Former acting ICE director under Obama shares concern about ICE airport deployment | CNN Politics

By Fredricka Whitfield and Christi Wolf, CNN
Published 4:42 PM EDT, Sun March 22, 2026

John Sandweg, who served as the former acting director for ICE under Pres. Obama, tells CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield that while he is encouraged that Border Czar Tom Homan is leading the deployment of ICE agents at US airports, he is skeptical of its operational significance.

2:26 • Source: CNN

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3月11日，在阿联酋拉斯海马北部靠近阿曼穆桑达姆边界地方，可以看到一艘货船在波斯湾霍尔木兹海峡附近航行。 （路透社）

伊朗外交部发表声明，称霍尔木兹海峡并未被封锁，在遵守因战争形势而采取的必要措施前提下，船舶仍可继续在这条水道航行。同时，声明阐述了伊方关于霍尔木兹海峡航运和航行安全的原则立场。

伊朗外交部星期天（3月22日）在声明中说，美国和以色列对伊朗发动军事侵略之后，波斯湾和霍尔木兹海峡局势危险，地区航运和航行安全受到直接影响。为行使合法自卫权，伊朗采取一系列措施，以确保侵略者和他们的支持者不会将霍尔木兹海峡滥用于推进侵略目标。

声明说，属于美国、以色列以及其他参与侵略国家的船只不符合正常和非敌对通行条件，伊朗将依法予以处理；属于其他国家或与其有关联的非敌对船只，只要没有参与或配合针对伊朗的侵略行动，并遵守伊朗方面公布的安全规章和措施，即可在与伊方主管部门协调后，安全通过霍尔木兹海峡。

声明强调，要全面恢复霍尔木兹海峡的可持续安全与稳定，针对伊朗的军事侵略和威胁必须停止，美国和以色列破坏伊朗稳定的行动必须停止，伊朗合法利益必须得到充分尊重。

伊朗外交部长阿拉格齐当天通过社交媒体阐述了上述原则。他同时强调，伊朗不会屈服于威胁，“与其威胁，不如尊重。没有贸易自由，就没有航行自由”。

美国总统特朗普21日晚在社交媒体发文，威胁伊朗48小时内开放霍尔木兹海峡，否则将摧毁伊朗“各类发电厂”。

Cuba begins to restore electricity after nationwide power grid collapse

2026-03-22T14:30:00-0400 / CBS/AP

Updated on: March 22, 2026 / 2:32 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Cuba started restoring power Sunday after the nation’s energy grid collapsed a day prior, cutting electricity to millions of people. The blackout was the third this month.

Some 72,000 customers in the capital, among them five hospitals, had electricity again early Sunday, according to a report from the state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, but it’s only a fraction of Havana’s total population of approximately 2 million.

In Havana and provinces such as western Matanzas and eastern Holguin, local power microsystems were set up to supply the most vital centers. Residents in some areas of the capital told The Associated Press that power returned during the early morning hours.

Cuba is currently facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Its aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, but the government has also blamed the outages on a U.S. energy blockade, after President Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. His administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Mr. Trump also has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”

Protests have been reported in Cuba in the past week as frustration grows over prolonged blackouts and worsening living conditions across the island, CBS Miami reported.

Another reason Cuba has been struggling with dwindling oil is the removal by the U.S. of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, which halted critical petroleum shipments from the nation that had been a steadfast ally to Havana.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said the island has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months. Cuba produces barely 40% of the fuel it needs to power its economy.

Daily blackouts have a significant impact on the population, whose lives are disrupted by reduced work hours, lack of electricity for cooking and damage to household appliances, among many other consequences.

“With the blackout and low voltage, my refrigerator broke — that was today. The day before yesterday, the voltage also dropped around 10 at night,” Suleydi Crespo, a 33-year-old woman with two small children, told AP on Saturday. “If there’s no electricity tomorrow, we won’t be able to get water.”

Residents also expressed exhaustion from the constant outages, whether nationwide or partial.

The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the total disconnection of the national energy system was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, without providing details on the specific cause of the failure.

The last nationwide blackout occurred on Monday. It took several days to restore power.

Saturday’s outage was the second in the past week and the third in March.

“We have to get used to continuing our usual routine. What else can we do? We have to try to survive. Get used to events, with or without electricity,” said Dagnay Alarcón, a 35-year-old vendor.

