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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Trump Says He Must Be Involved In Picking Iran's New Leader; Hegseth: Firepower Over Iran About To Surge Dramatically; Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Is Interviewed About Trump Fires Noem, Taps Senator Mullin As New DHS Chief; Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Is Interviewed About GOP Sen. Daines Drops Re-Election Bid Minutes Before Filing Deadline, Endorses Candidate Who Filed Just In Time To Run. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired March 05, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right. Thanks very much to my panel. Really appreciate having you. Thanks to you at home for watching as well. Please do not go anywhere because the eminent Jake Tapper is standing by.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Oh, I'm eminent. HUNT: Hi, Jake.
TAPPER: Is that just another word for old?
HUNT: I promoted you today.
TAPPER: OK. I appreciate it. Thanks so much, Kasie. We'll look for more in --
HUNT: See you soon.
TAPPER: -- "The Arena" tomorrow.
[17:00:41]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING news.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. There is a ton going on as we come on air today. CNN is learning new details about President Trump's decision to fire Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He is seeking to replace her with Senator Mark Wayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma.
We will get to that big story, but we're going to start with some breaking news in our world lead. At any moment, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and United States Central Command Chief Admiral Brad Cooper are expected to give an update on the U.S. war on Iran. There has been no letup in strikes, Israel saying it hit Iranian missile sites. Iran also carried out fresh strikes across the region. Now several people are injured in Abu Dhabi. And already we're starting to see ripple effects of the war here in the U.S. Oil prices spiking another 6 percent today, the highest level since just before President Trump's second term began. Why? Well, Iran's threats to attack any vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which appears to have completely stopped the flow of oil tankers there. Twenty percent of the world's oil production sails through that waterway.
On top of that, the stock markets here in the U.S. are not happy. The Dow tumbled, closing lower by 785 points. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ also followed down. And just one day after the White House suggested that regime change in Iran was not the primary objective of this military campaign, President Trump today told Axios that he must be, quote, "involved" in the appointment of Iran's new leader. In just a moment, we're going to discuss that with the reporter who spoke exclusively with President Trump to break that story.
Let's bring in Axios Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid, who just spoke with President Trump to break that story.
Barak, as we expect to hear an update from the Defense secretary, today, President Trump told you that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader, just as he was in Venezuela. What is his reasoning? What more did he say?
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So, first, one very interesting thing that he said is that he basically sort of confirmed the fact that the leading candidate at the moment to be Iran's next supreme leader is the former supreme leader's son, Mojtaba Khamenei. And Trump called Khamenei's son Mojtaba a lightweight and said that it's unacceptable for him that he will be the next supreme leader of Iran. And Trump said, I want to be involved in picking next -- the next leader of Iran, like I was involved in Venezuela. And one of the reasons that he gave for this is that he said, I don't want to be -- to have there somebody that will have the same policy as the former leader had that will only get the U.S. in five years to a place where it has to go again to war against Iran because they will rebuild their nuclear facilities, they will rebuild their missile launchers.
So I think that when Donald Trump says that he wants to get involved, I don't think he thinks that he will be able to point at somebody and say, OK, you're the next leader of Iran. But I think he definitely says that he wants the system in Iran to be very, very different than the one at the moment.
TAPPER: So, Barak, as we wait to hear from the Defense secretary and the head of CENTCOM, President Trump also told you that Israeli President Isaac Herzog must pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quote, "today." Tell us what's happening here and have you ever seen anything like this, a president of the United States telling a foreign leader how legal matters in that country should be settled?
RAVID: So the short answer is no. And the longer answer is that Donald Trump started weighing in on this issue on Netanyahu's trial days after the 12-Day War ended last June. And the reason for it was that during the 12-Day War, I think Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu sort of really repaired the relationship that until that point were still had some baggage from the first term. And since then, I think Donald Trump decided that he's going to push on this issue. He wrote numerous posts on True Social.
[17:05:06]
He came to the Israeli Knesset just last October and told this to Herzog in his face, Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon? And all the Likud members in the room started clapping. And Donald Trump is pushing very hard on this. The problem is that the system in America is not like the system in Israel. In America, the president can take a decision on pardoning somebody.
That's it. In Israel, it's not the case. The president cannot do whatever he wants. And especially that right now, with this external pressure by President Trump, any decision President Herzog will make to pardon Netanyahu will 100 percent be challenged in the Supreme Court when people will say there was external political pressure that led to this -- to this pardon.
Another problem is that Benjamin Netanyahu, until now, has refused to admit any wrongdoing or express any regret. According to Israeli law, you have to do it to get a pardon.
TAPPER: I want to bring in CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, who just arrived at the site of a new missile impact in Shoham, Israel.
Nick, NPW, tell us what you're seeing on the ground there.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, behind me here, Jake, we have literally just arrived here. Forgive me, we're broadcasting off a telephone here, but behind me, the emergency services are dealing with one of what we believe are two places where either munitions or debris landed. This is the outskirts of Tel Aviv, not far from the airport here. Now, as far as we understand this early stage, there are no injuries at this point.
But let me just walk you slightly closer towards what we're seeing here. We can smell in the air the burning. And over the skies of central Tel Aviv in the last kind of half hour, hour or so, there have been a number of sirens and you can see the smoke coming out behind the building over here. Behind me, there were a number of intercepts, one particular one which appeared to show a variety of smaller droplets coming down from the sky there.
