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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Fires Noem, Taps Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as New DHS Chief; Trump Says He Must be Involved in Picking Iran's New Leader; Afghan Refugees Stranded at U.S. Base Near Doha as War Escalates. Trump Fires Noem, Taps Senator Mullin As New DHS Chief; NBC: Savannah Guthrie Plans To Return To The "Today" Show. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're tracking two major stories tonight. First, President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after her two heated hearings this week that made him angry, sources say, particularly this exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana about her multi- million dollar ad campaign for the Department of Homeland Security that features her prominently

(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 correctly --

KENNEDY: Did the president know you were going to do this?

NOEM: Yes.

KENNEDY: He didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Well, President Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he did not know about those ads. They feature Noem prominently riding a horse at Mount Rushmore, almost like she's in some sort of sequel to Yellowstone.

She had been under scrutiny since the backlash to her department's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota, where federal officers shot and killed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom Noem almost immediately accused of being domestic terrorists without any evidence.

Noem's last day at DHS will be March 31st, according to an internal email obtained by CNN. Trump is now tapping Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace her. His confirmation battle will likely be before a Senate still deadlocked over the current partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Nothing's going to prevent me from doing my job. I'm going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed and we're going to protect our homeland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: All this as we're continuing to monitor the war spreading across the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the U.S. is still deeply committed to the task at hand. He gave us a status update at U.S. Central Command just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. And, I mean, this is obviously monumental because she is the first cabinet member of President Trump's second term to be ousted and she was greatly weakened a little over a month ago after those two American citizens were killed at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Remember, there was that late January cabinet meeting where the president did something that I've never seen him do in his cabinet meetings, which is where he skipped over the Department of Homeland Security secretary. Obviously, it's a value -- a department that he values greatly. It was in his first term, it certainly has been in his second term with his mass deportation pledge.

And so it was a notable moment that just showcased how frosty that relationship had grown. She met with President Trump in the Oval Office. He voiced confidence in her the next day, but she had been on thin ice ever since then, Jake.

And people had done a lot actually to bring awareness of this $220 million ad campaign that they did out of DHS featuring Kristi Noem, as you just showed in some ads riding a horse through the mountains of South Dakota. A lot of people had tried to bring that to President Trump's attention because they were irritated by how it happened and the fact that they were using taxpayer money for it and how the process went in terms of who was awarded that ad campaign.

But it wasn't until that questioning from Senator John Kennedy this week that the president really kind of lost it over it, Jake. And he was angry that she said that he had signed off personally on her doing that. That is something the president, as you noted, told Reuters today did not happen. He also called Senator Kennedy after that hearing happened, to make clear that he disagreed with what Kristi Noem was saying and how she was testifying under oath in that moment.

And so that is what led to today with the president ultimately ousting her from her job at DHS and replacing her with Markwayne Mullin, someone that the president likes to see on T.V. He often calls after he does cable news hits and praises him. And the White House has taken over the last six months or so to really using Markwayne Mullin as a surrogate of theirs and putting him out on television, Jake.

And so I think what this ultimately speaks to, and, you know, I've covered Trump for ten years now, he does not like when people use money that is related to him to try to further their own image, or when they try to eclipse the president or make themselves too important. Those are two things that will get under the president's skin. And, clearly, that is what ultimately happened here today and led to Kristi Noem's ouster as the DHS secretary.

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

COLLINS: Yes, he certainly has. He is what is known as a special government employee. He highlights it and says that he's working as a volunteer in this capacity, is obviously very close to Secretary Noem and is often seen with her, whether that's when she's out here doing television hits or when she's traveling on the road.

And the relationship has faced a lot of criticism and it faced questions from Democrats yesterday who, while she was under oath, were asking her if they had engaged in an extramarital affair. Obviously, she pushed back on that and called it tabloid garbage.

But the relationship itself and the power that he's wielded in DHS has gotten a lot of criticism from people, Jake, for example, when they were trying to implement lie detector tests for people when they were worried about leaking, for example.

And so no official word yet on Corey Lewandowski status, but a lot of people who were familiar with the two of their relationship don't believe he'll stay at DHS when Kristi Noem is not there.

