Transcript: Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mike Lawler on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 24, 2026
The following is the transcript of the interview with the Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Democrat of Maine, and Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 24, 2026.
NANCY CODES: Now we go to bipartisan two representatives. Josh Gottheimer is a Democrat from New Jersey, and Mike Lawler is a Republican from New York. Congress, welcome. Thank you for joining us.
REP. MIKE LAWLER: Thanks for being with us.
REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER: Thanks for being with us.
NANCY CORDES: Absolutely. Congressman Lawler, I want to start with you and get your take on this memorandum of understanding that seems to be taking shape between the US and Iran. We've already seen some reaction from some of your fellow Republicans. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said, if reports about the deal are accurate, “it makes one wonder why the war started.” Congressman, do you agree with his opinion?
REP. LAWLER: No, and I think it's important that we get all the details, number one. Second, if you look at what happened during the kinetic game, what did they do? They are focused on a ballistic missile program, drone capabilities, naval forces, and taking control of Iran's airspace. They can do that. Iran retaliated by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and President Trump blocked that, which caused great damage to Iran's economy, stopped the flow of oil to China, so there was a lot of pressure for everyone to reach an agreement, but the main goal is to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and that is what President Trump has been clear from the beginning and has not changed. So, I think it's important, before everybody rushes to, you know, to the microphone, that they actually understand the terms of the proposed agreement, and especially with regard to enriched uranium.
NANCY CORDES: So, do you like what you hear?
REP. LAW: Look, I've been in touch with management. I serve as the chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I think overall, what the administration has been able to do for the first time in 47 years has forced the remnants of this regime to negotiate, real negotiation. The truth is, the JCPOA, since more than ten years ago, was not a negotiation, it put Iran on the path to a nuclear bomb. We are trying to stop that, and the president took drastic measures to do it.
NANCY CORDES: Congressman Gottheimer, you have been pushing to pass the war powers resolution. You're getting closer to doing it. If the nuclear resolutions are lifted, but the Strait of Hormuz is quickly reopened, is that a win for American taxpayers?
REP. GOTTHEIMER: Well, I think the good news here is, and as Mike said, we're still getting the details. The good news is that the Straits will be back open, if that's true, and that will mean lower fuel prices for Americans, and that's good news. This news is bad news, in my opinion, is that, and this is where it is not clear, the first goals were related to enriched uranium and it confirms that from nuclear power. Iran, which I think is a clear enemy of the United States under the banners of death in America, and I believe that the Iranian regime should be crushed, but part of that is making sure that we reduce their nuclear power. Therefore, they cannot jump to having a nuclear weapon. That we greatly reduce their military power, their missile power, and their drone activity, and then every dollar goes to terrorist programs and their proxy programs, Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Those are all the questions that are there, and it's not clear that we've made any great progress there, and I think you know, if you end up getting to Senator Graham's point, if you look back on this and say, well, we've made a big investment, and we've had a clear goal, which is to crush Iran and reduce its ballistic and missile program, and their nuclear program was actually a terrible thing, the reopening of the Straits of Hormuz. That to me, in the end, is not going to reach the goals set out here at the beginning, so that's a big question. If we just get nothing really and kind of run around the place.
NANCY CORDES: Congressman Lawler, the President visited your district on Friday. He campaigned because he represents one of the three Republican-controlled states in the US that Kamala Harris won in 2024. How do you explain to your people this new deal that prevents the IRS from inspecting any Trump family documents before this year?
REP. LAWLER: Well, I think that when it comes to any deals that the president has made with the IRS, in my area, you know, I think that when I look back at what the Biden administration did, they weaponized the government and they targeted the president, and I think that he obviously had allegations that he brought to the government because of that. From the president's point of view, you know, I was happy to welcome him to my district, as I did Joe Biden when he was president. Joe Biden came three years ago to my district, I came. President Trump was here. We had over 5,000 people come to my district to hear directly from the President about the issues that matter most to them, including my ability to introduce a cap on SALT. The President also announced that he will give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to one of my constituents who died on 9/11, Wells Crowther, a red belt man, who saved 18 lives. And we heard about the Gorman family, their daughter Sheridan Gorman, was brutally murdered by an immigrant who was allowed to enter this country under Joe Biden's open border policies, then he was arrested in Chicago, released on no money bail and the bad policies on crime in the city of Chicago, and he killed this 18-year-old girl who had all her ears from her family, and she was very obedient. So, I was happy to have the president there.
NANCY CORDES: Understood. I want to get to the issue of anti-Semitism, because we wanted you two to continue, because you are working together on ways to deal with the rise of anti-Semitism in the US. Congressman Gottheimer, I understand the importance of lawmakers drawing attention to some of the truly terrible events we've seen in this country recently, the stabbing of a Jewish man on the streets of New York, the shooting at the Capitol Jewish Museum here in Washington, but what can Congress really do about this problem?
REP. GOTTHEIMER: Yes, we know since the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, anti-Semitic incidents in the country have increased by 70%. Mike and I- both of our states have some of the highest anti-cultural statistics in the country. It is totally unacceptable. And what's happening now is very common in our politics on both sides, right? Whether Hasan Piker, who is a broadcaster on the left, or Candace Owens on the right, who have been campaigning with candidates across the country, they are actually promoting some of the worst anti-Semitic language, such as Hassan Piker, who calls Jews pig dogs, Candace Owens, who denies the Holocaust. We have candidates on both sides of the aisle who have embraced them, who have made the opposite comments, like a woman in Texas this past week, a Democratic candidate who said Jews should be in camps. You have Bilzerian, Dan Bilzerian in Florida, who said we should get rid of the Jews. None of this should be acceptable. And- and Mike and I, whether it's the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which we passed in the last Congress to define anti-Semitism, and we're introducing again this Congress, whether we're both criticizing Piker and Owens in the law, we both deeply believe that we need to stand up to this. And Mike has come out, as have others, and our leadership on both sides needs to make it clear over and over again that–that you don't stand with these–and people like Owens and Piker, and they are not welcome in our districts, and none of this language is acceptable. I think it is very important.
NANCY CORDES: Congressman Lawler, why do you believe that candidates, like the one Congressman Gottheimer just talked about, feel that there is a market for that kind of hate to begin with? Is there some kind of consent structure created in both of your organizations?
REP. LAW: I don't think there's any question that anti-Semitism has been condoned by people across the political spectrum, and from my perspective, it's something we all have a responsibility to reverse, regardless of party affiliation. These candidates are coming forward. They feel it is right to blame the Jews for any evil in the world. Apparently- you know, I had Rand Paul's son yell at me in a bar just last week because he thought I was Jewish, when in fact I'm Irish, Italian, Catholic, and whether I was Jewish or not, the idea–
NANCY CORDES: — You apologized for that–
REP. LAW: — For him to feel it is right to engage in that. He ended up doing it, but the idea that people feel it's okay to engage in that kind of behavior is shameful. And I think what Josh and I are trying to do in putting this decision is to say enough, and to say on both sides, we have to make sure of ours. We cannot allow this. We cannot support candidates who participate in the positions, anti-Semitism is bad. You know, the Jewish population is about 2% in the United States, and right now it's over 50% of hate crimes. Times with experience, something has to give.
NANCY CORDES: I understand. Congressman Lawler, Congressman Gottheimer. Thank you both for coming. Thank you very much. And we'll be right back.
