Squawk Pod: The GOP’s future, Apple sues OpenAI, & the Musk-Altman feud - 07/13/26 | Audio Only

Summary

The episode discusses the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham and its political fallout, a historic sell-off in Korean chip names SK Hynix and Samsung, Paramount's threat to exit California amid antitrust challenge to its Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, and a Musk-Altman social media feud. Former Congressman Patrick McHenry analyzes midterm election dynamics, Democratic socialist energy, and the likely Republican 2028 nominee.

• Senator Lindsey Graham's passing triggers a special election and temporary appointment in South Carolina, with implications for the judiciary and budget committees.
• SK Hynix and Samsung shares plunge, leading a nearly 9% drop in the KOSPI index, as the ADR's record debut gives way to profit taking.
• Paramount SkyDance CEO David Ellison faces pressure to relocate the company and planned $30B in spending out of California if the state sues to block the Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
• Apple sues OpenAI, alleging trade secret theft by former Apple employees now at OpenAI in connection with hardware development.
• Elon Musk and Sam Altman trade insults on X, with Altman mocking Musk over space data centers and Musk referencing legal troubles.
• Anthropic extends free use of its Claude Fable model amid fears of subscriber losses to OpenAI's new GPT-5.6, highlighting AI commoditization at a loss.
• Patrick McHenry says Democrats are likely to take the House in the midterms, and he expects JD Vance, not Marco Rubio, to be the 2028 Republican presidential nominee.
• McHenry also notes the crypto market structure bill (Clarity Act) and stablecoin legislation are moving through Congress, with Senate floor action possible.