Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

Trump's 90,000 Sq Foot White House Ballroom Gets Green Light; Governors Meet In Washington After Trump Uninvites Two Dem Govs.; Govs. Stitt And Stein On Voting Access, Free Elections; Ex-McConnell Interns Run To Replace Him By Running From Him. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired February 19, 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]

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: -- there's not proper time for the public to really weigh in on this design and the concept. The chairman of the committee did note that they had received over 2,000 public comments. 99 percent of those he said were negative.

People speaking to the transparency of the project, people speaking to how the East Wing was demolished in the first place, and questions over the size and scale of the ballroom that Trump wants to build. Now again, this also not only has to go through this committee, but it also has to go through the National Capital Planning Commission. They will be meeting early next month in March. So interesting to note that at least this step pushed forward rather quickly today.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: And again, just to state the obvious, this is about what is going to be built. There was no consultation before he actually destroyed the East Wing --

SERFATY: That's correct.

BASH: -- in order to get this far.

SERFATY: No consultation. This is all what's going to be built. And again, potentially $400 million project. Many square feet, not only the ballroom but other improvements as well. And notable here on this committee, it's a very small committee, seven members of this committee.

He -- when the East Wing was originally demolished back in October, President Trump gutted that committee, replaced them with loyalists, replaced them with people that critics contend don't have arts and architecture background, don't really know what they're doing.

And notably just today, Trump's executive assistant, 26-year-old, was just installed on this committee, filling out the committee. No previous arts background, which obviously critics are noting is curious to say the least. And a source telling me this commission is clearly just being viewed as a rubber stamp to push ahead these projects.

BASH: I mean, in another country, in another time, it was called the politburo.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. And listen, the space in the White House is at a premium, right? And the idea that you're going to have a 90,000 square foot ballroom that is not going to be used every day, that'll be used for fancy parties, state dinners, which again, don't happen very often, it's just -- it's ridiculous.

It's no surprise that 90 percent of the people -- or 99 percent of the people who weighed in have a negative view of this. This is, again, is sort of a ballroom for billionaires, for the elite. It's paid for by these corporations. Yes. I mean, I just -- this is, I covered the East Wing, so this is near and dear to my heart because the fact that they destroyed the East Wing and all the history that was there for this glitzy ballroom, it's just insane.

BASH: I'm actually surprised that given who is on this commission that he admitted that 99 percent of the public response was negative.

SERFATY: Absolutely. And he noted that, but then he read a few of them, but then he dwelled -- the chairman dwelled on the positives.

BASH: That is not surprising.

Can't we all just get along? Well, that is what the country's governors are trying to prove here in Washington this week. I spoke to two of them about the biggest issues facing their states and the country in a bipartisan conversation. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:29]

BASH: The National Governors Association was supposed to meet with President Trump tomorrow. That official meeting is now off. Maryland Democratic Governor Wes Moore, who is also the organization's vice chair, said this morning President Trump uninvited him and Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

He wrote in a statement, quote, "It has now been communicated and confirmed to NGA staff that the White House has pulled back invitations to Governor Polis and myself for Friday morning's business meeting. We have concluded that the president will hold the meeting, but it will not be an official NGA event."

Now, this comes after President Trump had already actively uninvited Governors Moore and Polis from a White House dinner. Now, despite all of that drama around the president's guest list, governors from across the country are still here in D.C. working to share ideas, especially across party lines.

I spoke with the NGA chair, Kevin Stitt, Republican of Oklahoma and Democratic Governor Josh Stein of North Carolina at the Milken Institute here in Washington to talk about issues plaguing Americans in both their states, the affordability crisis, and especially when it comes to housing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There are, you know, such basic things that people really can't do that they saw their parents or even their grandparents be able to do, and it's what made America the place where you can have a term like the American dream.

GOV. KEVIN STITT (R), OKLAHOMA: Yes, so I think there's broad agreement that, you know, part of the American dream is home ownership and how is that affordable for a first-time homebuyer. We're seeing the age move back and kids are buying or young people are buying homes much later than they did back when I got out of school.

And so how do you get there? So, you know, and there could be a -- this could be a disagreement between the Democrat and the Republican side, but we know that there's a problem, so let's work on it. So with me, I believe that it's too much government intervention.

We need permitting reform. We need to allow developers to create lots quicker. We need to have -- we need to get rid of some of those impediments that are keeping lot developments from happening, right?

BASH: What you're describing from a conservative point of view is what some in your party call the abundance agenda. Are you on board with that? Meaning make streamline regulations and permitting in order to make it easier to build housing, for example, that's more affordable for people.

