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Tatiana Finlay is Interviewed about the TSA; Trump's Approval Numbers; New CNN Series on the FBI. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired March 25, 2026 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:33:24]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, wait times to get through security at airports across the country vary wildly. We just saw what's happening in Houston with four-hour waits. It just depends on where you go. This is what it looks like there in Houston. Now, those lines that you're seeing outside, that's where cars normally go. That's how long the lines are outside. And then, of course, they are just as long inside it. It says less than half of their usual TSA lanes are operating at this point.
The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has left TSA officers working without pay, if they haven't chosen to quit or call out at this point. The president of the largest federal workers union is now urging Congress not to leave Washington on their break, which is going to happen in the next couple of weeks, but reaching it before they -- not going on this break before they reach a deal.
Take a listen.
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EVERETT KELLEY, AFGE NATIONAL PRESIDENT: And don't even think about going home for Easter recess while tens of thousands of American families are going without paychecks. Do not get on a plane that a TSA officer screened for free and fly home for Easter dinner and tell these people that you're working on it.
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SIDNER: If they don't do it by this Friday, it will be the second paycheck the TSA misses.
Joining me now is Tatiana Finlay. She and her husband are both TSA officers working without pay. She is a union rep for TSA officers at airports in central and north Florida.
Thank you so much for being here.
Look, thousands of TSA officers are working without pay and they're still showing up to work. What are you hearing from the officers that you also represent, and being one of them, but also representing them, about how serious their financial situation, their lives have become now?
[09:35:13]
TATIANA FINLAY, TSA UNION REP, AFGE LOCAL 556: They're -- they have expressed frustration over the fact that many are facing evictions. Not having utilities, cars repoed. There's people sleeping in cars. The situation has been critical because we are -- literally by this Friday it will be 42 days since officers have received a full paycheck since this latest shutdown.
SIDNER: Yes, it is unconscionable for people to have to work for 42 days and just -- and not be paid.
Give me some sense of how this is affecting you, because you and your husband both work for TSA in Florida. How difficult is this for the both of you? You've got two incomes that are being stripped from your family.
FINLAY: Not only two incomes. My in-laws also work for the agency. So, even the people that we could have probably asked for some sort of money or some sort of help, they're also in the same position where they cannot help. I mean we're really making do with what we have, stretching that dollar, having to carpool. At this point it -- it has come to the point of like having to skip meals because I have to make sure that my kids are fed. And so if it comes down to, I'll just feed them and I'll skip a meal and, you know, we'll keep stretching that dollar, so be it.
SIDNER: It is really hard to hear that in this country that you are having to skip meals in order for your own children to be fed, and you have a full time job, but because Congress can't get it together, you are unpaid. Can you give me some sense of the message that you want to send directly to Congress, to your Congress people and to those who are making these decisions, what would you say to them and the president this morning?
FINLAY: I need -- I need them to come to some sort of resolution for the sake of the federal workers. This is unacceptable. These are people who have been put on a position by constituents and they need to represent us. And that also means making sure we are able to put food on the table while we've been working. It is -- it is unacceptable at this point that, you know, we are showing up to work with no pay. And even the people who are not showing up to work because they're not able to, it's not that they don't want to, they're not able because they're not able to put gas in their car or have anyone to leave their children with because they cannot afford to pay it. And yet, since this shutdown started, we have nationwide officers have screened well over 95 million people, and we are still showing up every day without pay.
SIDNER: Yes, it --
FINLAY: So, it's time to put, you know, conflict aside and, you know, get this done.
SIDNER: It is their number one job to fund the government. And they haven't managed to do that in this particular case with DHS.
Tatiana Finlay, thank you for continuing to do your work and helping people get through those lines while you and your family suffer through this. Let's hope they get a deal soon. Appreciate it.
Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead here, Meta hit with a major loss in court. The social media giant ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in a child sexual exploitation case.
