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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Says, No Timeframe for Ending War; Iran Says It Seized Two Ships After Trump Extends Truce; Virginia Voters Give Democrats a Major Midterms Boost. Talarico Calls For Federal Gas Tax Pause To Halt Rising Fuel Costs. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 22, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, President Trump now says there is, quote, no timeframe for ending the war with Iran despite his promise he could end the conflict in four to six weeks. That was more than six weeks ago. So, what does this mean for the U.S. service members who are in the region and the serious impacts Americans are feeling here at home and people are feeling around the world?

Plus voters in the Commonwealth of Virginia handing Democrats a midterm boost. They approved new maps that could help flip the House from Republican control to Democratic control in November. We're going to get reaction from both a Virginia Republican and a Virginia Democrat. Both of them held some of the top jobs in the commonwealth.

Also, someone else who knows what it's like to battle over maps. Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico is here. He's got a new proposal that could save drivers' money at the gas pumps, he says. How realistic is it though, and which Republican does he think he will end up facing later this year?

And President Trump may dislike the idea of a mega merger between American Airlines and United Airlines, but his administration may be about to bail out an all together different airline. What we're hearing tonight about a possible deal with Spirit Airlines and how that could affect you, the American flyer.

The Lead tonight, President Trump says he's in no rush to end the war with Iran, and then there is no, quote, timeframe to make a deal. The comments coming in a new interview with Fox, where Trump also denied that November midterms are driving his decisions at all. Meanwhile, tensions arising in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran fired at several ships, seizing at least two Panama flagged vessels just hours after President Trump extended the truce, the ceasefire with Tehran. The White House saying Trump does not view the seizure of these ships as a violation of the ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels.

These two ships were taken by speedy gunboats. Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Meanwhile, Iran's president is accusing the United States of inconsistency, calling the U.S. blockade and threats obstacles to genuine negotiations.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live for us in Pakistan where these talks were supposed to be going on right now. Nic, what more do we know about the ships that Iran attacked?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Container ships, one was headed towards Sri Lanka, another one was headed towards India, and there was another, a vessel involved in an altercation that appears with the IRGC as well. That one was heading from the UAE to Saudi up the Red Sea.

Look, what Iran is doing here, it seems to be taking a military attitude to highlight the point that they want to make after President Trump's Truth Social that gave them a ceasefire extension, number one. They came back and said they didn't ask for a ceasefire extension, and they doubled down on that point today from their foreign ministry saying, we don't have a response yet, an official response to a ceasefire extension. What they keep insisting, they want the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to be lifted. What are they doing to highlight that? They're attacking vessels on the Strait of Hormuz.

I think that's where the response is focused. Is there some diplomacy in the background? Yes, there is.

TAPPER: Then there's also the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. How is that ceasefire?

ROBERTSON: It looks fragile. It certainly is something that's going to cause the Iranians' concern. It doesn't seem to be top of their list right now. I think they thought that had been nailed down. But if that does unravel and escalate and there is that potential, everyone thought going into it, that it was hastily agreed and not something that would stick long. If that unravels, that will be another issue that will potentially keep the Iranians from the table and keep the mediators here in Pakistan up at night again. They thought that they'd kind of done a good job, got the Lebanon ceasefire in place, got a concession out of Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran initially lifting its own blockade there.

So, yes, all these things are interconnected. If the talks can't be landed here quickly, there are any number of issues that could unravel seeing us get to a position of face-to-face talks again quickly. Jake?

TAPPER: Nic Robertson in Pakistan for us, thanks so much.

The war may be on the other side of the world, but Americans are certainly feeling the economic impact. Average national gas prices are currently $4.2 a gallon for regular unleaded. It's a stark difference from how much gas was when the war started in February, only $2.98 cents a gallon. The war also now hitting major airlines even more than before. United Airlines now says it's going to have to raise its summer fares as much as 20 percent because of fuel costs.

