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Inside Politics

Democrats Call AG Bondi's Demand of Voter Rolls Amid Minneapolis Tension Ransom and Extortion; Sen. Warnock Travels to Minnesota, Says He'll Block ICE Funding; Man Charged With Assault After Spraying Substance at Rep. Omar; Trump Pushes Affordability by Touting 'trump Accounts'; Trump Backs Primary Challengers in Indiana Legislative Races; First Lady Melania Trump Rings NYSE Opening Bell to Celebrate New Film. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 28, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I talked to a bunch of mayors, local elected officials. This is a whole new world of concern for them about their security and being in elected office, their security for their family. It's just an entirely amped up, new scary development to be someone in public service.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF 'INSIDE POLITICS': Yeah. I mean, look what happened in Minnesota last year, or this past year. And we're talking about two statewide officials, one of whom was killed, another gravely injured.

All right. Up next, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock traveled to Minneapolis yesterday. He's going to be here to share what he learned and how the battle over funding for Homeland Security will play out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:00]

BASH: Now to a request that Democrats are calling blackmail, ransom, and extortion. Attorney General Pam Bondi wants Minnesota to hand over its voter rolls. She laid that out in a letter giving demands, that is just one of the demands, to Governor Tim Walz, claiming it will, quote, "help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans."

Of course, voter rolls have nothing to do with the election, the situation on the ground in Minneapolis, but it is part of the Trump administration's massive push to access voter rolls, which has been going on for months and months and months. CNN's Fredreka Schouten joins the panel now. And Fredreka, you have done extensive reporting on this. Lay out what it is that they're asking for and why Democrats are so resistant.

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: Yeah, as you mentioned, it has been a demand for months. It started last year. And there are some serious privacy concerns that state election officials have, because part of what they want isn't just the list of voters, all of the information in the voter files that states maintain. That can include social security numbers, driver's license numbers, addresses, and it says that it needs this to help states clean their voter rolls.

I think one of the things we should remember is that the Constitution does not give the executive branch a role in administering elections at this level. And so, what has happened as a consequence of all of this is that the DOJ has sued states that have said no to this.

BASH: And we can put up on the screen which states they are. Go ahead. They're Democratic-led states.

SCHOUTEN: Mostly Democratic-led states.

BASH: Yeah.

SCHOUTEN: Georgia is among them because Brad Raffensperger, the Republican Secretary of State there, also has said no. But they have dis -- so far, judges are not agreeing. The Department of Justice says that they have the right to this information under a Jim Crow-era civil rights law, and judges have disagreed. In California, they tossed out the DOJ's case, and they just this week did so in Oregon. So, they have not been successful so far.

BASH: And one of the arguments, really the key argument that Democrats are making is what you're trying to do is disenfranchise voters. And I mean, Chris Murphy was on with me Sunday, and he said this is about trying to find a way to steal elections. Is there, I mean, can you explain -- can you get us from A to B, that -- that argument?

SCHOUTEN: Yeah. I mean, part of it is there is a fear that there will be, if you have the voter rolls, that the federal government does, that somehow you will match this information with federal data and come up with sloppy matches that end up purging people who are legitimate voters from the rolls. And I'll give you an example.

The state of Texas sort of put up its voter rolls, 18 million people, and came up with 2,700 potential non-citizens that they found when they checked against the federal databases. They, in turn, sent that to counties. And one county, Travis County had 97 people on the list. And as soon as local officials began to do a little digging, they found that 11 of them had provided the proof of citizenship, that they were indeed legitimate voters.

So, there is a concern that this is really about disenfranchising people, or that there's a risk that this effort disenfranchises people.

BASH: And I just also want to put up on the screen the states that have complied with the DOJ's request, and that's why the DOJ is not suing them. And they are entirely states that are led by Republicans. Tia?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting that Attorney General Bondi inserted herself into this, particularly when it comes to Minnesota, because we know that right now there's a lot of concern about federal intervention in Minnesota. We're seeing a little bit of backtracking.

And then here she comes, not just inserting herself, but almost coupling the two. And I think that could be seen as really problematic. And then when you back it up to the overall, the efforts of the Department of Justice, you mentioned that Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger has said this is overreach.

