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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Kennedy Center Appeals Ruling Keeping Trump's Name Off Building; House Oversight Committee Moves To Hold Leon Black In Contempt; New York Times Poll Winds Edge For Democrats, Many Seeking A Check On Trump; Families Of Air Crash Victims Call For Congress To Act Now; Bus Driver Allegedly Fell Asleep At The Wheel. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 15, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, quote, it was effing crazy, unquote, the R-rated version of those words are how one source described the Kennedy Center board meeting today when President Trump phoned in and yelled about his name not appearing on the side of the building, the Kennedy Center. Moments later, the board voted to close the main building down for two years for renovations. I'm going to break down all the drama with the man leading the legal fight against Trump and his handpicked board.

Plus, a Lead exclusive, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is here to announce a new bill born from the Epstein investigation. Comer's proposal comes as his committee moves to hold an alleged Epstein associate in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with their investigation. Those breaking details ahead.

And today, Pennsylvania reported its fourth measles-related death, a sad number that the United States has not seen since 1992. The latest fatality was an unvaccinated 18-year-old. How Pennsylvania officials are scrambling to get this outbreak under control and what they feel about the federal government's role coming up.

The Lead tonight, breaking news, the Trump administration just appealed a federal judge's ruling. The judge's ruling found that the Kennedy Center's board's latest ploy to get Donald Trump's name on the Kennedy Center building is illegal. After this morning's ruling, President Trump says his handpicked Kennedy Center board voted to close this historic institution immediately.

A source tells CNN there was a, quote, effing crazy moment during the board meeting this afternoon where Trump allegedly phoned in and screamed at Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, one of the members of Congress who serves on the Kennedy Center board in a non-appointed position. Beatty is leading the ongoing legal battle over Trump's multiple attempts to add his name to the center.

Here is the Congresswoman earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOYCE BEATTY (D-OH): We want to make sure that we keep the Kennedy Center healthy, and certainly, as you know, we have been dealing with the unlawful naming, and it is being held hostage. Every time there's an issue that comes up, it has been connected. We will consider to do this, but or unless it has Donald Trump's name on the building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In this instance, Trump and his team say the president will not fundraise to raise the funds necessary to improve the Kennedy Center building unless the Trump name is on the Kennedy Center building.

In a lengthy Truth Social post this morning, the president claimed the building is crumbling and falling concrete could have killed a security guard who was walking by and was, quote, 60 seconds away from certain death. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted this security video showing a portion of the ceiling falling down.

Trump went on to insist his main concern is to, quote, reveal the facts, but especially those concerning building safety.

Let's get right to CNN's Sunlen Serfaty at the Kennedy Center. Sunlen, tell the board more about the Kennedy Center board's decision today.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the decision certainly was third time the board moved to vote to approve President Trump's desire to close the Kennedy Center for the planned two-year renovation. They have tried time and time again, and this has, of course, been caught up in the courts.

But perhaps the biggest and most notable point of the Kennedy Center board meeting today that came out of it was the strength at which President Trump brought to the meeting to make it clear he wants his name added to the side of it, according to multiple sources we talked to who told us President Trump spoke up at the meeting and yelled numerous times at many members of the board, including most notably Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who's lawsuit has stood in the way of him getting his name to the front of this building.

And we saw earlier action by a federal D.C. court judge, who ruled that he could not have his name in any of these inscriptions. And they tried earlier last month to have a workaround creative ways to put President Trump's name on the front of this building, acknowledging his efforts to restore and renovate it. The judge said that was not okay.

So, very clear President Trump very angry with the ruling this morning, and he certainly brought that anger to the board meeting today. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much.

Joining us now in studio, the lawyer representing Congresswoman Beatty, Nathaniel Zelinsky. Nathaniel, the board's decision, again, that board is handpicked by Donald Trump, it's a bunch of his lackeys and supporters, their decision to shut down and not proceed with renovations unless there's a name change came down a couple hours after the judge's ruling, Judge Cooper's ruling, saying the name change was illegal. So, is the Kennedy Center just going to remain closed indefinitely, or what's going to happen?