Also, more stuff, but I'm not going to tell you what it is because we changed a little something. So, stay with me. You'll be very excited. Trust me.
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[09:43:31]
HILL: This morning, CNN has learned another thousand U.S. troops stand by for possible deployment to the Middle East. This as the president is also saying the war with Iran has already been won. So, how is all of this sitting with the American people? I know the guy with the answers. His name is Harry Enten. Lucky us.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hello.
HILL: He's right here.
ENTEN: Oh, my God.
HILL: Yes, I love it. I love it when a plan comes together. Dave Irakas (ph).
ENTEN: Beautiful.
HILL: So, in terms of how the president is doing overall right now, according to the public, what does the public say here?
ENTEN: What is the public saying? There is no floor for Donald Trump. The floor beneath him keeps collapsing and he falls down to a new record low. And we can see it right here. Look at this. Trump's net approval in March all two-term pollster lows. Quinnipiac, the best of the bunch, 20 points underwater. Yahoo/YouGov, 21 points below, underwater. Verasight, 23 points below underwater. And the new Reuters/Ipsos poll, 26 points underwater. All of these are term two record lows. Donald Trump continues to fall. And in the aggregate of polls, he is also at a term too low. There is no floor in sight, at least a floor that is stable as he keeps collapsing through the floors that we thought he had.
HILL: That's a lot of floors.
ENTEN: It's a lot of floors.
HILL: So -- all right, so, Harry, talk to me about -- so this is what we're seeing in March. It doesn't look good.
ENTEN: No.
HILL: What is -- but what is driving this? What is driving this drop?
ENTEN: OK. Yes, it don't look good, Erica Hill. But what is driving it? You spoke about the Iran War in the intro.
[09:45:02]
How about foreign policy approval rating trend? Look at this. Hits a term too low according to Reuters/Ipsos. He was plus two at the beginning of his second term. Hello. Down he goes. He's now at negative 27 points, a 30 -- near 30 point drop when it comes to foreign policy. Among independents, just 22 percent of independents approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing on foreign policy. That is no bueno, no good.
How about the economy? Look, this is what we've been talking about. This is the reason Donald Trump got elected to a second term. And he continues to fall. Look at this, another term too low. He was at plus six points in January of 2025 in net approval, nearly a 40 point drop to negative 33 points. And on the cost of living, he is now 41 points below water. That, simply put, does not work for Donald Trump and we're going to get to it in the next slide where who else it might not work for.
HILL: May it perhaps not work for Republicans in the midterms, Harry?
ENTEN: Yes. If we look at the Kalshi prediction markets, what do we see? Look at this, the chance that the GOP wins under 193 seats in the 2026 midterm elections House seats. That chance was eight percent five months ago. Look at that now, up like a rocket.
HILL: Wow.
ENTEN: A 42 percent chance that the GOP gets absolutely blown out. And it will be in large part because Donald Trump is just so freaking unpopular.
HILL: Yikes. But it is still March.
ENTEN: It's still March.
HILL: Long way to November.
ENTEN: A long way. Each day is long, Erica.
HILL: Good -- I know, but it keeps you very busy and it keeps you employed, so that's a win.
Yes. Yes.
We'll be right back.
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HILL: A new CNN original series, "Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia" explores the complex relationship between various presidents and their respective FBI directors. We're talking about those complicated dynamics, the occasional clash or two. This week's first episode highlights the relationship between the late Robert Mueller and President George W. Bush following the 9/11 attacks.
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DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, RICE UNIVERSITY: George Bush and Bob Mueller probably never would have been friends. George Bush was a guy from Texas who actually liked to go to the ranch. Mueller was a lawyer, a very exacting boss. But, alas, they end up being part of history together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have unconfirmed reports that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: And they are tasked with the greatest crisis that the United States has seen since the Civil War.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thousands of FBI agents taking part.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The largest and most comprehensive investigation in our history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mueller was close to the president because they were in that foxhole of having to prevent the next terrorist attack.
