1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 2: As the US and Israel continue their attacks on Iran, 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 2: the White House is now trying to sell Congress on 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 2: the war it's already started. 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,959 Speaker 1: They have let this go on for a handful of 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: days now without sort of a clear rationale of what 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: has happened, how long this will go. 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 2: On Bloomberg National Political correspondent Nancy Cook. 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: And now they're trying to play catch up, both with 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: lawmakers with their own base. Now they're really on the defensive. 11 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 2: President Trump made the case today that it was critical 12 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 2: to hit Iran before it attacked the US or An Ally. 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 3: We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was 14 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 3: my opinion that they were going to attack first. They 15 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 3: were going to attack if we didn't do it, they 16 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 3: were going to attack first. I fell strongly about. 17 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 2: Members of the administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 18 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 2: are holding an all Congress briefing today. Rubio also brief 19 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: Congression Leader's Monday and has been insistent that the Trump 20 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 2: administration gave Congress at least some high profile members the 21 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: necessary notice before striking targets in Iran. 22 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: We notified Congress. I mean we notified the Gang of Eight. 23 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 3: We notified Congressional leadership. 24 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: There's no law that requires us to do that. 25 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 3: The law says we have to notify them forty eight 26 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 3: hours after beginning hostilities. 27 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 2: With Technically, Congress not the president has the power to 28 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 2: declare war, and members of Congress, mostly Democrats, like Senator 29 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 2: Mark Warner, have pushed back on the idea that the 30 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 2: Trump administration followed constitutional procedure. 31 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 4: System says, before president choosers to go to war, you 32 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 4: got to get a declaration. You've got to get make 33 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 4: the case the American people. You've got to ask Congress. 34 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,559 Speaker 4: None of that took place as he chose to start 35 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 4: this war Friday night. 36 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: But there are also criticisms coming in from Trump's own party. 37 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 2: In posts on social media, Senator Ran Paul and Congressman 38 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 2: Thomas Massey, both of Kentucky, said they were opposed to 39 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: this war. 40 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: There has been a real split within the magus. You 41 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: have some that are supporting the president and others who 42 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: say this is not the America first president that we 43 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: signed up for. 44 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 2: I'm Sarah Holder, and this is the big take from 45 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 2: Bloomberg News Today on the show, As conflict widens, in 46 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 2: the Middle East. Tensions are also rising on Capitol Hill. 47 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 2: What are Trump's plans for what comes next? And what 48 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 2: power does Congress have to shape the direction of this conflict. 49 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 2: Four days into the war with Iran, I sat down 50 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 2: with Bloomberg National political correspondent Nancy Cook and National security 51 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 2: reporter Jamie Terrabey to discuss the Trump administration's shifting justifications 52 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 2: for launching joint strikes on Iran with Israel. So, Nancy, 53 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 2: President Trump has said these attacks may last four to 54 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,959 Speaker 2: five weeks, possibly more. Monday Night on True Social Heat 55 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 2: even said the US had enough weapons to fight wars forever. 56 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 2: What do we know about what he's looking to accomplish 57 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 2: in Iran and how long he's actually willing to let 58 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 2: this war go on. 59 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: Well, I think that the President has given a lot 60 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: of different statements to a lot of different people. He 61 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: talked to about you know, ten or more journalists over 62 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: the weekend, sort of highlighting what his rationales were and 63 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: what the time frame would be. There have been a 64 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: bunch of shifting explanations for you know, four to five weeks. 65 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: We've also heard it could be much longer, you know. 66 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: Secretary of State Rubio said that we were doing this 67 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: because of Israel. Other people have said, oh, it's because 68 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: of a nuclear weapon. I mean, I think that the 69 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: point is is that there has just been a remarkable 70 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: amount of shifting justifications, both for the time frame and 71 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: also the reason why we're doing this. 72 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 2: And let's tick through some of these justifications that we've 73 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 2: heard from the President so far. There's the idea that 74 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 2: this could spark regime change, permanently disable Iron's nuclear missile capabilities, 75 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 2: stop its shipments of roadside bombs, ended support for armed 76 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 2: proxy groups, all of these suggestions by Trump of what 77 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 2: the reason for this war has been. Why is military 78 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 2: intervention the strategy? Why not continue negotiations with Iran? For example? 