KRISTEN WELKER:
This Sunday: Security breach. President Trump is rushed off the stage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after shots were fired at a security checkpoint as police take a suspect into custody.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service.
KRISTEN WELKER:
As the investigation unfolds this morning, new questions about the rise in political violence in America.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out because we can’t do that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
I’ll talk to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Plus: Standoff. President Trump struggles to end the war with Iran as the conflict nears the 60-day mark.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I don’t want to rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time, and I want to get a great deal.
KRISTEN WELKER:
With concerns growing over the war’s impact on the economy, will the White House bend to political pressure? And: Fed fight. The Justice Department drops its criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after Republican Senator Thom Tillis threatened to block the confirmation of his successor Kevin Warsh. Will it be enough to secure his vote? I’ll talk to Senator Tillis and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Joining me for insight and analysis are: NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Melanie Zanona; Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent for Puck; Adrienne Elrod, former senior adviser to the Harris campaign and Lanhee Chen, a fellow at The Hoover Institution. Welcome to Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.
ANNOUNCER:
From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Good Sunday morning. We are coming on the air after a terrifying night here in the nation’s capital. The president, first lady, vice president, many Cabinet members and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had gathered with the press for the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner, a celebration of the First Amendment and freedom of the press. It was Mr. Trump’s first appearance at the dinner as president when moments into the program, a gunman armed with multiple weapons charged at a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel lobby of the Washington Hilton where the event was held. Law enforcement quickly tackled him to the ground, taking him into custody. The suspect identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen from Torrance, California. Inside the dining room, Secret Service rushed to the stage, evacuating the president, first lady and other top officials. As the chaos unfolded, many attendees, including myself and many other journalists here at NBC News, tried to take cover at or near our tables. Later, back at the White House, the president — still in black tie — addressed reporters in an impromptu news conference.
[BEGIN TAPE]
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
The man is — has been captured. They’ve — they go into his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he’s a sick person, a very sick person, and we don’t want things like this to happen. My impression is he — he was a lone wolf, whack job. These are crazy people. These are crazy people, and they have to be dealt with.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
The President also said a Secret Service agent who was struck in his bulletproof vest during the incident is doing, quote, “great.” The agent was later released from the hospital. The incident comes as the nation continues to grapple with the threat of political violence.
[BEGIN TAPE]
REPORTER:
Are you concerned about political violence? This could be politically motivated?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
All — all violence. I’m concerned about everything, look, but I can’t be so concerned that you can’t function. No, I’m here. It’s a dangerous profession.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
And joining me now is Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Mr. Blanche, welcome back to Meet the Press, thank you for being here on what is a somber morning in the nation’s capital.
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
It is, good morning, thank you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Good morning. You were in the room when this all unfolded, and I want to just start on a personal level, Mr. Deputy Attorney General, when you realized what was going on, how did you react?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
I think I reacted like, like a lot of people in that room. There was obviously initial confusion, and — but law enforcement, I think what everybody saw in that room, and I was in the briefing room an hour later and saw a lot of the people that were in that room along with me, was the great work of law enforcement. I mean, everybody virtually immediately felt safe because the law enforcement presence in that hotel and in that conference room was overwhelming. And so while I didn’t know what had happened, nobody did at first, I felt safe, and then obviously the night unfolded as it did.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay, let’s get to the facts. What is the very latest you can share about the investigation into the suspect and any potential motive?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
So we, law enforcement, FBI, Secret Service, police departments in Los Angeles and in D.C., worked through the night executing search warrants on a couple different locations and also on devices to try to continue to investigate. It’s been about 12 hours or so since the incident happened, and what we believe happened, at least as of now, is that the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he checked into the hotel where the correspondent’s dinner was at in the last day or two. We believe that the two firearms he had on him, he had purchased within the past couple of years. And, and there’s also --we’re still investigating motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe that he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack. But that’s, again, quite preliminary as law enforcement continues to go through all the evidence. I was on the phone with Director Patel after 1:00 in the morning. The FBI agents at both coasts were up all night and will continue during their work. Prosecutors were up all night working, so it’s a tragic, horrible event that happened. On the other hand, it really shows the best and brightest are keeping us safe, and the work that they did is great, so.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And you are saying that you believe he was targeting administration officials. Was he targeting administration officials or the president himself, Mr. Acting Attorney General?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
We’re still looking into that. And so we know that there were some writings, and we’ve already spoken with several witnesses who knew him. And we believe, I kept it a little general because we do believe it was administration officials. Obviously, President Trump is a member of the administration, the head of it, but as far as exacting threats that may have been communicated beforehand, we are still, we’re still actively investigating that evidence.
