Trump & Xi discuss Taiwan, Strait of Hormuz tensions amid war in Iran - The Hill | NEWSNATION

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Hello, good evening and thanks for being with us tonight. I'm Blake Berman. So, breaking tonight, the superpower showdown. Just hours from now, President Trump and his Chinese counterpart will meet again. Day two, round two in Beijing. The president striking a tone of confidence and cooperation as the leaders look for an off-ramp potentially for the war in Iran.

[00:00:23]Whenever we had a problem, we worked that out very quickly. And we're going to have a fantastic future together.

[00:00:32]>> But hanging heavy over the meeting, a potential tinder box. Taiwan, what China's leader is saying about his country's red line. Also at this hour, pumping the brakes on gas prices. The movement to ease the squeeze at the pump now gaining some steam in Congress. The lawmaker who is leading the charge for a federal gas tax holiday tells me if she can convince her colleagues to lower your gas prices. Also this evening, skyhigh soccer security. How the most important shot on goal in the World Cup just might be the drones in the skies.

[00:01:12]We'll show you the high-f flyers that are being counted on as DHS warns they were forced off sides. Plus, it is the unlikely classroom coalition. Why one major blue state governor is now giving the White House's plan more than a passing grade. So, are we about to see a new trend for both America's public and private schools. But first tonight, from across the world to across the table, President Trump meeting face to face with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And just hours from now, day two, part two.

[00:01:46]The president says both leaders have already found some common ground, including the stalemate in the straight of Hormuz.

[00:01:54]>> Look, you anybody that buys that much oil is obviously got some kind of a relationship with them. But he said, "I would love to be a help if I can be of any help whatsoever."

[00:02:05]>> Despite the display of unity, though, China making clear there is no room, they say, for compromise on Taiwan. And tonight, no concrete agreements announced involving tariffs, trade, and America's a industry. But it's basically halftime. Both sides set to emerge once again here in the coming hours. We begin tonight with our Kelly Meyer once again setting the stage for us this evening.

[00:02:30]Hello, Kelly.

[00:02:33]>> Hey there, Blake. And we just heard from President Trump on Truth Social, posting for the first time since this face-to-face meeting with President Xi.

[00:02:40]and he said that hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before and as you said we are just hours away from the president's next event with Xiinping and that follows a day of tough talk between the two leaders and though it looked tense between those two leaders after the meeting wrapped compared to the light-hearted and over-the-top welcome ceremony prior President Trump said the meeting was great and even called G a friend >> we had an extremely positive and productive conversation ations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier and this evening is another cherished opportunity to discuss among friends some of the things that we discussed today. All good for the United States and for China.

[00:03:30]>> Now the takeaways look different depending on which country you look to.

[00:03:34]The US praising economic wins, a new Boeing deal, China buying 200 more jets, China purchasing more US agricultural products, and China potentially purchasing US oil as tensions continue around the street of Hermoose. For China, the most important topic of the trip, Taiwan, the self-governing island that China sees as its own. China warning that if the US doesn't see eye to eye on the Chinese position, quote, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in jeopardy. We don't know what President Trump said on the Taiwan issue behind closed doors. But we do know the position of the US was not to get involved militarily, but the Trump administration did authorize an 11 billion dollar package for Taiwan that China was not happy about. Blake >> Kelly Meyer setting the stage once again. Kelly, thank you. So, the war in Iran of course looming large in Beijing tonight. Our Robert Sherman is our man on the ground in the Middle East with the very latest on that front. Hello, Robert.

[00:04:31]>> Hey there, Blake. Well, to no one's surprise, the situation in the Middle East with Iran and the Straight of Hormuz, all topics of discussion between these two heads of state with the White House saying there were certain levels of agreement with the Chinese leadership, believing Straight of Hormuz should not be militarized, Iran should not be able to institute tolls, but that waterway here this evening remains tense and treacherous. British maritime officials saying a ship that was anchored off of the coast of the UAE was seized. The IRGC did not take formal responsibility, but it was being taken back to Iranian territorial waters.

[00:05:07]Sentcom's commander testifying today that they believe that they have significantly degraded Iran's capabilities when it comes to exerting control over the Straight of Hormuz. One example they gave, Iran's inventory of give or take 8,000 naval mines. They believe they've destroyed north of 90% of those. They also believe that Iran's capabilities to exert control outside of its own borders have been decimated.

