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Illinois & Chicago Sue Trump Over National Guard Redeployment; Soon: IL Governor Speaks On Trump's Deployment Of National Guard; Judge Temporarily Blocks Any Deployment of National Guard To Portland; WH: Layoffs An "Unfortunate Consequence" Of Government Shutdown; Senate Returns As Federal Funding Deal Evades Congress; Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) Discusses Government Shutdown. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 06, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: ... and of course in many cases they're committing heinous crimes. We cannot have a system ...

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So ...

MILLER: ... of law in this country that privileges illegal aliens over American citizens and that's what they're doing. You know it and I know it.

SANCHEZ: So -- so, that's not exactly a no, Stephen. Can -- can you just unequivocally say ...

MILLER: As you said -- well, I think it's a dumb ...

SANCHEZ: ... that the immigration policy ...

MILLER: ... actually it's a dumb question, okay.

SANCHEZ: Well, I appreciate that, but can you ...

MILLER: No, and it's a dumb question.

SANCHEZ: ... can you -- so -- so, no, this policy is not designed to -- to ...

MILLER: I thought when I said it's a dumb question it meant no.

SANCHEZ: Well, I just want to be clear and precise. I -- I appreciate you ...

MILLER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... trying to qualify my questions, but nevertheless ...

MILLER: No.

SANCHEZ: ... I think it's a fair one that a lot of people have. So -- so ...

MILLER: My full answer is no, that is a lie, and it's a dumb question. But you said something else speaking to the premise of one of your questions. You said, well, aren't we provoking -- Illinois governor says we're provoking actions that are unlawful. Why would the mere presence -- just think about this for a second. If I put federal law enforcement and National Guard into a nice sleepy southern town, is anyone going to riot? Is anyone going to try to shoot them in the face?

SANCHEZ: Well, if -- if someone goes into a building ...

MILLER: Are they going to try to attack them in the street? They would say this is ...

SANCHEZ: ... full of people in the middle of the night ...

MILLER: ... great, this is amazing, right, (INAUDIBLE) resources ...

SANCHEZ: ... covering their faces without identification, without identifying themselves, there might be concern among the community, especially if American citizens are being ...

MILLER: (INAUDIBLE) with the Tren de Aragua, right?

SANCHEZ: ... especially if American citizens are caught up in that, which -- which some reportedly were.

MILLER: Yes. We netted -- we netted over 30 foreign terrorists who are members of Tren de Aragua, who by the way ...

SANCHEZ: And American citizens also wound up apprehended in that.

MILLER: ... they -- they torture women and children. Those American citizens are now safe from Tren de Aragua. Well, you know, there was a case recently in Washington State with Tren de Aragua took a power drill ...

SANCHEZ: But isn't that enough reason for some people to demonstrate and say that they disagree with that policy?

MILLER: ... they took a power drill.

SANCHEZ: Isn't it enough for some people ...

MILLER: So, is it -- in your opinion -- well, by the way -- and so, first of all ...

SANCHEZ: Hey, Stephen, Stephen ...

MILLER: ... first of all, let me finish the story.

SANCHEZ: ... we are -- we are -- you're going to -- you're going to ...

MILLER: ... TDA took a power drill and drilled a hole through a woman's hand.

SANCHEZ: ... understood. Stephen ... MILLER: Through her hand.

SANCHEZ: ... we have to leave the conversation there because we're short on time, but nevertheless, we do appreciate you making the time for us and coming on CNN and sharing your point of view.

MILLER: Always.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. The next hour of CNN NEW CENTRAL starts right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Fighting back, cities and states turn to the courts to stop President Trump from deploying troops on their streets. The governor of Illinois set to speak about the showdown.

Digging in, the President says he is winning the PR war over the government shutdown, but the polls are really lining up with those statements. Lawmakers in the Senate also don't appear ready to reach a deal to fund the government.

And a bit later, former NFL quarterback and current sports analyst, Mark Sanchez, now facing a felony charge for his role in an altercation that sent him to the hospital with stab wounds.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEW CENTRAL.

HILL: We are waiting now any moment. We expect to hear from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. This just hours after his state and the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops there. Chicago's mayor today also signing an executive order which prohibits ICE and other federal agencies from using city property for immigration enforcement. Here's how the White House responded to those moves a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: State and local law enforcement and federal law enforcement should be working together. And it's a shame that we see in some cities across the country that their mayors are just simply refusing to cooperate because they don't like Donald Trump. And that's what this boils down to. And I don't think any American would disagree that Chicago needs more law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: In Oregon, a legal battle over President Trump's federal crackdown is also intensifying after a Trump-appointed judge temporarily blocked the administration from deploying any National Guard troops to Portland. Joining us now, CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell. So, Josh, as we look at all of this, let's take a focus on Chicago. What is playing out there?

