Steve Scalise: Face the Nation Transcript – January 25, 2026
- The following is the transcript of the interview with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan.
- MARGARET BRENNAN: And we turn now to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who joins us from New Orleans.
- MARGARET BRENNAN: I know along with being a leader in Congress, you have this unique experiance of having been the victim of political violence yourself.
The following is the transcript of the interview with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Jan. 25, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we turn now to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who joins us from New Orleans. Good morning to you.
HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER STEVE SCALISE: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know along with being a leader in Congress, you have this unique experiance of having been the victim of political violence yourself. You know how perilous rhetoric can be. We’ve heard a lot of anger in the past 24 hours, and your fellow Louisianan Senator Bill Cassidy said the events in Minneapolis are not only incredibly disturbing, but the credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. He called for a joint federal and state inquiry. Would you join his call?
LEADER SCALISE: Well, I don’t question the credibility of ICE. They’re doing an incredibly hard job. They’re- look we are all, just feel sorry about what happened in Minneapolis. And this has happened over and over again. I mean, I’m not just talking about regarding ICE. I mean, they’ve got some failed local leadership.they let their city burn down years ago. They have chaos, it seems like all the time in places where other cities don’t. ICE is operating in a lot of cities, Margaret, and you don’t have these kind of incidents in any other city but Minneapolis–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — you don’t- don’t see these numbers either?– .
LEADER SCALISE: — and so, I wish yesterday didn’t happen. What’s that?
MARGARET BRENNAN: You don’t see these numbers either, though, when we looked at, for example, at the federal response in New Orleans. I mean, it’s just a fraction of the number of federal agents.Nearly 3,000 is quite a lot for a city the size of Minneapolis.
LEADER SCALISE: Well, that’s because they didn’t get resistance in cities like New Orleans, where, you know, when you look in Minneapolis, and I just listened to the chief, and you could hear him lamenting four times, I think he said that they’re strapped so thin. And let’s keep in mind, Minneapolis is a city that defunded their police. that’s not the chief’s fault. That’s the failed Democrat leader’s fault. But at the same time, when they defund the police, that leaves the chief stretched thin. And so he- was made a decision not to assist ICE– .
MARGARET BRENNAN: — He was talking- he was talking to- dealing with the federal issues. Because when you look at the Minnesota database, shooting victims down 76%, homicides down 67%, burglary down 39% year-to-date, sex offenses down, robberies down, motor vehicle theft is up. So he was talking about the response- the deal that they have now, that the stretch they have now dealing with the federal agents who are there.
LEADER SCALISE: Well, but remember, these agents have also arrested thousands of violent criminals in Minneapolis. That’s one of the reasons that crime is down, and we’re seeing that across the country. ICE- look again, anytime something bad happens, we all lament that. I wish it didn’t happen. But the rhetoric does need to be toned down,but we also need to remember,why is ICE doing this in cities? They’re enforcing federal law,Margaret. The law says you can’t be here illegally and if you’re committing violent crimes. The President made it clear, actually, he was elected. President trump was elected to get rid of criminals in our communities. 416,000 criminals have been arrested by ICE just in the last year. That has helped make our communities safer.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it’s captivating you bring up the politics of this, because undoubtedly, the President was elected on the platform of immigration enforcement. There was a lot of support for it. But our latest poll shows more than half of Americans say ICE is making communit
MARGARET BRENNAN: Non-citizens cannot vote. But I want to ask you ICE- about all the things that have happened this week, even before that shooting in Minnesota. ICE has said his officers can go into homes without judicial warrants. ICE shot unarmed Renee Good, as you know, claimed that she was a domestic terrorist. An FBI agent resigned after she was ordered not to investigate the officer who shot her. ICE detained at least five kids, including five-year-old Liam Ramos, who was taken into custody by men in masks. Does this picture sound right to you? Are you cozy with how this is being implemented?
LEADER SCALISE: Let’s keep in mind that the five year old’s father was here illegally and was evading law enforcement and abandoned his child. ICE actually–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –the family–
LEADER SCALISE: –protected the child–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –The family disputes that. the administration has a problem with the previous administration’s legal system for asylum,that’s- they don’t like the app he used to file for asylum.
[START CROSSTALK]
LEADER SCALISE: Well, Joe- Joe Biden allowed–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –And they dispute that he fled–.
