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Texas Board Of Education To Vote On Mandatory Bible Stories In Public Schools; Mistrial Declared In Pacific Palisades Arson Trial; Democratic Socialists Flex Power With Big Wins In NY Primaries; Democratic Sen. Slotkin Calls For New Party Leadership; Senate Advances Bill On College Athletes, Transfer Rules And NIL; Documentary Explores Unaffordable Childcare For Families; Women Navigate Return To Work After Pandemic She-Cession. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired June 26, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: And just last year, the state required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really has been. In the last few years, Christian conservatives here in Texas have felt very much emboldened and pushed for this. They have pushed a bill that required, that allowed Christian chaplains in -- or chaplains in public schools. That was a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court.

You referenced there the bill that was passed last year, I believe, that required the displaying of the Ten Commandments. That has been upheld by a federal appeals court level. Anticipate that that could very well be before the U.S. Supreme Court as well. So this is kind of marching in step with all of that that we have seen.

This is a very conservative state board of education board. The members of it have been pushing this kind of curriculum for some time. And one very conservative group, a public policy group said -- describes this as kind of like the final act of their ability to kind of take over the curriculum and be able to present these types -- this type of material into Texas public schools.

BASH: Ed, thank you so much. Keep us posted if it passes anytime soon. Appreciate it.

And coming up, are moderate Democrats out of step with the energy in their own party? I'll talk to a moderate, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:01]

BASH: Breaking news in California and an official mistrial in the Palisades fire arson situation. And the question is whether or not in the 2025 fire, which killed a dozen people and scorched thousands of homes and businesses, anybody's going to be held accountable.

Nick Watt has been following this every single day. You just came out of the courtroom. What happened?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the jury had deliberated for 13 hours, Dana, and they said unequivocally, we cannot reach a unanimous verdict. So they were all brought back in this morning. The judge asked each one individually, are you guys deadlocked? Is there anything we can do to help? Do you think any more time would help? No.

So mistrial. So what happens now is the question. In about 90 minutes, they're going to have a hearing to determine whether this guy, Jonathan Rinderknecht is kept in custody. The U.S. attorney has already said that they plan to retry this case. He just tweeted, "The evidence is strong. We fully intend to retry this case."

I was just chatting to Jonathan Rinderknecht's lawyer outside the elevators. And he said, listen, we said from the start there was no evidence. This is a circumstantial case entirely. And very interestingly, the jury gave a breakdown and they said that where they were deadlocked was 10 for not guilty, just two for guilty.

So aside from this tweet, we will have to see if there is officially going to be a mistrial. And Dana, you mentioned who's going to be held accountable. Well, there are a bunch of civil cases filed against the city, the state and others. And frankly, most homeowners who lost their homes in the Palisades who I've spoken to say they believe that that is where they will really get to the truth of what happened here.

One woman called this guy, Jonathan Rinderknecht, a patsy. He was put forward by the government as an angry young man who didn't have a date on New Year's, who went up above the Palisades to get revenge against the rich. But the jury, 10 to 2, said, no, we don't think he's guilty.

Dana?

BASH: Fascinating. Thanks for giving us that breaking news, Nick. Appreciate it.

And now back to the big political story this week. We've talked a lot about centrist Democrats and many of them kind of panicking over three Mamdani-backed challengers winning House primaries in New York City. "There's going to be a war," one centrist told Axios. "If you're a socialist, you're not a Democrat," says Congressman Josh Gottheimer. And one frontline Democrat told CNN they're having serious conversations with donors about leaving the party altogether.

Joining me now is longtime Senate moderate Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware. Thank you so much for being here. What's your reaction to the New York City primary results?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Dana, look, there were lots of primaries across the country on Tuesday. Yes, there were three primaries in New York City where the result was that Mayor Mamdani's endorsed candidates were successful. There were also congressional primaries in other places, in Maryland, where Steny Hoyer's seat was -- the primary was won by a moderate in Utah, where Ben McAdams, a moderate, won that primary. There's primaries all over the country for Senate seats, for House seats. And I don't frankly think that the outcome of three elections in New York City shows a clear national trend. I think what we need to do is to focus on what Democrats can agree on.

