8min chapter

Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan cover image

Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Ted Cruz, NSA Jake Sullivan

Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan

CHAPTER

Political Implications of Kash Patel's Nomination

This chapter discusses the potential nomination of Kash Patel to a key position within the FBI, raising concerns about the politicization of the Department of Justice. It also examines California's political landscape during the Trump era, particularly regarding immigration policies, funding for state initiatives, and the implications for public safety. The discussion highlights the critical need for legal aid for vulnerable communities amidst threats of deportation.

00:00
Speaker 3
Welcome
Speaker 1
back to Face the Nation. We go now to California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla. He joins us this morning from Porter Ranch, California. Senator, good to see you. Let's start with Kash Patel. Your reaction to that nomination or that suggested nomination from President-elect Trump? Well,
Speaker 5
good morning. Great to be with you. And look, this announcement that Kash Patel is going to be nominated for a high ranking position at the FBI, very key to the Department of Justice raises a lot of the same questions that other announcements and other nominations raise. Are they going to go in there and do the job that the Department of Justice calls for to truly be independent of the President of the United States, or is he going in there to do Trump's bidding? That's the big question here. Is Is it a genuine legitimate appointment or a political appointment to politicize the bureau and the department in Trump's favor? That's just the beginning of the questions that we expect to raise in the confirmation hearings that will begin in January. Do
Speaker 1
you expect that the current FBI director who has three years remaining will just have to resign? Well,
Speaker 5
that's going to be a personal decision for Director Wray, who, like the public should remember, was a Trump appointee to begin with. And so he's got three years left. It's up to him to resign or not. Your prior guest suggested that Trump may very well fire him, which is just par for the course. Anybody who recalls the first Trump administration recalls a whole lot of cabinet officials being named, being confirmed, and being sold as the greatest thing since sliced bread. And as soon as they lose favor with Trump, as soon as they don't do 100 percent of what he's demanding, all of a sudden, you know, they're fired a lot of times by social media posts. And so who knows what Donald Trump is going to decide to do, whether it's with Director Wray, Kash Patel or any of his other nominees this coming term. During
Speaker 1
the first Trump administration, California fashioned itself the resistance state. Some Democrats in the legislature have already begun to describe that as a cliche and say they don't even know what that means anymore. What does it mean?
Speaker 5
Look, I think there's a lot of reason for concern of the second Trump administration if the first administration is any indicator. I think as the governor, as other legislative leaders, and even the congressional delegation have said, if the federal government will continue to support California in its leadership in so many policy areas, there's a lot of good work to be done there. But Donald Trump has made it no secret that he has it in for California, whether it's the withholding of disaster funds. I mean, a lot of FEMA dollars that Donald Trump tried to keep from not the state government of California, but from California families, simply because it's a state that did not vote for him in the presidential election. We're trying to inoculate ourselves from those types of threats. There's also a lot of good that can be finalized before the end of the Biden administration, whether it's Environmental Protection Agency waivers that will allow California to continue to grow our economy while tackling climate change aggressively. to be able to also treat behavioral health issues, mental health issues of Californians, because when we know that treating the whole body is good for both physical and mental health. We're trying to make sure those waivers are locked in before the end of the Biden administration. And
Speaker 1
where do you stand with the Biden administration on that, Senator? Are they going to be responsive?
Speaker 5
They've been very encouraging that the technical work can and should be done before the end of the term, but we'll note when there's signatures on the documents that we need. But again, these are just examples of we want to lock into place before President Trump comes into office and then can use it either as a threat, as a punishment, or as Senator Cruz mentioned in the prior segment, simply leverage to get other things he may want out of California.
Speaker 1
You know President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations. You also know in California there is a state law that tells local law enforcement not to participate and cooperate with ICE agents in deportation or identification processes. The incoming Trump administration boarder czar, Tom Holman, has said any law enforcement who don't cooperate will be prosecuted under federal law. How is this going to be resolved? Yeah,
Speaker 5
well, I think there's an important distinction here. No state government, not Texas, not California, not any state in the nation has a constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law. That is the responsibility of the federal government. Some states like Texas want to push the envelope and try to find a way to assist, but there's no obligation to do so. And that's what California leaders and municipal leaders throughout the state are saying. You know, we're not going to utilize state and local resources to do the federal government's job for them. Number one, I think there's a long history of this being smart public safety policy as well. California is the most populous state in the nation, the most diverse state in the nation, home to more immigrants than any state in the nation. And the last thing you want to do is have immigrants who are victims of crime afraid to come forward to report that crime. The last thing you want is immigrants who may be witnesses to crime to be afraid to come forward and share any information that they have in investigation and prosecution of crimes. That's what we're talking about here. Let the federal government do the federal government's job, but have state and local officials do the state and local officials' job. There doesn't have to be a conflict unless that's what Trump wants. The
Speaker 1
governor has called a special session that will convene this week to set aside money to battle the Trump administration. Will some of that money also be set aside to protect migrants and undocumented immigrants in California as they seek either legal advice or continued legal financial backing to support their efforts to stay within California and the United States? Again,
Speaker 5
if the first Trump administration is any indicator, we know that there will continue to be a lot of fear in communities and communities that deserve to know what their rights are and what their rights are not. And so if it's legal assistance, legal advice, legal support, that's just the California way. We embrace our diversity. Our diversity has made our communities thrive and our economy thrive. And so we will assist families against the threats of the Trump administration. And if we want to just sort of cut to the chase, you know, we're hearing a lot of bombast from Trump and his allies about the biggest deportation operation in our country's history, on the one hand, versus maybe a focus on violent criminals on the other. Nobody disagrees with a focus on violent criminals. Democrats, Republicans agree. But that's very different than millions and millions of people being deported indiscriminately, not just tearing families apart, tearing communities apart, but tremendous damage to our economy that that would create.

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