[18:05:01]

NATHANIEL ZELINSKY, LEGAL COUNSEL FOR REP. BEATTY: Well, to be very clear, they can't shut the Kennedy Center right now. Judge Cooper ordered in May that they had to stay open, and so they lawfully have to stay open right now. What they're doing is they're saying, we would like to shut down, but they have to come to Judge Cooper, and Judge Cooper was very clear about this, and he has to then lift that order. So, they can vote as many times as they'd like, but at the end of the day, this is up to Judge Cooper.

TAPPER: So, Trump claims he can't fundraise without his name on the building, but today the court found, quote, the renaming of the center coincided with declines in revenue and contributions as artists canceled performances, the Washington National Opera ended its 50-year residency, and ticket sales and viewership of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast dropped precipitously.

So, it actually seems as though his name on the building, his name associated with the Kennedy Center actually hurts it, despite the fact that they're claiming they have to put the name on it in order for Trump to raise funds.

ZELINSKY: Yes. And what we think happened here is that they voted to shut down the Kennedy Center way back in February of this year because they were seeing a remarkable decline as a result of the renaming. So, these things are linked. They are trying to cover up their own mismanagement. And at the end of the day, as John Adams would say, facts are stubborn things. So, we got to get the facts.

TAPPER: So, Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, posted the video showing part of the ceiling falling down. How derelict is the building?

ZELINSKY: Look, everyone understands that the Kennedy Center needs to have renovations. The question is whether you're going to do what the Kennedy Center always planned to do, which is have what's called phased renovations, that's what every major performance art center in the country does, or whether instead you're going to have an unnecessary shutdown for two years, which does incredible damage to the institution.

TAPPER: So, am I missing something here? Because what it seems like is President Trump decided he wanted his name on this building even though it's a tribute to an assassinated president, John F. Kennedy. For some reason, he wanted his name on this building, and then he appointed his board, and then this just seems petulant, like if I don't get my way, I'm just going to take my ball and go home. Am I missing something?

ZELINSKY: Well, I think it's not just petulant, it's unlawful. He is a trustee of the center. A prudent trustee, a loyal trustee doesn't say, you know, I'm only going to do my job and fundraise for this center, which I'm supposed to be protecting, if you honor me. I mean, I'm reminded of the great John F. Kennedy quote, right? In one respect, Donald Trump should be thinking about what he can do for the Kennedy Center, not what the Kennedy Center can do for him.

TAPPER: So, how do you think this latest appeal is going to play out? Is this just going to go back and forth forever?

ZELINSKY: I mean, look at a certain point you, you skirt contempt too many times, but they can appeal and, you know, we're in the D.C. Circuit now and we're going to fight him. I'm an appellate lawyer by trade, that's what we do.

TAPPER: So, on the left side of the screen here is a live picture. The tarp is still on the Kennedy Center building. What's that about? It used to say the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center, they added that. And then I guess they were taking down his name as ordered by a judge. Why is the tarp up there?

ZELINSKY: I mean, your guess as good as mine. We've repeatedly tried to get answers from the Department of Justice. They have suggested that they damaged the historic marble and that they're trying to protect the historic marble. That would be a travesty. The alternative explanation is that this is petulance. This is him trying to defy a court. Neither one is a good explanation.

TAPPER: Nathaniel Zelinsky, thank you so much. Good to see you, sir.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, is here next to make an exclusive announcement about new legislation he's proposing that stems from struggles they've had during the Epstein investigation to get information.

Plus, new polls today giving Democrats something to cheer about as we inch closer to the midterm elections. That's all ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:10:00]

TAPPER: Breaking now in the Law and Justice Lead, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, is working to allow survivors of alleged sexual abuse to speak freely without the restrictions of any non-disclosure agreements they might have signed. This comes as the Oversight Committee moved today to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying two subpoenas in its investigation into the sex trafficking network of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): He was issued a lawful subpoena, and he didn't show. So, we have a lot of questions for him. This is an investigation that's very serious. It's -- I feel like it's bipartisan. So, we've tried every way in the world to get him in as well as to see some documents that we've subpoenaed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And Chairman Comer joins us now. Mr. Chairman, thanks for joining us.

