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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Extends Ceasefire With Iran Until Negotiations Conclude; Trump's Fed Chair Pick Grilled In Tense Confirmation Hearing; FBI Opens Probe After Ten Scientists Die Or Disappear In Recent Years; Soon: Polls Close On Virginia's Redistricting Referendum; Trump Reads Bible Verse From Oval Office After Feud With Pope Leo. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 21, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead on 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.

[18:00:03]

The truce, Trump says, will now continue until Iran submits a proposal to end the war completely, apparently on their own time. The U.S. blockade against Iranian vessels is still in place, as is the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz. We're going to go live to the region in moments.

Plus, we are just one hour away from polls closing in the Commonwealth of Virginia for a special election with major midterm implications. Will voters in Virginia agree to a new Congressional map that could turn a 6-5 Democratic majority into a 10-1 advantage?

Also, the FBI says it is now leading an investigation after at least ten scientists tied to sensitive U.S. research died or disappeared in recent years. Lawmakers say they will also investigate a potential sinister connection between the cases. What in the world is actually going on here?

And on the heels of the history-making Artemis II mission, a group of more than a hundred former astronauts has banded together for a new reason. Astronauts for America is made up of Republicans, Democrats, independents, all of whom say their mission is patriotic, not partisan. So, what is this mission? Well, two of the founding members will join us live for their first cable interview ahead.

The Lead tonight, just one day before the ceasefire with Iran was set to expire, President Trump says he is once again pushing the deadline and seemingly giving no real timeline or deadline at all. The president announcing on Truth Social that the truce with Iran will continue, quote, until such time as their proposal is submitted and the discussions are concluded one way or the other, unquote.

Just earlier today, President Trump warned that the U.S. would resume bombing Iran if a deal wasn't made by tomorrow night, adding that the U.S military is, quote, raring to go. And Vice President J.D. Vance, we should note, remains in Washington, D.C., today despite the president saying yesterday that Vance was already en route to Pakistan to negotiate with the Iranians.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv Israel for us and CNN's Kaitlan Collins is at the White House. And, Kaitlan, let me start with you. I think the big question, of course, what changed? Why all of a sudden is the deadline replaced by the complete opposite of a deadline?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, Jake, Pakistan's prime minister asking the president to do this had a pretty big role in shaping this. They've obviously been playing mediator in all of this ever since the ceasefire was first announced a few weeks ago, and they've still had a pretty big role in all of this in terms of where the president's head is at. And now you're seeing prime minister of Pakistan, thank the president for calling this off and extending the ceasefire even longer than it already was, even though just a few hours ago this morning, as the president was doing an interview, he said that he did not want to extend the ceasefire anymore and threaten to resume his bombing campaign in Iran.

And so, Jake, when we look at what this actually means for what's going to happen right now, the president says they're still going to continue with the blockade of Iran's port. Iran obviously still has the Strait of Hormuz closed and has been using that leverage as these talks have gone on. But it's a real question of what they were going to sit down to talk about should these talks have even gone on.

Because, yes, the president is extending this ceasefire deadline yet again after saying repeatedly that he didn't plan to do so, Jake, but also what's not happening are the talks right now in-person that we had expected to be happening basically any moment now with the vice president scheduled to leave Washington today to go to those.

We had a sense obviously that was likely not going to happen when we saw J.D. Vance here at the White House. He actually just left a couple of moments ago after spending the day here along with other top officials, like Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio. And so it's not clear, Jake, when those talks are going to resume in-person and also it's not clear how long this ceasefire is going to go on for. The president is kind of indefinitely extending it in his post.

And, Jake, I'll just note one thing. In terms of where the president's head is at on this and how he's feeling about this, it's hard to think of an event in recent memories since this war started where the president has not talked about Iran. I mean, he's done it at International Women's Month events. He's done it when he was signing that executive order on Saturday on that new psychedelic drug here at the White House. Today, though, he just appeared in front of athletes here and he did not bring up Iran at all and left the room without taking any questions.

TAPPER: Jeremy, was there ever any confirmation from Iran that they were going to go to Pakistan and attend these talks?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: No, Jake. Iranian officials never officially confirmed that they were going to be attending these negotiations, but there was a sense towards the end of last week going into the weekend that there had been some significant momentum in terms of the negotiations that were happening remotely between the United States and Iran, significant progress that ultimately culminated in Iran saying that it was going to allow the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened to lifting its blockade over that critical waterway.

