Trump hasn’t made up his mind on sending Americans into Iran to seize nuclear material, sources say

March 18, 2026 / 1:40 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump hasn’t made up his mind yet on whether he wants to send American forces into Iran and seize the country’s nuclear material, which would be a very dangerous operation, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

In private conversations, he has told people close to him: “I have a lot of decisions to make.”

The Pentagon has prepared multiple options for the president as potential next steps in the Iran war.

After the U.S. military strikes on three nuclear sites last summer, the International Atomic Energy Agency, a nuclear watchdog, said it could not account for an estimated 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium Iran had before the strikes.

Mr. Trump believes Iran’s military assets are dramatically degraded — with their navy and air force essentially gone — but he is concerned about Iran’s capability to plant mines, two of the sources told CBS News. He thinks Iranians can gum up oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz because the mine-laying operations take only three or so people.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said it was unclear if Iran had begun laying mines or not. He told reporters, “We don’t even know if there are any mines there, but if there are, you know, we’d like to have a little help in finding them.”

Another problem: The White House doesn’t know who is currently in primary Iranian leadership roles. Mr. Trump has said it’s essentially a “rogue” situation, the sources said.

Asked if the White House can declare the war effort a success if the U.S. doesn’t retrieve Iran’s nuclear material, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday: “Look, that’s something the president has refused to comment on. It’s an option on the table for him, but I’m not going to comment on it or take it off the table.”

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Wednesday he doubts the nuclear program can be destroyed militarily – because it’s a vast program built over the decades and scattered across a number of facilities. “Iran is a very big country with sophisticated industrial base,” Grossi told reporters.

Grossi also emphasized that after combat ends it would be in all parties’ interest to resume diplomatic negotiations to address concerns about the nuclear program.

Satellite imagery appears to show Iran has covered the tunnel entrances to one of the nuclear sites with large amounts of dirt, according to David Albright, a nuclear expert and head of the Institute for Science and International Security. That means any military operation to get to the highly enriched uranium could require more time on the ground.

The weight of the thick cylinders holding the highly enriched uranium could vary depending on how much each one holds, Albright said during a presentation he gave last week on the institute’s work. If it holds 25 kilograms, the cylinder could weigh about 100 pounds with the solid casing to prevent any leaks.

In the meantime, Iran continues to threaten attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. A British Maritime Security agency has received reports of 15 attacks since the start of the mission, primarily from “unknown projectiles.” Tankers passing through the strait have to weigh the risk of missiles, drones, and potentially explosive naval sea mines.

The U.S. Navy began to decommission some of its ships specifically designed to counter mines a few years ago in favor of repackaging its littoral combat ships with mine countermeasure systems.

Recently, four of the decommissioned ships were transported out of the Middle East. In response to a question about whether the service is considering recommissioning those ships, a Navy official told CBS News that there are no plans to bring them back.

“The Navy’s current surface platform for executing counter-mine warfare operations is the Littoral Combat Ship equipped with the mine countermeasures mission package,” the official said. The package has “manned and unmanned systems designed to locate, identify, and neutralize sea mines, at a safer distance from minefields” than the older minesweeping ships.

Other countries, including in Europe, have designated minesweepers, which Mr. Trump pointed out this week when he criticized them for not joining a coalition to open the strait.

“You would have thought they would have said, we’d love to send a couple of minesweepers,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday. “It’s not a big deal. Doesn’t cost very much money, but they didn’t do that.”

Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.

US airport security absences decline slightly as shutdown continues

March 18, 2026 7:42 PM UTC / Reuters

TSA agents work at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Arlington, Virginia., U.S., March 15, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz/File Photo

• Summary
• Companies

• TSA absences at major airports remain high, impacting operations
• Airlines urge quick resolution as spring travel season begins
• Potential shutdown of smaller airports due to staff shortages
• TSA officer absences peaked at 10.2% on Tuesday
• Airlines face potential ​disruptions similar to last fall’s 43-day shutdown

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – Absences by Transportation Security Administration security officers at airports fell slightly on Tuesday to 9.9% as a partial government shutdown hit its 33rd day and long lines were reported at a number of major airports, the ​government said on Wednesday.

The funding standoff has forced 50,000 Transportation Security Administration airport security officers to ​work without pay for the last month, and since Sunday around 10% of them ⁠are failing to show for work daily.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

On Tuesday, around 30% of TSA officers did not show up ​at New York JFK, Pittsburgh and Houston Bush and 40% at Houston Hobby, the Homeland Security Department said.

​The partial government shutdown has disrupted travel at times and prompted CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines to call for a quick end as spring break travel is in full swing.

