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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Omar Home Raided; CNN Provides Midterm Election Updates; State Department Watchdog Investigates Kimberly Guilfoyle; New Book Tells Stories Of Federal Workers Who Tried To Stop DOGE; Parties Shift Campaign Cash In Final Weeks Of Midterms. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 12, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don't forget, you can now stream "The Arena" live. You can catch up whenever you want. It's all in the CNN app. Just scan the Q.R. code below. You can also catch up by listening to "The Arena" podcast. You can follow us. We are on X and Instagram. We are @thearenacnn. But don't go anywhere. Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake. Happy Monday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN LEAD WASHINGTON ANCHOR: Happy Monday, Kasie. Good to see you. We'll look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

HUNT: See you soon.

TAPPER: Whatever happened to President Trump caring about the principle that there should be no public investigations of candidates close to an election? "The Lead" starts right now. An early morning raid on the D.C. home of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat whom President Trump has called a fraud and garbage. How the Congresswoman is responding today. Plus, a brand-new investigation at the State Department into Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump's ambassador to Greece and the former fiance of Donald Trump, Jr., accused of accepting lavish gifts and demanding money for access. Is she going to hold her job? What a source is telling CNN at this hour. And a wild scene involving actress Selma Blair accused of attacking two flight attendants, even biting one. Hear the emergency called into air traffic control.

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start with our "Law and Justice Lead." With just 22 days until the midterm elections, federal agents descended upon Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's D.C. home early this morning and what Democratic House leaders say is an example of -- quote -- "corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump's adversaries" -- unquote. The Department of Justice says it -- quote -- "executed a judicially authorized search warrant." You can see the letters H.S.I. on the jackets of the agents there. That stands for Homeland Security Investigations.

It is an unusual move to have such a public raid so close to the midterm elections. Historically, the Justice Department has had a 60- day pre-election day blackout period for any public action regarding an investigation, one that could impact a candidate. It's not a law, it's not a regulation, it's more of a tradition. But voting is well underway in Congresswoman Omar's home state of Minnesota with more than 127,000 ballots already cast, according to the Minnesota secretary of state.

We should note, there was an instance a month before the 2024 general elections when then Special Counsel Jack Smith released a 165-page filing saying that President Trump -- quote -- "resorted to crimes in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election." President Trump and his team objected to that release so close to the election.

As for Congresswoman Omar, she is, of course, no stranger to controversy or attacks from the right wing. She is one of the first two Muslim American women ever elected to Congress. Born in Somalia, she and her family fled that country's civil war when she was eight. Congresswoman Omar declared on X earlier today -- quote -- "I will not be silenced," aside from President Trump's past racist attacks on the congresswoman. Other Trump administration officials have been teasing an investigation into her immigration status for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So, we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America. I talked to Steven Miller about this actually recently. We're trying to look at what the remedies are. That's the thing that we're trying to figure out. What are the legal remedies now that we know that she has committed immigration fraud? How do you go after her? How do you investigate her? How do you actually do the thing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, SECRETARY, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This is an ongoing investigation. It's a whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A spokesperson for the congresswoman says she has -- quote -- "done nothing wrong." Let's bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz. Katelyn, we just heard from President Trump as he left the White House. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Ilhan Omar is involved, sir.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I understand they're looking at her very carefully. I've always found her to be totally crooked personally, but that has nothing to do with me. I think she's a terrible person, just a complainer. She comes from a country that is a non-country, and then she comes over here. She complains about our Constitution. I think she's a terrible person. But that's really up to the DOJ. I have nothing to do with it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: All right, that's what President Trump said about the investigation. Katelyn Polantz, what do we know about the facts of this investigation?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Jake, we don't know too much right now because everything that has happened, where the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department would have had to say why they're investigating her, that's under seal in a court filing where a judge would have looked at the reason for a search like this today and signed off on it.

So, we do know a judge signed off on it. We do know that the Homeland Security investigations team is who's leading this search and the investigation, making it immigration-related in some sense.

[17:05:05]

And we know that the Justice Department prosecutors are also involved. Now, Representative Omar, she says it's an escalation in a campaign of political intimidation. We will have to see exactly how the facts fall in line if there are more that come out, but there haven't been charges at this time and it is quite notable it's so close to the election.

