The following is a transcript of an interview with the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Mike Turner, broadcast March 31, 2024.
ED O’KEEFE: Thanks for sticking with us. We now turn to the Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, who joins us this morning from Dayton, Ohio. Congressman-President, good morning to you. We understand that President Johnson plans to hold a vote on Ukraine aid funding when Congress returns, a week from tomorrow. Is this still the plan?
CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE REP. MIKE TURNER: Well, first of all, Happy Easter. I was at Westminster Church in Dayton celebrating with Christians around the world the resurrection of Christ this morning, I appreciate you having me. And that you included an article on faith in your report today. As for Ukraine, I mean, it’s really a situation where I think, you know, the world has seen that this is a war of aggression by Russia, that it is authoritarianism against democracy. It is precisely the brutality that is occurring, the murderous nature of what Russia is doing that we must respond to, and we must continue our support. The speaker made it clear that he supports Ukraine directly as well as Zelensky. Publicly, he made these statements to the NATO Secretary General. The speaker made very clear statements that when we return, this will be the next priority on the agenda. After passing all the bills that fund the federal government, I believe this bill will have overwhelming support in Congress and we will bring a bill to the President’s desk.
ED O’KEEFE: Will this plan enjoy overwhelming support from fellow Republicans? Are you going to have to make changes to the currently drafted legislation to include loans that Ukraine would have to repay or possibly add something regarding border security to get over the line?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: Well, I think there is already significant and very strong support among Republicans, and certainly among Americans across the country. As this file evolves, there will certainly be discussions, you know, both in the Senate and in the House. I have had discussions about the border itself. And there have certainly been discussions about how non-military humanitarian aid is structured. But I think overall we will get a package that will be negotiated with the Senate, the White House, so that we will have a bill that the President can sign.
ED O’KEEFE: Will whatever is done be passed before Congress takes its next week’s recess, which is expected to begin around April 22?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: Well, that’s certainly my hope. We are on the verge of – and as President Zelensky has made clear to President Johnson, we are at a critical point. The CIA Director and the Secretary of Defense have all made clear that we are at a critical moment on the ground that is beginning to impact not only the morale of the Ukrainians who are fighting, but also their ability to fight. . Putin knows this. This is obviously an area where we cannot allow Putin to win. Our European allies say Putin’s goal is a war beyond Ukraine and with Europe. We must stop him in Ukraine.
ED O’KEEFE: On that point, in an interview last week with CBS’ Charlie D’Agata, Ukrainian President Zelensky said his country would lose the war to Russia if it didn’t have American support. I’m just curious, given your strong support for Ukraine, in your assessment, how much damage has already been done by Congressional inaction?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: Well, it’s certainly been difficult. We have certainly seen Putin emboldened, but we have not seen significant losses of territory on the battlefield in Ukraine itself. We certainly see him tense. We noticed a lack of ammunition. We’ve even seen ammo rationing, which is just heartbreaking and certainly has an effect on their ability to fight. But beyond just the issue of this supplement and the replenishment of weapon systems, we need to provide them with longer range weapon systems. The White House is reluctant to do so. Congress demanded it. President Zelensky demanded it. This would allow them to retreat against the Russians, who currently have weapons systems that attack remotely from the Ukrainian side. In the first line. This would give the Ukrainians the opportunity to push back on Putin and maintain this front line.
ED O’KEEFE: You’re talking about the Patriot missile batteries and other longer-range missiles that the president says are at least for now a step too far because it could prompt Russia to…
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: It’s ATACMS. It’s ATACMS and I think it’s a three kilometer long range ATACMS. I think the administration is close to being ready to provide them, they have already provided Patriots, which, of course, with the air defense system, is really critical for kyiv right now.
ED O’KEEFE: Understood. Ultimately, because you seem pretty optimistic this morning. But if we come back to you in a month, you think the House will have passed this measure, the Senate will have passed it. The president will have signed it.
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: There is a majority of members in the House, a majority of members in the Senate, including more than 60 votes needed and a president willing to sign a package that would provide this needed aid to Ukraine. And I certainly hope that we find a vehicle as quickly as possible to accomplish this. President Johnson is certainly committed to this.
ED O’KEEFE: Do you think the President is willing to put his job on the line to get this done because he’s facing threats?
(CROSSTALK)
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: Unfortunately. Yes, of course. Of course, you know, unfortunately the chaos caucus has continued to want to stop everything that is happening in Congress. It’s not like they have an alternative plan. They… they’re just against the things that are necessary and that we do, it’s necessary for national security. Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Minority Leader, has made clear that he will not join rebels on the Republican side to oust President Johnson on this issue. And I think we’re certainly going to see broad support in Congress to get this work done.
ED O’KEEFE: Speaking more broadly about Congress, 20 Republicans have announced their intention to withdraw from Congress so far this year. By the end of April, five of them will have left in the middle of their terms. Do you know of any other Republican members who will soon be heading out?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: No, and that’s obviously very unfortunate. It’s been a very strange time where we, you know, we see the Senate 50/50, we see the House 50/50, even the presidential race was basically 50/50. It goes almost like this, maybe again, and it shows that we can have radical fringes, even radical individuals who don’t really have an ideology or an agenda other than chaos, who can cause disruptions. And that’s what we saw. This certainly makes it difficult for those who just want to do their job. In the area of national security, I think President Johnson has made it very clear that we have his support in moving forward on national security agenda items. I think we will.
ED O’KEEFE: You mentioned it was Easter Sunday. You said you went to church this morning. I have to ask, last week President Trump unveiled what he calls the “Bible God Bless the United States,” which contains not only the words of Scripture, but also the text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and a few other things. Do you think it is appropriate for the former president, or the likely Republican nominee, to sell such a product?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: You know, I haven’t really seen that. I’ve heard some people talking about it. I think I’m more concerned that the White House is restricting children’s ability to put religious symbols on Easter eggs – Easter eggs for the White House Easter egg roll. You know, I- I’m- I’m glad that CBS is giving people the right to express their religious freedom. I can’t imagine that we are certainly in a situation where the Biden White House is restricting, especially children’s, their ability to express their religious freedoms.
ED O’KEEFE: Okay, but you wouldn’t buy a copy of that Trump Bible, would you?
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: I don’t write a check for that.
ED O’KEEFE: Okay. Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, thank you for spending time with us this morning. We will see you soon.
REPRESENTATIVE. MIKE TURNER: Thank you.
ED O’KEEFE: And we’ll be right back with a lot more Face the Nation. Stay with us.
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