Typically, under 2% of TSA workers call in sick or ​do not report to work, DHS said, and hit a high of 10.2% on Tuesday.

Some airports ​have closed a number of security checkpoints and others are working to raise money to help TSA workers buy food ‌or other ⁠essentials as they go without pay.

On Tuesday, a top TSA official warned the agency may be forced to shut down some smaller airports in the coming weeks owing to a shortage of security personnel.

“As the weeks continue, if this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports – ​particularly smaller ones if callout ​rates go up,” Acting ⁠Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News’s “Fox and Friends.”

DHS said 366 TSA officers have left during the shutdown. On Sunday and Monday, absences spiked over ​50% in Houston and more than 30% in New Orleans and Atlanta, with ​travelers sometimes ⁠enduring lines for two hours or longer.

Last fall, a 43-day government shutdown led to widespread flight disruptions and the FAA ordered a 10% flight cut at major airports. “Once again air travel is the political football amid another government ⁠shutdown,” the ​CEOs wrote.

DHS funding lapsed on February 13 after Congress failed to ​reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats.

Airlines are expecting a record-breaking spring travel period, with 171 million passengers expected ​to fly, up 4% from the same two-month period last year.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese

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House Democrats try to force vote to fund DHS, but not ICE and CBP

March 18, 2026 / 1:19 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — House Democrats are attempting to force a vote on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but not federal immigration enforcement, as the partial government shutdown stretches into its second month.

Democrats introduced a discharge petition Wednesday to try to circumvent Republican leaders and bring legislation to the floor to fund the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard and Secret Service through September.

The underlying bill, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, excludes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Office of the Secretary.

Federal workers at the agencies have missed paychecks and TSA has seen unscheduled absences more than double among airport security officers since the shutdown began.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, unveiled the strategy in a letter to his caucus on Monday, saying the party would continue to demand reforms to immigration enforcement.

It’s unclear if Democrats will be able to convince at least four Republicans to join their effort, though Jeffries was bullish. The discharge petition needs 218 signatures to force a floor vote.

“We’ve repeatedly won discharge petitions, and if it comes to it, we’re going to win this one as well,” Jeffries told reporters Monday, referencing forced votes on legislation to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers and save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits.

“Democrats are taking matters into our own hands,” DeLauro said at a news conference Wednesday, calling on Republicans to cross the aisle to support the discharge petition. “Please join us in this effort.”

House Republicans on Tuesday doubted Jeffries’ gambit would be successful, noting that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act pumped billions in additional funding into immigration-related agencies, which is expected to last through the remainder of President Trump’s term.

“I don’t think he’s going to get the Republicans to sign on to that,” GOP Rep. Keith Self of Texas said. “ICE is funded. That’s the ludicrousy of this.”

The House has twice passed legislation to fund DHS through September, but the Senate has repeatedly failed to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the funding. Efforts by Senate Democrats to pass measures to fund DHS operations unrelated to immigration enforcement have been blocked by Republicans.

House Republicans say passing DHS funding is necessary, citing heightened security concerns stemming from the escalating war in Iran, as well as severe weather across the U.S., but they have opposed splitting immigration funding from the broader legislation.

Since federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January, Democrats have remained firm in their demands for reforms, which include requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras and identification, banning them from wearing masks and mandating judicial warrants for arrests on private property.

The White House and Senate Democrats have been going back and forth with counterproposals since early February, with Democrats sending their latest offer to the White House Monday.

In a letter Tuesday to Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Katie Britt of Alabama, who have been involved in the negotiations, the White House said it had made several proposals to Democrats in its previous counteroffer. The offer included expanded use of body cameras, limiting civil immigration enforcement activities at schools and hospitals and requiring officers to wear visible identification.

“The Democrats have once again responded with a counter offer that does not indicate the seriousness that this moment needs,” a White House official said in a call with reporters Tuesday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Tuesday that the White House hasn’t budged on masks and warrants.

“They’ve got to get serious,” he said.

Kaia Hubbard contributed to this report.

Trump waives Jones Act shipping restrictions in latest bid to ease gas prices

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2026, 1:23 PM ET / CNN

By Adam Cancryn

1 hr 49 min ago

Oil tankers sit anchored off the coast of Seal Beach in California, on March 17.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The White House is temporarily lifting key limits on the shipping of oil, gas and other commodities throughout the United States, in its latest effort to counter rising energy prices sparked by its war with Iran.

The move to waive the Jones Act will allow foreign-flagged ships to transport the commodities between US ports for the next 60 days, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a post on X. That could ease the flow of energy products throughout the country amid the US’ ongoing efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days,” Leavitt wrote on X.