Now, we don't know what that was or where necessarily whether that is connected to these impacts behind me here, but clearly some form of impact and damage behind us here. As I say, we don't know if it is debris, quite what it is, but it fits into this wider pattern we've been seeing here of salvos sometimes, repeat salvos over Tel Aviv. A lot of the time they appear to have successful interceptions. And some of the damage, as I say, is caused by debris. Some of it is caused by munitions coming in.
But at this point, we seem to be seeing damage mostly to property. But yes, Jake, it's a sign, I think, of the persistent nature of the Iranian missile threat. We heard President Trump just moments ago talking about how there'd been significant almost two thirds of missiles and launchers taken out. Even how there was an exceptionally far response to destroying missile launches after --
TAPPER: NPW, I'm sorry to interrupt. We're going to go to Secretary Hegseth right now.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, good afternoon. I'm honored to stand right here today alongside one of America's finest, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command. We just had a chance to spend a couple of hours together, better part of two hours, going through the entirety of this operation, Operation Epic Fury. And Admiral, I want to thank you for everything you do and your incredible leadership, for your dynamic thinking, the way you're attacking this problem set on every level.
In just days of Operation Epic Fury, you and your team have delivered nothing short of devastating, precise strikes, taking out the better part of Iran's navy, making it combat ineffective, neutralizing missile sites and launchers and establishing total dominance over the skies we fly over and seas we fly over. Our forces are executing with unmatched skill and the mission is advancing decisively.
This is the kind of no nonsense results driven war fighting that America demands. And you're delivering it in spades. You are the man for this moment.
Admiral Cooper, on behalf of the President, the Department of War and every American watching, I want to thank you for your outstanding job you and CENTCOM are doing. Keep pressing the fight and we are with you all the way.
A few thoughts before I hand it over to the Admiral for an update. Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC in Iran. You see, there's no shortage of American will here. We remember and honor our fallen. Those six that we will soon welcome at Dover, who gave everything for their country in this mission.
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We remember them. But we remember them by rededicating ourselves even more fervently to this mission. Our commitment to our mission objectives only increases as our advantages continue to increase. We've got no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to.
Again, our munition status only increases as our advantage increases. Our capabilities, we have only just begun to fight and fight decisively. Having a chance to hear from Admiral Cooper.
If you think you've seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that's still flowing, that's still coming, that we'll be able to project over Iran is a multiples of what it currently is right now when you add up our capabilities and those of the Israeli Defense Forces. And we have no shortage of authorities.
The Admiral knows we have clear objectives with maximum authorities on the battlefield. The dumb, politically correct wars of the past were the opposite of what we're doing here. They had vague objectives with restrictive, minimalist rules of engagement. No more.
Our authorities, his authorities, CENTCOM's authorities, through the President and myself, are maxed out. Our capabilities are overwhelming and gathering still, as are those of our Israeli partners. Our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad. Which means our timeline is ours and ours alone to control as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves these objectives.
And as we flow more forces and as we flow more capabilities, and as our munitions, as we're flying over the top, have even more devastating effects, we set the tempo. We set the timeline. Led by the commander on the ground.
Our ear is to the ground to listen to Admiral Cooper of what he needs. And what he needs, he will get.
We are built for this fight and we are in it to win it. And we have the right commander in the lead.
So now I'll hand it over to Admiral Brad Cooper to give you an update right here from CENTCOM. Admiral. ADM. BRAD COOPER, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Mr. Secretary,
first, thank you very much and good afternoon and welcome to U.S. Central Command headquarters, America's war fighting headquarters. It's great to be here alongside the Secretary and representing the more than 50,000 men and women in uniform currently executing Operation Epic Fury.
So, Mr. Secretary, first, thank you very much for your leadership and support and the very clear vision and objectives that you've given us to allow us to use overwhelming force against the Iranian terrorist regime. And thanks to all of you for attending today and welcome to Tampa.
We are now starting our sixth day of a historic mission to eliminate Iran's ability to threaten Americans. We are, if I could channel my inner Navy officer, we are at full speed ahead in executing orders given by leadership in Washington. The President and Secretary Hegseth have been crystal clear in their expectations. And we are at a high level of execution.
As described by the Secretary and earlier this week by me, U.S. combat power is building as Iranian combat power declines. Our air dominance allows us to hit Iran's center of gravity with overwhelming power and reach. A couple of examples, in just the last 72 hours, America's bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran, including around Tehran. And in just the last hour, U.S. B-2 bombers dropped dozens of 2,000 pound penetrator bombs, targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers. Notably, we've also struck Iran's equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans.
Then, if I just look back over the last 24 hours of the operation compared to where we were at its start, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90 percent since day one. Drone attacks have decreased by 83 percent since day one. Having said this, we remained vigilant.
Our strikes against the Iranian navy have intensified. You may have heard the President say just a little while ago that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships. That was true at the moment. We're now up over 30 ships. And in just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.
And as we speak, it's on fire. The president gave us another task to raise or level Iran's ballistic missile industrial base. So we're not just hitting what they have, we're destroying their ability to rebuild. And so, as we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systemically dismantle Iran's missile production capability for the future. And that's absolutely in progress.
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This is going to take some time, but our forces are well supplied. As the Secretary said, and we are absolutely ready to prosecute this missile -- this mission decisively. Our combined joint forces have relentlessly destroyed Iran's air defenses over the past few days and they've continued hunting for more systems to kill. Our air defenders are operating at the very top of their game. I couldn't be prouder.