Well, we're really starting to see this legal battle erupt in earnest between the Trump administration as well as officials there in Illinois and Chicago. You know, as you mentioned before, all over the notion of deploying members of the U.S. military, the National Guard, to the streets of that city.

Today, we did see some movement in the courts. There were officials there in Illinois as well as Chicago who have gone to a federal judge asking that judge to block any type of troop deployment. They're calling it patently unlawful in their view to do so. This all stems around what power does the President actually have to declare something like a protest, even, you know, these nightly protests that have at times gotten very violent. What power does the President have to declare that a rebellion and then be able to bring in the U.S. military?

So, we will, of course, be waiting to see what action the court actually takes in this regard. Certainly not the first lawsuit that we've seen with Democratic-led states.

[15:04:59]

Now, we also are learning today that this one particular area of the Chicago area called Broadview suburb, which is home to one of these ICE detention facilities that has really been the focal point of so many of these protests. The mayor there in that suburb has now issued an order essentially requiring only a certain number of hours that people can actually protest, from about 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., and that's largely because what we've seen in these protests is that the evening time is typically when they can get a lot more violent.

I can tell you, having covered these protests numerous over the years, including in Portland, you know, back in 2020. You do have various groups within these demonstrations. You have people who are there, for policy reasons, they're protesting the policy of the Trump administration. They're protesting the use of the U.S. military. But there are smaller factions of some of these protests who seem to kind of thrive off of the clash and the confrontation.

So, we've seen this kind of night after night for weeks now. The mayor there trying to head some of that off by issuing this order. But of course, every day we're waiting to see what actually happens as this continues to play out.

HILL: Yes. Also, Josh, before I let you go, there are also the developments that we're seeing. You mentioned Portland. We're seeing developments out of Oregon. So, a judge now temporarily blocking the deployment of any National Guard troops into the state. What more do we know?

CAMPBELL: Yes. This is a Trump-appointed judge, a really interesting case here. So, on Saturday, the judge issued a temporary restraining order barring members of the Oregon military to be sent into Portland by the Trump administration. But then what the Trump administration did, the local officials say, is they tried to do an end -- end run by deploying members of the California National Guard into Oregon rather than Oregon troops. The judge issued a ruling last night and in this emergency hearing saying, you know, it was interesting, we all kind of watching that hearing, kind of knew where it was headed based on the judge's tone at the very beginning.

She started very, you know, grilling in a very serious way the DOJ lawyers asking, how is this not violating the order that I ultimately gave. But again, her -- she issued another temporary restraining order saying that no troops from anywhere will be able to be sent into Oregon, into Portland, the Trump administration obviously appealing.

I want to tell you here quickly just kind of what this all comes down to as far as the different sides. Now, I mentioned kind of the politics of this, but I've been talking to law enforcement officials who are saying that much like the riots that we saw in 2020, a lot of the politicization, the politics, the heated rhetoric in their view, it's actually kind of fueling some of this, you know, bringing people in kind of night after night.

So, what I'm hearing from law enforcement is that they hope that both sides would get the politics out of it, let the law enforcement officers be able to do their job. That's obviously easier said than done, Erica.

HILL: Yes. But a really, really important note.

Josh, appreciate it. Thank you. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Right now, the Senate is back in session as the government shutdown stretches into its sixth day. They're expecting to vote in the coming hours to try and end the stalemate that's paralyzing Congress. This afternoon, the White House weighed in with another warning about layoffs to federal workers. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: We hope that the vote will not fail because this administration wants to reopen the government. We don't want to see people laid off. But unfortunately, if this shutdown continues, layoffs are going to be an unfortunate consequence of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Manu Raju is live on Capitol Hill for us. Manu, I'm skeptical that this bill -- that this vote is going to pass. Do I have any reason to not be skeptical?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You have no reason to not be skeptical. In fact, you should be very skeptical.

There are absolutely no serious negotiations that are happening right now, particularly between Republican leaders and Democratic leaders to try to figure out -- to try to figure out a way out of this very damaging standoff that's only going to grow worse as the hundreds of thousands of people who are furloughed, federal employees, don't get their paychecks, as people potentially are going to get fired based on the White House's own threats, as government services start to go away, because of the diametrically opposite positions of the two sides. Republicans passed a bill through the House of Representatives to keep

the government open through November 21st. They say that is the only bill that will pass, the only bill that they will consider in the United States Senate. Democrats say they don't want that bill. They said they want a negotiation and also an extension of expiring subsidies under Obamacare that people use to help pay for their health insurance. They say otherwise people will see their premiums skyrocket.