But what followed was President Trump insisting on maintaining his blockade of ships going to and from Iranian ports, and that seems to have been kind of the beginning of these negotiations beginning to break down and the possibility of those negotiations happening in the Pakistani capital seemed to grow further and further apart.

[18:05:21]

And in indeed today, you know, even just hours before President Trump ultimately made the decision to extend these negotiations, extend the ceasefire, just hours before that ceasefire was set to expire, we heard from the Iranian foreign minister who once again reiterated that Iran's position about this U.S. blockade, calling it an act of war on behalf of the United States, and making clear that Iran was not going to be bullied into a position that it was not prepared to accept.

But there are also broader questions about what's happening inside of Iran, reports of potential power struggle between different factions there of the negotiators, on the one hand, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on the other. Although it's important to note that the Iranian speaker of the parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, has significant bona fides with the IRGC.

But, nonetheless, a lot of questions about what's happening in Iran, something that the president hinted to in his message about all of this. And so now, you know, this region, once again, Jake, just on a knife's edge about what could happen.

TAPPER: And, Kaitlan, earlier today, President Trump said that the U.S. had intercepted a second -- or, actually, we're not sure which ship he was talking about, the first one or the second, but he said one of the ships was carrying a, quote, gift from China. He seemed to allude to this being something that China was not supposed to be sending to Iran. Any other details as to what that meant?

COLLINS: No, Jake. We've asked the White House for what exactly the president was referring to because, obviously, that came after CNN and another outlets reported that China was preparing to assist Iran, whether that's with weapons or intelligence in this war with the United States, and the president said that -- and after those reports surfaced that he had exchanged letters with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, who he is traveling to meet with next month in Beijing. And he said that he believed that they were not going to do so.

And so when the president made those comments, obviously, it did stand out in terms of what exactly he was referring to, because shortly after that, he talked about Iran using this ceasefire period to restock and also arguing that the United States has done the same when it comes to ammunitions and being prepared for this war to resume.

So, obviously, those are key questions, Jake, and China has not been happy with the Strait of Hormuz being closed. They have talked about this. They've talked about the blockade. And so all of these are key questions in terms of exactly what we were just referencing, the president extending this ceasefire, how long this could play out. Because keep in mind, next week, he is welcoming King Charles here to the White House for a state visit. Shortly after that, he is set to go and visit president -- to go visit China. And so key questions in terms of how long this war could go on for, it's already far exceeding the president's timeline initially when it launched.

TAPPER: And, Jeremy, President Trump had said that the U.S. military was raring to go against Iran, although now he has erased the deadline from tomorrow to never, no actual deadline. But I wonder, what is the posture in Israel tonight? Is the Israeli military just sitting on standby? What's their position?

DIAMOND: Well, Jake, from the moment that this ceasefire was announced, the Israeli prime minister in that very first night said that Israel would keep its finger on the trigger. And I think it's safe to say that that has been the Israeli posture during the first two weeks of this ceasefire so far. It is tonight, once again, and it will continue to be going forward.

We know, of course, that before this ceasefire went into place, Israel and the United States were preparing new lists of targets, infrastructure and energy targets inside of Iran that they would strike should those negotiations fall apart. That target bank, I can tell you, Jake, is certainly ready to go for Israeli pilots to begin taking off and taking out those targets inside of Iran.

So, without a doubt, the Israeli military, with its finger on the trigger should the diplomacy fall apart, and also, of course, key questions about what that will mean in Lebanon, where we've seen several violations of the ceasefire on both sides today alone, and real questions about whether or not that ceasefire could be maintained, if the broader one between the United States and Iran falls apart. Remember, we're expecting key negotiations to take place between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington on Thursday.

TAPPER: All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, Israel, Kaitlan Collins at the White House, of course, thanks to both you.

And don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Her guest tonight include Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who had some sharp questions earlier for President Trump's Fed chair nominee. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Is President Trump's pick to lead the Fed any closer to getting confirmed?

