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The Situation Room

Nepal Rescue Efforts Continue; Pete Hegseth's Culture War; Interview With Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA). Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 02, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

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[10:34:15]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: The CDC is not counting two measles-associated deaths reported by Pennsylvania in its measles death tally. The agency says it doesn't have enough information to determine whether measles caused or contributed to the fatalities.

Pennsylvania health officials have said they thoroughly investigated the details of both deaths before announcing them.

And, in California, a new video shows the moment federal agents confront former Congressman Eric Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport. This footage obtained by our affiliate ABC 7 in the Bay Area is from an encounter first reported two weeks ago.

Swalwell appears to hand over his phone, and then you see agents escorting him into a restricted area. The FBI also reportedly seized his laptop. And this all happened the day before agents searched his D.C. home, I'm told by a source. Sources also tell us the criminal investigation is related to broader allegations of sexual assault against Swalwell.

[10:35:13]

And caught on camera in Colombia. A motorcyclist blows through an intersection and crashes into the side of a bus. Police say this all happened because he ran a red light. He flies through the bus door, just missing the bus driver and passengers. While he seemed to walk away, it's unclear how he's doing now. Wow.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Amazing video.

Also happening now: Incumbent Democrats are celebrating their election victories in Massachusetts after fending off primary challenges. CNN projects that -- projects that 80-year-old progressive Senator Ed Markey will defeat moderate Congressman Seth Moulton in the Democratic primary.

Moulton is a 47-year-old Marine Corps veteran. He argued it was time for generational change within the Democratic Party. Joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM is the House Democratic

whip, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.

Congratulations, by the way, Whip Clark, on your win, your election win last night in your primary.

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, let's talk a little bit about this Markey win over Seth Moulton. It was very decisive, what, about 65 percent to 35 percent? Did you expect it to be that much of a bombshell?

CLARK: It was certainly what the polls were showing throughout this race.

And I think that as we are seeing across the country and happen in Massachusetts, people are looking for fighters. People are hurting, and they are looking for people who are speaking to what is happening to them. When we have so many families, over 60 percent of families unable to afford the basics, they are looking for people who are going to be their champions, and, in this race, they decided that was Senator Ed Markey.

BLITZER: And you supported who?

CLARK: I supported Ed Markey. I endorsed him early.

BLITZER: So you were happy with the win, yes.

Interesting, though, you and a lot of other Massachusetts incumbents won your races last night. This year marked the first primary challenge that you have actually had in more than a decade. What does that tell you about what Democrats want from their representatives in Washington right now?

CLARK: Yes.

Democrats are not looking for labels or concern, but like all voters, they want people who are going to provide solutions. And they want people who see what they're going through, whether it's the high cost of living, the inability to be able to afford and find health care, and they want Democrats and elected people to be able to reduce corruption, because they know it is tied to high cost of living.

And that's what Massachusetts incumbents were able to put forward and make that case, and that's why they were successful. And it's what we are seeing across the country. And with 62 days left to the midterms, it is why I am so optimistic about taking the majority, because our candidates are making that case.

The American people are hurting, and they are looking for people who see them and will fight for their family. And that's what our candidates across the country are bringing to those voters.

BLITZER: And it looks now -- and I just want to get your thought -- that there's not even going to be a Republican challenger to you in the upcoming November 3 midterm elections. Is that right?

CLARK: That's correct. That is correct, which is a little bit unusual. But we will continue to fight not only for my district, but work across the country, making sure that we are bringing our message home to the voters.

And that is that you are first. We are going to govern with a focus on you. And it's exact opposite of what we have seen from this president and the GOP in Congress that has a string of broken promises and always chooses their wealthy donors, their donor corporations over the livelihoods and the well-being of the American people.

BLITZER: As you know, Congresswoman, many Republicans this midterm cycle are tying all members of the Democratic Party to the Democratic Socialists of America.

Let's watch what Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don't you think Republicans make it easier to say, Democrats, they are a bunch of socialists and they're trying to move this country towards socialism?

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I would have loved for someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene to -- her extremist presence to have defined swing seats and made it easy for us, but it doesn't.

I think people really care about who their representation is. And I don't think they make votes based on what's happening somewhere else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:40:07]

BLITZER: So, yes or no, do the Democratic Socialists of America make it more difficult for a swing district Democrats to actually win this November?

CLARK: Let me tell you what I'm hearing.

American people don't care about these labels. They don't care about a created inter-Democratic Party fight. They want answers. They want people who are going to work for them. And that is what the Democratic Party is offering. And that is why we are going to be successful in the midterms.

