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Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) is Interviewed about the Israel- Iran Conflict; Sources Say EPA is Cutting Back on Policing the Oil and Gas Industry; J.J. Spaun Wins U.S. Open. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 16, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

HULDAH MOMANYI-HILTSLEY (D), MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: That was involved because, you know, the initial release statement said a Brooklyn Park representative, you know. And -- and I never got information in regards to what was going on. All I got was, it's bad, I'm not available right now, you know, and that -- that is completely unacceptable.

As legislators and as community leaders, as public figures, I think it's time to invest in resources pertaining to, how legislatures are protected and accorded the support that they need, especially during this time. Not only, you know, when the event is happening, but also after, you know? We're talking about, you know, social support services, mental health support services, because right now we are at the aftermath of this event. And -- and -- and many of us are grieving in our own right.

And I want to make it very clear that, you know, we -- we -- we thank our local law enforcement for everything that they did to -- to manage this -- this -- this very heinous, you know, situation. But at the same time, many of our legislators, especially within our caucus, are still very disappointed in how we were informed and how we were kept up to date on the stages of this situation -- situation.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I know -- I know you and your families all are very, very concerned, as you rightly should be. And we do want to mention, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, they both were hit multiple times with gunfire. They went into the hospital, had surgery, and our hearts are with them as well and that family who is going through it this morning too.

State Representative Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley, thank you so much for coming on this morning and talking us through it all.

Ahead, the death toll mounting as Iran hits Israel with a new wave of strikes as the deadly conflict enters its fourth day.

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[09:36:10]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Early this morning, Iran fired a new wave of missiles on Israel, killing at least eight people. In Israel, the death toll now stands at 24, while Iran's health minister says at least 224 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now says Israel controls the skies over Tehran. Israeli forces say they have destroyed nearly a third of Iran's missile launchers and can fly over the Iranian capital without facing major threats.

With us now is Congressman Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman Davidson, always great to have you on.

President Trump told ABC News of the conflict between Israel and Iran, quote, "it's possible we could get involved, but we are not involved at this moment."

How involved do you think the U.S. should be?

REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): Well, I think the president's kind of pushed the line. Look, Israel, we -- they're our friends. We wish them success and -- and safety. And frankly, we want to know that they're secure. But the United States, it isn't our war to fight or our war to fund. Israel has historically said, you know, we've got this. And it looks like they do. So, I think the United States should root for Israel to be successful, and we should make sure that we don't get pulled into a war. Frankly, President Trump's words reflect that if Iran should choose to attack the United States, of course we would respond. So far, Iran hasn't attacked the United States, and the United States hasn't attacked Iran.

BERMAN: When you say not our war to fight, not our war to fund, what are the limits there? Do you think the U.S. should be providing intelligence? Do you think the U.S. should be providing air support to Israel? Do you think the United States should be spending defense dollars in defense of Israel?

DAVIDSON: Well, look, Israel is our friend, so we would sell them weapons. I think, you know, frankly, both Ukraine and Israel, we've kind of skirted the line between tactical support. At some point that crosses over to tactical participation. And, look, I think we should be supportive, but we shouldn't participate.

BERMAN: I guess I'm just trying to understand the limits of not participating. Do -- do you think the president is going too far at this point?

DAVIDSON: You know, I think he -- he's the commander in chief. But I do think, look, it's very clear in the Constitution, Congress declares war. We haven't declared war against Iran. Of course, we don't want to see Iran with a nuclear weapon. But honestly, I don't wish any country had nuclear weapons. They exist. So, I'm glad my country has them. But the United States has been, you know, a custodian and had lots of transparency on it. Iran's regime has resisted any level of transparency on what they're doing with nuclear weapons. And I think that's where Israel felt threatened enough that they felt they needed to strike.

BERMAN: Over on the Senate side, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who feels passionately about this issue, he's introducing a war powers resolution trying to get a debate and a vote before the U.S. lends any more support to Israel here. How would you feel about a vote on this?

DAVIDSON: Well, I don't know about Tim Kaine's resolution. I certainly, you know, I get that the Democratic Party is very conflicted on this. I think the Republican Party is pretty united. We -- we stand with Israel. I think it's foolish to have given aid to Iran, both under the Obama administration and the Biden administration. You know, giving Iran money is -- is as predictable as gravity, you know. They're going to use the funds to attack Israel.

And that's been Iran's participation. There's been a state of war between Iran and Israel for a long time. Iran funneled the cash to Hamas that led to the 10/7 massacre. So, you know that -- that's what Iran does. They -- they haven't generally attacked Israel directly. Israel hasn't generally attacked Iran directly. But there have been a proxy war for a long time.

[09:40:00]

And, you know, I think this is not just Hamas, but Hezbollah and the Houthis.

BERMAN: Yes.

DAVIDSON: The Houthis have been attacking shipping lanes and everything else. Iran has been the destabilizing force in the Middle East.

BERMAN: Understood. I just thought -- I thought there was actually some confluence between what you and Tim Kaine were saying. You're saying it's not the U.S. war to fund or fight. All he's saying is that this is something, and you said it, too, it's Congress' power to declare war. It's something he said he would like a vote on in the Senate.

And I do want to move on to immigration because on Friday the president seemed to support or suggest a kind of carve out in terms of federal efforts to deport migrants in the United States illegally. He said, we must protect our farmers, but get the criminals out of the country. Changes are coming. He talked about -- about the effect that the immigration raids have had on farmers, people in the hotel and leisure businesses as well. Do you think there should be some kind of carve out for agriculture, hotels and restaurants?