Shoulder to shoulder with our partners in the region, in many cases providing the most integrated air defense network in Middle East history. We are fighting to win. Through combined U.S. and Israeli combat power, we will continue decimating Iran's ability to project power outside its borders.
And if I can just conclude by saying strong salute to the brave men and women who are out on the pointy edge of this, really doing exceptional work, I just couldn't be prouder. And I know the American people sharing that same pride. So thank you very much.
HEGSETH: Absolutely. And with that, we'll take a few questions. Yes, right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, appreciate it. Admiral, I wanted to ask or Mr. Secretary, the Ukrainian President said today that the U.S. has asked for specific capabilities during (inaudible) drones, Iranian drones. Can you guys talk about what you asked for? Has there been any surprises from Iranian capabilities that you guys have seen in the past six days?
COOPER: We're very familiar with Iranian's capabilities and as you might imagine, we plan for it right from the outset. And I feel good about what the plan was. Like any good organization, we adjust as necessary to meet the environment and we've made those appropriate adjustments.
HEGSETH: Absolutely. Right here. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Secretary Hegseth. One, was an American pilot shell down today in Iraq. And two, a good report said there's so much security (inaudible). I also heard reports that there's not a lot of bombing there. Is that on purpose? Do we believe there's no much (inaudible) in there and we get a sense of Special Forces to secure it?
HEGSETH: As CENTCOM pointed out that those reports of an F-15 being shot down are false. As you can imagine, Iran is doing everything it can to peddle in lies, deception and inflation of numbers in reality, mostly to propagandize to their own people, right? They don't -- they've shut down the Internet. They're hoping they can convince their own population that they're having success.
One thing one of their leaders said recently is that, you know, 500 Americans have been killed they claim. These are lies. The lies will continue. CENTCOM will continue to debunk those lies. So -- and as often is the case in conflict, first reports are often wrong.
As it pertains to nuclear material and things like that, one of the objectives the president has always said, is that Iran will not have a nuclear bomb, nuclear capabilities. But we would never disclose what we will or will not do inside operational plans. So Admiral Cooper's got a plan, we're working that plan. And targets will be struck or not struck according to what we want to achieve.
Yes, right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Hegseth, the president said earlier today in an interview that he would like to have a say in who's the next leader of Iran. Is this an expansion of your military objectives? Do you view it that way? And additionally, you spoke earlier today about how previous leaders have drawn resources from our hemisphere to the Middle East. How do you avoid that?
HEGSETH: Well, there's no expansion. Ultimately, I think the president is having a heck of a say in who runs Iran, given the ongoing operation we have. So there's no expansion in our objectives. We know exactly what we're trying to achieve.
I think today is a great example of what this War Department is capable of doing. I was just in another part of Florida today where we announced, you know, America's counter cartel conference. Eighteen countries coming together from central South America and the Caribbean coming together to fight cartels. That is something that is ongoing.
We're focused there. We're focused in the Indo Pacific. We can mass combat power in CENTCOM. EUCOM is able to support that as well. So we know we're laser focused on our hemisphere and our homeland.
That's why we locked down the border. That's why we're working with partners to take on cartels. That's why we're sinking drug boats. That's why we're on the offense there. But the beautiful things about combatant commands is that, you know, Brad Cooper's laser focused on Central Command just like Frank Donovan is laser focused on Southern Command. We can do both. That's what a global power can do. Ultimately, this issue of Iran's nuclear pursuit and their unwillingness through negotiations to stop it was something President Trump has said for a long time, needs to be dealt with. And after 47 years, he's doing something that no other president was willing to do. And we're doing it overwhelmingly and we're doing it decisively, while also in other parts of the globe having the desired effects.
I mean, take for example, what we displayed yesterday, the Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean sunk by INDOPACOM, another combatant command who coordinated with us in order to make that happen. So America's reach is global. Our focus here, though, those missions -- these missions are narrow. They're scoped. And Admiral Cooper is well on his way to ensuring that we reach those objectives.
[17:20:06]
Right here. Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long are the troops going (inaudible)? Two, the Ukrainians are talking about providing low cost interceptors, given their experience. Is that something that the Pentagon is looking for?
And Admiral Cooper, can you walk us through a little bit about the -- how effective the Lucas drones have been, what kind of targets we've hit and how much that's helped, given that they're low cost alternatives to the more expensive?
HEGSETH: Go ahead.
COOPER: Sure. I'm not familiar with the particular offer, but the interceptors in general, we've had a number of new capabilities being fielded. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about it from an operational perspective of what those are. But I think you have seen over a period of time, us kind of get on the other side of this cost curve on drones in general. If I just walk back a couple of years, you remember what you used to always hear, we're shooting down a $50,000 drone with a $2 million missile.
These days, we're spending a lot of time shooting down $100,000 drones with $10,000 weapons from ours. So that's one aspect of it. Lucas, indispensable, as many of you know. And if you don't know, this was an original Iranian drone design. We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little made America on it, brought it back here, and we're shooting at the Iranians.
Good targets.
HEGSETH: Good targets, absolutely. Right there, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much, Secretary. President Trump, in his first speech after the launch of the Operation Epic Fury, he addressed Iranian people and he said that there is going to be a time for you to come out, but it's not now. Stay home. It's not safe. I want to know if there is a timeline for that, that you're going to urge Iranian people to come out, how that is going to play out and how are you going to protect the protesters?
