A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, October 31, 2021 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC HOST: Let’s get more on this now from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Secretary Buttigieg, thanks for joining us this morning.
Let’s pick up where Cecilia just left off. We know that Speaker Pelosi is hoping for a vote on Tuesday. Are you confident you have the votes?
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Well, we’re very optimistic. The president put forward this framework because he believes that it will pass the House and the Senate and can get to his desk. And as soon as it does, it’s going to make such a difference in the lives of Americans.
You know, one of the reasons we have such a sense of urgency about this is that the American people are inpatient to see the kind of pro-family policies that are in that Build Back Better Plan, to make sure that we make child care more affordable in this country, to expand 3- and 4-year-old access to pre-school, to get millions of Americans needed tax cuts in the expansion of the Child Tax Credit. And I’m just talking about the family parts of the bill.
Obviously, huge and urgently needed action on climate change and, of course, that work on transportation infrastructure that I’ve been talking about all year, improving our roads and bridges, our ports and airports. Something that is even more visibly needed as we face some of these supply chain issues with record levels of goods going through infrastructure that has often been designed a hundred years ago or more.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say the American people are inpatient but we have a new poll out this morning with IPSA (ph). Want to show this -- shows that 69 percent of the public doesn’t know much about the bill, 32 percent think it will actually hurt them. So has this been a failure of communications?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think that gives me a great opportunity to remind Americans about some of what’s in this. For example, if you’re watching this broadcast and you have kids, 9 out of 10 chance that you will personally benefit to the tune of hundreds or thousands of dollars from that Child Tax Credit expansion.
If you have been thinking about getting an electric vehicle and the savings in fuel that would come from that -- think about what your family could do with up to a $12,500 discount on electric vehicles, which we’re doing, of course, not just because it’s going to benefit your family but because it’s going to benefit those American jobs making them and, importantly, benefit the climate.
Think about the real-world, every day impact that it will make for millions of Americans to get that support for child care that’s unaffordable. And by the way, one of the other reasons why it’s so important to get that -- those child care provisions through because that’s also going to help with inflation. We’ve got a lot of people who are unable to return to the labor market because they can’t get child care. That is a drag on our economy and it’s one of the things that’s creating upward pressure on prices, which is why 17 Nobel Prize winning economists signed a letter talking about the benefits with regard to inflation that will come from this bill.
So look, whether you’re a policy wonk or whether you’re just trying to get through life raising your family, anybody who has ever driven on a road or a bridge, anybody who drinks water -- remember, this bill will get lead out of 100 percent of the pipes in this country -- anybody concerned about Internet access coming to a neighborhood near you, this bill is for you.
And it’s one of the reasons why I welcome this opportunity to talk --
STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the --
BUTTIGIEG: -- not just about the political blow-by-blow and the day-by-day drama but what it’s actually going to do for the American people.
STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the provisions that’s not in the bill that’s been dropped from the bill is paid family leave. Of course, you’ve had some recent experience with paid leave, taking care of your new twins. It’s been dropped from the bill. We know there’s still some lobbying going on behind the scenes to get it back in.
Any hope for that or is that a fight for another day?
BUTTIGIEG: Well, look, it’s definitely something that we believe in. And so while it is not in this framework, we’re going to keep fighting for it. As you said, I believe in it, the president does. And let me say this, any other policy priority that we have as an administration, as a party, it’s going to be that much easier to deliver in the future where we are in a position of strength because we’ve gotten this done.
What we have in front of us, right now, this is not half a loaf. It is a feast of good policy. It is the most transformative legislation for families, for healthcare, for climate that we’ve seen, certainly, in my lifetime. And it’s going to be an extraordinary achievement as soon as we can get it to the president’s desk. And then departments like mine will be getting to work using those tax payer dollars well to make every day American life better.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say you’re very optimistic but we still haven’t seen expressions of support from the two senators that seem to matter most right now, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
BUTTIGIEG: Well, again, we are the closest we have ever been and the president put forward this framework having talked to them and others throughout the progressive and moderate wings of our party confident that it will pass. And this is a process that’s taken up to a year and a huge amount of consultation, listening -- I’ve seen the president paying close attention to what members across the party have to say, talking to Republicans. Remember we got a bipartisan vote for the infrastructure part of the deal.