This past week, all of us voted for a housing bill led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and President Trump refused to sign it, even though 85 senators voted for it. I think the big political story of the week is the dysfunction in Congress as a result of Trump demanding that Republicans pass a voter suppression bill, not one primary over another around the rest of the country.

BASH: Respectfully, if a big story every week was Congress having dysfunction, that would be the big story from now until --

COONS: Well, Dana, the story was that we actually came together --

BASH: No, no, I agree.

COONS: -- and passed a big bill. Yes.

[12:40:09]

BASH: I -- Senator, we did a segment on the show earlier this week saying, breaking news, Congress is working. So I totally hear you and I agree with you. But I do want to ask about the New York City primaries. I also take your point that there were a lot of primaries, not just Tuesday, but even before that, where there were different outcomes in the primary.

But in New York City, Congressman Gottheimer, who I mentioned before, what he argued was, if you're a socialist, you're not a Democrat. Do you agree with that?

COONS: I'm a member of the Democratic Party. I'm not a member of the Socialist Party. And frankly, I think that while folks can take ideas from other political traditions, if you're running in a Democratic primary, you ought to be a Democrat.

And in the same way that the Tea Party and MAGA have shifted and ultimately redefined the Republican Party as a far-right anti- immigrant populist party, I worry that we not be redefined solely by a few members of the House. I'll remind you, Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, leads the House Democratic delegation.

And Chuck Schumer, also from New York, leads the Senate caucus among Democrats. Neither of them would be described as Democratic socialists. And I think it's important that we focus on who's leading the party, not on a few folks here and there who are great at getting television attention.

The same night that Mayor Mamdani won his primary decisively, we also elected new governors in New Jersey and in Virginia who are moderates and who are going on to lead significant states. So I see more balance in this than perhaps picking on one or two races or one or two candidates might suggest. BASH: Well, you mentioned leadership, let's talk about that. It's not just individuals on the left who are saying that new leadership is needed. I want you to listen to your colleague from Michigan, Senator Elissa Slotkin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D), MICHIGAN: You need new leadership in the White House, the House and the Senate, and on both sides of the aisle that includes Democrats. If people can't understand that the game has fundamentally changed and they can't adapt, then they need to let others lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Do you agree?

COONS: Look, we have a remarkable class of freshman senators. We hear from them often. They're quite impatient and quite insistent. And I remember being a freshman senator, too, and having a sense of, you know, why aren't we getting more done? Why aren't we solving more problems?

So I respect Senator Slotkin and her sense of insistency and urgency. We'll have another election for leader in January, and we'll see how it turns out. But I think that the guy who is currently leading our Democratic caucus knows more about winning Senate races in tough and competitive states than anybody currently in the Senate. And I think we'll see whether we need new leadership based on the outcome of these fall elections.

BASH: OK. Staying on the Senate, there is a big primary in Michigan. It's testing the ideological divide. You talked about that these are three districts in New York City, which is very blue. Michigan is not. It's purple.

And one of the questions is whether the Bernie Sanders-endorsed candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, will win. He's certainly got a lot of wind at his back. He seems to be rising. You endorsed one of his opponents, Congresswoman Haley Stevens. She's a strong supporter of Israel.

Is Stevens in line with where Democratic voters are right now?

COONS: Well, obviously, Dana, that's a question that will be answered in the primary. And I think whether or not the Democratic Party is successful in retaking the House and the Senate will largely depend on whether in primaries we choose candidates who appeal to the broad range of voters in purple states like Michigan, Minnesota, and in other states.

You know, Virginia and New Jersey are widely thought of as being blue states, but they have not been solidly blue that long. And in New Hampshire, we've got a race for the Senate where Chris Pappas is also someone I've endorsed, who I think is going to face a close and challenging contest. I think he will win. But at the end of the day, I got to know Haley through her work saving the automobile industry and her commitment to manufacturing. And she asked several times, and I ultimately agreed to endorse her because I know her work and her work ethic. And I think at the end of the day, someone who's grounded in manufacturing, someone who's supported by labor, and someone who's got real experience in the House is the best next senator.

