The following is a transcript of an interview with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, on “Face the Nation” that aired on July 28, 2024.
ROBERT COSTA: We turn now to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senator, good morning.
SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER: Good morning, good to be here.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, what’s your response to the latest strikes in the Golan Heights?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, look, first we know that Iran, through its surrogates, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, is really the real evil in this area. And Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah like they do against Hamas. It’s sort of- it shows you how bad Iran and its surrogates are. These were Arab kids they shot out. They don’t ca- they sent missiles at and they don’t even care who that is. But having said that, I don’t think anyone wants a wider war. So I hope there are moves to de-escalate.
ROBERT COSTA: Sticking with the Middle East, Senator, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just in Washington. You were part of the formal bipartisan invitation to have him come to Washington. Yet there was video of you not shaking his hand when he was on the floor on Capitol Hill. Why not? Why did you not shake his hand?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, look, you know, I went to this speech, because the relationship between Israel and America is ironclad and I wanted to show that. But at the same time, as everyone knows, I have serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted these policies.
ROBERT COSTA: Your colleague and friend, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tweeted this this week, she said: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House chamber was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with that privilege in American history.” Do you agree with her assessment? And do you have any regrets at all–
SEN. SCHUMER: –Look–
ROBERT COSTA: –The invitation?
SEN. SCHUMER: Look, no, as I’ve said, I want you to show our ironclad commitment to Israel that transcends any one prime minister, or any one president, no matter how much you might disagree with that prime minister.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, on July 13, you went to Delaware to meet with President Biden. It was a private discussion and I know you’d like to keep your discussions with the President private. But that for history was a very momentous meeting in the sense of you were the Senate Democratic leader, the Majority Leader meeting with the President to discuss the presidential race. For history, for the record, did you, in any way, suggest to the President that he should leave the presidential race on July 13?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, first, let’s look at President Biden’s record. He’s had one of the most amazing presidencies we’ve had in decades, passing so many good things: the infrastructure bill, the IRA bill, getting the price of prescription drugs down for the first time, going against the NRA successfully, helping our veterans with burn pits. So he’s had an amazingly successful record. And he’s always done what’s right for America. And I respect him, I respect his patriotism, I respect the amazing things he’s done. We work together on many of them.
ROBERT COSTA: But just for history, though, did you- what was your role, what was your intention with that meeting with him on July 13? Because some Biden allies feel heard about this entire process. I just sat down the other day was Senator Chris Coons, your colleague, and he said a lot of people feel hurt, angry about how this all played out and you did go to see him and conveyed the views of your colleagues based on our reporting. So what exactly happened there? What was your role, if any, and suggested he get out or stay?
SEN. SCHUMER: As I said, yeah, I’m not going to get into the specifics. But he can- the Pres- President Biden will walk away from the presidency with his head held high, because of all the great things he’s done and because he put America first he always has.
ROBERT COSTA: Vice President Harris, now the presumptive nominee. Senator, are you encouraging Senate Democrats, including those in battleground states, to invite her to campaign with them to have her in their advertisements?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, the Biden-Harris record is just incredible, as I mentioned, all the specific things that has been- that they have passed together working with us. So it’s an incredible record, and our senators are already talking about it. They’re, you know, cutting ribbons and new bridges, they’re bringing rural broadband, they’re bringing broadband to rural areas, they’re opening up new factories from chip fabs. So it’s a great, great record, and it’s helping our Senate candidates run on it. And let me just say one thing, just compare that to the Republican record to the Trump-Vance ticket. It’s extreme, this Project 2025 shows that would take the rights away from women. It would take away rights of working people and help only the very wealthy, it would even be a threat to our democracy. And one more point about this, and that is the addition of JD Vance to this ticket. It’s- it’s incredibly a bad choice. I think Donald Trump, I know him, and he’s probably sitting and watching the TV, and every day, Vance, it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic. Vance seems to be more erratic and more extreme than President Trump. And I’ll bet President Trump is sitting there scratching his head and wondering, why did I pick this guy? The choice may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats.
ROBERT COSTA: What do you mean–
SEN. SCHUMER: –Now the President has about 10 days- 10 days before the Ohio ballot is locked in. And he has a choice: does he keep Vance on the ticket, where he’s- he probably- he’s- he already has a whole lot of baggage, he’s probably going to be more baggage over the weeks because we’ll hear more things about him, or does he pick someone new? What’s his choice?