TAPPER: All right. DHS story right there from CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thank you so much. Don't miss Kaitlan on her show, of course, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Her guests tonight include Democratic Senator Andy Kim. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

I want to bring in CNN's Chief Law Enforcement Analyst John Miller. John, you usually attend the event that Secretary Noem spoke at this afternoon moments after the president announced on social media she'd been fired. What do you know about what happened there?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, as she was arriving and some of the top union leaders were waiting for her.

So, this event is the Major Cities Conference. This is not just made up of police officials, but it's made up of the heads of the police unions from New York City, the Sergeant's Benevolent Association, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union in Chicago and Rochester. So, this is a rank and file audience expected to be a friendly audience.

As she was arriving in the loading dock, there was a long delay because she was on a phone call that couldn't be interrupted. She got out of the car, did the photos with the union leaders. And as she began her speech, everyone in the audience, their phones started to blow up with those news bulletins, Noem ousted by Trump, Kristi Noem out, secretary of Homeland Security fired, but she went on with her speech, answered all the questions afterwards.

But it was a shock to the audience who expected a speech about sanctuary cities, about police actions, about DHS and ICE, and ended up being witness to a very dramatic moment in this administration.

TAPPER: A lot of career professionals inside the Department of Homeland Security, what frustrations were there about her leadership that you heard about?

MILLER: Well, Jake, it starts with, you know, the erosion of the core missions of DHS, the things that DHS was conceived for after 9/11, which, you know, meant gutting CISA, the Cyber and Infrastructure Protection Agency that watches over cyber attacks and ensures that our systems work, of gutting FEMA, which would've been further reduced except for the blizzards that came along, cutting off some of the further reductions, intelligence and analysis, counterterrorism, and groups like Homeland Security Investigations who were diverted from their complex investigations to a great extent working with ICE to chase people on civil immigration matters.

That was not why she was fired, though. As Kaitlan reported, you know, this came down to it's one thing to embarrass the administration and that's forgivable, but once you have a series of gaffes that embarrass the boss, that is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

TAPPER: John Miller, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska. Congressman, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. Good to see you in person.

What do you think of the president's decision to fire Noem?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Well, I think Markwayne Mullin is the right guy for the job. He's got great relationships in the Senate, but he's a House guy and we see him all the time at our conferences. We have a lot of folks and members that spend a lot of time with him.

Listen, he's from Oklahoma. When you're from a Midwestern state like Nebraska, like Oklahoma, like South Dakota, you find these good people. And Markwayne Mullin has the relationships. He has the confidence of the president. And he's got a group of people that are going to work for him and make the president proud, like Tom Homan.

[18:10:00]

Tom Homan is the one we believe that can enforce our immigration laws and do it in a way that finds the right balance with law enforcement support.

TAPPER: You just answered my second question, how do you think Markwayne Mullin's going to do? But let's go back to the first. What do you think about the decision to fire Kristi Noem is? Are you happy with that decision? Are you pleased that she's no longer going to be at head of DHS?

FLOOD: Here's what I'll say. The first tragedy and the first killing up in --

TAPPER: Renee Good, yes.

FLOOD: Renee Good, yes. That was tough. The second one, that was one of the longest weekends our country's had in a long time. And I'm not limiting it to a weekend, but that weekend, when that came in, I think there was a cumulative and an immediate effect.

TAPPER: Brutal, yes.

FLOOD: And I really think that the president, he understood at a visceral level that a change needed to be made and he picked the person, Tom Homan, to go in there and fix it. Today, you've got a state that has changed. You've got -- the immigration enforcements being done cooperatively. It's being done in jails, not on streets. Could we do that in New York? Could we do that in California? Can we do that in Illinois?

And I think what we've done -- what Tom Homan has done is he's built a respect with the law enforcement community, with the governors and the mayors of some of the blues states out there by the way he's conducted himself, the way he prioritizes law enforcement, by the fact that he's a cop, he understands how this stuff works.

Like we're going a really good direction. And now that you've got Markwayne Mullin, you've got Tom Homan, they're going to have hopefully a good relationship and they can move this country forward on this issue. TAPPER: Yes. That weekend, it's interesting. The way you described it was interesting because it really, I think a lot of Americans out there were like -- were thinking to themselves, what country do I live in? It was a really kind of shocking thing to say.