TAPPER: Yes. How does this compare to the break from past precedent of not announcing anything related to an investigation that we saw with Jack Smith and President Trump in 2024 or James Comey and Hillary Clinton in 2016?

POLANTZ: The James Comey-Hillary Clinton comparison is more apt. It was unusual for the FBI Director Comey to come out and speak about an investigation or the closure of an investigation at that time. Jack Smith, it's a little bit different. That was an open criminal investigation against Donald Trump. He was in court publicly saying he was not guilty of either mishandling classified records in Florida or summoning his supporters.

TAPPER: So, the news that this was going on was already out there, is what you're saying?

POLANTZ: That's right, although the brief, the large brief that laid out the entire case, there was a lot of controversy about the Justice Department even doing that.

TAPPER: Kamala Harris seized on it and used things from it in her campaign.

POLANTZ: That's right. And it was extensive. It was filed, I just looked, it's filed October 2nd. But one of the things that's important here, all of these policies to protect an election, to make sure there's checks and balances here internally at the Justice Department, if they're going to do something like this, it's all about perceptions and protecting government integrity.

TAPPER: What does that -- translate that.

POLANTZ: Well, the policies are in place so the Justice Department protects their own government integrity.

TAPPER: OK.

POLANTZ: And so, you're not necessarily doing this because there's a law. Like there's no law --

TAPPER: Right.

POLANTZ: -- that says you can't do an investigation so close to the election. It's that prosecutors are not supposed to take overt steps that would signal that the government doesn't have integrity with these investigations.

TAPPER: Yes. I guess we'll find out if there was actually some pressing need as we learn more about the case. Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton of Arizona. Congressman, Vice President Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin seemed pretty convinced in those clips we ran that there is something going on, something worth investigating. What's your response to these all?

REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): Well, I think myself and probably most Americans are very skeptical of these charges. This is an administration with a history of bringing overtly politicized charges against people they feel are their political enemies.

Look no further than my home state of Arizona, the false charges that were brought against Mark Kelly, Senator Kelly by Pete Hegseth when Mark Kelly did absolutely nothing wrong or the investigation into Gavin Newsom and his wife that obviously has gone nowhere just to get headlines to try to slime Gavin Newsom. What about Jerome Powell? What a joke of an investigation or allegations that was.

So, J.D. Vance may think he smells political opportunity here with these charges, but I think the American people are very skeptical about this administration and bringing politicized charges against their enemies.

TAPPER: You're also on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. President Trump announced this energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend although it's not clear that either country had been tipped off as to it. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said it came as a surprise to him. And then Russia quickly violated it.

This comes as Trump also announced this controversial diesel deal with Putin that multiple lawmakers, including many Republicans, say is against the law. Republicans cast Democrats as impeachment crazy and I know there are a lot of Democrats reluctant to talk about impeachment before the election. Is this something that you think would qualify for impeachment if he has actually broken the law or is that off the table? STANTON: But the president puts out on social media many, many things that are just blatantly untrue. You've covered many of those things that he has put on social media. Apparently, his statement that he had negotiated some sort of ceasefire, energy ceasefire, was news to both the Russian side who said they had no idea about it and clearly, it was news to the Ukrainian side because President Zelenskyy said he knew absolutely nothing about it. And, of course, we know it was a false tweet because later that day, Russia continued to bombard the energy infrastructure in Ukraine. So, I don't think we should give the president and his tweeting any merit with regard to this.

[17:09:57]

On the issue of getting rid of the sanctions on Russian diesel and bringing that diesel to the United States allegedly to lower prices, first off, talk to any person in economics about whether that would actually lower diesel prices. I think there's extreme skepticism about whether that would even work. But what a gift to Putin. So, it's politically a disaster and it is illegal.

We did pass a law in 2022 just a couple of years ago specifically saying we would not allow Russian diesel to enter the United States until Russia is completely out of Ukraine. That obviously hasn't happened. So, it is blatantly illegal.

I won't say anything about impeachment because it's way too early to talk about that. First, we want to stop this from happening. The main thing is the president and his team, who may have -- maybe they made a mistake and didn't research the law before they moved forward with this. But now that they're absolutely told what the law says, they should do the right thing and stop this agreement from moving forward.

TAPPER: Let's turn to the Middle East because 13 people were killed and hundreds wounded after the Iran-backed Houthis bombed the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. President Trump says he's considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in retaliation. What do you think? Should the U.S. join in?

STANTON: First, what a disaster President Trump and Pete Hegseth have been in their actions in Iran and the Middle East. You know, we've been at war with Iran. We've lost our own soldiers. Eighteen of our soldiers have died in this war. And Iran has gotten stronger as a result of the U.S. action, the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz. And now, their proxy, the Houthis, are flexing their muscles in the region and shooting deadly missiles into a major international airport in Riyadh. This is a disaster.

Now, whether or not the United States should join in a second front in the Middle East, I think I speak on behalf of virtually every American. I think that President Trump is not listening to Americans when it comes to this. I think I speak on behalf of virtually every American saying, we do not want the United States involved in a second front in the Middle East.

We are struggling, and what we should be doing is ending the war in Iran, and the President seems to have an inability to do so, an inability even to try to do so, but the American people overwhelmingly are demanding that that war end, that we get gas prices down.

The Republicans are going to pay a heavy toll at the ballot box in just a few weeks because this president and his actions are directly leading to significantly increased gas prices on the American people, near $5 here in Arizona. They're not putting up with it anymore.

TAPPER: Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton from Arizona, thank you, sir. Good to see you again.

STANTON: Thank you.

TAPPER: Twenty-two days out from Election Day, some 3.3 million Americans have already cast early ballots. Well, we don't know for whom they voted. Up next, you're going to hear why voters in some key states voted the way they did. And some breaking news in our "Health Lead," Pennsylvania alerting yet another death from measles. What we know about this latest case, ahead.

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[17:15:00]

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TAPPER: In our "Politics Lead," midterm election drama is in full swing right now and there are only 22 days of drama left, so enjoy CNN election jam while you can.

I've been waiting for one of you to write lyrics for it. Let's get straight to the campaign trail. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Portland, Maine. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Fort Worth, Texas, the site of two very competitive Senate races.

Arlette, to you first. Maine Democrats trying to unseat longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins. Tomorrow, we're going to see yet another debate between Collins and her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson. President Trump has not yet waded into this race, yet, of course, his presence looming large like Nosferatu. Tell us more.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, one of the reasons that Democrats feel hopeful about a state like Maine is because of that anti-Trump sentiment that is coursing through many races in this country. Republican Senator Susan Collins finds herself in a very vulnerable position in this race. She is the only incumbent Republican senator who is running in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024.

And we've seen Collins really try to strike a very careful balance when it comes to Trump. She has tried to portray herself as independent and bipartisan, though Democrats argue she still is voting with Trump in the issues that matters most.

And yesterday, we spent some time at the Fryeburg Fair talking to voters. One of those voters, Jennifer Messinger (ph), told us that she is undecided. She has voted for Collins in the past. She's trying to decide at this contest whether she will vote for Collins or if she will vote for the Democratic nominee, Troy Jackson. Here is what she described as some of her hesitation around supporting Collins this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER MESSINGER (ph), VOTER: It's really the more voting with our current administration that truly is, you know, I think, wavering heavy on my opinion in terms of hesitation. Yes, there's a lot of voting when it's convenient. She does tend to vote with the administration the majority of the time, and I don't think that a lot of those decisions are in our best interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Messinger (ph) had also told us that one of the drawbacks that she sees with the Democratic candidate, Troy Jackson, is his lack of experience. Something Collins repeatedly tries to point to is the work that she has done for her state as the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Now, Democrats also, they will need -- Jackson will need to appeal to moderates and independents, but he also needs to keep that Democratic coalition together. There are some progressives who are still frustrated about the way that this past contest had played out over the course of the summer after Graham Platner dropped out of this race.

And so, he -- Jackson is trying to ensure that he can shore up his progressive base here in this state. Of course, Senator Susan Collins has proven resilience in the past and won tough re-election battles in her past contests as well. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Jeff, to you now. The Texas Senate race was insane this weekend online among conservatives.

