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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You're listening to the

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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast.

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Speaker 2: Catch Just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Emocarplay and.

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Speaker 1: Then roud Otto with the Bloomberg Business app.

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Speaker 2: Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch

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Speaker 2: us live on YouTube.

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Speaker 3: Looking at shares of meta here following that TikTok ruling

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Speaker 3: up about three percent right now, little more than eighteen dollars.

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Speaker 3: Remember Donald Trump said if you get rid of TikTok,

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Speaker 3: well that's going to help Mark Zuckerberg. And there are

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Speaker 3: questions about exactly where this is all going today. It's

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Speaker 3: just one of the things that we want to talk

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Speaker 3: about with Congressman Tim Burchett on a busy Friday that

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Speaker 3: I mentioned. You have made it to the threshold of

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Speaker 3: the weekend. It feels nice today. Now lawmakers have left

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Speaker 3: town after spending some time here in Washington. Tim Burchett

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Speaker 3: might be an exception. Everyone's still talking about the fifteen

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Speaker 3: minute Christmas party. Congressman, welcome back to Bloomberg. It's great

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Speaker 3: to see you, sir. You've got the most famous barn

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Speaker 3: jacket in Washington here for our viewers, and I wonder

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Speaker 3: your thoughts on this ruling. This basically keeps in place

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Speaker 3: the bill that you voted for. I was looking at

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Speaker 3: a news release a short time ago thirteen March from

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Speaker 3: your office. Birchett votes to require CCP affiliated company to

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Speaker 3: divest from TikTok.

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Speaker 4: So has anything changed following this ruling today?

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Speaker 5: Not with me, and I know I'm on opposite side

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Speaker 5: where President Trump is. I would hope that we could

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Speaker 5: get China out of it, out of that business. When

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Speaker 5: China's out of it, I'd be okay with that. It's

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Speaker 5: just another currently right now. I think it's just another

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Speaker 5: avenue for the communist Chinese to indoctrinate our children, and

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Speaker 5: we should watch that because of the way they target

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Speaker 5: them and through algorithms and stuff that I really don't understand.

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Speaker 5: But I know that when I'm talking about I was

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Speaker 5: talking about aluminum solo cups.

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Speaker 6: The other day.

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Speaker 5: My wife and I were talking about them, and then

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Speaker 5: all of a sudden, we both get ads on our

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Speaker 5: phones about them, and so they're listening to us and

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Speaker 5: as we're listening to them.

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Speaker 6: So I would hope parents would be very cautious with with.

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Speaker 3: That happens to the best of us, right, Congressman, you're

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Speaker 3: talking to your wife, Like you said, you mentioned something

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Speaker 3: that I'm getting all these ads that I didn't know

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Speaker 3: was the Chinese doing it.

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Speaker 5: Though, well they with with TikTok it is they I

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Speaker 5: think they're they're under They don't even allow it in

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Speaker 5: their own country, and their country it is an educational device.

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Speaker 5: Over here, it's just a marketing tool for some whacked

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Speaker 5: out clauses. I think that's why you're seeing some In

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Speaker 5: my opinion, you saw arise and mental issues with children

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Speaker 5: after COVID because when they were blocked off from the world,

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Speaker 5: that's all they had to communicate with was their cell phones.

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Speaker 5: And and I think they're they're using that. I think

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Speaker 5: they're using that to undermine our society. And I just

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Speaker 5: think it's a real it's a real tough tough thing.

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Speaker 5: It's tough enough being a kid growing up today, and

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Speaker 5: it's even tougher if you got somebody whispering in your

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Speaker 5: ear continuously about you're too fat, you're not pretty, you're

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Speaker 5: not strong enough, you're this or that. And I just

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Speaker 5: think that we should really be careful about what we

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Speaker 5: expose our children to.

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Speaker 6: Well.

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Speaker 3: Listen, I know this is a real issue for a

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Speaker 3: lot of parents. As you put it in your statement

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Speaker 3: that day, you voted against allowing bye Edance to control

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Speaker 3: what you called an enormous information mining source in the

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Speaker 3: United States. You also mentioned Donald Trump just now, do

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Speaker 3: we really know how he feels about this. I know

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Speaker 3: he had said on the campaign trail that he might

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Speaker 3: work to save TikTok, but he also took action to

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Speaker 3: Bennett when he was in office.

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Speaker 4: Where do you think he really falls down on this?

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Speaker 5: I think he falls down the sides of I hope

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Speaker 5: on patriotism and in the American way. If we could

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Speaker 5: get the communist Chinese influence out of it, I think

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Speaker 5: it would probably pass muster. Then I'll still be sticking

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Speaker 5: where I'm at. I don't trust them. They do not

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Speaker 5: have our best interests at heart, and I'm very cautious

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Speaker 5: of anything they have anything to do with.

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Speaker 4: Well, you think it's as good as banned, then, I

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Speaker 4: mean we're looking at a January deadline here.

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Speaker 5: Well, you know, it's sort of like when we say

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Speaker 5: we're going to ban all these crazy random phone calls

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Speaker 5: from our cell phone, from these marketing groups and things.

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Speaker 5: We banned it for about three minutes and then they

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Speaker 5: figured out a way around it. If it affects their

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Speaker 5: pocket books, they'll do it, but if not, they'll claim

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Speaker 5: they can't do it. And you know, it's like when

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Speaker 5: they say they can't the FBI says they can't crack

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Speaker 5: into somebody's computer or whatever, and then musk bring somebody

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Speaker 5: out and they get into it in fifteen minutes. I

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Speaker 5: think if the financial incentives there, they can do it.

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Speaker 5: Otherwise they're not going to do it.

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Speaker 3: Well, Congressman, I want to ask you about what's happening

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Speaker 3: or will happen on the floor of the House in

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Speaker 3: the next couple of weeks here, because you've got some

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Speaker 3: business to take care of. There is news today House

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Speaker 3: GEOP leadership plans to put the NDAA on.

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Speaker 4: The floor next week.

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Speaker 3: I understand there's a bit of a difference with the

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Speaker 3: Senate when it comes to top line numbers there, but

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Speaker 3: then it's a matter of funding the government, and we

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Speaker 3: understand that the Speaker wants to see a vote on

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Speaker 3: the cr not sure how long it'll last in the

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Speaker 3: week of December sixteenth. Will that just get us through

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Speaker 3: the new year so you can come back and finish

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Speaker 3: or push us to March.

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Speaker 4: What's the right plan here?

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Speaker 6: Well, that remains to be seen.

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Speaker 5: I don't want a hamstring President Trump in the first

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Speaker 5: one hundred days. I have traditionally not been poor crs.

