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CNN reported Wednesday morning (U.S. time) that during the 20-plus-hour flight President Donald Trump took from Washington D.C. to Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, he never once spoke to the press, which is unusual.

As the president landed in China ahead of his summit with Xi Jinping, Senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reported that a number of tech CEOs were on the plane with Trump while others took the overflow plane.

"So you see them now opening the door, John, and we'll wait and see how long President Trump takes to actually come out and greet everyone," continued Holmes. "He's been on a long flight and he didn't talk to the press at all, which is incredibly notable. A guy who loves talking to the press, particularly when he's on a 20-or-so-hour flight, he did not do that this time around."

Co-host Kate Bolduan keyed in on the comments and how unusual it was.

"That was actually going to be my question because I was — we of course, as we woke up to the news, you know, woke up to knowing that you guys were all flying over waiting and kind of expecting" Trump to speak to the press, Bolduan explained.

"Are we going to get some information or a gaggle, if nothing else, of the president?" the host asked.

Co-host John Berman returned to the matter in a later conversation, saying that Trump allowed his final remarks about Iran and America's economic situation to marinate in the political news.

Trump on Tuesday, before departing for China, told reporters he doesn't think "even a little bit" about Americans' financial situation when executing the war in Iran.

“The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump said Tuesday.

While Republicans have managed to make inroads in the Congressional maps for U.S. House of Representatives races, the U.S. Senate map is growing increasingly worse for the GOP.

Speaking to "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning, David Drucker addressed his recent Bloomberg piece, in which he recalled the 2018 elections during President Donald Trump's first term. In that case, Democrats gained 40 seats. However, that was before GOP states were allowed to redraw and gerrymander congressional lines and blue Virginia was not.

"But the Republican majority grew by two seats [in the Senate] because they picked up some seats in red states. So, even though the president wasn't doing well in red states, he was doing just fine," Drucker said. "And that's how this election was unfolding. Democrats are looking very good in the House still. Republicans [are] looking very good in the Senate except for a couple of places."

Things are changing as problems continue in the U.S. economy.

"What we are beginning to detect in my conversations with Republicans, which — who would, you know, to be clear, prefer this doesn't happen. Is that the playing field on the Senate map is becoming perilous for Republicans," Drucker continued. "Now, the reason why Democrats shouldn't jump for joy is because if they're going to have a good election on the Senate side, it's going to be in defined red territory."

Outside of Maine and North Carolina, gains must be made in reliably red states like Iowa, Ohio and others.

Co-host Joe Scarborough asked specifically about long-shot states like Iowa and Texas, which he called "fool's gold."

Drucker explained that Texas will be heavily contested, but agreed that it isn't as likely. Where things could change is in the Republican runoff on May 26.

What he called "super interesting" is Alaska. Drucker said that it's been a spot that Republicans have been concerned about since 2024. Former Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democrat, has already won the statewide race for the at-large congressional seat. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) appears to "know that," with a voting record that has evolved recently. He votes with the Trump administration 100 percent of the time, VoteHub showed.

Fellow Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted with Trump 90.8 percent of the time. Her numbers have been lower in the previous administration, closer to a 78 percent alignment with Trump. Whereas Sullivan has never dropped below 91 percent alignment.

Former FBI acting director Brian Driscoll told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper that he does not regret withholding the names of FBI officials targeted for firing because they were assigned to investigations involving President Donald Trump.

Driscoll was fired in August 2025 by FBI Director Kash Patel, following his resistance to demands to turn over names of agents. Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general at the time, charged Driscoll to produce a list of all FBI employees, some 6,000 names, but Driscoll instead submitted identification numbers that did not contain names.

Driscoll told CNN that when he asked Bove why he needed that list of employees, the response he got was that there was “cultural rot in the FBI.”

At that point Driscoll told Coope that he sent a bureau-wide email to all 38,000 FBI employees informing them of Bove’s request for additional names involved in January 6 investigations. Bove accused Driscoll of “insubordination” and sent out an email claiming without fact that “No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties.”

“Well, this is wrong and we're going to speak truth to power and I'm going to speak truth to you,” Driscoll told Cooper. “I'm not the smartest, I'm not the best agent ever in the bureau. I am certainly not the best investigator, the best at anything, and I have been around people better than me in every way, and I learned from all of them, and in those moments, I just need to leverage everything I had and give it back to them and I wouldn't change it. I don't regret it, and I'd do it again.”

But Driscoll, who had only recently been promoted to his new post, called the scenario of political targeting inside the FBI “a nightmare.”

“[You] have the weight of 38,000 people and the world's finest law enforcement organization on your shoulders, and you're watching it be compromised legally,” said Driscoll.

“The FBI was being compromised?” asked Tapper.

“One hundred percent,” Driscoll answered.

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Former U.S. Army Major Harrison Mann anticipates that President Donald Trump's "last-ditch effort" in Iran will fail.

Speaking to CNN, Mann detailed his expectations for Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, predicting the president will ultimately walk away empty handed.

"I'm expecting Trump to try another last-ditch effort to try and extricate himself from the mess he made in the Middle East," Mann said. "In the past weeks. He's kind of made appeals to China already to try and help open the Strait of Hormuz, to try and help pressure Iran. I think that's the remaining silver bullet he hasn't really tried yet."

Trump left Tuesday for China, where he will discuss the Iran war, tariffs and other matters. One Democratic strategist said on Tuesday morning he expects Trump to figure out some kind of deal he can negotiate with Xi Jinping so he can have a "win" of some sort.

