MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Tim Kaine

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

HAYES: There`s that day. We all saw it. That was broadcast on live  television. Come back with the deal, I`m signing it. I`m not going to  say, oh gee, I want this, I want that. And then they came back with an  agreement and Trump would not sign it. Instead, the White House tried to  ram through a Stephen Miller fever dream to restrict illegal immigration to  its lowest level since the 1920s.

Meanwhile, we`re more than a month into Trump shut down. The bad news just  keeps coming. Today, FBI agent said the shutdown was hampering  counterterrorism and sex trafficking probes. The Transportation Safety  Administration is now pleading for backup workers around the country and  the breadlines for federal workers are growing in Washington beyond.

Democrats desperately want to find a way to get the government back on  track but they`re dealing with the president who simply is not a  trustworthy partner. You cannot make a deal with him because he will hide  the truth and he will lie and he will change his mind over and over again.  And that is why we are suffering through the longest shutdown in history.  And that is why when it comes to immigration, in particular, the only way  to deal with this president is to defeat him.

Joining me now former vice presidential candidate and current Democratic  Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine. Senator, can you make a deal with this  president? Do you agree that the bad faith is so pernicious it makes it  essentially impossible to strike any kind of deal on immigration?

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: Chris, up to today, this president has shown  a fantastic ability to blow up a deal and no ability to make a deal, and  especially no ability to make a deal with Democrats. He doesn`t even want  to talk to us or take our views into account. But now he`s got to deal  with the Democratic House and a strong unified Democratic Party in the  Senate.

HAYES: So what is going on now? We`ve got these two votes that are  happening on Thursday. One of them is the proposal the President laid out  which has huge restrictions to asylum, no permanent reprieve for folks in  TPS and DACA and the other is just a clean continuing resolution that would  open the government until February 8th. How do you understand these two  votes?

KAINE: Well, Chris, I`ll tell you what should happen. We should reject  the President`s proposal if it`s just jammed down our throat with no chance  to adjust it or change it, but put it in committee where we could have a  hearing about it and offer amendments to it. And we should pass the bill  just opening government to February 8th to give us the opportunity to  dialogue about and improve the Trump proposal.

That`s what I hope we`ll do on Thursday. Reject the Trump proposal but put  it in committee to improve it and make it better, reopen government. I was  at the -- I was at the food -- the restaurant today that Jose Andres has  opened for federal employees. It`s a cold day in Washington and it looks  like the breadline out of the depression. People standing out waiting in  the cold to get their soup or sandwich, but we`re not in a depression.

The White House says the economy is great and the stock market is great so  why are people waiting in a bread line like during the depression? It`s  because of this president. We can fix that on Thursday.

HAYES: So I want to -- I want to be clear on this. So you said -- your  preference is Senate votes to reopen the government on February 8th, you  move the president proposal through a normal committee process, amendments  and changes.

KAINE: Absolutely.

HAYES: But here`s the problem. We`ve been through this rodeo twice now.  You guys struck a big deal. It was the grand bargain. Funding for the  wall, DACA reprieve, he tore it up and he wanted immigration restrictions  that would be the most onerous since 1920. Now he comes out he says I`ve  made a deal with myself and my vice-president and my son-in-law. Here  Democrats enjoy. And in the fine print are these massive restrictions to  asylum, changes to asylum. Won`t that just happen again? Do you see my  point here?

KAINE: No, I get that.

HAYES: Can you deal with him? Can you deal with him.

KAINE: I get you. I get you. Well, look, it`s less dealing with him and  it`s more dealing with each other. In Congress, we have to deal with each  other. The four elements of the President`s proposal, border security,  DREAMers, Temporary Protected Status, asylum, these are all issues that we  can talk about and try to find some accord on. And what we need to do is  be willing to be an Article One branch and act and then the House would  have to act. The President is going to decide what he`s going to do.

What I object to you, Chris, is when the majority leader says we can`t act  as the -- as the Congress unless the President says mother may I No, we  got to act and do what we think is right. We put the bill on his desk. If  he vetoes it, then we`re going to focus on overriding the veto. But we  need to stop letting his tweet, his eye roll, his every whim stop the  article one branch from doing what Congress should do.

HAYES: So final question is this. My understanding is McConnell is  holding these two votes because he thinks they`ll both fail, right? He`s  given -- he`s given the Republicans something to vote for so they can all  say I voted to open the government and he thinks that the clean is going to  fail. And then aren`t we just back to square one? Am I missing something?

KAINE: If you are right, we are back to square one. But I think there`s  going to be enormous pressure for Republicans to vote Yes on the February  8th version as long as they believe Democrats will in earnest engage with  them in a discussion about these topics. Again, set the president aside.  These are important topics. And I think we can find with like-minded  colleagues some bipartisan paths forward. What the President will do, who  knows what he`ll do. Rather than worry about it, let`s do our job and he  can figure it out.

HAYES: All right, Senator Tim Kaine, thank you for making some time.

KAINE: Absolutely, Chris.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source