[12:45:03]

But I respect that there's two other candidates, at least in that primary. And we'll see how the primary turns out.

BASH: Before we go, I want to ask about another bipartisan bill. But it nearly fell apart on the one yard line. And that is a bill talking about college sports that you are very involved in trying to fix the problems, a lot of people see in college sports right now. And this is something that would restrict athletes to one transfer without penalty, limit eligibility to no more than five years, and several other things that will sort of shift the way that college sports is handled. Can you get this passed?

COONS: I believe we can. Look, the lead co-sponsors are Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington, the chair and ranking of the Commerce Committee. To balance what you said, which is some provisions in this bill restrict some of the chaos produced by the transfer portal and almost limitless eligibility, this bill also secures the NIL rights, the Name, Image, and Likeness rights that guarantees that college athletes get their fair share of the revenue and provides wraparound health care for five years while they're playing and five years afterwards.

And something I'm proud of, a lifetime medical trust for those whose lifetime injuries result from college play, a 10-year guarantee of scholarship eligibility, transparency for agents, and a cap on how much they can charge at 5 percent, and a return to play decision- making by medical professionals not influenced --

BASH: Yes.

COONS: -- by the university or college for which you're playing. There's a whole raft of what I think are good and decent protections for college players, as well as restriction on their ability to transfer.

BASH: Yes.

COONS: A second transfer, you lose a year of eligibility. It's a complex bill, but I urge folks watching who believe in college sports, who love the chance this fall to cheer for their team and forget about politics for a minute, to look at the Protect College Sports Act. I think it deserves to be passed.

BASH: Senator Chris Coons, always good to see you. Thanks for being here.

COONS: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Up next, a mom asks, is it the mothers who are broken or the system?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The United States views motherhood very differently than a lot of other countries do. We really discard the mother by the time she's given birth to the child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot be the only mom who literally wants to throw up thinking about sending their 12-week-old to daycare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:52:02]

BASH: There are many universal truths in this life, and one is that mothers carry the overwhelming weight of the world. So who's helping them? A new documentary digs into that question. Are we trying to fix the system or are we trying to fix the moms?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no higher calling than being a wife and a mother for a woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side, not at the table.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That whole feminist movement, Girlboss, we can do it all, is such BS.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ones that only do the mothering, that say that's their full-time job, that is privilege.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mom culture wars that we are witnessing on social media and in more public dialogue are not new. They are rooted in history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The debate gets framed as an us versus them, that zero-sum game.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like we cannot support each other when everything is political.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no winning a cultural fight. We're going to make losers out of moms for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I spoke with the executive producer of that film, Reshma Saujani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I cannot wait to see this because as a mom and probably every mom or people who know moms just saw that trailer and went, oh yes, I get it. And, you know, you say we're trying to fix the women instead of trying to fix the structure. Most women, I would venture to say, are probably somewhere in the middle.

If they want to stay home, they want to be able to afford to. If they want to work, they want to be able to afford to, meaning afford child care. Why is fixing the system so overwhelming?

RESHMA SAUJANI, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "NO COUNTRY FOR MOTHERS" DOCUMENTARY: Because of the culture wars. Exactly what you said, most women are in the middle. They don't want to be a trad wife or a girl boss. They don't want to spend their time milking a cow or hustle so hard that they never see their kids.

And so every time women make progress, every time we get a little closer to child care, a little closer to paid leave, the country throws us a culture war. And it divides us and it distracts us. Instead of marching for paid leave, we're spending our time, you know, in the comment section on Instagram defending our own choices.

BASH: And, you know, one of the big questions about all of this is daycare. And you asked Donald Trump when he was running for President again in 2024 about child care. I want to play some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAUJANI: You win in November. Can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make child care affordable? And if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I would do that. And we're sitting down. You know, I was somebody -- we had Senator Marco Rubio and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. It's a very important issue.

