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Senate Unanimously Moves on DHS Funding; Long Lines Remain at Airports; Chris Sununu is Interviewed about TSA Funding; Trump's Options in Iran; Miles Taylor is Interviewed about Iran; Guthrie to Return to "Today" Show. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 27, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:47]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The clock is ticking. What will the House do after the Senate finally voted yes on a funding bill for DHS that would finally get TSA workers paid and eventually help thin out those long lines at airports like Houston and Atlanta.

In a rare overnight session, the Senate agreed unanimously to fund DHS, except for ICE and Border Patrol. The vote came hours after President Trump announced that he would sign an emergency order to immediately pay TSA agents. The measure now is in the hands of the House, where it still needs to pass before lawmakers leave for a two- week recess today.

But even if the partial shutdown ends, it is unclear just how quickly TSA agents would get paid. TSA officers had to wait 14 to 30 days to get back pay during the last government shutdown, which was just last fall.

CNN's Jason Carroll is standing by at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

But first, let's go to Annie Grayer on Capitol Hill.

What are you learning here as Democrats and Republicans in the House now have a big decision to make before recess?

ANNIE GRAYER, SENIOR REPORTER: That's right, Sara, a big decision for House Republicans and Democrats. There are a lot of meetings, a lot of conversations going on as both parties try and navigate their positions. They're still reading through the bill text that passed in the Senate in the early hours of Friday morning.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson is going to have a decision to make. Can he sell this package to his more conservative members who want to see funding for ICE in there, who wanted to see Trump's voter I.D. bill attached to any DHS funding package? That didn't happen either. Is he going to be able to convince enough conservatives to get on board and pass this with just Republican votes, or is he going to have to rely on House Democrats to help get this across the finish line? We know there have been a lot of moderate Democrats who have been

itching for a deal, been meeting with Republican senators behind the scenes. But are they satisfied with this deal? That is also a question. And there's a lot of procedural steps that might have to happen that could complicate things.

So, it is a Friday session here in the House where they have votes scheduled starting at 10:00 a.m., but the vote on this specific package has not been added to the calendar yet, and it's unclear if that will happen today.

And I think both parties, more generally, Sara, are asking this question of, what did we get out of these 41 days where Democrats wanted to see meaningful reforms to ICE before approving any funding for the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, and Republicans wanted more funding for ICE and the attachment of Trump's voter I.D. bill.

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is at least happy that he was able to keep his Senate Democrats together. There weren't any moderate Senate Democrats who strayed and voted with Republicans in this round of government funding. Republicans feel good about the fact that they can move forward now with their own bill that they want to move forward on. That would include more funding for ICE and CBP. And they're not going to have to rely on Democratic votes to do it. And so they don't need to even have a conversation about reforms going forward.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last night that he believes the window for negotiating with Democrats is now over. So, that's sort of the big picture of where this is all headed.

But in the meantime, TSA agents and people going to -- TSA agents want to know when their paychecks are coming. People going to airports want to know when the lines are going to go down. And everyone's going to be looking at the House today to see if they are going to be able to break the stalemate and get this funding through.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, we just talked to a Democrat from Missouri, Wesley Bell, who says he hasn't yet seen the full bill yet. So, they have to get through it before they vote on it. But there is a lot of pressure on them today, as there should be.

Now, let's go to Jason Carroll. He is at one of the airports where we are checking in with you because not all airports are dealing with this equally. Some are horrifying, like what's happening in Houston and Atlanta, but others, people are breezing through. It just depends on which airport you go to. What are you seeing there at LaGuardia?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does. Yes, yes, look, and I wish we had some more encouraging news for you here at LaGuardia Airport. Look, we're not allowed to be live for you, but we can still show you what it's like inside Terminal B here. It's a mess inside, Sara. The line extends from one end of Terminal B to the other. [08:35:04]

And even though we're not able to be live, we did shoot some video inside Terminal B a little earlier this morning. It shows you the situation there. Current situation, a two hour wait for precheck, three hours for the standard line. There was some hope that since the runway four is now open, you remember that terrible Air Canada express jet crash that had happened that closed runway four? Well, it's now reopened. And there was some hope that that would alleviate some of the congestion here. Not the case so far this morning. Still looking at waits that are lasting two to three hours plus.

