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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Won't Say If $1.776 Billion Fund is Actually Dead; Live, Dem Trying to Unseat Missing GOP Rep; Rubio Claims U.S. War With Iran is Over. Trump-Backed Candidate Loses Primary For Iowa Governor. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 03, 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 Late, I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, President Trump is defending the so-called anti- weaponization fund, that same $1.776 billion fund that just yesterday his acting attorney general said was dead. And now President Trump says he thinks it's so important, and he doesn't know if it's actually being scrapped. So, what is actually going on with all of your taxpayer dollars?

Plus, House Speaker Mike Johnson today defending missing Republican Congressman Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey. He hasn't been seen publicly for about three months. He hasn't voted since March. He hasn't explained his absence in any real way. The Democrat who won the primary to take him on in November last night joins us live in moments to react.

Also, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill today asked to explain what he meant by declaring the United States' war with Iran over his comments coming just hours after Tehran says it targeted U.S. bases in the Middle East in self-defense strikes. So, what is really going on in the Middle East? A Republican and a Democrat who questioned Rubio today will explain ahead.

The Lead tonight, President Trump facing growing backlash over two self-inflicted controversies, first, on the Justice Department's so- called anti-weaponization fund, you know, that $1.776 billion fund that Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday they were moving on from? Well, not so fast. Here's Trump's take on it in an interview released today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The anti-weaponization fund, have you dropped that?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, a court ruled against it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. TRUMP: But just so you understand, these are people that have been decimated. I'm very proud to have given pardons, and I think they should be reimbursed for a crooked government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A lot of those people that got those pardons, beat up cops, pleaded guilty to it, were sentenced to prison for it.

But now, a bipartisan effort is brewing in the Senate to kill the fund and put an end to it for good.

Then, of course, there's Trump's stunning move to name federal housing official Bill Pulte his new acting director of national intelligence. Pulte made his name as one of Trump's most vicious attack dogs. He has no noted intelligence or national security experience, which even some Republicans are taking issue with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think he's the worst form of sycophant and adviser to the president that is going to hurt the president's legacy and his ability to continue a great agenda of which I support the majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified on Capitol Hill, and he was asked about Pulte's nomination during testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BILL KEATING (D-MA): Have you ever, specifically in the context of the intelligence community, heard the name Bill Pulte?

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: In the context of intelligence?

KEATING: That's what I said.

RUBIO: No. No, I have never --

KEATING: Never heard his name. Okay. Thank you for answering that.

RUBIO: Well, to be --

KEATING: Never even heard his name. Given all your years of experience and your position now, never heard the name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Reporters also pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson about the pick, and Johnson offered this endorsement?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you think that Bill Pulte is qualified to be the acting director of National Intelligence, and do you think you can still pass a bipartisan FISA deal given some of the Democratic pushback to that?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): So, here's the thing. The president obviously has the prerogative and the choice on who he appoints to these positions and this would be an interim appointment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think Bill Pulte is qualified to be acting director of National Intelligence? I didn't hear a yes there. But if Trump sticks with Pulte as director of National Intelligence, Senate Democrats are threatening to pull their votes on this bipartisan deal on FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That's a critical U.S. spy power, the government says, at risk of expiring in just a matter of days.

So, in moments, I'm going to talk to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who privately urged his colleague, the Senate Republican leader, to get the White House to drop Pulte's appointment.

But, first, let's go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who is at the White House and just asked Trump some questions.

So, Kaitlan, you just asked the president about this so-called anti- weaponization fund. Where are we on that?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, Jake, there are Republican senators on Capitol Hill who want clarity on where it stands inside the administration on whether or not that fund is just on hold, as the acting attorney general put it yesterday, because of a court's involvement in this matter, or if it is permanently being scrapped by the administration.

And so several reporters had questions for the president about this in the Oval Office this afternoon, and it wasn't clear, as the president was defending it, whether or not it is completely gone. because obviously he noted earlier that a court had ruled against it and got involved, but, you know, there's still a question of whether or not they are going to fight it or simply resurrect it at a later time.

And so I asked the president in an attempt to clarify what the position of this administration is on that $1.8 billion fund.

