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 in addition to being a leader in Congress, you have this unique experience of having been the victim of political violence yourself. You know how dangerous 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 investigation. 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, in fact, 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 interesting 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 communities less safe, almost two thirds of Americans say they dislike the President’s approach to his deportation program. There is not public support for the way this policy is being implemented. Do you think there needs to be a reassessment?
LEADER SCALISE: Well, if you asked people in a poll, do you want violent criminals that are here illegally in your community? Yes or no? What do you think the answer is going to be? I will tell you, overwhelmingly, they will say, please get the violent criminals out. In fact, you’re seeing that on the ground in many, many cities where they are cooperating with ICE, where they don’t have sanctuary city policies, and where you don’t see by the way, people going in the streets breaking the law to interfere with law enforcement, which is a felony.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have been a supporter of the Second Amendment. When Secretary Noem says, “I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammo rather than a sign.” Do you believe Americans have the right to bear arms while they’re protesting?
LEADER SCALISE: Well, first of all, I’m a co-sponsor of Louisiana’s law that allows you to have a concealed carry permit. It’s worked very well there. I don’t know the state law in Minnesota. I know in a state like Louisiana, and frankly, most states, you are not allowed to carry a gun while you’re committing another crime and interfering with law enforcement is a felony. It’s something that, unfortunately, we’re seeing in a lot of cities. You even had the police chief yesterday, Chief O’Hara, that you just had on, yesterday said of the protests going on after the shooting, that they were unlawful. Yes, he actually said it was an unlawful assembly, what a lot of people are doing. And they were throwing things at ICE agents. Throwing projectiles that could harm ICE agents–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Yeah, he wasn’t talking about the victim —
LEADER SCALISE: — So, let’s tone this down. And-and leaders in Minnesota, by the way, have been ratcheting up the rhetoric. I mean, you saw the governor, Governor Walz said they’re Gestapo. He said they’re violently hurting people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m going to have to take this commercial break and let you finish the thought on the other side of it. If you could stay with us, Leader, we have more questions. We’ll be right back.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Leader, we have seen a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Governor Walz out in Minnesota, offering to end the federal surge if the state does a number of things, among them giving access to the food assistance programs and voter registration logs. What’s the purpose of that? What’s the intent?
LEADER SCALISE: Well, I haven’t read that letter between Pam Bondi and the governor, but I know that we are investigating tens of billions of dollars of potential fraud coming out of Minnesota. There have been hearings that have already been held. We have a lot of whistle blowers talking to us about major theft of taxpayer money coming out of Minnesota, and these are stealing programs from learning centers, from disabled students, programs that are being stolen, and the Governor did nothing about it. Congress is–
MARGARET BRENNAN:– But voter registration logs?–
LEADER SCALISE: — Investigating that aggressively.
MARGARET BRENNAN: As a conservative, doesn’t that make you a little uncomfortable that they’re demanding the state hand- hand over voter registration logs like, what’s the purpose of that to end ICE enforcement?
LEADER SCALISE: Well, I haven’t seen the letter. I know- I know we’re trying in Congress to deal with putting laws on the books that will make sure that we protect the integrity of the vote nationwide. States like Minnesota have had problems with voter integrity. We want a national standard, the SAVE Act, which makes sure illegals can’t vote, but also making sure you show a picture ID. Those are things we’re pushing for that’s across the board federally.
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 comfortable 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 abandoned his child–
MARGARET BRENNAN: They are not the worst of the worst, are they?
LEADER SCALISE: –Go look at the website. It shows you who they picked up–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Are they the worst of the worst, sir?
LEADER SCALISE: 416,000 people with violent criminal records. These are people- and by the way, America today has the lowest murder rate that we’ve had since 1900 in part because of President Trump’s actions to get these violent people off our streets. 416,000 have been removed. Do you want them still out on our streets?
MARGARET BRENNAN: No.
LEADER SCALISE: I don’t think most people do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: No and I don’t think–
LEADER SCALISE: –This is a hard job ICE has.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –They do, indeed–
LEADER SCALISE: And local law enforcement, local officials, the mayor, the governor, should not be encouraging people to go out on the streets and break the law by interfering with law enforcement. That’s a felony to interfere with law enforcement–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –And American citizens are concerned about American citizens being shot, and that’s why we are asking the questions–
LEADER SCALISE: Yeah, and we don’t have that chaos in other cities.
MARGARET BRENNAN: -about the tax payer funded federal–
LEADER SCALISE: –Minneapolis has its own problems–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.
LEADER SCALISE: –failed leadership that has led to a lot of this, and it’s unfortunate it happened. I wish it didn’t happen. Their failed leaders need to look in the mirror and tone it down.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I have to go next to our next guest. Leader Scalise, thank you for your time today.
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