Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Congress needs to be 'involved in trade policy' after Supreme Court tariff ruling GOP congressman

Transcript

Congress needs to be 'involved in trade policy' after Supreme Court tariff ruling GOP congressman · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And now I want to turn to Republican Congressman Kevin
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Kylie of California. He recently voted to oppose President Trump's
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: tariffs on Canada, and he's also a member of the
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: House Judiciary Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I want to start with this huge announcement, of course,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: of this ten percent global tariff.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Here's what the President.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Said when my colleague Rian Nobles asked if he'd need
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: congressional approval.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Take a listen, you just work with Congress to come
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: up with a plan.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: I don't have to to push tariff.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I have the right to do tariffs, and I've always
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: had the right to do tariffs.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: It has all been approved by Congress, so there's no
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: reason to do it.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: All we're doing is we're going through a little bit
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: more complicated process, not complicated very much.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: But a little more complicated than what we had. Congressman,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: what's your response to that.
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: Well, there is some truth to that, in the sense
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: that there are various statutes that impose some limited authority
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: to do tariffs in certain circumstances, like if you have
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: a Section three or two investigation.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: Something like that.
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: Today's decision you know, by the Supreme Court effects one
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: particular tool that the president has used. So it may
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: well be true, and of course these things might have
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: to be tested in court as well, that there might
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: be more limited authority in you know, to impose tariffs
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: and in some circumstances. But you know, going forward, I
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: do think it is important that Congress is involved in
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: trade policy. I think that's the way that, you know,
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: our system was designed.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: I want to ask about your vote.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Were you voting on the substance of the tariffs when
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: you voted to overturn them, or were you voting against
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: how they were implemented by the president.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: Well, it was actually two separate votes.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: So on the first one, it was a vote to
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: just allow Congress to weigh in on these things. Actually,
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: the specific statute was the National Emergencies Act, which says
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: that when the President declares an emergency, then Congress has
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: to vote every six months and whether the emergency still exists.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: The Speaker had used sort of an accounting trick to
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: make it so Congress didn't actually do that for the
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: emergencies the president has declared with respect to tariffs, and
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: so I voted that way because that's the way the
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: statue was designed, and I don't believe that it's a
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: good thing to have endless emergencies without Congress ever even
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: weighing in. And then the second vote was specifically with
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: respect to the state of emergency the President has declared
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: with respect to Canada, which he's then used as the
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: basis for these tariffs.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: And on that vote, I looked at the facts.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: He had said that we had an emergency dealing with
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: fentanyl coming over the northern border, and Canada has actually
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: cracked down on fentanyla. There's been by some estimates in
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: ninety seven percent reduction, so that you know, said to
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: me that while the basis for that.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Emergency is no longer there. And then it is finally.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: True that the tariffs coming from Canada are sort of
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: unique in the sense that this is our neighbor. We
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: have a free trade agreement that was fairly recently signed
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: with Canada, and there have been particular impacts when it
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: comes to construction, agriculture, energy, and other areas.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: So if the President came to you and your fellow
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Republicans and asked you guys to authorize any of these
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: other tariffs, would you back that I'd.
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: Look at it case by case.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: I think that, you know, the facts are very different
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: with different countries and different industries. So for example, you know,
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: I think it is true that there have been unfair
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: trade practices or ways in which American companies have been
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: targeted by certain laws in Europe. I was actually in
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: Europe a few months ago looking at this very question.
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: How we have many American companies have been subjected to
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: these massive finds without.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: Very good reason.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: And so you know, I if that can be part
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: of a negotiation to make sure that our companies are
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: treated fairly, then you know that I might look at
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: that differently than with respect to some other countries or
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: some other industries. But I think the important thing is that,
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: as was explained very well in Justice Gorsuch's opinion, his concurrence,
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: you know, in Congress is involved, then all of us
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: can bring our own experiences to bear and knowledge and
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: you know, assessment of what is best for the country
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: through the legislative process as our founders designed. I think
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: that that there's you know, I think that'll be the
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: best thing for the country if we're able to have
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: Congress involved in each individual case.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: President Trump did call you and some of your fellow
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Republicans who voted against those tariffs quote not good Republicans.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: He also threatened a primary you.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Meanwhile, he also bashed some of the Supreme Court justices
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: ruled against his terrorists, calling them lapdogs and rhinos and
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: radical left Democrats. How do you respond to that, especially
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: as you try to say that Congress needs to assert
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: more of a role. I mean, is there woking to
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: criticize Trump in today's Republican party?
