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Jan. 27, 2026 10:02-11:03 - CSPAN
01:00:54
Washington Journal Open Phones

C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Open Phones explores President Trump’s ICE withdrawal from Minnesota after two fatal shootings, amid protests and Democratic threats to block $60B Homeland Security funding unless reforms—like independent investigations—are included. Callers clash: Laura (AZ) accuses ICE of targeting non-criminals, while Peter (FL) claims protests are funded by illegal voters, citing Somali daycare operations. A Minnesota judge, Kate Menendez, questions the legality of Operation Metro Surge’s 3,000-agent deployment, and the White House defends DHS Secretary Christy Noam despite Trump’s shifting tone. The debate reveals deepening polarization over enforcement tactics, with shutdown risks looming by midnight Saturday, exposing immigration policy as a battleground for political power and public trust. [Automatically generated summary]

Participants
Main
a
alex padilla
sen/d 06:08
g
greta brawner
cspan 24:14
Appearances
a
al green
rep/d 00:56
b
brad sherman
rep/d 03:07
d
donald j trump
admin 04:53
k
karoline leavitt
admin 01:40
p
patty murray
sen/d 00:50
r
raja krishnamoorthi
d 01:31
r
robin kelly
rep/d 01:30
s
sean duffy
admin 00:37
s
susan collins
sen/r 03:29
Clips
m
michael mccaul
rep/r 00:15
Callers
josh in arkadia
callers 00:19
tim in california
callers 00:33
|

Speaker Time Text
White House Tone Shift 00:15:28
unidentified
video app c-span now and at our website c-span.org today president trump is in clive iowa to talk about the u.s economy affordability and energy watch live at 4 p.m eastern on c-span C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, and online at c-span.org.
It isn't just an idea.
It's a process.
A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles.
It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted.
Democracy in real time.
This is your government at work.
This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered.
greta brawner
Good morning and welcome to The Washington Journal on this Tuesday, January 27th.
After two fatal shootings and days of protests in Minnesota, President Trump has signaled ICE agents will begin leaving the state today.
According to the Washington Post, polls and sinking support has changed the White House's tone.
This morning, we want to know from you, has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
Democrats, 202-748-8000.
Republicans, 202-748-8001.
Independents, 202-748-8002.
Minnesota residents, you dial in this morning at 202-748-8003.
All of you can text if you don't want to call at 202-748-8003, include your first name, city, and state, or post on facebook.com slash C-SPAN and on X with the handle at C-SPANWJ.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune with the headline about what will happen in Minnesota today.
According to the Mayor, Jacob Fry, after a phone call with President Trump, federal agents will start leaving today.
The president spoke to the Minneapolis mayor as well as the Governor Tim Walz yesterday, and both sides said it was a productive phone call.
Also from the newspapers this morning, The Hill, with the headline that Caroline Levitt at her briefing yesterday distancing President Trump from rhetoric by the Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam and the president's top aide, Stephen Miller, on the killing of Alex Predty.
The New York Times is reporting this morning that President Trump met in the Oval yesterday with the Homeland Security Secretary along with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, for two hours after Ms. Noam requested the meeting with the president.
From the briefing yesterday, Caroline Levitt, when she's asked about the rhetoric from Christy Noam on Alex Predty, calling him a domestic terrorist.
Take a listen.
unidentified
To follow on Gabe's question, Secretary Noam said Alex Predty committed an act of domestic terrorism.
greta brawner
Stephen Miller labeled Predty a domestic terrorist.
unidentified
Does the president agree with them?
karoline leavitt
Look, as I've said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Predty in that way.
However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.
Was he alarmed to hear his top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment?
unidentified
Thanks, Caroline.
greta brawner
Caroline Lovett at the White House yesterday when asked about the rhetoric on the killing of Alex Predi this morning.
Has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
Take a look at a YouGov poll that was done on January 25th based on what you know.
Was the shooting of the man in Minneapolis justified or not justified?
The 20% of people polled said it was justified.
48% said it was not justified.
While 32% said they were not sure.
That is a YouGov poll conducted after the shooting.
We're asking about the immigration crackdown.
Has it gone too far?
Your thoughts on that.
Also happening in Minnesota today, the president has sent Tom Homan, the border czar, to Minnesota to be the lead there.
From Punch Bowl News, they report that the federal agents will begin to party Minnesota today after Trump's sudden dramatic gear shift on immigration.
And among them will be Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, whose days strutting blue city streets in his faux military coat seem to be over.
His boss, DH Secretary Christy Noam, has also been sidelined.
And a new sheriff, Border Czar Tom Homan, is headed to Minneapolis today for clear-the-air meetings with Democratic leaders.
For Noam, it's nothing short of a public humiliation pushed aside from her department's highest profile operation following the fatal shooting of Alex Predty and following her ill-judged response.
Laura in Tucson, Arizona, Democratic caller, we'll begin with you this morning.
Has the immigration crackdown gone too far?
unidentified
Absolutely.
robin kelly
Absolutely.
greta brawner
And what would you say was where, at what point did it go too far?
Was it with Renee Good or was it before the fatal shootings in Minnesota?
unidentified
It was before both of them.
robin kelly
They're picking up kids.
They're going in people's homes.
They are not following the law.
They're lawless.
Complete lawless.
greta brawner
Well, the administration says, and supporters say what they're doing is following the law.