BASH: In Georgia.

MITCHELL: In Georgia, has said this is overreach. This is not data the federal government should be privy to. This is a privacy thing. And I think there are real concerns about what the government could do with this data, even beyond purging voter rolls.

CHALIAN: Let's be clear here. This is coming from an administration that doesn't have the best track record on like, election integrity in this kind of way, right? That Donald Trump still to this day continues to illegitimately and falsely claim that the 2020 election was not legitimately won by Joe Biden when it was.

[12:40:00]

And so in the context of that, I think when you talk to a lot of these states that are denying it, there is also a concern that this is all a predicate to lay groundwork for malfeasance when it comes to the 2026 midterm election, and that somehow this information will be used to call into question legitimate election results for the illegitimate purposes of somebody who doesn't like them. And so I think that's the larger context in which this entire battle is taking place.

TYLER PAGER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah, I mean, this -- as David said, this is at the heart of one of Trump's longest standing grievances, his election, and he says election fraud. And he is now using a word that I'll borrow from the Biden administration, a whole of government approach to try to tackle this issue.

And it's not just this request from Pam Bondi, and it's not just the lawsuits, but he's bringing people into his administration that were key figures in the 'Stop the Steal' movement. They are empowered now to look through whatever evidence they want to find evidence to support Donald Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

So, I think that we should continue to monitor the story, especially as we move closer to the midterms.

BASH: Yeah. Well, luckily, we have Fredreka here. So if you want to monitor the story, follow her reporting. Thank you.

Coming up, the government is days away from a partial shutdown, and many Democratic Senators are refusing to fund ICE. I'll talk to one of them after the break.

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[12:45:44] BASH: Georgia Democratic Senator, Reverend Raphael Warnock, visited Minneapolis yesterday to visit the sites where Alex Pretti and Renee Good were killed. Here's what he came away with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, (D-GA): ICE cannot continue in this way, kidnapping children off of streets, killing Americans with impunity, barging into homes without a warrant. This cannot stand. And it's the people who are standing up in this moment. Here's my promise to you. As I stand up in the United States Senate, I will block ICE funding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Senator Warnock joins me now. Thank you so much for being here. I do want to hear more about what you learned on the ground in Minnesota in a moment.

But first, I do want to ask about funding because we are just days away from a partial government shutdown. So, what do you see happening behind the scenes? Is there the potential for any kind of agreement with Republicans on DHS funding?

WARNOCK: Well, we will see. But I will say to you that the issues that we're discussing are deadly serious, literally. I swore an oath to honor the Constitution. I work for the people. And as an elected official, just as a citizen, to see Americans, to see human beings shot and killed with impunity on quiet neighborhood streets is something I can't turn away from. And I wouldn't even try.

And so we're having serious conversations. And whether we see a way forward in terms of the budget, I think that rests squarely with the Republicans. They have the House, the Senate, and the White House. They're seeing the same video I'm seeing. I want to know if they're OK with it. I'm certainly not.

BASH: Well, on that, I mean, people don't see it as much publicly. But I know that you do have real conversations with your colleagues across the aisle a lot. And I am sure you're hearing the concerns, privately much more than they're expressing publicly. So what are those conversations like? For example, a body camera mandate to include that? I mean, is there an acceptable compromise for you? Or will you just not vote for anything that even remotely funds ICE?

WARNOCK: Look, those conversations are happening right now. But what we have in America right now is Donald Trump's paramilitary operation of masked men jumping out of unmarked cars, barging into homes without a warrant, things that fly in the face of what I learned in ninth grade civics.

Kidnapping five-year-olds off the street who's innocence you can see in the little floppy -- the hat with the floppy ears that Liam Conejo Ramos was wearing when he was used as bait. This is deeply un- American. And so, I don't expect to get everything that I might want. I wouldn't have put $85 billion into ICE.

BASH: Yeah, I mean, that's not the --

WARNOCK: ICE is now larger -- it's now larger than all of the federal law enforcement agencies combined, including the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals, the DEA.

BASH: Yeah.

WARNOCK: And that's a big dog.

BASH: Yeah.