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Speaker 5: I think we're abdicating our duties. You know, we're really

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Speaker 5: constitutionally bound to do one thing, and that's past a budget,

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Speaker 5: and we haven't done that in thirty years. And that's

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Speaker 5: by design. Both parties love it when you pass. They

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Speaker 5: drop a three thousand page bill on your desk and

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Speaker 5: you got two hours to read it, and all you

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Speaker 5: do is for the stuff in your.

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Speaker 6: District, or which.

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Speaker 5: Lobbyist you're going to agree, or where your wife and

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Speaker 5: or your girlfriend, which group they work for, and then

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Speaker 5: you end up voting for those terrible things. And that's

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Speaker 5: why we're what thirty six trillion dollars in debt. So

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Speaker 5: I think we need to do like we do in

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Speaker 5: Tennessee in the legislature, single issue spending bills. And people

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Speaker 5: will say, well, Bartiet will be here all night. Well

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Speaker 5: you pay us over one hundred and seventy thousand.

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Speaker 6: Dollars a year.

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Speaker 5: Dad, we ought to be here all night work and

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Speaker 5: these two hour workdays, to me are kind of annoying.

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Speaker 5: It doesn't sell well back in Tennessee. I can tell

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Speaker 5: you that until we treat this as what it is,

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Speaker 5: it's just going to continue getting worse.

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Speaker 3: What I want to ask you about the matter of

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Speaker 3: supplemental funding, because you obviously are in a state that

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Speaker 3: was impacted by the hurricanes that tour through the southeast

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Speaker 3: a couple of months ago. Should that be added to

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Speaker 3: the cr for the sake of expediating that money. Expediting

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Speaker 3: that money, I should say, Or should that go into

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Speaker 3: an actual budget, assuming there's regular order.

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Speaker 5: In the new year, Well, make no bones about it.

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Speaker 5: If they put it in there, they're just trying to

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Speaker 5: get more boats. It's funny money. They're spending money we

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Speaker 5: do not have. It's our great grandchildren. You say, we're

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Speaker 5: spending our kids money. Man, We're spending our great grandchildren's

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Speaker 5: money right now.

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Speaker 6: It's just more of the same.

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Speaker 5: If we managed our money better, we wouldn't be in

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Speaker 5: this situation. You know, I've got people still up there,

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Speaker 5: have been standing in line and they're told they can't

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Speaker 5: get a seven hundred and fifty dollars check because guess what,

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Speaker 5: they don't have a cell phone, they don't have a

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Speaker 5: dadgum computer. They don't have any identification that got washed

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Speaker 5: away in the flood, for goodness sakes, and you got

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Speaker 5: some smartle bureaucrat up there telling them to no.

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Speaker 6: Or they've got these houses for them that are two

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Speaker 6: hours away.

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Speaker 5: They'll end up losing their jobs and they can't and

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Speaker 5: they can't maintain their own property. This thing's a nightmare.

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Speaker 5: It needs to be. It is a trash can. Quit

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Speaker 5: picking and choosing things to clean out of it. We

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Speaker 5: need to turn it upside down like a trash can,

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Speaker 5: put a garden hose on it, and dismantle all these

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Speaker 5: groups that are doing this stuff. And you know we

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Speaker 5: had when it all went down, Franklin Graham's group, Samaritans

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Speaker 5: Persons up there, Mountain Bride, all these other groups are

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Speaker 5: up there on the ground. FEMA still there as of

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Speaker 5: about a month ago. There's people in North Carolina still.

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Speaker 5: I haven't seen anybody from FEMA.

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Speaker 3: So are you seeing FEMA is the trash can or

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Speaker 3: the government or I just want to understand.

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Speaker 5: Congressmen, Well, they're part of it. FEMA is a trash

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Speaker 5: can in itself. In my opinion, you might have some

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Speaker 5: good people.

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Speaker 6: Up there, but it's just a you know.

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Speaker 5: When you're talking when you're in a Walmart parking lot,

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Speaker 5: playing god with these people's lives, staying in a three

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Speaker 5: hundred dollars a night motel and they don't have running

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Speaker 5: water or electricity, and then you're giving over a billion

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Speaker 5: dollars to illegals, and we got American citizens that have

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Speaker 5: paid into the system that are being turned away. To me,

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Speaker 5: that's a real problem and that there's an arrogance there.

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Speaker 5: There's a lack of connectivity. I think what FEMA needs

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Speaker 5: to be is just to flow through for money that

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Speaker 5: can get to these organizations that actually do the job,

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Speaker 5: like Samaritans perse Well.

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Speaker 3: We do like to think that there are some patriotic

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Speaker 3: Americans working for FEMA who are trying to help people out. Congressman,

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Speaker 3: I'm glad that you could join us today, and happy

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Speaker 3: holidays to you. I hope you still got some cheese

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Speaker 3: whiz left over after the big party yesterday. He's a

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Speaker 3: member of the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs Transportation committees. Congressman

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Speaker 3: Tim Burchett, Republican from Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast kens

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Speaker 1: just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Applecarplay and then

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Speaker 1: roun Oo with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also

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Speaker 1: Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven.

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Speaker 3: As we turn to the transition, it's been a very

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Speaker 3: busy week here in Washington, DC, with Donald Trump's nominees

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Speaker 3: for some awfully important jobs walking the halls of the Senate.

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Speaker 3: As we've told you, we've walked you through all of

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Speaker 3: these alongside names like Pete Hegseth, who has had quite

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Speaker 3: the journey personally and professionally. I think we can say

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Speaker 3: this week with allegations from sexual assault to alcohol abuse

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Speaker 3: following him into all of these meetings, including the sit

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Speaker 3: down with Joni Ernst that we heard so much about,

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Speaker 3: she is still not a yes based on what we're

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Speaker 3: hearing in some aer, suggesting that this could be a

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Speaker 3: short run here for Pete Hegseth. As Donald Trump also

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Speaker 3: talks to Ron DeSantis.

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Speaker 4: About potentially having the job.

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Speaker 3: I've got a little bit of news for you on

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Speaker 3: Ron DeSantis, by the way, but let's hear from heg

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Speaker 3: Seth from last night talking about some of the doubts

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Speaker 3: surrounding his confirmation on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 4: Let's listen to.

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Speaker 7: Senators who are the ones that deserve it, answers to

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Speaker 7: every question they have, and in every office we've stood in,

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Speaker 7: you've welcomed that opportunity.

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Speaker 8: It has been a great week.

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Speaker 7: It's a process that's ongoing, and we look forward to

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Speaker 7: finishing up.

