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Erin Burnett Outfront

Iran: U.S. Embassy Logistics Base In Baghdad Repeatedly Targeted; CNN Investigates Iran's Underground Missile Cities; Trump Admin Removing Sanctions On Iranian Oil Stranded At Sea. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 20, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:33]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, a U.S. logistics base under attack, according to Iran. Three strikes targeting the facility in Baghdad in just the past 24 hours. And just as President Trump says he's considering winding down the war. So why are more troops heading to the region?

Plus, Iran's underground missile cities, dozens of elaborate sites crucial to Iran's strategy. Are U.S. Strikes taking them out for good? We have a special CNN investigation on this.

And our KFILE is uncovering a top FEMA official has a history of sharing election conspiracy theories and even once claimed that he teleported to a Waffle House.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BOLDUAN: Good evening, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan, in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, we are following the breaking news. Iran targeting a U.S. facility in Iraq. Blasts near a U.S. logistics support facility in Baghdad. This is according to Iran.

This is the third attack on the base in just the past 24 hours. This brazen attack by Iran comes at the same time as President Trump just claimed on social media that the Pentagon is considering winding down military efforts in the Middle East.

But all signs point to the military operation ramping up more, not less. To officials -- two officials tell CNN that thousands more U.S. Marines are headed to the region aboard a Navy ship, and we're learning some of the forces that are headed to the Middle East may specialize in ground missions.

And while Trump has not said he's putting American troops on the ground in Iran, he may need them. CNN is learning that as the U.S. is furiously trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an internal assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency determined Iran could potentially keep the passage shut for anywhere from one to six months.

And one option that's been suggested to reopen the strait is to put Trump's troops rather on Kharg Island. But a source says that would be a risky mission, one that puts American lives on the line.

The president today says that he believes getting the strait open is the only remaining challenge in this war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: You said the war was militarily won in Iran. What did you mean by that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, I think we've won. Weve knocked out their navy, their air force. We've knocked out their anti-aircraft. We've knocked out everything. We're roaming free from a military standpoint. All they're doing is clogging up the strait. But from a military standpoint, they're finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And it's a situation in the strait that has the president lashing out at America's allies once again in a post, calling them, quote, cowards. Shortly after that, the U.K. announced that it is ready to help. In a major move, Britain is now allowing the U.S. to use British bases to strike Iranian forces along the Strait of Hormuz. Up to this point, the British prime minister had vowed not to let his nation be drawn into the war.

So now, Nic Robertson is OUTFRONT live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for us tonight. Alayna Treene is at the White House.

Let's start with you, Nick. What is the latest that you're learning from there this evening?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, a lot of drones being fired at the east of Saudi Arabia today. There have been perhaps ten in the past couple of hours, 40 over the past 24 hours, more or less. The east, of course, is where the majority of the oil refineries, the oil, the oil facilities are in this country.

And of course, that comes on a day when this country, as others in the gulf are celebrating Eid, the very holy day here, and a day where people, frankly, would normally be spending it with families. We saw did see grandparents with parents and children in cafes and restaurants here in the capital, Riyadh.

But this sort of constant drumbeat from Iran of attacks has been writ large across the whole of the Gulf again today, Kuwait bearing perhaps the worst of it, their drones hitting an oil refinery there, taking that part of that offline drones also, impacting, a warehouse it appeared in Bahrain overnight, also ballistic missiles, four of them. And at about 26 drones aimed and intercepted above the UAE.

But it's -- it's really sort of painting a picture of an area. And that is increasingly facing, the Iran's ability to continue firing weapons.

[19:05:04]

And I think one sort of step that has been taken today that may not be hugely significant is that Bahrain has joined the -- a lot of other countries, about 20 other countries, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, Korea, in signing an agreement to contribute appropriate efforts to try to do something about the Strait of Hormuz.

That is pretty weak language, but it does show that these countries are willing to try to do something. And Bahrain, the first GCC country, to take that step.

BOLDUAN: Definitely worth noting.

Thank you so much, Nic. It's really good to see you. Really appreciate it.

Let's go to Alayna now at the White House.

Alayna, I know that you've been talking to your sources there. What's the latest that you're learning about where this all is headed?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, if you listen to the president this afternoon and really over the last several days, Kate, you get this idea that the war is basically won. He said that today. You played that clip of him saying it's won militarily.

