Hegseth: Firepower Over Iran About To Surge Dramatically

23:35Pete Hegseth:from the Middle Eastern or else come and stay here. I think it's safe to say there's no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America. I think as the president has pointed out for a long time, there are a lot of countries in the region who would be capable of providing that kind of support if need be. but that's certainly not something we're planning on. Yeah, back to us. Yes, sir. Michael in Washington Times. I wanted to ask, I know, you know, Semper Gumby is always a truism in the military. Did the British decision to refuse Diego Garcia have any impact on the mission itself?

24:13Pete Hegseth:Did you have to adjust or were you able to just completely, you know, go with the mission without even worrying about that? Well, as the president stated, it was unfortunate that the Brits didn't from day one say, hey, go ahead and have access. But we got there. We got there. And that's now part of the way that we're operationalizing bomber runs. And it's part of when we say more to come, it's more fighter squadrons, it's more capabilities, it's more defensive capabilities, and it's more bomber pulses more frequently. The amount of fire power over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically.

24:50Pete Hegseth:And part of it is that we're going have even more basing and it's not just the UK we've had other friends step up uh and and we're grateful for that maybe uh maybe one more right here yeah um the Azeri president earlier today basically authorized his minister of defense to begin preparing troops for some type of retaliatory action after the airport strike uh has the department of war and CENTCOM been working on deconflicted with the Azeri if they were to move in or attempt something in retaliation I'm sure there are plans and I'll let the Admiral speak to that. But that does allow me to kind of address this idea that the war might be expanding or there's chaos and nothing could be further from the truth.

25:28Pete Hegseth:If anything, what Iran is doing by targeting allied countries that would otherwise want to stay out of this, they've actually pulled them into the American orbit. So now you've got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, hey, we're with you. we'll shoot with you, we'll fly with you we'll defend with you we'll allow you more basing a lot of which we can't talk about and won't talk about but it's actually firming up the unity of the resistance in order to focus exactly where we need to so this idea that it's expanding no it's actually simplifying in a number of ways exactly what we need to achieve and how we'll achieve it I won't get ahead of policy in terms of what we might do What I will point out is this is now the 12th country that Iran has attacked.

26:16Pete Hegseth:Twelve countries, and it goes right back to the Secretary's point. Those 12 countries are none too happy, and I look forward to working with all the partners who are willing to join us in this. And I would just close by saying... Mr. Secretary, one more question. Would you... What is your message to Americans who are concerned about security here at home with the change-up that we're going to see at the Department of Homeland Security? Well, I think Christy Noem did an excellent job over there securing our border and keeping us focused on threats and the president making a change. We all serve the pleasure of the president.

26:49Pete Hegseth:I'm sure Mark Wayne Mullen will do a fantastic job. He's been a friend of mine for a long time. But Christy did a great job setting herself for success. So I don't have any concerns about whether or not the homeland will be covered down on. And I'll just end by saying I wish every American could get a chance to see what we see. I had a chance to go into the control room, into the tactical operations center, go see these young men and women that are doing this. The dedication that they show at every level, the way they've refined their craft. I'm talking to a young colonel who's iterating on how we target and how we how we find and fix different aspects of what the Iranians are trying to do.

27:25If they they don't know what they're up against.

27:29Pete Hegseth:And if they think they've got it solved for, they're wrong. and ultimately the combination of our ingenuity, the skill, the professionalism, the discipline, and then the sheer weight of the capabilities of the U.S. military, what you're going to see may look routine. It may start to be like, oh, another boat. Oh, another launcher. Oh, another drone facility. What it takes to do this with the precision that we do is world-class. No one else can do it. And it's world-class Americans, like the ones I saw here, like the ones that are coming home that we're going to greet home that are the engine of what makes our country great.

28:06Pete Hegseth:And so I'm so grateful for folks like those here at CENTCOM, at Central Command, who are under your command. Thank you for your decisive leadership. And all I'll say to you is what I say to them, keep going, because the president and myself, we have your back. Thank you, Admiral. Appreciate it. Thanks very much. Thank you.

28:25Jake Tapper:All right. That was the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, taking questions there alongside the commander of U.S. Central Command, Hegseth, standing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, said that the U.S. mission in Iran is advancing decisively, that the timeline in Iran is, quote, hours to control when it comes to U.S. combat power. The Secretary of Defense said that firepower is about to surge dramatically. Let's bring in a retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. He's a former commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. Vice Admiral, What's your reaction to what you just heard from Defense Secretary Hegseth and the Central Command Chief?

29:02Jake Tapper:What struck out to you the most? Stuck out to you the most? Yes. Hey, thank you.

29:08Pete Hegseth:There's three things that jumped out at me right away. One is that they're making clear and it's unambiguous that they have the resolve to take this through to completion. And that's, you know, there's been a lot of talk about how long it'll take, et cetera. And they're not committing to a timeline other than as long as it takes. They also addressed the inventory issue, and it goes to the fact that Brad Cooper said, my mission is clear, I know what I'm doing. And he also clearly articulated that the intensity of this operation is picking up, where his forces and ability to destroy the Iranians' ability to retaliate while getting at targets is increasing, while the Iranians' ability to retaliate is decreasing.

29:53Pete Hegseth:And then lastly, I'd say that they also made clear that this talk about this expanding war, they put it in a different context. They talked about it unifying the Gulf nations behind what we're doing. They may not have agreed with us getting started, but certainly they've come out saying that, hey, they weren't part of it to begin with. You've attacked us and now we're going to defend ourselves and do what it takes to join this effort. And you've seen that, too, with Germany talking and France and others in the same way. So I think Admiral Cooper said 12 other nations are with him. That's my initial thoughts on what I just heard.

30:31Jake Tapper:Yeah, it was interesting, Hegseth, saying that because Iran, to the last point you just made, because Iran has now attacked 12 countries, not just the U.S. and Israel or U.S. bases and Israel, which attacked Iran first last weekend, but Iran attacking countries such as UAE or Oman, etc., that their job of the U.S. is now easier because Iran is uniting the Sunni Arab Gulf states against Iran.

31:04Pete Hegseth:Yeah, that's very clear. And you heard even that we have access to Diego Garcia. They wouldn't say the other places. And I think the reason this happened is because of what Iran attacked. You know, I think they made, you know, they miscalculated. They thought that they could drive a wedge between the Gulf nations and have them pressure the U.S. to stop. You saw this with what they've done in trying to choke off energy at the same time. But they attacked these civilian targets, these, you know, airports and hotels and other targets that, you know, that put civilians at risk and we're wreaking havoc.

31:39And I think the intensity point that I made earlier is that

31:43Pete Hegseth:we're seeing their ability to get back at, to continue to do that, to wane, although it's not going away. You're still seeing leakage of drones here and there that get through defenses, but they're a much less intensity. And you heard some of the numbers Brad Cooper talk about.

31:59Jake Tapper:Yeah. And it's interesting on that topic of munitions or artillery, Hegseth there said there's more combat power the U.S. could fire over Iran. President Trump said earlier this week the United States munitions stockpiles have at the medium and upper medium grade never been higher or better. As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. I've seen a lot of reporting and talked to a lot of former military who say it is just not accurate to describe the U.S. supply of ammunitions, especially when it comes to interceptors, whether it's Patriot or FAD, as unlimited.

32:36Jake Tapper:No such supply exists anywhere.

32:41Pete Hegseth:Yes, but the way that Brad Cooper's explaining it isn't that what he's explaining is he's going to be able to defend because he's ratcheting down their ability to put that offense up there. And that's what the CENTCOM planners would spend a lot of time on. He mentioned that we knew what the Iranians were going to do. So the idea was get enough defense in there to blunt these initial onslaught that Iran's going to bring out. And then at the same time, with a vengeance, go after diminishing their capability and destroying their capability, not just the launchers, but the command and control, where they store them, how they get them from storage to launch sites, etc.