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Speaker 3: I wanted to talk to a sage, someone who understands

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Speaker 3: how Capitol Hill works when it comes to the transition

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Speaker 3: and to all the matters we just discussed with Tim

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Speaker 3: Burchett here creeping up on a funding deadline and a

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Speaker 3: whole new Congress. Lisa Camusa Miller is, of course that voice,

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Speaker 3: Republican strategist, host of the Friday Reporter podcast, and former

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Speaker 3: communications director at the Republican National Committee. Lisa, great to

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Speaker 3: see if, Happy Friday, and welcome back. You've got deep

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Speaker 3: contacts at the Pentagon, and I know that you're closely

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Speaker 3: associated with the national security and defense spaces. There are

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Speaker 3: a lot of concerns, not only about some of the

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Speaker 3: personal issues surrounding Pete Hegseth, and he denies them all,

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Speaker 3: but even just his lack of managerial experience. Now, before

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Speaker 3: I ask you whether you think he's going to get

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Speaker 3: through the week. We've got a headline here, Donald Trump

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Speaker 3: the Army Navy game, and he's bringing Ron DeSantis with.

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Speaker 4: Him this weekend. Now, what do you think about petex Seth.

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Speaker 9: I've been watching all week, Joe, and I think that

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Speaker 9: the time is running out for this nominee. That's my

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Speaker 9: point of view. This has been a tremendous distraction from

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Speaker 9: the transition and from Donald Trump's ascension back to the

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Speaker 9: White House. So to me, it just doesn't add up.

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Speaker 9: There's so many reasons why this nominee is not the

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Speaker 9: right nominee. It seems like an unforced error and one

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Speaker 9: that on all accounts will not possibly make it to Sunday.

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Speaker 9: That would be my if I had two dollars to

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Speaker 9: put on this one, Joe, I'd say, Sunday is today?

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Speaker 8: Wow?

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Speaker 3: All right, So that's he's not doing well obviously, and

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Speaker 3: it's not going to be another John Tower. Some folks thought,

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Speaker 3: you know what, Donald Trump's is going to stand by

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Speaker 3: his man. He said so just this morning. So let's

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Speaker 3: let this thing go through committee and see what the

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Speaker 3: Senators can do.

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Speaker 4: That's not the way this ends in your view.

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Speaker 9: It just doesn't feel that way, Joe. It just feels

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Speaker 9: like the energy is running out for heg Seth. I mean, yes,

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Speaker 9: he's making some progress on the hill. He's having meetings

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Speaker 9: and he's answering questions, and that's really part of the

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Speaker 9: process for sure, But to me, all of the other

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Speaker 9: optics behind the scene, all of the questions about whether

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Speaker 9: or not, I mean, it sounds like he may already

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Speaker 9: have a pick in mind after hag Seth goes away.

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Speaker 9: So to me, more than anything, I feel like he's

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Speaker 9: probably hearing from the Senate, He's probably hearing from his

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Speaker 9: colleagues and the Party, hearing from colleagues and people that

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Speaker 9: he knows and works with well inside the Pentagon and

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Speaker 9: inside the National Defense space. It just seems to me

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Speaker 9: like this is an unnecessary fight to take on, and

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Speaker 9: it seems like one that might go the way that

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Speaker 9: the Gates nominee went, and that is that he would

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Speaker 9: bow out knowing that it's too big a distraction.

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Speaker 3: Well, you know what's going to happen next, Lisa's We're

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Speaker 3: going to turn to Tulsey Gabbard. And considering everything that's

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Speaker 3: blowing up literally right now in Syria, you've got a

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Speaker 3: lot of people saying that she might not make it either.

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Speaker 4: What is that process going to look like?

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Speaker 9: You know, this is like a whack a mole situation, Joe.

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Speaker 9: I mean, it seems to me like there are really

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Speaker 9: four nominees that are very, very vulnerable. The first one

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Speaker 9: we've already seen go in. That's Gates. I think Haig sith.

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Speaker 9: Number two seems like Tulsi Gabbard and and uh and

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Speaker 9: Kennedy is also on the on the chopping block. Those

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Speaker 9: two guys are going to be they'll be the next ones.

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Speaker 9: And you know, look, if you're the if you're the transition,

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Speaker 9: you knew that these were going to be controversial and

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Speaker 9: that they potentially might not be nominees that would ultimately

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Speaker 9: get through. But also it to me feels like it

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Speaker 9: may have even been a strategy, may have been on

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Speaker 9: by design that that they nominate the nominee. Some of

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Speaker 9: these nominees were a little bit out of the box,

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Speaker 9: and we're an opportunity for for nominations beyond those to

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Speaker 9: be ones that would sail right through. So to me,

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Speaker 9: I think that we're going to see that Tulsi Gabbard

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Speaker 9: will be the next one. We look very closely at

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Speaker 9: and we see as one that will also not likely

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Speaker 9: make it over the finish line.

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Speaker 3: Well, I gotta throw this one at you because you

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Speaker 3: mentioned at Gates. Don't make me bring up mad Gates, Lisa.

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Speaker 3: I have been hearing over the last couple of days

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Speaker 3: a growing level of concern that he is going to

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Speaker 3: show up to fill his seat in January as elected.

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Speaker 3: He has not filed paperwork suggesting otherwise, and has only

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Speaker 3: said that he intends to step down.

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Speaker 4: What happens if he shows up? Do you think he

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Speaker 4: does it?

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Speaker 9: I mean, you know these I hate to say it, Joe,

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Speaker 9: but these are politicians, I mean so much about politics

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Speaker 9: as ego, right, And so when you step away, he

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Speaker 9: won that seat. And so if he's not going to

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Speaker 9: be a g and he's not going to be a

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Speaker 9: replacement for the US Senate or a candidate for governor

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Speaker 9: in Florida, then what's in his mind? The way he's

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Speaker 9: moving seems like he would go back potentially to that seat.

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Speaker 9: The only thing that I think holds him back from

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Speaker 9: doing that is the possibility that then that ethics report

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Speaker 9: that so far has held as a secret and not

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Speaker 9: been released potentially could be by those who want to

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Speaker 9: see him go away for good.

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Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad you mentioned that, because the House last

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Speaker 3: night blocked the release of that Ethics Committee report, having

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Speaker 3: forced a vote on this. We talked about that privileged

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Speaker 3: resolution from Sean Casten. Does this thing have to leak

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Speaker 3: now because you know it's going to come.

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Speaker 9: Out, Lisa, Right, it's coming, Joe, It's just it's I mean,

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Speaker 9: you know, the joke in Washington is if you want

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Speaker 9: something out there, you tell Capitol Hill, right, So to me,

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Speaker 9: it seems like it is very likely that that will

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Speaker 9: get out. Matt Gates has made no friends on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 9: He's done everything to make enemies, and there are plenty

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Speaker 9: of people that st aren't even in the House anymore

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Speaker 9: that want to see him go away. So to me,

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Speaker 9: this feels like the other shoe that drops for him,

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Speaker 9: and it's one that really would cause him a tremendous

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Speaker 9: amount of discomfort and legal trouble moving forward. So for him,

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Speaker 9: I don't know, I don't think the risk out weighs

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Speaker 9: the reward. But like I said, in politics, you know,

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Speaker 9: it's a lot of ego, and a lot of it

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Speaker 9: has to do with how that particular candidate feels about themselves.

