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Transcript: Rep. Mike Turner on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 18, 2026

2026-10-18T11:53:54-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Oct. 18, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner. Good morning, and thanks for being here in person. A lot to get to with you, but let’s start on politics. Ohio has been reliably Republican, but you’ve got a competitive gubernatorial race and Senate race in Minnesota, in Iowa, in Michigan, and in Maine. Republicans have been positioning themselves as independent of the president on some issues. Take a listen.

[START SOUND ON TAPE]

MICHELLE TAFOYA: When Trump is right, I’ll work with him. When he’s wrong, I’ll stand up for Minnesota.

ASHLEY HINSON: We need to lower gas prices in this country. We need to lower diesel prices, but I don’t think we need to be making a deal with Russia to do it.

MIKE ROGERS: Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS: I agree that the president did not have a good plan. He should have anticipated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

[END SOUND ON TAPE]

MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’ve been endorsed by President Trump. You did appear at a rally with him, but do you feel it would help to create some distance, like they did?

REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TURNER: Well, as you know, I don’t run with the president. I don’t run from the president. It’s one of the reasons why you have me on this show because of the fact that- that I have my- my own agenda, and I think what’s important, as your pollster has- has indicated, he’s in- he’s talking of- of trends. What’s most important, as he ended his presentation, as Anthony said, this is about who gets out to vote, and everybody needs to get out and vote. You know, Margaret, my very first race, I won by 244 votes out of 44,000. It’s really, really important as to who gets out and votes. So, my message would be to everyone, is to get out and vote. And also, when they go to the polls, they need to make certain that they vote in every race. It’s amazing the number of drop-offs that people have as they go down the ballot. People need to vote in every race, and they need to get out and vote.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But clearly, those candidates felt they needed to say that. Fox had a poll this week showing six in 10 respondents were extremely concerned about government corruption. AP had one that said six in 10 adults believe Trump is illegally profiting from the presidency or at least doing something unethical. Your local paper, the Columbus Dispatch, wrote it could not endorse the Republican Senate candidate because of the “abject failure,” this is a quote- “of Republicans in Congress to stop visible corruption and abuse of power by the Trump administration.” You referred to Republicans as almost entirely spineless. How do you counter those perceptions? Do you feel you need to?

REP. TURNER: No, first off, that- Columbus is not my local- local paper, and- and the–

MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re Dayton, but–

REP. TURNER: Right, yes, I’m- I’m- I’m Dayton–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –but it is still talking about the Senate race and talking about the perception that Congress has not pushed back on the president.

REP. TURNER: Right. Well, I think- I think Congress has pushed back, and certainly I have pushed back. And in- in my community, I’m seen as part of the integral economic development team- the local economic development team of my community. And the- the aspect of what people are doing or are not doing with respect to this administration is, I think an individual candidate’s issue, and people vote for individual candidates. They don’t vote for a team. They don’t vote for- for a slate, and- and I think that’s why individual candidates are talking about their individual records as- as I do. People look in my community, they see me as a job creator. They see me as someone- if- Margaret, if you came into my community and we took a drive along my community, and I showed you my accomplishments, you’d see things at, you know, my local base where we’ve doubled the jobs both inside and outside the fence, the VA where we’ve created senior housing, and like- my opponent wouldn’t be able to get out of the driveway of her house. Those are the kind of things that people look to for the individual candidates.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the president is central here. The president is telling people, vote like he is on the ballot.

REP. TURNER: Well, that’s- that’s- that’s the president. That’s not the individual candidates.

MARGARET BRENNAN: He thinks he’s doing candidates like you, some- some good when he says things like that and comes out and rallies in Ohio.

REP. TURNER: Well, he came to a rally in my community, as the- as he said in the community when he was there campaigning for the top of the ticket. When he came to my community, he actually came when he was speaking of my record that he was committing to sign legislation to restore the Delphi salary pensioners who had their pensions taken away under the Obama administration.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, that hasn’t happened yet.

REP. TURNER: He committed to sign that legislation to restore those pensions that I had been working on for over a decade. That makes over 5,000 people in my community restore their pensions. I’ve been working on paychecks and pensions, and that’s the type of thing that makes a difference in my community.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well- well, let’s talk about some of those things, which, because that hasn’t passed yet, some of those things could get gunked up in the lame-duck because of what I’m about to ask you about and that is–

[CROSSTALK]

REP. TURNER: –that the president has committed to sign.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, if it can get to his desk. I want to ask you about Elon Musk’s SpaceX technology, Starlink. Ukraine uses it for communication, they use it to control their drones. Secretary Rubio said no one at the White House ordered it to be slowed down this week so that drones couldn’t use it. But effectively, that was the outcome. Here is how Secretary Rubio explained it last night.

