CNN Newsroom: Interview With Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA)

Interview

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I mean, it has to. I mean, at the end of the day there's evidence that George Santos is a fraud, he's a liar. This investigation is important, the House Ethics Committee of course. But he's got to do the right things. I mean, it's not just the House Ethics Committee that's looking at investigating him. You have federal and local prosecutors investigating him.

You have the FEC looking into his challenges which is also why we have expulsion resolution in front of the Congress. And so I think it's all going to end with George Santos either being removed, resigning or losing his reelection to Congress. And so our suggestion is he should resign today.

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Well, I think that's important -- that's why it's important for us and why we're keeping the fire so hot. And at the end of the day we don't know anything about this guy's real history. He has lied about almost every part of his story, of his narrative. It's clear he has broken a law, there is no question about it. I think that the House Ethics Committee steps are the right steps. But also his district is not exactly representative of the entire country.

I mean, he has a district that generally is a Democratic district, a lot of Democrats, a lot of folks and Republicans as well that are upset and tired of him. If you look at the polling, they want him gone. And so I think it's very -- it's one of those things that was actually bipartisanship within his district. They all want Santos either removed or to resign.

We are now up to 35 folks who've signed an expulsion resolution in the Congress to remove him from office. It's going to allow the House Ethics Committee in the process to play out.

But there is going to be a period of time where action is going to have to happen. I believe the House is going to have to remove George Santos if the Committee on Ethics don't make appropriate findings.

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Whether it's the Oversight Committee or the Judiciary Committee, whether it's Jim Jordan or James Comer, It's all the same thing.

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Yes, but there's no difference. The reality is both committees are essentially peddling in conspiracy theories. It's the tinfoil-hat caucus of the Republican Party.

It's all about laptops and whistleblowers that don't exist, Hunter Biden every other day, conspiracies against the federal government.

The Republican Party isn't putting forward any ideas or ways to help the country.

As a member of the Oversight Committee, all of our committees are filled with witnesses that don't know what they're talking about, are peddling conspiracy theories, and the Republicans have no plan.

So it's been entertaining to watch but it's not getting anything done for the American people. We have real problems that neither Jim Jordan or James Comer have interest in solving. So we'll continue to fight. We're pushing back on the committee. We're making a good case as to why this Republican caucus has no interest in governing.

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Well, I voted - I voted against. I was one of the Democrats that supported what D.C. did.

So I disagree with the president. I understand his perspective. I happened to think, if you are fully for D.C. statehood and want an independent state and statehood, then you support D.C.'s laws and the way they govern.

Look, the reality is, on occasion, people are going to differ. Our parties don't agree all the time on the topic. I support D.C., the actions that they took in making laws and rules.

At the end of the day, this caucus overwhelmingly supports the president. We're all behind him. We understand we're going to disagree sometimes on some issues. But we're all working hard to support the agenda and get him reelected in two years.

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First, I served as mayor for eight years of Long Beach, California. I had a police force and an incredible group of folks that worked really hard.

Crime is an issue and we're always trying to get people to look at it in different ways. But crime is not just about policing. It's also about investing in communities, about making sure schools that are strong, park space, that we're tackling income inequality.

There are many ways to look and support and to fix issues around crime. And Democrats have put forward ideas, investments, reform around criminal justice, which Republicans have no interest in doing. So we'll continue to provide resources.

And as a reminder, President Biden and Democrats have supported programs like grants to police departments, opportunities to within the American Rescue Plan to actually increase police departments, many of which, by the way, Republicans have voted against.

We'll continue to support law enforcement when they're doing the right thing. We also need to understand that justice is important for all communities and that policing isn't going to solve all of our challenges.

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Happy to be here. Thank you.

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