All posts tagged "brianna keilar"

'Let me finish!' Senate Republican loses his cool as he's fact-checked on his own bill

Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) clashed in a conversation with CNN host Brianna Keilar that left the GOP lawmaker tongue-tied during a live broadcast on Thursday.

The Republican got in the fiery back-and-forth with Keilar after the anchor started asking Husted about the SAVE America Act and raised questions over whether the legislation backed by the Trump administration and conservatives would disenfranchise voters. Husted was reacting after a vote on his voter ID amendment failed, while President Donald Trump has pressured Republicans to end the filibuster, fund the Department of Homeland Security and pass the SAVE America Act.

Keilar pointed to Husted's previous experiences investigating voter fraud, calling out how few cases of fraud would potentially justify the now-stalled legislation.

"If you're going to let me finish so I can get the facts, my bill doesn't have any registration requirements," Husted said. "My amendment that we just voted on, that no Democrat voted on was photo ID exactly what we have in Ohio. The exact same tools that they have in Georgia that they have in other states, Wisconsin, we use the same tools. They still are unwilling to say 'yes' to the most simple part of election integrity. And that is a photo ID."

But Keilar pushed back — and kept cutting off the senator.

"Can you be a little clear on that?" Keilar asked, pressing the noticeably frustrated lawmaker again while they both continued to interrupt each other.

'Seething!' CNN anchors struck by Trump's fury towards Supreme Court justices

CNN hosts were taken aback by how angry President Donald Trump was Friday after the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs.

Anchors Boris Sanchez and Brianna Keilar were talking to senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes about Trump's reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling — and how noticeably upset he appeared to be during it. Trump called the move "deeply disappointing" during a press conference and his first public reaction to the high court's decision. He also said that the SCOTUS justices who voted against his tariffs are "barely" invited to his State of the Union address next week, saying, "I couldn't care less if they come."

"Yeah, he is clearly angry," Holmes said. "He's been seething about this decision. This is the real core tenet of not just his economic agenda, but really his foreign policy agenda as well. He has used these tariffs as leverage, and he said specifically yes, he is going this alternative route. Yes, he is going to be invoking this 10% global tariffs by using the section 122. We know that they are looking into also using section 301. Those are the things those trade law that they're talking about to get this done. But that being said, the reason that they had gone this route initially was because this was quicker. They wanted this to be done quicker. They wanted to be able to instate this quicker. And that is why you're seeing this frustration from President Trump."

Trump was vocal and expressed his annoyance that he wanted his tariffs to continue despite the high court's decision. He also refused to answer CNN questions during the press briefing, calling the network "fake news."

"And I will say there were several interesting things he said. One, he was asked specifically about the two justices that he appointed to the Supreme Court," Holmes said.

Trump had a scathing comment to the justices he had appointed who voted down his tariffs.

"The question that I had also tried to ask, which is whether or not he regretted it, he wouldn't answer that, but he said it was an embarrassment," Holmes said. "This decision to rule against the tariffs was an embarrassment to their families. We know that he has ranted in the past about Supreme Court justices, particularly those he has appointed, who don't rule in his favor, but it was very clear here today that he was incredibly angry; he was angry at the court. He was angry at the people that he put into place. And he said so much, saying that they should be ashamed of themselves and of this decision that they made."

Trump praised the three justices who dissented from the decision, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who issued a 63-page dissent.

"Now, one of the things we also saw him do was walk through the dissent from Kavanaugh, who obviously ruled in favor of keeping the tariffs or against them being illegal and said that he that Kavanaugh had sort of set up a roadmap for what they were going to be doing now to instate these tariffs and praised Kavanaugh as well also mentioning that all the Supreme Court justices are still invited to the State of the Union, but barely but again, you could see how angry he was," Holmes said. "This is a core part of what they do what he has been doing, both in terms of economic policy, paying for different programs, saying that these tariffs are going to various different programs and bailouts, as well as when he goes into meetings with these foreign leaders using the tariffs as an enormous amount of leverage and really doing so carte blanche until now."