So, one of the subpoenas the committee issued to Leon Black is over information on non-disclosure agreements. Leon Black, in a statement through his attorneys to CNN, denies any wrongdoing or abuse related to Epstein. Tell us how this all ties into your new proposed legislation.

COMER: Well, what we've learned during this investigation is there were a lot of rules that prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward. One of those would be if you signed a non-disclosure agreement. So, we filed legislation to allow survivors of sexual abuse to be able to come forward and, you know, talk to law enforcement and testify in Congress even if they had signed a non-disclosure agreement. We don't want a piece of paper to prevent any bad person from getting away with any type of crimes.

Part of the purpose, Jake, of this investigation is to understand how the government failed the victims of Epstein and try to figure out ways to prevent this from ever happening in the future. This legislation that we'll file today will be legislation that was born from this investigation that will allow survivors of sexual abuse to be able to testify even if they had signed this non-disclosure agreement.

TAPPER: So, it would work retroactively. It would release all of these survivors and victims of their obligations under any NDAs, and you'll be able to learn a lot more about any alleged crimes that took place?

[18:15:07]

COMER: Exactly. And one of the reasons that the women haven't testified, and I want to state again for the record, we've asked and offered many of the victims of Epstein to be able to testify in Congress in the Oversight Committee. Many of these women are prevented from doing so because they had signed very strict nondisclosure agreements. So, that's made this investigation even more difficult. This legislation will prevent that. And as you said, Jake, it works retroactively to where these women can finally come forward and tell their stories.

TAPPER: Let's talk about Leon Black, the billionaire that the committee moved today to hold in contempt of Congress. Have you met with House leadership about whether this vote to hold him in contempt of Congress will go to the floor of the House soon, this week, next week?

COMER: I see House leadership on a daily basis when I'm in D.C. I've seen them several times this week. I fully expect this bill to be voted on Thursday. We marked it up today. It has to have three readings. So, if you have a reading today, and we have votes again tonight and then tomorrow and then Thursday. So, we're hopeful that this vote will be on the floor Thursday, and I think you will see what you saw in the House Oversight Committee, a bipartisan unanimous vote in support of contempt.

TAPPER: Leon Black's attorneys say they filed a confidential complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct to request an investigation into you over the contempt resolution. Black has also filed a civil suit against the Oversight Committee.

In a statement, Black's attorneys say, in part, quote, this committee markup and contempt resolution is a complete abomination. The committee under the leadership of Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia has lost sight of its legislative purpose and is abusing its power. This is retaliation, plain and simple, unquote. Your response?

COMER: I don't have anything against Leon Black. He's being offered due process. Many of the victims that we communicate with on a regular basis have identified him as a person of interest. Again, that doesn't mean he's guilty but we want to give him an opportunity to come in and answer questions, just like Bill Clinton did, just like Bill Gates did, just like Howard Lutnick, and so many other rich and powerful billionaires.

None of them wanted to come in and answer questions. And many of them, you know, I don't think had a whole lot of liability, but they were asked hard questions by both Republicans and Democrats. That's the way this investigation has always been conducted. And I think we've conducted it with professionalism, and we're trying as hard as we can to get the truth to the American people and justice for the victims, and Mr. Black right now is obstructing that investigation.

TAPPER: After Alan Dershowitz, through his attorneys, rejected a request for voluntary testimony in July before the committee, you sent him a letter requesting he appear on September 2nd instead. Did he appear, or will he too be subpoenaed?

COMER: Well, I hope he comes. Look, he went on T.V. He went on Newsmax on Greta Van Susteren's show, and said I was too chicken to bring him into the committee. I thought, well, if you want to come in and talk, come on in. Come on in, Mr. Dershowitz. So, he agreed to come in, and then he didn't show.

