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Senate Grills Hegseth, Caine as U.S. Ramps Up Attacks in Iran; Pentagon Says Nearly 100 U.S. Service Members Injured Since July 7; Dignified Transfer of Fallen Soldiers Set for Tomorrow; Trump Downplays Threat of Houthi Blockade in the Red Sea; Maine Senate Hopeful Faces Scrutiny Over Temperament; Taylor Farms Lettuce Remains Focus of Cyclosporiasis Probe. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired July 21, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": -- and Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Dan Caine, are preparing to testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Trump administration is trying to secure an additional $87 billion in funding, most of which would support the war effort. U.S. strikes have pummeled Iran for the last 10 straight days and earlier today, President Trump vowed to not let up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're not finished at all. But if we left right now, it would take them a long time, years, years to rebuild. But we're not leaving right now. Honestly, they haven't seen anything yet. We've been nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The costs of this conflict and reaching a specific dollar figure have become key sticking points on Capitol Hill, especially in the aftermath of the deaths of four U.S. service members over the weekend. Today, we learned the identity of the soldier killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone. 30-year-old Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

We're joined now by CNN's Brian Todd who's tracking all of this for us. Brian, several thorny issues that Hegseth and Caine are going to be asked about, including the Pentagon's reporting about casualties and specifically a lag time in making those details public.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right They're under some pressure about that, Boris, because they have been slow to report some casualties, especially the injuries, the non-lethal injuries that have occurred and we'll get to that in just one second. But first, let's take you to the Oval Office just a short time ago, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was addressing reporters about, basically, why this war has been escalating over the past several days. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Iran's been given every opportunity to negotiate, to show that they're reasonable on the Strait of Hormuz. But if they're going to shoot a commercial shipping, then we're going to hit them, as the president said, ten times harder. Which every night, we're degrading them further and further, and the president has all the options necessary. If they want to talk, they can talk. Otherwise, they can deal with the War Department and we're prepared to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So starting in about a half hour, in the Senate Appropriations Committee, Secretary Hegseth will face questions about that. He will also, as Boris and I have talked about, face some pointed questions about the reporting on casualties. There have been reports this week that the Pentagon has been slow to disclose specifically injuries which have occurred during the Iran War.

CNN reported on Monday that U.S. Central Command has been -- has not been regularly disclosing non-fatal attacks in recent months, leaving those totals to a website, a military website which itself has experienced delays in reporting some of those figures. Now, just yesterday, the Pentagon Spokesperson, Sean Parnell posted on X that nearly 100 service members have been injured since July 7th. He said most of those have been minor concussions.

But as we just mentioned, we'll show you the graphics again. We have just identified three of the service members who were killed in recent days in the Iran War. There are three identified there. You see them there. Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25-years-old; Private Isabella Gonzales, 19-years-old; and Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton -- two of them, Feehan and Gonzales were killed in Jordan. Swinton was killed in Iraq during the controlled detonation of a drone.

There is a fourth service member, Boris, listed as missing. We don't have confirmation on some of those details yet. But again, he is going to be asked those questions about them being slow to report the injuries.

SANCHEZ: Sean Parnell, who you mentioned, that Pentagon Spokesperson had made the case that in a way, having this lag protects U.S. service members stationed abroad. We'll see if Secretary Hegseth makes that argument. Separately, we noted at the top that a lot of lawmakers, notably some Republicans, have yearned to get an exact dollar figure for how much the war has cost so far. What are you hearing about that?

TODD: So you mentioned in your intro the $87 billion. We believe from our reporting that $60 billion to $73 billion of that is what they're going to be requesting for the Iran War specifically. But again, this is despite concerns from many in Congress, including Republicans, about the U.S. military's depletion of munitions and funding. So they're going to be asked a lot of questions about that, whether they can justify $60 billion to $73 billion more for this war, Boris, and not have an endgame here because that's another thing he's going to be asked about.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

TODD: What's the endgame? How much longer is this going to go? Because people in Congress are losing patience, the American people are losing patience.

SANCHEZ: Initially, from four to six weeks to now --

TODD: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: -- looking like six months and likely more.

TODD: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: Brian Todd, thank you so much for that. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Earlier today, during a meeting with Lebanon's leader, President Trump said that Iran has not seen anything yet, adding, quote, "We're not finished at all." The new warning coming as CNN is learning the president is expected to attend a dignified transfer tomorrow for the four service members killed over the weekend.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is live at the White House with more. Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And the president, in this meeting, taking quite a dim view that diplomacy will prevail at least in the short term with Iran, saying that they were wanting to desperately meet, but that in his view, that would not be productive at the moment, saying that unless they were ready to talk in a meaningful way, that he was not interested in engaging in diplomacy.