33:21Pete Hegseth:And with air superiority now increasing significantly and being able to not have to put airplanes in in waves for force protection of their own force, that intensity against those is able to be increased. And that's where, you know, just the other day, Brad Cooper said he believes he's ahead of schedule in being able to do that. And I think we're seeing some of that with the intensity, a lower level of ballistic missiles launched and less drones. That said, they have a lot of drones and they're not just going to go away tomorrow. Admiral Cooper said it's going to take time.

33:57Jake Tapper:Yeah. And Admiral, you referred to the Strait of Hormuz, which is obviously a key sea passage for oil tankers. Right now, the Strait of Hormuz is in the thick of the war zone as Iran is threatening to target any vessel passing through it. passage President Trump has said the U.S. Navy will ensure by escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is necessary. It sounds like a very potentially dangerous situation.

34:26Pete Hegseth:Well, you know, geographically, the Straits of Hormuz, for those that haven't looked at it closely, is a very narrow passageway. And as you know, to get energy and other shipping through that straits, you have to kind of make a big, if you're coming from the north, a big right 90 degree turn right close to Iran. So I agree it's dangerous. But part of this operation, as you know, is to decimate the Iranian Navy and their capability to hold hostage that strait. So when they're talking about power projection capability and eliminated Iran's ability, one of the things they want to get at is this ability that they have to control the straits in any way.

35:09Jake Tapper:Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate your insights. I want to bring in the Israeli ambassador to the United States now, Yechiel Leiter. Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Ambassador. It's good to see you again. Good to meet you, Jake. So the Trump, I do want to just ask something that's been something of a debate in the United States in the last few days. Secretary Rubio said, first of all, there's no disputing that President Trump had the intention of striking Iran. But in terms of the timing, Secretary Rubio said Israel was going to attack Iran and the US had intelligence that Iran would then, after that attack by the Israelis, attack US bases.

35:47Jake Tapper:President Trump said, no, that's not true. If anything, I was pushing the Israelis to attack. What is the truth there of the timing? I represent Israel here in the United States. I don't want to get into a debate between members of the administration, the president.

36:04Pete Hegseth:There are a lot of vectors that go into timing. There is weather. There is the leadership that sits together. There's planning. And when all those vectors come together, that's the right time to attack. And the right time to attack Iran is when they are pairing ballistic missiles, which we see they have in big numbers, and enriched uranium. And if anybody has any doubt about the need to deal with this regime that is firing ballistic missiles at all its neighbors right now, If those would have been tipped with nuclear warheads, imagine where we'd be today.

36:41Jake Tapper:Israel is going after Hezbollah or its remnants in southern Lebanon.

36:46Pete Hegseth:Well, no, Hezbollah went after Israel. Israel has to respond.

36:49Jake Tapper:Okay. In any case, you're going after them. And Israel issued an evacuation warning for all of southern Lebanon, southern Beirut, other parts of that country. hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are being forced to evacuate. I understand what you just said. But is Israel going to bombard all of southern Lebanon, southern Beirut? What's going to happen?

37:12Pete Hegseth:I certainly hope not. The target is Hezbollah, not the people of Lebanon. We can live in peace and harmony with the people of Lebanon. The people of Lebanon want to live in peace and harmony and want to shake off the yoke of Hezbollah, which is an extension of Iran that's taken over their country, that's sapped them of their strength, of their vitality. And we've appealed to the government of Lebanon. Please, first step, throw the IRGC, the representatives of Iran, sitting in the middle of Beirut out. Reject their visas. Send them home. Free your country from this occupation.

37:43Jake Tapper:Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the far right-wing politicians in your country, said that Israel is going to turn southern Beirut into Khan Yunus. Khan Yunus is a very destroyed city in Gaza. Is that the plan? Is Beirut going to look like Khan Yunus when this is over?

38:02Pete Hegseth:Our plan is to live in peace with our neighbors. That's what we've tried to do now for all of these decades. We have a malign influence coming out of Tehran, which has created these proxies around our country. They called it a ring of fire with the intention of destroying us. If Hezbollah is neutralized in Lebanon, there won't be any need for our troops there, and there won't be any need for us to respond. The Lebanese government has to rid their country of Hezbollah. They'll be free and will be free.

38:29Jake Tapper:Israel's been at war now since, I mean, you could say since 1948, but since October 7th, 2023, in terms of a hot war. The U.S. is no stranger to long drawn out conflicts in the Middle East. Israel has a quicker record historically. Is there a time line for when Israel is going to not need to not feel it needs to continue to strike Iran? Or is that is it a joint decision with the U.S. and Israel together?

38:54Pete Hegseth:Well, first of all, there's been a level of collaboration going into this operation. that there's never been between our two countries. And I assume that that level of collaboration is going to continue into the future. What we need to achieve is that coming out of Tehran, there are no ballistic missiles, there's no nuclear enrichment program, and there's no funding for proxies that are trying to destroy us. When those three goals are achieved, the people of Iran, who have been pining for freedom, we saw what they did two months ago, the people who have never tasted, a young generation who have never tasted freedom, but know that it exists and are rising up to achieve that freedom, they're going to be the boots on the ground.

39:31Pete Hegseth:They're going to create their transitional government. They're going to move into democracy. The people of Iran are very pro-West, and they want to see a democratic government. This crazy lunatic regime in Tehran only has about 20 % support. The majority of the population are Persians who have a very rich culture and want to live in peace and harmony with Israel and with the West. We just have to give them that opportunity.

39:52Jake Tapper:Well, let's hope that the Iranian people get the government they deserve, and soon, Ambassador. Amen. Thank you, Jim. Thank you so much. Thank you. The other big story this evening, President Trump is taking your place at EHS Secretary Kristi Noem with Republican Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. How key hearings on Capitol Hill led to her departure? I'm going to talk with a lawmaker whose tough line of questioning likely got the president's attention. Stay with us.

40:22Pete Hegseth:Hey, everyone. It's Audie. and I've got another special episode of The Assignment for you. I was at the podcast festival known as On Air Fest. That was in Brooklyn just last week. And for this, I knew I wanted to bring along a friend because we're going to talk about work spouses. And mine for a very long time was Ari Shapiro of NPR.

40:41Jake Tapper:You heard us on the radio being very serious.

40:44Pete Hegseth:And during the eight minute segment, when our mics are off, we would cackle about the latest thing that we had found on Reddit or on Instagram or whatever was bubbling up in the culture. And we never really got to laugh like that with each other and finish each other's sentences on the radio in quite that way. No. Listen to The Assignment with me, Audie Cornish, streaming now on your favorite podcast app. I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast, Terms of Service. I often hear questions about how to keep our parents and grandparents empowered with access to technology. To help us out with ways to protect our older loved ones online, I have Tazeen Khan here with me.

41:27Pete Hegseth:She is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit called Cyber Collective, which helps make people internet street smart. These scammers do a lot of high volume rinse and repeat. Scrubbing through these lists to see who has a vulnerability, who never changed their password. The biggest one is slowing down. If you're getting an email or a text message from UPS and you don't have a package that you ordered and you're not expecting anything from UPS, probably shouldn't click that link. Listen to CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcasts.

42:02Jake Tapper:And we have some major breaking news in our politics lead. President Trump announced on social media just a short while ago that he is essentially firing embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and is going to nominate to replace her Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. The firing comes a day after Secretary Noem wrapped up two combative days of congressional testimony before the House and the Senate, where she faced tough questions from both Democrats and Republicans on a wide range of topics, including the Minnesota ice surge and the killings there of Renee Good and Alex Preddy.

