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CNN Live Event/Special

CNN's Town Hall "America Asks Congress" Aired 10-10:30p ET

Aired April 10, 2025 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

-- was better than the one that they inherited. So this idea about fiscal responsibility, look at the data. Look at what the economic numbers say.

Right now, what we're talking about, I'm not conflating anything. All of this -- all of these cuts are happening at the same time as tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals. So, these cuts are in order to fuel and fund tax cuts for billionaires.

TAPPER: I want to -- I want to...

LAWLER: Are you advocating for cutting the standard deduction in half? Do you want to cut the standard deduction in half? Because that would be the largest tax increase on the American people in history.

I don't want to do that. I want to lift the cap on SALT.

TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

LAWLER: I want to provide tax relief to hardworking middle-class families.

TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

HAYES: Not...

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: So, I want to bring in -- I want to bring back some voters into this town hall.

This question is for Congresswoman Hayes.

Alan Leon (ph) from Waterbury, Connecticut, submitted his question by video. He is retired, he is a Republican.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN LEON, CONNECTICUT RESIDENT: Good evening.

Why are the Democrats opposed to the deportation of illegal immigrants? Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: I don't really even understand that question.

Democrats are not opposed to someone who has committed a crime or is here illegally. But, again, our immigration system needs comprehensive reform. President Trump said that he was going to go after criminals for deportation. That is not what's happening.

We saw that, of the people that were round up and sent to prisons in other countries, the majority of those people, I think it was close to 75 percent, had never committed a crime. Just because someone is an immigrant doesn't mean they're a criminal.

But, even outside of that, in the United States of America, even a noncitizen has due process rights. If a person has come here illegally, has broken the law, yes, they stand to be deported. But that is not what is happening right now. And Democrats are not against that.

This idea that Democrats don't want border security, we absolutely want border security. But we understand that it can be done in a humane way, in a way that does not terrorize people, in a way that does not put children in cages, in a way that does not send people to prisons that we wouldn't even send our own people in our country to.

It really puts us on the world stage where people are saying, who are we as Americans? If someone has broken the law, yes, they should be deported. If someone is here illegally, we have no problem with that.

But that is not what is happening. Permanent residents, students with visas, people who are here with parole status are being rounded up and terrorized. And that is not who we are as Americans and not what should be happening right now. And it is not what fundamental due process laws mean.

TAPPER: Thank you.

Congressman Mackenzie, do you want to weigh in?

MACKENZIE: Sure.

I think it's been explicitly clear through votes like the Laken Riley Act, where a broad bipartisan group of individuals voted for that legislation. Now, you mentioned that you regret your vote on that, and that's your choice. But it was only Democrats that voted against that bill. All Republicans voted for it.

And so you do see that difference and distinction between the two parties nowadays. Republicans want strong border security. They also want to enforce the laws on the books here in our country. And so, again, I think it is only reasonable to make sure that we are deporting these individuals that have committed crimes in our country.

HAYES: But due process is a law on the books in this country. And that's why Democrats, the people who voted against it, they had serious concerns about the lack of due process, which is on the books in this country.

MACKENZIE: Did Laken Riley get due process? The answer is no.

COLLINS: Let's get back to the voters.

Congressman Mackenzie, I have got another question for you. This is Sandra Lopez, who is from Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was recently laid off and is an independent who voted for Vice President Harris.

Sandra, what's your question?

SANDRA LOPEZ, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: So, Congressman Mackenzie, President Trump keeps promising a golden age and is saying that Americans will be rich again. But he hasn't explained how that will happen.

I'm interested in understanding how this will occur, as well as the expected timeline, particularly when prices are increasing and our retirement accounts have greatly diminished.

MACKENZIE: Well, thank you for that question.

And making sure that our economy is vibrant and working families, seniors and others can succeed is one of my top priorities. That's why the first package of bills that I introduced in Congress was a working families tax package, wanting to make sure that we could reduce costs for working families, expand maternity leave, expand child tax credits and expand many other opportunities that would help families.

What we have seen since President Trump has been in office is the factual data. We have seen that interest rates have started to come down. We saw that last month over 200,000 jobs were created, and we saw just today for the first time that actual inflation had started to recede. Even on CNN earlier today, they talked about how the economy and inflation was moving in the right direction. That was the statement from CNN earlier today.

So what we see are a lot of positive signs that the economy is coming back, but there is a lot more work to be done. I know so many people are struggling and anybody that is out of work, we want to make sure that they find that job and we, as our office, we connect people all the time with great resources in our local community. We're fortunate and thankful that we have so many businesses that are hiring and growing and expanding.

