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Lawmakers Bitterly Divided With 12 Hours Until DHS Shutdown; DHS Will Shut Down At Midnight After No Deal On ICE Reforms; WSJ: "Constant Chaos" Inside Noem's Dept. of Homeland Security; Bondi Faces Conservative Heat After Vitriolic Hearing; AOC In Europe to Layout Populist Vision Of U.S. Foreign Policy. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired February 13, 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]

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: A shutdown standoff. Just 12 hours to go until homeland security department funding runs out and lawmakers aren't even in town to negotiate.

I'm Manu Raju in for Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines in Inside Politics.

We start with the outrage, the finger pointing and legislative stalemate or funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which runs out at midnight tonight. A partial government shutdown is now imminent, making this the third shutdown of President Trump's second term. This time it is over the issue of masked agents, judicial warrants and other rules of engagement.

Democrats are demanding major changes on immigration enforcement, affecting two DHS agencies, ICE and customs and border patrol. They want more than a White House promised to reign in agents. And Democrats, they have rejected the White House's latest counteroffer, and lawmakers from both parties are pointing fingers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Frankly, we had plenty of time to get a deal in the last two weeks. And the lack of seriousness from the White House and from Republicans not getting language until last night has put us in the position we are in today. We want to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but only a department that is obeying the law.

SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): There is no way that you can't say we're working in good faith. We want to continue this conversation, but yet, you're penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is going to go without a paycheck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: I'm joined now by a terrific group of reporters, including Tia Mitchell, who's in the halls of the Capitol with me every single day. You know, this feels a lot like what we saw in the fall. The two sides really dug in. That was a 43-day government shutdown. That last -- that was the entire federal government. And then we saw the couple weeks ago partial government shutdown that did not last nearly as long. Here, this is -- this could drag on for some time. It is a key agency. Yes, it's one agency, but it's a key agency, and it could have a significant impact.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: So, I do think Senator Britt's point that the parts of the Department of Homeland Security that would be the most impacted by this partial shutdown are not necessarily the parts that Democrats are mad at. And that creates kind of a little bit of political heartache, I think, on Democrat side, because it is going to affect TSA agents, the Coast Guard, Secret Service, which again --

RAJU: FEMA.

MITCHELL: FEMA is another big one. That being said, Democrats have a base that is saying, dig in. We are OK with shutting it down because we are very upset about the ICE enforcement. We're very upset that two American citizens were killed in the streets of Minneapolis. So, I think that's the pain point right now. And for right now, Democrats are going to hold firm, but I don't know how long they'll be able to do so.

RAJU: Yeah. That's such a good point, because, of course, there's a 53-47 Senate in order to pass any legislation. You need 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats, probably eight Democrats will be needed to pass legislation here. So that puts Chuck Schumer in a bit of a bind. We saw him. This happened to him time and time again last year over these shutdown attempts.

How, if you're Schumer, do you navigate this? Because you have the base that TIA is talking about that is really dug in. Wants him to fight, but he also has to compromise with the White House to reopen a key agency.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Ostensibly to reach an outcome that would be the only pathway to do -- to actually make that happen. I think if you're Schumer, use my personal metric, which is, what's the Angus King barometer, right? Which is Angus King is going -- he's an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, any deal that is made with a Republican Senate and the White -- a Republican White House, Angus King is going to have to be a yes on for Democrats.

Angus King is a no, right now. And as long as that's the case, Schumer feels good about where his entire caucus is at this moment. I think the difficulty here is FEMA has got billions right now that will give them some time. TSA is not going to be missing paychecks for another couple of weeks. ICE, CBP are funded because of the one big, beautiful bill law.

So, the pain points, the pressure points that spark deals or spark people to say, like, OK, we got to figure this out, which is primarily TSA. When is TSA actually here to start getting hit? That will be the moment people realize that there's some pain and they need to get in the room. That's not coming right now. And Democrats, at his point, I haven't heard from anybody who thinks, if Angus King is not going, there's nobody else in the 47 that are going on.

RAJU: That's such a good point. I mean, we saw in the last shutdown. The reason why there was the fall shutdown, I should say. The reason why the deal was ultimately cut was because people were encountering these -- suffering these big travel delays and the like. So, that's a key point.