FLOOD: It was a very hard weekend. And this wasn't a bad weekend for one party. And this was just a bad weekend for Americans. And --

TAPPER: But she went out there and she didn't tell the truth about what happened, and we could all see it from the video. Do you think she should have been fired then after that?

FLOOD: Well, Tom Homan coming in and taking overall operations in the state of Minnesota, I think, set a pretty big signal. And you know what? Good on the president for doing that. He saw a problem, he acted and he did it immediately.

TAPPER: If President Trump is telling the truth, and I have no reason to think he isn't, then she said something under oath in front of the Senate that wasn't true, that President Trump had signed off on that ad campaign, $143 million. Do you think she should be investigated for lying under oath?

FLOOD: People should always tell the truth under oath. I did not watch the testimony. I actually just saw the clip for the first time waiting to come on your show.

Listen, you got to tell the truth when you're in front of Congress. I'm not going to make a judgment today as to whether or not she did or not. I haven't -- I really know nothing about the mechanics of everything that happened here. And what happened yesterday in that testimony, that's not what I'm thinking about when I'm thinking about the next phase.

I'm excited today about Markwayne Mullin. I'm excited about the direction we're going to go. I want Tom Homan to be empowered. The president picked the right person at the right time to change the trajectory of this entire thing. And if we can get Markwayne Mullin to put all the right people in place, I think this is going to be good for America.

TAPPER: All right. Republican Congressman Mike Flood from the great State of Nebraska, thanks for coming in. I really appreciate it.

Coming up, we're going to turn to the other major story we're following this hour, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapping up a press conference a short while ago, saying U.S. firepower against Iran is about the surge dramatically. We're going to talk to an Iranian American journalist and author about that.

Plus, we're digging into the cost of this war with Iran as oil and gas prices spike at the highest level in nearly a year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00] TAPPER: Turning to our World Lead, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to the podium last hour to update Americans on the escalating war in Iran. And as chaos grips the Middle East, Hegseth says that the U.S. has only just begun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: 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'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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Hegseth's comments come as unrest persists across the Middle East. Today, Israeli officials claim they hit Iranian missile sites. Iran also carried out new strikes across the region with several people now injured in Abu Dhabi. Also today, fire erupted at an oil refinery in Bahrain. Bahraini officials say the fire is now fully contained and it was sparked from an Iranian missile strike.

When it comes to who will be the next leader of Iran, President Trump is insisting on having a say. In a new interview today with Axios, President Trump was asked about the prospect of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini's son succeeding him, he answered, they're wasting their time. Khameini's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment.

Joining us now is Roxana Saberi. She's an Iranian American journalist, an author who was once imprisoned in Iran under false accusations of espionage. Roxana, what do you think of this idea of President Trump saying that he has to play a role in the appointment of Iran's next leader?

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

As one doctor put it to me just a couple of days ago, they don't want an Islamic Republic 2.0. That would be a doomsday scenario, they said. But the overwhelming majority of Iranians also we know don't want an Islamic Republic. They want some kind of democratic political system.

[18:20:01]

So, I think they're concerned that President Trump could be supportive of having another supreme leader.

And as for the thought of long-term foreign interference in domestic political affairs, I think a lot of Iranians would feel a deep unease about that as well.

TAPPER: The Iranians you're speaking with, what is life like for them right now in Iran?

SABERI: It's mixed. For some who have left the cities that have been bombarded quite heavily, they say they feel fairly safe, but those who have stayed behind, namely in Tehran, they say it is very, very tense. There are missiles falling all around them, and they're afraid.

I hear, however, that people are also very afraid of the regime staying in power once the war is done. I mean, one teacher told us today that actually though she's afraid, she's even more afraid that the regime would stay and that they'd be stuck with the regime, and that was while she was having panic attacks, she said, and she's taking medication for the panic attacks.

I would say that many Iranians do feel trapped between the missiles, the U.S., Israel and their own regime. And the longer the war goes on, and if there are more civilian casualties, there could -- it's likely that more Iranians will turn against the war.