You know that they're going to be shot probably, as we witnessed in January. That's what happened. How are you going to protect and support the protesters?
And Admiral, I have one question for you. How are you going to minimize the civilian harms? We have a lot of evidence that the siege units, IRGC commanders, they are now gathering in schools and hospitals in purely residential areas because their headquarters are bombarded. They are ruined, of course. So how are you going to protect the civilians while you're attacking the IRGC (inaudible)?
Thank you.
HEGSETH: I would just say on the protests, obviously a lot Iranian people -- the Iranian people showed a lot of courage in those protests. And we saw the Iranian regime was revealed for what it is in the way they reacted to that. The world saw that. No one's done more than President Trump to reopen the opportunity for those who want a free Iran to do so. Ultimately, it's common sense, as he said up front, don't go out and protest while bombs are dropping inside Tehran and elsewhere.
So there will come a moment where he determines or they determine that it's the time to seize that advantage. But there's a lot of things we're doing and the Israeli military is doing, targeting those individuals who are targeting those who protest. The more you do that and you erode their will and you erode their capabilities, the more you create an opportunity for people to boldly stand up.
COOPER: Yes, I would just reinforce the point. We're targeting the people -- we're targeting the headquarters and the people who were targeting the protesters. You know, first and foremost, I'd also just double down on the president's comments that he previously made to the people. Stay in your homes, keep things calm, you know, stay out of the way. There's a lot of U.S. and Israeli capacity coming over.
We're hitting a lot of targets. The best thing for them to do for right now is just to lay low.
HEGSETH: Right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Secretary. One common outcome of American military action in the past has been taking in thousands of refugees into the American homeland. And I'm wondering if there's any safeguards put in place to make sure that the American people aren't having to have another wave of refugees from the Middle East or anywhere else come and stay here.
HEGSETH: I think it's safe to say there's no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America. I think, as the president has pointed out for a long time, there are a lot of countries in the region who would be capable of providing that kind of support if need be. But that's certainly not something we're planning on.
Yes, back there. Yes.
MICHAEL: Sir. Michael (ph) of Washington Times. I wanted to ask -- I know, you know, Semper Gumby is always a truism in the military. Did the British decision to refuse Diego Garcia have any impact on the mission itself? Did you have to adjust, or were you able to just completely, you know, go with the mission without even worrying about that?
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HEGSETH: Well, as the president stated, it was unfortunate that our -- that the Brits didn't -- from day one say, hey, go ahead and have access. But we got there. We got there. And that's now part of the way that we're operationalizing bomber runs. And it's part of when we say more to come, it's more fighter squadrons, it's more capabilities, it's more defensive capabilities, and it's more bomber pulses more frequently.
The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically. And part of it is that we're going to have even more basing. And it's not just the U.K., we've had other friends step up, and we're grateful for that.
Maybe one more right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. The Azeri president earlier today basically authorized his minister of defense to begin preparing troops for some type of retaliatory action after the airport strike. Has the Department of War and CENTCOM been working on deconflicting with the Azeri if they were to move in or attempt something in retaliation?
HEGSETH: I'm sure there are plans, and I'll let the admiral speak to that. But that does allow me to kind of address this idea that the war might be expanding or there's chaos. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, what Iran is doing by targeting allied countries that would otherwise want to stay out of this, they've actually pulled them into the American orbit. So now you've got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, hey, we're with you.
Here's -- we'll shoot with you, we'll fly with you, we'll defend with you. We'll allow you more basing and other -- a lot of which, you know, we can't talk about and won't talk about, but it's actually firming up the unity of the resistance in order to focus exactly where we need to. So this idea that it's expanding or going, no, it's actually -- it's actually simplifying in a number of ways exactly what we need to achieve and how we'll achieve it.
I don't know if you have anything to add to that.
COOPER: I will -- I will get ahead of policy -- get ahead of policy in terms of what we might do. What I will point out is this is now the 12th country that Iran has attacked, 12 countries. And it goes right back to the secretary's point. Those 12 countries are none too happy. And I look forward to working with all the partners who are willing to join us in this.
HEGSETH: And I would just close by saying --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, one more question. Would you -- what is your message to Americans who are concerned about security here at home with the change up that we're going to see at the Department of the Homeland Security?
HEGSETH: Well, I think -- I think Kristi Noem did an excellent job over there securing our border and keeping us focused on threats and the president making a change. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm sure Mark Wayne Mullin will do a fantastic job. He's been a friend of mine for a long time. But Kristi did a great job setting us up for success.
So I don't have any concerns about whether or not the homeland will be covered down on.
And I'll just end by saying I wish every American could get a chance to see what we see. I had a chance to go into the control room, into the tactical operations center, go see these young men and women that are doing this, the dedication that they show at every level, the way they've refined their craft. I'm talking to a young colonel who's iterating on how we target and how we -- how we find and fix different aspects of what the Iranians are trying to do.
If they -- they don't know what they're up against. And if they think they've got it solved for, they're wrong. And ultimately, the combination of our ingenuity, the skill, the professionalism, the discipline, and then the sheer weight of the capabilities of the U.S. military, what you're going to see may look routine. It may start to be like, oh, another boat. Oh, another launcher.