[17:19:58]

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has re-emerged from an absence on the campaign trail. He said he had flu. He has been denouncing these deranged conspiracy theories about his whereabouts. Now, if you missed all this insanity, we're going to cover it more coming up. But, Jeff, give us the shorter version of what happened and what you're hearing from Texas voters.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, look, the bottom line here is this Texas Senate race with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is one of the closest in the country because he is the nominee. He, of course, defeated Senator John Cornyn earlier this year. President Trump has been here three times, trying to rescue his candidate just in the last several weeks alone.

But it is a very competitive race. Hundreds of millions of dollars being spent here. So, the Paxton campaign and Republicans thought that they had an opening going after James Talarico, who was off the campaign trail for more than a week. He had the flu, he said. It sparked a variety of conspiracy theories. But the voters we talked to here, including Jill Fox, a Democrat from right here in Fort Worth, she said all of this complaining is quite rich from Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL FOX, DEMOCRATIC VOTER FROM TARRANT COUNTY: He has been shaking hands. He has been going to events. Obviously, there are (INAUDIBLE) and things out and about. And so, it's, you know, clear. He has been relentless. And so, you're going to get run down, you're going to be exposed to things. Mitch McConnell was MIA for like three months. So, it's really kind of laughable to me that Republicans would try to make that a mark against one of our candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, Jake, it's hard to imagine that this Senate race here would hinge on someone's absence. The reality here is Talarico has been saying that Ken Paxton has been absent as well, refusing to debate him.

One thing is clear, this race is likely to go down until the very final days of the campaign. Early voting begins next week. This is one of the top examples, Exhibit A, if you will, of how Republicans are playing defense here in red states. So, all is on the line here as well as Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, but unusual that we are seeing this competitive race here in Texas. And Jake, Democrats wonder if this could finally be the year to reach that long, elusive goal of winning a statewide Senate seat. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny deep in the heart of Texas, Arlette Saenz on the main event on the campaign trail, thanks to both of you. Coming up next, mounting allegations against Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's ambassador to Greece. What new audio reportedly reveals and new details today on how the U.S. State Department is handling these allegations.

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[17:25:00]

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TAPPER: In our "World Lead," President Trump just confirmed that he is considering, considering firing U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Kimberly Guilfoyle, are you considering firing her?

TRUMP: Well, we're looking at it. Yes, we're not happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We're looking at it, we're not happy. Man, that is not good news for Ambassador Guilfoyle. The president's comments come just hours after the State Department's watchdog, the inspector general, launched an investigation into Ambassador Guilfoyle following multiple allegations of misconduct.

Last week, as you might remember, MAGA donor and former congressional candidate Eric Deters, a Republican, said Guilfoyle texted him before her Senate confirmation hearing, asking him to pay her $100,000 American Express bill. There were allegations of quid pro quo, setting up meetings and such.

And now, according to "The Wall Street Journal" and audio recordings, Guilfoyle can be heard boasting that Greek tycoons have been paying for her luxury travel and begging for -- she has been begging for an invitation to an event with Eric Trump.

Guilfoyle reportedly enlisted an American businessman to get her in the door to that Eric Trump event, saying -- quote -- "You know, I can deliver the world to you, which you deserve. I'm going to make you a lot of effing money" -- unquote.

Guilfoyle also vented about the event organizer, saying, according to "The Wall Street Journal," -- quote -- "You don't have the effing U.S., you know, ambassador to Greece not come. She should be kissing my effing ass."

Joining us now, CNN's Kylie Atwood, our State Department reporter. Kylie, let's start with the State Department inspector general's investigation.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, we've learned that the State Department inspector general is carrying out an investigation into Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle. Obviously, the OIG's office doesn't put out statements on ongoing investigations or even confirm them. A spokesperson is saying it is a matter of policy. OIG doesn't confirm, deny or comment on investigative matters.

But this does demonstrate that there is a seriousness of looking into these allegations of wrongdoing, widespread allegations of wrongdoing, I should say, that were first broken by "The Wall Street Journal."