42:35Jake Tapper:both of whom she immediately falsely labeled domestic terrorists, despite no evidence to support that claim, in which she has refused to walk back. She also faced questions about a wildly expensive PR campaign contract totaling millions and millions of dollars that Noam testified the president approve of, but which President Trump told Reuters earlier today he actually knew nothing about. Here is that exchange from Tuesday.

43:02Pete Hegseth:The president approved ahead of time you spending$220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently. Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes. Did it correct? Did the president know you were going to do this? Yes. He did.

43:21Jake Tapper:Apparently he did not. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is following this. President Priscilla, you just heard Secretary Noem says President Trump knew she was going to spend $220 million on TV ads that featured her prominently. Is that true? Well, Jake, we heard directly from the president today when he spoke to Reuters and said that he knew nothing about it. And it was ultimately this ad campaign and the millions of dollars spent on it that was the final straw by all accounts. Now, sources we've been talking to over the course of the day say that there had been mounting frustration, including, of course, that situation in Minneapolis when the president ultimately set his White House Bordazar, Tom Homan, to resolve the issues on the ground.

44:00Jake Tapper:And so Homeland Security officials I've been talking to today are calling this, quote, long overdue, this being the ouster of the secretary. Another Trump official saying that it will bring an end to the feud between the Department of Homeland Security and Tom Homan. Of course, the White House said they were in lockstep, but we also know Kristi Noem and Tom home and rarely spoke to one another. Now, the expectation among officials is that the policies of the administration will remain the same, that aggressive immigration agenda. But their hope is that the change here is that they will have a more steady hand at the helm of the department because what has been of concern and growing concern over recent weeks has been the handling of the department under Kristi Noem.

44:41Jake Tapper:I've also reviewed an email that she sent staff a little ago where she said that this job has been the honor of her life and that she is looking forward to her next role as that special envoy. Jake? I mean, those images from those ads are incredible. It's like the worst Taylor Sheridan series ever. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much. It was just yesterday when Noam continued to dodge questions about the contractor who made those ads, Safe America Media. Take a listen.

45:10Pete Hegseth:Where's Safe America Media headquartered? I don't know. I don't know either, Madam Secretary. We can't find it. We can't find a website. The company is registered to a political operative in Virginia. Do you know, just by way of example, whether this company that received $143 million in taxpayer dollars, has it ever done work for the government before? I don't know. I can't. The answer is it has not. And do you know why we know that? Because it was incorporated eight days, eight days before this contract went out. You want the American people to believe that this is all above board?

45:48Jake Tapper:Let's bring in the lawmaker you heard questioning, known there, Democrat Joe Neguse of Colorado. Thanks so much for being here. Appreciate it. So pretty consequential questioning and answering there. The secretary told you it had been a competitive bid process for the contractors who produced the ad campaign. But after you did some digging, you found out that might not be the case. What else did you find?

46:09Pete Hegseth:Yeah, well, good to be with you, Jake. That was a lie. I mean, clearly the secretary stated a number of mistruths, both before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as the House Judiciary Committee, with respect to the contracting. As you noted, they skipped the competitive bidding process so that they could ultimately ensure that the contractors that were awarded these contracts would get those contracts. And one of them happened to be connected to a political operative, a Republican political operative. The company was registered just days before the contract solicitation actually went out.

46:38Pete Hegseth:So in my view, some real questions that have been raised with respect to potential fraud, corruption, and conflict of interest. Of course, as you know, one of the subcontractors of that contractor was affiliated with Secretary Noem during her time as governor and ultimately with her former spokesperson. Was married to her spokesperson, right? Correct.

46:56Jake Tapper:Did she ever offer any clarification after the hearing or anything like that? No, no.

47:00Pete Hegseth:And if anything, we've now seen reports that indicate that perhaps she was directly involved in approving those contracts, notwithstanding the testimony that she offered yesterday, both in the House yesterday and the Senate the day before. I would also just say, Jake, because I watched the exchange that you played with Senator Kennedy and Secretary Noem. Unfortunately, one of the hard realities of the political moment that we find ourselves in is that oversight and these hearings are often seen through a partisan lens. One hopes that there are moments that prove to be the exception to the rule.

47:27Pete Hegseth:And I think this happened to be one of them.

47:29Jake Tapper:Yeah, I mean, kudos to Secretary Kennedy. I'm sorry, kudos to Senators Kennedy and Tillis. Senator Tillis as well. Who did their oversight job. That's right. And I hope when the Democrats are back in the White House, Democratic members of Congress do the same thing for that. Agreed. You called this fraud. Do you think her firing and being given another job in the administration is appropriate?

47:49Pete Hegseth:Well, I certainly think her being terminated is appropriate. And it's an important step in our fight for accountability. But it is a first step. accountability ultimately means that if there were any laws violated, procurement laws, conflict of interest laws, that those ultimately that evidence is uncovered and that, you know, prosecutions commence if appropriate. And so I don't think that this is this is the beginning, not the end with respect to accountability, with respect to the new position that the president apparently conjured up. It sounds like something he saw in a movie. But anyway, we're not quite sure what this new position is.

48:20Jake Tapper:We're running out of time. But last question for you. One of the things Senator Tillis said to me, and I forget if this was on air or off air, but the idea that Secretary Noem prided herself on approving, you know, any, like all these small dollar expenditures for FEMA, I think anything either over$100 ,000 or$10 ,000 or something, but like knew nothing about the basic questions you asked her about this multi-hundred million dollar account was really shocking. It's absurd.

48:46Pete Hegseth:It's nonsensical. I mean, of course, she broke FEMA single-handedly in part by virtue of the decision that you just identified, but then wants the American people to believe that she's not involved in this$140 million contract of taxpayer money so that she can appear in ads at Mount Rushmore and the like. Clearly, it embarrassed the president and the Trump administration. And for the Trump administration to be embarrassed, given the corruption that they are engaged in, it's perhaps tells you the whole story.

49:12Jake Tapper:Congressman Joe Neguse, Democrat of Colorado. Thanks for being here. Really appreciate it. Coming up, the surprise withdrawal from a Republican Senate race that has a Democrat calling BS. She's going to join me next.

49:30Pete Hegseth:Rinse knows that greatness takes time, but so does laundry. So Rinse will take your laundry and hand deliver it to your door expertly cleaned. And you can take the time pursuing your passions. Time once spent sorting and waiting, folding and queuing, now spent challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness. So pick up the Irish flute or those calligraphy pens or that daunting Beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to us. Rinse. It's time to be great.

50:01Jake Tapper:In our politics lead, major questions for Republican Senator Steve Daines after his surprise withdrawal from his re-election race in Montana. Just literally minutes before the filing deadline, Danes dropped out of the race. And not only that, he went on to endorse Kurt Almey, who is Montana's U.S. attorney. Almey put his name in the same Senate race with just eight minutes left before the filing deadline. Sources tell CNN this whole scheme was part of an effort to block Democrats from fielding a top-tier candidate in the race, and likely Republicans, too. That surprise swap got a rather strong reaction from Democratic Congresswoman Marie Glucencamp-Perez of Washington State.

50:42Jake Tapper:She wrote on X, quote, this is bullshit. I can quote, I can curse if I'm quoting. This is bullshit. A Montana senator is rigging an election and it's miles beneath the dignity of our democracy. The congresswoman joins me now. And just a reminder for folks at home. Congresswoman Glucencamp-Perez was even more outspoken when a Democratic congressman did the same thing in Chicago. So what is going on here? Why do these guys keep doing this?

