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Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) Is Interviewed About Trump Says He's Sending Border Czar Tom Homan To Minnesota; Storm Leaves At Least 12 People Dead In 7 States. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 26, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer, Pamela Brown is off, and you're in The Situation Room.

We're following breaking news this morning. President Trump now says he's sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota. It comes two days after a federal agent shot and killed 37-year-old, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Overnight protests erupting in the city.

Pretti is the second U.S. citizen to be shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota just this month. Also happening now, Minnesota and Trump administration officials are in court. The state and twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are pushing to stop the federal government's surge of immigration officers into the area.

CNN White House correspondent, Alayna Treene, and CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild, they're both standing by. Alayna, let me start with you. The president says border czar Tom Homan is headed to Minnesota effectively to take charge. What more can you tell us?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes, this is a significant development, Wolf, especially because as the President laid out in his post this morning, Homan has not been one of the people who has been on the ground in Minnesota. And I do want to read to you some of what the President said because I think this line is important to note. He said he has not been involved in that area but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me. So that is notable, again, that he is dispatching his border czar Tom Homan because Tom is not -- Homan has not been the one leading these ICE operations. He has not been the face of these ICE operations in Minnesota.

Instead, actually, the people who have been the face of this operation have been people like Gregory Bovino, who is the Border Patrol commander-at-large. He is the one you see on the ground, but also in those press conferences, aggressively defending the ICE agents involved in these shootings. And then also the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

She also has been, of course, a very public face on this, holding her own press conferences and going on television, again, to defend ICE throughout all of this. Now, I do want to read to you as well what Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said this morning, giving some clarity into what Homan's role is going to be. She said that Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota.

She went on to say that he's also going to be coordinating with those who are leading the fraud investigations in this state. Look, part of the reason, Wolf, this is so significant is because Homan is not as hard line as Bovino and Noem on some of the President's immigration crackdown. He's also very well respected, of course, within the Department of Homeland Security because he is a veteran agent, someone who has been working with the Border Patrol agents for years now.

I also think it's notable to note that Noem and Homan have clashed before. CNN has been doing a lot of reporting on some of how they've been at odds on some of the key policy moves by this administration relating to the President's immigration agenda. All of that important context as we look at what this could mean for a potential shifting strategy from this White House.

BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much. I want to go to our law enforcement correspondent, Whitney Wild, right now. She's in Minneapolis. Whitney, another important story. A federal court now hearing in Minnesota a lawsuit to end Operation Metro Surge, the federal government's surge of immigration officers into the Minneapolis area. It has begun. What are we expecting to see today from this hearing?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are going to hear the largest, most fulsome, best arguments from both sides here. Minnesota going first, basically laying out to Judge Katherine Menendez that what the administration is conducting here goes well beyond what is permissible under the law.

They say that there have been up to 4,000 agents amassed in Minnesota, and they say that that amounts to an invasion and tramples on the sovereignty of the state of Minnesota. I think notably, Wolf, they are not arguing that the federal government has no role in immigration, but that this is so extreme. It is so far beyond what happens in normal times and, again, what is permissible under the law, that it is, again, trampling on the rights of Minnesotans.

I'll note, though, Wolf, that the Trump administration denies this. They say that this argument has absolutely no legal basis. Judge Katherine Menendez seems very skeptical of Minnesota's argument, in court saying that she is grappling with this legal question here over the Tenth Amendment and saying that she's having a hard time determining how she is going to have the authority to block Operation Metro Surge as requested by the state of Minnesota, Wolf.

[11:05:16]

Here's a quote directly from court minutes ago. I think it kind of goes without saying that we are in shockingly unusual times. This is, again, what she said in court. And then she went on to say, I don't know that that gives me greater license to craft a remedy in the Tenth Amendment. Further, we heard from the Minnesota Attorney General's office, Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter, saying this. The difficulty with the case law in this situation is that the situation is unprecedented in the 250-year history of our country. He went on to say we have never had a federal government amass what is essentially an army of 3,000 to 4,000 masked, heavily armed federal agents and sent them into a state and basically stir the pot. But again, Wolf, at this point, Judge Menendez seems quite skeptical of that argument. Back to you.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens. All right. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for that update.

CNN legal analyst Elliott Williams is joining us now. He was assistant director for congressional relations at ICE and is a former federal prosecutor. Thanks so much, Elliott, for joining us this morning. An attorney for the state of Minnesota told a federal judge the state wants an immediate order to end this Operation Metro Surge, but that the judge said, as we just heard, that she was having a hard time determining how she would have the authority to roll it back. How do you believe this hearing will actually wind up playing out?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think the mere fact that the judge has already single -- signaled that gives some indication as to what the judge is thinking. And I think from where I sit right now, the judge is right. I think it's going to be very hard for a state to, in effect, dictate to the federal government that the scope of a federal enforcement, federal law enforcement activity, sort of goes beyond the federal government's powers.

