CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript Interview with Bill Cassidy
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
SCIUTTO: Well, joining me now is Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Thanks so much for taking the time together -- this morning.
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So you said you agreed, prior to that vote last night, with Mitch McConnell. You agreed wholeheartedly that Marjorie Taylor Greene, that "her loony lies and conspiracy theories are a cancer for the Republican Party," those, McConnell's words, but you agreed with him.
I wonder, watching this vote last night, was it a mistake for House GOP leadership not to strip her of her committee assignments?
CASSIDY: You know, I didn't follow that vote. All I can say is, Ms. Greene discredits the conservative movement. Whenever -- we've got a need for a conservative movement. When the White House is cancelling 11,000 jobs for working Americans, we need conservatives to give the other case. She discredits that movement.
You're talking about lasers from outer space starting wildfires in California, and putting a little bit of an anti-Semitic twist on it? She discredits the conservative movement. And as far as I'm concerned, she's not in my tent.
SCIUTTO: Well, that's the point. You know that -- McCarthy's argument that the big tent can handle these views, right? I mean, as you say, those are deeply offensive views to have inside that tent: anti- Semitic, questioning 9/11, questioning -- and I'm sure you have too, I've met parents who lost children in those school shootings. For them to hear that kind of lie -- or denying the election, can the Republican big tent contain these views rightfully?
CASSIDY: You're going into kind of a philosophical question. I think what I've said is pretty clear. She gives conservativism a bad name at a time when our country needs conservative viewpoints more than ever. She discredits. And whether it's the false flag allegations of these mass shootings -- which is terrible -- or some of the other things, as far as I'm concerned, she discredits us and she should not be considered a part of us.
SCIUTTO: And should she lose her committee assignments then, as a result?
CASSIDY: You know, that's a House issue, so follow that House issue. I'm speaking about the conservative movement. I think I've been pretty firm.
SCIUTO: OK, understood.
Next week, you're going to sit as a juror in the second impeachment trial of the former president, Trump. You said you would like the president's defense team to focus specifically on charges by Democrats that his comments, his actions contributed to and incited that deadly attack on January 6th. I wonder, as you're sitting there, will you listen to the evidence and is your mind open?
CASSIDY: Of course.
(LAUGHTER)
Your very question kind of begs that I won't be. Absolutely. I'm a juror, jurors are supposed to go in with an open mind. And everybody wants to push you to making a decision, and if you don't, they read into that. I am there -- as I was a year ago -- explicitly to listen to what people say and to judge based upon the evidence presented.
SCIUTTO: OK. To your credit. I mean, I ask because you were one of the 45 Republican senators who voted, last week, that -- well, at least -- and again, I won't ask what you actually voted for, because Rand Paul's proposal was to say the whole trial is unconstitutional because the president's no longer in office.
One of your colleagues, Rob Portman, who also voted for that measure, said, well, it wasn't really to say it's unconstitutional, just to open debate on it. What did you actually vote for?
CASSIDY: There -- you laid it out correctly, what Rand did. But there was no debate before that -- before that vote. There was no analysis of the issue. We all walked in there -- the vote had been called two hours beforehand --
[10:45:06]
SCIUTTO: OK. CASSIDY: -- saying, OK, we have a vote to take based on our current understanding about the justice aspect and the politics aspect -- because there's two elements to this --
SCIUTTO: Right.
CASSIDY: -- to this trial. This is where I will vote now.
But you really have to discuss it fully. That has not occurred in that setting.
SCIUTTO: Understood. But so to be clear, you're saying when you sit down there as a juror next week, you're going to listen to the evidence and then vote your conscience?
CASSIDY: Correct.
SCIUTTO: OK.
Next topic, COVID relief. This of course, at the top of so many people's minds. We saw another nearly 800,000 people file for unemployment claims this week.
You were part of the 10 Republicans who sat down with the president to discuss whether there's any middle ground between you. As you know, the president's proposal, $1.9 trillion; you say that's too high, you're closer to $600 billion.
Now, President Biden is talking about narrowing those stimulus payments to a smaller group of people and incomes, which might get it down to $1.7 or so or below. Is that a figure you might be comfortable with? Is that close enough to something you would vote for?
CASSIDY: It isn't -- it isn't how much money it is, it is what is the justification for how much money you spend. Now, I don't think it's right to take American taxpayer dollars and say we're going to spend this much, and then fill it up to reach that amount. No, you say we need this much here, that much there, and we add them together to achieve whatever number is needed.
Now, in the area of education, which was kind of what I was focused on, they're asking for $130 billion. They sent us justification. President Biden's staff let President Biden down. The information that they sent was almost like you said, OK, we've got to justify it, let's look on Google and find out how we do.
Because when you look at their links, the references, they're from like last year, before we knew there would be mass immunization by the beginning of next school year. In some cases, the dollar amounts they chose are higher than the reference which they cite. In one case $15 billion more is proposed relative to that which is said to be needed. And I could go down other lists.
So, again --
SCIUTTO: OK. CASSIDY: -- we don't just pick a number and fill it up, we establish
a need and add it up. That's what we've done; I've not yet seen that the president has done that, his team has not done that.
SCIUTTO: OK, you're referring to the answers the White House gave to you after you left that meeting for further information.
Let me just ask you, in the simplest terms, is there still an open negotiation?
CASSIDY: I sure hope so.
SCIUTTO: Are you still talking to the other side?
CASSIDY: I sure hope so. We're sending back a letter today that addresses our concerns. I hope there's an interplay. Now, there are reports that President Biden's staff does not care to negotiate. I'll go back to I think his staff is letting him down.
But I'll point out, multiple COVID relief packages were passed under President Trump with a Republican Senate, which were bipartisan. And all of a sudden it can't be done bipartisan, with a president who -- sincerely, I believe -- calls for unity and bipartisanship? I don't get that, that just doesn't make sense.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I get -- although point of order, the tax cuts in 2017 were passed via reconciliation, so I mean, it's not --
CASSIDY: Now, that's not COVID relief. Believe me.
SCIUTTO: Yes, I get it, not I get --
CASSIDY: If you want to talk --
SCIUTO: -- on COVID relief. To your point, you're right, those votes were bipartisan.
Senator, we always appreciate you having on the program, we hope we could keep up the conversation and we wish you the best of luck.
CASSIDY: Thank you, Jim.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source