Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Trump Taps Mullin; CNN's Fred Pleitgen Reports from Inside Iran; Jonathan Panikoff is Interviewed about Iran; Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) is Interviewed about Noem. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 06, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:32]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour, and we're following this breaking news out of the Middle East.

New bombardment in Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched a new wave of attacks on the Iranian capital. Israel says they are moving to the next phase of the war after carrying out 2,500 strikes since this all began. Now, we actually have a report from the ground in Iran just moments away.

Israel also ramping up its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Presidents have been -- residents have been fleeing from huge swaths of Beirut and its suburbs. It's also hit parts of northern Lebanon for the first time in this conflict.

Also, Kristi Noem now out as Homeland Security secretary. President Trump said he was moving Noem to become the envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which is a newly made up position. She will leave her position by the end of the month.

Now, President Trump wants Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace Noem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": We have seen a good bit of Senator Mullin over the past couple years. And let's just say that Markwayne is no Mark Twain.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: When you're talking about drinking at ten in the morning, that's a drinking problem. Now, it doesn't mean that there should be a stigma, OK. There --

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLEN (R-OK): Well, then there's a lot of politicians that have a drinking problem, Jake.

TAPPER: Yes, of course. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: He is also a staunch ally of the president, who's known for making frequent media appearances to defend the administration. Over the years, the former MMA fighter has been known for bringing that fight to Capitol Hill. Sometimes literally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): You want to run your mouth. We can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.

SEAN O'BRIEN, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: OK, that's fine. Perfect.

MULLIN: You want to do it now?

O'BRIEN: I'd love to do it right now.

MULLIN: Well, stand your butt up then.

O'BRIEN: You stand your butt up, big guy.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Oh, hold -- hold -- stop it!

O'BRIEN: Is that your solution to every problem?

SANDERS: All right, hold on. No, no, sit down.

MULLIN: (INAUDIBLE).

SANDERS: Sit down. You know, you're a United States senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back.

So, earlier we heard from Ben and you guys talking about how Kristi Noem had been the face, right? She wanted to be up front. And the president wants somebody who can defend what used to be his most popular sort of subject with the voters. What is he getting with Senator Mullin?

NOEL KING, CO-HOST AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: A new person. A new person.

CORNISH: The fight.

KING: I'm sorry. I don't know.

CORNISH: Let me go over here.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: (INAUDIBLE). No, I -- what he's getting is this.

[06:35:01] Markwayne Mullin is frequently on CNN's air, for example. He's much more accessible to the press, which is unusual in this environment especially with Republican lawmakers.

CORNISH: That's true. Where I think some lawmakers, at the start of the year, were actually kind of wrestled to the ground trying to go to Kristi Noem events, you know what I mean?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right. Yes.

CORNISH: And so, the fact that you could even see him in a scrum is like a different tone.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's a different vibe. So, he doesn't bring a lot of that kind of baggage to it.

And, yes, as we've seen there, he is -- certainly has his own persona. I mean if you have to break up a possible fistfight and Bernie Sanders is your man to kind of make you sit down --

MICHAEL WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE DISPATCH": Kind of interesting.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think -- I think, you know, maybe -- maybe you're a bit of a hothead.

WARREN: Wall Street opinion page with their headline about firing Noem. But what I noticed was their editorial board saying, this is a chance to reboot deportations in a more targeted fashion.

WARREN: I think so. And I think, you know, you could do a lot worse than Markwayne Mullin. I think he's popular on Capitol Hill. You've heard even Democratic senators say that he's competent. And really, when you think about DHS, it's a huge department and it needs management more than anything else. I think --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: He has no experience though.

WARREN: I agree.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: None.

WARREN: I agree he has no experience in that. But I do think he has the support of Donald Trump, which is obviously the most important thing. And he has no ambition. I -- you know, Kristi Noem, I think, had presidential ambitions.

CORNISH: Presidential ambitions.

WARREN: Markwayne Mullin does not, as far as I know. And I think, you know, if you're looking for somebody who can execute his policy, you could do worse than Markwayne Mullin.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But you know how sad that is, though.

WARREN: Well, it's the reality.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: He -- he's loyal to the president. He has no experience with the thing that is the most important thing --

WARREN: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: To protect the homeland during a conflict in the Middle East where threats are escalating towards the homeland. And this man has 0.00 experience with any of it.