Mann thinks that Trump will ultimately be "disappointed with the response" from the Chinese leader.

"There's a misconception that Trump has — and I think a lot of folks in DC do that — you know, China is a really close ally of Iran. And China can apply this leverage that will make Iran open the Strait," Mann continued. "It's true that they have a trade relationship that, from the Iranian perspective, China is a really important trade partner and oil importer. But China has tried to be a friend to everyone in the region."

Mann added that China also imports from Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. They also sell weapons to the two countries.

"A couple of years ago, China brokered a resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi and Iran. And so I think it's really unlikely that President Xi would decide to really weigh in heavily on Trump's side of this conflict or on any side at all," he explained.

CNN host Briana Keilar said that the only person who is really in control of ending the war is Trump himself.

"It's really up to him if he wants to pull the plug, though. I mean, that's in his power here," she said.

As Trump might say, he has no cards, Mann explained.

"When it comes to finding some resolution to the war with Iran, Trump is operating from a position of incredible weakness. And I, unfortunately, as an American who's bearing the costs of this war, he continues to be out of ideas. He continues to threaten to do the same thing over and over, whether it's bomb or some kind of war crimes. We already tried that. It didn't work. And he's going to try a kind of last-ditch diplomatic route as well," said Mann.

He said that his fear is that Trump will come out of the meeting with Xi having failed and see his only option "to start bombing again."

The economic situation, he predicted, will continue to get worse, and it will specifically hurt his own MAGA voters.

President Donald Trump admitted that Americans’ financial comfort is not at all on his mind as he walks into meetings with international spokespeople on the continuing Iranian situation.

Trump spoke with reporters during a scrum before departing to a meeting with international reps on improving the mess Trump created when he joined Israel in joint missile strikes against the nation of Iran.

That violence kicked off a retaliatory response from Iran by closing the Strait of Hormuz, and causing a uptick in global and U.S. fuel and grocery prices.

But Trump effortlessly acknowledged that the pain his strikes have caused to U.S. voters was not strong on his mind.

“Mr. President, what extent are Americans’ financial situation motivating you to make a deal [with Iran]” a reporter shouted just before the president walked away.

“Not even a little bit,” Trump immediately answered. “The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

This reaction will not likely garner happy thoughts from Americans suffering price increases at the pump nor Republicans who are facing a voter backlash from ailing voters in November.

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Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar (Cal.) clashed with Pentagon officials on Tuesday morning during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the president's 2027 budget and developments in the conflict with Iran.

Speaking with Secretary Pete Hegseth, Aguilar demanded details about the ceasefire. Hegseth refused to answer.

"How many pages is the ceasefire? How do we know the ceasefire is active or not active without any documentation?" the congressman asked.

"We know," Hegseth said. He then quickly added that it was "evident" the ceasefire was "in effect."

On Thursday last week, Iran launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats at the U.S. The U.S. then responded with what Trump referred to as "just a love tap," which were targeted strikes within Iran.

Those strikes prompted questions about whether the ceasefire was still in effect.

"So, we just trust the president that it's active or not active?" asked Aguilar.

"As you know, for the most part, a ceasefire means the fire is ceasing, and we know that has occurred while negotiations occur," replied Hegseth.

In an analysis, CNN correspondent Brian Todd called the back-and-forth "testy" and noted the ballooning costs of the Iran war.

"The controller, the acting controller of the Pentagon, Jay Hurst, just gave an updated figure of how much the war costs. He said it has cost about $29 billion so far. That is an updated figure from what he gave about a week and a half or so ago when he said it was $25 billion," said Todd.

Hurst told Aguilar that the costs have changed since the initial $25 billion request.

Sources have told CNN previously that it's a lowball figure and may not include the necessary construction costs from Iranian strikes of U.S. bases around the Middle East. That figure alone could be $25 to $50 billion and does not include the initial costs of the war.

Members of Congress demanded specifics on the budget as they're slated to go into markup of the additional costs by June 11. Both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have been asking for specifics from Hegseth on the budget for weeks. As of Tuesday's hearing, Hegseth still didn't have the line items.

Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) listed off the specifics she wanted from Hegseth in the budget, including cost adjustments for fuel, maintenance for the ships that have been deployed to the Strait of Hormuz for the past several months, the munitions costs, rebuilding the U.S. bases and several others.

President Donald Trump is heading to China looking for a political win, but a CNN panel Tuesday said the real problem is that he’s carrying a long list of losses. As prices rise and voters increasingly blame him for the economy, even Republicans are starting to feel the backlash, leaving Trump desperate for a headline-grabbing deal he can sell as proof he still has control.

"Just the idea that people are saying he's not going in to say 'do this,'" said CNN host Audi Cornish. "He's going in, maybe to say, 'What can you do?'"

Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said that the only thing Trump wants is a "big headline."

"That's the only thing he wants to come back with: a big super deal that he can say he orchestrated, that he's responsible for," said Rocha.

The reason, Rocha explained, is that the electorate is blaming Trump for all of their economic problems.

"Whether it is right or wrong, they equate that," he added.

CNN's poll released on Tuesday delves into specifics beyond Americans' attitudes toward Trump. It showed that Republicans are also blaming Trump for their economic woes.

"And I think you're seeing this in lots of different places," Rocha said. "And there's one thing this ain't just because of Trump. When you're the party in power, you get a lot of responsibilities. You have a lot of responsibilities. The American people going — they don't know everything about the inner workings of the government, but they know you're in charge, and things got more expensive."

