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Senate Panel Expected to Grill Blanche on $1.8 Billion Fund for Trump Allies; U.S. Launches New Wave of Strikes on Iran This Morning; ICE Pausing Most Traffic Stops After Deadly Shootings. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 15, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are standing by for the most anticipated hearing of the summer. Can Todd Blanche convince wary senators, including Republicans, he should be confirmed as attorney general amid new questions about his roles in the Epstein investigation and the prosecution of the president's political enemies?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a major reversal in ICE tactics after the deadly shootings in Texas and Maine. But the border czar is warning this is a pause, not a policy change.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, a desperate search after a deadly boating accident near Alcatraz. Three people still missing this morning in those frigid, choppy waters off San Francisco. We're following the latest developments there.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, Todd Blanche is staring in the face of tough questions and a razor-thin margin. We are standing by for hearings to see if the acting attorney general can earn confirmation for the full-time gig. The loss of a single Republican vote in the committee could stall the nomination.

And there are Republican votes in the balance over several issues, including Blanche's initial backing of a $1.8 billion fund that many believe would go to the president's political allies. Blanche has said the administration is not pushing it anymore, but Republican Thom Tillis is demanding that that be codified by a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): The underlying issue is the 1.776 fund needs to go away.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could you vote against him if he does not handle that question appropriately tomorrow?

TILLIS: Yes. I've said that the 1.776 fund has to be certainly and completely ended for me to feel comfortable with moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So other subjects sure to arise, Blanche's handling of the Epstein files. Remember, former Attorney General Pam Bondi basically pointed the finger at Blanche saying, he ran the show there. There was his controversial interview with Ghislaine Maxwell and her subsequent move to a less restrictive minimum security federal prison, also his role in the prosecution of some of the president's political enemies. Kate?

BOLDUAN: John's laying out some of the major controversial and big moments and things that Todd Blanche has kind of found himself at the center of. But what is he going to be in today? The hot seat.

Joining us right now is CNN Senior Legal Analyst, former Assistant U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York Elie Honig.

BOLDUAN: Els, John's laying out -- John laid out a lot of the important issues that Todd Blanche is going to face questions on. But what do you think the most important questions are that he really should be asked?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Kate, there's so many issues that Todd Blanche will be faced with today, and John, of course, highlighted some of the more obvious scandals that he will be confronted on.

But I think the biggest overarching question for Todd Blanche today is, how do you see the Justice Department with respect to the president? Do you believe the Justice Department should act independently and use its prosecutorial powers independently, or do you think DOJ should be a political arm of the president following the president's orders?

And Todd Blanche, frankly, has squarely contradicted himself on that exact question. At times he has publicly said, we are here to uphold the traditional longstanding independence of DOJ. We do the right thing. We don't do anyone's political bidding. Other times he has said, it's a good thing that the president tells us what to do, and we don't exist separate from the president. So, I think that's the largest overarching thematic question that Blanche needs to face today.

BOLDUAN: And when it comes to that also, Elie, it's like words and actions, or words and practices, you know, can also be in contradiction because you can imagine that, especially take a Thom Tillis, who at this point he's like, I'm not going to take your word for it anymore.

HONIG: Well, I think that's a great point, and there has been a disconnect over the last year-and-a-half while Blanche has been deputy A.G. and then acting A.G. between the things he says and the things he does. For example, Blanche has said that there was no presidential involvement in the indictments of Jim Comey or Letitia James, yet we can all see the public statements by the president calling for those exact prosecutions.

Also, if you look at, for example, the 1.776 Anti-Weaponization slush fund, you know, Blanche has backed away from that. He has said, we will not pursue it. But as Senator Tillis was saying, that's not enough. Senator Tillis, and I think others, will expect him to commit that it will not come back.

[07:05:00]

And Blanche has never been questioned and pushed on, do you still stand by this as a good idea? Who came up with this idea? Why did you ever think this would be a good idea? So, yes, he's had a lot of rhetoric out there, but it's never really been drilled down on, and I expect the senators of both parties to do that today.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's going to be quite a moment in the morning for him to be facing these questions.

It's good to see you, Elie. Thank you so much. Elie is going to be part of our special coverage for this. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Kate.

Breaking this morning, the U.S. military unleashing a brand-new wave of strikes on Iran. Central Command says they are intended to keep Iran from attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. They follow strikes overnight as President Trump re-imposed a naval blockade on Iran. Dozens of military targets near the strait were hit. The Iranian Army says at least seven military personnel were killed overnight, and Tehran claims 30 civilians were also killed in U.S. strikes in recent days.

Iran retaliating, striking U.S. allies in the region, launching missiles at Jordan and drone attacks on Kuwait.

That's terrifying.