CORNISH: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is a huge agency.

CORNISH: Though, often when you tap a senator, you get the benefit of the senators knowing each other and that (ph) approval.

KING: Yes.

WARREN: Yes.

KING: Yes. And you have to assume, on some level, that he is competent. I mean, Kristi Noem, again, we cannot say this enough, disaster after disaster after disaster. This guy's coming in and there are no disasters preceding him. So, he likes to square up on Capitol Hill. Something that Trump likes.

I do think this is a situation where it's worth seeing how he does.

CORNISH: Yes. And just to show the polling, what we know so far, how do people feel about the administration's program to deport immigrants illegally in the U.S.? Independents, 59 percent disapprove. So, that is a number we are watching to get that back.

KING: Yes, they need to get those polling -- they need to get that polling back.

CORNISH: And the other thing I want to add is, Democrats, they are still withholding funding in this partial government shutdown. Some of the things that they're looking for, we mentioned judicial warrants, having a use of force standard. And then I noticed, no enforcement in sensitive sites, which forever was schools, hospitals. And I see on the list, polling sites. Is that the next fight?

WARREN: I think it could be. Look, I think whoever the face is of this immigration enforcement fight, the sort of brains behind it all is Stephen Miller. And that's the person that we really have to remember is going to be directing a lot of what actually happens.

CORNISH: Yes.

WARREN: Is Markwayne Mullin the man to sort of put a media friendly face on that kind of policy? You know, he's probably going to be pretty good at that, but we should keep watching and keep tabs on his relationship with Stephen Miller, because that's going to be the most important to determine how this actually plays out, if he is, of course, confirmed, which I think he will be.

CORNISH: OK, you guys, thank you so much. I want to -- I want you to stay here. We have more to talk about.

One of the things I want to get to here is the senior international correspondent here at CNN, Fred Pleitgen. He and his team are actually in Iran. And this is where airstrikes were hitting just before dawn.

Now, CNN was the first U.S. network allowed into the country since the start of the war. We're going to point out here that CNN does, as a result, operate in Iran essentially with government permission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're making fairly good progress towards Tehran. It is a very, very long drive, though.

Some things that we are seeing, we already went past one place where apparently there had just been an airstrike. There was thick, black smoke billowing over one place. So, it seemed like a fairly fresh airstrike. Also, some destroyed buildings that we saw from our vantage point as we were driving past.

The other thing that I would also say is that there are definitely more checkpoints than usual. We did see checkpoints with fairly heavily armed security personnel. Other than that, though, it seems as though things are going on and we certainly don't see any sign of order collapsing here.

Taking a quick break for a coffee along the way. We've been driving for several hours. There's a couple of things that we've noticed. Number one is that, first of all, all the shops are open. All the shops are really well stocked.

[06:40:01]

Even with fresh things like, for instance, fruits and vegetables. Coffee, obviously, also available as well.

And then also the gas stations. There's no long lines at gas stations. Fuel seems readily available. And you just don't see any sort of degree of panic anywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CORNISH: OK, Iran's state media reports the council running the country is getting ready to announce the new supreme leader. He's the son of the late supreme leader, considered a frontrunner. Speaking to "Axios," President Trump said, quote, "they are wasting their time. I have to be involved in the appointment," just as he was in Venezuela.

So, joining us in the group chat, Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.

First, can you just talk about Trump's quote there? Yes, help.

JONATHAN PANIKOFF, DIRECTOR, SCOWCROFT MIDDLE EAST SECURITY INITIATIVE: Look, I think this is a question, actually, that gets implicitly, in terms of, does Trump actually want regime change or leadership change? Because what he seems to be indicating by saying he wants to be involved in the leadership picking is that implicitly it's OK for the regime as a whole to stay, for Quds force to stay, for the guards to stay. But that's very different than what he told the people at the beginning of this campaign where he said, look, when the bombs stop, it will be yours to choose. That would seem to be a more regime change type concept. And I think that's going to become a real question here as we go forward.

CORNISH: Do you think he's saying something like that because there are like diaspora voices of Iran who are saying, look, we should be the ones to come into this democratic -- and he's trying to somehow imply that? Because, like, he's not in control of what's happening inside Iran, period.