KRISTEN WELKER:
You’re saying there were some writings online. What specifically are you referencing? What’s leading you to believe that he was targeting the administration and the President?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
We have preliminary work into some of his electronic devices and talking to some individuals who knew him, and based upon that work — I want to be careful not to say something that ends up not being true, because like I said, this is 12 hours old. But it does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president, but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Was it safe to have the president, cabinet officials, members of Congress, the first lady, the vice president — such high ranking officials all in the same room at the same time?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Yes, of course. We’re not going to stop living, we’re not going to stop doing our jobs, we’re not going to stop all the work that we’re doing every day. And by the way, and you were there last night as well, let’s not forget that the suspect didn’t get very far. He barely broke the perimeter, and by barely I mean by a few feet. And so while this was extraordinarily dangerous and put a lot of lives at risk, and there’s no doubt that that’s something we’re going to have to learn from over the next couple weeks, the system worked. We were safe. President Trump was safe. His Secret Service agents kept him safe. All of us were safe. And so while yes, it was a very tragic situation, as President Trump said last night, we are not going to stop living. We’re not going to stop being out there with the American people. And if that was his goal he failed.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And he was stopped, he was able, as you say, to breach that security checkpoint by merely a few feet. How was he able to get even that far, and did he assemble his gun on-site at the hotel?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
We believe he was staying at the hotel. So I know there’s been some reports about assembling the gun somewhere outside of his room or somewhere else in the hotel, we’re still investigating that. I don’t, I don’t -- we don’t have all the answers on to how he got far. But the perimeter is the perimeter. So necessarily, if somebody’s outside the perimeter and they try to breach it, assuming they don’t get very far, that’s what we want, that’s what we want law enforcement to stop, and they did. And that’s a real testament. I know there’s some video out there that shows his efforts to break through, and you saw these Secret Service agents, they were remarkable. And by way, they’re about to -- you know, the fact that DHS is not being funded after what we saw those men and women doing last night should be a wake-up call to Congress, and I hope that it is.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Do you think the funding fight is making America less safe? Is that what you’re saying?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Look, I’m not --no. No. These men and women are doing their jobs. I’m not saying that at all, to the contrary. I mean listen, what we saw last night with law enforcement was something that should be a testament to every single American that they have men and women protecting them not only outside these borders with our great military, but also inside these borders with law enforcement. So it was -- that made me very proud to lead the Department of Justice last night when I saw the work that everybody was doing keeping everybody safe, and also launching and very quickly conducting an investigation that will necessarily take time, but we’ve got a lot done already.
KRISTEN WELKER:
President Trump said the shooter was a lone wolf. Can you confirm that the shooter acted completely alone, that you are not looking for any other suspects this morning?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Well what President Trump said is that as of now we think that, that’s what the police chief said as well. But this is an investigation that is 12 hours, 13 hours old, and so those facts can change and they often do change. And if there’s anybody else involved we will leave no stone unturned to find out everything we can about that. But from what we know right now, from what we know given what happened last night, and the evidence we’ve gathered so far, we don’t believe anybody else was involved, but again, we have a lot of work left to do, and a lot of evidence left to go through and to collect.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Is the suspect cooperating with investigators?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
I don’t think he’s cooperating with investigators. I want to be careful the way I talk around that, but no — it’s not, at this point we do not have somebody who’s cooperating. And I suspect he will be charged formally tomorrow morning in federal court in Washington, D.C., and I expect that we’ll go forward from there.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Do you know what the charges will be? Can you give us a sense of that this morning?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Yes. Not atypically in a case like this, there will be an assault of a federal officer charge. There will be a charge about, you know, him discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer. And then there are potentially charges beyond that that come from reviewing the evidence, and if we understand his motivations, and as we continue to gather. But initially I expect those two charges to be filed tomorrow morning, so assault of a federal officer and then using a firearm and discharging a firearm during that assault.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Is there any potential nexus to terrorism here, Mr. Blanche? Any connection to what’s happening in Iran?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
No, and President Trump talked about that last night. We just don’t know yet, and that’s not surprising given, you know, where we are here on Sunday morning after something happens Saturday night. I promise you that we will get to the bottom of that. That’s what the FBI does every day. But as of now we don’t have any connection to any particular policy directive of President Trump, or Iran, or anything else that we’re doing in this country. But we are looking into it, and we’ll know more, and when we know more we’ll share it with the American people.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And just to be very clear, do you believe that law enforcement met all of the standards for an event of that magnitude? Was anything missed?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Absolutely. 100%. Because listen, you cannot stop living, you cannot stop being in public, like we talked about a minute ago. And so how do you create an environment that keeps people safe but still allows them to live in this great country, and to walk around, and to have a dinner? And so yes, I am proud of the work that the law enforcement did. It also was a great example of the collective work of law enforcement. You have the Secret Service taking the lead in keeping us safe, supported by the Metropolitan Police Department, and then you had every other federal agency there as well, whether they were there because they were protecting cabinet members or just there to support. And that’s why at the end of the day, although it was a very scary evening for you, and a very traumatic evening for a lot of us, we were all safe.
