The following is a transcript of an interview with Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," which aired on January 19, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Senator Tim Kaine: Margaret, it's great to be with you. Thanks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I wanted to ask about some of the positions you hold on key committees that play a role in the nomination or confirmation process of some of Mr. Trump's picks. Senator Rubio is expected to be confirmed as Secretary of State soon. Do you want him to come on day one?
Sen. Kane: I do. He visited my office before the hearing. He did a very good job at the hearing, and I think we're likely to take action on day one and he's going to have strong bipartisan support.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Frankly, when it comes to some of the other picks, the Democrats have almost no say because the Republicans have a 53-seat majority, so they don't need Democratic votes. Last week you pointedly questioned Pete Hegseth, the man chosen to run the Pentagon. You asked him if he was willing to break his oath because he cheated on his second wife and the mother of their child born two months ago when he told police he was in a relationship with a Monterey, Calif., man who filed sexual assault charges. Women having consensual sex. - raided and filed a financial settlement. Why did you choose to place such a high priority on character issues instead of asking him about policy?
Sen. Kaine: I believe he would be a very dangerous secretary of defense, so my observation about my Republican colleagues is that the only reason they would vote against the nominee is either they think he's grossly incompetent in terms of qualifications or he's grossly incompetent character defects. That's why Matt Gaetz dropped out, because Senate Republicans believe he's not a starter on either front. I believe the questions I raised about Pete Hegseth about his serial infidelities, about the sexual assault allegations he refused to disclose to President-elect Trump and the transition team, and about his own mother’s allegations about his serial abuse of women, I think these are things that may impact how Republicans view this issue, if not in committee, then on the floor. We'll see. I think the military commission may take action as early as late tomorrow. We'll see when there's action on the field.
MARGARET BRENNAN: To confirm him, actually. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, who are not liberal by anyone's definition, said: "Hegseth's proposal to restore America's military deterrence is a great thing. But it looks like we're about to have a defense secretary , his true views remain a mystery. "Isn't it also important to hear his plans for places like China, because if Republican leadership can keep Republicans in line and get them all to deliver the votes they need? Then he seems to be able to get through.
Sen. KANE: Well, Margaret and I, I think if you look at the entire hearing, some of his points were on the table. I have seven minutes. It is highly unusual for a defense secretary nominee to even refuse to meet with any Democratic member of the committee other than the chairman. Kennedy met with members of the Democratic Party, the nominee for Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of State. They are all meeting with Democratic members of the committee. But when he refused to meet with us and you only had seven minutes, we parted ways. I asked him what I thought were obvious character flaws. Other members of the committee asked him about strategic positions, the role of women in combat and whether he was qualified to run an organization the size of the Pentagon. I think overall, at the hearing, we presented a lot of material for people to consider.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about immigration. You are a former governor. Incoming border czar Tom Homan said Trump would begin a massive deportation campaign as soon as he takes office. According to Pew Research, there are only about 300,000 undocumented people believed to live in your state. I know that your current governor, Younkin, has pledged to fully support the efforts of state law enforcement or the National Guard. How do you think this will play out?
Sen. KANE: Well, I'm not quite sure how the government is going to do that. But let me tell you, I'm hearing serious concerns from many sectors of the Virginia economy, agriculture, hospitality, health care, construction, and so on, that massive eviction rates will absolutely hit Virginia and the U.S. economy hard. If you add that to Trump's threat to impose huge tariffs, I think if they do mass deportations, you're going to see a lot of pain on the part of consumers and a lot of pain on the part of employers. Now look, you have a president who says a lot of things and then chooses not to do them, so I don't know what that's really going to look like.
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Sen. KANE: But I would say that if the economy of Virginia and this country continues to do what the president says, they're going to suffer from mass deportations and tariffs.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Biden administration prioritizing criminals in roundups and deportations. The Trump administration says it will also crack down on criminal elements. Do you think this would look different?
Sen. KANE: Well, I do think the Biden administration is prioritizing criminals who pose a threat to public safety, who pose a threat of violence. The Trump administration could take broader action than that. You know, look at people - I mean, for example, the Senate is currently considering a bill that would deport people based on arrest, even if they haven't been convicted of a crime. A store is like discharging an arrest, even if they weren't convicted of a crime. A fundamental aspect of our society is that arrests mean nothing unless there is a conviction because people are arrested all the time for things they did not do. So if the Trump administration said, look, an arrest can lead to deportation even without a conviction, yeah, that's going to look completely different, completely different than the policy during the Biden administration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Tim Kaine, thank you for your time today.