51:09Pete Hegseth:People think that they have a right to choose their successor, and that is not what our country is founded on. It is profoundly disrespectful to the American people, and it destroys the institution that they're saying they want to, like, choose a successor for. To say that you get to choose your successor, that's not what people have bled and fought for in this country.

51:29Jake Tapper:So when Congressman Chuy Garcia pulled this stunt last year, just I mean just I'm trying to think which one is worse they're both pretty awful um do you have an opinion which one's worse are they both bad they're they're terrible

51:42Pete Hegseth:they're terrible for the they're terrible for the body they're terrible for America yeah so

51:46Jake Tapper:at that time so you put forward a resolution to to condemn him uh 213 Republicans not surprisingly but also 23 Democrats voted to reprimand him it caused you a lot of heartache you got a lot a blowback from Democrats. We should know both of Montana's congressmen joined you on that. Have you heard anything from your Republican colleagues, especially in the Senate, about a similar motion and will Republicans in Montana who were offended by what Chewy Garcia did, understandably and fairly, also say the same thing about Senator Daines?

52:20Pete Hegseth:I hope so. I hope that this is above partisanship. And what people have to realize is that this ugliness and this stealing elections is it is why people have walked away from politics. It just feels so corrupt to everyone. And we have to stand up and say that there are things that are much bigger and more important to us than who's got control of which body. Is the institution worthy of representing the people that it purports to?

52:47Jake Tapper:Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar, who is running for that Senate seat, but as an independent, he slammed the move in a video posted on X. Take a look. They must think we're stupid, but we see this for what it is.

53:03Pete Hegseth:A sleazy insider plot led by party bosses in Washington, D.C. to rob Montanans of their voice at the ballot box. What do you think? Yeah, it's weaselly. It's weaselly and it's offensive and it's got to stop. I looked into it. Apparently the Senate has not reprimanded one of its own members since the 1990s when I was two. So we'll see what happens. but I think it's really important that people, ordinary people, stand up and say, like, we're not doing this anymore. This has got to stop.

53:31Jake Tapper:So another issue that you've been very outspoken on that's also not making you any friends in Congress, although we here at the LEAD applaud you, is you're trying to figure out a way to make sure that when members of Congress are losing their acuity, there's at least a method for people to express their concerns. You tried to get that done in the House Appropriations Committee, where the chair stepped down from the chairmanship and then just checked into a dementia facility and drew a congressional salary for six months without telling anybody. You just introduced new legislation on this subject.

54:05Jake Tapper:Tell us more about it. What would it do?

54:07Pete Hegseth:Right. Well, it's crazy. If you look at the House Ethics Code, there are rules about what kind of hat I can accept as a gift, but there's nothing in there about what it means when members no longer to make decisions for themselves when the staff is running the office and not the member, when there is significant irreversible cognitive decline. So my bill is really simple. All it does is says that it directs the Office of Congressional Conduct to develop a standard with which to evaluate whether a member is able to operate and execute the duties of their office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive decline.

54:38Pete Hegseth:And we're just talking about a really simple, like the MOCA, for example, that's like, look at the clock and tell me what time it says. Repeat four words back to me. This is not about having kooky ideas. This is about being cognitively fit. Yeah. So.

54:52Jake Tapper:And you're probably going to have problems getting support.

54:55Pete Hegseth:You know, it was voted down unanimously in appropriations last year, but I know this is something people agree with me on. And it's interesting. I think even what I've heard from folks at home, it's like even people who are older see it and who have had more firsthand experience. They believe it's really important. It's not just about, like we want a representative body and people age at different rates. I recognize that. But we also know that we deserve representation that people voted for, not their staff.

55:23Jake Tapper:All right. Democratic Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp-Perez, one of the bravest members of Congress. Thanks so much. Thank you, Jake. This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're tracking two major stories tonight. First, President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after her two heated hearings this week that made him angry, sources say. particularly this exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, about her multi-multi-million dollar ad campaign for the Department of Homeland Security that features her prominently.

55:55Pete Hegseth:The president approved ahead of time you spending$220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently. Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes. Did it correct? Did the president know you were going to do this? Yes. He did. Hmm.

56:14Jake Tapper:Well, President Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he did not know about those ads. They feature Noem prominently riding a horse at Mount Rushmore, almost like she's in some sort of sequel to Yellowstone. She had been under scrutiny since the backlash to her department's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota, where federal officers shot and killed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Preddy, both of whom Noam almost immediately accused of being domestic terrorists without any evidence. Noam's last day at DHS will be March 31st, according to an internal email obtained by CNN.

56:49Jake Tapper:Trump is now tapping Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma to replace her. His confirmation battle will likely be before a Senate still deadlocked over the current partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Nothing's going to prevent me from doing my job. I'm going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed, and we're going to protect our homeland. All this as we're continuing to monitor the war spreading across the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the U.S. is still deeply committed to the task at hand. He gave us a status update at U.S.

57:21Jake Tapper:Central Command just a few minutes ago.

57:25Pete Hegseth:There's no shortage of American will here. We remember and honor our fallen. those six that we will soon welcome at Dover who gave everything for their country in this mission. We remember them. But we remember them by rededicating ourselves even more fervently to this mission.

57:46Jake Tapper:We'll have more on that story in just one moment. But right now, I want to bring in CNN's Caitlin Collins at the White House because this is pretty huge news. The president, there was a report, Caitlin, as you know, in Vanity Fair last year that Trump had said no scalps, or at least there was going to be a no scalps policy, but that's how they phrased it. But, you know, he fired Kristi Noem. So I don't know that that policy is still in effect. What led to the firing? Did this start with how she was handling the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January?

58:16Pete Hegseth:Yeah, Jake. And I mean, this is obviously monumental because she is the first cabinet member of President Trump's second term to be ousted. And she was greatly weakened And a little over a month ago, after those two American citizens were killed at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Remember, there was that late January cabinet meeting where the president did something that I've never seen him do in his cabinet meetings, which is where he skipped over the Department of Homeland Security secretary. Obviously, it's a value, a department that he values greatly. It was in his first term.

58:44Pete Hegseth:It certainly has been in his second term with his mass deportation pledge. And so it was a notable moment that just showcased how frosty that relationship had grown. She met with President Trump in the Oval Office. He voiced confidence in her the next day. But she had been on thin ice ever since then, Jake. And people had done a lot, actually, to bring awareness of this$220 million ad campaign that they did out of DHS, featuring Kristi Noem, as you just showed, in some ads riding a horse through the mountains of South Dakota. A lot of people had tried to bring that to President Trump's attention because they were irritated by how it happened and the fact that they were using taxpayer money for it and how the process went in terms of who was awarded that ad campaign.

59:26Pete Hegseth:But it wasn't until that questioning from Senator John Kennedy this week that the president really kind of lost it over it, Jake. And he was angry that she said that he had signed off personally on her doing that. That is something the president, as you noted, told Reuters today did not happen. He also called Senator Kennedy after that hearing happened to make clear that he disagreed with what Kristi Noem was saying and how she was testifying under oath in that moment. And so that is what led to today with the president ultimately ousting her from her job at DHS and replacing her with Mark Wayne Mullen, someone that the president likes to see on TV.

59:59Pete Hegseth:He often calls after he does cable news hits and praises him. And the White House has taken over the last six months or so to really using Mark Wayne Mullen as a surrogate of theirs and putting him out on television, Jake. And so I think what this ultimately speaks to, and, you know, I've covered Trump for 10 years now, he does not like when people use money that is related to him to try to further their own image or when they try to eclipse the president or make themselves too important. Those are two things that will get under the president's skin. And clearly, that is what ultimately happened here today and led to Kristi Noem's ouster as the DHS secretary.