He recalled that President Joe Biden got blamed for the tough economy as well, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Guess who gets blamed now? Donald Trump. He's like the dog who caught the car," Rocha said.

Sabrina Singh, former deputy Pentagon press secretary under Biden, said that Trump came in on this promise of making everything more affordable but has done the opposite.

"I think a lot of what Democrats are going to ask voters to ask themselves is, is your life better off today than it was two years ago or four years ago?" she asked.

Senior CNN reporter Aaron Blake noted that in years past, Republicans have had the edge from Americans who have more faith in what they can do on the economy. For the first time since President Barack Obama's era, Democrats are getting better marks on the affordability crisis.

Republican Ashley Davis, a former official in President George W. Bush's administration, asked if Democrats had any ideas to fix things and said all they do is blame Trump for everything.

Singh explained that Democrats were never for the policies that are hurting the economy, like Trump's huge, sweeping tariffs, the Iran war and other problems.

Cornish said that Democrats may be blaming Trump, but there are very clear specifics.

"I don't know if they can take advantage of it, but I do think there is something to her point. Unlike the vibe session, where it's like, oh, covid quarantine, something mismanagement, people can be like, remember the day Trump came out with a big sign that said, here are the tariffs. And the market went like this," Cornish said, pointing down. "Remember the day Trump launched strikes here and the market went like this? Remember the day — they have a specific key, easy-to-digest points of origin."

Davis tried to pivot to the gas tax holiday and Trump's decision to support it. Cornish questioned the reality of anything Trump promises because he never delivers.

"Look at how little this Congress has passed? I'm not holding my breath, but I also know the president has, many times said, 'I'm going to give you $2,000. I'm going to give you $2000.' So I'm wondering where this moves from float to exist," Cornish said.

As President Donald Trump continues to flub his handling of the main issue currently motivating voters, CNN reported that "cracks are starting to show" in his own base, per the findings of their new poll, which found a notable decline in his support from Republicans.

During the Tuesday morning broadcast of CNN's News Central, host Katie Bolduan shared the findings from the network's latest poll on voter sentiments pertaining to the economy. The findings, she explained, reinforced the "deep anxiety" over the cost of living that voters have been venting about for months, much to Trump's annoyance, marking another blow to what was once considered his issue, the one many believe got him reelected in the first place.

"The numbers revealing a deep anxiety about affordability," Bolduan said. "That word and growing warning signs for President Trump. Seventy-three percent describing economic conditions right now, today, as poor in the country. That's not a good outlook on what was once considered, of course, President Trump's strongest issue. His approval rating on the economy has fallen to a new career low [of 30 percent]. Americans are worried, full stop are worried, full stop, worried about paying their bills, especially surprise ones."

Roughly two-thirds of the poll respondents said that they could not "comfortably afford" an emergency expense of $1,000.

"On this most central issue of just being able to pay for everyday life, cracks are starting to show among the president's base," she added.

"Me and my husband work 12-hour days, 5 to 6 days a week, and we have to decide if we're going to buy groceries or pay for gas," one respondent, a Republican woman in her 20s living in Ohio, told CNN.

"I don't know how anyone from my generation will ever do anything except rent," another respondent, a Republican man in his 20s living in Georgia, added.

CNN's Washington bureau chief, David Chalian, said that this "bleak" and "pessimistic" outlook for the economy has been holding steady for "five years running now," ever since the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"And even while some structural things of the economy are strong, people are not feeling it in terms of what they're paying and in terms of their feeling secure in their personal economy," Chalian explained. "You noted that a top-line approval number for Trump's handling of the economy, 30 percent approve. That is a record low across his entire time in public life. As you suggested, this used to be one of his strong suits. He used to outperform his approval rating on the issue of the economy.

He continued: "That is a low. And why this matters, economy and cost of living, 55 percent of respondents in our poll say that is the most important issue facing the country. Do you see here? Nothing else comes even close to it. This is where the majority of Americans are in terms of importance of issues in their mind."

Chalian showed a ranking of issues along with the percentage of respondent who called it their top issue. The economy topped the list at 55 percent, trailed distantly by concerns about the health of democracy at 19 percent. Other issues like immigration, healthcare and crime did not top two digits.

Chalian also noted that Trump had fallen below 50 percent approval in his own party for his handling of gas prices, something he was not able to recall ever happening before.

President Donald Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is in potentially hot water because he “doesn’t want to be held accountable” for the failures of his wars, according to a senator currently in Hegseth’s crosshairs.

“I think it comes down to the fact that he doesn't want to be held accountable,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said to MS NOW’s Jake Tapper in response to a question about why Hegseth is investigating him. “They've expended an enormous amount of munitions, and I think the only investigation we need — the one we need right now — is: after 15,000 strikes, all we got out of this is 13 dead Americans. We have the Strait of Hormuz closed, gas prices in Arizona are $4.80 a gallon and seem to be heading up.”

He added, “And we have a Secretary of Defense who is not only ill-prepared, unprepared, and unqualified for this job — he doesn't want to be held accountable for the actions.”

Earlier in the interview Kelly explained that “munitions are depleted” as Americans go through weapons like Tomahawks, ATACMs, SM-3s and Patriot rounds. For this reason, the Iran war does not appear to be as easily winnable to the Trump administration as its earlier foray into Venezuela. These were not Kelly’s first criticisms of Hegseth’s defense policies; he is also being targeted for prosecution by Trump and Hegseth for participating in an advertisement urging service members not to follow illegal orders.