I wouldn’t, by the way, let Republicans off the hook on voting for the family provisions too. I know they probably won’t but it’s not too late for some of them to join Democrats who are united in believing that the time has come for us to actually put our mouth -- money where our mouth is. Support American families and do it with a fairer tax code that rewards work not wealth, that asks corporations to pay their fair share, and that makes this a fairer system for everybody.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I know you’re confident but what are the consequences of failure?
BUTTIGIEG: Look, we just have to get this done. And I’m not just saying that politically. I’m saying that because, look, you -- look at climate, for example, as we prepare for the summit in Glasgow. We have a very limited number of years to cut emissions dramatically. And the president’s laid out a way to do it that’s actually going to create jobs and break that old false choice of climate versus jobs.
We have to do that. We have to deliver for families. The sense of urgency in this administration is part of how our economy has been brought back from the brink, if you think about the bold action in the American Rescue Plan. Now we need bold action to set us up for success, not just getting through the winter but getting through the next decade and beyond.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Secretary Buttigieg, thanks for your time this morning.
BUTTIGIEG: Great being with you. Thank you.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Now to Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of only ten GOP members who voted to impeach Donald Trump, one of only two serving on the January 6th committee. He announced on Friday that he would not run again next year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I cannot focus on both a re-election to Congress and a broader fight nationwide. I want to make it clear: this isn't the end of my political future, but the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANOPOULOS: And Congressman Kinzinger joins us now.
Thank you for joining us this morning, Congressman.
What is that broader fight? How are you going to take it on?
KINZINGER: Yeah, with the broader fight, you can -- in the House, as hard as you can, fight to try to tell the truth. You can fight against the cancer in the Republican Party of lies, of conspiracy, of dishonesty, and you ultimately come to the realization that basically, it's me, Liz Cheney, and a few others that are telling the truth, and there are about 190 people in the Republican Party that aren't going to say a word.
And there's a leader of the Republican caucus that is embracing Donald Trump with all he can.
So the broader fight is look -- and I started Country First, by the way, country1st.com.
And the point is, there's a lot of people that feel politically homeless, there's a lot of people that feel like something has to change in our politics, and I think it's important to jump in with both feet and see where that goes, see if there that's market out there because what's happening, we're failing the American people right now. The political system is failing and the Republicans in particular.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Just a month ago, you were confident you were going to run again. What changed? Was it the redistricting plan that was put forward by Democrats in Illinois that basically squeezed you out of your district?
KINZINGER: Yeah. It's a couple of things. It's sitting back and saying, okay, what happens if I win again? I go back, and Republicans will probably be in the majority. I’m going to be fighting even harder some of these things, and it's been obvious over the last ten months that nobody -- I haven't seen any momentum in the party move away from lies and towards truth.
And the other thing is keep in mind, George, 10 years ago, the Democrats in Illinois came after me, and turned me with an incumbent Republican and they did it again. I’m not complaining. It's redistricting. I get it. It's being done and abused everywhere.
But when Democrats do say they want, you know, Republican partners to tell the truth, and then they specifically target me, it makes you wonder.
But I’m going to stay in. I’m still in for the next 14 months, and I’m excited to continue on the January 6th Commission to give people the truth of what happened because they deserve that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: President Trump took a victory lap after your announcement. He said, two down, eight to go, referring to the 10 Republicans -- House Republicans who voted to impeach him.
You know, a month ago when Anthony Gonzalez, one of the other ten said he wasn't running again, you said that was a win for President Trump.
