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CNN This Morning
Breaking Down The First Week Of Trump's Second Term; Trump Rolls Out Immigration Agenda With Lightning Speed. McConnell Votes No on Hegseth Amid Harsh Criticism; Interview with Sen. Mark Kelly (D- AZ); Rockstar's support for Biden's Last-Minute Act of Clemency. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired January 26, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:38]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Whirlwind week.
JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE: So help me God.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So help me God.
RAJU: Trump takes the reins of power and unleashes a torrent of change.
TRUMP: We won. But now the work begins.
RAJU: My panel will break down the avalanche of news.
And law and order as troops head to the border. Federal agents ramp up enforcement. What to watch as Trump's immigration crackdown enters week two.
Plus, moment of truth after Hegseth squeaks through.
TRUMP: Is Mitch a no vote? How about Mitch?
CLERK: Mr. McConnell? No.
RAJU: Trump's next picks take the stand in just days. Do they have what it takes?
And what one legendary musician has to do with Biden's last minute (AUDIO GAP).
INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (on camera): Good morning. And welcome to special edition of INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.
Well, it's been a rather eventful first week in President Donald Trump's second term. The president has wasted no time fulfilling some key promises to his MAGA base, announcing sweeping executive orders, pushing the limits of government in his own power while pulling back on America's presence around the world.
All of these already enacted some retribution on some of his perceived political enemies. If you can't keep up about what's been done, well, don't worry, we don't blame you. Give me the next two minutes or so to bring you up to speed.
So far, Trump has moved to reinstate the remain in Mexico program, reinstituted enforcement of the Hyde amendment, unveiled a $500 billion A.I. infrastructure investment, revoked transgender protections and agencies. He plays federal diversity employees on leave reassigned at least 20 senior DOJ officials sent additional troops to the southern border. He moved to open up more offshore drilling.
He suggested eliminating FEMA, establish a Department of Government Efficiencies, ousted the commandant of the Coast Guard, and rescinded a 60-year-old workplace discrimination protections. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, delayed a ban on TikTok for 75 days, announced the withdrawal from the World Health Organization and commuted the sentences of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
He made repeated false claims about trade. He used military aircrafts to deport migrants, made it easier to fire federal workers. He called for renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He revoked security protections for former officials.
He lifted a hold on heavy bomb deliveries to Israel, halted an app used for migrant asylum claims, surveyed Helene damage in North Carolina, he halted DOJ police reform agreements, fired at least a dozen inspectors general, paused federal leasing for wind farms, declared a national emergency at the southern border, froze nearly all foreign aid for 90 days. He banned diversity programs in federal agencies, allowed migrant arrests in schools and churches, held a phone call with the Saudi crown prince, threatened tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
Enacted a government wide hiring freeze, repeated false claims about the 2020 election, declared a national emergency for energy, surveyed wildfire damage in California, and reversed a third gender option on passports. He moved to declassify RFK, JFK, and MLK, Jr. files.
He took aim at support for electric vehicles. He pardoned 1,200 plus January 6th rioters. He renamed Mount Denali as Mount McKinley. Pardoned nearly two dozen anti-abortion activists, canceled scheduled flights for refugees, and he attempted to limit birthright citizenship.
Whew. That's just a taste of it all. With 1,455 days to go in his term. Now, to be clear, some of these actions are certain to face challenges
in the courts, and one generated enormous controversy just yesterday. That was his firing of at least a dozen government watchdogs whose job is to investigate waste, fraud and corruption in the federal government. His move appears in violation of a law requiring Congress to be notified 30 days in advance of such removals.
Trump, though, downplayed the move when speaking on Air Force One to reporters yesterday evening.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REPORTER: Can you talk to us about the firing of the inspectors general? Why did you do that?
TRUMP: Because it's a very common thing to do -- and not all of them.
Some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing the job. And it's a very standard thing to do.
[08:05:01]
REPORTER: Do you plan to bring your own people in those positions, Mr. President?
TRUMP: Not my people, they're not my people. I don't know anybody that would do that, but we'll put people in that who would be very good.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
RAJU: All right. Here to break me down -- break this all down with me is a great panel this morning. "USA Today's" Susan Page, Astead Herndon with "The New York Times", CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, and "The Washington Post's" Isaac Arnsdorf.