Oh, another drone facility. What it takes to do this with the precision that we do is world class. No one else can do it. And it's world class Americans like the ones I saw here, like the ones that are coming home, that we're going to greet home, that are the engine of what makes our country great. And so I'm so grateful for folks like those here at CENTCOM, at Central Command who are under your command.
Thank you for your decisive leadership. And all I'll say to you is what I say to them, keep going. Because the president and myself, we have your back. Thank you, Admiral. Appreciate it.
COOPER: Thanks very much.
HEGSETH: Thank you all.
TAPPER: All right, that was the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, taking questions there alongside the commander of U.S. Central Command. Hegseth, standing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, said that the U.S. mission in Iran is advancing decisively, that the timeline in Iran is, quote, "ours to control." When it comes to U.S. combat power, the Secretary of Defense said that firepower is about to surge dramatically.
Let's bring in retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. He's a former commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. Vice Admiral, what's your reaction to what you just heard from Defense Secretary Hegseth and the Central Command chief? What struck out -- struck to -- struck out to you the most -- stuck out to you the most?
VICE ADM. KEVIN DONEGAN (RET.), FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. NAVY'S FIFTH FLEET: Yes. Hey. Thank you. This -- there's three things that jumped out at me right away. One is that they're making clear, and it's unambiguous, that they have the resolve to take this through to completion. And that's, you know, there's been a lot of talk about how long it'll take, et cetera, and they're not committing to a timeline other than as long as it takes.
[17:30:04]
They also address the inventory issue and it goes to the fact that Brad Cooper said, my mission is clear. I know what I'm doing. And he also clearly articulated that the intensity of this operation is picking up where his forces and ability to destroy the Iranians ability to retaliate while getting at targets is increasing, while the Iranians ability to retaliate is decreasing.
And then lastly, I'd say that they also made clear that this talk about this expanding war, they put it in a different context. They talked about it unifying the Gulf nations behind what we're doing. They may not have agreed with us getting started. But certainly they've come out saying that, hey, they weren't part of it to begin with. You've attacked us.
And now we're going to defend ourselves and do what it takes to join this effort. And you've seen that, too, with Germany talking in France and others in the same way. So I think Admiral Cooper said 12 other nations are with him. That's my initial thoughts on what I just --
TAPPER: Yes, it was interesting. Hegseth saying that because Iran to the last point you just made, because Iran has now attacked 12 countries, not just the U.S. and Israel or U.S. bases and Israel, which attacked Iran first last weekend, but Iran attacking countries such as UAE or Oman, et cetera, that their job of the U.S. is now easier because Iran is uniting the Sunni Arab Gulf states against Iran.
DONEGAN: Yes, that's very clear. And you heard even that we have access to Diego Garcia. They wouldn't say the other places. And I think the reason this happened is because of what Iran attacked. You know, I think they made, you know, they miscalculated. They thought that they could drive a wedge between the Gulf nations and have them pressure the U.S. to stop.
You saw this with what they've done in trying to choke off energy at the same time. But they attack these civilian targets, these, you know, airports and hotels and other targets that, you know, that put civilians at risk and were wreaking havoc. And I think the intensity point that I made earlier is that we're seeing their ability to get back at, to continue to do that to wane, although it's not going away. You're still seeing leakage of drones here and there that get through defenses, but they're a much less intensity. And you heard some of the numbers Brad Cooper talked about.
TAPPER: Yes. And it's interesting on that topic of munitions or artillery. Hegseth there said there's more combat power. The U.S. could fire over Iran. President Trump said earlier this week, the United States munitions stockpiles have at the medium and upper medium grade never been higher or better. As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons.
I've seen a lot of reporting and talk to a lot of former military who say it is just not accurate to describe the U.S. supply of ammunitions, especially when it comes to interceptors, whether it's Patriot or THAAD as unlimited. No such supply exists anywhere.
DONEGAN: Yes, but, you know, the way that Brad Cooper is explaining it, isn't that what he's explaining is he's going to be able to defend because he's ratcheting down their ability to put that offense up there. And that's what the CENTCOM planners would spend a lot of time on. He mentioned that we knew what the Iranians were going to do. So, the idea was get enough defense in there to blunt these initial onslaught that Iran's going to bring out.
And then at the same time with a vengeance, go after diminishing their capability and destroying their capability, not just the launchers, but the command and control where they store them, how they get them from storage to launch sites, et cetera. And with air superiority now increasing significantly and being able to not have to put airplanes in, in waves for force protection of their own force, that intensity against those are -- is able to be increased.
And that's where, you know, just, just the other day, Brad Cooper said he believes he's ahead of schedule in being able to do that. And I think we're seeing some of that with the intensity, a lower level of ballistic missiles launched and, and less drones. That said, they have a lot of drones and they're not just going to go away tomorrow. Admiral Cooper said it's going to take time.
TAPPER: Yes. And Admiral, you referred to the Strait of Hormuz, which is obviously a key sea passage for oil tankers. Right now, the Strait of Hormuz is in the thick of the war zone as Iran is threatening to target any vessel passing through it. Passage, President Trump has said the U.S. Navy will ensure by escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is necessary. It sounds like a very potentially dangerous situation.
