The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell 7/21/26 | 🅼🆂🅽️🅲 Breaking News Today July 21, 2026

[00:00:00]in Arizona. And I and I do have to say we're going to watch that race very closely tonight. Just like you said, the polls are closed right about now. But um props to you because your your dramatic reading of those spicy spicy messages in the Arizona 5th, I think it is. Um that was very special. That was special.

[00:00:17]>> You know, Jacob, we have to really get comfortable with saying crazy things on television in the age of Trump. And here we are. You know, we got to bring people the news, even the spicy tweets.

[00:00:29]ick was the the technical term.

[00:00:31]>> Yes, Ick. A warning. This guy is ick.

[00:00:34]You know, you like you like people to know what's coming.

[00:00:36]>> We gota We'll have a lot more on that in the show and and Katie Hops is going to be with us actually, the governor of Arizona to react to what's happening tonight. So, looking forward to it. Have a great night, Jen.

[00:00:45]>> Thanks, Jacob. Have a good show.

[00:00:47]>> Okay. Thanks so much. It is good to see you all again. We are staying on top of those results in Arizona. We're going to bring you any updates on race calls as soon as we get them. But we are going to begin this hour with day 144 of Donald Trump's unpopular and illegal war in Iran. Donald Trump sent his defense secretary to Capitol Hill to ask Congress for more money today. Pete Hgse along with General Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee today. Hegs was confronted on the unpopularity of Donald Trump's war in Iran by my count around 30 seconds after he started speaking.

[00:01:23]The supplemental funding request is not a substitute against people. 90 million people your hands are bloody of 17 Americans and and 4,000.

[00:01:39]>> The witness will suspend until order is restored.

[00:01:46]>> 1.5 trillion.

[00:01:49]>> STOP BOMBING OUR CHILDREN IN PALESTINE.

[00:01:51]This is illegal.

[00:01:53]>> Mr. Secretary, please >> suspend until order is restored in the hearing room. We will begin the timing clock since you've been interrupted twice.

[00:02:13]>> Thank you.

[00:02:13]>> Please proceed.

[00:02:15]>> 1.5 trillion is what the president seeks.

[00:02:20]>> Yeah. So, that didn't start so great.

[00:02:23]Pete Hgsth was asking senators to approve that 1.5 trillion defense budget, which included 67 billion in additional funding for the Iran war.

[00:02:32]Hegath also said the cost of the war with Iran is now estimated at $ 37.5 billion. This is what Politico reports.

[00:02:40]After weeks of fragile peace and stalled negotiations, the weekend deaths of multiple US service members, coupled with new reporting showing there may be more previously undisclosed injuries, have left White House allies afraid the president is rapidly running out of ways to extricate the US from an unpopular, expensive conflict ahead of the midterms. Republicans close to the White House are also distressed about the war's economic impact on everyday Americans in an election that is expected to hinge on the cost of living issues.

[00:03:09]Notice reports this. Republican senators are pressing the Trump administration to offer a clearer plan and more information about the Iran war after three US service members were killed and dozens were wounded in renewed attacks in recent days. Several lawmakers said Monday that Congress should no longer remain on the sidelines and that the White House needs to explain where the conflict is headed. Those Republican senators today hoping to have a clearer plan for the war and answers for voters struggling to make ends meet. Frankly, got neither during today's hearing.

[00:03:40]Senator Lisa Marowsky of Alaska, one of four Republicans who broke with the party in June, voting to block Donald Trump from resuming the war in Iran, questioned Hegathth on whether the Trump administration should have the authority to continue the fighting.

[00:03:54]the administration has made the the case that the action in Iran falls under the president's article 2 authorities and we we can have uh disagreement reasonable people can disagree about the boundaries of the presidential war powers um and have for a long period of time but I look at the war powers resolution and it's it's it's not ambiguous it requires the president to terminate hostilities within 60 days absent congressional authorization are You are you still is the administration still taking that position about needing no authorization from Congress at this time?

[00:04:33]>> Senator, I know there's a long um long-standing legal legal debate on this particular topic, but we certainly as a department take the share the position of the White House that we have all the authorities necessary at this moment.

[00:04:46]>> Democrats on the panel also pushed back on the Trump administration, moving the timeline on when the war with Iran would end. In in one of the more contentious exchanges of the day, Democratic Senator John Oaf of Georgia questioned whether Pete Hgsth has been truthful with the American people over the last 5 months.

[00:05:05]On day 14 of this conflict, in the second week of the conflict, you stated that Iran's military had been quote destroyed and quote made combat ineffective. Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no? Iran's ability to challenge the United States of America at the level at which we're capable of.