[18:05:02]

Let's bring in Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York and Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo of California. You two are working on legislation that I want to talk about in a sec. But, first, Congressman Lawler, how long can your constituents endure the financial strain caused by this war?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Well, obviously, Jake, we want to ensure that prices come down quickly at the pump, which means you need to see a resolution in short order. The fact is the kinetic activity lasted almost exactly six weeks during this two-week period of a ceasefire that the president has extended.

The objective has been to negotiate an end to the hostilities, but specifically on key issues, number one, obviously, reopening the straight in full, number two, ending Iran's financing of terrorism, and, number three, getting the enriched uranium that, as CBS News reported over the weekend, based on what they currently have, could produce 9 to 11 nuclear bombs. And so that is paramount and that is what the objective of these conversations and negotiations are.

But the reality is, given the fact that the ayatollah, the clerics, the leadership of the IRGC were killed at the onset of this war, the leadership that is remaining cannot make a decision. And they are trying to figure out who is actually empowered to negotiate and to make a decision, and that is something that all of us are waiting on.

I've spoken with numerous ambassadors of the Gulf states and in the region over the last week-and-a-half. And their intelligence, their understanding is similar to ours. And that's what we're waiting on, frankly, for Iran to put together a team that actually can negotiate on their behalf.

TAPPER: Congressman Liccardo, speaking of intelligence, a source tells CNN that Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers this week on an assessment that found that the Strait of Hormuz could be closed for at least six months. What's your reaction?

REP. SAM LICCARDO (D-CA): Well, I think the good news for Congressman Lawler's constituents is nothing enables them to forget the painful impact of Trump's tariffs, like $4 a gallon gas, and it's only going to go up.

Look, we all know this strait was open before the war. It's closed now. As Congressman Lawler mentioned, a decapitation strategy has clearly not been effective in enabling this country to come to its knees and negotiate. We've got a real mess on our hands and it's just illustrated by the fact that this country just committed an act of war and taking two ships in the Gulf. And Trump said, oh, that's actually no violation of any ceasefire. We'll just pretend that didn't happen. Clearly, the situation's unraveled and he's not in control.

LAWLER: I would just note gas under Joe Biden was well over $5 a gallon and many of my Democratic colleagues praised that. But Iran and this regime were a threat for 47 years. They are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. Action had to be taken and President Trump actually took it, unlike President Biden or Obama.

TAPPER: So, on another note, you guys just introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at stopping states from seizing Americans dormant financial accounts. Congressman Liccardo, a lot of Americans out there might be thinking what are they talking about, dormant financial accounts get seized? How widespread of a problem is this?

LICCARDO: Well, it's a big problem if you consider the fact Michigan study showed that 80 percent of us in our later years invest in these long-term retirement accounts without ever trading at any time in a two-year period of time. And so if a state decides that these accounts are dormant, they can and do seize the money. And we're literally seeing grandma's retirement fees in order to build sports stadiums, as we saw, for example, in Cleveland.

We know this is no way for anyone to govern, and that's why Mike and I partnered together on a bill to establish federal standards for what we call shipment (ph). That is the taking these assets.

TAPPER: That's hideous. Congressman Lawler?

LAWLER: Yes, no question. And Sam's entirely right. You have states across the country that rely on these funds to balance their budgets, to spend other people's money on projects that they deem appropriate. But the fact is they are not taking the steps necessary to make sure, in fact, that the person is not deceased or that the person is just unaware.

And so we are setting forward national standards to make sure that every state adheres to it and that Americans are not being fleeced of their retirements or investment accounts that they otherwise would be able to benefit from.

TAPPER: Congressman Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, Congressman Sam Liccardo, Democrat of California, thanks to both of you. I appreciate and appreciate the bipartisan work there.

[18:10:02]

Democrats are celebrating an election victory in Virginia new maps that could help them take back control of the U.S. House of Representatives. But is Florida about to enter the redistricting wars and potentially give Republicans some more seats? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TAPPER: Breaking news, we're learning that the secretary of the Navy is leaving his position effective immediately. John Phelan's abrupt departure from the Pentagon is coming as the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz continues.