And the backdrop here is that President Trump himself, we heard in his own words today and according to a source familiar with the matter, is really weighing whether or not to let her go, to effectively fire this woman who was engaged to his son for four years from her ambassador post.

And I think it's worth noting, however, that her lawyers have come out with a statement firing back, of course, defending their client on some of these allegations with regard to the fact that this man, Eric Deters, who you spoke with last week, a Trump donor, said that she was coming to him and trying to effectively get money in return for access to the Trump administration, calling it a quid pro quo. Her lawyers said that it's a contractual dispute of wrongdoing that he's trying to recast, that she actually really did owe him about $150,000.

So, we'll have to watch and see where this goes, but it's very clear that there is frustration within the Trump administration over these reports as they continue to come.

TAPPER: What are the short-term or long-term possible repercussions for an investigation like this?

[17:30:00]

Is it also possible that the Trump team is just pressuring her publicly, as we just saw the president do, trying to get her just to resign before any more needs to come out?

ATWOOD: It is possible, but I do think that even if that happens, that doesn't necessarily mean that this investigation would be shut down because the Office of the Inspector General is supposed to be separate from the State Department itself. And so therefore, we'll have to watch and see where this investigation goes. And if the findings come to any sort of conclusion that she actually violated the law, well, then that would be referred to prosecutors, because OIG doesn't do any prosecution if it's just wrongdoing and allegations that it confirms, that would be referred to the State Department. And then they would have to determine how they move forward with that information.

TAPPER: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up, the federal workers who tried to stop DOGE, Trump's now defunct Department of Government Efficiency, led by the world's first billionaire, Elon Musk. More on them, stay with us.

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[17:35:23]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, on day one of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order creating DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. It was led by Elon Musk and Tech Advisors. DOGE moved to slash spending and remove federal workers that they called blockers, those seen as standing in the way of the Trump agenda.

In his new book, "Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State," author Michael Lewis flips the label, telling the stories of these civil servants who fought to protect their life's work from DOGE's, often illegal, always disruptive dismantling. And Michael Lewis joins me now. And for the record, you are one of my favorite authors, if not my favorite nonfiction author. So it's a real honor --

MICHAEL LEWIS, AUTHOR, "BLOCKERS": Thank you.

TAPPER: To have you here. One theme you explore is the public's distrust of government, the natural distrust. You contrast the abstract idea of a deep state with the reality of career bureaucrats trying to do their best, people who are not political appointees pushing an agenda, but just hard workers upholding the law, keeping the processes, systems of government working, working for the American people. Did you like these blockers?

LEWIS: I mean, once you get into the administration -- the government talk, people are doing government, not politics. It's hard not to. I mean, they're the stereotype of like lazy, inefficient, blood sucking is so false. I mean, the typical, I mean, the characters in this book, another book I wrote called "The Fifth Risk" in the first --

TAPPER: We'll get to that in a second.

LEWIS: Yes, you know, but if these are people who, I mean, they've got an obsession with some narrow subject, that its natural home is in the federal government, weather prediction or how to keep coal mine roofs from falling into the heads of coal mines or managing wildfire risk. A lot of it's public safety. And they're working for less than they can make in the private sector, generally.

They are. They're not looking for attention. I mean, that's the thing. As characters, what makes them so good as characters is they don't think of themselves as characters. And then like -- they're just -- and you know, they just -- it gives them elevation on the page.

TAPPER: So you showed just how little DOGE and the Trump administration understood about how government even functioned. There's this e-mail telling federal employees to list five things they accomplished each week or they could be fired. You wrote that Kathleen Walters, the IRS's chief privacy officer, thought the demand was nuts as her work couldn't be legally disclosed. She feared someone might write, this week I audited Beyonce. And for employees doing repetitive but essential work, she asked, what are they going to write? One, I opened mail. Two, I opened mail. Three, I opened mail. Four, I opened mail. Five, I opened even more mail. And to underscore even how more poorly the system was, when her subordinates sent in their lists, e- mails bounced back, mailbox full. I mean, what a mess.

LEWIS: Yes. Well, it's interesting, DOGE, you know, it's not clear what they were trying to do because Elon Musk said he was trying to cut $2 trillion out of the federal budget.

