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Detainee Dies at ICE Facility; Key Senate Primary Election in Michigan; Senate Set to Vote on Attorney General Nomination. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: a huge vote on the Hill, a key group of senators deciding if President Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department, acting A.G. Todd Blanche, should get the job permanently.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Trading warnings, Iran threatening the United States Navy right now if the U.S. blockade continues. And President Trump says it's Iran's last chance to negotiate before -- quote -- "decapitation."

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.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We begin this hour with the breaking news.

Any moment now. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche, President Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Justice Department. There has been lively debate up on Capitol Hill this morning, very lively debate. But Todd Blanche's advancement comes down to two Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas.

Both have indicated that the acting attorney general now has their support for the permanent job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the department to live up to this in future litigation, and I will vote to advance him out of the committee today.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): The first one, I called the payout pot for punks. I have never liked this 1776 fund. It made no sense to me, and I thought it was an insult to the police officers and the people that defended us on January the 6th. It's done. It's been rescinded, and I am satisfied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz is here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

So, Katelyn, where does Blanche's nomination stand right now?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Pamela, he has the votes in the committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Those two Republican holdouts who had really put his nomination on the rocks to be the permanent attorney general, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, have both indicated in this hearing that they are satisfied primarily with what Blanche has done to rescind an anti-weaponization fund for the president for his supporters' benefit.

That was something that he had put into writing in May, Blanche had, and now they're rescinding it. It appears they may be voting any minute now. Senator Adam Schiff was the last person to speak.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aye.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA): The nomination will be favorably reported.

Before we adjourn, I have some letters I want to put in the record from -- well, I'm not going to bother to read it. It's not worth reading at this point.

POLANTZ: And so there you hear that this confirmation is headed toward a full Senate vote, that Todd Blanche is likely to be the next permanent attorney general of the United States.

He's a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, someone who had come from prosecutorial background, who was in private practice, and then really made his name by representing Donald Trump in the two criminal cases against Trump in federal court and also in the hush money case in New York, where Trump was convicted of a crime and became a felon, an enormously monumental moment.

But one of the things that has happened in this committee meeting this morning, there have been two hours of recitations from each of the senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee, many of them commenting specifically about the things that were really problematic for them only in recent weeks with Blanche.

He's been the deputy attorney general since the beginning of this Trump administration, but Cornyn and Tillis were both focused on the anti-weaponization fund and something in writing Blanche did just this weekend to pull back on it, say it's not moving forward and to limit tax immunity for Trump to past tax actions.

But there are others in the committee, Democrats especially, who have tried to point out the other issues with Blanche. Here's a little bit more from what Senator Adam Schiff had said in his remarks about how Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general handled the redaction process widespread across the department for months, getting through millions of pages of the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): And what's more, his mismanagement of the release of the files has victimized the victims again by publishing their names, their likenesses, their photos, their addresses.

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We should not confirm anyone so incompetent, someone so indifferent to the suffering of these victims, someone who only met with them because he was going to be refused confirmation for his refusal to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now, as much as the conversation of the Judiciary Committee has been about the Epstein files and the anti-weaponization fund, make no mistake, Pamela, this has been an extraordinary run, as Todd Blanche being in the political leadership of the Justice Department.

Remaking that department with a way that has created the loss of trust with juries across the country, with judges, massive turnover and firings across the department, and a massive expansion as well of the powers and the protections around the U.S. presidency at a time where politics has encroached on everything the Justice Department is doing in a way that we have never seen before -- Pamela.

BROWN: Katelyn, do we have an indication of when this will go to a full vote?

POLANTZ: Pamela, I don't know that off the top of my head right now. There is a question of, will it happen before the senators take the recess for the month of August? Would this be something that would wait until later in the year?

But what we do know is that Blanche, whether he's the acting attorney general or the confirmed attorney general, he has the same powers at the Justice Department. He's been able to be serving in that job, and he could, theoretically, for as long as it takes to get his vote across the finish line.

BROWN: Important context there.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Also happening now, voters are casting their ballots in primary elections in Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, Washington state, and, of course, Michigan.