Let's get right to CNN, Zach Cohen. Zach, why is the secretary of the Navy leaving?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Jake, that's really the key question at this stage, given the timing of this. As you mentioned, Secretary Phelan, his imminent departure announced as the U.S. Navy is carrying out this blockade during the ceasefire with Iran. It's playing a significant role in those combat operations that the U.S. had been carrying out against Iran, the timing, and now its leader a Trump appointee, John Phelan, is departing.

That was announced this evening by the Pentagon, chief spokesman for the Pentagon, Sean Parnell, writing on X saying, quote, on behalf of the secretary of war and deputy secretary of war, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the department and the United States Navy.

[18:15:06]

We wish him well in his future endeavors, going on to say that the -- his deputy will now become the acting secretary of the Navy. So, the natural line of succession will continue there, but, again, Jake, the why of this all remains very unclear.

We do know from sources and just having reported around the Pentagon and these senior leaders during the course of the second Trump administration that there was tension that existed between John Phelan and Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense. We also know that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has clashed with other service secretaries in addition to Phelan. One that comes to mind immediately is Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a source of constant and persistent tension existing between those two.

So, Phelan, his departure coming at a time is really going to raise more questions than answers. He came into this role really with no experience in the Navy. He was a businessman. In part, that's what President Donald Trump liked about him and why he was appointed to this role. It remains to be seen though what more we'll learn about why he's leaving and why he is leaving now.

TAPPER: All right. Zach Cohen with the breaking news, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Let's turn it back to our Politics Lead, Democrats celebrating an election victory in Virginia where voters approved an aggressively gerrymandered U.S. House map. The map takes the six to five Democrat majority in terms of representation in the U.S. House from Virginia and turns it into a ten to one Democratic majority, so six to five to ten to one. The map could still face some legal hurdles. The Virginia Supreme Court has unresolved litigation to consider giving Republicans some hope that the decision might not ultimately stand.

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REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): It's a blatant abuse of power to disenfranchise millions of Virginia voters. And, hopefully, the Supreme Court of the state will not allow that to happen.

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TAPPER: Democrats are already looking forward to what might be the next redistricting battle. This one is in Florida where the state's Republican-controlled legislature meets next week. Some of the lawmakers have signaled they could target as many as five seats in Florida now held by Democrats. Here's what House Majority -- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said about that today.

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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Our message to Florida Republicans is F around and find out. If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummymander, the Florida Republicans are going to find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans who are on the run right now.

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TAPPER: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to Jefferies this afternoon.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Please be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign. I'll put you up in the Florida governor's mansion. We'll take you fishing. We'll do all this stuff. There's nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries, Hakeem Jeffries, everywhere around this state.

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TAPPER: We're going to get a Virginia Republican to respond to all this in a second, but let's start with a Democrat, Virginia's former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. Governor, good to see you.

We should know, and off the bat, you have an interest in this, not just as a former governor, but your wife is running in one of the newly drawn districts. I know Democrats are excited about the victory. But the final margin was more narrow than Democrats hoped. It was less than Kamala Harris' nearly six-point margin of victory in 2024, not even close to the 15-point margin, the blowout from now Governor Abigail Spanberger in November. Are you worried at all that Democrats are losing steam?

FMR. GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D-VA): First of all, this was a huge win. We in Virginia have never had an April initiative, like we had on the ballot, no candidates, and 3 million people showed up to vote in this election that's historic for us. It's almost a general election turnout, and it was a great effort. You know, it was led in the House and Senate in Virginia by Senator Louise Lucas and our Speaker Don Scott, signed by our Governor Spanberger. Our senators got involved in this thing. I want to give a shout out to President Obama, who really leaned in hard. And Hakeem Jeffries gave us $50 million.

But if we're talking about, and I saw your earlier segment, I get such a kick out of these Republicans. If you look at all the states who have done this process, it is only the Democratic states that has actually taken it to the voters. Did the voters of Texas get to determine their redistricting map? No. It was done by the legislature. We in California and in Virginia, we let the voters decide, and 3 million people showed up to vote.

