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Laura Coates Live

Trump Says He Must be Involved in Picking Iran's Next Leader; Trump Fires Noem; Gas Prices Jumped in U.S. as Iran Conflict Escalates; U.S. Aim at Stopping Drone Attacks; Soldier Killed in War Honored. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Bureaucratic nightmare is what it seems like.

UNKNOWN: Well, one thing that we didn't really hear about was it wasn't only the plane or, you know, the blankie or all that, he fired someone because of her blankie or whatever --

UNKNOWN: Disapproving.

UNKNOWN: -- but she also commandeered the residents of the vice admiral of the Coast Guard.

PHILLIP: That's true.

UNKNOWN: I don't know what she was doing there, but there was a lot of talk it was -- she was doing it with Lewandowski.

PHILLIP: All right, we got to leave it there. Everyone, thank you very much for being here. Thanks for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, a regime change casting call as the president of United States says he'll be the one to pick Iran's next leader. Plus, you won't believe what this is costing. Operation Epic Fury's epic price tag, nearly $4 billion and counting with impacts already being felt here at home. How long can the president and the nation afford to keep it going? And later, Kristi Noem fired, replaced, and may be now at risk of a perjury investigation. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

We move from why now to what now, six days going on seven in the president's war with Iran, and he says tonight, it is all ahead of schedule, a schedule that remains open ended. But one important item on the to-do list, personally picking someone to take over in Iran.

So, despite all the talk about regime change not being a main objective, not being a main goal, the president made it very clear today that yes, actually not only does he want different leadership into Iran, he wants to cast it personally. Here's the quote to Axios. "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela. Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran."

And the president today on camera laid down a new marker, a U.S. guarantee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's going to be, I think, a great future. And the United States will ensure that whoever leads the country next, Iran will not threaten America or its neighbors, Israel, anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And sure, there are no real specifics on how we would do that, but the president says America will now have to ensure that Iran is led by someone who gets along with the West. Is there a short list, you may ask? There may have been, except they're dead now. The President earlier told ABC this week, excuse me -- quote -- "The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates. It's not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead" -- unquote.

The Pentagon said today the war has only just begun. They said there are a lot more strikes coming. But what they didn't say is whether their strategy has to change in order to help Trump appoint Iran's new leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The president said earlier today in an interview he would like to have a say in who's the next leader of Iran. Is this an expansion of your military objectives?

PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, there's no expansion. Ultimately, I think the president is having a heck of a say in who runs Iran, given the ongoing operation we have. So, there's no expansion in our objectives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: It's possible the president has a plan in mind to do all of these, and he just hasn't shared it. But the closest idea he has shared seems to be this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am, once again, calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military, and the police to lay down their arms. They're only going to get killed. And now is the time to stand up for the Iranian people and help take back your country. You're going to have a chance, after all these years, to take back your country. Accept immunity. We'll give you immunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But if the Iranian soldiers lay down their arms, who's picking them up? And who exactly is granting immunity? If it sounds chaotic, it's because it is chaotic. And that's not me saying that. It's the president back in June.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Regime change. Do you want to see regime change in Iran?

TRUMP: Well, if there was, there was. But no, I don't want it. I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible. Regime change takes chaos. And ideally, we don't want to see so much chaos. So, we'll see how it does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Leading off our expert conversation tonight, lead global security analyst at "The Washington Post," Josh Rogin, and retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery.

[23:04:58]

Josh, isn't it all clear how the president is going to go about having a say in who next leads Iran?

JOSH ROGIN, LEAD GLOBAL SECURITY ANALYST, WASHINGTON POST INTELLIGENCE: Yes, I found the president's comments today disturbing on two levels. First of all, he doesn't seem to understand, much less care, that Iran is not Venezuela. It's a completely different country, completely different circumstances, different government. The Iranians have a million men at arms. They have layers and layers of leadership that have prepared for this contingency for decades. They have capabilities to strike countries all over the region. And they have no intention of letting Donald Trump- choose who their next leader is no matter what happens. So, he's applying a Venezuela model to Iran that doesn't match. He doesn't even seem to be either be aware or to care about that.