And Speaker Mike Johnson made very clear he does not plan to bring the House back into session, saying the ball is in Senate Democrats' court. And I've talked to a number of Senate Democrats who say it is time for the House to negotiate before they could even consider voting to open the government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I want to bring the House back into session and get back to work, but we can't do it until they turn the lights back on. We need Chuck Schumer to reopen the government, and as soon as he does that, we'll bring everybody back here.

MANU: They control the agenda. They control the -- the floor schedule. And the -- and the ..

SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): I'm glad you point that out. They control it all.

MANU: ... yes, and the Speaker says he's not going to bring the House back, you have one choice.

[15:10:06]

So, if you guys vote no, how long is this going to go on for?

KIM: Well, look, you know, the American people see this for what it is. You know, Speaker Johnson can make all the excuses he can, but what Americans see are their leaders on the Republican side not doing their job, not even showing up to work. And that is something that they're not going to stand for.

MANU: So, how ...

KIM: So, right now, the American people are talking about health care all over this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANU: And the reason why this is important, of course, is because Democrats have the leverage in the United States Senate. It requires 60 votes in the Senate to advance any legislation, and there's 53-47 broken down right now. One Republican. Rand Paul, has voted against this. Meaning -- that means eight Democrats need to vote yes.

So far, just three have done so. Even though 10 voted back in March to keep the government open, the other ones are very much in line with Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, who is fighting on the issue of health care and those expiring subsidies. The question is, what side will give? How long will it go on for? And just how painful will this be for so many Americans?

SANCHEZ: Manu Raju, live on Capitol Hill. Manu, thank you so much.

Still to come, more on the ongoing negotiations in Congress to reopen the U.S. government. We have Republican lawmaker Mark Alford, who will join us live.

Plus, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are meeting right now in Egypt discussing Trump's ceasefire plan. He is telling them to move quickly. The latest from the region.

And later, we have new details in the fight over a parking spot that sent former NFL star Mark Sanchez to the hospital with stab wounds, why police say he was the aggressor. That and much more coming your way in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:59]

SANCHEZ: Back now to the shutdown stalemate in Washington. Actually, let's go over to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who is giving a press conference right now after Illinois and the city of Chicago have sued the federal -- federal forces, the Trump administration, over its National Guard deployment. Let's listen.

GOV. JB PRITZKER (D) ILLINOIS: The state of Illinois filed a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump's unlawful and unwarranted plans to deploy armed military troops to Chicago. There is no invasion here. There is no insurrection here. And local and state law enforcement are on the job and managing what they need to.

Without my permission and against my vigorous objections, the President has federalized 300 Illinois National Guard military troops and hundreds of National Guard members from Texas. And he has ordered them to activate for duty in Illinois. I have called upon Gov. Abbott to immediately withdraw his support for this decision and refuse to allow Texas National Guard members to be used in this way.

Let me be clear, Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation's cities. I want to thank Attorney General Kwame Raoul and his staff, along with my General Counsel Ann Spillane and our excellent Governor's Office legal team, for working tirelessly for weeks now to prepare federal lawsuits in anticipation of this unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government.

For weeks now, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, and Gregory Bovino have brought their militarized CBP and ICE agents to the streets of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in this city. They need to stop inciting our city's residents.

Since the beginning of this invasion, families have been snatched up off the streets or removed from their homes, zip-tied and detained for hours, including especially U.S. citizens and legal residents of our state. And in the words of CBP Chief Patrol Agent Greg Bovino, they're being chosen by how they look. Peaceful protesters have been hit with tear gas and shot with rubber bullets. Journalists simply reporting the facts on the ground ...

SANCHEZ: We've been listening to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker discussing a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration over National Guard deployments to his state. The governor there is saying that President Trump is using military members as political pawns, trying to militarize the nation's cities. He's described it repeatedly as Trump's invasion, saying that people are getting tied up and detained for hours, including U.S. citizens and residents in all hours of the night, targeted, he says, for how they look.

We're going to keep monitoring this press conference from the Illinois governor and bring you the latest as we get it, as well as any developments in the federal cases.

Back now to the shutdown stalemate in Washington. Right now, the Senate is back in session. You're seeing live images there. Are they actually any closer to striking a deal? Manu Raju says be skeptical.

Meantime, the House has not been in session since September 19th. Speaker Mike Johnson said today that he would not call his chamber back until senators turn the lights back on.

Joining us now to discuss is Republican Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us.

You have Republican Senator Mike Rounds, one of several lawmakers from both parties, that have floated proposals to address the expiring ACA subsidies that are at the heart of this shutdown. If this isn't the time to negotiate those subsidies, are you confident that a deal can be reached before they expire at the end of the year?

[15:20:07]

REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): Well, look, Boris, thanks for having me on. I think this is definitely something that we can talk about after we get back to Washington. We're working in our district right now. I'm visiting all 18 rural hospitals in my district here just south of Kansas City, trying to make sure they have access to the $50 billion rural transformation fund that we set up in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, something the Democrats are trying to take away by not passing the clean CR.

