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Demi Palecek is Interviewed about Illinois Immigration Law; Courtenay Brown is Interviewed about the Fed Rate Cut; New CBP Rule for Foreign Travelers; Musk Done with DOGE. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 11, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:38]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

Indiana's state senate set to take a final vote on a new congressional map. Currently, the Hoosier state has two blue districts. But if the new one passes, those will both be gone. I spoke to a congressman from Indiana who could lose his seat if that happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANDRE CARSON (D-IN): Out-of-state consultants and elitists from D.C. drew this map, not Hoosiers. That's a big problem. Indiana is a red state. It's true. But we have a very independent libertarian streak. We don't like being told what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: It's still not clear if Republicans will have enough votes to pass the new maps.

Today, the Senate will conduct symbolic votes on Democrat and Republican health care plans. Republicans want to replace Obamacare subsidies with health savings accounts. Democrats want the subsidies just extended for three years. None of the plans are expected to pass. House leaders are scrambling to find consensus on a handful of bills that could come to the floor next week.

And a new pathway to residency is open for a price. The Trump administration has officially launched the Trump gold card, promising foreigners, quote, "U.S. residency in record time if they pay $1 million." Companies can pay $2 million to sponsor a worker they want to bring in to the U.S.

[06:35:05]

And the Trump administration outraged over a new law now in effect in Illinois. The bill was just signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker, and it seeks to restrict federal agents from taking immigration enforcement actions near courthouses or in hospitals, on college campuses or daycares. It also allows residents to sue agents if they believe their civil rights were violated. Now, this comes as the Chicago area continues to be a target for ICE agents. Just this week, the agents clashed with protesters as they pursued a suspect who had barricaded themselves in an apartment in a Chicago suburb.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): No one, and I mean no one, is above the law, especially those wearing a badge representing the law. Illinoisans, in the face of cruelty and intimidation, have chosen solidarity and support. That should not be overlooked. Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and Gregory Bovino tried to appeal to our lesser instincts, but the best of us are standing up to the worst of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Now, the Department of Homeland Security says the new state law is illegal. They claim in a statement, quote, "Governor Pritzker violated the Supremacy Clause. We hope the headlines and social media likes are worth it."

Joining me now is Demi Palecek. She's actually running for office for the Illinois state house and currently serving in the National Guard.

Good morning. Thanks for being with us

DEMI PALECEK (D), CANDIDATE FOR ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE 13TH DISTRICT: Good morning. Thank you so much for having me.

CORNISH: So, we wanted to talk to you because you, and I think, along with a second National Guard member, have said that you would refuse an order to deploy to a place like Chicago if asked. Right now this is a legal question. It's in legal limbo. And I think you have National Guardsmen sort of waiting to possibly be deployed. What kind of consequences could you face for doing that?

PALECEK: Well, let me start off by saying, I'm speaking on behalf of myself and not the military, the DOJ or the DOD.

So, I have openly spoke about how I would refuse the orders if they were given to me. I am Mexican. I think what is happening under the Trump administration is vile and disgusting and very un-American.

I am currently under investigation by the National Guard. They have taken away my clearance. Actually, the investigating officers, they're always watching my stories. They know I'm on here. So, I just feel that we need to be on the right or left side of history during this. You know, it just looks too much like 1930, 1940 Germany. And I refuse to stay quiet during this.

CORNISH: So, now you're running for office. Can you talk about the atmosphere in your state? Because out of all the governors, I feel like Pritzker has been the most aggressive in responding to the potential for federalized troops, to ICE in particular. PALECEK: I am very grateful for our governor, to be honest with you.

Yes, he's definitely on the front lines and takes a lot of backlash from the administration.

You know, my area is very diverse. I'm running for 13 district state rep. It's very diverse. It's very immigrant and migrant heavy. That is what America is. And a lot of people are scared.

I'm very proud of Chicago that we've come together to have whistle parties and protect neighbors. And, you know, I actively help organize a protest at the Broadview Detention Center on Fridays, because what's happening is inhumane and should not be happening in our city, let alone our country.