Good morning to you all. It is another busy morning. The first weekend of Donald Trump's second term. So Trump said that the firing of these inspectors general, whose job is to investigate corruption, fraud and abuse in the government, they do these intense reports. They're supposed to be independent. He said that's all standard practice. Well, it's actually not.
Ronald Reagan did do that in 1981. He removed all 15 confirmed and acting inspector generals, but then he got a considerable blowback. And then he reappointed several of those to those positions.
And then since then, between 2000 and 2020, there's been only one instance of a president removing an inspector general. None of them did that when they were coming into office.
And on top of that, there's a requirement that he has to notify Congress within 30 days of doing it. And he did not do that.
What do you make of this and the significance of Donald Trump's move? SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, USA TODAY: Well, I think it
shows us that looking at the history of modern presidents is not a useful exercise when it comes to what President Trump is going to do.
You know, he's only been president for -- for 164 hours, and look at how many things have changed. The inspector general firing is something of great consequence, but at least it's something that's within his power to do. The violation is not giving Congress 30 days notice.
We'll see if Congress objects to that. You know, Senator Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has taken the inspector general process pretty seriously when Biden was president, let's see how much he protests now that Trump violated this.
RAJU: Yeah. This is what Grassley, in fact, said yesterday. He said there may be a good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so, I'd like further explanation (AUDIO GAP) from removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.
And these are the agencies that we know of. We have about a dozen. There's some reports that it's up to 15 or so, but Republicans, they have leverage. They want to make -- they want to go after Trump on this. They can. But do you think they will?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think part of this, too, is a reminder of what these inspector generals do. They are the oversight for many of these massive federal agencies. I have pored over these documents myself, be it because of, for example, in the first term, the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy, which led to the separation of family.
The Justice Department had also done a report on that, where you start to see the inner workings of government, where there were shortcomings, where things weren't communicated the way they were expected. The same can be said for some of the State Department's policies, the Defense Department's policy.
So there are real consequences to Susan's point in terms of firing these. But as we have seen over the course of the week, as you have seen on Capitol Hill, Republicans have so far been bending to what the Trump administration wants.
So I think Grassley's statement is quite telling. He's leaving the door open to maybe be okay with some of this --
RAJU: Yeah.
ALVAREZ: -- but it is of great consequence, especially for those on the Hill who often call for these reports by the inspector general.
RAJU: Yeah. And, look, these investigators typically span between administrations. They don't have a term limit. They're supposed to be apolitical. We'll see how that plays out.
But just take a step back about how the first week has played out. I we read from all those actions that Donald Trump took that was just actually a taste of it. There was far more that he actually did. You guys wrote in "The Washington Post" about his flood the zone strategy. Trump's first week: Flood the zone. Repeat.
You know, look, this time compared to 2017, yeah, there was a lot happening in 2017 when he first came in. But it is much more strategic this time in terms of putting out so much at once.
ISAAC ARNSDORF, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Yeah, it's definitely more organized. I mean, at this time eight years ago, you remember the travel ban had just been enjoined and there were, you know, people having sit-ins in the airports and people not being let off their flights. So, you know, it's not that kind of chaos in the implementation. And, and many more actions all at once.
But I think we need to caution, you know, a lot of these presidential directives that he signed are not things that take immediate effect. The best example of that is the order on inflation. He didn't, you know, wave a magic wand and make prices come down. He directed his agencies to bring him plans to try to do something about inflation in the future.
Similarly, he's not eliminating FEMA with the stroke of a pen. It's not something he can do. He's going to sign an executive order to form a working group to review FEMA and make recommendations.
RAJU: What do you -- how do you see the Trump's first week, this onslaught of policies that he has put out in actions? And some may be affected -- take effect and some may never will?
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think you all hit on it. I think to Susan's point, looking at past precedent is not helpful for Donald Trump. He's really seeing this as a reshaped role that he thinks he has a mandate to reshape government. That's what the electorate sent them there to do.
[08:10:02]
And so I think that, you know, whether it be project 2025 or the things he said on the rallies, that's the part of his message we should look at, because that's what he's planning to implement. And I think it puts Democrats or I think opponents or even some media in a difficult position, because I do think there was a sense from the electorate that some of the government wasn't working right.