Spoke to passengers this morning who are basically at this point completely out of patience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody's affected by this. It's ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would think that they would have the systems in place when this kind of funding isn't here to, you know, at least fund it for like a couple months while they figure it out legislatively.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is insanity. These are people's jobs. These are people's livelihood. And just, you know, it's -- they got to do better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Sara, I spoke to one man. He's from Connecticut. He was trying to make a flight out this morning. I spoke to him at curbside. And he said, you know what? He said, I just gave up. He said, they told him his wait was going to be up to four hours. He decided just to get in his car and drive home.

And what really worries people is that we're now heading into the Easter holiday that's coming up. There are worries about travel then. I mean, the nightmare here, at least at LaGuardia, continues for passengers.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. And you're not the only one. We're seeing four hour waits in Houston. We're seeing a whole big mess now in Atlanta.

Jason Carroll, thank you for bringing us that. Annie Grayer, to you as well there on Capitol Hill. The bottom line, every single person in this country is telling Congress to fix it now.

Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, joining us now is Chris Sununu. He's the president of Airlines for America. Also, of course, the former governor of New Hampshire.

Good to have you with us this morning. CHRIS SUNUNU, PRESIDENT, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA: You bet.

HILL: I know after the president said that he was going to access some -- basically with an emergency, he was going to access funds, he was going to pay TSA workers.

SUNUNU: Yes.

HILL: You said you were grateful for that move, that announcement yesterday by the president.

SUNUNU: Oh, absolutely. Yes.

HILL: The reality is, this has been going on since February 14th. The president could have done that earlier. Should he?

SUNUNU: Well, there's a congressional process, right?

HILL: There is.

SUNUNU: So, it --

HILL: Which has been going very well as we've seen. Yes.

SUNUNU: Yes. Yes. Last time I checked, a lot of people don't like it when their president signs these executive orders. But when Congress sits there for five weeks, their own employees, won't pay them, bickering. They cut a deal. They killed the deal. They cut a deal. They killed the deal. Look like a deal was going to be had. That kind of started to wither away. And so, at that point, the president stood up and said, enough is enough. These people need to get paid. I'm signing an executive order. And there was a huge relief in the system.

Now, what you saw is probably going to be another week or so before, a, the money actually gets paid, right? Because at that point, the Senate -- the Democrats in the Senate especially who are kind of pushing on some of these policy things said, well, there's no more fight here.

So, they joined with the Republicans. They voted unanimously last night. The House will take it up. Even if that passes today, and it's a 50/50, not because it can't, because of process, maybe tomorrow. That will still take time for the money to get processed and go through.

HILL: Yes.

SUNUNU: So, there's still weeks of back pay. It could be a few weeks. So, unfortunately, as is being reported here --

HILL: Right.

SUNUNU: Probably for the next week or so there's going to be a lag and until a lot of the workers come in.

HILL: And -- SUNUNU: And, you know, what you see is these morning rushes, right? Even if you have a 2:00 flight, people are showing up at 6:00 a.m. It's a -- everyone is showing up at the airport effectively at the same time.

HILL: Right.

SUNUNU: You're still going to see that for the next few days, unfortunately.

HILL: So, part of the issue too is it could actually go far beyond, right? Because, to your point, it takes a while. Let's say even all the funding is cleared, right? We're told paychecks are coming in. Your back pay is coming in. It takes a little while for that to happen, right?

SUNUNU: That's right.

HILL: For people to have that money to be able to pay for their childcare, their gas, to get to work. The other reality is, there have been about 500 TSA workers who have quit during this period. I've spoken with TSA workers, I've spoken with former TSA officials over the last several weeks, and they have expressed to me joint concern that what this does is actually make it harder, not just to try to woo those workers back, but to try to recruit new employees.

SUNUNU: Oh, yes.

HILL: How much damage is this doing to the TSA? Because people coming in will say, I don't know that I can count on a paycheck.

SUNUNU: It's not just the TSA, it's air traffic control, because that was the big issue with the first big shutdown just --

HILL: Who are being paid right now. I want to clarify for people at home.

SUNUNU: Yes, but 43 days ago went --

HILL: Yes, they were not.

SUNUNU: Went six weeks without pay. These guys now six weeks without pay. So, what it does is, anyone looking to enter this field on that government side, right, because this is a public/private partnership.

HILL: Yes.

SUNUNU: The aviation side is terrific. Airlines are private. They're doing great. They're making up for all the bad customer service the federal government is handing people.

But on this side it's, we have a great system, but you have to incentivize people to want to come in. Why would you, if you're a young person, think about taking a job with air traffic control or TSA knowing that every few months you might not get paid? It's such a disincentive. Now, at the same time, Congress has funded billions of dollars into

the new air traffic control system. It's awesome. And Secretary Duffy, Brian Bedford, FAA, are doing a great job moving that forward very quickly. We're going to have this super great technology to make the whole system efficient. But you need people.