CORNISH: Can I get your response to these reports of federal agents basically coming into contact with protesters. At one point, one of these agents claimed that there was a chemical irritant deployed. What's your response? Do you think that protesters should throw things, should, you know, for lack of a better term, attack agents in this way?

PALECEK: I mean, I have never seen a protester attack an agent. What I have seen is agents -- I mean, I've been punched in the face. I've been shot by tear gas and rubber bullets for simply sitting down. You know, all of the protests that I have been at have been peaceful, and they have been, you know, escalated and violence solely due to ICE agents who I would love to add that are very, very untrained. You know, they're picking everybody off the street with a criminal background at that and just letting them have weapons and attack us.

CORNISH: Last question for you. People have looked to Latino voters in areas like Illinois who voted for Trump, and they think that maybe those voters are going to stick with the president through the midterms.

You're running. A self-identified queer Latina. What are you hearing in your community that is making you think you have a shot?

PALECEK: I mean, my community is scared. But not only am I a Democrat or I say a demi-crat (ph).

[06:40:04]

You know, as a Mexican and one of the few people in my family who does have papers, unfortunately, I haven't seen much from the Democratic Party in the last ten years that has provided a real pathway for people to get citizenship. And I think that that is why people did turn to Trump. And I think that all of this miscommunication is coming to light and that people will now understand, you know, the propaganda that he's put out and that that's not true. You know, we are trying to help, but we do need to do better at pathways to citizenship. And that's what I truly will be fighting for in the state house.

CORNISH: All right, that's Demi Palecek, running for office in Illinois. Thank you for being here.

PALECEK: Thank you so much.

CORNISH: So, the Federal Reserve just cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point for the third time since September. Now, this was pretty much expected, but it's not predictable because the -- how divided the Fed is. The vote was nine to three, marking the first time in six years that there were three dissenting votes. And Chairman Jerome Powell is signaling a tough road ahead for further cuts.

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JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: Having reduced our policy rate by 75 basis points since September and 175 basis points since last September, the Fed Funds Rate is now within a broad range of estimates of its neutral value, and we are well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves.

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CORNISH: So, as far as President Trump is concerned, Powell did not go far enough.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The head of the Federal Reserve is a stiff.

He did a rather -- I would say a rather small number that could have been doubled. At least doubled.

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CORNISH: All right, Courtenay Brown, economics reporter at "Axios," joins the group chat.

I'm bringing you in because you're the only person I know who gets jazzed about Fed meetings. And I felt like this is the one, because these people never have drama, right? This is not like the Supreme Court where there's a ruling and you go, oh, this batch is going to do this. This batch is going to do that. What was significant about dissenting votes?

COURTENAY BROWN, ECONOMICS REPORTER, "AXIOS": Well, they don't fight. Like, they're fighting. They're -- they are openly disagreeing with the way in which chair Powell, which up until this point has been so good at corralling Fed officials to kind of get in line and prevent a -- present a united front. We didn't see that yesterday.

I would say that -- I know I love the Fed, but I will still say that, generally speaking, this was the most consequential meeting of Chair Powell's term so far.

CORNISH: Oh, say more.

BROWN: I believe that we are entering a really -- and he said so himself, we are entering a really important moment for the economy right now. Both sides of the Fed's mandate are under pressure. We know there's labor market weakness and possibly more to come with the advent of A.I. But on the other side of its mandate, there's also a lot of inflation concerns. We know there's an affordability crisis right now. And Chair Powell said that almost all of the inflation that we're seeing right now that's overshot its two percent target is because of President Trump's tariffs.

Now, they are concerned -- they believe that this will be temporary, be a one-time price increase, but they can't say that for sure. So, there are so many Fed officials that are worried inflation is still too high.

CORNISH: Yes.