[18:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Just to clarify on what you were asked earlier, is the $1.8 billion DOJ fund dead or is it on hold?

TRUMP: It's -- I'd have to ask the lawyers. I don't know. I know one thing, the weaponization --

COLLINS: Well, what's your --

TRUMP: Are you talking about the weaponization fund?

COLLINS: Yes, what's your decision?

TRUMP: The weaponization fund, as far as I'm concerned, was a beautiful thing. It was something I was -- I didn't make it, but I was -- I heard that. I thought that was the greatest thing because people like you have abused our people so badly. The fake news like CNN, like The New York Times and like others have abused our people. Wait a minute. Be quiet. Have abused our people so badly, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, obviously when they announced that fund, it wasn't for people who got bad coverage in the press. What the White House and the administration had argued was it was for people who were over-prosecuted or unfairly prosecuted by the Biden Justice Department.

And so you saw the president there defending it, but when asked if it is permanently scrapped, he said he did not know and that you'd have to ask the attorneys here.

Now, when Todd Blanche was testifying yesterday, he did not say it was permanently scrapped. He simply said they are not moving forward with it, multiple times when asked. Obviously, that language has not been strong enough for Senate Republicans because there are several who are considering putting language in what they are voting on right now to bar the president from creating a fund that could end up in people who were rioting and storming the Capitol on January 6th getting payouts from the federal government.

TAPPER: Yes, just to explain to people out there who speak English and not Washingtonese, when a politician says, we are not moving forward, that's not the same thing as saying, we are never going to move forward. I am not asking you another question right now, but let me change the subject and ask you another question.

On Trump's DNI pick, Bill Pulte, is he considering withdrawing Pulte's name at all given the growing criticism from even Republicans in the Senate?

COLLINS: Not right now, Jake. And Bill Pulte hasn't even actually officially started in that role as far as we know. He is expected to start at the end of the month in an acting capacity. And as we saw in the president's first term, he is happy to leave people in an acting capacity in these positions, which means they don't have to get confirmed by the senators who are questioning whether or not Bill Pulte believe -- whether or not Bill Pulte has the experience to be the director of National Intelligence.

I mean, right now, we're watching Todd Blanche, who is also the acting attorney general at the DOJ. He has been confirmed by the Senate in his position as the deputy attorney general, but not as the attorney general itself. And so it's not clear how long the president could potentially leave Bill Pulte in an acting capacity in this role, even if there is pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill to this, with notably, you know, hearing people from Mike Johnson, John Thune, even Tom Cotton, who are not endorsing Pulte for that position, though the president has argued he believes that he is a good fit for it.

TAPPER: Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thank you so much. And, of course, don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Her guests tonight include Republican Congressman Mike Lawler. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Let's bring in the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who warns Pulte's appointment could tank a bipartisan deal on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Section 702, which spy agencies say is critical for them to have, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia.

Senator, your private warning to Senate Majority Leader John Thune does not appear to be going anywhere because today Thune tried to turn it on Democrats. He told reporters, quote, do you want to be responsible for what could happen if FISA -- if we go dark on that program? I just think it's a really risky strategy on their part. unquote. He said, quote, obviously, I get their frustration, but at the end of the day, we have to function here, and as a country, we're going to keep the country safe, unquote.

What's your response?

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Well, my response is Section 702 is important, and I really wonder whether Donald Trump wants it even continued. You could not have picked a less qualified person. Matter of fact, they violate the law because the law requires somebody have national security experience. This guy's got nothing.

The experience he's got, and, by the way, the president says he's going to still run the housing agencies, the experience he's got is taking private information from the housing agencies, weaponizing it, and going after people like Lisa Cook on the Fed board and Tish James, the attorney general in New York. That case got thrown out.

So, this guy who will do anything Trump says can't keep private information about mortgages. Now, we're going to give him the keys to all of the intelligence community? People around the world are going to think we've gone wacky. I mean, I'm less concerned about what he will do on 702 and more concerned about just will he weaponize the whole intelligence community?

And I think I have not had a conversation with any Republican privately that doesn't at least agree with me to most extent.

