The next is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Republican of Texas, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Nov. 2, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to “Face the Nation.” We flip now to Texas Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, who joins us this morning from Humble, Texas. Welcome to “Face the Nation.”
REPRESENTATIVE DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): Thanks for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, I do know you’ve been out and in of Washington, however largely that the Home members haven’t been right here on the town. The Home hasn’t voted since September 19. It is going to be the seventh consecutive week now that they’ve been working from residence. Would you urge Speaker Johnson to convey everybody again to attempt to break the deadlock over authorities funding?
REP. CRENSHAW: It’s as much as the Speaker. Home Republicans and Home Democrats coming again to Washington, won’t break the deadlock. Let’s not overlook that the Home handed a clear CR. It was a brief CR, okay. And , Democrats preserve saying the Republicans don’t have any intent to barter. We are able to’t belief them to need to negotiate if we reopen the federal government. That’s nonsense. If we had- look, if we had handed a year-long CR, I believe they might make that argument. That’s normally an indicator that we actually don’t need to speak concerning the finances proper now, we wish to- we need to preserve the can down the street for a 12 months. However whenever you move a really quick time period period CR, a seven-week one, it’s a clear indication that we intend on persevering with these conversations. So look, there’s different issues we may do. The explanation I preserve going again is as a result of I work on the Intelligence Committee, and I’ve to try this work from inside DC. There’s a lot of causes folks return. However look, in the long run, the Senate has to cope with this, and Senate Democrats simply should reopen the federal government. It’s that easy. They voted- I don’t even what’s it, 15 occasions now, to maintain it closed. They wouldn’t even vote to maintain federal staff paid. That was a loopy lifeline that Senator Thune gave them, permitting them to vote, virtually have the straightforward approach out, permit them to a minimum of vote to take the ache off of federal staff. They usually voted that down too. I actually don’t know what their technique is at this level. They’re those that have to determine this out.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you heard- maybe you heard Senator Warner on the high of this system say, , conversations are occurring this week. He hoped that there could be some- some finish. In your aspect of the- of the Capitol. You’re saying you don’t see indicators of this ending this week?
REP. CRENSHAW: Don’t see what- sorry, yeah- I don’t, I don’t see us going again into session. I believe we’d have been notified by now. Yeah, however once more, the deadlock shouldn’t be within the Home. You already know, we handed it out of the Home–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Understood– however to come back to an settlement, which is was- the senator was speaking about everybody getting collectively and going to the White Home with the President to hammer this out. The speaker, a minimum of, it doesn’t sound like you could have that stage of optimism. However let’s speak concerning the affect the place you might be. Your district consists of components of Houston. We checked the numbers, and it seems 350,000 Houston space households might have some problem with their meals stamps, these SNAP advantages due to the standoff. Have you ever gotten any steerage from the state or from the administration about whether or not folks get meals funds this week?
REP. CRENSHAW: Nicely, from what I can inform from the administration’s statements, I imply, they’re going to attempt to use the emergency contingency fund for- on a brief foundation. However look the entire- I believe there’s about $6 billion in that fund. The month-to-month SNAP advantages price Individuals $9 billion in order that’s- that could be a very, very small band assist. And the one approach you’re going to get SNAP advantages again on monitor is that if Democrats vote for our clear CR. I visited a meals financial institution not too long ago. Yeah, they’re getting ready for an enormous inflow in demand. You already know, the state can solely achieve this a lot on this. We- all of us can solely achieve this a lot there’s- there’s a extremely easy resolution to this, which is simply preserve the federal government open and , you need to negotiate this very advanced well being care difficulty, which is what Democrats say they need. I believe they form of selected it out of- randomly, and rapidly determined throw this mood tantrum. However high quality, let’s negotiate it, however you need to do it with the federal government open and never hold- you’re not holding a gun to our heads. You’re holding a gun to the common American folks’s heads.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re on the Intelligence Committee. You talked about you had, have needed to come again right here to view what I assume is assessed intelligence. The President confirmed just a few weeks again that he had licensed some CIA exercise in Venezuela, he didn’t give element on that, however have you ever seen any proof that the US strain marketing campaign on Nicolas Maduro is working, that each one this navy {hardware} that’s being moved round into the area is doing one thing?