So, you know, I don't know whether he will come in or not. That's up to him. But as you know, we're up against the clock. Leon Black is the most important person, in my opinion, and I think the Democrats would agree with that, is the most important person that we have yet to hear from.

We have also information that would lead us to believe we need to look at some potential nondisclosure agreements. That's why there were two subpoenas. One subpoena was for Mr. Black to come in and be deposed. Another subpoena was for nondisclosure agreements. So, that's why Mr. Black was held in contempt today. We didn't get either his deposition or any of the nondisclosure agreements. I think he offered one nondisclosure agreement, but we have reason to believe there are many more.

TAPPER: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Republican from Kentucky, thank you so much for coming on, Mr. Chairman.

COMER: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Today, Pennsylvania confirmed another measles death, the fourth. What we're learning about efforts to stop the spread in the commonwealth, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

TAPPER: In our Health Lead, President -- I'm sorry, in our Health Lead, Pennsylvania today reported a fourth measles-related death, this time an unvaccinated 18-year-old. 1992 was the last time there were four measles deaths in the United States in one year.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard takes a look now at this growing outbreak, one that has sparked political clashes. Jacqueline?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Jake, what we know about this fourth person who has died in this measles outbreak in Pennsylvania, they were 18 years old, and they were not vaccinated against the measles virus, and they had a rare neurological complication of measles known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. We also know that this person lived in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.

Now, the other deaths that have occurred in this outbreak so far, one was in a 40-year-old woman, and the other two were in infants. And so far, at least 693 people have gotten sick with measles in this ongoing outbreak. At least 133 people have been hospitalized, and the epicenter of the outbreak is based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

But, Jake, now that we've tallied four deaths associated with this outbreak, that is incredibly alarming, not just for the state of Pennsylvania, but for the country as a whole. Because the last time the United States has recorded four deaths from measles in a single year was in 1992.

[18:25:05]

And if you look at recent years, since the year 2000, which is when measles was declared eliminated here in the United States, in recent years, we have seen these recent upticks of cases in pockets of unvaccinated communities. And so far, in 2026, we have already reached nearly 3,300 cases nationwide.

Now, on the chart here, that is way more than the total number of cases seen in all of last year in 2025, and in some of the years prior.

Now, the best way to protect yourself against measles is to get vaccinated. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is 97 percent effective. And health officials say that outbreaks like the one happening currently in Pennsylvania are sobering reminders of how serious and how deadly measles can be, especially if you're not vaccinated, and how quickly the virus can spread.

Measles is so contagious, Jake, that if an infected person coughs or sneezes, the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours, even after that person has left the room. And that's why health officials are really keeping a close eye on what is happening right now in the state of Pennsylvania. Jake?

TAPPER: Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

Today, Congressman Jim Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina, announced a multi-million dollar project to help turn out voters in November. He's going to join us live to explain how it works, and how he sees the Democrats' odds shaping up for the midterms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: Politics now. With less than 50 days to go until the midterm elections, a new poll shows Democrats enjoying a significant edge over Republicans. According to The New York Times/Siena poll, the Democratic Party currently holding a 51 percent to 43 percent lead on a generic ballot.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. Congressman Clyburn, good to see you.

To what do you attribute this eight-point spread, and are you confident that your party will be able to meet these expectations come November?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, thank you very much for having me. I'm very confident that we should be. The fact is very clear that the Democratic Party has been addressing the dreams and aspirations of the American people. We have had what I call the triple A program for the last several months, accessibility, accountability, and affordability. And we have harped on that for quite some time now.

The other side has been dealing with all kinds of shenanigans, not addressing what ails the American people. They are witnessing record high prices at the pump, record high prices in grocery stores. Farmers are having a hard time getting the fertilizer that they need to plant their crops, and the people that they're planting for are having a hard time affording that which they see in grocery stores.

But rather than address these issues, we have a Republican Party that seems to be hell-bent on all kinds of stuff that's got absolutely nothing to do with the dreams and aspirations of the American people. So, I'm not surprised at those numbers. I think they are deserving. I'd like to see them get a little better.