“Nothing I said was classified,” Kelly explained when describing the Trump administration’s harsh reaction to his criticisms. “We had this discussion in an open hearing. When you are going to hit 15,000 targets, you're going to use a lot of munitions — things coming off of airplanes, missiles being shot. You know, they're responding with ICBMs, which we have to take out with air defense systems. It's not classified. I mean, 15,000 strikes consume an enormous amount. And by the way, he's asking for $25 to $50 billion to replenish these munitions, and he said it's going to take years. So again, what he's trying to avoid is accountability. This thing is not going the way they expected.”

Kelly continued, “They went into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline. Now they have no exit strategy and they're flailing. And when somebody like me starts asking questions — whether I make a point on a show like yours or in an open hearing — they don't want to give specific answers. Because at this point, they probably realize they've made a number of mistakes.”

Finally Kelly told “The Lead with Jake Tapper” that he is suing Trump’s administration for violating his First Amendment rights because “this is not about me. This is about 2 million retired service members. And for anybody who listened to that hearing last week, one of the really interesting parts was at the end when Pete Hegseth's lawyer — which is a DOJ lawyer — said that if any service member like myself, who served 20 or 25 years in the military, wants their First Amendment rights, they should give up their retirement, give up their pension, give up their healthcare, and then they would be free to speak out. How un-American is that?”

In addition to suing the government for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights, Kelly is also reaping political hay from being targeted by the administration. According to a recent report by Politico, “Kelly has turned his fight with Trump into a fundraising windfall, raking in a staggering $25 million-plus over the last six months even though he’s not on the ballot this year. And he’s leveraged the media attention into a megaphone while growing his online following. Regardless of how the appeals court rules, the case is likely to end up before the Supreme Court either just before the congressional midterms or in the months after, as candidates sharpen their 2028 message over Trump’s improper and potentially illegal use of the military.”

Kelly is not alone in being outraged about Hegseth’s prosecution. Earlier this month former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told The New York Times that “this week, I heard something that shocked me. In a federal appeals court … the secretary of defense argued that military retirees were subject to freedom of speech restrictions because of their connection to the military, and that if they didn’t like those restrictions, retirees could forfeit their pension and benefits. Let that sink in.”

He added, “The Trump administration expects the people who have put their lives on the line for America to cede one of their basic rights, or forfeit the retirement pay and benefits they have earned over decades of service.”

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A Republican lawmaker has been caught on tape agreeing to a racist remark directed at House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in which he was referred to as having "cotton-picking hands."

Jeffries, the House Minority Leader since taking over from Nancy Pelosi, has been outspoken in response to the Virginia Supreme Court's latest ruling, shooting down a new congressional map designed to create four new Democratic seats. The effort, approved by the state's voters in a special ballot measure, was undertaken in order to counteract gerrymandering campaigns done in red states at the behest of President Donald Trump, with the aim of rigging the 2026 midterms in their favor.

Jen Kiggans is a Republican representative for Virginia, who on Monday appeared on the latest episode of the "Richmond Morning News" podcast with host Rich Herrera. During the interview, Herrera made a comment about Jeffries, a New York representative and a black man, staying out of Virginia politics, and included a phrase with racist origins.

"If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing," Herrera said. "Leave New York, move down here to Virginia, run for office down here. You could represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia."

"That's right, ditto," Kiggans said. "Yes, yes to that."

Virginia Democrats, opting against a nuclear option, have appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to have the new map reinstated. The court previously allowed California's pro-Democratic new district map, also passed by voters via ballot measure, to proceed against a GOP lawsuit, though that suit's reasoning alleged that the map was an unlawful racial gerrymander. The lawsuit that tanked the Virginia map, meanwhile, argued that proper procedures were not followed.

Despite the setback in Virginia, Jeffries this week remained confident that Democrats will retake the House in the midterms, albeit by a slimmer margin than they had hoped. Other election experts and observers have reached a similar conclusion, while also noting that the Senate majority is also increasingly in play.

"We remain undeterred," Jeffries wrote in a letter to his Democratic colleagues. "The cost of living is out of control, grocery bills are skyrocketing, gas prices are surging, healthcare has been ripped away from millions and a reckless war of choice is raging in the Middle East. Donald Trump is deeply unpopular and Republicans have failed to make life better for the American people. Instead of changing direction, GOP extremists are scheming to change the electoral composition of districts throughout the country.

He continued: "Republicans only hold a three-seat majority in the House of Representatives. This is the narrowest margin of any party since 1930. During Donald Trump’s first midterm election in 2018, House Democrats flipped 40 seats. To take control this Fall, we only need to flip a fraction of that total. That is why right-wing extremists have been in full panic mode since they passed their historically unpopular One Big Ugly Bill last July. Our effort to forcefully push back against the Republican redistricting scheme will not slow down. We are just getting started."

Scott Jennings, the resident MAGA Republican pundit at CNN, was backed into a corner during a Monday panel discussion, getting pressed about the Department of Defense's latest attack against a Democratic senator while attempting to attack said lawmaker as publicity-seeking.

Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for a renewed investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, for allegedly disclosing classified information during a televised interview with CBS News's Face the Nation, where he said it was "shocking" how deeply the U.S. military has depleted its munitions amid the ongoing war with Iran. This marks the second time the Pentagon has attempted to investigate Kelly, a leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, with the last effort getting shot down in court.