'Aghast at what they saw': CNN anchor drops stunning revelation from DHS insiders

People within President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security on Thursday are reportedly appalled by what they saw in the video showing the moment an ICE agent shot and killed a Minneapolis mother inside her car.

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar described the number of questions raised within Trump's own agency following Vice President JD Vance's comments suggesting that 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was to blame for the fatal shooting, and his complaining about the media over questions surrounding the actions of the ICE officer, since identified as Jonathan Ross.

"We are listening there to Vice President JD Vance, who vehemently blamed Renee Nicole Good for her own death, stressed robust actions that are going to take place for federal fraud investigations in Minnesota. But not much about an investigation into what happened when it came to Good's killing," Keilar said.

In 2022, federal law enforcement agencies prohibited officers from shooting at moving vehicles and updated training policies to include that standard. The Trump administration has cited that Ross reportedly feared for his life, and Vance claimed that he had immunity in the fatal shooting.

"Even as he was lambasting the press for media coverage of all of this, there are a number of people inside of DHS who are aghast at what they saw in that video, and we need to be clear about that," Keilar added. "We are reporting what we have heard from sources. We are reporting what law enforcement, former law enforcement sources familiar with use of force protocols are saying and questions that they are raising about how this was carried out."

CNN anchor shuts down GOP lawmaker over health care: 'It has been 15 years!'

A CNN anchor on Monday shut down a Republican lawmaker who was trying to drop a common GOP talking point over health care.

Brianna Keilar interjected Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) during a live broadcast.

"Unfortunately, as you know, Brianna, during the budget debate in July, the Democrats actually used what's called the Byrd Rule in the Senate to take those provisions out. We put them back in. We hope that the Democrats will support our effort to actually reduce premiums so that we can all benefit, not just Obamacare beneficiaries, but all Americans, who are being hit hard by the failure of Obamacare," Haridopolos said.

That's when Keilar stopped him.

"I think anyone who has had to deal with health costs will tell you there are problems. It's been 15 years, though, since Obamacare passed. That's a lot of time to try to address the cost of health care, isn't it?"

Haridopolos then backpedaled.

"I couldn't agree with you more," he said. "Every time we try to push together some different ideas, like we did again this week in the congress, with republicans pushing an idea that actually reduce costs and give more people options as opposed to just Obamacare. As I mentioned, I hope that people look back at July. We passed a measure that would actually reduce Obamacare by 11%. The democrats actually fought it, which is shocking to me because they like us. They said..."

Keilar interjected again, pointed to her question again, and pressed the Republican lawmaker on how the GOP is in power but hasn't changed health care policy in the U.S.

"Let me stop you there... We're talking about addressing health care costs. Right. And I certainly hear your concern with Obamacare," she added. "But if we're talking about addressing health care costs, those have been a problem prior to the passage of Obamacare. They've continued to be a problem after the passage of Obamacare. And I hear what you're saying about this past summer, but it has been 15 years! So when you're talking about trying to address only now these issues of costs, why let these subsidies expire? If you don't have a solution and your party has had a decade and a half to try to come up with one?"

'So Trump's wrong?' CNN anchor drops truth bomb on Republican during fiery interview

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar called out a Republican for using President Donald Trump's talking points during a fiery interview Thursday.

Keilar was interviewing Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) about the ongoing questions surrounding lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, just off the coast of Venezuela, and whether Congress was readying for an escalated offense against the country. That's when the conversation got heated.

"He has said no less than 17 times in recent months that land strikes could be coming soon," Keilar said, referring to Trump signaling that the United States could advance attacks on land.

"Yeah, well, I'm just telling you, the briefings we've got, we aren't currently engaged in hostilities directly against Venezuela," Davidson responded. "The boats are not flagged. Venezuelan boats. And what people are calling a blockade is really more of — is targeting sanctioned oil ships. It's not like we're blocking all shipments going in and out of Venezuela."

