Back home a surprise defeat shakes up the Republican Party. Obviously we came up short. Gwen as eric cantor becomes the first House Majority leader ever to go down to primary defeat. Im just humbled that the people spoke. And i think they want a new direction in washington, d. C. Gwen democrats were smug. The people have spoken. Gwen republicans were scrambling. The message is this. We were elected by american citizens. And we better represent the interests of american citizens. Gwen what next . And Bowe Bergdahl returns home. But at what cost . Any of these detainees ever try to rejoin the fight . They would be doing so at their own peril. Gwen the debate is just beginning. Covering the week, Nancy Youssef of mclatchey newspapers. Robert costa of the Washington Post. John harwood of cnbc. And the new york times. And Mark Mazzetti of the new york times. Awardwinning reporting and nalysis covering history as it happens, live from our nations capital, this is Washington Week with gwen ifill. Corporate funding for Washington Week is provided by we asked people a question. How much money do you think youll yeed when you retire . Then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. Like pull it a little further. Got me to 70 years old. I would have to rethink this thing. Its hard to imagine how much we need for a retirement that lasts 30 years or more. Maybe we better approach things differently if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. Additional Corporate Funding for Washington Week is provided by boeing. Brigham and womens hospital. Additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. Thank you. Once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. Gwen good evening. The city names are familiar. Mosul. Tikrit. Irbil. But as insurgents overran those cities, and advance toward baghdad the alarm was suden and real. Was the u. S. Going to be drawn into a third iraq war . And remarks directed today at the American People, but also at the iraqi Prime Minister, president obama said no. Were not going to allow ourselves to be dragged back into a situation in which while were there, were keeping a lid on things. And after enormous sacrifices by us, as soon as were not there, suddenly people end up acting in ways that are not conducive to the longterm stability and prosperity of the country. Gwen nancy, the pentagon spokesman said today that americans had sacrificed blood and treasure in iraq. But maybe we should have seen this coming . Yes. Frankly. In the sense that isis, which called for an Islamic State in iraq and syria had been charging for weeks now, and syria and had threatened to move into mosul and the western part of iraq which is sunni dominated. And so what happened this week was a series of breathtaking moves by them. In the span of five days. They took over the second largest city in iraq. A city the size of philadelphia. They moved into tikrit. Adam husseins hometown. Sad am husseins hometown. And able to take oilrich kirkuk for their independence and all of these moves suggested that iraq might not be the state that we know it. And events are moving so quickly that the iraq we see today might not be there next week. Gwen so the quickness that everyone is surprised at. As much as the fact of it. Thats right. And in addition to the speed at which they moved, the Iraqi Security forces didnt fight at all. When isis had taken fallujaha which we know in this country very well there was a fight for that city and here in mosul which has oil, which is split sunni and kurdish, there wasnt a fight at all. Not only did the Iraqi Security forces not fight, they ran and isis forces were able to take u. S. Supplied weapons. We saw them driving with humvees, with the isis flag flying over them. So theyre now marching toward baghdad. Were seeing Nouri Almaliki the Prime Minister call up iranian support and help. Were seeing shia leaders tell their citizens and sect to arm themselves. And president obama essentially his conditions for the u. S. To intervene albeit limited in iraq. And what he said was there had to be some sort of national reconciliation. It hasnt happened in years. So its hard to see a mairio where these very divided groups with so much at stake are going to be willing to sit at a table and negotiate for the sake of a now fractured iraq. Does that mean that were headed for the very thing that joe biden used to advocate is iraq needs to be partitioned . Is that where this is ultimately fated to end or a way we can reverse this and knit the country back together . Theres certainly that potential. Because the kurds have kirkuk. They have a vested interest now in a division. The group isis is looking for a sunni state. And the shia are trying to protect their interests. So there is that possibility. And as you say, biden at the height of the iraq war suggested this as a solution. Theres a case to be made that that would solve one problem but create new ones. At the minimum the state that this Extremist Group is proposing would propose things like subjugating women, flogging, taxing citizens. We saw half a million residents of mosul flee which gives you some sense in terms of the level of fear that iraqis have about the potential of the sunni state led by isis. Nancy, president obama has talked a lot about the iraq war is the war that he ended. And the war he doesnt want to get involved in but isis see it as one war and see this all as one big conflict. Thats right. Isis was borne out of the u. S. Engagement in iraq. Czar ere followers of kawhi who was a leader of iraq and his followers call for an slamic several capitals in them which is why theyre going for these cities and trying to recreate the coliset and more dangerous than what we were talking about in iraq. Because those were terror operations. But isis is fighting in a more conventional military way. Theyre not just using terror tactics but fighting as a military. They have a flag. They have now u. S. Equipment. They have a military. They have sharia law that governs them. So however you want to define it its potentially a state. Maybe not in the conventional sense but they have the resources to really take over a huge swath of the middle east. Its