The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sept. 6, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by Colorado Democratic Congressman Jason Crow. It’s good to have you here in person.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So CBS is reporting that several dozen of the highest-ranking officials in the United States military were subjected to polygraph tests as part of the sweeping leak probe that Secretary Hegseth has ordered. This includes combatant commanders. They’re looking for who leaked the highly classified details about the nation’s stockpiles of sophisticated weapons. This is extremely rare.
REP. CROW: Yeah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is it appropriate? Has Congress been told anything about the outcome?
REP. CROW: I haven’t been briefed anything about this. I’m a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee. We haven’t received any information; it’s just been public reports. And- and certainly, stopping leaks and protecting classified information is really important. And I would always support that. The problem is- is the broader context that Pete Hegseth has created here. He has purged over 80 generals and admirals, the top 10% of the entire military chain of command has been purged. We are at a 25-year low for the number of women on the promotion list, and he’s created an environment of fear. He’s pushed out journalists. He’s pushed out media. This is part of his effort to create fear and to clamp down on information coming out of the Pentagon.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I mean, polygraph tests are part of routine cadence, but from what I understand, it’s the number, it’s the rank of people here. It also seems to confirm the reporting about the problems with America’s munitions shortages.
REP. CROW: Right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What is the state of that?
REP. CROW: Well, because they don’t- they don’t want people to know. This is exactly the point. They don’t want people to know what’s actually happening. That’s why they fired the editor of the Stars and Stripes, an independent newspaper that’s been around since 1861 by the way- 1861, it was founded during the Civil War to be an independent media outlet for our service members, so that people would understand what they’re going through. This is the broader trend of them not wanting anybody, including members of Congress, to understand what’s going on. Munitions have been depleted. The stockpiles are very low, contrary to what Donald Trump wants us to believe. These types of precise munitions do not grow on trees. They take a long time to build up. They started this war. The president started this war without a plan, without a strategy. I mean, I just heard your prior guest, Secretary Wright, talk about numbers and barrels, and- and that’s all tactical discussion, right? These are tactical decisions. There’s no strategy here. There’s no off-ramp. There’s no longer-term plan for how we get out of this and how we normalize the markets and how we drive down prices for Americans.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Speaking of the region, one of the other things we’re looking at is the 50,000 personnel the U.S. keeps currently in the region. The Navy’s Fifth Fleet is headquartered in the country of Bahrain. The Chief of Naval Operations held a town hall this past week. A sailor asked about like, when can I go back and get all my gear, and he said, “We’re not getting back in there anytime soon. I just want to be completely honest about that.” Should we understand that as saying the U.S. is withdrawing or drawing down personnel from- from the Gulf?
REP. CROW: I- I have for a long time thought that we need to draw down our forces generally in the Middle East. We need to get out of endless conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump campaigned on this, by the way. He knew that Americans are fed up with an endless cycle of conflict and the quagmires in the Middle East. Over the last–
MARGARET BRENNAN: But even from the Navy’s Fifth Fleet- you want to pull back from that base?
REP. CROW: No, not from that particular base. I’m talking about overall. You’d mentioned the 50,000 service members. We’ve had 50,000 plus service members in this region since 2001. That- that is- that is a high high number. That is to support our endless conflicts in the region, right? We can move that number down. We can save money for taxpayers. We can be stronger. We can be more nimble, but the broader point here is that Donald Trump has doubled down on 25 years of endless conflict that’s cost us $3 to $5 trillion, thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands altered forever. Right? We- we have been at war in the region for 25 years now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Since 9/11.
REP. CROW: Since 9/11. That’s not okay. It’s not inevitable. That does not need to happen, right? So, what is happening now is- is- is again, a perpetuation of this conflict that has to stop.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And I understand Secretary Hegseth sent letters out to the Army this week extending troop deployments as well, and our Ellee Watson obtained some of those letters. Let me ask you about a story we shared last week on Face the Nation. General Alizai, an Afghan commander who has asylum here in America, is under current government restrictions due to his nationality. He can’t travel outside, he hasn’t been able to bring his wife and three children to this country, even though he has asylum here. What are vets like you trying to do to reunite those who fought alongside us in that Afghan war?
REP. CROW: There’s a bipartisan group of us who are- who are fighting hard to expand the Special Immigrant Visa program to what it used to be before the Trump administration came in and dismantled- entirely dismantled that program, cut the visas, defunded all of the agencies and departments and personnel that were working to keep that promise. We are pursuing temporary protective status and looking at trying to find ways to force a vote in the House and the Senate to move it forward because we have a moral obligation to these folks who fought with us. Me and others who came back after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may not be here today if it weren’t for those Iraqis and those Afghans who fought with us, served with us, were essential to our war effort. And- and beyond a moral obligation, it’s a national security imperative. If we want to go someplace in the world and conduct operations, keep America safe, we always, without exception, work with local forces and people on the ground. Those folks will not be there for us, they will not work with us and keep American soldiers safe in the future if they don’t think we’ll have their back.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about a little bit of Democratic politics because you are out there on the front lines, battleground co-chair I understand, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. You’re headed to Dallas this week for the Republican GOP midterm convention. What’s the purpose? What are you going to actually try to achieve while you’re there?
REP. CROW: Yeah, we’re going to hold them accountable. That’s what we’re going to do.
[CROSSTALK]
MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you hold them accountable when their–
REP. CROW: By- by calling- by calling out their- their- their lies, right? They’re going to get up there- I- I know how this is going to happen. I mean, all of this is so predictable at this point. They’re going to get up there and they’re going to talk about how great everything is. This is what Donald Trump does. You know, the- the economy is A plus plus plus. We’re hotter and better than ever. None of that is true, right? People are losing their farms. They’re losing their healthcare. They can’t afford basic costs. We- we are going to be there to call them out on their failed policies and the fact that we are now almost two years in this administration. And on every measure, every measure, Americans’ lives have gotten worse.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, on that point, if Democrats are trying to flip the House, gain control of Congress, you’ve also got to convince people you’re going to do something when you get there.
REP. CROW: Yeah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Both the President and Speaker Johnson have said if Democrats take control, they’ll undoubtedly launch impeachment inquiries. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, on another network this morning, saying the president has undoubtedly committed impeachable offenses. Is that the plan? Is that what people should be looking for if Democrats win? Two years of impeachment inquiries?
REP. CROW: The plan is- is for accountability. Now I know a lot about impeachment because I prosecuted the first impeachment trial. I sat on the floor of the Senate in my first term in Congress, and made the case to those senators. I looked in their eye and- and I said, “Donald Trump is a- is a danger. He is not qualified, he’s not competent, and- and he’s corrupt.” They didn’t listen to me then, even though there were plenty of warning signs. So impeachment is one tool of many, and I’m less concerned about, you know, the specific tools, and I won’t hesitate to use that tool if we need to. But what we have to do is look at what’s available and what’s going to deliver results–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REP. CROW: –for accountability. That’s what I’m concerned about. Because the corruption is- is boundless. This is the most corrupt administration in the history of America, and what corruption really is is stealing from my constituents. It is taking money out of the pockets of Coloradans,
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah–
REP. CROW: –money that should be used for their health care, for their homes, for their farms, and it’s going into the pockets of Donald Trump and their cronies. And I’m going to go after that money, and I’m not going to apologize for it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I’m going to have to ask you another time exactly how you plan to do that, but we’re going to leave it there for today, Congressman Crow. We’ll be right back.
