1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280
Speaker 1: Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking member on the Senate

2
00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,360
Speaker 1: Judiciary Committee. Senator, welcome back to Bloomberg TV and Radio.

3
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:07,120
Speaker 2: It's good to see you.

4
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,840
Speaker 1: We hear the line, a lot elections have consequences. Was

5
00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,440
Speaker 1: President Trump acting within his authority? Was the acting legally

6
00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:16,160
Speaker 1: in firing these people?

7
00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 3: Well, there's a question about that and about a lot

8
00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,079
Speaker 3: of other things. In eight days this notion. A gentleman

9
00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,880
Speaker 3: named mister Vaith was the acting director of the Office

10
00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,560
Speaker 3: of Management and Budgeting. He sends out this notice yesterday

11
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,879
Speaker 3: that basically shuts down the federal government in terms of

12
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 3: the money that's flowing to local communities. And so with

13
00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,880
Speaker 3: one dash of the pen, he ends up hurting the

14
00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,199
Speaker 3: kids in head start hurting the elderly people who are

15
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,640
Speaker 3: in food programs, and then cutting off medical research. It

16
00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:50,920
Speaker 3: took a federal judge today to bring people back to

17
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:51,559
Speaker 3: their senses.

18
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,000
Speaker 2: Well, that just developed.

19
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,160
Speaker 1: In fact, you're right, the president's freeze on grant funding

20
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,600
Speaker 1: and aid has been temporarily halted by a And i'd

21
00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,280
Speaker 1: love to get your take on a lot of the

22
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,360
Speaker 1: actions that we've seen in the last eight days with

23
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,920
Speaker 1: regard to the Department of Justice, though, is that the

24
00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,840
Speaker 1: president's right to fire those people who, in many cases

25
00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,360
Speaker 1: serve beyond a single president's term.

26
00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,920
Speaker 3: Well, many of them are career employees, and certainly they

27
00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,080
Speaker 3: have their legal rights under the law, and they're going

28
00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,560
Speaker 3: to assert them in many instances, I think, for to

29
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,520
Speaker 3: have maximum effect and to have reaction from the public.

30
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,480
Speaker 3: You're seeing some of these extreme things happening in the

31
00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,040
Speaker 3: Department of Justice and other departments. Ultimately this will be

32
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:35,160
Speaker 3: sorted out in the courtroom.

33
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:38,000
Speaker 2: Well, I guess it will be.

34
00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,360
Speaker 1: You've also got inspectors general for any number of agencies,

35
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,040
Speaker 1: dozens in this case that have been fired the president.

36
00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 1: The White House did not notify Congress, as would typically

37
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,800
Speaker 1: be the custom here. I believe it's thirty days notice.

38
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,560
Speaker 1: Was this move legal, of course not.

39
00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,320
Speaker 3: He tiktoked this issue, just like he did the TikTok issue.

40
00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,720
Speaker 3: Ignore the law, ignore what the courts say, do what

41
00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,960
Speaker 3: you can to do, and in this situation is basically

42
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,400
Speaker 3: saying that the inspector generals are gone. Who are these

43
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,520
Speaker 3: women and men. They are individuals who have no allegiance

44
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 3: to the individual heads of the agency. Their allegiances to

45
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 3: the law and to the Constitution and to the budget.

46
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,560
Speaker 3: And they call them as they see them. They're the

47
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,000
Speaker 3: referees and the empires. Well, he wanted to get them

48
00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,760
Speaker 3: off of the scene as quickly as possible so that

49
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,640
Speaker 3: he could pursue this next measure of shutting down federal spending.

50
00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:28,040
Speaker 2: It's not a.

51
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,200
Speaker 3: Pretty picture, and it indicates gathering more and more power

52
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,680
Speaker 3: by Donald Trump at a time in history when we

53
00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,720
Speaker 3: need to be careful, to be respectful of this constitution.

54
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,680
Speaker 2: Well, that brings us to the actions of today.

55
00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,160
Speaker 1: And as we just learned, once again, a judge has

56
00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,560
Speaker 1: halted the president's freeze on grant funding.

57
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,520
Speaker 2: There were already some hiccups today.

58
00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,440
Speaker 1: We tried to get answers at a White House press

59
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,720
Speaker 1: briefing and there were some clarifying remarks from the Press

60
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,720
Speaker 1: Secretary's office. But we do know that the online portal

61
00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,239
Speaker 1: for head Start is warning of delays.