Authorities and Díaz-Canel himself have acknowledged the seriousness of the current energy situation. The Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Argelio Abad Vigo explained this week that the country has gone three months without receiving supplies of diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, aviation fuel or liquefied petroleum gas — all vital for the economy and power generation.

Fuel sales for vehicles are rationed, airlines have suspended flights or reduced frequencies many workplaces have reduced hours.

Mr. Trump has for months suggested Cuba’s government is on the verge of collapse. After a previous time Cuba’s electric grid collapsed, Mr. Trump told reporters he believed he’d soon have “the honor of taking Cuba.”

María Regla Cardoso, a housewife in Havana, said she isn’t interested in politics and that Cubans have to keep living.

“I leave everything in God’s hands. Whatever form the situation takes, we just have to face it.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-suggests-will-take-cuba-island-faces-energy-crisis/

Savannah Guthrie renews plea to Arizona community for clues in mother’s disappearance

March 22, 2026 / 3:35 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Savannah Guthrie is renewing pleas to neighbors, friends and residents of Tucson, Arizona, to jog their memories in the hopes of sparking new leads in the disappearance of her mother, Nancy.

The “Today Show” co-host posted a new family statement on her Instagram account Sunday morning, hours after the show’s Instagram account shared it.

After expressing gratitude to the community, the family said in its statement that it believes someone in Tucson or in southern Arizona may “hold the key to finding the resolution in this case.”

“Someone knows something. It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant,” the family said.

The family urged people to go back over their memories between Jan. 31 — when Nancy Guthrie was last seen — and Feb. 1 as well as the evening of Jan. 11.

“Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance,” the statement said. “No detail is too small.”

They also acknowledged in the statement that their family’s matriarch may no longer be alive.

“We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder,” they said.

Law enforcement sources told CBS News last week that additional images were recently obtained from surveillance cameras installed at Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home but nothing was deemed suspicious. No images reviewed showed the suspect captured on the front door camera, sources said.

Lance Leising, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, told CBS News it all points to “a lack of meaningful leads.”

“It becomes much harder to keep the investigation going, keep it current and fight for new leads,” he added.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Feb. 1. Authorities believe the 84-year-old was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. DNA recovered from the scene is still being analyzed, with investigators turning to forensic genetic genealogy in hopes of breaking the case open.

The FBI released surveillance videos of a masked man who was outside Guthrie’s front door on the night she vanished.

The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother.

Savannah Guthrie visited the NBC “Today Show” studio in New York City for the first time since her mother’s disappearance on March 5. The show said she plans to return to the air at some point but “remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home.”

Tucson is a little over 100 miles south of Phoenix and 70 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border. The Catalina Foothills, the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives, is known as an affluent area with popular hiking trails.

Savannah Guthrie has been a co-anchor of the venerable NBC morning show since 2012. One of her former colleagues, Hoda Kotb, has returned to “Today” to fill in while Guthrie has concentrated on finding her mother.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fbi-new-footage-nancy-guthries-home-says-nothing-suspicious/

Transcript: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” March 22, 2026

2026-03-22T12:32:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 22, 2026.

*

MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who joins us this morning from The Hague in the Netherlands. Welcome back to ‘Face The Nation.’

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL MARK RUTTE: Margaret, good to be back on the program. Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning. We did see that Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia. That’s that island in the Indian Ocean, which houses a U.S. UK joint base. That was 4000 kilometers from Iranian territory, furthest Iran has ever gone. You just heard Ambassador Waltz say there might be a difference there in how Israel and the U.S. assess that capability Iran has in terms of what they fired. But Israel says these were intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit Berlin, Paris and Rome. Does NATO share that Israeli assessment?

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: We cannot confirm that at the moment, so we’re looking into that. But if this would be true, it is the more evidence that what the President is doing here, taking out the ballistic missile capability, taking out the nuclear capability from Iran, is crucial. And exactly as the ambassador just said, Ambassador Waltz, we have seen with North Korea, if we negotiate for too long, you might pass the moment where you can still get this thing done, and North Korea now has the nuclear capability. If Iran would have the nuclear capability, including, together with the missile capability, it will be a direct threat, a existential threat, to Israel, to the region, to Europe, to the stability in the world. So the president doing this is crucial, and I’ve seen the polling, but I really hope the American people will be with him, because he is doing this to make the whole world safer.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So but just to be clear at this hour, do you believe that Iran could bomb Berlin, Paris and Rome? Are they all within direct threat range?