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Speaker 3: Well, let's do a little lame duck lightning round here, Lisa.

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Speaker 3: Don't you miss the lame duck when you were working

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Speaker 3: in the Speaker's office. Mike Johnson is trying to craft

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Speaker 3: a plan here. We've got two weeks to go until

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Speaker 3: the government runs out of money. The plan as we

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Speaker 3: see it now is to get the NDAA on the

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Speaker 3: floor next week, even though they cannot agree on top

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Speaker 3: lines with the Senate, and then a vote on the

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Speaker 3: cr the week of December sixteenth. Is that actually going

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Speaker 3: to work? And do we avoid a shutdown? How much

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Speaker 3: breathing room do we get?

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Speaker 9: That's going to happen?

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Speaker 8: Joe?

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Speaker 9: It always happens. It's messy. You and I talk about it, twisting,

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Speaker 9: twisting our pearls in our hands, waiting for it to

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Speaker 9: go down. But yeah, the NDAA is going to get done,

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Speaker 9: There's no doubt about it. It'll be negotiation, They'll be

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Speaker 9: back and forth. They'll have to decide whether or not

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Speaker 9: they want to do it under a rule suspension or

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Speaker 9: you know what that all comes down to. But funding

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Speaker 9: for the funding for the Department of Defense and for

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Speaker 9: the support of the country and the and national security

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Speaker 9: is one that everybody has to come together on. Ultimately,

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Speaker 9: the government is another one. I mean, there's no way

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Speaker 9: we come to the end of the year without that

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Speaker 9: getting done. Now, there'll be plenty of threats for having

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Speaker 9: to stay late, having to stay long, having to stay

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Speaker 9: into a Saturday for this congress. But you know better

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Speaker 9: than anything that the smell of jet fumes gets people

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Speaker 9: motivated to vote for legislation to get it done.

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Speaker 4: God knows. I'll tell you what.

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Speaker 3: I talked to a lot of Republican members just yesterday

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Speaker 3: off the record about this, Lisa.

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Speaker 4: None of them knew what the plan was going to be.

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Speaker 3: And if you heard what Tim Burchett just told us

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Speaker 3: at the top of the hour, he's going to have

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Speaker 3: to hold his nose to vote for another cr So

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Speaker 3: you wonder how much space they find here.

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Speaker 4: Do they get the NDAA done?

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Speaker 9: Yeah, I think they do. They're absolutely going to have

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Speaker 9: to get that, and both of those are must pass legislation.

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Speaker 9: They've got to get done before the end of the year.

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Speaker 9: It's going to be a mess before it all gets decided.

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Speaker 9: But yeah, I think more than anything, they are going

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Speaker 9: to have to make a decision. Nobody likes the fact

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Speaker 9: that we have to get to a position where we

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Speaker 9: have to have a continuing resolution into the next year.

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Speaker 9: But the truth of it is is that they have

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Speaker 9: a job they are elected to do, and that job

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Speaker 9: is to get that business done, and so I think

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Speaker 9: more than anything, they'll be motivated to finish it and

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Speaker 9: get it right, because otherwise it's just another big, big

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Speaker 9: battle to have to get through over the course of

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Speaker 9: the holidays and into the new year.

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Speaker 3: I mentioned Tim Burchett. You see at his fifteen minute

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Speaker 3: Christmas party yesterday. This is like, you have to attend

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Speaker 3: this if you're in the house now. I guess that

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Speaker 3: they didn't have this when you were there, Lisa. Fifteen minutes,

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Speaker 3: he gives you a little cheese whiz on a cracker,

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Speaker 3: You take a picture with Santa, and you go on

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Speaker 3: your way.

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Speaker 4: But the question is who is Santa? Do we have

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Speaker 4: this picture here? Did you see Santos Claus?

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Speaker 3: We spent enough time talking about George Santos in his

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Speaker 3: illustrious political career, Lisa, that you should have a piece

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Speaker 3: of this.

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Speaker 4: There he is with.

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Speaker 3: Congresswoman Debbie Dingle, wearing the beard and the full outfit.

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Speaker 4: We have clearly come to a new level here in Washington.

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Speaker 4: What do you think?

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Speaker 9: Yeah, I think that it's just silly and it's what

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Speaker 9: people are really tired of from Washington, d C. We

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Speaker 9: probably need to clean up our act.

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Speaker 3: I think did Debbie Dingle take that picture on purpose?

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Speaker 3: Merry Christmas, Santos Claus. We are clearly through the looking glass.

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Speaker 3: We'll assemble our panel next. I'm Joe Matthew at Washington.

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Speaker 3: This is Bloomberg.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast.

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Speaker 2: Catch Just Live weekdays at noon Eastern Onmocarplay and then

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Speaker 2: roud Otto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand

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00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:28,640
Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube.

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Speaker 4: Let's get the panel back together.

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Speaker 3: It's Friday, and we've got both of our signature panelists

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Speaker 3: with us. The aforementioned Genie Schanze, no Bloomberg Politics contributor

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Speaker 3: and democratic analyst, political science professor at Iona University.

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Speaker 4: And there's Rick.

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Speaker 3: Davis, republican strategist partner at Stone Court Capital, Bloomberg Politics contributors.

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Speaker 4: Both Hey, Rick Block, the talk. Is it going to happen?

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Speaker 10: Yeah, look, it's already happened. The question is who's going

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Speaker 10: to make it unhappen. I don't think there's any chance

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Speaker 10: that it's going to sell between now and the end

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Speaker 10: of the year and the Supreme Court, I can't imagine

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Speaker 10: them overturning this.

438
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,240
Speaker 11: Federal Appeeals Court decision.

439
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:09,440
Speaker 10: So government has expended its will, and I think all

440
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,320
Speaker 10: of this could be sort of settled case load by

441
00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,840
Speaker 10: the time Donald Trump takes his oath of office on

442
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:16,960
Speaker 10: January twentieth.

443
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:18,640
Speaker 11: So we'll see.

444
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,680
Speaker 10: But it seems like the blockers are getting the way

445
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:22,960
Speaker 10: they want with talk.

446
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,639
Speaker 3: Wow, amazing, Genie, What do you think about this? And

447
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,560
Speaker 3: does Donald Trump really know what he wants? We've heard

448
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,800
Speaker 3: every version of this, but most recently from the President elect.

449
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,399
Speaker 3: He said at least before the election that he is

450
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,199
Speaker 3: now against a TikTok ban, will work to save the

451
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,800
Speaker 3: word he used the social media platform. Do you think

452
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,119
Speaker 3: he talked about this with Zuckerberg over dinner?

453
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:43,760
Speaker 8: Oh?

