Fox News "Your World with Cavuto" - Transcript

Interview

DAGEN MCDOWELL, GUEST HOST: My next guest says it's time to get off of foreign oil and get on with the Keystone XL pipeline.

Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert is joining me now.

Do you think this threat, Congressman, from Iran pushes the president to sign off on this pipeline?

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT, R-TEXAS: Well, it should, but he doesn't always do what's best for American and -- American energy.

We've seen him put a stop to drilling in the Gulf Coast. And they're slow-walking that right now. In fact, what Art Laffer is to a free market economy and a robust American economy, this president is to killing off energy.

Your prior guest just said energy production is up. It's because of what happened in the Bush administration. You can follow the last three years three years and at every turn, they have tried to prevent American energy from being produced.

Heck, we've got the biggest finds since Alaska, some are saying, in North Dakota, and this president's out there having the oil companies prosecuted for a few ducks dying, whereas they're not doing anything to the windmills that are chopping up thousands of birds.

MCDOWELL: But, Congressman, there are a few things going on related to this pipeline. You have a presidential election year, a pipeline that would clearly create jobs that the Teamsters Union has even gotten behind, and the Chamber of Commerce putting big pressure on the White House to sign off on this for the very jobs that it would create.

GOHMERT: You bet.

And I'm hoping that he will. But he's afraid of the left not being with him and not being the foundation he needs for the election. Why else would he be talking to the Taliban about releasing Taliban prisoners at a time that it would signal to Iran, we're gutless and we won't do anything if you go in and block the Straits of Hormuz, other than impose higher sanctions?

So, this president has got to take a strong stand and let Iran know that blocking the Strait of Hormuz would be a provocation for a military strike, in addition to getting the Keystone pipeline done. Leave the production companies alone as long as they're producing it cleanly in North Dakota, and other places and they're shutting things down in West Texas.

(CROSSTALK)

MCDOWELL: But, again, it gets back to the jobs.

GOHMERT: That's right.

MCDOWELL: Do you think the president would turn his back on a pipeline? He's got, what, less than 60 days at this point that would create potentially thousands of jobs? It would create thousands of jobs.

GOHMERT: I understand. It would.

But he had put off doing anything about it until the Republicans in Congress were pushing his hand on it. But look at what the EPA did just recently. They're going ahead with the stringent requirements that are going to require coal plants all over the country to be closing down, losing jobs, coal miners out of work.

You would think, well, gosh, that will cost thousands of jobs. He's more concerned about keeping the left on his side, at his foundation going in. Now, I hope he will go ahead and let Keystone go through. We need the jobs and we need the energy.

MCDOWELL: OK.

GOHMERT: But that hasn't always dictated what he has done.

MCDOWELL: Congressman, it was great to see you. Congressman Louie Gohmert, be well.

GOHMERT: Dagen, thank you.

MCDOWELL: Thank you for joining us.

GOHMERT: You're doing a great job, Dagen.

MCDOWELL: Hey, you're welcome back. Hey, you can come over to my house for dinner just for saying that.

Congressman, thank you.

GOHMERT: Art Laffer has the best spaghetti and meatballs. You need to try them some time.

MCDOWELL: I will. Thank you so much.

GOHMERT: Thank you.

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