Ro Khanna says DNC chair Ken Martin should not resign over 2024 autopsy: Full interview

[0:00] And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. [0:04] Congressman Khanna, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:08] Thank you for having me on, Kristen. [0:10] Thank you for coming back. I do want to start off by talking about Iran. As I was just discussing [0:16] with Congressman Massey, President Trump has said that they may be close to reaching a short-term [0:22] deal on Iran. Would you be supportive of a short-term deal that doesn't directly address [0:29] the nuclear program but allows for more negotiations? [0:35] Kristen, on this Memorial Day, let me just begin by paying tribute to the men and women who made [0:40] the ultimate sacrifice and gratitude to their families. The answer to your question is yes. [0:45] I do believe we need a negotiated deal. Thomas Massey and I, as he mentioned, [0:51] actually had the Iran War Powers Act two months ago. We would have avoided this war. [0:56] Food prices wouldn't have gone up. Gas prices wouldn't have gone up. [0:59] We could have done this negotiation. But I've always said that I would support negotiation [1:04] and it's time for this war to end. Well, let me ask you about the War Powers [1:08] Act because House Republican leaders abruptly canceled a vote to limit President Trump's [1:13] war powers in Iran. It came just days after the Senate voted for the first time to advance [1:18] a similar measure. Do you believe there are now enough votes to pass the War Powers Act [1:24] in the House? Christian, I do. It was a bit surreal last week. I mean, first they delayed the vote [1:33] by 45 minutes to 60 minutes, and then they just pulled the vote. And the reason is that now, [1:39] unlike when Thomas and I introduced the resolution, there are a lot of Republicans who believe the [1:44] war should end. They've talked to farmers who say the price of nitrogen, ammonia, urea are through the [1:49] roof because of the blockades and control of the Strait of Hormuz. They know that the price of gas [1:55] is up, the price of diesel is up, and they're hearing it from their constituents. So this is putting [2:01] pressure on Trump to get a negotiation. And it's why Congress matters. Even when we don't get a vote [2:07] through, we do put pressure on the president. Hopefully this war ends. And I've always said I would [2:12] support a negotiated end to the war. All right. Well, let's talk about Congressman Massey. [2:16] You've worked closely with him, including to push for the release of the Epstein files. [2:22] Congressman Khanna, what was your reaction to his defeat this week? [2:28] Sadness, disappointment. Thomas is a real friend. He's a good man. And he was taken out for two [2:34] reasons. One, he had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the [2:40] Epstein Transparency Act passed. As he mentioned, that's historic bipartisan legislation that finally [2:46] got justice for the survivors. And he had people spend millions of dollars and had the president [2:51] of the United States after him. And second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. [2:56] So for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his seat. And I admire his [3:02] courage in taking those positions. All right. Well, let's talk about some other issues. President [3:07] Trump, as I just discussed, was facing Republican pushback this week over what the president referred [3:12] to as an anti-weaponization fund to pay people who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the [3:18] government. Here's how Vice President J.D. Vance defended the $1.8 billion fund this week. Take a [3:25] listen. Anybody can apply for it. Republicans can apply for it. Democrats can apply for it. As you know, [3:32] the president of the United States has pardoned a number of Democrats who he felt were actually [3:37] subject to this lawfare. I mean, if Hunter Biden wants to apply for this particular fund, he is [3:42] welcome to. The vice president says this should be bipartisan. What is your reaction to what the [3:48] vice president had to say? You know, I feel sorry for J.D. Vance. I mean, they're trotting him out to [3:55] defend policies he knows are defiant of common sense. They're trotting him out to defend the Epstein class [4:02] when he actually was one of the advocates for releasing the files. They're trotting him out [4:07] to defend this war in Iran when his whole career he was against these wars. And now they're trotting [4:12] him out to defend Donald Trump stealing taxpayer dollars to give to his political allies. I mean, [4:17] I'm sure if J.D. Vance was asked in honesty, he'd say, why aren't we giving this as a check to [4:22] people whose gas prices are going up? But for his own ambition, he has been so convoluted that he's [4:29] basically become the spokesperson for very unpopular