And so I -- you know, I don't know if Democrats want to be in a position of defending the agencies, as is defender of deep state, right. So I think why and what these agencies do is really important, telling Americans a story about the need for expertise. But they have to know that they're going up against a lack of trust in government.
That's what Donald Trump is seizing on. And I think that that's what he's made. The overarching message of that first week is I'm going to follow through. And I think one big difference between last time and this time is he has the support of a grassroots activated base, but there's not a resistance on the other side. To Isaac's point, like there's not the folks in the airports or storming down places upset at what he's going to do. And so he kind of has leeway to, I think, really expand or at least implement some of the more expansive reshaping that he wants to.
And it's not like congressional Republicans, you know, per Grassley's statement, have shown much to say, that they're willing to stop.
PAGE: You know, what strikes me is not only that Trump is different. He's more skilled. He understands more how to exercise levers of power.
But as you were saying, how the reception is different.
HERNDON: Yeah.
PAGE: I saw a phrase that an academic used in a quote this morning, preemptive obedience. And that's, I think, what were seeing from -- from executives, from tech titans, from some Democrats, some -- from some in the news media that Trump has not had to wage the battle that he had to wage in his first term to get people to take him seriously and in some cases, do what he wants them to.
RAJU: Because a lot of them are coming to him, right? They decided they want to be nice to him.
And California has been one example of that. You saw them going to California in the midst of the wildfires. A lot of the Democrats there playing a bit nice. Trump said he also played nice to Gavin Newsom, who they've had a verbal back and forth.
But here's one thing that will actually become a very significant issue -- what to do about how to rebuild. This is going to cause enormous amounts of money, tens of billions of dollars. Typically, Congress and the White House, they come together when it comes to natural disasters. They provide that kind of money.
This time, Trump is demanding something else in return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I want voter ID for the people of California, and they all want it right now. You have no -- you don't have voter ID. People want to have voter identification. You want to have proof of citizenship. Ideally, you have one day voting, but I just want -- voter ID is the start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: So voter ID -- look, I mean, typically, in these situations as I said, this go in there without any strings attached, not only is he talking about strings, he's talking about a complex policy issue that has fundamentally divided the two parties for years, as in exchange for billions of dollars in aid for California.
ALVAREZ: Right, and also using it as a condition for something that is usually bipartisan. I think this is the envelope that President Trump is always pushing, which is the issues that have had Republican and Democratic support. We're now finding -- finding that even those can create fissures. And that is true now with the aid, because even if he is conditioning this on voter ID and all the rest -- well, who exactly is going to provide that aid? Well, that would be FEMA, who just before he had given those comments on the tarmac, the president had said he was going to eliminate FEMA.
So there is a lot of contradicting messaging, even if those around him are more skilled, even if the president is more skilled, there are still a lot of questions as to where this would even come from if he were to condition on that.
RAJU: Yeah.
ALVAREZ: And even if Democrats were to get behind.
HERNDON: And he's saying it in North Carolina, as he's not talking about conditioning aid in those kind of storm ravaged communities where he explicitly asked, well, how many votes did I get here in Tennessee rather than in California? It's very like overtly partisan message, very kind of anti-presidential message for all Americans.
But we know that's Donald Trump, right? Like -- and I think like retribution is so much central this time. And it is the plan and it is what they are seeking to execute. And so I just think that, like the pretense is gone and, you know, they feel comfortable being able to say, California has to have conditions, while North Carolina and Tennessee doesn't.
And I think it's going to be a test to the limits of what some of these folks will accept to the preemptive obedience.
RAJU: Yeah. And the question ultimately is, is this bluster from Donald Trump or is it for real? And do they start to dig in? Is this the direction they take? That's going to be a big question, because California is going to be asking for a lot. How will Washington respond?
All right. Next, the president's immigration crackdown is beginning to take shape. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, an expert on all of this, will give us the latest in a matter of moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:19:19]
RAJU: Can President Trump deliver on what he promised the largest deportation operation ever carried out in American history? And how will the American public ultimately respond?