On the other side of the ledger, we have a GOP who's working for one person, Donald Trump, and they are working for the very, very wealthiest. And we are right now -- in this moment, five million Americans are losing their SNAP, their food program benefits. That's 1.5 million children in the richest country in the history of the world.

Those are the choices the GOP has made. We're going to take away your health care, we're going to take away your veteran services, we're going to take away your food programs, we're going to undercut your public schools, we're going to make sure that childcare remains expensive for families, all to benefit the very, very wealthy and the billionaire class and their cronies.

That is a bargain that the American people are going to reject.

BLITZER: You're the Democratic whip, the minority whip in the House. Eight House Democrats, as you know, facing tough reelection fights voted to actually support a Republican-led resolution denouncing socialism just last night. Does that show that the issue of socialism is actually beginning to divide the party?

CLARK: No, no, it doesn't.

What we are seeing is that we are absolutely united. And, again, people want us to pay attention to what they're going through. When we are seeing a mom that I talked to in Arizona who's making ends meet, her husband selling his plasma, these are -- people are in life-and- death situations.

The terms that I hear most often are: I'm drowning. I can't tread water any longer. I'm not keeping my head above water.

These people are desperate for us to make the system work for them. And that's exactly what we're going to do.

BLITZER: Will the Democrats be in the majority after November?

CLARK: They will.

BLITZER: OK, the minority whip, maybe someday the majority whip, Katherine Clark, thanks very much for joining us.

CLARK: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, happening now: A race against time is unfolding to find the 640 workers missing in Nepal following last week's devastating flash floods. Rescue crews fear that the workers are trapped alive inside these hydropower tunnels after thick mud buried these facilities.

The disaster's death toll is now at more than 1,200, and search-and- rescue teams are looking for some 4,200 people who have been reported missing. For some, surviving the massive flood came down to a terrifying few seconds. You can see in this video right here a woman running and pulling two children as she barely escapes as you see the water rushing behind them.

CNN's Anderson Cooper visited one of the hardest-hit areas in Nepal to look at recovering efforts and spoke to a bus driver who saved dozens of children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): It's been one week since disaster struck, and in Trishuli, this is the end of the road. Once a bustling market, now soggy and cement soaked. It looks like a wasteland.

The river is running fast. The water is still high. Residents and visitors stand and stare.

BIBHU RAJ ACHARYA, NEPALI RESIDENT: This water source has been a life for people living here. And by that, I mean, they've been living here for generations and generations.

COOPER (on camera): Looking at the water today, does it look different to you?

ACHARYA: Yes, it does.

COOPER: In what way?

ACHARYA: It makes me sad. It makes me sad and emotional as well because this is one of the sacred water resources that we have. You know, when you mourn for somebody in your family once they have died, people go up across this river and then they do all the rituals over there. So this is kind of like a holy river for us.

(SINGING)

COOPER (voice-over): Buddhist monks came from Kathmandu to pray and offer blessings. Traffic snarls on broken roads. The jackknifed truck is hardly noticed.

A local school bus driver, Chhiring Tamang, saved the lives of some 50 children, picking them up just before their school was destroyed and crossing a bridge before it was washed away.

[10:45:05]

CHHIRING TAMANG, BUS DRIVER (through translation): After two minutes of me crossing the bridge, the flood came on my side. Kids started screaming after seeing the flood. They were shouting. One kid fainted inside the bus. They were asking me to drive faster.

On the road, there were people running like ants to save their lives. After I drove near the uphill, I could see the flood is already ahead of me. I reached a higher location and I felt safe with the kids. I took a long breath and then I continued my duty of dropping the kids, came back and parked the bus at the police station.

COOPER: I asked him what it feels like to be a hero.

TAMANG (through translator): It's a sad time for me. I have lost my nephew. He was working in the same school. I'm very sad that my nephew is dead. My nephew called me before I crossed the bridge. This was right after I informed the principal regarding the flood.

He told me: "Uncle, where are you? There's flood coming in the river." He was a helper at the school. He informed me to not go to the school. He lives in the same school with his family. He has a daughter and his wife is disabled. They are safe now. They have nothing left as my nephew was my only breadwinner of the family.

COOPER: Later, he showed us a photo of his nephew. His name was Tridam Lama (ph). There are many heroes here, but even they have heavy hearts.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Trishuli.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Anderson, thank you.

And you can see more on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And find out how you can help Nepal flood victims at CNN.com/Impact.

