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Trump Arrives At Camp David Ahead Of His Cabinet Meeting; Israel Says It Won't Withdraw If Hamas Doesn't Disarm; Cyber Defense Agency Warns Of Attacks On U.S. Water Systems. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 31, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

CARI CHAMPION, JOURNALIST: They have always felt like something was going on here, and there are plenty of issues that need to be resolved. And I think what's happening right now, again, in real time, will force change, change that has been a long time coming and wanted.

[11:00:01]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Cari Champion helping us better understand what's going on. Thank you very, very much.

And the next hour of The Situation Room starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING news.

BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm Wolf Blitzer, Pamela Brown is on assignment, you're in The Situation Room.

And we start with the breaking news, at any moment now President Trump will convene his full cabinet up at Camp David in Maryland. We have a live camera inside that room and we'll take you there once it begins. You're looking at live pictures, Marine One, the President's helicopter now landing at Camp David and the President will be moving over to the cabinet meeting that's coming up.

It all comes as the President is facing pressure on multiple fronts right now here in the United States as well as abroad. First when it comes to national security, the skies over Iran were relatively quiet overnight. But this morning U.S. officials are sounding the alarm on a potential new front in the conflict, cyberattacks targeting America's water systems. Investigators have not officially determined who's responsible but they are treating Iran as a possible suspect.

At the same time, President Trump has announced a potential breakthrough in Gaza. Hamas reportedly has agreed to disarm in a brand new deal that would potentially pave the way for a new Palestinian government in Gaza. And here at home, the President is fiercely defending his pick for Attorney General of the United States as he faces a revolt from his own party. The fight is over the Department of Justice's nearly $2 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund.

Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, says the fund is dead but Republican Senate holdouts want that in writing before they confirm him for the job permanently. We have a team of CNN correspondents with all the late-breaking reporting. Kristen Holmes is at the White House. Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem. And cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas is here with me in The Situation Room. Kristen, let me start with you. Todd Blanche is expected to be at this Cabinet meeting at Camp David starting any moment now. What's the President saying, the latest he's saying about Todd Blanche's nomination to become the permanent attorney general?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, and Wolf, I do want to note that President Trump Marine One just landed down in Camp David, so we'll see him going into that room, likely see the beginning of that Cabinet meeting in just a few moments. But President Trump has been railing against these Republican senators who he says are standing in the way of the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. One thing to keep in mind here is that Todd Blanche, he could, because he's been confirmed, remain in this acting position through the rest of President Trump's terms.

That's not something that he wants, and the White House wants to deliver this official position for him. And now we see President Trump first yesterday saying he's willing to withdraw Blanche's nomination until after the November midterms, when Cornyn and Tillis, the Republicans who are really balking at his -- putting it through, are out of office. But of course, that leaves a lot of room for error, just given the fact that these midterm polls are so close, and there's a likelihood that Republicans will not win back the Senate. So this is the only shot they have.

Now President Trump, on Truth Social, attacking John Cornyn of Texas, somebody who, part of the reason it seems as though Cornyn has been so emboldened to vote against President Trump and to step up against President Trump is the fact that President Trump himself primaried him. He endorsed his opponent in Texas.

So here's what President Trump said this morning as these negotiations between the Department of Justice and the White House and Todd Blanche are all happening. He says, he's talking first about that, "weaponization fund." He says, I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back, talking about in part January 6th, and those offenders, for what they were forced to endure. Their lives have been ruined. Millions of people agree with me, and so did John Cornyn until he lost his election to an opponent that I endorsed. Todd Blanche, a good man, should be immediately approved as U.S. attorney general.

I mean, there is quite a bit in there that's incorrect, which is that there was a widespread revolt over this weaponization fund. It was not just John Cornyn who is saying now he won't do this. There was Republican senators, Democratic senators, even members of the public who were outraged over this. There was a huge political blowback. They want that in writing. As you noted, there's also a lot of terms of this IRS settlement that they wanted to work through, the settlement that basically said that the IRS would not go and do any kind of investigation or charges against President Trump or his family.

They want some real details there, bullet points to see through. It seems to me, from the conversations I'm having that aren't President Trump, that these negotiations are going well, that the White House is optimistic, that they feel like the deal is within reach and they're going to be able to get Blanche confirmed. But President Trump, as we know, he does his own thing and he's going to continue to kind of bluster and put this out there that he's in control of the situation, when right now, you know, Cornyn and Tillis have a lot of power, given that they don't really need President Trump in this moment.

