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Interview with Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ): OpenAI Finds New Incidents of AI Models Acting Deceptively; Republicans Clash on Senate Floor Over AI Kill Switch; President Trump's Net Approval Rate on Inflation; Mortgage Rates inch Closer to 7 Percent. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 17, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI (D-AZ), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Whether they're a friend or a foe, will benefit from artificial superintelligence.

This is a technology that will go beyond human control and will impact all of us. Again, AI is not going to care if you speak English or if you speak Mandarin. It can threaten every single one of us.

So President Trump has a real opportunity to lead here. He will be meeting with Xi Jinping next week. It's the U.N. General Assembly.

We've heard that there is also a meeting with Sam Altman in the books. But I think we need a global framework just like we have with nuclear weapons. And so a large group of members of Congress are urging the president to take action.

This should not be partisan. And this should also not be it's not just simply an American issue. It's a global issue.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are some really, I've heard from Republicans, mostly some Republicans, though, who seem wary about Congress's role in this and the fact that and wary that Congress can come up with effective regulation to put some guardrails around AI advancements as it moves so quickly. Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that senators even understand AI? That most lawmakers.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): No, a lot of them can't spell it. They just don't have the experience.

REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): Let's face it. When the average congressman or senator is getting up there and they have a hard time turning on their cell phone and your staff has to figure out how to do things for you technically. How are we supposed to govern AI from that perspective?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Do you see that here that, hear that? Do you agree with that sentiment?

ANSARI: No, I can't tell you how angry that makes me. This is an outrageous response. Congress is a representative body of the population of the United States.

The population of the United States is terrified of AI. New polling has just shown that the majority of Americans do feel that AI is a threat to humanity and also fear the incredible job loss that is to come because of artificial intelligence.

Look in Congress, yes, we are not experts on everything. That's not the point. The point is that we can create regulations or create regulatory bodies with experts.

When cars were first manufactured, cars had to be regulated. We added seatbelts. We added airbags. We made them safe.

Pharmaceutical drugs. Imagine if drug companies just put out a drug onto the market without the FDA looking at those drugs, testing those drugs and ensuring that they were safe to consume for the American public. It is exactly the same with AI right now.

We have these massive AI companies racing to build this technology. They're putting products out there that are not safe. AI has already led to people committing suicide, to guiding people into how to commit mass shootings.

We've already seen instances of this. It's just the beginning. And now that they're going rogue and proving that ultimately, they will not listen to humans, it's essential that we regulate and we have to move very quickly.

I really want to emphasize that. I think that it is just beyond the pale that Mike Johnson has called off Congress a day earlier than the two weeks earlier that he already canceled Congress. We were adjourned yesterday.

We're going home for seven weeks. And during that time, we're going to see this frontier AI technology continue to evolve, continue to cause damage. And it's going to get to a point where it will be impossible to go backward if we don't move quickly now.

And that is our job. Anything other than that is a complete abdication of Congress's responsibility to the American people.

BOLDUAN: One area where it does seem Congress is acting is we're going to come to how you're -- you sit on House oversight. The House voted unanimously to hold hedge fund manager Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he did not appear for a deposition or turn over the documents that your committee is seeking in part of -- as part of its investigation into Jeff Jeffrey Epstein case and files. Black's legal team responded to this action by the House, calling the calling it a complete abomination.

He denies knowing anything or doing anything wrong. What is going to happen now? ANSARI: So he is being he's going to be held in criminal contempt of Congress. Leon Black is somebody who gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million. They had a very close relationship.

He's been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. He had engaged in a number of NDAs with these women, and he refuses to comply with the law. And this is what happens.

Look, this has been a very bipartisan investigation for the most part so far, when there were negotiations ongoing with former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton about the timing of their depositions, Republicans moved very quickly and made us -- and Congress vote to hold those two in contempt and then they agreed to come forward because that's the law.

[09:35:00]

When you get a subpoena from Congress, you have to comply. People like Leon Black think they're above the law and nobody is above the law.

BOLDUAN: Let's see what happens now, because, you know, Leon Black's legal team is also trying to take action against members of the committee. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time.

We're standing by right now for new mortgage rate numbers to come out today. And that could paint a bleak picture for anyone looking to buy a home.

And new allegations from Princess Diana's brother. His new claims that King Charles said that the princess would be forgotten, quote, soon enough. This conversation allegedly happening just days after her death. What this new book is doing now to the royal family.