[START SOUND ON TAPE]

SEC. MARCO RUBIO: We had nothing to do with it. I don’t- I don’t- the United States, nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened. But my understanding is it’s been restored.

[END SOUND ON TAPE]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is “it sort of happened” sufficient explanation for you and others on the Armed Services Committee?

REP. TURNER: Absolutely not. I mean, this is something where there needs to be an investigation. There needs to be a congressional investigation. I mean, this is one of those things where- where we see that- that policies occur where sometimes there’s- there’s breaks in- in weapon systems that are supposed to be sent to Ukraine that doesn’t happen, where monies are- are- don’t arrive, where intelligence gets broken, where then later that we have- find, you know, unnamed people in the Pentagon perhaps break it. There needs to be an investigation. We need to find out who these people are because lives are at risk and lives are lost over these things. And even today, you know, the Institute for the Study of War reports today–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

REP. TURNER: –and Zelenskyy reports that, you know, perhaps it’s spotty. There are areas where that it’s restored–

MARGARET BRENNAN: It’s been straddled back.

REP. TURNER: –and there are areas where perhaps it is not. People’s lives are at risk, and this- this is within Ukraine. This is areas where they’re trying to defend themselves.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

REP. TURNER: This is essential to the United States support of Ukraine in defending real aggressive attacks by Russia within Ukraine, and this needs to be restored.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But Elon Musk, who owns this company, and Starlink is a commercial enterprise. Elon Musk publicly opposes President Zelenskyy. He posted on social media he doesn’t want Starlink used for offensive military action. I know Secretary Rubio said it had been restored, but–

REP. TURNER: But this is within Ukraine. This is defending Ukraine against aggression within Ukraine.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Exactly, but it is just- they’re all pointing at each other, saying no, DOD is in charge. No, Elon Musk’s in charge. I don’t know, it just sort of happened.

REP. TURNER: But the policy decision has been made that- that Starshield will be utilized for the purposes of Ukraine defending itself against Russian aggression–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Starshield.

REP. TURNER: Starshield.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Which is the U.S. military contract.

REP. TURNER: Within its territory, and it has, by everybody’s reports, been broken in- in its ability to be able to be accessed. And there should be an investigation as to why, and it should be completely restored.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The president- there were a series of actions, not just the diesel waivers. These actions in regard to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, and then you saw him waive or at least pause for a period of time the sanctions that you voted should be in place under the Lindsey Graham bill. They were supposed to punish buyers of Russian oil. He said, “Don’t implement them.”

REP. TURNER: Well, there’s- there’s two–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Will you encourage him to reverse course?

REP. TURNER: Okay, there’s two separate things here. The- the sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill this weekend there was a deadline for the president–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Today.

REP. TURNER: –to either waive or to impose sanctions upon- there are three categories: the individuals in the Russian government, Russia itself, and individuals doing business, governments doing business with Russia.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

REP. TURNER: The president had those three categories- impose them, or waive them, or waive them in part. I would encourage the president to do so. That bill being in place is- and the president has signed it- is important. It’s a legacy of Lindsey Graham. It’s important that’s in place. The president now has that authority. He has waived it. He has in that waiver that he signed, a continuing opportunity to now- and the- Secretary Rubio has confirmed, to continue daily–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

REP. TURNER: –the opportunity to waive in part or not waive in part. In other words, to- to institute those sanctions, I would encourage him to do so.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean you would withhold your vote for some of his agenda items in the lame-duck, as we’ve had other representatives, Don Bacon, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike McCaul suggest they would do?

REP. TURNER: Well, I think it depends as we go through the- this- this process of discussion as to what this- I don’t- I don’t think there’s any, you know, brinksmanship that needs to have to occur on this. I think there are discussions need to occur on these- these waivers. Some of those waivers should not be absolute because, for example, you know, the- the biggest offender of this, and Zelenskyy needs to come to the table loudly. The EU is the fourth largest offender of purchasing–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REP. TURNER: –energy from Russia, and the- France is one of them. A quarter of a billion dollars, they purchased of energy from–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REP. TURNER: –Russia, just in August.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, we have to leave it there. Congressman, thank you.

REP. TURNER: Thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be right back, one minute. Stay with us.