[11:05:21]

BLITZER: As you know, Kristen, President Trump also announced a potential diplomatic breakthrough in Gaza with a, "historic agreement to disarm Hamas." What is he saying about this?

HOLMES: Yes, I mean, this is a huge celebration for him, a huge win. We're still trying to get through all of the details. They are saying essentially that this would pave the way, it would be a critical first step in reestablishing or beginning to form a new government in that region. It's unclear who has actually signed off on this. We've gotten kind of mixed feedback from it. But President Trump says that this is in place and that this is going to be moving forward. Again, really the next step to after months after he declared this kind of ceasefire between Israel and Gaza in that war.

BLITZER: All right, Kristen Holmes reporting for us. Thank you, Kristen, very much.

I want to go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond right now. He's in Jerusalem. Jeremy, Hamas says this deal is contingent on Israel first upholding its side of this ceasefire agreement. What is Israel now saying?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf. I mean, let's make no mistake. This is a significant milestone here. For months, there have been negotiations between the Board of Peace and Hamas trying to get Hamas to agree to a specific plan to disarm, to give up its weapons and hand them over to another organization. And now, after months of negotiations, Hamas has indeed agreed to this. They've put out a statement.

I also spoke with a senior Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, who said that this was a difficult decision, but one that they ultimately decided to take. And he made clear, though, that none of this disarmament process will begin until Israel upholds its commitments under this ceasefire agreement. And that includes Israel actually ceasing fire.

Since the ceasefire came into effect nearly 10 months ago, we've seen nearly daily Israeli airstrikes. More than 1,200 people have been killed. Hamad also said that Hamas needs to see Israel actually pull its troops back to the yellow line as it was agreed to in October, not the territory that it has encroached upon over the course of the last several months, and also allowing for a surge of humanitarian aid.

Now, we haven't actually gotten an official response yet, comment from the Israeli government, from the Israeli prime minister. But an Israeli official did tell us that there will be no withdrawal of Israeli troops from the current yellow line until Hamas moves forward with the disarmament. And that's where we're already starting to see how difficult the next steps of this process actually will be.

Will Israel come into compliance with this agreement in order for that disarmament process to begin? U.S. and Board of Peace officials have made clear that this is a phased agreement, and it does require one side, including Israel, to take steps before the other side can move forward with its side of the agreement. And so a lot of difficult road certainly lies ahead, but again, a very big step in this process that could potentially lead to much more peace and prosperity in Gaza than we've seen over the last several years. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Jeremy Diamond reporting for us. Thank you very, very much.

CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas is here with me in The Situation Room. And Sean, I know you have some new reporting this morning about some worrisome cyberattacks on U.S. water systems. What more are you learning? I'm really concerned about this.

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, so the problem with the water sector and other critical infrastructure sectors in the U.S. is they leave too much of their sensitive computer systems online, the types of computers that monitor water pressure and other safety parameters at water systems. And what happened here is that someone, possibly Iran, not confirmed yet, but someone earlier this week carried out this sort of sweeping cyberattack across potentially six states.

The epicenter was sort of in Minnesota, where we had 30 water systems affected. And the hackers are going in and sort of accessing some of these industrial machines and potentially causing safety issues. Now, we don't have any reports of contamination or anything like that. Things were safely shut down. And there's no threat to the -- immediate threat to the drinking water. But this really has U.S. officials alarmed.

FBI, EPA have been investigating all week and trying to run it down to determine to make sure that there's been no threat to the drinking water. In some cases, water utilities have advised folks to boil water briefly. But this is something that's been sort of brewing for a long time. You've got the Iran war, you have Iran threatened and weakened, and potentially Iran using their asymmetric capabilities over here to make us feel the pain.

[11:10:00]

BLITZER: So why are they suspecting, and the key word, suspecting Iran? They don't have any hard proof of that, at least not yet.

LYNGAAS: Some of the tactics match. They haven't put in the figure officially. They don't want to rule out a false flag or something like that. But given the geopolitical environment, it's the top suspect in many cases.

BLITZER: Could be very, if it's Iran doing this, could be very worrisome indeed. All right, thanks very, very much, Sean Lyngaas, reporting for us. We're watching and we're waiting for President Trump to begin his cabinet meeting up at Camp David. We're going to bring you that live. Stand by for that.