TAPPER: And he failed. Yes.

LEWIS: Not only failed, he didn't cut basically nothing.

TAPPER: Right.

LEWIS: Right. So --

TAPPER: Actually might have cost money because of all the --

LEWIS: Might have cost.

TAPPER: -- severance packages.

LEWIS: So the question is like, is he a fool or was he doing something else? And I think there's at least a half decent argument that he was allowed to do what he was doing because actually DOGE was a pretty good smokescreen for what was a massive power grab.

TAPPER: And having data.

LEWIS: All this stuff is happening. And the fact that they eliminate the inspectors generals at all the agencies is a half day story. All this stuff is happening. And the fact that they move -- that they -- that ICE grabs data out of the IRS to track down undocumented workers breaking the law is a brief story.

TAPPER: Or all the investigations into Musk and his companies canceled.

LEWIS: Yes. Or, you know, people aren't asking too many questions about why he gets to install his friend as head of NASA. You know, it's just -- it's -- so, I think it's -- I don't know if it's as calculating as that from Musk's point of view, but from the kind of people, for the people in the Trump administration who the spiders in the web, Russell Vought, why you let Musk do that is I think it actually was useful to him. I think that the DOGE itself is, it just, it makes no sense. It makes -- they didn't even, you know, if you're going to cut the -- if you're going to cut the deficit.

TAPPER: Yes, we all know this.

LEWIS: You all know this, right?

TAPPER: It's like entitlement spending.

LEWIS: Entitlement military interest on the debt is 80 percent of it. They didn't even discuss that.

TAPPER: Right.

LEWIS: You know, if you're going to cut spending, you kind of need to go to Congress. They didn't even discuss this with Congress. So it was -- it just didn't -- it didn't track.

TAPPER: So you brought up "The Fifth Risk," your great book from the first Trump administration. And one of the questions I had about it is, so that book is about the disruptors, then the people who came into Commerce and Ag and Energy and had no idea what they were doing. And this is kind of like the companion book in a way.

[17:40:15]

LEWIS: It's a complete -- I wouldn't have written if it was the same story.

TAPPER: No, no. It's a completely different story, but a different view of it.

LEWIS: The first one really is a story of neglect, it's ignorance, it's like he -- the dog caught the bus. Trump won, he didn't really expect to, he fired his transition team, he found any mechanism to learn about what he was about to run.

TAPPER: Right.

LEWIS: He just shut down. So -- and if you talk to people in the government who were there for Trump, a lot of them could just manage. You know, it was messy, they weren't well managed, but they could keep doing what they were doing. This was a full-on assault to dismantle it. This was an attempt to turn, what's going on now, is an attempt to turn a 2 million person workforce that's supposed to be non-partisan, they take an oath to the Constitution, into a 2 million person weapon that can be used by the President of the United States.

And so when you do that, that's what this book is about, it's like, what happens when you change the incentives of the people in the government? When you make it a narrow loyalist operation, how differently does the government function? What's the difference for the rest of us?

TAPPER: The book is "Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State," and the author is the great Michael Lewis. Thank you so much.

LEWIS: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: We are following the political money, and we're following it into Ohio, which might explain why President Trump is also headed there right this minute. That's next.

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[17:45:57]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, there are only 22 days left in the midterm election. Both parties are plotting as to where best to spend campaign cash as this map becomes more challenging for Republicans. One top Super PAC for Democrats plans to move money out of North Carolina where there's a competitive Senate race and into much redder states such as Ohio or Iowa. Telling "Punchbowl News," "We will add $2.5 million in Iowa and $7 million in Ohio for T.V. ads. This puts us at more than $70 million in Ohio and $32.5 million in Iowa."

Let's jump right in with the panel. And let's just reintroduce the lovely and talented Angela Rye, who we don't see enough of. And you have a new show on YouTube called Cite Your Source. It's on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on YouTube. And you just had your first one last week. And your second one on reparations is this Wednesday.

ANGELA RYE, PRINCIPAL & CEO, IMPACT STRATEGIES: Wednesday.

TAPPER: Welcome. We love having you.

RYE: Thank you.

