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Let's go now to Capitol Hill. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas joins US Live. He's chair of the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee, and he also serves on both the Senate Forum Relations and Senate Judiciary Committees. Thanks so much for being with us, Senator.
Julie Joe, good to be with you.
I want to begin with an interview that President Trump just had an NBC News regarding ice enforcement. He said, when it comes to Minneapolis, maybe a softer touch is needed, although he says you still need to be tough. What do you think is the right approach right now?
Well, listen, what we're saying in Minneapolis is tragic. We're seeing angry left wing protesters who are deliberately confronting law enforcement, are getting violent with law enforcement, are obstructing the efforts of law enforcement to arrest violent, criminal, illegal aliens. And unfortunately, we're also seeing the consequences of the overheated rhetoric that we've seen from so many Democrats. As you know, two Americans were shot in interactions with law enforcement. Anytime an
American has shot an interaction with a law enforcement. It's tragedy, but it is a tragedy that is being compounded and being encouraged by Democrats who are using language referring to ICE agents as Nazis, referring to them as murderers, in
a way that is wildly irresponsible, wildly reckless. They are encouraging violence against law enforcement, and I wish everyone would just ratchet down the rhetoric and focus on Look, it was not very long ago that there was enormous common ground that violent criminals should be arrested and taken off the street, and sadly, Minneapolis is now a clash over that basic proposition.
Senator though, do you think it's time for ICE to make some changes after what we have seen?
Listen, I think ICE is doing a heroic job. I think they're doing an incredibly difficult job. And I think the confrontations are being egged on by left wing protesters who are engaging in violence. They're following strategies of how to deliberately obstruct ICE when they're coming into arrest a murderer, when they're coming into arrest a child molester or a rapist.
These left wing agitators, it's not an accident that This is happening in Minneapolis, the same place that we saw several years ago the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots begin where we saw the looting and the burning that happen. There is serious money from the extreme left that is funding these radicals, and this violence is unacceptable. In my view, violence is always, always, always wrong, and I think this confrontation it reflects just how extreme today's Democrat party has gotten.
I think the American people, I think people in Texas want to see violent criminals arrested, and yet over and over again Democrats are siding with the criminals over law abiding citizens.
Well, I just want to ask you about the debate that's underway with regard to homeland security, then, Senator, and I hear the position you're coming from. So I'm guessing that a lot of these are non starters for you. We talked to your colleague John Cornyn yesterday. He said the request to d mask ICE agents was insulting to their professionalism. Is that something that you would consider if it meant FUNDA and security and bringing down the temperature?
No, because the reason that ICE agents are having to wear masks is because the Left is deliberately dosing them. They are targeting them if they find out their identities. They are sending violent protesters to their homes. They are threatening their families. And by the way, you have Democrat politicians calling on these law enforcement officers to be docs to keen. Jeffries, the leader of Democrats in the House, stood up and said, go and unmask them and identify them and go after them.
That is wildly reckless.
You know, I was in Dallas several months ago when one deranged leftist opened fire trying to kill ICE agents with a rifle because he had listened to the anti ICE rhetoric from the radical left. This is dangerous, and this is this is violence, and listen, these law enforcement officers are just trying to protect their families and protect their kids from the violence being fomented by the extreme left.
Well, I just wonder what you think of the president's comment, then, Senator, what does he mean by softer touch?
Well, I think it's exactly what I just said, which is ratcheting down the rhetoric. I think that's an important for us to try to take some of the anger. You know, it is an unhealthy dynamic in our country that the two sides are filled with so much rage and just yell at each other. We need to be able to talk to each other and try to find some modicum of common ground that that hadn't happened in a long time unfortunately.
Senator, Though, when you say ratcheting down the rhetoric, are you saying that you believe it's all Democrats that have brought on this problem? I mean, are both sides somewhat to blame?
Do you think?