And secondly, he seems to think that the Iranian people can rise up without any help. He's telling them to rise up against a million men in arms with nothing, no support from the United States really at all. He is not offering them any help. He's just telling them to risk their lives on the hope and a prayer. And we've seen that movie before. We saw it in 1991 in Iraq when the U.S. urged the Kurds to rise up. They got slaughtered. And by sending those mixed messages, we want a regime apparatchik, a regime guy who is compliant, but we also want the Iranians to rise up but without any support. He said incompletely contradictory messages, which is the worst thing that you can do in this situation.

COATES: And admiral, I mean, President Trump said that he'd be all for Iranian Kurds joining the fight, but he stopped short of actually revealing what kind of support the United States would actually provide to them. I mean, could they be affective without the United States' support?

MARK MONTGOMERY, RETIRED REAR ADMIRAL, U.S. NAVY: No, I don't think so. In fact, you know, we've done two air-only campaigns that were successful in regime change. But in both times, prior to combat starting, there was a recognized armed insurgency that was probably supported by people, Libya in 2011 and Kosovo in 1999, bringing the Kurds.

And right now, if you want the Iranian public to generally support the IRGC, tell them the alternative of armed Kurds coming down to Tehran. They will never get there. This would just -- it would lead to a significant bloodbath between the two groups. I don't think the Kurds are -- I think they're smart enough not to do that. And I think we would be wise not to encourage it.

COATES: Do you agree?

ROGIN: Yeah, no, I mean, the Kurds can carve out a space for their own autonomy, which has always been their goal. They've never really been short on guns. It's not, like, the Kurds don't have guns. What we're saying to them is that you have to go attack a million Iranian Army members, which is a suicide mission. So, I don't think they're going to do that.

And I agree with the admiral. They don't have legitimacy to run Iran. And we're not giving any alternative that someone has legitimacy to run Iran. And that's a gap between what we're saying and what we're doing. And we already started the war. How did they get into this without having any idea of how to get out of it? How in 2026 do we start a war and attack the government for weeks without having any explanation, not even any plausible theory of what happens next?

And that's what we're dealing with. We've opened up a can of worms. We've started a regional war. It's expanding. More countries are getting involved.

The Iranian strategy is clear. It's to expand the war in order to ruin the world economy, to put pressure on Trump to stop. And that -- they can do that strategy for a very long time. The Israelis giving few thousand Kurds, few thousand weapons are not going to change any of that.

And so, we're in a quagmire. That's exactly what we're headed towards. And it was completely predictable. I don't hear anything for the administration of how we're going to get out of it.

COATES: Actually, the president went from saying it would take a couple weeks to saying that he has no time limits at all now. I mean, what's your read on that, admiral? Because you were very clear today that you thought that the four to five-week range seemed to ring true in terms of military strategy?

MONTGOMERY: Yes. So, for the -- with the ways and means, the air campaign to destroy the drone system, the missile system, the air defense systems, the maritime systems, and the IRGC's command and control, that's a four to five-week campaign. It will be done. The problem we're going to have is there's no ends here. There's no strategic end game. That could and will take a lot longer. And it doesn't sound like they actually have a plan. COATES: What would that look like? I'm sorry, I'm talking about the -- what would the end game look like if you're describing all those things happening and being accomplished in the four to five-week period? Why would it be indefinite?

MONTGOMERY: The problem at that point is you've now removed their ability for three, five or seven years to impact the United States. And that's good. But you haven't done regime change. You've changed the face of the regime. Clearly, the supreme leader is gone. But much -- you know, in Venezuela, we did the same thing.

[23:10:00]

But just removing the -- in this regime's case, as in Venezuela, as Josh replied, is that, you know, there are 125,000 other people in the IRGC, heavily armed and extremely ideological, and they're not going to step aside.

COATES: You know, the Iranian foreign minister, he remains pretty defiant. Officials brace for the next phase that we were told is going to ramp up in this military campaign. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Are you afraid of a U.S. invasion in your country?

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: No. We are waiting for them.

UNKNOWN: You are waiting for the U.S. Military to invade the ground troops?