TAPPER: So, Shermichael, let me start with you because you have the tougher job. Trump is in Ohio tonight to boost Republican Senator Jon Husted. Ohio seems pretty critical if Republicans want to hold the Senate, right?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it's a pathway for how Democrats could presumably win back the U.S. Senate. They need five seats to do it. That becomes more difficult to see. Look, I know some folks have pontificated about them potentially winning places like Kansas, Texas, even Maine. I think some of those places are going to be safe. It's going to cost us a lot to win in Texas. I think we still prevail.

Susan Collins appears to be performing right where we would like for her to be at this point in time. And the Kansas notion, I just don't know where that's coming from. I'm not buying into that yet. The reason you see Senate Democrats moving money to some of these red places is because this ultimately will come down to turnout. Can you turn out your base and can you move enough independents one way or the other to help get your candidate across the finish line? You need the money operationally to accomplish that.

Now, we're spending, what, 3X what Democrats have spent thus far. And we have far more, hundreds of millions more, to outspend them over the next 20-plus days. And so we'll see how effective that cash advantage will be in moving the needle in our direction.

TAPPER: And it's true, the Republicans have a cash advantage. And President Trump is sitting on a gold mine of his aligned Super PAC. One official tells "Politico" about the Trump Super PAC. It'll be all over the place, the spending. It'll just be moving on from districts that we don't think it's the right time for and piling in on further ones we think is the right time for. How do you how do you interpret all the Republicans moving money out of North Carolina, et cetera?

RYE: I think that they're afraid and they should be. You know, it's nice to be sitting on cash. They have Super PACs funded by Elon Musk and the rest of the trillionaires. But there are everyday folks that can't afford gas or those eggs that they talked about in 2024. So I think the reality of it is they've got to move money and we've got to try to be competitive.

The way that Democrats have to be competitive is by knocking on doors. There are a lot of races that we haven't talked about as much today. Even some of the Democrats aren't supporting, like Angie Nixon in Florida, like Scott Colom in Mississippi and many others. And I think that we have to figure out how to play in all 50 states. Turns out Howard Dean was right.

TAPPER: Shermichael, last night, Republican Senator Darline Graham was appointed to the position after her brother passed away. And Democrat Annie Andrews faced off in the South Carolina Senate debate. The Democrat Andrews seized on comments Graham made during her Republican primary debate when she said "National security is not my thing." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNIE ANDREWS (D-SC), SENATE CANDIDATE: South Carolina, if your surgeon said that appendectomies aren't really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel? No. So why would we hand Darline Graham a full term in the U.S. Senate? She is unserious and unqualified.

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm just as qualified as you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think? Was that an effective attack by Dr. Andrews?

SINGLETON: Is it effective enough for her to win, for Democrats to win? I'm not convinced of that. I mean, the last time a Democrat won in South Carolina was in the early 90s.

TAPPER: Fritz Hollings, I believe.

[17:49:57]

SINGLETON: Correct. And I haven't seen enough data that's suggestive to me that either enough Republicans will stay home or enough right- leaning independents will vote for Democrats come November. I'm not seeing that data internally suggestive to me that either enough Republicans will stay home or enough right-leaning independents will vote for Democrats come November. I'm not seeing that data internally or externally. So, no, I'm not convinced that this will be an effective line to get her to a victory.

TAPPER: Angela, take a listen to the two clashing over the war with Iran. Here's what the Democrats said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREWS: The war is the exact reason, we now have record high gas and diesel prices. Farmers are getting crushed and everything costs more. My opponent is the only one on this stage who had the opportunity to vote to end the war. But three times in a row, she voted to continue it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think?

RYE: Very effective. And again, there are a lot of people, everyday Americans, who are wondering why so much money can go out of the country while so many of our needs are not met. I think it's extremely effective.

TAPPER: And here's Senator Graham's response to that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: Let's not forget how this war started under the Democrats with Iran almost having a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean, I don't know what she's talking about in particular, but what do you think?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, initially from the onset, I supported this under the guise that the priority would be China, 13.8 percent of their oil reserves, correct, are imported from Iran. China, obviously, is our greatest international adversary. They're expanding in the South Chinese Sea, using the Chinese import-export bank to help build up a lot of the industrialized nations in Africa and all other parts of the world.

