The next is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Nov. 17, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we flip now to Democratic Congressman Jim Himes. He’s the highest Democrat on the Home Intelligence Committee, and he joins us this morning from Stamford, Connecticut. Good morning to you.
REP. JIM HIMES: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I really feel like there may be a lot information, and I am getting by a fraction of it frankly right here. I would like to- I wish to choose up on Tulsi Gabbard, which we just- who we simply mentioned within the earlier section, she was a democratic colleague of yours for a lot of, a few years. You are the rating member on the Intelligence Committee. She by no means served on that sort of committee. Do you suppose expertise is important? Is she match for the job?
REP. HIMES: Margaret, how far we now have come that on a significant information present the query we’re inspecting is, is expertise crucial for probably the most highly effective positions within the land? In fact, it is necessary. You understand, it is a bit of bit like our obsession proper now with the ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz. You understand- I imply, how is it that that is what we’re specializing in? Matt Gaetz is, by any normal, fully unqualified to be the Legal professional Normal, and but we’re type of targeted on this, you realize, cherry on the cupcake of the ethics report. You understand, it type of jogs my memory of Al Capone in 1931. Al Capone is convicted of a few counts of tax evasion. Now he was a killer and a rum runner and a mafioso, and but he was convicted of tax evasion. That is what the dialog we’re having about Matt Gaetz. You understand, properly, what about this ethics report? So, these individuals are manifestly unqualified, and, you realize, they are not ready to run the very sophisticated organizations they have been requested to run.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you’ve got any suggestion out of your Republican colleagues within the Senate that both of these two people won’t be confirmed for these positions?
REP. HIMES: Look, all I’d observe is that, you realize, historical past is- is a harsh decide and- and I perceive what occurs to Republicans who stand as much as Donald Trump. You understand, speak to Adam Kinzinger or Liz Cheney, or, you realize, lots of the Republicans who voted for his impeachment who at the moment are gone. I perceive that. However historical past is a hard- onerous decide and a Republican senator who takes a vote to consent to the appointment of Matt Gaetz, a chaos agent, a performative social media, no respect for the rule of legislation, particular person. The Republican senator who votes to substantiate Matt Gaetz or Robert Kennedy or Tulsi Gabbard, might be remembered by historical past as anyone who fully gave up their duty to Donald Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Speaker of the Home referred to as him one of many biggest minds in america or wherever on one other program this morning. On intelligence, although, due to your committee oversight, John Ratcliffe, one other former Home member who went on to serve in an appearing position at intelligence beforehand, he’s the choice to run the CIA. Do you belief him to appropriately deal with delicate intelligence info?
REP. HIMES: I do Margaret and simply to be balanced right here, since I used to be fairly sturdy in my opinions in regards to the Legal professional Normal and the DNI nomination, I really had a extremely good day when Marco Rubio was nominated for Secretary of State, when John Ratcliffe was nominated for CIA and when Mike Waltz was nominated to be nationwide safety advisor. I’d even add the nominee for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton. These are good nominations, not essentially the nominations I’d have made if I had been president. However these are critical folks with actual expertise. They don’t seem to be social media personalities. They have not constructed their careers on lies and conspiracy. So look, a few of these nominations I believe are fairly stable, and John Ratcliffe falls in that class for me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Final evening, President elect Trump was at a UFC rally, and alongside him was somebody who has had a whole lot of scrutiny, Elon Musk. He’s a billionaire with intensive US authorities contracts, as I perceive it, holds a safety clearance himself. He has intensive enterprise ties with China. Additionally had with him the Saudi Arabia personal funding fund governor. They make investments together with his son in legislation, Jared Kushner, and so they’ve held golf tournaments by the- one among their entities at Trump golf programs. Do you suppose that on this new Congress, there might be scrutiny of potential monetary conflicts of curiosity round Mr. Trump?
