This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," May 19, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Good evening. Welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.

Breaking tonight, we're following two major foreign policy stories. President Biden is stepping up the pressure on Israel to make what is being called a significant de-escalation in its conflict with Hamas. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting that call.

First up, the president's decision to waive sanctions on the company behind a controversial Russian pipeline project to Europe, specifically Germany. He's getting more criticism about that today even as the administration announces penalties for other Russian entities.

Let's get details now from White House correspondent Peter Doocy, he's live on the North Lawn. Good evening, Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening, Bret. The day before the inauguration, Antony Blinken went to the Senate and told lawmakers there he agreed with them that Nord Stream 2 pipeline was a bad idea but not for the environmental reasons that have led this administration to cancel pipelines here in the states already. Instead, because it would give Russia an advantage in the region.

But tonight, the Biden administration is going to waive sanctions on certain officials that will make it possible for this project to be completed. And Antony Blinken is sitting with Russia's Foreign Minister right now in Iceland making nice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: President Biden has demonstrated that in both word and deed, not for purposes of escalation, not to seek conflict but to defend our interests.

DOOCY (voice over): This foreign policy decision tonight has the top foreign policy Democrat in the Senate furious.

Bob Menendez writes, the administration has said that the pipeline is a bad idea and that it is a Russian malign influence project. I share that sentiment but fail to see how today's decision will advance U.S. efforts to counter Russian aggression in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY (on camera): And as President Biden makes this big concession to Russia, who he is called an opponent before. He's also applying new pressure to Israel, a long-standing U.S. ally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY (voice over): It's long been part of Biden's pitch on the campaign trail.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bibi Netanyahu, I know well.

DOOCY: And at the White House.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's obviously somebody that he has a long-standing relationship with.

DOOCY: Today, a test as the White House tells us, the president conveyed to the Prime Minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire.

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): Who cares what Joe Biden expects? The people of Israel have a right an expectation that they can protect themselves from thousands of rockets and missiles being fired into their cities.

DOOCY: The White House provided a short readout of the leaders call but hasn't detailed what's next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What recourse does the U.S. have to take if Israel doesn't meet that deadline?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO JEN PSAKI: Well, again, I'm going to let the readout play out for -- say -- speak for itself.

DOOCY: After a chat with Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a critic of Israel who recently accused the Israeli government of using an apartheid system against the Palestine. The president sympathized with her relatives in the West Bank.

BIDEN: I pray that your grand mom and family are well.

DOOCY: Did that get Tlaib to lay off Israel? No, because today she signed on to a resolution hoping to block Biden from sending arms to Israel saying the harsh truth is that these weapons are being sold by the United States to Israel with the clear understanding that the vast majority of them will be used to bomb Gaza.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Accusing Israel of committing acts of terrorism as the squad has done, it is unconscionable.

DOOCY: Hoping to keep weapons away from Israel's enemies, Republican Congressman Brian Mast re-introduced a resolution to sanction backers of the terror group Hamas.

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): Hamas does not finance terrorism with bake sales. They receive significant support from individual groups and foreign governments like Iran.

DOOCY: Democrats defeated that resolution in a party line vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the opinion of the chairs the ayes have it.

DOOCY: The president's day started with the mess in the Middle East. But hours later, he tried to keep things light when Coast Guard Academy graduates didn't appreciate a scripted joke.

BIDEN: You're a really dull class. I mean, come on man, is the sun getting to you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY (on camera): So, maybe President Biden is not much of a comedian today, but he is showing himself to be a deliberator. There are no serious calls for him to send U.S. troops to the Middle East to intervene in this new conflict. But there is pressure on him from progressives to stop helping Israel.

We do not expect any major foreign policy announcements for the rest of tonight though, because as soon as the president got back from delivering that commencement address, the White House told us no more on-camera events today, Bret.

BAIER: It's so-called lid. Peter Doocy live in the North Lawn. Peter, thanks.