But we've got to keep those good things going. And again, people that are struggling, we want to make sure that they actually do achieve that success and result that's possible.

COLLINS: Congresswoman, you look skeptical.

HAYES: Because I am. Because I am. And your question was absolutely right. There are so many federal workers in this area who have been laid off, career public servants who have been laid off, and not only laid off but demonized. Veterans, people who have served our country, who are just in a probationary status, for no good reason and without just cause. And I think people are very concerned about that. People's 401(k)s have dropped. Their retirement savings, their

benefits. So the average person, working Americans don't have the ability to ride this out and hope that it course corrects, and nothing is being done right now to address that.

As members of Congress, we don't have the resources. Our job is not to match people with employment. That's not what we do. So your question is completely valid. And that's not what we're seeing. We see agency after agency being reduced in their workforce while the work remains. And even though to your point earlier, it takes an act of Congress to close these agencies, effectively what we're seeing is a rolling blackout.

You reduce the staff, you don't do the jobs. You cut out one department, and sooner or later people stop receiving the services that those agencies provide.

COLLINS: Congressman Lawler, can I ask you on that? Because in reference to her question, to Sandra's question about the golden age of America, obviously Trump did come into office promising to bring prices down.

With the tariffs on China being 145 percent as the White House clarified today, obviously, you know, China is the United States' third largest trading partner. There is $582 billion worth of goods exchanged last year. Are you worried that you're going to see prices for your constituents, your voters go up?

LAWLER: Again, as I said earlier, we want prices to come down. And it's not just one single economic policy that is going to do that. With respect to China, China has been devaluing its currency. It has been using economic coercion to take over ports and waterways. It has engaged in intellectual property theft.

That hurts Americans, that hurts American businesses all around the globe, and makes us less economically competitive. And so President Trump is taking on China rightfully. There's broad bipartisan support in Congress. We have the China Select Committee that has been focused on what we need to do to take on China economically.

But let me just say, the federal workforce prior to COVID in March of 2020 was just under 2.8 million people. At the end of the Biden administration, it was just over three million people. Some estimates, based on what we have seen in terms of the number of people laid off, it is still above the pre-COVID number.

At the end of the day, the federal government under Joe Biden exploded. You saw $5 trillion in new spending. That's what gave us record inflation. That's what gave us high grocery costs, high energy costs, when they basically blocked natural gas. You look at the decisions that were made by the Biden administration, and the overall cost of living went up. What we are trying to do is bring it down.

Inflation is down. The Consumer Price Index is down. Home costs are coming down. As I said earlier, the average mortgage cost in my district went up $1,000 a month under Joe Biden because of the disastrous inflation that had to be combated with high interest rates. So there's a lot of work ahead of us, including, as I said before, tax reform, deregulation, increasing domestic production of energy. All of that combined is going to reduce the overall cost of living.

COLLINS: Congressman Lawler, thank you.

We'll be right back with more of our town hall as AMERICA ASKS CONGRESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And we're back with more of our town hall, America Asks Congress. Let me welcome the people from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania here today, including Congressman MacKenzie.

This is Suzanne Nichols. She's from Allentown and works for an insurance administrator and is a Democrat. Suzanne?

SIUSANNE NICHOLS, SINGLE PARENT: Hello. Good evening, everyone. My question is about international relations. I'd like to know what Congress can do to refurbish our image on the world stage now that we've ended most of USAID, started this tariff war, and we're posturing to annex Greenland and Canada.

REP. RYAN MACKENZIE (R-PA): Well, thank you again for being here from Pennsylvania, the great commonwealth and home of the Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagles. So, I have to get that in as well.

But on a more serious note, it's a very serious topic and it's one that I actually campaigned on. I was actually very concerned about our standing in the world. For far too long, both Republican and Democrat administrations have advocated for forever wars all around the globe, whether it's in the Middle East, in Europe or saber-rattling that was going on in Asia. And I think that we have a position now with this new administration and one that I advocated for on the campaign trail of bringing about peace around the world.

And I know that it is a challenging obstacle that we face in many of these instances, but I think we all have to be fighting for that peaceful outcome and resolution so that in places like Israel, all hostages are returned and there is a cessation of violence that will have a longstanding impact for the region.

When you talk about the horrific atrocities that are going on in Ukraine, we must recognize that Vladimir Putin and Russia do not care about human life.