REP. HIMES: Properly, after all there might be, proper? I imply, that is, that is type of not topic to debate. We noticed Trump’s first time period, and the truth that that, you realize, group of individuals weren’t notably involved with monetary conflicts of curiosity. And look, all- I do not know, Elon Musk, odd character, you realize, you type of need to respect what he is completed to disrupt, you realize, house launch, to disrupt, you realize, the auto trade and whatnot. However, you realize, early critiques will not be good. I learn his, you realize, 12 level authorities waste manifesto, you realize. And he stated, take a look at all this cash we’re paying on curiosity on the debt. That is, you realize, that is a part of the wasteful spending. Guess what? You bought to pay curiosity on the debt. And so, you realize, I am skeptical that he has any clue. Look, I- I dwell in Fairfield County, Connecticut. I do know numerous rich folks right here, and there’s a syndrome the place very rich individuals who bought rich in finance or as a tech entrepreneur resolve that their coronary heart surgeons and able to working america. I believe that is what is going on on with Elon Musk. However, you realize, once more, early returns will not be good with respect to his capability to grasp the federal forms and make it extra environment friendly, which is a laudable objective, however I’ll reserve judgment
MARGARET BRENNAN: And no offense to the Fairfield County residents who voted for you. I am certain. On Saturday, President Biden was assembly with Xi Jinping, and so they met for rather less than two hours. The White Home says they did focus on that pervasive hacking of U.S. telecom corporations that allowed them to steal buyer name document knowledge, compromise personal communications of these concerned in authorities and duplicate info associated to legislation enforcement actions. Are you aware and might you say if the hackers have really been kicked out of U.S. infrastructure, or is China nonetheless embedded?
REP. HIMES: Yeah, Margaret, that is not a query I can reply with an terrible lot of specificity, however the truth that we clearly learn about these- these hacks implies that these explicit hacks most likely have been addressed in a method or one other. However one factor I can say with nice confidence, having labored within the intelligence world for a while now, is that, I promise you, they’re on the market in ways in which we do not learn about. So my hope is that the President made it very clear that this sort of conduct just isn’t tolerable, and that he backs that up, and fairly frankly, that Donald Trump, the following president, backs that up with motion. You understand, as Teddy Roosevelt stated, the massive stick, proper? We’re fairly good at hacking networks too, and I believe it is actually essential for the Chinese language to grasp that we’re not simply going to call and disgrace the hackers and complain about it. However that we- that we’re going to go into their networks and provides nearly as good as we bought. I believe that on this realm, they should see that we’re able to inflicting a whole lot of injury in the event that they proceed their current conduct.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Famous. There might be some choices as we perceive it, within the coming days within the monetary house. You additionally sit on the Monetary Providers Committee. Trump backer, Elon Musk, yesterday blasted one of many hedge fund CEO Scott Bessent, a crypto forex skeptic, who’s being thought of for that position. Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, apparently additionally being thought of for that position. He’s a crypto forex fan. Does both candidate stand out to you for a greater choose? And what does it actually mission out to you about what is going on to occur on this house for Mr. Trump?
REP. HIMES: Properly, you realize, it is clearly as much as the president to resolve who he’d like as Treasury Secretary. You understand, I’d notice that his first Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin- I definitely had disagreements with him on any variety of matters, together with desanctioning the Russian aluminum firm. However you realize, within the solid of characters in model 1.0 of the Trump administration, Steve Mnuchin was removed from the creepiest and crawliest of them. So we’ll see what he does on Treasury. What I’ll say is that, look crypto, you realize, it is a bit of bit just like the Gaetz ethics report. Crypto has but to make an affect on most People’ lives, and so I’d simply argue- and by the way in which, I am open to crypto. I helped work on the laws to manage it, however this isn’t the determinative consider our monetary lives proper now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I do know it is a technical situation. I requested you to get to pretty rapidly there, Congressman. I respect you weighing in and thanks to your time. “Face the Nation” might be again in a minute.