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: Well, look, I mean I try not to let criticism
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: of any particular vote dictate my behavior. You know, you're
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: always going to make people unhappy with any vote whichever
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: way you go. You know, you might have people who
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: disagree with you. It might be your particular you know,
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: elements of your constituency who agree, some who disagree. So
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: it's hard to make everyone happy, and in some cases
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: you might not make the leadership of your own party
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: or even the president happy. But at the end of
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: the day, you know, I just try to do what
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: I think is going to be best for my district,
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: for my state, and for the country, and I think that,
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: you know, my constituents will will judge my record in
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: its entirety.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: I do want to talk about the midterms because the
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: President said yesterday and Georgia that he.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Quote one and solved the affordability issue.
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: Is that your view, well, I do think that you've
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: seen progress in some important areas like energy is one right,
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: Like across the country, we have had a big reduction
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: in gas prices, But it absolutely is true that it's
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: way too hard to get by in way too many
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: parts of this country right now.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: And I'm coming from California. It's my state.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: It's actually the most unaffordable state in the country, where
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: we have the highest gas prices, the highest electricity rates,
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: among the highest water bills and housing costs and taxes,
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: and so I think that issue is front and center,
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: is perhaps the most salient isssue for the folks I represent,
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: and I do think it needs to be a big,
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: big focus.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Of what we do in Congress for the remainder of
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: this year.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Do you think, especially Republicans in the House, are doing
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: enough to address affordability? I know you've complained about during
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the historic shutdown, you guys were away from the House
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: for so long.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Do you think you guys are doing enough?
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: And if not, could it cost for holding against the
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: mid terms.
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: I think we need to do more.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: And I do think that, of course, come election time,
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: you know, people are going to be judged according to
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: their record, and I think that, you know, the material
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: conditions that people are experiencing in their day to day
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: lives when it comes to the economic well being and
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: their ability to you know, provide for their family, that's
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: going to be front and center. And so I think that,
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: you know, we have passed some really important measures when
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: it comes to energy production, that we've passed an important
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: housing bill this last week, but you know, there's certainly.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Plenty more to do.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: And you're right, having the Congress gone for whatever it
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: was two months for no reason at all, and then
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: also failing to address this issue with the increase in
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: healthcare premiums with the expiration of these subsidies, I think
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: that was Both of those things were very unfortunate. But
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: we've got, you know, plenty of time left in this year,
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: and so we're back in session on Monday, and I
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: think we really need to hit the ground running to
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: address those concerns.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Congressman, I know you've not said exactly which district you
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: plan to run in again, your district was impacted heavily
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: by redistricting. But now that the dust has sort of
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: started to settle and we're seeing that it might be
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: a wash in terms of Republican and Democratic gains in redistricting,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: do you think it's going to backfire ultimately in the
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: end for Republicans.
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: I think it's been a total disaster, this redistricting war.
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: You're right, it looks like it's going to be about
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: a wash. It never made any sense. I was against
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: it in Texas, I was against it in California in
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: my state. Many of us across the country have now
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: had our districts chopped into many different pieces. It's created
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: the enormous instability, It's fostered an enormous amount of distrust,
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: and to what end for something it's not even going
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: to necessarily result in an advantage for one side or
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: the other. So I think that we need to end
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: gerrymandering in this country. We certainly shouldn't be doing it
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: in the middle of the decade. So I'm working on
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: legislation to actually do both of those things, to stop
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: mid decade redistricting and to establish some sort of independent
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: system for every state so that we can have fair
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: representation going forward.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Real quick, do you think how Republicans will keep the majority?
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: Know, it's very hard to say it this far out.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: I think that, you know, we're what nine months or
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: something from the midterms, and so a lot can happen then.
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: But you know, I think that it's incumbent on each
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: of us to really do what we can to fight
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: for affordability and for you know, for certainly border security
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: and all the things that matter to the American people,
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: and then we'll be judged accordingly. And I think that,
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: you know, all of us have to run on our
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: own record. It's not necessarily just one party versus the other.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: I think it's up to each of us to show
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: that we're serving our constituents and serving the country.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Congersman, thank you, you bet thanks for having me.
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: We thank you for watching, and remember stay updated on
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: breaking news and top stories on the
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.