But right now, the statements that I've been getting from inside Iran is that they are hopeful that this war will end in the removal of the regime and hopefully a free and democratic Iran for them.

TAPPER: Yes, that'd be great. Obviously, a lot of steps before that can happen.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran announced that. They're gravely concerned about the safety of the political prisoners in Iran right now. They cite that the Islamic Republic has a history of using the shadow of war to carry out abuses in prison. As someone who spent time in prison in Iran, tell us more about that concern.

SABERI: Yes. There are reportedly at least 50,000 or more than 50,000 protesters who have been detained since January. And already before this war, their situation was very dire with many of them subjected to torture, of course, confessions and without access to attorney. And during this war, communications have been almost non-existent. And, of course, there's also an internet blackout, which makes it all the more worrying. Iranian authorities could carry out more violence against these detainees under the cover of digital darkness.

You know, when you're in prison and you don't have a way to reach your voice to the outside world, it's terrifying and it's all the more terrifying knowing that your captors could cause harm to you and those around you. And nobody would ever find out they could be held unaccountable.

TAPPER: Roxana Saberi, thank you so much, really good to have you on the show today.

As the war with Iran expands in the Middle East, an Afghan refugee trapped at a U.S.-run camp in Qatar shares her message for President Trump and Secretary Rubio. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

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

The president of Afghan Evac, an organization working to relocate and resettle Afghan allies who served along the U.S. government is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to, quote, protect them now, bring them here, unquote.

With us now is a teenage Afghan refugee who we're not naming and we're blurring her face to be cautious. She's in Qatar at Al-Sayliyah American Base with her parents. Thank you so much for joining us.

First of all, how are you doing? How worried are you about your safety in that camp?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Good afternoon. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to speak to you. It has been over a year that I'm living here in Al-Sayliyah camp in Qatar with my family. And regarding to the situation since the beginning of the conflict, missiles are being intercepted and exploding above our camp. And fragments have fallen into residential areas. There are no reinforced shelter and mothers and children have nowhere safe to go. Even container housing units where we live provide no meaningful protection.

Warning alarms regularly forced families and children to run for safety. However, there is no safe place here. And that's what make -- and that's what cause people fear and concern.

TAPPER: Can you tell us what you've seen and heard at this camp you're in?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, yes. From -- is that okay if I say my experience?

TAPPER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, since it started, it was such a bad moment and everyone were screaming and everyone, of course, terrified because we were experiencing such a -- we're experiencing this. And my brother, he was really -- he was really terrified and he would keep telling that mom that I don't want to die. I'm still 11-year-old. I'm still a kid. I don't want to die. I want to live and I want to chase my dream.

[18:30:00]

Mom, Dad, I don't want to die. And that's what really terrified me whenever I remember that.

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

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

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a good question, and that's what I'm going to say. Well, according to secretary state, a few citizens are being advised to leave parts of the region due to security concerns. We respectfully ask what protection are in place for vulnerable Afghan families still waiting under U.S. authority, because we didn't leave Afghanistan as an ordinary immigrants. We applied for our cases in 2021 and remained under processing for three years.

We passed all security checks, biometric screening, and other legal processes. Later, we completed medical examination through CARE and Island Organization, and were transferred here to Qatar. Even when we were transferred here to Qatar, we're screened and reviewed again. We've gone through every required security process and we did not come here illegally.

TAPPER: Thank you so much for being here. We hope you and your family stay safe, and I'm so sorry that you're stuck where you are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

TAPPER: The cost of gasoline in the United States has reached its highest average price in 11 months as the war in the Middle East expands. How much more could you expect to pay in the coming days and weeks? And what about the other impacts on the American economy? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00] TAPPER: In our Money Lead, the war in Iran continues to increase the amount of money you are paying to fill up your car. The U.S. average gas price is now $3.25 cents a gallon. That's the highest average price in 11 months. There has been a 26 cent a gallon increase since just Friday, and it is likely going to get worse because the war appears to have completely stopped the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. That is the crucial waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman where about 20 percent of the world's crude oil and natural gas passes through.

