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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Lashes Out at Allies Over Iran; Pam Bondi Subpoenaed in Epstein Probe; Massive Lines as TSA Agents Go Without Pay; Contentious Democratic Battle For Illinois Senate Candidate; Rare Daytime Meteor Over Eastern U.S. Triggers A Sonic Boom. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 17, 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 HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, after days of aggressively trying to convince allies to get on board, President Trump now says the U.S. doesn't need any allies. We don't need any help at all, he says, when it comes to securing the Strait of Hormuz. But with Iran shutting down that key waterway and blocking the key shipping lane for oil, does the White House have a plan for going it alone?

Plus, never ending lines and wait times of more than two hours, as TSA agents call out or even quit because of the ongoing Senate dysfunction and the DHS shutdown. That means they're not getting paid. Some workers are even sleeping at the airport now because they can't afford gas. I'm going to talk to the man in charge of the United States' busiest airport.

Also today, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee officially subpoenaed the Republican U.S. Attorney General. But will Pam Bond actually go under oath? Will she actually take questions about the Justice Department's handling or mishandling of the Epstein investigation?

And it is yet again election night in America. Voters are heading to the polls in Illinois for a very expensive U.S. Senate race will test the direction of the Democratic Party. Polls are closing soon. Our panel's here to weigh in.

The Lead tonight, we're monitoring President Trump's ongoing remarks right now at the White House alongside the Irish prime minister for St. Patty's Day, highlighting the U.S. and Ireland relationship, even as President Trump spent the day dissing the U.S.'s position in the NATO alliance after the president said the other nations are not offering to help with the U.S. war on Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump has been publicly calling on allies for help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, rhe crucial waterway for oil transportation currently under Iran's control. Trump is now predicting it will be -- it will reopen soon, but he's offering no timeline and officials are providing new details.

I want to bring in CNN's Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. Obviously, those are still key questions for the White House when it comes to, if any, U.S. allies have committed to helping the United States try to carry that out and do that on the timeline that the president offered today, as vague as it was, they have not said specifically when they think that will happen. And obviously that's been a key question that the president has been facing as he is simultaneously lashing out at U.S. allies for not helping the U.S. do so while also arguing that the United States doesn't need them to do so.

And, Jake, obviously, the other huge topic here at the White House today has been the first high-profile exit we've seen from this administration since this war started in protest over this war that the president is carrying out with Iran. And that comes in the form of Joe Kent, who is a senior intelligence official who works underneath Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, and went public with his resignation letter today explaining why he believes he cannot, in good faith, continue working in his job and disagreeing with the president and top officials who have said that there was an imminent threat facing the United States from Iran. Joe Kent says that is not the case in his letter. That is why he cannot continue in his job as the director of counterterrorism.

And when the president was asked about this earlier, he commented on this and on Kent specifically, Jake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn't know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I read a statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, officials I've spoken with today, Jake, have said that they do agree with that, that if someone doesn't support the president's views, then obviously they shouldn't be working to carry them out. But obviously this is a raised question because, one, that's not what the president said about Joe Kent 13 months ago when he nominated him for this job. Instead he praised him, noted that he's a former Green Beret, said he had hunted down terrorists and criminals all across the globe. And now with his exit Jake, though, it only raises more questions about Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, who belongs in that same kind of anti-interventionist coalition that exists here in a broad form inside the administration. She commented on Kent's exit today as well.

And, Jake, obviously when she is testifying on Capitol Hill tomorrow, as she and other top intelligence chiefs are slated to do in front of Congress under oath, this is going to likely be brought up by lawmakers across both sides of the aisle. And so her questions obviously and her answers will be very telling on that front.

[18:05:02]

Jake?

TAPPER: All right. CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thanks so much.

Don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Her guests tonight include Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Let's bring in Congressman Michael McCaul, Republican from Texas, former chair of both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Congressman, good to see you.

So, President Trump was not pleased with NATO countries today because they don't want to assist the U.S. with the Iran war when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz. He wrote on Truth Social this morning that the US no longer needs or desires NATO's assistance, quote, we never did. We do not need the help of anyone, unquote. What's your take on that? Do you think the U.S. really doesn't ever need the help of any allies?