[00:05:33]Take a listen.

[00:05:35]>> Iran has a significantly degraded threat and they no longer threaten regional uh as uh uh regional partners or the United States in ways that they were able to do before. Across every domain, they've been significantly degraded.

[00:05:52]It's the administration's position that the US naval blockade is having an impact. 70 ships have been turned away.

[00:05:58]According to central command, they believe that that is a major economic pressure point for Iran with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant saying that they believe Iran is on its last legs. Blake, >> Robert Sherman in the Middle East for us tonight. Robert, thank you. So, the war in Iran, AI, maybe trade for sure, Taiwan, we know just a few of the issues on the agenda to be wedged into this two-day trip to Beijing. President Trump already relaying that China has agreed to order some 200 Boeing jets.

[00:06:34]We had a very good meeting, but we want things from them. Um, one thing he agreed to today, he's going to order 200 jets. That's a big thing. Boeing.

[00:06:45]>> Joining me now, Congressman Greg Stanton, Democrat from uh, great state of Arizona. He is a member of the China Select Committee. Congressman, thanks for being with us tonight. Um, as I tell our viewers all the time, this is one of the most bipartisan issues you will find in Washington, which is your committee and the issue of China. You believe with all the issues that are out there, the single one, correct me if I'm wrong, is Taiwan. Why?

[00:07:13]>> Well, first off, you are correct. The United States needs to win the economic competition with China, and that is bipartisan. Republicans and Democrats across the board believe that to be the case. Now, we may have different approaches about how to go about it. And we certainly think the president's decision to launch a war of choice against Iran is a step in the wrong direction. Because now with this important summit with Xi Jinping, we have to waste time asking Xi Jinping to personally get involved to help end the war in Iran. That shouldn't even have to be a deal point on uh the table. That should have been a negotiated agreement by the United States and Iran without even going to uh war. I think it was a mistake for the president to pull us out of the JC.

[00:07:57]>> Do you believe Do you believe she talks about Do you believe she when he says that he will help in the straight?

[00:08:06]>> No, I don't. Why would he? Uh look, right now the our country sadly is losing support around the globe. The president has issued tariffs on all of our allies. So we have so few allies to support us uh in this war. Right now, a Gallup poll shows that China is more respected and trusted in this world than the United States. That's how far we have fallen. We have to earn back that trust. So why would Xi get involved in such a difficult issue as the war in Iran? But the issue of Taiwan, that's what concerns me the most because as the president of the United States, President Trump is trying to cut these business deals with China, what is China getting in return? And we have to be 100% firm because when Xi says that if we get involved in Taiwan somehow that's going to result in conflict and clashes, President Trump needs to say you are exactly right. If you make any kind of move on Taiwan and no longer be a self-governing democracy that's a good trait partner of the United States, you will result in clashes and conflicts as well. Taiwan is critically important to the United States and the president of the United States cannot use it as a bargaining chip. We need to be firm firm that that uh Taiwan needs to be a continuing self-governing island and a economic partner to the United States.

[00:09:28]>> There might be some folks here at home um who think of Taiwan and just say it's on the other side of the planet. Why do why why should I pay attention to this?

[00:09:36]In Arizona, you have TSMC uh the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of like the biggest 15 companies in the world that has a massive facility there on the ground in Phoenix. So, do you view this as as sort of a geopolitical issue or do you view this as a backyard issue?

[00:09:56]>> Yes, to both of those things. It's $260 billion dollars of investment in Phoenix, Arizona. I used to be mayor of uh Phoenix, the largest foreign direct investment anywhere in the United States of America in the most important leading industry on earth, the semiconductor industry. That's how we're going to win the AI competition is by leading in uh semiconductors. And so yes, it of course it's critically important to Arizona, but that industry is critically important to the world. And if China, mainland China, the Chinese Communist Party were to make any kind of move on Taiwan, that could easily result in a depression in the world because Taiwan is the leading manufacturer of semiconductor chips, leading semiconductor chips on this globe. Xi needs to know that. That's why he needs to know that we will not sit back and do nothing uh if he makes any kind of move on Taiwan.

