CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Rodney Davis

Interview

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ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, Tom, certainly many challenges. Asylum hearings can take years, they do take years. All of a sudden, the problem doesn't go away. Thank you.

And now, OUTFRONT, Republican congressman from Illinois, Rodney Davis.

So, Congressman, let me start with the basic question. What do you think is the driving the surge which we certainly see in the numbers of people coming illegally to the U.S. over the southern border?

REP. RODNEY DAVIS (R-IL): Well, I think it's a desire for prosperity

that America offers every single person who gets into this country. We have seen and heard that migrants wouldn't come cross the border because people were scared of President Trump and scared of his policies.

That's clearly not the case and the biggest irony in this debate. And we got to have politicians on both sides of the aisle get their head out of the sand, realize there's a crisis at the southern border and let's do something about it.

BURNETT: All right. Let me get to the point, though, and obviously -- you have a real problem down there right now. But you heard Will Hurd just say, your GOP colleague, that the surge is due to a change in how Trump's DHS interprets the law. They're basically now treating people coming asylum seekers instead of deporting them.

In other words, they're making the numbers bigger and bigger. They are making a crisis bigger and bigger. Is that -- what's happening?

DAVIS: Well, Will is a great guy, a patriot, a former CIA analyst and good friend of mine. And I trust his knowledge on a lot of border issues because his district borders the country of Mexico.

But what Will knows and what I know is that we have to have leadership on both sides of the aisle and the White House to get a bill across the House floor and Senate law and signed into law. We had a chance to do that last year with a couple of bills that I supported that would have built the president's security fence, his border wall, border structure, also would have reformed the broken immigration system that we have right now. They cost too much and take too long for people going through the legal system.

We would have had a path to legal status for DACA kids and Dreamers and stopped kids from being separated from their parents. But it got caught up in politics. No Democrat voted for it. Not enough Republicans voted for it. And it's a clear lack of leadership on both sides.

BURNETT: OK, and despite this, though, the tariffs on Mexico which is the president's response. So, you know, we can move aside from the moment of the blame on why we are suddenly having the crisis, right now, to the issue of a solution.

His solution now is I'm going to go around Congress and put on tariffs. And they're going on, I'm not bluffing. We're starting at 5 percent. We're going up to 25 percent.

You don't agree with that, why?

DAVIS: No, I don't agree with that approach. I certainly hope that the president and the administration and Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo have some success with this. You know, I have seen a "Washington Post" article today that came out a few hours ago talking about how Mexico may be doing something to fix the crisis that we clearly see at our southern border. [19:35:09]

BURNETT: Yes, national guard troops --

(CROSSTALK)

DAVIS: I don't like the threat of tariffs.

BURNETT: Uh-huh.

DAVIS: Yes, I don't like the tariffs. I think that it takes our eye off what is important which is making Mexico more prosperous, make Canada more prosperous and keeping the United States prosperous, and it gives Democrats an excuse not to put the USMCA on the floor of the House to make sure we have the trade agreement that will protect Mexican workers, provide them labor standards and also provide a great economy for our farmers, manufacturers.

BURNETT: So, Congressman Davis, let me ask you because obviously you -- you disagree on tariffs. But you have not been afraid in the past to call out this president when you think something has happened that should not. For example, the "Access Hollywood" tape, you called those comments abhorrent. You rescinded your support for him. You are one of many Republicans at the time who said he should withdraw from the race.

But right now, only one of your Republican colleagues publicly believes that the president should be impeached, Justin Amash. He does say there are more of you who grow with him privately. And here is how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JUSTIN AMASH (R-MI): My colleagues tell me all the time. In fact you wouldn't believe how many phone conversations I had or conversations in personal with colleagues, Justin -- by the way a lot of them think I'm right about the Mueller report and won't say it. There are a lot of the Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Are you one of those Republicans, Congressman?

DAVIS: Absolutely not. I have never had a conversation with Justin Amash about that.

I don't think the president should be impeached. I think the Democrats are going to be pressured by the far left and not be able to avoid impeachment proceedings against this president. And I think they'll be punished at the ballot box for that.

The Mueller report came out, 35 million taxpayer dollars, instant access to grand juries, subpoenas, law enforcement agents, lawyers, whatever they needed. And the investigation clearly showed not a single American colluded with Russia to affect the 2016 election.

The American people want us to move on. The Democrats are insistent upon impeachment. I'm going to be standing there and making sure that they are held accountable for these actions that are not warranted.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: To his point on obstruction --

DAVIS: The president was duly elected by the American people.

BURNETT: That is absolutely true. But to his point on the obstruction and the ten thing lid laid out in the Mueller report and the Mueller saying he couldn't exonerate the president of a criminal. And more than 1,000 former prosecutors say they would indict somebody with what was in that report. None of that bothers you?

DAVIS: That's not how we work our justice system in this country. You're innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This is an investigation. And this is something that has turned 100 percent political.

The Democrats, Erin, are doing everything they can to create a narrative the president should be impeached. And if they go ahead and impeach this president in the House of Representatives, I would say that he is going to be re-elected by a landslide in 2020.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Congressman Davis, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

DAVIS: Thank you.

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