The only way that we're going to solve these problems, though, we've tried through military funding for far too long and not got a peaceful resolution. It's been going on for years in each of those instances. And what we need to do is try the peace route.

I think we have an opportunity now with this administration. I've talked to some of those individuals that are conducting those peace talks. It is the only path forward at this time. We have to give it a chance, and hopefully, we'll get to that resolution.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN MODERATOR: Thanks, Congressman.

Let me bring in Congresswoman Hayes to get your take on this.

REP. JAHANA HAYES (D-CT): I think you're right, again, to be concerned about this. And we've seen a president who cozies up to dictators and alienates our allies.

When you talk about countries like Canada, Green -- I mean, how did Greenland even enter this conversation? USAID and programs like that were -- were used to promote global diplomacy so that we wouldn't have to have wars, so that we could come in and make sure that there's no conflict on the ground.

Now, we're talking about annexing Gaza and turning it into waterfront property? It's -- it's intimidating. These tactics are alienating our allies, cozying up to dictators. That is not how we pursue peace in this country.

We have a Congress, we have a president, we have people on both sides who should be coming in a foreign affairs committee, where we should be bringing people in. We should be inviting our world leaders here, not alienating them, not putting these tariffs and taxes on people to provoke conflict around the world. We can do better.

And that's not the path that this president is pursuing right now.

TAPPER: Thank you, Congresswoman.

Congressman Lawler?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Look, under -- under Joe Biden, the world was in the most precarious place since the lead up to World War II. You had the disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of 13 U.S. service members. The Russian invasion of Ukraine. The terrorist attack against Israel, the threats from China.

The unholy alliance between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea has sought to undermine and destabilize the United States, Europe, Israel and the free world.

Let's be clear Vladimir Putin is a vile dictator and thug and needs to be treated as such. Iran, the greatest state sponsor of terror, is engaged in an illicit oil trade with China to the tune of $200 billion.

As chair of the Middle East Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have taken an aggressive stand against this. I passed the SHIP Act, the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act, and just yesterday, through the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act.

We need to end that illicit oil trade. That is what President Trump is doing. He did it in his first term, basically making Iran broke.

Joe Biden lifted those sanctions. He allowed for that illicit oil trade. That is what is funding their nuclear program.

We have to be prepared to crack down on that nuclear program. It cannot continue forward.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN MODERATOR: We have another question from a voter.

Congresswoman Hayes, this is for you, because we have Joel Grossman from Cheshire, Connecticut, here, who is a realtor and an unaffiliated voter who volunteered for the congresswoman's reelection campaign.

So, it's great to have you.

What's your question?

JOEL GROSSMAN, REALTOR: Thank you very much. I appreciate being here and having all you guys there. And this is regarding the Supreme Court.

And so, has the Supreme Court's ruling regarding presidential immunity created a situation where President Trump is emboldened to do whatever he wants without fear of consequences?

HAYES: Well, thank you for the question. And thank you so much for volunteering on my campaign. You must be the reason I'm here. So, I appreciate you.

I believe that the Supreme Court's ruling has really set a dangerous precedent for any president. Every American should be concerned about that. I don't think any president should be able to operate unchecked as a king with absolute immunity. And that's what the Supreme Court has effectively done with this president.

We see the actions in this second term much more bold. I am someone who, after the election, Donald Trump won the election -- after the election, we stopped campaigning and we start governing.

But this idea that I don't have to listen to courts, I don't have to follow court orders, I don't have to adhere to the rule of law and keep pushing the envelope further and further and further is -- is incredibly dangerous.

And people in my district are very concerned. I don't know about many of the people in this audience are very concerned because that's just a basic premise. The rule of law is something that should be protected. No president, no member of Congress, nobody should be above the law.

And I think that's what we've seen. And that has to be pulled back, because otherwise we're heading down a dangerous path. And to that last question, just one thing, I want to add, the only country that was mysteriously absent from the list of tariffs is Russia.

COLLINS: Congressman Mackenzie, what's your response, though, to the sentiment of Joel's question there, in terms of what the checks and balances on this presidency are? MACKENZIE: Yes, I think, look, we have an obligation as Congress to

provide those checks and balances. And so our constitutional government allows for us to have oversight, to have power of the purse, and I think we want to execute and it can carry out those things. So we had a hearing on USAID when the President proposed all of those changes. We had that hearing, and what we found was there was actually massive amounts of waste in that program.

