Transcript: Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," June 15, 2025

The following is the transcript of an interview with Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 15, 2025.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're now joined by two senators in a rare, bipartisan interview: Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal. They're co-sponsors on legislation to put secondary sanctions on Russia. Good morning to you both.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning.

SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get to that conflict in a moment, but starting here on the Middle East, Senator Graham, you said you believe it's "in America's interest to go all in to help Israel finish the job." It sounds like you mean offensive support.

SEN. GRAHAM: So, the worst possible outcome for the world is for the Iranian nuclear program to survive after all this. How do you destroy their program? Through diplomacy, I prefer that, or through military action. If diplomacy is not successful, and we left with the option of force, I would urge President Trump to go all in to make sure that when this operation is over, there's nothing left standing in Iran regarding their nuclear program. If that means providing bombs, provide bombs. If that means flying --

MARGARET BRENNAN: Bunker-busting bombs?

SEN. GRAHAM: Whatever bombs. If it means flying with Israel, fly with Israel. The worst possible outcome for the world is to take the Iranian nuclear program on and leave it standing. That will be a disaster.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Blumenthal, what's your view? How involved should the US get?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: Let's begin with the basic proposition that ought to motivate American policy as well as the world. A nuclear-armed Iran is a unacceptable threat to the world, not just to Israel, but to the United States as well. And I support Israel's right to defend itself against this existential menace. I'm very concerned right now about United States personnel in the region, our servicemen and women, but also the civilians that are there. I'm getting phone calls from families in Connecticut who are deeply worried about their children who were there, about the hostage families. I support the President's effort to prioritize diplomacy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let's talk more about this after the commercial break. So please stay here with us, and we'll be right back.

((COMMERCIAL BREAK))

MARGARET BRENNAN: And welcome back to Face the Nation. We return now to our conversation with Senators Graham and Blumenthal. Senator Blumenthal, before we get to Ukraine, I just want to tie up the Middle East here. You know, the defense secretary was testifying to Congress this week, and he said he's moved equipment meant to counter drones in Ukraine over to the Middle East now, because of this escalation. What more is needed to protect U.S. personnel?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: We need to move assets, and we've done so. Not only to protect U.S. personnel, but also to enable Israel to defend itself against Iran's retaliation. But I think that the President is right to try to bring the two sides together. There is a deal that's possible here, if Iran were to abandon its effort to build nuclear bombs that endanger not only Israel, but the entire regional stability, because all the other Arab nations are going to have nuclear weapons if Iran does as well. But Americans have no interest in a Forever War. And so, I think we need to be mindful about the priority of diplomacy here and bring the two sides together as well as protecting U.S. personnel.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Graham, the thing with diplomacy is that the Israeli Prime Minister is calling for the Iranian people to rise up against the regime, a regime he says is calling for the destruction of his state. It doesn't really seem like there's a compromise there if it's truly this existential. Is this just leading us towards the outcome, you say, which is the United States getting involved in military conflict?

SEN. GRAHAM: Well, I would love for the regime to fall. If you don't- if you want this regime to stay in power, you're wanting people to oppress the Iranian people. You want people to threaten their neighbors, to- to be the largest states- who wants the largest state sponsor of terrorism to stay in place? But, regime change is not the policy of the United States. It is not the purpose of this attack, yet. But if there is one attack on an American anywhere in the Mideast by Iran, then you'll get regime change. So, what are we dealing with? We're dealing with a non-negotiable part of the deal. They can't have a nuclear program that can make a bomb. Diplomacy is preferred, as Dick says, but force may be the only option. And I've said as clearly as I can say, if diplomacy fails, Mr. President- President Trump, you've been great, help Israel finish the job. Give them bombs, fly with them if necessary. I cannot stress to you how, if you want to get Russia right, you want to make China be better. You want to convince international terrorism we mean business, you've got to finish the job with Iran.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we'll see if there's any willingness to negotiate. So far, we haven't seen much.