Betsy, can you talk about this, because I know the White House is saying he's going to go out and give speeches and talk about affordability. We know how he feels about Powell, who he just called a stiff. But I'm hearing some reality on the ground in terms of the economics.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there's also one really important thing to note, which is that the president's handpicked Federal Reserve governor, Stephen Miran, was one of those three abstentions. And he did so because he wanted it to be a full half point rate cut, which is what the president had wanted, sending a very important signal. The president says he's going to make a selection of the next Fed chair in the next couple of weeks. He also says that a litmus test for that next Fed chair is going to be whether they will cut rates more aggressively.

CORNISH: How is that a good thing? I mean, is there a danger of cutting too quickly?

BROWN: One of the reasons why this meeting was so consequential is because it kind of signals the path ahead for the Fed. Chair Powell only has three more meetings before President Trump's Fed chair pick takes over. I don't know that whether it be Kevin Hassett, a Trump loyalist, top economist at the White House, is going to be able to come in and push through all the interest rate cuts that President Trump wants. We're seeing huge pushback from the committee right now, whether it be for more interest rates, but I think more common you're seeing hesitancy at the Fed.

I think the dissent was actually understated. So, only two members of the Fed who are voting officials said they preferred not to cut rates. But there was kind of like a shadow dissension where members who weren't technically voters signaled in something called the dot plot (ph), I won't bore you with that -- I'm sorry.

[06:45:05]

CORNISH: Oh, my God. Basically it sounds like you're saying, oh, if we could vote, we also would jump in and dissent.

BROWN: Exactly. They didn't want to cut rates yesterday.

CORNISH: Yes. BROWN: So, I can't imagine, if the economic situation gets more perilous, I can't imagine that, whether it be a chair Hassett or whoever Trump picks, that they're going to be able to come in and bulldoze the committee and just do what they want.

CORNISH: OK. We're going to see. Courtenay Brown, bringing that good morning energy. I love it.

And if you missed any of that conversation, I don't want you to. I want you to share it. Check out our podcast, which comes out later today. Just scan this AR code now to find it because CNN THIS MORNING is available anywhere you get your podcasts.

And next on CNN, your Instagram could be the ticket to visiting the U.S. The new policy that will require a social media check for international tourists.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, FOUNDER, TESLA: We're a little bit successful. We're somewhat successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: He's over DOGE, but would Elon Musk have done anything differently?

And a special programing note. This Sunday, Roy Wood Jr. hosts a holiday special for the entire family with music from the U.S. Air Force Band and Jessie James Decker, comedy from Roy, Craig Robinson, so much more. "Roy Wood Jr.'s Very, Very, Very Merry Holiday Special," Sunday. That's happening at 8:00 on CNN. And you can also watch it on the CNN app.

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[06:50:53]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very honored to have -- you know, we have the Olympics coming to.

We have the World Cup, and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now, look what I have, I have everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, so the president has made no secret, he feels the World Cup and Olympics coming to the U.S. are a pretty big deal. Foreign tourists coming to those events could soon face more scrutiny at the border. Under a newly proposed rule by Customs and Border Patrol, travelers from places like the U.K., France, Germany and dozens of others would have to turn over their last five years of social media posts for review. The changes impact travelers eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows visitors from approved countries to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa.

I'm taking this to the group chat because, as we were talking to the -- to the break, you pointed out that this was once or is currently optional, just showing people the current rules. You want that electronic travel visa, you show your passport, you give your email address and you disclose your social media. That -- after, what they're proposing is a little bit more because it's your emails and phone numbers, also for that of your whole family. Also, the social media of your stuff is like your handles, the links to it, all the apps.

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Right.

CORNISH: It's a lot to come see the World Cup.

SINGH: It's a lot to come see the World Cup. It's a lot to come into the United States. And, frankly, what this administration is doing is trying to basically control the types of people that come into the country. And they're doing that by now saying, for the last five years, we're going to examine your social media, which before was optional, but now people actually have to put their link in and to essentially be vetted.

And I think what the concern here is, is that you said something critical about the administration, you posted something that this administration finds, quote, "offensive," and all of a sudden you're not allowed into the country. And that's -- frankly goes against our values as a country of the freedom of being able to express yourself.

CORNISH: So, and we know for students this is even a little more aggressive.