The waiver of the act – which requires goods transported between US ports be carried by US-flagged ships – was among several options under consideration by Trump administration officials over the last week as they scrambled for ways to alleviate a supply crunch that has pushed global oil prices sharply higher and raised the cost of gasoline in the US.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the first days of the war, sealing off a critical waterway that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

Trump officials have offered no firm timeline for breaking the impasse, with the strait still considered too treacherous for ships to traverse even after days of attacks aimed at degrading Iran’s offensive capabilities.

A coalition of 32 nations, including the US, agreed last week to release a record amount of oil from their respective strategic reserves, in an effort to bolster global supplies. The US has also temporarily lifted certain sanctions on Russian oil that were imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, allowing countries to purchase oil that is already at sea without facing penalties.

The Jones Act waiver, which marks the administration’s latest effort to ease the situation, will allow a wider array of tankers to move oil around the country.

Yet while energy analysts have projected that the move could help ease the prices somewhat in the short term, it will have only limited effect compared with the size of the shock to the market triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It represents a very small part of the energy distribution network, but any steps to help reduce prices right now are welcome,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

The waiver also prompted criticism from US shippers, with the American Maritime Partnership warning that it “will not reduce gas prices.”

“We are deeply concerned about this 60-day, broad waiver being abused and unnecessarily displacing American workers and American companies,” the partnership, which represents the US maritime industry, said in a statement.

The move didn’t shift sentiment in the oil market. US crude rose 1.5% to around $97 a barrel, and Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 5% to nearly $109 a barrel.

US gas prices in the meantime have also spiked, increasing 86 cents per gallon on average since the war began, according to data from AAA. The surge has wiped out all the progress that the administration made to lower gas prices in its first year, further denting President Donald Trump’s efforts to alleviate voters’ anxiety over the cost of living.

“Gas prices are up, and we know they’re up, and we know that people are hurting because of it,” Vice President JD Vance said in Michigan on Wednesday, before downplaying it as a “temporary blip.”

“It’s not going to last forever,” he said. “We’re going to take care of business.”

FBI and IRS to investigate nonprofit groups for domestic terrorism links, sources say

March 18, 2026 / 3:21 PM EDT / CBS News

FBI and IRS agents are forming a new initiative to investigate nonprofit organizations over suspected possible links to domestic terrorism, sources briefed on the matter told CBS News.

In December, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to prioritize efforts to investigate and prosecute groups and individuals who belong to the anti-fascist antifa movement or are deemed “extremist.”

“These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas, including opposition to law and immigration enforcement; extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity,” Bondi wrote in the Dec. 4 memo.

The memo asked law enforcement agents to consider potential “tax crimes” in which extremist groups are “suspected of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service.”

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment.

“The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to speak in the public square, participate freely in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice the full range of criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct matching Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism,” a Justice Department spokesperson said.

A government official confirmed the plans for the FBI-IRS partnership, adding that the focus will be on exploring potential funding streams at nonprofits that support domestic terrorism or political violence.

The new “mission control command center” that is probing nonprofits will be based at the FBI, with agents from IRS Criminal Investigations working on one-year temporary assignments, one of the sources added.

It is not yet clear what groups could be targeted for investigation, though Bondi’s memo instructed all federal law enforcement agencies to scour their files for intelligence on antifa groups and forward it to the FBI.

The FBI was also ordered to develop a list of groups that are engaged in acts that “may constitute domestic terrorism,” as defined by federal law.

Such individuals or groups are, according to the law, involved in “acts dangerous to human life” that occur within the U.S. and may be intended to intimidate or coerce people, influence government policy through intimidation or affect the conduct of the government “by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.”

Although the term is defined in the law, there is no criminal charge on the books for domestic terrorism. Prosecutors typically charge defendants with other crimes and seek terrorism enhancements at sentencing.

Tom Brzozowski, the former domestic terrorism counsel at the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said the investigative approach laid out by Bondi in her December memo is concerning and raises questions about what predication the FBI has in order to legally justify creating a list of groups that should be targeted for criminal investigation.

Federal investigators “can look at open source information all they want. They don’t need any kind of particular predication to do that,” he told CBS News. “If you’re going to pull down information and retain it in a government data set, you have to have predication to do that – especially if you’re looking at it through an investigative lens.”

Bondi issued her memo after President Trump in late September issued an executive order on domestic terrorism that was sparked by a series of high-profile events, including the 2025 assassination of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk.

In addition to the FBI-IRS joint initiative, the deputy attorney general’s office has also been involved in creating a task force focused on looking into funding into antifa-linked groups, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

U.S. attorney offices, meanwhile, have also been asked to assign a domestic terrorism coordinator, one of the sources added.