It's even if ICE is engaging in abuses on an individual or even systemic level, they still do have the authority to be in the state of Minnesota. Now, that said, anyone whose rights are trampled on by rice -- by ICE, anyone who believes that the government has acted impermissibly with respect to them or a particular community can absolutely sue. But on a statewide level, this is just going to be a really hard suit for the state of Minnesota to win.

BLITZER: A federal judge in Minnesota has granted a temporary restraining order blocking federal agencies from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis. What do you make of this case?

WILLIAMS: That's absolutely the right decision, only because any investigation is critical, not just for the rights of the individuals there, but it's a valid lawsuit. There is -- there are serious questions as to whether those individual actions taken by ICE officers were appropriate, and ICE ought to preserve that evidence, as would be the case in any case, Wolf, where something serious has happened. We don't want parties either concealing or hiding or tampering with or destroying evidence. And so it was absolutely the right decision to require the government to preserve that information.

BLITZER: Elliott Williams, as always, thank you very, very much.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And joining us now, Maryland's Democratic Governor Wes Moore. He's at the State Highway Administration Emergency Operations Center in Hanover, Maryland. Governor, thanks so much for joining us. I want to get to this winter storm, but quickly I want to start with Minneapolis.

President Trump is sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota after the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents. How concerned are you about the situation there in Minnesota and the possibility that your state of Maryland could wind up being targeted by the federal government next?

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): Well, we're deeply concerned. You know, there are already ICE agents who are patrolling throughout the state of Maryland and in other states around the country. And frankly, I'm not sure what sending Tom Homan is supposed to do. What we have is a lack of clarity on values, a lack of clarity on mission, a lack of clarity on what the end game is, and frankly, a lack of clarity on what accountability actually looks like.

The President, as the commander-in-chief, he needs to provide commander's intent. And truthfully, what we are seeing is we are now seeing the 13th most well-funded military force in the world that is now being deployed in American cities. And they are hiring people, many of whom who are untrained, who are unqualified and who are unaccountable. And so there are very deep concerns that I have, that Democratic and Republican governors have all across the country about the way this is processing. And frankly, this needs to stop.

[11:10:01]

BLITZER: Are you concerned this could happen in Maryland, specifically in Baltimore?

MOORE: Absolutely. And I think, you know, for every governor, you know, we know that it's Minnesota today. It could be one of you tomorrow because there is no reason or, frankly, any thought that we are seeing with so many of these operations.

I serve as the vice chair of the National Governors Association, and it's an association of both Democratic and Republican governors where we work together. And the thing that we know, and we actually just released a statement on this yesterday talking about how this is a direct violation of not just oftentimes constitutional rights for people within our states, where we're seeing violation of the First Amendment, violations of the Second Amendment in many cases in what we're seeing in Minnesota.

But also it makes no sense because the people who are closest to the grounds are oftentimes the ones who know best what is going on, and they are close to the solutions. So when these decisions are being made to governors and to mayors instead of with governors and with mayors, you're not going to get the kind of solution that the people of our communities are hoping for. BLITZER: Several Senate Democrats, as you probably know, are now vowing to oppose a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security after this latest deadly shooting. And this would effectively shut down several government agencies this week. And your state of Maryland is home to so many federal workers. Do you support this move to not vote to continue to fund the government because of funding continuing for the Department of Homeland Security?

MOORE: Listen, I hate government shutdowns. I hate the fact that the United States actually can't even allow government shutdowns to take place because it's basically just saying, are you willing to pay your bills for things you've already done? No state can do that. No family can walk in and say, you know what, I'm shutting my family down. It is just the unique thing about the U.S. federal government, which is just absolutely absurd.

But what I also know is to continue cutting health care and to continue cutting grants towards research institutions, which have happened during this administration, so we can fund groups that are coming into our communities who are untrained and unaccountable, to cut basic resources and supports, to not give a single dollar in federal disaster relief, which no state that has not voted for Donald Trump has gotten since he's become the president, so we can fund people who are arresting five-year-olds and people who are killing American citizens.

So while I am always, you know, just the idea that we should have a government shutdown, it hurts my state more than any state in the country. But I also know this, we cannot continue to allow this funding of the 13th largest military force by funding in the world to continue to exist where there is no accountability, where people are not trained, and where we're watching these travesties happening in our communities every single day.

BLITZER: Governor, I want to play for you and for our viewers what your fellow Democratic Governor, Tim Walz of Minnesota, said at a news conference just yesterday. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): This is an inflection point, America. If we cannot all agree that the smearing of an American citizen and besmirching everything they stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw, I don't know what else to tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you agree, Governor, that the United States right now is at an inflection point? And if so, what should Americans be doing right now?

MOORE: I completely agree with my friend and colleague, Tim Walz. And in Maryland, we stand with our friends in Minnesota. What the folks in Minnesota are dealing with is not just heartbreaking, it's just deeply against American values and what our values should do and what they should be. And so I know that here in the state of Maryland, we are going to focus on protecting our people. It's the reason that we are ensuring that we can actually have legislation. I'm working with our General Assembly to ensure that we can have legislation that best protects our people and actually adds measurements of accountability to federal agents that are inside of our communities.