[00:05:23]>> That's not what I asked you, Mr. Secretary. You said on day 14, Iran's military had been quote destroyed and quote made combat ineffective. Yes or no. Was that an accurate statement?

[00:05:36]>> What the American military has the Iranian military is a historic military under. So just to review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war that Iran's military had been quote destroyed and made combat ineffective was a truthful statement to the American people. As you sit here and ask for tens of billions more for the >> senator's time has a historic and effective military campaign against the largest state sponsor of terrorist weapons >> is recognized.

[00:06:09]>> Won't answer the question. Osaf is pretty damn good at this. Democratic Senator Gary Peters was even more blunt than his colleague from Georgia.

[00:06:19]>> Straight of Hormuz is uh still closed, reminding everybody it was open before the war. Prices were lower for everybody until the war and of course uh tragically people, service members, our war fighters who we care deeply about are still dying.

[00:06:36]>> I think your characterization of this incredible effort as a failure is reckless. Shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure and then you want to turn around and say you support the war fighter. Either you do or you don't.

[00:06:47]>> Secretary Hzov, did you if you listen to my comments, you told you would have heard me say how amazing our war fighters are.

[00:06:53]>> I heard failure. The word heard I heard exactly. I will tell you how I use the word failure because I use the word failure to their leaders. You sir are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line. Not the the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction.

[00:07:09]But if there's a lack of a winning strategy, they're in harm's way. Their leaders have failed them.

[00:07:17]You, sir, are the failure, not the men and women who are on that front line, Senator Peters said to the Secretary of Defense. The hearing came on the same day the Wall Street Journal released exclusive new reporting. This is what it said. Quote, "Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside a mountain last fall. Israeli and US officials say a development that would heighten concerns that Tehran could reconstitute its nuclear program. Israel passed along the intelligence findings to the United States, saying the centrifuges were transferred to the Pickax Mountain site last fall after the 12-day war in June when American and Israeli strikes pummeled Iran's three main nuclear sites.

[00:07:59]The president, Donald Trump, was asked about that report today during an Oval Office meeting with the president of Lebanon.

[00:08:07]>> Do you believe that Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges into Pickax Mountain? And when you say we're not done yet, what is left to finish?

[00:08:15]>> Well, I think that they they may have.

[00:08:18]We don't have it on record. All we do is read the fake news. You know, we see the the news is so wrong so many times. So, you know, maybe maybe this one they have, right? But it's okay. It doesn't mean anything unless they have the material. You're talking about the centrifuges. Yeah. It doesn't mean anything unless they have the material.

[00:08:36]They don't have We follow the material.

[00:08:37]That's where the action is. And uh we'll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon.

[00:08:45]>> But it appears Donald Trump and Pete Hegath's plan to bomb their way out of this war is not working. According to the Washington Post, check this out. Iran's government is unlikely to feel significant impact or soften its negotiating position as a result of new rounds of US military strikes like those now underway. According to a new intelligence assessment described by current and former US officials, analysts at American spy agencies have also concluded that Tan and Washington are for now stuck in an indefinite limbo between peace and war. The officials said an uneasy dynamic given the increasingly deadly nature of the tit fortat hostilities between the two nations. The current and former officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the assessments because of their sensitivity. The findings which have been briefed to the administration appear to underscore the dilemma President Donald Trump faces in a war that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began in late February.

[00:09:42]And so here we are 5 months into this conflict and neither Donald Trump nor Pete Hegth can clearly explain why we are at war.

[00:09:54]Neither Donald Trump nor Pete Hgsth can clearly explain how this war will end.

[00:09:59]Neither Donald Trump nor Pete Hgsth can promise that no more American service members will pay the ultimate price for this war.

[00:10:08]But there is one thing, the one thing Donald Trump and Pete Hegath seem to be sure of. The American military and the American taxpayer aren't finished paying the price for this war.

[00:10:20]There has been some late night voting on Capitol Hill, but Democratic Congresswoman Maline Dean is rushing back to her office. She will join us to discuss all of this right after this short break.

[00:10:32]All right, to recap, here is the TLDDR for Pete Hegath's testimony in the Senate today asking for $1.5 trillion for the defense budget, including the war in Iran. Watch.

[00:10:43]>> You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line.

[00:10:47]Not the the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction.

[00:10:52]But if there's a lack of a winning strategy, they're in harm's way. Their leaders have failed them.

[00:10:59]>> Leading off our discussion tonight is Democratic Congresswoman Maline Dean of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees. I know it's a it's a busy night there on the Hill. Thanks for being here with us.