[17:35:05]
DONEGAN: Well, you know, the -- geographically, the Straits of Hormuz for those that haven't looked at it closely is, is a very narrow passageway. And as you know, to get the energy and other shipping through that Straits, you have to kind of make a big, if you're coming from the North, a big, right, 90 degree turn, right close to Iran. So I agree it's dangerous, but part of this operation, as you know, is to decimate the Iranian Navy and their capability to hold hostage that Strait.
So when they're talking about power projection capability and eliminated Iran's ability, one of the things they want to get at is this ability that they have to control the Straits in any way.
TAPPER: Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate your insights.
I want to bring in the Israeli ambassador to the United States now, Yechiel Leiter. Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Ambassador. It's good to see you again.
YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAEL AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good to see you Jake.
TAPPER: So the Trump administration -- I do want to just ask something that's been something of a debate in the United States in the last few days. Secretary Rubio said, first of all, there's no disputing that President Trump had the intention of striking Iran. But in terms of the timing, Secretary Rubio said Israel was going to attack Iran and the U.S. had intelligence that the Iran would then, after that attack by the Israelis, attack U.S. bases. President Trump said, no, that's not true. If anything, I was pushing the Israelis to attack. What is the truth there of the timing?
LEITER: I represent Israel here in the United States. I don't want to get into a debate between members of the administration, the President. There are a lot of vectors that go into timing. There is weather. There is the leadership that sits together. There is planning. And when all those vectors come together, that's the right time to attack. And the right time to attack Iran is when they are pairing ballistic missiles, which we see they have in big numbers, and enriched uranium.
And if anybody has any doubt about the need to deal with this regime that is firing ballistic missiles at all its neighbors right now, if those would have been tipped with nuclear warheads, imagine where we'd be today.
TAPPER: Israel is going after Hezbollah or its remnants in southern Lebanon.
LEITER: Well, no, Hezbollah went after Israel. Israel has to respond.
TAPPER: OK. In any case, you're going after them.
LEITER: Right.
TAPPER: And Israel issued an evacuation warning for all of southern Lebanon, southern Beirut, other parts of that country. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are being forced to evacuate. I understand what you just said. But is Israel going to bombard all of southern Lebanon, southern Beirut? What's going to happen?
LEITER: I certainly hope not. The target is Hezbollah, not the people of Lebanon. We can live in peace and harmony with the people of Lebanon. The people of Lebanon want to live in peace and harmony and want to shake off the yoke of Hezbollah, which is an extension of Iran that's taken over their country, that's sapped them of their strength, of their vitality. And we've appealed to the government of Lebanon, please, first step, throw the IRGC, the representatives of Iran, sitting in the middle of Beirut out. Reject their visas. Send them home. Free your country from this occupation.
TAPPER: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the far right-wing politicians in your country, said that Israel is going to turn southern Beirut into Khan Yunis. Khan Yunis is a very destroyed city in Gaza. Is that the plan? Is Beirut going to look like Khan Yunis when this is over?
LEITER: Our plan is to live in peace with our neighbors. That's what we've tried to do now for all of these decades. We have a malign influence coming out of Tehran, which has created these proxies around our country. They called it a ring of fire with the intention of destroying us.
If Hezbollah is neutralized in Lebanon, there won't be any need for our troops there, and there won't be any need for us to respond. The Lebanese government has to rid their country of Hezbollah. They'll be free and we'll be free.
TAPPER: Israel's been at war now since, I mean, you could say since 1948, but since October 7th, 2023, in terms of a hot war. The U.S. is no stranger to long-drawn-out conflicts in the Middle East. Israel has a quicker record historically. Is there a time line for when Israel is going to not need to -- not feel it needs to continue to strike Iran, or is that -- is it a joint decision with the U.S. and Israel together?
LEITER: Well, first of all, there's been a level of collaboration going into this operation that there's never been between our two countries, and I assume that that level of collaboration is going to continue into the future. What we need to achieve is that coming out of Tehran, there are no ballistic missiles, there's no nuclear enrichment program, and there's no funding for proxies that are trying to destroy us.
When those three goals are achieved, the people of Iran who have been pining for freedom, we saw what they did two months ago, the people who have never tasted, a young generation who have never tasted freedom, but know that it exists and are rising up to achieve that freedom, they're going to be the boots on the ground. They're going to create their transitional government. They're going to move into democracy.
[17:40:14]
The people of Iran are very pro-West, and they want to see a democratic government. This crazy, lunatic regime in Tehran only has about 20 percent support. The majority of the population are Persians who have a very rich culture and want to live in peace and harmony with Israel and with the West. We just have to give them that opportunity.
TAPPER: Well, let's hope that the Iranian people get the government they deserve. And soon, Ambassador.
LEITER: Amen. Thank you, sir.
TAPPER: Good to see you. Thank you so much.
LEITER: Thank you.
TAPPER: The other big story this evening, President Obama is taking your place in DHS, Secretary Kristi Noem, with Republican Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. How the key hearings on Capitol Hill led -- how key hearings on Capitol Hill led to her departure? I'm going to talk with a lawmaker whose tough line of questioning likely got the President's attention. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:45:04]
TAPPER: And we have some major breaking news in our Politics Lead. President Trump announced on social media just a short while ago that he is essentially firing embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and is going to nominate to replace her Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin.
The firing comes a day after Secretary Noem wrapped up two combative days of congressional testimony before the House and the Senate, where she faced tough questions from both Democrats and Republicans on a wide range of topics, including the Minnesota ICE surge and the killings there of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom she immediately falsely labeled domestic terrorists, despite no evidence to support that claim in which she has refused to walk back.
