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Sunday shows preview: Iran conflict persists as DHS funding fight snarls travel

by Ryan Mancini - 03/21/26 5:57 PM ET

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The U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran stretches out for another week after President Trump said he is considering “winding down” military operations as the U.S. gets “very close” to its military objectives.

Trump made the remarks on Friday, citing Iran’s diminished missile capacity, destroyed defense response and “Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability,” he wrote on Truth Social. He told reporters, however, that he does not want a ceasefire with Iran.

“You don’t do a ceasefire when you’re obliterating the other side,” the president said.

Trump has also said he has no plan to put boots on the ground in Iran, while the Pentagon is speeding up the deployment of over 2,200 Marines and sailors heading to the Middle East from San Diego.

The mixed messaging about the military offensive also comes as the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has kept oil and fuel prices skyrocketing. AAA estimated that the national average for gas on Saturday reached $3.93. Trading for the U.S. price benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude reached over $98 per barrel as of Saturday afternoon. The international benchmark, Brent crude, hit over $109 per barrel as of Friday.

The Trump administration has also worked to allow for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands all condenmed Iranian strikes on vessels in the strait and expressed “our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.”

This also comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the Iranian people will need a “ground component” to help them topple the Islamic regime. He remarked on Thursday that “you can’t do revolutions from the air.”

Netanyahu also defended Israel’s attack on the South Pars gas field, Iran’s largest gas compound and shared with Qatar. He said Israel “acted alone.”

Trump disapproved of the attack and said Israel “violently lashed out.” He also claimed the U.S. had no knowledge of the attack, but three Israeli officials told The New York Times that the impending strike was coordinated with the Trump administration.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi, who are both lined up to appear on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” will likely be asked about the ongoing conflict.

Waltz, who is also expected to appear on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” could also face questions regarding the strait. Last Sunday, he said the U.S. demanded international allies escort vessels threatened by retaliatory attacks. Grossi could be asked about Iran’s nucelar capacity following another strike on the Natanz nuclear facility.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter could also be asked about Israel’s objective in the conflict following Netanyahu’s remarks on Thursday. Leiter is slated to appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Travel in the U.S. has faced a slew of flight delays and cancelations as the lapse in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding carries on. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have gone 36 days without pay, with many calling out sick or quitting.

Senate Democrats voted against a bill to fund the department on Friday. They have argued for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to the agency’s tactics in carrying out Trump’s deportation agenda and after two U.S. citizens were killed in January during federal immigration operations.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Senate Republicans should introduce a two-step funding process that keeps most of DHS funded and then later fund ICE through a reconciliation package.

House Democrats have responded to the shutdown with building momentum for a discharge petition to fund DHS but not ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), though they need GOP support to force a House vote.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who backs the Democrats’ effort to push the discharge petition through, will likely be asked about what comes next in his appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also been engaged in talks over the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday that he was “pessimistic” about receiving enough Democratic support to get it passed.

The bill would require documented proof of citizens