The following is the transcript of the interview with GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on April 12, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're back now with Republican Congressman Mike Turner. Thank you for coming back to town early to talk to us in person. 

REP. MIKE TURNER: Thank you. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let's start on our polling, because you, like many people right now, are running for re-election.

REP. TURNER: Right 

MARGARET BRENNAN: You look at these- this poll, 64% of the American people disapprove of the war. 62% say the President has no clear plan. There are these negative perceptions of the president's handling of the economy and inflation. Dayton isn't immune. Gas prices up a buck from where they were same time last year. How are you explaining to people in your district that this war is worth it?

REP. TURNER: Well, first off, no- no conflict ever polls well. I mean, when there's a conflict occurring, no one says it's being handled well, because you have to go through the conflict. The president has articulated, I think, very well, that this is about ensuring that Iran does not become a nuclear state. And no one is willing to trade lower gas prices for Iran becoming a nuclear state. And when Vice President Vance stood at the podium and said that the negotiations had broken off because Iran was not willing to declare that they would not become a nuclear state. That should have sent a chill, both through Europe and around the world. And I think you know for everyone, because that truly is what this is- is about. That- that puts away what you know, what Senator Warner was trying to dismissively say, that this was not an imminent threat, and what everyone else has been saying in Europe and around the world-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Well the president says its an ambition. 

REP. TURNER: But that- that- that this is a an immediate, the IAEA, Grossi the director, had said they were weeks away from having enough material to have a nuclear bomb--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --He said there was no evidence that they were pursuing a nuclear weapon, he couldn't rule it out. 

REP. TURNER: --he said- they were weeks- they were weeks away. And- and now you have it. No longer can people say that they did not- did not have the ambition. Here they are all the way at the table. They have been in this- this massive conflict, and they're unwilling to say they're not going to pursue--

(CROSSTALK STARTS)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, and the American people in our polling--

REP TURNER: --they're unwilling to pursue the nuclear weapon--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --are for preventing that. However, the negotiation itself is proof of the fact that militarily, you cannot achieve destruction of nuclear ambition. Is it not? 

REP. TURNER: No, it's not, because they're still ongoing, and- and the President has--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- What's ongoing?

REP TURNER: That this- this- this conflict, this- this act, the negotiations. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: The president said the war's won. 

REP. TURNER: This is- this is not over. And as it's not over, Iran is going to have to come the realization as- as- remember the JCPOA, the original enrichment deal that Obama had negotiated, where he said, we're not going to allow them to have a nuclear weapon, but we're just going to watch--

MARGARET BRENNAN: And they didn't have a nuclear weapon. And they don't have a nuclear weapon now. 

REP. TURNER: --and we're gonna watch- and we're going to watch them enrich until they get close enough, and then we'll take military action. Europe- everyone was a party to this deal. This is not just--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- But the president's saying they still won't agree to not get a nuclear weapon and he can't stop them--  

REP. TURNER: --this is not just a United States issue, as we saw during this conflict where Iran in their missile technology sent a missile all the way to Diego Garcia. This was a wake up call for Europe. They now have missile technology that can reach Europe. This is a regime, a terrorist regime, that we cannot allow to have a nuclear weapon

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you said the president has been very clear here in his goals and intent. Our polling shows the American people aren't persuaded in the same way you are. Let me run through some of the things he said on the Hormuz Strait. At the outset of the war March 3, he said the Navy would begin escorting tankers no matter what, the US will ensure the free flow of energy to the world. March 9, he said he was still thinking about taking it over. March 15, he said it was someone else's problem. Our allies would take care of it. Maybe we shouldn't even be there. We don't need it. We have a lot of oil. Six days later, he threatened online, the U.S. would attack Iran's power plants if it didn't open the strait within 48 hours. March 26 he went back to blaming allies, saying he's disappointed in NATO--

REP. TURNER: – Margaret, in conflict- there's--

MARGARET BRENNAN: And then he announced the two week cease fire saying Iran had agreed to open strait-- 

REP. TURNER: --a conflict is--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --I'm not done. Because yesterday, he said-- 

REP TURNER: --conflict is going to be fluid.