HILL: You do need people.

SUNUNU: You need to encourage people to come in. So, it's a public/private partnership and --

HILL: Well, people need to be able to count on their paycheck.

SUNUNU: Yes.

HILL: Yes.

[08:40:01]

SUNUNU: Look, I -- mothing kills good customer service like the government, right? And that's the terrible -- the terrible lesson here.

HILL: You would get many Americans to agree with you on that.

SUNUNU: Yes.

HILL: It is a -- perhaps a unifying statement.

I do want to ask you about what we saw, the tragic collision that we saw at LaGuardia earlier this week.

SUNUNU: Yes.

HILL: So, CNN did a review of two years of government reports going back through what pilots had sent in. And frankly, it's really concerned, raising multiple concerns. They talk about miscommunication, air traffic control missteps and other hazards. All of this at LaGuardia. One pilot writing, and I'm quoting here, "please do something." That was after a close call last summer.

Do you think enough attention is being paid to these consistent concerns that we're seeing? And could that have helped us avoid what we saw?

SUNUNU: So, yes -- is enough attention being paid? Yes. Are we where we need to be? No.

HILL: OK.

SUNUNU: So, that's why they're rebuilding the air traffic control system. All the new technology, billions of dollars, will be able to make things more efficient, safer, faster, more resilient.

And it's not just LaGuardia. I mean some of the biggest close call issues you have are in southern California. Not just with John Wayne Burbank, Van Nuys. There's a lot of helicopter issues and private plane issues and all that. And it's how they approach.

Every airport is different, right? How they approach, the winds and all of that. And so what we're trying to do is work with Jennifer Homendy, who's done a terrific job at the safety board, bringing a lot of attention based on the tragedy of American Airlines at DCA.

HILL: Yes.

SUNUNU: Right on, spot on in terms of what they're trying to do and investigate at LaGuardia. And also kind of engaging the private industry, our side, on airlines and saying, let's find those next versions of hotspots. Where's the next problem? Let's be proactive about it, make sure our technology in our airports are there. Maybe we have to change traffic patterns. Maybe we have to change landing and how we look at different opportunities there and put in more technology.

So, I think everyone is paying attention. I think the technology's going in. But it's probably going to be a little more time before we actually get where we need to be.

We still have the safest system in the country. Let's not mistake ourselves. It's still very, very safe to fly. But that's not enough, right?

HILL: Yes.

SUNUNU: We want to get all -- we strive to get to zero.

HILL: Governor --

SUNUNU: And we're not quite there yet.

HILL: Sorry, I jumped you there.

SUNUNU: You bet.

HILL: Governor, nice to have you in the studio.

SUNUNU: You bet. Thank you.

HILL: Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: I think the breaking news is personal breaking news. The governor is now going to solve the problem with the airlines as the president of the Airlines of America. You -- I mean, that was big news.

SUNUNU: We can do it all.

HILL: He's here to help. He's here to help, Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Here to help. I like it all right. All right, breaking news this morning. Now to the war in Iran. Iran

says a fresh wave of overnight strikes killed dozens of people in that country. New video showing some of the aftermath in Tehran as the war approaches one month. Sources are telling CNN that President Trump is considering a number of options for escalating the war. And all of the options could result in heavy U.S. casualties, according to sources to CNN.

These internal discussions come as thousands more U.S. forces are now heading to the region. And Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is now urging civilians in the region to leave areas where American forces are stationed. That is according to Iranian state media this morning.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House for us this morning.

Alayna, you have new reporting on the internal game planning as Donald Trump tries to find a way to end this war. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I think there is intense pressure, Sara, of course on this administration and the president himself about trying to find an end to this war decisively. That is something that they promised, I'd remind you, from the get go here. The morning that they had launched initial strikes with Israel into Tehran, the president and his team had said they believed this would be a four to six week operation.

Well, we are roughly a month in now, and so they are trying to find a way to keep that promise as, you know, pressure is also mounting on Capitol Hill from Republican leaders and really Republicans across the country who are saying that they do not want this to be a prolonged conflict.

So, this is where we are right now, essentially as the president and his team are still hoping and prioritizing a path forward on diplomacy. Of course that is very difficult. It's very unclear if that's actually something that could actually work. You hear from the Iranians on an almost near daily basis now that they believe there aren't substantial negotiations happening.