454
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:44,400
Speaker 11: I bet they did.

455
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,359
Speaker 12: And by the way, the best part of this and

456
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,480
Speaker 12: why we must keep the block the talk is to

457
00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,800
Speaker 12: hear Rick Davis say that repeatedly while we move forward.

458
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:53,399
Speaker 12: So it's so fun to listen to.

459
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:54,480
Speaker 8: You know.

460
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:56,240
Speaker 12: The big question here is going to be does the

461
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 12: Supreme Court grant cert do they get four justices to

462
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,800
Speaker 12: area to hear this case. I am not quite sure

463
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,800
Speaker 12: they're going to get there. And if that's the case,

464
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,399
Speaker 12: then this decision by this court will stand, and of course,

465
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:11,800
Speaker 12: going forward, it's going to be a quick question of

466
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 12: you know, does TikTok sell? And what could Donald Trump

467
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:20,680
Speaker 12: do at that point to stop that? I mean, they

468
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,320
Speaker 12: are Republicans taking over the Congress. I suppose that if

469
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,720
Speaker 12: he exerts pressure, if he's really so intended, he could

470
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,480
Speaker 12: try to do something. But that is really going to

471
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,000
Speaker 12: be an uphill battle. So I think unless the Supreme

472
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,359
Speaker 12: Court takes this case, and you know, that would just

473
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,640
Speaker 12: extend this out for a while longer, because if they

474
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,639
Speaker 12: took it now and heard it, that would be pretty

475
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,879
Speaker 12: fast to hear it and decide by early next spring

476
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:45,440
Speaker 12: for the Court.

477
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,679
Speaker 3: It's kind of funny Rick to be having this conversation

478
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 3: after both campaigns used TikTok on the daily right to

479
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,800
Speaker 3: be posting information. You can't get away from this thing.

480
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 3: It's the very same people who are debating whether we

481
00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 3: should ban it that are using it.

482
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:00,639
Speaker 11: Absolutely.

483
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,280
Speaker 10: But like when you're running a campaign, you use whatever

484
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,479
Speaker 10: resources are available. Uh and and you know, look at

485
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 10: there are hundreds of millions of eyeballs on TikTok.

486
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,159
Speaker 11: So it's not that they haven't been successful.

487
00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,800
Speaker 10: It's that, you know, there are links to the Communist

488
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 10: Party of China and their pernicious effect on you know,

489
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,639
Speaker 10: our young people is enough cause to warrant Congress and

490
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,120
Speaker 10: the administer, this current administration to want to kick them out.

491
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,960
Speaker 10: And I think that right now, unless Steve Manuchin or

492
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,000
Speaker 10: Kevin O'Leary or one of these guys comes out of

493
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,080
Speaker 10: the woodwork with you know, tens of billions of dollars

494
00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 10: of money to buy it from the Chinese, this thing

495
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:41,720
Speaker 10: is done well.

496
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,320
Speaker 3: Remembering China's got to approve this too. It's just something

497
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,440
Speaker 3: that we don't always talk about. I want to get

498
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,239
Speaker 3: to the to do list here because I'm guessing this

499
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,240
Speaker 3: is not keeping Mike Johnson up at night.

500
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,159
Speaker 4: They've already dealt with the legislation.

501
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 3: Now we need to deal with closing out this Congress

502
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 3: and Rick and Genie, we do have a bit of

503
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,679
Speaker 3: a roadmap as of yesterday. How's GOP leadership telling us

504
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,679
Speaker 3: they put the NDAA on the floor next week, the

505
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,960
Speaker 3: week after week of December sixteenth, we get to vote

506
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,520
Speaker 3: on a CR, everyone leaves town, and then the Senate

507
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,639
Speaker 3: would take up government funding. I guess that week of

508
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:16,919
Speaker 3: the twentieth, which means we're going to walk right up

509
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,440
Speaker 3: to the line. Jeanie, does that sound like a plan.

510
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 12: It sounds like the one hundred and eighteenth Congress, Joe.

511
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,680
Speaker 12: I was just thinking back. The three of us sat

512
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,560
Speaker 12: here and talked about what a bizarre Congress this has

513
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 12: been from start to finish two years ago when they

514
00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,400
Speaker 12: came in, you know, and now where are we there

515
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,119
Speaker 12: limping their way out. I think it's probably the best

516
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,120
Speaker 12: case scenario we can think of at this point. But

517
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,439
Speaker 12: the reality is is that this is in Congress that

518
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:51,280
Speaker 12: has been really the definition of a do nothing Congress.

519
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 12: They have been really unable to do even the most

520
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,679
Speaker 12: basic aspects of governing, and so many people's frustration. The

521
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,439
Speaker 12: idea that we are going to keep this government funded,

522
00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,719
Speaker 12: or hopefully keep it funded again on a CR is

523
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:09,119
Speaker 12: just depressing, and I think that is what will likely happen.

524
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,200
Speaker 12: Best case scenario, neither side see sees that it's in

525
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 12: their political interest to let the government shut down, and

526
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,960
Speaker 12: I can't imagine anybody sees that in their interest.

527
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:20,919
Speaker 4: Right, now, give us your take on this.

528
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:21,200
Speaker 6: Rick.

529
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,040
Speaker 3: We talked to Tim Burchet a little while ago. He

530
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 3: is to hold his nose, I guess, and vote for

531
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,440
Speaker 3: what the Republican leadership decides. What are we going to

532
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,880
Speaker 3: have a situation where we just kick things into early

533
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,920
Speaker 3: next year and then have to decide whether it's March

534
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 3: or September or God forbid, regular order.

535
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,800
Speaker 10: Yeah, look, I think that they'll wind up getting a

536
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 10: package put together. I mean, the number one priority obviously

537
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,919
Speaker 10: is the National Defense Authorization Act, and that's scheduled to

538
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 10: go and very little mystery around that getting done. It's

539
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,040
Speaker 10: just a procedural matter. But look, this has been a

540
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,280
Speaker 10: do nothing Congress, and look how well our country's doing.

541
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,680
Speaker 10: I mean, maybe this should be the pattern in the futures.

542
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,119
Speaker 10: Do nothing, don't screw up our country anymore, and then

543
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,320
Speaker 10: maybe we in the private sector can actually continue to

544
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 10: motivate investment and job creation and prosperity. Those are three

545
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,640
Speaker 10: things that the United States government has never been good at.

546
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,439
Speaker 10: So yeah, I don't think it's going to be so

547
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,760
Speaker 10: much about what are we going to get past this year?

548
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 11: That's set in stone.

