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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces Resignation; Vance: Iran To Allow Nuclear Inspectors In The Country; CNN Exclusive: Trump Admin To Use Tens Of Millions In Homeland Security Funds To Force States To Implement Election Changes. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired June 22, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: From Oakmont Country Club for smashing up the lockers in the changing room in frustration with his U.S. Open performance. Wyndham Clark is celebrating victory at Shinnecock Hills in New York, his second U.S. Open title. He may have been the leaderboard favorite going into the final day with a six-stroke lead, but that didn't mean he was popular in the eyes of the fans. There were jeers, a number of them ejected after directing abusive comments at him.

Obviously it affected Clark. A three-putt bogey on the 17th left him needing to par the last, which he did after a brilliant 52-foot putt to finish a shot clear of fellow American Sam Burns. And there was another winner on the 18th hole on Father's Day. Joe Russell was there watching his 17-year-old son Miles play in the last hole of his U.S. Open debut, and then he was suddenly handed the caddy's bib and called into action. Russell is the number one ranked junior in the world. He hatched the plan with his caddy. What a Father's Day gift, walking up to the green on the 18th hole together. That's just wonderful. Thank you guys.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: How special that is. Wow. Don Riddell, thanks so much. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And the next hour of The Situation Room starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

We're following two major stories this morning. The Vice President J.D. Vance, has wrapped up the first round of negotiations with Iran and says the countries have built, and I'm quoting him now, "A successful foundation." A short time ago, the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil. And this morning, Vance said that Iran has agreed to let nuclear inspectors from the United Nations back into the country, a very significant development.

BROWN: And we're also covering breaking news from one of America's closest allies. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces he will resign. And it comes months after criticism and calls from within his own party to step down. And it means more uncertainty for Great Britain. Starmer's replacement will become the sixth prime minister in just seven years.

CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour is in London. Christiane, let's begin with Starmer here. He has been under growing pressure for months. Why is he resigning in this moment?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, there has been a belief that despite the fact that he was elected almost exactly two years ago with one of the biggest majorities, parliamentary majorities in Labour Party history, that somehow he has not met the aspirations or expectations of the people. His polls are down. The party's polls are down.

Having said that, his party won a convincing win up in the Mayfield election, the bi-election, which is bringing Andy Burnham to probably be the next prime minister of Great Britain. So it's a sort of an atmospheric thing. And of course, we do have a kind of a weak economy, although some of the indicators are slightly better than they were. But since Brexit, since COVID, especially since the financial crisis, the economy has not got back on its feet quick and strongly enough. So that's one of the big, big problems.

And unfortunately, personally as well, many analysts have said that Starmer is not, you know, the charismatic figure that maybe you need in today's reality, that Andy Burnham has shown himself to be much more of a people person. And perhaps that will work better in terms of interface with the press, with the people and all the rest of it.

BLITZER: Christiane, I also want to ask you about the peace talks going on between the U.S. and Iran right now. The Vice President J.D. Vance says Iran has agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors back into the country. Is this any different than what was allowed under the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA?

AMANPOUR: Well, on this particular issue, no. And actually, the IAEA inspectors had been in Iran basically since the JCPOA, pretty much all the time, you know, on their schedules, until the war, you know, the 12-day war a year ago, Iran started restricting their access. And then, of course, since this war that started at the end of February, they have not been there. So it's, again, a return to the status quo ante. But it's very important, particularly because right now there's some confusion about where is this enriched uranium.

What, if anything, of Iran's nuclear abilities has survived these several waves of bombings, whether it was in the February war or in the previous one last year in June? And particularly, where are these 12 tons of highly enriched and less highly enriched uranium? So that is going to be super important because it'll lay the benchmark for how they actually come to a negotiation about resolving the nuclear issue between the two countries.

[11:05:20] But don't forget, right now, the nuclear issue in terms of Iran's power, its geo-strategic power, is somewhat less important than its economic leverage that it has over the Strait of Hormuz, which has been demonstrated since February 28th, since this war started. And that has brought Iran into a really whole different reality of being able to leverage its power and its policy vis-a-vis the rest of the world.

BLITZER: All right, Christiane Amanpour in London for us as always. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf, let's continue this conversation on Iran. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. So, Kevin, the Vice President said the talks laid the foundation for a peace deal. But there was also a lot going on during this. You had President Trump appearing to threaten the Iranian delegates. You had fighting in Lebanon threatening to derail the talks. Where do things stand right now?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And I think that's just a good indication for as optimistic as the Vice President sounded when he emerged from those overnight talks. The discussions over the next two months are going to be very, very difficult. And yes, he says they've laid a good foundation here. But I think it's worth pointing out the nuclear issue didn't even seem to be at the center of what they were discussing this weekend.

Yes, they agreed on these IAEA inspectors, although we should point out point eight of the memorandum of understanding actually says that the IAEA will be in Iran to oversee the destruction of its stockpile. So in a lot of ways, that seemed to have already been agreed. What they were talking about over the weekend was the Strait of Hormuz, was the conflict in Lebanon. Again, both points that were ostensibly resolved in the memorandum of understanding.