[18:10:01]

That fiery hearing on the Hill today made it clear a vote will likely be held up. We'll explain why next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Money Lead, a high-stakes confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill for the president's pick to lead the Federal Reserve. Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh was press today on whether he would succumb to President Trump's demands that the Fed lower interest rates and maintain the bank's central independence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Are you going to be the president's human sock puppet.

KEVIN WARSH, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR NOMINEE: Senator, absolutely not.

KENNEDY: Are you going to be anybody's human sock puppet?

WARSH: No. I'm honored the president nominated me for the position and I'll be an independent actor if confirmed as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Still, there is a major roadblock in the way of Warsh's confirmation, the open criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the renovation of Fed headquarters.

[18:15:07]

Today, a key Republican senator renewed his demand for the Justice Department to drop that probe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): We have somebody who thinks a building project that went over by about $700 million with a lot of what seemed to be justifications for it are holding up this whole process. Let's get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Here with me now is CNN's Phil Mattingly. And, Phil, Senator Tillis, Republican in North Carolina, is retiring. He's the deciding vote here as long as he is refusing to support the confirmation of Kevin Warsh while the investigation into Jerome Powell is open. What does that mean? What happens?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: It means Kevin Walsh will not be confirmed to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell's term ends on May 15th. President Trump has a very clear pathway to having his pick, his chair, in place, replacing somebody he's wanted to replace since his first term when he nominated Jerome Powell the first time around. If the Justice Department drops the investigation that has already had quashed subpoenas by a judge has no clear pathway forward, and that even Senate Republicans on the Banking Committee Warsh testifying in front of today, had said they have not found any evidence of wrongdoing.

Trump has made clear he's not going to take that off-ramp, and Tillis has made clear he's not budging. He has nothing to lose. There is no hedging here. And I think what's important to note is in that committee, one Republican senator holds the entire future of Kevin Warsh in his hands. That's Thom Tillis. If he votes, no, it's a deadlock, doesn't get to the Senate floor.

There are procedural ways to try and backdoor the nomination without Tillis. All of them would require a supermajority. They don't have that. And even if it required a simple majority, the other Republicans would likely join Tillis. So, there's one way to get Warsh through here.

And to be clear, Tillis vigorously supports his nomination. Every Republican does. You talk to Democratic economists, they say, this is -- this guy, I don't like him necessarily, I don't support him, but he's as qualified as you're going to get. The only thing standing in his way right now is the investigation.

TAPPER: So, there's this other question the Democrats are raising, which is whether or not Kevin -- that Warsh is just going to be a rubber stamp or a sock puppet, as Elizabeth Warren put it. And Democrats didn't seem to buy it when Warsh denied that Trump had asked him to cut interest rates. I guess one of the questions is, does he even need to directly ask him since he's out there, President Trump conveying that he expects Warsh to do that?

MATTINGLY: I think it's very clear the president's public commentary on this has not done his nominee any favors throughout this process. He has made clear as recently as this morning, just an hour and a half before the confirmation hearing, that he has expectations that Warsh will cut rates and he'd be very disappointed if he didn't.

Now, Warsh was very particular in the language he used when he was answering these questions, no specific interest rate decision. My understanding is during their conversation, there was some kind of ambiguous back and forth that left White House officials believing Warsh was on board with an interest rate cut. Warsh making clear today he did not explicitly commit to an interest rate cut.

He did make an important point, though. He doesn't get to do this unilaterally. If he's confirmed, when he's confirmed, he is a 1 of 12 people that are voting on the Federal Open Market Committee. He's going to need a majority to move forward. His real kind of mandate here is to get a majority for whatever he believes the right policy pathway is. He can't do it on his own.

TAPPER: But also just very quickly, it is true though that Warsh is picked because his views of the Fed more closely align with President Trump's. There's no crime there. I'm just saying like that's just true, right?

MATTINGLY: No question about it.

TAPPER: Okay. Phil Mattingly, thank you.

And don't miss Phil's new streaming series. It debuts Friday. It's called CNN Breaks It Down. It's great for anybody trying to understand what's going on in this crazy world. You can find it at cnn.com/watch, and that starts Friday.

Joining us now, Republican Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.

So, Senator, I want to ask you about a key moment from ranking Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren that she says she asked this to test Kevin Warsh's independence and courage. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

WARSH: We try to keep politics, if I'm confirmed, out of the Federal Reserve.