WARNOCK: And big dogs have to eat, and they're consuming bodies.

BASH: And that's at the door. I mean, that happened. And I know that was part of a different piece of legislation that you did not support. But now that it is --

WARNOCK: That's right.

BASH: -- happening, I guess the bottom line is, what is tangible that you can do? Do you think that ICE should be abolished now?

[12:50:00]

WARNOCK: I am saying that, look, ICE was around long before Donald Trump. I think a lot of Americans are hearing of ICE for the first time. It's not a new entity. It came out of the days of 9/11 and responding to real threats. And you have to have some agency that deals with the border and that deals with immigration.

We're a nation of laws. We have borders. We understand that. But I don't think that the people, by and large, who voted for Trump voted for what they're seeing on the streets. And it's a defining moment. We've got to have some serious conversation. We'll see where we land.

BASH: What should Americans expect with regard to government funding? Because we're, once again, up against a deadline and if the votes aren't there to fund the government, there will be a partial government shutdown again.

WARNOCK: I think you should ask John Thune. They have the Senate. They have the House. They have the White House. We are going in good faith. There are a lot of good ideas here. Obviously, we're not trying to get everything that we would want in order to move forward. But you can't ask me to be an accomplice to the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

It is to make a butchery of my conscience. And I intend to respond to the people that I'm hearing from all across Georgia who are concerned, deeply concerned -- Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- and are saying that this cannot stand. BASH: Senator, I want to ask you about the threats, safety threats against members of Congress. You saw what happened to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar last night in Minnesota. And we're putting up on the screen a report from Capitol Police. It was a threat assessment that came out, I believe, yesterday. And it's showing the spike in cases. What more should be done there?

WARNOCK: I'm deeply concerned. And a good start would be a different tone coming from the top. President Trump has repeatedly attacked the congresswoman.

BASH: Well, his response to this was that maybe it was staged. So, I don't know that that's going to happen.

WARNOCK: Yeah. This --

BASH: So with that reality --

WARNOCK: This is who he is. Yeah, look, I think all of us have to condemn political violence in all of its forms. I went to the floor of the Senate after the killing, the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk, with whom I've disagreed on just about everything, and condemned that killing. And I think we have to see that on both sides of the aisle.

Violence, political violence, this kind of intimidation is the opposite of democracy. You cannot have political violence and a democracy. Either you have political violence or you have a democracy. And so, we need to cool down the temperature, get past this kind of gaslighting, and deal with the issues that the American people are deeply concerned about.

They're trying to make their lives work. They're trying to find a path for their children, afford health care, child care, and food. And they're trying to be safe and not have their own government shoot them dead on city streets.

BASH: You are also the Senior Pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. We do a segment here called 'Have a Little Faith'. I want to have you back to talk about that part of your job -- your weekend job, not your day job. So we'll have you back on that.

WARNOCK: Yeah. We all got to keep the faith.

BASH: Amen to that. Thank you so much, Senator. Really appreciate it. And an unexpected place the first lady appeared this morning is next.

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[12:58:25]

BASH: Topping our Political Radar, President Trump today is touting his new Trump accounts. The accounts are for all U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028. The government will contribute $1,000 to every child. Families, friends, and businesses and corporations can also contribute to the account, and the funds will become available to that child when he or she turns 18. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The size and scale of this wealth will dwarf all government programs ever created to benefit America's youth. There's never been anything like this. That's why everybody is talking about it. Even really, people that truly hate me are making this investment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: During his speech, President Trump thanked Singer Nicki Minaj. You see, she went up on stage. She has been a vocal supporter of his.

And last night, President Trump followed through on threats to primary Indian Republican lawmakers who blocked his redistricting efforts in that state. He publicly endorsed primary challengers to several GOP state Senators. Now, in December, 21 GOP state Senators joined Democrats to block a new congressional map that could have given Republicans two more seats.

That is the First Lady, Melania Trump, in New York this morning to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It's her latest stop to promote her new documentary film, "Melania." The film followed her in the days leaning up to her husband's second inauguration last year, and it will officially premiere tomorrow night at the Kennedy Center.

Thank you for joining "Inside Politics." Today, "CNN News Central" --