And so they really seem to have come up with a framework for having these discussions going forward. But certainly the very thorny issues about enrichment, about the stockpile still remain to be resolved. And you've seen President Trump have an ability and a willingness to throw into these talks very bombastic accusations towards the Iranians and saying that he was willing to restart the fighting.

Now, Vance said that he did not think that this threw a wrench in the talks entirely. But he told the Iranians that this was the President's prerogative going forward. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can't expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record. So when they say things that aren't true, the President is going to respond to it. I'm going to respond to it. Americans are going to respond to it. When they make threats that aren't rooted in reality, they have to accept that the President of the United States is actually going to set the record straight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, Vance said that the President over the weekend did not cause the talks to collapse entirely, although he did acknowledge that there was, "a little bit of threatening and a little bit of whining" from the Iranian side that caused at least a temporary pause in the discussions, which when you only have 60 days and in fact, now they only have 55 days to work out some of these issues. Every pause is a moment that they're not being discussed. And clearly, time is very much of the essence.

BROWN: It certainly is. Kevin Liptak live for us from the White House. Thanks so much.

BLITZER: And still ahead, we have exclusive new reporting. How the Trump administration has threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in homeland security funds if states don't adopt its sweeping election changes.

[11:08:48]

BROWN: And a raging fire at a beach resort turns deadly. Why hundreds of tourists are stranded after they ran for their lives. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We have some breaking news into The Situation Room. The Supreme Court is reinstating a murder conviction in the case of Etan Patz, a six-year-old little boy who vanished from a New York City street as he walked to a bus stop in 1979 in a six to three ruling. The justices have returned a federal appeals court decision to throw out the conviction of Pedro Hernandez, who confessed in 2012 to the killing. Hernandez's lawyers say his confession was false and caused by mental illness. The case brought nationwide attention to missing children after authorities put the boy's picture on thousands of milk cartons. His body has never been found. Wolf?

BLITZER: So sad indeed.

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: Also new this morning, a CNN exclusive finds the Trump administration is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal home security funds from states unless they adopt a sweeping set of election changes. The funding includes grants to state and local governments that are meant to prevent terrorism, protect infrastructure, and prepare for major disasters.

BROWN: CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now in The Situation Room. So what kind of changes here is the President demanding?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we know, look, over the past 18 months, the administration has been going after election fraud, despite little evidence that there's any sort of widespread issue here. Now what it appears they're doing is trying to use homeland security funding as leverage in that fight. So what we're talking about here are these large grant programs that are run through the Department of Homeland Security.

[11:15:13]

This year alone, they're set to deliver about a billion dollars out to states. It is one of the key tools that the federal government has to help cities and states prepare for terror attacks, cyber security incidents, major disasters. Cities and states consider this really critical funding. Well, now what the administration is saying is, if you want all of that funding, you're going to have to implement these mandatory election changes. Otherwise, you're going to have to forfeit 20 percent of your grants, which could, for a lot of places, mean millions of dollars gone.

So what they are specifically demanding is this list, if we can bring that up. They are looking for a transition from states away from electronic voting systems that use things like QR codes and barcodes. They want to move to hand-marked paper ballots. That's one of the things we've heard the administration talk a lot about over the past year plus. They want states to be conducting manual election audits. But this is a keynote.

They want them using methods that are specifically developed by the administration and by the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. So they want the administration in the driver's seat when it comes to election audits. They also want states using a government- approved system to verify the citizenship of any workers who are working at polling locations.

And this one might even be most controversial of all. They want to require states to run their complete voter rolls through the SAVE system at the Department of Homeland Security. It is this citizenship verification tool where they can search for non-citizen voters or ineligible voters. One of the reasons I say it could be most controversial, over the past year, the administration has been suing about 30 states trying to force them to hand over their voter list, to have them run it through that DHS SAVE system.

But we have heard repeatedly that states say, one, the administration does not have the authority, the President does not have the authority to force states to run their elections this way or that way. The Constitution gives that authority to the states. But also, they say the SAVE system is flawed. There have been false positives. People have been removed from the voter lists of their state erroneously. And frankly, they also just don't trust this administration with that voter data.

So again, now the administration is coming in and saying, well, if you don't implement these things, we're going to withhold millions of dollars from you. They have tried to implement things like this in the past. They've tried to attach language to grant funding that would push their policies when it came to immigration policies, DEI. We have also seen states sue. Courts block a lot of those initiatives. So no doubt there will be states that push back on this, that sue. We will see where it goes. But this is just another tool that the administration is now trying to use to try to pressure states to implement their election priorities.

BROWN: All right. Really important reporting. Gabe Cohen, thank you.

BLITZER: Good work.

BROWN: Wolf?