I will also say, listen, Jake, you and I have talked about partisan redistricting. I think it's a lot of the problems we have in our country today, but you cannot get a Republican to vote to end it. We have had bills in Congress, the Freedom to Vote Act, which I remind you would've ended partisan gerrymandering in America.

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Every Democrat came out and voted for it, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, not one single Republican came out to vote. We can end partisan redistricting, but Trump started this process. He called the governor of Texas, get me five seats. The voters didn't go to it.

And Trump is the gift that keeps giving here in Virginia. When he won in '16, record wins in '17 in Virginia. When he won in '24, record wins in 2025. He is so disliked. He is the most unpopular president in Virginia history, the DOGE cuts, the government shutdowns, all the federal contractors being cut. This is all about Trump. And blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were the decisive victory for us last night.

TAPPER: There's some news just in. A judge in Southern Virginia ordered the results of yesterday's vote to not be certified on several grounds, including that state lawmakers did not follow their own rules in passing the redistricting referendum. What's your reaction to that and the idea that Virginia Supreme Court is still going to have to consider some unresolved litigation over all of this?

MCAULIFFE: Well, you know, I went to Georgetown Law School. I was full-time day. I didn't go to class much, but I did pass a bar. So, I don't want to weigh in what our Supreme Court will do. But my thought process would be the court had this before. Would you now step in and have 3 million people actually vote and now you're going to come out and disenfranchise?

This is a frivolous, politically-motivated lawsuit. It's in Tazewell County, a small county where, I don't know, 12,000, 13,000 people voted in this referendum. So, that will be put aside.

But I just remind you, this is all about Trump. This is about Trump trying to do a power grab. And I don't think in his wildest dreams he ever thought Democratic states, Jake, would then go to the voters, change their Constitutions, and overwhelmingly, in April, to have 3,060,000 people show up is truly historic for us.

So, we're excited here in Virginia and it's going to be a great year for us on the ballot box. I do, as I say, want to thank our next speaker-to-be, Hakeem Jeffries, for the work he did, President Obama and everybody in Virginia who worked their hearts out for this.

This is a huge win, but we need to end partisan redistricting. I agree with that. We have had bills, Nancy Pelosi at HR1. Not one Republican voted to end partisan redistricting.

TAPPER: All right. Governor Terry McAuliffe, thanks so much.

Here now to respond, former Virginia Attorney Ken Cuccinelli, he's a Republican. Ken, good to see you.

So, first, I guess let's get to the breaking news, this judge in Southern Virginia ordering results right to not be certified. The judge called the ballot language flagrantly misleading. What's your reaction?

KEN CUCCINELLI (R), FORMER VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Right. Well, it certainly was flagrantly misleading, but my basic reaction is that I appreciate lower court wins, but the Virginia Supreme Court is going to decide this. And to Terry's point about, well, hey, if they didn't decide it before, there's a reason the Supreme Court held off until after the vote. Over a hundred years of Virginia legal precedent says that the vote in a referendum is part of the legislative process. It's analogous to a governor signing a bill. You don't sue on a bill that hasn't passed yet.

So, what they've done here in terms of timing is very much in keeping with the Virginia legal history. What isn't in keeping with Virginia legal history is how this General Assembly has so blatantly ignored the requirements of the Constitution to amend the Constitution. So, I think it's highly likely that this will be overturned probably in May.

TAPPER: So, CNN's Manu Raju pressed Speaker Johnson today about some of the criticism from Republicans that the party, the Republican Party, did not spend enough money to fight the Democratic measure. Take a listen.