ROBERT COSTA: So Democrats focusing on Senator Vance, your colleague in the chamber, but Republicans seem to be focusing a lot on border policy and Vice President Harris. What’s your suggestion about how she should handle that Republicans are saying she has fumbled the ball on immigration, on border policy? What’s the answer for how to define her on herself on that issue? It’s going to be brought up again and again on–
SEN. SCHUMER: –The answer–
ROBERT COSTA: –The campaign?
SEN. SCHUMER: The answer is very simple. And that is that Democrats, along with the Biden Harris administration, put together the toughest border policy that would have stopped the flow from the border that we’ve seen in a very long time. In fact, initially was supported by Republicans. So many of the leading Republicans said, “this is tough, we’re all for it.” And then all of a sudden, President Trump says it, he said it explicitly. He said, “I don’t want them to solve the problem, I want chaos at the border so I can run on it with the election.” We’re happy to bring that up. And case after case, when we bring that up, the voters side with us, not with their policies. We were willing to fix the border. Trump and his Republican minions said, don’t fix it, we want chaos for political purposes. Who do you think’s going to win the argument?
ROBERT COSTA: Has Vice President Harris reached out to you about her vice president sel- selection? And do you have a leading contender or two that you believe would be helpful? And Senator Kelly, your colleague, is one of the contenders we’ve reported. Are you confident that if he goes on the ticket, you can hold on to that seat in a few years in a special?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, let me say this, I have complete confidence that Vice President Harris will choose a top-notch ticket and top-notch vice presidential candidate. We have a lot of- we have a very strong bench. There are a lot of good choices. I have confidence in her choice.
ROBERT COSTA: Are you worried about the Senate majority? It’s a narrow majority for you right now. What’s your candid assessment about the Senate majority and Democratic chances?
SEN. SCHUMER: My candid assessment is we’re going to not only win the Senate, but we have a good chance to pick up a seat or two. Our candidates, our senators, are running on their records of accomplishment. And that’s why they’re running ahead of even the national ticket. Because when they show all the good stuff we’re bringing to their states, through the infrastructure bill, through the Chips and Science Bill, was so many good new manufacturing jobs, through bringing broadband to rural areas for the first time, where rural areas desperately needed. You know, Franklin Roosevelt said in the 1930s, electricity was a necessity and brought it to them. We’re doing the same thing with broad bands, which in the 21st century is a necessity–
ROBERT COSTA: –Speaking about technology–
SEN. SCHUMER: –We have a great record to run on and it’s going to- it’s going to- it’s going to keep us- it’s going to keep us in the majority.
ROBERT COSTA: Staying with technology for a second. You’ve raised national security concerns about TikTok. Do you support the Harris campaign using TikTok to promote its candidate- her candidacy?
SEN. SCHUMER: Look, I’m not going to get into the details of how to run the campaign. I’m talking about the message that they have and they should bring it forward in whatever way they can. We did vote to eliminate TikTok and in a period of less than a year that legislation will go into effect.
ROBERT COSTA: And finally here, Senator, President Biden this week is going to make a push on the Supreme Court to reform the Supreme Court. What’s really possible there, what’s realistic? Give us your real view about whether this can happen this year on a- in a bipartisan way.
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, first, let’s start off. The Supreme Court is a morass. First, it’s an ethical morass. The idea that wealthy individuals, many of them right-wing, can both have pay for cases before the Court and at the same time, give justices gifts or trips is outrageous. And frankly, Chief Justice Roberts isn’t doing enough to curb it. But it’s a morass and even a worse way this is a MAGA, right-wing Court. It’s already taken the right away, the right to choose, it could very well go further on that, I fear it will. It’s siding with the wealthiest of individuals and the powerful interests over the average working family. And it even threatens democracy when it says that a president can get immunity even for certain acts in the presidency. So this Court is- is just a morass, both ethically and substantively. And I think we will look at all the various proposals and see what should be done.
ROBERT COSTA: And just quickly here, Senator, a lot is on the horizon for you. You have a possible shutdown this fall, the debt limit later this year. Are you engaged or prepared to engage with Speaker Johnson in the house to address these serious issues?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, we are prepared to engage, you have to do these things in a bipartisan way. And we keep reminding Speaker Johnson that the right-wing MAGA group in his- in his party, which wanted default, which wants to shut down the government, is so ideologically fixated on these things, that they would hurt tens of millions of American families and sometimes Speaker Johnson sides with them, sometimes he doesn’t. He sides with them too much.
ROBERT COSTA: A lot on your plate. Thank you, Senator Schumer. We appreciate your time and Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us.