Rep. DeSantis on budget deal, Bannon and Russia probe

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," June 22, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, "YOUR WORLD" HOST: All right, so January 19, that's the do-or-die date. Will they get that done? Because so much hinges on this, maybe including this ongoing market rally.

Let's get the read from Ron DeSantis, the House Judiciary Committee member. By the way, this is a big subject that we're going to live when we're live in Washington for our kickoff live show on the 20th, Saturday.

Congressman, good to have you.

How likely is it, do you think, that this is done and there is no budget- busting fears, no shutdown fears?

REP. RON DESANTIS, R-FLORIDA: Well, it's hard to say at this point.

But I would just point out, Neil, the House has already passed all appropriations bills. That was done on time for the first time in years. It's really a matter of what the U.S. Senate is able to get through, as we have seen time and time again over the last year.

My view would be, you know, we believe in what Leader McConnell said about fortifying the military. They should push forward with that and make Schumer stand up and filibuster it. I don't think they have the gumption to sustain a filibuster.

But if we just give them a gusher of new spending on welfare and things that we don't believe in and aren't good for the taxpayer, I think that the goodwill we earn with the tax bill I think some of that is going to dissipate, and I actually think it will be worse for the economy if we go on a spending spree, rather than actually try to be fiscally responsible.

CAVUTO: Congressman, I was mentioning before that we're going to be down in your neck of the woods there, and apparently will be a very chilly neck of the woods on the 20th, the one-year anniversary of the president's inauguration and just a day after this deadline.

So is there a sense of Republicans trying to unite not necessarily with the same degree of gravitas with the tax cut thing, but so that on the anniversary of his inauguration, we're not looking at a shutdown?

DESANTIS: There may be.

I mean, we're going back to Washington and the House on January 8. And I think that we will have the temperature take. I think that the House majority is fine. We will be able to handle it. I think the question is, is who runs the Senate. And if Schumer is going to call the shots, that makes it a little bit more difficult.

CAVUTO: And you need Democratic votes in the Senate. People fail to understand that it's not sort of like a squeaker with the tax cut vote, just Republicans. You are going to need Democrats there, right? Do you think they are there?

DESANTIS: Well, you might.

Here's the thing, Neil. Schumer will threaten the filibuster. He doesn't actually filibuster. It's kind of like, OK, we can't have a filibuster. I think it would be suicidal politically for Schumer to filibuster a spending bill that pays our troops and fortifies our defenses because he wants more money for some of the Democrat welfare priorities.

I don't think he actually could sustain that. So you need 60, if you think he can sustain a filibuster. I have questioned that all year. But he's never been put to the test.

CAVUTO: Yes, I would be remiss.

You're on the Judiciary Committee in the House, and that there's been investigations ongoing, that Steve Bannon, in this latest dust-up, seems to hint in a book are going to be a problem for the administration, certainly a problem for the president's son Donald Jr. and of course for his son-in- law, Jared Kushner.

Is it your sense that all this dust-up -- and the two now seem to hate each other -- is there something there that the president should worry about?

DESANTIS: Well, I was surprised to read those comments.

That Trump Jr. meeting, I thought, was blown way out of proportion by the media and then by the Democrats.

CAVUTO: Well, now Bannon is the one blowing it out here. What the heck was that about?

DESANTIS: No, I know.

CAVUTO: Yes.

DESANTIS: Well, that's why I said I'm surprised to hear that.

And I don't think that that's an accurate thing. And, of course, that was before Steve was on the campaign.

CAVUTO: Right.

DESANTIS: So, we will have to see. I haven't seen Steve make any comments. I don't know whether those are accurate quotes or not.

There were certain things in that book that I saw reported where someone had suggested former Speaker Boehner for a position and they claimed that president-elect Trump said, "I don't know who John Boehner is."

He's known Boehner for years. They have golfed together. Some of this stuff I don't think has credibility. And we will see how it all shakes out.

But I think the issue with the Russia thing is from the very beginning with Rosenstein, he didn't impose any limits on the subject matter or on the duration of the investigation. I don't think there's evidence of any type of criminal conspiracy involving the Russian government and the Trump campaign.

But it seems like Mueller is able to look for other things beyond that.
And I don't think that's the way this stuff is supposed to operate.

CAVUTO: You think Bannon turned on the president?

DESANTIS: It's possible.

I mean, I don't know what the circumstances were when Steve left the White House. And so you never know.

CAVUTO: Yes.

DESANTIS: But I also think that there are journalists who will write some of this stuff and maybe embellish it because it will absolutely sell more books the more outlandish the comments are.

CAVUTO: Congressman, thanks for your patience with all this breaking news. You handled it very ably. I appreciate it, sir. Be well.

DESANTIS: Thank you.

CAVUTO: All right.

END

Content and Programming Copyright 2018 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.