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Mamdani-Backed Candidates Win Big in New York Primaries; Trump to Meet with Congressional Republicans as Senate Passes War Powers Resolution. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: But according to Ross Township Police Department, that fawn went over the side of a retaining wall at a high school on Monday.

[06:00:10]

Officer Roy and his sergeant came to the rescue. Good job there. They were able to take care of the matter and safely, as well.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat is on Mamdani, the Democrats' new power broker. Candidates he backed made a big statement in New York last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD LANDER (D), NEW YORK HOUSE CANDIDATE: Revamp and recharge the Democratic Party in Washington that has, in so many ways, failed to meet the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And a stark intelligence warning. The next major cyberattack could be just months away. And humans may have little to do with it.

And JFK's only grandson just lost his primary in New York. Where does that leave the legacy that a lot of people used to call Camelot?

And some things Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump can agree on: a big triumph in Washington for an issue that couldn't be closer to home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A clean sweep for Zohran Mamdani. Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's what we're talking about today.

The three progressives who were backed by New York City's Democratic socialist mayor, all of them won their House primaries last night. So, you had former city comptroller Brad Lander ousted two-term congressman Dan Goldman after a bruising campaign that focused heavily on their differences over Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANDER: Democrats are painfully divided by our differences over the U.S. relationship to Israel and Palestine, and we have to face up to it squarely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LANDER: Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden's "hug Bibi" strategy was a catastrophic failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a Mamdani-backed Democratic socialist, will be the Democratic nominee for New York's 7th congressional district.

And Darializa Avila Chevalier, another Democratic socialist, captured New York's 13th District, defeating incumbent Adriano Espaillat.

So, it was a rough night for the old guard in New York. There are two incumbents who were defeated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D), NEW YORK: Politics like sports, has seasons of disappointment and seasons of triumph. What matters is that we continue showing up. We continue believing. We continue fighting for something bigger than just ourselves. And so, while my service in Congress may end at the end of this year, my commitment to these ideals will not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst; Jarrett Stepman, contributor at "The Daily Signal"; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic Party strategist.

Antjuan, I'm going to start with you, because this is all about Democrats last night and the Democratic Party, except it kind of was about the Democratic socialists instead.

You had someone like hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday, sort of implying like, hey, settle down, everyone trying to turn these into tea leaves. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): There are 215 members in the House Democratic Caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other in a given state or two aren't going to reshape who we are as House Democrats. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Is this denying the reality of where voters are headed?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC PARTY STRATEGIST: A few takeaways from last night. One, I think that these New York primaries are not some big, bold -- big, bold print or summary of where the totality of the Democratic Party is heading.

No. 2, I would argue that the big takeaway from last night was the robust, healthy turnout we saw expanding our traditional base in these primaries, which means that we have room to grow.

I think that means that the buffet known as the Democratic Party are adding some items. And so that means more people will stand in line to eat from the buffet in November.

CORNISH: Yes. It sounds like a parallel buffet. No, no, no. Before you go, Jamie Harrison, Democrat, he was saying -- I think this is 23rd, almost midnight. He's tweeting this: "Political parties aren't perfect, but they're built by millions of people who knock doors, make calls, fight for the values they believe in."

And then he says this, because a lot of people are -- are criticizing the party. "If you don't believe in the party, then don't ask its members to carry you across the finish line."

Chris Murphy responds, Chris Murphy of Connecticut. And he goes, "I don't know, man. Who is the Democratic Party, if not the voters? Democratic voters choose candidates, not party leaders. And party leaders need to listen to what voters are telling us. And right now, they're demanding our party be bolder."

[06:05:07]

SEAWRIGHT: Sure. We are experiencing growing pains. That happens on both sides of the aisle.

But what I'll tell you, what I will tell you is that the big takeaway from the New York primaries last night was New York 17, a moderate candidate who will take on Mike Lawler, a swing district in New York that will help us get the majority.

Democrats -- progressive winning in Democratic safe seats is not some narrative that we should just be flashing the lights about. I mean, that's healthy debate. That's healthy within the party.

I'm more focused on how do we get to 218? And New York 17 primary is a direct result of that.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It is really a two-track story. I think that it is not as simple as being portrayed.

Antjuan was right. I mean, in safe Democratic seats, in blue places, there is no question the party is moving to the left. If you are an incumbent, kind of a mainstream Democrat in a solidly blue district, especially in an urban setting, you have to be looking over your left shoulder after what we are watching this year.

But if you look at the districts that are going to decide which party has the majority with a few exceptions, Democrats are still relying primarily on moderate nominees.