[00:11:09]>> Good to be with you. We just came off a long vote series, so I'm pleased to be with you.

[00:11:13]>> Thank you. Thank you. And we're happy you're here. your colleagues in the Senate um got this chance to question Pete Hexath today. It was uh extraordinary to watch. I don't know how much you heard, but but if you did, what answers uh of your own um are you still hoping to get about the lingering questions about the president's war in Iran? I saw very little of it, but I did see uh Osaf and Peters and I'm thankful to them for their very um serious sets of questions about the veracity of what the secretary said. I'll start by saying number one. Uh I just came from Rimac.

[00:11:51]Uh you know the exercises, 30 nations get together in the Pacific every two years to make sure that we are completely ready along with all our exquisite military. And so I can't say enough about our military, particularly the Navy who who showed us around, including the acting secretary of the Navy, Hunga.

[00:12:10]Um, number two, most importantly, those who have died in sacrifice in service to our nation. And if you don't mind, Jacob, I'm going to say the names of the last three that I'm aware of. And I don't know that we have all the names, but Private First Class Isabella Gonzalez, just 19 years old. First Lieutenant Tyler Fihan, just 25 years old. Army Sergeant Michael Emanuel Swinton, age 30. These people, they're heroes. Um, they're patriots.

[00:12:46]They gave their lives and service to this country. uh in this country owes them and their family an extraordinary debt of gratitude which is a really hollow thing to say but thank you to those family members and and my heart breaks uh for and with them. Um Mr. Hegth is over his head. He doesn't know uh actually what he's doing. Uh he does not know how to lead. Uh and it was very obvious in the testimony today. Uh Mr. Oaf uh really pinned him down. You saw it over and over and over again 14 days into this conflict. Uh a month into this conflict, two months into this conflict, uh nothing that Mr. Hegsth says sticks as the truth and that's very much uh in respect or in replication of his principle, the president. And uh sec uh Senator Peters also obviously got very under his skin as well. Um the secretary is over his head. We do not have a strategy. That's the problem here. The president has never said a strategy for where this war is going. Never asked for the American people to buy into it. Of course, never came to Congress, which is uh unconstitutional. It is Congress who declares war. And I don't say that as just a throwaway. It's actually very very serious. The the founders said they didn't want the executive to be the only one to declare war. They wanted to be the people closest to the people uh the people who will actually serve. And so we're in a very dire spot because this president had no plan going in. It was completely reckless. He was uh guided into it by Mr. Netanyahu for Mr. Netanyahu's own purposes without a plan and against the advice of those around him.

[00:14:37]I want to ask you about some new reporting, Congresswoman, from Axios, because they are reporting that the Trump administration is considering two different options to move forward in Iran given where things are. One is to pursue a new 10-day ceasefire. Um, it almost sounds just like an a comedy of errors is is is too glib of a way to describe it. Uh, aimed at reopening the straight of Hormuz. Option two, launch a massive joint military campaign with Israel to force the capitulation of Thran. assess both of those options for us if you would.

[00:15:08]>> Oh my lord, what an absurd uh breath of options. Uh what we need are serious diplomats working with our partners in the region. I've had the chance over the last few weeks to meet with the Gulf partners, the GCC and Jordan. Uh this is of course before the death of American soldiers in Jordan just this weekend. Uh we need serious diplomats to answer the questions of how do we get to the answer of opening the straight, making sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, of course, controlling uh the operation of ballistic missiles. Uh and please God, some sort of humanitarian aid on the ground in Iran. After all, there are 90 million people in Iran.

[00:15:52]We're not at war with them. We're at at war with a regime. And this was a war chosen by the president. So a greater war, option two, a greater war, an absurdity and obviously ill-considered.

[00:16:06]We are ill partnered with Israel on this mission. Uh and uh that is an ill-considered uh set of circumstances.

[00:16:14]Diplomacy, get to peace, get to peace for the region.

[00:16:19]>> Congresswoman Maline Dean on a late night for you on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much for joining us on the last word.

[00:16:25]>> Thanks, Jacob.

[00:16:26]>> Thank you. Coming up, polls just closed at the beginning of this hour in Arizona where we are watching to see if the Trump backed election denier candidate will be the one to face off against the Democratic incumbent Governor Katie Hobbes. And Katie Hobbs will join us right here after the break.

[00:16:44]As we have mentioned, it is election night in Arizona. The polls closed about 27 minutes ago in the Republican primary and we're still waiting to learn who voters will choose to take on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbes this November in it'll be one of the country's most closely watched governor's races. MS now has not yet projected a winner. But while the Republican nominee remains undecided, the stakes of the general election are already coming into focus.