Congress wrote these laws for ICE to enforce, and that is what they're doing.
robin kelly
No, ICE is not going after the criminals.
When they're waiting in court to pick up people who have been following the law and who have been here for years and years and are productive citizens already, no, they're not following the law.
The administration is lying.
greta brawner
Okay.
Peter, in Florida, an independent.
Peter, what do you say?
unidentified
I think that the Trump administration retreating like this is making a mistake.
This is all scripted.
Everything's scripted.
brad sherman
Who's paying for all this?
josh in arkadia
The shootings were terrible, and I'll admit it's a bad shooting.
But in the same sense, Minnesota, it seems like, is relying on the illegal vote.
unidentified
You look at the Somalia daycares.
You look at all this.
greta brawner
How do you know that, though, Peter?
What evidence do you have of that?
That that's the motivation?
josh in arkadia
Okay, I'll give you the evidence of all the things in the United States that have been going wrong.
brad sherman
Health insurance, everything.
josh in arkadia
How do you develop protests like this without a lot of money?
unidentified
This isn't grassroots.
brad sherman
People are being busted all over the place.
unidentified
That's what's happening.
Okay.
Why don't you bring him on?
brad sherman
He's been undercover with all these protesters.
unidentified
It seems 60 Minutes doesn't have time to do this.
NBC doesn't have time.
brad sherman
You had wall-the-wall propaganda.
unidentified
That's what we're seeing.
greta brawner
All right, Peter's thoughts there.
An independent in Florida says this is a mistake for President Trump to change his tone and his actions in Minnesota.
The national papers this morning using the word retreat on the president's decision to begin removing ICE from Minnesota today.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on the Trump administration's deportation policy, they write this this morning, that it started out at the beginning of 2025.
87% of ICE arrests were immigrants with either a prior conviction or a criminal charge pending, according to ICE data obtained by the Department Data Project.
Only 13% of those arrested at the beginning of 2025 didn't have either a conviction or a pending charge.
But the criminal share of apprehensions has declined as the months have gone on.
By October of 2025, the percentage of arrested immigrants with a prior conviction or criminal charge had fallen to 55%.
Since October, 73% taken into ICE custody had no criminal conviction, and only 5% had a violent criminal conviction, according to a Cato Institute review of ICE data.
That's the Wall Street Journal's editorial this morning.
Mass deportation by the numbers.
ICE arrests aren't growing, but fewer are growing, but fewer have a criminal history.
Kathy in Colorado and Independent.
Kathy, good morning.
susan collins
Good morning.
Has ICE gone too far?
Yeah, ICE has gone too far.
Trump has gone too far.
And especially Stephen Miller has gone too far.
I'd like to know when Trump abdicated the presidency to Stephen Miller.
And it is ridiculous.
It went way too far from the beginning with the ICE, with the masked ICE agents.
They look like ISIS or Hamas militants running around this country.
Of course, everybody is scared.
And when you get eight or ten of them around your vehicle, like Ms. Good did, and one says, get the F out of the car, heck yes, I'd be taken off too.
I'd be driving away.
Even in Colorado, we are told if you are stopped and you do not know who it is, you are allowed to go on because we have had police officers impersonated out here.
So yes, I think she was justified in what she did in trying to get away from it.
greta brawner
Kathy in Colorado, an independent there.
Will, Baltimore, Democratic caller.
What do you say, Will?
unidentified
Good morning.
Thank you, C-SPAN.
Yes, absolutely.
al green
Donald Trump has lied to the people.
He said he was going to deport violent criminals.
unidentified
He's going after hardworking individuals based on their skin color.
al green
They are being pepper sprayed needlessly.
They are not properly trained and they lack restraint.
With that said, please don't show up at these protests with firearms.
Even if you have a license to carry, and it's your right, it's poor judgment to do so with these goons and how aggressive they've been with the protesters.
I believe Mr. Predty would still be alive today had he not carried a weapon into those protests.
unidentified
And I'm not saying he's at fault for dying.
He had every right to go home to his family.
al green
But understand, these people aren't properly trained.
unidentified
Leave your firearms home.
Thank you for taking my call.
greta brawner
All right.
Will Washington Post headline as polls show sinking support.
White House changes tone on ICE tactics.
Trump initially responded combatively to Predty's death by calling him a gunman and posting a phone photo of the licensed pistol.
But he did not go as far as Noam or Miller, and he sounded more equivocal Sunday when he told the Wall Street Journal, I don't like any shooting.
I don't like it.
Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott of Texas urged the White House to change its tone on immigration enforcement, while other Senate Republicans, including Jerry Moran of Kansas and John Curtis of Utah, called for independent investigations.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul said Monday that the heads of immigration and customs enforcement, customs and border protection, and U.S. citizenship and immigration services should testify before the panel.
That's the Wall Street Journal this morning.
Listen to California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, speaking out against further funding for Homeland Security and ICE.
alex padilla
They talk so much about the dangerous violent criminals they claim to be going after.
There's actually agreements with state and local law enforcement in Minnesota for those that are in detention, but that's not where they're going.
They're going into communities.
They're rounding up people who may be undocumented, but don't have a criminal history.
Clearly, they're rounding people up who are lawfully present.
They're not just shooting, they're killing United States citizens.
And what's the administration's response?
Oh, you have complete immunity.
No, that is not how we do things here in the United States.
We have laws.
We have a constitution.
We need to have justice.
We need to have accountability.
And that's what this budget fight is.
It's not just a matter of money.