REP. MIKE MCCAUL (R-TX): Well, it's always better to work with our allies. Do we need them to get the job done? No. I think our military is well equipped to clear the Straits of Hormuz along with Israel. However, I do think it's incumbent upon our NATO allies to help in this venture. If anything, you know, 50 percent of European energy comes from outside of Europe.

The United States is a net game producer and what that means is we produce enough oil to sustain ourselves. However, Europe is very dependent on the Straits of Hormuz. So, it's in their best interest to work with us.

Now, the president's right, we can do it alone, but I always think it's always better to work with our NATO partners. I wish they would reconsider that.

TAPPER: Trump was asked if he's rethinking the U.S.'s position in NATO. He said it was, quote, something to think about. And he equated this war to the U.S. stepping in to help when Russia invaded Ukraine. What do you make of that?

MCCAUL: Well, we have come to the assistance of Ukraine working with NATO. I know the president's had, you know, always a little bit of a rub with NATO. I think that was primarily, you know, burden sharing that they need to pay their fair share of the cost of defending the Northern Atlantic Treaty, you know, Organization, and that is primarily Europe from the threat from the Soviet Union at that time. That's why it was formed.

So, you know, look, what I disagree with though is lifting sanctions on Russia, who was providing active military intelligence to Iran to target military targets and kill Americans. I think that is an unwise choice to bring down the price of gas and energy. I hope that is -- those sanctions are snapped back relatively soon.

TAPPER: The director of National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned today. He says Iran posts no imminent threat to the United States. He blamed the war and also the war in Iraq and also the U.S. war against ISIS in Syria, he blamed all of it on pressure from Israel and the pro-Israel lobby. He wrote in his resignation letter that he cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people, nor justifies the cost of American lives.

Let's take this in two points, in two different sections here, my question for you. One, what do you make of him saying that Iran posed no imminent threat? I'm going to get to the Israel anti-Semitic stuff in a second, but just on the disagreement within the administration, Kent, maybe Gabbard, maybe J.D. Vance, there are people that seem not enthusiastic about this war in the administration.

MCCAUL: Well, I think he posed two questions. One, was there an imminent threat? I think Iran, in my judgment, has been an imminent threat since 1979, you know, killing our Marines in Beirut. You know, everything they've done in the Middle East in terms of terror operations have been an imminent threat.

Now, they do have ballistic missiles. They do have enrich uranium that could create a dirty bomb effect in the region and a threat to the region. I think the deeper issue, what you're touching on here is this, Mr. Kent seems to philosophically disagree with the president's decision to take action in Iran. And that's another -- and you do have a wing in the Republican Party that tend to be more isolationists, that do disagree with the invasion in Iran, which I believe what the president's doing is taking care of a matter that should have been taken care of the last 50 years. He's finally getting this done.

Finally, I think it's going to be interesting to see Tulsi Gabbard testify tomorrow because, as you know, she campaigned for president on the issue that Trump would invade Iran.

TAPPER: Right. She sold no war in Iran T-shirts on her website in 2020.

Let me ask you in the minute we have left. Obviously, disagreeing with the president on the war in Iran, totally legitimate. Joe Kent's letter also -- first of all, before he was confirmed as director of the NCTC, he faced Senate an opposition because of ties to white supremacists and anti-Semites. [18:10:01]

His letter blames Israel and absolves Trump, blames Israel for the war in Iran, blames Israel for the war on Iraq, blames Israel and its supporters for ISIS for the war on ISIS in Syria. And I think there are a lot of people today wondering how did somebody like this get a position like this in government given his anti-Semitic views?

MCCAUL: A legitimate question. I'm personally glad he's gone. NCTC is a very important operation that connects the dots to protect the American people, particularly right now in a high state of terror alert. This anti-Semitism that we've traditionally seen on the left, we're now seeing it a little bit on the right side here. He's not the type of individual I personally would want to appoint to that position given his anti-Israel views and his anti, quite frankly, president views now on his actions in Iran.

So, I think, it's, quite frankly, good riddance, and I think, I hope the president puts a better qualified, someone who's more philosophically in line with the president on Iran and Israel next in that position.

TAPPER: Republican Congressman Michael McCaul from Texas, thank you, sir. Good to have you.