Keilar pressed Davidson further.

"What — you mean by people, do you mean Trump? Because he called it a blockade," Keilar asked.

"The language is blockade. But the reality is what's going on isn't closure of everything going in and out of the country. It's a targeted enforcement action," Davidson said.

Keilar pushed back with a sharp question.

"The language of the president is blockade. So he's wrong?" Keilar asked.

"It's not a blockade. A blockade would be that there's no flow of goods in and out of Venezuela. So those are distinctions," Davidson added. "And what we're doing is enforcing current law. The administration is clearly not in violation of the War Powers Resolution, currently. And it's also clear, though, as I said in my statement, that if we did engage directly, let's say we deploy Marines on the ground in Venezuela that does cross the war powers and the United States."

Davidson said that the Constitution is clear about how war works and that he's talked to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about it.

"But you said, and I want to focus on war powers, because I know it's something that you're so concerned about," Keilar pushed back. "You said you have high confidence they will seek congressional authority on this. Do you have total confidence because the Trump administration is actually seeking a separate legal opinion to DOJ to provide a justification for launching strikes against land targets in Venezuela? This is what we reported last month. According to a U.S. official. Without getting congressional authorization, though, no decisions have been made yet to move forward with an attack. They were looking for how to do this legally without Congress okaying it."

Davidson admitted that Trump is frustrated with Congress and with their response to the strikes.

"The reality is the Trump administration has provided the briefings. It has communicated. And that's why I have the confidence that I have. Is it certainty? No. And the reality is that President Trump would like to do far more in Venezuela. And I think, look, every president gets frustrated dealing with a legislature. But that's the Constitution," Davidson said.

'Are you listening?' Heated clash on CNN as Republican tries to deny hearing outrage

A heated CNN anchor gave fierce pushback on Tuesday afternoon to a Republican lawmaker who tried to deny hearing pleas from farmers who said they're struggling to make ends meet.

CNN's Brianna Keilar got in a fiery back-and-forth with Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) after she asked him during a live broadcast about what farmers are saying. Alford claimed that the Trump administration was working to give them more relief when the conversation got heated.

"We are giving the farmers their safety nets through 80% of the farm bill that was passed through the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,'" Alford said. "Those safety nets are there an increase in reference prices. We are helping the American farmers, Donald J. Trump knows the importance of feeding America and the world, and we're gonna get it done."

Keilar didn't hold back in response.

"But that's not what farmers are telling you, right? I know that you've heard from them," she shot back. "They say they're hurting from tariffs. I know you had a town hall this summer, KMIZ reported about one farmer telling you it's not just that China was retaliating, they're not buying soybeans, even though that's back now, but tariffs actually drove up prices of fertilizer and other farm goods. So, I mean, of this idea of loans, but when you're paying more for goods that you paid a certain price for before, and your margins are pretty slim. Do you think the administration is understanding this? Do you think they're getting that message?"

Alford attempted to blame former President Joe Biden for farmers' current woes.

"They do, and they understand as I do, that it was Joe Biden that drove up the price of fertilizer and fuel with his war," he said.

"Well, no, that's not what this farmer told you. So what do you say to him?" Keilar said, pushing back again.

"Well, that's what I'm telling you. I'm telling you right now," Alford said.

"But that's not what this farmer told you, and he's the farmer who's telling you... excuse me. This farmer you heard him. He said this to you," she said.

"Yes, we need to look at fertilizer prices. Fuel has come down and will continue to come down thanks to Donald Trump," Alford said.

But Keilar still wasn't satisfied with Alford's response and pressed further.

"Are you listening to your constituents? Because he was very clear about why his prices were going up," she said.