Now, to the latest on the Middle East fighting. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot live in Tel Aviv early Thursday morning. Hello, Greg.

GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hello, Bret. Yes, there are new reports tonight that we could see a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the next couple of days.

But as it stands right now, despite new White House pressure, we could be in a dangerous status quo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT (voice over): Amid ongoing clashes between Israel and Hamas, more signs a cessation in hostilities might be closer.

President Biden in another call with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying he expects de-escalation today, more pressure to coming from the U.N., the E.U. and regional powers.

Netanyahu, however, remained in a fighting mood talking about Hamas.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: There are only two ways that you can deal with them. You can either conquer them, and that's always an open possibility or you can deter them. And we are engaged right now in forceful deterrence.

PALKOT: Hamas striking out again Southern in central Israel in the rocket fire. Israel even hit by rockets from Lebanon, no one was hurt. The Israelis remain active on the front lawn.

We are at an airbase in central Israel watching an F-15 of the Israeli Air Force take off planes from here have been heading south to Gaza, some 30 miles with some heavy weapons doing some pretty bad damage to militants there and others.

The damage to Hamas has been substantial. According to Israel, some 820 terror targets hit, 130 militants killed, but it's the havoc heaped on Palestinian civilians that has the world concerned. Some 230 killed including 64 children, over 1,600 wounded, shortages in food, medicine, power and water. 60,000 homeless and some still missing.

REHAM OWDA, POLITICAL ANALYST: Now we are in urgent need to save the civilian and protect the civilian. We need international community to support the civilian regardless of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

PALKOT: Even this Israeli Air Force Captain who's been involved in multiple sorties over Gaza sounds like he'd be happy for a break to.

CAPTAIN B, ISRAELI AIR FORCE PILOT: On a personal level, I 100 percent want peace and want zero civilian casualties on both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT (on camera): And by the way, we were asked withhold that Captain B's name for security reasons.

Throughout the night, we've been watching new reports of both Hamas rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes. It could be as some analysts have said to us last licks before the end, before that dangerous end. Back to you, Bret.

BAIER: I hopefully so. Greg Palkot in Tel Aviv. Greg, thanks.

A presidential nominee for a key intelligence post. The top spot, he's under scrutiny tonight. A Republican senator raising concern over work the nominee did for a Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei. A company that was called a national security threat by the last administration.

Correspondent Kevin Corke is here tonight with details. Good evening, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening, Bret. Huawei as you know has been heavily sanctioned by the U.S. government after accusations that its infrastructure equipment actually enables the Chinese Communist Party to surveil users.

And now, Republicans on Capitol Hill are asking a key Biden nominee searing questions about his past involvement with the company. His name is Christopher Fonzone. He's been nominated to become the general counsel of the ODNI, for the folks outside of Washington at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

On Tuesday, Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse asked Fonzone about Huawei's link to China's oppression of its Uighur minority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): What do you think of the role that they've played in the Chinese Communist Party's genocide in Xinjiang?

I'm trying to ask why would you make a decision to work for Huawei, given who they are.

CHRISTOPHER FONZONE, ODNI, GENERAL COUNSEL NOMINEE: My firm asked if I would help address some questions on how does U.S. administrative law works. I did a very small amount of analysis on with respect to that question less than 10 hours.

CORKE: Less than 10 hours. So, the nominee also said that he's aware that the ODNI has made an assessment that Huawei poses a significant counterintelligence risk. He also vowed that he would use the latest intelligence available in any legal analysis, but that answer didn't satisfy Sasse.

SASSE: Who did you think they were? Because they're the bad guys as a company that's involved in genocide and this is a company that habitually systematically is involved in stealing I.P. from U.S. companies. Helping them with rulemaking or their understanding of rulemaking is not helping a morally neutral actor and it's not helping them comply with U.S. law. It's helping them figure out how they can skirt U.S. law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORKE (on camera): No surprise right after the hearing, Sasse said that Fonzone should not be confirmed to the role.

