The next is the transcript of an interview with Sens. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sept. 14, 2025.
MAJOR GARRETT: Welcome again to “Face The Nation.” For a have a look at how Congress may- could assist bridge political divisions within the nation presently, we flip to a few lawmakers with plenty of expertise in that area. Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who joins us from Wilmington, Delaware, Republican Senator James Lankford, who joins us from Oklahoma Metropolis. Gents, you’ve gotten a well-earned status, each, for preaching bipartisanship, taking the rhetorical temperature in Washington and nationwide down a notch or two. Senator Coons, I wish to begin with you. After the occasions of this week, do you are feeling that is tougher than ever to attain?
SEN. CHRIS COONS: It’s. And, Main, thanks, for an opportunity to be on with you and with my pal, Senator Lankford. The brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk, whereas he was in the midst of a debate on a school campus, goes to the very coronary heart of what it means to be American, of the significance of the First Modification, of free speech, and somebody like Charlie Kirk, who was a nationally recognized determine, who devoted himself to debate, to engagement together with his political adversaries, shouldn’t have paid together with his life for the chance to talk out. Irrespective of how a lot I would deeply disagree together with his political opinions, the concept he can be killed in such a grotesque and public manner has to carry all of us to mirror about how exhausting it is getting, as a result of the web is an accelerant. It’s driving extremism in our nation. It is driving us aside, left and proper, and leaders like Senator Lankford, Governor Cox, have an obligation and a chance to affix with leaders from my social gathering in urging of us to put aside any considered political violence and to respect one another, whilst we maintain advancing our political variations by means of discourse.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, do you ever at instances really feel as in case your appeals for higher angels, calmer rhetoric, extra bipartisanship, is shouting into an web void?
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD: It’s, as a result of the algorithm pushes folks to probably the most excessive. The algorithm is all- on social media is at all times pushing who’s the angriest, who’s the loudest, who says the craziest factor, that is what will get repeated over and time and again. So anytime that there’s cogent dialogue or a problem on one thing the place folks could disagree, however they’re having a civil dialog on it, that will get pushed apart, in the direction of somebody that is simply indignant and targeted. That is considerably human nature, to have the ability to say, we disagree. We discover areas the place we disagree, and we strive to have the ability to remedy these. One of the simplest ways to have the ability to remedy these is thru phrases, speaking it out, discovering a chance to have the ability to do it. However I’d inform you, this type of anger is as outdated as Cain and Abel. To have the ability to return and say, I am mad at you, so I will attempt to destroy you, whether or not it is destroy you on-line, or to attempt to humiliate you, or to cancel you, or to, on this case, attempt to homicide you publicly. It’s- it’s painful to have the ability to see that a part of humanity, and it’s higher for us to have the ability to push higher angels.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, first you, then Senator Coons. Senator Lankford, are you afraid in your personal safety proper now?
SEN. LANKFORD: I’m- I’m attentive to my very own safety, how about that, for myself and for my household. My workers and I’ve to- have to speak by means of every public occasion, however we have had to do this for some time. As it’s possible you’ll know nicely, there have been 14,000 threats towards members of Congress simply this calendar yr. This isn’t new, however it continues to have the ability to rise. As we have seen, Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, in their very own dwelling, have a house invasion, to be murdered of their dwelling, as we have seen a governor in Pennsylvania have his dwelling set on fireplace. It isn’t simply public occasions, it is also in our non-public areas as nicely, that we’re keenly conscious that there are folks which can be irrational, that do irrational acts.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Coons?
SEN. COONS: I agree that for all of us who serve in public life, whether or not it is main a nonprofit or a church, instructing in a faculty, or being a public advocate, somebody engaged in public debate as Charlie Kirk was, the chance is getting greater. And to have to fret in regards to the security of your individual household, in the event you step ahead to function a choose, in the event you write editorials, in the event you lead a nonprofit, or in the event you serve in Congress or run for president, to have to fret not nearly your individual bodily security, however the security of your partner and kids, I believe, weakens our capacity to have good and strong debates, to have a well-led nation, and to reveal to the world that we’re a nation dedicated to free speech, however the place we reject political violence. So in fact, anybody in public life as we speak is extra involved in regards to the tragedy in Utah, in regards to the incidents that Senator Lankford simply referenced, the try to kidnap the governor of Michigan, to assault Speaker Pelosi’s husband, the capturing of Steve Scalise and the shootings at different members of Congress. The current incidents have gotten worse and worse and I believe I do know the rationale. It is principally as a result of the web is fueling and accelerating these deep-seated inclinations in the direction of violence and seeing others as enemies that James was referencing. And there are steps we are able to and will soak up Congress to deal with that.