President Trump is threatening to strike Iranian infrastructure, bridges, and power plants, as he did early on. He says that's going to happen next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations, and he is not ruling out U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ruling out a ground campaign in a limited capacity?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I don't want to say that either. But I would say no if I thought it was appropriate. I'd say sometimes you need a ground campaign, but we have other people that will do the ground campaign for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Betsy Klein joins me now from the White House. A little confusing there who the other people would be to do a ground campaign for them, but what are you learning this morning about all of this, these new strikes and this back and forth?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Sara, a fourth consecutive night, now into a fifth day of U.S. strikes against Iran, as President Trump makes very clear he is showing no signs of de- escalation. The Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare, remains at the center of this conflict. Iran targeting commercial vessels, and it has really become a key point of leverage for them.

Now, as a U.S.-imposed blockade of vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports gets underway, the U.S. launching this new wave of strikes, notably taking place in the daytime. CENTCOM saying in a statement moments ago, quote, at 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching a wave of strikes against Iran. The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

And then you just saw the president declining to rule out ground troops in that new interview with Fox News. The president also renewing threats to target civilian infrastructure. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to hit them very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after. And then next week, it gets really bad for them, because next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants, we're going to knock out all their bridges, unless they get to the table and negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, President Trump has been threatening attacks on critical infrastructure, like desalination plants, bridges, even Kharg Island, which is a key oil export hub throughout this conflict. But the president's strategy now, in his telling, is still to find a diplomatic solution. And as he ratchets up this rhetoric, he has said that his representatives have warned Tehran that they are trying not to target civilians, but they better make a deal, in his words, or they are not going to have anybody left.

Now, meanwhile at home, Senate Democrats making clear they are very unhappy with this conflict. They blocked the annual defense spending package, just underscoring the deepening divisions over this war. Sara?

SIDNER: Betsy Klein, thank you for your reporting there for us this morning from the White House. John?

BERMAN: All right, new video analysis from Maine where ICE killed a 26-year-old man. New questions about the lack of body cameras as ICE announces a major change in how they're going to handle traffic stops.

And breaking overnight, a deadly boat accident near Alcatraz, a vessel with nearly 20 people on board, you can see it taking on water there, capsizing, several people still missing.

And video from inside a train surrounded there by raging wildfire. So, what happened to those people inside?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

SIDNER: I'm going to give you some breaking news now. We just heard or saw President Trump making a post that just happened in the last hour. He says, we cannot give up one of ICE's most important and effective crime-fighting tools, the traffic stop.

Now, that's significant because it comes after a very different announcement from the border czar last night, who was on Fox. Tom Homan had said the agency would have a short pause on most traffic stops after one of their officers fatally shot a Colombian man in Maine on Monday. It was the second fatal shooting involving ICE agents within a week, coming just days after a Mexican man was killed in Houston.

[07:15:05]

Now, President Trump's border czar is describing the halt in traffic stops not as a complete stop to traffic stops, but as a, as he put it, short pause.

In both shootings, none of the agents involved wore body cameras, and officials are now saying that ICE does plan to equip each arrest team with an agent wearing a body camera.

Here's what CNN -- or, sorry, here is what Border Czar Tom Homan said about the slow rollout of body cameras.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: As soon as the train the trainer's done, the trainers will get the cameras and they'll deploy as quickly as possible.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: But don't you see that to be extremely urgent given right now.

HOMAN: It is urgent. We're -- they're moving as quickly as possible. As soon as they had funding, they bought them. As soon as they had funding, they bought them. If Democrats wouldn't have shut down the government, it would've been a lot quicker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. CNN's Maria Santana live in Bedford, Maine, where there is really growing anger after the death of the 26-year-old Colombian father.

Maria, what are you hearing there and what are you learning this morning? MARIA SANTANA, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, Sara. Good morning. Well, one of the biggest questions here in Biddeford remains exactly the same: what happened in the seconds before an ICE agent opened fire, killing 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero from Colombia? And the community here is still really grappling with that. They have been trying to demand answers. They have been trying to support this family.

We are here in this park very close by to where Duran Guerrero lived. There have been protests here the last several nights. And as you can see behind me, the community has left notes in solidarity with his family, asking for ICE to be abolished, to get out of their communities. Because, you know, Sara, more than two days later, there are still very few answers and details from the Department of Homeland Security over what led to this incident.

And a big part of the reason that that's the case is because the agents were not wearing body cameras, and the video from surveillance from witnesses that have been released, they really don't show those moments right before Duran Guerrero was shot. DHS has so, so far provided, you know, very few details about why the agent that discharged his weapon felt that he was in danger and why he believed that deadly force was necessary.

What they have confirmed is that Duran Guerrero was not the person that they were looking for, that he walked out of this apartment building that they were surveilling, waiting for another person who had a final order of deportation. They tried to stop his vehicle, and they said that when Guerrero tried to flee, that, in fear for the safety of the public, the agent began shooting.

