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Intel Chiefs Testify on Worldwide Threat Assessment; Gabbard Says Iran Maintained Intention to Rebuild Nuclear Enrichment; Dueling Strikes on Mideast Energy Sites Make Oil & Gas Soar; Senate Appropriators Huddling Now With Border Czar; TSA Feeling Brunt of Shutdown Stalemate; Pulse Nightclub Demolished to Make Way for Shooting Memorial. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 19, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:10]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": As the war escalates in the Middle East, top U.S. intel officials were back on the Hill for day two of hearings on global threats. And during her opening statement, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard said this about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

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TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The IC assesses Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12-day war. Iran maintained the intention to rebuild its infrastructure and nuclear enrichment capability, and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations with the IAEA, refusing them access to key facilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by someone who was in that hearing asking some key questions, Democratic Congressman, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. Congressman, thanks for being with us. We heard the DNI --

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER, (D-NJ) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: -- saying that the U.S. and Israel have different objectives in the war. Do you agree with that?

GOTTHEIMER: Based on what I've been briefed on and what's been said publicly, obviously, we've heard shifting answers on this. It seems to me that the overriding objective that we heard from the briefers today was to significantly degrade the missile program in Iran and to go after their terror program and their naval program. And that's been what they've been focused on.

Of course, over the last weeks, and this is part of the challenge, is we've heard different answers, especially regarding the nuclear program. So that to me has been what's frustrating. Are there going to be ground troops or no ground troops? What's the intention here and what's the objective? I believe we've got to do everything we can to crush the Iranian regime.

This is a regime that since the late '70s, you know, has threatened America, killed our servicemen and women, attacked our bases, and of course, leads with a banner, 'death to America.'

[13:35:00]

So this is not a friendly regime to the United States. It doesn't believe in, of course, the same values we do. But still, we have to really understand what the clear objectives are and I know they're still shifting, including today.

KEILAR: Yeah, and there were questions at the beginning about regime change and how much of an objective that was of the president's. Is it fair to say that when it comes to the objectives you approve of, regime change obviously is one of them, military abilities of Iran is also one of them, that you would approve of all of these objectives? Would it be fair to say that?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, it depends what's involved, and of course --

KEILAR: Sure.

GOTTHEIMER: -- who would be next, right? I mean, we've seen one Ayatollah to another Ayatollah, the son, and as you know, this is -- the new leader there is not exactly -- shares the same values as his father did, which is extremist views to destroy democracy and our way of life, and to continue to kill Americans, fund terror proxies to kill Americans and our allies, and to develop nuclear weapons and expand their ballistic missile program, including, as was said today publicly, developing missiles that could reach the United States of America.

So it, again, depends on what would be involved. I don't support the use of ground troops at this time, and I certainly would want to understand what's next if there's a regime change and what's involved in that, what the impact would be.

KEILAR: So, as Israel's focus, as we heard Gabbard outline, this idea of "Disabling the Iranian leadership and taking out several members," do you think that limits the president's off-ramp, and could it prolong U.S. involvement in the war?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, you know, listen, if -- and it's a really good question, I mean, if your goals are greatly diminishing their missile program, their drone program, which have been aggressive, potentially weakening their nuclear program, depending on what does that mean, obviously, it was significantly weakened last summer with the 12-day conflict. So, you know, what exactly is the objective?

When you understand the clear objective, it can help you understand if there is an off-ramp. You know, right now, with the Straits of Hormuz and gas prices jumping significantly, we see the impact there. You know, what's going to happen next there? Even if we were to leave, would the Iranians stay there? What would happen?

You know, so you've got to understand what the transition would be, what the leadership of Iran, whoever it's going to be, what are they going to agree to? All of that has an impact. And what are the impact on our allies and partners in the region? And that also matters quite a bit, you know. I think you need stability, of course, as you focus on crushing this regime in Iran, which I think is obviously critical.

KEILAR: So Israel attacked the South Pars gas field in Iran, the largest reserve of its kind in the world. You've seen this attack, other attacks, right, on energy infrastructure in the region, in Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, also in Israel, and I wonder if you have concerns that this escalation we're seeing into this energy infrastructure is really changing how energy is going to get back online, how this is going to impact everyday Americans, what they're paying at the pump, what they're paying for products, and how this should change their expectations about this war.

GOTTHEIMER: Well, of course I'm worried about that. You know, people already are struggling with the cost of everything in life, right, from food to rent to childcare, you name it, and then adding, we had utility prices up 45 percent as it were in Jersey the last two years where I live. And now, if you're looking at over $4 at the pump, that's going to really hurt people and affect their day-to-day. So of course, it's having an impact. Iran knows that.

At the same time, we've got to keep pressure on them to make sure we achieve reducing their ballistics program and their terror program and their naval program, if those are the key objectives, right, which gets back to the point. You've got to understand the key objectives so that we can find a way forward here.