ALBERTO GONZALES, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL AND ATTORNEY GENERAL, BUSH ADMINISTRATION: Information was the most valuable currency in the war on terror. Knowing what the enemy is up to was extremely important.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It is now my honor to sign into law the USA Patriot Act of 2001.
RUSS FEINGOLD, U.S. SENATOR 1993-2011: What happened was that under the pressure of the Bush administration, the FBI evolved into something beyond what it should be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Joining us to discuss, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.
So, John, just put into context here for us, Robert Miller -- Robert Mueller, rather, what did he mean to the FBI after 9/11?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: You know, Erica, every FBI director seems to come at their particular time when the FBI needs them. And that's really Mueller's story.
He got to the FBI in September. Think about it. September 4, 2001. SIDNER: Wow.
MILLER: He literally spent the first week with the deputy director being taken around and learning the capabilities of the FBI and the emergency response capabilities of the FBI, which was probably the best possible thing he could have used that first week for, because on September 11th he became that director. Every director had to change the FBI. One of the reasons they had a ten-year term is it gave them a chance to be there long enough to actually mold and guide the agency forward.
This was not going to be a ten-year project. After 9/11, the FBI -- it was like -- it was like rebuilding an airplane in flight. It had to go from being the investigative agency that surely could have solved the case about the who did it part and brought that to trial, but it couldn't be that anymore. It had to be the FBI that could figure out, where was the next attack and how could they prevent it? They had to go from being a criminal agency to an intelligence agency. And Bob Mueller had to basically take the plans he walked in with, pushed them to the side and figure out, I need to remold this place long term, but I also need it to start today.
HILL: Yes.
SIDNER: And they dealt with, the FBI and many other agencies, a lot of criticism at some point after the initial shock happened with 9/11 as to why didn't we know about this, what failed?
But I'm curious about the relationship between Mueller and the president, who you say, you know, they are two very different people and what happened as a result of 9/11.
MILLER: So, that's a fascinating question because, of course, the moment of 9/11 changed it. But think about the context. Prior to Robert Mueller, Louis Freeh was the FBI director. He wanted nothing to do with the president. If the president needed to deal with the FBI, it should be done through the Department of Justice political appointees there. They were -- they were the buffer. But you weren't talking to the president about cases or prosecutions or investigations.
[09:55:00]
And, in fact, what did Louis Freeh do? He was investigating President Clinton.
SIDNER: Right.
MILLER: So, that pushed it even further back. Now you are rebuilding the agency. It's post 9/11. And the president, who has nothing to do with criminal investigations, wants a national security brief on the safety of the country every morning. So, Director Mueller would troop over there with George Tenet from the CIA and, you know, the chief of staff and George Bush and they would go through the threat matrix. They would go through every threat that was on the table that was considered credible with the president of the United States. No FBI director, not J. Edgar Hoover, no one you could think of, had to have that intimate and daily and tight a relationship with the president of the United States. And that went forward for years.
SIDNER: I mean there are -- there are people who are alive who did not experience, which dates us --
HILL: Yes.
SIDNER: But who did not experience 9/11. And at that time, the sheer panic and terror of every single citizen in this country was huge. And so, it is no surprise that things changed at that time.
MILLER: Sara, do you remember when we were -- we were at yellow and then we would move to condition orange.
SIDNER: Yes.
HILL: Yes.
SIDNER: Yes.
MILLER: And we were all worried about what does red mean.
SIDNER: Yes.
HILL: Right.
MILLER: And that was a weekly thing.
HILL: Yes.
SIDNER: It was terrifying.
HILL: John.
SIDNER: John.
HILL: Yes. Sorry.
SIDNER: Thank you.
HILL: Thank you.
MILLER: Thanks.
HILL: You can tune in for new episodes of the CNN original series "Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia," Sundays, 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
SIDNER: It's really good. And you know what else is good? "THE SITUATION ROOM." It's up next.
HILL: It sure is.
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