However, it is quite a different thing that we are hearing from people inside the administration and really inside the intelligence community, particularly when it comes to this idea of, you know, air superiority, you know, trying to diminish and really damage Iran's stockpiles and weapons stockpiles is one thing. But the Strait of Hormuz has proven to be a much bigger and more complicated problem, and one that many of these officials tell me and our colleagues that there really is no simple solution for were told that they've really been furiously scrambling to see how they could prevent the strait from remaining closed for another several months.

You mentioned this, but we had reported on this recent internal intelligence assessment. It's from the DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, which said that essentially Iran might have the capabilities to keep the strait closed for another six months, which is a huge problem for this administration if it could actually go that long. Of course, in our conversations with the Pentagon, people at the White House, they say that that is the worst case scenario. They essentially called it unacceptable. This idea that it could potentially be closed and remain closed for that long.

But I will also add that, again, a lot of the people I've spoken with in the intelligence community say that there is just no easy fix for it. Part of that is because the Strait of Hormuz is some 100 miles. The Iranians have the ability to launch projectiles and any sort of weapons from the strait at these different tankers, and then also their ability to lay mines, all of that being a major issue. Now, when you heard the president talk about it today, he essentially

argued that it would be a small military maneuver. And then he later posted, Kate, on Truth Social, essentially saying that the strait is still a remaining issue. It would have to be guarded, but that he would leave it up to allies. Given that the United States does not rely on the strait for its oil as much as some of these other countries do.

All to say this is very messy. There is not a clear way out when it comes to this problem. And I remind you, the reason it's so important is because it is tanking markets. When you look at oil prices, you're seeing them tick up higher in recent days, including here in the U.S. That is not only a military issue that this administration needs to solve for, but also an economic and political one.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, it's all the issues, that's for sure.

It's great to see, Alayna. Thank you so much.

Everyone's here with me. Let's talk much more about the reporting we're hearing from Nic and Alayna this evening.

Alex -- a reminder to everyone out there that you served within the office of the secretary of defense at the Pentagon. You are a combat veteran. You served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When you hear the president say, I think we've won -- he said a lot of different things. There are shades of, you know, they call it the weave. They call it a lot of things. But when you hear him say that about this military operation, how do you see it?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think he's speaking to a couple different audiences at once. So, the we won and the timeline, some of that's for the market, some of that's for the American people.

And honestly, when we're talking about the military objectives, they are actually doing quite well. So, the onset of the war, there were briefings where they provided for clear objectives. So, it was taking out the drones, the missiles, the associated industrial base, the navy, and then the nuclear program hasn't been touched, which the president said was his primary objective. And so, we'll see where that goes.

They're working down. They being U.S. Central Command, what we call an air tasking order. So there's a predetermined set of targets where they're working through probably about three to five weeks overall is what we were told the mission was. But now, as we were just alluding to with the straits, this is now mission creep, I'll call it what it is.

There's now a new military objective because the president has tried strikes on Kharg island. You know, the Iranians responded with strikes somewhere else. The Israelis hit the Pars Gas field, which is the largest natural gas field in the world. Again, the Iranians responded with strikes.

So, they're not listening to the president's words. And it looks like we're going to have to take additional military action.

BOLDUAN: And this is -- this is -- we've seen it time and again. The problem when you go into a war, it's not the objective going in. It's what you have to deal with in the midst of it, because the enemy has a strong opinion in this as well. Exactly.

PLITSAS: Right.

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BOLDUAN: Retired Army General Randy Manner is here with us as well. The president also general wrote that the way he put it, and we talked about it with my colleagues is we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts.

What would you want to or need to see before you think a winding down can begin? And with thousands of troops be deploying to the region, if they really were close to winding down?

MAJ. GEN. RANDY MANNER, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Two comments. The first is, is that I think it would be extremely courageous of the president to declare victory and to be able to allow the situation to de-escalate, and I will it's my blunt professional opinion that the Iranians would also start to stand down as well. It will take courage for the president to be able to do this.

Secondly, the marines coming into the area, we should not regard that necessarily as an escalation. It could be that they could be there after the fact, after hostilities end to reinforce our U.S. bases in the region and, of course, to reestablish control in the consulates and embassies, which, of course, the marines have the primary responsibility for securing.