We saw our allies saying today that they'd consider sending backup into the region to deal with the Straits of Hormuz and try to open that up, and I think that will be very important to getting prices down. But listen, this is something that's continuing to affect Americans, and I'm concerned about that, and we've got to make sure we stay vigilant.

One thing that was interesting today is that DNI Director, Gabbard said, when asked, and I asked this directly, right, was this an American operation or is this something that we're doing because Israel told us to? And what was clear is, she said, no, this is about -- this is an American operation. This is about threats to our security and safety and our national security from a regime that's focused on killing Americans. That is a very important thing that we should focus on too.

KEILAR: Yeah. We also heard, and I want to ask you about this, Trump talking about the U.S. operating independently from Israel.

[13:40:00]

How do you see that? Does that concern you because we're seeing this daylight in some ways between the president and Israel? What are your worries there? GOTTHEIMER: Listen, I think there's very strong coordination with our key ally in the fight against terror and against the leading state sponsor of terror, Iran. Right?

So I think this is a joint effort, as it has been from the beginning. And there's always, of course, in any of these things, some differences that come up along the way. But my sense is there's deep coordination and objectives.

And this is what gets back to my point on objectives. It'd be really helpful if we had a clear understanding of what exactly, from the president, what exactly the objectives are, so that we can, as a country, achieve them. And I know part of that, of course, is ensuring that we, at least what I've been told, is diminishing the missiles program, the naval program.

But you've heard different things from different people in the administration about other objectives, like, as you pointed out, regime change or the nuclear program. So where does that come into play as well? And that's what we really need to better understand. And I still don't feel like I have great certainty on exactly what those objectives are, so that we know when we've achieved them as a country.

And to me, it's really important that those are laid out as we go into the days ahead.

KEILAR: That was a very interesting question, revealing the answer that you got to that one. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it.

GOTTHEIMER: Thank you.

KEILAR: And still ahead, the tough decision that thousands of TSA employees face amid the partial government shutdown. Work without pay or find another way to provide for their families. We'll have more on that next.

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[13:46:07]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Happening right now, White House Border Czar, Tom Homan is on Capitol Hill meeting with a group of Senate appropriators. This is the first major sign of negotiations in the DHS shutdown that has crippled TSA.

They're working without pay and without a full staff. An Atlanta airport spokesperson says for the third time this week, more than a third of TSA workers did not show up. Wait times in Atlanta and Houston this morning were up to 90 minutes.

Some workers are speaking out in a new mini documentary. Watch this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Based on any other government shutdown, it felt as if though we had assistance. this one is like we're totally out here on our own. There is literally no assistance being given to us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I've being doing is I've been having to pull out of my savings and using my credit cards, and stuff like that. And obviously, once my savings are done, like that's it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had repoed my car because I'm still recovering from the first one, trying to make these payments on this car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's tough, like I don't sleep at night because I'm just like what am I going to do. Like what am I going to -- what am I going to do next week or the week after if this is never coming to an end? Like, it is just, it is tough.

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SANCHEZ: Our guest, Caleb Harmon-Marshall, is the producer of that mini documentary, also a former TSA officer and the creator of the "Gate Access" newsletter. Thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. What sparked you into making this mini documentary in which you speak to five current TSA officers and what did they share with you?

CALEB HARMON-MARSHALL, FORMER TSA OFFICER: I believe the best news information comes from the frontline workers. So as a former TSA officer, we are aware that we're unable to speak to the media. Therefore, a lot of things slips through the cracks and the public doesn't really know how these workers are truly being impacted at home.

So, I really wanted to share my platform to give them a platform to come and speak their truth because they are really not making it right now. A lot of them are struggling at home and they're not able to focus 100 percent at work with handling high security measures.

SANCHEZ: And on the question of security measures, do you believe that this shutdown is making Americans less safe?

HARMON-MARSHALL: As this prolongs, yes, they're becoming more unsafe because you have to think about it. If you're stressed, financially strained at home, you're not going to 100 percent perform at work. Although these officers are doing their very best to perform and they say, when they are at work, they're doing the very best that they can to, you know, fulfill their duties, but they're strained at home and they're thinking about their lives getting cut off and they're thinking about how their kids are going to be cared for while they're at work.

You know, many officers told me that when they were going through training, they were never, you know, notified that there could be a potential lapse in payment due to government shutdowns. So I think TSA is going to have a potential crisis on their hands when most of these people quit and they're seeking out more officers to, you know, do this work.

SANCHEZ: So you think the effects are going to be long-lasting? They won't just be limited to this shutdown or the previous one, which lasted some 40-plus days?

HARMON-MARSHALL: I definitely think that they're going to be long- lasting because we have to remember, even if the government were to reopen today, they're not going to get paid today. It's going to be several weeks before they receive their payments.