How can in good conscience continue funding a department without the guardrails and protections?
We need independent investigations.
Anybody who's been in government for more than a year knows this.
It happens at the local level, happens at the state level.
If there's an officer involved shooting, you need an independent review of what happened for purposes of accountability.
Short of an independent administrative review, you bring in the Department of Justice, but we don't have that under Trump.
We have, you know, from Secretary Noam on down, people just saying yes, sir, whatever he wants.
A formally independent Department of Justice has been weaponized, and so people need other resources, and this is one of ours, to leverage their funding for some of these reforms.
greta brawner
California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla yesterday saying Democrats in the Senate are going to refuse to support a measure that would fund the Homeland Security Department.
Now, the Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement ICE is under the Homeland Security Department.
Washington Times with the headline this morning, ICE fight starts another shutdown showdown with Democrats demanding reworking of the Homeland Security funding bill.
You'll recall it was approved by the House last week.
It now is before the Senate.
And today, the Senate returns to Washington to begin debating what to do next on funding this Homeland Security measure.
Democratic senators appear united that they will not support the legislation to fund the Homeland Security Department unless it is reworked.
Melvin's Unconstitutional Arrest 00:10:38
greta brawner
Now, the Wall Street Journal this morning says that this threat would be a partial government shutdown.
It's now more likely.
And they write, Congress is running out of time to pass a sprawling appropriations package before funding for much of the federal government expires at 1201 Eastern on Saturday.
Senate Democrats say they won't support the bill without changes to the provisions regarding homeland, raising the risk of a partial shutdown this weekend.
And you also have this headline from the New York Times: Democrats embrace a shutdown fight they had hoped to avoid.
Has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
George in Chicago, an independent.
Good morning.
alex padilla
Yes, I would like to know if resisting arrest is the constitutional right now, and if a cop stops me over, can I just run?
greta brawner
And your point, George?
alex padilla
Well, my point is you take these shootings in Minneapolis, George Freud, Michael Brown in St. Louis.
michael mccaul
They all resist arrest, and then things go downhill.
greta brawner
Okay.
Melvin in Chicago, Democratic caller, Melvin.
unidentified
Good morning.
How are you doing?
greta brawner
Good morning.
unidentified
This is what I'm trying to figure out.
donald j trump
Now, in each city, each state, they have warrants.
Says like to me that I should be able to get warrants for certain people that they're going in certain states to look for.
unidentified
First, start off with the criminals, start off with the criminals, and then work your way down to the people that overstayed the visas that I hear, and then work your way up to people that are following the law.
donald j trump
They're going to the center to report in to see if they can become citizens or whatever.
unidentified
And they deserve a little waiting period.
But now, there's no gang members all in LA, Chicago, wherever.
donald j trump
Why they don't have warrants, go for the gang members, the people that they let out the penitentiary safe, and then they go out and do something.
unidentified
They already on record.
Why they don't just go and arrest the criminals first?
donald j trump
They not how you're going to arrest a criminal when you go to a daycare center, you go up into the high schools.
unidentified
Those are not the people they're looking for.
alex padilla
They say they're arresting the criminal element.
unidentified
Get rid of the criminals first and then go for the other ones that's been lacking, not reporting in, overstayed their visas illegally here or whatever.
I just don't understand it.
donald j trump
I know we have enough electronic computation to find out what's happening with all these people in all these cities.
greta brawner
Okay.
Well, Melvin, let me jump in because Tim Walz, who's the governor of Minnesota, Democrat, writes today in the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journals: federal officials are lying.
My state's corrections department honors all immigration detainees.
And this is what he writes: There is not a single documented case of the departments releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody.
Some of the administration's claims are ridiculous on their face, he writes.
For example, it claims that 1,360 non-U.S. citizens are in Minnesota prisons.
The truth, our total state prison population is roughly 8,000, and only 207 of them are non-citizens.
You can read more in the Wall Street Journal this morning from the Minnesota governor.
We'll go to Melvin and Chicago.
Democratic caller?
unidentified
Yes, that was.
greta brawner
Oh, I'm sorry, Melvin.
Let me move on.
Chuck, who's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Republican.
donald j trump
Yeah, I think what we've forgotten is that the Democrats were the ones that created this whole situation by allowing millions of people illegally to cross into our country, which makes them lawbreakers.
Now, you have to decide.
alex padilla
People of this country have to decide, are we a country of laws or are we a country of democracy and mob rule like we have in Minnesota?
unidentified
And that's the overriding question of all this.
donald j trump
And clearly, the governor and the mayor have sided with the criminals and not with the laws of this country.
alex padilla
And that is the truth of all of this.
unidentified
We have a representative republic here.
alex padilla
We don't have a democracy.
greta brawner
Okay.
And Chuck in Pittsburgh, a Republican with his thoughts this morning.
CBS News with the headline, Republican Chris Medell exits Minnesota governor's race, calls federal retribution on the state unconstitutional.
Republican Chris Medell is ending his campaign for governor of Minnesota, saying that he cannot support the national members of his party and their retribution on the citizens of our state.
Take a listen to what he posted on X yesterday.
brad sherman
Today, I announced the end of my campaign.
I have two primary reasons for this decision.
Number one, I cannot support the National Republican stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.
I support the originally stated goals of immigration's and customs enforcement's Operation MetroSurge in locating and deporting the worst of the worst from our state.
