PBS News Hour full episode, March 27, 2026

[0:04] Good evening. I'm John Yang. Jeff Bennett and Adnan Abbas are away. [0:08] On the news hour tonight, House Republicans reject a Senate deal to end the partial shutdown, [0:14] even as airport lines grow longer. Israel targets Iran's nuclear facilities, [0:19] while Iran tries to assert more control over the Strait of Hormuz. [0:24] And an Army veteran faces conspiracy charges after participating in an anti-ICE protest. [0:30] These are the things that, when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect. [0:37] You have a right, as an American, to voice your opinion. [0:40] Major funding for the PBS NewsHour has been provided by... [0:56] On an American cruise line's journey, [1:00] travelers can experience the coastal heritage of the Southeast U.S. and the Gulf Coast. [1:07] Aboard our fleet of small cruise ships, travelers can explore the historic towns, [1:13] like Charleston and Key West, [1:15] while exploring the coastline of the United States. 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[2:01] More information at letsmakeaplan.org. [2:09] And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. [2:20] And Friends of the NewsHour. [2:33] This program was made possible by the contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. [2:39] Thank you. [2:44] Welcome to the NewsHour. [2:46] It has been a dizzying and dramatic 24 hours in the halls of Congress. [2:51] Early this morning, the Senate unanimously passed a plan to immediately end the shutdown [2:56] for most of the Department of Homeland Security. But within hours, House Speaker Mike Johnson [3:01] rejected it because it didn't include money for ICE and Border Patrol. [3:05] Now, House Republicans are pursuing a different approach and risking a longer shutdown. [3:10] Meanwhile, President Trump took executive action to pay one group, [3:14] TSA workers, at airports. [3:16] Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins is here to help us understand all this, [3:20] if we can't understand it. [3:23] TSA workers are really ones that this has been focused on a lot. [3:25] So what happens to them in this? [3:27] LISA DESJARDINS, Congressional Correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, [3:27] Congressional Correspondent, Lisa Desjardins Let's start with them. [3:28] They haven't been paid yet, but, as you said, President Trump signed that executive order today. [3:32] He would use money that was passed last year to borrow it from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. [3:38] The TSA tells us that they expect those workers to be paid by Monday. [3:42] Now, of course, all this speaks to the fact that, of course, all of this speaks to the fact that, [3:44] of course, all of this speaks to the fact that, of course, all of this speaks to the fact that, [3:44] of course, all of this speaks to the fact that, of course, all of this speaks to those long lines [3:45] that Americans have been seeing at some airports. [3:47] We do know there's a permanent effect. [3:49] Some 500 TSA workers have quit the job altogether so far. [3:53] One of our senior producers spoke to the TSA union operative, an officer named Johnny Jones. [4:00] He said that they are appreciative, but no one is counting on this money until it actually [4:04] appears in their bank accounts. [4:06] In addition, Jones told our producer, Murray Jacobson, that they were stunned to realize [4:11] that President Trump could have done this. [4:13] This is the same kind of [4:14] money he's used to already pay military members of the Coast Guard. [4:17] And one more thing. [4:19] Jones said they are all tired of being used as what they feel is as pawns. [4:23] You know, we started the day thinking this had been settled, that there was a deal. [4:27] What happened? [4:27] OK, let me take you through this. [4:30] Two thirty in the morning this morning, a rainbow suddenly appeared over the United [4:35] States Senate as it happens. [4:36] Behind the scenes work had led to this deal, and the Senate unanimously agreed on this [4:41] deal that would fund most of DHS. [4:43] Three quarters of it. [4:44] Everything but ice and border patrol. [4:47] And at that time, the funding formula that they passed was exactly what Democrats wanted. [4:52] But Democrats did not get any of the reforms that they wanted, which is something that [4:56] Senate Leader Thune stressed. [4:58] The reason we can be standing here right now passing a funding bill with a list of reforms [5:06] if Democrats had made the smallest effort to actually reach an agreement. [5:13] But they didn't because it's now clear to everyone Democrats didn't actually want to [5:19] solution. [5:19] They wanted an issue. [5:22] Well, that's what he said. [5:24] The Senate passed that the Senate leaves Washington altogether, convinced everything was fine. [5:29] The House comes in and surprisingly to a lot of people rejected the deal, surprisingly [5:35] to the House, to the senators themselves. [5:37] In fact, for House Speaker Mike Johnson, it wasn't a rainbow. [5:40] It was a mirage. [5:41] He called it a joke. [5:44] The reason that we can't accept this ridiculousness, OK, is because we're not going to risk not [5:50] funding the agencies that keep the American people safe. [5:53] The Department of Homeland Security is the third largest department in the federal government. [5:56] It has 10 agencies beneath it. [5:58] It's not just TSA. [5:59] It's also FEMA, the Coast Guard, all these agencies that keep us safe. [6:02] We must fund them. [6:03] This is not a game. [6:05] Now, what this is, is more complicated. [6:08] Now, they want a deal to fund DHS for 60 days. [6:12] But, of course, now, then the Senate would have to approve that. [6:15] And there they need Democratic votes. [6:17] Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer already is defiant. [6:20] He's saying, no, this is dead on arrival over there. [6:23] So, what's the deal? [6:24] What we have right now is both chambers leaving for a two-week spring break. [6:28] And that's why we think this shutdown very likely will just continue. [6:32] And where has President Trump been in all of this? [6:34] Right. [6:35] I talked to a senior White House official who told me this quote, [6:38] that he is trying to, quote, let the Hill work this out. [6:42] Now, the president did cast a little bit of shade on the Senate bill, [6:45] but he basically seems to be staying out of it, saying he understands both sides. [6:49] That's a problem. [6:49] He's not leading here, as we have Senate Republicans being more pragmatic. [6:54] He's looking for something that can pass and House Republicans being more righteous, [6:58] looking for what they think is right in all of this. [7:00] That divides also political risk for Republicans. [7:04] They say Democrats started this shutdown, [7:06] but really they're the ones right now who can't seem to get on the same page. [7:10] So, where are we now? [7:11] And what's next? [7:12] What can come next? [7:13] OK, let's see. [7:14] Let's talk about this. [7:15] First of all, DHS is the third largest agency in U.S. government. [7:19] So, many workers, even with TSA being paid, are going to go again. [7:23] Again, without pay. [7:24] They have been with more than a month now without pay. [7:27] So, the White House and the Senate heading toward this two-week break [7:31] means this is a shutdown of historic proportions, [7:33] even though it is just a limited one-to-one