The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” which aired December 1, 2024.
MAJOR GARRETT: Welcome back to Face The Nation. Now let’s move on to California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla. He joins us this morning from Porter Ranch, California. Senator, it’s nice to see you. Let’s start with Kash Patel. Your reaction to this nomination, or to this proposed nomination from President-elect Trump?
SEN. PADILLA: Well, hello. Great to be with you. And look at this announcement that Kash Patel is going to be appointed to a high-ranking position at the FBI, very key to the Department of Justice. This raises a lot of the same questions that other announcements and other appointments raise: Are they going to step up and do the work that the Justice Department is calling for to be truly, truly independent of the President of the United States? Or will he carry out Trump’s orders? That’s the big question here. Is this a real and legitimate appointment? Or a political appointment to politicize the Bureau and the Department in favor of Trump? This is just the beginning of the questions we hope to raise in the car during the confirmation hearings that begin in January.
MAJOR GARRETT: Do you think the current FBI director, who has three years left, should just resign?
SEN. PADILLA: Well, this is going to be a personal decision for Director Wray who, as the public should remember, were both appointed by Trump to begin with. So he has three years left. It’s up to him whether he resigns or not. Your previous guest suggested that Trump might very well fire him, which is completely normal. Anyone who remembers the first Trump administration remembers that many cabinet officials were nominated, confirmed, and sold as the best thing since sliced bread. And as soon as they lose favor with Trump, as soon as they don’t do 100% of what he demands, you know, they often get fired because of their social media posts. And so, who knows what Donald Trump will decide to do, whether it’s with Director Wray, Kash Patel or one of his other candidates in the next term.
MAJOR GARRETT: Under the first Trump administration, California shaped itself into a resistance state. Some Democrats in the Legislature have already started describing it as a cliché and say they don’t even know what it means anymore. What does that mean?
SEN. PADILLA: Look, I think there’s a lot of reason to be concerned about the second Trump administration, if the first administration is any indicator. I think as governor, as other legislative leaders and even the congressional delegation have said, if — if you know, the federal government continues to support California in its leadership in many policy areas, there is a lot of good work to be done. there. But Donald Trump has made no secret that he is angry with California, whether it is the withholding of funds intended for disasters. I mean, a lot of FEMA dollars that Donald Trump tried to hide not from the California state government, but from California families, simply because it’s a state that didn’t vote for him at the presidential election. We try to protect ourselves against these kinds of threats. There are also a lot of good things that can be finalized before the end of the Biden administration, whether it’s waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency that will allow California to continue to grow its economy while struggling to aggressively against climate change. Health and Human Services waivers that would give California a little flexibility with our Medicare dollars to also be able to address the behavioral health issues, the mental health issues of Californians, because when we know that treating the body as a whole is good for both physical and mental health. we’re trying to make sure that these exemptions…
MAJOR GARRETT: – Where are these waivers –
SEN. PADILLA: …are locked up before the end of the Biden administration.
MAJOR GARRETT: Where are you with the Biden administration on this, Senator? Are they going to be responsive?
SEN. PADILLA: They have been very encouraging that the technical work can and should be done before the end of the term, but we will note when there are signatures on the documents we need. But again, these are just examples that we want to put in place before President Trump takes office, and that we can then use, either as a threat, or as a punishment, or, as the Senator Cruz mentioned it in the previous segment, as just leverage to get other things he would like out of California.
MAJOR GARRETT: You know, President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations. You also know that in California there is a state law that prohibits local law enforcement from participating and cooperating with ICE agents in deportation or identification processes. The Trump administration’s new border czar, Tom Homan, said any law enforcement that doesn’t cooperate will be prosecuted under federal law. How will this be resolved?
SEN. PADILLA: Yeah, well, I think there’s an important distinction here. No state government, not Texas, not California, not any state in the country, has the constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law that is the responsibility of the federal government. Some states, like Texas, want to push the envelope and try to find a way to help, but there is no obligation to do so, and that’s what California leaders and city leaders across the board are saying. ‘State. You know, we’re not going to use state and local resources to do the federal government’s job for them. First, I think there has been a long history of smart public safety policy. California is the most populous state in the country, the most diverse state in the country, home to more immigrants than any other state in the country, and the last thing you want to do is have immigrants victimized. a crime are afraid to come forward. report this crime. The last thing you want is for immigrants who may witness a crime to be afraid to come forward and share any information they have in an investigation or prosecution. This is what we are talking about here. Let the federal government do the federal government’s job, but let state and local officials do the job of state and local officials. There doesn’t need to be conflict, unless that’s what Trump wants.
MAJOR GARRETT: The governor has called a special session to meet this week to set aside funds to fight the Trump administration. Will some of this money also be set aside to protect undocumented migrants and immigrants in California as they seek either legal advice or ongoing legal financial support to support their efforts to remain in California and in the United States?
SEN. PADILLA: Again, if the first Trump administration is any indicator, we know that there will always be a lot of fear in communities and communities that deserve to know what their rights are and what their rights are not. And so if it’s legal assistance, legal advice, legal support, that’s exactly the California way. We embrace our diversity, our diversity has allowed our communities to thrive and our economy to thrive. So we will help families against the threats of the Trump administration, if we would kind of cut to the chase. You know, we hear a lot of bombast from Trump and his allies about the largest deportation operation in the history of our country, on the one hand, versus perhaps a focus on violent criminals , on the other hand. No one – no one disagrees with the focus on violent criminals. Democrats and Republicans agree, but that’s very different from millions and millions of people being indiscriminately deported, which not only tears apart families, communities, but also causes enormous damage to our economy.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, we thank you for your time this morning, and we’ll be right back for plenty more from Face the Nation. I invite you to stay with us.