MCCAUL: Thank you.

TAPPER: As Iran confirms that two more of its top officials have been killed, what comes next for the country? I'm going to be joined live in studio by an expert on the region next.

Plus, more than half of all TSA workers have called out from work at Houston's airports, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as the shutdown means they're not getting paid because of the Senate dysfunction. How long could this go on? How bad could travel get?

Stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: Sticking with our World Lead now and President Trump's assessment of how the war in Iran is going, here is what he said today at the Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I just do want to say that the war is proceeding very, very strongly and we're doing very, very well.

And we've had a very big day today. We knocked out things that nobody thought were possible to knock out. Today was a very big day.

We're way ahead of schedule. And nobody would've thought somebody -- a great war historian told me today nobody would've thought you could do that much damage in that little time, two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Okay. Let's compare notes with CNN Global Affairs Analyst Karim Sadjapour. Karim is the war going so this well for the U.S.?

KARIM SADJAPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think there are two wars, Jake. There's the military aspect of it, which has been very successful in significantly degrading the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the political aspect of it is important, and there we haven't seen any changes in any positive changes in Iran's leadership and the character of the regime. I don't think it was President Trump's intention to simply replace an 86-year-old dictator with his 56-year- old son, but that's where we are right now in Iran.

TAPPER: How would the U.S. or its allies even change the political situation on the ground?

SADJAPOUR: Well, I think concurrently with a military strategy, you do need a political strategy to think about, okay, how do you create fissures within the regime? What is effective strategic communications? Is there a way of supporting the opponents of the regime, which I would argue are probably 80 percent of the country? I don't think any of that political strategy was really thought about deeply, certainly by the president.

TAPPER: Is there anybody alive who could be a more moderate leader of Iran come from either -- within the government or from within the country?

SADJAPOUR: Within the government, I don't think anyone who has ambitions of staying in power, staying in the system is someone who can appear to be moderate at all. And I think there's an almost irreconcilable gap between the regime and the people.

Inside Iran, it's a brutal dictatorship, and so they're very effective at identifying people who are capable of leadership and either killing, exiling, imprisoning them. Outside the country, a lot of people of coalesced around the person of the former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi. His challenge is that he hasn't lived in Iran for five decades, but certainly inside the country there are some who would support him.

TAPPER: Iran not long ago just confirmed what the Israelis announced earlier today, which is that two big assassinations by Israel. One, the country's security chief and the other, the head of a group that enforces Islamic morality among the public. Will these two assassinations have some sort of impact?

SADJAPOUR: The first assassination of Ali Larijani is quite impactful and I think it's probably deeply demoralizing for the regime. Ali Larijani was probably one of the most important people in that system. He was one of the few people who had decades of not only domestic foreign policy -- domestic policy experience, but also foreign policy experience. He was a brutal guy. He was implicated in the massacres of last January, but he had decades of institutional memory and not someone whom they can easily replace.

TAPPER: Iraqi security officials are now telling CNN the two drones were fired at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad overnight. At least one landed in the vicinity the embassy, damaged an exterior yard. No group has claimed responsibility. But on Monday, an Iran-backed militia threatened to target the embassy. It seems like these Iran proxies, whether Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis or all these different groups in Iraq and Syria, they can do damage.

SADJAPOUR: They've been significantly degraded since October 7th, 2023 after the Hamas invasion attack on Israel and then Israel's significant response throughout the region. But you're absolutely right, Jake, they can do damage.

And one thing I always emphasize is that it takes decades to build things. It takes weeks to destroy them. And this Iranian regime and its proxies are in the business of destruction, and they can do that on the cheap, as we've seen with $20,000 drones.

[18:20:03]

TAPPER: President Trump is frustrated that NATO allies aren't helping him push back against the Iranians and their -- basically their seizure of the Strait of Hormuz, their mining of it and their attacks on ships that have tried to go through it. What is the best way to degrade the Iranian military's ability to continue to lay siege on the strait?

SADJAPOUR: The challenge there is that it's a war of economic asymmetry. So, as I said, you have these $20,000 drones that are harassing $100 million tankers, carrying hundreds of millions of dollars of cargo, whether that's oil, natural gas, or fertilizer.