549
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,080
Speaker 10: Now they'll be working Christmas week, but that won't be

550
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,800
Speaker 10: the first time that's ever happened. And I think it's

551
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,720
Speaker 10: a clear slate for the next administration and the Republican

552
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:34,640
Speaker 10: Congress to put its stamp on, not just this budget that'll,

553
00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 10: you know, basically run out in March if they stayed

554
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,600
Speaker 10: a plan, or and the next year's budget, which will

555
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,720
Speaker 10: give them plenty of time to work their will on that.

556
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,439
Speaker 4: Are we going to light up this Christmas tree with

557
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:47,120
Speaker 4: anything else?

558
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:47,320
Speaker 6: Here?

559
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:47,600
Speaker 7: Rick?

560
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,479
Speaker 3: I talked to Congressman Birchett, for instance, about emergency funding.

561
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,800
Speaker 3: There's going to be a supplemental, whether it's attached to

562
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,439
Speaker 3: this one or the next. But are lawmakers going to

563
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,680
Speaker 3: be able to attach amendments, get any last minute prizes

564
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,240
Speaker 3: under the tree before they go home.

565
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,400
Speaker 10: Yeah, they'll try to decorate the tree, and I have

566
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,160
Speaker 10: no doubt that right now the discussions between the House

567
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,440
Speaker 10: and Senator are going on to create that supplemental that

568
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:17,040
Speaker 10: will add money to our emergency spending, FEMA, disaster assistance,

569
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,159
Speaker 10: that kind of thing. Look, we need to help the

570
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:22,800
Speaker 10: people who have been affected by these horrible storms, including

571
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,960
Speaker 10: those in Burkett's district, and I think those are just

572
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,360
Speaker 10: the most responsible measures. I don't get the sense that

573
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,600
Speaker 10: they are going to have any trouble getting time limits,

574
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 10: for instance, in the Senate, to limit the number of

575
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,760
Speaker 10: amendments so it won't be like shootout, OK corral. You know,

576
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,000
Speaker 10: it only ends when the bullets are done, you know,

577
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,160
Speaker 10: and you run out of AMMO. I think everyone really

578
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,520
Speaker 10: wants to get out of here, wants to celebrate the

579
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,760
Speaker 10: victories on the Republican side and explore their losses on

580
00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,479
Speaker 10: the Democratic side. And I don't see the real burning

581
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,240
Speaker 10: interest in fighting in Congress right now.

582
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, one thing that we do know is that there's

583
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,000
Speaker 3: no agreement on any of this genie you talk about

584
00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,959
Speaker 3: the NDAA. The Senate is twenty five billion dollars apart

585
00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,800
Speaker 3: from the House, and there's no agreement on top line

586
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:16,400
Speaker 3: numbers for funding the government for the CR. Is there

587
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,960
Speaker 3: a chance I'm going to get people upset by asking

588
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 3: is there a chance?

589
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 4: Do we sleep walk into a shutdown?

590
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:22,679
Speaker 8: Gosh? I hope not.

591
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 12: There's always a chance, But again I don't see it

592
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 12: in anybody's interest. But what you just mentioned, Joe, is

593
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,479
Speaker 12: so important the timing of this thing. If they only

594
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,879
Speaker 12: get a short term extension and that goes until March.

595
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:39,040
Speaker 12: Think about the impact of that on the President and

596
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:44,040
Speaker 12: the new Republican House and Senate's ability to move forward

597
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 12: with their really, really ambitious policy agenda. We're already seeing

598
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 12: the GOP sort of starting to battle it out between

599
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,000
Speaker 12: the House and the Senate as to whether, in fact

600
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,720
Speaker 12: they should try to do two reconciliation bills or one.

601
00:28:59,040 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 11: Donald Trump has.

602
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,520
Speaker 12: An ambitious agenda, That's why he's been moving forward so

603
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,000
Speaker 12: quickly gets trying to get these appointments done. But imagine

604
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,160
Speaker 12: if the short term extension goes until March and their

605
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,320
Speaker 12: one hundred days is disrupted by that. And add on

606
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 12: to that the fact that Donald Trump is entering with

607
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 12: the thinnest of thinnest majorities in the House, if you

608
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 12: can even call it a majority, and that is going

609
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,280
Speaker 12: to just make this so much more difficult. A razor

610
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 12: thin majority of just one vote, and a far more

611
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 12: conservative number of members in that MAGA group, and so

612
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,880
Speaker 12: all of that is going to make it difficult to

613
00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 12: move forward. So what happens in these next two weeks

614
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,080
Speaker 12: matters so much for the GOP as to what they

615
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 12: do going forward. Not to mention that Mike Johnson has

616
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,520
Speaker 12: to have a vote to be speaker again in January.

617
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,080
Speaker 12: So he's got to try to keep everybody moving forward,

618
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,480
Speaker 12: knowing that just one or two of them can disrupt

619
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 12: his plans to become speaker again.

620
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:02,160
Speaker 3: All I know is Rick Davis's preferred political poll came

621
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,200
Speaker 3: out this morning on this job's day. That, of course

622
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 3: would not be a poll. It's the University of Michigan

623
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,160
Speaker 3: Consumer Sentiment Index. We're going to be talking about the jobs,

624
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 3: reporting a lot about the economy at the top of

625
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 3: our next hour, Rick, what we have here is the

626
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,680
Speaker 3: highest level since April hit seventy four.

627
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,040
Speaker 4: But at the same time, inflation.

628
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,920
Speaker 3: Expectations rose to a five month high because people see

629
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 3: a greater risk with Donald Trump's proposed tariffs coming into

630
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:29,360
Speaker 3: the picture.

631
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 4: Which number is more important.

632
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 11: Look, I think they're both important.

633
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,800
Speaker 10: The good news is consumers were trying to feel the

634
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,160
Speaker 10: impact of what has been a robust economy for the

635
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 10: last six months. Came a little bit too late for

636
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:50,000
Speaker 10: the Harris campaign, but they are and should be cautious

637
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,200
Speaker 10: about the future because they have seen good times past

638
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:58,440
Speaker 10: and have been disappointed with the economic stewardship of the

639
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,240
Speaker 10: government that brought us the inflation to begin with so, yeah,

640
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 10: I think that I think that both these numbers are

641
00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 10: not actually in contrast to one another, but predictive of

642
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,920
Speaker 10: the future. And I think this is one of the

643
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 10: big burning questions after the meetings with the Doge Group

644
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 10: on Capitol Hill, is are we cutting the budget to

645
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,280
Speaker 10: reduce the deficit or are we spending more money to

646
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 10: you know, promote our goals and objectives you know, in

647
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,480
Speaker 10: you know, with these policy positions, and both of those

648
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 10: don't work together.

649
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:34,120
Speaker 4: Great to have you both with us.

650
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,320
Speaker 3: As always, there are signature panel Rick Davis and Genie Shanzano.

651
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast kens

652
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,520
Speaker 1: just live weekdays at noon Eastern on Appocarplay and then

653
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,560
Speaker 1: Roudoto with the Bloomberg Business app.

