SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Mail-In Ballots, Trump Eyes Cuba, ICE Deploys to Airports: AM Update 3/24

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0:32Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, March 24th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. If I have nothing more to look at than the phrase Election Day, I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place. The Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in a case that could limit how mail-in ballots are counted. I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor road. Taking Cuba. As Cuba struggles with fuel shortages, blackouts, and a collapsing electrical grid, the Trump administration publicly weighs taking action. President Trump in Memphis, Tennessee highlighting a successful task force cracking down on violent crime in what was once one of the most dangerous cities in America.

1:16ICE agents arriving at airports nationwide, provide assisting overwhelmed TSA agents amid a partial DHS shutdown. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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2:10Plus, Shopify provides world-class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping to processing returns. all with 24-7 award-winning support. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash Megan. Go to Shopify.com slash Megan. That's Shopify.com slash Megan. The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday hearing oral arguments in a case that could reshape how states handle mail-in ballots, specifically whether ballots postmarked by election day, but arriving later, can still be counted. At issue, a Mississippi law adopted in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, allowing mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and then received within five business days thereafter.

3:01Four years later, the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, a voter, and a county election official challenging that law, arguing it conflicts with a federal statute that sets a single national Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A separate lawsuit by the Libertarian Party of Mississippi eventually combined with the Republicans' case. The Constitution grants states authority over the, quote, times, places, and manner of elections, but also gives Congress the power to override those rules. Mississippi arguing that an election occurs when voters cast their ballots, not when officials receive or count them, and that timely postmarking therefore satisfies federal law.

3:45The challengers arguing election day means when officials receive the ballots, making Mississippi's mail-in policy in violation of federal law. The case appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court, where, after more than two hours of arguments, several of the more conservative justices appeared skeptical of Mississippi's position. Right out of the gate, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett pressing Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart with a rapid-fire round of questions. If I give my ballot, mail-in ballot, to my neighbor, is that a choice?

4:23It's a choice. It's not a final choice that can be recognized in the context of an election. So when do I know whether or not a choice is final? Is there any limit to that? As to how early people could vote? Sure. You know, they fill out a ballot if you're giving them a ballot and, you know, drop it off two weeks before. Your Honor, I don't think there is a limit to how early that could occur. If I have someone in my neighborhood, in my HOA, who says, listen, I'm going to take everybody's votes in, what if the state said that's fine if you've cast your final vote and you've designated someone to carry your vote to, as long as it gets to the ballot box, five days after Election Day, it's fine.

5:06Submission to mail or comment carrier is different in kind than, say, submitting it to a relative or sort of a neighbor. What's the difference? They're not government officials. Justice Samuel Alito zeroing in on the meaning of the term Election Day. We have lots of phrases that involve two words, the last of which, the second of which is day. Labor Day, Memorial Day, George Washington's birthday, Independence Day, birthday. an election day, and they're all particular days. So if we start with that, if I have nothing more to look at than the phrase election day, I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place and or almost everything.

5:55President Trump long critical of mail-in balloting, arguing it opens the door to fraud and undermines confidence in the integrity of the election system. That concern echoed during arguments with Justices Alito and Brett Kavanaugh raising questions about delayed ballot counts. Some of the briefs have argued that confidence in election outcomes can be seriously undermined if the apparent outcome of the election on the day after the polls close is radically flipped by the acceptance later of a big stash of ballots that flip the election. Late arriving ballots open up a risk of what might destabilize the election results.

6:40If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode. Mississippi's Solicitor General arguing that there is little evidence that late arriving ballots lead to fraud. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan questioning whether the RNC's argument could also call into question early voting. You're basically saying there are two things that have to happen, and they have to happen on election day. And it's the voting and, you know, the casting of the vote and the receipt of the vote. And both of those things have to be on election day.

7:13And just like a normal person says, OK, well, when I early vote, I'm not doing that on that first Tuesday. Paul Clement arguing for the challengers that early voting is different because those votes are still finalized on election day. More than a dozen states allow for late-arriving mail-in ballots to be counted if they're postmarked by Election Day, meaning the court's decision could have ripple effects well beyond Mississippi. We spoke with America First Policy Institute's Director for Election Integrity, Thomas Lane, about yesterday's arguments and what's at stake. He describes how a ruling striking down the Mississippi law could affect elections in other states with similar laws.

7:54If this case is resolved so that the ballot receipt deadline is struck down, this question was asked, hey, does this affect primary elections? Is it just the general election in November? And while Mississippi's law applies to all of their elections, primary elections, recall elections, the general election in November, what is at hand in that issue before the court is just the federal general election in November. So for primary elections that are coming up or in some states have already gone by, this ruling would not affect them. But what it does affect those 18 states and the District of Columbia is in November.

8:39One way this case is unusual is it's not California or New York defending late arriving ballots, but Mississippi, a reliably red state now on the opposite side of President Trump, the RNC and many Republicans. We asked Lane about that. When the RNC was looking at challenging the post-receipt deadline, if you go and you sue in Illinois or you go and sue in New York, that you're not going to have a favorable decision in those lower courts. And you're going to hope that you can appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court. But what I think happened here is the RNC saw that Mississippi is a very favorable venue for this.

9:25Mississippi's Solicitor General, who argued for Mississippi here, actually was the lawyer who argued the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade. And so it is odd that you have a red state, you have Mississippi on the opposite side of the administration or, in my view, very common sense practice and policy of having Election Day be Election Day. I think in the end, no matter how formidable the argument was from Mississippi, their law will be overturned. Lane giving us his prediction on the outcome. If I were to predict how this would go down, I think this is a very easy five and up to six vote majority for striking down Mississippi's law of receiving ballots five days after the election.

