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 take a look at how Congress may- might assist bridge political divisions within the nation presently, we flip to a few lawmakers with numerous expertise in that house. Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who joins us from Wilmington, Delaware, Republican Senator James Lankford, who joins us from Oklahoma Metropolis. Gents, you’ve a well-earned repute, each, for preaching bipartisanship, taking the rhetorical temperature in Washington and nationwide down a notch or two. Senator Coons, I need to begin with you. After the occasions of this week, do you are feeling that is more durable than ever to attain?
SEN. CHRIS COONS: It’s. And, Main, thanks, for an opportunity to be on with you and with my good friend, Senator Lankford. The brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk, whereas he was in the course of a debate on a university 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 identified determine, who devoted himself to debate, to engagement together with his political adversaries, mustn’t have paid together with his life for the chance to talk out. Regardless of how a lot I would deeply disagree together with his political beliefs, the concept he could be killed in such a grotesque and public means has to deliver all of us to replicate about how onerous 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 possibility to affix with leaders from my celebration in urging of us to put aside any considered political violence and to respect one another, at the same time as we preserve advancing our political variations via 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 over and over. So anytime that there’s cogent dialogue or a problem on one thing the place folks might disagree, however they’re having a civil dialog on it, that will get pushed apart, in the direction of somebody that is simply offended and centered. 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 resolve these. One of the best ways to have the ability to resolve these is thru phrases, speaking it out, discovering a possibility to have the ability to do it. However I’d inform you, this type of anger is as previous 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 to 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 employees and I’ve to- have to speak via every public occasion, however we have had to try this for some time. As chances are you’ll know effectively, there have been 14,000 threats in opposition to members of Congress simply this calendar 12 months. 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 hearth. It isn’t simply public occasions, it is also in our personal areas as effectively, 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 danger is getting greater. And to have to fret in regards to the security of your personal household, if you happen to step ahead to function a choose, if you happen to write editorials, if you happen to lead a nonprofit, or if you happen to serve in Congress or run for president, to have to fret not nearly your personal bodily security, however the security of your partner and youngsters, 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 after all, anybody in public life immediately 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 absorb Congress to handle that.
MAJOR GARRETT: The administration this weekend, as I am certain 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 might be disposed to comply with that?
SEN. COONS: I hope that we’ll 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 plenty of different states, discuss harrowing incidents and tragic killings of members of the judiciary. I hope we are going to spend money on 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, gas additional anger in our nation, and the methods during which of us are then taking the horrific photographs of those incidents and propagating them on the web, provides gas to the hearth. We will and will cross payments, as we simply did. Senator Cruz and Senator Klobuchar labored collectively to cross, and President Trump signed into regulation, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, to take away among the most dangerous pornographic, revenge porn photographs from the web. And we’ve got a invoice proper in entrance of us, the Children On-line Security Act that is broadly bipartisan, that we should always cross to assist cut 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 right you on that, to let 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 individual and their household, however it’s additionally in regards to the title. It is in regards to the process, as a result of that individual 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 once we’re speaking about defending judges and defending people, it isn’t simply their private security. It’s actually declaring to the nation that we consider that these duties are onerous, that there needs to be intense debate, that we’ve got very totally different views. Chris Coons and I are very shut associates, however we’ve got very totally different concepts on some issues. However we’ve got the flexibility to have the ability to signify our particular person states as a substitute of concepts, and to have the ability to discuss these two issues out, and to have the ability to deliver issues collectively and say, I do know areas the place we disagree, the place will we agree? How can we resolve it? That’s the place we’re at our greatest as Individuals 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 superb piece of laws to have the ability to shield our children. We’re seeing folks radicalize on-line, on social media and thru the web in america, by different Individuals and by the algorithm that is there. And I’d inform you, as not too long ago as simply a few weeks in the past, I used to be in a faculty in Oklahoma that now Oklahoma colleges have banned all cell telephones from bell to bell at college. You can not 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 totally different the setting is on campus proper now as a result of persons are trying up, persons are interacting. Individuals are speaking once more. They are not simply observing their telephone. They are not getting fed all this vitriol all day lengthy. And so it modifications the temper of every part simply by one another within the face and saying, let’s examine if we are able to work this out.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Lankford, I will deliver up one thing that is taking part in out via the nation proper now, and it is making all of the stuff you and Senator Coons have talked about tougher, 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 degree or within the personal sector, are you snug having somebody fired for an utterance about Charlie Kirk’s loss of life?
SEN. LANKFORD: Yeah, that is about defending the person companies. And what persons are seeing is that this cancel tradition that also persists, that if you happen to voice one thing that turns into an enormous push again from the neighborhood, the employer will step up and say, hey, you are about to kill our enterprise primarily based 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 now have 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 via that veterinary clinic, as a result of persons are saying, okay, that is the person- do I need to do enterprise with that individual if they’ve that perception? So that is a part of the problem that we’ve got with social media and with employments. Employers are going to say, do not damage our enterprise primarily based on the silly issues that you simply select to say, to have the ability to say on-line.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Coons, how about throughout the federal authorities?
SEN. COONS: Nicely, the way in which James put it there, I believe, is an effective steadiness 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 immediately we are able to see into your inner views. However it’s not that new. So, lets say that you are a profession federal prosecutor otherwise you’re a choose. Traditionally, there have been clear guidelines in opposition to 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’ve got to seek out our means via this collectively in a means that provides some grace and humility whereas celebrating the free speech that’s the basis of our republic, and urging folks to assume twice earlier than they put up 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 probably lengthen 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 resolve the funds points, which the American folks count on to have the option to- to do as effectively. These are onerous points. We’re despatched to have the ability to do onerous issues. We must always do onerous issues on it. We must always not, initially, have a authorities shutdown. We now have $37 trillion in debt proper now. We must always have onerous 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 following 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 following seven weeks. That is additionally a subsidy, an insurance coverage subsidy, that was put in place throughout COVID and simply after COVID, to say, because of the well being care points round COVID, we will lengthen extra insurance coverage protection that is there. COVID and the disaster of COVID has now handed on it, it is tough to say we should always spend a further $300 billion simply to remain open the following seven weeks because of a COVID emergency at this level. So sure, we’ll have- we’ll have onerous conversations, however let’s have it. Let’s- let’s discuss 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: Nicely, that is an space the place Senator Lankford and I disagree. We’re each appropriators. We each need to discover a strategy to work collectively to maintain the federal government open, however the Republican-only invoice that was handed earlier this 12 months, the so-called Massive Lovely Invoice, threatens to lift charges for well being look after hundreds of thousands of Individuals and to throw hundreds of thousands extra off of well being care. I believe there are methods we are able to cut back the hurt to Individuals’ healthcare via the appropriations course of. The invoice that we each voted for in our committee in July would restore lots of the proposed deep cuts to the Nationwide Institutes of Well being for instance, one constructive step ahead. We now have to discover a strategy to resolve these points and cut back or reverse among the hurt that is being completed to Individuals’ well being care.
MAJOR GARRETT: Senator Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat. Senator James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican. Thanks each. I recognize it. And we’ll be proper again.
