Fox News "Hannity" - Transcript: Interview with Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows

Interview

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JARRETT: All right. Peter Doocy -- Peter, thanks very much.

Today, President Trump unveiled the design of the proposed border wall on Twitter, take a look at that. But will this important project ever be funded?

Joining us now, Freedom Caucus chairman, Congressman Mark Meadows, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan.

Good to see you both.

Congressman Jordan, what's the answer to that question? Will it ever be funded?

REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OH: Yes. Yes. Remember, Gregg, just last week in the Oval Office, Nancy Pelosi told the president of the United States there aren't the votes in the House to pass a bill with funding for a border security wall. Just last night, 217 Republicans proved her wrong and voted to pass a bill with dollars for a border security wall. This makes good sense.

The only reason we're going to be headed to a shutdown here in a few hours is because Democrats don't want to support something that will actually secure the border, plain and simple.

JARRETT: Congressman Meadows, you know, Trump promised it. He has tried to deliver, the House delivered. But the Senate won't.

So, is this the Chuck Schumer shutdown?

REP. MARK MEADOWS, R-N.C.: Well, indeed, in just a few hours when it shuts down, the only person standing between really getting a deal and not getting a deal is Chuck Schumer. But I can tell you, you mentioned, you know, Peter Doocy was talking about the vice president, it's his entire team that has been working on Capitol Hill all day -- the vice president, Mick Mulvaney, Shahira Knight, Jared Kushner. The president has been on the phone with senators and congressmen throughout the night.

His desire is to not shut it down, but it's also to deliver to the American people a secure border, and we've got to do that. He's made a promise. He's committed to that. I believe we'll get it done.

But right now, there's not a deal primarily because of Chuck Schumer.

JARRETT: Chuck Schumer and a device that was conjured up as a Senate rule called the filibuster, Congressman Jordan, you know this is exactly what the framers didn't want. They argued about having it and they abandoned the idea because they tried it before in the Articles of Confederation and it led to chaos and dysfunction. You know, over the last decade, hundreds of productive bills have been defeated by this artificial device called a filibuster.

Isn't it time to end the filibuster for everything once and for all?

JORDAN: Yes, I think that's where -- that's where I'm at. That's where the American people are, but that's not our call. It's the Senate's call. But you're right, Gregg, it's not in the Constitution. It is a Senate rule.

Imagine if they kept the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh wouldn't be on the Supreme Court. So, they were able to change the rule for something that important.

It seems to me when you're talking about our nation's security, when you're talking about building a border security wall, which was the fundamental promise we all made the voters in 2016, and certainly the promise that the president made and wants to deliver on, it seems to me this is a paramount importance where we should actually say United States Senate maybe you need to change that so we can get this done. We're going to keep pushing. We're going to get the wall done.

The president's committed to it as Mark said and they've their team, his team has been working hard tonight trying to get members to understand how critical this is and actually deliver for -- deliver for our country.

JARRETT: So, Congressman Meadows, your critics would say, well, wait a minute, Republicans have had control of the House and the Senate for two years and the White House for the better part of two years and yet you have failed to undertake comprehensive immigration reform that would include a border wall. So, doesn't the GOP leadership -- meaning McConnell and Paul Ryan and others -- bear the lion's share of the blame?

MEADOWS: Well, there's certainly enough blame to go around in putting something on the president's desk is what Congress should have done.

I will say this, though, Gregg, is the president actually made a four pillar option and it was Chuck Schumer who said no to that option. I mean, he's been more than reasonable. Gregg, think about this we spend more money on sugar subsidies than we do on building a wall on to secure our nation. I find that just incomprehensible.

I mean -- and so, as we look at this the president has made offer after offer after offer and has been very reasonable. It is time that we put something on his desk. I know Jim Jordan and I are committed. But more importantly, the American people are committed to doing it.

JARRETT: You know, Jason Chaffetz, your former colleague and friend, penned a column today on foxnews.com and he said, wait, a minute isn't there another way? We have a $4.4 trillion annual budget, $1 trillion of which is discretionary. Congress doesn't authorize every penny. Surely, the president can grab $5 billion of that and use it without specific authorization to start construction.

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MEADOWS: Well, he can. But here's the interesting thing and sorry, Jim, to jump in here.

JORDAN: OK.

MEADOWS: He can, but I know all your viewers know that he gets sued over every thing. In the minute that he does that, he's going to get sued, they're going to get some liberal judge in California to say that it won't work. And so, listen, we would certainly support some of those unobligated funds going that way.

But it's really incumbent on Congress to do their job. That's why Jim and I are still here in D.C. We're committed to getting it done.

JARRETT: Congressman Jordan, so you've got four days really because, you know, government workers aren't going to work Saturday, Sunday, Monday, they have the holiday -- the day off of course the holiday on. So, you've got four days. What can be done?

JORDAN: Well, we got to just keep pushing and making the argument. Mark is exactly right. We need to appropriate dollars so this doesn't get tied up in court and we never get the wall. And $1.6 billion is not going to cut it. It's got to be more money than that so we can actually get this done for the American people.

The big thing I think we have to get through is Democrats have to be less focused on stopping the president and more focused on helping the country. They're so concerned about stopping President Trump from accomplishing things, let's just focus on what's good for the country. Everyone knows we'll have a less of a drug problem, less gang violence, less human trafficking problem if we secure the border and build the border security wall.

We just got to keep making that case, keep pushing, because we know when it comes down to it, the American people are with us. This is why they put Donald Trump in the White House. We have to deliver.

And I think that message will get through. We're going to get something.

JARRETT: Congressman Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, two important members of Congress -- thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

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