TAPPER: Yes. What theoretically could somebody like Pulte, who is willing to weaponize government in the way you describe when it comes to mortgages, what could he do theoretically with surveillance information or the nation's most closely guarded secrets?

[18:10:12]

WARNER: Well, he could come up with a fake piece of intelligence as a justification to interfere with the elections. By the way, this six- month time puts him right through the elections. He could take -- especially if the president keeps his weaponization fund, that might not only pay off the January 6th rioters, but pay off people that would then interfere in the elections. I don't think you get any peep from out of Bill Pulte on that.

It is almost unimaginable, beyond the fact of what it would mean to any of our remaining, like our Five Eyes, the closest allies we have, do you think they're really going to share information with a guy like this? So, this does not make America safer in any category.

And while I believe 702 is important, it's really hard for me to make a case to any Democrat that while this guy has the keys to all of our intelligence, that 702 is as critical as it is, should be extended.

TAPPER: Yes. So --

WARNER: Even though we put reforms in place.

TAPPER: So, clearly, if Trump does not change his mind on Pulte by the time this FISA program for the government expires, Section 702, you will deny the votes to pass the extension for FISA?

WARNER: Jake, keeping FISA alive is extraordinarily serious. The downsides of that, I voted for this under whether Obama, Biden, Trump, it's critical. But it's going to be awful hard for me to ask my Democratic colleagues to step up.

We got a few days. I mean, there'll be a procedural vote tomorrow. Only the majority, so it's not the required 60. It doesn't really need Democrats. So, let's see what happens. I just hope cooler heads will -- I wish somebody in the White House would say, go to the emperor, Donald Trump on this one, and say, on this one, you got no clothes. But I don't know whether anyone has the courage to actually step up for our national security.

TAPPER: You mentioned the so-called anti-weaponization fund. President Trump is suggesting that he's not dropping it, despite Todd Blanche saying that they are not moving forward. I know Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, is considering introducing an amendment to kill that fund. What else are you hearing from Republican colleagues?

WARNER: Well, listen, we're going to go into one of the craziest things we do up here in the Senate called vote-a-rama tomorrow, so the, your viewers can tune in and watch us go through many, many amendments on my Republicans putting billions of dollars more into ICE, which I don't think we need without reforms. But we'll have a chance to raise all kinds of amendments.

And all my Republican friends who say, hey, we think this idea stinks, well, let's put it in law. And if Thom Tillis does it, Democrats do it, I hope it would extend not only to the fund. But, remember, the other thing the president doesn't talk about on this, he got a get out of jail free card from the tax department, from the IRS, for any past or future misdeeds. That may be as valuable to him, with his record, as the weaponization fund. Both need to end.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you.

We now know the Democrat who's going to face off in November against Republican Tom Kean Jr. in a very competitive district. Kean Jr., of course, is the absent New Jersey Congressman who's not been seen publicly since early March. Congressional Candidate Rebecca Bennett, a Democrat, joins me next.

Plus, the dangerous California bank standoff that saw ten people taken hostage, we're learning new details about the suspect and the roughly 15-hour stalemate with police.

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[18:15:00]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead today, House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Republican Congressman Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey, who has not been seen publicly in months and has not voted since March. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: He's under the care of healthcare providers, and they've told him he needs a little bit longer to recover. Now, that's all I can say. That's all he said. It's not a scandalous thing at all. People deal with health issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Kean won his primary last night. He was running unopposed in the Republican primary in New Jersey. Voters also selected the Democrat who will challenge Kean in November, and she joins us now, Rebecca Bennett, the new Democratic nominee for New Jersey's Seventth Congressional District. Congratulations on your victory.

As you head into the general election against Congressman Kean, what is the defining issue in this race? How will you differentiate your approach from his to appeal to the all-important swing voters in that district?

REBECCA BENNETT (D), NEW JERSEY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me on. And you know what I'll say is what I heard loud and clear from people on the ground in the district is really two things. One, we need to hold this administration accountable for the corruption and the lawlessness that we're seeing really across the administration, and also we have to solve the problems that we are facing in our everyday lives.

You know, I'm a former Navy helicopter pilot. I served in the military for over 15 years, and I'm also a mom to two girls, and I'm raising my girls in this district. And so I understand the challenges that we're facing, and I've rolled out a robust policy platform to address the issues that we're facing to have actual solutions to problems. And so we're going to focus on what we can actually do to make people's lives better.