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MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans have spent more money. Trump didn't barely touch his super PAC money. Should you guys have spent more money?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We don't know the final result, but the president's team spent a lot. We put in tens of -- overall, tens of millions of dollars on the ballot initiative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean, given the fact that the margin was much more narrow than a lot of Democrats anticipated, what do you think? Did Republicans miss a chance here? CUCCINELLI: Well, there's no question that that the three or four to one spending difference was the margin. You know, when all the votes are counted, this will be about a two or three point win for the yes side. That is -- it's hard to say that money didn't make that difference, but now they have to win four constitutional challenges, state constitutional, to clarify, challenges and they have to win all four of them to hold on to this referendum.

I just don't think they can do it. There's some very basic processes in the Constitution for amending the Constitution that they ignored.

[18:25:01]

And now they're going to say, just like Terry did, well, you know, 3 million people voted and you can't ignore the will of the people. Well, they were ignoring the will of the people and how they brought this forward. And now we're going to have it decided by the Virginia Supreme Court. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 7-0 ruling throwing this out.

TAPPER: All right, to be continued. Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, thank you so much.

We should note that the current state attorney general in Virginia, a Democrat, says his office intends to immediately appeal that judge's ruling on yesterday's election results.

Democrats are also hoping to flip the U.S. Senate in November. That would be nearly impossible if they can't win the open seat in Michigan. We're going to discuss the messy Democratic primary battle, next.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, tensions in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary were on full display this weekend at the party's spring convention in Detroit.

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Polls indicate that the three candidates seen here are in a virtual dead heat, but you wouldn't know that they're drawing equal support given how one candidate, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, was received versus her rivals.

Take a look and listen to this video shot by freelance journalist Andrew Roth.

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REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): Thank you. Thank you. My friends, I'm standing up here, Michigan Democrats. I'm standing up here.

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TAPPER: Congresswoman Stevens was being booed there, we believe, because of her support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Joining us now to discuss is Democratic Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet from the great state of Michigan.

So, what was your -- were you there? What was your reaction to it?

REP. KRISTEN MCDONALD RIVET (D-MI): I was absolutely there. I mean, first, let me say, I am the only Democrat in Michigan to win a district that Donald Trump won. So, I know a thing or two about swing voters, and I know a thing or two about how we motivate people.

People are really frustrated right now, and going into that convention, there was all kinds of energy. That's a good thing, right?

TAPPER: Yes.

RIVET: But the way that it was harnessed was turned into name calling and bullying, shouting over people, just the very worst kinds of behaviors, and, really, honestly, I think makes it much, much harder for us to get to a majority, not just in the U.S. Senate, but within races up and down the ballot.

TAPPER: So, there are Democrats in Michigan and also nationwide in something of an internal debate about the Bernie Sanders wing and harnessing energy, young voters, new voters, maybe people who are very critical of Israel as part of this coalition versus more moderate candidates.

And one of the things that I hear people talking about when talking about your state and the Michigan Democratic Party is Abdul El-Sayed, one of the leading Senate candidates campaigning with Hassan Piker, who's obviously very controversial. And then obviously also at the convention, Michigan Democrats defeated a sitting regent for the University of Michigan, and they nominated a candidate who literally has praised the terrorist group, Hezbollah --

RIVET: Yes.

TAPPER: -- and literally has re-tweeted very inflammatory posts by Candace Owens, though he has since deleted those re-tweets.

Are you concerned? What do you make of that all? Is that upsetting when you -- you talk about those swing voters, you think it could hurt the party?

RIVET: Oh, I am concerned. Let me just say that we can have a debate of ideas. We can hear from -- you know, Abdul has a number of different things that he wants to talk about, so do the other two candidates.

TAPPER: Medicare for all, yes.

RIVET: We should be debating these. I mean, we know honestly what most people in Michigan are worried about is the ability to pay their bills, not being able to afford groceries at the end of the month. That is the overwhelming issue that people are talking about. So, when we look at trying to build a coalition that's going to get us over the finish line and actually build a durable majority, we can't create a table where people aren't invited and voices are shut down and identities are attacked, have an idea, raise it, let's talk about it. Let's have a civil conversation about it. But that is not what we saw over the weekend, and it's really concerning.