To date, there have been relatively few public criminal cases involving antifa.

The most prominent took place in northern Texas, where nine people accused of being part of a so-called antifa cell were convicted earlier this month for their roles in using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer and correctional officers at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center.

Antifa, short for “anti-facist,” did not come up on Wednesday when FBI Director Kash Patel testified alongside other senior government intelligence officials before the Senate Intelligence Committee during its annual hearing on worldwide threats, nor was it referenced in the 2026 unclassified annual threat assessment of the intelligence community.

Patel is slated to appear again for the second of two worldwide threats hearings on Thursday, this time before the House Intelligence Committee.

During a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee in December, a senior FBI official testified that antifa represented one of the biggest threats, but struggled to answer questions about the organization, its structure, or why the FBI labeled it as such.

US aircraft carrier moves away from Iran war for repairs after fire

2026-03-18T19:36:46.374Z / CNN

By [Haley Britzky]

23 min ago

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2026, 3:36 PM ET

The Middle East

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The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford departs Souda Bay on the island of Crete on February 26, 2026.

Costas Metaxakis/AFP/Getty Images/File

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is moving away from operations tied to the Iran war and sailing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area last week, a US official said.

The movement of the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier comes as military operations against Iran are still in full swing, particularly as the US is seeking ways to reduce Iran’s threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The carrier has served as a ready platform for American fighter jets to participate in the campaign.

The fire on March 12 was not combat-related, the US military said at the time. Two sailors received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and were in stable condition.

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The US official said the Ford, which was sailing in the Red Sea, would be at Souda Bay in Crete “for a brief period to conduct repairs,” which would determine what can be fixed immediately and what may need to be fixed when the ship goes back to its home port after its deployment. The other ships within the Ford Carrier Strike Group are remaining where they are in the region and not joining the Ford at Souda Bay.

USNI News first reported that the Ford was heading to Souda Bay for repairs.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Friday that the Pentagon was aware of the fire on board the Ford.

“We’re thinking about the crew there who were injured in the fire,” Caine said during a Pentagon press briefing. “We believe and hope that everyone will be OK and we’re grateful for that.”

The Ford — the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier — has been deployed for months, first [to the Caribbean] as part of the US military’s buildup in the region amid heightened tensions with Venezuela. In February, President Donald Trump said he was sending the carrier strike group to the Middle East in a move to apply more pressure on Iran.

The strike group entered the Mediterranean Sea in late February. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has also been deployed in the region.

The Ford could break a record for the longest carrier deployment post-Vietnam if it remains deployed through mid-April, according to USNI News. It left for deployment to the Caribbean on June 24, 2025, according to US Southern Command.

The fire last week followed reports of consistent plumbing issues aboard the carrier, though the Navy said those issues had no impact on the carrier’s operations.

The New York Times [reported this week] that it took more than 30 hours to put out the fire, and that 600 crew members lost their beds. The US official said, however, that the entire effort in responding to the fire took 30 hours — putting out the fire, cleaning up water damage or other substances used to put out the fire, and ensuring there were no flare-ups — not that the fire itself burned for 30 hours.

The official also said that slightly more than 100 beds were damaged in the fire, as some sleeping areas are adjacent to the laundry area. But they acknowledged roughly 600 sailors total were displaced from their sleeping areas or bunks. Displacement could happen because their bed specifically was impacted — beds are sometimes shared by service members who are on opposite shifts — or because the entire space is deemed uninhabitable because of smoke or water damage to some of the beds.

The Ford strike group consists of the carrier and its carrier air wing, as well as Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers the USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge, and the USS Winston S. Churchill.

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Justice Department blocked release of secret Epstein drug probe file, Sen. Ron Wyden says

Updated on: March 18, 2026 / 2:39 PM EDT / CBS News

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon accused a top Justice Department official of blocking the release of a document related to a secret investigation of drug trafficking and prostitution by Jeffrey Epstein.

Wyden said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche blocked the release of an unredacted 2015 memorandum prepared by the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, an entity charged with coordinating complex drug and money laundering investigations across government agencies.

Blanche said in a social media post, ” A sitting U.S. Senator has completely fabricated a story for clicks. No one is blocking anything.” He added that the memo is available to members of Congress “unredacted in our reading room,” but Wyden never visited.

CBS News reported in February that the heavily redacted memo included in the more than 3 million Epstein files released in January shows the convicted sex offender was the subject of a Drug Enforcement Agency probe that stretched at least five years.