agency. [7:36] Here you see all the shutdowns since 1980. [7:40] This is the last year's one there. [7:41] You see the highest one, 43 days. [7:43] In yellow, the partial shutdowns. [7:45] The current one, 40 days. [7:47] Now, let's see what happens if we go this two-week recess without any deal, [7:51] which is where we are right now. [7:53] Then we have the longest shutdown in American history. [7:57] Even though it's one agency, it's a very large one. [7:59] So, what's next? [8:00] The House is on track to vote tonight on its plan. [8:04] The Senate has left town. [8:06] Usually, I like to give viewers a very clear sense of what is next, John. [8:10] But to be honest, no one knows. [8:13] And what we know for workers, other than TSA and Coast Guard military, [8:17] for DHS workers, many of them just don't know where their pay is going to come from or when. [8:21] JOHN YANG, National Public Broadcasting Corporation. [8:22] Lisa Desjardins, thank you. [8:23] Thank you very much. [8:23] You're welcome. [8:24] JOHN YANG, National Public Broadcasting Corporation. [8:37] Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that the United States could achieve its goals in Iran [8:42] without ground troops. [8:44] That, despite the deployment of thousands of Marines to the Persian Gulf, [8:48] and reports that many more U.S. personnel could be on the way soon. [8:52] A senior regional diplomatic source tells the NewsHour there's [8:56] no agreement between the United States and Iran on direct talks or even a venue for them. [9:01] The proposals from both sides have been maximalist, [9:05] which leaves the region, the world, one month into this war, and an apparent impasse. [9:10] Ali Rogin reports. [9:11] ALI ROGIN, NewsHour Editorial Directorate, Today in Tehran, a scene of horror. [9:19] Rescue workers dig through the rubble, looking for the living [9:22] and the dead, a lifeless body hanging from the destruction, [9:27] as onlookers pray to end the suffering and comfort a community in grief. [9:32] ALI ROGIN, NewsHour Editorial Directorate, After Israel overnight launched a new wave [9:36] of strikes across Iran, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, [9:41] Ismail Qadir, said the fake incident that caused the attacks today condemned the attacks. [9:45] ISMAIL QADIR, Israeli Defense Minister, Iran, [9:47] The claims that only military areas are targeted and not residential areas are completely false. [9:51] They're lying. All the areas being hit now are residential. Around 20,399 commercial units where [9:57] people work have been damaged and targeted. Two hundred ninety medical centers have been targeted. [10:02] ALI ROGIN, NewsHour Editorial Directorate, Israel's military said it targeted sites [10:05] used for military purposes and had warned Iran to stop its missile attacks, with Israeli defense [10:10] today, promising to escalate the bombing. [10:13] AMBASSADOR GENERAL GENERAL AL- Despite the warnings, the firing has continued, [10:17] and, therefore, IDF strikes in Iran will escalate and expand to additional targets and areas [10:23] that assist the regime in building and operating weapons used against Israeli civilians. [10:28] AMNA NAWAZ. And, today, Israel struck the Hondab heavy water research reactor in Iraq [10:34] in central Iran, claiming Iran was in the process of rebuilding the nuclear energy complex, [10:39] having first struck the site during the 12-day war last June. [10:43] This comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after discussing the war in Iran with his G7 [10:48] counterparts, said the American campaign was nearing its end. [10:52] SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO, U.S. We are on or ahead of schedule in that operation, [10:55] and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here, in a matter of weeks, not months. [11:00] And the progress is going very well. [11:02] AMNA NAWAZ. And that the United States was on standby to negotiate with Iran. [11:06] AMNA NAWAZ. Is it your understanding that they will [11:07] convey their response to the 15-day war? [11:09] SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO, U.S. We haven't gotten it yet. We [11:13] haven't gotten it yet. Look, we have got messages. We have had an exchange of messages and indications [11:18] from the Iranian system, whatever is left of it, about a willingness to talk about certain things. [11:23] We're waiting for further clarification about who will we allow, who is it that we would [11:26] be talking to, what will we be talking about, and when will we be talking. [11:31] I don't have any news for you on that yet. [11:33] AMNA NAWAZ. Rubio also spoke on the day-after scenario regarding Iran's grip on the Strait of [11:38] Hormuz. [11:39] SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State Marco [11:39] Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, [11:40] and it's important that the world have a plan to confront it. [11:43] The United States is prepared to be a part of that plan. [11:45] AMNA NAWAZ. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barreau [11:48] echoing Rubio that the Strait's closure was unacceptable to Europe. [11:52] JEAN-NOEL BARREAU, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barreau, [11:55] French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barreau Today, we are adopting a new statement on [11:57] Iran at the level of foreign ministers. It reaffirms the absolute necessity of [12:01] permanently restoring free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. [12:04] AMNA NAWAZ. This comes as Iran today turned away three oil tankers [12:09] in the Strait, Iranian State TV reported. [12:11] JEAN-NOEL BARREAU, Iranian State TV reporter The IRGC navy announced that the Strait of [12:15] Hormuz is closed, and any transit through the Strait will face a firm response. [12:20] All shipping to and from ports of allies and supporters of the U.S. and Israel is prohibited. [12:25] AMNA NAWAZ. The United Nations today as well [12:28] announced a new task force aimed at opening the Strait. [12:30] JEAN-NOEL BARREAU, Iranian State TV reporter The primary focus of this task force [12:33] is to develop and propose technical mechanisms [12:37] specifically designed to meet humanitarian needs. [12:39] AMNA NAWAZ. Iran later today accepted the U.N.'s request for aid to be let through, [12:45] with Iran's ambassador to the organization writing on X that [12:49] the Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to facilitate and further expedite [12:54] the safe passage of humanitarian shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. [12:59] But even with aid let through, the war, and the profound loss it inflicts, continues. [13:05] For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Ali Rogin. [13:09] ALI ROGIN. In today's other headlines, a pro-Iran [13:23] Iranian and pro-Palestinian hacking group claims it breached an e-mail account belonging [13:28] to FBI Director Kash Patel. The group said they accessed Patel's personal e-mail and published [13:34] what appeared to be photographs of him, as well as work and travel documents. [13:39] Most of them are more than a decade old. Within hours, the FBI said it had taken all [13:44] necessary steps to mitigate potential risks, and that no government information was involved. [13:50] It's not clear when the hack might have occurred. [13:53] ALI ROGIN. [13:54] Lawyers representing Fulton County, Georgia, asked a federal court today to order the FBI [13:58] to return 2020 