ARAGHCHI: Yes, because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I mean, CENTCOM, the commander said that today, Iran's attacks have decreased significantly so far. But is this posturing -- is this bluster or is there something behind it?

ROGIN: I think it's pretty clear that Iran can suffer pain or the Iranian regime is willing to let its country suffer pain for a very, very long time. Remember, this is the regime that fought a war against the Iraqis for many, many years that was way, way worse, and they didn't give up. And their ability to allow their people to suffer pain is terrible for the people, but it's advantage that they have over us militarily.

And is Donald Trump going to head into the midterms as the economy goes down? Energy prices go up, gas prices go up, inflation goes up, the entire region is in flame, Americans are trapped everywhere in countries all over the world, and business grinds to a halt. The Iranians, yes, the regime is willing to let its people suffer that pain. Is Donald Trump willing to let the American people suffer that all the way to November? I think that's really the question is. When will Donald Trump blink? Because I don't think the Iranians are going to blink. They're not the Venezuelans. It's a different regime. It's a different country. And Donald Trump doesn't seem to realize that, but he's learning it pretty quick, actually.

COATES: You know, the president was asked or the Pentagon was asked today about the president urging Iranians to rise up, to your earlier point. Specifically, when they might be actually safe to do that, when they're being told to shelter in place? Listen at this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Don't go out and protest while bombs are dropping inside Tehran and elsewhere. There's a lot of things we're doing. And the Israeli military is doing, targeting those individuals who are targeting those who protest.

COMMANDER BRAD COOPER, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: To the people, stay in your homes, keep things calm, stay out of the way. There's a lot of U.S. and Israeli capacity coming over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: So, that's inconsistent message, obviously. You know, take up, rise against, this is your opportunity. President Trump said, your first time in generations to be able to do something about this and yet stay in place. How does that timeline impact the ability to even accomplish what the president is saying?

MONTGOMERY: So, first, if I was an Iranian, I'd listen to my friend, Brad Cooper, and not go out. I think that's better advice than the president. These are inconsistent messages. You had to arm. You had to have an armed interventionist capability before it started or right at problem start.

Our intelligent -- kind of ours in Israel, Title 50, intelligence community forces, need to have brought those weapons in, identify who they're getting them to in day zero, one, and two of combat. At this point, you know, they're hunkered down. We're bombing things. When they're done, the IRGC will come back up, and they're well-armed. And, you know, whether at that point they have a hundred thousand or three or 400,0000 with the Army on their side, they're going to be an impossible force for the protesters.

ROGIN: Staying at home doesn't save your life. We're bombing areas where civilians are getting killed by the hundreds as well. So, telling the Iranians just to hunker down is not really good advice because you could get killed doing that, too.

So, we've started something that we have no idea how we're going to finish. And that's the problem here, is that, you know, trying to figure out how to get yourself out of war after you've already started is the exact opposite way of the way you're supposed to do things. And Iranian civilians are always going to be the ones that suffer most.

And so, we can't be claiming to help them while telling them that they have to hunker down. Also, we might bomb you while you hunker down. Also, when you come out for air and you want to fight the regime, we're not going to give you any help and you're going to get killed. That's a pretty awful message that I think I agree with the admiral. More likely to drive the Iranians back into their -- the arms of their government and get their support.

MONTGOMERY: I've been hunkered down a lot and bombed a lot in Ukraine recently. And I would say I would hunker down. I mean, I would say it's safe --

ROGIN: Yes --

MONTGOMERY: The United States works very carefully not to hit civilian targets. I recognize it happens on occasion. We never intentionally target them. So, I would hunker down. Unfortunately, at this point, when that's over, there is no solution. The president is not finding one. And the best case we have here is we're picking another recent former IRGC leader to -- Revolutionary Guard leader to step in. So, it will be the same regime at this point.

COATES: Josh, Admiral, thank you both so much.

ROGIN: Any time.

COATES: Next, the first firing of the second administration.