[12:05:00]

Another key point here is, what will Trump do, right? Because Trump has not -- when is Trump cut a deal with Chuck Schumer, particularly on an issue like this. This immigration is so central to his political identity to have to compromise on this to reopen the government. That seems farfetched.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: It seems farfetched, particularly when you look at the last year. And to your point, how central immigration enforcement has been to his campaign promise, to this agenda. We have seen some cracks, right? We have seen some softening. Tom Homan yesterday announcing this withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis.

You saw the president at least briefly after the shooting of Alex Pretti and the administration's messaging after -- and the inflammatory statements you saw initially from in the wake of that shooting, you saw the president soften a bit. So, you have seen the pressure from this immigration crackdown, by the way, increasingly bipartisan pressure, as well as some Republicans feeling that it's going overboard, impacting the White House in small ways.

But when you look at these issues, unmasking immigration agents, revising, you know, what warrants actually they can use to go, you know, for these raids. Those are issues that when I talk to White House officials, they say they're not willing to budge on sanctuary city policies as well.

RAJU: The judicial warrant is a big sticking point.

KANNO-YOUNGS: It's a huge sticking point here. I do think it's interesting though, that Dems seem to be walking a fine line here. The negotiations aren't really about immigration policy. They're trying to frame this as a matter of almost the use of force.

RAJU: Yeah.

KANNO-YOUNGS: You know, it's almost a law enforcement issue here. So, whether that can also move the White House, I think, will be interesting.

RAJU: You know, it's easy to just get numb to everything these days, but I think that this is normal. Shutdowns are really not normal. They've become normal, but in the past, in recent history, they didn't really happen. Just as -- look at the days of partial or full government shutdowns over the last several presidencies, really, since one began when Jimmy Carter, that was a day long shutdown. And then you've had Ronald Reagan had about 14 days. And then you look at all the way down for Donald Trump. There was 38 days of shutdowns in his first term, 47 days, and now it's going to be counting, come do this DHS shutdown, shows you the time that we're in.

MITCHELL: It shows the time again, I think that when you poll voters, less and less, voters on both sides say that compromise to get a deal done to keep government running is not as important to them as they want their elected officials to fight for the things they believe in, right, even if it means gridlock. And so more and more we're hearing, the members of Congress are hearing from their base. We're OK with gridlock if it means you're fighting for the things that we're passionate about.

And that's the difference, whereas in maybe in years past, it was, hey, we think sometimes you're going to have to give a little and I might not be as happy, but if that means our government is working and it's moving slowly, then that's what -- that's what I want my elected officials to do.

So, it's that subtle shift in the base saying, fight -- you know, it goes back to the highly partisan nature of our politics. And so, I think you can't have it both ways. I think the people at home need to understand that.

RAJU: Yeah.

MITCHELL: You can't have it both ways, where you're mad at Chuck Schumer when he cuts a deal to end the shutdown. But then you also are saying, gosh, the shutdowns, why can't Congress get it together?

RAJU: Yeah. Speaking of voters, I want you to listen to some focus group sound from our friends at Engagious, talking to Arizona voters. These are voters who supported Biden in 2020 and supported Trump in 2024. How they view ICE? And they're not going as far as Democrats and they're not going as far as Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like we've gone too far, like we've almost over corrected, right? Like, how do we bring this back to middle so that it's acceptable to the majority of Americans that want to see legal people come in legally and not also offend people and kill people in the process?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, immigration, you know, I agree. If you're not here legally, you need to go back to where you came from and do it the right way, you know. But we should not be afraid to be walking the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That is a really great window into something that when you talk to lawmakers on both sides who have watched this all play out, they do a really interesting job of pointing out that there is a distinction between what Biden did, what Trump is currently doing, and where they hear most from their voters, from their constituents. And that middle ground, that sweet spot is enforcement border security.

But what we have seen aggressive tactically -- the aggression with tactics on the interior is very problematic. When you see people say, defund or abolish ICE, very problematic. And so, who can win that kind of rhetorical battle over the course of the next couple of days or couple of weeks, depending on how long this goes? Well, I think, dictate the eventual outcome of this shutdown, right?