[00:10:48]>> One of the one of the things, Congressman, that has been bubbling up with all of this is a push and a bipartisan push here at home to ban potentially Chinese EVs, electric vehicles coming into the US. When you look at basically what's happening in Europe right now, Chinese EVs were were nothing. It was 2 and a.5% of the market. It's now up to 8%, more than threefold. Basically one in 12 vehicles there in Europe. And and here's why there there's concern in the US. Average uh new car $51,000 average basically or you can get a Chinese EV for about $10,000. The Biden administration at the end put this on the plate of the Trump administration. They could have taken care of this. They didn't. They they they kicked it to the next admin. Do you believe it will get to a point where this administration will ban Chinese EVs?

[00:11:41]I think that will be the case under the current circumstances. Now, you you were critical of President Biden, but let me tell you something. We worked with President Biden to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which was the largest investment in American history in electric vehicles in the in that I'm not critical. I'm just noting here in the United down the road on Chinese EVs.

[00:12:02]That's all.

[00:12:03]>> I mean, fair enough. And under the current circumstances, China subsidizes this industry to such a level that they'd be selling around the globe in the United States at such a low level that it would not allow for the growth of the American electric vehicle industry. Donald Trump should help work with Congress in a bipartisan way to restart the investment that we were making in the American electric vehicle industry. I have Lucid Motors in Arizona, an incredibly important electric vehicle company. We need to show support for them so that they can compete on an even playing field with China. When that happens, we will win that battle with China for EV vehicles.

[00:12:38]>> Greg Stanton, uh, China Select Committee, as I mentioned and as he said, the most basically bipartisan thing you'll find here in Washington, setting some of the stage ahead of tonight's meeting. Congressman, thank you. We'll catch you again soon. All right, still to come tonight, um, is less more Americans pulling back on spending as gas prices bite. Why the Republican plan to suspend the gas tax actually might face an uphill battle.

[00:13:00]The author of the bill who wants to lower your gas prices with me on the other side. Plus, stranded at sea, a plane carrying 11 passengers plunges into the ocean 80 miles off the coast.

[00:13:12]How a multi- agency effort then plays out.

[00:13:20]A new report showing shaky signs for Americans wallets. retail sales rising half a percentage point in April according to the Census Bureau. That's a slowdown from the previous month where retail sales grew more than a point and a half. It follows a month where shopping increased as consumers spent their tax refunds. The report also says rising gas prices partly to blame for the slowdown. Today, as you probably know, the average gallon of gas somewhere around $4.50. And as prices rise, both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers have versions of a bill that calls for suspending the federal gas tax, 18 cents a gallon. I spoke earlier today with Republican Congresswoman Nicole Maliatakis, who is trying to lead the charge in the House.

[00:14:04]Congresswoman Malotakus, thanks for being with us tonight. Uh, appreciate the time. So your bill is is basically the following, which is suspend the gas tax federal level uh for 90 days and then give the president up to another 125 to keep pushing it out if he wants.

[00:14:21]Why why do you feel this is the need and this is the right time right now?

[00:14:26]>> Look, I think uh we're all looking for solutions on how to provide some relief for American families. Uh I have a district that relies heavily on their cars to commute to work and to get around and um you know providing any type of relief during this time which I think is it is temporary uh what we're going through right now. I think once we resolve this issue with the street of Hermuz, we'll see those gas prices come down. Remember President Trump came into office and gas prices went well below uh well went below $3 and that was very significant. He did so rather quickly.

[00:14:57]So we're going through this temporary issue right now. And so I I was asking myself like how can we provide some relief at this very moment that's temporary while we ride this out. And so the idea of this bill is just to suspend it. It's about 19 uh close to 19 cents a gallon. Um I think it'll go a long way in helping uh families during this uh period.

[00:15:15]>> Okay. So one of the questions here obviously is do you have some convincing to do on your side of the aisle? Because when President Biden had supported this this very same concept back in 2022, here's what some high-profile Republicans had to say then, and we'll pick it up on the other side.

[00:15:33]>> The Biden administration announced another ineffective stunt to mask the effects of Democrats war on affordable American energy, calling for a holiday in the federal gas tax.

