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DHS Funding Talks Stall As TSA Braces For 2nd Missed Paycheck; Florida Dem Flips Deep-Red State House Seat In Special Election; GOP Lawmakers Frustrated Over Lack Of Info On Iran War; Measles Outbreak In Florida As Cases Rise Across U.S.; Six Construction Workers Died When Key Bridge Collapsed. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:42]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: As travelers wait in endless lines and TSA agents face another missed paycheck, Congress is back to square one. Here's President Trump's message 41 days into the DHS shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're angry at the Democrats. They know what's happening. But they're punishing the American people, including travelers at airports, all in the quest to return to open borders and give amnesty to illegal alien criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now this comes as the President pushes Senate Republicans to change the chamber's rules so they can fund DHS without Democrats. Today, he posted multiple times on Truth Social with a message, "Terminate the filibuster."

My panel is back now. Marianna?

MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: The Senate's not going to terminate the filibuster at this time. As we've heard John Thune say repeatedly, what they are trying to do is just find a bipartisan compromise. And you mentioned how they're back at square one. And it's not because of the Senate's doing.

There is a bipartisan group that more or less has agreed, especially some key Democrats, moderates, those who are retiring, who would probably vote to fund DHS without any ICE funding. But the fact that the President continually says, nope, that's not a deal, nope, I don't want to be -- I don't want to sign anything that Democrats sign off on, that is allowing some Republicans, it's an openness. They're saying, OK, well, we should attach this.

BASH: Yes.

SOTOMAYOR: We should do that. We are still far away, but things can happen quickly because obviously Congress, nothing makes Congress move faster than looking at a two-week recess being taken away from them --

BASH: Exactly.

SOTOMAYOR: -- so maybe things could happen in the next couple of days.

BASH: And Democrats did, I don't want to say move the goalposts, but they did add some --

SOTOMAYOR: Yes.

BASH: -- requirements, I think, once they realized they weren't really going to get a lot except for a lot of publicity on this, which --

SOTOMAYOR: Yes.

BASH: -- politically is not nothing.

MARIO PARKER, NATIONAL POLITICS TEAM LEADER, BLOOMBERG: Yes, no, absolutely. I think Democrats, a few weeks ago, they had the high ground on this, right? This all started off the heels of the shootings in Minneapolis now. Now, that's somewhat been dissipated. We see just the news cycle has changed on them so much so, right, where Americans are under pressure, not necessarily because of Democrats, but the segment that we just had in terms of Iran on one hand, right?

Now, we've got the airport lines, right, on the other hand as well. And I think Americans, what you're saying now is just -- you're seeing it in many of the clips, where they're not pointing blame at either party. They're saying, hey, you all need to get it together here in Congress. And to your point, I mean, the jet fumes are coming, so maybe we bet on that. That's a hedge for us to get some type of deal there.

BASH: It is an election year, and the race is on for each party to try to blame the other for this shutdown. Let's look at some of the ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our airports are in chaos, and congressional Republicans like Andy Ogles are why. Three-hour lines, missed flights, agents working without pay. Call Andy Ogles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you're heading home or just passing through, we hope you enjoy your extended stay in the security line. This delay is courtesy of Senator Jon Ossoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Clever, expected on some level. I think for Republicans especially, who are saying, like, we need to find something to leverage right now, this is a pretty complicated time, given what's happened just over the course of the last month, economically. I think to Mario's point about what you hear from a lot of clips, like, they all suck, like, you guys should probably figure this out. This is the lowest bar that you need to be able to hop over as members of Congress. I think, though, just to jump off of Mario's point, what's interesting in watching Democrats in particular on this, who I think three weeks ago would take what's on the table right now and be happy with it, because it doesn't foreclose the ongoing negotiations over the actual enforcement changes.

And restrictions related to ICE, which would be in the vehicle to finish up the ICE funding, which is Trump not getting fully behind something, Republicans not being fully aligned behind this agreement that Senator Thune in a bipartisan group is pretty OK with right now, gives Democrats space to say, all right, if you guys aren't all the way there yet, we're going to hold out, because our people want us to hold out. Politically, this is an issue we should hold out on.

BASH: Yes, they do.

MATTINGLY: But I also think to Mario's point, while the public consciousness has maybe lessened a little bit about what happened in the wake of Minnesota, Democrats, when you talk to lawmakers, it has not with them. And they know that you only get so many shots and so many elements of leverage when you're in the minority, they're going to use it.