[14:05:00]

And we do know that mediators in this conflict have behind the scenes been trying to get the two sides to a degree to attend a ceasefire that would give space for some of this diplomacy to proceed, but President Trump in the meeting today really downplaying the idea that he would agree to that. He also laid out a new target, which was Pickaxe Mountain, which is this highly-fortified facility south of Tehran where, at least according to Israeli intelligence, Iran has been gathering its centrifuges and at least some of its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

The president not confirming that intelligence but suggesting if it was true, that he would hit that site pretty soon. The other front that the president was asked about was a completely new one, which is the Red Sea. The Houthis, which is the Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen, just recently announced a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The president was asked if he would get involved there and said that if he saw that happening that the U.S. would, quote, "take care of it."

And so you see the president both expanding the list of potential targets that the U.S. could go after while also downplaying the idea that he could engage in talks with Iran diplomatically. And I think that just provides something of a muddled roadmap for how he sees this all ending. You know, at one point, the president said that if the U.S. left Iran tomorrow, that it would, quote, "be a big success," but Iran still has the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz.

It still clearly has the ability to target American forces that are arrayed across the Middle East. And so I think altogether quite a convoluted picture of how the president sees this all ending. And I think it will be complicated by that visit to Dover tomorrow for the dignified transfer, really reiterating for him the weight of responsibility that is on his shoulders as he plots a course forward, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yeah, it will be a very somber moment tomorrow. Kevin, thank you so much. Live for us from the White House.

Still to come, new questions about the temperament of the presumed Democratic nominee in the Maine Senate race. What the campaign of Troy Jackson is now saying about alleged fits of anger. And then later, the new forecast for Tropical Storm Bertha picking up steam in the Gulf, where it's headed now. We'll have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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[14:12:10]

SANCHEZ: Just when you thought controversy over the Maine Senate race was over, there's more. Nearly two weeks after Graham Platner suspended his campaign there for U.S. Senate, the man expected to replace him is facing his own scrutiny about how he treats people as a CNN investigation uncovered.

KEILAR: Now, none of this rises to that level of sexual assault, which that's -- those are the allegations that Platner was facing -- is facing. He denies them, of course. But Troy Jackson, a former Maine State Senator, is being accused of bullying, blowing up when confronted, and even throwing a water bottle in an angry outburst.

CNN's Allison Gordon is part of the CNN investigations team that looked into this. What are you learning, Allison, about Troy Jackson?

ALLISON GORDON, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yeah, my colleague, Sarah Ferris and I have been speaking with dozens of Democrats in Maine about Troy Jackson's forceful and sometimes fiery personality in the Maine Statehouse. Now, some say his behavior crosses the line into bullying. Others appreciate his brash approach. But the biggest controversy is over something that happened some five years ago when Jackson was the President of Maine's State Senate, and he threw a water bottle during an argument with fellow Democrats in a private meeting.

One female lawmaker told her colleague she was distraught because she thought Jackson was aiming at her, according to five sources who learned of the incident later. She decided not to run for re-election, in part, she told colleagues, because of the incident, according to three of those sources that we spoke with.

Now, Brianna, as you rightly noted, Jackson has not been accused of any physical abuse or criminal wrongdoing, and even his most ardent critics that I spoke with are quick to separate his conduct from the allegations against Platner.

SANCHEZ: Has he had any record of behavior like this before?

GORDON: Yeah, so as you all know, Maine, it's a small state, everybody knows everyone. So Jackson was well known for his temper. You know, sources told us about him pounding on desks, storming out of rooms, getting into shouting matches with members of his own party, and swearing at colleagues, these sources told us.

One ex-colleague also told us that she even started recording meetings because of this behavior, and she was worried about it.

KEILAR: What does the campaign say about it?

GORDON: Yeah, Jackson's campaign admits that he did throw the water bottle during that meeting, but they disputed he had lobbed it at anyone's direction. They're saying that an eyewitness recalled that the bottle was thrown away from everyone and struck no one.

That witness is another state Senator who was supporting Jackson, I spoke with him, and he also told me that Jackson wasn't throwing the bottle at anyone. The campaign also attributed his behavior to Jackson being, quote, "passionate and deeply invested" in the people and policies he advocates for. Over 22 years in public office, there have been moments when he let his frustration get the better of him.

[14:15:00]

When that happened, he took responsibility and apologized directly at the time, and that he regrets the moments when disagreements became too heated, but passion for the issues he advocates for should not be confused with physical intimidation or bullying.

Now, the nominating convention is on Saturday where he'll likely lock up the bid, so we'll be watching closely for a reaction here at CNN.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, we'll see how Saturday goes if it's brought up at all. Allison Gordon, thanks so much for that reporting.