Wyden wrote in his letter to Blanche Wednesday that investigators for the Senate Finance Committee were told the DEA was prepared to comply with his request for an unredacted copy of the memo — until Blanche intervened some time during the last three weeks.

“It has come to my attention that you are preventing the Drug Enforcement Administration from producing an unredacted copy of a report I requested regarding drug trafficking and money laundering by Jeffrey Epstein and several associates,” Wyden wrote. “Your alleged interference in this matter is highly disturbing.”

Wyden added he believes the government had “ample evidence” that Epstein was involved in drug trafficking and “likely pumping his victims, including underage girls, with incapacitating drugs to facilitate abuse.”

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The redacted document shows the DEA’s investigation targeted Epstein and 14 others for suspicious money transfers possibly linked to illegal narcotics. Sources tell CBS News that internal case coding indicates the DEA agents were targeting “club-drugs,” which included ketamine, ecstasy and GHB. The document indicates the case was related to the drug MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy.

“DEA reporting indicates the above individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City,” the 2015 document says. The 69-page memo is marked “law enforcement sensitive” and conceals the names of the 14 other targets.

The document appears to stem from a request by the DEA to an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Center in Virginia for a complete workup on case targets, a law enforcement source told CBS News. The fusion center then ran the names against all the major federal law enforcement databases and produced the information for the task force.

A law enforcement source told CBS News that for the DEA to open the case, there would have to be a drug nexus, and the fusion center’s involvement indicated the investigation was “significant.”

Earlier this month, CBS News submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the DEA for additional information relating to the agency’s case. That request was denied by the agency citing that the memo’s release “[c]ould reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,” among other reasons.

Law enforcement sources said the memo might be withheld because it could contain enforcement actions connected to the case or confidential informant names could be listed.

Epstein was arrested and jailed in July 2019, after a separate investigation by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Sources involved in that case told CBS News the prosecutors were not aware of the earlier DEA investigation.

His death in jail weeks later was ruled a suicide.

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[Morgan Rimmer]

53 min ago

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2026, 3:06 PM ET

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Homeland Security secretary, departs after his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.

Republican Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul cast doubt on whether the Oklahoma Republican had the temperament to lead the department of more than 260,000 employees, reprising a long-simmering feud in which Mullin called him a “snake.”

Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the panel, pressed the senator on allegations of stolen valor and then put him on his heels, pressing for an apology over a previous comment that Alex Pretti was a “deranged individual.”

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[Related article Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Democrats like Markwayne Mullin but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for him for DHS secretary 8 min read]

It all amounted to a particularly heightened confirmation hearing for Mullin at a critical moment for Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, which is shut down as lawmakers withhold funding to debate reforms that could shape its future. The administration – and lawmakers alike – hope the next head of the department, which oversees critical agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, will re-right a workforce under public scrutiny and political turmoil.

Throughout, Mullin sought to underscore the differences between how he would lead the department and the tenure of outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, vowing to admit his mistakes and keep a lower profile. But whether he did enough to convince lawmakers to back him remains to be seen; the committee is expected to vote on whether to advance Mullin’s nomination Thursday.

Notably, Paul told reporters after the hearing that he will oppose Mullin.

“The fact that he can’t bring himself to say that, you know, really, we shouldn’t settle political questions with violence, I think that would be a terrible example for ICE and for our border patrol agents,” Paul said.

“We’re in the midst, I think, of a crisis where there needs to be more direction from the top, and a guy who brawls, a guy who can’t even say he’s sorry about, you know, wishing violence on me and really applauding the attack that happened on me, can’t come to say that? I don’t know how he could, from my point of view, be a leader of ICE or border patrol.”

An accusation of ‘anger issues’

GOP chairman questions Mullin’s temperament for DHS chief and rails on past “snake” comment

2:12 • Source: CNN

GOP chairman questions Mullin’s temperament for DHS chief and rails on past “snake” comment

2:12

Notably, Paul’s opposition to Mullin’s nomination could jeopardize his confirmation, unless Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has said he will vote to confirm Mullin on the Senate floor, joins all other Republicans on the panel to advance his nomination out of the committee.

At the crux of Paul’s blistering opening remarks is Mullin’s frustrations that his colleague is often a thorn in Trump’s side and has repeatedly voted against GOP priorities, causing delays and roadblocks on the Senate floor.

Mullin recently told a group of voters in Oklahoma he “understood” why Paul’s neighbor had attacked him back in 2017 and called him a “snake.”

Paul on Wednesday railed on Mullin’s comments, arguing that his refusal to apologize or confront him directly put Mullin’s character and ability to lead DHS in doubt.

“I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if 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,” Paul of Kentucky told Mullin.

