GOP Rep. Gallagher discusses government funding debate and competition with China

Geoff Bennett:

As President Biden prepared for his meeting with Chinese President Xi in San Francisco, lawmakers in Washington were sorting out a plan to prevent a government shutdown.

The House passed its temporary funding bill last night, with Republicans divided and Democrats mostly in favor.

Here to discuss both issues is Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin. He's also the — of the Select Committee on China.

Welcome back to the "NewsHour."

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI):

Great to be with you.

Geoff Bennett:

I first want to ask you about this funding bill.

You voted for the short-term government funding bill back in September, but voted against the one yesterday. Why?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

It's hard to see how anything changes with another short-term funding bill. Prior to the other one, I'd never voted for a clean C.R.

And now here we did waste a month deposing Speaker McCarthy, having this internal battle, and yet we're exactly where we were at the start of that process. And I'm increasingly concerned that we are going to sleepwalk our way into a defense sequester, because, of course, according to the terms of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, if we don't pass appropriations bills, we're going to trigger a 1 percent across-the-board cut next year.

And at a time of growing geopolitical crisis in Europe, in the Middle East, and of course, the Indo-Pacific, a defense sequester would be about the stupidest thing we could do. So that is my concern.

Geoff Bennett:

Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to rely on Democratic votes to get this bill through the House using the same maneuver that Kevin McCarthy used before that group of House Republicans decided to topple him.

Will Johnson meet the same fate, or will Republicans give him more room to maneuver?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

I think he will have more room to maneuver. He sort of has a honeymoon period.

But to the point of your question, it is fitting that the C.R. ends on Groundhog Day, because it is Groundhog Day in the House of Representatives. The only path forward, as I see it, is, we should pass a clean non-offset Israel bill. Therefore, we can start a process of one track of negotiations over Israel, Taiwan, and defense appropriations, a separate track pairing Ukraine and border, and force both parties to compromise on that issue.

It's going to require compromise. And then the speaker should commit to a series of robust reforms to the entire budgeting process, which is broken and which is why we are in this situation. And until you fix that, we're going to wind up with an endless series of repeating C.R.s.

And, by the way, we should pass the bipartisan, bicameral Ending Government Shutdown Act, so we don't do this shutdown politics and constantly live under the threat of a shutdown.

Geoff Bennett:

Republicans right now are increasingly positioning aid for Israel and Ukraine as an either/or proposition. Why is that?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

Well, I don't think it is an either/or proposition.

I think we are the world's sole superpower and we can afford and must do both. I think what Ukraine has revealed since deterrence collapse in Ukraine is that our entire munitions industrial base is insufficient.

So we have here an opportunity to make a once-in-a-lifetime, a generational investment in our munitions industrial base and build weapons systems, long-range precision fires, that are not only critical for Ukraine, for Israel, but are critical for our most important national security challenge, which is China's threat to Taiwan.

That's what we have to do. That's why it's not an either/or. And, certainly, the enemies we have arrayed against us, this sort of anti-American alliance led by China, are increasingly working together. It's China, Russia and Iran dedicating themselves to undermining American leadership.

So, for us to sort of segment these problems, I think this is the global picture.

Geoff Bennett:

Is that an argument that could hold sway among the Republicans, who are increasingly skeptical of providing funding to Ukraine?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

Well, I think if we required as part of the Ukraine funding a couple of things, one, the administration to come to us with a plan or a classified expression of what the end state is in Ukraine,combined with, two, robust inspector general oversight provisions, I think that would go a long way towards alleviating those concerns.

But, again, the reason I advocate for pairing targeted clinical lethal Ukraine funding to border policy changes is that that requires both parties to compromise, and those Democrats who may be skeptical of any tougher border policy in order to support further funding for Ukraine would have to come to the table.

And that strikes me as a sensible thing to do, particularly as we have divided government.

Geoff Bennett:

As we mentioned, you lead the Select Committee on China. The White House says President Biden wants to leave his meeting with China's Xi Jinping today with the U.S. relationship with China on firmer footing.

In your view, how should the administration navigate this relationship with the focus on problem-solving over provocation?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

I think the important thing to do is not to slow defensive action just to sit down at the table with Xi Jinping or other high-level CCP officials, because, time and again, we pay a price just to get to the table, the CCP makes a promise at the table, and then it reneges on that promise later.

Put differently, we pay up front in cash, but, for the Chinese Communist Party, the check is always in the mail. And this meeting itself has come at a cost. We haven't sanctioned a single PRC official over the last two years for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, for its takeover of Hong Kong. We obviously haven't had a meaningful investigation into the origins of COVID.

The spy balloon incident was downplayed. So there has been a revival of diplomatic and economic engagement with China that has come at a cost. And, in response, China has actually grown more aggressive. You see right now an unprecedented tempo of pressure being applied from the mainland against Taiwan.

And so I hope, if nothing else, President Biden will communicate in strong and clear and no uncertain terms that this threat to Taiwan needs to cease.

Geoff Bennett:

A question about that.

I mean, how should the U.S. approach countering China's influence, treating China like a geopolitical foe, on the one hand, while working with China to solve major challenges like climate change, like the problems posed by artificial intelligence, trying to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl into the U.S.?

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

The most important form of communication to the Chinese Communist Party, far more important than anything Biden says in San Francisco right now, is actually that we surge hard power west of the international date line to the Indo-Pacific to make it impossible for Xi Jinping to conquer Taiwan militarily.

That is the language, the language of hard power, that dictators like Xi Jinping understand. We also need to make sure that we don't mirror-image our own Western values onto this regime. And in the past, people who have made an argument for cooperation with China have cited not only climate change, but also stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as public health and pandemic prevention, as areas where interests align.

But the pandemic, the increased threats from the North Korean regime, and certainly the fact that China is the worst environmental actor in the world, I think, undermine this argument that somehow our interests align or that Xi Jinping cares about commitments made at COP 27. I can assure you, he does not.

Geoff Bennett:

Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, thanks for your time this evening. We appreciate your insights.

Rep. Mike Gallagher:

Thank you, sir.