[00:15:46]>> This is treacherous. This is wrong, and we can't let it happen.

[00:15:50]Senator uh John Thoon, the the leader over in the Senate of course called it a ga at the time a gas tax holiday is a flimsy band-aid that will worsen the problem in the long run. Democrats are failing Econ 101. So if if it was bad then, do you think you can convince your colleagues that it's good now?

[00:16:12]>> Well, look, I there's obviously going to be those colleagues who simply won't support it. Uh but I think at that time they were talking about uh the anti-energy policies of the Biden administration which were completely under our control as the United States of America. Here the issue is more with another country. We're dealing with Iran. We have to address this issue of national security. Um but I I still think there will be sure members from both sides of the aisle that will oppose it, but I think overall you'll get large majority of the middle Republicans and Democrats who see a benefit in this. We did it in New York State um I believe it was two years ago. uh the state tax and you know we people did see a savings they were happy to have that money in their pocket uh and I think we should do it again at this point.

[00:16:52]>> How many more so how many more Yeah. So how many more states should do this in your view because right now um a handful or a little less than have actually gone forward with suspending the gas tax in their state and depending on where you are in America it's anywhere as low from 9 cents basically all the way up to 70 cents. So if if this were to happen at the federal level, it still doesn't solve doing it this at the state level.

[00:17:16]Do you think the president should call on every governor in America to to do this?

[00:17:21]>> Well, look, I think it's incumbent upon the constituents to call on the governors to be doing this. I I think that uh look, any way we can provide some relief during these extraordinary circumstances, we should. Uh so this is not something that is new. It may be new on the federal level, but this, like I said, has been done the state level.

[00:17:37]Let's also remember the uh the diesel fuel, right? The diesel fuel that our trucks rely on to transfer food, to transfer goods, uh that has an impact on cost uh whether it's at the supermarket or things that you may be paying for.

[00:17:49]So, you know, by eliminating this federal tax temporarily, we're talking about at most through the end of this year, we would be saving American families significant money. And then we would also make sure the highway uh trust fund is still receiving the money it would re receive for bridges. How would you go about that? How would how would you go about that? Because right now the the money, this 18 cents, goes to the highway trust fund. Um it it funds highways and mass transit. Um however, there's a big problem with the highway trust fund. It is set to go insolvent in just a few years time. For example, in New York State, 45,000 state highways, um 7,700 bridges that that are maintained. So if you pull from that, h how high is the concern that it it eventually comes back to our roads and bridges?

[00:18:39]>> Yeah. Well, look, that's why my bill specifically says that the money needs to be moved from the Treasury General Fund to uh ensure that that money is not touched. Again, this is temporary, so it's very a minimal amount. Um what I would also say though is we need to look at how the state and federal share is for funding our roads and bridges. New York State's budget is absolutely exorbitant. I mean, they spend twice as much as the state of Florida, yet Florida has millions of more residents.

[00:19:04]And we need to make sure that the states are matching what we're putting in on the federal level in terms of our highways and roads and our bridges. I voted for the federal infrastructure bill a number of years ago because I do believe that we need to maintain that infrastructure. It's critically important, but we need the states to kick in a little more money there uh to make sure that they're meeting their and we also need to look at electric vehicles, by the way, because they're not paying a gas tax. So, how do we make sure that those electric vehicles are paying their fair share when it comes to maintaining our roads and bridges as well?

[00:19:32]>> Okay, that that legislation back then bipartisan as the congresswoman uh noted, we'll see with her bill going forward uh and both in the Senate as well just how much support there is as the president has called for it.

[00:19:44]Congresswoman Maliotakis uh New York with us tonight. Thank you.

[00:19:48]>> Thank you.

[00:19:50]>> By the way, consider this. 26 states, plus right here in Washington, DC, recently passed legislation to let gas taxes rise and fall in line with whatever inflation might be at that point in time. No vote required. Well, still to come tonight, another mega airline merger set to reshape the budget airline industry. This comes after, of course, the Spirit collapse. What it means for your summer fairs. Plus, it it was called by many the trial of the century. Now, it is part two. Of course, we're talking about the Murdo case. News Nation just speaking with Alec Murdo's housekeeper in an interview you won't see anywhere else. Our Brian Enton with that sound. Other side of the break.