79 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: Well, I think that two things. One, Trump has always 80 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: been very aligned with Israel and has always really followed 81 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: their lead, and this is something that not in Yahoo wants. 82 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: You could argue why he wants to do that for 83 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: his own political survival or for the safety of Israel. 84 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: I'll leave that to others to decide. But Trump has 85 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: always been very aligned with him, and so you know 86 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: they are following Israel's lead on this. Secretary of State 87 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: Marco Rubu basically said that on the Hill just outright yesterday, 88 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: which is something that a lot of political people latched 89 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: onto and were sort of thought that was interesting. But 90 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: then two more broadly, Trump really came back into office 91 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: because people were disillusioned with the state of the economy. However, 92 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: now that he is back in office for his second term, 93 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: he doesn't have to run for re election again, and 94 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: he really wants to go for it in terms of 95 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: establishing his legacy, and to him, that means remaking the 96 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: world order, getting rid of leaders who he sees as 97 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: bad actors. And he has really sort of changed his 98 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: tune on nation building and become much more of a 99 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: foreign policy hawk and a second term than I think 100 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: anyone anticipated. And I think that a lot of the 101 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: MAGA base is pretty surprised because in his second term, 102 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: what we've seen is, you know, he captured and ousted 103 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela in early January. Now we have 104 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: the bombing of Iran, the administration is openly eyeing leadership 105 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: changes in Cuba, and so it's just, you know, Trump 106 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: really wants to remake the world order and he is 107 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: going ahead and doing it, and so it's just a 108 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: really interesting moment, and it's a really interesting moment politically 109 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: in terms of his own base, because not everyone's happy 110 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: with it, and not everyone's going along with it. You know, 111 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: I still think that people may fall in line, but 112 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: right now there's a lot of fracturing in the mega base, 113 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: with former lawmakers like Marjorie Taylor Green and influencers like 114 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: Tucker Carlson and Megan Kelly really calling out the president 115 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: and saying this is not what we signed up for. 116 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 2: And Jimmy, I want to talk more about how these 117 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 2: strikes in Iran fit into Trump's broader vision for US 118 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 2: military strategy around the world. As Nancy mentioned, the strikes 119 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 2: came just a few weeks after US forces seized Venezuela's president, 120 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 2: Nicholas Maduro in a surprise raid. Is Venezuela being seen 121 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 2: as a roadmap for what Trump wants to do in Iran. 122 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 5: It's really interesting to see the fact that Trump has 123 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 5: used his executive powers to launch attacks on other countries. 124 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 5: I mean, last year it wasn't just Venezuela and the 125 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 5: boat strikes in the Caribbean, it was Yemen, it was 126 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 5: Iran as well. And these are all moments during the 127 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 5: year that he did not go to Congress to get 128 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 5: any kind of authorization. Secretary Rubio did that that. You know, 129 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 5: there have been multiple, multiple briefings on the Hill. The 130 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 5: quality and content of those briefings has varied, and this 131 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 5: will all fall along political lines. We've seen, you know, 132 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 5: senators who are Democrats who come out saying there's not 133 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 5: enough to detail. We don't understand this, you know, we 134 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 5: need more. There's no Senator Mark Warner, who you know 135 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 5: from Virginia, who's part of the Gang of Aid, and 136 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 5: the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said that 137 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 5: as a member of the Gang of Eight, he did 138 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 5: not see anything that presented an imminent threat to the US, 139 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 5: and he would have had access to classified information. But 140 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 5: then you have people like Jim rich who is a 141 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 5: senior Republican also on the Intelligence Committee, who will tell 142 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 5: you things like he was convinced before he even walked 143 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 5: into these briefings, you know. So there are people who 144 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 5: are determined to support the president no matter what, and 145 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 5: then there are those who also just question everything he does. 146 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 5: So everything that kind of comes out of these briefings 147 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 5: is really challenging to part. But there