1:00:32Jake Tapper:And Caitlin, Noem was grilled yesterday in the hearing in the House about her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, who's been the subject of a lot of ire from White House officials. What more are you learning about that?

1:00:42Pete Hegseth:Yeah, he certainly has. He's what is known as a special government employee. He highlights it and says that he's working as a volunteer in this capacity, is obviously very close to Secretary Noem and is often seen with her, whether that's when she's out here doing television hits or when she's traveling on the road. And the relationship has faced a lot of criticism and it faced questions from Democrats yesterday who, while she was under oath, were asking her if they had engaged in an extramarital affair. Obviously, she pushed back on that and called it tablet garbage. But the relationship itself and the power that he's wielded in DHS has gotten a lot of criticism from people, Jake, For example, when they were trying to implement lie detector tests for people when they were worried about leaking, for example.

1:01:24Pete Hegseth:And so no official word yet on Corey Lewandowski's status. But a lot of people who are familiar with the two of theirs relationship don't believe he'll stay at DHS when Kristi Noem is not there.

1:01:35Jake Tapper:All right, DHS. Story right there from CNN's Caitlin Collins at the White House. Thank you so much. Don't miss Caitlin on her show, of course. The source with Caitlin Collins, her guests tonight include Democratic Senator Andy Kim. That's tonight at 9 Eastern, only on CNN. And I want to bring in CNN's chief law enforcement analyst, John Miller. John, you usually attend the event that Secretary Noem spoke at this afternoon, moments after the president announced on social media she'd been fired. What do you know about what happened there? Well, as she was arriving and some of the top union leaders were waiting for her.

1:02:05Jake Tapper:So this event is the Major Cities Conference. This is not just made up of police officials, but it's made up of the heads of the police unions from New York City, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union in Chicago and Rochester. So this is a rank and file audience expected to be a friendly audience. As she was arriving in the loading dock, there was a long delay because she was on a phone call that couldn't be interrupted. She got out of the car, did the photos with the union leaders, and as she began her speech, everyone in the audience, their phones started to blow up with those news bulletins.

1:02:47Jake Tapper:Noam ousted by Trump, Kristi Noam out, Secretary of Homeland Security fired. But she went on with her speech, answered all the questions afterwards.

1:02:58Pete Hegseth:But it was a shock to the audience who expected a speech about sanctuary cities, about police actions, about DHS and ICE, and ended up being witness to a very dramatic moment

1:03:13Jake Tapper:in this administration. A lot of career professionals inside the Department of Homeland Security. What frustrations were there about her leadership that you heard about? Well, Jake, it starts with the erosion of the core missions of DHS, the things that DHS was conceived for after 9-11, which meant gutting CISA, the Cyber and Infrastructure Protection Agency that watches over cyber attacks and ensures that our systems work, of gutting FEMA, which would have been further reduced except for the blizzards that came along, cutting off some of the further reductions. Intelligence and analysis, counterterrorism, and groups like Homeland Security Investigations who were diverted from their complex investigations to a great extent working with ICE to chase people on civil immigration matters.

1:04:09Jake Tapper:That was not why she was fired, though.

1:04:13Pete Hegseth:As as Caitlin reported, you know, this this came down to it's one thing to embarrass the administration and that's forgivable.

1:04:21Jake Tapper:But once you have a series of gaps that embarrass the boss, that is the straw that breaks the camel's back. John Miller, thanks so much. Joining us now to discuss Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska. Congressman, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. Good to see you in person. What do you think of the president's decision to fire Noam?

1:04:40Pete Hegseth:Well, I think Mark Wade Mullen is the right guy for the job. He's got great relationships in the Senate, but he's a House guy. And we see him all the time at our conferences. We have a lot of folks and members that spend a lot of time with him. Listen, he's from Oklahoma. When you're from a Midwestern state like Nebraska, like Oklahoma and South Dakota, you find these good people. And Mark Wade Mullen has the relationships. He has the confidence of the president. And he's got a group of people that are going to work for him and make the president proud, like Tom Homan. Tom Homan is the one we believe that can enforce our immigration laws and do it in a way that finds the right balance with law enforcement support.

1:05:22Jake Tapper:You just answered my second question. How do you think Mark Wayne Mullen's going to do? But let's go back to the first. What do you think about the decision to fire Kristi Noma? Are you happy with that decision? Are you pleased that she's no longer going to be at head of DHS?

1:05:33Pete Hegseth:Here's what I'll say. The first tragedy and the first killing up in... Rene Good. Rene Good, yes. That was tough. The second one, that was one of the longest weekends our country's had in a long time. And I'm not limiting it to a weekend, but that weekend, when that came in, I think there was a cumulative and an immediate effect. Brutal, yeah. And I really think that the president, he understood at a visceral level that a change needed to be made. And he picked the person, Tom Homan, to go in there and fix it. Today, you've got a state that has changed. You've got the immigration enforcement's being done cooperatively.

1:06:09Pete Hegseth:It's being done in jails, not on streets. Could we do that in New York? Could we do that in California? Could we do that in Illinois? And I think what we've done, what Tom Holman has done, is he's built a respect with the law enforcement community, with the governors and the mayors of some of the blue estates out there by the way he's conducted himself, the way he prioritizes law enforcement, by the fact that he's a cop. He understands how this stuff works. Like, we're going a really good direction. And now that you've got Mark Wayne Mullen, you've got Tom Holman, they're going to have, hopefully, a good relationship, and they can move this country forward on this issue.

1:06:43Jake Tapper:Yeah, that weekend, it's interesting, the way you described it was interesting, because it really, I think, a lot of Americans out there were thinking to themselves, what country do I live in? It was a really kind of shocking thing to see. It was a very hard weekend. And this wasn't a bad weekend for one party. This was just a bad weekend for Americans. But she went out there and she didn't tell the truth about what happened. And we could all see it from the video. Do you think she should have been fired then, after that?

1:07:08Pete Hegseth:Well, Tom Homan coming in and taking over all operations in the state of Minnesota, I think, sent a pretty big signal. And you know what? Good on the president for doing that.

1:07:18Jake Tapper:He saw a problem, he acted, and he did it immediately. If President Trump is telling the truth, and I have no reason to think he isn't, Then she said something under oath in front of the Senate that wasn't true, that President Trump had signed off on that ad campaign,$143 million. Do you think she should be investigated for lying under oath?

1:07:41Pete Hegseth:People should always tell the truth under oath. I did not watch the testimony. I actually just saw the clip for the first time waiting to come on your show. Listen, you've got to tell the truth when you're in front of Congress. I'm not going to make a judgment today as to whether or not she did or not. I really know nothing about the mechanics of everything that happened here. And what happened yesterday in that testimony, that's not what I'm thinking about when I'm thinking about the next phase. I'm excited today about Mark Wayne Mullen. I'm excited about the direction we're going to go. I want Tom Holman to be empowered.

1:08:10Pete Hegseth:The president picked the right person at the right time to change the trajectory of this entire thing. And if we can get Mark Wayne Mullen to put all the right people in place, I think this is going to be good for America.

1:08:22Jake Tapper:All right, Republican Congressman Mike Flood from the great state of Nebraska. Thanks for coming in. Really appreciate it. Coming up, we're going to turn to the other major story we're calling this hour. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapping up a press conference a short while ago, saying U.S. firepower against Iran is about to surge dramatically. We're going to talk to an Iranian-American journalist and author about that. Plus, we're digging into the cost of this war with Iran as oil and gas prices spike at the highest level in nearly a year.

