The following is the transcript of an interview with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on June 1, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, that’s Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. He’s in Illinois. Good morning to you. I want to get–
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: –Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get straight to it. You heard from the Secretary of State this week that the State Department is going to work with Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields. There are like 300,000 Chinese students with visas in this country. The U.S. government already has a heightened level of vetting. What’s going to change?
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: I don’t know. There’s not enough details, but what it looks like if they’re targeting all people of Chinese origin who are on international student visas because he’s not limiting it to just people who might have ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and if they do have those ties, they don’t belong here, especially if they’re committing nefarious acts. However, this appears to be much broader and it’s terribly misguided and it appears prejudicial and discriminatory. My own father was, came here on an international student visa. And I believe that these people are vital for our economy and for entrepreneurship in this country. And I think this is going to harm America more than help.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said if someone has ties to the Chinese Communist Party they shouldn’t be here. Does that mean all the, the students who are children of leaders, for example Xi Jinping’s own daughter, shouldn’t have been allowed here?
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, if they were engaged in nefarious activities and if they are somehow deeply connected to the CCP, I think that we should be very careful. But in this particular case, they’re not only going after people who might fall in that category, but it’s anybody who is from China, including Hong Kong by the way, where people are actually persecuted for various freedoms they’re trying to exercise, and who come here seeking to exercise those freedoms. So this is a terrible, terribly misguided policy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Biden administration did conduct heightened vetting, as you know, of Chinese students. Do you think that there is a legitimate argument for expanding this, that certain areas should just be off limits?
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think that you should definitely have heightened vetting, especially in certain critical areas because we know that the CCP tries to steal, for instance, intellectual property or worse. But the way that this is currently structured looks very, very suspicious and you have to remember that the people that are cheering for this policy, what Marco Rubio had called for, is the Chinese Communist Party. Why? Because they want these people back. They want the scientists and the entrepreneurs and the engineers who can come and help their economy. And so we are probably helping them, as well as other countries, more than helping ourselves with this policy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Defense Secretary is traveling in Asia right now and he said in a defense forum speech that Beijing is quote “concretely and credibly preparing to use military force.” He said their military is rehearsing. Take a listen.
PETE HEGSETH: Any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. There’s no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: He did not say what the consequences would be. Are you encouraged by what appears to be a statement of support for allies?
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: I am. I think what he’s saying is largely correct, but I think the problem is at the same time he says that, either Donald Trump or even him or others say other things that push away our friends, partners and allies in the region and cause confusion. And so we need to be consistent and thoughtful with regard to our statements, and we need to be also very methodical about our actions in trying to curb military aggression by the Chinese Communist Party in the South China Sea and with regard to Taiwan.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Since you track U.S. intelligence, I wanted to ask you if you have any insight into what appears to be the swarm of Ukrainian drones that has destroyed 40 Russian military aircraft deep inside Russian territory overnight. Sources are telling our Jennifer Jacobs that the White House wasn’t aware that this attack was planned. What can you tell us about the level of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine right now and helping them with their targets?
REP. KRISHNAMOORTHI: I don’t want to get into classified information, but what I can say is that it’s a little bit more strained in light of what Donald Trump has said recently. The one thing that I can also say is that Trump was right the other day to say that Putin is crazy in the way that he’s going after civilian areas in Ukraine repeatedly, and so the Ukrainians are striking back. At the end of the day, the only way that we can bring these hostilities to an end is by strengthening the hand of the Ukrainians. Trump should, at this point, realize that Putin is playing him and aid the Ukrainians in their battlefield efforts. That’s the best way to get to some type of armistice or truce at the negotiating table sooner rather than later.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Congressman Krishnamoorthi thank you for your insights today.
