The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, Trump’s decide for nationwide safety adviser, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Dec. 15, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We start with Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida, who’s the incoming White House National Security Adviser. Good morning to you.
REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): Morning. Margaret. Tough day for Army, however nice day for America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Indeed. Well as a Green Beret, I do know you had a purpose to be cheering there for Army, Sir. I need to ask you plenty of matters, however earlier than I’m going abroad, you sit on the House Intelligence Committee. You additionally, due to your new function, are involved with President Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan. Do you suppose the general public ought to be involved about these reported drones everywhere in the East Coast? And have you ever the necessity for extra authority to cope with them?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, I believe what the drone problem factors out are type of gaps in our businesses, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, native regulation enforcement, the Defense Department. And I believe Americans are discovering it arduous to imagine we won’t determine the place these are coming from. And I can let you know, from the Defense Department standpoint, you already know, they’re centered on bombers and cruise missiles, and- and it’s- it is pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our capacity to clamp down on what is going on on right here. And we have to unravel it, and I believe the Biden administration is- is working to try this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But at this level, given the intelligence you’ve got seen, is there any purpose for the general public to be anxious?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, look, when you’ve delicate websites like Picatinny Arsenal, you’ve, after all, President Trump’s residence at Bedminster, and you’ve got different no-fly areas, these should be enforced. We must know who’s behind it. But proper now, I believe regulation enforcement appears to be- the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Department are type of all doing this and pointing at one another. So after we are available, you already know, how will we implement these low stage, lengthy loitering, could-be-dangerous drones? And one factor for individuals to understand, you already know, they’re evolving so quickly, it is not essentially any person that is simply on the opposite finish flying it. They might be following pre-positioned GPS coordinates. They might be coming from offshore. And we have to take a tough have a look at our homeland defenses. President Trump has talked about an Iron Dome for America. That wants to incorporate drones as effectively, not simply adversarial actions like hypersonic missiles. We must have an all the above safety of U.S. airspace.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood. Let- let me ask you about China. The President Elect mentioned just a few issues previously week about China, and he mentioned his workforce has been “speaking and discussing,” as he put it, with China’s President Xi Jinping. CBS was the primary to report that an invite was prolonged to the inauguration, although we don’t count on Xi to return. Was that the extent of the forwards and backwards? Do the 2 leaders intend to talk by telephone?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, Margaret, it has been superb. I imply, your complete world is reaching out to the president. In truth, it has been slightly overwhelming, the outreach, not solely to talk with him, to congratulate him, however to even come to the inauguration themselves. So the outreach has been super. President Trump is taking all calls, as you already know. He believes in having a relationship with allies and adversaries at that type of head of state stage. And these conversations- these conversations are ongoing, however they’re, actually, nothing past congratulatory and niceties. We are in communication with the present administration. We do not agree on all issues, however as I’ve mentioned earlier than, none of our adversaries ought to suppose it is a second to benefit from this transition. We do not agree with all issues, however we’re in full coordination with the present administration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, China, you mentioned there ought to be penalties due to their large and pervasive hack of eight U.S. telecom firms, which has breached the metadata of probably hundreds of thousands of Americans. Senator Marco Rubio mentioned it was egregious, harmful, and a vulnerability that nobody anticipated. You’re going to be working collectively. What do you propose for the results to be?