WARREN: I'm just asking you a factual question. I need to know -- I need to measure your independence and your courage.

WARSH: Senator, I believe that this body certified that election many years ago.

WARREN: That's not the question I'm asking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It really isn't all that difficult to just state the fact that Donald Trump won in 2016. He lost in 2020. He won in 2024. These are just the facts that reasonable Americans understand. So, Senator Warren is asking this question, and I'd like you to answer it. She says, how can the American people trust a Fed chair who's not willing to state the facts that way?

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Well, I think what he did is he didn't take the debate from Elizabeth Warren where she could then spend the rest of the hearing saying, see, you are political, you do engage in politics, you can't claim independence.

[18:20:08]

He didn't take anybody's bait on any question that could have trapped him into that argument, and I think he did a masterful job of staying out of it, including questions about Supreme Court decisions and things that have -- you know, that aren't under the Fed's purview. I think that shows a -- demonstrates a very disciplined mind in Kevin Warsh.

TAPPER: President Trump was asked about the probe into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell holding up his nominee, Kevin Warsh, on CNBC today. Take a listen to what President Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: How does this happen? Has -- did the contractor make $3.5 billion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. You know, if the banking committee --

TRUMP: I can't imagine -- I can't imagine that Too Late is taking money on construction. I can't, but it's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, he's basically saying it's possible that the Fed chair is taking bribes. Have you seen any evidence that the Fed chair did anything illegal here? And are you worried that President Trump's continued push for this probe is going to prevent you from getting the Fed chair you like and you support?

CRAMER: Yes, I like -- I support -- I like Jay Powell, although I do think that he's either incompetent or too arrogant to have done something when these cost overruns were so enormous. The fact that he didn't feel like he should inform Congress or that he should, you know, halt the project, get -- you know, do an investigation himself, that's problematic to me.

Do I think he committed a crime? I do not. I've said that from the beginning. In fact, I think the best thing we can do for America's economy right now is to confirm Kevin Warsh and swear him in one second after the expiration of Jay Powell's term.

So, no, I don't think he committed a crime, but I do think that he demonstrated bad judgment and arrogance.

TAPPER: Well, if bad judgment and arrogance and incompetence were illegal, Washington would have some serious problems, Senator, as I think --

CRAMER: Well, if misleading the Senate was illegal, we'd have to build more penitentiaries.

TAPPER: So, the reason why it's relevant is because your Republican colleague, Senator Thom Tillis in North Carolina, says he's not going to support Warsh's confirmation, which he does support, until the federal probe into Jay Powell is dropped. Have you talked to Tillis at all about that? Have you talked to President Trump about that?

CRAMER: I've not talked to President Trump about it. I've talked to Thom a little bit about it. It is my hope that between now and the middle of May that there's an off-ramp where everybody can declare some victory. I do think we as a committee ought to look into the cost overruns, look into why they occurred, why they were allowed to continue, and whether there's something that can be done about it. But I don't think that we ought to lose the war to try to win a battle about Jay Powell when the real outcome we want is a new Fed chairman, and a very good one at that in Kevin Warsh. TAPPER: Before we go, I do want to get your reaction to President Trump ending the deadline and extending the ceasefire with Iran as the potential peace talks remain muddy as to when they're going to happen again. What did you make of this move?

CRAMER: Yes, I thought it was a good move on his part. His instincts are generally right, and I think in this case they are. He sees a vulnerability in the fracturing of the Iranian regime itself, you know, the disagreement between the IRGC and some of the so-called leaders, if we even know who they are. I think the advanced group that went to Pakistan to negotiate from Iran had more conflict within their own group than they did, it seems, with the United States or Pakistan.

So, I think the president sees that vulnerability. He's seizing on it right now. Hopefully, they can get back to the negotiating table and find at this point what would be a peaceful resolution at least going forward. So, I think it was a good move.

TAPPER: North Dakota Republican Senator Kevin Cramer, thanks for your time today, sir. We appreciate it.

CRAMER: Always a pleasure. Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: At least ten scientists with links to sensitive U.S. research have died or disappeared in recent years. Now, there is a federal investigation trying to figure out what happened. That story's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, two new federal investigations, one led by the FBI, one led by the House Oversight Committee, have just been launched into the deaths or disappearances of at least ten different scientists who are tied to sensitive U.S. research.

CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller joins me now. John, what can you tell us about these scientists and what investigators are looking for? Is there something actually here?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's hard to say, but what I can tell you about the scientists is most of them are associated in some way at some point in their careers with the aerospace industry defense or NASA. They died or walked away or disappeared in what appear to be unrelated incidents.

But the theory that has been crafted -- and, Jake, it's important to note right here, this is not something driven by the families, as we see in the Epstein matter by the victims. It's not something driven by the different entities investigating either the deaths or the disappearances. This is something that comes in sideways from the House Oversight Committee and Congressman Comer, that comes from Kash Patel at the FBI, Karoline Leavitt at the White House, all saying this must be looked into.

So, as conspiracy theories go, it's right out of the X-Files. Looking at the cases, it's hard to find a lot that's suspicious here.

TAPPER: Turning to Mexico, two CIA officers were killed in a car crash. They were, we're told, returning from a counter-narcotics operation. Sources say the CIA had been collaborating with Mexican officials on this operation.

[18:30:03]

What can you tell us about that?

MILLER: Well, the CIA's relationship with Mexico and the government there in counter-narcotics effort is long and not much told about. But these are two case officers who died in a car accident coming back from a raid on a methamphetamine factory, basically. The questions that have to be answered here are, let's learn more about this car accident. What kind of car accident? Did they drive off the road? Were they forced off the road? Were they hit head-on? What is the nature of that? We can't get much information on that through my reporting today.

The other debate is on the part of the Mexican government saying, were they authorized to be operating with state authorities on operations? But it's not uncommon, Jake, to have CIA officers who are involved in training and helping to guide these operations, even if they are not actually involved in the gun-carrying and arresting part.

TAPPER: Yes, it's an under-reported story how much law enforcement officials die in car accidents because they are speeding away or speeding to something. It happens a lot more often than I think the public knows. John Miller, thank you -- go ahead, say, what you were going to say.

MILLER: It's very sad. When I worked in the intelligence community, I never walked into or walked out of the CIA without stopping to look at that wall made of marble with those stars carved into it every time they lost an officer, and there'll be two more stars to be carved there because of this, very sad.

TAPPER: Very sad. John Miller, thanks so much.

Coming up next, the new project launched today by more than 100 former NASA astronauts who are taking on a new mission, but this one's down here on Earth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: In our Out of This World Lead today, more than one hundred former astronauts from across the political spectrum are announcing a new project today called Astronauts for America. In a public letter, the group writes, quote, we view our oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution as a lifelong commitment, and today with the launch of Astronauts for America, we take on a new mission to reinvigorate American democracy. They go on to say that, quote, in space flight, ignoring evidence costs scientific advancement, mission success, and even lives. In democracy, it costs trust, stability, international respect, and the health and well-being of the governed.

Joining us now in studio to talk about their new project, former NASA astronauts Garrett Reisman and Steve Lindsey.

Garrett, let me start with you. First of all, I should just do a little brag that you guys gave me. I'll hold it up, Astronauts for America.

So, working to protect democracy is a noble cause. It's -- you know, you guys know rocket science. I can't say it's not rocket science. It's a lot uglier, and there's a lot less logic. What does it look like in practice? What are you actually going to try to achieve here?

GARRETT REISMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, the main thing is, you know, democracy is not a spectator sport. So, we want to have our voices heard and speak up. When we launched into space and walked out to that launch pad, we were wearing the American flag on our shoulder, and we were proud that we were representing a country which was a beacon of democracy and the rule of law throughout the whole world. We want to see it continue that way for 250 years more at least. And we're worried that we're heading in the wrong direction.

TAPPER: Why are you worried? What are you worried about?

STEVE LINDSEY, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Primarily what we're worried about is what we've observed, and this has been going on for decades, is partisan polarization. And we see it every day. The polarization, what is happening, is we're concerned about the Constitution and the rule of law. Because of this partisan polarization, people don't work together. Our leaders don't work together to get things done. As a result, as an example, if Congress doesn't work to get things done, then there's a vacuum, the executive branch overreaches in that vacuum, and we're very concerned about that balance of power.

And, you know, the vision of the future we have are leaders that work together despite their differences to get things done for the American people, because the government's about the people. It's for the people and by the people, and that's what we want to see.