And to contrast that with, you know, to your point -- oh, yes, go ahead.

TAPPER: No, you go.

BENNETT: Oh, yes. I was just going to say, you know, and to contrast that with, you know, Tom Kean Jr., I mean, yes, to your point, he's been missing since March, but even before that, he hasn't been on the ground. He's not been standing up for us. And so, you know, we deserve a representative that's going to be able to show up for us and be able to get things done in Washington.

TAPPER: So, Kean, his office has said that he's dealing with a health situation and that he's going to be back within a matter of weeks.

[18:20:05]

How much do you plan on talking about his absence? We don't know what the health issue is, but, obviously, whatever it is, we wish him well. I'm sure you agree. Is there a sensitivity there to criticizing somebody dealing with a health issue, or is the fact that he hasn't been transparent insulting enough to the constituents?

BENNETT: Yes. Look, you know, I really do wish him well. I hope he has a speedy recovery. You know, to your point, what they've shared is that there's a medical condition, and so I do hope -- you know, I do wish him well. But looking at his record, he has absolutely failed this district. He was the deciding vote on the One Big, Beautiful Bill, which is why tens of thousands of people in our district are losing access to their health insurance. He was nowhere to be found when Donald Trump got us into yet another forever war in the Middle East. He was nowhere to be found when DHS tried to put an ICE detention facility in the district. And he was nowhere to be found when Trump held up the funding for Gateway Tunnel, which is a critical infrastructure project in our district.

And so we are going to hold him accountable for his record, and we are going to flip this seat in November.

TAPPER: So the Seventh District of New Jersey is very competitive, it's a purple district. If elected, I'm sure there are going to be constituents who vote for you if you win, who want you to work with President Trump on some issues, who want you to work across the aisle. What would you work with President Trump?

BENNETT: Yes. You know, I'll just say, really my leadership was honed in the military, and my leadership has always been country over party. And when I was in the military, and we were just there as Americans to get the job done, and we didn't talk about what political party we were in, and that is the mindset I'm going to bring to office.

And so I will work with whoever will work with me on being able to solve the issues that we're facing, like our childcare crisis in this country, like bringing our healthcare costs down, bringing our energy prices down. And so I will work with whoever wants to work with me on solving those problems.

TAPPER: Rebecca Bennett, thank you, and congratulations again. Coming up, yelling, personal insults, threats of violence, telling a cabinet secretary to shut up, that's just a slice of the political circus we saw today on Capitol Hill. That's next.

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[18:25:00]

TAPPER: Welcome back to The Lead. We're back with the Politics Lead now and just some of the, shall we say, lowlights on Capitol Hill today. Let's start with California Democrat Ted Lieu questioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio about President Trump appearing to fall asleep during meetings. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): I'm going to ask you to focus on President Trump, and you will see that he is sleeping while you are talking.

RUBIO: Oh my God. Are you --

LIEU: Please show the video.

RUBIO: -- products they make and what American farmers grow and produce has a fair shot to be sold around the world. On issue after issue, that's been the case. You talk about foreign aid reforms. This is not our money. This is taxpayer money.

LIEU: Secretary Rubio, have you been at more than one meeting where President Trump has fallen asleep?

RUBIO: That's false. That's false. I've never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn't sleep, which is a big problem, because he calls me at 2:00 in the morning, he calls me at 5:00 in the morning, and, you know, I like to sleep a little bit. Maybe not 12 hours or, but at least 6. So, he works -- the other day, he was at the Oval Office until 12:30 P.M. -- 12:30 AM. I don't know what you're talking about.

LIEU: Have you been at classified meetings where Donald Trump has fallen asleep or had trouble staying awake?

RUBIO: I've never been at any meeting where -- and the things you're showing me now, he was not falling asleep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Over in the Senate, another tense exchange, this one between Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and the secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, over President Trump's personal stock trades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): So, Secretary Bessent, you and I agree that it is a conflict of interest for members of Congress to trade stocks. Do you also agree that it's conflict of interest for President Trump to trade stocks?