election ballots and other records seized in a late January raid. [14:05] FBI agents serving a criminal warrant took more than 650 boxes of 2020 documents [14:11] from a warehouse near Atlanta. Today, Justice Department lawyers said they [14:15] were cooperative and had provided the county with digital copies of everything taken. [14:20] Fulton County's lawyer, Abby Lowell, argued that the FBI is pursuing crimes for which the [14:24] statute of limitations has expired. Fulton County has been at the center of President [14:29] Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. [14:33] The bipartisan House Ethics Committee said today that Florida Democratic Representative [14:38] Sheila Shurfilis-McCormick violated more than two dozen House rules and federal campaign finance [14:44] laws. As a result, there could be a vote in the House to expel her from Congress. [14:49] Shurfilis-McCormick also faces criminal charges for misusing millions of dollars of taxpayer money. [14:55] Convicted, she could face up to 53 years in prison. [14:59] The Ethics Committee will recommend a punishment in the coming weeks. [15:02] Shurfilis-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing. And after today's decision, she said, [15:07] I look forward to proving my innocence. [15:11] Vice President J.D. Vance presided over the first meeting of the Trump administration's new [15:15] anti-fraud task force today. Vance and Vice Chair Andrew Ferguson, who's head of the Federal Trade [15:21] Commission, said the task force would focus on prosecuting and preventing fraud [15:26] fraudsters from stealing American people's money. [15:28] SEN. ANDREW FERGUSON , What we're going to actually do [15:30] is force the bureaucracy to take this seriously and work together as political principles [15:35] to make sure that we stop allowing fraudsters to steal the American people's money. [15:40] JOHN YANG , The inaugural meeting comes as the administration is targeting [15:43] Minnesota, saying there's fraud in the state's social services programs. [15:48] It prompted the administration to crack down on the illegal immigration of the Twin Cities [15:52] and withhold some Medicaid funds. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the state is the [15:57] target of a campaign of retribution. Turning overseas, Austria is now the [16:02] latest nation to draw up sweeping social media restrictions for young people. [16:06] The nation's governing coalition agreed in principle to ban social media for children [16:11] under the age of 14. High-tech methods of age verification would be employed. [16:16] Officials said legislation will be drafted by the end of June. [16:19] J.D. The risks associated with excessive social media use range from low self-esteem, [16:28] and addictive behavior, to cyberbullying, which is to say mobbing, loneliness, [16:32] and in the most tragic cases, even suicide. What we wouldn't tolerate in person, [16:37] we shouldn't accept in the digital world either. [16:39] JOHN YANG , The Austrian government also plans to teach [16:42] media literacy and dealing with artificial intelligence in schools. [16:46] In 2024, Australia passed the first social media ban for children under 16. [16:52] Since then, France, Spain, Denmark, and other nations have announced plans of their own. [16:57] JOHN YANG , And on Wall [16:58] Street, stocks closed out their worst week since the Iran war began, the fifth straight losing [17:04] week. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 800 points, or 1.7 percent. The Nasdaq [17:11] plummeted by more than 2 percent. And the S&P 500 also finished firmly in the red. [17:17] Still to come on the NewsHour, how Ukraine is developing new technology to intercept [17:22] Russian drones, an Army veteran faces conspiracy charges over an anti-ICE protest, [17:29] and David Brooks and Ruth Marcus weigh in on the week's political headlines. [17:33] This is the [17:38] PBS NewsHour from the David M. Rubenstein Studio at WETA in Washington, headquarters of PBS News. [17:44] JOHN YANG , Earlier this month, [17:49] President Trump said he didn't want Ukraine's help with drone defense, [17:53] saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the last person he'd turn to. [17:58] But as with the war with Iran continuing, [18:01] countries in the Gulf have been lining up for Ukraine's guidance on how to counter drones. Just [18:05] today, Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia to strike a deal with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. [18:11] Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky filed this report from Ukraine. [18:15] SIMON OSTROVSKY , At a secret location in Ukraine, [18:20] a local drone manufacturer demos its latest weapon, [18:24] Sting drone, capable of intercepting the Iranian-designed Shahed suicide drone [18:32] Russia routinely launches into Ukraine. [18:35] The Sting is fast, accurate, and, crucially, cheap. Since its first successful strike a year [18:43] ago, interceptors like this one, made by the defense tech firm Wild Hornets, [18:48] have taken out around 4,000 Shahed-type drones. [18:51] SIMON OSTROVSKY , This Sting drone is a perfect example [18:55] of the asymmetric warfare that Ukrainians excel at. It costs between $1,300 and $2,200, [19:03] and it goes up against Iranian and Russian Shahed drones that cost around $50,000 to make. [19:10] SIMON OSTROVSKY , It's a technology that, until now, has largely [19:15] been ignored by America's defense tech industry, that's traditionally focused on making exquisite [19:21] and expensive weaponry that can take decades to develop. [19:27] Instead, the White House has stepped back from Ukraine, [19:30] appropriating no new funds for the war since Trump took office. [19:35] This hurts Ukraine's war effort against Russia, of course, but there are increasing concerns in [19:39] Washington that it's also making the U.S. less able to recognize and prepare for a host of [19:45] emerging threats from American adversaries like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China, [19:51] who are all working together and absorbing lessons from the Ukrainian battlefield. [19:59] Now, the Iran war has exposed America's overreliance on multimillion-dollar munitions [20:04] to shoot down cheap Iranian Shaheds, according to Wild Hornets spokesman [20:09] Alex Roslin, who argues the math just doesn't make sense. [20:13] ALEX ROSLIN, Spokesman, Wild Hornets, They're using $4 million Patriot missiles. [20:16] Patriots are scarce, but... [20:18] SIMON OSTROVSKY , They're using $4 million Patriot missiles. Patriots are scarce, but... [20:18] SIMON OSTROVSKY , They're using $4 million Patriot missiles. Patriots are scarce, but... [20:18] SIMON OSTROVSKY , They're using $4 million Patriot missiles. Patriots are scarce, but... [20:18] SIMON OSTROVSKY , They're using $4 million Patriot missiles.police officers are [20:19] using $4 million Warhead terrorists' weapons. The United States has reportedly used 300 [20:22] Patriots to knock down Shahed drones fired by Iran. That's $1.2 billion in Patriots [20:30] against 300 Shaheds. And we could have taken down those drones with our interceptor drones [20:36] for around $600,000. That's something that the world could learn from Ukraine. [20:41] MILES O' Not everyone is ignoring developments in Ukraine. [20:48] A representative of General Cherry, [20:50] Ensuite Veosano, Minority trovatsky, another Ukrainian [20:51] Iranian drone company that makes a staggering 100,000 drones per