[23:15:01]

DHS secretary Kristi Noem is out, and President Trump already has her replacement in mind. Congressman Eric Swalwell joins with his reaction. And ahead, the cost of war. Billions of dollars estimated to be spent already abroad, and prices escalating here at home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: The first cabinet official of the second Trump administration gets the boot. Kristi Noem, the now former Homeland Security secretary, faced a lot of scrutiny during her tenure for aggressive immigration tactics, the killing of two Americans in Minneapolis, an alleged affair, just to name a few scandals.

[23:20:03]

President Trump delivered the surprise announcement on social media, effectively firing Noem, but giving her a new role he, apparently, just created, special envoy for the shield of the Americas. Sources tell CNN he finally soured on her because of her disastrous hearings on the Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): You said that they were domestic terrorists. Do you regret that?

NOEM: I offer my condolences to those families and --

RASKIN: Based on what you know today, were Renee Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists?

NOEM: There is ongoing investigations. And so, I --

RASKIN: So, you still don't know. You think that's an open question?

NOEM: I would think you would want there to still be investigations.

And one thing, senator, I think would be helpful to know is how effective that communications has been.

KENNEDY: Well, they were effective in your name recognition.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Quality matters. Not quantity, quality. What we've seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: With me now is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee who questioned Noem during a hearing this very week, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, who is also running for governor of California. Congressman, welcome. Can you tell me --

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Thank you.

COATES: -- what does it say to you that the president was willing to give Noem the boot?

SWALWELL: Well, she threw him under the bus, right? And he can tolerate almost anything. You know, the cruelty of chasing immigrants through the fields and factories where they work or dragging women by their hair and putting them in unmarked vans or public executions, that didn't bother him. It was when she blamed him for the ad campaign. And tonight, everyone in America is safer because of Kristi Noem's firing, at least for now.

COATES: I want to play for the audience that moment that you say it was the throwing under the bus when she's talking about that ad campaign and whether the president authorized it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running T.V. ads across the country in which you are featured prominently.

KRISTI NOEM, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes, sir, we went through the legal processes. It correctly worked with OMB.

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

NOEM: Yes.

UNKNOWN: He did?

NOEM: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Obviously, it was a Republican who was questioning her on that very notion. And according to the president, he did not know about the controversial multi-million-dollar ad contract. But that story, it broke in November, congressman. So, why do think he fired her now?

SWALWELL: Because she blamed him for it and it made him look bad. And again, he can tolerate a lot. Again, she has arrested and deported really good people, a lot of them Californians, 95% of them who have no criminal record.

You know, we lost a nurse named Pretti and a mom named Good who were publicly executed in our streets. I have constituents who were deported and were told -- the courts told the administration, don't deport them, let them stay here, and they did it, anyway.

He was fine with all of that and, of course, now has given her this bogus Avengers-like position, and all I ask is, please, at her new job, keep her away from people and puppies.

COATES: Congressman, Senator Blumenthal said that he wants Noem to be investigated for perjury given all the other areas you want to hold her accountable for. Is that something you think is worth pursuing here?

SWALWELL: I think the most important thing we can do is protect the most vulnerable in our community who are on the run right now and living in fear and see masked thugs without warrants and identification terrorizing our community.

You know, Kristi Noem, she thinks she's just getting a demotion. But when Democrats take the House after November, she'll be returning. I can promise you, there will be a real demand for her to return to get to the bottom of her cruelty and incompetence and for the American people to finally get some measure of justice.

COATES: The Democrats have been blocking DHS funding. So, what would accountability for ICE and Border Patrol look like going forward even, assuming, there is an opportunity to question Noem in the way you want?

SWALWELL: Well, we have made it clear that the masks have to come off, identification has to come out. The roving terror that is happening in our communities where people are targeted based on their accent, the color of their skin, and where they work, that also has to stop. Go to a judge to get a warrant before you go into someone's house. You know, those are the demands. And oh, yes, by the way, no more public executions like we saw in Minneapolis.

But I am heartened to see that Democrats are sticking together and rock- solid governors in many states are also going to the courts or making it clear that they'll use their law enforcement authorities. The American people overwhelmingly did not ask for this. They just wanted lower prices. And instead, we've gone to the bottom as far as decency and how we treat people in this country. COATES: You know, congressman, Trump, he has a new pick to lead DHS at Senator Markwayne Mullin.