Still to come, the cyclospora outbreak has millions of shoppers avoiding their veggies. We'll tell you what's safe and what's not safe to eat as the number of cases rise.

And we're watching Capitol Hill awaiting the testimony of Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who will be looking for more financial support for the war in Iran. That and much more coming your way in just seconds.

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[14:20:27] KEILAR: Today, HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressing the rising number of cases of that diarrhea-causing parasite, saying the outbreak is, quote, "under control." His comments follow the recall of iceberg lettuce from supplier Taylor Farms, but there is a lot of confusion about what products are even safe to eat here. We have CNN's Meg Tirrell joining us on this.

All right, Meg, what's the status of this outbreak, and what foods should people be avoiding?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna, what we know for sure is that the recall that the FDA has been communicating about still stands. So that is Taylor Farms shredded iceberg lettuce. Now, Taylor Farms has said it's removing all iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, from the U.S. market.

And so it said it had distributed that shredded iceberg lettuce product between June 29 and July 16 to 27 states. So you can see there that map of where they distributed it. We've also heard from different brands that potentially were affected by this recall.

Taco Bell, of course, really out ahead of this and saying a while back that it had removed any potentially affected product. We also heard the same from Jack in the Box, from Sysco, which is a big food distributor, also from Walmart and U.S. Foods with some specific brands.

And Walmart is one really that we should make sure folks know about because that, of course, is a retailer. This could have been something that was on shelves that people purchased. That specifically is two products in different sizes from the market side brand. So that's iceberg lettuce and shredded lettuce products in those sizes, which have Best Buy dates out to August 3rd.

So the FDA is warning folks that if you have any of these, you should toss them out, contact the retailers about getting a refund. The Walmart product was potentially on stores in 15 different states, according to the recall information provided by the FDA and from Taylor Farms. So you might be asking, OK, that's what we shouldn't eat, shredded iceberg lettuce. What can we eat right now?

And the answer to that, really, Brianna, I wish I could give people a detailed list of here's the absolute safest thing you can eat. But really, it's that what we know is affected is what's listed in this recall. Everything else is essentially on the same footing.

So if you're looking at other greens, kale, spinach, they're going to be on the same footing in terms of safety as one another. Iceberg lettuce is the only one that's different there. We should also note that this big outbreak of cyclospora, more than 7,000 cases, is really concentrated in these five states in the Midwest, with the worst-hit state being Michigan.

There are, of course, other states, as you can see here, that have cases of cyclospora and those are not necessarily related. The FDA says it's currently investigating multiple potential clusters, most of which are much, much smaller. But we don't know what the sources of those are. So folks should be aware of that.

General good food safety tips is when you're buying greens, buying lettuce, if you get a whole head, do remove those outer layers. That's not because of cyclospora necessarily, but you're going to get rid of the dirt. You're going to get rid of other potential bacteria on the outside. Wash it thoroughly to get rid of dirt, bacteria, pesticide residues, all of those kinds of things.

And for cyclospora in particular, the only way to kill it if you're preparing it to eat is to heat it to 158 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. So obviously, you're probably not going to cook your salads. But if you're thinking about other produce, you might be worried about roasting those veggies, which is my personal favorite, is a good way to go.

KEILAR: Yeah, a roasted salad, if you will. Something a little different there. OK, so the Health and Human Services secretary was just asked about this outbreak, Meg. What did he say?

TIRRELL: Yeah, there's, of course, been a lot of criticism, folks pointing to different cuts in programs and, of course, to lots of staff in federal health agencies that may have hampered this response.

We have a lot of reporting on that ourselves this week. Here's how RFK Jr. responded to questions about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As you know, thousands of Americans have gotten sick from the cyclosporiasis outbreak. Would like to get your take on, does the federal government have this outbreak under control right now?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE SECRETARY: We do have the outbreak under control. We have done extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics, and we've identified the source of the outbreak. And the companies that are involved have implemented a recall.

Those criticisms are invalid. We've had no cuts in our surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance. And all the states will tell you that. We're still doing forensics. We're still doing surveillance in all the states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:25:00]

TIRRELL: And so, of course, our reporting has suggested that various cuts in funding, hiring freezes, cuts to specific lab groups, as well as the broader workforce cuts we've seen across federal agencies, the CDC and also at the FDA, potentially did slow down the identification of the source of this outbreak, as well as hampering potentially the communication of this outbreak, Brianna. So there are a lot of criticisms from the public health world about that. KEILAR: Yeah. Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for that.

Still to come, we're awaiting testimony from Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. He's going to be on Capitol Hill here shortly before members of the Senate. And he's going to be asking for more funding as the U.S. is ramping up attacks on Iran.

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