Now, over the weekend, the ODNI actually hailed Fonzone in a statement writing, his wealth and experience and expertise will make Chris an outstanding addition to the ODNI leadership team.

As for Huawei, it has consistently denied accusations that it is controlled by the Communist Party or facilitates Chinese spying, Bret.

BAIER: Kevin, thanks. This is for the top legal spot and the Director of National Intelligence. Kevin, thanks.

It's increasing political pressure tonight on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to end her mandatory mask policy at the Capitol.

Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has specifics from Capitol Hill. Good evening, Chad.

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening, Bret.

BAIER: I heard today House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to get the House to drop this mask policy.

PERGRAM: That's right. There's a mask rebellion in the House here, Bret. McCarthy wrote a resolution saying the House mask policy on the floor is contrary to CDC guidance. He says it's "Not based on the best available science." Some GOP members say the House rule is arbitrary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAST: There's not really a real protocol to it. They're just telling us that if we're on the floor without a mask, they're going to find us even though the CDC says if you've been vaccinated, resume your normal life.

PERGRAM (voice over): The House right now is voting to kill McCarthy's resolution. Capital attending physician Brian Monahan rejected McCarthy's argument.

Monahan says the House's mask requirement is consistent with CDC policy. Monahan says the House floor is the only place where all members gather during the day and you have a combination of vaxxed and unvaxxed people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM (on camera): The House fined four members yesterday $500 apiece for not wearing a mask on the floor, Bret.

BAIER: Chad, the House also is about to approve a bill to create a commission to study the January 6th riot. You have the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both opposed.

PERGRAM: That's right. That vote's going to come right after this vote on the McCarthy resolution.

Yesterday, Mitch McConnell said he wanted to study the fine print of that bill. Today, McConnell called the plan slanted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It's not at all clear what new facts or additional investigation, yet another commission could actually lay on top of existing efforts by law enforcement and Congress. The facts have come out and they'll continue to come out.

PERGRAM (voice over): Some Republicans who back the probe take issue with McConnell's reasoning.

To DOJ/FBI side is a criminal investigation. The House has oversight responsibility, namely to security breaches. Security is very important, just like 9/11 where were the breakdowns in the system and the planning and the staffing and the preparation and figure out how we can fix that to make sure it never happens again.

PERGRAM: If the commission is formed, it's possible it could subpoena McCarthy and even former President Trump.

McCarthy says the Commission's mandate was too narrow and it should have included the 2017 baseball practice shooting along with the Good Friday attack which killed officer Billy Evans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM (on camera): Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin said he couldn't believe McConnell's opposition. Durbin says McConnell was enraged during the riot. Durbin says McConnell was determined the mob would not keep the Senate from doing its work on January 6th, Bret.

BAIER: Chad, thank you.

The latest analysis from George Washington University indicates 429 individuals have been charged in federal court over the January 6th riot. Washington Post reports 53 people are currently still detained.

The charges generally fall into three categories, violent offenses, such as assaulting police, weapons violations, or conspiracy allegations.

About a dozen are alleged members or associates of extremist groups such as the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers. About 15 are military veterans. One is a former police officer.

So far, only one defendant has entered a guilty plea. And there are no reports of any cases that have been dismissed.

Former President Trump is facing a one two punch of criminal investigations in New York tonight. The State Attorney General's office says it's ongoing civil inquiry into his business dealings is now a criminal matter.

The Attorney General's office confirms it is conducting the probe in tandem with the Manhattan District Attorney's office, which has been scrutening -- scrutinizing rather, former President Trump and his company the Trump Organization for about two years.

Stocks were off today for the third straight day. The Dow lost 165, the S&P 500 fell 12, the NASDAQ dropped four.

Up next, the Fox News exclusive, how Iran is using American prisoners as bargaining chips to get a new nuclear deal and get rid of economic sanctions. We'll bring you that.