TAPPER: What does it mean in practice? For instance, you talk about democracy. Does that mean the Astronauts for America are going to support policies like we want to arm Ukraine? Does it mean that, for instance, the January 6th attack on the Capitol, like we don't support pardoning the people who did that? Like, when the rubber meets the road, what does this actually mean in terms of positions you're going to advocate for?

REISMAN: It's not so much individual issues or positions. What it's really about is making sure that our government stays within the framework of the Constitution and the rule of law, and that's where we see a straying now for decades. We've been straying from that, and it's getting worse. And it's also a respect for science and data- driven decision-making, and it's also trying to have a civil discourse, be able to talk about our problems.

When we're on a crew together and we see something going wrong, we all feel comfortable speaking up, and we listen to each other, and we bring our differences together, and we work together as a crew towards a common mission. We don't see Congress today working for the good of the people. We see Congress today working for their party. They're not putting country over party or over their personal interests, and that's fundamentally what we think is wrong.

TAPPER: So, what does it mean in terms of -- let's say, okay, so you talked about presidential overreach, executive branch overreach because Congress is abdicating its duties. Does that mean Astronauts for America is going to say, hey, if this war in Iran goes any longer, you need to get you need to get buy-in from Congress? Does it mean - you're going to say, hey, the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs are unconstitutional, you need to go to Congress to do that? Like is that what it means?

LINDSEY: I think that's exactly what it means for us is, as Garrett said, we're not focusing on -- we're never going to come out necessarily with a position on a specific issue, but we will be looking at that issue in the context of the Constitution and the rule of law.

[18:40:02]

You know, and if there's a presidential responsibility and Congressional responsibility and a court responsibility and the laws that are already established in this nation, we want to see those, the due process and the rule of law followed.

And in your example of the Iran war, we started this action. War Powers Act in 1973 says it has 60 days before Congress has to either legitimize it or I think the president can go back for another 30 days. We're looking at that in the context of the rule of law and making sure that's followed because the whole foundation of our country and our opportunities are based on rule of law, individual rights, and we really want to focus on that.

TAPPER: Very quickly, you also talked about advocating for science. President Trump's new proposed budget cuts a lot of money out of the NASA budget. The NASA administrator has said he supports the cuts, he can work within them. Are you guys going to be advocating for that money to be restored or not? What about that?

REISMAN: Jake, we're always going to advocate for NASA. We love NASA, and we're always going to want NASA to be fully funded and to be able to accomplish all of its ambitious missions. Having said that, you know, the fact that the science budget has been cut quite a bit, and that was a proposal on the last skinny budget request, and that is persistent to today, that is definitely a cause for concern because we want to see science investigation. We want America to lead the world in scientific endeavors. And if we don't fund it, it's not going to happen.

TAPPER: All right. Garrett Reisman and Steve Lindsey, thanks so much, and good luck with Astronauts for America. There you go. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

We're just minutes away from polls closing in Virginia. They have a special election there that could have a major impact on the midterms. We're going to go live to a polling site after this quick break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:30]

TAPPER: Breaking news in our politics lead, we're just minutes away from polls closing in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, where voters will decide whether or not to redraw Virginia's congressional map. It is a big decision. It could impact which party controls the house come November. If the Democrat backed referendum passes, it could net the party for additional seats after Republicans kicked off a midterm decade redistricting race in Texas last year, this all became set into motion.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live outside a polling place in Alexandria, Virginia, what's called the People's Republic of Alexandria.

And, Jeff, both parties expect this to be close.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, jake, there is true suspense hanging over this race here. Even in the final minutes of voting. Theres about 15 minutes or so left of voting. And for the last few hours, there have been a steady trickle of people voting here. But even before the polls opened this morning, about 1.4 million Virginians had cast their ballots on this referendum.

And Virginia, as you said, is the latest front in this gerrymandering war, a very unprecedented one that started last summer in Texas when the president said, I deserve five more seats there. Well, that touched off a nationwide set of referendums. One, of course, in California, which netted Democrats five more seats. But this vote here in Virginia is being so carefully watched.