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, a couple of things, Senator. One, President Trump is not sitting in the Oval Office engaging in a high-frequency trading strategy. Clearly, he had an outside manager.

I would support --

WARREN: (INAUDIBLE) trades should be investigated and President Trump should be investigated.

BESSENT: I would support you getting your house in order, Senator.

WARREN: And how about the White House getting its house in order? Would you support that investigation?

BESSENT: Please lead by example.

WARREN: Would the -- I would like to see the president of the United States lead by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Another moment from that hearing when Secretary Bessent clarified a reported threat that he made last September to Bill Pulte, Pulte, of course, the housing finance chief who Trump just quite controversially named as the acting director of National Intelligence. Here's Bessent on that threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Did you actually tell Paulding you were going to punch him in the face?

BESSENT: No, sir. I actually said I was going to kick his ass.

TILLIS: Good. Okay. Good. I share the emotion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Got to set the record straight. One more sampling from today, this one from Democratic Congressman Al Green of Texas. Green used his time to question Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to call out what Green felt were actions by racists, such as, in his view, Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. AL GREEN (D-TX): A racist will depict people of color as apes. The pictures have been blurred, but you know who they are. This is what a racist would do.

This was peaceful protest, Mr. Secretary. Racists take offense at peaceful protests.

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Are you calling me a racist? GREEN: A racist --

MULLIN: I'm asking a question.

GREEN: Reclaiming my time, asking him to shut up.

[18:30:00]

MULLIN: That's a pretty --

GREEN: Shut up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Okay, America, just another day on Capitol Hill with your elected representatives.

On Capitol Hill today, as we noted, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified. He declared that the war with Iran is over and that the U.S. has achieved victory. How does that square with what we're seeing in the Gulf? I'm going to ask a Republican and a Democrat who both questioned Secretary Rubio today, next.

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TAPPER: In our World Lead, a fresh round of strikes between the U.S. and Iran overnight, even as President Trump says the ceasefire is still in place and negotiations are going very well. This was the biggest night of attacks since the ceasefire began in April. At least one person was killed in an Iranian attack on U.S. ally Kuwait. Officials say this as House members got their chance to press the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on the progress of the Iran war.

In a hearing this morning, Rubio defended the claim he made to the Senate yesterday that the war is over.

[18:35:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SARA JACOBS (D-CA): The war is over. Who won?

RUBIO: We're no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military because Epic Fury is over.

We defined victory as destroying their defense industrial base, significantly reducing the number of missile launchers that they possess, significantly reducing their stockpile of drones, and we achieved all of those, in addition to destroying what they had left of an air force and wiping out their entire conventional navy. Those are all gone. So, I consider that victory, and we did too, and that was the purpose of Epic Fury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now, two congressmen who were in that House hearing today, Tennessee Republican Tim Burchett and Florida Democrat Jared Moskowitz.

Congressman Moskowitz, what's your assessment of Secretary Rubio's conclusion that the war is over given what he laid out there to your colleague?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Jake, good to be with you. Good to be here with my colleague Tim. First, let me turn the A.I. off. There we go. That's a little bit better now.

So, look I thought the secretary obviously was, you know, prepared to talk Iran today. That was not a secret that was going to happen. I do disagree with him slightly on, you know, what the war was about. I mean, for me, you know, it's nice that we've degraded their military, but that's not why we went there. We went there to make sure that we get the uranium, that we get the nuclear dust, the president's talked about that, and that the facilities that are underground are no longer functional. I think that defines success.

Short of getting the nuclear dust and getting the uranium out of the country, I just don't know how we're going to be able to tell the American people that it was worth going there.

TAPPER: And, Congressman Burchett, as Democrats in the hearing pointed out, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The world economy is still crippled. It was open before the operation, and strikes continue. What do you call what's happening now if not war?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Well, my dad was in the Second World War, and after they dropped the bombs on Japan, they said, the war's over, Charlie. He said, the war's not over until I get home. So I don't believe the war is actually over until all of our folks are home.

But Jared is right. We got to get that uranium out of the ground over there. We can't have this country have any access to any nuclear weapons, whatsoever. There will never be peace in the Middle East. If there ever will be, it won't be with Iran having that much uranium.

