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U.S. Launches "Heavy Wave Of Strikes" Against Iranian Targets; GOP Holdouts Postpone Vote On Blanche Nomination; CNN Poll: Voters Favor Democrats Heading Into The Midterms. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 30, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN -- new CNN polling shows Democrats now leading Republicans in the midterms. So what's behind the surge?

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): That people are saying, you know what status quo policies no longer are good enough. We want a government that works for all of us.

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HILL: The brief pause in the Iran war appears to be over the U.S. resuming strikes against Iran as the war now expands to Egypt.

A Senate hearing on COVID quickly turning confrontational. Why were the attacks on Dr. Fauci so personal?

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SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) do you think you were for doing that?

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HILL: President Trump's pick for attorney general hits a roadblock, and the resistance coming from Republicans

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you think they're not getting the message from you?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Maybe they think they can roll me.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESE: We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them. They know what's coming. They're asking us not to do it, but they nevertheless took a shot. So, it's our turn

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HILL: The U.S. military unleashing new attacks on Iran, making good on that promise. Good morning, everyone. I'm Erica Hill in for Audie Cornish.

We begin with the new strikes overnight, a new video in from U.S. Central Command, which shows what the military is calling a heavy wave of strikes aimed at Iranian equipment, command posts and southern coastal defense sites. Video from Iran's state media claims to show the aftermath of one of those strikes on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that missiles fell there in a residential neighborhood.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joining us now from Dubai.

So, in terms of this latest rounds of strikes, Eleni, what more do we know about the strikes? And also, the response at this hour from Iran?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, President Trump making good on those threats yesterday, in fact, using very harsh language to emphasize how hard they were going to strike Iran. CENTCOM confirming those strikes, and Iranian state media saying that they heard blasts across southern Iran.

Importantly, Bandar Abbas, that important port city. We heard about blasts heard on Kish as well as Khuzestan province, which borders Iraq. Now, in Qeshm Island, Iranian state media releasing footage showing rubble rescue operations there, saying that a strike had impacted a residential building. Multiple injuries reported there as well.

Now, in retaliation today, just this morning, Iran targeted Jordan once again. Five missiles were intercepted and then Kuwait confirming that there was a deadly attack targeting a Chinese company in the northern part of the country. One person died and there was extensive damage there as well.

And when we talk about the broadening of this war, Erica, and it's important to note, Saudi Arabia has been impacted by Iran's proxy network, not only the Iranian backed Iraqi militants in Iraq, but also the Yemeni Houthis. And what we've been seeing here is another further issue, where two vessels are off the coast of Egypt. The port had been impacted by a drone.

Now, no group has claimed responsibility for this strike. But there is continued concern that were climbing this escalation ladder, how President Trump is going to respond to these new attacks on Jordan and Kuwait, and importantly, what the positioning is of the proxy network. Saudi Arabia, in meetings with J.D. Vance as well as President Trump yesterday was talking about how they want deescalation, but also have a right to protect themselves.

And they even struck targets in eastern Iraq in a joint operation with CENTCOM earlier this week. And there's concern that there could be sort of a bigger drawing of other actors into this war.

HILL: Yeah. Certainly, the stakes shifting every day. And as we look at this, certainly ramping up. Eleni, appreciate it. Thank you.

Just ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, the weapons warning as the stockpile dwindles in the U.S. as the war with Iran making America more vulnerable.

Plus, heavy rain and rescues. This morning, the cleanup underway after flash floods across the northeast.

And a Senate panel will not vote today on Todd Blanche's nomination as A.G. Is this one Republican's revenge for the president primarying him?

The group chat has some thoughts.

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RAJU: Why do you think they're not getting the message from you?

CORNYN: Maybe they think they can roll me.

RAJU: Can they roll?

CORNYN: No.