[00:20:36]We'll hear from Brian heading on into the newsroom because it's the bottom of the hour. top stories when I see you back.

[00:20:46]6:30 on the dot, right to the second here on the east coast, 6:30 in the morning in Beijing, China as well.

[00:20:53]Bottom of the hour, the top story, of course, President Trump meeting face to face with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, just hours from now. It's it's basically day two, part two of that event over there. The president says both leaders have already found some common ground, including Iran.

[00:21:12]>> We discussed it. Uh I mean, when you say support, they're not fighting a war with us or anything.

[00:21:19]>> No, he said he's not going to give military equipment. That's a big statement. He said that today. That's a big statement. But while the US and China may be aligned on restoring commerce in the straight of Hormuz, China making its own red line very clear and it involved Taiwan in the middle of this meeting warning the US of a quote extremely dangerous situation end quote if the matter is not handled properly as they see it. Just some of the backdrop in China this evening. All right, back here states side and this coming in from our next affiliate KAS in Las Vegas. A major shakeup to tell you about tonight in the airline industry. The budget carriers Allegent and Sun Country have now officially completed their merger, creating a lowcost airline that could fill a hole potentially left by the closure of Spirit Airlines. The $ 1.5 billion deal creates one of the country's now biggest airlines with over 650 routes across nearly 175 cities.

[00:22:22]Heading out to Florida now and our sister station WFLA in Tampa. New legal trouble for Spirit less than two weeks after the company there shut down for good. Six former employees now filing a class action lawsuit claiming they were not given proper layoff notice. And now they want 60 days worth of pay and benefits. They say Spirit notified all 17,000 employees on May 2nd, the same day we all found out that Spirit was officially shutting down. The airline says the delay was because they were actively trying to avoid those layoffs.

[00:22:59]Staying in Florida and with WFLA, how about this new dramatic video, an incredible survival story this off the coast of Florida. 11 people rescued in the ocean after their small plane went down. And this is 80 miles off the coast, leaving passengers stranded for hours on a tiny life raft. Storms began to roll through as well. So, how' they survive? Well, thankfully, the plane's transmitter sent a distress signal, and an Air Force combat search and rescue helicopter crew was training nearby.

[00:23:30]They found the raft and all 11 passengers thankfully safely rescued.

[00:23:36]They had been floating there on the waters. Could you imagine after that plane went down for nearly 5 hours? Wow.

[00:23:44]Well, more fallout tonight. Over to South Carolina after the state supreme court there unanimously overturned the double murder conviction of Alec Murdoch. The state's high court pointing to the actions of the former county clerk Becky Hill, saying her conduct improperly influenced the jury. The case now headed for a retrial as the community and the country reacts to the latest shocking twist in this case. Our Brian Anton on the story tonight. And Brian, some brand new info coming into News Nation, right?

[00:24:16]>> Yeah, we just got an interview, which I'm going to play for you in a second, with the Murdoch's housekeeper. This is the first time she's speaking out, so you'll hear that. Uh, and we also know a little more about what Alex Murdoch's second double murder trial will look like. It was quite the bombshell yesterday when the South Carolina Supreme Court essentially threw out the convictions that sent Alec Murdoch to prison for the rest of his life. But the second chance at exoneration for the disgraced former lawyer will not potentially set him free even if his legal team wins. Uh you remember these names, Dick Harput and Jim Griffin. They were Murdoch's defense lawyers who could not convince a jury that their client was innocent of murdering his wife and son. Both of those attorneys, and this is new, they said today that they are in for the second trial, confirming though that they are not being paid uh and that they have no new information to present to a jury. Apparently, they say um that Alec Murdoch is out of money and they're going to do it for free, but that there is some new information they'll bring up. Now, I want to play this for you.

[00:25:12]Someone who used to work for the Murdoch family and was especially close to Murdoch's wife, Maggie. She was the family house speaker. She just spoke to NewsNation's Jesse Weber just just a few minutes ago, literally. Uh listen to a little bit of her emotional reaction uh to these bombshell events about her former boss. Listen to this. How difficult was it testifying the first time? And if you're believing that the defense is going to go quite hard on you on cross-examination, h how do you prepare for something like that?