It's the reason that we are pushing to ensure that we are going to fight back against this lawlessness in every way that we see it, to include the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission that I put forward to ensure that we can have maps that actually reflect the values of our people and that understand this moment and the urgency of this moment, that there is nothing that I will not do to make sure that my people are protected against the type of atrocities that we are seeing. And there is nothing that the state of Maryland will not do to show that we are willing to lead even when it is tough.

[11:15:01]

BLITZER: I want to quickly turn to the powerful winter storm sweeping across the country, including, of course, in Maryland. What are conditions like in your state right now? What are you hearing from people there?

MOORE: Well, this has been a very tricky weather storm because it wasn't just about the volume of snow that was laid, which was significant, or about the speed because it was a very slow-moving storm. It's also that the temperatures plummeted at the same time. And so we now know we're going to be dealing with days of what is the tail of this storm. And so I'm really grateful to the first responders in our state that Maryland has had no fatalities and no major injuries during this time.

And that really is because of the measure of preparation that our first responders did, both preparation for the storm and what we've seen in the aftermath. I'm thankful to Marylanders who have heeded our warning and stayed off of the roads, let the professionals do their work. And if they have to go on the road, making sure that they are keeping space between vehicles and preparing their vehicles for it and also conserving energy.

So I'm thankful that we as a state have responded well. But we also know we are not yet out of the woods on what is -- on what this storm has brought to not just our region, but to a good portion of the country.

BLITZER: And I can let you know that in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., when I was being driven to work this morning, there were virtually no cars, absolutely no cars on any of the major streets coming into Washington, D.C., which was very, very encouraging. People were staying home, which is the right thing to do. Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

MOORE: Thank you so much, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we'll be right back.

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[11:21:17]

BLITZER: We're following more breaking news this morning in Kentucky. Officials are now investigating whether three deaths in the state were caused by this horrible winter storm. The confirmed death toll, by the way, nationwide has climbed to 12. The extreme cold that's following the storm is creating a new danger.

More than 810,000 homes and businesses have no power right now. And many areas are being warned that it could take days to restore electricity, because heavy ice brought down so many power lines, especially in the South. This morning on CNN, we heard from Kentucky's governor. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): This is going to be a prolonged event. Thankfully, the precipitation has stopped. We actually got almost a foot of snow in northern Kentucky. But the hardest hit areas got more than three quarters of an inch of ice. And what that does is weigh down tree limbs that fall. It weighs down power lines that fall. So we've got about 50,000 homes right now that don't have power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I want to go to our CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam. He's in Louisville for us in Kentucky. How are conditions? What are you seeing right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, just going off of the Kentucky governor's statement there, it is really the race against time now to restore the power to some of these hardest hit areas because of the Arctic air that has settled in, the dangerously cold temperatures that we continue to just talk about. Because this is the other part of this story, a prolonged event.

All the precipitation that fell, significant, very impactful, bringing down trees, obviously taking down power for, at one point, which was over a million customers. But now it's kind of held in place. The impacts are frozen in time, quite literally, because the air will not rise above freezing.

I mean, I've got sunshine behind me, but trust me, that is a deceiving sun. It is bitterly cold out here. And you can imagine what that means for the people who don't have the ability to heat their homes. So the race is on. This storm was so impactful. There were 18 states that received locations with a foot or more of snow, some seeing a foot and a half.

It was an incredible amount of snow, but also the ice that totaled between a half to an inch on power lines within the trees, taking down branches and entire trees as well. So the wind chill values, that's what it feels like on exposed skin right now, is well below freezing, well below zero, I should say, 50 percent of the U.S. population will actually experience sub-zero wind chill temperatures over the coming days.

And you would think that we would have maybe some relief from this, but unfortunately, Wolf, this looks like a prolonged cold Arctic blast that will only be reinforced by this weekend with the potential for dozens of record low temperatures going forward. So you can see the cold air alerts across the U.S., roughly 200 million or so that are impacted by these cold air alerts.

And then you'll also notice that the mercury in the thermometer, especially into the northern half of the country, will not rise above the freezing mark for this entire extended period. So again, freezing those impacts in place, the precipitation that fell on the ground, now permanently in place until we see those temperatures above 32 degrees.

BLITZER: You're our meteorologist, Derek. Do you have any sense when we're going to see some really significant relief?

VAN DAM: Look, I want to say that by tomorrow, we'll have enough late January sunshine to help thaw some hardest hit areas out. Wednesday might be slightly warmer by a couple of degrees, but then by the weekend, that another reinforcing shot of cold air. We're talking 10 to 20 degrees below where we should be this time of year, and that's saying something for the end of January.

[11:25:14]

BLITZER: Certainly is. All right, Derek Van Dam in Louisville, Kentucky, for us, stay safe over there. Thank you very, very much.

Up next, sticking with the science, there's new CNN reporting on why a growing number of doctors all across the country are now ignoring the CDC's new vaccine guidance for children.

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[11:29:58]

BLITZER: We're back now with news about those very controversial new federal vaccine guidelines, federal vaccine guidelines. Many doctors are ignoring the more narrow recommendations from the CDC.