[00:17:08]Since the 2020 election, Arizona has become a focal point in the fight over election denial and those false claims of widespread voter fraud. And Governor Hobbes knows that fight better than almost anybody because before she was elected governor in 2022, Katie Hobbs served as Arizona's Secretary of State.

[00:17:24]And Katie Hobbs had to defend Arizona's election system against election deniers like Donald Trump and some of his allies who repeatedly challenged Arizona's certified 2020 election results. Among them was one of the Republicans hoping to win tonight's primary to take on Governor Hobbes, Congressman Andy Biggs, who voted to object to Arizona's electoral votes following the January 6th capital attack and has continued to question the legitimacy of that 2020 election. Joining us now is Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. She is running for reelection this year. Governor, it's good to see you.

[00:17:58]>> Good to be here. Thanks.

[00:18:00]>> Thanks. What's your message for Arizona voters tonight?

[00:18:03]Look, there is a lot at stake in this election. It's a choice between Arizona first leadership and Washington style chaos. And my very likely opponent after tonight is going to be Andy Biggs, who as you've already described is an election denier who not only is an ally of Trump and refuses to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election, but he went so far as to help plan January 6th.

[00:18:31]He also helped orchestrate the fake elector scheme that went on here in Arizona. He has sought a presidential pardon for his role and uh ultimately defied a a congressional subpoena. Now, here is what that means. Arizona is one of seven swing states uh that will decide the presidential election. And as you described, in 2020, we had a free and fair election because as Secretary of State, I defended the will of the voters. If Andy Biggs is governor, Arizona is the first swing state with an election denier in charge. And the time to stop that is not 2028. It is right now. And folks can help me do that by going to katyhobs.org.

[00:19:11]>> Um, you have mentioned Andy Bigg's role in that 202 uh 2020 election denialism.

[00:19:17]Uh, we have not yet made a projection here at MS Now, but as soon as we do, we're going to bring it um to our our viewers. And I want to ask in that vein that, you know, the president continues to make these false claim. The speech last Thursday was um was like a blast from the past about the 2020 election despite there being no evidence at all of widespread voter fraud. Six years later, how does that continue to affect um voters in Arizona and Arizona the machinery of democracy in Arizona?

[00:19:44]>> Well, look, there are there continue to be actors who are trying to sew doubt in the integrity of our elections. that I know that elections in Arizona are secure and they are run by uh dedicated professionals who know what they're doing and I have confidence in our elections. I'm going to do everything I can as governor to make sure that every eligible Arizonan can participate. Uh and you know we're we're watching potential um threats or things that might happen from from great federal uh overreach and interference. But Arizon Amazonans are ready to move on from this. They're certainly not thinking about the 2020 election. They're thinking about the fact that Washington's cost hiking agenda is making everything cost more, housing, groceries, gas, healthcare. And my likely opponent has championed this agenda, continues to double down on it, and um I don't think Arizonans can trust him to fix the problems that he caused.

[00:20:46]You know, Governor, Arizonans are I mean, they're definitely ready to move on. I've talked to so many of them and spent some time there myself um uh this year, but election workers still find themselves, I think, in the in the crosshairs because not only did they face these threats, you face these threats after the 2020 election, the rhetoric around the denial continues to ramp up. Are you concerned, you must be, about their safety heading into the midterm elections?

[00:21:08]>> Sure. Uh we are working to activate all of our, you know, emergency responders.

[00:21:14]We've done tabletop exercises. We're going to make sure we're doing everything we can working with election officials at the state and county levels to ensure the safety of everyone involved in our elections. And I applaud the people who step up every single election cycle to volunteer at the at the polling places to make sure that our elections can happen. Um, and there is in America, we settle our differences at the ballot box and we need people to step up and help ensure that that can happen. They should not be under threat and it is a direct result of these election deniers who are causing that.

[00:21:55]I I mean I I believe that I've spent so much time on election lines and at polling places um in my day-to-day job here and I think that they are the most civic-minded many of them volunteers um in this country and it's shameful the way that so many of them have been treated. Before I let you go, I do want to let you talk about affordability because it is the the top concern if not um one of the top if not the top concern for so many American families especially in Arizona. How have you worked to lower costs for Arizonans?

[00:22:21]Well, this is something that's personal to me. Uh, when I talk about the struggles that Arizonans are facing, it's not just talk. I grew up in a family that often struggled at times relied on food stamps to get by. And my husband and I also h have our share of financial struggles. We lost a home to foreclosure among other things. So, I get it. I get what Arizonans are going through right now, and they want leaders who are focused on lowering those costs.