I mean, New York 17, South Carolina 1 and Utah 1 last night. We didn't say Ben McAdams. We didn't say Nancy Lacore. We didn't say Kate Connelly. But ultimately, those are the candidates that are going to decide whether -- which party is in the majority.

Now, it is not without consequence that these left candidates are winning in, even in safe places, because A, Republicans are going to try to tie all Democrats to them.

And if -- if Democrats do get the majority, it's going to affect the internal dynamics of the caucus.

CORNISH: Let me make sure -- let me make sure --

BROWNSTEIN: But in terms of who gets the majority, it's not critical.

CORNISH: -- Jarrett has a moment to step in here. Because this is the argument that I've heard over and over and over again with each one of these special elections.

There's a moderate doing well. There's someone over here making noise. Why? Who are they?

But you have Republicans using those voices to be like, look, they're all communists. And does that work against some of these moderate candidates?

JARRETT STEPMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Sure. But you can't deny the fact that Mamdani and folks like him are trying to reshape the Democrat Party.

I thought a lot of the issues were actually less just directed toward Donald Trump. What you see a lot of in the Democrat Party is opposition to Trump. This is about internal debates within the party.

I mean, it's very clear now that Israel is becoming a litmus test for many, especially in these deep-blue districts. That clearly came to pass in these elections.

So, yes, I understand that the larger political picture, the national picture, is being shaped by a few more moderate swing districts. But this does shape the party, long-term. If you're sending more socialist members to Congress --

CORNISH: Are you saying that --

STEPMAN: -- that changes the dynamic.

CORNISH: -- because of what happened with both the Tea Party and MAGA candidates.

STEPMAN: Absolutely.

CORNISH: -- who also, at the time, were considered extreme, can't win generals. Why are they doing this? Where is the party going? Bush Republicans melting down, you know, like witches in "The Wizard of Oz." It was a whole thing.

STEPMAN: It was transitionary.

CORNISH: Are you speaking from experience?

STEPMAN: Completely.

CORNISH: Or are you poking at the weak spots?

STEPMAN: No, it is experience. The populist politics of the right have reshaped the Republican Party.

I think the Democrat Party is going through a similar period: that the establishment is seen as not being as credible. They've taken some lumps. They've gone against Trump and lost in 2024. Many of the Bernie Sanders-style politicians feel that they're -- they're in a good spot right now.

CORNISH: You just mentioned Bernie Sanders.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

CORNISH: Did he have a good night endorsing?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, sure. In New York, right? I mean, and in New York City. I mean, you know, and there are -- look, as I was saying, this is primarily happening in safe blue places so far.

There are a few of the Sanders-Warren-type candidates who are -- who have gotten nominations in competitive races. Maine, Graham Platner, obviously, in the Senate race. There's a California -- the race for David Valadao's seat. There's going to be one in Colorado coming up.

How they do in November is going to be really critical to the long- term --

CORNISH: Of course.

BROWNSTEIN: -- prospects of this movement. I mean, these -- the -- you know, all the districts we're talking about in New York City, Harris won at least 72 percent of the vote. OK, so these are -- these are very safe Democratic places.

And if they do get to Washington, they are going to -- they are going to affect the internal dynamics of the caucus. But ultimately, I think whether the left comes out of November with as much momentum as they look like this morning, I think it's going to depend a lot on how those candidates in swing districts do.

CORNISH: So, momentum is fair, which is back to Antjuan's point. SEAWRIGHT: The through line has been economics, has been affordability. And I think, whether you talk about the progressive left or the centrist left or the moderates, however you want to describe them, the through line has been affordability.

And I would just say that how you campaign and how you govern are two different things.

CORNISH: Yes. Mamdani's a good example.

SEAWRIGHT: And I think we're seeing that with Mayor Mamdani. He talked about a number of things on the campaign trail. But people in New York, by and large, have been very pleased with him.

That's why the right have not been able to attack him and tried to mold him in to be something he's not.

CORNISH: OK. We're going to talk more about some of these races, but I want to turn to one other thing, because I always like to look at where the money went.

So, did big tech try to buy New York's political primary? How tech companies spent millions to shape Tuesday's vote.

Plus, are immigration courts becoming ICE hunting grounds? A federal judge has decided to step in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:14:36]

CORNISH: All right. It's now almost 15 minutes past the hour. This is your morning roundup.

Bill Gates told congressional investigators he suspected he was in the presence of Jeffrey Epstein's victims. Gates testified before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door hearing earlier this month.

According to newly-released transcripts, Gates said he never interacted with the victims and never witnessed any sexual misconduct.

A federal judge has issued a nationwide block against the Trump administration's policy of making arrests at immigration courts. Federal officers began detaining court attendees last year under the Trump administration's policies. Now, this new ruling calls the practice arbitrary.