month, which, incidentally, [20:57] is the total amount of drones made in America annually, said interest in their technology [21:03] has surged since the start of the Iran war. [21:06] Did the interest in joint production, joint manufacturing, did it increase after the war [21:14] in Iran started? [21:15] Yes, they have a lot of interest in us. [21:18] We have more than 10 different negotiation process right now. [21:25] The reason it's so important for these drones to be battle-tested is because Ukrainian engineers [21:33] from companies like General Cherry that has designed this new prototype are constantly [21:40] improving the design. [21:42] And this one here takes the original drone interceptor to the next level. [21:47] The reason that these workstations are empty right now is because the engineers who usually [21:52] work here are out in the field testing these. [21:58] General Cherry's updated model will fly at close to 250 miles per hour, fast enough to [22:04] take out a jet-powered Shahead. [22:07] In just a few years, the company has managed to set up a full production line, from 3-D [22:12] printing parts to testing its ready drones. [22:18] A small handful of American defense companies have been working on this. [22:20] American defense companies are actually developing their technology out of Ukraine. [22:23] We essentially use this to kind of capture data. [22:26] Vermeer, founded by New Yorker Brian Stream, is one. [22:30] It's just replacing the GPS antenna. [22:34] The firm produces navigation systems that allow drones carrying several hundred pounds [22:38] of munitions to fly deep into enemy territory undetected, using an A.I.-driven navigation [22:45] system that's immune to spoofing and jamming. [22:49] Vermeer's clients include the Ukrainians. [22:50] Ukrainian Armed Forces and the U.S. Air Force. [22:54] The Russians are very good at jamming and spoofing GPS. [22:57] So my company, we build a solution for that. [23:00] We call it VPS, visual positioning system. [23:03] Information is power. [23:04] The information I'm sharing back to Americans is incredibly powerful, very valuable to any [23:10] nation that wants to compete in this newfound kind of drone unmanned arms race. [23:17] We appear to be involved in that. [23:19] The more we kind of pull back. [23:21] We will lose out tremendously. [23:24] America's relationship with Ukraine has changed drastically since Trump came into office. [23:29] In the years following the invasion, Congress approved massive aid and arms packages amounting [23:35] to nearly $175 billion in total since 2022—making Ukraine the largest recipient of U.S. Foreign [23:43] Assistance in modern history. [23:46] Since Trump took office, that number has dropped to zero dollars. [23:50] But that's all there is to it. [23:52] They're going out to get the value. [23:53] america's pivot away from kiev hurts ukraine some are starting to wonder aloud if it hurts america [23:58] too ukrainians in terms of weapons sales i put this question to a panel of security experts [24:04] at a recent u.s ukraine security summit in washington the less you invest the less [24:10] presence you have of u.s people on the ground learning what's going on and i would say but [24:15] we've cut off our nose to spite our face we're going to cost our taxpayers hundreds of billions [24:23] of dollars and failed expertise because we're not listening at the same time america's main [24:31] adversaries china iran and north korea have all continued to support their ally russia in the war [24:37] as a major supplier of both the russian and ukrainian defense sectors china is especially [24:43] positioned to suck up information from both sides of the front line the chinese are learning a lot [24:50] from russia's invasion of ukraine rush doshi covers china at the council on foreign relations [24:55] in washington [24:56] in 2022 when russian invaded ukraine he was on the china team at the national security council [25:02] he says beijing's own military capabilities are advancing thanks to its backing of moscow they [25:08] seem that the russians initially did not perform well they want to fix that second they're learning [25:12] about the future of warfare what exactly matters in the conflict in the 21st century where you've [25:16] seen the proliferation of drones and other technology that wasn't as salient in past [25:21] conflicts they're learning more about that third they've learned a lot about the need to sustain [25:25] your own industrial base and economy right now you could argue the u.s has learned some of that [25:29] lesson but we're slower to adopt that lesson and diffuse it through our military than china recent [25:36] reporting suggests the trump administration is learning its lesson the hard way after coming [25:42] under sustained attack from iranian shah heads the american military is now working with ukrainian [25:47] advisors in the middle east after having initially refused a ukrainian proposal to partner on [25:53] interceptor zones last year for the pbs news hour we'll see you then [25:57] so have we seen the war in ukraine is providing a real-time testing ground for nations defending [26:06] against drones but unidentified drones are also a concern here in the united states [26:11] liz landers is here with more on a recent incident at a military base in louisiana [26:16] john the week of march 9th a swarm of drones repeatedly hovered around barksdale air force base [26:21] in northwest louisiana a spokesperson for the base tells pbs news hour that it was unauthorized and [26:28] that's now being investigated by both federal and local law enforcement abc news reported that [26:33] the drone flights lasted four hours at a time deliberately maneuvered within the airspace over [26:38] the base and appeared to be jam resistant barksdale is a key facility for the u.s in the ongoing fight [26:45] with iran housing b-52 bombers and nuclear weapons storage facilities for more on this we turn to [26:51] retired air force lieutenant general dave deptula he is now the dean of the mitchell institute for [26:56] aerospace studies general thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on airspace news hour [26:58] joining us this evening you bet liz good to be here we just saw in simon's story how advanced [27:04] ukraine's counter drone technology is and yet the u.s is having trouble stopping all these drones [27:10] that iran is launching at its neighbors how is it that iran is so advanced here and that the u.s [27:16] is not well um what i would tell you is that with respect to ukraine who are the real experts [27:25] with respect to defense is they're much better at defending against [27:30] drone attacks because for them this is an existential fight russia is trying to eliminate [27:37] ukraine as a sovereign country erases people identity and culture so when a nation is facing [27:45] that kind of threat every day it adapts with extraordinary speed and seriousness [27:52] and that's why i think that it behooves the united states and our military to partner with [28:01] ukraine and learn from all their experience uh in defending against the drone assaults from the [28:08] russians now with respect to iran um i think we need to be careful in defending uh or defining [28:17] what the issue is uh because we essentially have reduced iran's ability to employ their [28:25] cruise missiles and drones very very significantly doesn't mean that it's been eliminated [28:32] but that's part of the objective