really interesting to see the congressional response. And im curious about how the administration, knowing the democrats control the senate are dealing with House Republicans who seem to almost like republicans back in 2007. During the iraq surge and committed to the region and committed to being in iraq. How do you see this from a political perspective proceeding in congress but also ahead of the mid terms . Its interesting because a lot of the republicans who have called for intervention havent been able to specify what that intervention would look like. And what goals it would achieve. And the interesting thing is a lot of them voiced their displeasure with Nouri Almaliki the Prime Minister whose sectarian form of governance has contributed to the rise of these sunni Extremist Groups in iraq. And so its interesting to see whether it will be a fracture. It seems to me that the thing that will decide it is whether the president decides to intervene in iraq. And what form. And whether he continues to support Nouri Almaliki who for both parties has been an ineffectual leader. Gwen politics, diplomacy, you name it. All part of the same story. Well, lets talk about this weeks political earthquake here in washington. In which the House Majority leader was pasted by a little known Tea Party Candidate in virginia. And he and already given way to other dramas. Who will succeed eric cantor as majority leader . And the leading candidate wins who will succeed him . But the root of the thing is how did cantor lose so badly and is it a sign of things to come . House Speaker John Boehner said no, its really all the president s fault. I went through a primary process itself. And you have to understand, the American People are being squeezed by obamas policies. Theres a lot of frustration thats out there. And they look to washington and wonder why we cant we cant resolve these issues. Theyre hard to resolve when you got a president who wont engage. Gwen but tea partier and texas senator ted cruz sees more to it. The voters of virginia have spoken loudly. And i think they have expressed a sentiment that is present across the country. Which is that people are frustrated. Theyre frustrated with politicians in washington in both parties who arent listening to them. Gwen notice he said both parties. So how is that debate playing out tonight, john . Well, look, the American People are frustrated. But theyre frustrated in different ways in different places. You go to republican districts and you hear much different stories than you do in democratic districts. And i think its hard to isolate one particular factor that caused eric cantor to go down. You could look at his personality. You could look at the demands of the leadership that took him away from the district a lot. You could look at the intensity of discontent among the Republican Base which even somebody like eric cantor who was viewed at the white house as a huge obstacle to the president s agenda, even by doing some of the basic functions of government and cooperation with the white house you can be portrayed as a sellout. So this is unsettling to every member of congress, in particular to republicans because theres a greater level of ideological intensity among their base. And democrats are viewing this somewhat wearly because their members are in trouble and an antiincumbent election theyll have a hard time. But if the forces of the Republican Party that ousted eric cantor are elevated, that is, the ones who want an all out in your face fight with the president , that may be better for democrats improve their prospects of coming back sooner than they think in the house of representatives as well as other parts of the country. Gwen robert, you spend all your time basically embedded on capitol hill. Do they see it that way . Do they see it as an existential threat to incumbency . The stunning thing about this is the story is not just about eric cantor. A shock wave that went through the entire institutional Republican Party. Because cantor was not just the majority leader who managed the floor. This was someone who from a policy perspective was leading the republican message ahead of the 2014 mid terms. And for him to be taken out in such a fashion, i think the republican officials across the board, chairman rinse priebus and Speaker Boehner and leader mcconnell are unsure how to proceed and thought the Senate Majority was within reach and a good message on obamacare opposing it, on jobs and the economy. Now theyre rattled and not sure whats next. And you have the tea party ascendant and perhaps more powerful on the outside than they are on the outside in congress. And so just a few weeks ago we were talking about the establishment feeling good. Gwen we may have done that at this very table actually. And they thought mcconnell was doing ok. Maybeed that cochran would lose to a tea party in a red state like mississippi but success was on the horizon. Now everything is up for grabs in the Republican Party. And theres a power vacuum and everyone is trying to fill it. But in truth it is a mixed bag. Mitch mcconnell did survive and john boehner did survive. Gwen lindsay graham. The same night eric cantor went down. So some of these are particular to the election and remember, primary elections are low turnout enterprises. And if you manage one in five americans show up for those things. If you can mobilize a cadre of people you can make a big difference in particular places. Does that mean then its possible to read too much into this for the tea party and this may not herald a wave of victories for the tea party in the fall and may be more eric cantor than a signal about the demise of traditional republicans . I think there is a significant eric cantor specific component to this. Gwen or we havent mentioned the guy who beat eric cantor, on to something. And eric cantor is a jewish republican. This is a very rural conservative Southern District where that is not you dont have a lot of jewish members of congress from the south. Gwen hes been elected several times from this district. I understand. Been elected i dont think i dont think the faith of eric cantor had anything to do with it. I interviewed brett