TRANSCRIPT

                         April 17, 2025

                          NEWS PROGRAM

                                

                    REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI)

                                

                                

                                

           CNN INTERVIEW WITH REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI)

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     CNN INTERVIEW WITH REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI)

     APRIL 17, 2025

     SPEAKERS:
     REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI)

     PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Let's get back to the breaking news, President Trump's new attack on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump is now calling for his termination one day after Powell warned that the president's tariffs could do long-term damage to the economy.

I want to discuss with Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan. She is the House Republican Conference chair.

Congresswoman, nice to have you on.

Do you think the president has the authority to fire the Fed chair?

REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI): That -- I don't want to get ahead of the president. I wish that the president and the Fed chair would come together.

I mean, his term is up, I believe, in May. And I think this is just another example of we have got to work together. President Trump has an agenda, a long-term agenda. And that agenda is to put America back on a level playing field. And I think all parties need to get together and come together to make sure that we're all singing from the same hymnal to get America back on track.

BROWN: Right. I believe -- and my producer will correct me if I'm wrong -- it's May 2026. But you're right. It is May of next year, I believe.

MCCLAIN: Yes.

BROWN: You said this morning on FOX. I was watching the interview, that you said, look, I am not for raising taxes on Americans.

But I'm sure you know several economists say that President Trump's tariffs are ultimately a tax on consumers. I want you to listen to Chairman Powell's stark warning about the president's tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation. The inflationary effects could also be more persistent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Does that give you any pause about whether these tariffs are worth it?

MCCLAIN: No, it doesn't, because I think the operative word that Chairman Powell used there was temporary.

And that's just one lens that you're looking at. You either look at the short term or you look at the long term. Listen, we have a lot of mess to clean up from the last four years. I know you may disagree with me, but we need to get America back on a level playing field.

That is not going to take the status quo of do what you have always done and expect a different result. We are trying and President Trump is trying to make transformational, major change. And what I tell everybody is, we may, may temporarily experience some short-term discomfort.

What I mean by that is, I give you this example. If I want to get healthy and I want to get in shape, the first time I get on the treadmill, it's going to be a little uncomfortable and I'm going to be sore the next day or two. But, long term, I will be healthier.

And I think that's exactly what President Trump is trying to do. And I think the other lens that you need to look at -- and I'm sorry I'm giving you a long answer, but I think this is a different lens that we need to look at. There is a lens of job creation.

Michigan ranks number three behind California and New York in manufacturing jobs lost. We need to bring manufacturing and jobs back to America, and specifically back to our state. And that's one of the tools that tariffs will do.

Look at the $5 trillion of investment that we're already getting that will create more jobs...

BROWN: Right.

MCCLAIN: ... that will get more people working, et cetera, et cetera.

BROWN: So -- and I wanted to give you the time to give your response and make your case, but just to follow up on the jobs aspect alone -- and I understand you got to look at this holistically, but even right now in the U.S., there are 480,000 manufacturing jobs open, and there aren't enough people to fill these jobs.

And one of the reasons is that they don't have the skills to fill these jobs. So, how does that square with these tariffs and the underpinning of these tariffs to bring jobs back to the U.S., when you can't already -- you can't fill the jobs that are already here in manufacturing?

MCCLAIN: Well, I think you bring up a very good point. And that's why we're trying and President Trump is trying to revamp the education system, because we need to focus on more skilled trades.

Not everybody needs a four-year college degree. We have to incentivize maybe through Pell Grants or different types of grants, instead of just the four-year college degree. We have to reengage and revamp the education system to get more skilled trades jobs.

I think we can do that in tandem, and we can work hand in hand to do that, again, for the long term. Second piece to that is, I think we have to look at the different types of jobs, the A.I. jobs, the technical jobs, and begin to backfill those jobs as well.

Listen, I am very bullish on what the president is doing is trying to create more jobs and put America first. I'm extremely bullish on these policies.

BROWN: Right.

Just to follow up with you, you said there could be short-term pain here; 41 percent of businesses say they're going to have to downsize their work force. And I'm just wondering -- because of A.I., to be specific on that

I'm just wondering, how long are you willing to wait? How much grace are you willing to give? I mean, if prices rise and this really does make it harder for your constituents to buy groceries, for example, and other items, how long of a period are you going to get grace to? And are you concerned it could hurt Republicans in the midterms?

MCCLAIN: Again, to make transformational change, it's going to take some time. I wish I had a magic crystal ball and say X-time.

But look at groceries, the price of groceries. Even eggs are coming down, right? Inflation is down. Gas is down. So it depends on what lens you're looking at the situation from. And I think, if you look, countries are already coming to the table.

I think over 70 countries have come to the table saying, hey, look, we want to renegotiate our relationship with America. We understand -- they may not like it, because they have been able to take advantage of us for so long, but they understand we need to rebalance the scales. And they're willing to do that.

I think that is positive outlook.

BROWN: All right, Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan, we really appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspective. Thank you so much.

MCCLAIN: Thanks for having me. Enjoy the day.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you too.

END