in launching the assaults that you've seen [28:37] today so very successfully applied against the iranians when you look at that drone swarm that [28:44] happened over barksdale air force base earlier this month what stands out to you and how should [28:48] the base commanders handle those kinds of situations it's a great question um first [28:55] i think it's important to keep this event in perspective um there was no mission impact from [29:03] these incidents operations continued and there's no indication that the activity disrupted the [29:10] base's core functions now all that said the absence of mission impact should not be mistaken [29:17] for the absence of a problem because unauthorized drone activity around sensitive military [29:23] installations is still a serious security concern uh for all the reasons one might imagine uh now the [29:32] good news is the military is still concerned about the drone attack that's happening in iran and the [29:33] u.s military does have the capacity to deal with this we have the technology the operational [29:40] experience and the institutional knowledge to address these threats so the issue is less about [29:46] whether we can respond and more about whether the responsible organizations are putting enough [29:53] priority and resources against the problem and in particular a service with the primary responsibility [30:01] for base defense the united states army is still concerned about the use of drones against the the [30:04] army needs to increase its efforts on this topic so it's an area that requires greater attention [30:11] greater involvement investment and a much greater sense of urgency uh that has been lent to the [30:19] issue today who do you think is behind this incident at barksdale because we've seen that [30:24] china has demonstrated very sophisticated drone use just for entertainment purposes [30:29] for example they had a guinness book of world records event last year where there were more [30:35] than 7 500 drones that lit up the night sky in this just demonstration just for entertainment [30:42] there in that city yeah well uh that is and i've witnessed several of those entertainment uh [30:49] displays but those should not be confused with battlefield performance um flying thousands of [30:57] unmanned aircraft in a scripted show under controlled conditions [31:01] and the military has shown that they have a lot of control over their own military installations [31:06] really different from operating in combat uh under jamming interference attrition and attack [31:13] so the military question is not whether they can do choreography it's whether they can function in [31:20] a contested environment sir what kind of information can be obtained and gleaned if you [31:28] have drone swarms that are hovering over these critical military installations for up to four [31:33] hours at a time [31:33] And once again, it's an indication of serious concern, because it's one thing to observe. [31:40] It's another thing to turn that observation into the kind of lethal attacks that we saw [31:46] Ukraine execute against the Russians in some of their highly publicized activities, where [31:56] they launched drones out of trucks and destroyed several Russian long-range bombers. [32:03] So that, quite frankly, is the area of concern. [32:08] And that's why I say we really need to increase our attention on taking action. [32:16] I would suggest that command and control is an extraordinarily piece or extraordinarily [32:22] important piece of this equation. [32:26] And that authority to engage drones indicating hostile intent needs to be distributed down [32:33] to the Russian people. [32:33] And that's why I say that we need to increase our attention on taking action. [32:34] And that's why I say that we need to increase our attention on taking action. [32:35] And that's why I say that we need to increase our attention on taking action. [32:36] And those, these were all issues that the military is addressing and is facing. [32:43] But we do need to turn up the emphasis and investment in this area. [32:47] AMNA NAWAZ General Dave Deptula, thank you for joining [32:49] us. [32:51] GEN. [33:04] DAVE DEPTULA My pleasure. [33:05] GEOFF BENNETT When a U.S. Army veteran was arrested on conspiracy [33:07] charges for his role in an anti-ice protest in Spokane, Washington last summer, it was [33:12] the first time an American had been charged with conspiracy in connection with the Russian [33:16] government. [33:17] The U.S. Army has been charged with conspiracy in connection with the ongoing ICE protests. [33:18] Some legal experts saw it as an escalation of the administration's efforts to suppress [33:22] even criminalized First Amendment rights. [33:26] Special correspondent Aaron Glantz has the story, which was produced with the support [33:30] of the Pulitzer Center. [33:31] AARON GLANTZ, Special Correspondent, Pulitzer Center, The sound of banging on Army [33:33] veteran Bajan Malvawala's front door startled him awake at 6 a.m. the morning of July 15, [33:40] 2025. [33:41] Bajan Malvawala, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, [33:42] U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, Something's not right. [33:43] And I went and I looked out the upstairs window. [33:46] The streets all closed up. [33:47] And there's a bunch of guys with rifles. [33:49] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, It was the FBI, and they had come [33:52] to arrest him. [33:53] AARON GLANTZ, Special Correspondent, Pulitzer Center, The sound of banging on Army Veteran, [33:54] U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, My dad very, [33:55] very quickly after that was like, you know, Bajan, it's the FBI. [33:57] They have got a warrant. [33:58] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, Bajan was arrested for conspiracy [34:01] for his role in an anti-ICE protest more than a month earlier. [34:05] I'm an Afghanistan veteran. [34:07] I'm an American citizen. [34:09] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, Bajan kept his cool in handcuffs [34:12] while the FBI searched his pockets. [34:14] Have you been read your rights? [34:15] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, His father recorded this video. [34:17] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, My son is steady as a rock, saying, [34:20] you know, he's an Afghanistan veteran, that this is unjust. [34:23] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, If convicted, Bajan would face up [34:26] to six years in prison. [34:27] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, I don't think that you really [34:30] realize how far away we have come from democracy until you open the door and see federal agents [34:41] to arrest your son for a nonviolent protest. [34:44] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, Bajan comes from a military family. [34:48] His parents both served in the Army. [34:50] His father, Bajan Ray Malvawala, a retired intelligence officer, earned three bronze [34:56] stars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [34:58] He and Bajan served in Afghanistan at the same time. [35:01] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, I think that might be my [35:03] favorite. [35:03] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, I think that might be my favorite photograph in the [35:04] entire world. [35:06] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, The younger Malvawala provided [35:08] signals