KRISTEN WELKER:
That is absolutely correct. I do want to ask you, big picture, Mr. Acting Attorney General, the security breach does come amid reporting in The Atlantic that FBI Director Kash Patel has alarmed some of his colleagues with episodes of what The Atlantic describes as “excessive drinking, unexplained absences.” Does President Trump still have confidence in Kash Patel to lead the FBI at this critical moment?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
That article was full of unnamed sources and should be completely discounted. I was with Director Patel last night. I was with him at the crime scene. I was with him in the Oval Office. I was with him afterwards. I was on the phone with him late into the evening. He was at the command center of leading the investigation along with our great U.S. Attorney from D.C. Jeanine Pirro, and that’s what he’s doing. So there are all these fake articles with unnamed sources claiming things, and then there’s the reality of what’s happening, and what we all saw last night. And so I’m not going to speak for President Trump but I certainly have confidence in Director Patel, and also the men and women working with him that worked through the night, will work through the day and through the night tonight, to investigate this crime. And it’s something that I’m very proud of, and everybody in this country should be proud about as well.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay. And you’re saying that — The Atlantic has stood by its reporting. I do want to ask you: looking forward, what specific steps is the Department of Justice taking to monitor or disrupt more potential acts of violence, and potentially political violence?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
We work every day to protect this country. There’s thousands of agents that are working every day to protect this country. And it’s regular investigative steps, it’s tips coming in from members of the public, it’s us doing the investigative work that we have done for decades that we continue to do. And you’ve seen that in the results. You’ve seen that in the charges that we’ve brought, in the attempts of terrorism that have been stopped by the FBI, and by DHS agents as well. And so this is an all-government approach to make sure that our country is safe, not only within our borders but also outside as well. And that’s the work that we have always done, and not withstanding the noise that comes from some parts of this country about the work that we’re not doing, it’s not true. And so I think that the work that happened last night is something that the whole world got to see. But that’s what happens every day inside the FBI, the Department of Justice, and DHS.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Two more very quickly. King Charles, as you know, is set to visit Washington this week. Are you confident that King Charles, that world leaders, can be safe here?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Yes. Yes. I am very confident. This is not -- we have to learn from what happened last night, and we will, but the first takeaway, or the takeaway that should be obvious, is that the system worked. And that we stopped the suspect, and we stopped him as soon as he tried to do what he was trying to do. And the President was safe, his cabinet was safe, and every reporter and every member of the press and their guests were safe as well.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay, and just finally, I want to ask you this question, I’m going to be talking to Senator Thom Tillis coming up. The Justice Department just dropped its criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell after Senator Tillis threatened to block the nomination of the President’s pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh. Does the Justice Department commit to not reopening this investigation if, and after, Kevin Warsh is confirmed?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
What we said last week remains true. We are letting Horowitz, the inspector general, do his job. He necessarily needs to be -- he has a lot of tools. He can talk to people. He can look at records. The work that every inspector general, but especially him, can do, we have a lot of faith in. We’re going to let that process play out. There’s a lot of -- by statute, if he identifies any criminal conduct he’s required to make a referral to the U.S. Attorney’s office. I don’t know what his investigation will uncover and nobody does, because it’s an investigation. But if he uncovers evidence of criminal conduct there is no doubt that we will investigate. And what we wanted to make sure is that this conduct is investigated. That’s been the goal from the start, is to understand what is going on with that situation, and with the building, and the cost overruns, and why it’s costing so much money. And the president has faith and trust in the inspector general to do his work. And we’ll be watching and we’ll go from there depending on what he finds.
