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Homan: Minneapolis Deportation "Surge" Is Ending; Congress Running Out Of Time To Reach Deal On DHS Funding; Six House Republicans Break With Trump On tariffs; Newly Revised Jobs Numbers For 2025 Are Worst In Five Years; Guthrie's Neighbors Asked For Video From Jan. 11 & 31. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired February 12, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: The ICE surge in Minneapolis is ending, but the political fallout rages on.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

For weeks, the nation was gripped with disturbing images from Minneapolis, like this. Violence unrest and the death of two American citizens at the hands of federal agents.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

BASH: The brutality of ICE led to countless protests across the Twin Cities, and today, it appears the public pressure and the political backlash are having a real world, world effect. Here's border czar Tom Homan this morning with the major announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude. A significant draw down has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now Homan did say a, quote, small footprint of personnel will stay in the area for a period of time to transition command back to local officials. He also insists this does not change the Trump administration focus more broadly on immigration enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMAN: President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that's what this country is going to get. We're going to have a mass deportation. President Trump promised that and we're committed to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: My wonderful panel is here to discuss this and more. Nia?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Listen, this was inevitable after millions of Americans saw two Americans shot dead in the streets of Minneapolis. This is what the president, this is what the administration had to do. It was -- I think initially it was thought they would do it immediately, because it was such a terrible moment for the country to see on their phones and on their televisions. They slow walked it. But this -- it was always going to end this way because of the way the public has reacted to this.

You have Homan there saying, you know, this is what Americans voted for, mass deportation. They didn't vote for it in this way, right? In this sort of chaotic, deadly, you use the word are brutal, this is not what they voted for. And so, I think it's a day that was inevitable because of those protests, because of the images, but it's also very sad, right? And if you think about two Americans lost their lives, that did not have to happen, right?

You think about Obama, he deported 3 million people. He was known as the deporter in chief. Nobody got shot in the face. Nobody got shot dead in the street. When that was happening, there was -- there was a way to do this. Trump sort of wanted the images of brutality as a sort of striking fear in the hearts of people and as a display of power, and it backfired -- and backfired in a big way.

BASH: Well, it was the images, and it was also the personnel. You talk about Obama as the deporter in chief. You know who helped him do that?

HENDERSON: Tom Homan.

BASH: Tom Homan.

HENDERSON: Yeah.

BASH: Which people may forget, he was sidelined. And we had Greg Bovino go in. That obviously didn't go well. The homeland security secretary had some, I think, very fair to say, missteps along the way. And let's look at where public opinion is, just to kind of do a snapshot.

This is the latest Fox News poll. Questions about whether ICE deportation efforts have gone too far or too aggressive. Now, 59 percent and it was just, you know, six months ago, it was 10 points lower than that. And then the question about the president's immigration policies, his handling of immigration and border security. Now, approval is only 40 percent, disapproval is 60 percent. He is very far under water on his number one issue that he cares the most about domestically.

TAMARA KEITH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Right. And the thing that he believes he was elected to do, the thing that was his strength in his first term, the thing that helped propel him back into office. But what we are hearing from voters and focus groups, what we're seeing in these polls is not like this. People are actually still pretty happy with his handling of the border, and President Trump has tried to refocus America's attention on the border, because what's happening in internally, inside America with ICE and CPB, that sort of enforcement is the chaos that voters talk about not signing up for.

[12:05:00]

BASH: And the political fallout that we talked about at the beginning of this program is playing out where you spend your days on Capitol Hill and the government is largely open. But the Department of Homeland Security is about to shut down because the Democrats have felt emboldened by the backlash that they want changes, and we'll put the changes as we have. As we've been reporting on this that they are demanding in exchange for funding the Department of Homeland Security, and Republicans are saying, no.

JOHN BRESNAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Yeah. The White House gave an offer to Democrats last night. Democrats haven't formally rejected it, but they're rejecting it. You know, people forget how big the Department of Homeland Security is. It's 260,000 employees. It's an enormous post, 9/11 department. They took everything that was somewhat national security related and wasn't in the Pentagon, stuck it all in one place. And it's enormous department.

And the thing is, for Democrats, what upsets them is that ICE and the Customs and Border Protection, those agencies are funded through the one big, beautiful bill. They've got $130 billion. It's all these other agencies under DHS, FEMA --

BASH: Yeah. We can put that backup. Keep going because we had it on the screen, we could put a backup.

BRESNAHAN: Yeah. They're not -- they're not affected. So, that's going to be a problem. But Democrats, there's no way right now. You talked about that the images in the shift in America -- U.S. public perception of -- the public's perception of the crackdown, Trump's crackdown, it's shifted. There's no way Democrats are going to support anything short of a dramatic changes in how ICE is doing. And I don't see how Trump does it. I don't see how we get there.

BASH: Yeah. And you have the Republican push back is the White House response backed by the people who actually get the votes in the Senate and the House. Here's an example. Here is what Senator Eric Schmitt, who is a big ally, golf buddy, of President Trump, said about the Democrats proposals.