Democrats nationwide are closely watching its marquee Senate contest between moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens and progressive former public health official Abdul El-Sayed. The two made their final pitches to voters last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: There is a reason why Republicans are already spending thousands and thousands of dollars meddling in this primary, trying to maybe get their preferred candidate.

Look, when it comes to Michigan, I run through anyone and anything to stand up for us.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: This movement of ours has proven that it can come through $80 million of spending in lies because we're willing to hold with us the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Michigan's Senate primary is viewed as a litmus test for the future of the Democratic Party. Whoever wins is expected to face Republican Mike Rogers in November in a battleground election that will influence who controls the Upper Chamber of the U.S. Congress.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Detroit for us this morning.

Arlette, what are you hearing from voters?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this Democratic primary here in Michigan. Senate race has been one of the most contentious primaries within the Democratic Party, and voters will soon offer their choice on the way they feel the Democratic Party should be heading, not just in this race, but potentially beyond that.

We have been speaking to a host of voters here in Detroit, and many of the voters that we have talked to at this polling location have supported the progressive candidate, Abdul El-Sayed. We have spoken to a few supporters of Haley Stevens, the more moderate candidate, as well.

But one thing that we have heard from a lot of these El-Sayed supporters is they back his support for Medicare for all, as well as the need to get outside spending from groups like AIPAC out of politics.

But I want you to take a listen to this one voter we spoke to who actually had voted for state Senator Mallory McMorrow before she had dropped out of the race, and now she says she's supporting El-Sayed. This is what she had to say about the direction she would like the Democratic Party to go in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to see the Democrats move more towards their own policies, less towards the middle, more towards being more aggressive, like the Republicans are, towards the things you believe in, towards the things that are better for us collectively as a whole, not just for black people, not just for white people, for everybody.

And that's what Democratic policies do if they're strong enough to do it. But they never have the intestinal fortitude to do what they say they're going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the state of Michigan could very well determine who controls the U.S. Senate next year. Democrats must hold on to this seat, plus flip four Republican-held seats, if they want to win back the Senate majority.

And this Democratic primary is really serving as a major test for the progressive movement. They have seen a lot of success in very blue areas like New York City and Denver, but now they are trying to replicate those wins here in a very purple battleground state of Michigan.

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BLITZER: Arlette Saenz reporting for us.

Arlette, thank you thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: Wolf, joining us now in THE SITUATION ROOM are Ashley Etienne. She was a communications director for Vice President Harris and a senior adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Also with us is Matt Mowers, served -- who served in the first Trump administration and is now president of Valcour, global public strategy.

Great to have you both on.

Ashley, let's kick it off with you and start with Michigan. This is obviously a big race for Democrats. What is your sense of where the contest stands and what's at stake here?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I mean, I think this particular contest, and really all those that we will be seeing play out tonight, really hit on four themes that I think are confronting the Democratic Party, and that is the Israel divide, the establishment versus progressives.

You have got an anti-incumbent problem that the Democrats are facing. Seven incumbent Democrats have lost this cycle, which is a historic number. And then the third is basically what you just heard from that voter, which is this a desire to have a new leadership style, a more aggressive party.

And so, for me, all of these sort of amount to a frustration within the Democratic Party. CNN just recently did a poll that showed that the large majority of Democrats want a radical change within the party. And so we will see how that plays out tonight across the country in all of these primary races.

BLITZER: Matt, as you know, Republicans, including the Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, they have made it abundantly clear they feel El-Sayed would be the easier candidate to beat in the November election.

But is it possible that some of the same political outsiders who have backed President Trump and RFK Jr. in the past, for example, may be willing to support El-Sayed?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AIDE: Well, look, I mean, Michigan's Michigan, and so it's always going to be a close election.

I actually helped oversee Michigan for President Trump in 2016. This is a blue-leaning swing state, so it's going to be a close election. But I think what we're about to learn is that Michigan ain't Manhattan either.