Plus, map mistakes. The State Department is now responding to backlash. After all the countries had identified on a map of Africa were labeled incorrectly, incorrectly by the State Department. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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[11:15:27]

BLITZER: We're standing by for President Trump's cabinet meeting up at Camp David in Maryland. But there's more news this morning coming in as well. New questions emerging about an agreement that President Trump says his Board of Peace reached for the complete disarmament of Hamas in Gaza. Disarming Hamas is a critical part of his so-called multi-phase peace plan to end the war in the enclave and set up a technocratic government there. A senior Hamas official confirmed the agreement to CNN but said Israel must first uphold certain obligations under the October ceasefire deal.

Joining us here in the Situation Room is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Brett McGurk. He's a former Middle East and North Africa coordinator for the National Security Council. Also with us, CNN Global Affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. She was Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary in the Biden administration. Brett, I know you've met over the years face-to-face, occasionally with Hamas before. How real do you sense this deal actually is?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think it's a -- I would -- it's going to be hard to implement, but it's significant. Because the one thing Hamas never wants to even mention is that it's willing to give up power in Gaza. It's whole -- it wants to stay in power in Gaza, wants to retain control of the population. What's important that's happened in the last really six months is you now have a U.N. Security Council resolution. It's not just Trump's plan. It's a U.N. Security Council resolution.

The first paragraph says, Hamas has to disarm, give up power in Gaza, which is a precondition to peace between Israelis and Palestinians if you want any horizon. Hamas cannot remain in charge of Gaza. So the fact that they're even saying they're prepared to do this, and you're going to have sequencing issues, Wolf, what does Israel have to do first, what does Hamas have to do, that's kind of standard fare. But I've talked to a lot of folks in the region who are working this, and Nikolay Mladenov is someone I've worked with for years.

He kind of has point on this, former defense minister, former minister of Bulgaria. It seems like this has some potential to move forward. It's going to be a long road. We have, as you know, Israel elections coming up in October. This will be a political issue. And Hamas at the end of the day does not want to disarm. It will do everything to try to retain its power. And Iran is also in the background here. They do not want to see, I just know from working on these issues, the last thing they wanted to see is Hamas out of power in Gaza.

So I would say some ways to go, but not an insignificant step here. And I think it's worth everybody wants this to get on a better track than we do. Hamas out of power in Gaza is a key precondition. This is the road map. Everybody should get behind it.

BLITZER: Yes. Let's see if that happens. You know, Sabrina, a Hamas senior official, a senior official says the group will only disarm if Israel stops firing in Gaza, if Israel withdraws its troops to what's called this new yellow line, allows more humanitarian aid in, among other conditions it's putting forward. Do you suspect Israel will permit that?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: So this is sort of what Brett was talking about with the sequencing. The sequencing is going to play a big role in who goes first and sort of like who blinks. I think what Brett was saying is completely right, though. This is a good deal if Hamas does agree to disarm. And there have been many negotiations over the past six months where Hamas did not agree to that.

So the fact that we are here today, the President rolled it out and announced it and said Hamas has agreed to disarm, that's a good thing. I saw your interview earlier with Israel. I mean, I think there's a lot of concern, of course, on their part. What does disarmament look like? So I think the sequencing is going to be a big factor here. I think larger into what Brett was also talking about, the Iran war looms over all of this. And with the political implications for Netanyahu in October's elections in Israel, there is a lot of things that Israel also has to think through. And I think the Iran war looming over everything in the region, it could complicate things.

BLITZER: Because in the interview I did in the last hour with Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, he said you can't trust Hamas. They say disarm. That means they would move their weapons from one warehouse to another warehouse. As far as Israel is concerned, he said, that is not disarming.

MCGURK: Well, that's not what the agreement calls for. So you have, you know, step by step here over the last six months, if you follow this closely like I do, you have a technocratic government has been established, going to come into Gaza eventually. You're talking about an international security force and the Israelis kind of withdrawing over time and in a conditions-based way. Again, it's the only way to try to do this.

I just go back to, well, this is going to be hard. Hamas is going to say this. Israel will say that. But everybody should get behind this. It's a U.N. Security Council resolution plan. And it is really the only path here to bring some relief to this awful, horrific situation we've been living with.