So if the administration would have articulated that with a timeline, to me, I thought that would have been smart. Obviously, the American people have clearly moved away from that. We have not communicated that strategy. And so the results are what they are. We can't run away from that. And so I do think you have to prioritize cost of living, affordability, et cetera, that people are saying, hey, these are pain points I need you all to address. Have we done that enough? No. Are some of our candidates starting to address that? Yes. You're seeing it in Maine. You're seeing it with Mike Rogers in Michigan, starting to focus a lot more on cost of living, affordability, and even the Canadian tariffs.

TAPPER: It's possible that Abdul El-Sayed will win in Michigan for sure. But the fact is he needs help. And he's trying to get it. And he's getting it. Here is a new ad from President Obama, former President Obama, backing Dr. Sayed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Abdul's a doctor, and he's taken on special interests to fight for good jobs, better health care, and lower costs. Abdul has never taken corporate money. He understands that health care is a human right. And he thinks we should invest here instead of wasting money on endless wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It is interesting to watch the Democratic establishment come to Dr. El-Sayed's help because he has been very critical, I'm not saying he shouldn't be, of the Democratic establishment.

RYE: Well, and I think that what's not fair is people are holding him to a standard that existed pre-Trump. He's been very clear about the fact that, listen, yes, I critiqued President Obama. But now, given where we've been in 2016, and then to revisit this beginning in 2024, like, it's not that serious anymore. Now it's time for everybody to come together again, you know, hearkening back to what used to be. There's a big tent, and people are trying to huddle under it.

SINGLETON: It is not lost upon me that Mr. El-Sayed has a real problem with black voters there and Jewish voters. That's the reason President Obama is doing that ad. You need those black voters in and around Detroit to get him to a victory. I'm not convinced that he's accomplished that yet.

TAPPER: I think the black voters are the bigger problem for him. It's just population-wise.

SINGLETON: Yes, yes.

TAPPER: I mean, he needs them. So great to have you guys here.

SINGLETON: Thanks Jake.

TAPPER: Let us know next time you're in town. RYE: I will.

[17:53:34]

TAPPER: As always. We do have some breaking news for you. Actress Selma Blair is in police custody right now after she allegedly attacked individuals on an airliner. The startling new details just coming in to CNN, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you in our National Lead. Actress Selma Blair is in court this evening. She's accused of attacking the crew on a flight from Los Angeles to New York last night. A law enforcement source telling CNN that Blair bit one flight attendant and left another with lacerations. That source says the crew had to use plastic restraints to hold the actress down. Here's part of the crew's call to air traffic control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One flight attendant and one passenger that sustained some minor injuries. A bloody nose as well as some bite marks as well. And then one additional add-on. It sounds like the disruptive passenger also bashed her head on the bulkhead or something like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Blair also allegedly kicked a police officer in the head repeatedly while in an ambulance, then assaulted a nurse at the hospital. Blair has multiple sclerosis. It's a disease that affects the central nervous system. A representative for the actress says a medical emergency led to her alleged conduct.

Also breaking now, RJ Mitte, the actor best known as Walt Jr. on "Breaking Bad," has died. He was 34 years old. The Texas Justice of the Peace says his death is under investigation. Aside from his acting career, Mitte was also a philanthropist and a passionate advocate for disability rights. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. May his memory be a blessing.

In our Health Lead, a sixth person in Pennsylvania has died in connection to the largest measles outbreak in the United States in more than 30 years. The woman died in Franklin County. That's two hours west of Lancaster County, the epicenter of the outbreak that just surpassed 1,000 cases. A local coroner says the 39-year-old woman had underlying conditions including a past diagnosis of measles for which she had been treated.

In our Faith Lead, tomorrow morning, doctors in Rome will admit Pope Leo for surgery to remove a small nodule in his lung. On Sunday, the 71-year-old Pope said that the nodule was detected in a very early stage. A lung nodule is a small mass of dense tissue. Most of them are non-cancerous. But risks can rise with factors such as age. The Vatican says Pope Leo will remain in the hospital for about a week.