PANIKOFF: A hundred percent. I think, look, I think Venezuela actually probably gave a little bit of a misperception about how much influence he was going to be able to have here and what this was going to be like. And I'm thinking that's probably, frankly, ringing in his head a little bit as he goes forth. Venezuela and Iran could not be more different fundamentally in how they operate. The president is not going to have the chance to have the same level of impact, frankly. He's not going to be able to have any impact on how the Iranian regime goes forward in choosing a new leader.

CORNISH: Can you talk about the person who's next in line, kind of next ayatollah? I think that one of the names I'm seeing is Mojtaba Khamenei.

PANIKOFF: Yes, that's right. So, Mojtaba is the son of the previous ayatollah, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The reality is that he is probably the most hardline of candidates that could be chosen. In other words, if Khamenei -- if Mojtaba Khamenei end up coming in and being the leader, it's a reflection that not only do the guards still have full control of the system, but that you shouldn't expect to see significant change within the Iranian regime.

CORNISH: Can you talk about what that means also for the region? I mean Trump has said he'd welcome, let's say, a Kurdish uprising within Iran. Kurdish communities around the Middle East longing, usually, for their own independent state. And I think the Kurds in Iraq have said, listen, guys, we're not going to help you with that.

PANIKOFF: Yes.

CORNISH: Is this a wild card?

PANIKOFF: I don't know if it's a wild card, but I think it certainly is a new factor here and a new variable in a situation that already probably has too many. Look, the reality is that if you ended up having Kurdish efforts to frankly fight and having their own independence, you could then have, in the north especially, Azeri (ph) efforts and Barak (ph) efforts. There's 16 major minority groups in Iran. There's a lot other, fewer smaller minority groups. Iran is three times the size of Iraq. It's got 92 million people almost. So, if you thought Iraq was a challenge in terms of fragmentation, possibly just in the north with the Kurdistan region, this would be a much more destabilizing situation throughout the Iranian country if you had so many groups all fighting for their own independence.

CORNISH: Meantime, before I let you go, is there anyone coming up in the ranks, so to speak, that Israel would remotely want to deal with?

PANIKOFF: Look, I think it gets to this question of what regime change actually looks like versus leadership change. I'm sure that there actually are. And I think it's very unlikely that we know who those individuals are right now. Folks at, frankly, kind of the mid to lower senior level ranks could play that type of role, could play that type of, you know, almost Gorbachev-like role potentially. But I think we're going to have to wait and see. We're still quite a ways away from this. Worth noting, only seven days into this war. I think there's quite a bit more to go.

CORNISH: OK, well, that means you'll be back. So, thank you so much for being here.

PANIKOFF: Of course.

CORNISH: That's Jonathan Penticoff.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about the exit of Kristi Noem after a fire hearing on -- a fiery hearing on Capitol Hill. Democrats and some Republicans saying, look, it was about time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): So, sister girl had to go. I am sorry that it took this long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I'm going to be joined by the woman you just saw, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove.

And we're also going to talk about the cost of war.

[06:45:01]

How much the president's fight with Iran is costing you in taxpayer dollars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): So, Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Mr. Chairman, I am shocked that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Kristi Noem is now out as Homeland Security Secretary after a week of tough questions during hearings on Capitol Hill.

We're bringing in the group chat. The lawmaker who was in the middle of that moment, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat of California.

[06:50:08]

Why did you ask her that question?

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): It was a question about judgment and decision making. It was a question about conflict of interest and national security risk. She is head of one of the most important agencies in this government, overseeing 260,000 people. And we are in a situation where Americans are being shot in the face, detained, deported, brutalized. A five-year-old child has been arrested. And cities who are still recovering from natural disasters have not gotten their FEMA money.

CORNISH: OK. Here's the thing. She -- you guys got into it, back and forth, so I can't play an answer from her in that moment. I will play an answer from her from Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida, who was giving her a chance to answer. And here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): I want to give you an opportunity to answer on the record, to Ms. Kamlager-Dove's question. I know you said it's garbage, and it may be, but I really think you need to say the word "no" into the record so that you can clear that up.

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think the ridiculousness of this and the tabloids that you are quoting and referencing are insane.

MOSKOWITZ: So that's a no?

NOEM: And this has been something that I've refuted for years.