So again, even if you support that program and you want that to continue, and maybe it should in certain instances, what was proven in that instance, at our oversight hearing on that very topic, was that they were, in fact, correct. So we're going to continue that on education and workforce. I know we have some hearings coming up again about the administration, their actions, but we have to continue to carry those things out, absolutely.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Congressman. There were a lot of questions tonight about President Trump and President Trump's policies. It's entirely possible that President Trump, who is known to watch the occasional cable television show, it's entirely possible he's watching tonight, or that clips will be shown to him. I want to give each one of you an opportunity to say something briefly, if you could, to President Trump, Congressman Tran let me start with you.

TRAN: Sure. Thank you. You know, I don't have a message for him, per se, but rather, to the American people. You know, I believe that we live in this country, this amazing country, that my parents, who were refugees, came to -- this is a privilege for us to be here, and I don't take that for granted, and I don't take for granted the people who dedicated their lives to don the uniform to serve our country. We have to continue to protect them and watch out for them.

Those who work in our federal government and wanted -- want to serve and wearing a different uniform, we got to watch out for them as well. These things that we're seeing and what I'm hearing tonight; they talk about interest rates are down and low. That's dandy, but if you can't even afford your groceries at the store, why are you caring about buying a car or a house with interest rates. You know, we elected a man to bring down costs at the grocery stores, and we're not seeing that. So maybe they should focus on delivering what the American people elected him to do, which was bring down cost at the grocery store.

TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman Tran. Congressman Mackenzie, I want to give you an opportunity as a freshman member of Congress to speak directly to the commander-in-chief. You probably don't get those opportunities all the time. What would your message be to President Trump?

MACKENZIE: I think the three things that we clearly campaigned on, myself and the President, where we align, are bringing down costs for everyday Americans, and the representative rightly brought that up. And so thankfully, again, today, small progress was made in the inflation number coming down. But a lot of work is yet to be done. I know so many people are still struggling from the high prices resulting from Biden inflation after four years. And so what we have to do is we have to pass legislation that will

actually reduce costs for everyday Americans, working families, seniors and so many others. We also need to make sure that we bring down the cost of energy, that is one of the single biggest inputs into everything in our economy, and so that's going to be in our reconciliation language as well.

The second thing that we should be focused on and working on is continuing to secure the border and protect our country from illegal immigration. And third is the issue that we just talked about. We have to bring about peace around the world, so that all of these foreign conflicts are put to an end, and the only way that we can do that is having a strong military and a strong commander-in-chief who wants to find that peace as well.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Hayes, do you have a message for President Trump?

HAYES: Yes, yes, I do. I have been here a little longer than my colleagues and I was elected during the first Trump Administration. I've had legislation signed into law under both President Biden and President Trump. I am a Democrat, but I am willing to work whenever and wherever I can to find common ground. My message is that many of these policies are unnecessarily cruel. You are the President of the United States, and people are hurting right now, people are afraid, and they're scared and legislating through executive orders with no explanation to the American people about their future, about their 401(k)s, about their children's education, about their health care.

[22:25:04]

I'm sure there are things where we can figure out what we agree on and work our way out, but this chain saw approach is scaring the American people. And I think we just need to turn -- ratchet down a notch, turn it down, come back to the table, negotiate with Congress, work with Democrats on behalf of the American people.

Because, in this election, as much as we talk about or the Republicans talk about a mandate, 50 percent of Americans voted for someone else. And after the election is over, you should be working to bring those people back in and saying, how do we work together and move forward as a country? I'm here for that.

TAPPER: Congressman Lawler, a message for President Trump?

LAWLER: Look, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat doesn't really matter. All of us want a few basic things in life, a good- paying job to provide for our families, a quality education for our children, access to housing and health care, and we want to live in a safe neighborhood.

I'm proud to represent a district that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. I have 85,000 more Democrats than registered Republicans, and yet I have always sought to find bipartisan solutions. I was rated the fourth most bipartisan member of Congress last term. I was also rated the number one most effective member of Congress among freshmen. I passed 11 bills, six of which were signed into law by President

Biden. And I have been praised by both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and that speaks to my ability to get things done.

And my message to President Trump is that we can address the challenges facing this country by working together to address the cost of living, the border, energy, immigration, addressing education and the conflicts around the globe.

And, Mr. President, I'm counting on you to deliver on the promise to lift the cap on SALT.

I appreciate it.

COLLINS: A message to a local audience.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Thank you, Congressman Lawler, and to all the representatives for joining us.

And thank you to our audience here in the studio.

"NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts right after this break.

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