C (4:51)

Look, he can go low and try to distract from the issue at hand, which is that the Trump administration refuses to answer basic questions about whether or not they consider us to be at war in Venezuela, whether or not they're going to send troops and put boots on the ground in Venezuela. And he's doing it at the expense of, you know, in referencing for us people with intellectual disabilities. So, you know, I'm not going to go there with him. I was questioning Secretary Rubio, and he refused to answer some very basic questions about what's next. America doesn't want a foil of a war. And yet they were not able to answer that question.

A (5:29)

Well, so that's kind of what I want to get at is Secretary of State Rubio was confirmed nearly, or I believe it was unanimously in the United States Senate. He kind of seemed to be a safe pick as secretary of State. But today he didn't really answer many questions from you all, I guess. Are you at all regretting your vote to confirm Secretary Rubio at this point?

C (5:47)

You know, at the time, I thought that he would actually live up to the promises that he made to us. So I don't regret the votes I made, the decisions I make at the time based on the decisions that I information that I had. I had no idea that he would go back and make a lie of the promises he made to, you know, at the time, his former colleague, his colleagues. The fact of the matter is he said that he would support USAID programs. You know, he made all sorts of promises that he's now gone back on, which is really, really quite sad because it is to the detriment of our national security. We need to have missions all around the world where America is projecting our power, where America is engaging in diplomacy. And when you take away things like Voice of America funding, when you take away diplomats who are working on our nation's embassies all around the world, you're weakening our nation stands on a global stage. And that's that is the thing that I'm the best status about.

A (6:41)

Now, you mentioned you asking Secretary Rubio about whether or not we are at war in Venezuela. I guess I know you didn't get a clear answer from him, but have you gotten an answer from the administration at all as to the status of what the United States is doing in Venezuela? Are we, is Trump still the de facto president? I mean, what is happening right now on the ground there?

C (7:02)

Well, that's the problem, is they don't really have a plan. And in today's hearing, Marco Ribio actually said, well, this is what we're doing for now, but in six months or nine months, if things change, we'll do something different. And we asked him, well, what's the different thing that you're going to do? Because Donald Trump has said that he is open to sending troops, American troops into Venezuela and putting boots on the ground. And of course, Marco denied that, although we have video of him actually standing behind Donald Trump. And Donald Trump committed to potentially sending American troops into Venezuela. So that's my concern, is they don't know what they're doing beyond the immediate seizing of Maduro. Maduro is a bad guy. I'm glad that he's not in power anymore. But who did they leave in power? Maduro's lieutenants. Right. So the same bad people are still in charge in Venezuela. And they don't seem to be able to answer a basic question of what are you going to do six months from now, nine months from now?

A (7:55)

Now that's fair. I do want to shift gears briefly and talk about ICE funding. What is the current status of the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security in the United States Senate today?

C (8:06)

Today it is still part of a larger package where it's tied to funding for transportation, housing and urban development. It's tied to the defense budget. But I announced back last week, even before the second murder in Minneapolis, that there's no way that I could vote for this budget. And frankly, I want to make sure that we break out the budget for DHS and that we take a lot of the funds that have been stolen from the rest of the budget to fund ICE and put that back towards where it really belongs, which is to support local law enforcement, to support programs. You know, they took funding in the big, beautiful bill away from funding for child violence prevention, training for local law enforcement officers, the people who are actually on the ground fighting crime, and they put it towards the lawlessness of ICE and, you know, the goons in ICE who are out there killing murdering Americans on our city streets.

A (9:02)

Now, I do want to ask you because I think there's a lot of confusion from folks online about what is actually being funded in this bill right now that you guys are about to vote on because of the big beautiful bill, because part of ICE has been funded for years ahead, I guess, now. So what is actually in this funding bill that you guys are considering?