I think the president's instincts to want to internationalize the solution is important because that oil and gas and fertilizer is primarily bound for Asia, not the United States. And I think, Jake, that President Trump has put himself in this situation in which this wasn't a war of necessity. It was a war of choice. But I think it's now almost morphed into a war of necessity because you can't let this pariah government hold the global economy hostage.

TAPPER: Unfortunately, the president's having difficulty getting allies to participate.

Karim Sadjapour, thank you so much. Today, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee officially subpoenaed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Will she show up to answer questions about the Epstein investigation? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead today, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee formally subpoenaed the current U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have criticized Attorney General Bondi and the Justice Department, saying that they believe the Epstein files were overly redacted, demanding greater transparency.

A Justice Department spokesperson called the subpoena completely unnecessary, but did not say whether Bondi will comply with it.

Joining us to discuss, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Elie, what questions do you think the committee should ask Pam Bondi?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jake, first and foremost is there, or is there not any ongoing criminal investigation at DOJ of anybody relating to Jeffrey Epstein? Pam Bondi and her top surrogates have been asked that many times and have given inconsistent and at times contradictory answers to that. Very simple yes or no question. She can't provide details, but she should be able to say, yes there is, or no, there is not.

With respect to the files themselves, there are questions about, first of all, why were some of the victims' names revealed? Who's responsible for that? What accountability is there? Why were other names that should have been revealed redacted? And, finally, are you done with this production or will there be more?

And, Jake, I found it really interesting, as you noted, DOJ's initial reaction was to call this subpoena, quote, completely unnecessary. That's an unusual posture. So, we'll see if she fights this or whether she goes in and testifies, as required.

TAPPER: Bank of America settled a lawsuit yesterday filed by an Epstein victim who accused the bank of failing to flag suspicious activity and transactions related to Epstein to law enforcement. In previous public statements in court filings, the bank had denied any wrongdoing. Bank of America declined to comment on this story. How might this settlement, whatever it is, play into Bondi -- the questioning of Bondi?

HONIG: Well, this is one of the remaining outstanding questions around the whole Jeffrey Epstein mess. What happened with all this money? How were they able to move millions of dollars through various bank accounts? And I expect Pam Bondi to be questioned about that. What has DOJ done? What is DOJ doing now to track that money? Have there been accounts frozen? Have there been assets seized? What's being done with that money? So, I think that's another avenue of inquiry for the attorney general.

TAPPER: The man charged with planning pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC headquarters the night before the 2021 Capitol riot is asking a federal judge to dismiss the case. We talked about this before, I think.

HONIG: Right.

TAPPER: He -- the lawyer for the accused is arguing that the president's pardon of January 6th rioters applies to his client as well. Now, a White House officials disputing the argument saying, quote, the pipe bombs were placed on January 5th. The pardon pertained to events at or near the Capitol on January 6th and clearly does not cover this scenario, unquote. What do you think about the suspect's lawyer's argument? Is it legit? Is it valid?

HONIG: It's not crazy, Jake. You and I did anticipate they would make this argument. If you look at that pardon, it says it relates broadly to all events at or near the Capitol on January 6th. And what the pipe bomber, the defendant's legal team is arguing is, okay, he set the bombs certainly near the Capitol, the RNC and DNC are just a few hundred yards away the evening of January 5th, a few hours before January 6th, and most importantly, united by the same purpose, which is to dispute the 2020 election results.

Now, DOJ is going to argue, yes, but it was not on January 6th, but this is the Pandora's Box that one opens, a president opens, when he issues a broad sweeping blanket pardon like this one. He has given rise to this defense argument.

TAPPER: The Justice Department will no longer require prosecutors to have one year of experience before being hired at DOJ. This comes as DOJ is struggling to find replacements following mass departures and firings, getting rid of experienced people. What's your reaction to this lowering of qualifications?

HONIG: It's a sad testament to where the Justice Department is right now, Jake. You know, for the last 50, 100 years, it's been the gold ring for any lawyer to get hired at DOJ. I would've crawled over broken glass and get hired. I got rejected twice before I finally got admitted into DOJ because the standards were so high and it was so competitive to get in.