intelligence in Kandahar province, one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. [35:14] His unit suffered casualties, including one time a fellow soldier stepped on an IED. [35:19] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, U.S. Army Veteran, There was three amputations, [35:22] three traumatic brain injuries. [35:24] I was maybe 10, 15 yards back. [35:28] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, My son's incredibly brave. [35:30] He believes that you should do the things you're supposed to do. [35:33] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, After coming home from the war, Bajan [35:36] moved to the Pacific Northwest. [35:38] He felt he'd done his duty. [35:40] Like many veterans, he said he wanted to find some peace. [35:43] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, I bought the land, and it's beautiful. [35:47] There's tons of trees. [35:48] Like I have seen wolves on it. [35:50] There's been moose. [35:51] There's been bears. [35:52] You know, like, it's quiet. [35:54] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, But a few years later, in 2021, when Kabul fell [36:00] to the Taliban, Bajan felt compelled to serve again, this time out of uniform, volunteering [36:06] to help dozens of Americans. [36:08] Bajan's Afghan allies come to the United States. [36:10] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, Every single person here, except for the people [36:13] who are indigenous to the Americas, is an immigrant or comes from immigrants. [36:19] It's absolutely ludicrous to think that we can get away with not bringing people in, [36:24] especially people who we told, hey, if you help us, we will help you. [36:28] GEOFF BENNETT, U.S. Army Veteran, Five weeks before his arrest, Bajan saw a Facebook [36:32] post from the former president of the Spokane City Council, two men with pending asylum [36:38] applications. [36:38] I've been detained at a routine ICE check-in, and we're going to be transported for deportation. [36:44] I am going to sit in front of the bus, he wrote. [36:47] Feel free to join me. [36:48] AARON GLANTZ, U.S. Army Veteran, Happened to be scrolling through and saw it pop [36:52] up. [36:53] And I was like, oh, well, I have time. [36:54] I will swing by and see what's going on. [36:56] I'm pretty upset about how this country is treating immigrants. [37:02] The people they rolled up were legal asylum seekers. [37:06] They'd been doing everything right. [37:08] There was no reason for them to be detained. [37:10] The protest was, for the most part, peaceful, but at times it turned contentious. [37:16] Bajan can be seen in this video briefly tangling with mass federal agents. [37:21] One ICE agent pushes Bajan in the back, knocking Bajan into another who grabs him. [37:27] Bajan and the agent shove each other and then disengage, then demonstrators back up and [37:32] link arms to try to block the gate to stop ICE from taking the asylum seekers away. [37:39] Dozens of people were arrested. [37:41] But Bajan wasn't among them. [37:44] Richard Barker, the acting U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington State, had monitored the [37:48] protests from his office on the other side of the Spokane River. [37:51] RICHARD BARKER, U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington State, I went to bed that evening [37:54] feeling like the situation could have been a lot worse than how it ended up. [37:59] WILLIAM BRANGHAM, Barker had worked for the DOJ for 11 years and focused on prosecuting [38:03] drug smugglers and murderers. [38:05] But the day after the Spokane protest, the Justice Department sent him and the 92 other [38:10] U.S. attorneys to the U.S. Department of Justice. [38:11] The U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington State, Richard Barker, had filed a memo on [38:12] the U.S. Attorney's Office, a memo that demanded they prioritize prosecutions of ICE protesters. [38:18] So Barker authorized an investigation. [38:21] His staff started preparing a conspiracy indictment against Bajan Mavwala and eight others, something [38:28] Barker knew he couldn't support. [38:29] RICHARD BARKER, U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington State, Nobody was really [38:31] hurt. [38:32] None of the protesters were hurt. [38:34] Fortunately, none of the law enforcement officers were hurt either. [38:36] WILLIAM BRANGHAM, He was aware that other U.S. attorneys had been ousted for refusing [38:40] to comply with Trump's justice system. [38:42] Department orders, and he worried about his ability to act ethically if he stayed on the [38:47] job. So he resigned. I didn't feel in this case that a conspiracy charge that would carry a six [38:55] year term of incarceration was true to who I was or who I wanted to be as a federal prosecutor. [39:03] Two days after Barker quit, his successor signed the indictment, [39:07] charging Bajan and the others with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer. [39:12] The first time conspiracy charges had been brought against ICE protesters. [39:18] In a statement to the NewsHour, the DOJ said it respects the First Amendment and the right [39:23] of Americans to peacefully protest, but will never tolerate the obstruction of [39:28] lawful immigration operations or putting federal agents in harm's way. [39:33] The day he was arrested, Bajan was getting ready to move into a new house. [39:38] He and his girlfriend Kate bought it with a VA mortgage. [39:41] This is the service. [39:42] Uniform. I was in nine years. [39:46] Kate's also an Afghanistan war veteran. She deployed as a medic. [39:50] We're not weak people. We are willing to fight for what is right, which is, [39:56] I mean, it's a First Amendment issue. [39:59] Bajan agrees and is standing his ground. [40:02] They say that you were part of a felony conspiracy to impede or assault a federal officer. [40:10] Conspiracy requires people communicating and like planning it out and like, [40:14] saying, yeah, we're going to do this. And this is why we're going to do it. [40:17] And this is how we're going to do it. None of that happened. [40:20] At least as far as, not as far as I know, I wasn't part of any of it. [40:25] Since Bajan's arrest in July, the use of federal conspiracy charges has spread. [40:29] Prosecutors have filed them against demonstrators in Chicago and also investigated Minnesota [40:35] Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry for the same crime. [40:39] What these people are doing to my son and that they're doing all across the country [40:44] is unconscious. [40:45] And I think it's questionable and people need to know about it. [40:48] How y'all doing today? [40:49] Inspired by Bajan's arrest and concerned about what he sees as the misuse of government authority, [40:55] his father announced in January that he was running for Congress, challenging Spokane's [41:00] Republican incumbent. [41:02] It was a day after federal agents fatally shot Rene Goode in Minneapolis, and he stopped [41:08] by a demonstration in Spokane. [41:10] This is me and my son in Afghanistan. He was arrested by the FBI. [41:15] The shock of Rene Good's killing also inspired former acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker [41:24] to speak out about what he sees as the government's hypocrisy. [41:28] This is his first on-camera interview since resigning. [41:31] RICHARD BARKER, U.S. Attorney for Rene Good, In the one instance, really, nobody was hurt, [41:35] and the