And if Abdul El-Sayed is the nominee, as it looks like he's going to be, based on recent polling -- average has him up over 10 points over Haley Stevens -- I think what you're going to see is a lot of the far left policies, as well as the cast of character supporting Sayed, are not going to play necessarily very well in a lot of really key areas.

You look at Oakland County, for example, a place that's kind of swung back and forth, I think you could probably call it like the old Mitt Romney country. It's a little bit more upper-class wealthy. I don't think they're going to take to the far left policies of Sayed. You're seeing that in some polling, so it's going to be close.

But the difference is that Mike Rogers right now is on the right side of close over El-Sayed versus Haley Stevens.

BLITZER: You agree, Ashley?

ETIENNE: No, I totally disagree. I think this is a little overly optimistic.

Here's the real reality in what's what's happening in Michigan. Donald Trump is net -- his net eight favor -- I mean, he's at negative-eight favorability in the whole state. I mean, he's -- of all the red states and purple states, he's polling the worst in Michigan.

Why is he polling the worst in Michigan? Because people's lives have not gotten better. His tariffs policies have not materialized a manufacturing boom. They have increased prices on the ground, and now you have got this war in Iran that's increasing gas prices.

Gas prices are over $4 in Michigan. So I'm not so sure that what we're seeing is going to play out the way that my friend, my good friend here thinks that it's going to play out. The reality, though, is the conditions are right for Democrats to win the state.

And Trump barely won it in 2024. MOWERS: He did, but Mike Rogers also almost won it against Elissa

Slotkin, who arguably was much stronger candidate than Haley Stevens or Abdul El-Sayed.

ETIENNE: The conditions are different now.

MOWERS: And I will just say one other thing. I was watching that voter give their comment about how they want someone who's going to represent their values.

I feel like I could have heard the Republican voters say the same thing in 2010 and 2012 in states like Missouri and Indiana, where our party nominated weak candidates. And candidate quality does matter at the Senate level. On the House, it's very partisan. It's a red versus blue.

On the Senate level, candidate quality matters. There's a reason why Republicans left some seats on the table in 2010 and 2012, folks like Mourdock, as well as Todd Akin, if you go back to Indiana and Missouri. You might be seeing the same thing happen here in Michigan this year for the Democratic Party.

BLITZER: Ashley, let me play for you and for our viewers out there what a leader of the Democratic Socialists of America said in a recent interview about the Democratic Socialists of America platform. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON BREAM, HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": Abolish the Senate.

MEGAN ROMER, CO-CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA: True.

BREAM: OK. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them.

ROMER: Yes.

BREAM: Abolish ICE.

ROMER: Absolutely.

BREAM: Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U.S. illegally.

ROMER: As a long-term plan, yes.

BREAM: Defund the Pentagon.

ROMER: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We should note that Abdul El-Sayed is not an official member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but he does share some of their views. How challenging do those viewpoints make the lives of Democrats come November, especially in these battleground races?

ETIENNE: Oh, I mean, it's going to make it very difficult in a lot of new -- in a lot of ways.

You have got a couple things that are converging right now for Democrats. One, you're losing, you're bleeding your incumbent members. You have gotten more members of the DSA that are going to be entering the House. So it's going to really create a tough problem for somebody like Jeffries to manage these new dynamics within the party.

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But I will say this, Wolf. What I'm seeing right now is that, if we take a step back, the Republican Party over the last 20 years has gone through three transformations, from the Tea Party to the Freedom Caucus and now the MAGA movement.

With each one of those movements, they have got tactically strategically stronger. They have won more seats. They have expanded their base. The problem with the Democratic Party now, I'm not suggesting we become socialists, but you have got to realize and confront what's in front of you.

The party's brand is in the tank. You have got increasing frustration with the Democratic Party. We now need to sort of confront where we are and figure out what the next iteration of this party is. We have not transformed since the Clinton years.

So it's long past time, and I think that's why you're seeing Democrats lose to DSA candidates, and you're seeing incumbents lose across the board.

BLITZER: Let me get to another sensitive issue that's unfolding right now, Matt.