62
00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,640
Speaker 2: Here. Before that judges ruling, the online Medicaid.

63
00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,480
Speaker 1: Portal was not accessible in some states, including Illinois. And

64
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,040
Speaker 1: so it becomes a question of what do you do

65
00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,960
Speaker 1: about it now, Senator, If there's not a legal solution,

66
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:11,359
Speaker 1: will there be a legislative one.

67
00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,320
Speaker 3: Well, I don't know that a legislative one is worth

68
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,240
Speaker 3: anything at this point, because Donald Trump is basically announced

69
00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,120
Speaker 3: with TikTok and the Inspectors General, he's going to ignore

70
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,520
Speaker 3: the law. He doesn't care what Congress says. And with

71
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,880
Speaker 3: the spending decision it was made yesterday, it caused such

72
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,280
Speaker 3: chaos all across the country and hurt so many innocent people.

73
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,640
Speaker 3: Is basically a decision on their path that they're going

74
00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:34,840
Speaker 3: to go ahead and do it. Did the law be damned?

75
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,520
Speaker 3: So the American people have basically got to stand up

76
00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,000
Speaker 3: and take notice here that there are some people who

77
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,560
Speaker 3: are part of the transition that are in a radical

78
00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:43,560
Speaker 3: and extreme position.

79
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,840
Speaker 1: Well, there are reports that some Senate Democrats, some of

80
00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:48,920
Speaker 1: your colleagues, are calling for a delay to slow the

81
00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,480
Speaker 1: confirmation process of Russell Vote to head up the Office

82
00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,720
Speaker 1: of Management and Budget until this freeze is taken off

83
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,440
Speaker 1: the table or at least somehow clarified.

84
00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,560
Speaker 3: Would you support that, Yes, Votes got his fingerprints all

85
00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 3: over this, this project twenty twenty five. They're following this roadmap.

86
00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,520
Speaker 3: They disavow it and said they really didn't know what

87
00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:11,960
Speaker 3: was going on. President Trump said he had never heard

88
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,360
Speaker 3: of the thing, and basically what it boils down to

89
00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 3: if you read it, this is they're following that roadmap,

90
00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,640
Speaker 3: just stop by stop, and unfortunately it violates the law

91
00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 3: and constitution.

92
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,920
Speaker 1: Well, so you brought us there, and we can all

93
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,800
Speaker 1: check our mail after this conversation. When you start talking

94
00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,680
Speaker 1: about Project twenty twenty five, the antennas go up across Washington.

95
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,760
Speaker 1: What are the breadcrumbs that russ vote left in that

96
00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,680
Speaker 1: document that leads you to what he will do here

97
00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,240
Speaker 1: or informs your view on what he will do inside

98
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:41,839
Speaker 1: the White House.

99
00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,520
Speaker 3: I tell you there's some radical ideas in there, and

100
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,680
Speaker 3: extreme ideas. They won't make America great again. They'll hurt

101
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:49,760
Speaker 3: a lot of innocent people. And if we want to

102
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,560
Speaker 3: be number one in the world, and I certainly hope

103
00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,200
Speaker 3: we aspire to that, we've got to have the means

104
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,479
Speaker 3: of educating and providing for the basic citizenry of this

105
00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,880
Speaker 3: country to excel in. Project twenty twenty has a negative

106
00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,040
Speaker 3: attitude towards this government's role in helping people and businesses

107
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,000
Speaker 3: get off the ground and succeed.

108
00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:10,680
Speaker 2: So it's been eight days.

109
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,200
Speaker 1: As we've established, Senator, you have a pretty important role

110
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,520
Speaker 1: on the Judiciary Committee as the confirmation process unfolds here

111
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,680
Speaker 1: and you're going to have quite a conversation. I know

112
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,600
Speaker 1: you had the Pambondi hearings, but many folks are eagerly

113
00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,520
Speaker 1: awaiting Cash Ptel. Of course, the president has chosen to

114
00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,359
Speaker 1: run the FBI. You've gone out of your way to

115
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,440
Speaker 1: talk about this, and I know that you're not a

116
00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,000
Speaker 1: fan of Cash Patel. As you've pointed out, he is

117
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,200
Speaker 1: the man who wants to run the FBI, but also

118
00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,440
Speaker 1: claims the FBI is responsible for what took place on

119
00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,520
Speaker 1: January sixth. He posted on social media January sixth, never

120
00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,120
Speaker 1: an insurrection, cowards in uniform exposed. Will you ask him

121
00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,840
Speaker 1: to prove the FBI's involvement as some sort of inside

122
00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:55,599
Speaker 1: job that day?

