Transcript: April 27, 2025

Below is a transcript of an interview with New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who aired on April 27, 2025 on “Facing the Country with Margaret Brennan.”

Margaret Brennan: We are now going to New Hampshire. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Senator Trump repeated his threats on Saturday to study potential sanctions on Russia. Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted on the tweet and received a sanctions bill from nearly 60 co-sponsors. However, in our interview, Minister Lavrov basically said that their economy is self-sufficient and sanctions are irrelevant. Are they actually using it?

Jeanne Shaheen: Well, I think we should accept Graham legislation, we should pass these two houses and put these minor sanctions against Russia. The truth is, I have been watching Minister Lavrov for 16 years since I worked in the Senate and he is very good at talking a lot and saying nothing. As we all know, in this interview, he refused to acknowledge Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He refused to admit that it was Russia who opened fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, not the Ukrainians. He refused to admit that he had disappeared from Ukraine to Russia and that he had not been kidnapped. He is an excellent universalist, and he has never held a position against what he believes is Russian interests.

Margaret Brennan: A fair summary of his ability to escape direct answers, but he did answer the sanctions directly, saying that he tried to eliminate these threats. Given the number of votes, do you think you can actually get a veto? Can you force President Trump to impose these sanctions on Russia and let Congress leaders really allow you to vote first?

Sen JEANNE SHAHEEN: Well I do, and I think in fact, the administration has been working with Senator Graham, and certainly understands that this is legislation that is in the works and that there is some real benefit as Vladimir Putin continues to drag his feet, to do everything he can to play for more time, so that they're able to take more territory in Ukraine and to better advance Russia's position, this is something that can help slow them down.

Margaret Brennan: I would like to ask about the supervisory role you hold on some of the committees you serve. At the State Department, Secretary of State Rubio announced a major restructuring last week and plans to ultimately reduce staff by 15%. It will also condense certain places or eliminate them. One of them is the Global Office for Women. I know you work with many of these diplomats in person. Can Rubio eliminate it with the strokes of the pen?

Jeanne Shaheen: Well, I noticed that one thing you are not satisfied with people in the polls is the government’s lack of oversight, recommendations and actions agreed to by Congress. That's what the government is talking about, and Rubio is talking about. They are talking about going in, making these changes without consulting with Congress. We have an office on Women’s Issues because our knowledge of foreign policy is that countries with authorized women are more stable. We know that women give back to their communities, their country, their families, their families more than men. We have a good reason for a Global Office for Women because it can help us consider our foreign policy, which is one of the advantages the United States has compared to rivals like China, Russia and Iran.

Margaret Brennan: I have previously been supported by President’s daughter Ivanka Trump, and I know you worked with it in the first administration.

Jeanne Shaheen: I work very closely with Ivanka, who is very supportive of the Global Office for Women.

Margaret Brennan: We will observe what happened. I need to ask you about the Armed Services Committee you serve you too. Many of the Pentagon’s political appointments have been fired or resigned in recent days, meaning that the current Secretary of Defense has no chief of staff, no deputy chief of staff, and no senior policy adviser. Are you worried that there is no such building around him and what has Congress done with oversight?

Jeanne Shaheen: He is very concerned about his confusion in the Pentagon. The truth is, Pete Hegseth is not eligible for Secretary of Defense, and he has shown it time and time again. He shared information with his wife, his brother, lawyer again in signal chat with his lawyer and inappropriately confidential information with signal chat, and then shared it with people without certificates with signals that they could not hear the information. He created the chaos that is embroidering the unification now–we are in the chaos that the Pentagon has caused, our unified army without the proper people to run things, and he is not responsible for his actions. To those who serve under him, he shows that he is not that role model, not the kind of leader we need at the moment.

Margaret Brennan: Soon, this is the sensitive information studied by the Pentagon through the ombudsman general inquiry, whether it has been classified. What ideas do you have when will you get a clear answer?

Jeanne Shaheen: I don't do this, I think it's important to conduct an investigation to see the proper investigation is a bipartisan request and hopefully they will make suggestions soon. You know, one of the concerns I raised with the Defense Minister is the tariffs on our Ministry of Defense supply chain, and we know that the Ukrainian war shows us some real challenges we face on the foundation of the defense industry. These tariffs make these problems worse. Last week, I worked on ball bearings for the aerospace industry at a company in New Hampshire. They told me that it took 20 weeks to get steel due to tariffs on steel. They now have a backlog of two and a half years, which puts real pressure on our Department of Defense.

Margaret Brennan: I know you are looking for more information about this senator. We have to leave it there. Thank you for joining us. We will wait a moment.