And a wildfire in Utah has now burned about 31,000 acres. It's still not contained. High temperatures and strong winds are making the fire difficult to put out.

The fire started on Monday near multiple campgrounds and summer homes.

And the NCAA has approved a sweeping overhaul of eligibility rules for student athletes. Division I athletes will now be allowed five years of competition in their college years, instead of four. Red shirts and waivers are now eliminated. And this new model goes

into effect following this school year.

And round one of the NBA draft is in the books. Any one of four top prospects could have been picked first by the Washington Wizards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2026.

ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: With the first pick in the 2026 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select Anicet Dybantsa Jr. from Brigham Young University.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: He is six foot nine and averages 25.5 points per game. He is the first player in more than 30 years to lead the NCAA in Division I scoring and get picked first in the NBA draft.

Now, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, progress in the war between Israel and Lebanon. Can Marco Rubio keep both sides engaged in peace talks?

But first, President Trump on a collision course with Republican senators on Capitol Hill. They'll hash it out over lunch today. Who's going to leave with heartburn?

And good morning from here in our nation's capital, as we take a live look at the sunrise over the dome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:12]

CORNISH: President Trump is failing to get his way in the Senate. He wants to pass his voting requirements bill, known as the SAVE Act, and he wants the Senate to end the filibuster to override Democrats to get it done.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, says that's not going to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): This is a waste of time. It's a distraction, and it's not going to get -- it's not going to happen in this Congress.

He's just got to understand some of the limits that we have here in the Senate.

Talking's good. SAVE Act's a waste of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Last night, several Republicans crossed party lines to vote for a war powers resolution, demanding that the president come to Congress if he wants to continue a war with Iran.

Now, the battle over these bills is coming to a head for Senate leader John Thune. He's facing not just Trump, but rival Republicans gunning for his job and willing to use Trump's frustration to get it.

So, what can we expect today? The group chat is back.

I'm going to nerd out, because I used to cover the Senate. And Sen. Thune was on X, hitting back at Mike Lee and others who were, like, Pass the SAVE Act and get rid of the filibuster. We're all frothy about this.

And Thune was telling reporters, look, I have to deal with reality. And sometimes the alternative universe that is X does not reflect the facts on the ground. This is the old "Twitter is not real life" argument.

And he says, "There are not the voters to nuke the filibuster. They aren't going to be ten Democratic votes to, all of a sudden, support the SAVE America Act. Those are hard realities. And I think people at some point have to come to grips with that." People or Trump?

STEPMAN: Yes, I think this is really an interesting moment, especially for the filibuster. I would say that Trump is using this moment to say, look, it needs to be done away with to get what we want.

CORNISH: But why use it with something they don't want and that they can't pass. Why not use it with something --

STEPMAN: Because I think that President Trump especially has actually had some criticism, even from his own voters, that he hasn't paid enough attention to domestic politics, that he's been focused on international affairs.

The SAVE America Act, which is very popular amongst the Republican base, is something that needs to happen. And so, Trump, I think, is getting pressure from his own voters. And he is now pressuring the Senate, thinking, Well --

CORNISH: But why not press an economic thing?

STEPMAN: -- what have we been doing these last six months -- six months?

CORNISH: Like, if you're -- like, if their problem is focusing on domestic policy, why not do something that actually affects their pockets?

STEPMAN: I think because Republican voters also see elections as mattering. They -- they very much support voter I.D. as a --

CORNISH: So, he's putting them on that. What do you see?

BROWNSTEIN: I see meet the new boss, same as the old boss. What was the issue on which there was the most pressure to end the filibuster during Joe Biden's presidency? HR-1, voting reform. The Democratic vision of what national voting rules should be.

And ultimately, they could not -- they did not have enough votes to pass to end the filibuster in the Senate. Manchin and Sinema and others who were mostly unnamed.

To -- to this point, there is not a majority in the Senate on either side to end the filibuster. And as long as there isn't, you can't impose a national voting regime on red states and blue states.

CORNISH: So, one other thing. Rick Scott of Florida, I was reading the reporting, was the one who might have invited Trump. You're nodding. You heard this, too. Invited Trump to this lunch.

Thune was like, Oh, yes, I, too, want him at this lunch. And so now they're going to have to face Trump.

You've been in leader meetings, I know, on House side, but how does this go down?

SEAWRIGHT: Oh, it will be -- whatever happens in the meeting will be leaked to the press before the meeting even ends. That's No. 1.

CORNISH: OK.

SEAWRIGHT: No. 2. But I think this whole idea of the SAVE America Act, or Voter Suppression Act.