Mullin, he said, would have the opportunity to “look [him] in the eye” and repeat those words during the hearing. Then, accusing the senator of having “ anger issues,” he pointed to an episode during a 2023 hearing in which Mullin appeared prepared to physically fight a witness.

Repeatedly, Paul pressed Mullin to apologize for his comments, but Mullin refused.

Instead, Mullin argued the pair should “set it aside,” and move forward with considering his nomination. He repeatedly expressed he was humbled – once a small town kid with a speech impediment – he was being considered for such a high federal office.

“Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said, arguing Paul spends more time trying to “fight Republicans more than you work with us.”

“I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge,” he added.

Saying “roll the tape,” Paul hit back with a clip of the 2023 hearing paired with Mullin’s comments afterward that he didn’t regret his behavior.

Mullin told the committee in response that the witness – President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Sean O’Brien – has become a “close friend,” and was attending the hearing as his guest.

After the back-and-forth, Fetterman encouraged both men to move on, and pointed to Mullin and O’Brien as an example.

“I know there’s a lot of hard personal feelings here, and absolutely I would, I — It’s terrible, what’s happened and political violence, I mean, it’s, it’s rampant so now. But also, also President O’Brien’s here, not for round two. He’s here because he fully supports your … so it’s about, it’s about letting it go and moving on.”

Fetterman maintained he’ll have an “open mind,” and praised Mullin’s “consistent kindness and professionalism.”

Allegations of stolen valor

Paul threatens to cancel committee vote on Mullin’s nomination over stolen valor allegations

2:19 • Source: CNN

Paul threatens to cancel committee vote on Mullin’s nomination over stolen valor allegations

2:19

Mullin, who has no history of US military service, was also questioned about accusations that previous, vague statements he has made about serving overseas and smelling war amounted to stolen valor.

The Republican senator chalked the allegations up to a “misunderstanding,” saying he was asked to train with a “very small contingency and go to a certain area” around 2016. As part of that trip, he said he participated in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training, which he simultaneously described as “kind of fun” and “absolutely awful.”

Aspects of that training and trip were classified, he said.

“So where did you smell war, sir?” Peters, a Michigan Democrat, asked.

Mullin responded that his answer would be classified.

The line of questioning was brought up at different times during Mullin’s appearance, with Peters later telling him: “You’ve not been forthcoming with me or this committee. The story always seems to evolve, to kind of change. And as you know, candor, honesty, transparency are absolutely critical, particularly at this time, to try to build trust as the Secretary of Homeland Security.”

After Paul threatened to cancel the committee’s Wednesday vote unless Mullin provided them with clarity on the classified work he claimed to have done, Mullin agreed to meet with lawmakers in a secure setting after the hearing.

A change from Noem

Mullin says calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” was a mistake

1:22 • Source: CNN

Mullin says calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” was a mistake

1:22

Mullin emphasized the differences between how he plans to lead the department and how Noem has done the job.

He told senators that he’s “not perfect,” and will “own” his mistakes and learn from them, in contrast with Noem’s reluctance to acknowledge her missteps. “My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” he said.

He told Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, “Everybody has different leadership styles. My management style is empowering people,” and he pledged to New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim that he will be responsive to members of Congress, after frequent complaints from members that, under Noem, the department had not answered lawmakers’ questions in a timely manner.

“I think all of us that’s been either in the House or in the Senate, always complain about the outreach of agencies. I will make a commitment to you that I’m going to have the best,” he said.

“We’re going to work with you. But most importantly, I think everybody on this dais has my personal cell phone. That cell phone isn’t going to change. And if you, if you call me, you’re going to get a response. If you text me, we’re going to get a response,” he added.

Democrats challenged Mullin on his past comments about Pretti’s fatal encounter with federal immigration officers in Minnesota earlier this year, and the senator apologized for calling Pretti a “deranged individual” in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he acknowledged.

“The investigation is ongoing, and there is, like I said, there’s sometimes going to make mistake and I own it,” he told the panel. “That one, I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault.”

He also said that there should be some changes as to how ICE is deployed around the country, telling senators, “I would love to see ICE become more a transport than on the front line,” and pledged to require ICE officers to obtain judicial warrants before entering private property, with limited exceptions.

Democrats have demanded that the use of judicial warrants, rather than the less-restrictive administrative warrants ICE has been using, be codified in legislation amid negotiations over funding DHS.

Overall, his comments about immigration officers working more closely with local law enforcement agencies suggest a return to traditional operations conducted by ICE, instead of broad immigration sweeps as seen under Noem.