The S&P global commodity says zero tankers made their way through yesterday. And as of today, U.S. oil prices spiked to their biggest one day increase since May 2020 with U.S. crude oil surging 8.5 percent to $81.1 a barrel.

Let's bring in Gene Seroka. He's the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles and has spent several years based in Dubai overseeing shipping operations across 22 countries.

Gene, you actually still maintain many contacts you made throughout the region's logistics sector. We've seen both U.S. gas and oil prices go up since the war started. But given the uncertainty over how long this is going to last, what major global impacts could we see going forward?

GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Good evening, Jake. The Middle East looks a lot like the U.S. from a purchasing standpoint. Not much is manufactured there, so furniture, footwear, clothing, electronics, all get moved from Asia by these container ships into the Middle East, the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, and East Africa. So, the consumer in the Middle East is going to start to see lower levels of inventory across their normal buying channels. I'm also concerned about perishable commodities, fruit, vegetables and different meat coming in in those chilled refrigerator containers.

It's a closed loop market, meaning that those ships designated to go to those three sub regions will turn around and go right back to Asia for the next round of imports coming to the Middle East. The impacts here in the U.S. will be minimal except for the price of fuel that those big ships use. They're going to be going up at least 30 percent as the shipping lines review their cost structures.

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

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

TAPPER: Yesterday, the secretary of treasury, Scott Bessent, reinforced President Trump's commitment to send the U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Is that a risk that global shipping lines are willing to take, that they'll do it surrounded by navy ships?

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

TAPPER: What kind of immediate ripple effect will American consumers see from this?

SEROKA: Price at the pump is up 27 cents.

[18:40:00]

The oil prices you covered crossed $80 today for West Texas Intermediate. These bunker prices on ships are going up, as will the price for the fuel adjustment factor on our airplanes overall. But I still think the supply chain flow from Asia on finished goods coming into the United States will continue unimpeded.

We don't share vessels, crew, or assets with these other east-west trades. We're in pretty good shape. But with a war risk premium now being assessed by companies like Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM to the tune of $3,000 per container per ships headed that way, it's going to be sometime before we see normal supply chains unwind there.

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

TAPPER: So, it's $3,000 per container, not per container ship. How many containers do these ships carry on average?

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

TAPPER: I know you saw some impacts of the tariffs at the Port of Los Angeles where you work. Are you seeing any impact of this war yet in at the Port of Los Angeles?

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

TAPPER: All right. Gene Seroka, thank you so much for your expertise. I appreciate it.

We're hearing more reaction from Democrats and Republicans about President Trump's firing of Department of Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Let's just say no one really appears to be too upset about it. The panel reacts next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:38]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our politics lead, we are following reaction to President Trump's announcement he is replacing Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.

In a statement, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, quote, "I think it was time for a change." Way to go out on a limb there, Lindsey.

California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office posted, "Bye girl!" I mean, these -- what is happening to our politics?

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D), ILLINOIS: Hey, Kristi Noem, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Here's your legacy -- corruption and chaos. Now that you're gone, don't think you get to just walk away. I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And we'll see.

Here to discuss is the panel. First, let's go to "National Review" politics reporter Audrey Fahlberg who was the very first to report the president was furious with Noem and considering Markwayne Mullin as her replacement.

So why now? Why did he decide to change horses now?

AUDREY FAHLBERG, POLITICS REPORTER, NATIONAL REVIEW: He's been frustrated with her for a while. I think, as we all know, there's been a lot of infighting between her, her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, Rodney Scott, Tom Homan for quite some time.

TAPPER: Who's Rodney Scott?

FAHLBERG: Rodney Scott's the head of Customs and Border Protection.

TAPPER: Uh-huh.

FAHLBERG: So, remember, you know, also her response to the Minneapolis fatal shootings, calling Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist. You know, Trump had to come in there and install Tom Homan. He was already kind of really frustrated with her.

Then we get these absolutely disastrous Senate and House Judiciary Committee hearings this week. So I first got the tip on this yesterday where I heard the president was considering replacing her with -- with Markwayne Mullin, and that was in part because he was so frustrated by her response to a really tough question from John Kennedy, senator from Louisiana, who kept pressing her and pressing her about that $220 million ad campaign from last year and whether the president greenlit it. She said repeatedly that he did, and he was very displeased by that

TAPPER: And he told "Reuters" today he did not -- he did not greenlight it. So, what do you think?