GOV. JOSH STEIN (D), NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina is the number one state to which residents of other states are moving. We're the third fastest growing state by population. We're the third fastest growing state as a percentage of our current population, and we're already a big state.

[12:40:09]

They're -- you know, the saying that if you build it, they will come. It turns out in North Carolina, if you don't build it, they will still come. And so we need to build a lot more, and so I am all about trying to remove barriers to construction of more units, more units of all types.

Single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, condominiums, apartment buildings, special needs housing. We need more of all of them. We have historically -- one reason why we've been such an attractive place for business to locate and people to move is because our cost structure is lower than a lot of our competitors.

BASH: There's something called the SAVE Act that Republicans here in D.C. want to pass, which would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, and there are different ideas of how that would be proven -- a passport, a birth certificate, and there are other examples.

First, Governor Stein, I actually want to start with you on this. A, on this piece of legislation policy-wise, do you think that's a good idea? And B, do you think it's a good idea at all for the federal government to get involved in what is required to vote, which is constitutionally a state issue?

STEIN: This democracy works when every person who is eligible to vote can do so easily and safely, and that's what we should be striving to do, have secure elections that are accessible to people. And what I fear, and I've seen this because in many ways North Carolina is a microcosm of many of the political movements of the country, is an effort to restrict the vote to people who vote a certain way.

And that's not how it works in democracy, and the way it works in democracy is everybody plays on the same field. You compete with ideas and you win or you lose. If you win, you go out there and try to execute on your promises and deliver for people. If you lose, you go back and you ask yourself, why did I lose?

How am I not connecting with people? What can I do better so that in the next election, I actually win? That's how it is supposed to work. In many ways, that's not happening today.

STITT: We need to have common sense on these issues. To answer your question, it's already a federal law that you have to be a U.S. citizen to vote. So what does that mean? Oklahoma, it's already a law, you go in and you have to show a driver's license. So I think that's very reasonable.

I can't walk up there and look at the sheet of paper and say, yes, that's me right there. I have to show my driver's license. We think that's normal in Oklahoma. So -- but as far as should the feds take over elections, 100 percent not. This belongs at the state level.

The federal government ends up breaking things. They're not very good at things.

BASH: I guess just to sort of bottom line this, there is a lot of concern that the reason that President Trump is pushing to have a national answer is to undermine the results of elections he doesn't like in November. Are you worried about that?

STITT: I disagree with that statement. I think President Trump wants fair elections like we all do. And he wants people to make sure that they are U.S. citizens to vote. Now, how you go about that, we could argue the deal. Do I think we should pull away North Carolina's and Oklahoma's ability to run our elections? Absolutely not.

I think that is a state issue. I think Utah handles that. Even if we disagree with maybe Washington or California, that's still their state's rights for a reason. And the reason these things -- everybody is so mad right now is the federal government shouldn't be a one-size- fits-all, right?

North Carolina is different than Oklahoma. And Texas is different than California. And that's the way it should be.

STEIN: While I agreed with what Kevin had said about the federal government should not be administering elections, that's a state function, I disagree with him about his confidence that this administration is doing this work for good reasons. There is no basis to go into Georgia and take voting machines when there have been how many elections, three elections, two elections since the 2020 election that the president continues to say that he won when we all know every recount concluded, every court case demonstrated he lost Georgia.

He lost Georgia. He lost Pennsylvania. He lost Michigan. And he doesn't like to lose. And I understand that. None of us like to lose. But you have to accept loss, the possibility, the concept of loss if you are competing in an election.

[12:45:07]

And I have grave concerns about why is he going to take these voting machines out of Georgia from something that happened in 2020? There's nothing that good can come from that other than fomenting fear and conspiracy among a swathe of the population. And why would that do you any good? It would only do you good as if you wanted to do something like he did in 2020 when he refused to accept the results, the will of the voters. Gravely concerning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And coming up, how Senator Mitch McConnell's lack of popularity in fights with President Trump are defining the race to replace McConnell, who, of course, is the former Senate majority leader. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:15]

BASH: Three former interns for outgoing Senate -- Senator Mitch McConnell are running to succeed him. They're running against each other. None want to be associated with their former boss.

Hannah Knowles has a preview of the May 19th primary contest in Kentucky. The headline, "Mitch McConnell is taking a beating in the race to replace him." And she writes, "The Senate primary to replace 83-year-old McConnell shows how profoundly the GOP base in his home state has soured on one of the most powerful and significant political figures in Kentucky history."