We should not be in any way, shape or form, knee capping ICE. President Trump ran on this issue. So again, I think this is a home game for us. And if the Democrats want to continue down this road, it's just a loser for them, a home game for us. What an interesting turn of phrase on something that is, well, go ahead. Edward?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah. Look, I think we can -- there's another one of these situations where we -- the polls matter, obviously the congressional back and forth, that is political. But it really is a question of what now that we had all these weeks of the trauma in Minneapolis. What does the administration say was accomplished by that?

There are two people who are dead. There are a lot of people have been arrested. Do they think that that changed the immigration situation in Minneapolis? Do they think that it broadcasts to the country as a whole that people could be coming for them, and that achieves their goals. In some way, maybe we have not really had that explanation from the White House or from any of the people involved.

And then that -- then feeds this political argument, and it feeds the poll situation too, because the Democrats on the Hill say, that all the problems that they have with it, and they say we need to make these changes, and the Republicans are just saying, no, but not why no. And in terms of how people are responding to it, it does seem like, if they -- if people were being told more what this is doing, other than being a brutal crackdown, they might have a different view of what's going on.

BASH: Yeah. And we're going to take a quick break. But I also -- I don't know if Eric Schmitt is right about it being a home game anymore. The border, absolutely. What's going on in the interior, the way it has been done until Tom Homan took over, we'll see. All right, coming up. Cracks in Republican support for tariffs, despite some really stringent threats from President Trump. And later a conservative who's broken with the president sounds the alarm about the new kind of election theft that quote, might already be under way. Stay with us.

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[12:10:00]

BASH: We saw a small but significant Republican crack in support for President Trump last night. And on his favorite economic policy, no less, six Republicans joined all Democrats to strike down Trump's tariffs on Canada. Now it's symbolic, even if the Senate passes it too, President Trump can veto it. After the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson insisted President Trump understood where those six members were coming from.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): He's not upset, I just left the White House. He understands what's going on. It's not going to affect or change his policy. He can veto these things if they come to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: But President Trump certainly didn't sound like somebody who understands. He had a really different message for the GOP rebels. He posted any Republican in the House or Senate that votes against tariffs will seriously suffer the consequences come election time and that includes primaries.

My smart panel is back now. Bres is this -- I mean, you talk to Republican lawmakers all day, every day. Is this a moment or one of a series of moments of small push back? Or is this unique because it is about the economy, which is the most important thing for members of Congress and their constituents?

[12:15:00]

BRESNAHAN: I think it's a little about, in fact, I was the one who told -- because Trump sent his message during the vote, literally during the vote. And I was the one who told Johnson, he had sent it, and I was standing next to Johnson. He said, no, no, I was just with Trump. He didn't say anything bad. And I was like, Mr. Speaker, he just said this. And he was surprised. He was surprised.

BASH: Why?

BRESNAHAN: Yeah. But because --

BASH: That was a return. Continue, continue.

BRESNAHAN: I know, I know, I know. But it was an hour later.

BASH: Yeah.

BRESNAHAN: Trump said one thing, but that's to Mike Johnson. That's how he is to everybody. I think this is -- I think going to your point, it chips away. They oppose something on immigration. They oppose something on tariffs. They'll oppose something on some other issue, on, you know, some foreign policy issue, Venezuela. I think it all matters.

I think it all -- at the fringes, it's still though, you know, 98 percent of the party are on Capitol Hill. Republicans on Capitol Hill don't want to oppose him publicly. Behind the scenes, though there's just like, they feel like he's just unmoored. He's all over the place. And I think that is the danger for him, because that percolates down to the base, eventually it will percolate.

BASH: And -- because this is Inside Politics, let's just take a look at those six Republicans that voted with the Democrats that the president is threatening to primary. Don Bacon, he's retiring, so that's not going to happen. Kevin Kiley, if you look down there, he -- I'm not sure if I'm going in order here. Oh, Brian Fitzpatrick, I'll go in order. He is the only reason that they have this very blue district is because he's in it. So, at MAGA primary, would certainly help them lose it.

And if you go on and on including, let's just look at Kevin Kiley. He is one of the Republicans in California who is likely to be redistricted out. So, I'm not sure that retribution for the most part is going to happen here. Thomas Massie, he's already supporting his primary challenger for other reasons.

DOVERE: Look, this is a confusing political message to tell to the country. What's going on with tariffs. It does seem like Trump wants to make sure that everybody is fully aware that he is just making decisions on tariffs based on his mood on any day. He keeps saying that. He said in the interview last week that he said the prime minister of Switzerland, Switzerland doesn't have a prime minister, but the prime minister called him and was too vicious in the conversation, so he made tariffs higher and then this thing. But look, if he wants to make it harder for Republicans to win in districts like Fitzpatrick and Bacon, look at the margin in the House. It's smaller than the number of Republican representatives you just put up on the screen.

BASH: Is that Mike Johnson texting you?

BRESNAHAN: No. I was looking and you caught it. No, it's probably some other republicans.

BASH: Because if it is, you can tell him. We can call him. Yeah.

BRESNAHAN: He will do it. You know, oh, it was you.

BASH: Party foul, go ahead.