But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about, that -- because child care is child care. It's couldn't, you know, there's something you have to have it in this country. You have to have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:07]

BASH: And he went on and on. And that answer went viral because there wasn't a clear answer. It is true that his daughter Ivanka, when she was in the White House in the first term, did try. It didn't go anywhere, which is kind of the point that you're making. What were the reactions that you heard from people to his reaction or answer to your question?

SAUJANI: Well, I mean, I think originally he says child care is child care. You got to have it. And so for a minute, you thought, OK, he's acknowledging that this is a real problem for American families. I mean, child care outpaces inflation.

You know, 55 percent of Americans are in debt because of the cost of child care. They're literally one financial event away from ruin because all of their savings goes into child care. The problem is -- and so he says that as he's running for office, the problem is a few weeks ago, he brings it up again and he says, child care, like we can't afford to have that. I have to spend our resources kind of protecting the country.

So his response was like, I got billions for bombs, but pennies for moms. And that --

BASH: He said specifically, we're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare. Go ahead.

SAUJANI: Right, right. And so to me, it's the opposite of what he said to me, you know, that September in terms of understanding how important child care is, that it's a linchpin of affordability. And so I think that like anyone who is not actually moving towards passing child care is going to feel the pain of that.

And the reason why New Mexico, Vermont, here in New York, while we've passed are moving towards universal child care is because it's the one thing that government can actually do. The one policy that they can pass that makes a different in -- a difference in Americans pocketbooks.

BASH: Yes. And, you know, you also talk about child care being a huge reason for what's known as the she-cession of --

SAUJANI: Yes.

BASH: -- women leaving the workforce during the pandemic. Nearly half a million women quit. And you can see we have a chart up here. The workforce plummet in 2020, recover a bit, but it's declining again. So you do --

SAUJANI: That's right.

BASH: -- believe that this is reversible with the right policies in the short term.

SAUJANI: I mean, absolutely. Like America has the most educated population of women with the least amount of labor market participation. When you look at that chart and you study, why did 500,000 women leave the workforce in 2025? The number one reason was the cost of child care.

Most American women come home. They look at their paycheck. They look at the cost of their child care. And the math is not mapping. And that means that every day, we lose nurses, teachers, social workers, foundational workers to our country.

This isn't about women's preferences, this isn't about our choices, this is about a workforce that like we desperately need in our economy. And the number one thing that would keep them in the workforce, that would make them not just be scrounging every day to survive, was bringing the cost of child care down.

BASH: Do you think that moms need to think more about running for Congress, or is this -- well, just answer that question.

SAUJANI: Well, I love -- look, I love the fact that, Dana, this is a bipartisan issue. It's not a partisan issue.

BASH: Yes.

SAUJANI: And I meet moms across the country, whether they voted for Donald Trump or they voted for Kamala Harris, and they all are experiencing the same thing. Motherhood is broken by design. And we know we're getting conned.

We know that it doesn't have to be this way. And so, what this film is going to do, what "No Country for Mothers" is going to do is really, you know, tear down these divides, bring moms together across the aisle, and I think finally get these policies passed. But, yes, I think to get there, you need more women in elective office.

I saw what Moms First was able to do with Governor Hochul. We worked together for three years to pass child care, which we just recently did with Mayor Mamdani. That's because she knew what it was like to make those choices. She knew what it was like to have to choose between her job and feeding her babies, you know.

So many of these elected officials, they have single moms. They are single moms. They know how hard it is. And so you need, you know, you need that kind of experience in many ways to get it down the finish line.

Because here's the thing. Like, we find money when we want to. We pay for things when we want to, like foreign wars. So it's -- we're not not passing child care because we don't have the resources. We don't have the will. And the people who have the will? Female leaders.

BASH: Amen to that. I really look forward to seeing this documentary.

Reshma Saujani, thank you so much for being here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And thank you for joining Inside Politics. Tune in to State of the Union this Sunday. Jake will talk to Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

CNN News Central starts right now.