1:08:55Pete Hegseth:I got news for your ears. The podcast. I am your host, Michael Ian Black. Because you know what? Here comes the clip. He's segwaying. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian regime. He did say eminent as opposed to imminent. So, well-respected, well-respected friends. Right, right. The bombs are very, very highly regarded. Some of these bombs have multiple degrees. Have I Got News for Your Ears releases new episodes every Wednesday. Don't miss an episode. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts. The relationship between the FBI director and the president has always been complicated.

1:09:37Pete Hegseth:Unravel the complex dynamic in the CNN original series, Standoff, the FBI, Power and Paranoia, Premiers Sunday, March 22nd on CNN and next day on the CNN app.

1:09:48Jake Tapper:Turning to our world lead, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to the podium last hour to update Americans on the escalating war in Iran. And as chaos grips the Middle East, Hegseth says that the U.S. has only just begun. Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC in Iran.

1:10:12Pete Hegseth:You see, there's no shortage of American will here. We've got no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to. Again, our munition status only increases as our advantage increases. Our capabilities? We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively.

1:10:40Jake Tapper:Thanks, Seth. Comments come as unrest persists across the Middle East. Today, Israeli officials claim they hit Iranian missile sites. Iran also carried out new strikes across the region, with several people now injured in Abu Dhabi. Also today, fire erupted at an oil refinery in Bahrain. Bahraini officials say the fire is now fully contained, and it was sparked from an Iranian missile strike. When it comes to who will be the next leader of Iran, President Trump is insisting on having a say. In a new interview today with Axios, President Trump was asked about the prospect of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son succeeding him.

1:11:14Jake Tapper:He answered, they are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment. Joining us now is Roxana Saberi. She's an Iranian-American journalist and author who was once imprisoned in Iran under false accusations of espionage. Roxana, what do you think of this idea of President Trump saying that he has to play a role in the appointment of Iran's next leader?

1:11:38Pete Hegseth:Well, some initial responses that I've been getting from Iran is there is some confusion among the people. What does President Trump mean about having a role and what does he mean about the next leader? The Iranians I've talked to, and I think you would find the majority of Iranians, do not want another supreme leader to replace Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday. They say that all of these people did not go out to protest and get massacred in January just to have the continuation of the Islamic Republic.

1:12:07Jake Tapper:As one doctor put it to me just a couple of days ago, they don't want an Islamic Republic 2.0. That would be a doomsday scenario, they said.

1:12:15Pete Hegseth:But the overwhelming majority of Iranians also we know don't want an Islamic Republic. They want some kind of democratic political system. So I think they're concerned that President Trump could be supportive of having another supreme leader. And as for the thought of long-term foreign interference in domestic political affairs, I think a lot of Iranians would feel a deep unease about that as well.

1:12:40Jake Tapper:The Iranians you're speaking with, what is life like for them right now in Iran?

1:12:47Pete Hegseth:It's mixed. For some who have left the cities that have been bombarded quite heavily, they say they feel fairly safe, but those who have stayed behind, namely in Tehran, they say it is very, very tense. There are missiles falling all around them, and they're afraid. I hear, however, that people are also very afraid of the regime staying in power once the war is done. One teacher told us today that actually, though she's afraid, she's even more afraid that the regime would stay and that they'd be stuck with the regime. And that was while she was having panic attacks, she said, and she's taking medication for the panic attacks.

1:13:24Pete Hegseth:I would say that many Iranians do feel trapped between the missiles, the U.S., Israel, and their own regime. And the longer the war goes on, and if there are more civilian casualties, it's likely that more Iranians will turn against the war. But right now, the statements that I've been getting from inside Iran is that they are hopeful that this war will end in the removal of the regime and hopefully a free and democratic Iran for them.

1:13:52Jake Tapper:Yeah, that'd be great. Obviously, a lot of steps before that can happen. The Center for Human Rights in Iran announced that they're gravely concerned about the safety of the political prisoners in Iran right now. They cite that the Islamic Republic has a history of using the shadow of war to carry out abuses in prison. As someone who spent time imprisoned in Iran, tell us more about that concern.

1:14:15Pete Hegseth:Yeah, there are reportedly at least 50 ,000, more than 50 ,000, protesters who have been detained since January. And already before this war, their situation was very dire, with many of them subjected to torture, of course, confessions, and without access to new attorney. And during this war, communications have been almost non-existent. And of course, there's also an internet blackout, which makes it all the more worrying that Iranian authorities to carry out more violence against these detainees under the cover of digital darkness. You know, when you're in prison and you don't have a way to reach your voice to the outside world, it's terrifying and it's all the more terrifying knowing that your captors could cause harm to you and those around you and nobody would ever find out they could be held unaccountable.

1:15:08Jake Tapper:Roxana Saveri, thank you so much. Really good to have you on the show today. As the war with Iran expands in the Middle East, an Afghan refugee trapped at a U.S.-run camp in Qatar shares her message for President Trump and Secretary Rubio. That's next.

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1:15:58Jake Tapper:And our world lead, it isn't just Americans who are now stranded in the Middle East as this war with Iran expands. You remember those hundreds of Afghan refugees who worked for the Americans during the war and who were fully vetted and legally cleared for travel to the United States to resettle, including family members of active U.S. military service personnel? Remember them? President Trump stopped them from coming in. So many of them went to refugee camps in Doha, Qatar, and they are still there while this war is now waging. And now missile fragments and debris are falling near them and reportedly even on their shelters.

1:16:38Jake Tapper:The president of Afghan evac, an organization working to relocate and resettle Afghan allies who served along the U.S. government, is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to, quote, protect them now, bring them here, unquote. With us now is a teenage Afghan refugee who we're not naming and we're blurring her face to be cautious. She's in Qatar at Al-Salia American base with her parents. Thank you so much for joining us. First of all, how are you doing? How worried are you about your safety in that camp?

1:17:14Pete Hegseth:Hello, good afternoon. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to speak to you. It has been over a year that I'm living here in Al-Salia camp in Qatar with my family. And regarding to the situation, since the beginning of the conflict, missiles are being intercepted and exploding above our camp and fragments have fallen into residential areas. There are no reinforced shelter and mothers and children have nowhere safe to go. Even container housing units where we leave provide no meaningful protection. Warning alarms regularly force families and children to run for safety. However, there is no safe place here.

1:17:56Pete Hegseth:And that's what will cause people fear and concern.

1:18:02Jake Tapper:Can you tell us what you've seen and heard at this camp you're in?

1:18:09Pete Hegseth:Well, yes. Is that okay if I say my experience? So since it started, it was such a bad moment and everyone was screaming and everyone, of course, terrified because we were experiencing this. And my brother, he was really terrified and he was keep telling that mom, dad, I don't want to die. I'm still 11 years old. I'm still a kid. I don't want to die. I want to live and I want to change my dream. Mom, dad, I don't want to die. And that's what really terrified me whenever I remember that.

1:18:55Jake Tapper:It's just no way to have a childhood. How worried are you and your family about your safety at the camp right now?

1:19:04Pete Hegseth:Of course, we're worried a lot because we're living an uncertain life and we don't know what's going to happen next. and me myself I was deprived of education for five years and my mom and dad because they were army officers they so their identity because of their identity we were living in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, under Taliban government and it was really hard for us to live so of course we're living in uncertainty and it's really a hard situation for us

1:19:42Jake Tapper:If you could deliver a message to President Trump or to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, if they were watching right now, what would you say to them?