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HILL: Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas still refusing to support Todd Blanche as attorney general, forcing Republican leaders in the Senate to postpone a vote to advance his nomination. And that throws Blanche nomination into serious jeopardy. Now, just days before the Senate breaks for its long August recess, Cornyn showing no sign of backing down in his battle with the Justice Department over its controversial $1.8 billion so-called anti weaponization fund.

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CORNYN: He refused to commit to writing what he testified to under oath. And it's not a big ask.

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REPORTER: Why don't you think Todd Blanche has met your demands at around the 11th hour before this vote?

CORNYN: Well, I assume he's getting some pushback from the president's lawyers.

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HILL: Cornyn, a member of the YOLO caucus, if you will, was primarily by President Trump, of course, lost his seat.

Today in the group chat, Tamara Keith, senior political correspondent at NPR, host of the "NPR Politics" podcast; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. And Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist.

Happy Friday eve to all who celebrate. Nice to have you guys here.

As we look at where things stand as this process dries out, dries out, dries out -- drags out, I should say, Blanche is still acting A.G. in some ways. Is this actually a win for the White House, maria?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think you can look at it two ways. Yes, he's acting A.G. and you know, even Democrats say that he could continue in that role. But to put sort of the focus on why is it that Republicans themselves aren't going to let him get through this process, to officially become an A.G. I think underscores all of the negative aspects going into the midterm elections for Republicans, and especially Todd Blanche, when I believe most people don't think that he is in there to do the best job for the American people or for the Department of Justice, even, but that he's there to do the best that he can do for Donald Trump himself.

He used to be his lawyer. He even had a Freudian slip during one of the sessions in Congress when they asked him, are you a lawyer or are you the A.G.? He was like, I'm the president's lawyer, or I was the president's lawyer.

So that does not inspire confidence in him, in his role as the A.G., and especially when it comes to the Epstein files, which I think is just going to be a negative for him.

HILL: Is, is -- Terry, is the president losing his grip on the party?

TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: No, I don't think so. I think if you look at what's happening here, these are two senators that don't have to worry about reelection. Tillis is retiring. John Cornyn just lost a primary battle. I do think this is some personal politics going on.

But I was just going to say Todd Blanche has done an amazing job at protecting parental rights. He has this whole anti-weaponization of government coalition. He just had a bunch of parents in just last month. I was at that meeting, versus Merrick Garland, both Tillis and John Cornyn voted to confirm Merrick Garland, who weaponized the government, who voted for him, or, sorry, who weaponized the government against these parents, classified them as domestic terrorists.

It's really -- really sad to see. We need to be unified as a party. And these guys that don't have to worry about their reelections really are hurting us.

HILL: So, you're saying that it's them not worrying about reelection makes it political, or is it just that they're voting.

SCHILLING: With their personal, personal.

HILL: Oh, personal?

When we -- when we look at how we got to this place, there is a lot of -- as we heard from Senator Cornyn, right? He has this focus on the fund. So Todd Blanche was asked about it. I want to play what Todd Blanche had to say.

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TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are not moving forward with the fund.

REP. GRACE MENG (D-NY): Not moving forward, ever.

BLANCHE: Correct.

MENG: Would both of you now sign and release documents reversing the DOJ's position on the fund?

BLANCHE: I'm not -- we're not moving forward with the fund. I'm not committing to putting anything in writing. And I said it over and over again.

MENG: Nothing in writing?

BLANCHE: I mean, I don't know what the purpose of putting something in writing. I'm telling you what we're doing. Meaning like, what's the -- why do I need to put something in writing if I'm telling you what we're doing?

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HILL: So, to that point, there's a lot of back and forth on the writing. I just want to say, the most recent CNN reporting, a DOJ official told CNN that a written proposal was sent to Cornyn staff on Tuesday, Cornyn told CNN. And I'm quoting him here that it was not clear -- it was clear. Sorry. He was clear. He has not seen, quote, a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I've requested.

How did this, in particular become the sticking point?

TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Oh, because this was announced just as all of this was coming as his nomination was coming. And it, you know, it was it was actually part of Todd Blanche's efforts to get the job to win over the president, to say that he should be the permanent attorney general, along with some prosecutions and other things that that are very in line with what President Trump made clear that he wanted. I almost think that Senator Cornyn is surprised that this relatively simple request hasn't yet been met. My sense is that Senator Cornyn wants to vote this through. He has

been a good Republican senator for a very long time and doesn't totally relish being in the YOLO caucus. And yet, this is sort of just hanging out there for now.

CARDONA: But can I just say this underscores the lack of credibility for Todd Blanche people say, if we can really trust you to say or to believe that this is not happening, put it in writing. But clearly, we know that the president doesn't want him to put it in writing because the president wants this. So, the American people, again, are left with, we can't trust these people.

KEITH: At least one judge has asked for it in writing, too.

HILL: Yeah. So, we'll see. We'll see if it ever materializes.

As we wait, we do want to take a look ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING.

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It's some new polling which shows that advantage I mentioned at the top of the show for Democrats heading into the midterms. The question, of course, can they actually turn that into votes when the time comes?

Plus, fire crews in France today could finally see some much needed relief as the weather turns.

And good morning to our friends joining us from Charlotte. Pretty sunrise you have coming up here, 6:15 a.m., for sunrise over the city.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to hear from myself him explain why Congress has lost their backbone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are pissed and. And frankly, I am too.

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HILL: There you go. People are pissed. Voters across the U.S. are angry. They're frustrated.

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And this morning, new CNN polling may also offer a bit of a red flag for Republicans heading into the midterms. This new polling for CNN shows a possible Democratic surge. In a head-to-head ballot, Democrats are topping Republicans by eight points. Democratic voters are far more enthusiastic as well when it comes to election day, 60 percent say they're extremely motivated to vote in the midterms, compare that with 46 percent of Republicans.

Now, when asked who is the party of change and who cares about you? Voters picked Democrats, but when asked who will actually get things done, voters chose Republicans.

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SANDERS: Most Americans understand that our economy is rigged. The very rich are becoming much richer, while 60 percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck, they can't afford groceries, can't afford health care, can't afford child care, can't afford to retire with dignity.

So, people are seeing that and they're looking at the Democratic -- they're looking at the Republican Party and they're saying, you got a president who's mentally unbalanced as an authoritarian, but what are the Democrats going to do for me? Are they going to stand up?

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HILL: The group chat is back.

All right. So, when we look at this, Democrats have an advantage in this new polling, Tamara. This is by no means no means a done deal, right? There is still a whole lot of frustration. It is still July for a couple more days. So, November is a long way off. And the majority there saying both parties are focused too little on the cost of living.

There's a lot of work to do. I know you have some new reporting about this. I mean, what do Democrats need to do moving into November? Because this might make them feel good. But it's July.

KEITH: Yeah. I had exclusive access to a report on what Democrats need to do to speak to working class voters, which is a huge share of the electorate that Democrats have really struggled with. And the message is essentially talk about the economy, which not surprising. This is a message that has been, you know, goes back 40 years. It's the economy, stupid.

But the Democrats need to talk about the economy in a way that just isn't just about prices, isn't about just abstract ideas of affordability, but also about wages, about any number of things about, as, in fact, as Bernie Sanders did, the idea that people work really hard and they just can't get ahead.

HILL: Yeah.

KEITH: But the Democratic Party doesn't always do a terrific job of this. They often end up talking about social issues that are wedge issues that are very important to the Democratic base, but less important to these swing voters. And working class voters who are like, you know, I can't -- I can't think about the end of the world. I need to think about the end of the month as -- as the report phrased it.

HILL: And the, and messaging has been, I think we can say we can look across decades has been a consistent issue for Democrats, Maria, and a unified message has been a consistent issue.

Do you see your party taking the lessons from this polling and even from Tamara's new reporting in this moment?