KRISTEN WELKER:
So very quickly, you don’t rule out the possibility that there could be a criminal investigation reopened into Jerome Powell over those alleged cost overruns?
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
This is an investigation. And so I’m not going to pre-judge what the investigation will find and say there’s absolutely going to be charges or absolutely not going to be charges. That wouldn’t be fair to the process. We are going to let the investigation unfold, let him do his work. At the conclusion he will issue a report of some sort and that may include a referral. It may not. So we’ll see what happens.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, thank you for being here. We are grateful that you are safe, that members of the cabinet are safe, that the president and the first lady are safe, and we are thankful to the Secret Service as you say for keeping us all safe last night. Thank you for being here.
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Thank you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
When we come back, Republican Senator Thom Tillis joins me next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And joining me now is Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Senator Tillis, welcome back to Meet the Press.
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Good morning. Thanks for having me.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. We are grateful. I do want to start off by getting your reaction to the events that unfolded here at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night. What are the key questions that you have this morning, Senator?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Well, I think the first observation is what an extraordinary job the Secret Service, local law enforcement and other agencies that were there to protect not only the president and cabinet officials but the people in attendance. I think it was a textbook execution. We owe all those people who stood in harm’s way a debt of gratitude. And hopefully I can convince some of my Democrat colleagues to get on my Protect and Serve bill, which would have increased the penalties for the perpetrator in this particular event. Hope to get that done before I get out of the Senate. But I think that thank God no one was hurt. Thank God the president is safe and everybody else who was there, including you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Yeah, thank goodness for that, and thank you for that, Senator. I appreciate that very much. I do want to ask you big picture, I was just discussing this with the acting attorney general, about FBI director Kash Patel. His agency obviously will play a prominent role in this investigation. Again, The Atlantic reporting earlier this month that his tenure has been marked by what it calls, “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.” Now, Mr. Patel denies those allegations. Do you have confidence in Kash Patel to lead the FBI in this moment?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
As you know, I was one of the people that led his confirmation in Judiciary Committee. This is one article. I work purely on facts and corroboration. When I see a corroboration, then I’m willing to have a discussion about these allegations. But at this point, look, I get hit with articles. Everybody gets hit with articles in D.C. and in politics. They’ve got facts out there, they’ve got witnesses, they want to lay them out, I’ll take a look at it. But at this point, I’m not changing my position on the FBI director. I support him.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay. I want to ask you about political violence, broadly. You are no stranger to it. Unfortunately, you’ve said you’ve been threatened so many times that it’s like, quote, “going to 7-Eleven and getting a gallon of milk.” You were of course there when violence broke out on January 6, 2021, something that you have continued to speak out about. The president said last night that political violence is the cost of doing business now. Do you agree with that sentiment? And what can the country do about that, Senator?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Well, sadly, I agree with the president. I think he’s right. I think the amplifier and the instigator of social media is able to really target vulnerable people. In many cases, we’re seeing people who are committing these horrible acts have behavioral health and other challenges — stability issues in their lives. And now we have platforms that can focus on them as state actors, terrorist organizations fomenting hate in this country. What the American people need to do is take a breath, confirm their facts, talk to their elected officials, think a bit before they judge people. They all have a role to play. And we in elected office do as well. Our words matter. The weight of our words matter and we need to be very measured in the way that we use them.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. I do want to turn to another big topic, a big headline this week: the Fed chair. Of course, the Department of Justice on Friday announced it was going to close its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. You had pledged to block the confirmation of Powell’s successor, Kevin Warsh, until the investigation was dropped. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro did not close the announcement or, added this caveat with her announcement, saying, “I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.” You just heard the acting attorney general effectively leave the door open to the investigation potentially being reopened. So let me ask you, will you now vote yes to confirm Kevin Warsh?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Well, let me back up. And the announcement on Friday was well received by me. I think it’s the first time that the Department of Justice in D.C. or I should say the D.C. prosecutors have acknowledged that they’re not going to carry this case forward. The case is on appeal. But after that statement, I’ve had a number of discussions with the Department of Justice. They have made it very clear that the current investigation is completely and fully ended. There may be some confusion because they’re moving forward with the appeal, but I have been assured by the Department of Justice that that appeal is simply to challenge the basis for judging on the motion to quash the subpoenas. It would not in any way constitute a basis for reopening the investigation. And we heard from Acting Attorney General Blanche just a few minutes ago that the only thing that would trigger an investigation is criminal, potential criminal misconduct identified by the Inspector General Horowitz, who’s one of the most respected inspector generals in Washington or in the whole of government. I believe — I have studied this and I believe that there will not be any wrongdoing. Maybe we find a little stupid here in terms of somebody responsible for the project making a decision they shouldn’t? Maybe. But it doesn’t rise to a criminal prosecution. That was my problem to begin with, because I feel like there were prosecutors in D.C. that thought this was going to be a lever to have Mr. Powell leave early. But now with this I am prepared and with the assurances from the Department of Justice that the case is completely and fully settled, that the appeal would only be used to potentially abrogate or change the ruling for administrative purposes, not as a basis for reopening the investigation, and that the only way an investigation would be open would be a criminal referral from one of the most respected inspector generals there, I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr. Warsh. I think he’s going to be a great Fed chair.