TAPPER: Well, beyond the booing, which obviously is rude but not unheard of in politics, are you worried that some of the characters that are part of this primary, in terms of Hassan Piker or others, will turn off people and hand the Senate seat to Republican Mike Rogers?

RIVET: I think there are many things to worry about. Hassan Piker, I don't agree with a lot of what he says, and I don't think he should be a leader of the party. But it's okay for us to have conflicting views on issues.

TAPPER: Sure.

RIVET: But when you start down this road of anti-Semitism, we start down a road of Islamophobia, that is a real problem and that is actually what's being elevated.

I love the idea of bringing young people into politics. I have five adult kids and they are very turned off by politics because this is what they see.

TAPPER: Yes.

RIVET: So, when we bring them to the table and we harness their energy and what we do is turn that energy into kind of weaponized hate. That is actually no better than what we see and speak out against when we're looking at the MAGA movement. We need to be better than that.

TAPPER: Have you endorsed any of the candidates, whether Abdul El- Sayed or McMorrow or Haley Stevens?

RIVET: I've actually served with two of the members. I actually think that they all are very interesting. I'm not going to into endorse. And I think --

TAPPER: But do you think is there one of them that you think would do better -- have a better chance against Mike Rogers than the other?

RIVET: I think that it's really important that we have a pragmatic leader who is working to bring more people to the table. A farmer should be welcome at the table, people who I pray next to and mass every weekend, they should be welcome at the table.

[18:35:03]

And I'm actually really watching to see who has the leadership characteristics to actually do that instead of say they do that.

TAPPER: All right. Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

RIVET: Thank you.

TAPPER: New concerns tonight about what could happen to the more than 1,000 Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces. That's next.

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TAPPER: In our World Lead, the future of more than a thousand Afghan nationals who worked alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in 2021 is very much unknown right now. These Afghans and their families have been living at Camp As Sayliyah, a former U.S. Army base in Qatar, while being vetted, but The New York Times is reporting that they might be resettled in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This is part of the ongoing debate within the Trump administration over not allowing Afghans who helped American forces at risk of their own lives permanently settle in the U.S., instead sending them to other countries.

With me now, Sean Jamshidi, born in Afghanistan, came to the U.S. at age four, served as a U.S. Marine for ten years, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and his brother, Massoud (ph), is right now at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar.

[18:40:07]

So, your brother worked as a security contractor and a translator for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan starting in 2010. What are you hearing? What is he hearing about where he and his family might be sent if it's not the U.S., as so many of them had been promised?

SEAN JAMSHIDI, AFGHAN MARINE WHO SERVED IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICA OF CONGO: Well, the word keeps changing overnight, but the last we've heard through the media is that they're going to be sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And when I heard that for the first time, I said, absolutely not. I served there in uniform and it's been -- it's probably one of the worst places that you could live in. It's unstable. They're currently dealing with their own civil unrest and there's crimes there higher than any other country in Africa.

TAPPER: What would you say to President Trump if he was watching right now in terms of this idea that they might send these thousand Afghan allies who are being vetted right now to come here to the U.S. might send them somewhere else other than the U.S.

JAMSHIDI: What I would say to President Trump is, President Trump, Mr. President, these Afghan allies, they stood beside us. They fought with us. They gave their life for us, and we need to do the right thing. We gave them a promise that we're going to give them to safety, and that is to the United States of America.

TAPPER: So, the U.S. government was due to close Camp As Sayliyah at the end of March due to security and safety threats in the region, obviously the war in Iran. What does your brother tell you about conditions at the camp?

JAMSHIDI: So, I've been to the camp myself and the condition is not great. Camp As Sayliyah has not -- was not there for them to be there for long-term. It was there for transit to be able to come to the United States. And the condition is not great. It affects their mental health because they can't leave the camp and they can't see family. And in the same time, we lost my father while he was on the camp. So, it's not the greatest conditions.

TAPPER: What has it been like to watch this unfold? I mean, you are a Marine. You served our nation honorably. Your brother worked as a security contractor and translator for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Emotionally, what's it like to see the U.S. turn its back on your brother?