So we should not look at this as boots on the ground by the marines. And I certainly hope that does not happen as they would be a huge target for Iran to try to identify whether they were moving by air into the region or by boat or by ship. They would be a target. So, I think the president would really demonstrate immense courage if he was to declare victory and allow this to slowly or even quickly to stop. I think that's what we need to do.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. And I think what the general is getting at is the rhetoric, the rhetoric to this point just has been heating up, heating up, heating up rather than trying to, as you're saying, make a move to try to de-escalate and maybe not specifically in the battlefield, if you will, but on how this is being discussed and what he's targeting here.

Let me bring in Nazila Fathi on this now. Nazila, you have family in Iran. You've been speaking with people on the ground there, and one of the complications and hard things about this is it's been very hard to have visibility truly on the ground of what people are experiencing.

When President Trump, when you hear President Trump say, we've won, how do they see it right now on the ground? NAZILA FATHI, FORMER JOURNALIST FORCED TO FLEE IRAN: So, Kate, today

was the Persian new year. It happened to coincide with the -- the other Eid, the Muslim Eid in the Middle East. And I spoke to Iranians and everyone, almost everyone I spoke to was telling me that this was the worst Nowruz, the Persian new year that they can remember.

And all they want -- want -- they want this war to stop. They want this conflict, the intense bombardment to stop. People were telling me they haven't slept since the war broke out. They're anxious. They're traumatized.

So, if this is the rhetoric that he is going to lead to de-escalation, they welcome it. Iran's military has definitely become weaker. If this was the objective, it's been accomplished. But the Iranian regime is still in place. The regime has become even more hardline. Every leader that has been killed has been replaced by a much more radical person.

And the regime that was unpredictable has become even more unpredictable. So, I totally agree that this is the time to de- escalate and start focusing on other goals.

BOLDUAN: Alex, now another, you know change or, addition into this conversation now is what the U.K. announced, right? Announcing that they're going to allow the U.S. to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites and target ships in the Strait of Hormuz it's what the president was calling for.

PLITSAS: Yep.

BOLDUAN: It's what it seems. The British prime minister was very hesitant to do for quite some time. What do you think of this change? Does this if people are looking at this and say, is the war now getting bigger? Is do you see it that way?

PLITSAS: So not quite bigger in the sense. I think it is mission creep, like I was talking about earlier in terms of a new objective. I was speaking to British officials earlier today to kind of get a gauge as to where they were prior to the conflict. The U.S. asked for permission to use Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a base that we flew strategic bombers out of to do bombing runs, and the British couldn't find a legal pretext to allow us to do that.

They said, look, we can't get involved. The Europeans largely took the same, but it's actually the Iranian strategy that is backfiring once again, that is causing this to happen. So, when they decided to attack the gulf, neighbors go after the oil and gas infrastructure, but more importantly, the civilian targets inside the countries, it provided the legal pretext for them to do defensive missions flying over the top.

Also, now, when they've been attacking ships in the straits and holding up global commerce, that also provided additional legal cover for the Europeans to get involved. And so they've said, okay, were not going to allow you to fly offensive missions per se, inside of Iran, but we need the straits freed up. And so, while the initial military objectives are largely achieved,

they're getting there at least on track. Probably still a couple of weeks left to do that. The straits are still blocked. And unfortunately, I think, you know, walking away at this point will leave with the remnants of an Iranian regime if it stays in power. The feeling that they've won and that they can do this again and choke off global commerce.

So, I think it will be very difficult for us to walk away from that in this perspective. And I think that that's the reason the president is saying at the end of that message, the last part of that was that it's dependent upon achieving the objectives, and then everybody takes over afterwards. So, I don't think we're quite done yet.

BOLDUAN: General, what's your view on this, especially when the way the president was trying to present it today was that this is a small, simple military option. There's little risk for allies in helping with this, but just kind of cut through the noise on this one is, is there in fact little risk for these countries getting involved?

MANNER: I totally disagree with the administration. There is high risk if this was to be done, now, while of course there is extreme high levels of combat ongoing in the region. It is one thing if the United States and Israel de-escalate, Iran, I am certain, will also de- escalate, and then the straits should become passable.

And that way they would not interfere with the oil going through, which of course benefits them, as we know. Of course, is China, China as well. But remember, the rest of the things are the second order effects that drive up the oil prices in the United States, even though our oil does not come from there, it is the oil prices. The United States are affected by that.

