CNN "State of the Union" - Transcript: Interview With Iowa Senator Joni Ernst

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BASH: Good morning. I'm Dana Bash, in for Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is on edge.

President Trump returns to Washington today, after a tumultuous holiday week, determined to push his priorities through Congress before Democrats take control of the House and make his life much more difficult.

First on the president's wish list, stemming the tide of immigration at the border. The president tweeted just last night that migrants seeking asylum

will stay in Mexico while their claims make their way through U.S. courts. That would amount to a massive overhaul in U.S. policy, but a leader in Mexico's incoming government is now denying reports of a deal.

Joining me now, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, the newly elected member of the Republican leadership who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senator, thank you so much for joining me this morning.

SEN. JONI ERNST (R), IOWA: Oh, it's great to be with you. Thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

I want to get right to what the president is talking about with regard to the southern border. He is saying that -- threatening, at least, that it should be closed, the southern border with Mexico, for any reason it becomes necessary.

Is it good to close the border?

ERNST: We would prefer that we keep it open, so let's work really hard to make sure we're addressing the asylum seekers before they actually come over the border.

I think that's the intent of the president, is to divert any issues before they actually happen. So, of course we don't want to see the border closed. But you know what? Safety of our nation comes first.

BASH: So, do you think he's just -- it's an idle threat in order to get Mexico to deal and to potentially allow asylum seekers to be in Mexico, as apparently there are private discussions about?

ERNST: I certainly think the president sees results any time that he does bring up an issue, and he does lay down certain reasons why he's doing what he's doing.

And we are seeing results. We have seen Mexico, their government is now -- they have said that they will keep those asylum seekers in Mexico until they can be sorted out. So I think that we are seeing results. Let's try and divert anything before we actually do have to act on the president's threats.

BASH: The president has also threatened to shut down the government on next Friday's funding deadline if Congress doesn't pass money to fund his border wall.

Would you support shutting down the government if the president doesn't get that money for the wall?

ERNST: I do not want to see the government shut down. Again, if we can avoid that situation, we absolutely need to do that.

And I know that Leader McConnell is working very hard to make sure we get funding in this lame-duck session. So, again, I hope that we can avoid shutting down the government. We have a lot of departments that do a lot of good for our citizens, so we need to make sure we're funding them properly for Congress, but also realizing the goal of the president, and that is to fund the border wall.

BASH: If it comes down to it and the Friday deadline is here and there is no agreement to give the president that border wall funding, do you think the president, you know, would be right in saying, OK, the government should be shut down, even though it is certainly dire for the agencies you talked about?

ERNST: I would -- well, I would rather that he didn't.

Again, we, as Congress, need to work really hard, one, to make sure that we are funding our government. That is our job as Congress, is to fund the government.

BASH: It is.

ERNST: But we also understand that our constituents have stated quite clearly that they want to see our border protected.

The president has been quite clear for a number of years. We need to do our best as well in Congress to make sure that we are protecting our nation and following up on the president's promises.

[09:05:02]

BASH: I want to ask you about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

The president is standing by Saudi Arabia, even though his own CIA has assessed that the Saudi crown prince at least knew about the murder. I talked to some of your Republican Senate colleagues this weekend who say that they are going to be demanding congressional action.

Will you?

ERNST: I do think we need to look into this further, and we need to understand where the investigations are leading us.

And I'm anxious to hear from a number of our intelligence agencies on this. Now, Saudi Arabia is a great strategic partner for us. It is an important country when it comes to the Middle Eastern region. We know that. They -- they are a great projection platform for us.

We understand that. However, human rights, we also are a very strong nation when it comes to human rights, when it comes to the rule of law. And if there are indicators that the prince was involved in this murder, then we need to absolutely consider further action.

So I would tend to be with my colleagues on this issue, understanding Saudi Arabia, great strategic importance to us. However, we are also a country that believes in human rights.

BASH: Does it concern you that the president seems to be giving the Saudis a pass?

ERNST: I wouldn't say he is necessarily giving them a pass, again,

because they are such an important ally in that region.

However, I think at such a time when it becomes necessary, the president also needs to speak directly to the Saudis and say, enough is enough. And if there are indicators coming from those intelligence agencies, he also needs to be involved in some sort of action.

BASH: I want to ask you about something that came out on Friday. It's a new Trump administration report on climate change.

And it paints a really dire future for American agriculture, especially states like yours in Iowa. Higher temperatures, drought and flooding would devastate corn and soy bean production. And this report, which was put out by 13 federal agencies, says climate change could shrink the U.S. economy by 10 percent over the next several decades.

Should you and your fellow senators take action to try to stem climate change?

ERNST: Well, we know that our climate is changing. Our climate always changes. And we see those ebb and flows through time. American agriculture has faced very difficult situations in decades past as well.

I think there are a number of things that we can do. And Iowa certainly is stepping up and is a leader on making sure that we are keeping our air, our water, and our soil healthy. And we lead in things like solar energy and wind energy.

So, that's Iowa setting the standard.

BASH: Is there anything that the Senate should do?

ERNST: And I don't -- I think any -- any time that we are putting regulation out, we need to always consider impact to American industry and jobs.

We want to make sure that it makes sense going forward. There is a balance that can -- can be struck there. And, again, in Iowa, as a state, we have set that standard. And it hasn't been by mandating. It has been by incentivizing.

So, we do have a number of wind energy farms. And Iowa right now draws about 40 percent of its electric from wind energy, great renewable source. We have biofuels and so forth. So, we're setting the standard. I think the rest of the states can do the same.

BASH: Another topic I know you're interested in, which is criminal justice reform.

You support the bipartisan legislation that would lighten some prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. It doesn't look like your Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is planning to bring this up during the lame-duck session. Should he? ERNST: I would love to see this come forward. There are a number of

organizations that have provided some feedback.

And I certainly am looking to look at any textual changes that might occur to the bill. I think we need to involve as many voices as possible. I would love to see the bill come up, though.

One, we need to reduce recidivism in those that are exiting the prison system. And we need to really look at fairness in sentencing for federal crimes. We see an ever-increasing number of women, especially mothers, that are serving time in federal prison. And what does that do to the rest of the family structure?

It does create this cycle. So, I am excited about the opportunity to see the First Step Act move forward through the Senate. I would love to see more support. If there's a way that we can accomplish that and get it done in the lame-duck, that's great. If not, we will drive on in the new Congress.

BASH: You mentioned women.

When the Congress comes back in January, you will be the first woman in the Republican Senate leadership in a decade. At this point -- I want to put numbers on the screen, because they're really striking. A record-breaking 125 women will serve in Congress come January.

[09:10:06]

Only 19, only 19 are Republicans. Why is the party at such a disadvantage with women?

ERNST: Well, I do think that we are doing great work for women.

We need to do a better job at communicating why we are the choice for women and encouraging women to run for elected office. Of course, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is better for our families. We see more of them keeping that income in their own pockets.

We see a lot of deregulation and companies that are able to expand and provide opportunities for women. We need to be better about communicating all of the great things that we are doing, and then encourage those women to run for elected office.

BASH: Senator Joni Ernst, thank you so much for joining me. Appreciate it.

ERNST: Thank you. A pleasure. Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source