[00:25:42]>> You just have to be strong. And I told the truth once and I'll tell the truth again. Um, and I I have no problems with that. And I think that they underestimated me is the word that I was looking for um from the very beginning.

[00:26:04]>> So, her full interview is going to come up tonight on Jesse Weber Live. That's 11 o'clock Eastern. And she's going to have to testify again. Blake, all these people getting called again probably weren't expecting it. Many of them have written books, sort of thought they were moving on. And here we go again. They're all going to have to testify. Blake, >> here we go again. That uh that interview, as you mentioned, errors in full 11:00. Hey, Brian, it it struck me that you said that the same defense team is going to be there, not expecting, I guess, essentially, to be paid. I I believe it's the same prosecuting team, right? And so essentially, are are both sides retrying the exact same case all over again?

[00:26:42]>> Yeah, it seems like it. And and he's out of money, by the way. So they said they want to see it through to the end even though they're not going to be paid the defense team. Um whether or not he'll testify again. Remember that was a big moment last time. Uh they wouldn't say.

[00:26:55]So maybe that'll be a change. Maybe he won't take the stand. We'll see.

[00:27:00]>> All right. Our Brian Enton uh live for us tonight. And again, Jesse Weber 11:00 this evening. Uh hope you're watching in full. Brian, thank you. Jesse, thank you for that as well. All right, an eye in the sky. Meanwhile, live pictures from Huntsville, Alabama, where the FBI is testing out drone surveillance video ahead of the world's biggest sporting event. And News Nation is getting rare access to all of that. Plus, is there now all of a sudden this sort of like unusual alliance between the Trump White House and now all of a sudden some of the biggest governors in the country?

[00:27:38]What's going on in the state of New York and maybe your child's education when we return.

[00:27:48]Oh, it's getting close. It's getting close. The World Cup kicking off in less than a month, and the FBI is now unveiling its high-tech shield to protect millions of fans. NewsNation getting an exclusive look at the agents who are playing goalie in the sky, using drones to intercept aerial threats before they potentially reach the stadium gates. Our Alex Capriello down in Huntsville, Alabama tonight with what's going on there. Hi, Alex.

[00:28:18]Yeah, look, Blake, this was a really fascinating inside look into what the FBI is doing to prepare for this massive event that's coming to the US of A in less than a month. Specifically looking at their drone technology. It got us so excited that we wanted to fly one of our own. So, take a look from our drone cam flying right above our live shot here in Huntsville, Alabama. Hello to all of our News Nation viewers there. This is the type of drone that specifically the FBI and all of these local law enforcement partners are going to be looking out for when the World Cup actually begins because keep in mind that these are restricted airspaces above those stadiums when these games are actually being played. So, the FBI really pulled back the curtain and showed us exactly how they might actually hack into these potentially hobbyist drones, making sure that they are following these very strict restrictions and if they need to actually hijack that drone, take it for themselves and move it away from that stadium just to protect the millions of Americans and also international visitors that are coming here to watch their favorite teams play and really protecting largecale uh events from potential terrorist. attacks is such a priority. If you think about the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the Olympics, and really, this was something that I was able to ask senior FBI leadership about, but they say that it's really about preparing for anything that might come their way. Take a listen.

[00:29:37]>> I think what's what's on top of every agent's mind is is to keep people safe, whether that's a terrorist, whether that's a a drone attack, uh whether that's some sort of a cyber attack that could happen. Um I I think that uh you know, we're not one discipline. Uh we're not focused on one discipline. We're focused on all threats. And that's at the top of everybody's mind.

[00:29:57]>> And every single one of the host cities that is hosting a World Cup event has been trained in this. Not to mention dozens of other law enforcement partners all across our country as well. Like Alex Capriello, Huntsville, Alabama this evening. One of the big stories across the country tonight and in the upcoming weeks uh for many American cities. Alex, thank you. With us now, the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center executive director, Mike Senna. He's helping secure San Francisco ahead of the World Cup. You're a busy man, Mike.