She also faced questions about a wildly expensive P.R. campaign contract totaling millions and millions of dollars that Noem testified the President to prove of, but which President Trump told "Reuters" earlier today he actually knew nothing about. Here is that exchange from Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The President approved ahead of time, you spending $220 million running T.V. ads across the country in which you are featured prominently.
KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes, did it correctly.
KENNEDY: Did the President know you're going to do this?
NOEM: Yes.
KENNEDY: He did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Apparently he did not. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is following this rest. Priscilla, you just heard Secretary Noem says President Trump knew she was going to spend $220 million on T.V. ads that featured her prominently. Is that true?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jake, we heard directly from the president today when he spoke to Reuters and said that he knew nothing about it. And it was ultimately this ad campaign and the millions of dollars spent on it. That was the final straw by all accounts.
Now, sources we've been talking to over the course of the day say that there had been mounting frustration, including, of course, that situation in Minneapolis when the President ultimately set his White House border czar, Tom Homan, to resolve the issues on the ground. And so Homeland Security officials I've been talking to today are calling this, "Long overdue," this being the ouster of the secretary.
Another Trump official saying that it will bring an end to the feud between the Department of Homeland Security and Tom Homan. Of course, the White House said they were in lockstep, but we also know Kristi Noem and Tom Homan rarely spoke to one another. Now, the expectation among officials is that the policies of the administration will remain the same, that aggressive immigration agenda.
But their hope is that the change here is that they will have a more steady hand at the helm of the department, because what has been of concern and growing concern over recent weeks has been the handling of the department under Kristi Noem. I've also reviewed an e-mail that she sent staff a little bit ago where she said that this job has been the honor of her life and that she is looking forward to her next role as that special envoy. Jake?
TAPPER: I mean, those images from those ads are incredible. It's like the worst Taylor Sheridan series ever. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much.
It was just yesterday when Noem continued to dodge questions about the contractor who made those ads, Safe America Media. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Where is Safe America Media headquartered?
NOEM: I don't know.
NEGUSE: I don't know either, Madam Secretary. We can't find it. We can't find a website.
The company is registered to a political operative in Virginia. Do you know, just by way of example, whether this company that received $143 million in taxpayer dollars, has it ever done work for the government before?
NOEM: I don't know. I can't.
NEGUSE: The answer is it has not. And do you know why we know that? Because it was incorporated eight days, eight days before this contract went out. You want the American people to believe that this is all above board?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Let's bring in the lawmaker you heard questioning Noem there, Democrat Joe Neguse of Colorado. Thanks so much for being here. Appreciate it. So pretty consequential questioning and answering there. The secretary told you it had been a competitive bid process for the contractors who produced the ad campaign. But after you did some digging, you found out that might not be the case. What else did you find?
NEGUSE: Yes, well, good to be with you, Jake. That was a lie. I mean, clearly the secretary stated a number of mistruths, both before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as the House Judiciary Committee with respect to the contracting. As you noted, they skipped the competitive bidding process so that they could ultimately ensure that the contractors that were awarded these contracts would get those contracts.
And one of them happened to be connected to a political operative, a Republican political operative. The company was registered just days before the contract solicitation actually went out. So in my view, some real questions that have been raised with respect to potential fraud, corruption and conflict of interest.
Of course, as you know, one of the subcontractors --
TAPPER: Yes.
NEGUSE: -- of that contractor was affiliated with Secretary Noem during her time as governor and ultimately with her former spokesperson.
TAPPER: Was married to her spokesperson, right?
NEGUSE: That's correct.
TAPPER: Did she ever offer any clarification after the hearing or anything like that?
[17:50:00]
NEGUSE: No, no. And if anything, we've now, you know, seen reports that indicate that perhaps she was directly involved in approving those contracts, notwithstanding the testimony that she offered yesterday, both in the Senate -- the House yesterday and the Senate the day before.
I would also just say, Jake, because I watched the exchange that you played with Senator Kennedy and Secretary Noem. Unfortunately, one of the hard realities of the political moment that we find ourselves in is that oversight and these hearings are often seen through a partisan lens. One hopes that there are moments that prove to be the exception to the rule. And I think this happened to be one of them. TAPPER: Yes, I mean, kudos to Senator Kennedy -- I'm sorry, kudos to Senators Kennedy and Tillis yesterday who did their oversight job.
NEGUSE: That's right.
TAPPER: And I hope when the Democrats are back in the White House, Democratic members of Congress do the same thing for that.
NEGUSE: Agree.
TAPPER: You called this fraud. Do you think her firing and being given another job in the administration is appropriate?
NEGUSE: Well, I certainly think her being terminated is appropriate. And it's an important step in our fight for accountability. But it is a first step. Accountability ultimately means that if there were any laws violated, procurement laws, conflict of interest laws, that those ultimately that evidence is uncovered and that, you know, prosecutions commence if appropriate.
And so I don't think that this is this is a beginning, not the end with respect to accountability, with respect to the new position that the President apparently conjured up. It sounds like something he saw in a movie. But anyway, we're not quite sure what this new position is.
TAPPER: We're running out of time. But last question for you. One of the things Senator Tillis said to me, I forget if this was on air or off air, but the idea that Secretary Noem prided herself on approving, you know, any like all these small dollar expenditures for FEMA. I think anything either over $100,000 or $10,000 or something but like knew nothing about the basic questions you asked her about this multi hundred million dollar account was really shocking.
