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Senate Democrats Threaten Partial Shutdown Over ICE Funding; NTSB Meeting to Determine D.C. Midair Collision; International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 27, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE: -- as is. The status quo is unacceptable. And I think it's very important for Senate Democrats to do everything possible to ensure that we protect the American people and that we hold DHS accountable. And if that means withholding votes for funding bills, that's what that means.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: So, you're open to a government shutdown, at least a partial government shutdown over this?

ESCOBAR: You know, I hate government shutdowns. My district is home to Fort Bliss, which is a wonderful asset to the American people and for our national defense. I work hard for those soldiers and the leadership on base. I have a lot of federal employees in my district. But things cannot continue as is. We have to have some accountability, transparency, oversight. I'm being blocked from going into federal facilities, the Camp East Montana facility. We have to do everything possible to get Republicans to the table and to ensure that Republicans help us provide that oversight and transparency.

BROWN: And we're going to get to that facility in just a moment. But I'm just curious, would a shutdown over DHS funding really give Democrats much leverage to restrict ICE activities? Because after all, last summer, a so-called big, beautiful bill gave ICE alone a jaw- dropping $75 billion.

ESCOBAR: That's right. And unfortunately, because of that bill, the administration has enough money for ICE to continue operating this way for years. These are not two great options. Funding DHS as is or shutting down the government. But frequently in policy, you do not have a good option and a bad option. You have two really difficult options. And in this case, I think it's critical that the Senate Democrats do everything possible to protect American cities and human beings in custody.

BROWN: So, you have called on Kristi Noem, the head of DHS and the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, to brief Congress about these three immigrant deaths at Camp East Montana, as you had talked about earlier. That's in El Paso in your congressional district. What specifically do you want to learn?

ESCOBAR: Well, I've been asking questions of the Department of Homeland Security for months, and I've gotten zero responses. I've wanted to see the contract that was written that allows this corporation to operate with impunity. I've wanted to know length of stay for detainees. There's a number of issues that have been flagged for me by detainees and lawyers and human rights groups. Camp East Montana should be shut down. But Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security need to answer to Congress about what's happening.

You mentioned the three deaths. One of them has been ruled a homicide by the El Paso County medical examiner. We need a transparent investigation into these deaths, and the American people should know who killed a detainee inside of that facility and what happened leading up to that death so that we can prevent future deaths and hold people accountable for what happened.

BROWN: And I believe Kristi Noem is expected to testify March 3rd in front of a Senate committee. But this is the third migrant to die, as far as we know. This was a Cuban migrant held in solitary confinement. An autopsy ruled the death a homicide after guards held him down and he stopped breathing. DHS says he, quote, "violently resisted" staff who tried to intervene while he was trying to kill himself.

Do you have any more information? And have you been in touch with his family, or have you learned anything else from DHS about this death?

ESCOBAR: I've learned nothing else from DHS. And I think what's also very telling is that the Department of Homeland Security tried to deport the witnesses to this homicide. There's a hearing in El Paso this week. A federal judge is going to hear arguments about making sure around making sure DHS does not deport these witnesses before there is a full investigation.

If there is nothing to hide, then DHS should let members of Congress inside, should allow for transparency around this, and should allow an independent investigation into what's happening and not try to cover up by deporting the witnesses.

BROWN: All right. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, thank you for your time. Wolf.

ESCOBAR: Thank you.

[10:35:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And just ahead, close to a year later, federal investigators are now working to try to figure out what exactly caused the deadly collision here in Washington that killed 67 people. What we expect to hear today about preventing anything like this in the future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now, the National Transportation Safety Board meeting to determine what caused the U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet to collide near Reagan National Airport over the Potomac River last year.

[10:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIRMAN: Today, you will hear how deep underlying systemic failures, system flaws aligned to create the conditions that led to this devastating tragedy. From design of our airspace around DCA to the limitations of see and avoid, which we've been warning about for over five decades, to failures of entire organizations to evaluate and act on readily available data, heed repeated recommendations and foster robust safety cultures, to name a few. You will see today that we left no stone unturned. We asked the hard, uncomfortable questions that ruffled feathers and we got to the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: 67 people were killed in that crash. It was the deadliest commercial aviation accident in the United States in more than a decade. I want to go right now to CNN Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean, who's covering this hearing for us. The hearing has been underway for about an hour so far. Pete, what stands out to you?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is the final public chapter of the most complex investigation in the National Transportation Safety Board's history. And in the opening of this board meeting, board members acknowledged this will be a painful, emotional and difficult day, especially for the families of the 67 who were killed in this crash, who are here en masse. They are in the boardroom. They are also in an overflow room.