Now, we see DOJ has bled out, we don't know the exact number, but hundreds and possibly thousands of experienced prosecutors. And so what do they do? They eliminate the most minimal job requirement that you have to have been a practicing lawyer for just one year. So, they're lowering the bar.

[18:30:00]

It's a sad moment for DOJ. It tells us how far they've fallen and how far they're willing to go to get people in the door now.

TAPPER: Elie Honig, thanks so much.

HONIG: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: As passengers are forced to wait in line for hours and TSA agents are forced to work without pay. Some experts predict that the travel chaos is going to continue to get worse as this partial government shutdown caused by Senate dysfunction drags on. Coming up next, I'm going to talk to the man in charge of the busiest airport in the United States.

Stick around. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM STAHL, ACTING DEPUTY TSA ADMINISTRATOR: We're fully stretched. If this continues it's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if call out rates go up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That warning coming from the acting deputy TSA administrator earlier today, as several airports are struggling with TSA staffing issues amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. It's caused by Senate Democrats refusing to fund DHS until serious changes are made to ICE and customs amidst immigration policy and Republicans refusing to vote to fund TSA discreetly amid this dysfunction. The Department of Homeland Security says at least 366 TSA agents have quit so far. And long security lines continue to wreak havoc for travelers, including in Atlanta.

[18:35:03]

Let's bring in somebody who's been managing these long lines, Ricky Smith. He's the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Ricky, thanks so much for joining us.

So, some travelers at your airport waited more than two hours in security lines earlier today. One of them told CNN that the airport was not prepared for this. I want you to take a listen to what else they told my colleague, Ryan Young.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been online for 45 minutes and apparently it's another hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is crazy. So --

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever seen the line here this long?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I haven't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had delays yesterday for like three hours and I'm thinking I'm going to rebook my travel -- on travel until this settles down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, look, obviously the fault for this lies on Capitol Hill, where the Senate has not been able to fund TSA, all right? I don't want there to be any confusion about that. What do you say to travelers who have to deal with these lines? Should they start booking out of other airports? Do they need to show up four hours ahead of time? What do you tell them? RICKY SMITH, GENERAL MANAGER, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Well, you know, we're about 30 minutes into this federal government down and, you know, we are experiencing about 30 percent, 36 percent call out for TSA employees here. And we're very happy to have those that continue to come to work every day and show their commitment to the public and their dedication to the public.

You know, the lines are longer than normal. They're longer than usual. And we expect that. We don't find that acceptable. And so, you know, the airport partnering with our airlines, TSA and other stakeholders at the airport, we are doing everything we can to try to make a bad experience the best experience possible for our traveling public.

And I'll say, quite frankly, you know, I want to applaud the traveling public because they've been very tolerant and patient, all things considered. But more than that, I want to commend our TSA employees who continue to come to work without getting paid. They too have been very tolerant and patient.

And so I think all around, you know, this is not an acceptable situation, but the passengers and TSA being tolerant and they're coming to the situation with the best attitude.

TAPPER: You said that we're about 30 minutes into it. I think you meant 30 days into it. But speaking of minutes, how --

SMITH: Yes, about 30 days into it.

TAPPER: Yes. How --

SMITH: Yes.

TAPPER: How far ahead of a flight should passengers come if they're going to your airport?

SMITH: So, we're encouraging passengers to come about three hours ahead of their scheduled flight.

TAPPER: Yes.

SMITH: But in addition to that, you know, check with your airline and, you know, go onto atl.com if you're flying out of Hartsfield-Jackson. But we want to make sure that you know that the status of your flight before you come to the airport. So, call your airline in advance.

TAPPER: I can imagine most TSA workers that are there, and you're saying about 30 percent are not showing up, so the 70 percent that are there, they're under a lot of stress. They're working without pay. They're overwhelmed by the job. How is your airport helping them get by? How is your airport preventing them from quitting or from calling in sick?

SMITH: Well, our TSA employees went through this just back in October, 43 days, the longest shutdown in the history of the country and. And, again, we are now, you know, 30 days into this one. Of course, they're feeling some level of uncertainty and anxiety and we understand that they're not getting paid.