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: What we know for sure is that they are very close to having that capability, whether this case with the UK base, Diego Garcia, we are still assessing. But if it is true, it means they already have that capability. If it is not true, we know they are very close to having that capability. And that is exactly why I feel in Europe, that most politicians, it resonates with them. What the President is doing here, which is taking out- degrading Iran’s capability to be, again, an exporter of chaos, sheer chaos to the region, to the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I’m sure the president appreciates your praise, but he has been very frustrated, and made that clear this week with NATO and the European allies. He called NATO quote a paper tiger without the US. He said they complain about high oil prices when they forced to pay but they don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Easy for them cowards. We will remember.

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: I’ve been in several conversations this week with the president, and the good news is that, look, we had the U.S. for weeks planning for Epic Fury and for reasons of security and safety, they could not share with European allies and allies around the world and partner countries what they were doing, because that would have jeopardized the effect of the first- first attack–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Or it would have allowed you to plan

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: So it is only logical that European countries needed a couple of weeks to come together. But at this moment, the good news is this, that since Thursday, 22 countries, most of them NATO, but also Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, the UAE, have come together to basically answer three questions, what do we need? When do we need it? And where do we need it? These three questions are now worked through to answer the president’s call, to make sure that we secure the free sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

MARGARET BRENNAN: To be clear, the president has said four to six weeks for this war, that would put us in early April for an end to combat operations. But then he’s also sending troops. He’s also possibly asking Congress for more money. What’s the when part? When did he tell you your support from these European countries will be needed because from the sources I speak to, they are not willing to send in the midst of combat.

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Obviously, I cannot in a program which is aired around the world, and you have a lot of viewers, discuss with you what is discussed in secrecy, but I can assure you that, of course, and the UK is- is at the forefront of leading this effort of the 22 countries on the leadership of Prime Minister Starmer. I’ve been in the phone call this week with Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron, and again, this has led to 22 countries now signing up to this initiative. And indeed, one of the key questions is not only the what question and the where question, but also the when question. And this is why military planners are now working together to make sure that we are ready, to make sure that that street- that Strait of Hormuz, that we secure the free sailing there, which is crucial for the world economy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The president seemed to say, though, that this will go beyond Iran in terms of the impact on his thinking about NATO and his willingness to help Europe. Take a listen to this.

[DONALD TRUMP SOT]

DONALD TRUMP: I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake. And I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this is a this was a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.

[END SOT]

MARGARET BRENNAN: The president continues to frame this as sort of like a quid pro quo, and he’s also mentioned Ukraine in the same context, saying, I help Europe with Ukraine. Why aren’t they helping me? Are you worried that this is going to hurt NATO’s goals elsewhere?

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: What I know is that we always come together. It was under President Trump’s leadership that we had the extremely successful Summit in the Hague where we agreed to spend 5% of our GDPs on defense, and therefore equalizing for the first time since Eisenhower. So this is quite some time- some time back in history, equalizing what the Europeans are spending and what Americans are spending, not only because it is fair that we all spend the same, and this was a wish from Trump 45 and now is Trump 47 he got this done, but also because we need it, because of the Russian threat and our other adversaries. Then on Ukraine, it is again the U.S. providing critical intelligence support and weapons flow, working together with Europeans to secure Ukraine’s fight against the Russians, making sure they have what they need. And now with Iran, I’m absolutely convinced, and I understand the president’s frustration that it takes some time, but again, I also ask for some understanding, because nations had to prepare for this, not knowing and for good reasons about the initial attack on Iran, but now coming together to make sure that we can be able to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

MARGARET BRENNAN: No but to be clear, I’ve spoken to some NATO members who say this is a defensive alliance, not an offensive one. We didn’t sign up to go do what the president is asking us to do. But on the Russia point you just made, the European Council president said the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil exports. Is very concerning as it impacts European security. This is part of what President Trump’s doing to try to stop the spike in oil prices here at home, the Treasury Secretary says this means about $2 billion is going to Russia now, President Zelenskyy says it’s more like 10 billion. Doesn’t this benefit Vladimir Putin?

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Well, this is the thing the president has to balance all these different interests. I know that he is with his team, with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio. They are constantly working with the Ukrainians to put maximum pressure on the Russians to come to a deal. I know–

MARGARET BRENNAN: This isn’t maximum pressure.