First, here's what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.

Fox 8 in New Orleans as a flash flood watch is issued for much of the area bringing more rain to people whose homes and cars were flooded earlier this week. Three people have died in Louisiana due to vehicles that went into high water.

Fox 7 in Austin, Texas has the governor there signs a measure banning abortions after as early as six weeks. The new law allows private citizens to enforce the rule through civil lawsuits against doctors and others.

And this is a live look at New York from our affiliate Fox 5, one of the big stories there. Vaccinated New Yorkers are no longer required to wear masks in many situations. Restaurants, shops, gyms, many of the businesses returning to full occupancy if all patrons are inoculated.

That's tonight's live look outside the Beltway from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: The operator of the nation's largest fuel pipeline is confirming it paid $4.4 million to hackers who broke into its computer systems. The Wall Street Journal reports Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount authorize the payment because the company did not know the extent of the damage and was not sure how long it would take to bring the pipeline systems back online.

Now, a Fox News exclusive. National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin tells us how Iran is using American prisoners as leverage in its effort to get rid of crippling economic sanctions and to achieve a new nuclear deal with the U.S. Jennifer reports tonight from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As the Biden administration continues talks with Iran about restarting the nuclear deal, five Americans are being held in prison by Tehran as human bargaining chips, among them Emad Shargi, a 56-year-old American businessmen.

BAHAREH SHARGI, HUSBAND IMPRISONED IN IRAN: He was simply taken, you know, taken, yanked out of our life and without an explanation.

GRIFFIN: He and his wife of 32 years inspired by travel shows and Anthony Bourdain, decided to visit Tehran three years ago to see the country they left as children, a decision that would upend their lives. 15 secret police stormed their apartment at 2:30 in the morning and took the Emad to Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

SHARGI: I went there for two weeks every morning and it was as if they didn't know who I'm talking about until they finally told me your husband is here and will be here for a long time.

GRIFFIN: Emad Shargi has not been charged or put on trial.

SHARGI: Nobody has seen him for five and a half months.

GRIFFIN: His two daughters Hannah and Ariana described how hard it has been not having their father home with them in the U.S. He has missed both their college graduations and so much more.

HANNAH SHARGI, DAUGHTER OF EMAD SHARGI: Our dad is really just the most incredible father in the world. He's extremely present. He shows up for you all the time, every single game. He is the person that we all turn to. He's the one who keeps our family together. He's the foundation of our family.

What we do know is that he's an innocent American who's being held against his well unable to come home.

GRIFFIN: Six days after becoming Secretary of State, Antony Blinken spoke to the families of all Americans detained wrongfully overseas.

ANTHONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm determined to bring every American home. We have to take a stand against the arbitrary detention of citizens for political purposes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And for the first time we truly understand what it means to be an American and that's to have your whole country, your whole community rally behind you and really be there for you. So, I think that's what's gotten us through the last three years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (on camera): The State Department has played down reports of an imminent prisoner swap. The Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, is currently in Vienna leading the nuclear talks. Bret?

BAIER: Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon, Jennifer, thank you. Up next, Critical Race Theory becomes the new hot button issue on the midterm campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN YOUNGKIN (R-VA) GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It actually teaches separation. It forces, in fact, judgment.

JANE TIMKEN (R-OH) SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Parents are up in arms and alarmed. They want to know what's happening in their schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: First, beyond our borders tonight, the family of a Jewish man who was lynched by an Arab mob last week has donated his organs. An Arab woman in Jerusalem received his kidney. She says she feels she now has a Jewish family and that there is a place for the man in heaven.

French police officers hold a huge demonstration outside parliament to press for a law guaranteeing jail time for people who assault them and for harsher penalties against criminals. Two police officers have been killed in separate incidents in recent weeks there.