It's important for all the viewers to understand that Iran can hit ships in the strait from anywhere inside Iran. It is not like you sit on the top of a hilltop, on the mountains, around the street, and fire missiles or direct fire weapons. You can hit them indirectly from anywhere.

So, this is physically impossible to secure in a military manner without hundreds of thousands of military being on the ground in Iran. So, we should not go there. We should instead de-escalate.

I appreciate very much the hardship that the Iranians are going through, and many other countries in the Middle East, let alone around the world as a result of the indirect impacts on everyone around the world. I think, again, the president would demonstrate tremendous courage to declare victory.

BOLDUAN: Nazila, give me your thoughts on this. What do you think it would take for the Iranian regime to allow the strait to reopen tonight?

FATHI: I think they have realized that the Strait of Hormuz is a very powerful leverage that they have, but they can't keep it closed permanently. So, I think in return for the right concession, security guarantees they will open it. But they want to be the winners in this negotiation as well.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. It's great -- thank you all so much for being here tonight. I really appreciate it.

OUTFRONT for us next, a special CNN investigation into Iran's so- called missile cities, massive fortresses, deep underground. And they are key to Iran's war strategy.

Plus, gas prices now up in every state since the war in Iran began. Yet President Trump is downplaying this spike right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I expected worse actually. I thought that oil prices would go much higher when I did this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And 48 days after Nancy Guthrie went missing, the sheriff leading the investigation is now finding his job on the line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:42]

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT, "War in Iran". We continue to follow the breaking news. There are new satellite images now revealing the aftermath of U.S. strikes on an Iranian drone facility.

Take a look at this. These images were posted by CENTCOM today showing before and after pictures of a drone production plant in Isfahan. The U.S. says that it was manufacturing Shahed one way attack drones, the same drones used by Iran to strike -- to strike targets across the region.

It comes as a new CNN investigation tonight is uncovering the depth of Iran's military infrastructure, a vast network of what they're calling missile cities, many of them hidden deep beneath the surface.

Tamara Qiblawi is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): An Iranian underground missile city buried deep inside a mountain, a show of force aimed at Iran's enemies. A contingency plan to protect its precious arsenal from being eradicated by massive bombardment. Dozens of these subterranean fortresses are spread across the country. It's proof that Tehran has been preparing for a war just like this one for years and possibly decades.

It's also from these mountain bases that Iran's stores its mobile missile launchers, taking them out, firing before hiding them back into the mountain to reload and avoid detection.

The U.S. and Israel want to destroy this threat.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Just like Hamas and their tunnels. Iran has funneled decades of state resources not to their people, but into missiles and drones and proxies and buried facilities. But we are hunting them down.

QIBLAWI (voice-over): We wanted to find out how, examining satellite images from 27 underground bases, including 107 tunnels. What we found was evidence of a rapid fire American-Israeli campaign to trap a large number of Iranian munitions, underground blocking entrances and exits to these bases, like here, here and here. Access points to these facilities blocked.

We found that the U.S. And Israel bombed at least 77 percent of the tunnel entrances that we were able to review satellite images of. Here we see rockets fired from mobile launchers, towed out of tunnels.

[19:25:05]

The images are from propaganda video released last year. We geolocated this video to here a large underground city with many of the access points ravaged by U.S. and Israeli bombardment earlier this month. Here we see huge craters surrounding a tunnel portal. Here, it destroyed rocket launcher and a reddish cloud of highly toxic rocket fuel.

But less than 48 hours after the site was first bombed, evidence of Iranians already digging for access to their munitions underground. And this isn't the first time Iran's jumped to repair its underground facilities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tehran is completely filled with smoke.

QIBLAWI: After the 12-Day War with Israel last June, Iran repaired missile production facilities an industrial complex linked to uranium enrichment, centrifuges and subterranean medium range missile sites like this one, where Iran reopened access points to those munitions, again starting to repair them just 48 hours after that war ended.

The U.S. and Israel continue to score tactical successes around underground facilities, but these might be temporary solutions as Iran continues to adapt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QIBLAWI: Now these are huge battlefield achievements by the U.S. and Israel, heavily degrading Iran's military capability. But experts say that Iran remains resilient and has just enough munitions to continue to hit strategic positions, such as oil and gas and civilian infrastructure. This adds another layer of complexity and unpredictability to this war -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Certainly. Tamara, thank you so much.