TAPPER: And, Congressman Burchett, President Trump confirmed in a podcast interview earlier the report from Axios that he had a profanity-laced conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's continued strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you speak to him in those terms?

TRUMP: I did. I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know? At some point I said, Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Based on what Secretary Rubio said today about Hezbollah in Lebanon, do you see Israel's attacks on Hezbollah continuing to be an issue in U.S. attempts to negotiate a peace deal with Iran? BURCHETT: Well, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, Jake, as you know, and, again, these folks don't want peace. They want to kill Jews, obviously, is their major goal. So, that's going to be Israel's point. But as far as the rough language goes, I've said it many times, you know, I like President Trump in the White House, but I don't want him teaching my daughter's dad-gum Sunday school class. So, that's just part of it. Jared had rough language with me before you got on the air, so I don't have -- I don't fault him for that.

TAPPER: Congressman Moskowitz, what do you make of the phone call between Trump and Netanyahu? And are you frustrated at all with the role Netanyahu is playing that Trump is perturbed about?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, listen, you know, it would be nice if we could get a deal with Iran. The question is, who do you make a deal with? Obviously, you know, it's all about the nuclear weapons. But, yes, look, Hezbollah is launching rockets now every single solitary day into Israel. They didn't just start that on their own. They're doing that with Iran's permission. So, Iran is trying to destabilize the deal at the same time they're trying to say that they'll sign a deal.

And, listen, obviously, you know, there are things I disagree with the prime minister, but I think he's been very clear, so long as a terrorist organization is going to launch rockets into his country, he's not only just going to be in a defensive mode, he's going to try to preempt those rockets from coming in in advance. And so at this juncture, I don't fault them for going into Lebanon and trying to stop trying to stop Hezbollah.

Now, look, I want Lebanon and Israel to continue to be at the table to try to extend the ceasefire and work this out diplomatically, but not as long as Hezbollah is launching those rockets.

TAPPER: And, Congressman Moskowitz, you spoke with the Secretary of State Rubio about the necessity of any deal would need to include Iran turning over its highly enriched uranium, as you mentioned, at the beginning of this conversation.

[18:40:07]

How do you square that long-term need with the short-term pains that Americans are feeling as a result of the war in terms of the higher prices at the pump and elsewhere?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, look, I think that's why we all want to get to a deal. We all want to get the Strait of Hormuz open. And we all want to bring down gas prices, and we want to do that as fast as possible. But at the same time, you know, now that we're there and we're in this war, we have to get the uranium. We can't just go home after we've lost 13 Americans, we've spent, you know, $25-plus billion, and now the Iranians believe they can close the Strait of Hormuz whenever they want and disrupt international trade. We have to get the uranium. That has to be part of the deal.

And, look, we need our European allies, and we need, you know, our world allies to try to -- you know, our Middle East allies to try to force this deal. This wasn't just, you know, the United States and Israel. This was our Gulf allies who wanted to make sure Iran did not get a nuclear weapon because that would set off a nuclear arms race in the entire Middle East.

And so I think it's critical that whatever deal eventually gets done, and I want a deal, I don't want the war to continue, the deal must include getting all of the uranium, the nuclear dust, and the dismantling of the three underground facilities.

TAPPER: And, Congressman Burchett, you pressed the secretary on whether the U.S. should remain in NATO given the lack of support for this war from allied nations. What did you make of the secretary's response?

BURCHETT: Oh, I was not surprised. As you know, I'm not a fan of the United Nations at all, and, of course, NATO is -- they've really been disrespectful to us. We've backed them up, and the secretary made a great point that they've used the money they should've been using on NATO, which is military supplies and protecting themselves, they've allowed America to do that with our tax dollars, and they've built social programs and social networks throughout their country. So, I think the taxpayers need to take a strong look at it.

But Trump has gone a long way in his first term ending this, to bringing them to the table about supplanting the military aid and the finances for NATO.

TAPPER: Florida Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz, Tennessee Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, thanks to both of you.

BURCHETT: Thank you.

MOSKOWITZ: Thank you.