protesters were charged. [41:38] In another instance, somebody's life was taken, and DOJ wants to give that person immunity. [41:43] RENEE GOOD, U.S. Attorney for Rene Good, These are things that are supposed to be [41:45] fundamentally American. [41:47] These are the things that, when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect. [41:53] You have a right, as an American, to voice your opinion. [41:58] You can't do it violently. [42:00] You can't do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for [42:05] what you believe in. [42:06] Oh, you got it. [42:07] Aaron Glantz, The collapse of a deal to end the partial government shutdown and more [42:29] fallout from the war in Iran. [42:31] We're going to have a conversation about this. [42:33] We have a lot to talk about this Friday. [42:35] For that, we turn to Brooks and Marcus. [42:37] That's the Atlantic's David Brooks and Ruth Marcus of The New Yorker. [42:41] Jonathan Capehart is away this evening. [42:43] So, we wake up to the news that, overnight, the Senate Republicans and the Democrats have [42:48] cut a deal, passed by unanimous consent. [42:51] Then a few hours later, the Speaker of the House calls it a joke, says he can't vote [42:56] for it. [42:57] David, what do you make of all this? [42:58] DAVID BROOKS, Good morning, everyone. [42:59] It's a great day. [43:00] We're going to have a talk. [43:02] You know, I thought the Democrats were wrong to start this thing. [43:04] I think if you don't like what the opposing party does, [43:06] you go to the voters and you try to beat the other party in the next election. [43:09] You don't shut down the government. [43:11] But it turns out the Republicans haven't learned Democracy 101 either. [43:14] Because when you only control 50% of the House, [43:17] sometimes you have to compromise to make the ship run. [43:21] And the House Republicans apparently don't understand that. [43:23] And so they're unwilling to go with the Senate compromise, which was a compromise. [43:27] And it had some things Republicans didn't like. [43:29] But guess what? That's politics. [43:30] And so to me, what's happening in the country [43:33] is that people are not saying who's right and who's wrong. [43:36] Are we blaming the Democrats or are they blaming the Republicans? [43:38] They're saying the whole ruling class is screwed up. [43:41] The entire elite establishment in this country cannot run things. [43:45] And so that impulse, which has been building for decades, [43:49] is what got Donald Trump elected. [43:50] And if we continue to see Americans looking at their ruling class and saying, [43:54] these people are total losers, total incompetence, [43:57] then we're going to elect the craziest person we can. [44:00] And Donald Trump is going to look sane compared to whoever comes next, [44:03] whether it's a Democrat or a Republican. [44:05] Ruth, what can be done about that to try to change that? [44:08] Oh, it's very easy. We'll just fix it in a nanosecond. [44:12] Look, you and I, all three of us, [44:14] have lived through government shutdown after government shutdown [44:17] after government shutdown. [44:19] And I want to take a little bit of issue with you, David, [44:22] because Democrats don't have a lot of levers of power, right? [44:25] They don't have the control of the House. [44:28] They don't have control of the Senate. [44:29] They don't have control of the White House. [44:31] They have a grievance with the way DHS is being run. [44:35] They have a particular grievance with the way ICE is being run. [44:38] And they have very few levers of power to try to achieve reform on that, [44:42] which, by the way, they weren't getting out of this deal. [44:45] So that's an important point to be made. [44:47] But when you have one party in charge of these three axes of government [44:53] and it can't even agree with itself on funding one of these important agencies [45:00] and electing them, [45:01] allowing TSA agents to be paid, [45:04] you are going to get blamed for that. [45:06] And I think as much as people are just generally frustrated with government writ large, [45:12] they are going to be particularly frustrated at the end of this week [45:15] and at the end of next week and probably the week after that [45:17] with the operations of the Republican Congress. [45:20] People are furious at these delays at airports. [45:24] And I think they are unnerved by something else that happened this week [45:28] that's not really related to the shutdown but goes to trusting, [45:31] which is the tragic accident that happened at LaGuardia. [45:36] I think this all folds together in a state of real public unhappiness. [45:42] Ruth, I want to stay with you. [45:43] You talk about the reaction of the public. [45:46] And this started out, as David pointed out, talking about ICE, [45:49] the Democrats talking about ICE. [45:51] Then it became the TSA agents. [45:53] And then today, the Speaker made it firmly an issue about border control. [45:58] Talk about the messaging war that's going on here. [46:00] Well, [46:01] the messaging war is, I think, primarily for people, [46:07] what have you done for me lately? [46:09] Or more accurately, what have you done to me lately? [46:12] And if you are making me, this was completely predictable, by the way. [46:16] If you're not going to pay TSA agents, [46:19] they're going to end up not showing up on the job. [46:22] They're going to leave. [46:23] The fallout from this is going to take weeks, months to fix. [46:29] God forbid some people, [46:31] people who aren't adequately trained allow something to sneak through in the interim. [46:35] So I think the messaging war of you are inconveniencing me [46:40] or you are making me feel unsafe is going to win out over the border messaging war. [46:46] Because, by the way, there's so much money in the ICE bucket. [46:50] Pardon that pun. [46:52] I didn't mean to make it. [46:54] That the ICE is fully funded. [46:57] So failing to fund DHS here is actually not effective. [47:01] It's affecting border enforcement. [47:02] But it is affecting, as Lisa said in her very good piece, [47:06] so many thousands of other people. [47:08] David, the president tried to take unilateral action to try to do something about this. [47:12] He sent ICE agents into airports to help TSA. [47:16] He signed an executive order to have the TSA paychecks start flowing again. [47:22] What do you make of that? [47:23] Well, it's unconstitutional, but we've crashed through that so many times. [47:27] I'm glad he's doing it. [47:28] I flew a bit this week and people were going up to the ICE, [47:31] the TSA agents, wherever I was, and thanking them for showing up to work. [47:34] And God bless those people. [47:36] If I could nurse our disagreement over... [47:38] Oh, good. [47:40] You know, the Democrats controlled all three branches, [47:42] or all three House, Senate, and White House, [47:44] through much of the 20th century, through large sections of the 20th century. [47:48] And it didn't occur to the Republicans, [47:49] as I don't think it would have occurred to the Democrats of that era, [47:52] to shut down the government. [47:53] Because they assumed that making the U.S. government function well [47:58] and that democracy was more important [48:01] than the partisan fight of the next two weeks. [48:04] And we're winning the news cycle. [48:06] And they assumed that if they degrade the government, [48:09] then the voters would punish them. [48:11] And Newt Gingrich