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: –I spoke an hour and a half with President Zelenskyy in London. He wants to get the deal done, and we have to make sure that we also take this to the Russians, to make sure that they are willing to play ball. It is the president putting that pressure together with the Europeans. But again, he has to balance all these different interests. So I’m not going to comment on each element of what is happening here, but his effort to bring the war in Ukraine to a successful end is crucial. He was the only one who was able to break the death lock with Putin when he made the first phone call in February last year, and he has consistently, with his team, done what is necessary to put that pressure, of course, on the Ukrainians, and they want to play ball. They show this. They want to end the war, and are also with the Russians.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll see if Vladimir Putin wants to play ball. Secretary General, thank you for your time, and we’ll be right back with a lot more ‘Face the Nation.’ Stay with us.

Transcript: Rep. Jason Crow on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” March 22, 2026

2026-03-22T12:34:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 22, 2026.

*

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Colorado Democratic Congressman Jason Crow. Welcome back.

REP. JASON CROW: Thanks, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you sit on the House Intelligence Committee. This past week, you heard the Director of National Intelligence testify about Iran’s capabilities, saying we wouldn’t see an ICBM that would, in theory, be the thing that would carry a nuclear warhead right to American shores. She said they wouldn’t have one until 2035 if they even tried at all. Is- what- are you afraid she was wrong? Because Israel is saying that what was fired was an ICBM that was aimed at this U.S., U.K. base.

REP. CROW: Yeah, she could be wrong, and we have- obviously have to dive into the intelligence. The question has never been whether or not Iran poses a threat or a series of threats to the United States, but that’s where the analysis begins, not when the analysis ends. Right? We have lots of threats. Kim Jong Un poses a threat. Putin poses a threat. We have threats around the world. The question is, what do we do about it? And right now, we’ve spent $20 billion in the first two weeks of this war alone, one and a half billion dollars a day. Americans are paying $300 million a day extra energy prices. The terror threat around the world against the United States and Americans is spreading. And there’s no off-ramp. We have no strategy and no end-game. This is a mess by any definition, and now we have to figure out what we do from here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So no timeline beyond the four to six weeks has been briefed or shared with Congress at this point.

REP. CROW: No, no, we are not getting the information from this, this administration. They started this war without congressional authorization. There’s no imminent threat. They actually have even stopped trying to pretend there was an imminent threat, which is what is necessary for the president to take action without congressional approval. So now here we are spending tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, losing American lives. Congress isn’t involved. We’ve been stonewalled. The American people are not in the driver’s seat here, right? Because Congress has been sidelined in this they are the ones that need to have the voice and whether or not they’re going to send their sons and daughters to go fight this war, whether or not they’re going to finance it. It’s time for this to end.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let’s take a break. I have more to talk to you about on the other side of it, so all of you, please stay with us. We’ll be right back.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. We return now to our conversation with Colorado Congressman Jason Crow. Before we leave the topic of Iran, I do want to ask you, last Sunday on this program, the White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the war was ahead of schedule. And while it was up to the budget office, he didn’t think the administration would need any kind of supplemental funding. But then days later, Secretary Hegseth seemed to confirm the Pentagon needed as much as $200 billion.

[SOUND ON TAPE STARTS]

PETE HEGSETH 0:31

far as $200 billion I think that number could move. Obviously, it takes, it takes money to kill bad guys. So we’re going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future.

[SOUND ON TAPE ENDS]

MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’re opposed to the war, but is there a way to structure this deal where you would be comfortable with additional funds?

REP. CROW: No, if they think I’m going to vote for hundreds of billions of dollars for an unauthorized war, a war they didn’t come to Congress for, a war they haven’t given an explanation to the American people for what we’re doing and not doing, how it’s going to end, how we’re protecting our service members. And on top of that, the- House Republicans gave DOD, $150 billion slush fund last summer as part of Donald Trump’s big, ugly bill, and on top of that, they say they’re going to come and ask for a one and a half trillion dollar defense budget. And the Department of Defense, to this day, can’t pass an audit. They can’t tell us where all their stuff is, where they’re spending all their money. So I’m not about to throw money at a DOD that can’t pass an audit, is sitting on money that they already haven’t accounted for and haven’t spent and to perpetuate an unauthorized war that is not in America’s interest.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’re a veteran, but you know that the accusation will be made that Democrats just don’t support the troops.