CORNISH: And I'm going to put up while you're speaking, what's in it so people can see.

SEAWRIGHT: This Voter Suppression Act is a larger narrative that the president and his party are trying to implement, to strike fear and intimidation and voter suppression into the midterms.

You add this with redistricting. You add this with his executive order on banning mail-in voting. There's a number of things they're trying to do to shape what the midterms look like.

I've often called it the "if you can't beat them, cheat them" strategy. And most reasonable Republicans know that this is not the way to go if they want to be successful in the midterms.

[06:25:04]

CORNISH: But can I underscore Ron's point, which is that under Democrats, people didn't want to mess with it. And under Republicans now, people don't want to mess with it. They see voting as the province of the states. They already have watched this redistricting war.

And this brings me to this point. Why is it with a war powers vote -- I'm going to show you the Republicans who crossed the aisle with voting. Why are these the trigger points that have inspired a certain courage in the Senate against Trump?

BROWNSTEIN: Sixty-nine percent of Americans in a poll on Sunday said the war was not worth the costs. I mean, that's -- you know, you can find a lot of courage in a -- in a 69 percent issue.

And it is still like, even on the voting, the vast majority of each party's legislators are willing to vote for setting national rules that would -- that would affect all 50 states, but not enough. I mean, it is -- you know, I don't know how many Republicans would vote to end the filibuster to pass the SAVE Act. But it's -- you know, it's a lot. It's probably like 45 or 47.

CORNISH: Yes, we're being pretty vague. There are things in here --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

CORNISH: -- Democrats can campaign on. As a woman with a hyphenated name, I've been watching this closely. I don't want to get to the polls and be told, well, wait a second. Are you who you say you are?

It feels like this is an issue that can be easily brought to voters, a la Antjuan, but that Republicans -- I mean, if Thune is saying it's not there --

STEPMAN: It's not there.

CORNISH: -- are the people going after him, just trying to curry favor with Trump, to show, Look, I would have done this on your agenda if it was me.

STEPMAN: But some of the issues, like, for instance, voter I.D., is extremely --

CORNISH: No, no, answer my question.

STEPMAN: Yes.

CORNISH: Is it a power move on Thune to basically bring him before the president and tell everyone, look what he's not doing? I would have done it.

STEPMAN: No question. And this is sort of the independence that the Senate has sort of always had as -- as a body; sees itself as outside the president. I think you get a little less of that opposition in the House.

SEAWRIGHT: Yes. I don't -- I think you have convenient independence. Because more than not, they have aligned themselves --

STEPMAN: Yes.

SEAWRIGHT: -- with Donald Trump on almost every single issue.

And that's why Senate Republicans are so unpopular, because the president is underwater on every single issue.

I also think Thune understands now that the affordability crisis is right at their doorstep, and they're taking responsibility for it. And the Donald Trump agenda is very unpopular --

CORNISH: Yes.

SEAWRIGHT: -- amongst the American people, including the savings (ph).

CORNISH: They also passed a housing bill last night, bipartisan. We're not going to hear about it, because they're going to be -- So, it's like that kind of thing where it's like, wait, you have an item you could be promoting to the voter. Look, we got a bipartisan housing bill.

Instead, you're like, really, I want to go after all these different voting things. How about we spend time on that?

BROWNSTEIN: The thing that's frustrating for senators in both parties is they are much less able than when I first got to Washington in the '80s to swim against the current. You know.

CORNISH: Yes. There's no reward for that.

BROWNSTEIN: If you look -- if you look, there are 25 states that voted three times for Donald Trump. Right now, there are 50 Republican senators in those 25. They have every Senate seats.

Nineteen states voted three times against him. Democrats have every one of those Senate seats except for Susan Collins.

It is very hard for a Senate candidate, no matter how strong or popular they are personally, to win on ground that usually votes the other way for president. So, in some ways, they are dependent variables.

CORNISH: They are, but there's also --

BROWNSTEIN: In the future no matter how much they kind of, you know --

CORNISH: There's also now a small --

BROWNSTEIN: -- plume (ph) and peacock.

CORNISH: -- caucus of people burned by Trump in the Republican caucus.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. They're on their way out.

CORNISH: And they're on their way out.

BROWNSTEIN: They're on their way out.

CORNISH: But on their way out, they may say, I'll cast a few votes the way I want.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

CORNISH: That's how -- that's how courage is built.

OK, you guys, thank you for this.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, NATO sending its Trump whisperer. So, can the secretary-general keep the alliance together?

Plus, how much has the A.I. industry spent in just one congressional race? Why one election has -- was worth tens of millions in influence.

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[06:30:00]