It's a reflection of the Trump era that Margaret Brennan asked this absurd question about Tulsi Gabbard of Rep. Jim Himes.
"You're the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee. She never served on that kind of committee. Do you think experience is necessary? Is she fit for the job?" Brennan asked.
"Margaret, how far we have come that on a major news show the question we're examining is, is experience necessary for one of the most powerful positions in the land? Of course it's necessary," he said.
"You know, it's a little bit like our obsession right now with the ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz. You know- I mean, how is it that this is what we're focusing on? Matt Gaetz is, by any standard, completely unqualified to be the Attorney General, and yet we're sort of focused on this, you know, cherry on the cupcake of the ethics report.
"It sort of reminds me of Al Capone in 1931. Al Capone is convicted of a couple of counts of tax evasion. Now he was a killer and a rum runner and a Mafioso, and yet he was convicted of tax evasion. This is what the conversation we're having about Matt Gaetz. You know, well, what about this ethics report? So, these people are manifestly unqualified, and, you know, they're not prepared to run the very complicated organizations they've been asked to run.
Face The Nation
Transcript: Rep. Jim Himes on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Nov. 17, 2024
face-the-nation
Updated on: November 17, 2024 / 1:44 PM EST / CBS News
The following 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 turn now to Democratic Congressman Jim Himes. He is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and he joins us this morning from Stamford, Connecticut. Good morning to you.
REP. JIM HIMES: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I feel like there is so much news, and I'm getting through a fraction of it frankly here. I want to- I want to pick up on Tulsi Gabbard, which we just- who we just discussed in the previous segment, she was a democratic colleague of yours for many, many years. You're the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee. She never served on that kind of committee. Do you think experience is necessary? Is she fit for the job?
REP. HIMES: Margaret, how far we have come that on a major news show the question we're examining is, is experience necessary for one of the most powerful positions in the land? Of course, it's necessary. You know, it's a little bit like our obsession right now with the ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz. You know- I mean, how is it that this is what we're focusing on? Matt Gaetz is, by any standard, completely unqualified to be the Attorney General, and yet we're sort of focused on this, you know, cherry on the cupcake of the ethics report. You know, it sort of reminds me of Al Capone in 1931. Al Capone is convicted of a couple of counts of tax evasion. Now he was a killer and a rum runner and a mafioso, and yet he was convicted of tax evasion. This is what the conversation we're having about Matt Gaetz. You know, well, what about this ethics report? So, these people are manifestly unqualified, and, you know, they're not prepared to run the very complicated organizations they've been asked to run."
Brennan asked if he had any suggestion "from your Republican colleagues in the Senate that either of those two individuals will not be confirmed for those positions?"
"Look, all I would observe is that, you know, history is - is a harsh judge and- and I understand what happens to Republicans who stand up to Donald Trump. You know, talk to Adam Kinzinger or Liz Cheney, or, you know, many of the Republicans who voted for his impeachment who are now gone. I understand that," he said.
"But history is a hard- hard judge 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 law individual. The Republican senator who votes to confirm Matt Gaetz or Robert Kennedy or Tulsi Gabbard, will be remembered by history as somebody who completely gave up their responsibility to Donald Trump."
I think The Donald has a very different definition of responsibility than most people.