policies. Well, let me ask you about [4:36] one of the big headlines for Democrats this week. Of course, the DNC autopsy report. It was commissioned [4:41] by the DNC. It was shelved. And then it was finally released amidst a lot of pressure and pushback. [4:49] We're going to talk about what was not in the report in just a moment. But first, [4:52] I want to talk about what was in the report. The author writes, quote, [4:56] at times, it seems Democrats are trying to win arguments while Republicans are focused on [5:02] winning elections. Democrats operate in an ecosystem defined by reason, even in cycles [5:08] when the electorate is defined by rage. Do you believe Democrats need to completely overhaul [5:14] how they think about running and winning elections, Congressman? [5:19] I don't think we need to give up reason. I think more Americans probably want reason debate in this [5:26] country. But we do need to recognize that the status quo has failed, that this is a system that has [5:32] created massive inequality, that the economy is lopsided and unfair, and it's not working for many [5:38] working class and middle class Americans. And too often, we've run status quo establishment [5:44] candidates who have been unwilling to call out an economic and political system that has failed. [5:50] Well, the report also found, quote, the White House did not effectively support Vice President [5:56] Harris over three and a half years to improve her standing before the candidates, which you served, [6:02] of course, on the Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board. Does that ring true to you? [6:11] Well, look, I have great admiration for Vice President Harris. I campaigned my heart out for her. [6:15] I do believe that in retrospect, had she been in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, talking about the [6:22] economy and been the lead for the president's economic policies, the Inflation Reduction Act, [6:28] the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS Act, perhaps we would have done better. But we need to look [6:33] forward now. And looking forward, we need to have an economic message that actually is talking to the [6:39] working class folks who have been shafted, and that's taking on a system that has been rigged. [6:43] Congressman, as you know, a number of Democrats are now calling on DNC Chair Ken Martin to resign. [6:50] Do you agree that he should resign, that it's time for new leadership for the DNC? [6:57] No. Ken Martin is a Paul Wallstone Democrat. There are two things he's done that I actually [7:02] agree with. One, he said no super PACs in Democratic primaries. We shouldn't have what happened [7:07] to Thomas Massey happening in our primaries where we have all this money coming in in Democratic fights. [7:13] And two, Ken has said we shouldn't have superdelegates picking our nominee. So for those two reasons, [7:19] I agree with him. Now, could he have handled this autopsy better? Absolutely. He has said he should [7:23] have. Should he be working more with state parties to make sure they're funded into 26 and 28? [7:28] Absolutely. But I don't believe he should resign. [7:31] All right. Let me ask you finally about the Supreme Court. After its ruling limiting voting rights, [7:39] you called for term limits for justices and for expanding the court from nine to 13 seats once [7:45] Democrats regain full power of the government. But you have seen this redistricting back and forth [7:52] play out. If Democrats expand the court, if they were to have control of both chambers, [7:58] what's to stop Republicans from doing it once the tables turn again? [8:05] Kristen, first, we need to talk more about the Supreme Court decision. This is a Dred Scott court. [8:10] They have engaged in the fastest rollback of black political rights since Rutherford Hayes [8:15] ended Reconstruction in 1877. One-third, one-third of African-Americans in the Congress's seats are [8:22] being threatened. They're doing it to Jim Clyburn in South Carolina, to Benny Thompson in Mississippi, [8:27] and across Alabama and the South. And we are not speaking up loudly enough, strongly enough against [8:34] a court that is really rolling back civil rights. I do believe if you combine term limits on the [8:40] court and the expansion of the court, where every president gets two appointees, you would [8:45] depoliticize this. You would stand up for the Voting Rights Act, and you would stand up for basic [8:50] American democracy. But this is an assault on John Lewis, Dr. King, and the civil rights legacy, and [8:56] the Democratic Party needs to run against this court and call this court out. All right. [9:00] Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you, as always, for being here. We really appreciate it. [9:04] We thank you for watching. And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [9:11] or watch live on our YouTube channel.