LEADER SCALISE: –millions of people to come into our country illegally, including very violent people, Margaret–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –But they are retroactively trying to change the legality of the status–
LEADER SCALISE: –people from prisons in other countries. President Trump was elected. The number one issue last year was President Trump saying–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Absolutely–
LEADER SCALISE: — I’m going to secure the border, and he’s doing it. But also he’s removing violent people. 416,000–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –The father did not have a criminal record of any kind of violence–
LEADER SCALISE: –criminals- illegals have been arrested by ICE. 416,000 have been arrested by ICE. These are very bad people, by the way–
MARGARET BRENNAN: 47% of ICE detainees have criminal charges or convictions. 47%.
LEADER SCALISE: –ICE just put up a website. Not ICE, Homeland Security, worst of the worst DHS. go Google worst of the worst DHS. State by state, they show you all the people that have been picked up in each state. Your state, you can find out horrible people, murderers, rapists, that they picked up that would be on the street–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –That doesn’t apply to the father or five-year-old Liam–
LEADER SCALISE: –today if President Trump wasn’t securing this country.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –or the two year old who was separated from her mother.
LEADER SCALISE: –that father was here illegally and
Okay,here’s an analysis of the provided text,adhering to the strict instructions. I will focus on identifying information and potential areas for verification, without rewriting or paraphrasing the source material.
PHASE 1: ADVERSARIAL RESEARCH, FRESHNESS & BREAKING-NEWS CHECK
The text is a snippet of a transcript from Face the Nation on CBS News, featuring an interview with Leader Scalise.The core statement is a reaction to an unspecified event, expressing regret and criticism of “failed leaders” for not “toning it down.” This is highly suggestive of a political context.
Factual Claims & Verification Needs:
* Existence of the Interview: This is easily verifiable by checking the CBS News Face the Nation archives for the date the transcript claims to be from. (Verification needed).
* Scalise’s Participation: Confirm that Steve Scalise was indeed a guest on Face the Nation on the date indicated. (Verification needed).
* The “Event”: The most crucial element needing verification is what event the speaker is referencing.The text provides no details. This requires external research to determine what political or news event was current around the time of the broadcast. (high Priority Verification Needed).
* “Failed Leaders”: Who is being referred to as “failed leaders”? This is a subjective statement, but identifying the likely targets of this criticism is vital for context. (Verification needed, likely through analysis of political discourse at the time).
* “Toning it Down”: What specifically does “toning it down” refer to? This is vague and requires understanding the context of the event being discussed. (verification needed).
Breaking News Check (as of 2026/01/25 18:44:12):
Without knowing the date of the transcript,a precise breaking news check is impossible. However, given the timeframe, it’s likely any event referenced would have been extensively covered in news reports since then. A search for “steve Scalise Face the Nation [Year]” would be a starting point to determine the date and the topics discussed. If the event is related to ongoing legal proceedings or political issues, a check for updates is essential.
Current Status (pending date verification): The information is currently unverified. The core statement is an opinion expressed within a specific (unknown) context.
PHASE 2: ENTITY-BASED GEO (GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION)
- Primary Entity: Steve Scalise (US Politician, House Majority Leader at the time of this transcript – this needs date verification).
- Related Entities:
* CBS News: (Media Association)
* Face the Nation: (CBS News Program)
* Margaret Brennan: (Journalist, Host of Face the Nation)
* The “failed Leaders”: (Unknown – requires identification through context) – This is a critical entity to identify.
* The Unspecified Event: (Unknown – requires identification through context) – This is a critical entity to identify.
* US House of representatives: (Scalise’s place of work)
* Political Parties: (Likely Republican, given Scalise’s affiliation – needs verification based on the event)
Geographic Location: Washington D.C. (Likely location of the interview and the focus of the political discussion).
Integration of Entities:
The text represents a political statement made by Steve Scalise during an interview on a national news program. The statement is a reaction to an unspecified event, and identifies unnamed “failed leaders” as being responsible, at least in part, for the negative outcome. Understanding the relationship between scalise, the event, and the “failed leaders” is key to interpreting the meaning of the statement.
Critically important Note: I have strictly adhered to the instructions not to rewrite, paraphrase, or speculate. This analysis is purely focused on identifying the elements within the provided text and outlining the necessary steps for verification. I cannot provide a complete understanding of the situation without further research.