[23:25:00]

He seemed to be caught a little off guard by the news coming out today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): You know, the president and I still got to communicate. So, we'll talk about it.

The president, I've already talked. Obviously, the statement went out. We need to talk with the president, and we're going to get on the same page and do what things need to do.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): When did you find out, sir?

MULLIN: A little bit before you guys did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Kaitlan Collins reports that the president loves to watch Senator Mullin on television. That played a role in his decision, which obviously is a pattern for this president. Do you think he should or will be confirmed?

SWALWELL: No. And possibly -- you know, I hope that senators, including Democratic senators, don't, you know, treat this as the Senate club and give deference that should not be given. And again, this is mostly about having somebody who is qualified, experienced, and understands the value that nonviolent immigrants have brought to our community, who are overwhelmingly -- who is being arrested and deported.

But it does not surprise me one bit that somebody like Pete Hegseth or Secretary Duffy, who have both had disastrous terms in their positions, were people that Donald Trump enjoyed watching on T.V. And this pattern and where it goes from here probably won't surprise us either.

COATES: Congressman Swalwell, thank you for joining.

SWALWELL: My pleasure.

COATES: Next, $3.7 billion. That's an estimate of how much the war in Iran costs in the first 100 hours alone. And the cost keeps going up. Can the president sell the Congress and the country on funding this war? Well, that debate is ahead. And later, paging Zelenskyy for help. Why the U.S. may need a favor from Ukraine to help beat Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Gas prices are soaring because of the war in Iran. And it seems President Trump is realizing in real time it could turn into a political liability. This morning, Trump told Reuters he wasn't worried about rising gas prices. Quote -- "They'll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

If they rise, they rise. And sure enough, oil prices continue to skyrocket as the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz slows to a trickle. The cost of a barrel of oil now sits at just under 80 bucks. That is the highest level in almost two years. And just as the markets closed today, Trump changed his tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And yesterday, my administration announced decisive action to help keep down the oil prices, including offering political risk insurance for tankers transiting into the Gulf. As you know, pretty dangerous territory. Further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent, and the oil seems to have pretty much stabilized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to bring in two experts on political messaging, CNN political commentators Xochitl Hinojosa and Shermichael Singleton. Shermichael, I mean, gas prices are up more than 30 cents around the country, and just as the war began, I should mention on that point. But Trump is saying that Americans love what's happening. Is that a good message to signal?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, I think during an election year, midterms are coming up, this is certainly not the message that I think the party wants. We do not have a competitive advantage when you look at enthusiasm on our side compared to our friends on the other side.

And so, I think the president has to figure out, if this is something that may continue beyond the next month or two, do we tap into our strategic oil reserves? Do you bring some of the leaders from Chevron Exxon and say, we're going to maybe, through an executive order, attempt to provide you guys with some type of ability to lower prices so that you don't have to take on those prices directly? There are some constitutional ways from what I've been reading the president could potentially do that through his executive powers. We'll see if they go that route.

And then you call your friends over in OPEC and say, look, we've been gracious to you guys in a number of fronts, give us a slight break here so that we don't pass this cost on to our citizens. The president could go that route as a last resort as well. But ultimately, this is just not the message you want going into November.

COATES: I mean, Xochitl, the route he's taking, I mean, he has been talking about affordability for months, lower prices for months. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Energy cost is among the most important actions we can take to bring down prices for American consumers because when you cut the cost of energy, you really -- you just cut the cost of everything.

After gasoline skyrocketed over $5 a gallon and, in some places, $7, $8, and even $9 a gallon under Biden, our policies have broadcast prices way down. And now, at $2.37 a gallon.

All I want is I want for people to recognize a great job that I've done on pricing, on affordability because we brought prices way down, but they go way lower.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I mean, he's undercutting his own message.

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT JUSTICE DEPARTMENTL; FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR DNC: He is undercutting his own message. And rising gas prices ahead of the summer is never a good thing, especially in a lot -- in election year.

[23:35:00]

And people are already seeing it when they go to work, whenever they go drop their kids off at school, summer vacations, etcetera.