OUTFRONT with us right now is Khosro Isfahani. He is an Iranian exile who was born and raised in Iran, worked as a journalist with the BBC. He is also the research director for the National Union for democracy in Iran.

Khosro, thank you for being here.

KHOSRO ISFAHANI, IRANIAN EXILE: Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: One -- one thing we -- on the heels of that amazing report from Tamara, we also had a new message. The Iranian public today got a new second purported message from the new supreme leader. But yet again, he's not seen or heard. No audio, no video, not even a credible still image has really been put out. What does this tell you?

ISFAHANI: Two things. One about this new supreme leader, Mojtaba. We are dealing with an impotent young cleric who has the charisma of a boiled potato. He is the first A.I. generated supreme leader that the world has seen to itself. All the footage that state media in Iran is putting out about this man either are dated or old photos of him, or are literally are A.I. generated.

That's the man that we are dealing with. He has zero political backing, zero political history. He has achieved nothing in his life. That's Mojtaba.

Let's put him aside and get back to the actual question. What the regime is doing with these missile bases, reconstructing them. We are dealing with a death cult that forces children to pledge allegiance to a supreme leader, makes them to pledge the life of their parents. A couple of years ago, this song was made into a whole, anthem by the Islamic republic salute commander, in which children were pledging the lives of their parents to the supreme leader, saying, we are going to sacrifice the lives of our mothers and fathers for the supreme leader.

That's the system that we are dealing with. Anything other than total obliteration or total surrender is going to be a missed opportunity in face of such a regime. And Iranians know that firsthand.

I lived in that country for three decades. I have fought that regime for 17 years. I have watched this regime kill tens of thousands of people in my motherland. We know what this regime is about.

There is one option, absolute obliteration or total surrender. Anything in between the regime will survive, rebuild its capabilities and strike against -- against the Iranian people and the world.

BOLDUAN: Israel today announced that it killed another top leader in Iran. The top intelligence official in Iran's paramilitary force. The Israeli prime minister has said that they are going after leader after leader to weaken the regime and give the people of Iran a chance to oust that regime.

Do you get a sense that that is what's happening as they're taking out leader after leader?

ISFAHANI: So, here's the actual what is happening in Iran, in this military operation, the top echelon of the Islamic Republic is being constantly mowed. It's not limited to the supreme leader or a Basij commander. A couple of days ago, Ali Larijani was taken out, the architect of the mass killing that we watched in January, when tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian protesters were mowed down on the streets of Iran in cold blood.

[19:30:06]

That man was the architect of that killing.

But the thing is, look at what happened during the 12-Day War when supreme leader Ali Khamenei was hiding in a bunker. Ali Larijani and the parliament speaker stepped in, stabilized the regime, allowed it to survive. Taking out these men will remove any chance for the Islamic Republic to stabilize its structure, stabilize this network of terror.

At the same time, the other thing that is happening inside Iran is that the arms of the oppression of this regime, as you mentioned, Basij militia, it's not limited to leaders of this force. The intelligence that we have received is that hundreds of Basij militiamen have been killed in Israeli drone strikes, and many more are scared to even show up for work. And

those who are showing up cannot be paid. They cannot receive water and food. The regime is falling apart, and the Iranians are going to make the last battle. This is the last battle for our homeland. We have been fighting for it, and this is it.

BOLDUAN: And what a moment to be in right now. Thank you so much for coming in. I really appreciate your time.

ISFAHANI: Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT for us next, chaos at Americas airports. Security lines at some stretching for hours. And one former TSA administrator now warning that America's security could be at risk with this.

Plus, the KFILE uncovering a top FEMA official's history of violent rhetoric and even once claiming that he teleported and teleported to a Waffle House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG PHILLIPS, HEAD OF FEMA'S OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY: The car lifted up and took me where I was going, and I ended up at a Waffle House, like 50 miles away from where I was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:36:03]

BOLDUAN: We have some breaking news just in. The Trump administration has just announced that it's removing sanctions on Iranian oil that's currently at sea. That's roughly 140 million barrels of oil. And it's all in an effort to try to help and bring down the price of oil and bring down price we're seeing at the pump gas prices in America and -- in America are up nearly a dollar since the war started 21 days ago.

President Trump today downplaying that jump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I expected worse. I thought that oil prices would go much higher when I did this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: This as top investment bank Goldman Sachs is now warning that those oil prices that have been sticking in the triple digits a barrel for now, for way too long, that could last until the end of next year, is their latest projection.