What we're trying to do as an airport is to ease some of that anxiety. You know, we are giving them food vouchers. We have our concession air partners that are also providing meals to them. We're providing free parking, MARTA, which is the local transit organization, is providing free parking. And we have a number of organizations that have just decided to show up to provide canned goods and a number of other, you know, products just, again, to try to show that we support them, that we are appreciate their commitment to the public and to try to ease their pain a little bit.

TAPPER: Ricky Smith, thank you so much.

SMITH: Thank you.

TAPPER: Let's turn out a Democratic Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of a New Hampshire. Congresswoman, this shutdown is because of the Senate, not the House, so there's so much I want to blame you for this, but as a theoretical construct, should members of Congress even be getting paid if TSA agents aren't?

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D-NH): Absolutely not, Jake. You know, this is, to me, one of the most outrageous wrongs in federal law that right now members of Congress are being paid when hardworking federal workers who are being forced to work without a paycheck after the longest shutdown in American history. We should right this wrong, and we can do that tomorrow. Once again, six times we have voted in the House and in the Senate to fund the unfunded parts of DHS, six times.

TAPPER: All of them or just --

GOODLANDER: The unfunded parts of DHS.

[18:40:00]

Now, remember, there are two parts of DHS that aren't funded right now, ICE and Border Patrol. Right now, they're enjoying more federal funding than they have ever had in their history. In fact, ICE has more federal funding because of HR-1, the president's so-called big, beautiful bill, than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined. So they are fully funded.

We're talking about the unfunded parts of DHS. We voted six times to try to fund them. Tomorrow, we will be bringing forward a petition on the floor of the House. We need 218 signatures on it. We need four Republicans to join us on it because there is no good reason why we shouldn't be funding every Transportation Security Administration officer in this country. FEMA should be funded. The men and women of the Coast Guard should be getting paid. And this is a problem we should be solving tomorrow. The speaker and the president have stood in the way of this at every turn. But tomorrow, we have a chance to get this done.

So it's Democrats insisting on changes to ICE policy and Customs and Border Patrol -- Customs and Border Protection policy and immigration policy in general before Democrats will agree to fund the whole DHS thing. That's what's holding this up right now.

Today, the White House detailed its offer to reopen. This is their counteroffer. Some of their proposals include expanding the use of body cameras by ICE agents, limit the government's ability to conduct operations in sensitive locations, such as hospitals or schools, boost oversight at federal detention facilities, require most immigration agents to clearly identify themselves during enforcement actions. Do you think that this is a legitimate counterproposal? I mean, is there room here for Democrats to accept that and reopen payment for TSA agents and the like?

GOODLANDER: Well, just to be clear to me, these are two separate tracks because ICE and Border Patrol are already funded. Tomorrow, we have a chance to vote again, and I hope our Republican colleagues will join us to fund the unfunded parts of DHS.

TAPPER: Right. But Democrats are the ones tying changes to ICE to this unfunded part, like TSA and the Coast Guard.

GOODLANDER: Look, I'm prepared and I have tried six times to vote in favor of funding the unfunded parts of DHS. At the same time, we are pressing for basic guardrails, reasonable guardrails on this $150 billion blank check that went directly to Kristi Noem, that has been used over the course of this year. We've seen American citizens shot dead in broad daylight by masked agents.

We need a reasonable use of force policy in this country to govern ICE in the same way that I see my local police departments operating with reasonable use of force policies with basic guardrails. They don't operate with masks. They operate transparently, professionally, and with accountability. And that is what we need in this country.

TAPPER: But do you think that that's the administration's meeting you guys halfway in terms of what you want?

GOODLANDER: Well, I don't see anything about a reasonable use of force policy in the president's letter today. I don't see anything about no masks for agents, standardized uniforms. I don't see anything about judicial warrants.

And, you know, right now we know ICE is operating with a policy that turns the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution on its head. I don't see anything about returning to state and local authorities the basic oversight responsibilities that they need to keep our communities safe, and that is what we're pressing for, reasonable guardrails to keep our communities safe.

TAPPER: All right. Democratic Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, thank you so much.

It is election night in America again. All eyes are on the race that will test the power and influence of a man rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:30]

TAPPER: We're back with the politics lead on a Tuesday. You know what that means. I love the CNN election jam. Let's do it.