And I've seen many examples of ICE arresting non-U.S. citizens in Minnesota convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape, and child sexual assault.
No reasonable person should want these people here, and I am glad that they are gone.
But Operation MetroSurge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats.
United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear.
United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship.
That's wrong.
ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that need only be signed by a border patrol agent.
That's unconstitutional, and it's wrong.
Weaponizing criminal investigations against political opponents is unconstitutional, regardless of who is in power.
Republicans and Democrats alike have engaged in this misconduct, and both must be held to the same standard.
They need to do better.
greta brawner
The Republican nominee candidate for governor in Minnesota dropping out of the race over what is happening in his state.
John in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, an independent.
What do you say?
Has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
unidentified
First off, I take offense with C-SPAN and your verbiage, how you call it a crackdown.
It is the federal government following legally passed and constitutionally passed laws of the United States of America, of which I've been a citizen for 62 years.
It is an governmental enforcement of the laws that are written and currently on the books, and there's nothing illegal about it, in my mind.
Now, if I was to protest and go out and stand on a street corner with a sign and with a bullhorn and a whistle and whatever else, that's perfectly acceptable under the First Amendment and the rights to free speech.
Okay, the minute I step off the curb or take my vehicle or in any other way, fashion, or form, try to impede a law enforcement agent, whether it's a federal agent or a state or local agent, I am now a criminal, just like the people they are trying to apprehend and deport from the country.
I grew up in a family who has many law enforcement people that were employed in my small city and even other parts of the state of Wisconsin.
And when you interfere, you know, it's the law.
You're no longer a peaceful protester when you're, you know, and the mask, the mask thing, Greta.
donald j trump
And the other thing with the masks, how come all the protesters are wearing masks?
You know, I don't understand the positions, just like the representative from California, Padilla.
unidentified
You know, they didn't say anything about masked people for years.
greta brawner
Okay.
unidentified
No, I'm not sure.
greta brawner
So, John, let me ask you, why do you take issue with the word crackdown?
The administration, I mean, the president ran on an immigration.
unidentified
That's why I voted for him.
donald j trump
Civil right-meaning independent, and that's why I voted for him.
unidentified
They're doing what I'm doing, and you guys, you know, you cite polls.
You can make a poll, you know how polls work.
greta brawner
Yeah, they're just right.
They're a snapshot in time.
donald j trump
Snapshot, and by however you can word anything in a poll, you can get whatever answer you want to make the poll lean one direction or another.
unidentified
It's no different than where I was last night in my city council meeting.
You know, there was the state laws in the book.
Well, you may do this, you may do that.
donald j trump
You know, there's no black and white, it seems, in government, to be honest with you.
But I just take offense with a lot of the people that are protesting.
They have the legal right to do so.
unidentified
Just like that gentleman that got shot.
donald j trump
Two American citizens have been killed in Minneapolis.
unidentified
You know, where have the Democrats been for the last five years when there's hundreds of people every single year, thousands of people, Americans, getting shot by other Americans in the streets of these Democratic-run cities, sanctuary cities, and they don't enforce the laws that they have there.
I mean, the whole thing is just, it's absurd to me, Greta.
Democrats Call for Impeachment 00:09:17
donald j trump
I just don't understand the outrage.
greta brawner
John in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, independent caller there.
You heard John talk about the California senators, Alex Padilla, saying they are not going to fund ICE and Border Patrol.
That's the headline in the Sacramento Bees paper this morning.
Other headlines from across the country also are the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, Judge Mull's halt to ice push in Minnesota.
There was a hearing yesterday, and the judge is mulling whether or not to prohibit the ICE actions that we've seen in that state.
That's the Orlando Sentinel.
The Sioux City Journal in South Dakota, some federal agents expected to leave Minnesota today.
That follows a phone call with the governor and the Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob Fry, with President Trump yesterday.
Also, Tom Holman, the Borders are on his way to Minnesota to talk to officials there.
And then you also have finally the Chicago Sun-Times trading fire on ICE.
This is from a primary debate, Democratic primary debate last night.
And here are the candidates.
Two sitting members of Congress are running for the seat of retiring Senator Dick Durbin.
And they're asked about legislative reforms they'd push for when it comes to ICE.
raja krishnamoorthi
He said he would go after the worst of the worst, and he ended up sending his agents, his rogue agents, to snatch people off the streets, stuff them into unmarked vehicles with no due process, no warrants, nothing.
patty murray
Stomping on our Constitution.
It is not only wrong, but it is dangerous.
And here we are, and I'm standing on the stage with my opponent, Congressman Krishnamurthy, who, as they started to attack the city of Chicago last summer, went onto the House floor in Washington, D.C. and voted to thank ICE.
raja krishnamoorthi
He's accepted funding from ICE contractors.
patty murray
That is not the example of somebody who's going to stand up to Donald Trump and fight for all of our communities.
I want to abolish ICE because this agency cannot be reformed.
raja krishnamoorthi
Look, Lieutenant Governor, I'm an immigrant.
I'm the only immigrant on this stage.
And unlike many of you, I've actually done the hard work of trying to hold ICE accountable.
I'm the only candidate on this stage that's been evicted by the CPD when we performed inspections of ICE facilities.
I'm the only candidate on the stage that actually inspected an ICE facility itself.
And what I learned there was shocking: that they not only target people with convictions, they go after people who are merely charged and who are collaterally present.
That means innocent civilians.
Look, I believe we have to abolish Trump's ICE.