Now, the reporting that I have, in my conversations with administration officials and others, is that they are working toward setting up some sort of meeting, perhaps in Pakistan, but other locations have been floated with top officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, which is notable because he, in the past, has been very anti-interventionist. He's also one of the key people inside this White House calling for a swift end to this war, trying to figure out if they can get an in-person meeting with Iranians and some of these key mediators to continue diplomacy and see if negotiations are actually viable.

But what we are learning, and this is really what the new reporting gets at, is that if diplomacy fails, if these actions that the administration is prioritizing fails, when you look at what the different internal discussions have been, the different draft plans for moving forward with this war, what that could look like, a lot of them, and really the ones that are considered, you know, the ability for them to be able to, you know, reopen the strait and effectively neuter the Iranian regime's ability to continue this war on their end, almost all of them would require a significant number of ground troops being deployed.

[08:45:21]

And that is something that we know the president and many people inside this White House have really been wary of. And they recognize, there's not a lot of support, not only with the American people, but, again, with the president's own Republican supporters about sending these ground troops into Iran. And so, really, what the state of play is now is, if diplomacy doesn't work, the Pentagon is really going to have to evaluate what options they have. And again, not many of them are good if the goal is to not be sending boots on the ground.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Alayna Treene, for your good reporting there this morning.

Joining us now is Miles Taylor, a former high-ranking Homeland Security official in the first Trump administration.

Thank you for being here this morning.

Look, you worked at DHS. So, when you hear the conversations or you hear about the conversation that the Pentagon is drawing up plans to take targets inside Iran, and you see that they are sending in more and more troops who could be capable of a ground invasion, what are your biggest worries? What are you thinking about here as to what are the dangers and what could happen?

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO THEN-DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN: Well, look, I mean, Sara, I think it dramatically increases the risk to Americans in the region, in the United States homeland and in the long run.

Here's the thing. The most important thing I want people to remember is, even if Donald Trump tries to end the war this week, it will not be over for the Iranians for years, for decades. They will continue to target American officials and American citizens for revenge.

Remember, this is the country that almost blew up a restaurant in Georgetown in Washington, D.C., on a quest to kill the Saudi ambassador. That was during the Obama administration. And they didn't care if they killed hundreds of Americans in the process. That wasn't even retaliation against the United States. That was when they were going after the Saudis.

We know that they have targeted the president of the United States for assassination. They tried to assassinate former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Paris, in a plot that was very, very, you know, very few outlets reported on it at the time, but it was extremely serious. They have done these things, again, in periods of time when we are not at war with them, and haven't gone to war with them.

I worry about the terror threat from Iran being substantial for years to come, Sara, especially as the president considers escalating the conflict. And I will say, this was all very foreseeable. The U.S. intelligence community's own assessments on Iran have consistently flagged it as the primary state sponsor of terror around the world, and one of the biggest terror threats to the United States.

SIDNER: Look, it has been, in the past, and there have been times when they've been able to terrorize U.S. citizens, and citizens in other -- of course, Israel and other places. But I'm curious, though, because the Trump administration is saying, hey, look, we are diminishing their capabilities militarily. We are knocking out so many different things that they would have. Some of their -- their navy, for example, and their ability to fire more and more rockets.

So, do you think now that Iran has been diminished militarily, they have the capability, the same as they did before this war started?

TAYLOR: Yes, they absolutely do. The worry for me was never that the Iranian regime was going to fire a ballistic missile into Washington, D.C. That was never the worry. Maybe that was a far out worry in a fictional scenario when we got into a massive war and they had developed intercontinental ballistic missiles. But that wasn't the worry.

The worry was always that the Iranian regime would try to conduct terrorist attacks against the American people, would try to kill our leaders, would try to kill American citizens. They will remain completely capable of doing that in the wake of this. But now they will have motive that they didn't have before. They will have massive and continuing motive for a long period of time. The Iranians, as you know, Sara, have threatened to attack U.S. forces and officials that are stationed in hotels in the region. They basically said, you know, Sheratons and Four Seasons, you know, might be legitimate targets in certain countries in that area, but it goes far beyond that. They are willing to reach out and touch Americans wherever they are in the world. And now because of this war, they are more willing to do exactly that.

And I think one thing we've learned, Sara, is that in this age of modern warfare, it doesn't matter that we've taken out Iranian conventional military capabilities. They can use explosive laden drones. They can use asymmetric threats to hold things like the Strait of Hormuz hostage. We can destroy their entire navy, and they still have the ability to exert that type of leverage. We're not going to be able to neutralize this terror threat from the air.