1:19:51Pete Hegseth:That's a good question. And that's what I'm going to say. Well, according to Secretary of State, a few citizens are being advised to leave parts of the region due to security concerns. We respectfully ask what protections are in place for vulnerable Afghan families still waiting under U.S. authority. Because we didn't leave Afghanistan as an ordinary immigrant, we applied for our cases in 2021 and remained under processing for three years. We passed all security checks, biometric screening, and other legal processes. Later, we completed medical examination through care and IOM organization and were transformed here to Qatar.

1:20:38Pete Hegseth:Even when we were transformed here to Qatar, we screened and reviewed again. We've gone through every required security process and we did not come here illegally.

1:20:49Jake Tapper:Thank you so much for being here. We hope you and your family stay safe. And I'm so sorry that you're stuck where you are. Thank you. The cost of gasoline in the United States has reached its highest average price in 11 months as the war in the Middle East expands. How much more could you expect to pay in the coming days and weeks? And what about the other impacts on the American economy? That's news.

1:21:28Pete Hegseth:We cannot help you find space for your three desk drinks. Why do you have three? And while we can't help you find the perfect volume for your presentation video, LinkedIn can help you find the perfect audience for your business. Grow your small business on LinkedIn. Learn more at linkedin.com slash small business.

1:21:48Jake Tapper:In our money lead, the war in Iran continues to increase the amount of money you are paying to fill up your car. The U.S. average gas price is now$3.25 a gallon. That's the highest average price in 11 months. There has been a 26 cent a gallon increase since just Friday. And it is likely going to get worse because the war appears to have completely stopped the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. That is the crucial waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, where about 20 percent of the world's crude oil and natural gas passes through. The S &P Global Commodities says zero tankers made their way through yesterday.

1:22:23Jake Tapper:And as of today, U.S. oil prices spiked to their biggest one-day increase since May 2020, with U.S. crude oil surging 8.5 percent to$81.01 a barrel. Let's bring in Gene Sirocco. He's the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles and has spent several years based in Dubai, overseeing shipping operations across 22 countries. Gene, you actually still maintain many contacts you made throughout the region's logistics sector. We've seen both U.S. gas and oil prices go up since the war started. But given the uncertainty over how long this is going to last, what major global impacts could we see going forward?

1:23:03Jake Tapper:Good evening, Jake.

1:23:04Pete Hegseth:The Middle East looks a lot like the U.S. from a purchasing standpoint. Not much is manufactured there, so furniture, footwear, clothing, electronics all get moved from Asia by these container ships into the Middle East. the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, and East Africa. So the consumer in the Middle East is going to start to see lower levels of inventory across their normal buying channels. I'm also concerned about perishable commodities, fruit, vegetables, and different meat coming in in those chilled refrigerator containers. It's a closed loop market, meaning that those ships designated to go to those three subregions will turn around and go right back to Asia for the next round of imports coming to the Middle East.

1:23:49Pete Hegseth:The impacts here in the U.S. will be minimal, except for the price of fuel that those big ships use. They're going to be going up at least 30 percent as the shipping lines review their cost structures.

1:24:00Jake Tapper:So earlier today, Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and I understand we should take everything they say with a grain of salt, but they said that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed to ships from the U.S., Israel, Europe, and other Western allies. But doesn't that still impact just about every tanker that goes through?

1:24:19Pete Hegseth:It sure does. Right now, there are hundreds of ships lined up outside the strait to the east with many more inside that are immovable right now. 110 or so container ships and then hundreds of energy ships, bulkers, perishable commodities, as you said at the top of the segment. So realistically speaking, again, nothing's moving and we have no evidence that it will anytime soon.

1:24:43Jake Tapper:Yesterday, the Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent, reinforced President Trump's commitment to send the U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Is that a risk that global shipping lines are willing to take, that they'll do it surrounded by Navy ships?

1:25:00Pete Hegseth:Not at this time. We just concluded our Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference that S &P Global hosted with the Journal of Commerce here in Long Beach this week. and talking to shipping executives, their attention was turned directly to the Middle East, and they're not really with the risk appetite to go through that straight at this point in time.

1:25:19Jake Tapper:What kind of immediate ripple effect will American consumers see from this?

1:25:25Pete Hegseth:Price at the pump is up 27 cents. The oil prices you covered crossed$80 today for West Texas Intermediate. These bunker prices on ships are going up, as will the price for the fuel adjustment factor on our airplanes overall. But I still think the supply chain flow from Asia on finished goods coming into the United States will continue unimpeded. We don't share vessels, crew, or assets with these other east-west trades. We're in pretty good shape. But with a war risk premium now being assessed by companies like Hat Pack Lloyd and CMA CGM to the tune of$3 ,000 per container for ships headed that way, it's going to be some time before we see normal supply chains unwind there.

1:26:09Pete Hegseth:The next round of ships that were scheduled to leave Asia this weekend heading to the Middle East have all been stopped for the time being.

1:26:15Jake Tapper:That's$3 ,000 per container, not per container ship. How many containers do these ships carry on average?

1:26:25Pete Hegseth:Up to about 24 ,000 container units. That's a lot of money we're talking about. And on a per container basis, Jake, that's equivalent to, if not a little bit more than the price of the ocean freight for the right to ship that container.

1:26:37Jake Tapper:I know you saw some impacts of the tariffs at the Port of Los Angeles where you work. Are you seeing any impact of this war yet at the Port of Los Angeles?

1:26:46Pete Hegseth:Just on the fuel prices at this time. The Trans-Pacific market, which is the highest revenue-yielding market in the world, continues to move cargo fluidly. But we're also coming off just the close of Lunar New Year in Asia, Jake. So it's typically our slower time of year. And if there's any spike or rerouting of cargo, we'll be able to absorb that pretty quickly here.

1:27:08Jake Tapper:All right, Gene Sirocco, thank you so much for your expertise. Appreciate it. We're hearing more reaction from Democrats and Republicans about President Trump's firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Let's just say no one really appears to be too upset about it. The panel reacts next.

1:27:29Jake Tapper:In our Politics Lead, we are following reaction to President Trump's announcement he is replacing Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary. In a statement, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, quote, I think it was time for a change. Way to go out on a limb there, Lindsey. California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office posted, bye girl. I mean, what is happening to our politics? Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said this.

1:27:55Pete Hegseth:Hey, Kristi Noem, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Here's your legacy, corruption and chaos. Now that you're gone, don't think you get to just walk away. I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable.

1:28:10Jake Tapper:We'll see. Here to discuss is the panel. First, let's go to National Review politics reporter Audrey Falberg, who was the very first to report the president was furious with Noem and considering Mark Wayne Mullen as her replacement. So why now? Why did he decide to change horses now?

1:28:26Pete Hegseth:He's been frustrated with her for a while, I think, as we all know. There's been a lot of infighting between her, her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, Rodney Scott, Tom Homan for quite some time. Who's Rodney Scott? Rodney Scott's the head of Cousins of Border Protection. So remember, also her response to the Minneapolis fatal shootings, calling out pretty a domestic terrorist. You know, Trump had to come in there and install Tom Homan. He was already kind of really frustrated with her. Then we get these absolutely disastrous Senate and House Judiciary Committee hearings this week. So I first got the tip on this yesterday where I heard the president was considering replacing her with Mark Wayne Mullen.

1:29:05Pete Hegseth:And that was in part because he was so frustrated by her response to a really tough question from John Kennedy, senator from Louisiana, who kept pressing her and pressing her about that$220 million ad campaign from last year and whether the president greenlit it. She said repeatedly that he did, and he was very displeased by that.

1:29:24Jake Tapper:And he told Reuters today he did not. He did not greenlight it. So what do you think?