SINGH: Yes.

CORNISH: They want to know whether you have expressed hostile attitudes towards citizens. Can you talk about, like, who does the vetting? What's the idea here, Betsy?

KLEIN: Well, I think setting aside whether this is a good idea, a bad idea, privacy and free speech concerns, this is a logistical nightmare because our immigration enforcement is already overstretched. Who is going to go through -- five years of social media for me is going to take a very long time. And even, let's say A.I. does it, there's questions about nuance and whether it's able to catch that. I think it just -- I don't know how this would proceed.

CORNISH: Isn't that the point, though? Isn't it sort of death of the immigration system by bureaucracy, right? By a thousand provisions. And then in the meantime, the gold card visa plan is being launched and it's -- the road is clear if you have the million bucks or a corporation that will back you with two million bucks.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yes, I mean, if you're rich and white you probably can come here, as he said the other day, if you're from Norway or Sweden, that's fine. But if you're from anywhere else or any sort of person of anything but white, you are not welcome here.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: (INAUDIBLE) --

HAYS: And so it's not even -- it's not even about what you say. And I -- to Betsy's point, taking people off of doing actual investigations for terrorism and drugs, anything to go through people's social media is the most absurd use of taxpayer dollars I could ever think of.

DUBKE: I'm worried about the Norwegians and the Swedes, but that's me.

Look, this is a very -- this is -- this is going to devastate the tourism industry.

CORNISH: Oh, interesting.

DUBKE: Let's be very -- let's be very clear about this, you have casual visitors to the United States that are now going to have to jump through these hoops that are way beyond just buying your plane ticket. And it is reciprocal. As Americans traveling abroad, we are now going to have -- this is a terrible, terrible idea for a short term --

CORNISH: Other countries are going to -- yes.

DUBKE: Absolutely.

HAYS: And our --

DUBKE: It's already happening in England, Europe. We -- Americans used to be able to travel freely. Now we have to buy a three-year visa to go.

SINGH: That's right.

DUBKE: So, I mean, this is -- if I was in the tourism industry, I would be shouting from the rooftops that this proposal needs to die.

[06:55:00]

CORNISH: OK, I want to talk about one thing we thought had died, which was DOGE. It sort of went out with a whisper, but Elon Musk says that he's officially done talking about it. He was speaking with Katie Miller, Stephen Miller's wife -- we were just talking about her -- and he said that he wouldn't go back and lead the department again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, FOUNDER, TESLA: We're a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful.

KATIE MILLER: Would you ever do DOGE again?

MUSK: I mean, no, I don't think so. I think instead of doing DOGE, I would have basically built, you know, worked on my companies, essentially, and not -- and the cars, they wouldn't have been running the cars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back.

I think there's a couple shareholders who agree based on his most recent compensation package.

DUBKE: More than a couple.

HAYS: Yes.

DUBKE: Yes.

CORNISH: I just want to just remind people the legacy of DOGE in terms of layoffs. The VA, at least 1,000. The Defense Department, 5,400, National Park Service, which we were talking about earlier with the change in the image of the card.

So, it is not without actual effect. But do you think this means he's out of politics?

HAYS: I think he realized that there is a financial cost to being involved in politics. And I think that he realized that his companies had a great burden on him from all the negative publicity, because a lot of things he did, it was challenged in court, and it's still being challenged in court.

CORNISH: People set fire to the cars and, like, you know, totally went after the dealerships.

HAYS: Well, you know, his cost financially, I think, was a lot greater than any success that he had doing DOGE.

DUBKE: For him personally, I mean, I think he's realizing it's much easier to sit back and write checks for politics than it is to participate in this blood sport. And, yes, I'm not surprised at all about this. I'm sure all of the stock prices have gone up on his --

CORNISH: Yes, his business is booming, actually, after this.

DUBKE: Yes, exactly.

SINGH: But I will say, I mean, what Elon Musk gave Democrats was a united message. I mean he really became a villain. And also with Republicans, I mean, he purged career officials with substantial, you know, credibility and also just knowledge from these departments. And so that took -- the government took a hit. And that actually, I mean, he did bring Democrats in a united message. And I -- and I think at the end of the day, DOGE was successful in purging people, but it's going to have such long term effects for our (INAUDIBLE).

