Interview With Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)

Interview

"Let me tell you, Dana, this is a very serious charge. There's no question about it.

But it bears reminding us of what I have said about the indictments against Donald Trump, equally serious charges. These are, in fact, indictments that have to be proven under the rule of law. The person who is accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence. And it's the responsibility of the government to prove that case.

I have said that about Donald Trump. I will say the same thing about Bob Menendez. But the bottom line is, the Senate Democratic Caucus has a hard-and-fast rule. When indicted, you lose your position in leadership or chairmanship of a committee. And that is what has happened with Senator Menendez. He lost the chairmanship of one of our most important committees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which the president himself served as chairman of in years gone by.

In terms of resignation, that's a decision to be made by Senator Menendez and the people of New Jersey.

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Well, keep in mind that these are charges, and they have to be proven. And there is a presumption of innocence.

How far it goes, in terms of his future service, is something to be decided by the senator and the people of New Jersey.

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Well, I can tell you that it's a significant event. Clearly, it is. And whether or not he will run for reelection remains to be seen.

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I don't know what to think.

I can tell you this. There is one clear point that we should remind everyone of. The solution to this problem, funding our government, the critical services, depends on a bipartisan approach, Democrats and Republicans working together.

I think the Senate got off at least to a good start by our Appropriations Committee under Republican Senator Susan Collins on that side of the aisle and Patty Murray, the Democrat on our side of the aisle, reached an historic agreement we haven't seen for more than five years.

We were in a positive frame of mind moving forward, when the interruption occurred on the floor of the Senate by one Republican senator and in the House by the inability of the speaker to get a majority for anything.

It's going to take a bipartisan approach to solve this problem. And I hope we can move to it very quickly.

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I don't want to presume what's going to be in the final package, but there are two things I will say.

One is, Speaker McCarthy reached an agreement with the president of the United States to avoid the last shutdown a few months ago. And that should be the starting point of our conversation. Secondly, I agree that we need to put more thinking and resources into the border to bring order to the chaos that's there.

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Well, I'm not going to single-shot any one item that needs to be there, or else. I think that's the wrong approach to use.

We're talking about a continuing resolution to keep the lights on in the government while we debate the appropriation bill for the next fiscal year, which starts October 1. So I'm not going to say it's a requirement for any element to be included.

Let's sit down on a bipartisan basis and pass a continuing resolution.

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Well, I can tell you it's a very serious challenge that we have never seen before, at least in this volume.

I supported the temporary protected status for Venezuelans, because I have been to Venezuela. I can tell you, we warn Americans not to travel to Venezuela, it's so dangerous. And the notion that these people could return to this country, their country, is just not practical at all.

And I might also add, they're in the United States in a legal status awaiting a hearing for asylum status. During that period of time, they need to work. I have met many of these migrants coming off the buses, sat down and talked to them. They don't ask me where the government welfare office is in the city of Chicago. They ask me where they can find a job.

And that's what's going to happen now that President Biden has made this decision. They will have that chance to work. They are desperately needed in our economy. We have jobs that go unfilled at virtually every level in every community.

So I think this could be a move in the right direction. But the bottom line for the border is, the chaotic situation there has to end. And we need to do that on a bipartisan basis.

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Well, let me tell you, the good news is, the conversation continues. And I believe there's going to be an agreement, I hope, very, very soon among members.

It is experience in the Senate to see individual senators and their individual fashion taste. I could go through the long litany of those that I have seen in the past. But I think it's very positive that Chuck is sitting down with the senators who are interested in this issue. And I expect an agreement to be reached very soon.

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Well, I can tell that you really don't have a dress code in the rules of the United States Senate. What we need to do is to reach an accommodation that is realistic.

Some of this is more challenging than it sounds, but I think with -- the progress that's been made today is very encouraging.

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Thanks, Dana."

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