House Speaker Mike Johnson very invested. Hakeem Jeffries, also the Democratic leader, very invested in this. But the arguments as we talked to voters are strong and succinct on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN KRAMP, VIRGINIA VOTER: It's gerrymandering any way you slice it. I think that the solution to gerrymandering done by Republicans is not more gerrymandering done by Democrats. So, I voted no.

LIZ WALKER, VIRGINIA VOTER: I voted yes. You know, it's too bad we're in this fight, but we didn't start it. And it's what goes around, comes around. And so, I don't have a problem with it. And I'm glad that people in Virginia took on the challenge. It's hard to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: So, the sentiments from those voters there really sum up some of the arguments here. That Virginia voters have been facing. But again, right now the state is relatively split. Six Democrats and five Republicans in the House of Representatives delegation. This would switch to 10 Democrats, most likely, and one Republican. So, there are questions hanging over this race tonight. Are Democrats overreaching here? Or is there enough anger because of what the president has done to justify this?

So, Jake, it certainly will be one more piece of this gerrymandering puzzle. Florida is also watching all of this because that is the last state to potentially weigh in after these results next week -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny in Alexandria, Virginia, thanks so much.

Here in studio with the panel. So, CNN's Manu Raju asked the head of the House Republicans Congressional Committee, Congressman Richard Hudson, how tough it would be to keep the House if this referendum passes. And Democrats have 10 to one congressional seats advantage there instead of six to five.

Here is what Congressman Hudson had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICHARD HUDSON (R-NC): You know, it hurts when you you've got an illegal gerrymander that violates the state Constitution, draws a divided purple state 10 to one. That makes it harder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So last July, this -- I mean, this was President Trump didn't invent gerrymandering.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Right.

TAPPER: But usually it takes place, you know, at the end --

DUBKE: It's a good old fashioned American way. We do it only once a decade.

TAPPER: No, no. Right. Exactly.

DUBKE: That's a good, old fashioned.

TAPPER: Every 10 years instead of in mid-decade. Right. But just, I mean, the proud tradition of gerrymandering is so old that, like, look up who jerry was in Wikipedia and you'll see it --

DUBKE: That it's actually pronounced gerrymandering.

TAPPER: Yeah. And it was -- and it was a Founding Father. Right.

So, anyway, but Trump said this is a blatant partisan power grab. That's what Trump says about what's going on in Virginia. Is that really different from what he was doing in Texas?

DUBKE: Well, I -- let's just throw things out there, do two wrongs make a right. I mean, that's exactly what we've got to play here. The problem in Virginia that I'm -- and as a Virginia resident, I'm going to make this plea is that the voters went twice for a constitutional or to create a commission.

TAPPER: Nonpartisan.

DUBKE: A nonpartisan commission. They did it the last two elections. We finally have that. It's approved. And this is what the -- you know, they say a temporary measure. This is nothing but a blind power grab by the Democrats.

So, whether or not that happened in Texas or not, I'm just saying in Virginia, the voters voted and the legislature didn't listen to them.

TAPPER: I just noticed Mike's cute "I voted" sticker. Did everybody catch that on? Usually --

DUBKE: Right there.

TAPPER: Usually has a Buffalo Bills pin, but --

DUBKE; Same colors, red, white and blue.

TAPPER: It's "I voted".

DUBKE: Yes.

TAPPER: What do you think? I mean, his argument is two wrongs don't make a right. And I could see voters hearing that. We certainly heard from one of them earlier today.

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I do think it will be close. I do think Democrats will win because I think that they see that Donald Trump is doing a power grab, and they're trying to level the playing field now in Virginia. They went to Texas. They're in Florida and Louisiana and Missouri.

So, I just think Democrats are trying to equal the level, the playing field here. And I think that people in Virginia are going to see that and they will see it as temporary. I agree with you that we should not be changing congressional seats once, but -- for once a decade. But I think that we need to level the playing field.

But I want to make clear Donald Trump started this because he has failed policies, and he knew he was going to lose the house. So, he knew he had to do something to try to save that problem. And it's backfired in his face because now the Democrats responded.

TAPPER: So, speaking of backfiring, following a series of controversies related to religion, including posting and then kind of being forced to delete an A.I. generated Jesus-like image of himself, and of course, criticizing Pope Leo, just moments ago, we got this video of President Trump reading a bible verse from Second Chronicles in the Old Testament.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think?