OUTFRONT with me now, former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent, former Democratic Congressman Max Rose.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being here on a Friday. I appreciate it.

Charlie, how big of a problem are rising gas prices to the political fortunes of President Trump and Republicans around him? Because you can see how he's acting. You know that they're worried. But how critical do you think they really are?

CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE : Well, I think it's a very big problem when you especially when you combine it with the high cost of electricity, high cost of health care, high cost of housing, high cost of food and groceries. And of course, that's been an issue that Trump ran on. You know --

BOLDUAN : People were suffering from an affordability crisis when gas prices were low.

DENT: Correct. So, this is just a compounds the problem. And of course, because the war is unpopular, they're blaming it on the president and the war. And that's a fair -- that's a fair criticism.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. But, Max, I mean, the president says that he actually thought that prices would have been worse. The team around him, though we've heard in the past, you know, days quite a lot that his team around him trying to offer reassurance, like Kevin Hassett saying there's going to be a big positive shock, is what he was saying. As soon as this is over.

I think the key thing that we can't answer is as soon as this or when this is over.

MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Right.

BOLDUAN: But midterm -- I mean, primaries are starting for the midterms. The general election is what, seven months away? Still, I'm trying to understand if this would end and prices do start coming down. Do you think voters could be more forgiving than. I think a lot of people are giving them credit for?

ROSE: No. And look, those are, first of all, enormous ifs.

BOLDUAN: I lay that. Yes.

ROSE: Let's look at how crazy this is right now. The United States is at war with its enemy, Iran, and oil prices are so bad because we rushed into this war without any planning or preparation that we are providing Iran with millions of dollars in funding, billions of dollars in funding by removing their oil at sea from sanctions. That's the craziness of the situation.

But this falls into a much bigger trend as well, which is Donald Trump has not cared about the affordability crisis since the day he took office. He ran on addressing affordability. He ran on ending forever wars. And he has quite obviously done the opposite on both counts.

BOLDUAN: Let's add into this conversation. We have to bring in airports into this and what we're seeing, I mean, because it all actually does wrap together, Charlie, because jet fuel prices are skyrocketing. Airlines have said that they're going to have to raise prices. And that's on top of seeing with the government shutdown. These lines at the airports, at airports right now in Atlanta at 7:00 this morning, there was like a three hour wait. It was like two hours at 7:00 a.m. for people to just get through security.

I had the former TSA administrator, John Pistole, on the show today, and I want to play for you what he said to me about risk right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PISTOLE, FORMER TSA ADMINISTRATOR: The officers are probably distracted because, okay, this is the second full paycheck and half when it started back February 14th. So that whole notion of am I focused on my job to, to spot that that putative terrorist who might be trying to do something to exploit what they see as a vulnerability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:40:06]

BOLDUAN: He's saying it's going -- the longer this goes on, the more risk it is of the flying public and everyone. When does this really become a both parties problem, and they see it as that rather than a finger-pointing exercise?

DENT: I do think it's the both parties problem, right?

BOLDUAN: Oh, let me just declare full stop. It's a both parties problem, but when do they start seeing it that way on the Hill?

DENT: Well, just as they did last fall when the FAA was panicking and people weren't showing up to work, when people can't get on planes and commerce slows down, members of Congress aren't going to be able to get on planes to get back to Washington to vote.

When we reach that point where enough TSA workers are not on the job and airports are going to have to close, then this thing ends. It's outrageous that members of Congress are using government shutdowns now as a tool to force policy. Republicans have done it. Democrats have done it. It's bad business.

Doesn't bode well for you.

BOLDUAN: Do you think Democrats could be on the political losing side of this if they continue to try to, as Charlie says, push policy with the shutdown?

ROSE: Republicans are the losing side of this. Remember, ICE is was funded by the big stupid tax bill from last year for multiple years. Going forward, the Democrats have pushed multiple times for the rest of DHS to be funded to stop this ridiculousness at airports. And the Republicans are the ones standing on this ridiculous high ground, this ridiculous, moral, moral position that they want the ICE paramilitary force to continue to kill U.S. citizens openly in the streets. And that -- that's a ridiculous, horrific position for them to stay on.

BOLDUAN: There's compromise to be had. It just needs to be had yesterday. It's bananas what we're seeing here, it's also not bananas to see you guys. It's good to have you. Thank you so much for coming in.