TAPPER: Last election, President Trump won Iowa by 13 points. Last night, however, Republican voters handed him a rare primary loss for a candidate he endorsed. Our panel weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:26]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our politics lead, Republican voters in Iowa handed President Trump his first major primary loss last night, rejecting the Republican congressman whom Trump endorsed in his race for governor.

Here's Trump's Truth Social post, quote, "Randy Feenstra has my complete and total endorsement to be the next governor of Iowa," unquote.

Instead, Republican primary voters selected businessman Zach Lahn. It was less than a percentage point, but it still was an L.

Here to discuss and more is the panel.

So Lahn, who won, aligned himself with RFK, Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement.

Take a listen to some of what he said last night during his victory speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACH LAHN (R), CANDIDATE FOR IOWA GOVERNOR: We were outspent, opposed by the establishment, told to wait our turn. Well, tonight the people of Iowa had something to say about that, that we're not going to wait anymore.

I made it very clear as governor, I will take on the big Ag cartels. I will break up their monopolies and I will get Iowa farmers a fair deal.

But finally, an issue that's hard to talk about, but we must talk about it. Iowa has the fastest growing cancer rate in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Kevin, that's a Republican insurgent and President Trump is the Republican establishment.

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah, but I also don't think this is a rejection of the candidate, the preferred candidate for the president. I don't think in any way this dilutes his standing or his command over the party.

TAPPER: Well, he's like 99-1, but it still is an L.

MADDEN: Right, right, but this is not a candidate that was running against Donald Trump.

TAPPER: Sure.

MADDEN: This is somebody who was a MAHA candidate running in a primary against a MAGA candidate. They're both essentially MAGA candidates.

He also, I mean, Iowa's very different. He also ran a very grassroots- oriented campaign. That's just how you win in a state like Iowa. The fact that he had Charlie Kirk's Turning Point organization behind him, the fact that he had tapped into a lot of the evangelical support that you need to win, he ran a better campaign.

Feenstra, as somebody who was more attached to Washington, probably had a tougher time sort of shedding that sort of insider establishment label in what ended up being a very competitive primary. So I don't really think -- I don't see this as a measurement in any way of the president's sort of command over the party infrastructure.

TAPPER: And Ashley, there's also this interesting Senate race. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is going to be the Republican nominee. State Representative Josh Turek won the Democratic nomination to face her in November and to replace retiring Senator Joni Ernst. The Cook Political Report says, quote, "that they shifted our rating

from likely Republican to lean Republican." That means a little less likely that it will be a Republican winning. Ashley Hinson is a formidable Republican opponent, but worsening environment helps Democrats in a state that Trump won by 13. We should note the Hawkeye State has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008 before you were born, Ashley.

Do you think Iowa is in play for Democrats in any serious way?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Iowa should be on the map for Democrats. I think it is still a steep climb. But in a race like that, you actually want Republicans to have to spin in a state like Iowa when traditionally they wouldn't.

You want them to have to spend in Iowa. You want to have to spend in Texas. You want them to spend in Maine in ways they haven't had to spend in last cycles and other cycles, which then makes your chances in other races actually more probable. Also in Montana as well.

TAPPER: Interesting.

So in California, Xavier Becerra seems like he could make the run offs in the governor's race. We're not sure yet, though. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to the run offs.

Here is Bass last night acknowledging some of the challenges she's faced in her mayoral re-election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: We're going to build a city where parents and kids do not have to navigate tents because in the nation's second largest city, there should never be anybody that is sleeping on our streets. We are a city where things have been not affordable over these last few years, but we're going to continue building the housing that we know we are needed in this city.

Now, you stood with me for the first half. Will you stand with me all the way?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, we don't know who she's going to face in November. It could be a far more progressive city council member or it could be Spencer Pratt, the reality show host.

She better be praying that it's Spencer Pratt because if it is a choice between an anti-establishment Democrat versus her, I think she could be in trouble.

ALLISON: Yeah, we don't know, but it is looking likely that it will probably be Spencer Pratt. And I have a couple of thoughts on this one.

The fact that Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt are even in a competition right now is shameful actually, like when you just --

TAPPER: Both of them or just him?