"Brianna, I did 15 stops on a town hall tour, one of the few Congress members on the Republican side and the Democrat side to actually do that. Yes ma'am. I listened," he said. "I took 256 questions and sat there and listened. Listened to insults, listened to yelling, listened to name-calling, and answered when they wanted to be respectful. I remember that farmer. I understand his concern, but the large number of farmers in Missouri believe in Donald J. Trump and that he's going to get things done. We are doing that with beef prices."

'No, that's not what I said': CNN anchor gets testy on GOP lawmaker over Trump remarks

A CNN anchor had a fiery reaction in a conversation with a Republican Indiana state lawmaker on Monday, as Indiana leaders in the Senate will vote to decide on redistricting in the state.

State Rep. Andrew Ireland said it was "backwards" to try and blame President Donald Trump for swatting or other attacks on opponents and other lawmakers after his comments on his perceived enemies during a conversation with CNN anchor Brianna Keilar. Keilar pressed the Republican lawmaker over his comment.

"Does the president of the United States have any responsibility to try and mitigate it when you see swatting going on, happening after he says something on social media about a lawmaker?" Keilar asked.

Ireland responded by pointing to local law enforcement and their responsibility to protect citizens.

"The big piece of it there is law enforcement holding people accountable in the first place...," Ireland said. "But the president calling out political opponents or advocating for a position is not the same thing as going and inciting swatting, if that's what you're getting at."

Keilar pushed back.

"No, that's not what I said," Keilar said. "If someone, if a president, were to politically target you, and then you suffer one of these swatting incidents, would you hope that the rhetoric might be tamped down? Is that a reasonable thing to hope for or expect from the leader of the country?"

Ireland said that he didn't believe you could "...tie somebody's truth Social posts or their tweets to bad and illegal behavior by another person... I don't think the president is doing anything he shouldn't be doing."

Trump was criticized by multiple lawmakers and advocates for calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a derogatory slur. Michael Bohacek, an Indiana state senator and Republican, has said he will not support the redistricting effort in the state after the president's comments.

Trump has made multiple demands to Republican lawmakers across the United States. The president had called on GOP legislators to redraw congressional maps in states all over the country, but Indiana Republicans — even in deep-red Trump districts — made clear to their elected representatives that they do not want to go along with the scheme.

MAGA lawmaker gets snippy with CNN anchor: 'You interrupted me!'

A MAGA lawmaker got snippy with a CNN anchor during a live broadcast Friday, complaining, "You interrupted me!"

Assistant Whip Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) joined CNN's Brianna Keilar to discuss the ground stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport due to staffing shortages as the government shutdown drags on, and how FAA staffing problems have ended previous stalemates and forced the government to reopen.

Keilar moved the conversation to the subject of food stamp benefits, which two federal judges ruled Friday must be continued to be funded by the Trump administration and the U.S.Department of Agriculture, as the deadline for funding the program was slated to run out Saturday.

"The question I'm asking you, because you're a Republican and that is your party — and that is your party in the White House making that decision — do you think it's fair to just to the country's most needy as leverage?" Keilar asked.

"I was just about to answer when you interrupted me, because the blame is not just on this administration, because this administration is not the one that voted to shut down the government. It was the Senate Democrats that chose to," Malliotakis shot back.

"But what I'm simply saying is, if the Democrats are not going to vote to reopen the government, they want to continue using this leverage and inflict this type of pain in the American people unnecessarily. Then what I think the president and the administration should do is what they've done with the Women, Infants, and Children program," she said. "They were able to find some money to shift funds to continue that program, very critical for young families that I represent. They found funds from Pentagon research and development to be able to pay our military. And as I said earlier, they should do the same here, if given, which they seem to have received green lights from the judges to allow them to use it."

'People don't care!' MAGA Republican repeatedly cut off on CNN

A CNN anchor repeatedly cut off a MAGA Republican as he kept repeating the same finger-pointing excuses about the government shutdown on Thursday, telling him, "People don't care!"