We just got a presentation from investigator in charge Brian Banning. And some of those family members actually left the room during this presentation because it included never-before-seen animations of the viewpoint of the pilots on board the Black Hawk helicopter that was coming south down the Potomac River and the viewpoint of one of the pilots of American Eagle Flight 5342 as it was approaching from the south to Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport. This is the result of what the NTSB calls a visibility study.

They were able to essentially recreate the viewpoint of the pilots using Microsoft Flight Simulator and also the structure of the airplane. That will be in this animation, grayed out areas that you'll see. I want you to watch now. This is the viewpoint of First Officer Sam Lilley. He was in the right seat of American Eagle Flight 5342 even though it was Captain Jonathan Campos who was controlling this airplane. And this really underscores how difficult it would have been to see the helicopter approaching from the right as they were in a left turn to line up with Runway 33 and all of the lights of the D.C. metro area below. Watch this closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America 4782 (INAUDIBLE). America 4782 (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP) MUNTEAN: We are only in the second of eight presentations of what will be a very long and difficult day, not only for the families here but also for the investigators. So, many of them were involved in this. The NTSB calls this an all-hands-on-deck situation. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy underscored this was not a failure of the individual pilots involved. This was a failure of a system.

And the NTSB is already planning on putting forth at least five recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. It says it did not oversee the design of the airspace around Reagan National Airport closely enough when it comes to these low-flying helicopter routes so frequently used by the military.

BLITZER: Those helicopters are no longer flying near the Reagan National Airport. Pete Muntean, thank you very much for that update. We'll stay in close touch with you.

And coming up, how people in countries around the world are honoring 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the millions of lives that were forever changed.

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[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Today marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It's a time to reflect, remember, and honor victims and survivors. Millions of people were murdered during the Holocaust, including 6 million Jews. Today is also a reminder to combat antisemitism in all forms and to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust. It's a deeply personal day for many, including myself. I'm a child of Holocaust survivors.

This morning, survivors of the largest concentration camp complex, Auschwitz, commemorated this somber day, laying flowers at what's known as the Death Wall, where the SS executed several thousand people. And right now, a ceremony on the campgrounds to honor the survivors and victims. More than 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz, including 1 million Jews. Horrible, horrible situation.

Three years ago, I traveled to Auschwitz with my friend and colleague, Dana Bash. Many of our family members were killed there. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH AND CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: I've never been here.

BLITZER: You've never been here?

BASH: No, I've never been to Auschwitz. I've never been to any of these camps.

BLITZER: Ever since I was a little boy, I knew my parents were Holocaust survivors. I knew my dad was from here.

BASH: He was from Auschwitz. BLITZER: He was from the town here, which had a Yiddish name, Ushpizin. This is so painful for me. It's so personal for me because all four of my grandparents were killed during the Holocaust. And two of them, my paternal grandparents, my dad's mom and dad, were killed here at Auschwitz.

BLITZER: And your dad's siblings didn't survive?

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: One sister survived. One younger sister. The others were all killed. At the end of the war, they were liberated at Bergen-Belsen, and they were taken on this forced march by the Nazis.

BASH: Yes, the death march.

BLITZER: The death march, yes.

BASH: That's how my great-aunt died, we believe.

BLITZER: And that's -- my dad's younger brother died on that death march.

BASH: My great-grandparents, they were Hungarian, so they were safe until 1944 in Hungary, because Hitler didn't invade there until close to the end of the war. So, my grandparents were in the United States, and they were receiving some letters from my grandmother's parents. And as the letters came, they were getting more and more dire.

And we have the final letter. And it says, until this moment, at least I could hold myself together, but now I have to write a farewell letter to my dearest children. My heart is getting very heavy. I must stop after every word and collect myself in order to continue writing. And they were saying goodbye before they came here.

BLITZER: They knew what was about to happen.

BASH: They knew what was going to happen by that time, they knew. I'm looking around, and I'm thinking, I don't even know if they made it into the barracks.

BLITZER: They just got off the train and went to the gas chamber.

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: This is where I believe my grandparents were killed.

BASH: You think your grandparents were killed right here?

BLITZER: Yes, in this gas chamber, in this crematorium. It's terrible. Just three bodies in there.

BASH: Like they were nothing, not people. There's so many people here, because today is the March of the Living.

BLITZER: It's a special day. Yes. BASH: And it's called March of the Living because --

BLITZER: The Nazis took them out of the death march. And today, we're doing the March of the Living, which is so powerful.

Tell us why you came here today.

