Transcript: Representative James Clyburn on "Face the Nation," February 27, 2022

The following is a transcript of an interview with Democratic Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina that aired Sunday, February 27, 2022, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. Two years ago, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn urged President Biden to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Last week, the president fulfilled that promise and picked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Congressman Clyburn joins us now from Santee, South Carolina. Good morning to you, Congressman.

HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP JAMES CLYBURN: Good morning. Thank you very much for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, how important is it for President Biden to have this vote for this particular historic choice be bipartisan?

REP. CLYBURN: this is beyond politics. This is about the country, our pursuit of a more perfect union, and this is demonstrative of another step in that pursuit. And I would hope that all my Republican friends will look upon it that way. Let's have a debate. Let's talk to her about her rulings and about her philosophy. But in the final analysis, let's have a strong bipartisan support to demonstrate that both parties are still in pursuit of perfection.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, you spoke very passionately the last time you were on this program about your first choice, the South Carolina native Judge Michelle Childs. And one of the reasons you argued it was important to have someone like her, you said, was because she went to state schools. Judge Brown Jackson went to Harvard, an elite institution. Does that affect how you see this? Is it less powerful because of that?

REP. CLYBURN: It's more traditional, no question about that. This means that we will continue that tradition, and I am one, as you can see, that's not so much for tradition. I want to see us break as much new ground as possible. But having said that, we all have our personal preferences. We all have our reasonable biases. But in the final analysis, I think this is a good choice. It was a choice that brings onto the court a background and some experiences that nobody else on the court will have. And I think when you look at not just her background in the family, life, but also her profession, she was a public defender. That adds a new perspective to the court.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, the president will deliver his State of the Union address this coming week, and we know that his approval ratings have fallen among virtually every group over the past year. But according to our CBS polling, the drop has been especially steep among black Americans, down from 87 percent to 66 percent approval, and its inflation, time and again, that shows up over every single group as one of the biggest things weighing on the president. 

REP. CLYBURN: Well, inflation is a problem for everybody. But the fact of the matter is, it is more of a problem for those people who have very little or nothing to inflate. And so the president has a job here of trying to do what is necessary to get people back to work, to get incomes in people's homes, to get people in homes. All of this adds to his problem. And so when you have a group such as African Americans that have little in the first place, inflation comes, it- it depresses their family incomes, even more. So that is a concern. It's also a concern, as I said earlier, when you have an opportunity to make an appointment like you just had, and he made an African-American appointment, I guarantee you, you see some of that move up. It may not move up with the people who are having income problems, but it will move up to those who have other reservations about the president.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, two prominent Democrats came out this week with some words of advice to the Democratic Party, Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and both said that Democrats need a course correction. Bloomberg said parties headed for wipe out in November up and down the ballot because it's distracted. Voters perceive the party too focused on culture wars. Secretary Clinton also said 'We can't get distracted, whether it's the latest culture, war nonsense or some new right wing lie on Fox or Facebook.' Do you agree that these things are problems?

REP. CLYBURN: Well, culture wars are a problem, but it's not coming from the Democrats–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But the focus by Democrats on that.

REP. CLYBURN: Well, I don't think any of us are focused on that, but we cannot allow these kinds of things to float around out there. When you're talking about Critical Race Theory, we aren't putting that out there. But you can't stand idly by and allow that to exist. Listen, we have a critical race problem in this country and we know it, and we got to stand up to it. We can't let people just take black history out of the schools agenda and call it a theory. These are racial facts. It is just important to me for my grandchildren to learn about Lewis Latimer, as it is to learn about Thomas Edison. But for Lewis Latimer, Thomas Edison's light bulb would never have worked. And those are facts that should stay in our classrooms. And when people are taking books of black authors out of the schools, that to me cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman Clyburn, thank you for your time this morning.

REP. CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll be right back.