In light of what happened with Alex Pretty and with Renee Good, what we're seeing now cannot continue.
So, this is what these are the legislative reforms that have to happen.
One, not a single dollar more for ICE or DHS.
That's the way I voted last week, and that's the way the Senate should vote.
Secondly, impeach Noam.
And I join Robin Kelly in that motion.
Third, we have to make sure they unmask ICE, wear identification, and finally have an inspector general within ICE to make sure they abide by the rules and regulations of the land.
robin kelly
We need to dismantle ICE.
We need to impeach Christy Noam, and we need to build an agency that people can trust.
The Department of Homeland Security is too big, too unwieldy, and not accountable.
And we need to do all this in the guise of immigration reform.
It can't be one thing or another.
We have to look at Border Patrol.
We have to look at USCIS that oversees asylums.
We have to land the plane on the DREAMers and make them American citizens.
We have to find a pathway for the over 11 million undocumented that are contributing to this city of Chicago, this state of Illinois, and to the United States.
That's all a part of dismantling, building back, impeaching Christy Noam, which we're on our way to doing, and making an agency that everyone can trust again.
We have to build back trust in government.
greta brawner
That is from the Illinois Democratic primary last night.
Two members of Congress and Lieutenant Governor running for Senator Dick Durbin's seat.
Mr. Durbin is retiring after decades in the Senate.
You can watch it in its entirety if you go to c-span.org.
You heard Congresswoman Robin Kelly talking about impeaching Christy Noam.
She has brought forward articles of impeachment on the Homeland Security Secretary.
NBC News with the headline: Democrats' calls for Christy Noam to resign or face impeachment grow louder.
Eight more Democrats have joined a resolution to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary after the latest fatal shooting by a federal agent.
The articles of impeachment against Secretary Noam say obstruction of Congress for instances in which members of Congress were denied entry into DHS facilities and for withholding congressionally appropriated disaster relief funds.
They also claim a violation of public trust for allegedly denying ICE detainees due process and violating First and Fourth Amendments and self-dealing over reports that Noam awarded $220 million in contracts to a firm run by her top spokesperson's husband.
Those are the articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security Secretary.
Jim in Wisconsin, Democratic caller, thanks for joining us this morning.
What do you think?
Good morning, good morning.
Has the immigration crackdown gone too far?
unidentified
Yes, it has.
tim in california
All this is an army for Donald Trump to attack people because of voting rights.
That's why Pam Bombi, who's not even Attorney General, she's just a criminal, asked Tim Walz for the voter roll.
unidentified
You don't do that.
States are independent.
They handle their own.
donald j trump
And there are federal people there because I vote in Butler all the time, and there's Republican and there's a Democrat.
And they make sure everything is done right.
I mean, these are all lies.
tim in california
And as far as the guy from Lake Geneva, John, he's a MAGA.
donald j trump
You should have hung up on him right away.
tim in california
He doesn't know the laws, and he's probably lying about his family's in law enforcement.
greta brawner
All right.
unidentified
I could hear him right away.
He didn't give any facts or anything.
tim in california
He just said something off the top of his head.
greta brawner
Okay, Jim.
Jim in Wisconsin, Democratic caller, on the demand for voter rolls.
New York Times reports: What is behind the Trump administration's call for Minnesota voter rolls?
Nearly every state has a public version of its voter roll that includes basic information like first and last names.
Some of these roles include addresses.
But the complete unredacted voter file includes personal identifying information like driver's license numbers and social security numbers.
This list is kept private and is maintained by top election officials in each state.
Traditionally, no one can obtain it through public records requests, not even the Justice Department.
So why does the Justice Department want these files?
New York Times says Ms. Bondi has said that the Trump administration is trying to keep elections secure.
But President Trump and his allies, who tried to overturn the 2020 election and continue to deny its legitimacy, have long pushed unsubstantiated claims about undocumented immigrants voting illegally.
And last year, the Justice Department began to try to build the largest set of national voter roll data it has ever collected, raising concerns that the data could be used to cast doubt on future election results.
From the New York Times reporting, why is the Trump administration demanding Minnesota voter rolls?
James in Waterport, New York, Republican.
Good morning to you, James.
unidentified
Good morning.
Two books: The Invisible Coup by Peter Schweitzer, number one, New York Times bestseller: How America elites and foreign powers use immigration as a weapon, just released.
donald j trump
Second book, Why is Mass Immigration Really Happening?
unidentified
Governments in Western countries are intending to turn white people into an extinct species by Kreimer 2025 book.
Maine's Funding Debate 00:06:34
unidentified
Thank you.
greta brawner
Charles, North Carolina, Independent.
Hi, Charles.
unidentified
Good morning.
Thanks for taking my call.
donald j trump
I don't understand a lot of what's going on because when I researched myself, I found out that Minnesota law states that you cannot protest in the street.
unidentified
Now, you can stand on the corner.
You can have your signs.
You can do all the yelling and all you want to.
donald j trump
But once you impede traffic and get in the street, then you've broken the law.
So Minneapolis police should have gone down and started either arresting people and removing them from the street because the public safety man came out the very first day with Governor Walsh and said, Minnesota law says you cannot protest in the street.
So I wonder why all these people got to protest in the street when other citizens couldn't do it.
greta brawner
Okay, Charles, his thoughts.
An independent North Carolina, Lincoln's in Maryland.
Democratic caller, we'll hear from you next.
