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Supreme Court Rejects Trump Plan to Limit Mail-In Voting in Midterms; Pentagon Watchdog Issues First Review on Impact of Iran War; Kennedy Center Could Close as Officials Warn of Fiscal Collapse. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 15, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The Supreme Court delivers a major blow to President Trump's agenda. The justices rejecting his plan to change how voters receive mail-in ballots with less than 50 days before the midterm elections. We are waiting from reaction from the White House and what happens next.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A special report from the Pentagon's official watchdog. The first formal accounting of U.S. equipment losses and damage done to U.S. bases by Iran in this ongoing war, tracking the U.S. costs and losses this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Way too high, way too remote, and way too close for comfort. The dramatic rescue off of a 700-foot cliff.

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

SIDNER: We are standing by for a response from the White House after the Supreme Court handed President Trump a major blow in his battle to slap new limits on mail-in voting for the November midterms. In an unsigned opinion, the justices rejected his plan that would have given the U.S. Postal Service unprecedented power to withhold potentially millions of ballots.

This comes at a critical moment when some states already sending out ballots, and others mailing theirs out this very week. Some state election officials have told CNN the president's plan would have had catastrophic consequences for voters.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote that the president's order could ultimately be legal, but added, quote, state and local officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections. Justice Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were the only two to publicly dissent and side with the president.

CNN's Alayna Treene live this morning at the White House. Has there been a response yet from the White House to this loss at the Supreme Court?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, Sara, but I will argue that this is one of the most significant cases we've really seen on the Supreme Court's quick turn docket in years. And it is a major loss for the president, who has been railing against mail-in voting and mail-in ballots for several years now. We know that this was all stemming from an executive order that he assigned back in the spring essentially trying to get the U.S. Postal Service to, you know, use this list of eligible voters that would've been made up by the Department of Homeland Security, and only mail ballots to those eligible voters and send them back in.

And, really, the problem we saw here was that a ton of different Democratic officials, but also many Republican officials, worried not only about how this could cause major disenfranchisement across the country, but the timing of it coming so close to these midterm elections, especially now as we know that many of these ballots are already going out to voters.

Now, in this most recent decision from the Supreme Court, I should note there have been many legal turns to this case and to the question of whether or not this order from the president would actually go through. The majority of justices rejected this controversial plan about how mail ballots are sent. They also rebuffed this proposal from election officials, which warned, as I mentioned, that this could have catastrophic consequences on how voting is done across the country.

Now, the court said, and I think this is a key thing to keep in mind when you look at this unsigned opinion, they said that the administration is, quote, unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge, but offered little explanation in their three-sentence unsigned order.

But, essentially, what that says is, you know, the most logical step that the White House would want to respond with is an appeal to this, to try and challenge what the support -- what the Supreme Court has said. They're arguing, though, this is unlikely to actually go through.

So, the question now is, look, this doesn't seem like this is going to happen in time for the midterm elections, but there's still questions of whether or not they can try to do this leading up to the 2028 election and beyond, sort of what we heard Justice Brett Kavanaugh argue in his concurring opinion that he had written. We'll have to see whether or not, though the White House does try to challenge this regardless of what the Supreme Court has said here. Sara?

SIDNER: And I know you'll be watching it all, Alayna Treene, as you always do. Thank you so much for your reporting from the White House this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Let's get the take from CNN's Senior Legal Analyst and former Federal Prosecutor Elie Honig on this one.

[07:05:04]

So, Els, what do you see in this decision? And walk us through it, and what have, do you think, the justices decided here with finality? ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Kate, the bottom line is the president's executive order on mail-in ballots is blocked with respect to the 2026 midterms. Had it gone into effect, this order would have given DHS and the Postal Service essentially the ability to decide who receives mail-in ballots and who can actually vote by mail.