What I find interesting about this war is that it doesn't seem like he was prepared for any of this. Often, when we go into war, gas prices go up. It seems like it caught the White House a little bit off guard. And now, they're scrambling and trying to figure out how to fix it.

You know, his message before was a lot about losing lives like, yes, we're going to lose some lives. They didn't really, you know, have a plan to sort of get Americans out of the region either right. They don't have a plan for how to keep Americans safe here at home.

So, I feel like all of these issues are sort of catching up with them currently. They went into this war but didn't have a plan for everything else and how it would impact Americans daily lives. And now, they're facing the consequences.

COATES: I want to hear your point on this. But I want you to mention because gas prices are one thing, Shermichael. But -- I mean, Americans are paying more for gas, yes. But new estimates show that the war is costing an extraordinary amount of money. I mean, in just the first 100 hours, about $3.7 billion. I mean, that's nearly a billion dollars a day. That is antithetical in many respects to what Republicans have often run on in terms of the costs that are rising.

SINGLETON: You know, that's a good point. I've thought about this. And, obviously, there is some dissent in Congress in terms of the authorization of the conflict. And I remember during President Obama's tenure, and I really like the way they handled the whole Libya thing because they really tried to protect and codify the executive's authority to do this, there's some disagreement. A lot of Democrats didn't agree at the time and some Republicans didn't disagree either.

But Congress still continued to pass legislation to pay for it. They didn't agree with it because most members on both sides understand you want to make sure that our military have the resources necessary for conflict, even if you don't agree with the authorization or the act from the executive. I suspect, not certain, but I suspect Congress may do and take a similar action this term around, even though they don't agree with what Trump is doing. It wouldn't surprise me there's precedent. I think that's going to continue.

COATES: We have some breaking news just in. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas has announced he is dropping his reelection bid. This comes after he admitted having an affair with an aide who later killed herself. He did say he's going to serve out the rest of his term.

And I want to read just for a second of what he has posted as well, saying, at 18, I swore an oath to defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic, during my 20 years in the military and three terms in Congress. He talks about fighting for those very moments. But after deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I decided not to seek reelection while serving at the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I've always had to my district. And he goes on to talk about being eternally grateful for his time in office.

He was set for a runoff, right?

SINGLETON: Yes. Against Brandon Herrera.

COATES: Against Brandon Herrera. And there were calls for him to step down a while ago, the investigation as well. What is your take on this?

HINOJOSA: Well, first of all, for disclosure, my sister is running for governor in Texas. But one of the things that I thought has changed over the last few hours is House Ethics Committee. There were -- it made Republicans very uneasy to know that this affair that he had with this woman who passed away, the details are terrible, it made everybody feel a little bit nervous, and both Republicans and Democrats were calling on him to resign.

I think he saw that he wasn't going to win this runoff. I hope that he's doing what is also best for his family and not what is best just in the political -- you know, in the political lens. But it is -- we knew that this is probably going to come. I'm surprised it took this long, to be honest with you, but this is where we're at.

COATES: But he's not resigning as people have asked him to.

HINOJOSA: That's right. COATES: He is just going to serve out the rest of his term and right off into the sunset. Is that good enough, to just say I'm not running for reelection any longer?

SINGLETON: Let me tell you something, Laura. Xochitl knows as well. The speaker of the House does not want this guy to just leave. We have a very, very slim majority. And that is exactly why he has not just said, hey, I'm packing my bags, I'm going back to South Texas.

I know Brandon Herrera, just to have full disclosure here, known him from the gun space, an amazing guy. I'm very excited about this for him. This is his second time. I think he's going to win.

But I think he ultimately made this decision because there was more that was expected to come out. I don't know if it's true or not, but that's what I've been hearing from some of folks I've been talking to.

COATES: But then, that's still not resigned, though. I mean --

HINOJOSA: Well, the House Ethics Committee, whenever -- as soon as you leave the House, the House Ethics Committee, that investigation goes away.

SINGLETON: Goes away, yes, yes.

HINOJOSA: So that is why I'm surprised he is not leaving, because more could come out. The House could investigate him somewhere, even though he is not running for election. And so, for his own -- like for his family and for his reputation and for the country, it just seems like the best thing to do, if I were him, is leave, given that you know that these investigations will continue over the next year.