NATE LEIPCIGER, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: I came here today because I represent the 6 million people that are behind me, whose shadow follows me wherever I go. We were shaved, took our clothes off, and put our number on our arm, and I became a prisoner.

BASH: This is even more special to be here, because it's the 80th anniversary of the uprising --

BLITZER: The Warsaw Ghetto --

BASH: -- of the Warsaw Ghetto, and it was the most important moment for Jews during the war to fight back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Warsaw's ghetto, where Poles battled Nazis for weeks.

JOANNA FIKUS, HEAD OF EXHIBITIONS DEPARTMENT, POLIN MUSEUM: The uprising began on April 19, 1943. It was the very first day of a very important Jewish holiday, Passover. Some of these weapons were -- you know, they were so primitive.

BASH: So, there were 50,000 people still here?

FIKUS: Yes.

BASH: 50,000 Jews who were starving, disease-ridden. They were either taken away or killed?

FIKUS: Completely. Many people died here on the spot.

BASH: Your parents were in the Warsaw Ghetto, married in the Warsaw Ghetto. How did they survive?

GEORGE BECAIL, CHILD OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: They survived by my father's ingenuity. (INAUDIBLE) 18 was the headquarters of the resistance organization, and they lived a block away. When the German army came in, of course, they were knocking down buildings and burning them down, building by building by building. And the Jews were, when they were fighting, throwing Molotov cocktails at the tanks and imagining these tanks coming in. And it took about a month, and they finally had to give up.

RABBI MICHAEL SCHUDRICH, CHIEF RABBI OF POLAND: My friend, Michael Berenbaum, had asked Mark Edelman, who was the last living commander of the Warsaw Ghetto, uprising says, did you fight to choose the way you died? And Edelman answered, no, we fought to decide the way we would live until we died.

BLITZER: I'm really happy that they've kept this place so that people can see it and they know it was not some myth.

BASH: What you always say, Wolf, about when your father would see you on TV?

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: He said this was revenge. For him, it was satisfying, not just to see his son on TV, but to know that the child of Holocaust survivors was reporting the news.

BASH: The best revenge is to survive and to thrive.

BLITZER: Yes. That's why it's so important that we educate and we show the world what was going on. And that's what we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And here with me now is CNN's chief political correspondent and the anchor of Inside Politics, Dana Bash. And as you saw in that piece, she was with me for that very impactful trip to Auschwitz. This is really a significant day, especially for those of us who've lost so many.

BASH: Yes. And you saw in that, you remember, I was wearing this locket and I try to wear it on meaningful days for me because this is the locket of my great-grandmother who was killed in Auschwitz. And she gave it to my grandmother the last time they saw each other. And I keep a picture of her in here.

But, Wolf, I mean, it's important to remember. And why do we remember? Not just because of those who perished and suffered, but also never again. And we are hearing more and more that never again is now. And all of the horrific anti-Semitism that is happening across the country and across the world, this is the reason why we have to speak out on days like today.

BLITZER: You know, when we were walking, you and me in that gas chamber area at Auschwitz, I had been there earlier and the guide, the Polish guide who was taking us around, recognized me and he pointed and he said to me, I know you lost your grandparents here. And I said, here? He said, yes, right here in this crematorium. They were in the gas chamber first, my grandparents. Then he said they took them to a crematorium where they burned the bodies and just threw them away. It was such a painful moment just to hear that from this Polish guide.

And I give the Polish government and the Polish people a lot of credit for keeping Auschwitz as a symbol and as an area where people can go and see what exactly happened.

BASH: Yes. I mean, Wolf, I'll never forget that standing there. And the guide, who is also a historian, knew right away that based on the fact that your grandparents were local, they were from the town of Auschwitz, that that is almost certainly where they were, where they were murdered in that gas chamber where we stood. And it's really obviously hard to imagine that kind of evil and depravity. But as you said, the fact that we know who they are, we know what happened and, and that it was preserved is, is critical because education, as we get further and further away from World War II, is really depleting. And we need to make sure that doesn't happen.

BLITZER: It was so important for both of us to be there. And when that guide told me, this is where your grandparents were killed, I did what I think a lot of Jewish people would do. I said the Kaddish, the Jewish memorial prayer, because I assumed at the time they were killed, there was nobody around to say the Kaddish for them. It was just an emotional moment.

BASH: It was. May their memories be a blessing.

BLITZER: May their memories be a blessing, as we say. All right. Dana, thank you very much.

BASH: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And Dana will be back at the top of the hour. Inside Politics will begin at noon Eastern, and we'll be right back.

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