OUTFRONT for us, next, exclusive KFILE reporting on a top FEMA official who has a history of using violent rhetoric, sharing election conspiracy theories, and once claiming that he teleported to a waffle house. Much more to come.

Plus, frustration boiling over as the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance still has no leads that we know of after 48 days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:17]

BOLDUAN: So tonight, a KFILE exclusive uncovering that one of President Trump's senior officials at FEMA has a history of spreading violent rhetoric and making bizarre claims. Gregg Phillips is the top response and recovery official at FEMA. He was on a podcast in January of last year, during which he claimed more than once that he's teleported, including one time to a Waffle House

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG PHILLIPS, HEAD OF FEMA'S OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY: The car lifted up and took me where I was going, and I ended up at a Waffle House, like 50 miles away from where I was, and I said, a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia. I said, that's not possible. You just left here like a moment ago. And, and -- but it was possible. It was real. Teleporting is no fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: No fun.

KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski is OUTFRONT.

Andrew, thank you as always for coming in. What more can you tell us about this?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Well, it really is remarkable that FEMA officials told us that he actually holds one of the most consequential roles inside the agency. He was appointed in December. And now, as you mentioned, he oversees the federal government -- how the federal government responds to disasters, how it coordinates emergency operations, distributes billions of dollars in aid, and his background leading to this job was not in federal disaster response. Over the past decade, he has built a profile as a far-right activist promoting election conspiracy, conspiracy theories, using inflammatory and violent rhetoric.

After the 2016 election, President Trump even cited Philips' claims about millions of illegal votes cast. And look beyond that, as you said, he has a made a lot of highly unusual personal claims, including saying that he has teleported on multiple incidences, including saying his car was lifted up and he was suddenly transported miles away.

Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I was with my boys one time and I was telling I was going to go to Waffle House and get Waffle House and -- and I ended up at a Waffle House. This was in Georgia, and I ended up at a Waffle House, like 50 miles away from where I was.

I said, where are you? I said, a Waffle House. They said, Waffle House, where? And I said, Waffle House in Rome, Georgia. I said, that's not possible. You just left here like a moment ago. And -- and but it was possible. It was real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And, Andrew, you also mentioned violent rhetoric. What did you find with Philips on this.

KACZYNSKI: Well, yeah. That's right. In a review of his podcast appearances and social media, we found Philips repeatedly used violent and inflammatory rhetoric on the same podcast. In January 2025, that he said he teleported.

He also said former President Joe Biden, who then had just left office, deserved to die and that he hoped that he did. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I would like to punch that bitch in the mouth right now. I, I just -- I have no.

HOST: Who are we talking about?

PHILLIPS: Biden, for doing what he did to everybody.

HOST: Yeah. It's -- PHILLIPS: What he did to us, for doing what he did to you, for doing

what he did to this entire movement. I would just like to find him and punch him in the mouth. I don't care. I'm sure they'd put me in jail. I'm sure they'd put me in jail again, whatever.

This guy is the most horrible of all human beings. He is a nasty, crappy human being, and he deserves to die. And I hope he does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, in another part of that podcast, we're talking about a Trump executive order that targeted election officials who had questioned the veracity of Hunter Biden's laptop.

[19:50:04]

He said he would track people down and beat the snot out of them.

Listen to him again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOST: Executive order.

PHILLIPS: I will find you people. I'm going to find you. When I get well, I'm going to find you. I'm going to find you.

I'm going to track you down. I'm going to beat the living snot out of you. I'm going to find you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Now, he also warned in one podcast, too, that he said migrants were coming to kill Americans. He urged people to arm themselves and be prepared to fight. And actually, despite all of this, multiple FEMA officials told us that just a few weeks after the onto the job, they had heard about his past as an election denier. And even during those recent storms, Phillips was deeply involved in the response. And actually, some of them said that his performance had eased some of their concerns about his lack of experience.

One official even described him as FEMA's best hope, saying they couldn't believe that they were actually saying that. Now, we did reach out to FEMA and Phillips to ask about this, and this is what they told us, quote, "This is so silly. It is barely worth acknowledging. DHS, FEMA and Mr. Phillips are focused on the critical mission of emergency management and ensuring the safety of the American people. Many of the comments cited are taken out of context or represent personal, informal, jovial and somewhat spiritual discussions made in the context of barely surviving cancer in a private capacity prior to his current role."