Lincoln, go ahead.
Lincoln in Maryland.
All right, moving on to Doug in Virginia, Republican.
Morning, Doug.
unidentified
Good morning.
I'm just trying to figure out where everyone comes up with these people are not breaking the law of being in this country.
If you have a visa and it runs out and you do not leave, you have broken federal law.
We do not need a city to tell the federal government about a federal government law.
I don't see anyone complaining when if it's a Republican city and it's happening, oh no, it's fine.
Let it happen.
Summer of love, burn down buildings.
You have no right to do that in this country.
I served in the military for this country.
If you want to be here, do the paperwork.
donald j trump
If you have a visa, you can put in and take classes and become an American citizen.
unidentified
They don't want to do it.
Why should we pay for their kids to go to school out of our tax dollars when most of them aren't even paying taxes to begin with?
donald j trump
They work under the table.
unidentified
They know it.
They've seen it.
Why can't we just have the police go in with ICE?
donald j trump
I'm not a fan of ICE, but the problem is we have too many people that think they can take over the city and tell the police and the government what to do.
unidentified
Go back to the old days when I grew up.
You came out and did something like that.
donald j trump
They brought the fire trucks out and they cleaned the streets real quick.
greta brawner
All right.
Doug, a Republican in Virginia, with his thoughts.
The Democrats in the Senate now this week turned their attention to the funding measure for the Homeland Security Department after it was approved by the House.
However, following the fatal shooting of Alex Predi, Senate Democrats are now united in opposing the Homeland Security funding bill.
Listen to Appropriations Committee Chair, Republican Susan Collins, on the Senate floor yesterday, acknowledging the fatal shooting, but asking her Democratic colleagues to support the full funding package, including the Homeland Security funding.
susan collins
Let me say, Madam President, that the tragic death of Alex Petri has refocused attention on the Homeland Security Bill, and I recognize that and share the concerns.
I do want to point out to my colleagues that there are many safeguards that have been put in this bill that I would encourage them to review, and that the vast majority of the funding in this bill, more than 80%, is for non-immigration and non-border security functions.
It includes, for example, funding for FEMA.
We've just gone through a horrific storm that has caused a lot of damage.
And FEMA is very important.
It includes funding for TSA.
Those of us who travel back and forth through our home states every weekend are well aware of the work of TSA in keeping us safe.
It includes funding for cybersecurity and physical infrastructure protection.
And important to the states of the presiding officer in the state of Maine, it includes funding for the U.S. Coast Guard.
So, Madam President, I know that there will be many more speeches and discussions of all of the bills that are included in this package.
But let me just say that I hope we can come together in a constructive way to get this done and to ensure that we do not lurch into a dangerous and detrimental government shutdown.
greta brawner
The Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, on the floor of the Senate yesterday, encouraging, urging her fellow senators to vote for a spending package and avoid a government shutdown this Saturday at 1201 a.m.
Democrats in the Senate appear united after that fatal shooting of Alex Predi in Minnesota in opposition to the Homeland Security bill.
This morning, we're asking all of you, has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
John in Ava Maria, Florida, an Independent, we'll hear from you, John.
unidentified
Hi.
Money Grab, Power Grab 00:04:05
alex padilla
It's a power grab and it's a money grab.
I think the power grab is the fact that all of these illegals are going to vote for Democrats.
That's how you got Spamberger in Virginia.
That's how you got Cheryl in New Jersey.
That's how you got Mamdani in New York.
That's the power grab.
The money grab is you get federal funding for NGOs, 501c3s.
They go to the daycares and it gets filtered back to politicians.
Jacob Fry's wife is a lobbyist.
Her firm facilitates the money going to the Somali daycares.
So if we're talking about billions of dollars, even if she gets a 3% cut, and you know Ellison is in on it, so is Walt.
unidentified
This is millions of dollars.
alex padilla
So it's a money grab and it's a power grab.
It's a power grab with votes.
It's a money grab because this money's getting filtered back.
I mean, this is common sense.
And once the rest of America wakes up to this, and they will, they will, everyone's going to get behind Trump on what he's doing because what he's doing is correct.
It's correct.
greta brawner
Okay.
John in Florida with his thoughts.
Ben is in Minnesota and independent.
Ben, where do you live in Minnesota?
brad sherman
Southern Minnesota, but I grew up 36 of my 54 years in South Minneapolis.
greta brawner
Okay.
brad sherman
So this has directly affected my former stomping grounds.
My friends and family that still live up there are deeply affected by what's been going on.
greta brawner
And what are they telling me?
brad sherman
They're scared.
And the majority of them are Caucasian Americans, but even themselves, they're afraid to go out.
It is an overreach, in every way, shape, or form.
There's no point in sending the number of federal officials into a Democratic city solely to go after immigration enforcement.
If somebody would please post the numbers for the states that show the largest amount of undocumented immigrants, let's go off of that.
alex padilla
We know that red states have the most and that the Trump administration isn't going after them there because they're all in each other's pockets.
Regardless of the Democratic issue, a Republican issue, I consider myself an independent, but yes, I will sound more like a liberal at this point in time because the overreach is astronomical.
greta brawner
Ben, did you before the president was elected?
Did you agree with him at any point on the need for border security and immigration actions inside the United States?
unidentified
I agreed with tightening up the borders.
brad sherman
We do need to focus more on the people that are here.
alex padilla
And I do agree that there needs to be a legal path into coming into the United States.
unidentified
Don't just let the floodgates open.
alex padilla
But the process in going through and ripping apart blue states in blue cities to weed out, if you will, illegal immigrants, this manner is just not.