[12:10:00]

RAJU: It also explains why Trump has pulled back to something -- because people view Republicans and Independents, says that they believe that some of these tactics have gone too far. All right, coming up next. A stunning, new Wall Street Journal report that answers the question, what happens when Kristi Noem's blanket goes missing? Plus, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes global in Munich.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

RAJU: Stunning reporting by The Wall Street Journal reveals significant upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security. The headline hits a consistent point, quote, constant chaos. As two dozen current and former administration officials describe Secretary Kristi Noem's management alongside close advisor Cory Lewindowsky.

The reporting goes on to say, quote, within DHS, Noem and Lewindowsky frequently berate senior level staff, give polygraph tests to employees they don't trust, and have fired employees -- fired employees. And in one incident, Lewindowsky fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after Noem's blanket was left behind on a plane. And that's according to a person familiar with the incident. On the blanket incident, DHS didn't address the episode, but said that the secretary has, quote, made personal -- personnel decisions to deliver excellent.

My panel is back. So, delivering excellence, they say. Wow. These details show a department that is quite a mess. Yeah.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah, yeah. This has been something we've been hearing now for some weeks that have and it's really intensified recently. This sort of jockeying for power and the agency that's right at the center of the president's, you know, favorite issue, which is immigration enforcement, that being the Department of Homeland Security.

We've also heard of Cory Lewindowsky specifically, kind of fostering this climate of fear among officials. We've heard from, you know, career officials as well, who have said that folks are scared of losing their jobs too. A particular source of frustration, which the journal also reported out here. What is the fact that Noem -- some of Noem's moves, including to backlog different federal grants that are going out.

People have basically complained career officials in the Department of Homeland Security and others familiar with the matter that, you know, they need to go to Cory Lewindowsky, a Trump ally, and others, to get approval for some of these resources that they desperately --

RAJU: Just micromanaging the smallest details.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.

RAJU: And that's I've heard that from members of Congress to Republicans to not being able to get money because she needs to review even the smallest amount of money going out there. But Trump is still standing behind, no. He just said -- moments ago, in fact, he just told reporters that he seems like he has confidence in her still.

MATTINGLY: Yeah. It's been interesting to watch his kind of public response to -- because to Zolan's point, this isn't new necessarily. First up, this story is amazing. And I would tell people to read it every single graph, because every single graph has a new great nugget in it that is very, very deeply reported. And there's not a lot of denials that seem remotely valid when you read the piece itself. But his kind of vacillation between either not really weighing in.

There's a cabinet meeting where she didn't speak a couple weeks ago after what was happening in Minnesota and people were trying to read into that. To again, I think, today, and he's done it a couple times since, making clear that he supports her in the process. The Lewindowsky element of all of this is fascinating. Obviously, his first campaign manager who just his ability to phoenix like rise back into center stage and the Trump orbit is like nothing I've ever seen before.

I think what's most interesting about this moment is DHS is always a disaster. It doesn't matter if you are the best secretary of DHS in the history of any administration. Since its creation, it has been a mess. It has way too many components. It is always problematic. But the micromanaging that you guys point out is missing the managing part.

The number of times like on really, really micro process or contracting issues where I've heard from career officials that like, it's just sitting on Noem's desk, or Cory wants a different contractor on this contract. And therefore, we have to go like, that's a nightmare for an agency, put immigration aside that is deeply responsible for so much of how kind of the government is working day to day with states and localities.

RAJU: And speaking the Lewindowsky, his situation. This report raises serious questions about his role in all of this. This is one quote from this -- from the story, one anecdote. In an incident last year that rankled some senior staff at the agency. Lewindowsky made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law enforcement badge and a federally issued gun. According to people familiar with this push. Officials are typically issued only a badge and a gun after undergoing law enforcement training, and he's a senior advisor.

You know, this is what the DHS said in response. It denied Lewindowsky made efforts to secure a federal gun or sign paperwork. It didn't address any efforts to get a badge, efforts to issue Lewindowsky a gun stalled after the Wall Street Journal and other organizations inquired about the incident last year, according to their sources. And Lewindowsky has been spotted by DHS staff sporting a badge, emblazoned with the words homeland security.

MITCHELL: Yeah. I mean, it's very problematic because he is a special government employee, which kind of puts him in a gray area. He doesn't have direct accountability. He can't necessarily be hired or fired. He's supposed to only work 130 days per year because of that classification. It looks like he gets around that, and he basically works at the de facto chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security.