KRISTEN WELKER:
I just want to put a fine point on it, because what you’re saying is significant, Senator. You are now a yes to vote on the confirmation of Kevin Warsh?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
That’s right. We’ll be putting out a statement. We worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we had the assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed. So this will allow Mr. Warsh to move on with his confirmation on time. And that’s the absurdity of this whole thing. If this investigation, which is now closed, had never occurred, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. He would have been confirmed by May the 15th. Fortunately, --by May the 15th. I think we’ll get there. And then Mr. Powell will have to make his own decisions at some point in the future about when, when and if he leaves the board before the end of his 28th term expiration. You know, I suspect Mr. Powell wants to see what happens with the appeal and to make sure that it is fully settled after the appeal. It could be a lengthy process. Hopefully not. And then we can move on and let the Fed be independent, because if we had allowed this to occur, I think it would have had devastating consequences for our financial systems and the markets worldwide. Thank God we avoided that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
So, and just to be clear, are you confident that Kevin Warsh will act independently of the president if he is in fact confirmed?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Yeah. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the president doesn’t get annoyed with him once or twice. Look, the Fed body that determines rate hikes, that works on their dual mandate for employment and for inflation, it’s a consensus-building body. You have 12 voting members. No one person can actually control it. You have to get a majority of it — and ideally you get a supermajority. So Kevin’s going to go in there with a great reputation, with past experience, with relationships with I think as many as five prior Fed chair boards. He’s going to understand he’s got to work on gaining consensus. You know, the president’s right to just press, and press and press. I don’t begrudge him for demanding that inflation goes down. We’ve got to deal with the affordability problem, and this president’s trying to do it better than Biden and Obama ever did. But you’ve got to do it by the rules, and you’ve got to do it within the bounds of the institution so that we maintain this precious, exceptional gift that we have as a nation and the gold standard for a financial system.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Senator, let me turn now to the war in Iran, which approaches its 60-day mark this week. As you know, by law, the president needs congressional approval to continue the use of force beyond 60 days. Senate leadership doesn’t have plans right now to put a measure on the floor authorizing the use of military force in Iran. At the end of these 60 days, do you think there needs to be a vote authorizing the use of military force in Iran, Senator?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Well, I think the only thing that’s going to avoid pressure to do that is clarity from the White House, from the Department of Defense on what the strategic objectives are. If you go back to the War Powers Resolution, 60 days is roughly the amount of time we give the administration leeway to take action. And this is clearly to get to a lasting peace. And to achieve the objectives of the president, which I support — it may take longer. So we need clarity on what that looks like. In fact, I think that if it’s going to be a longer-term engagement, the authorization for the use of military force could demonstrate to Iran this isn’t just about the president and Iran. This is about the whole of the United States and the U.S. Congress supporting the president to an authorization for the use of military force for the long term, for as long as it takes to get to a lasting peace and a non-nuclear Iran.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And so would you vote in favor of authorizing military force in Iran if it were brought to the floor?