several times in april and may and someone whos a political amateur and professor of economics at Randolph Macon college. And he was talking in the Typical Tea Party way. Constitutional values. Very conservative. We need a sea change in washington. And eric cantor also a lot of god in his rhetoric, too. That is true. And cultural identification matters. But i would agree with that. I think there was some rhetoric about faith. I just think he wasnt i dont know if that won him the race. But i think brat comes to washington and meets conservatives who are i think youre right and maybe not a lot of Tea Party People taking over. Because we see Kevin Mccarthy, the new current whip looking to easily ascend to be cantors replacement as majority leader and thats a story that inside the house, the tea party is so influential, so large, yet when it comes to making an actual race for the leadership, during this time of tumult and crisis theyre not organized and they dont have a clear message. What is the takeaway then for the general election in light of all those competing and seemingly contradicting factors . Well, a couple of things. You know, robert was talking about what to do policy wise. I dont think much of anything is going to get done policy wise. Gwen or is anything going to get done policy wise . Probably not. Gwen theres been a lot of discussion about immigration is dead. Well, last i checked, immigration was dead before this. Well, i have been one of the few holdouts who thought there was a possibility it might happen but that possibility is extinguished. So i dont think much is going to get done. Policy wise. But i do think if we get i talked to a former Republican Leadership aide who said the possibility of a Government Shutdown is on the table for this fall. Because were not going to get our Appropriations Bills done and members are going to have to decide. That is the kind of event that occurred in 2013. Hurt the republicans badly. If that happens again, it could hurt them badly and have an implication for the fall elections. Gwen robert . I think theres now a confidence on the right that the leadership can be taken on. And i think part of cantors problem goes back to the Government Shutdown of 2013. Cantor spent all of august of 2013 trying to talk the tea party away from the ledge. To say that this is not a smart strategy. But didnt listen to cantor. And cantor spent time in january, february and march and come one a more even tempered message and ignored him and with him losing they will become more hard edged and johns right. Some kind of more intransigent message and tactics could be on the way in the fall. Gwen go ahead. Do democrats and president obama, do they look at this as this is all good, theyre fighting, its chaos or are they worried anything that worries them out of this . Steny hoyer real quick. And steny hoyer and one of the Top Democrats in the house, and he said the democrats will start to run on the mess in the Republican Party. But i think democrats have to be careful. It is very messy on the republican side. But where is their message . What are they going to sell for the second term of the president s last two years . I do think the white house kind of wanted to get immigration reform. And so even if the possibility was small, if its gone away, thats bad for them. Gwen so lets go inside some of the messiness thats happening right now. On the hill and also whats happening in the next couple of races. I want to ask you, robert, about whats happening. You said Kevin Mccarthy is doing this. How is he going how does he march right into eric cantors old job, the majority leaders job without any real challenge . We have one last standing tea Party Challenge but thats it . Theres a minor long sought challenger in Raul Labrador from idaho and part of that boehner coup attempt in 2013 and does not have much of a chance. His aide told me on friday that he was not going to even come back to the capitol until monday or tuesday. So he doesnt have the time and doesnt have the organization. Mccarthy started immediately on tuesday night. Making calls. He is someone who has been a staffer in the house. Hes very well networked with his deputy whips. He was he has a former chief of staff counting votes in his first floor capitol suite and mccarthy is ahead. And speed kills in leadership races and mccarthy had speed. I came from the capitol to the studio. And meeting with steve scalise, a republican, a conservative from louisiana and as a conservative in the house, a heavy conservative and thinking with mccarthy ascendant and boehner as speaker you have ohio and california in the number one and two spots and maybe a conservative has to be in that number three spot. So majority whip job. Number three. It looks like scalise beats peter roskam from illinois. Gwen peter roskam will be burning up your phone. Whats happening in mississippi and perhaps kansas as well. Are they saying oh, no . In mississippied that cochran had an thad cochran had an early june and an initial primary with a tea Party Challenger. Gwen chris mcdaniel. Chris mcdaniel. Who polled more votes and didnt get to 50 and going into the runoff. The conventional wisdom a runoff turnout goes down and the one with the more motivated and more passionate supporters is going to win and thats likely to be the Tea Party Candidate. Thad cochrans strategy is to now expand the electorate and go after some of the democrats who would have voted for him in the general election because hes an institution in the state. Very, very difficult to pull off. Smart operatives can pull it off he has Haley Barbour on his side and maybe it will work but going to be tough. Gwen Haley Barbour two nephews and kansas talking about pat roberts who is also with the next most endangered incumbent. We seem to be clicking as we go down. Thank you very much and welcome to Washington Week, robert. Finally tonight, how do you solve a problem like Bowe Bergdahl . The Army Sergeant who apparently walked away from his post the latest flashpoint of disagreement between the white house and congress. The mutual distrust was on display this week. When defense secretary chuck hagel went to capitol hill. I never