MAJOR GARRETT: The administration this weekend, as I am positive you two are each conscious, placing earlier than Congress $58 billion in safety for members of Congress, the judiciary and the like. Senator Coons, you consider Congress will probably be disposed to comply with that?
SEN. COONS: I hope that we are going to step up and make investments extra. I simply hosted a bipartisan occasion final week on defending state judges, and we had state judicial leaders from throughout the nation, from Delaware and Texas and lots of different states, discuss harrowing incidents and tragic killings of members of the judiciary. I hope we are going to put money into securing our public life, as a result of incidents like this tragedy in Utah, just like the homicide of Melissa and her husband Mark Hortman in Minnesota, frankly, gasoline additional anger in our nation, and the methods by which of us are then taking the horrific photographs of those incidents and propagating them on the web, provides gasoline to the fireplace. We are able to and will cross payments, as we simply did. Senator Cruz and Senator Klobuchar labored collectively to cross, and President Trump signed into legislation, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, to take away among the most dangerous pornographic, revenge porn photographs from the web. And we now have a invoice proper in entrance of us, the Youngsters On-line Security Act that is broadly bipartisan, that we should always cross to assist scale back among the dangers and harms to our households in our nation, from the web.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, I misspoke that is 58 million, not 58 billion, however it’s a considerable sum.
SEN. LANKFORD: Yeah, it’s a substantial sum. What was humorous was I used to be going to really appropriate you on that, to let you recognize it is an ‘M’, not a ‘B’ on that individual one, however it’s one thing to have the ability to put aside and say, what are we doing? It isn’t- it’s in regards to the particular person and their household, however it’s additionally in regards to the title. It is in regards to the process, as a result of that particular person represents that state, that- that a part of the nation, that individual process, my spouse and I typically discuss the truth that I’ve this title of senator for a season. Another person had it earlier than me, another person could have it after me. However whereas I’ve it, I am a steward of that process and that duty. And so after we’re speaking about defending judges and defending people, it is not simply their private security. It’s actually declaring to the nation that we consider that these duties are exhausting, that there needs to be intense debate, that we now have very completely different views. Chris Coons and I are very shut mates, however we now have very completely different concepts on some issues. However we now have the power to have the ability to signify our particular person states as a substitute of concepts, and to have the ability to speak these two issues out, and to have the ability to carry issues collectively and say, I do know areas the place we disagree, the place can we agree? How can we remedy it? That’s the place we’re at our greatest as People is to say we do not oppress one another. We strive to have the ability to discover our frequent floor and to have the ability to transfer ahead as we are able to and- however as Chris has talked about, the web youngsters security Act is a good piece of laws to have the ability to defend our youngsters. We’re seeing folks radicalize on-line, on social media and thru the web in the US, by different People and by the algorithm that is there. And I’d inform you, as just lately as simply a few weeks in the past, I used to be in a faculty in Oklahoma that now Oklahoma faculties have banned all cell telephones from bell to bell in school. You can’t have a cellular phone on your- on your- on from bell to bell on campus. And the principals and the academics all discuss how dramatically completely different the setting is on campus proper now as a result of persons are wanting up, persons are interacting. Individuals are speaking once more. They are not simply gazing their cellphone. They are not getting fed all this vitriol all day lengthy. And so it modifications the temper of all the things simply by taking a look at one another within the face and saying, let’s examine if we are able to work this out.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, I will carry up one thing that is taking part in out by means of the nation proper now, and it is making all of the stuff you and Senator Coons have talked about harder, which is individuals who have posted about Charlie Kirk have jobs and are being fired as a result of what they’ve posted on-line has been considered by their personnel administrators or leaders as inappropriate. At any governmental stage or within the non-public sector, are you snug having somebody fired for an utterance about Charlie Kirk’s demise?