TAPPER: Today, you announced an initiative called So Vote. It's a multimillion-dollar plan to register and turn out young and low propensity black voters and rural voters. Why are these voter blocks so crucial for Democrats to win in November, and why do you need to introduce this?

CLYBURN: Well, I think that all of us know that in recent years we've had all kinds of methods of voter mobilization. A lot of it just has not worked very well. And those of us who think that we know exactly what needs to be done to motivate voters, to organize voters, we have now decided to launch a program, and hopefully we'll be able to sustain it.

And what we are doing, saying to people, if you think the prices at the pump are too high, so vote. If you think your grocery prices are too high, so vote. If you think childcare is unavailable, whatever it is that you're experiencing in your everyday lives, the question is very clear. So, let's vote. Let's don't keep asking the question. Let's take some action. And that's what So Vote is all about.

TAPPER: There's been growing concern that there's an inadequate investment in black voter outreach. Why, in 2026, are we still seeing that?

CLYBURN: Well, I think it has been inadequate in the past. Not so much with the size of the budgets, but with how you target the expenditures. I don't care how much money you spend. You've got to have a very good program of targeting those resources. I always say that we ought to really target our efforts and not just have a shatter, a scatter gun approach to turning out the vote, and that's what we've had.

You know, I like television. I watch you guys all the time and I participate on television, but I'm not going to use television to turn the vote out, especially in rural communities and the African American communities. I am going to go more to what we call boots on the ground. In fact, that song has become so popular. It comes from a young man in South Carolina, and I think he had getting to the polls in mind when he started writing that song.

[18:35:01]

TAPPER: Congressman James Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina. Good to see you as always, sir. Thank you so much for being here.

CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.

TAPPER: Joining me now to discuss, Kevin Madden, the former campaign adviser for Mitt Romney's two presidential runs, also with us, former Democratic Congressman, Jamaal Bowman. He has a new book coming out, it's called "Unpolished" by Jamaal Bowman. What's -- and tell us, when does it come out? That's quite a cover. When does it --

FMR. REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): It comes out November 17th. Pre-orders start today.

TAPPER: Okay.

BOWMAN: It's a memoir. It tells the story of New York to Congress, and all the behind the scenes stuff about how this thing works.

TAPPER: All right. We'll talk more about it when it's actually out, I'm sure.

BOWMAN: Thank you. Let's dig deeper into this new poll New York Times/Siena. Kevin, we see Democrats holding advantage on many issues, including the top one for voters, the economy. They currently lead 51 to 45 percent. But we've also seen Democrats having an edge in various polls on issues like immigration. What's going on?

KEVIN MADDEN, FORMER MITT ROMNEY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Yes. Well, I mean, it's this -- first of all, the poll tells us one thing, it's that this entire ballgame right now the control for Congress, is all about the economy. So, it helps that right now they're doing well on the economy.

I think one of the things that is a sort of glimmer of hope for Republicans is that they still have a chance to sort of make some gains on that in these last 50 days, is that that spread is not as big as the president's disapproval rating on the economy. So, there are a lot of Republicans that can kind of break away from the president's disapproval rating and kind of run individual tailored message campaigns about the economy and what they're doing to address affordability, what they're doing to address healthcare costs, food prices, things like that, in the sense that they may be able to survive in this environment.

TAPPER: Congressman, are you worried at all about Democrats' message? Are you worried at all about Democrats just having faith that because Trump's so unpopular right now, this will just land Democrats back into control?

BOWMAN: The one concern is voter turnout. We have to do everything in our power to do what Representative Clyburn just mentioned. We need to put boots on the ground in rural communities, in communities of color, to engage the entire electorate in the process so that people are excited to participate.

What we talked about off-camera was that the polling also shows sort of a lack of excitement in the overall electorate, Democrat and Republican. I think Democrats have a slight lead now, yes, but how do we get people excited for the general, and then excited going forward into 2028? Because we have to start organizing for 2028 as well.

TAPPER: Why do you think there's a relative lack of enthusiasm among Democrats?