And you know, there's reports saying that they've only missed one paycheck. That's false. The last, they really missed two paychecks because the first one that they missed was partial. I have TSA officers telling me that that paycheck was only $9.

[13:50:00]

SANCHEZ: Wow. What's your message to lawmakers?

HARMON-MARSHALL: I believe that there should be a reserve fund for TSA officers or any government workers that find themselves in a political war where funding has lapsed. We cannot allow these workers to continue doing critical jobs without getting payments. Their money is there, find a way to pay these individuals just like how we paid ICE before, we paid CBP before. We can pay TSA.

SANCHEZ: Caleb Harmon-Marshall, thank you so much for sharing this with us.

HARMON-MARSHALL: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Up next, new reporting on how weight loss drug treatments are on the verge of yet another major shift. We'll explain.

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[13:55:20]

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

Crews in Orlando have now demolished the Pulse nightclub nearly a decade after one of America's deadliest mass shootings. In 2016, 49 people were killed, dozens more wounded when a gunman opened fire at the LGBTQ friendly club. The city of Orlando now plans to build a permanent memorial at the site that is set to open next year.

The rapper best known for his impossible to forget song, "Because I Got High," just scored a legal victory, winning a lawsuit filed against him by police who raided his home. In 2022, the Adams County, Ohio Sheriff's Department obtained a search warrant against Afroman for drug trafficking and kidnapping, but after going through his house, guns drawn, they charged him with nothing.

Afroman then turned his home surveillance footage of the incident into a parody music video called "Lemon Pound Cake," referencing a moment when one deputy glanced at the cake on his kitchen counter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AFROMAN, LEMON POUND CAKE: They found no kidnapping victims. Just some lemon pound cake.

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SANCHEZ: To be clear, these deputies apparently damaged part of his home, allegedly even trying to make away with some cash. The Sheriff's Department sued him for defamation and invasion of privacy for the video, a series of internet posts he made mocking them professionally and personally. The jury deliberated for several hours and then sided with Afroman.

And one of these things you're about to see does not belong. Shoppers spotted this possum hanging out with the stuffed animals at an airport gift shop in Australia. No word on how it got there. Staffers eventually removed it from the airport unharmed, unclear if it made its flight or not, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yeah, that's where he was comfortable with all of his soft, stuffy friends. That cute guy there. Yeah, let's keep looking at him. All right.

So today, a popular weight loss treatment is now on the brink of another shift. A second GLP-1 pill is expected to be approved by the FDA as soon as next month, as researchers are also now looking at injections that only need to be taken once a month. CNN Medical Correspondent, Meg Tirrell is with us now on this.

All right, Meg, what can you tell us about these new GLP treatments?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna. I mean, this is a space that's been transformed just in the past couple years, of course, with drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound. And even just a couple hours ago, there was a new FDA approval for a higher-dose version of Wegovy, which amps up the weight loss that's seen with that drug.

So this is moving incredibly fast. As you noted, there are daily pill options now on the market. There are some companies working on longer- acting versions, where you'd only have to take an injection once a month instead of once a week, which is the current standard.

There are also new combination treatments that are in development that are showing sort of record levels of weight loss. There's one from Eli Lilly, which just had some new results this morning, that in previous trials have shown weight loss in the realm of 30 percent of people's body weights in this clinical trial. So this is really souping up these kinds of results.

And doctors are saying this is good, that there could be more options for folks, but they warn with those extremely powerful drugs, they need to be used really responsibly. Now, we talked about these daily pills. Of course, the first one is the Wegovy pill. It was approved in December, became available in January.

And guys, some folks on Wall Street are saying this is the fastest drug launch of all time. There are an estimated 400,000 people currently taking the Wegovy pill. So the fastest drug launch means the most people in the shortest amount of time for any drug in history have started taking this medicine. And so, these are incredibly popular.

And the second one, another daily pill, is expected to be approved potentially between April and June. So this is moving so fast, guys.

KEILAR: So insurance, of course, doesn't always cover these drugs. So how much would these options cost?

TIRRELL: Yeah, this could be a really big problem, continuing to be a problem. But of course, we have seen prices start to come down, including through the Trump administration's TrumpRx platform, in deals they made with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which make these new pills. The starting prices for those, if you're paying cash, is $149 a month.

Now, that is still a lot. It's more than you'd be paying, probably, if you had insurance coverage for these medicines. But a lot of folks still don't. Then going up from there, it can be hundreds of dollars a month out of pocket.

And so, these can still be hard for a lot of people to afford. They are becoming more accessible, but that is still a problem, we hear from a lot of patients and a lot of doctors.

KEILAR: All right, Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for that news. The new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

SANCHEZ: A 200 billion --