CNN "CNN Newsroom" - TRANSCRIPT McCarthy Sworn In As House Speaker On The 15th Ballot; Interview With Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX); Police: Six-Year-Old In Custody After Shooting Teacher In Classroom; Bills Damar Hamlin Has Breathing Tube Removed; Idaho Student Murders; More Than 15 Million People Under Flood Alerts in California; Iran Executes Two More Men in Connection with Anti-Regime Protests. Aired 11a-12p ET

Interview

Joining us right now freshman Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, the first woman and the first Republican to ever represent Texas' 15th district. Congresswoman, welcome. Good to see you. Congratulations.

REP. MONICA DE LA CRUZ (R-TX): Thank you. I am so excited to be here with you and finally get to work.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic. Well, finally because boy, you were an eyewitness, up close and personal, to something the entire world was engaged in. There was a lot of drama over the last four days.

So tell me what it was like for you. Here you were waiting to be sworn in, but never could you have imagined that you would have to see 15 votes happen, lots of tumult on Capitol Hill before a House speaker would be selected and before you would be sworn in.

So what were your expectations of what it would be like to be on Capitol Hill?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, look, of course we wanted to be sworn in on January 3rd. And there was a lot of excitement surrounding that date with family and friends around.

But look, we live in a democracy. This is not Cuba or China where there is a dictatorship. In fact, this is a democracy where we can have open discussion, praise God, and discuss what's on our mind, finally come to consensus and move forward.

And you saw democracy play out over the last week and come to a consensus in the wee hours of the morning. And now we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

WHITFIELD: So was it consensus or was it arm twisting? I mean how do you describe what you witnessed?

DE LA CRUZ: Well look, we have to compromise and hear each other's thoughts and concerns, and then come together with that. This is not a dictatorship where one person gets to decide everything for the entire conference.

So I'm glad that there was robust conversation. I'm glad that there was difference of thought. That's what America's all about. Coming together with different thoughts and backgrounds and ideas of what works for the 118th Congress. So we saw it play out just as it should.

WHITFIELD: And you were onboard with a House speaker McCarthy, but clearly you had to have heard a lot of conversations, you had to have witnessed what seemed like a lot of anxiety and angst and a lot of persuasion taking place.

Did any of what you experienced color or prepare you for what's ahead or perhaps even was it just overall an eye-opening experience for you? Are you ready for this?

DE LA CRUZ: I am a small business owner and so I come from an area that you have to have thoughtfulness in coming to conclusion. And I think that is what happened yesterday.

You know, of course, I am now inside the game and seeing the different personalities, the different thought processes and what should and should not happen.

I like -- I was in the front row of this. And so I believe that yesterday was eye-opening. I'm glad we were finally able to elect a speaker together and move forward because really that's what the country wants. They want change.

They don't want 4,000-page bills where we don't have time to read it. They want to change in this process. And I think we saw that actually happen yesterday. And I'm excited about getting started on Monday.

WHITFIELD: Does this exemplify, the process, what the world just witnessed the last four days, does it in any way, exemplify what governing is going to be like for you, a new lawmaker, and for the vets who remain?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, what this shows us that each individual voice is important and every vote is important. So as a representative of my community, even being a freshman, we have a powerful voice when it comes to legislation and bills that are coming across the table and in front of Congress.

And I think that just goes to show it doesn't matter if you are a freshman or a vet, as you said, a mature congressman who has done this many years. Our voice and our vote counts.

[11:09:59]

DE LA CRUZ: And I think you saw the power of that yesterday and throughout the week where we had five freshmen who were standing against McCarthy, but eventually came over.

So what we're going to see is the power of our vote in the 118.

WHITFIELD: The 118. That must feel really good to be a part of that. It makes history in a lot of ways. This Congress is the most diverse in history. It includes a record number of women and Latino members. So what -- and Latinas -- what does it mean for you to be a part of that? DE LA CRUZ: Well, as the granddaughter of a farmworker, a small

business owner and a single mom, I am just so honored to represent my community. And I look forward to showing my community what we together can do and working in a bipartisan manner to get legislation through that will impact our community, our farmworkers, our small business owners, and our border patrol agents. And I look forward to getting to work on Monday.

WHITFIELD: President Biden is taking a trip to the southern border tomorrow. His first stop there since taking office. Your district encompasses some of the Rio Grande Valley.

So what do you hope the president learns? What do you hope he sees? How influential are you hoping it might be on any decisions or agenda that he has?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, I welcome President Biden to the Lone Star State and could not be more pleased that he is coming. In fact, just two weeks ago I sent the president a letter and I urged him to come to Texas and see what was happening in our border.

I hope that President Biden takes the opportunity to meet with border patrol agents, families that are affected by this crisis, ranch or small business owners, and that he really hears from the people that are most impacted by the crisis and really the catastrophe that is happening by his open borders plan.

WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, congratulations again. Great to see you. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

DE LA CRUZ: Thank you.

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