10:18An opinion is expected by late June. Cuba's power grid collapsing Saturday, marking the third nationwide outage this month as the communist regime struggles to maintain its aging infrastructure amid ongoing fuel shortages. The U.S. imposing sanctions on Cuba in various forms since the 1960s aimed at pressuring the regime on human rights and democratic reforms, tightening further in recent years to target financial transactions, tourism, and energy imports. Cuba previously leaning heavily on subsidized oil shipments from Venezuela, now largely cut off following the U.S.-backed operation that led to the arrest and extradition of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on drug charges.

11:03With the island now facing protests amid exacerbated energy and economic struggles, many wondering if the Trump administration is preparing to push regime change. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in recent weeks openly discussing the possibility. President Trump on March 16th speaking to reporters. You know, all my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it? I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That's a big honor. Taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it.

11:46You want to know the truth? They're a very weakened nation right now. They were for a long time. Very violent, very violent leaders. Castro was a very violent leader. His brother's a very violent leader. Extremely violent. That's how they governed. They governed with violence. But a lot of people would like to go back. Secretary Rubio, whose family emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, leading negotiations with Cuban officials, reportedly tying any sanctions relief to sweeping government reforms, including the removal of current President Miguel Diaz-Canel. The Atlantic reporting Sunday, one administration official telling the outlet, quote, regime change is lined up, with the White House eyeing a Venezuela-style model.

12:32That approach removes the head of state while leaving parts of the governing structure intact, so long as they align with U.S. interests. A White House spokesperson telling The Atlantic, quote, we are talking to Cuba whose leaders want to make a deal and should make a deal. Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela. Meanwhile, Cuban officials warning they are preparing for the possibility of military conflict. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosio telling NBC on Sunday, quote, Our military is always prepared, and in fact, it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression.

13:12Coming up, President Trump in Memphis touting a sweeping crackdown on violent crime, and ICE agents now deploying to major airports nationwide as lawmakers remain deadlocked in DHS funding negotiations.

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14:48The president forming the interagency task force in September, citing Memphis as one of the most dangerous cities in the country, with some of the highest per capita rates of murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and property crime. The president joined by a slate of top officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Task Force Chairman Gadi Seralta, and Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee. The task force chairman laying out the results so far pointing to thousands of arrests and a sharp drop in major crimes. In just over six months, the Memphis Safe Task Force has made over 7 ,342 arrests.

15:29This is last week's numbers. With charges ranging from homicide, there was 44 of those, 812 drug offenses, and 757 gang-related offenses. We have seized over 1 ,200 illegal firearms and located and returned 150 missing children. In the past six months, collectively, our efforts have resulted in a 43 % reduction in total serious crimes, 37 % reduction in murder, 40 % reduction in sexual assault, 56 % reduction in robbery, 63, 68 % reduction in motor vehicle thefts. And the most impressive of all is a 65 % increase in the solvability of the crimes that have been committed. A.G. Bondi highlighting the real-life impact behind those stats.

16:23There was a horrible murderer, Arsenio Davis, who last October committed a gruesome double homicide. He killed his mother and dismembered another person. And based on this task force working hand in hand, he's off the street. Another example, a horrible monster who's charged with raping a small child. This task force, all of these members working together arrested him. We can give you countless examples of that. 770, over 770 gang members off the streets. And we know there's no normal day for a law enforcement officer. We know it's so dangerous what our law enforcement officers do. But know this, Donald Trump and this administration, we have your backs.

17:05Also on the agenda yesterday, a stop at Graceland, home to Elvis Presley. President Trump on the king of rock and roll. I'm going to see Graceland after this, I think. Is that right? I love Elvis. I never met Elvis. Everyone said, did you? I met them all. I met Sinatra. I knew all of them. I never met Elvis. Sometimes I feel I should tell the little fibs that I knew him well. ICE agents now deploying to airports across the country as TSA operations buckle amid the partial DHS shutdown now stretching into its sixth week. Between 100 and 150 ICE agents sent to 14 major airports, including Chicago O 'Hare, Hartsfield-Jackson-Atlanta, and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental, stepping in to assist overwhelmed TSA agents, according to The New York Times.

17:56The move coming as TSA faces a growing staffing crisis, agents going unpaid, leading to mass call-outs and resignations. On Sunday alone, more than 3 ,450 TSA officers failing to report to work. That's over 11 percent of the scheduled workforce, the highest absence rate yet during the shutdown. At some airports, call-out rates ranging from 37 to 42 percent, according to Reuters. deployed ICE agents under the direction of border czar Tom Homan assigned to non-screening roles like crowd control, monitoring exit lanes, and checking IDs, allowing trained TSA officers to stay focused on security screening.

18:36As to whether the added manpower is making a meaningful difference, results appear mixed so far. Yesterday afternoon, wait times at George Bush Intercontinental topping three to four hours, with only two of eight security checkpoints open to handle the traffic. At Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta, the effort appearing more successful. CNN reporting by yesterday afternoon wait times dropping to about 40 minutes, down from three to four hours over the weekend. All of this unfolding as lawmakers remain at an impasse over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, with no clear agreement in sight.

19:11President Trump speaking to reporters yesterday, urging Senate Republicans to hold the line, pushing to tie any DHS funding deal to passage of the SAVE Act, an election integrity measure. The Democrats are being blamed for the shutdown, and it's their fault, and they're getting killed. That's why when I announced yesterday about ICE, the Democrats called, we want to settle, we want to settle. And I told the people, don't settle, don't settle, because we have something bigger. Only settle if you get the Save America Act, voter ID, and so important, proof of citizenship, etc. Good luck, travelers.

19:51Maybe consider driving. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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