European Union ambassadors agree on measures to permit the return of fully vaccinated visitors. The E.U. imposed restrictions on non-essential travel last year to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Now, it's opening up.

Just some other stories from beyond our borders tonight. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: It appears Critical Race Theory is becoming the new hot button issue on the campaign trail. Chief Washington Correspondent Mike Emanuel tells us the controversial approach is already making big waves in the run up to coming elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNGKIN: The current state of our schools is at the top of the list of concerns.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Some key Republicans are convinced running against critical race theory could be a winning issue. Virginia Republican nominee for Governor Glenn Youngkin says parents are alarmed.

YOUNGKIN: It's viewed as absolutely being a political agenda, not an educational curriculum. And oh, by the way, when I'm governor, we are not going to have Critical Race Theory in our schools.

EMANUEL: Youngkin is likely to face former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in November. McAuliffe is fired back on Twitter. "Glenn, I launched my campaign on education. You should read my plan. Maybe it'll give you ideas if you ever decide to write one."

In Ohio, Republican Jane Timken is running for retiring Senator Rob Portman's seat next year.

TIMKEN: When we're talking -- pushing students to learn through a lens of racism. It's the exact wrong way and it's against our American principles of equal opportunity for all.

EMANUEL: Timken has started a listening tour on Critical Race Theory.

TIMKEN: This is a very divisive propaganda that is being pushed on students at the expense of a good education.

EMANUEL: Two Republican governors widely expected to run for president in 2024 Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem have banned Critical Race Theory from classrooms in their states, suggesting this could be a key issue heading into 2024. Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall says the GOP could be going down the wrong path.

LESLIE MARSHALL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Republicans should be harping on immigration. That would be a smarter campaign slogan, if you will, than Critical Race Theory. I think because a lot of voters left and right either don't care about it, don't fully understand it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EMANUEL (on camera): The first test will be here in Virginia. If this issue works in the governor's race in November, it will likely be part of the GOP campaign playbook in the midterm elections next year. Bret?

BAIER: Mike, thank you. Speaking of Virginia, Virginia Republican Gubernatorial Nominee Glenn Younkin will be our guest tomorrow night on SPECIAL REPORT.

President Biden's commissioned to study upon expansion of the U.S. Supreme Court had its first meeting today. It's an idea then Senator Joe Biden once fiercely ridiculed. But things have changed. Here is correspondent David Spunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: An institution formed in 1790 is under a top to bottom review 231 years later. Today a 36 member bipartisan panel met for the first time to discuss monumental changes to the Supreme Court. The commission, established by President Biden, will look at the possibility of adding justices to the court, taking some away, and eliminating life tenure.

BOB BAUER, SUPREME COURT COMMISSION CO-CHAIR: We really do not believe we can do this work without the benefit of the broadest diversity of perspectives.

SPUNT: Membership ranges from liberal Harvard professor Laurence Tribe to former federal judge Thomas Griffith, a George W. Bush appointee. The Constitution does not establish a set number of justices. That's up to Congress. There were initially six members of the high court, then five, then seven, then nine, down to eight, 10 for a while, back down to eight, before finally setting on nine a century-and-a-half ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will appoint justices who will not overtake to override the judgment of the congress.

SPUNT: In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted 15 justices on the court, a plan called court packing. His plan failed. In 1983, a senator from Delaware named Joe Biden called the idea, well --

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a bonehead idea.

SPUNT: But some Democrats in 2021 believe the idea is perfect.

SEN. ED MARKEY, (D-MA): The United States Supreme Court is broken. It is out of balance.

SPUNT: Progressive Democrats want to add as many as four justices to the court. The commission will put out a final report by November, but no formal recommendations. Any changes would be up to Congress.

PAUL SMITH, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER: If the Democrats had done much, much better in the election than they did, I think there might be some momentum. But at this point, with a 50-50 Senate, it's just not happening.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SPUNT (on camera): In addition to potential hurdles passing the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Bret, said that she has no plans to bring any legislation that would alter the number of justices on the court to the House floor. Bret?