"We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you," Kelly wrote in a social media post responding to Hegseth.

During a Wednesday broadcast of CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Alex Thompson, a national political reporter for Axios, noted how Hegseth's highly publicized attacks on Kelly have done wonders for the senator's fundraising efforts.

"Pete Hegseth has been the best political fundraiser of Kark Kelly's entire career," Thompson said. "Mark Kelly, as of the end of last quarter, had $22 million cash on hand. He's not up for reelection... until 2028. And of all the people thinking about running for president in 2028, he has the most cash on hand by a long shot. He has more cash on hand than [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] or any of these other people.... Mark Kelly's political team has made the most of it."

"Every single day that the Trump administration takes on Mark Kelly is a good day for the Kelly potential presidential campaign," Jamal Simmons, the former communication advisor for Kamala Harris, added. "He goes up in stock not just in money, but also people paying attention to this. They'll sort out what happened with the, you know, who said what and which briefing. But the political problem that the trump administration has is Mark Kelly, fighter pilot, astronaut, husband of Gabby Giffords is a very tough political opponent for them."

In response to those comments from Thompson and Simmons, Jennings chimed in, arguing that the fundraising angle gave Kelly "partisan interests" for seemingly picking a fight with the Trump administration.

"This man is a United States senator. He's getting classified briefings from the Pentagon. And then he goes on television and tells our enemies around the world in great specificity which weapon systems are depleted, which need to be restocked," Jennings said. "Did he ever stop to ask himself what is in the best interest of the United States of America, and not just my own political future? Because it's obvious that he did not. A sitting senator going on television and telegraphing to our enemies and our threats around the world what we may or may not have. It's extraordinarily irresponsible, but let's not let that get in the way of a presidential campaign."

In response, host Kasie Hunt asked, if the information about the depleted munitions was so important, why Hegseth opted to state publicly that the information was classified and important, instead of quietly pushing for an investigation into Kelly. Jennings, in return, appeared flustered by the pushback.

"Look, look, right. I mean, look, Mark Kelly went on television and said, I got a classified briefing and here's what I was told," Jennings said.

"I'm just saying, it sounds like they're both doing the same thing, right?" Hunt responded. "Everyone's playing politics here... if you're going to buy into your argument that, hey, this is a senator, right? Who's running for president, and that's what we're acknowledging he's doing. Like, is Hegseth not doing the same thing?"

HBO host Bill Maher and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) think that the proposal to use $1 billion of taxpayer dollars for a White House ballroom is the kind of easy money found between America's couch cushions.

Speaking on the Club Random podcast Monday, Fetterman and Maher blasted the debate over the centuries-old historic building as "so stupid," The Independent noticed.

Legal battles have persisted over the construction since President Donald Trump pledged that the White House wouldn't be "touched" in the building process and then claimed the construction would only cost $200 million and would be paid for by businesses and billionaires, not on the taxpayer dime.

Fetterman even went so far as to claim that reactions are the result of "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

“If he came out [in favor] for ice cream and lazy Sundays, we would f—— hate it,” said Fetterman.

According to an April 2026 Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, "Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose Trump’s decision to tear down the White House’s East Wing to make way for his planned ballroom." Only 28 percent support the ballroom. It's the same number previously found in an October poll.

"There is also a notable enthusiasm gap: Nearly three times as many people 'strongly' oppose the project as strongly support it, the poll found," the report said.

Maher claimed, “The money is like one angstrom unit of a percentage point of what our budget is. So it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“It’s couch money," he added.

At one point in the conversation, Maher heralded Trump for his "honesty."

The comment prompted ex-Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (Fla.) to comment, "'Donald Trump' and 'honesty' do not inhabit the same universe. They never have. [Bill Maher] seems to have sold out many of his principles in obeisance to Trump. Maybe he cut a deal with Trump at that cozy private dinner they had awhile back."

Self-described liberal Democrat Darren Jorden replied, "Let's be honest here: I think Maher is so high that 99.9 percent of the time, he is completely unaware of what he says and does."

Constitutional Republican Douglas Lindsey replied to that comment, "I agree. On Bill's Friday HBO Show he was agreeing with Dona Brazile on RACE Based Congressional Districts for Blacks while saying many times on his own show 'America is not a racist country anymore.'"

A self-described Christian minister said on X about the conversation, "Maher can't admit he supports a lot of what Trump is doing, not just the ballroom. Israel and the fight against terrorism are just two things he agrees with the president on. There are more."

The gunman who raced through security at the White House Correspondents' dinner was in federal court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him.

One tactic defense attorneys are pursuing is to have various prosecutors recused from the case by saying that there is a conflict of interest because they were present when the incident unfolded.

"The judge is clearly skeptical of this argument that top Justice Department officials like U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, acting attorney general Todd Blanche, that they have to be removed from this case because they were at the dinner and they argue they were victims of this alleged crime," CNN legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid explained.

According to the judge, the incident unfolded outside of the ballroom where Pirro and Blanche were. Saying those in the ballroom weren't victims, however, could conflict with the DOJ's indictment, which says that the gunman tried to kill the president, who was also in the ballroom.

The judge offered the defense to submit additional details on specifics. The judge asked if the defense team wanted the entire DOJ removed from the legal team.

"Pirro and Blanche aren't going to step aside without a fight," said Reid, noting how "high profile" the case is.

