Ro Khanna believes Trump won't secure congressional authorization for Iran war: Full interview

[0:02] Welcome back. And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. [0:06] Congressman Khanna, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:11] Thank you for having me. I'm glad you're safe and back to work this morning. [0:14] Thank you so much, Congressman. That really means a lot. I appreciate it. [0:18] I do want to start off by getting your reaction to the events that unfolded here [0:23] overnight in Washington. And everyone's so grateful to the Secret Service for keeping us safe. [0:30] It was absolutely horrific. I'm so relieved that the president, the first lady, [0:34] every administration official and all the guests are safe. I appreciate law enforcement and [0:39] particularly the Secret Service agent was shot and hope he makes a full recovery. But as you know, [0:45] Christopher, this is an event that is actually the symbol of an open, free society. And to see [0:51] journalists like you and others ducking under tables was just horrifying. We need a bipartisan [0:58] national commission for political violence in this country. I heard Senator Tillis speak. [1:03] We should look at social media. We should look at mental health issues. We should look at language. [1:08] But we need to do something to bring the temperature down. [1:11] Well, let me ask you about what happens next in terms of this investigation. Do you have [1:16] confidence in the Secret Service and the FBI as they carry out this investigation, Congressman? [1:24] On this issue, I do. I heard acting Attorney General Blanche, as you know, [1:29] we've had disagreements on the Epstein files. But I do believe that he's going to do everything to have [1:36] a thorough investigation. I appreciate what law enforcement did to make sure that the breach was [1:41] not more than a few feet. We can look at whether there needs to be even more security in the future. [1:46] I mean, I've gone to those events. It's always struck me as a bit odd that the metal detectors are [1:51] before the ballroom as opposed to before the hotel. So maybe there will be some things that need to be [1:58] fixed. But I do believe he will do a thorough job on this. [2:03] Speaking of the acting Attorney General, you heard him just tell me that this should be a wake-up call [2:08] for Congress to fund DHS. Does Congress need to act in the wake of this incident to fully fund DHS? [2:16] Absolutely. We've been funding, the Democrats have been saying we want to fund DHS. We just don't [2:24] want to fund ICE agents with the ICE raids against American citizens and against immigrants in ways [2:32] that broke the law. But the Democrats have said that we will fund DHS as long as you separate that [2:39] from the ICE funding. And we've done that many, many times. [2:42] Let me turn to Iran now, this 60-day deadline that is coming up. Of course, [2:48] the key deadline to legally authorize any continued military action in Iran. You have authored, [2:54] you've supported several unsuccessful resolutions to limit President Trump's war powers in Iran. [3:01] Do you think President Trump will be able to secure congressional authorization for this war? [3:08] No. Gretchen, let me be clear. We need to end this war. Americans are struggling [3:14] gas prices are up, food prices are up, housing costs are up. The reason those prices are up [3:20] is because the Strait of Hormuz is closed and because of this war. It's caused devastation [3:26] for working families. The president ran saying that he would bring prices down. [3:31] Prices are up in his administration. And the way most Americans want this war to end, [3:37] even 54 percent of Republicans believe we need negotiation to end the war. The Pope is saying [3:43] end the war. Americans agree with the Pope. We need a negotiated settlement and this war needs to end [3:48] this week. But Congressman, let me ask you, if Congress does in fact side with President Trump [3:55] in that key vote, should that be an end to any legislation trying to block him? Would that [4:00] effectively tie the commander-in-chief's hands? If they authorize the vote of force, you're saying? [4:09] I mean, we need to be having a war powers resolution that says that this is an illegal war, [4:15] and I believe we will have the votes to do that. That would tie the president's hands in terms of [4:21] not being able to get funding to continue this war. That's how we ended the Vietnam War. It's how [4:25] we ended the Iraq War, not funding this. But this idea that we're going to put $400 billion more [4:30] into a war in Iran, and that we're going to watch prices go up, is just hurting working-class [4:36] Americans. It's not what the president ran on. All right. A few other quick topics. I want to [4:41] turn to the big news out of Virginia, that redistricting referendum that passed this week [4:46] in that state, potentially giving Democrats a chance to flip up to four Republican seats. [4:51] Some of the same Democratic leaders who backed it, like former President Barack Obama, [4:57] Governor Abigail Spanberger, had previously spoken out against gerrymandering. Let me give you an [5:02] example. President Obama saying in 2020, it has warped our representative government. [5:08] Governor Spanberger saying in 2019, it is detrimental to our democracy. Do you think this [5:14] political win for Democrats ultimately comes at the expense of a healthier democracy? [5:23] No, the Democrats, including President Obama, supported the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. [5:28] That would have ended gerrymandering across the country. The Republicans, not a single Republican [5:34] supported that bill. Then Donald Trump says, I want to have partisan gerrymandering [5:39] because I know we're going to lose the midterms otherwise. Well, the Democrats are not going to [5:44] unilaterally disarm. In a game that the Republicans started, they're actually losing. They're down a seat. [5:51] And so the Democrats still would welcome an effort to ban gerrymandering, to go and pass the Voting [5:58] Rights Act and have independent commissions. But what we're not going to do is watch [6:02] unilateral disarmament and just Republicans get to gerrymander, and we don't. [6:07] Congressman, finally, let me ask you about the Epstein files. You mentioned that earlier. You told me [6:12] last time we spoke that you actually wanted King Charles, who's poised to visit the United States, [6:18] to meet with the Epstein survivors during his upcoming visit. He has said that he will not. [6:25] What was your reaction to hearing that? What are the implications, do you think? [6:28] I was disappointed. I had a constructive meeting with the British ambassador. I am hopeful that King [6:36] Charles, when he speaks to the Congress, will acknowledge the Epstein survivors, will call for [6:44] justice, will call for investigations and prosecutions. It would be an enormous gesture [6:48] if, when he's speaking at the Congress, he does that, and I'm hopeful that he will. [6:53] Okay. We'll watch and see what he has to say. [6:56] Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so very much for being here. We appreciate it. [7:01] Thank you, Kristen. [7:02] We thank you for watching. And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [7:08] or watch live on our YouTube channel.