[23:40:05]

SINGLETON: But, you know, Republicans, we need the vote. We can't lose him.

COATES: That poor woman. Thank you both. Next, they are cheap, they are effective, and they could very well prolong this war. We'll take you inside Iran's stockpile of drones and why the United States may need Ukraine to help out.

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[23:45:00]

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COATES: New tonight, the U.S. is trying to ground the deadly drone swarms Iran has been launching since the war began. U.S. forces struck an Iranian drone carrier in an unidentified location just in the last few hours. A key move because Iran's cheap and crude drones can fly undetected for 1,200 miles. The drones have hit hotels, apartment buildings, and U.S. bases across the Gulf. Now, the U.S. is making its own attack drones and it's using the Iranian ones as a model.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little made in America on it, brought it here, and we're shooting at the Iranians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But the thing is this drone warfare isn't new. I want to talk about it more with military veteran and munitions expert, Wes O'Donnell, who's also the author of the Substack "Eyes Only." Wes, thank you so much for being here. But, first, help us understand what the Shahid drones are and why air defense struggle against them.

WES O'DONNELL, MILITARY VETERAN, DEFENSE EXPERT, AUTHOR: Yes. Well, thank you, Laura. You know, like you said, drone warfare isn't really a new concept. You know, U.S. Military has had predator drones and reaper drones for a good part of the global war on terror.

But, really, what we are seeing now is a very smart strategy on the part of Iran, and that is Iran knows that we have these very expensive precision munitions. You know, just millions of dollars for one Patriot interceptor.

And so, what they're doing is using this Shahed to really play a strategy of deliberate exhaustion that just forces us to spend a lot of those high-end defenses to counter these cheap aerial threats. And that's when the U.S. turned around and took that design and iterated on it and actually improved on it quite a bit.

COATES: They mentioned the U.S. taking one of these drones, creating their own version and these one-way attack drones. How do they actually compare to the original? An improvement or simply just repurposed?

O'DONNELL: Yes. So, it's actually quite an improvement. Pentagon got their hands on Iranian Shahed drone, reverse-engineered it. Since then, they've not only made it able to (INAUDIBLE) able to embed Starlink or Star Shield, the military version of Starlink, into it so that operators have control of it at all times. And it's also extremely, extremely difficult to jam.

COATES: Wes, Iran has supplied Russia with these drones for years in its war against Ukraine. And Ukraine is offering to help Gulf countries fight back. I mean, how do you fight back against these drones?

O'DONNELL: Yes. Well, you definitely don't want to start shooting these expensive munitions at them, right? And so, Ukraine really is the world's foremost expert on destroying Iranian drones because Russia really gave them no choice. You know, as far as Ukraine goes, they have been ingenious with coming up with everything from a pickup truck on the ground with a machine gun strapped to the back of it to flying alongside of these Shahed in a helicopter with a minigun shooting the Shahed at the side of the helicopter.

But I think the biggest advancement that has made and really one of the ways that you can help some of the Gulf states is some of these drone interceptors that they're building on the ground in Ukraine, which is essentially using a very, very cheap drone to take out a cheap attack drone.

COATES: I mean, Iran and Russia have had these low-cost drones for years. The U.S. just started dropping them last year. Is America really behind the eight ball? And if so, how can the U.S. catch up?

O'DONNELL: You know, I'm pretty critical of my military as a veteran because I want them to improve. But in this particular case, you know, about halfway through the Biden administration, the Pentagon and our intelligence agencies really started paying attention to what was happening on the ground in Ukraine. And because of that, they started making improvements. They started testing laser weapons, microwave weapons, started building their own version of the Shahed, the LUCAS drone.

And so, I will say that they've done quite a few improvements in preparing for this new battlefield in a very short amount of time, which is impressive for the Pentagon because they don't very quickly for procurement.

[23:50:02]

COATES: Wes O'Donnell, thank you. Tonight, it would have been Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens's 43rd birthday, one of six American soldiers killed in Kuwait. Please stick around because his close friend will join me to pay tribute to him, next.