President's Dilemma: Border Security vs. Public Trust 00:07:43
unidentified
No.
michael mccaul
Paramilitary forces is not cool.
alex padilla
This is not okay in any way, shape, or form.
unidentified
All right.
greta brawner
So a judge in Minnesota yesterday asked similar questioning.
Take a look at the New York Times.
Judge Way's arguments on legality of ICE surge.
Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a lawsuit two weeks ago claiming that the Trump administration's campaign called Operation Metro Surge violates state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment and should be blocked.
The surge has brought some 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota, resulting in thousands of arrests, three shootings, and tense protests.
Judge Menendez, who was nominated to the bench by former President Joseph Biden, did not rule from the bench on Monday and did not provide a timeline for issuing a written decision.
She indicated that she would move quickly.
She did, though, push back on Minnesota officials' need for immediate action.
She had pointed questions about the state government's request that she issue a sweeping order to block the surge.
And she also asked where the line should be and wondered whether or not there were possible ulterior motives.
So this from a hearing in Minnesota yesterday with Judge Kate Menendez, who will rule on whether or not to block this ICE surge.
Has the Trump administration's immigration crackdown gone too far?
That is our question this morning.
Those are the lines for dialing in.
Take a look at the national papers this morning in the headlines.
President Trump signals ICE pullout from Minnesota chaos.
That's the Washington Times this morning.
USA Today, police improved community relations after George Floyd.
Is ICE a setback?
You also have from the Wall Street Journal, the 48 hours that convinced President Trump to change course in Minnesota.
And then you have the Washington Post.
Trump softens tone on Minneapolis violence amid calls for accountability.
And finally, the New York Times.
Trump under pressure retreats from smears in Minneapolis killing.
The change in rhetoric and actions coming from the White House and yesterday at the White House briefing, Caroline Levitt was asked if the president agrees with the rhetoric from the Homeland Security Secretary and others in the administration and how they framed the shooting of Alex Predi.
Take a listen.
karoline leavitt
To follow on Gabe's question, Secretary Noam said Alex Predty committed an act of domestic terrorism.
Stephen Miller labeled Predty a domestic terrorist.
greta brawner
Does the president agree with them?
karoline leavitt
Look, as I've said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Predty in that way.
However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts and the investigation lead itself.
Was he alarmed to hear his top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment?
unidentified
Thanks, Caroline.
greta brawner
The White House Press Secretary yesterday was also asked about rhetoric coming out of the White House in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting.
Here's what she had to say.
sean duffy
Regarding Minnesota, on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security posted that Predty looks like he wanted to do maximum damage to massacre law enforcement.
unidentified
Stephen Miller on Saturday posted that, or called Predi a would-be assassin.
sean duffy
Why did administration officials jump to conclusions before an investigation had even been conducted?
karoline leavitt
Well, look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend.
As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case.
sean duffy
With regards to the deployment of Tom Holman to Minneapolis, should the deployment of Mr. Homan to Minneapolis be seen as a sign that the president is dissatisfied with how the officials on the ground had handled the incident?
karoline leavitt
No, Mr. Holman is doing an exceptional job, and he has been working with Secretary Noam and President Trump over the course of the last year.
Secretary Noam still has the utmost confidence and trust of the President of the United States, and she's continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that's taking place across the whole entire country.
Of course, Secretary Noam is also in charge of FEMA, and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that.
So Borders Art Holman is in a unique position to drop everything and go to Minnesota to continue having these productive conversations with state and local officials.
And I know that he's catching a plane in just a few hours to do just that at the request of the president.
greta brawner
The White House Press Secretary at yesterday's briefing, the Washington Post editorial board has a to-do list for Tom Holman when he arrives in Minneapolis.
And they say that it starts with refocusing deportation operations on criminal targets instead of five-year-olds with pending cases in immigration court.
Sanctuary jurisdictions like Minneapolis' Hennepin County could help keep ICE out of their communities by directly handing over criminals in their custody to immigration enforcement officers.
The next step is to rebuild trust with the public.
And you do that with transparency.
DHS is reviewing body camera footage from agents who were on the scene when Predi was fatally shot.
To help restore credibility, authorities would be wise to release a complete version of the video.
Congressional Republicans are signaling that they plan to conduct more rigorous oversight.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Gressley of Iowa announced Monday that Noam has agreed to testify on March 3rd.
Other GOP chairmen are demanding various DHS leaders appear before their own committees before that.
The Washington Post this morning with Tom Homan's to-do list.
Punch Bowl News reporting about Tom Homan being sent to Minnesota.
And Punch Bowl News says that federal agents will begin departing Minnesota today after Trump's sudden dramatic gear shift on immigration.
And among them will be the Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, whose days strutting Blue City streets in his faux military coat seem to be over.
His boss, DHS Secretary Christy Noam, has also been sidelined.
And a new sheriff, Border Star Tom Homan, is headed to Minneapolis for clear-the-air meetings with local Democratic leaders.
That's happening today.
Yesterday at the White House, according to the New York Times, Christine Noam called for a meeting with President Trump, and she got one along with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski.
They met with the president for over two hours.
Let's go to Greg, who's in Georgia, Republican.
Greg, good morning.
unidentified
Good morning.
alex padilla
Good morning.