DUBKE: Well, first of all, let's be clear. He did not pick the verse that he read that. And this is part of a much larger exercise right now of trying to get people to turn back to the bible and talk about, and talk about bring more religion into America. Whether or not we should have elected officials doing that, you know, we can have that debate, but, you know, I don't have any intrinsic, intrinsic problem with the president or other cabinet officials or other elected officials participating in this.

And I feel like we're turning into a political football right now because of that meme that was posted a week ago.

TAPPER: What do you think?

HAYS: Yeah. I mean, he also has a really interesting relationship with the bible in general. He sells bibles for $60 that are made in China. He couldn't answer what his favorite testament or bible verse was. And I don't really agree that he didn't pick this.

He's the president. United States. He could have said, no, I'm not reading this particular verse, but that's neither here nor there.

DUBKE: Okay.

HAYS: I just think that there's a separation of church and state here for a reason. And I just it just is going too far. And I worked for one of the most religious presidents in our past modern history, and you would have never seen this happen. You did not see him talk about --

TAPPER: You're talking about President Biden.

HAYS: Correct. And you did not see him talk about his faith. This is a man who went to church every week. I just think --

TAPPER: Prayed a rosary.

HAYS: Around his wrist. And I just -- this is a man who is trying to use faith in a really disgusting way. And I just -- I don't think that most people who are religious, even by what he's saying, I think it just comes off as fake.

DUBKE: Again, it's a -- it's part of a bigger program. And I just don't have the same issue with it.

TAPPER: Yeah. Look, reading the bible, to me, it's just part of our founding. But you, you don't think public figure -- you don't think elected officials should read from the bible or --

HAYS: No, I don't think that. I don't think he should be doing it from the oval. And I just think it falls on deaf ears. I don't think Donald Trump is a man of faith who, like, is believing what he is saying.

He's not been to church. He went once on inauguration day, hasn't been since. And now, all of a sudden, he's putting out memes that he's this god like figure.

I just think that it's a little too --

TAPPER: Do you think it's insincere?

HAYS: Exactly.

TAPPER: It's not. You don't actually have an issue with it?

HAYS: No. I don't have -- I just think that there should be a separation here. And also, you don't believe what you're reading. You don't believe in these values of the bible. You don't believe in peace. You don't believe in like doing good upon your neighbor.

So, I just -- it's hard for me to, like, get behind him.

TAPPER: What do you make of that?

DUBKE: I think she's wrong.

TAPPER: Okay.

HAYS: Okay.

DUBKE: Where do you want me to go with that? I mean, I think, look, we disagree on that, but that's a -- you know, we disagree.

TAPPER: We can disagree without being disagreeable. Thanks to both of you, I appreciate it.

We have some sad news also from Virginia. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat of Virginia, says that his daughter Madison has passed away. She was only 36 years old. She's pictured here in a family photo on the far right.

She was constantly by her father's side. You would see her on the campaign trail with him and at other events. You see him there with him in 2015, when he was sworn in to the Senate after winning reelection. Senator Warner says his daughter had a decades long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues, and the statement -- the senator called this a profound loss, saying in part, quote, "She filled our lives with love and laughter and her absence leaves an immeasurable void."

Our deepest condolences go out to the Warner family and all of her friends. May her memory be a blessing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:06]

TAPPER: Our last leads now start in our money lead, where President Trump seems to be throwing cold water on a potential airline mega- merger. The president responding, I don't like it when asked today about the idea of United and American Airlines joining forces. Trump added, in general, he's a fan of mergers, and he wouldn't mind if another company bought Spirit Airlines.

In our sports lead, President Trump hosted more than 100 NCAA collegiate national champions at the White House this afternoon. The athletes represented sports from golf to volleyball, soccer and tennis, bowling, even mixed rifle and attend schools all across the nation.

And our pop culture lead. A decade after his death, Prince's hometown of Minneapolis announced it will host a five day celebration of the life of prince to commemorate his legacy. Paisley Park will host a celebration, June 3rd to June 7th, which would have been Prince's 68th birthday. Minneapolis will turn the town purple for block party singalongs and free concerts.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

If you ever miss an episode the town purple for block party singalongs and free concerts. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads, X, and on TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app.

Our good friend Erin Burnett and her show, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now. See you tomorrow.