BOWMAN: I mean, when you flip to C-SPAN and you watch a hearing it's like paint, watching paint dry. I mean, there's not a lot of conversation that really pulls people in, and then it doesn't matter which party is in office, the affordability crisis continues to be an issue. Childcare, paid leave, gas prices, a very unpopular war. We keep hearing a lot of rhetoric from both parties but nothing changes from one party to the next.

MADDEN: Just to agree real quick on that, I think if you were to sit around kitchen tables around America today, and you think about the problems that they'd be talking about and the issues that they're talking about, and then they do look to Washington, it just seems like there is this big gulf of understanding, a canyon of just getting a sense of what it is that's driving the anxieties of the American people right now.

And that is what's creating, I think, this a very sort of -- if you look at that poll, it looks like a very dispirited electorate right now.

TAPPER: Yes. We had John King on a little bit ago. He went up to Alaska to talk about the Senate race, and one of the things he talked about hearing from an Alaska Republican who might be willing to vote for Mary Peltola the Democrat in the Senate race, is that the message that, oh, you don't -- you know, the socialists are taking over the Democratic Party, you don't want another vote for that, even if Peltola is not a socialist.

This poll also asked how likely voters view socialism along with their opinions of Democrats, like Mamdani, the mayor of New York, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As you can see, more than half the country is not on board with socialism.

You're a progressive in Congress. Does that concern you at all?

BOWMAN: Not really. I think there's a learning curve that needs to happen as it relates to socialism, and I think Mamdani being the mayor of New York City is going to help with that learning curve. He had a net positive approval rating on the polls, Zohran Mamdani did. And so I think the more people see him governing as an elective in New York City, the more they'll lean into learning -- at least learning more about what socialism is.

I think the scare tactics, I don't know if that's the right path for Republicans. Maybe in some parts of the country, but I don't think that's going to do it because they've made a lot of mistakes governing over the last couple years, to put it mildly.

TAPPER: I want to move to the fact that outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky today introduced articles of impeachment against the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, over his move to wage the unauthorized war in Iran, in Massie's construct.

[18:40:03]

He also chose to not give his party's leadership a heads-up on this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did you give leadership a heads-up?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I didn't give anybody a heads-up, because w- when they found out I was doing the Epstein discharge petition, they canceled two weeks of Congress. And I think if they found out I was going to do this, they might have canceled even more days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Kevin, there is intraparty strife on the Republican side, Democratic side too but Republican as well.

MADDEN: Yes. And -- well, Massie, I think, his sort of party discipline went out the door after he lost a primary. But I think this is probably the first sign of what we're going to see much more of, I think, if Democrats take control of the House or the Senate next after these elections, a lot of investigations, a lot more oversight. And when you have that level of oversight and investigations, the snowball effect of moving more and more towards impeachment, whether it's Pete Hegseth or others in the administration, and potentially the president, that's going to be a lot harder to contain.

So, I think this is just the first canary in the coalmine of that environment after November.

TAPPER: All right. So, I have to bring up the weirdest thing that happened in Washington today. There was this hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel. There was this surreal exchange when the Republican senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy, asked Patel why the FBI has abandoned the policy that automatically disqualified job applicants who had allegedly committed crimes, such as prostitution and bestiality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: It automatically disqualified any individual who participated on either side of it. Obviously, we are never going to hire the criminal who engaged --

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): This side of what? The bestiality?

PATEL: Yes.

KENNEDY: So, you disqualified the animal?

PATEL: In a lot of these cases, when human traffickers, who are some of the worst individuals on planet Earth, they don't just traffic you for prostitution, they traffic you for degrading acts of all kind, and they force you into that type of conduct.

KENNEDY: The person who recommended it, why didn't you just say, what planet did you parachute in from? Why do I want to lead with --

PATEL: Well, that was my initial response.

KENNEDY: Why do I want to lead with my chin and get into bestiality?

PATEL: That was my initial response, Senator. But they then explained to me and showed me cases in which people were forced into it and had applied to the FBI.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Cases in which people were forced into bestiality and applied to the FBI, a sentence I never thought that I would I would utter.