said i dont trust the congress. Those are your words. No, no. Your actions i didnt say you said i said it. Your actions demonstrate, mr. Secretary, that you do not trust congress because you would not now my actions. The ranking member, Something Like this. Your actions say you dont trust congress. I get it. Gwen everybody had their wheaties that day, mark. Where do things stand tonight . Well, as we all just saw, things got very heated this week when secretary hagel went up there. Theres still a lot of unanswered questions. The hearing this week didnt get into the issue of how did bergdahl get captured . Did he desert . All those circumstances. They left those aside. The questions they dealt with were why was congress not told about this swap . These five taliban prisoners. Do they pose a threat . And this question of did the Obama Administration violate this longstanding policy of not negotiating with terrorists by doing this deal . Gwen lets take those one at a time. Lets start with the part of congressional the Congress Republicans and democrats agreed they should have been told. And as members of congress would. And it really the case wasnt very strong for the Obama Administration about why nobody on capitol hill could be told about this. I mean, they knew about the bin laden raid. In advance. So some can keep a secret. And i think that was where hagel had the biggest trouble this week. Was making that case. On the other cases, he had a message. He wanted to say i understand that you guys dont agree with this deal. But this is war. I was in combat. I know war. Its ugly. Its messy but this is what happens in war. And it was a good case. And there was there was less challenge on that front than on some of the other issues. Mark, now Sergeant Bergdahl has rushed in the middle of the night to san antonio for what the pentagon calls phase three of his reintegration process. What will that look like . What are some of the things they will be doing to help him integrate back in after five years of captivity . Hes apparently just trying to relearn english. Its basic language skills. Its psychological evaluations. Theres questions about when he will eventually see his parents and talk to his parents and apparently he hasnt yet. And just thinking about how far weve come in less than two weeks. You had this sort of joyous ceremony in the rose garden. White house. And now its looking like there wont be a big homecoming in idaho. Theres questions about the parents have had Death Threats and such an extraordinary story in less than wo weeks. And where things have come. Have we learned anything in the last week on this question of whether this is just on the one hand a troubled young man who maybe wandered off his base before versus somebody who was a traitor, who had turned on his country and the relevance that those facts might have to the urgency of trying to get help out . There were certainly stories this week, very good one in the Washington Post about his some letters he had written. His psychological state. He had had a stint in the coast guard. And he washed out. Clearly this was someone who had some problems before joining the army. It didnt get to this issue, though, of is he a deserter and is he a traitor . There is a still classified pentagon report that says that he didnt seem to in a premeditated fashion planned to walk off the base. But he may have come back. He had come back before. So those questions are still out there. And they still are things he will have to face perhaps. But when he goes through the recovery in the military will ask him these things. Gwen reading those emails he seemed to be a troubled person. Thats right. And so these are questions that theyre going to have to delve into. And the army and the pentagon brass are going to have to see how hard they want to go at him for these because this clearly was someone who was troubled. What was the white houses take on hagel . And what do they think about his message, his reception in congress, and is he the spokesman Going Forward for them as they deal with this issue . As we all know, hes someone who had a very rocky first sort of debut in his confirmation hearings. A year ago. And this was seen i think by the white house and others as he did a very good job in defending the deal. Now, again, its his wack ground and his personal biography in some ways, can be very compelling. That he can look congressmen in the eyes and say, you know, this is war. And i know it. And a lot of them dont. So i think on that message, he was pretty firm and maybe the spokesman for that Going Forward. Gwen and they still have to wait to see what happens with those five detainees who were released to qatar and find out whether they do come back to attack again. This has been a good show. We have to go put as always the conversation continues online. The Washington Week webcast extra streams live at 8 30 p. M. Eastern. And you can find it all week long at pbs. Org washingtonweek. Among other things, well talk about the first leg of Hillary Clintons campaign i mean, book tour. Keep up with daily developments with me and Judy Woodruff on the pbs newshour and well see you here next week on Washington Week. And to all the dads out there, including those at the table, happy fathers day. Good night. Corporate funding for Washington Week is provided by its one of the most Amazing Things we build. And it doesnt even fly. We build it in classrooms. And exhibit halls. Mentoring tomorrows innovators and we build it raising roofs, preserving habits, and serving americas veterans. Every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. Building something better. For all of us. Corporate funding for Washington Week is provided by prudential. Brigham and womens hospital. Additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. Thank you. Be next on kqed newsroom, a landmark ruling shakes up californias education system. A judge rejects tenure for teachers. Lawmakers hammer out next years budget. B. D. Wong and his role in the orphan of zhao. The actor uses the emotions of his life and the feelings of his life to create the characters that he creates. I do not know this minister. I do not know this orphan