CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Seth Moulton

Interview

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REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I'm very happy, Jake.

This is a massive step in the right direction. For the last few weeks, I have been asking very specifically for three things, a plan, a commander and a commitment to see this through. We now obviously have a plan. They have identified a commander. And now we just need to keep pressure on the White House to ensure they see this through until all our Afghan allies are evacuated to safety.

TAPPER: Well, when you say all, how many are we talking about? Because the numbers are very unclear.

Biden has talked about approving 2, 500 Special Immigrant Visas, SIVs, since he took office, but, as you know, more than 9,000 have successfully filled out the paperwork. And there's a backlog. So there's about 19,000 that are at least in the pipeline, not to mention many of them have families, wives or husbands and children and others that they want to bring so they don't get slaughtered too.

How many people ultimately do you think the Biden administration is going to be able to get out?

MOULTON: So, look, this is a key issue. And this is -- you have done a good job of laying out the range of numbers.

If you take what I have heard as a planning number, 3.5 family members for every Afghan in the pipeline, you multiply the 19,000, 18,000 or 19,000 in the pipeline by 3.5 to get to 70,000. So we have a range that goes from 2, 500 that the president used in his speech last week up to 70,000.

This is one of the key areas where we continue to press the administration for answers. And, obviously, we want that number to be as big as it has to be. We have got to plan for a big number like 70,000. And then if it comes in lower than that, because not all these Afghans want to leave or they don't want to bring as many family members as we anticipate, that's OK.

TAPPER: Yes.

And, Congressman, I have to say, I mean, 70,000 people, that's a very optimistic look at how many people the Biden administration is planning to pull out. I'm skeptical it's going to be that many.

But Afghanistan's about the size of Texas. You just heard in Oren's piece half of these allies, Afghan allies, can't get into the safety zone in order to evacuate because the Taliban controls major highways, checkpoints, much of the country. How are they going to get from these far -- these provinces far from Kabul, far from Bagram to the refuge in Afghanistan to be flown out?

MOULTON: And you're right, Jake. This is another major issue. And it gets worse by the day, as long as the Taliban keeps taking over district senators, provinces and checkpoints.

And I want to just put the 70,000 number in perspective, though. You're right. That's a lot of people. To be perfectly honest, I don't expect it will be that many that we ultimately evacuate.

But that's still only half of the number that we brought out of Vietnam. So this is something America can do, no matter how big the number is. And, look, the fact that we're going forward with this, the fact that we're doing this is a real victory, not just for Afghan translators, but for American values.

This is the right thing to do. And it's just fantastic across the board that the Biden administration is moving forward.

[16:35:02]

TAPPER: Well, I hope that your optimism is well-earned, ultimately.

Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you so much for your time today, sir. Appreciate it. And thank you for your service, as always.

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