[12:35:08]

BASH: Thank you all. Don't go anywhere.

Up next, is Florida still a deep red state? Special election losses this week may signal otherwise. I'm going to talk with the GOP frontrunner to be the state's next governor. Congressman Byron Donalds is here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: There are 36 state governor's mansions on the ballot this November. The majority are open races, including Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis is term limited. On Tuesday, a special election in Florida showed Democratic gains in what's been an increasingly reliably Republican state.

[12:40:00]

Congressman Byron Donalds is running to keep the governor's mansion red this year. He is the frontrunner in the Republican nominating contest, endorsed by President Trump. And Congressman Donalds joins me now.

I want to talk about your race in one minute, and maybe this is going to be related to it, but I want to start with the war in Iran. Yesterday, some of your colleagues in the House, on the Armed Services Committee, came out of a briefing by the administration on Iran, and were not happy, including the chair of the committee, saying that they're not getting enough information on what the administration's military plans are. What do you think about that? Are you?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R), FLORIDA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: No, I'm not concerned, and the reason why is, in part, we elect one commander-in- chief, not 435, not 100 in the Senate. There's one commander-in-chief, and I think that Congress, we're, what, 25, 26 days into this conflict. Congress is going to get a lot of answers as we move forward.

And if you listen to the cabinet meeting today, the President's comments a little bit over the last couple of days, they truly believe that they're in a process of actually winding this whole thing down, and I think that's a good thing overall. But I think when it comes to members in Congress, sometimes we get a little too apprehensive, wanting answers to questions that, quite frankly, I think limit the commander-in-chief's capability of leading and conducting military operations.

So those answers will come, but I would tell my colleagues on my side of the aisle, just take a beat. You have to give them an opportunity to do their work. You can't second-guess them every step of the way.

BASH: Well, but then there is the constitutional role of Congress for oversight. And one of the things that there was frustration about coming out of this briefing, and I know you're not on Armed Services, but again, you're fellow Republicans, was that they weren't getting enough information about the possibility of sending ground troops. So as somebody who represents a district right now in Florida, and you want to represent the whole state, you're very likely talking about your constituents.

DONALDS: Agreed, like Florida --

BASH: Who are going to go in if there are ground troops sent in. That is something that you feel that you should have a role in, no?

DONALDS: I think so, but we're not at that point yet, and I think that's the key thing. And I would also argue, I think it's important for the President of the United States, no matter who the commander in chief is, by the way. Regardless of party, you have to give the President some operational flexibility.

If you have Congress now dictating terms on a lot of these maneuvers and timetables and giving us more information, it actually ties the President's hands. And I would argue to the American people and to the people of Florida, if you compare the foreign policy engagements of President Trump versus President Biden, President Obama, President Bush, President Clinton, he's better than they are at conducting these affairs. That is a fact.

BASH: Let's talk about what happened in Florida this week. On Tuesday, Democrats flipped a statehouse seat. It was a 13-point swing in the Democrats' direction. President Trump won the district by 11 points in 2024. How much of a warning sign is this for Republicans for this November?

DONALDS: Look, I think anybody who's been in campaigns or has to fight for their seat or trying to win a new seat like I am, it's not about a warning sign, it's a reminder that you take nothing for granted. The old saying is that you run like you're 10 points down. And I think that's what Florida Republicans were going to do.

We have great advantages in our state. I would be careful not to compare a special election in March to the November election of 2024. Very different turnout dynamics. I think turnout in this race was around 30 percent. The Republican fell short by a couple hundred votes.

I had a chance to talk to John, actually. And so he's going to redouble his efforts. But at the end of the day, it's about, one, party unity. Two, get out the vote operations. Three, taking your message and reminding not just the people of Florida but the people of America.

Remember the state of America when Joe Biden and the Democrats ran the country. It was in awful shape. That's one of the primary reasons, if not the main reason, Donald Trump swept the battleground states. And we had major victories in 2024 because when Democrats were in charge, the United States had fallen behind in major ways.

BASH: If you look at the polling across the board about this President on the economy where -- you're right, that's why he won. Well, the biggest reason why he won.

DONALDS: It's more than just the economy.

BASH: The biggest reason, the biggest reason. Other reasons, but the biggest reason. They don't think that the President is doing so well. And I hear you, Congressman, that a special election is very different. The electorate is very --

DONALDS: It's very different.