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

[11:18:07]

Up next, how people in Memphis, Tennessee are now fighting back after Republicans carved up the state's last Democratic district. A Situation Room special report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Turning now to the Situation Room special report. The only Democratic district in Tennessee is now a thing of the past. The state's Republican majority redrew the congressional map to dilute Memphis, a majority Black and traditionally Democratic city, into three separate Republican-leaning districts. CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll went to see how some of the residents there are fighting back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weekend football in Memphis is usually about competition and fun. Today, spectators have a lot more on their minds.

CASSANDRA VANN, GRANDMOTHER: There have been great sacrifices people have made in order to get us here. So, it just seems like that is part of our voice as a Black community.

ANTOINE SMITH, MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICER AND FOOTBALL COACH: Everybody has been upset about it. Everybody has been emotional about it.

CARROLL (voice-over): Even if they're rooting for different teams, many here are on the same side when it comes to redistricting.

SMITH: It's very disheartening. We don't have the same vested interest with somebody who's 200 miles away from here.

CARROLL (voice-over): Here's what happened. State Republicans redrew the congressional map, taking the old ninth district, the state's last remaining Black majority district, and breaking it into three new districts, 5, 8 and 9, that stretch far beyond Memphis, diluting a once Democratic stronghold, upsetting not only many of the city's Black residents.

JILL ELASINGAME, MEMPHIS RESIDENT: I'm still in nine.

CARROLL: OK. ELASINGAME: But they are in eight now.

CARROLL: Across the street.

ELASINGAME: Across the street.

CARROLL (voice-over): The newly redrawn district splits Jill Elasingame's neighborhood right down the middle of her street.

ELASINGAME: It's just unnecessary. Memphis is a predominantly Black city. To take that power away from the citizens, very suspicious.

CARROLL: Suspicious. What do you think is behind it? What do you think is motivating it?

ELASINGAME: Racism, obviously.

CARROLL (voice-over): Republican lawmakers argue the move has nothing to do with race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maps were drawn to maximize the potential republican partisan advantage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you aware that Memphis is predominantly African-American?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not.

REP. JASON ZACHARY (R-TN): This map was drafted based on politics, based on population, and the opportunity for the first time in history for us to send an entire republican delegation from Tennessee to represent the state in Washington, D.C.

[11:25:01]

CARROLL (voice-over): The new districts now break up Memphis's Black community, one which has played a historic role in the civil rights movement.

It's a community where some are fighting back in a traditional southern way from the pulpit.

LAWRENCE TURNER, SENIOR PASTOR, THE BOULEVARD CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Memphis and Shelby County are facing one of the most significant political shifts in recent history. We need massive voter turnout in August and in November.

CARROLL: Religious leaders know here in Memphis, if you want to reach the Black community, this is the place you've got to do it.

CARROLL (voice-over): Pastor Lawrence Turner took the state of Tennessee to court. Through his organization, the Black Clergy Collaborative, he joined a federal lawsuit to try and block the redrawn map.

CARROLL: Can we grab you now? TURNER: Yes. When you crack the ninth district in Tennessee, you took away the right of those who live in this community to choose who represents them. And so, they could say this is gerrymandering based upon party, but it's obvious you target a city like Memphis, which is one of the blackest cities in the country, and break up the only black and blue congressional district in this state. It's clearly not partisan, it's racial.

CARROLL (voice-over): Chances of a federal judge blocking the new map before the midterms are slim, but the Black community could still deliver a record turnout. Parishioners such as Brittney Williams say she and others like her feel motivated to vote.

BRITTNEY WILLIAMS, PARISHIONER: People suppress what they're afraid of. And I think they realized that when the Black community comes together, we're always going to work hard to fight, to make sure that not only do we have the right but everybody has the right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Green light. Red light.

CARROLL (voice-over): Miles away, the message resonated with the Chisolm family. Jasmine Chisolm is the great, great granddaughter of Birdia Keglar, a civil rights activist who, in 1966, was killed in a suspicious car accident after returning from a civil rights meeting.

JASMINE CHISOLM, MEMPHIS RESIDENT: My children, it's up to us to teach them about great grandma Berdia Keglar. It's up to us to teach them about stuff like this, about how people lost their lives to vote because they're not learning at this school no more.

CARROLL: Do you feel a special sense of responsibility given, you know, your family's history and being involved in the civil rights movement?

CHISOLM: I do.

CARROLL: Is that a lot of --

CHISOLM: I do. If you want to see a change, your voice matters. In order for them to understand us as an age group, we have to get out and make a stand and vote.

CARROLL (voice-over): It's a fight they pray will ultimately end in some sort of justice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a picture of her right here. They named the highway after her. The fire, the fight is coming back at us. We have to continue to fight, not give up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And our thanks to Jason Carroll for that report.

BLITZER: Important report indeed.

[11:28:16] And just ahead, more deadly storms and tornadoes tear through the Midwest, where this dangerous, very dangerous weather system is headed next. We'll tell you when we come back.

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