[11:20:05]

SINGH: And to that point, too, the President has a stake here. I mean, he wants a legacy of, you know, being known as a peacemaker. Now, obviously, a little complicated with the war in Iran. But I think him setting up this board of peace, and if this deal does go forward and delivers success for peace in Gaza, I mean, that is a big legacy item for him.

BLITZER: It would be a big deal.

SINGH: Yes.

BLITZER: And he thinks he would want the Nobel Peace Prize for that if that happens, if that happens. It would be a big deal. Sabrina, let me get your thoughts on the stories that we were reporting. These hackers have apparently targeted water system supplies in several states, including Minnesota. A coordinated cyberattack, they say, and there is suspicion, suspicion Iran could be responsible for this. What do you think?

SINGH: Well, when I saw the reporting, I mean, that's something that we were concerned about. I know Brett and I had talked about it as well. The cyber capabilities of Iran, I mean, from what's being reported, it was 30 municipal water systems that were hacked in Minnesota. And that was just to set off, you know, setting off certain passwords, changing them.

It was more, I think, to scare Americans. But that also shows that Iran has infiltrated our cyber systems and that we are vulnerable. And I think that was always a big concern. And certainly at the Pentagon, when I was there, the cyber capabilities that Iran retains are significant, and they haven't really turned them on in the war that much. So this is one more instance of them doing that, impacting Americans, Minnesotans at home.

BLITZER: So let me get your thoughts, Brett. Just how escalatory, potentially, could this be if Iranian hackers were involved?

MCGURK: I'd like to learn a little more, but it's a glimpse of the future of war, drones, cyber. Iran, it's not surprising, I'm sure they've been trying to do this. If they actually were successful here, we'll have to see. But you know, Iran is in total war mode, Wolf, against the United States. You have to consider that. After their leadership was eliminated, they have basically, the hardliners have consolidated power under the Revolutionary Guards.

They are not willing to make any concessions at the table. I think we've learned that very clearly over the last month as the MOU fell apart. And they're in total war mode. So they're going to keep these ballistic missile attacks, drone attacks. Sometimes you'll have a modus vivendi diplomatically. I think we have to continue to work the diplomatic track. But I'm sure they're trying to get into our networks and our systems.

By the way, this is like a chronic thing. I mean, those folks who work this issue every day in cyber command in the NSA, we are constantly at threat from the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians. This is an ongoing thing. So we'll have to learn more here. If they actually got into our system, that's obviously deeply concerning. But it's not surprising. That's what they're trying to do. BLITZER: It's one thing to get into the system. It's another thing to poison the water. God forbid if that were to happen. All right, thanks very much. Don't go too far away. We may need you to discuss what happens at this cabinet meeting. We're standing by for that. All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Also happening now, the State Department is explaining how a map that incorrectly labeled six African countries ended up at an international AIDS conference presentation from the State Department. The map had major mistakes, like identifying coastal Nigeria as being landlocked. Right now, you're seeing the incorrect map that was shown this week in Brazil, closer analysis from Reuters also found that the image had a watermark suggesting it was made with open A.I. tools.

The State Department spokesperson says, and I'm quoting now, "An unfortunate error caused by a team member who hastily altered the slide deck immediately before the presentation at the AIDS 2026 conference. We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners."

[11:23:51]

Up next, terrifying twister, new video showing a tornado rip the roof off a business that's ahead. And we're also standing by, of course, for President Trump's cabinet meeting up at Camp David, set to begin any moment now. We'll go inside that cabinet meeting. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: We're standing by for President Trump's cabinet meeting. He's up at Camp David. He got there just a little while ago. He's going to be having a full scale cabinet meeting. We'll have live coverage of that coming up.

But in the meantime, there's other news we're following this morning. Happening now in Arizona, the Pima County Sheriff's Department says hair found inside Nancy Guthrie's home has now been tested and does not point to a suspect in her abduction. The sheriff told our Tucson affiliate KGUN that he has, "All the confidence of the world that authorities will find the suspect." The FBI is still asking for any information on Guthrie's disappearance. You can contact the Bureau at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

And the FDA is recalling Greenwise frozen blueberries and mixed berries because of possible E. coli contamination. These packages are sold at Publix grocery stores and come in both 10 and 48 ounce sizes. The FDA says if you bought them, do not, repeat, do not eat them.

[11:29:55]

And shocking new video out of Maryland right now, a tornado rips a metal roof off a business. The EF1 twister touched down for about 800 feet with peak winds of 100 miles per hour.