This is an unsigned order. There are only two dissenters, not hard to do the math and conclude that there were seven justices in the majority, and there's really two bases for their opinion. First of all, the majority opinion says that the administration was unlikely to prevail on the merits, meaning, translation, essentially, this executive order is likely, not definitely, but likely unconstitutional, because the Constitution gives the power to run election to the states, not to the federal executive branch. And the second consideration, Justice Kavanaugh says this explicitly, is basically it's just too late to do this, and this would cause chaos if we tried to implement it in time for the 2026 midterms.

So, bottom line, that executive order is off. It is blocked for now for the 2026 midterms.

BOLDUAN: But, Elie, anyone who's been watching this knows that it was just a few weeks ago that the Supreme Court actually gave the green light to the administration to move ahead with the plans of overhauling the mail-in ballot system. So, what changed?

HONIG: Right. Three weeks ago, this dispute came to the Supreme Court, and they said at that point, we're not ruling because it's premature, because things had not progressed far enough, that the harm that the challengers, primarily a group of Democratic states, were complaining of. They said it's all hypothetical and abstract at that point.

Since then, though, in these last few weeks, the Postal Service has gone from just receiving an executive action to actually publishing a rule, a formal rule, in the Federal Register. And now the court apparently thinks that things have progressed far enough that they were able to give that decision last night, which, again, does block this executive order from going into effect for this November's midterms.

BOLDUAN: What does it mean, could it mean for after the midterms, for 2028?

HONIG: Yes, this is not over yet. This executive order absolutely remains in effect and could go into play if it can be properly implemented for the 2028 presidential and Congressional elections. I will say, though, the Trump administration got a really bad indicator last night because, again, if you look at the majority opinion, it says not only will this cause chaos in 2026, but it also says this argument that the government is making, that the Trump administration is making, is unlikely to succeed, which is just another way of saying, we think this executive order is probably unconstitutional.

You cannot take the ability to run elections away from the states and hand it over to the federal executive branch. And so if that ends up being the ultimate ruling, then this whole executive order will fail for 2026, will fail for 2028, and any other time. So, it's a bad indicator for the Trump administration, but this litigation certainly will continue after the '26 midterms with an eye towards '28.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's great to see, Els. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. Some of the setbacks could be permanent. A new internal report on the impact of the U.S. war in Iran, including low weapon stockpiles and base damage.

And put the name back on or else. The president's supporters at the Kennedy Center say the arts Mecca could close as soon as today if the Trump name does not go back on.

And then not the time for a nap, new video shows a bus driver appearing to fall asleep just before crashing into a tree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, a report released by the official Pentagon watchdog is giving a first real look at the damage sustained by U.S. forces since the war with Iran began in February. The report issued by the Pentagon inspector general assessed that Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of structures at U.S. bases across the region. It also acknowledged the depletion of key U.S. munition stockpiles, matching earlier CNN reporting.

With us now, CNN National Security Reporter Davis Winkie. Davis, what are you learning on this front?

DAVIS WINKIE, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Good morning, John. You're right. This is honestly one of the first official looks we're getting on a lot of these details, and what we're seeing is confirmation of a lot of things that we'd previously identified through open source things like satellite imagery and stuff.

One of the key things in this report, it's the first acknowledgement that hundreds of buildings on U.S. bases across the region were destroyed as part of this conflict, and that's led to changes in the way that the U.S. military's accustomed to doing operations across the Middle East. One example is that U.S. forces have grown accustomed to being able to use Army helicopters for real time medical evacuation when people are injured.

But one of the things detailed in the report is that the Army actually had to pull its medical evacuation helicopters out of bases in Iraq and Kuwait due to the threats posed by Iranian weapons. This was also one of the first clear-eyed official acknowledgements of munition shortages that are resulting as part of this war.

[07:15:08]

I'll note that there aren't a lot of details on the shortages within the report itself, but CNN's reported that a lot of these shortages have been in key defensive munitions, such as Patriot interceptors and THAAD interceptors, which are used to shoot down incoming aerial threats, such as ballistic missiles or drones.

However, the report is at the unclassified level provides an incomplete picture here. It's missing some aircraft that we're aware were destroyed, and there's no cost estimate actually for the damage to U.S. bases, John.