Look, I've encouraged everyone to ratchet down the rhetoric, and for example, the two shootings that happen. Anytime you have an officer involves shooting, there's an investigation that standard practice, that is a natural step to occur. That should occur here, and I think anyone who jumped to conclusions about what happened, we should wait and see the evidence. You saw democrats go on TV and scream that ICE agents are murderers
and they're just shooting people for no reason. That is wildly reckless, and there should be an investigation.
That happens that that happens.
As a matter of course, I'll also note one thing that the DHS Secretary of Christy Nome did that I very much agree with, is she announced that they're going to be putting body cameras on ice agents. I think
that is a very positive development. I don't think body can cameras are the friends of the extreme left Democrats and the irresponsible claims they're making, and I think the body cameras a they protect citizens when you're interacting with law enforcement, but they protect law enforcement, and so I think that's a very positive development.
Senator, I'd like to ask you about an important hearing that you held today with regard to autonomous driving and a piece of legislation that you're pursuing to do away with the patchwork of rules on the state level and actually come up with a national framework. We heard from Mauricio Opinya, an executive at Weimo, the Alphabet owned autonomous driving company.
Here's what we heard.
You over one hundred million miles, our data shows that we are ten times less likely to be involved in a serious injury collision as compared to human drivers in the cities where we operate. And data also shows that we're both times less likely to be involved in a pedestrian injury collision in the cities where we operate. So I think we're making a difference a ready.
Were you compelled by the presentations today from Waimo and from Tesla Senator and would you get into a self driving car tonight?
I absolutely would get it a self driving car. And I got to say, there are very few policy areas where we could have as dramatic and direct and impacts saving lives as dealing with autonomous vehicles. You know, you know, every year about forty thousand Americans are killed in car crashes, and ninety four percent of those come from human error.
They come from drunk drivers or distracted drivers. You get people texting and driving, yet people their kids are yelling them in the back and all sorts of things, people falling asleep because they're really tired. And autonomous vehicles, we are seeing that they are dramatically improving safety. On top of that, there's a whole other element of keeping our kids safe. Look, unfortunately, you know all of us who
are parents who have teenagers or young adults. You know, sometimes kids go out and do something stupid, but sometimes they have a few too many drinks, and sometimes kids foolishly get behind the wheel and it can be the last decision they ever make. I think avs provide a real source of safety, to keep our kids safe, to
keep our grandkids safe. And I got to say one of the things I talked about also at the hearing today, I'm a father and Julia, as you know, of two teenage girls, I'm not Heidi, and I will not let our girls come home in an Uber because I don't trust a strange man alone in a car with our teenage girls. In my city of Houston, four Uber drivers were just indicted for sexually assaulting teenage girls in their cars.
I got to say, as a dad, I would really be grateful to be able to have an autonomous vehicle take my girls home when they need a ride without any danger of an assault.
So there are lots of steps.
And by the way, on top of that, we heard a lot of testimony of the benefits of avs for people with disability, whether the visually impaired, or people with paralysis or using wheelchairs, or or people who are elderly and lack the ability to drive anymore, to drive safely. Autonomous vehicles has the potential for a whole wide category of Americans to really substantially improve their lives.
Senator, I just ask you quickly, I'm getting the hook here, But can you tell us about the Rotor Acts following the collision outside of DCA. We understand that you've received a promise to get a vote on the House floor before we say goodnight.
Is that going to happen. I believe it's going to happen.
House leadership has been unequivocal in committing to putting the Rotor Act on the floor.
I think the House is going to pass it.
This is bipartisan legislation I authored to improve safety for the flying public. The NTSB just put out their report about the horrific crash that happened over DCA Airport last year, and they concluded if the Rotor Act had been the law, that crash would have been avoided and those sixty seven souls would still be with us. We can do this.
This would make the flying public much safer. It's already passed the Senate unanimously, and I believe the House will take it up and President Trump will sign it.
Let us know when you get a timeline on that, Senator, thank you for joining us. Ted Cruz, the Republican from Texas, live on Bloomberg