[00:30:26]Thanks for giving us a few minutes of your time here. How important is that what we just saw from Alex? Characterize it for us. It >> it's critical uh the ability to have uh the technology in place and and especially the personnel that are trained to counter UAS. It's one of the major threats that we have uh across the many venues that we're covering uh ac throughout the United States. And you know, we can, you know, put physical barriers up to keep uh vehicles out to, you know, keep people out of certain locations. It's a lot harder when we're dealing with uh something that's flying in the air that can carry packages uh or whatever it may be and get into a place where we've got a large group of people that um creates a vulnerability for every one of those locations. you know, 11 cities, uh, east coast, obviously, a handful, southeast, you can go in into Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, and then three out there in California where you are at make up the 11 American cities.

[00:31:23]These are obviously major cities across the country. Um, you guys out there in California though recently had a Super Bowl, right? And and this is kind of like a lot of Super Bowls all crammed into one. So, in a way, was that a dry run or does it not in a in the just the wildest of ways not even compare?

[00:31:42]>> Well, it's it's a little bit different, but for us, it was a dry run. It got all of our law enforcement partners, all of our personnel that, uh, are engaged and protecting special events, uh, working well together like a welloiled machine.

[00:31:55]So, it's going to be a lot easier for us uh and dealing with World Cup, but we're talking about a much longer extended time, multiple games, uh multiple fan locations across the country. So, trying to make sure we've got all those locations protected, that people know that if they see suspicious behavior, that old message about see something, say something, call your local law enforcement, and your local law enforcement will call uh what I work at, the local fusion center, and our local FBI's joint terrorism task force to mitigate those threats. But it really worked out well for us to it was a lot of work Super Bowl, but it really gave us a great opportunity to practice for these big games coming up. There obviously was the DHS shutdown. And look, a lot of money has been um has been allocated and used in resources for all of this. 625 million, for example, awarded to cities through FEMA. another 250 million at the end of last year for basically drones and drone technology.

[00:32:54]But this caught my attention from the head of DHS, um, Mark Wayne Mullen, just the other day. I I want to play it and then we'll pick it up.

[00:33:01]>> Absolutely.

[00:33:02]>> What about our drone defense that we have to partner with other agencies on and private contractors?

[00:33:08]What happens in that case? Um well, the truth is we weren't able to be as proactive and start putting those products in line because since CISA was so um uh devastated by the shutdown. So look, on the one hand, we hear the head of DHS basically saying this hurt us the shutdown. And then on the other hand, I hear we're ready. Can both coexist at the same time?

[00:33:36]>> Uh on certain levels they can. And uh you know I just I testified in front of Congress uh back in February that that shutdown uh hurt us tremendously and our ability to be where we needed to be uh at this moment we are today as we're approaching less than 30 days to these events. Um you know the idea that one the training piece and I'm I'm very grateful to the FBI uh for setting up the training in Huntsville and getting people out there but again we're just getting people to that training. The other piece of it is actually buying the equipment and technology. So, uh you know eventually uh the FBI will have an expanded training uh capability, but you have to realize >> what do you mean eventually? The games are in like 25 days.

[00:34:20]>> Exactly. Exactly. So, it puts us in behind the eightball. Absolutely. Uh but, you know, until we get to a point where we don't have shutdowns, which I know is hard to say, that's not going to happen anytime soon. We're going to see it again. But when you talk about critical events that we need to protect uh uh you know Americans across our nation and uh we shut down the ability to actually move the money and get the training for people, it puts us in a very bad place.

[00:34:47]>> All right. Um look, we wish you obviously all the best and all the success. I know we'll be checking back with you, Mike Senna. Um running a whole lot of ops out there on the West Coast tonight. Mike, thank you. By the way, there is a connection to China here.

[00:35:02]Roughly 80% of the drones used by US law enforcement are Chinese-made. There's there's been a lot of worry and concern about this. You're probably going to see that number drop and drop and drop in the coming years. All right, still to come tonight, preparations underway right here in DC for America's 250th anniversary. July 4th celebrations have now been designated a national special security event. the highest level of protection typically reserved for events like presidential inaugurations and it puts Secret Service in charge of operations. The move comes after the recent White House correspondents dinner shooting. DC's interim police chief says there are no specific threats against any America 250 events at this moment.

[00:35:49]Well, is there a crash course on curriculum? one of the most heated debates in education today, school choice. But how about this? How is it that one of the biggest blue states in America is now saying, "You know what?