BOWMAN: Yes, I mean, you want comment on that? I mean, I had to look up what bestiality was. I didn't know what it was, and --

TAPPER: Well, I didn't know how to spell it.

BOWMAN: Again, this goes back to what we were saying before about why are people like disconnected or disengaged. It's like we're having a conversation like this at a Senate hearing with the director of the FBI.

TAPPER: Yes.

BOWMAN: How is that helping me get tutoring for my kid or put food on my table?

MADDEN: Jamaal, this is the exact thing that I was thinking as that exchange went by, is that somebody right now in America paid more money for their food than they paid, they paid more money for their healthcare, they paid more money in their rent, and they're looking for answers and initiatives in Washington, and this is the debate that they see.

TAPPER: And they see that Kash Patel is making it easier to apply for a job at the FBI if you have had sex with a chicken.

All right, interesting stuff. Thanks to both of you.

Families of the 67 people killed in the collision near D.C.'s airport were on Capitol Hill today demanding more safety reforms, and one of those family members is here to explain what they're demanding. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:24]

TAPPER: In our national lead story, we told you about last week. On Capitol Hill today, heart-wrenching pleas from the families of the deadly 2025 Potomac River mid-air crash right near Reagan National Airport. The family is asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would require a transmitter system on every aircraft that could have prevented the collision and save 67 lives.

One of the family members there was Doug Lane, who lost his wife, Christine, and 16-year-old son Spencer. He was an award-winning figure skater.

Here's Doug Lane earlier today

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG LANE, LOST WIFE & SON IN WASHINGTON, D.C., PLANE CRASH: There are still people in organizations working to make this harder than it needs to be. We see you. We need you to stop. If you do not believe that the NTSB's recommendations will make us all safer, say so. Say it to our faces. Say it to Chairwoman Homendy and the investigators who worked for a year to develop them.

If you think the cost is too high. Show us the math. Tell us what a human life is worth to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And Doug Lane joins us now, along with the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, who told us about this hearing last week when she was here.

Doug, today must have been tough. Let me start with just asking you, how are you doing?

LANE: I'm doing okay. There is a certain level of empowerment that comes with being with the other affected family members and doing something with our grief. So today is actually a good day. A lot of days when there's less activity, it's harder.

TAPPER: You know what you really remind me of? You really are. I'm getting vibes now remembering like 9/11 widows coming here and like demanding changes to safety and security. And again, you have this idiotic, clueless, faceless bureaucracy willing -- I'm not talking about you, madam chair.

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: Thank you.

TAPPER: Refusing to engage and just like nodding in a in an arrogant way, patronizing way. And not even those are good questions you asked.

LANE: Yes. And I think there are you know, we take a lot of inspiration from the people who walk this path before us. We mentioned the 9/11 families in our speech today. They just in the last month, got a piece of what they've been asking for, for 25 years, with the secondary flight deck barriers. And the job is still not done even a quarter century later.

And we've had a lot of real guidance and support from other families, the Colgan families, the Boeing families. So, they really gave us the blueprint for what we're doing.

TAPPER: And speaking of blueprints, chairwoman, the transmitter system that was discussed today, it's just one of 50 recommendations that you and the NTSB board made. Still, the FAA administrator testified today that they've been told by your organization that the FAA has not addressed those recommendations. You say you're still, quote, "full of hope to improve safety".

[18:50:02]

He said he was willing to work hard, the FAA administrator, when he testified today, but he didn't say he was going to start to work on the recommendations. What's going on?

HOMENDY: Yeah. He said he was going to work hard to prevent it from happening again. That starts with our safety recommendations. Yesterday, the board unanimously voted that a third of the FAA's recommendations are now open unacceptable, which means their response was unacceptable. I mean, we have a shared goal of safety. Our investigations shouldn't

stop with just the investigation. We issue a safety recommendation for one reason, and that's to save a life. That is our whole goal.

And that means in order to save that life, we have to implement our safety recommendations. All of them.