(MUSIC)

TAPPER: All righty. It's election day, where? In Illinois, a hotly contested open senate primary race to replace the retiring Senate -- Senator Dick Durbin could give us key insight into the minds of Democratic voters, at least those in the land of Lincoln.

It is a three-way contest between Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who emerged as an early frontrunner, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton who has the backing of powerful Governor J.B. Pritzker, and also Congresswoman Robin Kelly is who supported by the Congressional Black Caucus.

And in this deep blue state, tonight's winner is pretty likely to become the next senator.

Let's discuss.

Ashley Allison, good to have you here.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be here.

TAPPER: Thanks. Thanks for being here.

So, the race has gotten kind of nasty for a Democratic primary race, although there aren't really particularly strong ideological divisions between all of them. They're all pretty progressive. What are you going to be looking for from tonight's results?

ALLISON: Well, first, just leading up to the race, I'm looking at the diversity of the candidates, which I think is significant for Democrats right now. I am curious to see -- to your point ideologically, no, not different, but there are a couple of things that some of them have said, like Stratton saying, I won't support Chuck Schumer as the majority leader if we take the Senate back. That's pretty bold. And so, it is a signal Illinois is pretty Democratic but it's a signal of where the party is going to go.

Are we going to change in leadership? Will Chicago voters align, Illinois voters align? I just think it's good for Democrats all in all that people are still throwing their hat in the ring. There's some congressional races are also up, and it's good for the party because if you were to rewind a year ago, I think people would be like, what are Democrats doing? Who's going to lead us? Who do we want? And these are all fairly new faces, particularly Stratton, to the party that could turn some things up

TAPPER: So, it will be a test in a way of the power of governor J.B. Pritzker, who, it's no secret, is contemplating a presidential run. If his preferred candidate, his lieutenant governor, Stratton, if she loses, does that mean that his, like will that be held against him, do you think? MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: No, I

don't think it'll be held against him. She is surging in the polls in the last, you know, couple weeks of the campaign. It will show that he wasted $12 million supporting her -- I mean, I think the two big.

TAPPER: Pocket change.

ALLISON: Right.

TAPPER: Pocket change for Pritzker, but the two big things in this race really are, is the -- is the influence of the outside money. We're seeing a lot of outside money in a party primary that you don't normally see.

[18:50:02]

$12 million from Pritzker. A pro-crypto group has put in $10 million.

TAPPER: For who?

DUBKE: For --

TAPPER: For Krishnamoorthi?

DUBKE: Yes.

TAPPER: Okay.

DUBKE: Yes. Well, in support of him.

And I think you're -- so you're seeing that money in the -- in the race and then you're seeing also in the Democratic Party, you know, you've got the city versus the suburbs, progressives versus the moderates, the governors versus the crypto bros. I feel like Stefon from SNL giving you the "it's got everything in this race".

But I mean that's what you're -- what you're seeing here. And it's going to be a battle to the -- to the end. And it's close.

ALLISON: Yeah.

TAPPER: I know it is -- it is reductive and wrong to say that the two black women candidates are going to split the black vote, but you know, elections are voting blocs of different people. And there is always the possibility that that if that happens, Krishnamoorthi could win.

ALLISON: Perhaps, but I think in order to win, you have to have a winning coalition without just black voters.

TAPPER: Right.

ALLISON: So, I think that Kelly will be able to do that. Stratton will be able to do that, and maybe Raja will be able to do that.

But it is important that if you want to run for elected office, you don't have to resign yourself out because somebody of the same race is also running for office. And that often happens for black women. That often happens for black candidates sometimes for Latino candidates, the candidates that usually doesn't happen for are white men. And so those candidates have just as much ability to win that race just because they're two black women. I think one of them probably will pull it out.

TAPPER: Interesting, though, that there isn't a white candidate, you know? I mean --

ALLISON: Progress.

TAPPER: Yeah.

So, let's turn to another important race.

DUBKE: I don't know how I feel about it.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Let's turn to another. Don't worry. There are plenty of white men involved.

ALLISON: I think you're safe.