He's already signed a series of executive orders that effectively close off the U.S. southern border to asylum seekers, and lay the groundwork to swiftly deport migrants already in the country. With U.S. troops headed to the border and military aircraft being used for deportations, many communities are on edge, including in Newark, New Jersey, where the Democratic mayor there talked about the impact in the state's largest city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAS BARAKA, NEWARK, NJ: This just stokes fear. It creates panic in our community. You have business owners that are very, very afraid, besides the looming idea of these guys going into schools and churches have not helped as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:20:08]
RAJU: All right. My panel is back.
Priscilla, you're an expert. You cover these issues very closely. Trump has called for the largest deportation (AUDIO GAP). Is that possible? Are they laying the groundwork for that? And what is the latest on the ground as they're trying to move ahead with this?
ALVAREZ: So the biggest takeaway of this week was how quickly they moved to set the groundwork for a deportation operation. So what do I mean by that? What they did over the course of the week is launch a lot of memos and guidelines that essentially expanded the pool of people who could be eligible for deportation, people who, for example, could not prove that they were here for more than two years.
They, for example, could be put into a fast track deportation procedure, as well as pooling legal service providers from detention from these detention centers and talking to sources. That is so key for so many people because it is such a labyrinth immigration system to have to navigate. So over the course of the week, they were slowly doing this while also pulling guidelines like Immigration and Customs Enforcement being able to do arrests and enforcement actions near or in what they call sensitive areas schools, churches, hospitals, et cetera.
(AUDIO GAP)
This is all working toward what they want to see and execute on, which is this deportation operation.
I'll add one more thing to that, pulling in more federal agencies. There was a memo this week to pull in DEA, ATF, all the three letter agencies to bolster ICE, which is very limited in its resources to go arrest and detain. Now, as far as what is happening on the ground, it was targeted operations. That is what we have seen so far. That means going after public safety and national security threats.
The question that's looming is what the border czar has said, which is if they run into someone else who is undocumented, what happens to them? Will they bring them in? He says yes.
Now, that is similar to what we saw under Obama. But we could see this all over again, and were still waiting to see how that part plays out.
The border, though, show of force, that was really the message from the White House. So clear, by the way, that the White House was circulating the images of the migrants loading on the military aircraft of troops on the ground. These were images that they were putting out. Now the situation on the border is relatively quiet compared to what it has been. But certainly what they are trying to show is that we are clamping down on the southern border. We are restricting entry on the border. Were also drastically limiting who comes to the U.S. at all.
RAJU: Yeah, and here are the ICE numbers of -- the ICE arrests since this Thursday, 538 on Thursday, 593 on Friday, 286 on Saturday. That's the source of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
How do you see this playing out? I mean, obviously, this is going to be very difficult to do what Donald Trump promised, but they're trying to show that they are moving in that direction.
ARNSDORF: Yeah, the White House is thrilled with that coverage and those images. That's exactly the message that they're trying to project.
But we -- a lot of this is stuff that the agency was doing already and is continuing to do being publicized more. It's now that they have a secretary of homeland security confirmed. You could see --
RAJU: Kristi Noem just yesterday.
ARNSDORF: You're right. Exactly. You could see more new initiatives going forward with that leadership in place. And these operations take time to plan. That was not something that you could pull off in the first week.
RAJU: And just how does the American public view all this? That's always a question that we like to ask here on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY, "The New York Times" poll out just last week, deporting all immigrants in the U.S. illegally -- who are here illegally. This is the question that was posed to voters, 55 percent to support it, 42 percent. That sounds like a clear majority there.
When you drill down, though, and you ask about who, though, who is the people should be deported. The issue about dark immigrants, of course, those are the people, the children. People came at a young age to the United States, undocumented individuals, DACA immigrants.
Should they be protected from deportation? Just six, just 34 percent oppose that. So that means 62 percent believe that they should stay here in the country. That's what makes this complicated for the Trump administration to carry out.
Tom Homan, the border czar says everybody is on the table here. They can get rid of everyone who's illegal here, could get on the table, could be out of the country. But when you drill down, it gets much more complicated.
PAGE: You know, that's true. It's interesting that the numbers are clearly in support of even the phrase mass deportation. We -- that is one of the issues that most animates Trump's base, but it also drew other voters to him, this issue of immigration.