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
We would have to work with the administration. Clearly we’re not going to play the game that the Democrats have tried over the past couple of weeks, doing these discharge resolutions on war powers. We want to be productive, we want to be supportive of the president. And to do that, we just have to be briefed on what the objectives are so that we can support that, either support a formal extension, which is allowed under the War Powers Resolution, or build the support for the authorization of the use of military force. Democrats should come on board. We are fixing a mess that started with President Obama and continued with President Biden. They aided and abetted the ability of the mullahs in Iran to kill their people and to build their nuclear capabilities. This president, and I’ve told him, is the first president who had the guts to act with the kind of power that’s necessary to bring these hateful, deadly leaders of Iran to heel. And we’ve got to do everything we can to support him. But most people know I’m a by-the-book kind of guy. And we need to do it by getting clarity from the administration on what they need to do short term, intermediate term and long term, and to what extent Congress can help, and get Democrats on board, fixing problems that their predecessors created.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right, well, we’ve covered a lot of ground today. Senator Thom Tillis, thank you so very much for being here.
SEN. THOM TILLIS:
Thank you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And when we come back, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna joins me next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back and joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman Khanna, welcome back to Meet the Press.
REP. RO KHANNA:
Thank you for having me. I’m glad you’re safe and back to work this morning.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Thank you so much, Congressman. That really means a lot. I appreciate it. I do want to start off by getting your reaction to the events that unfolded here overnight in Washington and — and everyone’s so grateful for the Secret Service for keeping us safe.
REP. RO KHANNA:
It was absolutely horrific. I’m so relieved that the president, the first lady, every administration official and all the guests are safe. I appreciate law enforcement and particularly the Secret Service agent who was shot and hope he makes a full recovery. But as you know, Kristen, this is an event that is actually the symbol of an open, free society and to see journalists, like you and others, ducking under tables was just horrifying. We need a bipartisan national commission for political violence in this country. I heard Senator Tillis speak. We should look at social media. We should look at mental health issues. We should look at language. But we need to do something to bring the temperature down.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Well, let me ask you about what happens next in terms of this investigation. Do you have confidence in the Secret Service and the FBI as they carry out this investigation, Congressman?
REP. RO KHANNA:
On this issue, I do. I heard Acting Attorney General Blanche. As you know we’ve had disagreements on the Epstein files. But I do believe that he’s going to do everything to have a thorough investigation. I appreciate what law enforcement did to make sure that the breach was not more than a few feet. We can look at whether there needs to be even more security in the future. I mean, I’ve gone to those events. It’s always struck me as a bit odd that the metal detectors are before the ballroom as opposed to before the hotel. So maybe there will be some things that need to be fixed. But I do believe he will do a thorough job on this.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Speaking of the acting attorney general, you heard him just tell me that this should be a wake up call for Congress to fund DHS. Does Congress need to act in the wake of this incident to fully fund DHS?
REP. RO KHANNA:
Absolutely. We’ve been funding — the Democrats have been saying we want to fund DHS. We just don’t want to fund ICE agents with the ICE raids against American citizens and against immigrants in ways that broke the law. But the Democrats have said that we will fund DHS as long as you separate that from the ICE funding. And we have done that many, many times.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Let me turn to Iran now. The 60-day deadline that is coming up, of course, the key deadline to legally authorize any continued military action in Iran. You have authored, you’ve supported several unsuccessful resolutions to limit President Trump’s war power in Iran. Do you think President Trump will be able to secure congressional authorization for this war?
REP. RO KHANNA:
No. Kristen, let me be clear. We need to end this war. Americans are struggling. Gas prices are up. Food prices are up. Housing costs are up. The reason those prices are up is because the Strait of Hormuz is closed and because of this war. It’s caused devastation for working families. The president ran saying that he would bring prices down. Prices are up in his administration and the way most Americans want this war to end. Even 54% of Republicans believe we need negotiation to end the war. The pope is saying, “End the war.” Americans agree with the pope. We need a negotiated settlement. And this war needs to end this week.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Congressman, let me ask you. If Congress does in fact side with President Trump in that key vote, should that be an end to any legislation trying to block him? Would that effectively tie the commander in chief’s hands?