"And we know both of them are up for promotions, right? Todd Blanche is acting as attorney general. According to my reporting, he is likely going to be tapped to permanently take on that position. Jeanine Pirro, she is someone who has been discussed, is also possibly in line for a promotion soon at the Justice Department, so they're not going to want to step aside from a case which, at its core, is about trying to kill their boss."

Host Brianna Keilar pointed to the conflict, "In this case, it was sort of like pre-the ballroom, but potentially in the presence of people who might be in charge of pursuing justice for the crime in a way, sort of creates the conflict. No? Do you see the kind of issue here?"

Reid reported that "a lot of legal scholars have argued that it probably is a good idea for Pirro and Blanche to step aside."

"You don't want to jeopardize a potential conviction in a case like this, but politically, they're both focused on the here and now," explained Reid. "And that is right where they are inside the Justice Department. The fact that this is a high-profile case, they have a boss who does not like recusals. And this is a very serious case. You can see the charges. We're talking about attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, discharging a firearm in the commission of an act of violence, transporting guns and ammunition through interstate commerce. It's a very serious case, but there are multiple considerations here. And at this point, it is not expected that these officials will step aside."

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National security editor and investigative reporter David Rohde warned that President Donald Trump is going into a meeting with China's Xi Jinping this week looking "weak."

Speaking to MS NOW's Chris Jansing on Monday, Rohde pointed out that Trump still hasn't reached a long-term agreement with Iran ahead of the "pivotal meeting." While the two countries are in a ceasefire, Rohde said that "the war is a stalemate."

The two sides are still debating an agreement and each has opposed the other's proposals. Trump's only major demand, he says, is that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Iran's latest proposal requested complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions lifted, assets unfrozen and security of the region, including Lebanon.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran “proposes to have some of its highly enriched uranium diluted and the rest transferred to a third country."

“Iran also said it was willing to suspend enrichment of uranium, but for a shorter period than the 20-year moratorium proposed by the U.S., they said. Iran rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities,” the Journal added.

Trump posted on TruthSocial Sunday that the plan was completely unacceptable.

Iran “has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years," Trump wrote. “They will be laughing no longer!”

Jansing asked Rohde if Trump's claim Iran can't have a nuclear weapon is a "plan" or "an objective."

"That is an objective, and the president has not carried out a successful plan to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. The war is at a stalemate. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. Iran has not been totally defeated militarily. He's just ignoring the reality here. And I think as he goes into this pivotal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he looks very weak. We're just, you know, they're talking past each other at this point. I don't see major progress in the negotiations," said Rohde.

Jansing also asked if the U.S. is in a weaker position as a result of the Iran war. Rohde agreed the U.S. is when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has seized control over.

"It was predicted for decades, but much easier than expected," he said. "And it's a tremendous piece of leverage. And the surprise is that the U.S. didn't plan together with allies, Europe has a lot of minesweepers that could help South Korea. And Japan, you know, needs to get the Strait of Hormuz opened as well. But there was a go-it-alone approach by the Trump administration. That was a mistake."

He added that the second mistake was thinking that air strikes alone could get Iran to back down.

"That hasn't worked. And then again, they launched this major operation just last week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. They did not tell the Saudis or the Kuwaitis or the Emiratis or anyone that they were going to do this. And so the Saudis and the Kuwaitis closed their airspace. So after 36 hours, they called it off. It's just these are basic steps that should have been taken. And bluntly speaking, blunders," he closed.

In spite of recent gerrymandering wins for the GOP, one White House correspondent has argued that there is still a "part" of President Donald Trump that believes that the midterms are a "lost cause" for him.

Democrats remain primed to retake the House majority in the November elections, but their potential margin of victory shrank last week after the Virginia Supreme Court shot down the state government's new district map, which would have fought back against the GOP's gerrymandering crusade and potentially created four new Democratic seats. Red states in the South are also moving swiftly to gerrymander away majority-minority districts with Democratic representatives after an alarming recent ruling from the conservative Supreme Court.

On Monday, Semafor's Shelby Talcott appeared as a guest panelist on CNN's Inside Politics with Dana Bash, where she discussed the prevailing sentiments within the Trump administration about their midterm chances in the wake of these developments. According to her sources, those close to the president remain cautiously optimistic, much as they were in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

"When I talk to trump administration officials about the midterms, specifically, I would describe it very similarly as how I would have described the end of the campaign, which is cautious optimism," Talcott explained. "They truly believe, as they did during the campaign, that they have some inroads. But there's acknowledgment that there is a lot against them."

Breaking with that feeling, she added, there are certain key signs to suggest that the president has not internalized that sort of optimism.

"And to that point, I always go back to what the president himself has said repeatedly, which is essentially that, you know, the party in power oftentimes does very poorly in the midterms," she continued. "And to me, that signals that there is a part of him that believes that, you know, this is kind of a lost cause almost."

Elsewhere during her appearance on Monday, Talcott also touched on some brewing concerns from "nervous Republicans" about what sort of backlash their actions are inviting from Democrats once they return to power.

"That's been an argument that some of the more sort of nervous republicans have made, whether it be related to the midterms or really anything that the president is doing, whether it's the Supreme Court, ome of these lawsuits that he's pushed," Talcott said. "Is that hold on a second. We might not be in power forever. Right. And when democrats get to power, aren't they just going to use all of these mechanisms that you've now opened up?"

President Donald Trump joked about his "friend" he insulted who is using one of the popular weight-loss drugs Trump refers to as the "fat drug" or the "fat shot."