REP. CROW: There is, of course, that’s what they’re going to say. But there is plenty of money within DOD for military families, for troops, for barracks. I have guaranteed that I sit on the Armed Services Committee, and I will continue to push forward and vote to make sure our troops, our military is taken care of, that we have the military that we need to protect America. What I’m not going to do is just throw money at the Iran war, which they’re now admitting is a war. This cannot continue. We spent 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, trillions of dollars. It ends here. It must end here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Tell me, though, as a Democrat, because Congress is scheduled to go on vacation soon, a lot of TSA agents aren’t receiving paychecks because of this democratic-led funding shutdown, because of a demand to change immigration policy, something the White House has not made any concessions* on that I know of to date. This is in the Senate, but as a Democrat, I mean, look at Denver airport near your district. They’re asking people to donate gift cards for TSA agents to make ends meet. The airport says, you know, this is a huge generator in terms of what the airport does for the region. This is hurting your community. How do you continue to defend the shutdown?

REP. CROW: I’m going to be really clear that this is a Republican shutdown–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –The Republicans said–

REP. CROW: –Just yesterday–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –fund it all.

REP. CROW: Just yesterday, the U.S. Senate held a vote, and Senate Democrats put up an authorization to fund everything except for ice and CBP, that’s Coast Guard, that’s TSA, that’s cybersecurity. Every single Senate Republican voted against it. In the House, we actually have a bill, Rosa DeLauro and Hakeem Jeffries. We have a clean bill that would force a vote to open up everything, to fund everything except for ICE and CBP. Republicans are stopping it. They’re not even allowing a vote on that bill. So we are ready to go. They are in control of every–

MARGARET BRENNAN: But in the meantime those people are–

REP. CROW: –facet of government–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –are left stuck. We’re about to be in spring break, heavy traffic season.

REP. CROW: They are in control of every element of government. They’re in control of what we vote for and don’t vote for. We are saying, let’s open it back up. Let’s fund Coast Guard. Let’s fund FEMA. Let’s fund TSA. Let’s fund cybersecurity, which, by the way, we need because we just started a war with Iran, which has a huge cyber capability. We want to fund it. We’re ready to fund it. We will take the votes tomorrow. They’re stopping that vote. They own this shutdown.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman Crow, thank you very much for your time today. We’ll be right back.

*

*Editor’s Note: The White House submitted a letter to Congress on March 17 outlining some concessions the administration is willing to make.

Crow on Iran war funding

[Democratic Rep. Jason Crow says “what I’m not going to do is just throw money at the Iran war”06:45]

Democratic Rep. Jason Crow says “what I’m not going to do is just throw money at the Iran war”

(06:45)

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/democratic-rep-jason-crow-says-what-im-not-going-to-do-is-just-throw-money-at-the-iran-war/

Transcript: U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” March 22, 2026

2026-03-22T13:32:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 22, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s Charlie D’Agata reporting in Arad, Israel. We’re joined now by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and it’s good to have you here in person.

AMB. MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So Ambassador, on Friday, the president tweeted, “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” And then last night he threatened that if Iran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from the time of his post, the US will “hit and obliterate” their power plants, starting with the “biggest one first.” So which is it, is the U.S. opening Hormuz by force or having others do it.

AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive. I am glad you are having NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on. I think at his urging and his leadership, we have now seen Italy, Germany, France and a number of others commit to help with this effort.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –After combat operations end.

AMB. WALTZ: Particularly since, particularly since so much energy is going to Europe out of the strait. We just had the Japanese Prime Minister commit to portions of her navy and the Japanese navy, 80% of what is coming out of the Gulf is going to Asia. So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its, its genocidal intent.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So some allies like the United Kingdom have talked about things like surveillance, anti-mining, anti-drone support for the United States. But in that appeal from the United States, I should say in the Strait of Hormuz, but not until active combat ends. To be clear, that is what we are talking about.

AMB. WALTZ: And the president has been clear too. He’s going to continue to pound Iran’s capabilities, its missile, its naval and its drone capability. Margaret, we have to take a step back. We have seen what it’s doing now in terms of attacking ports, airports, civilian infrastructure, hotels, resorts, and what it is trying to do to global energy supplies. One can only imagine if it had a nuclear umbrella. One could only imagine if Iran achieved its aim to test. Then you have Saudi Arabia wanting a nuclear program, then perhaps the UAE, Turkey or others. And when people ask why this matters to our security here at home, it should petrify every American that you could potentially have a nuclear Middle East awash in weapons.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they are not enriching. They weren’t enriching leading up to this. This is what U.S. officials have testified to. But just on this point about what the president–

AMB. WALTZ: Well they couldn’t enrich because of Operation Midnight Hammer that obliterated their ability to enrich. They had every intent to continue.