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL, G.W. BUSH ADMIN.: Well, you can't lie, number one, and I think it's time to go.

Listen, I mean there was major displeasure with Kristi Noem. I've known her since the House. There's definitely been a change.

But listen, Markwayne Mullin is going to be a really good cabinet secretary. And at the end of the day, you serve at the pleasure of the president. The president was not going to buy in to -- when the Democrats were asking her to step down after Minneapolis. I think he was like digging in. But after yesterday -- or this week actually, with the two testimonies, like he's done and it's time to go.

TAPPER: During her speech today praising law enforcement response to the deadly shooting in Austin this week, take a listen to what -- well, I guess she's still Secretary Noem -- Secretary Noem had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It reminded me of the quote of that is often attributed to George Orwell that states, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf, which means you step up in order to protect people, and you do it in a way that other people often are never going to be required to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Interesting quote. What do you think?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that was Jack Nicholson. You need me on that wall.

TAPPER: Yeah.

BEGALA: Just please go away. You know shell have more time to shoot her dogs now. What a horrible public servant.

I'm sorry. What she said about American citizens when her thugs shot them -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- she didn't bring justice to them. In fact, she insulted their memories. That's unpardonable.

And politically, it's unpardonable to throw the president under the bus for your own self-aggrandizing ads. Someone is lying. And I heard your interview with Congressman Noguse, who asked the same questions in the House hearing, and she needs to lawyer up. I'm not saying I believe Donald Trump over her or her over him, but we have -- we have diametrically opposed positions on this.

And it's just -- she's a deeply unserious person. Now, let's see if Senator Markwayne Mullin is up to the task. He's a guy with no national security, homeland security experience, not even on the committee in the Senate, ran a very successful plumbing company, which is great. He was an MMA fighter, which is terrific. Has nothing to do with protecting us from terrorists.

Where is General Kelly? Where is Governor Tom Ridge? Where is Jeh Johnson? Where are the people -- the serious people in both parties that we had protecting us?

[18:50:01]

TAPPER: Ashley?

DAVIS: Okay, I want to tell you, I was -- I told you, I was employee number one at the White House office of Homeland Security. Tom Ridge was employee number two after 9/11. I knew nothing about homeland security, and neither did he.

He did fight in Vietnam. However, he was a manager.

BEGALA: Right.

DAVIS: And he was a presence. And so, I do think that Markwayne will probably be more of a presence and the military aspect of DHS will be more appreciative of him than kind of what she was doing in regards to her ads and the ICE things, you know, with the with the whatever outfits that she had on. But my point is, is I think they'll respect him more than her.

TAPPER: So let me just ask.

BEGALA: It's a very low bar. I want someone qualified.

DAVIS: No, but --

BEGALA: his is my life too.

DAVIS: We didn't know --

BEGALA: This is not partisan.

DAVIS: Yeah, I get it. You know, we all live through 9/11.

TAPPER: We'll see -- we'll see how he does. We'll see how he does. He has to get confirmed first.

BEGALA: Of course, he does.

DAVIS: He will.

TAPPER: Audrey, on the issue of whether Secretary Noem is telling the truth or President Trump is telling the truth, I do find it hard to believe that Secretary Noem would say, hey, we're going to do a $143 million or $220 million -- I'm not sure which figure is correct. I've heard both from lawmakers, we're going to do this campaign. It's going to feature me prominently as if I'm a movie star and horseback riding through the South Dakota wildlife. I do find it hard to believe that she would actually do that, and President Trump would say, that sounds like a great idea.

FAHLBERG: Look, there are some people who are privately pushing back on what the president has said -- you know, that he must have known about this in some capacity. What I'll say is, I reported what I heard, which is that the president was furious with her testimony to that question in particular. But he's also really frustrated by -- I'm told is -- when she was asked if she had -- I don't want to use explicit language on it, but, you know, romantic -- was romantically involved with Corey Lewandowski, her top aide.

TAPPER: Both of them are married, of course.

