CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Ro Khanna"
Interview
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KEILAR: That's very interesting. Ariane de Vogue, thank you so much.
Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. He is on the Oversight Committee, as well as the House Armed Services Committee.
Sir, thanks for joining us.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Brianna, good to be on.
KEILAR: I do want to talk to you about Justice Ginsburg here in a moment.
But, first, let's talk about how President Trump has retaliated now against China with these increased tariffs of his own. Can the country afford an escalation like this in this trade war?
KHANNA: Brianna, we cannot.
The president's strategy is just not working. Here are the facts. For the first time in 10 years, the manufacturing index shows that manufacturing is actually contracting in this country. The president saying we need to do these tariffs or we will bring manufacturing back. But manufacturing is declining.
And the reason it's declining is because the uncertainty he has created has led business leaders to not invest and to not hire people. So he's really hurting our economy.
KEILAR: And, earlier today, the president asked, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell, who's the chairman of the Federal Reserve, or Chairman Xi?
How do you react to that?
KHANNA: Well, usually, I'm measured, but that's just ridiculous.
Chairman Powell is doing what any standard economist, anyone who's taken economics 101 would do. What he's saying is, we have an economy that is growing still at 2 percent. We can't have a 1 percent interest cut, as the president would want, because, if we do that, we will have no tools to deal with a recession.
And anyone who's taken any economics knows that that is the right approach. And yet the president is berating Powell to take attention away from his own misguided policies. It's his tariff war that has led to the decline in manufacturing, his broken promise.
His central promise to the American people was, he was going to bring these jobs back. And the jobs are declining, and in a much worse place than when President Obama was there.
KEILAR: President Trump is going to the G7 summit. He's flying out tonight. He has actually been questioning why he even needs to attend.
What does that mean for the role of the U.S. in the world?
KHANNA: Well, it's sad.
I mean, even President Reagan or President Bush would always look forward to going to the G7, because they understood the importance of American leadership on economic issues, on issues to tackle climate change.
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What we should be having in the G7 is a strategy on how we're going to respond to a slowing global economy, how we're going to have greater stimulus, how we're going to have great investment for jobs.
And, instead, the president isn't willing to offer any leadership. So it's really put the world at risk, the global economy at risk. On the one hand, he's causing disruption with a trade war. On the other hand, he's not even willing to engage in collaboration.
And the reality is, in a global economy, we're interdependent. And you know who knows that? Every business leader knows that. We need the German economy to succeed, or that could slow down the American economy. KEILAR: I do want to ask you about Justice Ginsburg, because she is
being treated for pancreatic cancer, as we just reported.
She said that she's going to keep going on the court as long as she can go full steam. Keeping that in mind, she's in a tough fight. Are you concerned that she might retire to focus on her health and what would be at stake?
KHANNA: Well, Brianna, let me just say this. At a time of such cynicism in politics, Justice Ginsburg is one of the true American heroes.
When I go in my district and talk to students, young women in particular know her story. Her story is the all-American story. It's one of triumph, it's one of hope, it's one of resilience. And I just have such respect for her. I wish her well in whatever she wants to do and respect whatever decision she makes.
But she's a -- I truly admire her and everything she's meant to this country.
KEILAR: President Trump has made the Supreme Court a big focus of the 2016 campaign.
This news -- this is her fourth bout with cancer -- sort of brings that to the forefront. But I wonder if you think that Democrats need to motivate voters more when it comes to this issue, or if you hear when you're talking to your constituents that the Supreme Court is on their mind.
KHANNA: We absolutely do.
And I think people understand now that Roe v. Wade and a person -- a woman's right to choose is under threat and under assault, that LGBTQ equality is under threat and under assault, that Mitch McConnell has made it his life mission to pack the federal judiciary with conservative judges to undermine rights.
I think too often those of us who are Democrats and who believe in those rights have taken for granted that those rights have been protected. We now see an assault on the judiciary. And if we don't win this next election, many of the rights that we care so deeply about are really threatened.
I believe it's going to be a huge issue in the 2020 election.
KEILAR: I want to turn now to your work in the House of Representatives.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, has asked four other House committees to share any documents that could be relevant to the Judiciary's effort to decide whether to impeach the president.
You sit on one of those committees, the House Oversight Committee. What do you hope to share with Chairman Nadler?
KHANNA: Well, Brianna, I hope we will share some of the information about the president's finances.
You will remember, when Michael Cohen testified, he testified about wrongdoing in the Trump Organization and potential serious campaign finance violations that broke criminal law. In fact, Michael Cohen suggested that there could have been a criminal conspiracy.
We need to share all of that information with Chairman Nadler. We also need to share information about how this administration committed wrongdoing in trying to get the census question, which the Supreme Court ruled was unconstitutional.
KEILAR: You recently announced your support for an impeachment inquiry. For a long time, though, you were advocating against it. You actually suggested censure as an alternative. What changed your mind?
KHANNA: Well, I have always said that impeachment inquiries should be on the table. I said, let's do a censure right away while we build towards that, but I thought we needed to have a methodical approach that put us in the strongest legal position.
And after we had Bob Mueller's testimony, after we have had success in the federal courts, I do think we are now in a strong legal position to proceed. So I give Chairman Nadler a lot of credit for being methodical, and now is the right time.
KEILAR: Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you for joining us, and have a wonderful weekend.
KHANNA: Thank you, Brianna.
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