Speaking at an event for mothers, Trump bragged about bringing the cost of drugs down through his TrumpRx program. According to Trump, the same box in London is $87 and in New York, he said, it's $1370. It's a story that Trump has told for about a year, though the numbers change.

"He could be a famous guy," Trump said about his friend. "He's begging me not to release this name. He's a very highly neurotic, very sort of a fat slob, but he's a brilliant man. We know many of those people. He's a brilliant guy, actually."

"But, said, uh, President, what's going on here? He didn't need the money. He's rich as hell, but he just couldn't understand why he had to pay so little in London," rambled Trump. "He went to London, and he couldn't understand it. He said this is crazy and [it] actually motivated me in a certain way, because he was very smart. He actually, he did a study, he actually sent his people and he traced this medicine. And he found out it was the box here is the same box as he had in New York. He made the same plant and it costs, you know, 10 times more here than it did in London, and that there were worse stories than that. And I said that's it, it's over, we're going to do it. That got me really motivated."

Trump repeated that his friend was desperate not to have his name released publicly.

"He's begging me not to release his name because he is a well-known person, and I so destroyed his reputation in terms of his physicality," said Trump. "Just as I said, you know, you've had a big impact on medicine because you got — you got to be better than any normal person could have."

Trump told Americans that Medicare would eventually cover the weight loss drug. The Trump administration announced in early November that it had struck a deal with leading GLP-1 pharmaceutical manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. He claimed that Americans would soon be able to obtain the GLP-1 medications at a lower rate for all Americans. It hasn't happened yet, however.

There were already talks about getting lower prices for those on Medicare, but AARP explained that the drug price negotiation program won't become available until 2027.

Last week, CBS News reported that Trump pledged to make drugs cheaper, but thus far many have actually increased.

After what unfolded in Virginia's redistricting battle, the Democratic Party's chance of winning the 2026 midterm election isn't what it once was, CNN data analyst Harry Enten said on Monday.

Speaking to host John Berman, Enten said that it's still possible, but it's a heavier lift.

Citing prediction markets, Enten said that just last month, in April, there was an 86 percent chance that the Democrats would take back the House. Today, that number has dropped by 10 percent. That said, it's still high, at 76 percent.

The job for Democrats "has become more difficult," Enten explained.

"Why is that? Because let's take a look at the national House vote margin. You know, for control, you under the current lines, you know, the ones that were fought under in the 2024 election cycle," said Enten.

"For example," he continued, "they needed to win the national House vote by less than a point. They basically just needed to win the national House vote, and they'd win a majority. But look where it is now with redistricting. Now they have to win the national House vote by somewhere between 3 and 4 points. Based, of course, upon what the rest of the redistricting cycle looks like."

He explained that regardless of how the "nut" is cracked, Democrats can still win; however, they must climb a higher mountain to take back the House than they did a few weeks ago.

The good news is that the current lead shows Democrats are still favored to win six districts more than Republicans, and they only need three to four. It's still a win, but it's a lower number than Democrats would likely prefer, he said.

"But the bottom line is this, their lead right now in the national House vote polls is higher than the margin that is necessary in order to take back the U.S. House of Representatives. Even with redistricting," he closed.

During a time of widespread angst over the economy, National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" and aggressively defended President Donald Trump's record on inflation.

When told that inflation has increased, not decreased, since former President Joe Biden left office, Hassett argued, "The bottom line is inflation is going down at the microeconomic level by a million things that we've done, like fix the avian flu so egg prices are down, change beef imports so that beef prices go down, make drug prices more affordable with TrumpRX…. But at the macroeconomic level right now, the driving force right now is the temporary increase in the price of gas."

Hassett also said, "President Trump is taking every problem on earth and gone 100 percent at fixing it."

Hassett's claim that Trump is causing prices to plummet in countless way is drawing a lot of responses on X, some of them downright scathing.

Journalist John Harwood tweeted, "Kevin will say anything."

In a separate tweet, Harwood sarcastically posted, "yes of course, Trump is fixing every problem on earth."

Journalist Logan McMillen, known for his work for The New Republic, Jacobin and others, posted, "Okay sure, and remind me how we get all of those other things you just listed to consumers."

Marketing consultant Jeffery A. Thomas wrote, "In the menagerie of sycophantic idiots that comprise the current Trump Cabinet Kevin Hassett's obsequiousness stands alone."

Retired immunology professor Jim Hagan argued, "Does the administration understand that almost no one believes a word that Hassett says?"

X user Jennifer Roberts commented, "Do you think there will ever be a day when Kevin Hassett will wake up and think, 'Hey, maybe I WON'T go be a smug, obsequious toadie on TV today?'"

Another X user, Chris Kennedy, said of Hassett, "He's the Baghdad Bob of the economy. 'Everything is great! Trump solved the Avian Flu by himself! Beef prices are going down!' Why does CNBC continue to put him, Bessent, or [Howard] Lutnick on when all they do is lie?"

President Donald Trump's secretary of defense has renewed his personal war with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and one congressman is concerned that he cares more about a petty feud than about winning the war with Iran.

Speaking to Briana Keilar on Monday, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was asked about Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said overnight that he'd be investigating Kelly again after he said that Kelly could have revealed classified information when he expressed concerns about the strategic stockpile of U.S. weaponry.

"We've been briefed by the Pentagon on specific munitions. Actually, it's been pretty detailed on Tomahawks, Atacms, SM-3s, Patriot rounds, so those interceptor rounds to defend ourselves. And the numbers are, I think it's fair to say, it's shocking. How deep we have gone into these magazines. The munitions are depleted," said Kelly.

