CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Congressman Ted Lieu
Interview
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BLITZER: M.J. Lee reporting for us, thank you.
Let's get some more on all of this.
Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu of California is joining us. He is a member of the Judiciary and the Foreign Affairs Committees.
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
Let me get your immediate reaction from what we heard from M.J., M.J. Lee, about these statements alleging that Donald Trump made racist comments over the years.
REP. TED LIEU (D), CALIFORNIA: Thank you, Wolf, for your question.
The statements described by Michael Cohen that Donald Trump made are highly disturbing. They are starkly racist. And if this makes people mad, I hope they vote this Tuesday and get others to vote, because that it is a message that Donald Trump would understand.
BLITZER: The economy, as you know, added 250,000 jobs in October. Unemployment is at a 49-year low, 3.7 percent. Why is the president's closing message during these days just before the midterms all about fear of refugees and immigrants?
LIEU: I think one reason is because many Americans don't actually feel the fruits of the economy.
You still have wage growth that has not kept pace, and then you have inflation that's eating into wages, and many Americans are actually either the same or worse off than they were two years ago. That's why I think the president is trying to double down on his hateful rhetoric and to try to turn the subject away from what people really care about, which is wages, as well as health care.
BLITZER: You served in the military, the U.S. Air Force. You are a colonel in the Reserves. Do you think the deployment to the border of U.S. military troops, maybe 15,000 troops, is an appropriate use of resources, costing, we've got just in a few days, $42 million to $110 million?
LIEU: Not at all.
This caravan is about 1,000 miles away. And there's been caravans over the years and they always get disbanded. Imagine walking across Mexico. It is incredibly difficult. By the time anyone reaches our borders, if they reach it at all, it is a very small group of people. Most of them are turned away. And to deploy the U.S. military down to the border is simply a waste
of federal resources, and they can't even take any actions. They are just there in a support capacity, so really this is just a big waste of taxpayer funds.
BLITZER: The president continues to lament that the serial bomber and the synagogue shooter -- quote -- "stopped the tremendous momentum," his words, leading up to the midterm elections. What message does that send?
LIEU: That the president really thinks this is all about him, it is all about winning, when, in fact, we had 11 people that were murdered in a Jewish synagogue. And my heart goes out to them, as well as their family members.
And we also had a mass assassination attempt of Democratic officials. And for the president to not take those things seriously is highly disturbing, as the leader of the free world.
BLITZER: The president today admitted that Republicans could lose the majority in the House of Representatives and said he would work with Nancy Pelosi if Democrats win control of the House on Tuesday. Are you willing to work with President Trump?
LIEU: Yes, if the president wants to move America forward on issues like reducing health care costs, investing in infrastructure.
But if the president wants to pass hateful, divisive laws, then we're going to stop him. And that's what this election is about this Tuesday, having a check and balance on the executive branch, which is how the framers of intended our government to work.
BLITZER: Do you think the Democrats will become majority in the House on Tuesday?
LIEU: I do. I'm a vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. We are targeting over 90 seats, and not only are we doing well in blue states and purple states, we're also doing well in red states like Alaska, Utah and Kansas.
I am very optimistic about this Tuesday, and I believe we will flip the House.
BLITZER: You sit on the Judiciary Committee. If the top Democrat on your committee, Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York, becomes the Democratic chair of the committee, what do you see the agenda looking like?
[18:15:05]
LIEU: Well, I think we have to, first of all, look at immigration, which does come through our committee.
I believe we need to call in Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen and ask why are there still hundreds of kids that were ripped away from their parents. We also deal with issues regarding the Department of Justice. The president's continued attacks on the DOJ are highly disturbing. We need to call in Department of Justice officials to see if there's been undue influence by the president.
There are a number of issues the Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over, and I think we're going to have a very strong committee that is going to act as a check and balance on the executive branch.
BLITZER: If you are in the majority, I'm sure it will be a very, very busy period in the months ahead.
Congressman Ted Lieu, thanks so much for joining us.
LIEU: Thank you, Wolf.
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