KEITH: Yeah. For President Trump, tariffs are like the Swiss Army knife. He believes they can be used for almost anything, foreign policy, domestic policy, the economy, you know, reindustrializing the American economy. And it is a place where he believes that he should have unfettered power. And any time someone even hints at the idea that maybe he shouldn't have unfettered power. He gets very upset.

The other thing to note is that he is extremely nervous. How do I know? Because he posts about it constantly. He is extremely nervous that the Supreme Court is going to take away some of his tariff power and make it harder for him to put tariffs in place at a whim. And a reminder that this week, he has been going after Canada again, threatening more tariffs.

BASH: Well, let's just put something one of the posts about Canada that he put up. Canada has taken advantage of the United States on trade for many years. They are among the worst in the world to deal with, especially as it relates to our northern border. Tariffs make a win for us easy. Republicans must keep it that way.

KEITH: Yes. He sends these out very regularly, at regular intervals, sending messages into the universe that he needs these tariffs and there are ways around it. If the Supreme Court goes against him, it will be harder, though. And the thing that is underlying here is that a lot of members of Congress do not like these tariffs. They're just not voting their minds --

BRESNAHAN: Especially Republicans.

KEITH: Yeah, Republicans.

BASH: And as you come in, I just want to put one other figure on the screen because this is a really important. It's what people are feeling if they're in the job market. And that is, it's really, really tough. This is -- we just got the total for 2025 it's the worst yearly number since 2020, the worst since 2003 outside of a recession.

[12:20:00]

HENDERSON: Yeah. That's the economy that people are experiencing, and part of it is tariffs too, right? Average Americans understand, no matter what Donald Trump says, that tariffs are taxes. And so, when they go and they buy stuff, or they're trying to buy something on Amazon, or at, you know, the Winn-Dixie, wherever it is, grocery, shoes, whatever. They can feel it.

And so, in some ways, Donald Trump would be lucky if the Supreme Court was able, you know, to sort of withdraw his tariff power because it isn't working for him. It's not working for the economy either. And so, he hasn't been in always his sort of obsession, and all of his, you know, his talk about tariffs. Americans aren't buying it. They're feeling the bad effects of tariffs.

He is saying he's going to go out and talk about affordability. He's not doing that either. And so, this is a real, real problem for Republicans and you see them breaking away, you know, registering their discontent with these tariffs.

BASH: I love that our South Carolina girl is talking about Winn-Dixie. It makes everything right in the world. All right, we're going to take a quick break. Just ahead, we have breaking news. The latest, on the investigation into the apparent kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy. Plus, a moving video and message from the TODAY show co-anchor.

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[12:25:00]

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BASH: Now to breaking news in the investigation of the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. Her daughter, TODAY show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie posted a new video on social media, a short time ago. It appears to be old home videos and a family photo. And in the caption, she writes quote, our lovely mom, we will never give up on her. Thank you for your prayers and hope.

Also today, neighbors are being asked to examine any security camera footage for a quote, suspicious vehicle, specifically about two dates in January, January 11, almost three weeks before her apparent kidnapping and the 31st the last day she was seen.

I'm joined now by Josh Sherrard, a law enforcement expert and former police captain. Thank you so much for being here. Talk about this request for neighbors' doorbell video. January 11, and again, the night that she was last seen.

JOSH SCHLRARD, FORMER GALVESTON POLICE CAPTAIN: You know, we often send out requests like this in investigations, you know, ranging from anything from burglaries to homicides to kidnappings, because it's so important to get the community assistance. Look, there's very few cases in any police department that are solved strictly by an investigator detective sitting at a desk.

It's the community that helps and it really breaks those cases. And we've seen it in national news over the last couple years, everything from Luigi Mangione to several others where the public was the ones really broke that case. Look, police can't be everywhere, but by being able to narrow down some dates, now we have some direction that the public can go and that can go back and say, all right

Now I can really start focusing on these dates and these times and seeing if I maybe I did see something that I thought was too small or didn't have anything to do with it, because it's weeks prior, but now we know that it may very well be a break in the case. And that's why it's so important that everybody is out there being vigilant and really just sending those tips, no matter how small, to try and get Nancy back home.

BASH: And the alert also flagged a suspicious vehicle in the area in the morning of the 31st that was the same day that Nancy Guthrie went missing. That was 12 days ago. Is it unusual to be sending out alert, an alert like that so far into an investigation?

SCHLRARD: You know, it really kind of depends on the investigation, but what's going on here most likely? Is, they're getting so much information, and until they start understanding how all that information and all those pieces fit together, they really may be looking at an answer the whole time, but don't know that that's what they're looking for.

I always use the saying, it's like finding a needle in a stack of needles. You don't understand what exactly you're looking for until some of these other pieces start coming together. So now they may have some other information that says, hey, this now may be something we're looking at. Let's see if we can get some of these other pieces that really fill in those gaps.

BASH: That really helps to explain it. Thank you so much, Captain. Josh Schlrard, I really appreciate you being here.

SCHLRARD: Yeah, thanks for having me, Dana.

BASH: And when we come back, the Justice Department tries and fails to indict six Democrats. New York Times columnist David French will be here to weigh in on that and why he's so worried about a free and fair election this November.

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