BASH: -- from the general election and maybe even the primary. However, you can learn things, and I know that a lot of strategists and even politicians are looking at it. Just for example, there was actually a high Republican turnout. 15,000 Republicans voted, 12,000 Democrats, 5,000 with no party affiliation, which means that the Democrat won by carrying independents and a sizable number of Republicans.

DONALDS: I wouldn't say a sizable number, that's --

BASH: Well, enough to win.

[12:45:01]

DONALDS: That's a bit much. I think, look, the truth of what's going on on the ground today is that are there people that oppose President Trump's agenda? Yes, Democrats are obviously highly motivated. We know that, and that is going to maintain even though the size of the electorate when we get to this November is going to be a lot larger, because you're going to have more Americans who are going to vote in November, which is the habit in our country, who are going to say, wait a minute.

The border is secured? Oh, wait a minute. Criminal illegal aliens are being sent out of the country. Gas prices are down I know temporarily with the Iranian situation, and we can talk about that in detail. Gas prices are down, prices are stable, wages are up, the economy is better.

I got my tax refund, which is going to happen in a month, and that was significantly larger because of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and I'm going to change that for Chuck Schumer, who can't even fund DHS, or Hakeem Jeffries, who can't lead Democrats to actual sound policies and solutions. I think that's the case that Republicans are going to make.

That's definitely the case I'm going to make in Florida. And specific to Florida, last thing --

BASH: Yes.

DONALDS: -- we have now a trajectory where people are coming to our state more than any other state in the country. The number one state in America that people are fleeing, California. The number four, Minnesota. New York, they're fleeing. Oregon, they're fleeing.

Washington State, we just took in Mr. Schultz, the founder of Starbucks. Because when Democrats are in full control, they have disastrous policy that does not help the lives of the American people.

BASH: And the income tax, lack of income tax is very helpful for people in Florida to get people to come. I do want to ask about the current governor, DeSantis --

DONALDS: Yes.

BASH: -- calling for a special session to redraw Florida's congressional district. Some of your fellow Republicans in Florida say, don't do it. They worry that making blue districts red, you're going to be taking Republican voters out of those districts, and you could put seats in jeopardy if there's a Democratic wave. Where are you on that?

DONALDS: Well, I support the governor and his move to redistrict Florida. I think it's the right call. Secondly, let's clarify what a couple of my colleagues have said. They said, depending on how aggressive the governor goes. But all the members of the Florida delegation, we all support the redistricting effort.

I've talked to them all. We've had some of these conversations. Obviously, we're not talking the details because that's for the legislature and for the governor to decide. But in terms of Florida being redistricted, in some respects, looking at what Abigail Spanberger in Virginia just did, she gets elected.

The next day, they're trying to wipe out every Republican in Virginia except one. So I think the governor is looking at this, and he's saying, you know what? We're going to make sure that the political framework of Florida is actually represented up here on Capitol Hill.

BASH: I also want to ask about a policy issue that's a very important one in Florida, and that's measles.

DONALDS: Yes.

BASH: Cases -- measles cases in America have increased over the past year, and the outbreak right now in southwest Florida is adding to that. The State Department of Health has been quiet. There has been little public information about the state outbreak. In fact, CNN spent a month calling and e-mailing state health department officials and got no response.

Are you satisfied with how the state is handling the measles outbreak?

DONALDS: Actually. So the place you're talking about is a little bit outside of my congressional district.

BASH: Yes.

DONALDS: I used to represent Ave Maria when I was in the statehouse.

BASH: But you want to be governor.

DONALDS: So -- well, I'm going to get to that point.

BASH: OK.

DONALDS: What we're doing to manage that outbreak is actually working quite well. We're getting it under control. I actually had a volunteer who was a part of that measles outbreak. She's getting the medical care that she needs.

I will add, one of the reasons we're having some of these outbreaks across the country is because what the Democrats allowed by leaving our country open to 10 million people coming into the country --

BASH: But there's also a lot of --

DONALDS: -- that is true.

BASH: -- vaccination --

DONALDS: No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

BASH: -- hesitancy because of messaging.

DONALDS: No, the vaccination hesitancy is one thing. And you can't talk about a thing that's been happening with vaccines over the last five years. Those kids are probably five, six years old. We're talking about adults who are in this measles outbreak.

