Texas representative on CR vote, Congresswoman Granger and southern border

WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Representative Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) spoke to Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the bill that prevented a government shutdown.

Brennan said Gonzales was one of the 34 Republicans who voted against the bill, prompting her to ask why he voted against it.

"My constituents were against the CR just as much as I was against the CR...it's been a tough week, though. It started with a tragic shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. I've worked in a very bipartisan manner to make sure we have a national strategy that prevents against some of the school shootings that are occurring. I've been working with others to get that done. I think that's important. And then in the house, of course, we have this messy bill that was put on the floor. It started with a 1,500 page bill. In my eyes, there's no doubt that there's a sickness in DC, and that sickness isn't going to be cured with these big, long, pork-filled bills. You do got to give President Trump a lot of credit, though he was able to whittle that down to 116 pages. Once again, the reason I voted no is I think CRs are terrible. They do nothing but kick the can down the road. Let's fast forward to March. Do you think we're going to be any closer to coming up with a spending deal then than we are now? I don't think so."

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas)

During the interview, Brennan and Gonzales talked about Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Texas), who Brennan says she hasn't cast a vote since July while adding that a reporter in Dallas found out that Granger was living in a memory care and assisted living facility for some time, which was not shared publically.

When asked if he and the other members of the Texas delegation were aware, Gonzales answered, "I wasn't aware. I think there's no doubt a lot of us knew that she was gaining an age, like a lot of members do. And sadly, you know, some of these members wait until it's too long to things have gone too far.

"I'm not too sure what leadership knew on it or didn't know on it. I'd say on the other side of the aisle is the same thing. I mean, we saw what happened on the Senate side, you know, with Senator Feinstein and some of these others that have missed votes for a long time. I think this...gets back to the root of it. Congress should do its job, and if you can't do your job, maybe you shouldn't be there," Gonzales added.

Later in the interview, Brennan and Gonzales talked about the southern border, with Brennan reporting that Border Patrol had "fewer than 50,000 apprehensions at the southern border last month," prompting Brennan asking if the crisis has been fixed before Donald Trump takes office, and if it's not "as big of a project as initially thought," to which Gonzales said:

"Oh no, it's a huge project. And while the Biden administration has has started to do some things right. The Trump administration is going to do everything right in this manner. And I'll tell you why, this is why it's important. Earlier this week, I had a classified briefing on the threat, the worldwide threats to homeland, to our homeland. I won't share some of the sensitive stuff, but I'll share some of the open source stuff. In Syria, a lot of us are rooting for a free Syria. Free Syria, it brings a lot of opportunities for stability in that region, but it also brings a national security threat. Assad was a bad guy, he imprisoned a lot of folks, sometimes wrongfully. Some of those folks are terrorists. Now they are loose. Where are they? Where are they going? Let's bring it back to the southern border. This year, the Biden administration has apprehended 600 Syrians. Does that mean all those Syrians are terrorists? Of course not. But do we know who these people are, and who- are they coming to our country? This is something that President Trump is going to get to the bottom of."

To watch Brennan's interview with Gonzales, click here.