TAPPER: So, Doug, Laura Augendre, who also lost multiple family members on flight 5342, says this is not a right issue. This is not a left issue. Did lawmakers from both parties listen to you today?

LANE: Absolutely. We've had tremendous support all along from the very beginning from both Republicans and Democrats. I mean, the Senate passed a meaningful bill, 100-0. They came out of committee during the shutdown. So, we've had very good support from both sides of the aisle, but it only takes a couple people in the right positions to throw sand in the gears.

TAPPER: You shared the touching story about how the events of September 11th made you realize you wanted to spend the rest of your life with your wife, your late wife, Christine. Tell us about your favorite memory of her and your favorite memory of spencer, your son.

LANE: So, I think with Christine, I mean, she was just a very creative person. And she had over the years, we were married. We were married for 22 years. And she, she just had all these different creative endeavors. She would quilt and make modern quilts, not grandmotherly quilts. And, you know, she would always just have a little -- I would come home and she would have a kiln and say, hey, I'm melting glass into creative objects now. So, it was really just all these little moments of her just, you know, flashes of creativity in ways that I could have never have imagined on my own.

TAPPER: And tell us about Spencer.

LANE: Spencer was just a force of nature. He was one of those people where even at a very young age, you just engage. You could just tell he was destined for stardom, and he had just that it factor. And it took a lot of forms over his 16 years.

But figure skating was the thing that really clicked and became an obsession for him. And he ultimately ended up training full time and went to high school online. And it was his life.

He just loved it. He loved the people. He loved the challenge and was just -- one of those people that everybody was rooting for.

He shared everything he was doing on social media and just built a tremendous following, even as a 16-year-old.

TAPPER: Such a loss. I'm so sorry.

Madam Chairwoman, has commercial flying gotten any safer since this crash?

HOMENDY: Well, the U.S. aviation system is generally safe, but there are risks in our airspace, and we have to address them. The NTSB has quite literally given a roadmap for how to make those safety improvements and to save lives.

We shouldn't be here today. Christine should be here today. Spencer should be here today, 67 people should be here today. But, you know, for the safety of the flying public and our future, we have to implement the safety recommendations issued by the NTSB to prevent that next disaster.

TAPPER: So, Doug, the FAA had did acknowledge the families of the victims of flight 5342 were there. He said he had them. Had you in his thoughts, what's your take on how the FAA and the secretary of transportation are handling this?

LANE: You know, I think early on we did have some very good engagement with them. And I do think they are intelligent and thoughtful people. So, I don't think they are a villains in all of this.

But I do think there is a lot of corporate influence in the process of aviation safety. That is kind of tipping the scales away from us here, and that's how you get these things that take a quarter of a century, like the 9/11 example, or even in this case, you know, the marquee recommendation that the NTSB provided was to require ADSB in, collision avoidance technology. They've been recommending that since before Spencer was born. He was 16. They've been recommending it literally before he even was on this Earth.

So, it's the type of thing where you can have the right things appear to be happening. But in Washington, you know, it's very easy to stop something. It's not easy to do something. And if there are parties out there that are going to be footing the bill for this stuff, they can very easily slow-roll it. And I think that's what we're seeing here.

TAPPER: And let's remember that so many of the people who are regulators come from the corporate world that doesn't want to pay for these things. That's certainly one of the cases here.

Thank you so much. And may Christine and Spencer's memories be a blessing.

[18:55:00]

LANE: Thank you.

TAPPER: Thank you for being here.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Our last leads start in our law and justice lead. Prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, who faces charges of murdering his parents, Rob and Michelle Reiner, last December. He has pleaded not guilty. According to the district attorney, the maximum sentence Reiner will face if convicted is life without the possibility of parole. In our national lead, new video into CNN shows the moment before a bus

crashed into a tree in an Atlanta suburb last week. Police say the driver fell asleep before the bus drifted across the road.

CNN affiliate WXIA says three people on the bus, including the driver, were injured. MARTA, which operates public bus service in Atlanta, says it is reviewing the incident.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bluesky and on the TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. I'll see you tomorrow.