And you have to acknowledge the reality that when you open up the borders of our nation and just let people come in illegally, you are going to have major public health concerns. This is why there was a measles outbreak in West Texas, because of the same reasons. And that's why border security and common sense policy is critical for the future of America.

BASH: If you could -- I know you said you want to keep the Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on if you win. If you can ask him to call back the media as a public health service, that would be great.

DONALDS: Well, his number one job is to take care of the public health of Florida, not to actually message and talk about these issues with the press. I would argue that Mr. Ladapo is doing his job.

BASH: It's not the press, it's the public.

DONALDS: The governor will actually be communicating with the people of Florida. That's part of his job and his mission. And when I'm governor, I'll be doing the same. I want our officials, the people who we hire to run these agencies, to do their jobs and be focused on running these agencies effectively.

I think that the political arm will take care of the press and communicating with the public about what's facing --

BASH: Yes.

DONALDS: -- Florida and the solutions we have to solve it.

BASH: And that hasn't happened yet. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it, Congressman.

DONALDS: Absolutely.

[12:50:06]

BASH: Two years ago, today, a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and kill six construction workers who fell into the Patapsco River. The bridge, which first opened in 1977, was a hallmark of the Baltimore skyline.

The devastation from its collapse is incalculable to the families of the workers who died and to Marylanders who -- and Americans who lost one of the most vital commerce throughways in the country. Now, the rebuilding has begun, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Chief Engineer of the project, James Harkness, gave us an exclusive tour of the project site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Hey, Governor. Thanks for doing this.

GOV. WES MOORE (D), GOVERNOR: My pleasure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

BASH: There we go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for that.

MOORE: The thing that I love coming out here is looking at all that. BASH: Oh yes.

MOORE: It's just how much work is happening right now. I mean, you just -- you get a chance to see just how busy the Port of Baltimore is.

We fully reopened it in 11 weeks. And I remember that first morning when we were out there, you know, I remember specifically asking them, you know, how long is this going to take to get this reopened? And they told me this will probably take about 11 months. And I remember saying, that's the wrong answer, guys.

BASH: Yes. Yes.

MOORE: We cannot have this enclosed for 11 months.

BASH: Oh, wow.

MOORE: Yes, some kind of people talk about, you know, kind of the size of the bridge. We're talking like it's about a 2-mile long stretch.

BASH: Unbelievable. Wait, so this is one side and that's the other?

MOORE: Correct. That's exactly right.

BASH: Wow.

MOORE: And so this whole area, when we saw the collapse, they had different spans, basically four different spans that were laid out. The Dali, once the Dali took out that, the challenge of that bridge, as it was built in 1975, you basically had almost like a single point of failure. So once it hit that side of that bridge, the entire thing just completely collapsed on itself.

BASH: Unbelievable.

MOORE: And so the new bridge that we're building here, you know, one of the things that had to be factored in is the new safety parameters.

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: Where we just could not have a bridge again, that a single point of failure was going to take down the entire bridge. And so you just look at kind of all the different dynamics that take place. For that bridge that was built in 1975, you know, there's no way that a bridge like that would pass safety standards in 2026.

BASH: And '75 wasn't that long ago.

MOORE: It wasn't that long ago.

BASH: Where did it hit?

MOORE: So the remnants of that pier are right there. You kind of see that --

BASH: Yes, yes.

MOORE: -- the concrete sticking up out of the water.

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: So that's where the --

BASH: That's where it is.

MOORE: It looks similar to the one that's on the left. The one that got struck is on the right.

BASH: Oh my goodness. It was two years ago and you can see what we're wearing. It was cold.

MOORE: It was cold. You know, I say that was one of the things that really hit you was when you came out and you saw a site that you just, again, has been there ever since I was born, which was the Key Bridge.

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: And you just looked and it's gone. And I remember that morning. It was actually a beautiful morning. But just to your point, how cold it was being on the water. And the only thing that you were thinking about when you remember how cold it was, was, a, the first responders were in the water immediately.

You know, at that point, that first morning, we knew that people were in the water. We still at that point didn't know how many. And also, you know, they were talking about kind of just the survivability and the conditions.

BASH: And it turned out to be six people who fell how many feet? I mean, how high was the bridge?

MOORE: 100 feet, 170 feet, 180 --

BASH: Into these freezing waters.

