MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Amy Klobuchar

Interview

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SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Mr. Chipman, it`s not lost on me that as we`re having this discussion with you or several members are about guns that there`s another mass shooting with fatalities near San Jose. We have worked hard, there are Republicans like Senator Toomey who have worked on the background check issue and tried to get that done. We know the vast majority of Americans support rational gun violence legislation.

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MADDOW: Joining us now is Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota. She`s on the Judiciary Committee who`s held that confirmation hearing today for President Biden`s nominee to run ATF.

Senator, it`s great to see you. Thank you so much for being here.

KLOBUCHAR: Thanks. Thanks, Rachel.

MADDOW: So, obviously, you weren`t prepared for this hearing today knowing that there would be a mass shooting at the moment you are working to confirm the next person in charge of dealing with gun policies in this country. I wonder if that is going to affect the way that you and your colleagues approach not just hearing but this confirmation and the gun policy question today.

KLOBUCHAR: You know, I literally couldn`t believe that some of my colleagues, Senator Cruz who preceded me are railing against this nominee, Mr. Chipman, who by the way, 25 years of experience with the agency investigated the World Trade Center bombing, investigated the Oklahoma City bombing, completely qualified for this job. And because he holds views that the vast majority of Americans hold, like 90 percent of them support universal background checks so he gets criticized for these common sense views, while we both have an ongoing mass shooting where we know there are already eight fatalities. So many, one after another after another.

And I guess the irony was lost on them, but I don`t think it should be lost on the American people that we need competent person. And I`ve worked on the last confirmation with Todd Jones. He was from Minnesota. I remember holding the vote open for hours and hours, almost an entire day, and I was able to convince Republicans to support him.

I`m not sure that`s going to happen this time, but the key is that we need to have someone in place running that agency.

MADDOW: I was struck in your remarks today. I want to play that clip of you talking to the nominee, that way today, because you singled out one of your Republican colleagues Senator Pat Toomey. You said there are Republicans that worked on the background check issue and try to get that done. Seems to me that you are signaling they are potentially that at least the background checks issue might not be over, that there might potentially be some room to get some reform even on that narrow slice of gun policy?

KLOBUCHAR: Yes, Senator Chris Murphy has spent such a long time advocate to take on gun violence along with Senator Blumenthal. Senator Murphy has been working with Pat Toomey. We know there`s been broad support for this in the past. So, I don`t rule it out all, despite what happened at today`s hearing.

And remember, we`ve just been through four years of Donald Trump. I sat across from him after Parkland when nine times he said he wanted to see universal background checks. Nine times, I wrote it down on a piece of paper with hash marks. Kept it all this time, keep looking back at it, and in the end, the next day he mixed with the NRA and he fold.

Well, we can`t keep folding. The Republicans can`t keep folding when you have things happening in El Paso and San Jose, what we saw in Parkland, what we saw in Sandy Hook. It just keeps going on.

MADDOW: Senator, let me ask you about another matter that is pressing potential vote on the commission to investigate the attack on the Capitol on January 6th. We`ve been following the timing on that. It looks like there might be a first vote on that in the Senate. Potentially tomorrow, do you have any sense of how that`s going to go and whether Republicans of the side of this is something that they will support?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, we know we heard about seven of them said that their for this and you know there were 35 Republicans in the House that voted for this sensible idea that we have to look at the systemic causes of what happened so that we can do a major, major investigation.

I don`t know what they`re going to do. I don`t know what excuse you can have for not wanting to have this investigation. It is true that I and Senator Blunt along with Gary Peters and Portman over with Homeland Security, we combined forces. We`re coming up with the report which I look forward to talking with you about in around June 7th.

That`s really focused on the immediate what needs to happen now with the Capitol police leadership. What needs to happen now with law changes. So this never happens again.

But that`s not a substitute for this 9/11-type commission that we must have.

MADDOW: Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, thanks for being here. I know you have votes ahead. Still busy night for you tonight. Thanks for squeezing us in. I appreciate it.

KLOBUCHAR: We do, and it`s lighting -- it`s lighting outside. Rachel, time to get something done. Thanks.

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