We will be back.

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[10:51:03]

BROWN: Well, this morning, new CNN reporting into THE SITUATION ROOM on the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, it has brought to light defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's culture war on the Army.

Sources tell CNN they believe Hegseth is damaging the Army's efforts to adapt to the modern battlefield. And, instead, they say he's pushing his own image of the American war fighter as a priority. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. No more beardos.

I'm authorizing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency. And by addressing these health markers early, we're keeping you on the leading edge of lethality and giving you the same level of support that you give this nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So that's one of the things sources pointing to when it comes to Hegseth. They also say that Hegseth is also the leaders who don't align with his vision.

So let's dig more into this.

We have CNN's Haley Britzky and Zachary Cohen here in THE SITUATION ROOM with their new reporting. So, Haley, first to you. Multiple sources agreed with Army Secretary

Driscoll that Hegseth is damaging the Army's efforts to modernize. What more did they tell you?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes.

So, several of these sources pointed to something else that Driscoll raised, which was what he saw as Hegseth's blocking of those efforts to modernize by firing some of these general officers within the Army, saying that these general officers were the ones sort of leading those efforts and bringing the Army into this mode of adaptation to the modern battlefield, and that, by getting rid of them, it's calling into question his priorities on if he wants the Army to be doing this.

And so sources saying that, while Hegseth has in his tenure mentioned drones, he's signed a couple of memos saying they that he wants the Army and then the military more broadly to focus on these efforts, that he's just not focused on them when we hear him speak, as we just heard.

I mean, those are frequently kind of the remarks that we hear from him. And one defense official told us that it's conflicting because, yes, he put out a memo saying this is important, but he's talking about muscles, dudes in dresses, testosterone. We don't see a change at that level.

So they're not seeing the efforts matching what Secretary Hegseth speaks about publicly so frequently.

BROWN: And, Zach, the resignation of Driscoll, with that, the Army will soon be left without a confirmed chief of staff or secretary. So what concerns does that raise as the U.S. continues to engage in strikes with Iran?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, multiple sources said that there is a deep bench of talent inside the Pentagon, people ready to step up and fill the leadership void that's created by these firings.

But, at the same time, while there are folks that are focused on modernization, for example, the Iran war has really underscored how urgent and behind the U.S. is in adapting to the modern style of warfare, and drones being one of the prime examples of that.

President Donald Trump had taken to calling Secretary Driscoll his drone guy. That was something that he was really focused on, understood the urgent need to modernize and level up the U.S. military's capabilities in that sense.

But now with him gone and a replacement really unclear at this stage, there are concerns that Hegseth, with his priorities elsewhere, is not going to put the emphasis that's needed to really adapt the military and its capabilities at the pace that's needed.

And so I think, longer term, the concern here is that there's really an effort -- and the political pressure that is being applied by Hegseth on these senior leaders in the Pentagon could have a lasting effect on the type of leader that ultimately does emerge, not just in the Army, but across the military writ large.

There's -- we heard multiple sources voice concerns about having just one style or type of leader in the military, one who's a little bit biased towards action, rather than strategic thought, long-term thinking. You need a diverse array of leaders to have the kind of military thinking that the Pentagon requires.

[10:55:03]

And there is a deep concern at the highest levels of the military that this effort is going to take away that ability to have that thought.

BROWN: And so how is the Pentagon responding to all of this?

BRITZKY: Yes, so chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell pushed back on the characterization from these sources, saying that he -- Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader, that he has slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation.

But, importantly it's -- sources are not necessarily saying that Hegseth does not care at all about these issues. They're saying that he cares more about the culture issues that he speaks about so regularly, that he puts out more kind of literature and memos on, and that it's taking away, it's distracting from this very important mission for the Army to modernize for the battlefield, Pam.

BROWN: So, basically, they say he's too focused also on the public perception?

BRITZKY: That's right, yes, the public perception of how soldiers and other service members are perceived, the public perception of how he is perceived, how the Pentagon is perceived under his leadership.

So they're worried that it's more about the perception than the reality and the actual work of adapting toward -- to the battlefield.

BROWN: All right, thank you so much, Haley Britzky and Zachary Cohen. We appreciate you bringing that reporting to us -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Excellent reporting indeed.

And here's what's coming up all new right at the top of the hour.

Fatal mistake. A 22-year-old college student ends up at the wrong house and ends up dead, the person pulling the trigger, a Pennsylvania police officer. The charge he's now facing, that's all new. That's coming up in the next hour.

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