/ CBS News
Kaine: Hegseth would be a “very dangerous Secretary of Defense”
The following is the transcript of an interview with Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Jan. 19, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, good morning to you.
SENATOR TIM KAINE: Margaret, great to be with you. Thanks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about some of the positions you hold on key committees that have a role in nominat- or, in going through the confirmation process for some of Mr. Trump’s picks. Senator Rubio is expected to be swiftly confirmed as Secretary of State. You expect him in on day one?
SEN. KAINE: I do. He visited my office before the hearing. He did very well at the hearing, and I think we are likely to act on day one, and he’ll get a strong bipartisan vote.
MARGARET BRENNAN: When it comes to some of the other picks, Democrats have very little say, frankly, because Republicans have this 53 seat majority, so they don’t need Democratic votes. You sharply questioned Pete Hegseth this past week, who is the pick to run the Pentagon. You asked about his willingness to break oaths, having cheated on his second wife and the mother of a child born two months before, when he had told police he was having consensual sex with a woman in Monterey, California who filed a claim of sexual assault- assault and he filed a financial settlement. Why did you choose to put that issue of character so front and center instead of asking him about policies?
SEN. KAINE: The- I believe he would be a very dangerous Secretary of Defense, and so my observation of my Republican colleagues is the only reason they ever vote no on a nominee is either a belief of gross incompetence in terms of qualifications or serious character deficit. That’s why Matt Gaetz withdrew, because the Senate Republicans felt, on both of those counts, he was a non-starter. I believe my questions of Pete Hegseth about his serial infidelity, about the allegation of sexual assault that he refused to disclose to President-elect Trump and the transition team, and his own mother’s allegation that he’s a serial abuser of women, I think those are the kinds of things that might affect how Republicans view this, if not in the committee, possibly on the floor. We’ll see. I think there’s likely to be committee action as early as late tomorrow, in the Armed Services Committee. We’ll see when there’s action on the floor.
MARGARET BRENNAN: To actually confirm him. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, which is not liberal by anyone’s definition, said “Hegseth made noises about restoring U.S. military deterrence, and that’s something. But it appears we’re on track to have a secretary of Defense whose real views are a mystery.” Wasn’t it also important to hear what his plans are for China and the like? Because it looks like he is going to sail through if Republican leadership can keep Republicans in line and get them all to deliver the votes they need.
SEN. KAINE: Well I- and Margaret, I think that if you look at the entire hearing, a number of his views were heard on the table. I had seven minutes. It was so unusual to have a Secretary of Defense nominee refuse to even meet with any of the Democratic members of the committee, except for the chairman. RFK has met with Democratic members, the Secretary of Labor nominee, Secretary of Army, Secretary of Navy, Secretary of State. They’re all meeting with the Democratic members of the committee. But when he refused to meet with us, and you only have seven minutes, we divided up topics. I asked him about what I consider to be glaring faults of character. Other members on the committee asked him about positions on strategy, the role of women in combat, whether he is qualified to run an organization of the size of the Pentagon. I think overall, in the hearing, we put a lot of material on the table for folks to consider.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about immigration. You’re a former governor. Incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has said that there will be massive deportation raids beginning as soon as Mr. Trump takes office. There are just about 300,000 undocumented individuals believed to be living in your state, according to Pew Research. And I know your current governor, Youngkin, has pledged to fully support efforts through state law enforcement or the National Guard. How do you think this is going to work?
SEN. KAINE: Well, I don’t exactly know how the administration is going to do it. But let me tell you, I’m hearing significant concerns from many sectors in the Virginia economy, agriculture, hospitality, health care, construction, that massive deportation rates would be an absolute gut punch to the Virginia and American economy. And if you add to that the Trump threat of massive tariffs, I think you’re- you’re going to see a lot of pain for consumers and a lot of pain for employers if they carry through on mass deportation. Now look, you’ve got a president who says a lot of things and then chooses not to do them, so I don’t know exactly what this is going to look like.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
SEN. KAINE: But I would say that the economy of Virginia and the economy of this country is going to suffer through deporta- mass deportations and tariffs, if they go forward with what the President has said he will do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well the Biden administration prioritizes criminals in their roundups and deportations. The Trump administration says they’re also going to target criminals. Do you think this is going to look different?
SEN. KAINE: Well, it’s- I do think the Biden administration prioritizes criminals who are a public safety risk, who threat- pose a threat of violence. The Trump administration could go much broader than that. You know, looking at folks- I mean, for example, there’s a bill that’s pending in the Senate right now that would deport people on the basis of an arrest even if they’ve not been convicted of anything. A shop like- lifting arrest, even if they’ve not been convicted of anything. A fundamental aspect of our society is that an arrest doesn’t mean anything unless there’s a conviction, because people get arrested all the time for things that they didn’t do. So if the Trump administration says, look, an arrest leads to deportation even without a conviction, yep, it’s going to look completely different, completely different than what the policy has been during the Biden administration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Tim Kaine, thank you for your time today.
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