The three Republican candidates, former State Attorney General Daniel Cameron, businessman Nate Morris and Congressman Andy Barr.

We are joined again by our panel, including Hannah. It's really, really remarkable, I mean, to go down there and to hear the kind of criticism of him that you heard. And it's not just coming from these candidates.

HANNAH KNOWLES, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Candidates, yes.

BASH: What's coming from the candidates because it's coming from the people who are voting. KNOWLES: Yes. And as I was just saying, you know, if you walk around a grocery store and try to talk to voters about this primary, which is still far off, you know, most people, they don't know who the candidates are, really. They don't know much about it. But a lot of them will say, you know, we're not fans of Mitch McConnell.

And so, clearly, you know, he's this towering GOP figure. He's done so much for the party. He's cemented a lot of the president's legacy and still to so much of the MAGA base. He is the villain and the guy who held Trump back.

BASH: Let's just listen to a couple of ads from two of the candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CAMERON (R), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: Now, what we saw from Mitch McConnell in voting against Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and RFK was just flat out wrong.

NATE MORRIS (R), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: And Mitch McConnell, he's trash Trump. And for over 40 years, he's been dumping on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: The first thing that I think is important to point out is that Mitch McConnell, of all people, understands what's happening and has no issue, probably with the people who are doing it. It was always the case when he was leader that he would take all the bullets for his team and serve as the heat shield so Republicans could win and never had an issue with that. So he's always very cognizant of the importance of that dynamic.

The thing I can't get over, it's like Daniel Cameron was a protege. Like he was -- like McConnell was hugely influential on his kind of entire career process, his growth, not just his success in politics. He's obviously has kind of all the resume bullet points you would want for somebody to have a successful political career.

But McConnell really did have a close relationship with him. And watching Cameron do that, and he's run before statewide and had a difficult time trying to navigate or thread this needle, he's not threading anymore. He's just throwing the needle in the trash can. It's wild to see.

BASH: And I don't know, I still have a hard time understanding how this entire party is throwing a man who made it possible for Donald Trump, as you said, to do much of what he's doing under the bus. Let's just give some examples.

Longest serving Senate leader. OK, putting that aside. He blocked Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court, allowing Gorsuch. And he took a lot of harpoons for that, as you were saying. Shifted the balance of the federal judiciary to the right, up and down the federal judiciary. Helped advance major tax cuts, deregulation, and one of his signature issues, helping to block campaign finance laws. Yes, he's a grown up. He understands how politics works. But the fact that he has -- is such a villain because Donald Trump doesn't like him is also kind of a commentary on the way that people consume information. Because they're only -- I'm sure the people you talk to in the grocery store are largely hearing about Mitch McConnell from conservative media, and they're mimicking the president.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Right. You're trying to have like an intellectually honest discussion about this, and it's a completely emotionally fabricated experience, which is the story of this 10-year journey of the transformation of the Republican Party --

BASH: Yes, that's right.

CHALIAN: -- into a party made into Donald Trump's image and at Donald Trump's desires. And, you know, of course it is true that Mitch McConnell has delivered across all of these things that are central to what the Republican Party had run on. And even in the Trump era, no doubt about it.

But he also, while coming up with a scheme to make sure that Donald Trump was not impeached in the second impeachment, or was not convicted in the second impeachment trial, did give that scathing speech on the Senate floor and saying basically that he hoped the justice system would take care of this outside of impeachment process.

[12:55: 11]

That did not land well. I mean, and their relationship wasn't even great before that. But the 2020 election denialism is where they just -- it ruptured to a point of no path to return.

BASH: Right.

CHALIAN: And I think you see the results in a Trump-dominated party in the way this primary is running. And, by the way, the other primary in Kentucky is not just the Senate one, but like Donald Trump's mission critical right now is to make sure Thomas Massie is not --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.

CHALIAN: -- doesn't get the nomination in his reelection.

HENDERSON (?): Yes, Kentucky stuff (ph). Yes.

CHALIAN: That's happening in Kentucky as well.

HENDERSON: Kentucky, interesting, right? I mean, you've got Massie on the one hand and Rand Paul as well, very critical of this president. But I agree with Phil. The Daniel Cameron thing is just fascinating. How he navigates this without seeming like a complete phony and opportunist in sort of throwing Mitch McConnell, you know, under the bus.

You know, he's not going to have the sort of fundraising power either without the McConnell name. So it'll be an interesting contest to watch, you know, looking at Daniel Cameron in particular.

BASH: It sure is. All right. Thanks, everybody. Appreciate it.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)