June 21, 2026 / 12:27 PM EDT
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The following is the transcript of the interview with Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 21, 2026.MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We go now to Colorado Democratic Congressman Jason Crow. Happy Father's Day to you.REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW (D-CO): Thanks, Margaret.MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, you're on Armed Services and you're on the Intelligence Committee, so I want to get to some of your responsibilities here, particularly on the Intel front. We were just speaking with Senator Graham about what's happening at the top of the Office of National Intelligence and the lapse of the surveillance authority. Right now, Bill Pulte is the acting Director of National Intelligence. He is someone who has been accused of using mortgage information to go after the president's political enemies. I know that's under investigation currently by the GAO, but the fact that he's in the role right now, what harm can be done, if any? And do Democrats have any power to stop that? REP. CROW: Well, I'm obviously concerned that this is somebody who's a political attack dog, and his single biggest qualification is that he's loyal to Donald Trump and is willing to go after Donald Trump's enemies. But my more immediate concern is the fact that this is a really important position. This sits atop our intelligence agencies. And by law Congress mandated this person have significant intelligence experience because they have to make sure that we're keeping Americans safe, which is not what Bill Pulte is capable of doing. So, I'm just more worried day to day that Americans are at risk because we have someone who's incompetent at the head of this agency.MARGARET BRENNAN: But will Democrats actually still reauthorize FISA. You heard Senator Graham again link the two issues here and said that's really the bigger risk, the lapse of this key surveillance authority. I know when this was up for a vote in front of the House, you were proud of having voted against reauthoriza- reauthorization of this surveillance tool. Do you think your party miscalculated here?REP. CROW: Yeah, no, not at all. I mean, I've always voted for FISA before. I'm on the intelligence committee, I know how important it is, but I'm unwilling to trade Americans' constitutional rights, privacy, and essential civil liberties for temporary extension to this program. I'm just unwilling to do it. Right, that's what this administration is asking us to do. They say, give up your constitutional rights, give up Americans' rights and privacy, and we'll just make sure we keep you protected. I mean, that's what autocracies say. I'm not going to do that. I'm willing to have a discussion about what checks we need to put in place. A short-term extension, I'm not going to give them a three-year runway on this program. What about this administration would give us confidence that they're going to follow the law? Short term extensions, then we can talk.