But I wonder if there's a point where if you see children being taken out of schools because they're here illegally, or you see people being taken out of churches because they're here illegally, families divided are DACA recipients, these kids who were brought here illegally by their parents when they were children being deported, does that switch the public opinion in a way, or does it moderate public support for this?
[08:25:02[
ALVAREZ: Well --
RAJU: Go ahead, go ahead.
ALVAREZ: I was just going to say this is happening within the context of the last four years, which I think makes it very unique. We were talking in the last block about what about the Democrats and their response to this.
Well, this is after migrant surges along the U.S. southern border, two Democratic led cities. So constituents in those cities really had to grapple with what border towns have had to grapple with for a long time. And that, I think, really shifted the public sentiment to accept this deportation operation because they were seeing these influxes in their own city and were being talked about by their Democratic mayors and governors.
HERNDON: I think that's absolutely true. We should say that the Republican kind of trolling attempt on this issue worked. I mean, when we were on the trail talking to folks in Chicago and big blue cities that didn't really see this issue as tangibly before, it is a palpable difference that they now talk about seeing folks on their corners and how that changed their perception of the issue.
I would also say that there should be an acknowledgment that the country is much closer to where Donald Trump has been on immigration now than they were when he first arrived in 2017 -- or in 2016. And so that's really helped him on this kind of signature issue.
But you're right that the gradations of what we see here are going to matter. And to bring together a point we were talking about with the kind of public reaction specific to immigration, what happens if we see the images of family separation? What happens -- I remember back in Trumps first term that the searing image of the person with using the whip and that kind of stirred up kind of public opinion. Will those type of images, if they come again, have the same type of effect?
I think that's going to be like an important question. Is that how far they go is one thing. And then the second part is, how far will folks willing to accept? Because I'm not sure there's the same level of pushback that really did constrain Trump on these issues previously.
RAJU: It's a good point. That could certainly change perception, but I'm sure they will also be very controlling about what information ultimately gets out to the --
HERNDON: Absolutely.
RAJU: -- to the public and what images come out like that military aircraft image. This is just unfolding much more to cover in the months ahead.
All right. When we come back, though, the vote from Friday night that had Capitol Hill buzzing and what it means for Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:29]
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: One of the most intriguing developments from new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmation came late Friday night when former GOP leader Mitch McConnell gave a thumbs down on the floor, leaving VP J.D. Vance to break a tie.
Now, in a scathing statement, McConnell said Hegseth, a former Fox News host and military veteran, lacked the qualifications for the job and that his claim of having, quote, "dust on the boots" is, quote, "not a precondition for success".
Now McConnell, who's been icy towards Trump since the January 6th attack, might be a rank-and-file senator now, but in this tight majority, how else could he impact Trumps agenda? As for Trump, he said Friday night that he's taking the win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you disappointed that McConnell voted no?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't even know that. No, I don't know that.
I just heard that we won. Winning is what matters, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, this is a fascinating situation because McConnell had held his cards very close to his vest. No one really knew what he was going to do. And he has made clear that he is his shackles are off, that he's no longer in leadership. He's told that privately to his colleagues.
This is in many ways a message that McConnell was sending to the Trump White House.
SUSAN PAGE, U.S.A. TODAY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, no. He didn't lobby others to join him, right? He only needed one more vote to keep Pete Hegseth from being the secretary of Defense.
But he did vote against him, something he never would have done in the leadership, right? He would have -- he would have toed the line for the -- for the Republican president. So does he become a voice like the two women senators, Susan Collins
and Lisa Murkowski, that the Republicans really can't count on, which means they are always just one vote away on these controversial confirmations from being unable to get it over the finish line.
RAJU: And that's an interesting point, because the question is, what are the issues that he is going to dig in on national security?
He's the chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. That is a very important committee that oversees federal spending on military issues and defense policy on Pete Hegseth's department.
So that's going to be something to watch as well as he's the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which is -- he said he's going to protect the prerogatives of the Senate if Trump tries to impose -- institute recess appointments. Watch for McConnell to push back on that.
This is something that when McConnell -- sorry, a former senate leadership aide, told me yesterday about McConnell. He said that there isn't a single ideological similarity between McConnell and the Murkowski-Collins wing of the party.
