Wyoming senator on California wildfires, President-Elect Trump’s Cabinet picks, and more
(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about Congress providing additional aid packages to California to help rebuild from the wildfires.
"What we're seeing is heartbreaking, its horrible, affecting people, old and young, rich and poor. Everyone in the Wyoming National Guard is there on the scene, helping with manpower as well as equipment. When you see what's being shown on television, in addition to the tragedy on the ground, you're also seeing gross mismanagement in California by elected officials, and it's heartbreaking to hear the fire chief say that they've diverted all of this money away from the fire department to be used for social programs when they were already stretched too thin. So yes, I expect there's going to be hearings, there's going to be requests of Congress. There can't be a blank check on this, however, because people want to make sure that as rebuilding occurs, as things go on in California, they have to be resilient, so that these sorts of things can't happen again. And the policies of the liberal administration out there, I believe have made these fires worse."
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
When Brennan asked if he expects Congress and Republicans will help Americans in need, even if they "don't like their local politics in the party," Barrasso said, "I expect that there will be strings attached to money that is ultimately approved, and it has to do with being ready the next time, because this was a gross failure this time."
During the interview, Brennan and Barrasso talked about President-Elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, with 13 of them going to be up for questioning starting Tuesday, prompting Brennan to ask Barrasso which nominees he is certain will be confirmed by January 20, to which Barrasso said:
"The rubber hits the road this week with all of these hearings on the cabinet, and then when President Trump takes office next Monday, there is going to be shock and awe with executive orders. A blizzard of executive orders on the economy, as well as on the border. So, when we met with President Trump, just- earlier this past week, what President Trump said the number one goal for the Senate needs to be to get his team in place. I've met with just about all of them. I support every one of these nominees. As the whip, my job is to make sure they get across the finish line. Get on the job, and President Trump deserves a team early. Chuck Schumer said he wants to make fireworks at the hearings. If that happens, we are going to work around the clock, through the night, through weekends to make sure we get that cabinet confirmed."
Brennan and Barrasso then talked about two of President-Elect Trump's cabinet picks: Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard.
When asked if Hegseth, the president-elect's pick for Secretary of Defense, have the votes, Barrasso said:
"He certainly has the qualities that we need to lead the Pentagon. He knows about a fit, fighting force. He is very qualified, in my opinion. He has a record, a distinguished record, of service in the military. Every Senator gets to speak for themselves, and they will do that. The meetings have gone very well. Things are heading in the right direction. The hearings start Tuesday, and they're going to be consequential. People will listen and make their own decision. People have already had chances to ask questions, and they're going to continue to do so. I expect he's going to have quality answers to the questions that they ask."
Talks then came to Barrasso's colleague, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who wanted the FBI to "vet the claims against Mr. Hegseth that were made by an accuser who said that he raped her," which Hegseth denied that the alleged assault, and Ernst also asked that "the results be presented to the committee" as Ernst, according to Brennan, is a sexual assault survivor.
When asked if the FBI vetting is being shared with members of the Armed Services Committee, Barrasso said:
"Joni is a warrior. She is a patriot. I know she's had a chance to meet with the nominee at least twice, and advice and consent is about giving advice as well as asking consent. She's going to ask additional questions at the hearing on Tuesday and ultimately make her decision. With regard to the FBI report, reported today that the chairman and the ranking member of the committee have seen the report already. Traditionally, those reports do not get shared with the other members of the committee. That goes back four decades, back when John McCain was chairman of the committee, and I support the chairman in that decision."
Brennan also asked if he prefers the details of the alleged sexual assault be disclosed in a public hearing of if he would support the private investigative details be shared "with members at the discretion of the chairman," to which Barrasso answered:
"The chairman is going to make that decision, and I support the chairman. I also support Pete Hegseth. If you take a look at the current nominee, compared to who has been in the Pentagon the last four years, where they had a woke military, where recruitment went down, morale went down. I think Pete is going to be terrific in terms of recruitment, in terms of morale, in terms of returning America to a fighting force, which is what the American people really want. They want to make sure if our military is called upon. They are ready to go, that they are ready to fight, and that with intimidating power."
On the topic of Tulsi Gabbard, President-Elect Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, Brennan said that she's the only member of Trump's national security team to not have a scheduled hearing. When asked if the FBI background check is holding things up, or if it's the ethics disclosure that's a problem, Barrasso said:
"I support Tulsi Gabbard. She is amazing in that she has been a member of Congress and a combat veteran, a decorated combat veteran for work under fire in Iraq. You're right. It's a paperwork problem right now with the Office of Government Ethics. We had hoped to have the hearing later this week. It looks like it's going to be the following week, but she continues to have promotions in the military. She's a lieutenant colonel. She now has top level security clearances. She's the right person to keep America secure and safe."
Brennan also asked if he's concerned that he doesn't have enough Republicans who are willing to vote for Gabbard after she "took the unusual measure of releasing a public statement reversing some past policy positions she'd taken when it came to surveillance," prompting Barrasso to say:
"I'm not concerned at all about that. Senator, Tom Cotton, who is chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has met with her on numerous occasions. She will have a hearing. She has to raise her right hand, take an oath at the time, she will be telling the truth. And the issue that you just raised, which is foreign surveillance, she is now in the mind and the position that is consistent with the chairman of the committee and Republican members of the committee."
Later in the interview, Brennan and Barrasso talked about the budget reconciliation approach, with Brennan asking Barrasso if he's going to reverse the first reconciliation bill that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) talked to Brennan about last Sunday, and Barrasso answered saying:
"What President Biden just did by executive order, I expect that President Trump will eliminate with executive orders as well. In terms of the reconciliation bill, what we need: results. The results are what matter. We were sent here, and President Trump says he doesn’t care if it’s one bill, two bills, three bills. He wants the results as we are united, on securing the border, on bringing down costs for American citizens, across what- we want to make sure that tax cuts don't- don't expire. We want to make sure that the country is safe and strong. Those are the issues that the American people elected us to. That's what we're here to do."
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Barrasso, click here.