JAMSHIDI: It's deeply heartbreaking for me and my family. It's something that we can't wrap our heads around because, again, I served the Marine Corps, my brother served the U.S. mission, he was along the mission as much as anyone else was in Afghanistan at the time. And my entire family served indirectly or directly through the U.S. government.

So, it's something that's heartbreaking from us, something that we can't understand and we're trying to -- and we're hoping that, you know, the administration will allow these individuals who served us and supported us to be able to come to the United States.

TAPPER: All right. Sean Jamshidi, thank you so much for your time and thank you for your service.

JAMSHIDI: Thank you so much for having me.

TAPPER: I really appreciate it.

Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico is here next as he tries to succeed where so many Democrats in recent years have failed, flipping a ruby red Senate seat to blue. Why is he confident this year might be different?

Stick around.

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[18:46:35]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Americans in the last election voted for two things to end the forever wars and to make life more affordable. But the people in power have done the exact opposite. Texans need relief. Americans need relief. And it's why today, I'm proposing that we immediately suspend the federal gas tax and the federal diesel tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our politics lead, that's Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico calling for a pause for the federal gas tax and diesel tax in an effort to try to combat the surging fuel prices caused by the ongoing war in Iran.

And State Representative Talarico joins us now to discuss.

Thanks for joining us, sir.

So, incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn, one of your two possible Republican opponents in November, he was asked about your proposal to suspend the federal gas tax and whether it would help Texans. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): What that will do is explode the deficit and debt. And right now, we're spending more money on interest on the national debt than we are on defense, which is an unsustainable situation in a time of more and more danger around the world. So, I think that's a short-sighted solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, what's your response to Senator Cornyn?

TALARICO: John Cornyn said, my plan to lower taxes for working Americans would explode the deficit. My question to Senator Cornyn is, were you worried about the deficit when you gave $1 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent? Were you worried about the deficit when you started spending $1 billion a day on this new war in Iran?

John Cornyn is never worried about the deficit when it comes to billionaire tax cuts or new foreign wars. But when we start talking about lowering gas prices for working people, suddenly he's a deficit hawk.

We should lower the deficit and we should do it by closing billionaire tax loopholes and ending this disastrous new war. John Cornyn has had 40 years in public office. That's longer than I've been alive. And under his leadership, Texans are drowning.

The only people doing well are billionaires and defense contractors. John Cornyn has had 40 years to lower the cost of housing, to lower the cost of health care, to lower the cost of groceries and utilities and gas. What's the holdup?

This -- this is the broken, corrupt political system that we're running against. And I think in November we're going to beat it.

TAPPER: So even if those taxes were to be suspended, the odds are that prices are going to stay high if the Strait of Hormuz remains essentially closed, or even if not even if it were to reopen tomorrow, it would take months and months, probably for the fuel supply to stabilize. Is there a long-term plan that you might have beyond the short-term relief of a suspension of the gas tax? TALARICO: Yeah, and I acknowledged when I rolled out this plan that

this is just the beginning. We have to do so much more to lower costs for people. And you're absolutely right. The only long-term way to lower gas prices is to end this disastrous war in the Middle East that no one was asking for. I mean, this has been a foreign policy blunder of epic proportions, and the only way we're going to get gas prices down for working people is to finally end this war and ensure that our foreign policy has some sanity in it, again.

[18:50:00]

TAPPER: You've been open about your faith as a Christian, but you were also a vocal opponent of Texas state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that the Texas law does not violate the Constitution. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, your other possible opponent this November, he said, quote, "This is a major victory for Texas and our moral values. The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it's important that students learn from them every single day," unquote.

What's your response to Ken Paxton there?

TALARICO: Well, I'm not sure if Ken Paxton is in a place to lecture us on moral values. You my granddad was a Baptist preacher in south Texas. And when I was real little, he told me that Christianity is a simple religion, not an easy religion. He would always clarify, but a simple religion, because Jesus gave us two commandments to follow love god and love neighbor.