DAVIDSON: No, I think there should be no sanctuary states, no sanctuary cities, no sanctuary farms, no sanctuary hotels. There should be no sanctuaries. And I think that's broadly what President Trump campaigned on. I think there are a lot of people that were concerned about what he said. He's since tried to clarify, like, you know, we're not talking about sanctuaries here, we're talking about, where's the priority. And the priority is where, you know, the flood of immigration has been in sanctuary cities, in sanctuary states. And frankly, that's been the destabilizing kind of immigration.

He's talking about, look, is it -- do we want to go after illegals? Yes. But people that are at work being productive are less of a concern than people that are, you know, running the black market, illicit finance, sex trafficking, human trafficking, drug trafficking operations in the United States. So, I think it's a prioritization, not a -- not a signal for amnesty.

BERMAN: I don't know, he just -- he said in his original statement here, those jobs are almost impossible to replace. Changes are coming. It seems like he was suggesting sort of backing off those targets.

DAVIDSON: Well, look, I think the base is very clear. They -- they want what they -- what President Trump campaigned on, which is, you know, no illegals. And we can't let this train be derailed. I don't think the president's going to do it. And I think the party is going to stand united behind President Trump.

We -- we -- we want an end to the illegal immigration. And it's hard to have a conversation about legal immigration until we resolve the problems with the illegal immigration.

BERMAN: Congressman --

DAVIDSON: You know, and there -- there is no support. If you look at the ancillary policies, like counting citizens in the census so that congressional maps are reflective of U.S. citizens, you know, I represent Americans. If you're not an American, I'll help you find an embassy or a consulate, but you're represented by an ambassador, not by a member of Congress. That -- that kind of thing, if we could work on that, then we could start having some other conversations. Birthright citizenship. If neither of your parents are a U.S. citizen, you shouldn't be a U.S. citizen. You might be able to have a path to citizenship if you were born here, but if -- if no one in your -- if neither parent is a citizen, I think those kinds of things need to be resolved before even talking about some of the things that you're trying to allude to.

BERMAN: Like -- it was -- it was -- I was reading out loud a statement from President Trump that he made over the weekend.

DAVIDSON: Yes.

BERMAN: And in terms of birthright citizenship, we'll see what the Supreme Court has to say about that.

Congressman Warren Davidson, nice to see you this morning. Thank you for your time, as always.

New this morning, staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency left shocked after the agency tells them to stop enforcing violations against oil and gas companies.

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[09:48:05] SIDNER: New this morning, CNN as learned the Environmental Protection Agency has given a new directive that has stunned some staffers, telling some employees to stop enforcing violations against fossil fuel companies.

CNN's Rene Marsh has more on this story.

This is stunning because the EPA's whole job is to protect the environment. What are you learning?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, I've been talking to EPA sources across the country and learned that the people who are supposed to police industry for environmental violations, in one of the EPA's most industrialized regions in the Midwest, plagued by a legacy of pollution, those enforcement officials have been directed to leave the oil and gas industry alone. That's according to four EPA sources. They say that the directive was given verbally, and it means that they haven't been able to issue violations or even request information from fossil fuel companies who they suspect are in violation.

And in other parts of the country, like EPA's region six, which oversees states like Texas and Louisiana, where oil and gas production is pretty plentiful, sources there say many of their cases are at a standstill. While they can still issue notices of violation there, one source says that they're not getting any direction to move forward with those cases.

We should point out, early EPA data shows that the number of enforcement cases initiated or closed across all industries has dropped some 32 percent during this administration, compared to the first three months of the Biden administration. That's according to analysis from an environmental watchdog, Environmental Integrity Project.

We should note, you know, Sara, we've seen Republican administrations ease up on regulations, but these employees say this is unprecedented. This is the carving out for one industry to essentially tell staff not to enforce these environmental laws that are on the books.

We should point out, we reached out to EPA and they say that inspections and enforcement continues within the energy industry.

[09:50:05]

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, that is a significant change.

Rene Marsh, thank you so much for the great reporting on this story for us this morning.

All right, up ahead, his chances for a win seemed all but over after bogeying his first six holes. What happened after the rain at the open that saw J.J. Spaun come back in spectacular fashion to win the 125th U.S. Open. That story, ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, what an absolute stunner of an ending at the U.S. Open.

[09:55:02]

J.J. Spaun with one of the best putts you will ever see. Ever. Like, ever.

CNN's Patrick Snell live with all the details.

Patrick, this was something.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Oh, and I mean ever. Incredible. Hits -- a putt for the ages. It was absolutely incredible to witness. Why take two putts to win the -- your first major title when you can take one? Incredible scenes. And he did it on Father's Day, too, with his much-loved family watching it all.

After his round, I asked him what was his mindset as he sized up the putt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.J. SPAUN, CALIFORNIA NATIVE WINS 125TH U.S. OPEN: I think that's the best thing you can do in such a high-intense pressure situation is just to try to dumb it down to get you to feel comfortable and to, you know, still -- still want to perform how you'd like. But the expectation can make things even more tough. So, to -- to have a little fun with it and have a -- a nice little kind of thought before I ended up hitting the putt I think could have been the key.

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SNELL: Yes, what a way to win your first major title, as I say. The 125th U.S. Open as well. An incredible, iconic putt for the ages. We'll be talking about this one for decades to come, I'm quite sure. Amazing stuff.

Back to you.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, even more so because no one was making any shots over the four days. All of a sudden it was such a great shot to win it.

Patrick Snell, great to see you there. Glad you got to see it in person.

SIDNER: So excited. I love seeing how excited Patrick is about this.

BERMAN: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: But the winner, amazing comeback.

BERMAN: Amazing. SIDNER: All right, thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next.

Thank you, John.

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