[00:36:06]We want to do that whole thing that the White House is backing." What's that all about? When we return.

[00:36:19]So, how about this? Two unlikely allies emerging in the classroom. from the New York Governor Kathy Hokll set to opt the Empire State into a major Trump administration education push. The federal school choice initiative allows taxpayers to donate up to $1,700 per person a year to scholarship organizations that help cover private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, and test prep. In return, donors would get a dollar for-dollar federal tax credit.

[00:36:46]President Trump recently praising the program as a way to give parents more educational options for their kids.

[00:36:53]>> School choice all over now. We didn't have we had virtually none. Everybody loves school choice.

[00:36:59]>> New York now joins Colorado as the second blue state to opt into the program which would take effect in 2027.

[00:37:07]With me now, Sean Clifford, president of the AFC scholarship fund, a proponent of all of this. Sean, hello. Were you surprised when you heard this move from New York?

[00:37:18]>> A little surprised in the short term, but confident that this will ultimately be something that's available to all children in all all states.

[00:37:25]>> So, how do you see this playing out?

[00:37:27]What what's the what's the benefit of all this in in your view?

[00:37:33]>> Well, look, I think there are three real benefits um that probably factored into the decision that Governor Hokll made. I think the first is, you know, and even though we live in a somewhat cynical age, this is in the best interest of children and this has an incredible opportunity uh for New York to really push forward policy that will advance uh enrichment opportunities and choice for parents uh and students all over New York. I think second um this is politically popular. Uh even as we look as more and more states are adopting school choice at the state level, nationally when you look at the polling and even within states like New York, um this is a very politically popular thing. And I think the third factor here is there are going to be tens of billions of dollars that can be raised from this policy. and New York in fact uh alone there you could see billions and billions raised and the question is will that money stay instate to benefit New York families or will it flow elsewhere and so I think this was a move that the governor made to ensure for all those three reasons improving outcomes for kids uh taking a politically popular stance >> so the the teachers unions not fans um here's how the New York teachers union responded they say public dollars belong in public schools vouchers by any name, take money away from neighborhood schools and hand it to private institutions that do not answer to the public. What would you say to the teachers union?

[00:38:58]>> I would say two things. I think the first is that these are funds that are ultimately being donated by individual American taxpayers to scholarship organizations. So they are not coming out of a designated pot of the government. I think the second thing that I would say is as we've seen in states across the country when you enact choice programs this lifts all boats that educational outcomes are improving and that those who care about kids and they care about kids outcomes should want to support something like this.

[00:39:27]>> Okay, so let me show you here.

[00:39:29]Overwhelming number of students enrolled in voucher programs already in private school. Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee. You can see the numbers. um they're they're already enrolled and they're headed into private school. Is this the way that the system is is should be working in your view?

[00:39:49]I think one thing that you'll see and in fact you see some of this uh in the states that have enacted school choice programs to date is that for the first few years there's a handful of families that um are not yet aware of the opportunity and as they learn about it and as they conduct research and what this means for them you start to see greater number of families opt into the programs and so I think that that will probably be the case at the national level as well in which families once they have the opportunity to make a real choice for their child because not every option is appropriate. Excuse me. This is not a case where a one-sizefits-all.

[00:40:25]And so when parents have the opportunity to select the school that is best for their family, for their children, um they will do so.

[00:40:32]>> All right. Um he's on the side of it. Uh said he was surprised by what happened there. Uh what's going on potentially there in New York. Sean Clifford with us tonight. Thank you. By the way, more than 80% of the world's school systems use public private partnerships to educate young children. So, is this a trend that we could see going forward?

[00:40:51]Um, I don't know. What we can tell you is that they're moving in that direction in many states. We'll see what happens.

[00:40:57]We'll stay on top of it. Well, I thank you for being with us tonight uh here on the Hill. There is a lot of news still to come here on NewsNation this evening.

[00:41:07]Of course, President Trump abroad uh this evening in China. Just hours from now, he will be meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping again as we leave you with a live look from Beijing, China.

[00:41:19]What will round two, day two look like?

[00:41:23]I'm Blake Berman. I'll see you tomorrow.