123
00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,600
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and there's no proof, no evidence of that whatsoever.

124
00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,719
Speaker 3: The thing about this Cash Pattel person, as we have

125
00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,320
Speaker 3: his playbook, he wrote a book and spelled out all

126
00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,400
Speaker 3: of his weird conspiracy theories in detail. Now President Trump

127
00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,920
Speaker 3: wants to give this man thirty eight thirty eight thousand

128
00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,720
Speaker 3: FBI agents and professionals all over the world so he

129
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,719
Speaker 3: can pursue all his weird conspiracy theories. I mean, that's

130
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,000
Speaker 3: not fair to America. If we want to keep this

131
00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,880
Speaker 3: country safe away from drugs and terrorism and assaults on

132
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,080
Speaker 3: our body. Politic we need someone who has a responsibility

133
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,320
Speaker 3: and a record of proven performance. Mister pttel Ate even close.

134
00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:38,560
Speaker 2: Wow, well, we'll see this unfold.

135
00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,480
Speaker 1: As I read from your statement after meeting with Cash Pattel,

136
00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,640
Speaker 1: I have grave concerns about his fitness for the role

137
00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,000
Speaker 1: of FBI director. He has neither the experience, the temperament,

138
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,839
Speaker 1: or the judgment to lead the FBI. Christy Nome, however,

139
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,480
Speaker 1: Senator got her job to run Homeland Security and gave

140
00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,560
Speaker 1: her first remarks today as we hear reports of mass deportations.

141
00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,640
Speaker 1: She actually posted some videos of them happening in New York.

142
00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:05,760
Speaker 1: Here's what she said about the agency's jurisdiction, the thing.

143
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,080
Speaker 4: That we can to protect the American people. We have

144
00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,000
Speaker 4: jurisdiction over people who live here, people who leave here,

145
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,840
Speaker 4: and people who come here. We have jurisdiction over products

146
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,400
Speaker 4: that come into this country and which ones leave. We

147
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,960
Speaker 4: have jurisdiction over our internet, what comes in, what goes out,

148
00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,200
Speaker 4: what kind of business has Virtually I tell people we

149
00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,520
Speaker 4: have jurisdiction over everything, and we will exercise all legal

150
00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,920
Speaker 4: authorities that we have to protect this country. Because it

151
00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,720
Speaker 4: is the only last light of freedom left.

152
00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,320
Speaker 1: So, Senator, what should employers and in fact workers in

153
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,480
Speaker 1: cities like Chicago be prepared for as we talk about

154
00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,920
Speaker 1: mass deportation and workplace raids.

155
00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 3: Let me tell you it's going to have an impact

156
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,400
Speaker 3: not only individual lives of people, many of whom are

157
00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,040
Speaker 3: innocent and shouldn't be swept up in this mass deportation,

158
00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,280
Speaker 3: it's going to have an impact on businesses. When business

159
00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,440
Speaker 3: leaders come to my office and with a hospitality industry,

160
00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,720
Speaker 3: restaurant industry, you name it, they tell us that migrants

161
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,480
Speaker 3: and immigrants working on their workforce are critical to their success.

162
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:08,320
Speaker 3: Forty percent of the agricultural workers in Illinois are undocumented.

163
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,440
Speaker 3: If this administration is going to shut down their activities

164
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,080
Speaker 3: on the farm, I guarantee the produce section is going

165
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,160
Speaker 3: to look a lot worse in the stores across America,

166
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,320
Speaker 3: and we're going to see a lot of things increasing

167
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,080
Speaker 3: in price. That is not what the American people voted

168
00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:23,000
Speaker 3: for in the last election.

169
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:26,720
Speaker 2: Senator would be watching for you Thursday morning.

170
00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,800
Speaker 1: In that hearing we discussed Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. We

171
00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:31,880
Speaker 1: thank you for your time. As always on Bloomberg TV,

172
00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:32,360
Speaker 1: and radio