Hegseth said that Kelly was "blabbing on TV" about classified briefings he received. The problem with this, according to Rep. Smith, is that if it's classified, it's the worst-kept secret in the administration because so many Cabinet officials keep talking about it.

Asked if he "overstepped," Smith said, "Gosh, no."

"I mean, Secretary Hegseth himself has said that our munition stocks are low. If that's classified, then it's the worst-kept secret in the world. Everybody knew that," said Smith. "Heck, even before this war started, we had munitions problems. We've worked with the Secretary of Defense on the issue of how to build that back up. It's been an issue for a long time, but I think the bigger issue here is: what is Secretary Hegseth doing?"

Smith pointed out that the Iran war continues to rage, there's no long-term agreement to pause the conflict and the Secretary of Defense has no plan. Instead, he's "engaging in a petty battle against a United States senator. Secretary Hegseth, go do your job

"We're doing ours. It's time for you to start paying attention to what's going on and start viewing this. Stop viewing this as a political partisan attack. He's the secretary of defense. He's not running for anything. And yet he acts like a politician running for office instead of somebody running the Department of Defense in the middle of a war. We need leadership, not petty, partisan attacks," Smith closed.

A federal judge has blocked the Department of Defense from demoting Kelly and significantly reducing his pension.

Hegseth's pattern of retaliatory action against Kelly reflects a broader concern among military and congressional observers: the Defense Secretary appears more focused on settling political scores than on Pentagon strategy.

Military analysts worry that this internecine warfare within the Trump administration diverts critical attention and resources from operational planning during an active conflict. With munitions stockpiles depleted and no clear exit strategy for the Iran war, critics argue the Pentagon leadership should be focused on force readiness and strategic objectives rather than settling personal vendettas with senators asking legitimate questions about military preparedness.

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Voters delivered harsh news to President Donald Trump and his handling of the U.S. economy following his painful war on Iran.

When asked if there was “any way in which your life has gotten better during this second trump administration” one voter speaking with MS NOW in Minnesota said “F——, no. Not at all.”

“I don't think anyone's doing good right now. I don't know why people thought the economy was going to get better and stuff, and I don't see that happening at all,” Alaina Franczak added.

“Is like all prices, all prices for living and a lot of things, to buy groceries — all that's more expensive,” complained voter Isidro Estrada.

"We're going all the way down to hell, I might say to the grave,” said a Peter Ekame Moby. “So, to answer your question, did Donald Trump do something good since he got there? I don't think so, to be honest.”

Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod, upon hearing the severe responses appeared to cringe with some degree of familiarity.

“Look, if you tell a voter, ‘you may be feeling like things aren't going great, but they're actually going great,' you're going to lose credibility with voters,” said Elrod. “That happened with President [Joe] Biden in 2024. And I will be the first to admit that I was somebody who was a spokesperson.”

“We would go on television, and we talked to reporters, we would talk to voters, and we would say, ‘actually, the economic stats are really, really good. You're wrong. You're not feeling this economy. There's no economic pain,’ essentially. And now you're seeing that happen with Trump and it's not working,” Elrod added. “People are just mad. I mean, that's they are. They are filling up their tanks two or three times higher than they were before.”

Elrod added also that Trump’s own voters are probably feeling more of the pain than Democrat voters, due to life situations.

“A lot of rural voters in America voted for trump. But they're the ones who are driving 50, 60 miles sometimes a day [to work]. They're the ones who are feeling it at the pump,” Elrod told an MS NOW “The Weekend” panel. “Those of us who live in Washington D.C. I drive maybe like three times a week. I'm not feeling it. But it's something when you're telling voters, at the end of the day, ‘actually things are good. It's going to be fine. Don't worry about it.’ You just lose a lot of credibility.”

As of right now, CNN anchor Jake Tapper says Republicans appear to “have the edge” in the gerrymandering arms race that President Donald Trump set off with his extreme mid-decade gerrymander in Texas. But CNN data analyst John King says there are some things that even the most extreme undemocratic tampering can’t fix.

With Republicans determined to lock in a permanent House majority by picking their own voters and the Supreme Court agreeing to let white-majority Southern legislators “go back and take away the majority Black districts,” King said Republicans look like they’re winning their gerrymander war.

But he added that “this is still a bad Republican year.”

“[B]ased on historical odds — it’s usually 25 seats on average since World War II — the party in power loses 25 seats in the House in a midterm election year. So the Democrats, on average, are still poised to get there.”

If Democrats have a “below average year,” King said Republicans could maintain their gerrymandering advantage, but the math, he said, is not looking likely.

Texas Republicans hope to grab five extra seats by corralling Latino voters into new districts because Latinos voted for Trump and Republicans in 2024, but King said “a lot of those Latinos in 2025 and 2026 come back to the Democrats.”

“So, the Republicans have put a heavy thumb — maybe even a foot — on the scale, but the voters still get the final say,” said King.

“This is what will decide the election,” King added, pointing to President Donald Trump’s awful approval.

“This has decided every midterm election since I've been alive. Here's the president: In 2018, he was at 41 percent at this point. And [Republicans] lost 40 seats. This is where he is right now,” said King, gesturing to an even lower approval number of 35 percent.

“He's historically low. We don't know where he's going to be in November. The Republicans, now have a money advantage. Now they have a bit of a map advantage. Can they really keep this to 5 or 10 seats? That's the challenge. History says ‘no.’” King told Tapper.

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