He tells me this. "He's deadly serious about being totally uncompromising in his defense and foreign policy views. And two, somebody in the Trump world is going to need to come up with a McConnell strategy because he could be a real problem for their entire agenda if they don't come up with something."
ASTEAD HERNDON, NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: I'm a little skeptical. I mean, I think --
RAJU: You think he'll fall in line.
HERNDON: I don't think hell fall in line, but I think he'll definitely -- it feels to me like he's prioritizing his legacy, right?
RAJU: Right.
HERNDON: -- post January 6th, we know that there's been a rift between them. And now that he's out of leadership, it feels like on the issues he cares the most about, he can make a point about the ways the party has changed and the ways that we know he has been uncomfortable with.
And it reminds me of more like John McCain in the first term or moments of Mitt Romney, someone who has kind of an individual clout based on their years in office that can then use that on certain issues.
But I don't think we've seen Mitch McConnell be willing to put Republicans in a losing position because of it, right. There has not been a time that I can remember where he is, like moved to sink legislation because of it.
[08:34:50]
HERNDON: So until that, I would think I would be a little skeptical of him being someone that will doom the second Trump administration.
But I do think he wants to make a point about Republicans where they have been, where he wants them to go, and that's done with legacy in mind.
RAJU: This is what you should watch out for is the nominations that are coming up, including Tulsi Gabbard. She has her confirmation hearing this coming Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Her views on national security issues have not been very in line with Mitch McConnell or several other Republicans.
She's probably -- there's the list that you see on your screen there. Robert F. Kennedy jr. Also, someone to watch out for. His hearing is this Wednesday, Kash Patel on Thursday.
RFK Jr. his views on vaccine. McConnell came out very strong early on when it turned out that an RFK Jr. attorney had petitioned to revoke the polio vaccine authorization. McConnell pushed back on RFK Jr. to say, I don't I want the polio vaccine to be on the market.
But those nominees, particularly when it comes to Tulsi Gabbard, it's uncertain if she's going to get the job.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, but that's the interesting nominee, right? Because of how we've seen Democrats had at some point overlap with Tulsi, and so can they get votes there? We don't know.
I think what's interesting about McConnell is that if he is doing what you're saying, which is trying to save his legacy, it just so happens the things that he cares the most about are integral to, for example, the president's signature issue, because they are looking to the Defense Department to shore up things for immigration, for example, the show of force, as we talked about, but also money, a lot of Defense money going toward this issue.
So I think that -- what perhaps happens behind the scenes there, not only on these confirmation votes, but how he reconciles what he cares about and where he thinks these monies and these departments should be focused on are being sort of thwarted to do other things.
RAJU: And this is the other thing to watch out for is about how Trump tries to impose discipline on these members. He was successful in doing that for those members who are up for reelection.
Joni Ernst for one. She fell in line after wavering a bit on Pete Hegseth. Thom Tillis, he's up for reelection. He was a last minute uncertain where he was going to go. He's up for reelection. He voted for him.
Mitch McConnell, we don't know if he's going to run for reelection. He probably is not, that's the expectation. He may not be susceptible to those pressures.
Others as well. How will they deal with the backlash? I talked to Senator Lisa Murkowski. She is one who has broken ranks repeatedly, voted against Pete Hegseth.
I asked her specifically, are you concerned about the backlash from Donald Trump?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): It should not be a situation where you Feel that you can't exercise your conscience, your judgment, because of fear of retribution or retaliation.
This is still America as best I know.
RAJU: Trump said he was surprised by your vote.
MURKOWSKI: I didn't talk to him. He didn't talk to me about it. Whether it's the president or the majority leader or the minority leader. I think they've all come to recognize that Lisa Murkowski does her homework and does what she thinks is right for her constituents and for the right reasons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: I mean, there are some senators who are going to be difficult for Trump to get them to fall in line.
ISAAC ARNSDORF, WASHINGTON POST NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, that's so interesting that she said that he didn't even call.
RAJU: Yes. At least some people should have like, thought, you know, maybe she's in play. We should or maybe they wrote her off right away.
ARNSDORF: Well, I mean, Trump does this thing, you know, he came very close to abandoning Hegseth. And he does this thing where he doesn't throw in completely behind people because he wants to see how it works out.
And then that gives him an opportunity if things don't work out, it's like, well, this isn't me, you know. If I had pushed as hard as I could have, I could have gotten them over the line.
It's sort of what Susan was talking about okaying in advance. You know, he likes to hold back. It kind of gives him an out if things don't work out. And it just kind of keeps that in reserve that he still hasn't actually made the calls and put all the pressure on that he could.
PAGE: But how many Republican -- elected Republican officials are there who would endorse what Lisa Murkowski just said, or who would do exactly what Lisa Murkowski did?
RAJU: Two, three.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: That's right. All right.
PAGE: There's not that very many.
RAJU: Yes, that's not very many. Which is why Trump is confident he can get a lot done.
All right. Coming up he was almost Kamala Harris' running mate. So what does Senator Mark Kelly think about how his party should react to Trump.
And later, what's the connection between a last-minute Biden action and Little Steven? Well, you'll want to hear what the rock legend told me.
[08:39:09]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: It's only been a week, but Democrats are struggling with their strategy in the minority in the new Trump era.
This week, I spoke with Senator Mark Kelly, who almost was Kamala Harris' running mate and is seen as one of the emerging Democratic voices. So what is his prescription for the way forward? I asked him starting with his take on Trump's blanket January 6th pardons.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): What happened the other day with these pardons, it was outrageous.
My parents were both police officers. And to see him pardon criminals who assaulted cops is I think it's unprecedented in our country's history and I don't think it's going to age well.
I just talked with a Capitol police officer not five minutes ago in this building and how he felt about this. And he said it's been really tough.
RAJU: These have all been coming fast and furious. He's been -- all these executive actions. There's so many things.
How do you focus on what push back against and what not to? I mean, there's birthright citizenship. There's withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords. There's all these pardons, and there are many more.
KELLY: There's so much you can't focus on everything but the birthright citizenship issue, you know, I encourage the current president to read the Constitution.
[08:44:50]
RAJU: What do you take away from 2024 and how voters view the Democratic Party on the issue of immigration?
KELLY: You know, it's sometimes hard to find, you know, common ground. We've demonstrated we can do that. I mean, what do I take away from this? It's a contentious issue. RAJU: Do you think voters think the Democrats are not taking this
issue seriously enough?
KELLY: Well, I -- think we have, you know, I've always taken this seriously. I think there's a number of us --
RAJU: Not you, but I'm talking about the party in general, how the party's perceived.
KELLY: I think that's I think when you look at leading up to the election, you know, what the current president said about this issue. I think his policies, big picture resonated better, you know, with the American people. That's why he got elected. It's one of the reasons.
RAJU: How do you view yourself in this moment as the party is searching for a leader. In 2017 you guys were battling everything, and you weren't here at that point, but everything.
KELLY: I don't think we want that scenario all over again. This president was elected. I don't agree with everything he does, but it doesn't help our country, it doesn't help our future if we oppose everything.
RAJU: Do you think voters would resent the fact that you guys opposed everything?
KELLY: I think, and I think they should, you know, because that's not in the best interest of all of us.
RAJU: You think about 2028 running?
KELLY: I'm Focused on all these issues that we've been talking about.
RAJU: People.
KELLY: Border security.
RAJU: People listen to that and say that he's thinking about it because he's not --
KELLY: No I'm not. I'm not thinking about it. No, I'm focused on this job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: So, I mean, look, there's some that have come out, like the folks on the left and said, we need to fight everything. Ilhan Omar said, why are they even going to the inauguration?
And here you have senators like Mark Kelly saying that is not the right approach.
HERNDON: Yes, I think that that's going to be the challenge for Democrats is to pick and choose. But the biggest thing, I think when I look back at the lessons of '24 -- I think back to when, you know, at the beginning, in the summer of 2022, I called back a lot of people who I met on the trail right before Biden won, as we were restarting our podcast.
And I think at that moment there was a legitimate immigration crisis, a legitimate inflation crisis, and the Biden administration was not speaking to that problem at all. They weren't even acknowledging it.