C (9:22)

Well, there's funding for DHS overall, but the problem with it is that there's actually language in the bill that the House inserted that actually takes away restrictions on ice. And I want to make sure that we're going to pass funding for ice, that there are some restrictions on them. So, for example, I think that there should be independent investigation when ICE is involved in violence against people on the streets of our cities. One of you know, these. We have to have independent investigations into these tragic killings. The American people simply deserve the truth. And the Trump administration, I'm sorry to say has proven beyond a doubt that it can't be trusted to conduct legitimate, transparent or unbiased investigations into the widespread uses of excessive. And even as we've seen deadly force by untrained, unhinged agents. I think that, you know, we should also be looking at how ICE is deployed into our cities. They shouldn't just be able to come in without support from local law enforcement or without the support of the governor of a state, for example, Trump. You know, right now ICE is allowed to range 100 air miles from the nation's border. So they can come in and just have free range in that 100 air miles that should be reduced to one air mile. And they consider Lake Michigan to be an international border. And so they can range 100 miles in from Lake Michigan's shoreline. This is crazy. So some basic common sense restrictions are needed in this budget.

A (10:46)

Now, one of your colleagues today, Angus King, came out and said that he'd consider voting for a CR in place of this appropriations package. Would you vote for a CR if that was on the table?

C (10:56)

I would need to see what it looks like. For me, the goal is to actually look at what are we going to. Are they willing to work with Democrats and negotiate with Democrats to put some restraints back on ice? And are they willing to break out ICE DHS from the total funding package? And right now Leader Thune isn't making any type of offer like that and he certainly isn't making an offer on the cr.

A (11:19)

Now, Leader Thune isn't making the offer. But have you heard from any Republican colleagues behind the scenes that are saying, well, we're amenable to at least your position to removing DHS from the overall package?

C (11:31)

I've not heard that. Most of the conversations that Democrats and Republicans are having right now, just urging Republicans to watch the full videos.

A (11:38)

Sure.

C (11:39)

Sad to say that many of my colleagues, when we started reaching out to them, hadn't even watched the videos and it had been days since, since the murder had taken place.

A (11:47)

I do want to ask you because a lot of people want accountability for this Department of Homeland Security. To me, Alejandro Mayorkas under Biden was impeached for a lot less than Kristi Noem is now potentially. Would you support articles of impeachment if they came to the Senate against the Department of Homeland Security?

C (12:01)

Secretary, I need to see what those articles are, but I would seriously consider it.

A (12:06)

Do you believe that she should remain the head of the Department of Homeland Security?

C (12:11)

You know, no, I think, I think she should resign. But look, and I listen I voted against her, obviously. I think that she should be impeached. I voted against her confirmation in the first place. But it's not just Secretary Noem. So many senior Trump officials, even Trump himself, frequently abuse their authority and in many cases violate the law and the Constitution to do so. So let's not take the burden of responsibility off of Donald Trump and say, okay, we're going to fire Kristi Noman, then it's all over and done with ICE and go back to what they're doing. Bottom line, the buck stops with Trump. And I made it clear how I felt about him being in office with my two votes to convict him years ago.

A (12:46)

Now, before I let you go, what do you say to an average American who's in Chicago, for example, today and says, I'm terrified walking down the streets that I may be stopped and asked for proof of citizenship?

C (12:57)

Oh, they tell me all the time, and I'm going to tell them I'm going to fight for them every chance that I get. But I tell them, make sure that you know your rights, stand up for yourself, and if you are a bystander, take those videos. Because this is how we're putting truth to the lies. We know that ICE continues to lie all the way from the Secretary of Homeland Security all the way down through the DHS leadership and ICE leadership, they continue to lie even in courts, in a court, sitting in front of a judge, they continue to lie. So we need to make sure that we continue to document, document, document. And bottom line, we have to have independent investigations into their actions.

A (13:37)

Senator, thank you so much for joining me.

C (13:39)

Thank you.

A (13:40)

Hey folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow, subscribe. See you soon for more.