SEN. LANKFORD: Yeah, that is about defending the person companies. And what persons are seeing is that this cancel tradition that also persists, that in the event you voice one thing that turns into a giant push again from the group, the employer will step up and say, hey, you are about to kill our enterprise based mostly on what you are saying on-line. Everybody has to know what they are saying privately on-line can get related to their enterprise. We’ve a veterinarian clinic in Oklahoma Metropolis proper now that one of many veterinarians posted one thing simply completely horrific about–and now we’re calling out the sick ones proper after Charlie Kirk was murdered that now there’s been huge pushback by means of that veterinary clinic, as a result of persons are saying, okay, that is the person- do I wish to do enterprise with that particular person if they’ve that perception? So that is a part of the problem that we now have with social media and with employments. Employers are going to say, do not harm our enterprise based mostly on the silly issues that you simply select to say, to have the ability to say on-line.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Coons, how about inside the federal authorities?
SEN. COONS: Effectively, the best way James put it there, I believe, is an efficient stability between it is okay to have codes of conduct to say to an worker, you should not be talking out on behalf of this firm or this division of the federal authorities, the place your position, for instance, requires that you simply be trusted and that you simply not take partisan political positions. One of many challenges of the intersection of the road between social media and one’s conduct on behalf of the federal government is that as we speak we are able to see into your inner views. But it surely’s not that new. So, we could say that you are a profession federal prosecutor otherwise you’re a choose. Traditionally, there have been clear guidelines towards participating in partisan politics when you’re performing these features. The web simply makes it simpler for folk to police and punish those that make statements which can be thought-about excessive or out of the mainstream. Cancel tradition is an actual problem to us, to balancing free speech with positions of duty, and we now have to seek out our manner by means of this collectively in a manner that provides some grace and humility whereas celebrating the free speech that’s the basis of our republic, and urging folks to suppose twice earlier than they submit issues which can be outrageous on-line.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, the nation goes to look to Congress right here within the subsequent couple of weeks to avert a authorities shutdown. Additionally presumably prolong quickly to run out Inexpensive Care Act subsidies that assist folks afford insurance coverage. On this local weather and with these eyes of the nation upon Congress, how do you count on that to play out?
SEN. LANKFORD: I count on us to have the ability to remedy the funds points, which the American folks count on to have the ability to- to do as nicely. These are exhausting points. We’re despatched to have the ability to do exhausting issues. We should always do exhausting issues on it. We should always not, before everything, have a authorities shutdown. We’ve $37 trillion in debt proper now. We should always have exhausting conversations about debt and deficit, however they should not be throughout a authorities shutdown. What we’re presently arguing proper now about is a seven-week extension on the present funds spending, to say we’re not altering something, however for the subsequent seven weeks, let’s simply maintain it till we get an extended funds settlement and might really come to settlement. What has been floated is a $300 billion requirement, by a few of my Democratic colleagues, to say, if we do not spend a further $300 billion, we’re not going to maintain the federal government open the subsequent seven weeks. That is additionally a subsidy, an insurance coverage subsidy, that was put in place throughout COVID and simply after COVID, to say, as a result of well being care points round COVID, we will prolong further insurance coverage protection that is there. COVID and the disaster of COVID has now handed on it, it is troublesome to say we should always spend a further $300 billion simply to remain open the subsequent seven weeks as a consequence of a COVID emergency at this level. So sure, we’ll have- we’ll have exhausting conversations, however let’s have it. Let’s- let’s speak it out. Let’s determine it out.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Coons, you are going to get the final phrase. Reply to Senator Lankford on that.
SEN. COONS: Effectively, that is an space the place Senator Lankford and I disagree. We’re each appropriators. We each wish to discover a method to work collectively to maintain the federal government open, however the Republican-only invoice that was handed earlier this yr, the so-called Large Lovely Invoice, threatens to boost charges for well being take care of tens of millions of People and to throw tens of millions extra off of well being care. I believe there are methods we are able to scale back the hurt to People’ healthcare by means of the appropriations course of. The invoice that we each voted for in our committee in July would restore most of the proposed deep cuts to the Nationwide Institutes of Well being for instance, one optimistic step ahead. We’ve to discover a method to resolve these points and scale back or reverse among the hurt that is being performed to People’ well being care.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat. Senator James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican. Thanks each. I admire it. And we’ll be proper again.