A focus on Mullin’s relationships

Sen. Markwayne Mullin wipes tears as he speaks about his son during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

Mullin’s Republican colleagues offered opportunities for the senator to discuss his close relationships with former House members, including Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who sat behind Mullin at the hearing, and his friendship with Trump.

Describing the president as a “friend,” Mullin said he speaks with Trump “from a friend level, more than I do a policy level.”

He grew emotional as he spoke about the president checking in on Mullin’s son after his traumatic brain injury in 2020, when his son lost much of his memory and muscle control.

“I am going to try to get through it without crying,” Mullin said, responding to a question from Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson about where his loyalty to Trump originated.

“We almost lost him. For 26 hours he had an extremely low pulse, there was a time that they thought they lose his pulse altogether,” Mullin recalled.

Trump, he said, changed the trajectory of his son’s life, offering to send his “personal plane” to take him to a top neurorehabilitation center and frequently followed up with them.

“We’ve been friends ever since,” he said.

CNN’s Michael Williams, Priscilla Alvarez, Lauren Fox and Morgan Leason contributed to this report.

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Progressive influencer erupts after Illinois primary loss, drops profane anti-Trump, -ICE rant

Kat Abughazaleh received about 26% of the vote in Illinois Democratic primary, losing to Evanston mayor Daniel Biss

By Alexandra Koch, Patrick McGovern, Fox News

Published March 18, 2026 1:47pm EDT

After losing the Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic primary Tuesday night, Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh ended her concession speech with “F— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine.” (Credit: WFLD)

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Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh closed out her failed Illinois congressional bid Tuesday night with an expletive-laced tirade against President Donald Trump and federal immigration authorities, telling supporters, “f— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine.”

The comments came at the end of her concession speech after losing the Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic primary on Tuesday.

“I don’t know if you heard, but we didn’t win, and it really f—— sucks. We came really close,” Abughazaleh told the crowd, adding that her campaign was “something that no one in power even expected would be possible at all.”

Abughazaleh lost the primary to Daniel Biss, the current mayor of Evanston.

Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh holds a megaphone outside the Broadview ICE Facility, Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview, Ill.(Jim Vondruska/Reuters)

ILLINOIS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SEEKING US SENATE SEAT RELEASES VIDEO OF PEOPLE SAYING ‘F— TRUMP’

Abughazaleh received about 26% of the vote, compared to Biss’s nearly 30% support, according to a report from The Associated Press.

“There are progressives all over the country who are taking a chance just like we did, and we have to help them win,” Abughazaleh said. “No matter how hard it is, we have sent a message to this administration and anyone who enables it. … You and your jobs are not safe. This is the start and not the end.”

Abughazaleh, a Palestinian American, went on to claim the administration was “kidnap[ping] and kill[ing]” citizens, and “start[ing] illegal wars.”

Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh protests outside the Broadview ICE Facility in September.(Reuters/Jim Vondruska)

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

“When I said, when I said I would spend every single waking moment of the rest of my life to hold this administration accountable, win or lose, I f—— meant it,” Abughazaleh said. “I’m sorry that this sucks. But, f— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine, I love you all.”

Biss will face Republican pastor John Elleson in November’s general election to replace Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat who is retiring after nearly 30 years in office.

Abughazaleh is still facing federal charges after she was accused of interfering with ICE operations outside the Broadview, Illinois ICE processing center last fall.

Kat Abughazaleh closed out her failed Illinois congressional bid Tuesday night with an expletive-laced tirade against the Trump administration.(Jon Stegenga via Storyful and WBBM)

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Federal prosecutors allege Abughazaleh and a group of others scratched the word “PIG” on an ICE agent’s vehicle.

She pleaded not guilty and criticized the charges as an “attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up.”

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The influencer also went viral after video showed an agent throwing her to the ground during the incident, footage she later used in her campaign ads for Congress.

Abughazaleh’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391134397112

What to know about Joe Kent, Trump counterterrorism chief who resigned over Iran war

March 18, 2026 / 3:48 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Joe Kent, who resigned Tuesday as National Counterterrorism Center director, has been a stalwart Trump supporter, backing him since his 2016 campaign, through his 2020 election defeat, the Jan. 6 riots, as well as during his own conservative media advocacy and two failed congressional bids.

But that ended with Mr. Trump’s war in Iran and his alliance with Israel against the Islamic clerics who led the Tehran government. In a resignation letter he posted on X,Kent saidTuesday that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation,” and he asserted that “we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Kent, 45, is a special forces combat veteran with ties to right-wing extremists and was viewed as a Trump loyalist. His reasons for resigning contradicted the president’s assertion that Iran was poised to attack the U.S.

On Feb. 28, in a video announcing the first airstrikes, Mr. Trump said his objective was “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” Mr. Trump said of Iran.