CARDONA: They've been taking those lessons from the moment that we lost in '24, which is why since then, Democrats have won or overperformed in more than 90 percent of the elections that have taken place since Donald Trump took office.

We have switched -- we have flipped more than 30 red states to blue seats in state legislatures all around the country. We've gotten mayorships that where a Democrat hasn't been in there in 30 years, Erica.

So, yes, you are right. People are pissed. Democrats are talking about these economic issues. Leader Jeffries, just this past weekend came out with what the closing argument is for Democrats going into the midterm elections. It is all about fighting for an affordable America. And under that, are those specifics, Tamara, about better wages, about health care, which we can talk about because this big, horrible bill that the Republicans passed last summer rips health care from hundreds of thousands of Americans. And that is a key issue for American families when it comes to affordability.

It talks about housing. It talks about being able to afford your mortgage or your rent. And so all of these issues, I think, are helping Democrats with the enthusiasm and are telling -- telegraphing to working class voters all across the country that it's Democrats that have their backs, while Republicans and Donald Trump have betrayed them.

HILL: Democrats are getting a lot of play for the current divisions within the party. Right? Questions about Democratic socialists, who is a Democrat? What is the Democratic Party really stand for right now?

This in many ways, feels like a gift to Republicans. I know they're looking to jump on it, but the reality is, it seems the GOP is still trying to figure out their messaging on that point, too. MS NOW obtained this memo, which was sent to House Republicans, which reads in part, Americans still hold communism as far more dangerous and alarming than socialism and Marxism. That's an important indicator for members. Do your best to connect all three together, because these government systems are fruit of the same poisonous tree."

It's a lot of blending of the isms, I'll be honest, when we look at that. The fact that Republicans are also -- you know, Republicans tend to be pretty unified when it comes to messaging.

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But that's a plane that they're struggling to land a little bit as well.

SCHILLING: Yeah. No, they -- the Republicans need to do a better job of contrasting themselves with the Democrats. I just got back from San Francisco, and I had to fill up my rental car before I left. It was $7 a gallon.

The irony here is that in the blue states, cost of living is much higher than the red states. Fifty-two percent housing prices and -- in Democrat states are 52 percent higher than in the red states. Utility costs are 40 percent -- 45 percent higher in the blue states.

I do think, though, what's interesting, though, is that the DSA candidates are going to cause a shift in the Democratic coalition. Just as Trump coming onto the scene caused a change in the Republican coalition, I think the same thing could very well happen there in the Democratic Party. So, we'll have to see how that plays out.

But I think Republicans need to contrast. They need to come up with more plans to speak to working families. That's the Republican Party's coalition is the working families out there that have children to provide for and, and to, you know, make ends meet with.

HILL: Donald Trump worked out well for Republicans.

SCHILLING: He did.

HILL: So, are you saying the DSA could work out well for Democrats?

SCHILLING: No. So what Donald Trump brought in a lot of working class voters who are lower propensity. And we lost a lot of those suburban, reliable GOP voters, the Democratic Party. I think it's very possible that those reliable GOP suburban voters could come back to the Republican Party when they see the extremism of these DSA candidates.

CARDONA: But when you have the poll that just came out from CNN where it says 73 percent of Americans don't think that Republicans and Donald Trump are focusing on the issues that they care about, that's a huge red flag for Republicans and a tremendous opportunity for Democrats that they're going to take advantage of.

HILL: A lot of messaging opportunities across the board, right?

CARDONA: Yes, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

HILL: It's going to keep everybody very busy.

Still to come here, much more to talk about on CNN this morning, including as we talked a little bit earlier about Todd Blanche's nomination as A.G. being up in the air. One of the reasons, too, has to do with his handling of the Epstein files. Just ahead, I'll speak with one of Epstein's survivors for her message to senators.

Plus, weapons stockpiling -- weapons stockpiles, rather, are dwindling, as we know, as the war with Iran drags on. What is the message that sends to adversaries and allies alike?

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