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Senator Cornyan, thanks so much for being with us, especially at this busy time. I am wondering, though, after all this is said and done, is Congress in the same situation two weeks from now.
Well, it's entirely possible. Unfortunately, Chuck Schumer and President Trump negotiated a deal that provides for a two week extensions so the House can then take up and pass the Defense excuse me, the Department Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. But it sounds like the mister Hackeen Jeffries, the leader, and the Democrats in the House are not going to cooperate. So we'll see whether the Speaker can pull a rabbit out of the hat and get the votes with just Republicans.
Senator, though, don't both sides have the ability to cooperate and shouldn't both sides be working together to get this done?
Yes, that's the short answer. It's really I mean, this is the basic functioning of government. It's pay the bills, keep the lights on, and it's unnecessary and it is also an opportunity cost in the sense that we are using time that we could be doing other more important things. For the American people, But unfortunately this is where we are.
Julie asks about the two week continuing resolution Senator, because a lot of folks on Capitol Hill do not think there will be enough time there to craft some sort of agreement and put it in the form of legislation when it comes to new restrictions on ICE, and I'm wondering where your head is on some of the ideas that are out there. Democrats want agents to be unmasked, where body cameras, no more warrantless raids, and additional training. Are you in favor of all four of those?
Well, I'm always or seeing how we can improve current operations and that includes ICE. And I believe mister Homan, who's now in charge up in Minnesota at Minneapolis, has said the same thing. But I don't believe there is enough time to open this whole range of topics, nor do I think we should. Because these are professional law enforcement officers. One of the main problems and what's happened
in places like Minneapolis is these are sanctuary jurisdictions. They don't cooperate with law enforcement at the federal level, and so ICE has no alternative but to make these detentions in the general population, and of course you have various instigators interrupting and interceding, sometimes with disastrous consequences. So I
don't think. I think, while certainly these institutional reforms are important and I would support trying to make it better, this unfortunately is part of the same sort of strain of thought to get us defund the police and abolish ICE, and I think we have to enforce the law, and that's what President Trump believes as well.
Are you, just to be clear, open to demasking ICE agents when they're working in the field.
I think that's an insult two ICE agents. We know that ICE agents are going to be targeted by some of these instigators what I call really they are essentially asking for anarchy, certainly chaos, because if we abandon the rule of law, that's all we have left. And so these ICE agents are being targeted by some of the anti ICE instigators, and I think in some instances their identity should be protected. But this is just to me, just a ridiculous request.
Well, well, just to be clear before we move on to some other issues here, Senator, following these two fatal shootings that we saw in Minneapolis, you don't feel any different about restrictions on ICE.
Well, I think the main thing that needs to be done is that the Minneapolis and Minnesota needs to quit refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers. You don't see this happening in Texas because when illegal aliens are apprehended for some state or local violation, they are routinely handed over to ICE at the jail and then subject
to deportation. But when local law enforcement or state law enforcement in some of these sanctuary jurisdictions don't do it, ICE has no alternative but to try to go knock on a door and make an arrest when they believe they have an illegal alien evating, elating, evading apprehension. Excuse me, so, I think unfortunately in both of these instances, these individuals did not cooperate with law enforcement, and unfortunately that when
that happens, tragedies like this occur, which are regrettable. But I think the answer to it is for the sanctuary jurisdictions to cooperate with federal law enforcement so that federal immigration laws can be enforced, hopefully without these kind of tragedies occurring.
Senator, one more quick question on this so you don't think really any reforms are needed or is there anything you would be open to changing about ICE.
No, I didn't mean to suggest no reforms would be necessary, But I think, as Tom Homan said, and by the way, I think he's the right guy for the job, this is escalated, totally out of control, and I think everybody realizes that and it needs to de escalate. And I think mister Holman has been the voice of a seasoned professional who has been applauded by Democrat administrations and republic administrations to try to bring some order out of this
chaos us. But the simple answer is that while ICE may need to fine tune some of its procedures in order to try to de escalate and avoid conflict, that's a two way street. And these sanctuary jurisdictions need to cooperate with law enforcement in the interests of de escalating and avoiding some of these tragedies.
Senator, I do want to turn out too our home state of Texas and Texas Senate District nine. The Democrat really a shocking upset in that race there. Does it concern you as you were up for reelection this year?
It does concern me as We know these special elections are notoriously volatile, and I know a lot of people are trying to figure out exactly what happened here a district that President Trump won by seventeen points and then the Democrat won by a swing to sixteen points, and so a huge swing there. Some of it had to do with with a small turnout, I think it was about fifteen percent of registered voters, But the quality of the candidates and the nature of the campaigns also matter.
And obviously what the candidates were the Republican candidate was campaigning on was not something that was received well by the voters. So I think there's going to be more analysis to this, and there's a lot of different reasons why this could have occurred, but hopefully we'll learn the lessons from this disastrous outcome.
One of your thoughts on nationalizing elections, Senator, The President was in an interview yesterday on Dan Bongino's show and said we should take over the voting in at least fifteen places the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. Is that something you support?
Well? There is one area where I do believe there should be a standard of voter identification you're familiar with the Save Act, the Save America Act, which I support, That is not a takeover of state run elections. But what it does require, it is the irreducible minimum, is that American citizens be allowed to vote, and anyone who can't produce the appropriate identification would not be allowed. And that's a matter of protecting the integrity of the ballot.
But you do think states should continue to administer elections as for.
The I do. But I do think that in those blue states, particularly where they don't have these same sort of integrity measures that we have in Texas and are in other states, that a requirement of a proof of American citizenship and voter idea is something that is supported on a bipartisan basis makes a lot of sense. So that's why I support the Save America Act.
Center Before we let you go, we do want to touch on foreign affairs very quickly. What should happen next in Iran?
Well, the President's got a very tough call here, obviously. This Iran is the number one state sponsor of international terrorism, is responsible for most of the misery and mischief that's occurring in the Middle East, including the October seventh attack, in Israel by Hamas one of their proxies. They have of course been trying to develop nuclear weapons. They have long range ballistic missiles that threaten our allies in the region, and the President, I know, is being presented with a
range of options here. The real question, I think, Julie, is what comes next if the supreme leader is deposed. Usually what happens in these countries like Venezuela and Iran is are virtual police states and the leadership, the authoritarian leaders basically kill all their competition and they destroy the institutions that would be there once they are deposed. So this is going to be a hard decision by the President because there's no easy answer in Iran.
Do you support another round of strikes then, Senator, is it time to hit Tehran?
Well, I think that that is one of the things that the President, I'm sure is being presented because they have the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Kuds Forces is called, which are their primary primary tools or instruments of international terrorism emanating from Tehran through its proxies. So the President may decide that that's an appropriate target.
Senator, it's good to spend some time with you and We appreciate the insights as always on Bloomberg. Republican Senator John Corn of Texas, thank you.