Now, we have heard from DHS that traffic stops will be temporarily halted, Tom Homan said last night. Now, Trump is reversing that. Homan also saying that they are going to try to get one agent from every team on an enforcement operation equipped with a body camera.

But, you know, Sara, what we have also learned in the past day is that he was very well-liked, that he was a very hard worker, and we spoke to a witness who told us what kind of person Duran Guerrero was and how his family is doing. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISABEL PAREDES, NEIGHBOR OF JOAN SEBASTIAN DURAN GUERRERO: He was a hard worker. He dedicated himself to working and taking care of his wife and his daughter. He was very proud of her, of his family, and just all the hard work, you know?

And he just wanted to be here to make a better future for his family.

REPORTER: How's his family now?

PAREDES: They're too scared to talk to anyone. Many social groups are trying to reach out to them and assist them, providing food, money, legal assistance, anything like that, and they're scared, rightly so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTANA: And, you know, Sara, we verified Duran Guerrero's Facebook page. It is obvious the love and devotion that he felt for his family. Almost every post was about how proud he felt to have his little three-year-old girl and his wife.

Another post that struck out, I'll just quickly tell you, he commented on the shooting of Renee Good when somebody else posted about an agent that was receiving money through donations, and he wrote, he commented there, you know, sadly, here they pay to kill you, to kill a person. That was his comment.

SIDNER: Wow. Maria Santana, thank you so much for your reporting there for us from Maine. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, we just need someone who's not crazy. That is the line and what a White House official has told CNN about the search for the latest CDC director. Today, that pick faces her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.

And a rare moment of bipartisanship in Congress, about time. No, literally, it's about time.

[07:20:00]

What's next for the new push to make daylight savings permanent?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Very soon, the confirmation hearing begins for President Trump's latest pick to lead the CDC, a position that's been vacant for nearly a year. Dr. Erica Schwartz will be in the hot seat, a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer, she was also Trump's former deputy surgeon general during his first term.

She would be heading over to the CDC, though, at a time of great turmoil. I mean, this is an agency that's been rocked by budget and staff cuts and accusations of undue outside influence. The last CDC director was ousted after clashing with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., you'll remember, over vaccine policy. And one White House official said this to CNN about the search now for the new leader, quote, we just need someone who isn't crazy.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is tracking this one for us. I think we could say that for all of our lives. We just need to be led in all areas. We just need someone here at CNC who just isn't crazy. Now, what's expected today?

[07:25:00]

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean this, as you noted, has been a job that's been hard for people to hold down. I mean, Dr. Erica Schwartz now is the third official pick to lead this public health agency. If we look back on Trump's former picks, the first one, his nomination was pulled, Dr. David Weldon, the morning of his confirmation hearing over concerns that he wouldn't be confirmed because of some anti-vaccine views or perceived anti-vaccine views.

Then, of course, there's --

BOLDUAN: I actually had even forgotten about that one.

TIRRELL: Right?

BOLDUAN: Sorry, yes, keep going.

TIRRELL: So much has happened.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

TIRRELL: Dr. Susan Monarez then was confirmed about a year ago. She served for 29 days in the role of CDC director before being ousted, as you noted, over clashes with RFK Jr. over what she said was his demands that she sign off on vaccine policy from his chosen group of outside vaccine advisers before even seeing it. Now, he disputes that account, but, of course --

BOLDUAN: Other top people at CDC left in her wake over this as well.

TIRRELL: That's right. Several leaders left, and so there's been this vacuum at the top of the CDC.

Then some interim leaders were put in, Jim O'Neill first, the former head of leadership at HHS under RFK Jr. was then leading it. In February, he was replaced by the current NIH director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who has been in this acting CDC director role since February.

So, now, finally, we are getting to the point where hopefully they're going to put in this permanent director of the CDC, and she really is a person who has a more traditional public health background.

BOLDUAN: That's what I was going to say. What does her background suggest?

TIRRELL: That's right. So, she was the former surgeon general -- deputy surgeon general in Trump's first term. She is a physician. She has a public health background. She is really lauded by everybody who's worked with her, who's spoken publicly about her, and there's sort of cautious optimism from the public health world about her based on her credentials.

But where they are not optimistic is whether she'll actually be allowed to operate in this environment where we've seen so many people have so much trouble. The question I've heard from folks within public health is what is her red line going to be? If she has clashes with Secretary Kennedy, as we've seen with previous people in this role, how will she handle that? I think people are really looking forward to seeing how she handles this hearing today.

BOLDUAN: I think you present a very good question to ask, if a senator is listening today, for where is your red line when it comes to this kind of a thing. It's good to see you, Meg. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. The new social media curfew for teenagers, how will this late night ban actually work?

And the universe just got way sweeter. Astronomers detect signs of sugar in space. I'm confident this has major implications.

BOLDUAN: Major.

BERMAN: Major.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]