MARGARET BRENNAN: They do have a nuclear power plant, Bushehr. It’s actually their largest energy plant. It’s a civilian site.

AMB. WALTZ: It is actually not their largest energy plant. It is about one, about one gigawatt. They have larger ones that are gas, fired outside of Tehran. But just case in point, yeah.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, but- but in this case, in that clarification, the reason I am asking you is when the president says he is going to bomb energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure, is he going to bomb a nuclear power plant, or is that off the table.

AMB. WALTZ: Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television. However, there are larger plants. There is one outside of Tehran. There are others outside of other cities that are gas fired, thermal powered. I think the important point here is to understand the IRGC, a declared terrorist organization, not only by us–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, in Europe too.

AMB. WALTZ: –but in a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran’s critical infrastructure, their economy and certainly many of their governing institutions. And so to the extent we are degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president has made that very clear.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you ensure that this doesn’t constitute a war crime, which the UN Secretary General said an attack on energy infrastructure could be. How do you make sure this is not mass punishment for innocent civilians?

AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think you know, I would encourage and will encourage the Secretary General to point out the twenty to thirty thousand Iranians that the regime massacred at scale, the civilian infrastructure that they are attacking–

[CROSS-TALK STARTS]

MARGARET BRENNAN: –No one is endorsing that but how do you make sure this doesn’t hurt–

AMB. WALTZ: — And when you, but when have a regime that has its grips on so much critical infrastructure, that is using it to further not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors, and in contravention of UN sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets.

[CROSS-TALK ENDS]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, you know that in many of these places, water desalination is linked into that energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructure. This is why it is a question of it being a war crime.

AMB. WALTZ: I have no doubt that the president, the Pentagon, their team will ensure that what they target is geared towards the military infrastructure of Iran. But I have to tell you, they deliberately blend, have a long history, everything from hiding weapons under schools and hospitals to using power plants and other critical infrastructure to not only power their military but their civilian, and they deliberately blend in contravention of international law.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about what we saw overnight with these missile attacks. The Director of National Intelligence testified last week to Congress that Iran could not develop a militarily viable ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile, before 2035 if it attempted to pursue that capability. Yesterday, the IDF said Israel said that Iran did fire an ICBM. Has this changed the U.S. assessment?

AMB. WALTZ: I am not familiar with the IDF assessment. I can tell you–

MARGARET BRENNAN: They said what was fired at Diego Garcia and them was an ICBM.

AMB. WALTZ: I can tell you the UK just condemned the firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile at Diego Garcia, that same type of missile Iran has lied about in terms of its development, said they were not developing yet. They just lied. Yet they just did it. Not only could it hit Diego Garcia, it could hit capitals in Europe. And Margaret, the technology, the booster technology that Iran has been hiding behind its space program. I don’t think we are going to see Iranian astronauts on the moon anytime soon. That this space program has been hiding that technology. You have the re-entry technology to marry the two really does not take very much in terms of technological development. And we just have to you know, thank God the president is taking action now and stopping this march towards a fully fledged nuclear program, instead of waiting until after it’s developed, like we saw in North Korea under the Clinton administration say, surprise, we now have, a full program.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So a difference there in the assessments. But let me ask you about our polling.

AMB. WALTZ: It wouldn’t be the first time you have different intelligence assessments, by the way, by different intelligence communities.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Absolutely. The administration has not convinced, we’ve seen it in our polling, the majority of Americans that this war was necessary. Sixty six percent of Americans believe conflict with Iran is a war of choice. Sixty percent disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. Fifty seven percent of Americans think the conflict is going very or somewhat badly. How do you tell the American people they’re wrong?

AMB. WALTZ: Well, I can. I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president a 100% percent approval rating–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –his base is in there, absolutely–

AMB. WALTZ: A majority say the number one job of the commander in chief is to keep Americans safe. I can point here to an NBC poll, 90% of Republicans, broader Republicans, support Trump’s effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And I have to point out, no one should be surprised here. President Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon 2016 campaign, 2020 campaign. Since 2024 he has said it seventy four times out in the public space.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But if he is going to commit any kind of ground troops or boots on the ground. Don’t you think he needs to persuade the majority of American people, not just his base?