BAIER: David Spunt outside the Supreme Court. David, thank you.

Up next, President Biden is pushing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to draw down, but giving Russian leader Vladimir Putin a win. Our panel trying to make sense of the foreign policy after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Rather than having Israel's back, senior Democrats have actually pressured Israel to end its defensive operations. They have called for a ceasefire and urged leaders to strive for peace through a negotiated two-state solution.

REP. RO KHANNA, (D-CA) HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Netanyahu is out there saying that he has a blank check from the United States. That's what he is saying. He said this is going to go on for more time and that the United States is with him. No, we are not. There are many members of Congress, including supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship like myself and others, who are saying that Netanyahu does not have a blank check.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Well, the White House dealing very vocal members of their Democratic caucus up on the Hill about the issue of Israel, it actions against Hamas. The White House putting out a readout the call with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today. The two had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel's progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas, and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States. The President conveyed to the Prime Minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire." No indication yet that that has happened. We'll see if it does.

Let's bring in our panel, Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, host of "The Bill Bennett Show" podcast, Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief at "USA Today" and the author of the book "Madam Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power," and Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist." Susan, speaking about Speaker Pelosi, she is having to kind of let her caucus speak its mind on this foreign policy issue. But the Biden administration seems to be trying to tiptoe through all of that.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": I think President Biden had hoped to be as little engaged in this as possible. He certainly hasn't been as outspoken as some even in his own party had hoped he would be. Got a little farther forward today in his conversation with Netanyahu.

But of course, Democrats are divided on the issue of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and there are significant number on the progressive side who thinks the United States should do much more to protect Palestinians even at the cost of pressuring our long-time ally, Israel. It is a difficult situation for the president, and it's one that I think Pelosi is well aware of because she has all these different voices in other own caucus.

BAIER: Ben, Republicans obviously are jumping on this, saying that there is a Hamas caucus within the Democratic Party.

BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, "THE FEDERALIST": It is not a difficult situation for the president. The president ought to stand with Israel as America's longtime ally in the Middle East. But unfortunately, I think we see a situation here that the Iranians are looking to exploit. They have been on their heels thanks to the last four years of the Trump administration, which saw them really hurt in a lot of different ways, both seeing the top of their military exercise essentially knocked off, thanks to both the Israelis and the Americans, but, also, I think they see a situation where they are trying to seize this moment to lean in to this new administration, which has a lot of distrust with Israel and with Bibi Netanyahu and in trying to essentially attain a new dynamic that would allow them to restore what they were trying to do back in 2015.

Unfortunately, I think we are seeing a situation where the incompetence of the Biden administration, their inconsistency when it comes to foreign policy, is leading to benefits for our enemies overseas.

BAIER: Bill, there are some experts, foreign policy experts, not just Republicans, who say that this all points to Iran and its ability to funnel funds to Hamas and to produce this moment.

BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: Well, certainly the funds that went to Iran were used to make these rockets, which are being launched into Israel. And I think Bibi Netanyahu will stand his ground, as I know him, he will. But, further, we are now talking about giving Iran more money, remember, going back to the table, which means potentially fueling more of this, giving them more funds to produce more rockets.

I will split the difference between Susan and Ben. I agree with Ben it's not difficult in terms of right and wrong here. Who started this fight and why did they start it, because they think there should be an end to the state of Israel. But it's a difficult situation for Biden because he doesn't know what he thinks. And he is being pressured by the left caucus and, of course he also wants to keep good relations with our greatest ally in the world. Bibi Netanyahu knows who he is, knows who he is, knows what he wants to do. Biden is in the process of figuring it out. Welcome to the job, Mr. President.