Did you hand him another win?
KINZINGER: You know, potentially. But I don't think it was my decision that would hand Donald Trump a win. I think it is -- it's the situation we find ourselves in.
Here's an interesting thing, like, Donald Trump -- he puts out -- you know, I think he said, two down, eight to go. That's about the only ink he gets from that. He's kind of just tweeting or press releasing from Mar-a-Lago.
But I actually think what's going on here is if he runs in 2024, he'll be the front-runner no doubt. But I think the Republican establishment now -- whether it's the NRCC, whether it's Kevin McCarthy -- have held onto Donald Trump, they have continued to breathe life into him, and so actually, it's not handing a win as much to Donald Trump as it is to the cancerous kind of lie and conspiracy not just wing anymore, but mainstream argument of the Republican Party.
This is not on, you know, the 10 of us that voted to impeach. It's not on Liz Cheney and I to save the Republican Party. It's on the 190 Republicans who haven't said a dang word about it, and they put their head in the sand and hope somebody else comes along and does something.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And that seems to be solidifying. You know, Chuck Grassley, 88 years old, senator from Iowa, is running again this year. He was quite critical of the president after the January 6th insurrection.
But here's what he said just last month in Iowa after he endorsed President Trump, and received his endorsement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): Didn’t accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91 percent of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn't be too smart. I'm smart enough to accept that endorsement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANOPOULOS: That's mainstream view.
KINZINGER: Oh, yes, I mean it's very telling. And if you're in politics, you know, solely to be in politics, and not to fight for something broader, it's a very logical position to take.
Where I'm optimistic, you know, I think we have to go through pretty low points in a country to really -- and every time in history to -- to emerge in a better way. I -- I've got to tell you, George, there have been thousands of people, tens of thousands, close to hundreds of thousands that have reached out that feel politically homeless as well, and that's what country first is about. It's not even about leaving the party, it's about saying, how do we do politics differently because this matrix of what we're convinced works. You have to be either this person. If you don't like Joe Biden you have to be for Donald Trump. My goodness, there's a vast array of options out there and whole, new ideas and solutions that we haven't even thought of yet.
I'm optimistic for the future, whether that means I'm in the House or something else or just fighting for this political cause.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Right now you're on the January 6th Committee. As you said, we just learned yesterday that President Trump -- former President Trump is trying to seal hundreds of pages of documents with executive privilege. It does appear that his strategy, the strategy of some of your House Republican colleagues, is just try to drag this out as long as possible in the hopes that Republicans will take control of Congress next year.
KINZINGER: Oh, I 100 percent think that's what it is. Look, they -- they know if they can drag this out, and if the Republicans take the majority, they will kill this committee. Look, they killed an independent commission. They've killed any attempt to get to the truth. We have sources beyond just those that are kind of making the news, the Steve Bannons, you know, the archives. We have people coming in and talking to the committee every day.
But I think if you look at that archive request and what the former president is trying to block, it is very telling when you look at things like call logs, et cetera. Take that for what it's worth, but we are going to fight as hard as we can to get that, and the president has no grounds to claim executive privilege as he is today.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Based on what you've seen, do you think there are going to be grounds to prosecute President Trump for his role in the insurrection?
KINZINGER: You know, I don't feel comfortable making that statement yet. I'll say this. We're getting a lot of information. We -- we are continuing to learn things every day, some of which gets out to the press, some that doesn't.
If the president was aware of what was going to happen, didn't do anything -- didn't lift a finger to do anything about it, that's up to the DOJ to make that decision. We can put out the facts.
But I'll say this too, just from a raw, political perspective, if you want a president that can sit around and be more interested in doing things like watching television than actually protecting the seed (ph) of the Capitol of the United States and you want to put him back as president or you want to nominate him as president, don't come asking me why the party has failed in 2025 if you do something like that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Adam Kinzinger, thanks for your time this morning.
KINZINGER: Any time.