We can talk about these COVID-era premium tax subsidies after the continuing resolution is passed, we open the government back up, and we get back to the business of doing our appropriation bills. We just asked for seven more weeks to get our appropriations bills done. It was a clean CR, nothing on there that was objectionable to the Democrats. In fact -- in fact, they passed -- passed it before back in March and

the previous December. So, let's get back to work, and then we can talk about maybe making some adjustments to this COVID-era tax premiums.

SANCHEZ: They -- they have argued that they are voting to shut down the government, the opposite of what they did in March, many of them, because this new bill that has been signed into law greatly restricts the amount of benefits that Americans get. And -- and they are concerned about the closure of rural hospitals.

You said it's something you're willing to discuss, the extension of these ACA subsidies. I -- I wonder if you would be a proponent of a plan to extend them. Would you back extending them?

ALFORD: Well, look, the Democrats extended them. When they first happened, they -- they were set forth so that people could have advantage of them during the COVID era. COVID is over. The Democrats extended them until the end of 2025. They set the deadline for these to expire, not the Republicans. They voted for this years ago for them to expire in 2025.

Look, there are some people I have talked to on my town hall tour that we held a couple of weeks ago that are concerned about these. We need to have a discussion about that, but this is not the time. We have time when we get back to Washington to talk about these COVID area premium credits, but we've got to get the -- the government back open first.

And -- and Chuck Schumer, the ball is in his court. They have dug a hole. I don't see how they get out of this and save face, but that's what it's about for them. It's not about doing right by the American people. It's not about fighting for the American people. It's about fighting against Donald J. Trump.

SANCHEZ: There are something like 38,000 federal civil employees in Missouri, more than 14,000 in your district.

ALFORD: Right.

SANCHEZ: I'm -- I'm sure you've heard the administration vowing that there are going to be thousands of federal workers laid off. Have you gotten any reassurance that your constituents won't be affected?

ALFORD: No. In fact, in the Kansas City area, there's about 30,000 federal employees. Many of them live in my district just south of Kansas City. Those jobs are in jeopardy. Some of them are anyway. That's why we've got to get this government back open so that they can go about doing the business.

The -- the federal government, as you know, you've done research, it grew exponentially under Joe Biden. We've got to get back to some of the pre-COVID level of the federal government as well, and that may mean some people may lose their jobs, others may be furloughed.

But the key to this lies with Chuck Schumer. If he doesn't want people laid off by -- by President Trump, open the government back up. Pass the clean CR. Get it done.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, we have a limited amount of time, but there is an important question I want to ask you because soybeans are Missouri's top commodity, and China, of course, is the world's largest buyer of soybeans. The U.S. has made zero sales to China in this new crop marketing year, largely because of President Trump's tariffs. And yet I wonder how you feel about these reports that the U.S. is going to provide a financial lifeline to Argentina, who recently undid some of its restrictions on export tariffs and sold, they plan to sell, millions of tons of Argentinian soybeans to China. Is this bailout from the Trump administration actually helping U.S. farmers?

ALFORD: I'd say what's helping U.S. farmers, and that's President Trump. He is going to put some $30 billion to $50 billion of the tariff money into the Commodity Credit Corporation under the authority of Secretary Rollins for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He's already talking about that. She is as well. That money is going to get to our farmers, and they're going to see relief.

Yes, soybean prices are low, the yields are high, and the markets are slim. But in the One Big Beautiful Bill, we added protections and increased our foreign market participation. That is one of the things that the reconciliation bill did to get 80 percent of the farm bill passed.

[15:25:02]

I think we can get the rest of the 20 percent done by the end of the year or first quarter of next year to make sure that our farmers and producers are whole -- are whole, that Missouri is fed, that the United States is fed, and the world is fed from Missouri farmers.

SANCHEZ: So, no reaction to the government of Argentina doing this despite the U.S. lending them a financial lifeline?

ALFORD: Well, look, Argentina is looking out for its own. President Milei has done a wonderful job of reducing his interest rates there and trying to turn that economy around. I don't blame them for trying to sell beans to China. We are doing that as well. I think President Trump is going to have to work out this deal with Xi and -- and -- and get things settled on the tariff. That is the linchpin in this entire thing. But President Trump is holding strong, and we -- thank goodness, we have the tariff money, some $300 billion so far, and that number is growing each and every month, that we can use to offset some of these losses from our farmers.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Mark Alford, thank you so much for joining us.

ALFORD: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Ahead, former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez in the hospital with stab wounds after an altercation over a parking spot, and now he is the one facing a felony charge after the incident. Details coming your way.

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