Dems Sound Alarm About Scared Americans the Trump Admin Stranded in the Now-Warring Middle East

This is your TPM evening briefing.

Mar 03, 2026

*Sen. Andy Kim speaks during a news conference in February. TPM illustration/Getty Images.*

‘Do They Think Through Anything?’

Pressure mounted throughout the day Tuesday, as it became clear that the Trump administration had done little preemptive work to evacuate Americans from countries surrounding Iran.

The State Department circulated a flyer of over a dozen newly endangered countries Monday, instructing Americans to “depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks.” Those risks had reportedly already prompted the closure of the airports in many of those countries, leaving people stranded.

“My office is receiving panicked calls from Americans stuck in the Middle East, outraged that our government has provided zero evacuation support,” tweeted Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) on Tuesday.

“Many Americans are stuck and scared across the Middle East right now,” wrote Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). “Where is this administration? Where was the preparation to get these folks to safety? Do they think through anything?”

“You all should have had a plan in place before you started a war. The only guidance Americans have gotten is find your own way home,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). “The State Department needs to charter flights and buses for Americans and their families immediately.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the Trump administration had been roused to action. Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson tweeted: “Yes, the State Department is actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East.”

It’s unclear whether the State Department is making good on that promise; stranded Americans have called a hotline Secretary of State Marco Rubio advertised Tuesday and did not receive assistance, per NOTUS.

As late as Tuesday evening — as State Department travel advisories roll in for countries surrounding Iran — they do not offer government assistance for evacuees. “These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation,” reads one, regarding Qatar.

The media, wholesale, derided President Biden’s pullout of Afghanistan as “botched” — over 120,000 people were evacuated, and 13 American soldiers were killed. His popularity took a nosedive and never recovered.

When President Trump was pressed in the Oval Office why there was no plan to evacuate Americans before he struck Iran, he responded: “Well, because it happened to all very quickly.”

— Kate Riga

Noem Won’t Rule Out ICE at Polls

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was questioned Tuesday by at least two Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee about a possibility that Trump’s allies have raised in recent weeks: sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the polls this fall. Noem dodged each time, asserting that her agency has “no plans” to send ICE officers to voting locations before attempting to do some 3D chess, asking Dems if they expect “illegal aliens” to be voting in the midterms, invoking a myth that Trump and Republicans generally have been pushing for years. Here’s Noem’s exchange with Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE):

Coons: Will you rule out the deployment of ICE or CBP to polling places this November?
Noem: There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations —
Coons: I’m glad to hear that, but would you rule it out? Would you say it will not happen?
Noem: Do you plan on illegal aliens voting in our elections, senator?
Coons: I do not.
Noem: Okay well, there should be no need, unless you plan on illegal aliens voting.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons engaged in similar rhetorical gymnastics when he was asked questions about ICE at polling places last month. He dodged senators questions and only would say that he agreed there was “no reason” for ICE officers to be at voting locations.

In private, however, the Trump administration is reportedly assuring state election officials that there won’t be any ICE agents at the polls this fall. Per Democracy Docket:

During the phone call, officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Elections Assistance Commission and Heather Honey, a senior “election integrity” official in DHS, told state authorities that the Trump administration would not dispatch ICE agents — or any other armed federal agents — to polling places this year.

— Nicole LaFond

Rubio, White House Try to Walk Back Israel Remarks

It appears Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House are attempting to clean up Rubio’s remarks on Monday when he said, “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

Here’s Rubio today: