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Inside Politics

Arrest Made in Deadly Pacific Palisades Fire; Both Parties Dig in as Government Shutdown Extends to Day 8; White House Considers Mass Firings and No Back Pay for Federal Workers; Troops Amass Near Chicago and Portland Ahead of Court Showdown; Comey Pleads Not Guilty, Will Ask Judge to Throw Out Charges. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 08, 2025 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL ESSAYLI, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY: -- starting shortly after midnight on New Year`s day of this year and which eventually became the Palisades fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, we are working to determine whether this suspect has an attorney. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF `INSIDE POLITICS`: All right, Josh, thank you so much for that. I was just driving down the PCH yesterday and it is really remarkable how devastated it is. It`s hard to imagine somebody would do that intentionally elsewhere in the Palisades. Thanks for the reporting, Josh.

And up next, there is no good shutdown. That`s a quote from Nancy Pelosi during another big shutdown fight back in 2018. And here we are again. The former speaker will be right here in studio after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:12]

BASH: We are eight days into a government shutdown that has no end in sight. Joining me now is a veteran of shutdown fights that seemed to rile Capitol Hill every few years. The former House Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is here at the table. Day 8 of the government -- first of all, thank you so much for being here in person.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) SPEAKER EMERITA: My pleasure.

BASH: We are at Day 8. This is a real stalemate, unless you know something I don`t. But right now, what we`re seeing is President Trump and Republican leaders are saying they`re not going to negotiate on extending the healthcare subsidies until the government reopens. So I guess my first question is, what`s wrong with that position? Why not open the government and then negotiate?

PELOSI: The government was opened and then the Republicans closed it because they did not want to extend that CARE subsidies. That means that we`ll raise the cost of healthcare to America`s working families. They had their chance for all of this, but they didn`t do it. Now they`re saying, oh, if you open it, we`ll do it. I don`t believe that. But nonetheless, here`s the thing. The gov -- the reason that the government is shut down is because the Republicans have insisted on taking down the subsidies, also Medicare, Medicaid, all of that, food for children, hundreds of billions of dollars for SNAP to give a tax cut to the wealthiest people in the -- wealthiest corporations in America.

You don`t expect us to say, "OK, we`ll agree to your giving a tax cut to the richest people in America and increasing the cost of healthcare" to open government. It`s going to be up to them. They closed, they shut down government, and they`re going to have to open up government. They have -- the Republican, every shutdown since the `90s is when I -- when I`ve been around anyway, has been a Republican shutdown.

BASH: Just -- I mean, I understand what you`re saying about where the differences are and they`re very big. They are voting yes on, what we say here in Washington, a clean CR, a bill to keep the government running for seven weeks, and Democrats are voting no, and for the reasons you just said. So, how are they shutting down the government?

PELOSI: First of all, it isn`t a clean CR.

BASH: OK.

PELOSI: So, let`s not stipulate to that.

BASH: So, right -- what`s not clean? What do they have in it?

(CROSSTALK)

PELOSI: It`s not a clean CR. (inaudible) going into that. The point is Democrats who created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, all of that, are now being asked reject that so we can give a tax cut to the rich. We`re not doing it. And it isn`t a question of, well, let`s come back together so we can discuss it. That ain`t -- that isn`t going to happen. They had that chance. Now, they just have to open government with it as a stipulation.

BASH: So how do -- how do you get there? Would it be the president saying he`s willing to engage in negotiations? Is it -- I mean, what do you actually need tangibly to get there?

PELOSI: Well, let me just say, I`m so pleased with Hakeem Jeffries and the role he`s playing for our House Democrats, Chuck, of course. But here`s the thing, everything important springs from the people. The public knows that this is wrong for them. This is a kitchen table issue for them. This is a kitchen table issue. They want costs lowered. The Republicans are raising the cost. And this is -- our members have been all over the country spreading the word Lincoln (ph). Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish almost anything. And that is what we were doing. They`re going to hear from their own constituents that this has to -- government has to open up under these conditions.

BASH: And the conditions are that you want them to just automatically raise or extend, I should say, the subsidies for Obamacare?

PELOSI: Yeah. Not to cancel them, but also it has to be in the law.

BASH: But, when you say cancelled --

(CROSSTALK)

PELOSI: It can`t be (inaudible).

BASH: They expire at the end of the year. So --

PELOSI: Yeah. So they must be expired (ph) --

BASH: Without any kind of negotiation over it? Because they want reforms.

PELOSI: What reforms do they want? They want to redo. They want --

BASH: So, you just don`t buy any of it?

PELOSI: What do you mean reforms? They --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I`m just telling you what they`ve been on TV saying constantly.

(CROSSTALK)

PELOSI: I know that`s what they say on TV. But what -- look at history. Look at the experience. When he was president before, oh, he was going to whatever, he said Obamacare sucks. That`s what he said. Obamacare sucks. It`s not about reforms. We`re all interested in reforms all the time. This -- the subsidies are a reform under Biden. They are an improvement over the Affordable Care Act. And I`m very proud of the Affordable Care Act and the reforms.

But they have not -- they -- they wanted over 70 times, they voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

[12:40:00]

BASH: But this is a very specific part of the Affordable Care Act that you know better than I, is popular in a lot of their districts.

PELOSI: It`s very popular. And that is what --

(CROSSTALK) BASH: -- Across the country.

PELOSI: When you say, how are we going open it? We`re going to open it because it`s very popular and well, among Democrats, among Republicans and among independents.

BASH: But you also mentioned making cuts to programs that Congress had already approved.

PELOSI: Yes.

BASH: -- raising (ph). So, you`re talking about a wide array, a wide range of wants and sort of demands that Democrats have. I`m still -- you`ve been through this kind of thing many, many times. I still can`t see, and maybe you can explain it, how you get from here to there, because it feels like we`re going to be in this for a long time.

PELOSI: Well, when President Trump was president before, it was 35 days.

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: And I remind you, he said, "I`m very proud of this shutdown." That`s the words he used. Because they don`t believe in governance and then they don`t believe in the work that government does. So now, they`re saying they may not pay the employees that do the work, which the law that he signed says they must pay the employees.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Well, let me ask you about that. I`m glad you brought that up because not only are they suggesting that perhaps they will not pay some furloughed workers.

PELOSI: Yes.

BASH: They`re also still holding out the possibility of just firing federal workers. They`re -- it`s a pressure tactic against you, against you and your fellow Democrats, to do whatever it takes to vote yes to reopen the government.

PELOSI: No, I know. With all due respect, they were going to fire these people anyway. Just look at their game plan. They were firing them anyway.

BASH: So, you think it`s an excuse?

PELOSI: And workers know that. The workers are better informed than most of us on this because they`re bearing the brunt of it. And they know they were -- had this firing lined up for a long time.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: So you don`t buy it? You think this is an excuse.

PELOSI: Of course, I don`t buy it, but I don`t buy it, but there`s clarity here. There`s no use confusing the issue with, oh, they might have, and would`ve, and should have, and all that. No, they`re giving a tax cut to the rich, $4 trillion tax cut to the rich at the expense of food in the mouths of babies, healthcare for families, Medicaid for long-term healthcare for seniors, as well as for poor children, not to even mention the Medicare cuts that they have, but I will mention them.

In any event, don`t ask Democrats to say, we are going to reject everything we stand for, in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. They`re firing so many people at Social Security, it`s hard to get your benefit.

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: So this is a different -- a budget is a statement of values. What is important to you as a nation is reflected in your budget.

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: And they have shown what is not important to them.

BASH: And I know you know. We`re asking Republicans tough questions too, because the question is where is there a compromise? There has to be at some point. I want to ask you about what`s going on in some Democratic-led cities. President Trump this morning, called for Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, the Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker to be jailed. Yesterday, he hinted that he might invoke the Insurrection Act to send U.S. troops into cities. You obviously come from a very well-known Democratic city, San Francisco.

PELOSI: Yeah.

BASH: -- which so far, the president is not immediately talking about sending troops in. But, what should the Democrats in these cities do? What can they do?

PELOSI: Well, let`s talk about what the president shouldn`t do. The president shouldn`t be sending troops in. People in these cities don`t want to live under military rule running their cities. What we want, we all have as a first responsibility, the safety of the American people, whether it`s national security globally or community safety in their communities. And that`s where we should be working together to keep community safe.

One thing he could do is help pass violence -- ending gun violence in our country because that`s where much of the violence springs from. But the tactics that the president are using are highly unusual and not to -- not to be respected. If there were a situation where the locals see disorder and they need national folks to come in, they would be asking for it. But they aren`t. And by the way, sending troops from one state to the next these --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Have you --

PELOSI: I feel --

BASH: Have you seen that before?

PELOSI: -- sorry for the troops.

BASH: Have you seen that before? I mean, we see it when it`s requested.

PELOSI: When it`s requested, that`s a different story in case of natural -- all kinds of other reasons. But to do public safety, this is a political move on the part of the president and saying that the governor and the mayor should be imprisoned, "Please, come on. Be presidential, Mr. President. Honor the office you serve in. Don`t be so deranged and political as to how you make decisions."

[12:45:00]

BASH: Don`t go anywhere. When we come back, I want to talk to you about something that`s happening at about a month. And that is voters in Nancy Pelosi`s home state of California are going to decide whether to temporarily do away with California`s independent redistricting commission. We`ll discuss that after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: I am back with Democratic Congresswoman and former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi from the great state of California. And that`s where I want to start.

[12:50:00]

Prop 50, it`s about redistricting. It`s a ballot initiative. It`s going to be up in front of voters and you said four weeks from yesterday.

PELOSI: Today.

BASH: OK. And just so people remember, because it`s maybe been a minute, what it would do is that it would get rid of the independent commission on redistricting. Democrats like yourself argue that it is an important counterbalance to what Republicans are doing, especially, in Texas, which is redistricting in the middle of the decade. Do you think it`s going to pass?

PELOSI: Yes. But before I answer that question, because redistricting is about elections and I want to just make one more point about the budget and what we talked about earlier. I want to declare Donald Trump is the worst president for children in America`s history. I always say to people, know your why. Why do you want to be in politics? My why is for the children, and whether it`s the food they eat, the healthcare they have, the education they have, the economic security of their families, the health and wellbeing of the environment, and safety from gun violence that they have. He is the worst president for children. Donald Trump is the worst president for children in American history. That`s what makes the elections important. The -- I just want to correct what you said. We`re not -- it doesn`t do away with the commission.

BASH: Temporarily.

PELOSI: Well, you didn`t say temporarily.

(LAUGH)

BASH: Oh, I thought I did. OK. I said it before. Thank you for making sure.

(CROSSTALK)

PELOSI: No, but that`s very temporary.

BASH: Temporarily, until 2030.

PELOSI: Because we have, as part of our for-the-people legislation, commission redistricting for the whole country. We don`t want legislative -- political redistricting. We want commission redistricting. But if they`re going to go midterm -- which -- mid- decade, which is not right, and they`re going to do it legislatively, we cannot disarm unilaterally. So we said, if they would back off, we`ll back off. We`re not interested in doing this. However, if they do for this election, and then we`ll go back.

BASH: So you`re going to win?

PELOSI: We`ll go back to commission. Yes, we will win. But we don`t take anything for granted. We own the ground. We get out the vote. We organize. Our House Democrats have been great and sharing their districts, so that we have -- we`ll pick up five more, hold four very strongly. The state legislature accepted that those maps vary almost universally. And our governor has been just outstanding in making the case to the people of California, Gavin Newsom.

BASH: So you think you have the votes, and you are saying, I know you don`t take anything for granted.

PELOSI: Right.

BASH: And that would mean you`ll pick up five Democratic seats, hold four that had been kind of swing districts.

PELOSI: If the election were today.

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: But we take every -- one day at a time for our victory.

BASH: What happens if in Texas, a lawsuit that has been filed in order to stop that map, the new Republican map from going into place before the midterms in 2026, what happens if that`s successful? Will you somehow take your foot off the brakes? PELOSI: No, we`re down the path. They had their chance to withdraw. Now, we`re down the path, but we will still go back to commission redistricting.

BASH: OK. Let me just put a button on this because you did say, and it is true that what is going to be on the ballot is temporary. But what if Texas -- what if Texas never goes back? Do you really think this independent commission will come back after 2030, even if Texas doesn`t return to the map that it has now?

PELOSI: Well, you`re asking me, will we return --

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: -- to a commission? Yes, we will.

BASH: OK.

PELOSI: That is what we believe in.

BASH: Yeah.

PELOSI: That is what Zoe Lofgren`s bill, Chair of our California delegation has had that legislation for a long time. National, everybody in the country doing commission redistricting.

BASH: Speaking of things that will be on the ballot this November --

PELOSI: Yeah.

BASH: In Virginia. Democrats are running hard and there is a Democrat running for Attorney General who`s embroiled in a scandal over text messages in which he, the Democrat, said that the GOP Speaker of the House of Delegates should get two bullets to the head for how he paid tribute to a former moderate Democratic lawmaker who died. He has apologized. Should he get out of the race?

PELOSI: Well, that`s up to the people. The leaders in Virginia, they have said he has apologized. What I understand is they say that on balance, he`s a better person to be Attorney General, but that`s up to them. But I wish there would be enough fuss of all the times that people have said they were going to put a bullet in my head, right, in public -- in the public domain.

BASH: I think it`s because of that, which, that`s one of the reasons I wanted to ask you that --

PELOSI: Yeah.

BASH: You are somebody who knows all too well in a horrific way.

[12:55:00]

PELOSI: We have to get rid of that kind of language. I mean, it`s just not appropriate, I don`t Think -- BASH: If you were Abigail Spanberger, who`s the Democrat running for governor, would you call on him to step aside?

PELOSI: She has to do it -- she has to -- she`s going to be governor. She`s running very well. Everybody is very proud of her candidacy. And her race is her race and her state is her state. And it`s up to her. I really don`t get involved in other people`s races that the Mayor of New York, the this of that (ph). It`s up to the people in that state. I respect their judgment and wish them well. And I, she and Mikie Sherrill will both be new women governors and I`m very excited about that.

BASH: Nancy Pelosi, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

PELOSI: Oh, just one more thing.

BASH: Oh, go ahead.

PELOSI: Because the former head of the FBI --

BASH: Oh, James Comey?

PELOSI: -- has been accused of lying to Congress, there`s one point I want to make and that is nobody who has lied more to Congress than Donald Trump. And that`s why I tore up his speech because it was a manifesto of lies. And I said at the time, so it`s so cute almost that he`s accusing somebody of lying to Congress.

BASH: Right. Obviously, he wasn`t under oath. It`s different.

PELOSI: Doesn`t matter. He is the president of the United States speaking to the Congress of the United States.

BASH: Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. Appreciate it. And thank you for joining "Inside Politics." "CNN News Central" starts after a quick break.

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