CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Congressman Debbie Dingell of Michigan

Interview

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HARLOW: It does still work, the wheel. That is a fact.

Boris Sanchez, thanks for the reporting.

Joining me to talk about a lot of important stuff, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

Good morning. Thank you for joining me, especially this holiday morning. We appreciate it.

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: Good morning, Poppy, and happy New Year.

HARLOW: Happy New Year. I think it's going to be a good one. I certainly hope it is.

DINGELL: I'm glad 2018 is gone, quite frankly.

HARLOW: Well, thank you for joining me.

Look, we know what's going to happen on January 3rd, on Thursday. The House is going to vote and pass this bill to reopen the government. It's going to include $1.3 billion for border security. It's not going to include direct wall funding.

Mitch McConnell has been very clear, he's not going to bring anything to the Senate floor that the president won't sign. Mark Meadows, who talks a lot to the president, called it a nonstarter. He tweeted a $1.3 billion Democratic wish list that includes zero money for a border barrier is a nonstarter.

If you know it's a nonstarter with those Republicans, and with the president, why make this move? Why vote to pass it?

DINGELL: Well, first of all, why is it a nonstarter? It would fund the other six agencies. We're making these public servants who aren't Republicans or Democrats, just there trying to serve the people, pawns in the middle of all this. It would fund six other departments through the end of the year, so we can get regular bills passed in the orderly fashion we're supposed to be doing it.

It would take homeland security, it would extend it to February 8th so we can reopen the government so the Custom and Border Patrol agents, other Homeland Security people who are working, not sure when their next paycheck is going to come, and give us time to sit down and negotiate, and I'm not somebody who thinks compromise is a dirty word, but it would take the homeland security budget --

HARLOW: Great, great, compromise. Let's talk about it right here, right now. What are you willing to give toward a border wall?

DINGELL: How about comprehensive immigration? How about DACA?

HARLOW: I wish we had 20 minutes for this interview and we'll have you back and talk more about that, but what amount of money are you willing to give to vote for the border wall and what would you want in return? Is there a number?

DINGELL: You know what I want? I want a package that's going to work. We had hundreds of studies. So, why aren't we increasing the number of border patrol, the amount of officers at the border? What about looking at drones and other technology to actually keep the border safe?

And people are already talking about problems with the walls, tunneling underneath. Let's sit down, get the experts at the table, and agree to something. This wall has become a symbol of total breakdown in Washington, which we have to stop.

HARLOW: So, do you then agree with Democrat former governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, who is a likely 2020 presidential candidate, who put it this way?

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HARLOW: Is he right? Should Democrats not give an inch on this?

DINGELL: You know, I don't think compromise is a dirty word. That's one thing that I have always said. I don't put hard lines down in the sand the way a lot of other people do.

I sure don't -- I'm not going to prove it the way that it is now. Let's get in a room and talk about it and figure it out by February 8th, but let's reopen the government, which is what I think we need to be doing.

HARLOW: So, here's how Republican Senator Lindsey Graham sees it. In terms of at least the optics for Democrats here. Let's roll it.

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HARLOW: Of course, there's a deal to be had. There's always a deal to be had. Given that, do you fear at a minimum an optics issue here for Democrats?

DINGELL: I want to say this. President Trump owns this. He's the one who said in the room I will own this, and he hasn't called Nancy Pelosi since December 11th. Those two have not talked since December 11th. He doesn't want this.

I don't ever want to see a president fail. You know why I don't want to see a president fail? Because it's the country that fails when that happens.

I want to see us reopen this government. I think everybody looks bad. This is -- we need to -- but I'm not so desperate that I'll agree to something that doesn't make sense.

But the fact of the matter is, we need to get back to Washington on January 3rd. We're all coming back. Most of us will be back there tomorrow. And we need to work together.

And that's my new year's resolution. I'm going to work with everybody because I think Americans are tired of partisan bickering.

HARLOW: Amen to that, let's see if the New Year brings that. If you do have a number, you saw the Vice President Mike Pence put $2.5 billion on the table. Jackie Speier, your fellow Democratic woman in congress, said she could live with $2.5 billion in wall funding if it came with a DACA deal. Let me know if you come up with a number, but if not --

DINGELL: Numbers are sort of -- I'm probably where Jackie is, but I'm not going to say. I'm not sold to any number. I want to see what the total package is. I think people need to be in a room talking and getting in agreement.

HARLOW: All right. So, maybe $2.5 it sounds like. Maybe you're with Jackie Speier on that.

Elizabeth Warren throwing her hat in the ring for 2020. Here's how the president sees that.

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HARLOW: Is the hope for a more civil 2020 election out the door, saying you would have to ask her psychiatrist?

DINGELL: I don't think this is going to be a civil presidential election. We have 31 candidates right now. You know, I for two years warned people President Trump could win and we had a problem. I'm not committing to anybody until I see them.

I'm inviting all 31 candidates right now to come into my district, come to Michigan. My little district is reflective of the country. I want to see how everybody is going to do, how they relate to people, and I think it's good for Democrats to have a spirited, contested race so we have a strong candidate when it comes to the general election.

HARLOW: Let's hope we can see a civil election. We can always hope.

Before you go, General Motors obviously an issue you care deeply about given the big plant closure that is coming up in your state, an issue we cover closely on this show and care about. When you were on the show last, you said you will do everything in your power to make sure that General Motors doesn't move another plant to Mexico or they won't get your support on anything.

Do you have any updates for us on the General Motors workers in your state?

DINGELL: I have spent a lot of time with them the last couple weeks, did an op-ed in the Detroit news over the weekend. I have talked to -- I have even talked to the president about this. But I talked to Ambassador Lighthizer multiple times.

We're looking at -- I call it NAFTA 2.0 because I want everybody to remember what NAFTA 1.0 did, which was ship jobs overseas. I will not support anything in terms of a new NAFTA trade agreement that doesn't keep plants here in the United States and doesn't allow people to continue to build plants in Mexico. General Motors moved the blazer plant to Mexico, announced that only several months ago.

So, we're all going to be working together to keep building and manufacturing in this country and not Mexico.

HARLOW: But no direct new word from GM to you on this?

DINGELL: Not -- I mean, I have been talking to GM. I never blind side them. I tell them --

HARLOW: You used to work there.

DINGELL: I did used to work there, and many people I know there. And I have talked to them regularly, as I have the UAW.

I think -- I want to say this. This is going to be a very critical year. Auto industry is still one of the backbones of the American economy.

[10:15:04] Labor negotiations are coming up. And if we don't -- if things don't work out, I'm telling you there could be fireworks and I'm very worried about what the potential impact is on the economy, and I think we need to worry about the worker as we go into this, not just the shareholders.

HARLOW: OK. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thanks for joining us and happy New Year.

DINGELL: Happy New Year.

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