REP. RO KHANNA:
If the president — if they authorize the vote of force, you’re saying? I mean, we need to be having a war powers resolution that says that this is an illegal war, and I believe we will have the votes to — to do that. That would tie the president’s hands in terms of not being able to get funding to continue this war. That’s how we ended the Vietnam war. It’s how we ended the Iraq war, not funding this. But this idea that we’re going to put $400 billion more into a war in Iran and that we’re going to watch prices go up is just hurting working class Americans. It’s not what the president ran on.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. A few other quick topics. I want to turn to the big news out of Virginia, that redistricting referendum that passed this week in that state potentially giving Democrats a chance to flip up to four Republican seats. Some of the same Democratic leaders who backed it like former President Barack Obama, Governor Abigail Spanberger, had previously spoken out against gerrymandering. Let me give you an example. President Obama saying in 2020, “It has warped our representative government.” Governor Spanberger saying in 2019, “It is detrimental to our democracy.” Do you think this political win for Democrats ultimately comes at the expense of a healthier democracy?
REP. RO KHANNA:
No. The Democrats including President Obama supported the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. That would have ended gerrymandering across the country. The Republicans — not a single Republican supported that bill. Then Donald Trump says, “I want to have partisan gerrymandering to — because I know we’re going to lose the midterms otherwise.” Well, the Democrats are not going to unilaterally disarm. In a game that the Republicans started, they’re actually losing. They’re down a seat. And so the Democrats still would welcome an effort to ban gerrymandering, to go and pass the Voting Rights Act and have independent commissions. But what we’re not going to do is watch a unilateral disarmament and just Republicans get to gerrymander and we don’t.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Congressman, finally let me ask you about Epstein files. You mentioned that earlier. You told me last time we spoke that you actually wanted King Charles, who’s poised to visit the United States, to meet with the Epstein survivors during his upcoming visit. He has said that he will not. What was your reaction to hearing that? What are the implications, do you think?
REP. RO KHANNA:
I was disappointed. I had a constructive meeting with the British ambassador. I am hopeful that King Charles, when he speaks to the Congress, will acknowledge the Epstein survivors, will call for justice, will call for investigations and prosecutions. It would be an enormous gesture if, when he’s speaking at the Congress, he does that. And I’m hopeful that he will.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay, well, we’ll watch and see what he has to say. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so very much for being here. We appreciate it.
REPRESENTATIVE RO KHANNA:
Thank you, Kristen.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And when we come back, the very latest on the investigation into Saturday night’s shooting suspect. Much more after a quick break.
KRISTEN WELKER:
When we come back, how is America grappling with the rise in political violence? The panel is next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back. The panel is here. NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Melanie Zanona. Leigh Ann Caldwell, Chief Washington Correspondent for Puck. Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover institution, and Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod. Welcome to all of you. It is wonderful to see all of you doing okay after last night. Mel and Leigh Ann, obviously you were in the room as well. Mel, I want to start with you. Just what — what was your reaction as the events unfolded at the Washington Hilton last night?
MELANIE ZANONA:
Well, you know, Kristen, I was there in the Capitol on January 6th, and I was in the chamber. And it was a similar duck-and-cover situation. I think what was so chilling to me about yesterday was how normalized this has almost become. And that’s not to say we weren’t terrified in the moment. But it has almost become acceptable. And you know, for me, something kicked in where it was like, “Okay, I’ve been through this before. I need to protect myself, listen to the police officers.” But what was really telling to me yesterday was when our colleague, Garrett Haake, asked the president, “Is this the cost of doing business in politics?” And he said yes. And he is not the only one who feels that way. I have talked to a number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill who also have come to almost accept this and are resigned to the fact that they’re going to face threats or worse, or actual attempts on their lives. And there has been a rise in threats to members of Congress. It is at an all-time high. It is not only changing how lawmakers conduct business and are on the campaign trail. I’m worried it’s also impacting whether people even want to get into politics in general.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Which is just a terrifying and tragic thought. Leigh Ann, you were there. Picking up on what Mel is saying, we all watched the lawmakers get evacuated, the Cabinet secretaries.
LEIGH ANN CALDWELL:
Yeah.
KRISTEN WELKER:
How are they responding today? Because as Mel says, the backdrop to this is an increase in political violence.
LEIGH ANN CALDWELL:
Yeah. Absolutely. This, as you said, Mel, this is something that has been increasing year by year by year. I was also at the Capitol complex on January 6th. I was actually also in the Capitol on 9/11. And the through line is the — the law enforcement response has always been amazing to watch, but also really intense as well. And there are going to be questions. AG Todd Blanche — acting AG Todd Blanche told you that this proved that the system worked. But there is going to be a lot of questions about how there was a security breach. And remember, this Hilton actually has history. This is where Ronald Reagan — this is the Hilton where Ronald Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination in 1981. And so there was — they fortified the space so that the president could have events there. But there still was some sort of security breach, and the political violence is, as you said, Mel, becoming more and more common.
