The following is the transcript of an interview with Rep. John James, Republican of Michigan, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 2, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re going to turn now to Michigan Congressman John James. Good morning to you, Congressman.
REP. JOHN JAMES: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what’s happening in your state with the economy and tariffs, but just staying on the theme for a moment, I know you have a lot of Ukrainian-Americans in your district. You voted in support of last year’s Ukraine supplemental. Are you comfortable with the Trump administration’s decision to stop recognizing that Russia started the war in Ukraine?
REP. JOHN JAMES: Russia is the aggressor. Putin is a war criminal, and Volodymyr Zelensky also fumbled the bag pretty hard. All those things can be true at the exact same time. We absolutely must stand by our allies with the exact same time. We also need to make sure that we are giving transparency and accountability to the American people. Under the Biden administration, billions of dollars were given away with very little accountability and no mission, no end state. I’m a combat veteran, and my soldiers expected from me that I would be able to articulate objectives, a mission and an end state. And the commander-in-chief, last time, couldn’t do that. President Trump is doing everything that he can to get a lasting peace, an enduring peace in Eastern Europe and throughout the world. He’s already ended one war in the Middle East. I think we should give him a chance to end one in Europe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I think there’s developments on the Mideast front that throw that into question, but we’ll keep tracking that. Let me ask you about tariffs and Michigan, because you are really in a unique spot in the middle of the auto state. This Tuesday, expect tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. That’s what the President said. On March 12, 25% tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum. No exceptions for trading partners. Auto tariffs in April. What is your district bracing for?
REP. JOHN JAMES: Look, America is open for business, but we are not for sale. Michigan remembers what NAFTA did to us. And over the past 30 years, Mexico has built 11 major automotive plants to only one in the United States. Michigan remembers 900,000 automotive jobs over back in the 90s to 600,000 now. That’s over 30- 300,000 lost manufacturing jobs in the automotive sector. Michigan remembers the Great Recession, where 50% of all the jobs lost in all of America were lost in Michigan alone. And Michigan remembers the harmful EV mandates that have forced compliance rather than actually allowing a regulatory environment that permits innovation. We’ve lost jobs to Mexico and China. Right now, in my district, as you mentioned, the number one manufacturing district in all the nation, overflow production is not going to Sterling Heights. It’s going to Saltillo, Mexico. When you look at the opportunities that are missing us, when you look at the fact that Michigan is seeing as opportunities pass by, enough is enough. Margaret the status quo is not good enough for Americans, which is why Donald Trump got elected–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Understood.—
REP. JOHN JAMES: — he’s putting Americans first. And frankly, even our allies have not been playing a fair game. Look free trade is the objective–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Okay, I’m asking about the specifics….
REP. JAMES: — but fair trade- right- okay, go ahead–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — The specific tactic here, because you brought up Sterling Heights. The Republican mayor of Sterling Heights, Michael Taylor, your district, says the President’s tariffs are the, “single biggest threat to our local economy.” He’s expecting it to be devastating and staggering. This is a Republican saying this about the impact on your district. What’s he missing?
REP. JOHN JAMES: The- what’s devastating and staggering is the fact of the matter that we have been taken advantage of for decades. The president’s, under his original tax plan, lowered corporate tax rates from 35 to 21%. He’s offering lower tax rates to 15% for those who build in the United States of America. We’re also looking at energy independence. We’re also looking at lowering the regulatory burdens for folks to succeed and excel. But what Democrats are doing is they’re going to actually make it more difficult when they vote against this- these tax reforms for small businesses to excel, for entrepreneurs to get their feet under them. And so regardless of what it is, when you take a look at the EV policies that Joe Biden put in place that actually exacerbated the inflation. Just look at work trucks. Work trucks, five years ago, where- are- were $15,000 less expensive than they are right now. SUVs, $8,000 less expensive than they are right now–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Did you tell the mayor he’s wrong?–
REP. JOHN JAMES:– That inflation was caused by terrible Democrat policies and that- and that- What’s that?
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you’re telling the mayor, he’s wrong? I mean, the Ford- Ford CEO said at an investor conference last month, a 25% tariff would blow a hole in the US industry that we have never seen.
REP. JOHN JAMES: Well, you know what- the memory is kind of short, because when you look at the OECD nations, they’re already talking about leveling 15% tax on anything in businesses that are making $750 million or more. Everybody should be looking at the impact that makes on top of the tariffs that are already imposed on goods that are made in the United States of America. No one is talking about this, Margaret. And all these economists, we expect that these are going–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — This is the CEO of Ford- the automaker–
REP. JOHN JAMES: — We are not operating- You know, you can go talk to the CEO of Ford but what I’m dealing with is people I’m talking with when I visit factory floors each and every single day. I am an automotive supplier in the United States of America, and I feel this pain. We’ve seen it for too long, and like I’ve said, we’ve been taken advantage of for years, and we need to level the playing field. When you’re not playing fair with America, then we have to do what we can to make sure that we can compete on a fair playing field. And Margaret, I think that fairness is what we should be pursuing, and I don’t think that’s wrong to ask for out of our allies and our partners.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The global supply chain, I know you know it well, is complicated here, and the production goes back and forth–
REP. JOHN JAMES: — Yes, I have a masters in it, Margaret. I understand it, and I’m also in the automotive industry. Yes, go ahead–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right- well, what I’m trying to say is that the cars go back and forth across the border multiple times. So, what is the construction of the tariffs that you think is actually going to be beneficial here?
REP. JOHN JAMES: You know what also comes across the border, fentanyl coming in from Mexico, when China is sending in precursors, and as a result of these negotiation tactics, Mexico surged 10,000 of their own National Guard troops to the border. And just as you were mentioning the- in the last segment, I think it was great that border apprehensions on the southern border have plunged to the lowest levels this century. You know, if this is working, Mexico is paying for the border security. They’re extraditing drug lords to be prosecuted in the United States of America. And these are the types of things that we’re looking for. 84% of those in the terror watch list and the FBI terror watch list are apprehended on the northern border. And we’re getting Canadian cooperation, which would have never happened under the previous administration and only started when President Trump started playing hard ball and talking about these things. We have a number of levers, diplomatic, economic and military and diplomatic levers haven’t worked. We’re using economic levers to secure our borders and to make sure that we have fairness across our economy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. Thank you, Congressman James, we got to leave it there.