MOORE: Yes.

BASH: That's just awful.

MOORE: And that's the thing. It's like, you know, they were fixing potholes in the middle of the night while we slept. And to think about it, we're falling into these frigid waters and also falling while you're looking at tons of steel and concrete that are falling in the water with you.

BASH: I mean, now being here, just about where the bridge was, you can really see how massive it was.

MOORE: Yes. I mean, this --

BASH: Two miles long. MOORE: Two miles long. An incredibly important artery. But, you know, when we remember where things were that morning and how much work is now happening, I mean, you know, this is now the fastest moving major project in the country. And our plan is to keep it that way.

You know, to your point, it's difficult to understand this enormity of this bridge until you get out here --

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: -- and you see it up close.

BASH: And you were pretty new at the job.

MOORE: Yes, yes.

[12:55:00]

One of the things I always say about being a governor is if you have not dealt with a crisis, just give it a second. Because yours is coming. And this was mine (ph).

BASH: But there are crises and then there's this.

MOORE: And then there's this.

BASH: Being here on the water, you now see just how big a project this is. How massive the bridge was. And how unimaginable the tragedy was. Not to mention what comes next. Building this new bridge.

Is that part of the old bridge?

MOORE: That's part of the old one

BASH: So just the edge.

MOORE: That's exactly right.

BASH: But that's going to go away when the new bridge is built.

MOORE: That'll go away. So --

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: And what you're seeing right here --

BASH: Yes.

MOORE: -- is being able to put in all the pillars and the pylons. But then all of this is going to have to get redone just to make sure that you're keeping the structural integrity that's then going to take place throughout the bridge.

BASH: At the beginning, it was estimated that it would be like $1.7 billion, $1.9 billion. And that it would take a few years.

MOORE: Yes.

BASH: Now it's like $5 billion something. And it's not going to be ready until at least 2030.

MOORE: Yes.

BASH: Why?

MOORE: Well, because I think when that first morning, you know, remember, those estimates were put out. And we worked with the federal government to put those estimates out. They were literally put out days after the bridge collapsed. And so they were going off of estimates of, you know, what was the initial cost of the bridge in 1975.

Those estimates were also put out when we were still also looking for bodies. The same type of bridge in terms of safety would not pass muster in 2026. So there had to be new safety parameters that were put in. Also just the size and the scope when you think about the cost of materials.

And so we know it's moving with speed. It's moving in a very cost- effective manner that we take that very seriously. But that was really why we saw the change is that a bridge in 1975 is going to have a different price tag than a bridge in 2026.

BASH: So Congress passed 100 percent cost share. What does that mean?

MOORE: So basically what it means is Maryland has its own skin in the game. And we have hundreds of millions of dollars that Maryland has put into this. But what it's basically saying is that Congress is going to help to front the money. Because we are currently in litigation for it as well because this bridge did not collapse because of an act of God.

It collapsed because of an act of negligence by the Dali and the ship --

BASH: The Dali --

MOORE: The ship operators.

BASH: The cargo ship.

MOORE: That's exactly right. So we're currently in litigation.

BASH: When this happened, President Biden was in office. Now President Trump is there. Is there a difference in how much help you're getting?

MOORE: There isn't a difference in terms of how much help. Because it was Congress that actually authorized the 100 percent cost share. And so our working relationship with the appropriators in Congress, both Democratic and Republicans, continues to be very strong.

We are working closely with Secretary Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation. And he even acknowledges this is the fastest moving major project in the country right now.

BASH: How's that relationship with Secretary Duffy?

MOORE: It's been good. I mean, we're working very closely on the Key Bridge. We're working very closely on the American Legion Bridge. And so the relationship with Secretary Duffy has been close. And I'm thankful for it.

BASH: So the goal is for the new bridge to be done in 2030.

MOORE: This tragedy happened under my watch as governor. And I want to be the governor to cut the ribbon to reopen the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

BASH: And in 2030, you're going to be governor?

MOORE: I plan on being the governor in 2030. I plan on winning re- election in November and being the governor in 2030.

BASH: OK. Because if you run for something else, it's only like a 45- minute drive to get down here from the White House if you're successful.

MOORE: I'm excited to cut the ribbon on this. That'll be a beautiful day. That'll be a beautiful day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Thanks to Governor Moore for taking us out to see that remarkable sight.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a break.

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