REP. CRENSHAW: I can solely let you know what I can assume, having been out of session, we aren’t getting the briefings because- as a result of we aren’t there. One of many causes I preserve going again is to look into these items. The broader question- that is extra of a geopolitical query, is the strain marketing campaign working? Nicely, look, deterrence virtually at all times works, particularly whenever you’re dealing with- with dictators like Maduro. They solely pay attention to at least one factor, which is energy. And Venezuela has been largely left alone by American administrations. The western hemisphere has been left alone, and I believe this President is taking it way more critically. Look, the Venezuelan authorities is a, it’s- it’s- it’s a pretend authorities, proper? He ran a rigged election. Everybody is aware of that it’s propped up by the Cubans and by the Russians. They’ve been in collusion with terrorist teams just like the FARC for years. It has been an annoyance to international locations like Colombia for years. There’s many high-level rating officers in government- in Venezuelan authorities which might be actually beneath indictment for drug trafficking. It’s successfully a narco-terrorist state–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — However Maduro continues to be in energy–
REP. CRENSHAW:– Maduro, what? Sorry–
MARGARET BRENNAN: However that he nonetheless is in- in energy. That’s what we had been simply speaking about that with Senator Warner. The- the necessity for extra data to go to lawmakers about precisely what the extent goes to be of US navy involvement. Would you help US land strikes in Venezuela?
REP. CRENSHAW: Really boots on the bottom in Venezuela?–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Land strikes–
REP. CRENSHAW: — I believe we must should have an extended dialog about doing one thing to that extent. However I believe what the- what the President is doing proper now may be very a lot inside rational authorized means, drug boats that we have- folks ask, do we’ve got the intelligence to essentially know what these drug boats are and who’s on them? Sure, we do. That I can say, proper. We now have multi-source intelligence that- so we all know for certain what we’re- what we’re- what we’re really taking pictures at, and we don’t even shoot in any respect the targets. And folks say, properly, why can’t you simply interdict all of it? And I say, properly what number of boats do you suppose we’ve got? What number of boats and helicopters do you suppose you could have? And you understand how dangerous an interdiction operation is? You’re going to people- put folks’s lives at stake. And , we’ve been doing that for years, and it hasn’t labored. So, you do have to strive one thing new, as a result of it’s an imminent hurt to the US, and that’s clearly inside the President’s authority beneath Article Two. So, I don’t wring my fingers over what’s occurring proper now. Speaking hypotheticals about invading Venezuela. I imply, that’s probably not what we’re speaking about proper now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: No- no, I used to be requested about land strikes. However- however let me ask you about one thing a few of your fellow conservatives have been speaking quite a bit about together with Mitch McConnell, he’s been involved about antisemitism. On the precise, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas mentioned he’s seen extra antisemitism previously six months than in his complete life. Take a pay attention.
(START SOUND ON TAPE)
SEN. TED CRUZ: “This is a poison, and I believe we are facing an existential crisis in our party and in our country. ///// If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very cool and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, and you say nothing, then you are a coward, and you are complicit in that evil.”
(END SOUND ON TAPE)
MARGARET BRENNAN: He was particularly referring there to a broadly watched interview Tucker Carlson did with far-right commentator and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Do you share Senator Cruz’s concern about your social gathering?
REP. CRENSHAW: Oh, yeah. Mr. Cruz, put it fairly properly. I’ve had a long-standing feud with Tucker Carlson. I’m glad everybody else is- can be waking up now to how dangerous of an individual he’s. He’s modified lots during the last 20 years. You already know, laborious to say why, but it surely doesn’t actually matter why. I imply, you could have a man like Fuentes in your present, you’re- you’re uplifting what’s a man who has actually fallen off the radar. You already know, he- he used to ship his followers to my occasions and attempt to ask me a bunch of questions concerning the Jews and Israel help and all that, and attempt to disrupt occasions. And they’d attempt to infiltrate the MAGA motion. You already know, they had been actually on a downhill slide. And for Tucker to have him on- Senator Cruz is precisely proper. And this concept that we’ve got to, , that it’s cancel tradition, if we- if we- if we- if we preserve Tucker out of our circles any further, is simply nonsense. I actually wrote a e book on cancel tradition. So, , I’ve thought deeply about this. Cancel tradition means you’re- you’re canceling somebody for what’s mainly a mainstream perception, or maybe- perhaps a small, like, sincere mistake they made that may be perhaps thought of cancel tradition. It’s not cancel tradition whenever you say, look, I need to disassociate myself from you as a result of your beliefs are loopy and also you’re psychopathic and also you’re- you might be falling aside in entrance of everybody. You already know this disassociation shouldn’t be canceling anybody, and I do know some have recommended it’s. So, I believe moral- ethical readability is much more essential on this case.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman Crenshaw, we’ve got to go away it there. Thanks in your time this morning. We’ll be proper again.
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