CORNISH: Yes. I mean, ironically, I don't know if people remember, it was -- I think it was a mugging of a DOGE worker that kicked off the conversation about bringing the National Guard to D.C.

DUBKE: This was six months ago.

CORNISH: Yes, exactly. What is time?

DUBKE: Life moves fast.

CORNISH: What is time?

So, we're going to talk about what's in our group chats today.

And, Betsy, can I start with you?

KLEIN: Brigitte Macron, she is under fire in France for referring to feminist protesters as stupid bitches. And --

CORNISH: Are you allowed to say that, Betsy?

KLEIN: It's a problem --

(CROSS TALK)

CORNISH: It's a morning show.

KLEIN: France is outraged.

CORNISH: Yes.

KLEIN: It's just been fascinating to follow.

CORNISH: OK. Mike, do you want to follow that one?

DUBKE: Mine is fairly simple. How to -- the best way to leave a party early. So, you know, you got the Irish exit and whatever else I can -- I'm sure we'll get hate mail from Ireland now, yes.

CORNISH: I'm not -- I don't know if you -- woke is over, so you can -- yes.

DUBKE: Oh, I can say that.

So, I have a theory that if you're going to go to multiple holiday parties, you walk in, you grab a beer, you find the host, you make sure they see you, you make some grand gesture, whatever that may be, and then you just circle and you get out. And you can hit three or four parties a night that way.

CORNISH: That's amazing. I definitely will not invite you to anything.

Meghan, you?

HAYS: We are discussing the new documentary on Netflix about Diddy that "50 Cent" has done and executive produced. Netflix is suing, obviously, because there -- Diddy is suing Netflix. But it is very interesting in watching the level of pettiness coming from 50 Cent doing interviews that he knows that Diddy is seeing in prison is something that I really admire.

CORNISH: Oh, OK.

SINGH: Well, pulling on the pop culture thread, I -- the group chats are definitely talking about former Bravo reality star Jen Shah from the "Salt Lake City Housewives" franchise being released early from prison. She was accused of --

CORNISH: There is so much to unpack in that sentence. Yes, go on.

SINGH: So much to unpack because she was accused in 2021 of a telemarketing scheme, was convicted, but all of it happened on camera. And it is truly a great house -- franchise to watch. And so she was released yesterday. And I think the biggest questions that are concerning the group chats is, is she going to come back to the "Salt Lake City Housewives" franchise? Is she going to get her own show? We're seeing a lot of people sort of being redeemed from prison. George Santos among one of them.

CORNISH: Yes.

SINGH: So, what happens to Jen Shah?

CORNISH: Yes. And in the era of internet fame, yes, that's -- it's just all press is good press, you know.

SINGH: Yes.

HAYS: I will say that the "Real Housewives" is much better without her there. And Andy Cohen did say she is not coming back, so hopefully.

SINGH: She -- but he said that but, also, how long does that hold.

CORNISH: Clearly, you guys know the politics of this.

SINGH: Because I think -- and, I mean, the "Salt Lake City Housewives" in particular have just infiltrated, I think, everywhere.

CORNISH: Yes.

SINGH: I mean, so many people know who they are. They watch them. And so even though he said she's not coming back, I don't know.

CORNISH: And the big pop culture conversation around Mormon women and around the Salt Lake City sort of culture and vibe that I didn't see coming.

HAYS: Yes.

SINGH: Yes.

HAYS: Yes.

SINGH: Yes.

[07:00:04]

HAYS: Yes. Dirty sodas now we have like. It's like a -- SINGH: It is almost like a -- any other place in America.

CORNISH: All right, you guys were amazing. This -- I love the things you bring to talk about and share on the show.

I want to thank you for being with us this morning, because there's a lot of places you can spend your time, and I'm glad you're spending it with us. I'm Audie Cornish, and the headlines are next.

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