654
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:50,479
Speaker 2: You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our

655
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 2: flagship New York station, Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty.

656
00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,480
Speaker 3: Really glad to say that we can spend some time

657
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,880
Speaker 3: with Jim Times today. The gentleman from Connecticut is with

658
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 3: us here, Democratic Congressman, ranking member House Permanent Select Committee

659
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 3: on Intelligence. He's also a member the Financial Services Committee. Congressman.

660
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,360
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Bloomberg TV and radio. We've been talking

661
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,440
Speaker 3: about TikTok all day long, and it wouldn't be the

662
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 3: first time that you and I have spoken about this.

663
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,280
Speaker 3: I remember distinctly you're voting against that bill, the divest

664
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,520
Speaker 3: Or band bill, when it was standalone, and voted for

665
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 3: it when it was part of a larger package that

666
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,160
Speaker 3: included a bunch of things, including Ukraine funding. Where's your

667
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 3: head on this today.

668
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 13: Yeah, so my head is where it always has been,

669
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 13: which is, you know, I remain deeply uncomfortable with the

670
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 13: United States government telling the citizens of the United States

671
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,720
Speaker 13: that there are media outlets.

672
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,760
Speaker 8: That they cannot have access to.

673
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,360
Speaker 13: Now, you know, I'm the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee,

674
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,360
Speaker 13: so I have a pretty specific sense for what China

675
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 13: is able to do. I also know that todate they

676
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 13: have not used TikTok as a way to either exfiltrade

677
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 13: information on Americans or as a way to try to

678
00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,560
Speaker 13: influence Americans. So, you know, we're talking about a potential danger,

679
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 13: no question that. But you know, before the appellate ruling

680
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 13: on you know, just today, I guess it was you know,

681
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,880
Speaker 13: I thought it would be pretty clearly unconstitutional for the

682
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 13: government to take the position it had. You know, now,

683
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,640
Speaker 13: I guess they'll either go to the full appellate court

684
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:18,600
Speaker 13: or the Supreme Court for a file decision on the constitutionality.

685
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, bite Dan says it will appeal this to the

686
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 3: Supreme Court or I guess TikTok In this case, A

687
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 3: lot of this seems to be resting on what Donald

688
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:27,520
Speaker 3: Trump wants to do. I don't know if you see

689
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 3: it that way, Congressman, but he's had an evolution here,

690
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:32,200
Speaker 3: having tried to ban TikTok at one point, he now

691
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,920
Speaker 3: says he wants to save the platform. But I guess

692
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 3: I'm not sure how that would work now that this

693
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 3: is law, and based on the court ruling we saw today,

694
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,280
Speaker 3: that might not be changing. Unless, of course, Mike Johnson

695
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:47,920
Speaker 3: Craft's a whole new bill to overturn what has been passed.

696
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:49,400
Speaker 4: Would you support that effort?

697
00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,560
Speaker 13: Well, you ask a really interesting question, right, I mean,

698
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:57,360
Speaker 13: you know, Donald Trump is pretty attuned to those things

699
00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,440
Speaker 13: that would reduce his popularity. You know, I'm told that

700
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:02,880
Speaker 13: almost half of Americans whatever it is, one hundred and

701
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,040
Speaker 13: seventy five million or so, have accounts on TikTok, especially

702
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:09,960
Speaker 13: young people. You're you know, setting aside the constitutionality and

703
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,600
Speaker 13: all the other national security questions.

704
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,280
Speaker 8: Here, Wow, talk about a major disruption.

705
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:16,880
Speaker 13: So my guess is that Donald Trump, attune, dizzy is

706
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:20,560
Speaker 13: to his own popularity, may come into this saying, you know,

707
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:22,880
Speaker 13: can I find a way to postpone this or to

708
00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:26,719
Speaker 13: you know, try to engineer an acquisition of the property

709
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:30,600
Speaker 13: away from ByteDance. But my guess is that he's going

710
00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:32,319
Speaker 13: to kind of double down on his opposition to it,

711
00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 13: just because if it happens on his watch. Look, he

712
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 13: can try to blame Joe Biden, who signed the law,

713
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,279
Speaker 13: but it'll happen on his watch, and my guess is

714
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,080
Speaker 13: that that's not going to be a comfortable moment for him.

715
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,800
Speaker 3: As we spend time with Congressman Jim Hims of Connecticut,

716
00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:45,320
Speaker 3: a couple of things I'd love to ask you about.

717
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,720
Speaker 3: Starting with a lame duck session, We've got a funding

718
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:48,840
Speaker 3: deadline in two weeks.

719
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:50,200
Speaker 4: Congressman, is there going.

720
00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,320
Speaker 3: To be a deal here in time to avoid a shutdown?

721
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 4: And how long?

722
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,759
Speaker 3: How much time will that provide. We're hearing stories about

723
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,239
Speaker 3: potentially kicking the can into early next year, so you

724
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 3: can revisit the ODID issue in a new Congress. There's

725
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,200
Speaker 3: some Republicans, though, say kick it all the way to September,

726
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,799
Speaker 3: so Donald Trump doesn't have to worry about it.

727
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,560
Speaker 4: Where are you?

728
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:11,320
Speaker 13: Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a country

729
00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,480
Speaker 13: where the president's worries weren't what determined whether we have

730
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 13: a budget for the United States of America or not.

731
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,279
Speaker 13: But anyway, I think the answer to your question is

732
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,520
Speaker 13: pretty clear. Yes, the budget expires on January twentieth. No,

733
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:24,719
Speaker 13: there will not be other than maybe a couple of

734
00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:27,600
Speaker 13: fringy social media colleagues that I have, that will be

735
00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 13: zero appetite for a risk of a government shutdown. Especially

736
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,160
Speaker 13: going into a period when we're going to have a

737
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,080
Speaker 13: Republican House, Senate, and presidency. There's going to be zero,

738
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,400
Speaker 13: zero appetite for the kind of histrionics that led to

739
00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:40,759
Speaker 13: shutdowns in the past. So my guess is that, no,

740
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,520
Speaker 13: there won't be a shutdown. In fact, they may even

741
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,520
Speaker 13: try to get it done earlier than December twentieth so

742
00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:45,480
Speaker 13: that people can go home.

743
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:46,040
Speaker 8: For the holidays.

744
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:48,279
Speaker 13: My best guess is that they kick it into you know,

745
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,680
Speaker 13: probably late winter, early spring. And if I were a Republican,

746
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,719
Speaker 13: I would say why not at that point. We've got

747
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,920
Speaker 13: the House and the Senate, the presidency, so we can

748
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,840
Speaker 13: work our will. But that's my best guess as to

749
00:35:58,880 --> 00:35:59,640
Speaker 13: how this proceeds.