MOSKOWITZ: Is that a no?

NOEM: And I continue to do that.

MOSKOWITZ: So, it's a no. We can move on.

NOEM: What I would tell you is regards to what you're doing --

MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. That's it. We can move on. I'm not going to belabor it. If it's --

NOEM: It -- this is -- this is what you do --

MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. I'm not --

NOEM: Socialist, liberal left --

MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. I'm not -- I'm not doing any of that.

NOEM: Is you go off and you attack conservative women --

MOSKOWITZ: OK, I -- I was -- I was --

NOEM: And you say that we're either stupid or we're sluts.

MOSKOWITZ: I haven't said anything. All right, so, listen --

NOEM: And that's what you do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: "You attack conservative women and say that we're either stupid or sluts."

Can you respond to that moment, sort of how she responded to all of this?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: She didn't answer my question. And ultimately, like I said, it's about judgment. We are in the middle of a war, and we have staff who are at risk. They're putting their lives at risk. And we need someone who is operating with very clear judgment, right? And you have a situation, there are so many anti-fraternization policies out there in organizations because it can become a problem, liability, conflict of interest. We could be -- have someone in a senior position susceptible to blackmail. Many of the questions that both my colleagues and senators were asking had to do with how contracts were being vetted and approved, reviewed. I mean, all of those things coming into question.

CORNISH: But this spread, you know, into a cultural moment. I was watching "The View," as one is want to do, the middle of the day. The hosts started debating her answer, but also the question and whether or not this is a kind of double standard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNNY HOSTIN, HOST, "THE VIEW": My issue is, where was the no? I mean I've been married 27 years. If someone asked me if I had an affair with Corey Lewandowski, I would say no, right? So, why didn't she just say no?

JOY BEHAR, HOST, "THE VIEW": She doesn't want to be accused of perjury. That's why.

SARA HAINES, HOST, "THE VIEW": So -- well, I -- you know, I think it's --

HOSTIN: Well, that's the implication is that she couldn't say no.

HAINES: Well, yes, that's an -- that's a big --

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, HOST, "THE VIEW": I think some people, when it comes to giving respect to tabloid rumors, just choose not to address them.

HOSTIN: There's -- employment law.

HASSELBECK: I do think there's a big, big case of fominism (ph) going on when it comes to conservative and liberal women, when we should be backing each other to a standard and holding each other to a standard where we're not trying to say, hey, we don't appoint women to positions of --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I want to ask you about this because there are lots of ways to talk about Lewandowski's role as a special government employee. And you hear a kind of cultural commentary about, was this the way to do it?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, "The Wall Street Journal" is not a tabloid. And, at the end of the day, we're talking about accountability. We are talking about accountability.

I represent a district where folks have been homeless because of the fires in Altadena and Palisades, and we haven't gotten any money. And we have called and called and called.

CORNISH: From FEMA.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: And what -- from FEMA. And the question is, who is reviewing these requests and why are we not getting our money? Why is Tillis (ph) not getting his money? I mean, at the end of the day, that's what it's about.

Now, I said, it is so OK to be offended by the question, but it should also be the easiest question to answer, and you should want to do it to clear the air because it is about, ultimately, are you of clear mind when you are making decisions, or have you been co-opted or clouded by something else? And her employees need to be able to look at her as their leader and say, this person is credible.

CORNISH: OK.

WARREN: Congresswoman, we heard a lot from Republican senators, maybe not so much from Republican House members, going after Kristi Noem. I'm curious, behind the scenes, whether it's these rumors or questions I think that you're asking, questions about the money being spent and how it's being spent. What are your Republican colleagues saying about DHS, about Noem's leadership behind the scenes that you can share with us?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Nobody's sad that she's gone on both the Republican and the Democratic side. Mostly because there are Republican cities, red cities, that also haven't gotten their money from FEMA.

[06:55:01]

And they say, OK, my constituents are suffering, and you have this $70 million plane. You got a $200 million ad campaign that's all about you. And ultimately, I think at the end of the day, Donald Trump was saying, well, why is everybody talking about her? And she's messing up my image. So, homegirl has to go.

CORNISH: You now have a new name, Markwayne Mullin, the senator.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.