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) joined CNN anchor Brianna Keilar to discuss how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are slated to be eliminated this weekend, as the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 8% of its total workforce has been furloughed during the shutdown.

Keilar cut off the veteran and former Army Ranger several times in the interview as he made claims blaming Democrats for the stalemate.

"This isn't a blue state or red state thing," Keilar said, cutting Davidson off.

"Can you gain this out for us? If we get to this weekend, open enrollment opens, right? And you have Americans starting to see the cost of their insurance premiums go up significantly without the [Affordable Care Act] subsidies that are expiring. And the Democrats are demanding be extended. That's kind of, you know, the hill they're dying on in this thing. Does that change the dynamic of this standoff as you see it?" Keilar asked.

"No, I mean, so let's be clear whose premiums are going up," Davidson said. "Everyone's subsidies that you're talking about are Obamacare subsidies from Covid that Democrats put on during Covid so that in the midst of a pandemic."

Then Keilar cut him off again.

"OK. But that doesn't — that's going to everyone's — I hear what you're saying, and I hear Republicans say that, congressman. But the fact is, people don't care," she said. "They look at the bottom line, they look at how much it costs them. They see a massive increase in their bottom line. That some argument about it being from Covid, while a great discussion for us to have, doesn't matter for someone, a Democrat or a Republican, right? They're going to see the cost increase. Does that increase the pressure?"

Apparently, it doesn't, Davidson said.

"It doesn't increase the pressure on me," he responded. "No Republicans ever voted for Obamacare. Obamacare for Democrats is working as it was designed to do. It was designed to administer a fatal overdose of government to America's health care economy. And it is. And it keeps failing. And the only way to keep it alive is to keep pumping more cash into it. And that raises the market price. The market price becomes the price plus the subsidies. And so everyone is feeling this pain. And it was by design that Obamacare did this. Republicans have said that all along. No Republican has ever voted for Obamacare. John McCain famously declined to get rid of it, but no Republican voted for these subsidies either. And even Democrats didn't have the votes to make them permanent when they put them in. So now they want Republicans to do what they fail to do. And by the way, this isn't the only thing that they're negotiating over. They say their whole 1.5 trillion package or nothing. So they want the whole thing."

'Fail': CNN cracks up at nuclear expert's brutal takedown of Trump's big plan for the moon

CNN's Brianna Keilar introduced nuclear policy analyst Joe Cirincione to discuss the Trump administration's big plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.

She mentioned Cirincione's book, "Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the world before it is too late," before segueing into the subject at hand.

"Speaking of nuclear nightmares, last we spoke to you, it was about nuclear wasps, radioactive wasps," Keilar said. "Now we're talking about a nuclear reactor on the moon, which raises some safety concerns."

"Well, if the purpose of this announcement was to distract attention from the Epstein files, it briefly succeeded," Cirincione quipped as Keilar and co-host Boris Sanchez cracked up. "Sean Duffy was trending on social media for the last 24 hours right behind Ghislaine Maxwell."

He continued, "But if it's to propose a serious plan for the human colonization of Mars, I think it fails the test."

Cirincione said that a small, modular, launchable nuclear reactor has been in the cards for a while, but Duffy's announcement "actually resets the timeline that NASA set just five years ago of being able to have a nuclear reactor ready to launch by 2026," Cirincione said.

"Now, he's proposing 2030 for a bigger reactor, about 10 times the size of the one that was originally proposed several years ago. I just don't see the technology available. I don't think we're going to be able to make this technological leap, but we are certainly going to spend billions of dollars trying to do so, probably at the at the expense of other vital NASA missions."

Cirincione said that such a mission would "require a launch vehicle that doesn't yet exist, require a reactor that doesn't yet exist, and pose some serious safety hazards themselves, like the risk of failure of the system, the explosion of the system, or another launch failure as they try to put this in orbit and then onto the moon. I don't think the risks are worth it," Crincione said.

Watch the clip below via CNN.