ALLISON: Him. When you actually look at his resume compared to hers, it should not be competitive. But what I heard Karen Bass say in that race, and I think her campaign will have to do, is a both/and. She is going to traditionally run a more traditional campaign, meaning TV ads, grassroots, that stuff.

But what Spencer Pratt did was go online. He did the memification of the campaign.

She is going to have to do that, too, in an authentic way and also talk about some of her challenges and to her point, go with me the rest of the way. Didn't get everything right, but this guy will get it even worse.

She has proposals and policies and plans that she wants to do. Spencer Pratt has a lot of critiques. I have not heard a lot of solutions of what he would actually do. So we'll see.

But this is actually a race I'm going to pay a lot of attention to because I think it will be determinative of how other Democrats show up in the midterms as well and more blue states. Are they going to be excited enough to show up?

TAPPER: Yeah. One of the -- one of the analyses that I've read about this race, about Spencer Pratt, and again, we don't know if he's going to actually make the runoff. It looks like it as of now. But these California elections, I mean, they count for years and years.

So but one of the analyses I heard that was interesting was that Spence -- that the Democrats have moved so far to the left in some of these places, that place that they cede a common sense middle ground where somebody like Spencer Pratt can come and say, we shouldn't have homeless people, we should just be shipping them out.

Or were these critiques -- I'm just saying, were these critiques find an audience? There are people who voted for Spencer Pratt who are liberal Democrats who live in Los Angeles who are just fed up with the liberal Democratic establishment, don't you think?

MADDEN: That's exactly -- I think they're fed up with a liberal Democratic establishment, but I think it's less about the ideology and the party identity. They're just fed up.

TAPPER: Right.

ALLISON: Yeah.

MADDEN: And this is what Spencer Pratt doesn't have a political ideology. He's running on a line, but that doesn't mean he's really a traditional establishment Republican.

Spencer Pratt -- and this happens in municipal elections. I started out working in city government. There's no Republican or Democrat way. TAPPER: Yonkers.

MADDEN: Yonkers, New York.

There's no Republican, Democrat way to pick up the garbage, to make sure that streetlights are being taken care of, that the streets are safe. And so he can run a very non-ideological campaign focused on the frustrations that people have about everything from economic development to safety, security, those type of issues. He has a huge opportunity.

ALLISON: Can I just say one thing about this? One of the things that is interesting about California, particularly Karen Bass as a candidate, is that there are progressives that don't think she has been progressive enough actually in Los Angeles. And so because it is Los Angeles, because it is California, her posture is challenging. And then you had the Palisades fires.

TAPPER: Yeah.

ALLISON: And that is just something that she had a real issue trying to deal with.

MADDEN: Boy, she didn't sound, she sounded like a critic, not an incumbent. She's the incumbent here.

TAPPER: Yeah, exactly. Thanks to both of you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:37]

TAPPER: In our last leads, we start in our national lead. A 15-hour standoff in California ended earlier today with 10 hostages all safe and the suspect dead.

Police say a man who was an Army veteran and a convicted sex offender, took hostages in downtown Bakersfield yesterday afternoon. He claimed he had explosives. That suspect was killed when the FBI team entered the building. The hostages have been reunited safely with their families.

Some stunning numbers in our money lead. The rocket company SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, just unveiled plans to raise a record $75 billion in its initial public offering, or IPO. That would value the company at roughly $1.77 trillion, with a T, which would eventually make Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.

Initial shares would sell at $135. SpaceX is expected to start trading June 12th, with more tech giants right behind it. Anthropic filed its paperwork Monday to go public, and rival OpenAI is expected to follow.

In our sports lead, a big announcement just in from NFL great Russell Wilson. In a video posted moments ago on X, the New York Giants quarterback confirmed his retirement from professional football and confirmed that his next gig will be with CBS Sports and the NFL Today.

The 37-year-old steps away from the game after 10 Pro Bowl appearances. He spent his first 10 years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, of course, where he won a Super Bowl. In his video, Wilson thanked his fans and his family for his Pro Bowl appearances.

He spent his first 10 years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, of course, where he won a Super Bowl. In his video, Wilson thanked his fans and his family, including his wife, the singer, Ciara.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and on the TikTok @JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN. And if you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the whole show on the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.