I work in law enforcement, and this process that we're talking about is happening right now as we speak all over the country.
And it's done in an organized fashion.
Every week where I work, ICE picks up orderly about three times a week.
During the Biden administration, maybe once every four months did they pick up illegal immigrants that we stop, whether they didn't have a driver's license, whether they were speeding, whether they were drunk driving.
And it works systematically and methodically like it should.
ICE Operations 00:02:49
alex padilla
Only in one state and one city that they are putting up roadblocks, and they are creating this havoc in Minnesota.
They are doing it on purpose.
unidentified
Where I work, it works seamlessly.
alex padilla
There's no whistles, there's no protest, and it works like it should.
unidentified
You don't have this.
alex padilla
And I agree with the earlier caller.
During the Biden administration, I never saw a Chiron across your screen that said, did the Biden administration go too far in their border invasion, which is what it was.
unidentified
People were just allowed to just stream over.
alex padilla
And now we're having to deal with that and clean this mess up.
People want to get.
I'll fix a leave the house in a little while.
When I leave the house, I'm going to have an ID on me.
unidentified
Every day I leave the house, I have an ID.
Everybody who legally drives a car or carries a gun is supposed to have an ID on them.
alex padilla
The guy that got shot the other day did not have ID, did not have his permit with him, and had 30 extra rounds on him.
I mean, this whole thing is being set up to turn your eyes away from the fraud and the corruption and all the money that's being led out of Minneapolis.
greta brawner
And, Greg, on that point, I'll just say to you and others that there have been a few hearings on Capitol Hill about the fraud, the alleged fraud in Minnesota, and you can find those hearings if you go to our website, c-span.org.
Felix, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Democratic caller, let's hear from you.
unidentified
C-SPAN America, good morning.
How are y'all on this beautiful day?
greta brawner
Morning, Felix.
unidentified
All right.
I want you to, while I'm talking, I'd like to look up something if you possibly could.
donald j trump
This could be a rooted problem of how they're acting.
You have a gentleman, the president of the Heritage Foundation named Eric Roberts, I believe this name, somewhere circa July 2024, he was on the Steve Bannon show, indicated that there's a second revolution coming and it will be bloodless as long as the Democrat, or excuse me, as long as the left will allow it.
I want to know if that's part of the problem there.
Second of all, the President Trump, to me, he's just like what Bill Clinton was whenever the Ken Starr said he was just a president is just an ordinary person temporarily occupying a seat of power at the pleasure of we the people.
Watching NASA History TV 00:04:18
donald j trump
Another issue is that just because I disagree with you, don't mean I'm a communist.
greta brawner
All right, Felix, we will have to leave it there.
We are going to take a break later on on the Washington Journal.
Bradford Fitch, former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and author of the quote, Citizens Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials, joins us and we'll talk about practical and effective strategies to get through to your elected officials.
But first, after the break, affordability is one of the main themes for this year's midterm elections.
We'll take a closer look at the Trump administration's records so far on that front with Natalie Baker of the Center for American Progress and Brittany Madney from the Economic Policy Innovation Center.
conversation coming up on The Washington Journal.
unidentified
Travel through the history of America's space program on American History TV all day on C-SPAN 2, featuring classic NASA films and historical newsreels from past space missions.
Watch Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. Eastern, as American History TV sits down with Smithsonian National Era and Space Museum Apollo curator Tiesel Muir Harmony to explore Americans in space from the creation of NASA in 1958 through the early Gemini flights to Neil Armstrong's historic first steps on the moon in July 1969.
She also looks ahead to the upcoming Artemis missions with the goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface.
Plus, relive the race to the moon, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle program.
And hear first-hand accounts from legendary NASA flight directors Gene Krantz and Gerald Griffin.
al green
The crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send you.
unidentified
Watch the history of the American space program all day Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. Eastern on American History TV on C-SPAN 2.
donald j trump
So you interviewed the other night.
I watched it about 2 o'clock in the morning.
There was a little thing called C-SPAN, which I don't know how many people were watching.
Don't worry, you were in prime time too, but they happened to have a little rerun.
patty murray
Do you really think that we don't remember what just happened last week?
Thank goodness for C-SPAN, and we all should review the tape.
greta brawner
Everyone wonders when they're watching C-SPAN what the conversations are on the floor.
al green
I'm about to read to you something that was published by C-SPAN.
sean duffy
There's a lot of things that Congress fights about, that they disagree on.
We can all watch that on C-SPAN.
brad sherman
Millions of people across the country tuned into C-SPAN.
That was a made-for-C-SPAN moment.
karoline leavitt
If you watch on C-SPAN, you're going to see me physically across the aisle every day, just trying to build relationships and try to understand their perspective and find common ground.
unidentified
And welcome for to everybody watching at home.
patty murray
We know C-SPAN covers this a lot as well.
unidentified
We appreciate that.
brad sherman
And one can only hope that he's able to watch C-SPAN on a black and white television set in his prison cell.
michael mccaul
This is being carried live by C-SPAN.
It is being watched not only in this country, but it's being watched around the world right now.
donald j trump
Mike said before, I happened to listen to him.
He was on C-SPAN 1.
That's a big upgrade, right?
unidentified
America marks 250 years, and C-SPAN is there to commemorate every moment.
From the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the voices shaping our nation's future, we bring you unprecedented all-platform coverage, exploring the stories, sights, and spirit that make up America.
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