AMB. WALTZ: I think the president will keep all options on the table to secure these objectives. And as a veteran, as a parent, I thank God he is not kicking the can like so many administrations have for fifty years, until this is a catastrophic problem where we have very limited options to deal with, much less an entire Middle East potentially awash in nukes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Walz, thank you for your time this morning.

AMB. WALTZ: All right, thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Face the Nation will be back in a minute, so stay with us.

Senate advances Markwayne Mullin’s nomination for DHS Secretary in procedural vote

March 22, 2026 / 1:56 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The Senate advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination for Department of Homeland Security secretary on Sunday after the president announced that the Oklahoma Republican would replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

In a 54 to 37 vote, two Democrats voted with all Republicans in attendance to advance Mullin’s nomination. A final confirmation vote is expected in the coming days.

Mullin, 48, has been in the Senate since 2023 after representing Oklahoma in the House for a decade. During his time in the Senate, the businessman and former MMA fighter has been a key player in coordinating between the upper and lower chambers, along with the White House. And since his nomination, he’s received widespread praise among Republicans, and a handful of Democrats, making his confirmation all-but guaranteed.

But Mullin’s smooth path to confirmation grew messy last week. During his confirmation hearing, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul called out Mullin for allegedly calling him a “freaking snake,” along with saying he understood why a neighbor attacked Paul in 2017. Paul, a Kentucky Republican questioned whether “someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.”

Ultimately, the committee advanced Mullin’s nomination without support from Paul. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with the other Republicans on the panel, allowing Mullin’s nomination to move forward.

Mullin’s nomination follows Noem’s ouster as DHS secretary amid intense scrutiny of the department’s handling of immigration enforcement in recent months. Days before the president announced she would be replaced, Noem also faced criticism from Republicans at a pair of confirmation hearings on DHS’ controversial advertising spending. Mullin has outlined that his leadership style would differ from Noem’s, saying his focus is on “empowering people.”

Sunday’s vote came as the Senate gathered for a rare weekend session to continue debate on an elections bill that the president has pressured Congress to approve. Meanwhile, DHS remains shut down amid an impasse over how to reform the department’s immigration enforcement operation. A bipartisan group of senators has met twice with border czar Tom Homan in recent days as the two sides seek a resolution.

The shutdown has created chaos at airports amid staffing issues as TSA agents go without pay, and the president said he would send ICE agents to airports to assist TSA amid the stalemate.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/markwayne-mullin-clears-senate-committee-vote-to-replace-noem-despite-rand-pauls-dissent/

Mike Waltz says “I would never take anything off the table for the president” on bombing Iran nuclear plants

March 22, 2026 / 2:55 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that “all options should be on the table and the president’s made that very clear” after President Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.

“I would never take anything off the table for the president,” Waltz said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”.

Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social late Saturday that if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the U.S. will “hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” The post came as the key waterway responsible for transporting around 20% of the world’s oil has been effectively closed to most ship traffic by Iran’s military forces since the war began three weeks ago.

Asked whether the president is planning to bomb a nuclear power plant, Waltz argued that “the important point here is to understand the IRGC, a declared terrorist organization, not only by us but a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran’s critical infrastructure, their economy, and certainly many of their governing institutions.”

“And so to the extent we’re degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president’s made that very clear,” he said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told Politico last week that an attack on energy infrastructure from either side could constitute a war crime. Waltz responded on Sunday, saying “when you have a regime that has its grips in so much critical infrastructure that’s using it to further, not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors and in contravention of U.N. sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets.”

Pressed by Margaret Brennan on water desalinization’s link to the energy infrastructure and its implications, Waltz said “I have no doubt that the president, the Pentagon, their team, will ensure that what they target is geared towards the military infrastructure of Iran.”

The president’s threat to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants came a day after Mr. Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would have to be “guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it.” Waltz said the two statements are “not necessarily mutually exclusive.”

Waltz said that Italy, Germany, France, Japan and other countries have committed to help with the effort to ensure safe passage through the waterway.

“So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime as it’s threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its genocidal intent,” Waltz said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/mike-waltz-says-i-would-never-take-anything-off-the-table-on-bombing-iran-nuclear-plants/

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