And there was no exception to that second commandment. My faith teaches me to love my neighbor as myself, not just my neighbors who look like me, not just my neighbors who vote like me, not just my neighbors who pray like me. I'm called to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself. That includes my Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, agnostic, and atheist neighbors.

I don't want anyone forcing their religion down my throats. I certainly don't want the government forcing a religion down my throat. And so why would I do that to any of my neighbors?

In the Texas House of Representatives, I have been a vocal critic of Christian nationalism. I'm a Christian, but I know that the most dangerous form of government is theocracy, because the only thing worse than a tyrant is a tyrant who thinks they're on a mission from God. And I've also been the most vocal defender of the separation of church and state.

I was raised to believe that that separation in our First Amendment, in the establishment clause and the free exercise clause is a sacred boundary that doesn't just benefit the state, doesn't just benefit democracy, but it also benefits the church. Because when the church gets too cozy with political power, it loses its prophetic voice.

So, I think this is a unconstitutional decision. I also think it's a deeply un-Christian decision because we are supposed to be loving all of our neighbors, particularly our neighbors of other faiths.

TAPPER: Right now, Senator Cornyn and Attorney General Paxton are focused on fighting one another. But the National Republican Senate Committee is already highlighting comments that you've made as a state representative. For example, they're highlighting this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALARICO: God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non-binary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What is your response to them using that, and explain what you were talking about?

TALARICO: Well, I understand that that comment is a little provocative. I said it on the House floor when the extremists in the Republican legislature were picking on school kids who were different.

But I don't think its controversial theologically. Most Christians would acknowledge that God is beyond gender. In fact, the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, said that in Christ there is neither male nor female. And so, if someone's got a problem with that statement, they shouldn't take it up with me. They should take it up with the Apostle Paul.

TAPPER: Before we go, we should note things got pretty heated on the Democratic side before you won your primary. Have you talked to Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett or Congressman Colin Allred about teaming up on the campaign trail?

TALARICO: Well, primaries, you know, are always contentious. They're intrafamily fights, and it's our job now to bring that coalition back together so we can win in November. I have deep love and respect for Congresswoman Crockett.

She and I have exchanged messages, and I hope to get her to join me on the campaign trail at some point this cycle. She is a fierce campaigner and a talented communicator. And I would be honored to have her join me on the trail.

TAPPER: What about Congressman Allred?

TALARICO: Same. I think we need as many of our leaders in Texas to be joining this fight, because this is the best shot we've had in 30 years to end one party rule in Texas and elect a senator who's going to fight and deliver for working people in our state.

TAPPER: Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. And we should note, we reached out to the two Republican candidates in the race. Senator John Cornyn declined our invitation. We didn't hear back from Ken Paxton. They're, of course, welcome to come on the show any time. Nothing wrong, just questions. Conversation.

Is the Trump administration about to hand Spirit Airlines a lifeline ahead of the busy travel season? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:05]

TAPPER: Our last lead start in our money lead, Spirit Airlines, close to getting a $500 million bailout from the Trump administration, according to a source who says the deal is expected to include the federal government taking a stake in the airline. The deal could be announced as soon as late tonight or tomorrow, we're told.

In our law and justice lead, the Supreme Court sided today with an army specialist who was injured in a suicide bombing at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Winston Hensley is trying to sue the military contractor for failing to supervise the Afghan employee who carried out the attack. The bomber, identified as an Afghan national hired by the contractors, was working at a vehicle maintenance yard before the 2016 bombing.

Also in our money lead, the CEO of Truth Social's parent company is leaving amid financial losses and dropping stock prices. Former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California served in the role for four years. He oversaw the launch of Truth Social. Truth Social's long term viability is also in question, as it has failed to gain broader use outside of President Trump's followers. Good luck to Devin Nunes.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bluesky and on TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at CNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app.

Our good friend Erin Burnett picks it up right now with her show, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT". See you tomorrow.