CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Ro Khanna

Interview

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ACOSTA: President Biden is vowing a good faith negotiation with Republicans as he tries to get a sweeping jobs and infrastructure package passed. The $2.3 trillion plan include traditional projects like roads, bridges and airports, but also progressive priorities like boosting the manufacturing of electronic vehicles and expanding long- term care facilities as well as overhauling aging schools.

To pay for all of this, Biden is proposing hiking the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent along with raising other corporate taxes. And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He sits on the House Oversight Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. And Happy Easter. President Biden says he plans to meet with Republicans in the Oval Office to negotiate. Do you think he's wasting his time?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Yes, first of all, Happy Easter to you and congratulations on the show. I have no problem with the president outreaching. And frankly the priorities you described, more manufacturing jobs, helping education, they're not progressive priorities, they're American priorities. So if the president can get the Republicans on board with helping the working class, with reindustrializing America, that's great. But he should not be held captive by the Republicans. If they're not on board, let's get the work done.

ACOSTA: And some progressives in the House want this infrastructure bill to be even bigger. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, let me put this up on screen, says, "This is not nearly enough. The important context here is that it's $2.25 trillion spread out over 10 years. For context, the COVID package was $1.9 trillion for this year alone with some provisions lasting two years. Needs to be way bigger."

Do you agree with her that this needs to go further?

KHANNA: I do. I think it's a solid start. It has money in there for the smart grid, for electric vehicles, for roads and bridges, for broadband. But if you look at the experts they will say that it's going to take almost $2 trillion over the next 10 years to get the solar and renewable energy we need. That the smart grid actually isn't going to just need $100 billion as this plan has but $400 billion. So if you're serious about tackling climate change over the next 10 years we do need to have more investments.

ACOSTA: And I have to ask you about the very serious allegations against one of your colleagues, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. He is now being investigated as part of a prostitution and sex trafficking probe that involves everything from cash payments to women to a relationship with an underage girl. There are also accusations he was showing off these nude pictures of women he had slept with allegedly on the floor of the House.

You worked closely with Matt Gaetz in the past. You even said on a FOX interview that the two of you are friendly and hang out sometimes. I just want to ask you, I assume you're horrified by these allegations against your friend. What do you make of all of this? Does it sound consistent with the Matt Gaetz that you know?

KHANNA: I'm shocked. I'm deeply disturbed and horrified by the allegations. I believe that we need to investigate not just the Justice Department but the sharing of pictures on Capitol grounds would constitute a workplace harassment. And I have never had any interactions with Matt Gaetz outside the Capitol. Obviously, I totally condemn if he shared any of those pictures with anyone. I mean that should be investigated, as the speaker has said, with the Ethics Department. I have worked with him, with Thomas Massie, with Justin Amash, with a

lot of Republicans to end the war in Yemen, trying to prevent the war in Iran, but I agree with the speaker that these are very serious charges and they need to be fully investigated by the Ethics Committee and then there needs to be accountability.

ACOSTA: And have you spoken with him since all of this became public? And have you heard of him showing off pictures on the House floor? Was that something that was common knowledge among other members?

KHANNA: Certainly, wasn't knowledge to me. I don't know if it was knowledge to others. But I was shocked about it. And I obviously have not talked to him or reached out, nor do I plan to. I mean the allegations have been pretty shocking.

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And I think that there has to be the ethics committee investigation, a Justice Department investigation. And, you know, if you believe what's reported, there's absolutely no justification and there have to be severe consequences.

ACOSTA: And do you think based on what we know right now that Matt Gaetz should step down?

KHANNA: I think there -- I agree with the speaker, let's send it to the Ethics Committee. Let's hear what the Justice Department has to say. My guess is that we're going to have an answer pretty soon and in the next few weeks, and it should be an expedited process.

But I agree with the speakers that decision that let's have the committee's investigate it. But I will say that if any of these parts are, whether it's the Justice Department, whether it was creating a hostile workplace, I mean, they're all very, very serious, requiring serious consequences.

ACOSTA: And let's turn to this horrific attack on the Capitol that we saw at the end of last week, just awful. Given what we've been going through in the nation's capitol since January 6, you were one of the few members of Congress, who was working that day when you got that call about what was going on.

I have to wonder, Congressman, what do you tell your family at this point now that there have been two deadly attacks less than three months apart on Capitol Hill? And what was your reaction to what was happening that day?

KHANNA: Well, my family and I are deeply grateful that the Capitol Police and my reaction is how lucky we are, that we had the Capitol Police to protect us, to keep us safe. And my heart is broken for the family of the officer who lost his life.

And I was talking to officers that day who were understandably shaken up. So I think we have to do a much better job of protecting not just the Capitol, but those officers and think about the type of security that that's going to take and that I think has to be our highest priority.

ACOSTA: OK, Congressman Ro Khanna. I couldn't agree with you more on that. We need to protect everybody up on the Capitol grounds as well as yourself and your colleagues. Thanks so much for joining us. Again, Happy Easter and thanks for stopping by.

KHANNA: Thank you.

ACOSTA: We'll talk to you again soon. Thanks.

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