The next is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Democrat of Pennsylvania, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Sept. 22, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Democratic Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania. She joins us from New York this morning. Good morning, Congresswoman, I do know you might be one of many lawmakers trying into this close to miss by way of the try on the lifetime of Donald Trump just lately, and the incident again in July. Did you get the solutions you wanted from Secret Service this previous week?
REPRESENTATIVE CHRISSY HOULAHAN: And to begin with, thanks for having me. And sure, I am certainly one of 13 members, seven Rs, six Ds, which might be trying into this explicit occasion on July, but additionally the latest one as nicely. Sure, we now have been getting the solutions that we have been asking for. We now have been asking for quite a bit out of each the Secret Service in addition to native legislation enforcement. And I imagine that the solutions have been largely forthcoming. If for no matter cause they don’t seem to be, the advantage of this explicit group is that we now have subpoena authority to have the ability to ensure that we get the solutions. It is actually necessary that this group works bipartisan-ly and shortly to have the ability to perceive what occurred, to have the ability to ensure that it would not occur once more, and to your dialog with Senator Rubio, to ensure that we restore the religion and belief in the- with the American folks within the establishments equivalent to legislation enforcement and the Congress.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, Congresswoman, I do know the Secret Service on Friday publicly admitted a few of the failures on their very own half. It was a five-page abstract, however the Secret Service stated brokers failed to make use of expertise to detect the attacker again in July as he flew a drone over the rally. Trump’s element had no thought police had been on the lookout for a suspicious individual till photographs had been fired, and so they by no means directed native police to cowl a close-by rooftop. Do you belief the present management to deal with very critical points like this?
REP. HOULAHAN: These are very, very critical points, and so they have come up in our conversations and within the briefings that we have obtained, and there have been some huge gaps that you have talked about, by way of folks texting data to one another reasonably than utilizing the radio. When it comes to folks not even figuring out that there have been two command facilities, there have been big gaps. And there have been additionally some gaps, frankly, in form of tradition and other people being comparatively lax in the best way that they communicated with each other, and all of this stuff need to be fastened. I do imagine that the eye of the group is totally on all the various things that they’ll and needs to be doing to be correct- to appropriate themselves. I feel additionally the eye of the Congress is on them as nicely to verify they’ve the sources to have the ability to make these corrections too.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And I need to discuss to you extra about a few of these options on the opposite facet of this industrial break, if you happen to might stick with us, Congresswoman, so we might end our dialog. And we’ll be proper again with extra from Congresswoman Houlahan. Stick with us.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to “Face The Nation.” We’re persevering with our dialog with Pennsylvania Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan. Congresswoman, simply to button up this dialog in regards to the Secret Service and political violence proper now, our newest CBS ballot reveals Harris supporters suppose the nation will see a better menace of violence if Donald Trump is elected, and Trump backers suppose the nation will see greater threats if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected. Do you’ve gotten any concern about rhetoric? And with Democrats characterizing Donald Trump as a menace to democracy, do you suppose that can be utilized to justify or inadvertently even encourage violence?
REP. HOULAHAN: Certain, and let’s begin from the start. Political violence of any kind is unacceptable and we won’t tolerate it. And the Democratic Occasion, ranging from the very prime, from President Biden to Vice President Harris to members of Congress equivalent to myself, have decried political violence full cease. And it’s a kind of issues the place we actually do must dial down the temperature and the vitriol and I feel that it is necessary that everyone try this. And as you talked about in your earlier phase, it begins on the prime. Management issues, and so each side of the aisle must ensure that we’re being considerate about these conversations that we’re having. However necessary to you about me to know is, you and I might doubtless not be speaking had there not been the primary election of President Trump. And most of the ways in which he conducts himself, actually need to ensure that that we perceive that ought to he return to the White Home, I’m personally involved that that might be an issue for our democracy. However that signifies that I am working arduous to ensure that I get out the vote and have the conversations to ensure that Kamala Harris is profitable in her efforts to go to the White Home.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And also you stated that on this bipartisan investigation that may be a focus for you, to just be sure you have Republicans and Democrats delivering the identical message. And I take your level there.
REP. HOULAHAN: Completely and- precisely. We had been chosen as a result of we’re critical lawmakers. We had been chosen as a result of we are typically these people who find themselves prepared to do the work and to do it quietly and successfully, and to do it bipartisan-ly, and that is what I intend to do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You might be, as we stated, a consultant from Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth is a key battleground. Our CBS polling reveals it’s simply lifeless warmth there. However yesterday, Senator JD Vance was campaigning in Pennsylvania, and he stated they really feel extraordinarily good about their prospects there. Do you’ve gotten that form of confidence?
REP. HOULAHAN: I’ve the alternative feeling, which is, as I discussed, I might not be speaking to you had Hillary Clinton been profitable years in the past. And we had confidence as Democrats that night that Pennsylvania could be blue, and as everyone knows, that wasn’t the case. So I’ll let Mr. Vance have his confidence, as a result of I will maintain working all the best way into the tip of the election and thru the end line and thru the tape, as a result of I actually imagine it is that necessary that we take nothing as a right and that we work as arduous as we will throughout this subsequent a number of weeks I suppose. Six weeks now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Six weeks. And , on that debate stage, I heard Vice President Harris very particularly converse to the five hundred,000 Polish People she stated, reside within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and she or he drew that on to her place on Ukraine and the struggle there. I do know you might be main outreach to Polish People. How do you quantify how that struggle, 1000s of miles away from the USA, impacts how voters within the state of Pennsylvania really give it some thought? Do you actually suppose that it has an affect on the vote?
REP. HOULAHAN: I do, and I can draw a straight line to it. My father was born in Poland. He was born in 1942 right into a Jewish household. He and his mom survived the Holocaust. I am right here, I am right here in America as a result of he was capable of survive and got here right here and had a thriving naval profession, and now I am a member of Congress one era later. That’s due to the fixed struggle that goes over that a part of our of our world, beginning again within the Huns. And I feel it is actually necessary that we discuss to the Polish-American inhabitants, in addition to all people from the form of Japanese Europe space, as a result of it is not that way back that World Warfare Two was and that’s completely one thing that may repeat itself if we do not help the Ukrainians, and we do not help their battle for his or her democracy, which is their battle for all of our democracies. Additionally, importantly as a Pennsylvanian, the Lithuanian Nationwide Guard is our associate nation, and so our women and men are in Lithuania at this second, inside hurt’s means, if we do not assist Ukraine. So I do suppose it is completely a difficulty that is smart and that we must always speak about in locations like Pennsylvania.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. And my producer is telling me it is really greater than half 1,000,000. It is 800,000 Polish People.
REP. HOULAHAN: It’s 800,000–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Wow. Okay, all proper–
REP HOULAHAN: –It is a good quantity
MARGARET BRENNAN: It definitely looks as if that. And the President of Poland visiting the Commonwealth immediately as nicely. We’ll watch and see how that impacts what your voters suppose. Thanks, Congresswoman, for becoming a member of us this morning. We’ll be proper again.