illegal. That is something that she was held accountable for.

I think this was a good moment for Democrats, and we do hold our own accountable, and you also saw that with Eric Swalwell last week. But frankly, yes, she shouldn't be representing her constituents. I don't know how she's going to better help her constituents not in Congress anymore. But that's not someone that was representing her constituents to the fullest if she's stealing funds from them.

TAPPER: And now there is a question about what's going to happen with Congressman Cory Mills, Republican from Florida. Yesterday, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina, she introduced a resolution to expel Mills, who's facing a wide range of allegations that he denies, we should say. They include sexual misconduct, financial misconduct. CNN's Manu Raju asked Speaker Johnson if he was concerned about the allegations against Cory Mills today. Here's what Speaker Johnson had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: We are always concerned when allegations of inappropriate behavior and certainly sexual misconduct are made against members. If you talk to Representative Mills, and he's entitled to do that, he has said that all of these allegations are untrue. He is working through that. There is a due process that he has allowed, and they're going through that process, as have all the other members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We should note there is a matter of House math that is probably at play. Speaker Johnson had a 50-vote margin, maybe he would have a different position than the very slender margin. I don't know that he would, but it's something to be considering. What do you make of it all?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This type of behavior leads to a level of erosion that I'm certainly not comfortable with. And as a conservative, not to get philosophical here, I'll bring up a little bit of moral relativism. Are people's moral values dependent upon what's in their interest? And so because due process and systems exist, morality and ethics should just go out of the door. I don't necessarily agree with that.

Third, I'll finally say that when you have people in power who aren't held to account at all, it does indeed reduce trust that the American people, Democrats and Republicans alike, have in our systems, and that's also not a good thing. I get the politics of it, but I've said this before as it pertains to the congressman out of Florida, Jake. He should deal with his issues outside of Congress, and I feel very strongly about that.

TAPPER: Let's turn to Trump's cabinet, Jacobs. We have so many people being accused of corruption that I have to go one by one by one by one. I wouldn't have time to soak over one. So the labor secretary, former labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the latest to step down against misconduct allegations. Others could soon follow theoretically. There's been reporting about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

[17:49:52]

He's facing questions from Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat and mayor from Maryland. He says he's allegedly profiting from the Supreme Court's ruling to strike down tariffs. Raskin wrote in a press release, "Internal documents reviewed by Wired," that's a news media publication, "Reveal that Cantor Fitzgerald," a firm where Lutnick's son is chairman, "Apparently engaged in a scheme to pay 20 to 30 cents of the dollar on the dollar for tariff refunds, betting that the courts would reverse the administration's tariff policy and securing a staggering three to five-fold return on their investment."

Now, in a social media post, Cantor Fitzgerald denied the allegations, quote, we want to be able to do this. We want to reiterate that Cantor Fitzgerald has never executed any transactions or taken risk on the legality of tariffs. What do you make of this all?

SINGH: Well, I think we're seeing many officials in this administration profiting and really expanding their wealth. I mean, it's not just Lutnick's sons, potentially. It's also, I mean, look at Trump's sons. Look at the business dealings that they're having. Look at their crypto and Bitcoin investments. Look at every time Donald Trump travels, he stays at, you know, a Trump property. That is money going back into the Trump infrastructure.

And so I think to what Shermichael was saying earlier is people in power have to be held to the same conduct and standards that we do across the board, whether it's at companies or small businesses. And there are people in power abusing that. And I think this administration allows some leniency when it comes to members of their cabinet or their friends. And that's, frankly, not right.

TAPPER: Lutnick's also expected to testify to the House Oversight Committee probe on Jeffrey Epstein next month. Pam Bondi was shown the door, partly because of her mishandling of Epstein. Lutnick clearly said something about not having any contacts with Epstein that proved to not be true when some of the Epstein files were released. And it turned out he'd actually had lunch on Epstein Island with his family and Mr. Epstein, showing that what he had said was a lie.

SINGLETON: Look, I don't know if he did anything illegal, but I'll say this. As a strategist, you never want any person around the principal to bring their baggage, particularly with midterms coming up. We have a war in Iran we're trying to bring a resolution to. You have the economy that is, quite frankly, unstable for half of the country.

And you have a president and a party that wants to keep power. And so, for me, with all due respect to Mr. Lutnick and anyone else that may be a deal-breaker for President Trump, I would say, you got to go. You're too big of a distraction. And the President just, frankly, doesn't need it.

TAPPER: All right. I would also note that President Trump earlier today said, "I would have won Vietnam very quickly. I would have if I were president." We don't have time to talk about that. But you at home, do a little panel with your family there. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Breaking news, the indictment just announced by the Justice Department against the high-profile progressive civil rights group, Nonprofit. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:56:47]

TAPPER: Breaking news in the Law and Justice Lead. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel just announced moments ago an indictment of the progressive civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center. What for? Let's bring in CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez. Evan, walk us through the allegations. What did the SPLC allegedly do here?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, this is an indictment that has been filed in federal court in Alabama and it charges the Southern Poverty Law Center with a number of charges including bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and it all stems from a program that apparently has now been discontinued by the SPLC to infiltrate extremist organizations, white supremacists, neo-Nazi organizations. According to the Justice Department, though, some of that money essentially goes to funding these organizations.

They cited one example of $270,000 that was paid to someone who essentially was a leader of the Unite the Rally, I'm sorry, Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia back in 2017. You'll remember that someone died in that rally during the violence in that rally. So one of the things that the Justice Department says is that essentially what the SPLC was doing was committing fraud when some of that funding. Here's the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche talking about some of these allegations. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: One troubling example is that the SPLC was paying a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 that resulted in the death of one person and injured dozens more. This particular person being paid by the SPLC allegedly received approximately $270,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ: And Jake, the SPLC which anticipated this has issued a statement. They said obviously this is a five decade old organization that goes back to the civil rights era and they said we stood in the vanguard then and we stand in the vanguard today. We will not be intimidated into silence or contrition and we will not abandon our mission or the communities we serve.

I should also note that this press conference which is just now wrapping up at the Justice Department, Kash Patel, the FBI director, was there and he responded to a story, "The Atlantic" from over the weekend, Jake, that accused him of drinking on the job. He says that those allegations are false and he also said that he has never been drinking on the job. The attorney -- the acting attorney general also defended him, saying that these are allegations made up by the media and they're blatantly false. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much.

[17:59:52]

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump says he is once again extending the ceasefire with Iran, erasing the deadline which was set to expire tomorrow night.