REP. MIKE WALTZ I believe Senator Rubio, and hopefully future Secretary of State Rubio, is totally proper. We are- now we have been, through the years, attempting to play higher and higher protection in relation to cyber. We want to begin occurring offense and begin imposing, I believe, greater prices and penalties to personal actors and nation state actors that proceed to steal our knowledge, that proceed to spy on us, and that even worse, with the Volt Typhoon penetration, which might be actually placing cyber time bombs on our infrastructure, our water programs, our grids, even our ports.That is wholly unacceptable, and I believe we have to take a a lot stronger stance. Senator Rubio is correct. President Trump has indicated that as effectively. We want to begin altering behaviors on the opposite facet, quite than simply always having this type of escalation of their offense and our protection. The Colonial Pipeline hack was one other key level. And then lastly, we have an amazing personal sector with a whole lot of functionality. That relationship between private and non-private, with our tech trade, they might be doing a whole lot of good and serving to—
MARGARET BRENNAN: So is that this sanctions?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: —us defend, but additionally making our adversaries weak.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is it sanctions day one from the Trump administration?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, I’m not going to get forward of all the pieces that we’re doing day one, however taking a unique strategy to cyber, our doctrine, and beginning to impose prices on the opposite facet to get them to knock this off, is one thing we’ll be looking at, I believe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You had been at Mar a Lago this previous week when Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, met with Mr. Trump and Elon Musk and your self. He then introduced that he had spoken to Vladimir Putin. Orbán appears to be floating a Christmas ceasefire and a prisoner swap. Is he carrying with him some type of message from Donald Trump?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, Orbán has common engagement with the Russians, and he clearly has a very good relationship with President Trump, and I might hope your complete world would need to see some sort of cessation to the slaughter that’s taking place in jap Ukraine. I imply, Margaret, individuals want to grasp—
(BEGIN CROSSTALK)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Did Mr. Trump ask him to try this?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: This is World War I style-
(END CROSSTALK)
REP. MIKE WALTZ: This is World War I type warfare. It is a meat grinder of human beings. President Trump’s been very involved in regards to the carnage that is ongoing. And the place is that this all going?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
REP. MIKE WALTZ: We must cease the combating. And, you already know, look, if that’s some sort of ceasefire as a primary step, once more, we’ll- we’ll take a tough have a look at what which means. But till January 20, we’re additionally in coordination with this present administration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so no message was despatched via Orbán to Putin by Trump. Is that- that is what I perceive you saying there.
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Oh, I’m not going to- yeah, I’m not going to get into specifics of again and forths. But, one is speaking, after all, we will proceed to speak, and the- President Trump’s made it clear he desires this conflict to cease.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Does the Trump workforce plan to restrict how Ukraine can use U.S. weapons or focusing on help if you take workplace?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, President Trump simply mentioned within the interview that, you already know, a clean test, in his interview with Time journal, I imagine, you already know, a clean test isn’t- you already know, simply is not a technique. This simply, type of, perpetually conflict that we appear to be backing into. What does success appear to be in keeping with our pursuits? How will we finish the conflict? Who’s on the desk? How will we drive, you already know, all sides to the desk, and what is the framework for- for an settlement? Those are issues that we’re considering via together with his incredible workforce that he is assembling.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Was that mentioned in that 45 minute assembly that Mr. Trump had with Mr. Zelenskyy in Paris final week? And do you assist placing NATO member states as peacekeepers in Ukraine?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Well, you already know what’s been so fascinating, Margaret, is, simply because the election, everybody coming to us, our European allies, President Zelenskyy in that assembly, and others, have shifted to how to- that framework I simply talked about. How will we finish this battle? How will we do it in a means that restores stability, stops the carnage, and hopefully makes this a everlasting finish, not just- not only a pause? Those are all issues that we’re considering via. And by way of the query you simply requested, the NATO Secretary General got here right here to Mar a Lago, he is speaking in regards to the Europeans taking a much bigger function in- whether or not that is on the bottom or in any other case, after this battle is over, and that is precisely what President Trump has been asking for.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’ve to rapidly ask you in regards to the Middle East. During the final Trump administration, Donald Trump pulled some U.S. troops out of Syria. Does he intend to maintain the 900 U.S. troops there?
REP. MIKE WALTZ: Look, our primary curiosity is conserving a lid on ISIS. We can not have an explosion of ISIS again right into a caliphate that threatens Iraq, threatens Jordan, threatens Turkey and Europe, conjures up assaults within the United States, like we noticed in 2014. President Trump cleaned it up then together with his workforce. 1000s of ISIS fighters are in jail camps. We’re in session with the Israelis as effectively. They’re importantly taking down Assad’s chemical stockpiles, in addition to different issues we do not need falling into the fingers of anyone. And you already know, the opposite piece there that he requested for within the first time period, and that we have to see is, once more, Europe, who was hit so badly by ISIS assaults, taking a larger function in conserving ISIS contained. So these are all conversations that we’re having, once more, in session with the present administration, and we’ll see transferring ahead.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman Mike Waltz, thanks for becoming a member of us right this moment.