750
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:02,960
Speaker 3: Congress Span you're the ranking member, as we have already

751
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,240
Speaker 3: determined here on the Intelligence Committee. And there's a wild

752
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,799
Speaker 3: story unfolding in Syria right now that's difficult to tell

753
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,839
Speaker 3: where it is going, with government forces reinforcing some strongholds

754
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,080
Speaker 3: here even as rebel fighters make their way closer to Damascus.

755
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,360
Speaker 3: I know that you can't predict the way this is

756
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,520
Speaker 3: going to end, but I wonder if this story is

757
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 3: going to revisit Tulsi Gabbard's relationship with Bashar Ala Sad.

758
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,680
Speaker 3: It's something that you know more about than most Americans,

759
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 3: and how that might impact her confirmation process to be

760
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:32,160
Speaker 3: the next d and.

761
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:34,840
Speaker 8: I yeah, yeah, interesting. Interesting.

762
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,440
Speaker 13: The Tulsia angle is an interesting one, you know, one

763
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 13: of the many causes of concern for Tulsi Gabbard. I

764
00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,600
Speaker 13: think the reason you asked the question is that after

765
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 13: Basher alas Sad, you know, gassed his own people and

766
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,960
Speaker 13: just did you know all that horrible stuff during the

767
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,440
Speaker 13: Obama administration, After all of that, Tulsa Gabbard went to

768
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:54,480
Speaker 13: Damascus to sit with them, and you sort of scratch

769
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:56,280
Speaker 13: your head and say, what the heck is happening there.

770
00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,040
Speaker 13: I can't imagine it's a happy thing for Tulsi Gabbard's

771
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,319
Speaker 13: confirmation process and the Senate to have all of the

772
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,640
Speaker 13: Senators and much of the world reminded of what an

773
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,879
Speaker 13: appalling character Assad is. So yeah, I'm sure I don't

774
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,160
Speaker 13: think Telsea's timing was or at least the timing of

775
00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,600
Speaker 13: this rebellion against Assad was particularly good for Telsey Gabbard.

776
00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:17,040
Speaker 8: But look, it's a remarkable event.

777
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,080
Speaker 13: It's pretty clear that the rebels saw that Assad's helpers,

778
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 13: that is to say, the Iranians and the Russians are

779
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,480
Speaker 13: shall we say occupied elsewhere, and took advantage of that

780
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,000
Speaker 13: fact to really make remarkable gains. They've taken the city

781
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,800
Speaker 13: of Aleppo, I understand, they may have taken some of

782
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:35,360
Speaker 13: the cities on the way to Damascus, Homs and Hama.

783
00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,879
Speaker 13: And it looks like the Assad regime is collapsing. And now,

784
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:41,839
Speaker 13: by the way, when I say collapsing, that doesn't mean

785
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:43,360
Speaker 13: that he's on a plane out of there. But it

786
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 13: sort of feels like the regime now is in control

787
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:47,880
Speaker 13: largely of Damascus and the surrounding areas.

788
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 3: When you hear members of Congress called Tulsey Gabbard a

789
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,000
Speaker 3: Russian asset, what do you say?

790
00:37:56,200 --> 00:38:00,520
Speaker 13: You know, I am not a fan of hyperbole, and

791
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:05,280
Speaker 13: I think that people in positions of responsibility should should

792
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,759
Speaker 13: be very careful about the language they use. There's no

793
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 13: reason to believe that Telsea Gabbard is a Russian asset.

794
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:14,160
Speaker 13: There is also no reason to believe that she has

795
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,759
Speaker 13: the experience or the temperament necessary to have the top

796
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,719
Speaker 13: position in our intelligence community. But look, when we start

797
00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:23,320
Speaker 13: throwing around loose language like that, what we do is

798
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:27,799
Speaker 13: we degrade the quality of the really important conversations that

799
00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 13: we do need to have about our national security.

800
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 3: I appreciate that answer. I've only got about two minutes left.

801
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:34,960
Speaker 4: Congressman.

802
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:36,719
Speaker 3: I want to ask you about something important that is

803
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,120
Speaker 3: personal to you, and that is a series of bomb

804
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,400
Speaker 3: threats that were posed against yourself and other members of

805
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:45,680
Speaker 3: the Connecticut and New England House delegations. You issued a

806
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,520
Speaker 3: statement about this. On the twenty eighth of November. You

807
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:51,719
Speaker 3: were notified of a bomb threat targeting your home while

808
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,839
Speaker 3: you were celebrating Thanksgiving with your family. Based on the

809
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:59,719
Speaker 3: multiple assassination attempts that we saw against Donald Trump during

810
00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:04,640
Speaker 3: the campaign. This, of course, now the killing of a

811
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:09,399
Speaker 3: prominent healthcare CEO in midtown Manhattan. Is it about time

812
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,359
Speaker 3: that members of Congress are provided security details?

813
00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 8: Yeah?

814
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,279
Speaker 13: I you know, I've been doing this for a little

815
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:19,520
Speaker 13: while now, sixteen years to be exact, and honestly, I

816
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:24,280
Speaker 13: have never felt perhaps with the exception of January sixth,

817
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:26,839
Speaker 13: twenty twenty one, when my workplace was attacked as we

818
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,839
Speaker 13: were trying to tally the electoral votes, I've really never

819
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:33,359
Speaker 13: felt insecure. A bomb threat on Thanksgiving is an awful thing,

820
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:35,680
Speaker 13: but you know, it was also very clear right up

821
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,319
Speaker 13: front that this was not a was not a serious thing.

822
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:40,400
Speaker 8: So before I went.

823
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,080
Speaker 13: To providing a security detail for all five hundred and

824
00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,840
Speaker 13: thirty five members of Congress, I would say it would

825
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:52,080
Speaker 13: really help if we, as leaders, but as the American people,

826
00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:55,720
Speaker 13: as citizens of a great democracy, would work really hard

827
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,280
Speaker 13: to take the tone of our conversations down.

828
00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:01,960
Speaker 8: Is that going to solve the problem? No, it won't.

829
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,680
Speaker 13: But if we start using decent language and start treating

830
00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:07,440
Speaker 13: each other as fellow Americans, a lot of this stuff

831
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:09,520
Speaker 13: will eventually begin to dissipate.

832
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,600
Speaker 3: Congressman Jim Himes, Democrat from Connecticut. We thank you, sir

833
00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:17,120
Speaker 3: for the insights today. I'm Joe, Matthew and Washington. This

834
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:23,759
Speaker 3: is Bloomberg. Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast.

835
00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:27,520
Speaker 3: Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already, at Apple, Spotify,

836
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,200
Speaker 3: or wherever you get your podcasts, and you can find

837
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:33,480
Speaker 3: us live every weekday from Washington, DC at noontime Eastern

838
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,080
Speaker 3: at Bloomberg dot com.