[09:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a lot of brand new polling this week on the president and his popularity and his policies. And I've got to say, there is the least subtle message in this polling, maybe that I've ever seen. With us this morning is CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten. What are people saying they are unhappy about that just leaps out of these polls.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN DATA ANALYST: I mean, it literally leaps out of these polls. You know, Donald Trump won a second term in office because of inflation. He was more trusted in inflation than Kamala Harris. Well, I want to congratulate Donald Trump, the president of the United States, because he is breaking records.

He is literally breaking records. Yesterday, the Marquette University Law School poll came out. And take a look here, Trump's worst net approval rating on inflation, minus 61 points, 61 points underwater.

That is the worst that Donald Trump has ever pulled on inflation. And not only is it the worst that Donald Trump has ever pulled on inflation, it is the worst that any president ever has polled on inflation. This is literally the worst net approval rating on inflation for any president.

It is truly record-breaking. Congratulations President Trump you're breaking records but perhaps not in the way that you wish to.

BERMAN: Worse than Carter?

ENTEN: Worse than Jimmy Carter.

BERMAN: Worse than Reagan.

ENTEN: Worse than Reagan.

BERMAN: Worse than Biden.

ENTEN: Worse than Biden. He is worse than all three of those and he is worse than any poll he has ever had himself with this minus 61 points -- literally the worst of all time.

BERMAN: But the Marquette University poll is this the only poll that's finding something like this.

ENTEN: No, OK, so look, minus 61 points at Marquette University Law School poll. There was also a Fox News poll that came out, and I guess it sort of had better news for the President of the United States. Take a look here. He's only 50 points underwater in the Fox News poll. And while that is not as bad as the minus 61 points, it's literally worse than any president before President Trump came into office.

So this minus 50 points, not as bad as the minus 61 points, but would still be a record the other president. You combine the -61 with the - 50 and you go, oh my goodness gracious, this is a huge, huge problem. I mean, I don't know even what the analogy is for being underwater.

This is further underwater. If you combine Jacques Cousteau, you combine The Little Mermaid, you combine Michael Phelps, you combine all those people, you still wouldn't be as far underwater as this. This is literally lower than the three of those combined, lower than the Titanic itself.

BERMAN: Worse than Carter?

ENTEN: Worse than Carter.

BERMAN: Worse than Reagan?

ENTEN: Worse than Reagan.

BERMAN: Worse than Biden?

ENTEN: Worse than Biden.

BERMAN: All right. Now, what is the party breakdown right now?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so you get the minus 50 points, you get the minus 61 points. How do you get this low? How are you breaking records that no other president possibly was able to achieve?

Well, the way you do it is by being negative across all of your partisan groups. Trump's not approval on inflation. Among Democrats, 95 points underwear. That's uniformity, basically. Independents, 74. I mean, come on, what are we talking about here?

And among Republicans, even Republicans have turned against the President of the United States on inflation minus four points. Negative, negative, negative. All the partisan groups against the President of the United States on inflation.

And that is a recipe for disaster for the Republicans in this midterm election coming up because if these numbers hold the same inflation that got Joe Biden out of office, put Donald Trump in office, is going to be the inflation that sweeps Republicans out of office and out of power in Washington, DC, leaving Donald Trump a very lonely man indeed.

BERMAN: So the Fed just voted to raise interest rates to battle inflation, one rate increase yesterday. What are the prediction markets saying about the possibility of more?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so Donald Trump does not like the idea of raising interest rates, right? But the reason they do it is because the inflation is too high. It's not meeting the benchmark that the Fed likes, right?

And you know what? The chance of it happening again? I think Donald Trump is going to be very, very unhappy indeed, because just take a look here.

Chance that the Fed hikes interest rates in December. You know, a month ago, it was just a 27 percent chance according to the Kalshi prediction market. Where are we standing now? A 71 percent chance that in fact, interest rates climb ever higher.

So at this point, the president United States there is just simply put when it comes to inflation, no data he could particularly like, because A, he's breaking all the records possible, and B, those interest rates seem like they're going to go up yet again.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, and like I said, there's nothing subtle. There is a mess.

[09:45:00]

ENTEN: This is the most obvious, sometimes it's really difficult to toss up, you know, you got to get your eyeglasses out. There's nothing subtle about this. I mean, a blind bat in a cave could see these numbers and know that they are bad for the president of the United States.

BERMAN: All right, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: There was a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:00]

BERMAN: All right, in a new book, the brother of Princess Diana is accusing King Charles of saying just days after Diana's death, quote, "We'll forget her soon enough." Sir Charles Spencer says he was arguing with Charles that his sister would not have wanted her sons, William and Harry, just 15 and 12 at the time, to walk behind her casket in the funeral procession. Spencer says that that is when Charles unleashed, quote, a stream of anger in what he called pent up contempt for Diana.