SIDNER: It's terrifying. And one thing you and I both know, as anyone who's lived in the Middle East, is that in the Middle East, the countries there, the people, they have long memories, while Americans have a -- tend to have a little bit of a shorter memory.

[08:50:06]

So, when you say that this will go on and on and on, this asymmetrical warfare, I think we've seen that in the past and don't expect anything to change in the future.

Miles Taylor, thank you so much for coming on this morning. Do appreciate you.

All right, coming up, a car going up in flames just seconds -- look at this -- after the driver managed to get out. What exactly went wrong here? What happened?

Plus, robot drone dogs. Yes, robot drone dogs. Creepy as all get out. Well, they're now patrolling the Las Vegas Strip.

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SIDNER: All right, on our radar for you this morning, a suspect ends up in a bush full of thorns after he allegedly led police on a chase by car and then by foot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay down. Get back here with me, now! Get up! Get up!

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SIDNER: That tree is the worst punishment. Good grief. The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office says the man told them he couldn't get up because of the bush.

[08:55:02]

It was sticking in him. He said, quote, "I'm in stickers." Eventually, the suspect stood up and plucked a thorn from his clothes. The sheriff's office says he was arrested on a number of charges, including DUI.

All right, this morning, a near-death experience caught on camera. A high school wrestling coach in California says he is so lucky to be alive after this happened to his truck. Yes, it exploded. The coach says his brakes suddenly gave out while driving, so he used his emergency brake to stop the vehicle. And shortly after that, he saw flames under the hood. Then, within seconds of moving away from the truck, it blew up. Thankfully, he was far enough away and he's OK this morning. His truck, not so much.

All right, security officials in Las Vegas are getting a helping hand with this four-legged guard. Meet Dan. He's a robotic drone dog being deployed to serve as an extra pair of eyes and ears. The A.I.-powered dog acts like a moving camera to help detect threats at big events. The robotic dog beams back information to humans at a security center, who can then respond to anything they see that's unusual. Any kind of security breach. And we're told Dan doesn't get tired or take coffee breaks, but I bet he needs oil.

HILL: Yes, I bet he does. That's his treat.

SIDNER: Yes, WD-40.

HILL: No, like actual treats. We're just going to -- a little --

SIDNER: Yes.

HILL: Yes. And maybe a charge now and then.

New this morning, as she continues to beg for help in the search for her missing mother, Nancy, "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie says she is planning to return to work and talking about that exact date.

CNN's Brian Stelter joining me now.

So, Brian, Savannah says she'll be back on April 6th, a week from Monday.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. Savannah, you know, you think about the last two months and how we've all been covering this shocking mystery, this disappearance. Savannah Guthrie had her mom stolen from her. And now she doesn't want this kidnaper, whoever it was, to steal her life and her livelihood. She says she has to figure out a path forward, partly for her own kids and for her family. And so, in an interview with her colleague Hoda Kotb, savannah talked about why she wants to return to work at the "Today" show, and she recalled a formative experience from her teenage years. Savannah was in high school when her dad, Charles, died. And Savannah watched how her mom, Nancy, worked through that. How her mom was shattered, but how her mom was also resilient and found a way forward. And so, as Savannah figures out how to, quote, "get up," she says she's relying on her mom's inspiration to do that.

And here's what else she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "TODAY" SHOW HOST: I can not come back because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now. I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when it's not, I'll say so. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try. I would like to try. And I'm not going to be the same. But maybe it's like that old poem, more beautiful in the broken places.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: It's the perfect quote, the perfect poem. You know, there have been some speculation among TV news types that maybe Savannah would never return to work, but she clearly views the show, as she said, as a family and as a comforting daily routine.

At the same time, she is continuing to hold out hope that someone who knows something about her mom's disappearance will come forward. You know, just last week her family issued a new statement specifically reaching residents in Tucson. It is the belief of the family that someone in the Tucson area does know something and should come forward. And so, she's using this interview this week to once again amplify that message as we approach the two week -- excuse me, the two month mark of her mom's disappearance. But NBC says she will return to work on the "Today" show on Monday, April 6th, the day after Easter.

HILL: All right, Brian, really appreciate it. Thank you.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SIDNER: Breaking this morning, it is all up to the House now to end the partial shutdown that's left TSA workers unpaid and travelers stuck in long airport lines at some airports across the country. The Senate passed partial funding for the Department of Homeland Security overnight. Can the House do the same thing before they go on a two- week recess, which is supposed to happen today?

[08:59:59]

President Trump is delaying his deadline for striking Iran's energy sites, again, as he weighs different military options that all risk high casualties.