Texas representative on deployment of National Guard troops to L.A. and ‘big, beautiful bill’
WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) spoke with Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan Sunday about President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles.
The Trump Administration announced Saturday it was deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to large-scale protests which erupted Saturday following dozens of arrests Friday in citywide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
President Trump's memo stated that at least 2,000 National Guard troops were being deployed under the president's Title 10 authority "for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense."
When Brennan asked if he was comfortable with what Trump is doing, Rep. Gonzales said, "Yes. I am comfortable with it. It's tragic to see what's happening in LA. I spent 20 years in the military. I fought in two wars. I fought to give people the freedom to protest whatever the hell they want to, but, what we're seeing in LA are not advocates. We're seeing anarchists, and the President of the United States should absolutely put down the mob as soon as possible. But this is just the tip of the iceberg."
During the interview, Brennan and Gonzales talked about Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Last month, the House passed the bill, which is a tax cut and spending bill. It is now in the hands of the Senate, where Trump set a July 4 deadline to have the bill on his desk for him to sign.
Brennan brought up her interview with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) from last Sunday, where he said the bill costs "too much money."
This prompted her to ask Gonzales if the Senate should claw back on some of the money members of the House passed, to which Gonzales said:
"I don't know if Rand Paul has ever found a bill he's ever liked, and he's probably not wrong, because every bill has flaws to it. But there's $168 billion in this bill for border security. That's important, but it's also important that we have oversight to this funds. You can't just write a blank check to the administration and expect them to go out and accomplish these. These are very complicated, difficult tasks. This is where Congress has to come alongside and make sure that those funds are going to the right places, that, once again, that they were going after these convicted, over 600,000 convicted criminal illegal aliens, that everyone you know agrees that ,you know, you take those people out of your out of your community, everyone gets safe. That's the area we should focus on."
Brennan followed up by mentioning Elon Musk, whom Gonzales said he's a fan of, who called the bill a "disgusting abomination," prompting her to ask if Gonzales is going to reconsider his vote after he voted for the last version of the bill once the Senate "finishes its review," and Gonzales said:
"One, Elon has done more for humanity and is going to continue to do more. That's why I'm a fan of his. Two is he speaks without a filter. He's not wrong. You know, that bill had a lot of issues to it. But I don't get it-you know, as a member, I get to say yes or no. I get to make it as best as possible. We got to see what the Senate does. What I'm really concerned is, what is, you know, are they going to touch Medicaid, right? The president has said, 'Don't touch Medicaid.' We've come out very early on a lot of members on the House to make sure you don't gut programs that work. And how do you give money to the resources where you need it, like border security? So, the Senate's going to do its part. I got to wait to see the final product before I'm a yes or no, but I think we have a lot of work to do."
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Gonzales, click here.