Kent, in his resignation letter to Mr. Trump suggested the president had been misled and that “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign … to encourage a war with Iran.” GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in a post on Xattacked the “virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter” and said it was clear Kent was incapable of upholding a pledge he’d made to senators “to lead with integrity and accountability.”

An administration official told CBS News that Kent was not involved on briefings on Iran.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work, said it was up to Mr. Trump to decide whether Iran posed a threat to the U.S.

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” she wrote in a social media post Tuesday.

Association with far-right figures, conspiracy theories

In his Senate confirmation hearings, Kent acknowledged that during one of his two failed congressional campaigns, a political consultant set up a call joined by right-wing white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Fuentes has said that Jews are holding the U.S. “hostage” and once proclaimed that “Hitler was awesome; Hitler was right.”

When he ran for a House seat in 2022, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.

Kent has also endorsed a number of conspiracy theories and made a number of controversial claims. He’sclaimedthe COVID vaccine wasn’t a vaccine, but rather, “an experimental gene therapy” and has also said Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, should facemurdercharges. Kent also said he believes the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump and has referred to the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters as “political prisoners.”

He echoed a conspiracy theory that federal agents had somehow instigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol. He said Biden should be impeached and called for an investigation into the 2020 election. Kent called for the defunding of the FBI after its search at the president’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.

Kent later disavowed some of his right-wing ties and said he rejected all “racism and bigotry.” During his Senate hearings, he declined to distance himself from his 2020 election denialism.

He was confirmed in July on a 52-44 Senate vote that fell closely along party lines. Every Democrat opposed his nomination, citing his right-wing ties. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was the only Republican to oppose Kent’s confirmation.

As the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent led an intelligence agency that was created after the 9/11 attacks to analyze and detect terrorist threats. Among other tasks, the agency maintains the U.S. government’s list of known and suspected terrorists.

Kent’s military background

Before his confirmation, Kent worked as Gabbard’s chief of staff. He’s a retired Green Beret who deployed to 11 combat missions, mostly in Iraq, during a 20-year career in the Army.

After his retirement in 2018, he became a paramilitary officer with the CIA and served as a counterterrorism adviser to Trump’s 2020 presidential reelection campaign. He was a regular on conservative cable shows and podcasts before and during his 2022 and 2024 congressional bids.

Kent’s first wife, Shannon Kent, was a Navy cryptologist killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. She was fluent in seven languages and paved the way for the increased inclusion of women in Special Operations Forces. She served multiple tours in Iraq and participated in a number of special operations that resulted in the capture of hundreds of enemy insurgents, according to the Navy.

After his wife’s death, Kent spoke out against U.S. intervention around the world. “That is why I have a skepticism of our federal government,” he said, adding that Shannon had died because “Republicans and Democrats consistently lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad.”

During the U.S.’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Kent lambasted the defense industry and “permanent ruling class” in Washington. He suggested some proponents of foreign nation building were naïve and others were driven by profit motives.

“It speaks to our hubris,” Kent told reporters while campaigning for Congress. “For us not to have learned from all this just shows that there are people making money and making their careers at the other end of it. They’ve been doing it on the backs and dead bodies of U.S. soldiers.”

Mr. Trump praised Kent when he nominated him in February 2025, saying in a social media post that Kent “will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard.”

In Senate confirmation hearings, Kent focused on cartels, rather than Middle East

But at his Senate confirmation hearings, Kent focused heavily on Latin American drug cartels, rather than the Middle East.

“President Trump is committed to identifying these cartels and these violent gang members and making sure that we locate them and that we get them out of our country,” Kent told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

His nominationfaced some scrutinywhen emails emerged showing that while he was Gabbard’s chief of staff, he had pressed senior intelligence analysts to amend an assessment of links between the Venezuelan government and the criminal gang,Tren de Aragua. In the emails, Kent pressed the analysts to align the assessment more closely with Trump administration policies and to include references that criticized Biden-era immigration programs. Kent’s revisions supported Mr. Trump’s assertions that Tren de Aragua members could be removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act.

Signal chat about strikes on Houthis

During his confirmation hearing, Democratic senators grilled Kent about his participation in a group chat on Signal used by Mr. Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.

The Signal chat, which inadvertently included the editor in chief of The Atlantic magazine, showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided information about the timing of warplane launches and airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen in March 2025. The disclosure of typically classified information came before the men and women flying those attacks were airborne.

It became an embarrassing flashpoint for the administration, though top Trump administration officials denied classified information was divulged and Hegseth, Kent and others faced no consequences from the president.