[00:22:50]I talked to a lot of folks who thought that Donald Trump was going to do that.

[00:22:54]Um, and instead my opponent Andy Biggs is in Congress voting to support the cost hiking agenda coming from Washington. I'm focused on how we can lower costs, lower people's utility bills, lower health care costs. I've lowered prescription drug costs. I've lowered child care costs. And I know there's more to do. Uh, we are continuing to deliver on that for Arizonans. uh so that they know that their leaders are putting them first.

[00:23:21]>> Governor Katie Hobbs on a big primary night in Arizona. Um thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it.

[00:23:27]>> Thank you.

[00:23:29]>> As you heard, there are 105 days left until the midterm elections and Democrats are looking to flip the House by targeting a handful of Republican held seats, including there's one battleground district that you should know about in northeastern Pennsylvania.

[00:23:40]It is Pennsylvania's eighth congressional district. Scranton Mayor Paige Kanyetti is running to unseat Republican Congressman Rob Branahan.

[00:23:49]Breznahan, excuse me. And joining us now is Mayor Paige Ketti of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's eighth congressional district. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

[00:23:59]>> Thank you.

[00:24:00]>> After your three terms leading Scranton, um you have built a reputation as someone who is is willing to take on corruption. You have earned uh the nickname Paige against the machine. How are you going to take that fight to Washington?

[00:24:13]I first ran for mayor in 2019 as an independent. Uh unfortunately the mayor in Scranton, the Democratic mayor of Scranton went to prison for corruption and the local Democratic party wanted to just go in a back room, nominate somebody who was next in line and have that be the person to lead the study. I had other ideas. I ran as an independent and won that race. We won again in 2021, again in 2025. making sure that government here in Scranton works as hard as the people of Scranton. We have a long way to go to rebuild trust in government in this nation.

[00:24:47]Unfortunately, uh when Rob Brezenham became a member of Congress last January, he got right to work for himself. He ran on a platform in 2024 of banning congressional stock trading and ended up becoming one of the most active traders in Congress, voting for HR1, voting to gut Medicaid across the country, getting Medicaid cuts for 25,000 people here. He gave himself a tax break. He also made money in his portfolio by selling Medicaid provider stocks and bonds. That is wrong. That's exactly the type of corruption that has plagued this region for so long. This is an anti-corruption region and we are going to take our fight to Washington.

[00:25:26]>> Do you think your your constituents and certainly the congressman's constituents president uh see that um they just elected him for the first time as you mentioned two years ago. Why do why do you think the district is ready for a different direction? What are the signs that you're seeing? I >> mean this person did write an op-ed in 2024. His words sickening sickening to make money on your votes in Washington.

[00:25:50]And then he goes and starts making money on his votes, trading over seven million dollars, uh, 640 some odd trades, including very specifically trading during the weeks that he's making particular votes, buying up missile stocks the week that Trump goes into Iran the first time. This is somebody that is there for self-service, not public service. Folks here, unfortunately, have seen this play out at local levels, at the state level. We want to make sure that the people of northeastern Pennsylvania have someone that cares about them. For my part, when I became mayor in the wake of a corruption scandal, I turned down the city car. I don't have a gas card. I turned down a pay raise. I wanted to make sure that the people of Scranton understood. I am here for them. We are working to manage our finances. We've gone from a jump on rating when I took over to an A minus. We've increased housing. We've increased jobs. We've supported our police department, adding people to the force, making sure that we have all the technology we need. Over 5 million dollars in investment there.

[00:26:47]safer streets. Right now, there are bulldozers all over our downtown, remaking the entire infrastructure downtown. Public money invested alongside private. That's what we need to do. Cut red tape. We slashed permit fees. We're doing the things that the American people want to do to give their children opportunity to have a high quality of life, to lower costs. We fight the utility companies every time they try to get a rate increase. I feel like I'm at a utility hearing just about every week. This is what people need.

[00:27:16]This is what they are asking for. We have an anti-corruption agenda that we just rolled out. It starts with a ban on congressional stock trading. Uh it has term limits, a ban on corporate pack money. It is so important that we listen to the American people. They are begging us for reform.

[00:27:32]>> Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, thank you so much for being here tonight.

[00:27:36]>> Thank you. And if you want to support our campaign, please go to pageforpa.com.

[00:27:40]>> All right. Thanks. Thanks so much.

[00:27:42]Coming up, Democrats held what is known as a shadow hearing today to draw attention to the growing cost of Donald Trump's vanity projects. Congresswoman Joyce Bey, who challenged Trump's effort to add his name to the Kennedy Center and won, was there. She joins us next.