TAPPER: Another big senate race. Democrats think that they have an opportunity to pick up a seat in in Maine, where Susan Collins is running for reelection. And the primary, the Democratic primary pits the current governor, Janet Mills, against Graham Platner, who's this progressive firebrand with controversial tattoos and the like.

Here is an ad from Janet Mills attacking Graham Platner. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Did you know Graham Platner wrote that women worried about rape need to quote --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not get so fucked up. They wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's disgusting.

NARRATOR: Platner wrote, to avoid rape, women should, quote --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Act like an adult for fuck's sake

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Graham Platner seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We blame the victim.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a horrible thing to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disqualifying.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: What do you make of that ad?

DUBKE: Well, first of all, I -- were they using A.I. to make his --

TAPPER: I think it was I believe it's A.I. for his voice, but it's stuff he wrote on like Reddit or something. Yeah.

DUBKE: Well, my line on this election, it's the Nazi versus the 90- year-old. So that's what the Democrats have focused.

TAPPER: Rough, rough.

DUBKE: Sorry.

TAPPER: Yeah.

DUBKE: Was this supposed to be a very --

TAPPER: No, no, no. I'm not contradicting. Go ahead.

DUBKE: -- safe space.

TAPPER: No, no, no, we're not safe --

DUBKE: But also, you know, back to what I was saying about Illinois. This is -- you've got the majority. You've got -- and you've got Schumer and the establishment of the Democrats really versus the progressives, Bernie Sanders that are backing the other --

TAPPER: She's not 90, just for the record.

DUBKE: No, but she didn't say anything about it being not a Nazi. I noticed.

TAPPER: He's not a Nazi either

DUBKE: Okay. Thank you. So but I mean --

TAPPER: She's 78.

DUBKE: So once again.

ALLISON: Off the rails.

TAPPER: Well, he said the Nazi versus the 90 year old. I had to fact check it. Keep going. I'm done, I'm done.

DUBKE: I'm sorry.

TAPPER: I'm done

DUBKE: It really is a -- it really is another sign of the fight within the Democratic Party. That's what I was trying to.

TAPPER: Yeah, yeah. No, I hear you.

ALLISON: Yeah.

TAPPER: That ad is aimed at you. It is aimed at Democratic women. That is who that ad, is named -- is after. How did it impact you as a Democratic woman?

ALLISON: I mean, that's tough to listen to, I will say. And I think it's probably also tough for Democratic fathers to listen to, and Democratic brothers and sons and husbands. It's troubling language, but I agree with you that this is -- we are in a moment -- this year will be a determining factor on where we go ahead of 2028. And I don't -- I think we're probably going to be a 50/50 split of like moderate Democrats and left -- more left leaning.

TAPPER: Fiery progressives. Yeah.

ALLISON: Yeah. In terms of where we want to go, and as the party we're going to have to decide how do we win? And then how do we govern together? Because the one thing that I think both of them will still do is say and Donald Trump is bad.

Yeah, we know it, but what do you stand for? And if the language in that ad is what folks stand for, I don't know how well that bodes for him.

TAPPER: Yeah. I mean, I think if Graham Platner were here, he would say that stuff he wrote a long time ago and also his supporters will say he talks like a real person. He's not a politician. That's part of his appeal.

Ashley and Mike, thanks so much for being here.

The rare sight spotted over the skies in parts of the U.S. today. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:07]

TAPPER: Our last leads now, it starts in our law and justice lead. An employee at a -- at a Georgia Veterans Affairs clinic was airlifted to the hospital today after being shot at work. Police in Jasper, Georgia, about an hour outside Atlanta shot and killed the suspected shooter. Officials say they're trying to figure out if the suspect had any connection to the veterans clinic.

Our sports lead tonight in Miami, Team USA and Team Venezuela are set to meet in the final of the world baseball classic. Team USA is chock- full of major league stars, as is Team Venezuela. This is Venezuela's first time making it to the championship game. So far, their fans, including many Venezuelan expats, have been loud and in party mode.

And the out of this world lead, come look at this rare sight today over the United States. It's a rare meteor or a space rock burning up in earth's atmosphere. People spotted it around 9:00 this morning over several states, including Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The experts note that daytime meteor sights are pretty rare. This

fireball moved so fast it broke the sound barrier and triggered a sonic boom.

You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. You should download the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.