NEGUSE: It's absurd. It's nonsensical. I mean, of course, she broke FEMA single handedly in part by virtue of the decision that you just identified, but then wants the American people to believe that she's not involved in this $140 million contract of taxpayer money so that she can appear in ads at Mount Rushmore and the like. Clearly, it embarrassed the President and the Trump administration. And for the Trump administration to be embarrassed, given the corruption that they are engaged in, it's perhaps tells you the whole story.
TAPPER: Congressman Joe Neguse, a Democrat of Colorado. Thanks for being here. Really appreciate it.
Coming up, the surprise withdrawal from a Republican Senate race that has a Democrat calling B.S., she's going to join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, major questions for Republican Senator Steve Daines after his surprise withdrawal from his reelection race in Montana. Just literally minutes before the filing deadline, Daines dropped out of the race and not only that, he went on to endorse Kurt Alme, who is Montana's U.S. attorney. Alme put his name in the same Senate race with just eight minutes left before the filing deadline.
[17:55:14]
Sources tell CNN, this whole scheme was part of an effort to block Democrats from fielding a top-tier candidate in the race and likely Republicans, too. That surprise swap got a rather strong reaction from Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state. She wrote on X, "This is bullshit." I can quote -- I can curse if I'm quoting. This is bullshit. A Montana senator is rigging an election and it's miles beneath the dignity of our democracy.
The Congresswoman joins me now. And just a reminder for folks at home, Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez was even more outspoken when a Democratic congressman did the same thing in Chicago. So what is going on here? Why do these guys keep doing this?
REP. MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ (D-WA): People think that they have a right to choose their successor and that is not what our country is founded on. It is profoundly disrespectful to the American people and it destroys the institution that they're saying they want to like choose a successor for. To say that you get to choose your successor, that's not -- that is not -- that's not what people have bled and fought for in this country.
TAPPER: So when Congressman Chuy Garcia pulled this stunt last year, just -- I mean just -- I'm trying to think which one is worse. They're both pretty awful. Do you have an opinion which one's worse or they're both bad?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: They're terrible.
TAPPER: They're both. OK.
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: They're terrible for the body. They're terrible for America.
TAPPER: Yes. So at that time, so you put forward a resolution to condemn him, 213 Republicans, not surprisingly, but also 23 Democrats voted to reprimand him. It caused you a lot of heartache. You got a lot of blowback from Democrats. We should know both of Montana's congressmen joined you on that. Have you heard anything from your Republican colleagues, especially in the Senate, about a similar motion and will Republicans in Montana who were offended by what Chuy Garcia did, understandably and fairly, also say the same thing about Senator Daines?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: I hope so. I hope that this is above partisanship and what people have to realize is that this ugliness and this stealing elections is, it is why people have walked away from politics. It just feels so corrupt to everyone and we have to stand up and say that there are things that are much bigger and more important to us than who's got control of which body. It's -- is the institution worthy of representing the people that it purports to.
TAPPER: Former University of Montana president, Seth Bodnar, who is running for that Senate seat, but as an independent, he slammed the move in a video posted on X. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SETH BODNAR (I), MONTANA SENATE CANDIDATE: They must think we're stupid, but we see this for what it is, a sleazy insider plot led by party bosses in Washington, D.C. to rob Montanans of their voice at the ballot box.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What do you think?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Yes, it's Weasley. It's Weasley. And it's offensive. And it's got to stop. I looked into it. Apparently the Senate has not reprimanded one of its own members since the 1990s when I was two. So we'll see what happens. But I think it's really important that people -- ordinary people stand up and say like, we're not doing this anymore. This has got to stop.
TAPPER: So another issue that you've been very outspoken on, that's also not making you any friends in Congress, although we here at The Lead applaud you is, you're trying to figure out a way to make sure that when members of Congress are losing their acuity, there's at least a method for people to express their concerns. You tried to get that done in the House Appropriations Committee where the chair stepped down from the chairmanship and then just checked into a dementia facility and drew a congressional salary for six months without telling anybody. You just introduced new legislation on this subject. Tell us more about it. What would it do?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Right. It -- well, it's crazy. If you look at the House Ethics Code, there are rules about what kind of hat I can accept as a gift, but there's nothing in there about what it means when members no longer to make decisions for themselves when the staff is running the office and not the member, when there is significant irreversible cognitive decline.
So my bill is really simple. All it does is that it directs the Office of Congressional Conduct to develop a standard with which to evaluate whether a member is able to operate and execute the duties of their office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive decline. And we're just talking about a really simple. Like the moca, for example, that's like, look at the clock and tell me what time it says. Repeat four words back to me. This is not about having kooky ideas. This is about being cognitively fit.
TAPPER: Yes.
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: So.
TAPPER: And you're probably going to have problems getting support there.
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: You know, it was voted down unanimously in Appropriations last year, but I know this is something people agree with me on. And it's interesting. I think even what I've heard from folks at home, it's like even people who are older see it and who have had more firsthand experience, they believe it's really important. It's not just about, like, we want a representative body and people age at different rates. I recognize that. But we also know that we deserve representation that people voted for, not their staff.
[18:00:10]
TAPPER: All right. Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, one of the bravest members of Congress. Thanks so much.
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Thank you, Jake.