MARGARET BRENNAN: --that CENTCOM announced they're sending two ships to set the conditions for clearing mines. This morning, he said the Navy is going to start blockading the strait and interdict ships. Is that the final answer? I mean, can you see here why the public doesn't think the president has a clear strategy?

REP. TURNER: Your adversary- your adversary has a vote in this too, and they have a position in it too which there were just negotiations, just yesterday-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Pick a position? They changed within days--  

REP. TURNER: Just yesterday, there were negotiations and- and literally, Iran had an opportunity just yesterday to say to the world, we're not going to pursue a nuclear weapon. Can you imagine--  

(START CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- But on the Strait of Hormuz which is the that is causing your gas prices in Dayton to go up-- 

REP. TURNER: -- the largest exporter of the terrorist– a terrorist regime-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- is what I'm asking you. 

REP. TURNER: -- Having a nuclear weapon. They have been enriching- they have been enriching uranium. They've been enriching to the point where the IAEA, the head of the IAEA, said they were weeks away from having enough to have a nuclear weapon. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: There has not been a single congressional hearing on this issue. No one's disagreeing it's an important one. Since this war began-- 

REP. TURNER: -- There have multiple hearings -- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- you have been in session for 11 days, Congressman-- 

REP. TURNER: -- there have been hearings on Iran's nuclear ambitions for decades. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think this is adequate oversight of this war?

(END CROSSTALK)

REP. TURNER: There have been this war decades of- well, actually, we have had classified briefings on this issue. Now this is, this is an ongoing conflict. There are going to be continued briefings. I think the administration certainly could, and the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee has chastised the department on needing to provide Congress with more information, but we've had classified briefings. But the issue that's the crux of this, that Iran cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon, which is what the Vice President stood before the world and said that Iran is unwilling to declare, just yesterday, which was the breaking point of the negotiations, has been the subject of hearings.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you know what the president means when he says that the United States Navy is now going to be blockading the Strait of Hormuz that we are trying to open? Has that been briefed to Congress? 

REP. TURNER: I think, well- of course not because it was just- it was just announced, as you were discussing this morning-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Well if it was a clear strategy all along and this was part of the plan-- 

REP. TURNER: -- What is clear--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- you would get-- 

REP. TURNER: -- What is clear in the strategy, as the President has said, is the straits are not just a United States issue. It is also a Europe issue. It is a worldwide issue, and Iran should not be permitted-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN:-- and the President said today we have to reexamine NATO because of it-- 

REP. TURNER: -- Iran should not be permitted to control the straits. And it's not just a United States issue. 

MARGARET BRENNAN:-- Did they mine it?

REP. TURNER: And Iran shouldn't be permitted to just decide who gets through, and Europe, our NATO allies, others who have certainly an interest in the straits, should be coming to the table. And it should not just be a U.S. issue. And the president, by saying we're not just gonna let them decide who gets through, is certainly calling all of our allies and everyone to the table of this needs to be addressed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Did they mine the Strait of Hormuz? Because in that tweet today, the president also said they might not have. Because he said-- 

REP. TURNER: -- No, I think you'll have to ask the president. It's his tweet. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: But that's the point that Congress has not been-- 

REP. TURNER: -- It's his tweet.-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- briefed on that. As a member, Oversight and Armed Services. Do you feel like this has actually been adequately explained to you? Because the American public does not.

REP. TURNER: The president just tweeted this this morning, so you'll have to ask the president.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We would love to ask the president or the secretary of state or the secretary of defense, but members of Congress from his party are the only ones sitting here today, and we do appreciate you answering questions on it. 

REP. TURNER: Thank you, Margaret. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, we'll be right back.