BAIER: Meantime, this Nord Stream 2 pipeline under construction, Russia desperately wants it to be completed to go into Germany. There is a lot of thought about it as you look at the graphic of where it goes. It's not finished yet. There were stiff sanctions that are being lifted on the company that's constructing it. And there is some more reaction to all of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, ENERGY SECRETARY: I understand the state department soon is going to be releasing a report regarding the mandatory sanctions that Congress has imposed in assisting on the building of Nord Stream 2, and I understand that the State Department is going to notify Congress soon.

MICHAEL BURGESS, (R-TX) HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE: I would love to see the argument how this waiver, which benefits, seemingly to me, benefits only Vladimir Putin, and we've already disadvantaged the citizens of the United States by not completing the last 100 yards of the Keystone pipeline. So I don't quite follow how that waiver in the national interest occurs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Susan, what about this and how it plays?

PAGE: Bill Bennett said welcome to the job, Mr. President. It is true that the job is a tough one, involves balancing interest. This is another example of that. This is not intended as a decision to help Russia. That's a side effect. This is intended as a decision to help Germany, which wanted very much the completion of the pipeline. It puts the administration in this awkward situation which we have heard about. Tony Blinken when he was in his confirmation hearings as secretary of state says the United States, the Biden administration would actively oppose completion of this pipeline. But I think when the balance of interest came out, they came out in a different position on that. And so Russia reaps the benefits of the desire of Germany to get this pipeline completed.

BAIER: That is what the administration is saying, but it is interesting just in the context of the German elections are coming. Angela Merkel's term as chancellor is going to be over come September. And the leading party, Ben, is the Green Party, which actually is opposed to Nord Stream 2 in Germany. So you are going to have all kinds of things happening potentially in coming months.

DOMENECH: There's a lot of moving parts here. And I think that one of the things that we really have to appreciate about this decision is that it really undermines NATO in a lot of different ways. It does not serve our interest in terms of benefiting Russia's ability to influence Europe. And I think that one of the things that obviously President Biden ran on as a candidate was his criticism of the Trump administration as being too soft on Russia in a lot of different respects. You can debate whether that was true, but from my perspective, what we have seen in the early days from this administration is not something that indicates a hard line toward Russia.

I will be very curious to see if in their conversation Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden in the coming weeks, if they have any kind of conversation that includes the name Navalny. That is something that I think may not happen, and if that does not happen, it's an indication that this is an administration that is not willing to really stand up and hold the Russian's feet to the fire.

BAIER: The opposition leader in Russia against Putin.

Very quickly, Bill, this story against Ben Sasse, Senator Sasse, having a problem in grilling this nominee for general counsel for the Department of National Intelligence because he did work for Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company that has been under fire and under sanction by the U.S. If through the prism of this happened in the Trump administration, how would it look tonight?

BENNETT: Well, everything would look different, and to the media everything would be different. Ben Sasse can be very wrong in my view, can be out on a limb sometimes. But today or yesterday he was right. This very experienced Washington hand, this lawyer, acting as if he was just helping with administrative rules, when these administrative rules are things they can get around so Huawei can continue its efforts. And, remember, this is a regime that persecute the Uyghurs, and we know about Huawei's role in that. It's really disgusting what's going on there.

BAIER: All right, panel, stand by.

Up next, commissions, one on the Supreme Court expansion, the other on looking into January 6th and the Capitol riot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Moments ago on the House floor, the vote was finished and there was a majority of the House that voted to establish the independent commission to look into January 6th, the riot that happened. There was opposition on the GOP side to that.

We're back with the panel. Ben, there are people saying why oppose it, it's going to go forward? Why not look at it? What about that?

DOMENECH: Well, I think that the Democrats in the House are designed to try to -- or focused basically on trying to exploit what happened on January 6th to continue to maintain the idea that there is some kind of radical element within American society that is bent on overthrowing the government. And that's something that, frankly, I think reasonable people will understand is not something that has happened.

John Katko, who is the representative on the Republican side who had tried to negotiate something here, kind of got over his skis on this a little bit. He didn't really actually interface as much with Republican leadership as he probably ought to in order to try to attain something that would be reasonable in this vein.