And so I think more than any individual lesson about resistance or left or right or middle, the Democratic Party needs to get back in conversation with its base and start to have -- start to reflect the tones of the folks that were in the room for the last four years.
And so I think that can look like Ilhan Omar, that can actually look like Mark Kelly. But what they need is a more diverse set of strategies that speak to the widening part of their base that did not feel heard over the last four years.
ALVAREZ: Well, and Mark Kelly, to your point, singled out birthright citizenship and the attempt by the Trump administration to end it.
Well, there is a legal challenge, multiple legal challenges. They want the legal fight. And if anything, they are getting what they have wanted, which is for this debate about whether birthright citizenship should be allowed for the children of undocumented immigrants.
That has been a debate happening on the right for some time now. Now they get to have it in the open.
RAJU: And one of the things that's different than other the tone of other members, Democrats. One, Senator Chris Murphy, who said that this is the unraveling of democracy.
It's not about to happen. It's happening right now. You don't hear that from someone like Senator Mark Kelly. They're not using the "democracy is at risk" message anymore.
ARNSDORF: But if they're picking and choosing, what have they picked? I mean, what was the Democratic message or the Democratic position on any of these nominees, any of these policy actions over the week? We just didn't hear it at all.
RAJU: Do you think that Kelly is at 2028 contender?
PAGE: Yes.
RAJU: You do.
PAGE: Well --
RAJU: Yes.
PAGE: -- I'm focused on my job now. I think of Arizona. I really care about these issues. What does that say to you?
RAJU: Yes. It says to me that that's very, very possible.
And also I just mentioned Chris Murphy. He seems like someone who could be possible as well. So there'll be a lot of people who could potentially be up there but there is a long way to go.
All right. Coming up, Joe Biden, Stevie Van Zandt and the E Street Band. We'll be right back.
[08:48:46]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: Just minutes before leaving office, President Biden issued a flurry of pardons, including preemptively to his own family members.
That means some news flew under the radar, including one commutation for indigenous activist Leonard Peltier. In 1977, Peltier was convicted of the murders of two FBI agents in South Dakota. Peltier, now 80, has spent more than half of his life in federal prison, spawning a years' long campaign by an array of groups and artists who have advocated for his release and contended he was wrongfully convicted.
Now, one of his biggest supporters may come as a surprise. That's Hall of Fame rocker Stevie Van Zandt, here with the E Street Band and, of course, Bruce Springsteen's right-hand man, also known as Little Steven.
He had that infamous role in "The Sopranos" as Silvio Dante. And Van Zandt has been lobbying for Peltier's release for more than three decades, regularly visiting Washington to make his case, even writing a song dedicated to his cause.
(MUSIC)
RAJU: Now back in 2023, I caught up with Van Zandt on one of his trips to Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Someone of your stature, someone who's, you know, you're on the tour, you're touring with the band, you're acting. You've made this a central cause of your life. I mean, how come this has become such a passion for you to see this happen?
STEVIE VAN ZANDST, SINGER: I mean, injustice just bugs the hell out of me, man. You know, I don't like seeing it. And I just feel terrible about it, you know, every single day.
[08:54:45]
VAN ZANDT: I've been working on this every single day for 35 years. He's completely innocent. And it's just -- it's just one of those tragedies that needs to -- that needs to end, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, Peltier will soon be a free man, but it has sparked a backlash in some quarters, including from the then FBI director, Christopher Wray, who warned Biden in a letter that releasing Peltier would be, quote, "shattering" to the victim's loved ones and undermine the principles of justice and accountability that our government should represent.
And GOP Senator Mike Rounds, who represents South Dakota, told me this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): Anytime you murder FBI agents, that sends the wrong message to the rest of the country when you commute a sentence.
RAJU: People say he was wrongfully convicted.
ROUNDS: Well, I believe in the rule of law. And he was convicted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: The Biden White House cited the broad coalition of support for Peltier's release. And, quote, the "substantial length" of time he has already spent in prison. Peltier will be released to home confinement on February 18th.
That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju. Follow the show at INSIDE POLITICS and follow me on Instagram @manu_raju.
Up next, "State Of The Union With Jake Tapper And Dana Bash". Dana is joined by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. Well see you next time.
[08:56:04]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)