KRISTEN WELKER:
What an important backdrop to keep in mind as we continue to report this out. Lanhee, let me turn to you, because President Trump as he held that impromptu extraordinary news conference, still dressed in black tie last night, said this is why he believes he needs to build a ballroom. Of course it has been under scrutiny, legal challenges. He also posted about it this morning. I want to play a little bit of what he had to say last night. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:
I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s got — it’s drone-proof, it’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
Lanhee, what did you make of the president’s message last night?
LANHEE CHEN:
Well, unquestionably the safety and security of the president, administration officials, and guests, that is paramount, obviously. So we have to see how this investigation plays out, how facilities can be fortified. But we should be able to have events without fear of there being some kind of incident like we saw last night. But if we step back, it is true: political violence does seem to have become a part of doing business, but it should not be normal. It should not be normalized. And that is something we should not lose sight of. And ultimately, it is incumbent upon public leaders to set the right tone. I thought the president did that in his press conference last night. I think it’s important for others to follow suit. But ultimately, we should not say that, “Hey, we’re used to this. It’s America. It’s happened before.” Somebody has to draw the line. And we’ve seen this too many times now. It’s just many, too many times.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Adrienne, how do lawmakers — how do we as a country draw the line?
ADRIENNE ELROD:
Well, I mean, look, Lanhee raises a really important point. I mean, I’ve been working in Washington for about 30 years, and I’ve seen the political violence really uptick in the last few years in particular. It’s terrifying. Members of Congress should not have to spend money out of their campaign accounts to fund their security measures. I mean, I think there’s a lot of reforms that need to take place. But ultimately, the rhetoric has got — we want to take it down a couple notches. I thought President Trump was incredible last night. I thought he really struck a conciliatory tone. And we just need to have more rhetoric where we’re all coming together and protecting each other first.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Well, undoubtedly that will be part of this conversation moving forward. I do want to shift gears a little bit, talk about some of the news that was made here this morning. Mel, Senator Thom Tillis now saying he is going to vote yes to confirm Kevin Warsh. That’s President Trump’s pick to lead the Fed, because he said he wanted the investigation dropped into Jerome Powell. He says he’s gotten assurances from the Justice Department that it’s not going to necessarily reopen the investigation willy-nilly into him.
MELANIE ZANONA:
Yeah, this was some big news that you made with the senator here, because he has been silent all weekend. Now we know why. He was working behind the scenes to get those assurances. He seemed pretty confident that this probe would not be reopened. That means essentially Warsh is on the glide path now. But of course, the question is what if they go back on their word, what if something happens? Todd Blanche seemed to leave the door open a little bit with you in your earlier interview, so that’s certainly something we’ll be watching.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Leigh Ann?
LEIGH ANN CALDWELL:
Yeah, it’s important to note that this investigation into Jerome Powell was never popular. Republican senators have increasingly been speaking out, saying that this was not a good move by the president. The president, they were talking to him privately as well, telling him so. So there was pressure for him behind the scenes to drop this, and he finally did.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Lanhee, is he effectively — is Kevin Warsh effectively on a glide path now to confirmation? How do you see this?
LANHEE CHEN:
I certainly do think that Kevin will be confirmed, hopefully by May 15th, when Chairman Powell’s term expires. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Kevin Warsh for many years. I consider him a good friend and colleague. I think he’s going to be a tremendous Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. And — and look, ultimately this is an important job. Determining how monetary policy looks for the next couple years will be critical to jump-start U.S. economic growth to make sure that we continue to have high employment as well as low inflation. So they’re going to have a lot of challenges. The Fed’s going to have a lot of challenges in this economy going forward.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And Adrienne, I asked Thom Tillis if he was confident in Warsh’s independence. He said yes, absolutely. How do you see this?
ADRIENNE ELROD:
Yeah, I mean, I — I hope he’s right. I mean, what we’ve seen play out in the last few years with Trump going head-to-head with Powell has not been effective for the economy. We’ve seen Republicans join Democrats in saying there’s got to be a separation. So maybe this will be a chance to have a — a new, clean start.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. Wonderful conversation. Thank you to all of you. I’m so glad you’re all here, and that everyone is safe. Thank you. That is all for today. Thank you for watching. We’ll be back because if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.