[12:20:00]

I think one thing that I went back to is what Phil said about micro without the managing, and we can't, I think, gloss over the real impact of that. Look at what had happened on the ground in Minneapolis. And look at how it was handled with Alex Pretti and Renee Good, instantly being called domestic terrorists, you know, in ways that really not only troubled people at home but amplified and made things even more tense on the streets of Minneapolis, for example.

I think it also makes me question, what exactly is Donald Trump looking at -- looking for? You know, it's the loyalty, it's the personal relationships, it's people who do look good on TV and have those fiery sound bites. But that doesn't necessarily boil down to doing a good job, running these really important federal agencies.

RAJU: And she's about to have a press conference on election security, perhaps no coincidence, that seems to be something that energizes the president's --

KANNO-YOUNGS: It's a good way to Cory (Ph) favor with the president, right? And it's -- you're right, Tia, like there's -- Kristi Noem has done an effective job at times, messaging to an audience of one, right? You remember that after they deported migrants to a mega-prison in El Salvador. She goes there with that backdrop, right? You've seen her sort of go to different deportation raids and have the TV backdrop. That stuff matters to the president.

So, while this scrutiny is totally valid this and there is pressure on this -- on this department that's in turmoil. As of right now, it seems like, honestly, the president has given a little more than a slap on the wrist, and she still seems, OK.

RAJU: Speaking of audience of one, Pam Bondi. This is a performance at the Judiciary Committee in the House, earlier this week where she was berating Democrats, shouting matches, back and forth, something that I frank, that have never seen a cabinet secretary do in a setting like that. Trump seems OK with what Bondi -- her performance and the fallout and the like some conservatives, though not so much.

One Newsmax host Carl Higbie said. I was in her corner when she took office. But after today, I don't know how her political career survives. Erick Erickson, the conservative radio host, said she should be fired or resign. There are others who have criticized her as well. But of course, Trump said that A.G. Pam Bondi under intense fire from the Trump deranged radical left lunatics, was fantastic.

MATTINGLY: I think the most part about this is sometimes people are trying to, like, think deeper about, like, what the actual strategy is here, or how are we trying to target messaging? It's very simple. It's why Tulsi Gabbard was in Georgia as the DNI in Fulton County, about something that they can claim as much as they want. She has some role that she absolutely does not.

It's why Pam Bondi is operating in the most juvenile and kind of lamest way possible at a hearing. And it's why Kristi Noem was trying to cut commercials and ads that are going to show up on Fox News when she knows the president is watching. It really is this simple. Does the president like what I just did? That is my survival. That is my role in the administration that is my juice when we're having meetings about something that I have as a priority of mine. It's not deeper than that.

RAJU: Yeah. And which is why he has not fired any of these cabinet secretaries quite yet. All right, coming up. President Trump is threatening primary challenges for Republicans to defy him. Should they be worried? One of those Republicans will be my guest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: At the Munich Security Conference, gathering for heads of state, CEOs, diplomats and global leaders. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez laid out a new vision for American foreign policy rooted in economic populism. Now the significance of her visit, a major step onto the global stage was clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We have to have a working class centered politics. If we are going to succeed, and also if we are going to stave off, the scourges of authoritarianism, which also provides political sirens, political siren calls to allure people into finding scapegoats to blame for rising economic inequality, both domestically and globally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, when you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire's tax?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I don't think that -- I don't think that anyone and that we don't have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Non-denial, denial. MITCHELL: Yeah. She didn't say she wasn't running for president, absolutely. And I think -- I mean, AOC has always scared Republicans, even some moderate Democrats, because they know she knows how to connect with people in a way that you cannot teach. And I think her brand of politics is becoming more mainstream, where before she was considered this, you know, left this to progressive democratic socialist, even if she doesn't necessarily use that title.

Again, with the election of Mamdani as mayor, and other things, our politics are more accepting of her brand --

RAJU: But the Democrats are coopted that message --

MITCHELL: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I just think she's -- I do think she's -- if nothing else, she's going to test the waters, you know, whether she ultimately puts herself out there, you know, I think it's probably a little bit early even for her to know for sure. But I think she's going to continue to be out there. She's going to continue testing the waters and she could go far.