Now, Kate, we did reach out to them after they gave us that statement a few times. We said, can you point out to us, you know, what part of these comments was taken out of context? We didn't hear back, but we will tell you if we do. BOLDUAN: We will look for that update. Thank you so much, Andrew.

Appreciate you coming in. Thank you so much.

OUTFRONT for us next, where is Nancy Guthrie? That is what so many want to know. Still tonight as the community's anger is now directed at the sheriff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:55:57]

BOLDUAN: Tonight, 48 days after Nancy Guthrie went missing, not a single sighting. No promising leads that we know of. And now the sheriff overseeing the case is facing a recall effort with the -- with the petition declaring Sheriff Chris Nanos has lost the trust of the people.

Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly seven weeks after Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home, the sheriff in charge says it's still an active investigation.

SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We have so many images from Ring cameras and videos of traffic videos, intersection. Someone out there knows something. Someone out there saw something, heard something. We need that person to call us.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Investigators say they're still chasing leads and analyzing DNA evidence, but won't say much beyond that. Progress seems frozen, leaving residents fearful.

SANDY LONG, TUCSON RESIDENT: We just feel it can happen anywhere, to anyone. And so, yes, it has caused us to be more cautious.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): And frustration with the public face of the investigation is also simmering.

DANIEL BUTIEREZ, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Let's get the sheriff out of office and get someone in there that we can feel confident in.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): A local Republican congressional candidate has started a petition to recall Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is a Democrat.

The memorial of yellow flowers still grows outside Nancy Guthrie's home. Signs filled with prayers. A few weeks ago, Savannah Guthrie, along with her sister and brother in law, stopped to reflect on this scene. But it's been more than three weeks since the Guthrie family has made any public comments.

Since then, Savannah has returned to New York and visited with colleagues in the today show studio. SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We still believe in a

miracle. We still believe that she can come home.

LAVANDERA: You feel a connection to the Guthrie family because you know their pain.

TAMMY TACHO, SISTER OF MISSING BOY: The pain, the like. I wish I could go up there and just hug her and tell her, you know, I know exactly what you're going through.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In 1991, Tammy Tacho's brother Jimmy disappeared. He was 12 years old.

LAVANDERA: So, you and your mom are leaving town for a couple days?

TACHO: Yes.

LAVANDERA: And you left Jimmy with a family friend?

TACHO: We did. As we're driving away, you look back and he's waving to us. June 11th, 1991. That's the last moment that we touched, that we did anything with Jimmy.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): That was nearly 35 years ago. Tammy says the family's friend's cousin brought her brother to this house in their neighborhood to work on a fence. He was never seen again.

TACHO: It was all like a nightmare. It was a nightmare for him to be missing.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The headlines of his abduction have largely disappeared. No one was ever arrested. His body was never found

TACHO: Sorry.

LAVANDERA: That's right.

TACHO: I'm trying --

LAVANDERA: Thirty-five years, does -- it doesn't ease that pain.

TACHO: It doesn't. It doesn't. We need closure. My heart is so heavy all the time.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Tammy's family has never stopped searching for Jimmy. Still passing out these fliers with her brother's picture, reminding people of a modest $12,000 reward.

LAVANDERA: How did you raise that money?

TACHO: Car washes -- car washes and selling cakes.

LAVANDERA: Car washes and selling cakes.

TACHO: Yeah.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But Nancy Guthrie's reward sits at over $1 million.

LAVANDERA: What would you tell the Guthrie family right now?

TACHO: So don't give up hope to hang in there and just don't -- don't lose hope. Because even me, after 35 years, I don't lose hope to find -- I'm so sorry.

LAVANDERA: Oh, please do not apologize.

TACHO: I still have hope. Hope of being able to recover Jimmy's body, to put our family at some peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Kate, that's a family that can understand the anguish that the Guthries are experiencing at this moment, now, almost seven weeks into this investigation. Investigators in Pima County tell us that the number of tips being phoned in is dropping, and that this force of officers that once had 400 investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie is now reduced to a task force of about 20 to 24 investigators, which includes Pima County sheriff's deputies as well as FBI agents -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Ed, thank you so much for telling that family story. Really appreciate it.

Thank you all so much for joining us tonight. I'm Kate Bolduan.

"AC360" starts now.