CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA)
Interview
"Always good to be with you, Fred.
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Well, I think there's something before that, and that is, if he does bring it, what are those crazy MAGA Republicans going to do? They may very well, and they've already threatened to pull the plug on McCarthy and it very well may be that this Ukraine funding will be the final straw.
So he's going to have to be bold, he's going to have to put on his big boy pants and, and accept the responsibility that he so badly wanted over these many, many years and that is to lead and to take the consequences of leadership.
We absolutely have to fund Ukraine. The $24 billion that the president has recommended is the appropriate amount not only for Ukraine over the next several months, into the next year and beyond, but also to replenish our own stockpiles of munitions, and the various pieces of equipment that we have sent on Ukraine.
So we've got to get this done, and we ought not wait until 17th, the next deadline. We can get this done next week. Tying the border wall into it, do separate bill and see how many votes there are for that.
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Well, I really don't -- I do not know what that discussion was all about, but it has been very, very clear what the president wants. It is the $24 billion. He's laid out in that request exactly how that money would be spent, where it would go, and he has also provided a very stringent review that the money be spent appropriately, that there be no corruption involved in any part of that, all of that is part of the total deal, and frankly, it's very necessary.
So going forward, whenever they may have agreed to, it is time for McCarthy to honor the agreement. We do know that he did not honor the agreement that was made for the debt limit, that legislation was about in May. There was an agreement, it was actually part of the law itself, and it was no sooner signed by the president then the Republican caucus ran away from that agreement.
And so it's a matter of trust, as Reagan likes to say, trust and verify. Well, we are into the verify part of it right now.
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Well, you can pull up his own words, the TV will show it that he was saying at that time that he did not support additional funding without safeguards. He never get defined what that meant. But he put a big if in front of the funding.
But I will tell you this. This is far more than his ability to stay on as speaker. This is really about the ability of the United States to honor its commitments and the commitment to Ukraine is far more than just Ukraine.
It is, if we pull out, Zelenskyy said very clearly, if the United States doesn't continue to help, Ukraine will lose. Now consider what that means. That means NATO is in serious, serious trouble because now you have a powerful Russia that would control Ukraine.
And the message to China about Taiwan is ominous. It basically means you cannot trust the United States, if we do not fund this.
So the speaker has to recognize that this is a whole lot more important, whether he will continue to be the speaker. Speakers come and go, but this is a moment for the United States to stand tall, honor its commitments. And, frankly, to ensure that there is peace in Europe as this war winds to a conclusion, and that conclusion will only be a successful victory by Ukraine.
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Well, absolutely. Absolutely.
Those of us that have been following the Ukraine war and the China, these two things are tied together. It's not by chance that Xi and Putin meet and talk, and that North Korea gets involved in this.
This is really about the willingness, Ukraine, and the continuation of America's support for Ukraine is really a message about our willingness to sustain our allies and our own position in the Pacific.
If we fail -- if we fail with Ukraine, that is we back away or we somehow limit their ability to succeed, then that message will be symbolic for Xin Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, and you can bet that they will very quickly encircle Taiwan, choke it off in one way or another and perhaps even -- because they will know that the United States is not a steadfast partner.
We have to be that, otherwise we're going to see flare ups of war -- a very, very serious war around many parts of the world.
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Thank you, Fred.
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