CNN is reporting that President Trump's allies are pushing him to encourage the Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller to drop his reelection bid. Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of the GOP Senator Bernie Moreno, has accused him of domestic abuse, which Miller strongly denies.

What should Miller do now ahead of the upcoming ballot deadline?

MOWERS: Well, look, I have known Max a long time. Max is a friend of mine. We worked together on the Trump campaign in 2016. I also know Senator Moreno very well and consider him a friend.

I just hope that they do what's in the best interest of their family. Praying for them. It's a challenging, challenging time that I know they're going through, and to have that litigated publicly is always challenging. So I just hope that they make the best decision for their family.

BLITZER: What do you think, Ashley?

ETIENNE: I think you need to pick better friends. But, nevertheless, I think the concern here, though, is there's a child at the center of this, and that's what makes this very different. And what we have seen now is the normalization of these sort of personal indiscretions post-Donald Trump.

And what I think is also changing the game is that many of these allegations now are met with defiance, and that's what we're seeing from Miller. My advice to him would be to step down and focus on his family.

BLITZER: Ashley Etienne, Matt Mowers, to both of you, thanks very much. Excellent discussion.

And stay with CNN all day to follow all of these races, including the consequential Michigan primary. Live coverage begins later tonight 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN and the CNN app.

BROWN: And still ahead: another detention center death. A Salvadoran man dies at a controversial ICE facility. What federal officials say happened.

BLITZER: And a critical deadline looming for Congressman Max Miller, the new pressure on him to drop his reelection campaign. We have new reporting.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: New this morning, federal officials have now confirmed that a Salvadoran man held at a very controversial immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, has died.

This is the second known death at Delaney Hall since it opened in May of last year.

CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

What more are we learning about this?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're certainly still gathering details about the circumstances around his death, but this is part of a growing trend where we are seeing increasing number of deaths in ICE detention as the number of people in detention also grows.

So this was -- is Edwin Lopez-Cornejo. He's 41 years old. He's from El Salvador. You're seeing photos of him there. What we know about the situation so far is that he experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody. This is according to the agency.

Staff at the facility -- quote -- "responded immediately and called 911 for emergency medical services." He was transported to a hospital, where medical personnel had pronounced him deceased.

Now, more about Lopez-Cornejo himself, we know that he was arrested in -- for illegally entering the U.S. in 2006 by U.S. Border Patrol. He was deported to El Salvador later that year and then reentered the United States at some point in time. It's unclear when that was.

And then, in June of this year, he was arrested and detained at Delaney Hall, which is one of these ICE facilities in this case in New Jersey. ICE says that he was receiving medical care, but it's still unclear to us what type of medical care he needed and what health issues he may have suffered or not.

I said this in a statement. They said -- quote -- "ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments." They also went on to say that: "Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout their stay. At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergency care."

Of course, all of this is going to come under scrutiny in this particular case, as it has in previous cases, because we have also reported and investigated these detention deaths, and we have found that at times these facilities are understaffed, or they are -- or the detainees are not receiving the medical care that they are required to have or need to have.

And so we are still, again, trying to understand the circumstances of Edwin Lopez-Cornejo. But this is yet another death under the Trump administration. More than 50 have happened since he took office, and one that, when these types of things happen, will be investigated internally with ICE, and we will also hopefully get more from the medical examiner in his autopsy report.

BLITZER: We will stay in touch with you.

Priscilla Alvarez, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, coming up: Testimony is back under way in the trial of the woman charged with murdering her three young children.

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Her defense is postpartum psychosis. But what does the science say about it? We're going to ask an expert just ahead.

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BROWN: Happening now: Embattled Congressman Max Miller told CNN that President Trump has not asked him to drop his bid for reelection. The Ohio Republican has been under pressure to step away from his campaign amid allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife. Miller denies those allegations.

He told our Manu Raju that he spoke with President Trump yesterday around 9:00 a.m. and that the president repeatedly said he faces a tough battle to keep his seat.

With us now is CNN Congressional Correspondent, Lauren Fox.

What is the latest here, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, obviously, he's facing a key deadline.