CORNISH: Does that mean Democrats will help release money from this partial government shutdown?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, leadership change is important in DHS, but ultimately the values that we've put forth have really nothing to do with her. It has more to do with how Donald Trump, right, wants DHS to be run. So, judicial warrants are very important. You cannot be knocking down the doors without a judicial warrant. The face masks are important. You cannot be detaining and deporting U.S. citizens. You have to have a very targeted approach to how you're trying to run ICE.

CORNISH: Yes.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: And you have to be getting that money out for FEMA.

So, I don't know the senator --

CORNISH: How much longer are you guys going to hold out?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: We're going to hold out until the White House comes to the table and renegotiates and negotiates (INAUDIBLE).

CORNISH: Do you feel like because Noem is gone that shows that this is working?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: I think it shows that this is working, yes. I mean, let me tell you something, the White House does play hardball. And they always are going to take the win. And we are going to have to figure out a way to get the rest of the government open. But what we are asking for are common sense requests that, quite honestly, we shouldn't have to be asking for.

CORNISH: Yes.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: But we're in a new paradigm, and so here we are.

CORNISH: I also want to ask about Iran and your capacity on the House Foreign Relations Committee. It's interesting, there were a lot of agencies that were DOGE-ed, so to speak, in the area of diplomacy. The State Department. Is there anything that the U.S. does not have now as a result that would have been helpful in this situation with the war in Iran.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: So, it's been really disturbing to hear reports that England, that the U.K. is getting out its people and that we are not, you know? What we're hearing is, call the airlines and see if you can get a seat on a plane and get out. And that's because so much of the State Department was decimated with all of these cuts from DOGE. The other thing that's very scary is, we've been having these

briefings, and where is Tulsi Gabbard to give us intelligence to at least help us understand why we have gone into this war. But we have thousands of folks that can't get home.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: May I ask you something, Representative? I'm very curious about where Democrats stand on this war because they've been very good at criticizing the process of how this war came about, about whether they should be -- whether the administration should be talking to Congress or not, getting authorization, issues about how people are getting out. But what about the actual execution of the war? Is this a just war in Democrat's view, in your view? I mean is this something that Democrats should be supporting?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, we had a war powers resolution vote yesterday, 212 Democrats voted yes. We want to retain our power. We think that --

CORNISH: And four voted no. I'm going to just show the audience who they were.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.

CORNISH: Representative Cuellar, Golden, Landsman, Vargas. People broke ranks. They didn't agree.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes, but four out of, you know, how many we have, I think, says a lot. I mean, at the end of the day, I'm upset with those four, I'm going to tell you, because Congress has just a few major responsibilities. One is the power of the purse, and the other is to declare war. And so, you know, I don't want Donald Trump to do my job. That's why I show up.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But -- so that's about whether or not Congress was spoken to.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Right.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But what do you think about the war itself?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Should the United States have actually done this and taken out the leadership of Iran?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, as someone who sits on Foreign Affairs, we had no briefings. We had no hearings. We had no real discussions. And for me, that's about collecting evidence to justify why you would send your men and women into battle.

CORNISH: But after the war -- after the war -- the attack and the war in Gaza, Democrats have struggled, especially because of their left flank that is very anti-Israel, anti-Netanyahu. Do you guys even have another thing to offer the American people that says, if we were in charge, this is what we would do?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, I don't think we should be in Iran. I don't think we should be doing this. We -- I don't -- I have not received any information that says, OK, this is the right thing to do. Yes, the ayatollah is bad. Yes, the repression that you see there is terrible. I have Iranians in my district who are happy, quite frankly, that the ayatollah is gone. But does that mean that there's a regime change? That's the question. Does it mean that those folks will be safer and it will be more democratic? That's the question. How long are we going to be there?

I have a nephew who is graduated from the Marines today. And if he gets called up and he says, auntie, why am I going, I have no answer for him.

[07:00:01]

I have no answer for him.

CORNISH: You have -- you don't agree with anything that you've heard from Rubio?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Nothing that makes me say it's worth those six people dying. I cannot say that.

CORNISH: OK, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove of California, thank you for being here. We really appreciate it.

I want to thank you guys for this group chat. Really helpful conversation today.

We have more headlines coming up, including reporting from Fred Pleitgen, who is in Iran. So, please stay with us. The headlines are next.