1:29:30Pete Hegseth:Well, you can't lie, number one. And I think it's time to go. Listen, I mean, there was major displeasure with Kristi Noem. I've known her since the House. There's definitely been a change. But listen, Mark Wayne Mullen's going to be a really good cabinet secretary. And at the end of the day, you serve at the pleasure of the president. The president was not going to buy in to when the Democrats were asking her to step down after Minneapolis. I think he was like digging in. But after yesterday or this week, actually, with the two testimonies, like he's done and it's time to go.

1:30:02Jake Tapper:during her speech today praising law enforcement response to the deadly shooting in Austin this week. Take a listen to what, well, I guess she's still Secretary Noem. Secretary Noem had to say.

1:30:15Pete Hegseth:It reminded me of the quote that is often attributed to George Orwell that states, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalves, which means you step up in order to protect people and you do it in a way that other people often are never going to be required to. Interesting quote. What do you think? I think that was Jack Nicholson. You need me on that wall. Just please, go away. You know, she'll have more time to shoot her dogs now. What a horrible public concern. I'm sorry, what she said about American citizens when her thugs shot them, Renee Good and Alex Preddy, she didn't bring justice to them.

1:31:00Pete Hegseth:In fact, she insulted their memories. That's unpardonable. Politically, it's unpardonable to throw the president under the bus for your own self-aggrandizing ads. Someone is lying. And I heard your interview with Congressman Neguse, who asked her the same questions in the House hearing. And she needs a lawyer up. I'm not saying I believe Donald Trump over her or her over him, but we have diametrically opposed positions on this. And it's just she's a deeply unserious person. Now, let's see if Senator Mark Wayne Mullen is up to task. He's a guy with no national security, homeland security experience, not even on the committee in the Senate.

1:31:37Pete Hegseth:Ran a very successful plumbing company, which is great. He was an MMA fighter, which is terrific. Has nothing to do with protecting us from terrorists. Where is General Kelly? Where is Governor Tom Ridge? Where is Jay Johnson? Where are the people, the serious people in both parties that we had protecting us? Ashley? Okay, I want to tell you, I was, I told you, I was employee number one at the White House Office of Homeland Security. Tom Ridge was employee number two after 9-11. I knew nothing about Homeland Security, and neither did he. He did fight in Vietnam. However, he was a manager. Right.

1:32:09Pete Hegseth:And he was a presence. And so I do think that Mark Wayne will probably be more of a presence. And the military aspect of DHS will be more appreciative of him than kind of what she was doing in regards to her ads and the ICE things, you know, with the whatever outfits that she had on. But my point is, is I think they'll respect him more than her. So let me just ask.

1:32:33Jake Tapper:That's a very low bar.

1:32:34Pete Hegseth:I want someone qualified. This is my life, too. This is not partisan. Yeah, I get it. You know, we all live through 9-11. We'll see how he does.

1:32:40Jake Tapper:We'll see how he does. He has to get confirmed first. Of course he does. Audrey, on the issue of whether Secretary Noem is telling the truth or President Trump is telling the truth, I do find it hard to believe that Secretary Noem would say, hey, we're going to do a 143 million or 220 million. I'm not sure which figure is correct. I've heard both from lawmakers. We're going to do this campaign. and it's going to feature me prominently as if I'm a movie star in horseback riding through the South Dakota wildlife. I do find it hard to believe that she would actually do that. And President Trump would say that sounds like a great idea.

1:33:09Pete Hegseth:Look, there are some people who are privately pushing back on what the president has said, you know, that he must have known about this in some capacity. What I'll say is I reported what I heard, which is that the president was furious with her testimony to that question in particular. But he's also really frustrated by, I'm told, is when she was asked if she had, I don't want to use explicit language on, but, you know, romantic, was romantically involved with Corey Lewandowski, her top aide. Both of them are married, of course. They're both married. Her husband was behind her in the House Judiciary hearing.

1:33:39Pete Hegseth:She first deflected, didn't immediately say no. She's pressed again by a House Democrat. And then she said, I, you know, refuted this for years. Point is, that was clearly a point of tension. But I think another point here is you talk about lack of experience. I think one thing that the president is hoping from Senator Mullen is that he's going to be very differential to leaders who are already within DHS because there was so much tension between her and the current leaders. Another thing to watch is this story with Lewandowski is not over yet. A lot of people think that there's a lot more self-dealing going on, and that's something that I would continue to watch.

1:34:08Jake Tapper:Very interesting. President Trump just said something very interesting about Cuba. Take a listen.

1:34:15Pete Hegseth:What's happening with Cuba is amazing. and we think that we want to finish this one first, but that will be just a question of time before you and a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba. I just want to wait a couple of weeks. I wanted to wait a couple of weeks, but we'll be together again soon, I suspect, celebrating what's going on in Cuba.

1:34:42Jake Tapper:So, another regime change military action?

1:34:46Pete Hegseth:You can take that one. What's going on here? I mean, by the way, we have troops apparently in Ecuador right now in combat, not combat, but crypto pseudo combat situation. Nobody, who didn't even know that? Apparently they're fighting drug gangs. We've had people in Ecuador for a long time. But not in a hot war. Like, what is he doing? One of the reasons he won is the American people were really sick of President Bush's forever wars. And I think rightly.

1:35:16Jake Tapper:Extended by President Obama, we should know, except for Iraq, but Afghanistan was.

1:35:20Pete Hegseth:Right. And we, not we, many Americans turned to Trump because they were quite sure he would never get us entangled in the foreign wars. J.D. Vance said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. It's like his seventh country he's bombed in a year. Well, he hasn't done Cuba yet. No, no, but I think Iran is number seven.

1:35:36Jake Tapper:Cuba would be eight. What do you think? I mean, I know you come from the Bush wing of the Republican Party. No, I do.

1:35:41Pete Hegseth:But I also think if you listen to Condi Rice, who I think a lot of people respect, this is a once in a generational time to take out the Iranian leadership. And I actually don't think that Donald Trump cares right now about the midterm elections because this is not going to be popular at home. It's not popular at home. But do you have the opportunity to take out this regime and are you willing to risk it all? And I think that's a good leader. These guys are bad guys. These are bad people. The worst guy is Putin. Exactly. Let's take Putin out. Yeah, but they have nuclear weapons. We're going to have a war.

1:36:11Jake Tapper:Let's take Putin out. Well, that's a good line. That's a good... Thank you. And that wasn't a talking point. That's a good demarcation. Thank you so much. Great to have you. Thank you so much. Congrats on all the great scoops. Savannah Guthrie just visited her NBC colleagues for the first time since her mother, Nancy, went missing more than a month ago. What Savannah Guthrie had to say about her future at the network, that story's next. For our last leads, we're going to start in our pop culture lead. Britney Spears has been released from jail after police say she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence last night.

1:36:39Jake Tapper:A representative for Spears called it a, quote, unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable, unquote. They say Spears' family is going to help her make some changes in her life and that hopefully she can, quote, get the help and support she needs. International lead, NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie returned to NBC for the first time since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, February 1st. Sources report that Savannah told colleagues, quote, I don't know how to come back, but I don't know how not to. You're my family. She added, I wanted you to know that I'm still standing and I still have hope and I'm still me.

1:37:14Jake Tapper:If you have any information you think could help solve the mystery of the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, please call the Pima County Sheriff's Department. 520-351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also reach the bureau online at tips.fbi.gov. In our sports lead today, President Trump welcomed the Inter-Miami Football Club to the White House to celebrate their Major League Soccer Championship. MVP Lionel Messi entered the event beside President Trump. The club gave the president a Trump 47 jersey and a signed soccer ball trophy. Renowned athlete and co-owner David Beckham did not attend, he said, due to family commitments.

1:37:57Jake Tapper:If you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Aaron Burnett out front starts now. Thank you.