BERMAN: That's pretty notable, no cost estimate there. And, Davis, you keep on saying this is the first look. Why? Why is it the first look if this war has been going on since February?

WINKIE: John, it's an interesting question, and part of it comes down to the way that this Pentagon has chosen to approach communication with the public and with the media. As we all know, there hasn't been a Pentagon press briefing on the conflict for months at this point.

And there was confusion over the summer, you may recall, about the casualty numbers within the conflict as they moved to re-categorize them in an online database that wasn't originally intended to be the real time source of information on U.S. military casualties.

Another aspect of it is that the communications about the war have been highly scripted and polished. We saw the interview on 60 Minutes over the weekend of the pilot, of the weapons officer in the F-15 shot down over Iran. That was an opportunity for Secretary Hegseth and General Caine to really get up there and also get their talking points across about the war.

So, this report then represents the first official acknowledgement of a lot of things that have come to be understood through media reporting. And, you know, we'll keep looking for it and keep everyone informed. It's interesting. It's a good point. Different messaging than we saw on 60 Minutes, to be sure.

BERMAN: Davis Winkie, great reporting this morning. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

Ahead, breaking overnight, weapons in space for the first time. We're also hearing the U.S. military confirm it has weapons in space and will use them for national security. So, what are they, and how many are already in orbit?

And after a three-month absence, Senator Mitch McConnell returning to the Senate. What he is saying about his role.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Fiscal collapse, bankruptcy, and hundreds of millions of dollars potentially wasted, they say. That is what the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center board says is at stake for the iconic performing arts center. That is unless, they say, Trump's name is added back to it. If not, the president says he won't be able to, quote, lead the fiscal rescue of the Kennedy Center, forcing it possibly to close, maybe even be demolished.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has much more.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Today, the Kennedy Center board will be meeting, and we have known for quite some time the dire financial straits the center has been in. But we now have this new significant warning that will come from Kennedy Center leaders and will be presented at the board meeting today, warning that they may not be able to pay payroll, that they won't be able to cover basic building maintenance, and that the best course of action, they will argue, to avoid certain fiscal collapse is to close its door.

Now, notably, this information is coming from Kennedy Center leadership that was installed by President Trump. They'll argue that the decline was not due to Trump, but because his name is not on the side of the building, and that it is Trump that they believe is needed to revive and bring back these donors.

So, today, they will be giving the board ten options to bring back his name to the exterior of the building. One proposed inscription writing, quote, renovation, restoration, and support by President Donald J. Trump, another saying, quote, acknowledging the unwavering support of President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund, and another option, quote, a legacy protected through the generosity of President Donald J. Trump.

And notably, they openly acknowledge here that unless Trump gets his name, if he is not publicly recognized, that President Trump will not provide the renovation of the building. He will not oversee the renovation of the building. And all of this is still being challenged in court by those who say it is Trump himself who has derailed the Kennedy Center and the Kennedy Center mission. And this comes as there is also a status hearing this morning in that case, which could open up even more legal questions about what happens next.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

BERMAN: So, new documents released show him obsessing over certain social media posts. So, how will FBI Director Kash Patel respond this morning in face-to-face confrontations in the U.S. Senate?

And a giant crane topples right in the middle of a crowded neighborhood. What happened to the workers inside?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

We are standing by this morning for the first reaction from President Trump after the Supreme Court dealt him a major blow on the November midterms. In an unsigned opinion, the justices blocked the president's new rules that would've given the Postal Service unprecedented power to withhold millions of mail-in ballots, potentially. Justices Alito and Thomas were the only two to publicly dissent.

With us now, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, he serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator, good to see you.

You were speaking out against the president's actions for quite some time. You talked to a whistleblower who said it was going to be a mess if these rules did go into effect. The Supreme Court has ruled against them, at least for this election.

My question to you is, what impact, though, might the rules have had already, maybe to people's faith in mail-in voting?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): John, that is an absolutely key question, and there's no doubt that it has sowed confusion, created doubt, perhaps discouraged people from using mail-in balloting. So, the word has to go out now that there will be no postal service screening. There's no legal authority on.