SEN. GRAHAM: That's a big mistake on Iran's part. It's not on President Trump's- if we don't have negotiations, it's not because of Trump. It's because of the Ayatollah.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Or- I mean, you can't necessarily bomb someone into concessions that they were not willing to make, right?

SEN. GRAHAM: I don't think they had any desire to make concessions.

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: If Iran miscalculates now, it will face the consequences. But there is a road to a deal. President Obama reached a deal. Far from perfect. President Trump ripped it up. If it were in effect, maybe, we could have stopped the Iran nuclear buildup, which has occurred. They're close to 10 bombs now. But, there is the possibility of diplomacy. In the meantime, the United States ought to provide the means for Israel to defend against this Iranian retaliation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Just to clarify, when you say close to 10 bombs, you mean they would have enough nuclear fuel. But, as far as we know, from the US assessment, they hadn't made the political decision to turn that into a weapon. We didn't hear that from the Senate Intel chair when I asked that.

SEN. GRAHAM: What purpose is there for enriched uranium at 60% other than making a weapon? Why do you have 900 pounds of this stuff if you don't want to make a weapon?

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, the- the assessment was, they wanted the leverage, right?

SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, right. Whatever.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I wanted to ask you about the bipartisan work you are both doing, if I can. By the way –

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: Finally.

MARGARET BRENNAN: – Iran and Russia --

SEN. GRAHAM: --We're bipartisan on this.

((CROSSTALK))

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: And, you know, if I could just add one more point about Iran?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: Because we're going to talk about Russian sanctions, I think we ought to strengthen sanctions against Iran. Which is a non-kinetic, a peaceful means of exerting pressure. I'm hoping that perhaps Senator Graham will --

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: I'll be your wingman. We'll write the bill right here on television. China, if you're listening, stop buying Russian oil, and stop helping the Iranians. You make the world a safer place if you would stop

MARGARET BRENNAN: They buy it because it's cheap, though. Yeah, they --

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: They should pay a price for propping up Putin's war machine. We should crush their economy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so tell me about that. So, with the sanctions bill that you all are working on, you have a veto-proof majority. You just need the Senate leader to put it to a floor vote, and you need the President to tell him "go". What are you waiting for?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: I think the president should call on the Senate to vote approval of the Russian sanctions bill literally tomorrow. He's on his way tonight to the G7 meeting. He will be sitting across from world leaders. Right now, very bluntly, the perception may be one of weakness in terms of America's position on Ukraine. He can be there in a position of strength. This bill will pass overwhelmingly. Has 84 evenly divided co-sponsors. It will get 90 votes on the floor of the Senate. This moment cries out for presidential leadership. There is an urgency here. We've seen the neighborhoods decimated, people killed in their sleep, women and children shot in the back of their heads and buried in mass graves in Bucha, children who are kidnapped and re-educated, 20,000 of them, behind Russian lines. These atrocities are ongoing, and the people of Ukraine are bleeding and dying. So I am hoping that the President will affirmatively show leadership here and call on the Senate to vote. The majority leader could do it tomorrow--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Yeah.

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: We have some technical issues to work out, but I really think the moment has come for President Trump to call on the Senate.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Graham, President Trump tweeted yesterday that he did speak to Vladimir Putin who called very nicely to wish me a happy birthday and talk about Iran. He said they're going to speak again this week. President Trump has put sanctions on Iran while talking to Iran. Why won't he put sanctions on Russia while talking to Russia?

SEN. GRAHAM: We have sanctions on Russia. He provided--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Not new Trump sanctions. You know that.--

SEN. GRAHAM: --Just. So I find it odd. So my Democratic friends are holding him back when it comes to Iran. We really appreciate you trying to do diplomacy. What am I saying? Do diplomacy with Iran until it doesn't work. What am I saying with Russia? I don't mind you, I don't care if you go on vacation with Putin. I don't care how it ends, I want the war to end so we don't start new wars. I want Ukraine surviving when the war ends. I want Putin not to be overly rewarded for the invasion. To China, if you stop buying Russian oil cheap and India, the war machine would grind to a halt. President Trump has tried diplomacy. And I will say this, I talked to him last night, you've made very sincere efforts to get Putin to the table. I think he's playing a game with you and the entire world. It is now time to change the game with Putin. I talked to President Trump last night. Stay tuned. If we do not have a breakthrough soon, I would expect that these sanctions will move through the Senate and the House. And to China, if you want your economy ruined, keep buying Russian cheap oil. If you want to be a new nation in the eyes of the civilized world, change your behavior regarding Putin and the Ayatollah. Until you change your behavior, you're going to be seen as a problem, not a solution. So these sanctions are coming if Putin doesn't change. And to my good friend, Dick, you've been a great ally. If we can't get the Ayatollah back to the table, it is now time to end his nuclear program using military force jointly with Israel if we have to. If we get Iran wrong, good luck with Russia.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Blumenthal, the bill that you put forward will put a 500% tariff, as I understand it, on imported goods from countries that buy Russia's oil, their uranium, their gas, other products. It'd hit China, it'd hit India. U.S. is also trying to negotiate trade deals with them. Is that getting in the way?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: I think there is really no obstacle to our moving ahead with these bone crushing sanctions--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Even if oil prices spike because of what's happening in the Middle East?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: You know we are now energy independent when it comes to oil, the United States. Europe has weaned itself off Russian oil. We visited with President Macron. We've talked to Chancellor Mertz. Europe is solidly behind these sanctions, and we've incorporated flexibility in this bill, based on our national security, for a potential waiver where our interests are concerned unforeseeably or unknowably right now. We've incorporated exemptions for our European allies who are aiding Ukraine in the billions of dollars, giving them a little bit more time to adjust. This is a carefully constructed bill--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --They get 20% of their gas from Russia.

SEN. GRAHAM: What he says, there's three categories. If you're not doing business with Russia, you don't have anything to worry about. If you're doing business with Russia, but you're helping Ukraine you have a carve out for 270 days. If you're doing business with Russia and not helping Ukraine, you're screwed. The president can waive part of all of this based on our national interest, but to the people who wonder should we pay a price for our freedom? We have in the past. Go to Arlington. Oil prices will go up if we confront Russia through our bill. Oil prices will go up if we try to confront Iran for their nuclear ambitions. But you pay now or you pay later. If we get Iran right and we get peace with Russia, Ukraine, not only do oil prices come down, the world will be better off. So this idea of having freedom and not sacrificing never existed nor does it exist now.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, I want to ask you as well about what's happening here at home, with the protests we have seen around the country, and some of them, at times, turning violent. There has been criticism of Democrats policies on immigration. Do you think that this confrontation that we are seeing now between military forces, federalized, and protesters is partly because of what Democrats have done to date?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: The use of military, whether it's the National Guard or the Marines, can be inflammatory and provocative. We had protests across the country yesterday that were entirely peaceful. I was at a number of them in Connecticut, in Hartford and Farmington and elsewhere, all around the country. I think this country knows how to do peaceful protest, and the exceptions ought to be handled by the local police and prosecutors locally. I spent most of my life in law enforcement before I had this job. I was the chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut, then I was attorney general for 20 years, and the reliance on state and local police, I think, is well founded. And I've supported, in fact, I've introduced a bill that would limit use of the Insurrection Act, would define better what is a rebellion and compel the president to come back to Congress for approval if he uses this kind of federal force. So I think that there are criticisms to be made of immigration policies. In fact, I favor comprehensive immigration reform. We need it, but that is separate--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --But you would call local law enforcement to perhaps stand up more and deal with it at the local level?

SEN. BLUMENTHAL: It's the local level where law enforcement happens in this country. We rely on state and local police, and that ought to be the way we enforce our laws in this country and emphasize the importance of peaceful protests, such as we saw yesterday around the country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, senators, thank you for joining us for a bipartisan interview. Rare as we said, we'll be back.