The claim is prompting a rare response from Buckingham Palace, who suggested Spencer's memory was impaired by his long held grief. The book will be released next week.

Max Verstappen. is one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time with one of the best names of all time. Apparently, he can also drive a go-kart. He raced 100 amateur drivers, apparently starting from the back. But that was no problem because he still won.

So Merriam-Webster just added 1,400 new words and definitions, among them cuffing season, quote, when people who are not married or in a relationship begin looking for a short-term romantic partner to spend the colder months of the year with. Notable that Merriam-Webster chose to end that with a preposition. They also added the Mandela effect, which is when many people remember the wrong thing or get a memory wrong. And another word they added was looks maxing, which I know nothing about.

BOLDUAN: I don't even -- I don't either. I don't even know what camera to look at, so looks maxing. Maybe that's what it means for us. Looking at all the cameras.

OK, so let's move to this. We are standing by now for new data this afternoon on mortgage rates. Right now, the rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage is hovering around 7 percent. According to Freddie Mac, it's 6.8 percent. But there are real questions for the housing market as the Federal Reserve just hiked interest rates for the first time since July 2023 in its continued renewed effort to tame inflation.

This raises the cost of borrowing money in general, and central bankers indicated they foresee at least another interest rate hike still this year. Let's talk about housing. Joining me right now is Mike Miedler. He's the CEO of Century 21. It's good to see you, Mike. Thanks for being here.

The Federal Reserve does not set mortgage rates directly. Mortgage rates are tied to longer term bond yields. But what does yesterday's Fed decision and maybe the signaling from Kevin Warsh mean in your view for home buyers and sellers?

MIKE MIEDLER, CEO, CENTURY 21: Yes, I think obviously residential real estate is probably one of the most rate sensitive industries, Maybe after credit cards and auto loans. And I think it's probably going to signal a little bit of tepidness for buyers that are out there. It kind of brings confidence back a little bit, doesn't necessarily move long term demand, but I think you know, I think that hike is probably already baked into that number.

As you mentioned, we're probably somewhere in the seven range. And you know, just that number alone kind of puts a little bit of slowdown for buyers. We are now sitting at a 12 or 14 month high in the mortgage rate. But if I'm looking for a little bit of good news here, you know, the mortgage rate where it sits today is probably a little bit lower than the 50 year average for the 30 year fix.

So I know it'll cause some hesitation headed into the fall, but I do think that there is some opportunity for buyers who are serious right now.

BOLDUAN: I saw this quote from the chief economist at Bright MLS that caught my attention this morning. "We're going to see the housing market slow significantly this fall. Rates near 7 percent will continue to freeze out first time and moderate income buyers and more current homeowners will stay put to hold on to their lower mortgage rate." Saying that that she sees it kind of as a housing market in a stalemate where both buyers and sellers are waiting for more favorable conditions. Is that how you see it?

MIEDLER: I think a lot of that is true. Look, I think the market and affordability, specifically for first-time homebuyers, is in a really difficult position right now. But all of this definitely varies zip code by zip code.

Bright just handles a certain portion of the country. The positive sign, if you look at the national perspective, is that because rates start coming up, you also see inventory coming up, you see days on market coming up, and you see price cuts coming up. And so all those signal for the serious buyer that there's absolutely an opportunity.

You know, again, what happens in Indianapolis is completely different than what happens where I'm at here in Miami or certainly San Francisco. And I think you've got to be ultimately locked in on the zip code, the school system you're looking in, know the data and know which way the trends are headed.

BOLDUAN: And talk to me about those locations. I mean, Century 21 is a huge network that you can you can pull from for information. What part of the country -- but we're talking about those ZIP codes. Where are you seeing more opportunity -- most opportunity for movement? Where are you kind of seeing more that stalemate mentality?

[09:55:00]

MIEDLER: Yes, Kate, I mean, I think it obviously all depends. I think we saw a lot of kind of like restructuring of the marketplace over the COVID period. You know, if I look at the Northeast where I'm from up in New Jersey or New York, inventory is still very constrained. It is tough. You get multiple offers. But if I look at a market like call it Minneapolis where price cuts

are over 50 percent, inventory is up about 45 percent. Completely different, right? And I think, you know, you take Tampa as an example or Orlando here in Florida. Excellent, excellent markets for first time homebuyers.

Your money is going to go a little bit further. There's more inventory and you know net, net. I think it just matters, making sure you understand what your financial position is and making sure you're working with an expert who knows the market inside it now.

BOLDUAN: Mike, it's great to have you. Thank you so much for coming in and walking through some of that with us. Appreciate it. Mike Miedler of Century 21.

BERMAN: And thank you all for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.