FAHLBERG: They're both married. Her husband was behind her in the House Judiciary hearing. She first deflected. Didn't immediately say no. She's pressed again by a House Democrat. And then she said, I -- you know, refuted this for years. Point is, that was clearly a point of tension.

But I think another point here is you talk about lack of experience. I think one thing that this that -- the president is hoping from Senator Mullin is that he's going to be very deferential to leaders who are already within DHS because there was so much tension between her and the current leaders.

Another thing to watch is the story with Lewandowski is not over yet. A lot of people think that there's a lot more self-dealing going on, and that's something that I would continue to watch.

TAPPER: Very interesting.

President Trump just said something very interesting about Cuba. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To what's happening with Cuba is amazing and we think that we want to finish this one first, but that will be just a question of time before you. And a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba. I just want to wait a couple of weeks.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I wanted to wait a couple of weeks, but we'll be together again soon. I suspect celebrating what's going on in Cuba

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, another regime change military action?

DAVIS: You can take that one. BEGALA: Que paso? What's going on here? I mean -- by the way, we have

-- we have troops apparently in Ecuador right now in combat. Not combat -- but pseudo combat situation. Nobody -- who even knew that? Apparently, they're fighting drug gangs.

DAVIS: We had people in Ecuador for a long time, but yeah.

BEGALA: But not in a hot war. Like what is he doing? I -- the one of the reasons he won is the American people were really sick of President Bush's forever wars. And I think rightly.

TAPPER: Extended by President Obama, we should note, except for Iraq. But Afghanistan was.

BEGALA: Right, and we -- not we -- many Americans, turned to Trump because they were quite sure he would never get us entangled into foreign wars.

TAPPER: So, J.D. Vance said in a "Wall Street Journal" op-ed.

BEGALA: It's like a seventh country he's bombed in a year.

TAPPER: Well, he hasn't done Cuba yet.

BEGALA: No, no, but I think -- I think Iran is number seven. Cuba would be eight.

TAPPER: What do you think? I mean, I know you come from the Bush wing of the Republican Party, but --

DAVIS: No, I do. But I also think if you listen to Condi Rice, who I think a lot of people respect, this is a once in a generational time to take out the Iranian leadership. And I actually don't think that Donald Trump cares right now about the midterm elections, because this is not going to be popular at home. It's not popular at home.

But do you have the opportunity to take out this regime, and are you willing to risk it all? And I think that's a good leader. These guys are bad guys. These are bad people.

BEGALA: The worst guys -- exactly. Let's take Putin out.

DAVIS: Yeah, they have nuclear weapons.

BEGALA: If we're going to have a war, let's take Putin out.

TAPPER: Well, that's a good line. That's a good --

DAVIS: Thank you, and I wasn't talking.

TAPPER: That's a good demarcation. Thank you so much. Great to have you. Thank you so much. Congrats on all the great scoops.

Savannah Guthrie just visited her NBC colleagues for the first time since her mother, Nancy, went missing more than a month ago. What Savannah Guthrie had to say about her future at the network. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:46]

TAPPER: For our last leader, we're going to start in our pop culture lead.

Britney Spears has been released from jail after police say she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence last night. A representative for Spears called it a, quote, "unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable," unquote. They say Spears family is going to help her make some changes in her life and that hopefully she can, quote, "get the help and support she needs."

In our national lead, NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie returned to NBC for the first time since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, February 1st. Sources report that Savannah told colleagues, quote, "I don't know how to come back, but I don't know how not to. You're my family."

She added, "I wanted you to know that I'm still standing and I still have hope and I'm still me."

If you have any information you think could help solve the mystery of the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, please call the Pima County Sheriff's Department, 520-351-4900, or the FBI, at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also reach the bureau online at tips.FBI.gov.

In our sports lead, today, President Trump welcomed the Inter Miami football club to the white house to celebrate their major league soccer championship. MVP Lionel Messi entered the event beside President Trump. The club gave the president a 20 -- the club gave the president a Trump 47 jersey and a signed soccer ball trophy.

Renowned athlete and co-owner David Beckham did not attend, he said, due to family commitments.

If you ever miss an episode, you can watch a show on the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.