But look, there is no real reason to support this. We all know what happened. We all know what the straightforward result of it was. And I think that frankly this is a situation where Democrats are trying to exploit what happened for political gain and to continue to maintain a situation that leads to a militarized Capitol Hill, and the idea that there are creeping white supremacists organizations designed on overthrowing our government, which is simply not the case.

BAIER: Susan, Democrats say we need to know what happened specifically, and that the former president doesn't know or acknowledge what happened specifically, so that it doesn't happen again.

PAGE: I don't know what happened. There are lots of questions that I think have not been answered about what led up to the insurrection and about what exactly was prevented from having happened because of the brave work of Capitol police officers. I think there are a lot of questions that are still unanswered.

The interesting thing about the vote you just showed, 35 Republicans defected even though their leader said vote against this, 35 Republicans supported it. In this day and age, that is a real display of bipartisanship. Now, it's going to have a tough road in the Senate. But that means that for at least those 35 Republicans they also have some questions they think this is an issue that is worth some future scrutiny.

BAIER: That commission is going forward. We will follow all elements of that. Meantime the Supreme Court commission, take a listen to this on court-packing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would not get into court packing. We had three justices. Next time around we lose control, they had three justices. We began to lose any credibility the court has at all.

CRISTINA RODRIGUEZ, SUPREME COURT COMMISSION CO-CHAIR: President Biden established this commission as you all know, and he charged us with producing a report within 180 days of this meeting that provides an account, in the words of the order, of the contemporary commentary and debate about the role of the Supreme Court in our system of government. We will actually assess the calls for reform themselves to assess the arguments for why reform is pressing as well as why it might not be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Bill, there's a lot of people that look at this and say, hey, there is no chance. This is not going forward. But other people look at it and say it's the camel's nose under the tent, that some reform leads to something that's changes the judiciary as we know it.

BENNETT: Well, it's also to take on another American institution. Anyone detect a pattern here? The president first day says no XL pipeline. Doesn't like American oil, but seems to like Russian oil. Doesn't like America's strongest ally so much, but is willing to support Iran, one of America's greatest enemies. And now let's attack a key American institution, just like the Electoral College and so on.

Yes, this is going to lead to a lot of mischief, and this is the Democrats' plan. It's beginning to seem that there are a lot of themes that the Democrats are developing that kind of strike at the heart of what traditional America means and believes in. And let's see how much further this develops. I can't make any sense out of a lot of these policies.

BAIER: Well, 2022, we'll figure some things out. We'll see.

When we come back, tomorrow's headlines tonight with the panel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines with the panel. Bill, first to you.

BENNETT: OK, I'll compress my English headline into Latin "odi profanum vulgus," I hate the vulgar crowd. There is something about this Biden crowd which really hates a lot of American things. Americans like cars and oil. We hate them. If America loves Israel, we're going to put the brakes on that. Supreme Court, America likes the way it is? We are going to change it. How about traditional American history? Let's trash that, too. What is this contempt for the most ways Americans think and believe?

BAIER: All right, the Latin headline tonight. Susan?

PAGE: I'm sticking to English. Back to Benghazi. If the Senate does not approve this January 6th commission, as we think it probably won't, Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she will appoint a select committee like the Benghazi committee to look into the events of that day.

BAIER: Wow. Here we go. Ben?

DOMENECH: I can't compete with Bill. This is incredible.

(LAUGHTER)

DOMENECH: Media tries to make Kamala Harris happen and it is still not happening. She is down double digits according to the latest polls in terms of her approval from voters and in terms of her approval from independents. She is not someone who is popular with the American people.

BAIER: All right, panel, thank you. Nice job.

Tomorrow on SPECIAL REPORT interview with Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. FOX NEWS PRIMETIME hosted by Will Cain this week starts right now. Hey, Will.

END

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