broke through that norm a long time ago. [48:14] And now we're seeing the norms degrade. [48:17] And so Congress has become dysfunctional. [48:19] And TSA is becoming degraded because of all this. [48:23] The federal agencies are becoming degraded [48:25] because of the repeated government shutdowns and the Trump assault. [48:29] And so we're just seeing a destruction [48:31] of the basic functions of government. [48:33] And to me, that's a more important issue [48:36] than who happens to get blamed [48:37] and who's doing what messaging on what cable TV show. [48:40] Well, that's where actually we can agree, [48:42] because one of the really unfortunate fallouts here [48:46] is that the fundamentally important issue, [48:48] which is not who wins the messaging war, [48:50] and we could keep going on that, [48:52] and we'll keep arguing when we're off the air, [48:54] because that's what we do. [48:56] It's going to be a fun weekend. [48:58] And another thing is that there does need [49:01] to be, I think the public fully well understands [49:06] that ICE needs reform, that what happened in Minnesota [49:09] is not OK, that what we're seeing across the country [49:12] is not OK, and that we need to put some controls there. [49:15] That is something that the way I think [49:18] that this budget fight is going to play itself out [49:22] is not going to end up happening, [49:23] because Republicans will manage to get the funding done [49:27] through a reconciliation measure. [49:28] I'm sorry to use that word. [49:30] That will be done [49:31] with a majority vote, and so we won't, [49:34] the Democrats will have lost their leverage for reform. [49:37] Well, another thing that the American public, [49:39] or a section of the American public, [49:41] is questioning and wondering about is the war in Iran. [49:44] The president has said at the beginning [49:46] that we had won militarily, that we had pounded the Iranians, [49:50] and then he says that they're negotiating, [49:53] and now he's sending more troops. [49:55] What's going on here? [49:56] Yeah, I guess my big picture is that there's, [49:58] we are achieving militarily, there's a curve, [50:01] of the more and more we achieve militarily, [50:03] the more we degrade the Iranian regime, [50:05] the more we make it hard for them to build munitions [50:07] going on to the future, and that's so positive. [50:09] But there's another curve, that's the economic pain curve, [50:13] and the economy is being hit, [50:15] the stock market's being hit, the world economy, [50:17] Christine Lagarde, the former head of the European Bank, [50:20] is like saying it's going to be a catastrophe, [50:23] and so at some point these two curves cross, [50:25] and that's when it's time to end the war for sure. [50:27] The problem is the downward sloping of the economic curve [50:31] is exponential. [50:33] We make incremental progress in degrading Iran's ability, [50:36] but the collapse of the economy could go out of control. [50:39] And so to me, I think, you know, [50:40] Rocco Rubio said today, two to four more weeks, [50:43] I'm rooting for a shorter time as possible. [50:45] They can say we degraded Iran, seriously, [50:47] they're not a regional power, let's declare victory [50:49] and get out before we cause pain all around the world. [50:52] Hillary. [50:53] I think you're way too optimistic [50:56] in terms of your assessment of the upward military curve. [50:59] Yes, the regime has been degraded, [51:01] it's been degraded militarily. [51:04] Yes, important people have been taken out. [51:07] Does that make us safer or does that make us less safe? [51:10] Because let's be clear, we have not achieved [51:14] what the president told us on night one we wanted to achieve, [51:17] which was regime change. [51:19] The regime is not changing. [51:21] If anything, the regime may be coming more hard-line, [51:25] more inclined to insist on developing nuclear power, [51:31] but it may be more incentivized to go after nuclear weapons, [51:38] which is the biggest potential threat to the U.S., [51:40] and I take it very, very seriously. [51:42] It may be more incentivized by this latest round of attacks [51:46] than it was previously, even after June, [51:49] even after other assaults. [51:51] And in the meantime, we are now negotiating to fix something [51:54] that wasn't broken when we started, [51:56] which is access to the Strait of Hormuz. [51:58] So I do not see the military arc [52:01] in the same positive light, [52:03] though there have been some achievements that you do. [52:06] And David, there's some elements of the president's supporters [52:09] who are questioning this, [52:10] who say they feel a little bit betrayed. [52:12] Joe Rogan earlier this month, he ran on no more wars, [52:17] and of this, what's happening now, [52:18] we can't even really clearly define why he did it. [52:22] Tucker Carlson, this war is something he promised he wouldn't do, [52:25] not once, but countless times. [52:27] Megyn Kelly says no one should have to die for a foreign country. [52:31] Yeah, I'm puzzled by this. [52:33] When you look at the polls, [52:35] I would not say too many MAGA people are flaking off. [52:38] They're mostly supporting. [52:39] But the sort of MAGA people that I know in the media [52:41] and in the podcast world, [52:42] the people I started the Weekly Standard with all these years ago, [52:45] Tucker Carlson, a guy named Christopher Caldwell, [52:47] they're really upset because they're more philosophically inclined. [52:50] This really is a betrayal of what they thought they were getting. [52:52] But I wouldn't say it's yet a mass movement among the Republican ranks. [52:56] Ruth? [52:57] I think, you know, we need to wait and see, [52:59] because the unhappiness [53:01] with TSA is magnified at the unhappiness at the gas pump, [53:06] the unhappiness at the grocery store, [53:08] and that is something that the unhappiness with what's going on in your 401k, [53:13] that's something the president is going to have to really deal with. [53:15] Ruth Marcus, David Brooks, thank you both very much. [53:18] Thank you. [53:34] And be sure to tune in to Washington Week tonight. [53:37] Jeffrey Goldberg and his panel assess whether President Trump's war of choice [53:41] is becoming a war of necessity. [53:43] That's tonight on Washington Week. [53:45] And tomorrow on Horizon, [53:47] William Brangham looks at the risks and potential rewards of AI companionship. [53:51] And a special edition of Compass Points this weekend. [53:55] Nick Schifrin takes the program to Tel Aviv [53:58] for an in-depth look at the unprecedented U.S.-Israeli military and intelligence alliance. [54:03] For all those shows, check your local PBS stations. [54:07] And that is the NewsHour for this Friday night. [54:11] I'm John Yang. [54:12] For all of us here at the NewsHour, thanks for watching. [54:14] See you later. [54:19] The NewsHour has been provided by [54:22] the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions [54:25] and friends of the NewsHour, [54:27] including Kathy and Paul Anderson [54:29] and Camilla and George Smith. [54:34] The Walton Family Foundation, [54:36] working for solutions to protect water during climate change [54:39] so people and nature can thrive together. [54:42] Certified financial planner professionals are proud to support PBS NewsHour. [54:46] CFP professionals are committed to acting in their clients' best interest. 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