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[23:55:00]

COATES: Tonight, a community honors the memory of one of its heroes on what should have been his 43rd birthday. I'm talking about Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, one of the six U.S. service members killed in the war with Iran. He was a husband, a father. When he wasn't deployed overseas, he spent his time practicing and teaching one of his main passions, martial arts. Well, his martial arts school in Bellevue, Nebraska held a candlelight ceremony to honor his legacy in what was an emotional, but no doubt inspiring farewell.

Joining me now is Sergeant Tietjens's friend, Julius Melegrito. Julius, thank you so much for being here. I mean, you and your wife, Faith, you own the martial arts school where Tietjens trained, where he worked as an instructor. Can you tell us all about the kind of person he was and what will he be remembered for?

JULIUS MELEGRITO, FRIEND OF NOAH TIETJENS: Well, definitely, I talked about this tonight during his 43rd candlelight mat training. We talked a little bit about how, you know, Mr. Tietjens, Mr. Noah Tietjens is just a very simple man. He lived a very simple life, but he gave a lot to the people. He didn't have a lot of time, but, I mean, time that he has, he gave it with all his heart. He didn't have a lot of money, but he gave you the time of the day and everything that he can do to help make things better for each and every time and everyone he makes some contact with. That is a kind of person that he is.

COATES: That's so wonderful to hear about the legacy that undoubtedly will remain. You mentioned that, just hours ago, your social arts school held a candlelight mat ceremony in his honor. How is your community processing his loss?

MELEGRITO: The community is coming together. Tonight was more of a very intimate moment. The mayor of the city showed his support. The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce was there as well. You know, so some of the important people and some of the adults that trained with him showed 43 kicks to celebrate his 43rd birthday. We honored him by really looking back about his life as a martial artist and as a human being.

But at the end of the day, simply put, he's a father, a very supportive husband. It really didn't matter if he did not have the money or means to make this work for his family, he made it work. He's the kind of person that would say, honey, I got this, don't you worry about it.

And he's the reason why we put all these things together because at the end of the day, the family never asked for anything. They're very simple people. They don't want the spotlight. They don't want to even talk. They not quite ready for that moment yet.

But that moment is going to come for the community to gather together. When that moment comes, we will let everybody knows. But at this time, we're just trying to represent him. He's the reason why we put this together, for them, because at the end of the day, we're part of this family. And we wanted to make sure we honor him and be remembered by as part of the Martial Arts International Academy.

COATES: It's heartbreaking to think about his loss given what you've said. And this is someone who was a hero even when he wasn't in the uniform. You actually shared a story tonight about a time he helped save someone's life. Can you share now?

MELEGRITO: I will tell you, I don't know if you can show the photo. There was a photo of him just right on the sidewalk. Very simple guy. He was just standing over there with his hands like this. His eyes intensely always looking. Mr. Noah is the kind of person that always looks around, very, very confident man, but he always looks around to lend that hand, to open the door for somebody. A kid might be struggling to learn something, he'll be there. A colleague might be having a little bit of a problem studying a technique, and he'll come and help you over there. So, he's that guy.

But during this one particular photo that we have of him, he's standing on the sidewalk, we were doing martial arts, and then he took a short break. And during that short break, something magical happened. You can really see that he is truly a hero because he watched. And somebody was not having a good day. He noticed it, immediately called 911. Next thing we know, ambulance came and saved that person's life.

And that's the kind of person Mr. Noah truly is. You know, always there to help people, always watching, really a true hero here in our community. And now, we're talking about him being a hero for our country. Now imagine, just imagine even for just a short moment, if everybody thinks and act like Mr. Noah in this world, what kind of world do you think we would have? And that's the kind of lesson that we learned from him. Very, very powerful lesson.

COATES: So powerful. Julius, thank you so much for sharing him.

[00:00:00]

MELEGRITO: Thank you so much for having us. Thank you so much for, you know, telling the world about Mr. Noah, and we really appreciate everything that you've done and can do for him, and, of course, what is done for our country and our nation.

COATES: Thank you so much.

MELEGRITO: Take care.

COATES: And thank you all so much for watching. "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson" is next.