is one hundred 148 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 5: percent of frustration, particularly when you see really sort of 149 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 5: conservative hawks like Senator Roger Wicker, who's the chairman of 150 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 5: the Senata Armed Services Committee, and a hawk like just 151 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 5: these are these are the things that he cares about, 152 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 5: not getting enough to detail and not having that requisite, 153 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 5: you know, communication between the Pentagon and the Hill or 154 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 5: the White House and the Hill, and sort of really 155 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 5: having to play catch up all this time. 156 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 2: And do me I'm curious how much did Congress know 157 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 2: before the US attacked around I know you say it's 158 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,679 Speaker 2: hard to parse, of course, but what are the facts here? 159 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 5: What we understand is that the Gang of Eight was briefed, 160 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 5: senior leadership was briefed. My understanding is, and Rubio said 161 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 5: this yesterday, that they did give, you know, very sort 162 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 5: of short notice to the senior leadership in Congress that 163 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 5: an attack was happening or that something was underway, but 164 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 5: they didn't want to say too much, obviously because they 165 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 5: didn't really want anything to get out before it happened. 166 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 2: And how much does that differ from the kind of 167 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 2: notification that's supposed to happen in these situations. 168 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 5: Well, I mean, normally there's a lot more attempts to 169 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 5: get buy in from the Hill. You know, there's a 170 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 5: lot more outreach, there's a lot more at least also 171 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 5: preparing the public for something like this, you know, and normally, 172 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 5: particularly when we look at the Iraq War, George W. Bush, 173 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 5: you know, went to the Hill, got Congress to approve it. 174 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 5: It was a vote, and you know, but we've seen 175 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 5: every president since the war Paris Act came in in 176 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 5: the seventies just ignore it. You know. Barack Obama did 177 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 5: it in Libya, Bill Clinton did it in Kosovo, Ronald 178 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 5: Reagan did it in Grenada, and Trump, Donald Trump did 179 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 5: it in his first administration. So it's there as a 180 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 5: check and as we have clearly seen in this first 181 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 5: year of President Trump's second term, Congress has not been 182 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,719 Speaker 5: that much of a check on his powers and his decisions. 183 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: After the break, what could Congress to limit the Trump 184 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 2: administration's use of force in Iran? And will they do it? 185 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 2: The Trump administration made a push for Congressional support for 186 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 2: the war in Iran on Tuesday. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsath, 187 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 2: CIA director John Ratcliffe, Joint chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Kine, 188 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 2: and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were on the Hill 189 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 2: for a briefing open to all members of Congress. Jamie, 190 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 2: talk me through what happens during that briefing and what 191 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 2: you expect to come of it. 192 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 5: People who want to be convinced will be convinced. People 193 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 5: who don't want to be convinced will not be convinced. 194 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 5: And then there's the people in the middle who actually have, 195 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 5: you know, really sort of studied, concerned questions. And they're 196 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 5: the ones that you always really want to talk to 197 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 5: because they're the ones who kind of understand the sort 198 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 5: of the breadth of what military action is. And there 199 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 5: are going to be so many people at these briefings, 200 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 5: if it's the entire both the House and the Senate 201 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 5: and all of their members, and I think at some 202 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 5: point it's going to get a little leaky some stuff. 203 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 5: As we'll chat. We'll be hearing more about this in 204 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 5: reporting over the next couple of days. Whether people will 205 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 5: be satisfied, I think will largely depend on who they 206 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 5: support in this situation. 207 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 2: Well, I want to ask about another potential pivot point here. 208 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 2: Both houses of Congress had already scheduled a vote attempting 209 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 2: to curb Trump's use of military power. The vote actually, 210 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 2: you know, predated the strike on Iran. Can you tell 211 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 2: me about that effort and why it started originally? 212 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,679 Speaker 5: I think because of the last year that we've seen 213 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 5: with all of the military actions that the White House 214 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 5: has launched unilaterally. It started with Yemen went into Iran, 215 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 5: and then of course the boat strikes in the Caribbean, 216 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 5: and then the Nicholas Maduro raid, you know, and then 217 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 5: the chatter that began to increase, and we saw all 218 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,559 Speaker 5: of the military build up off the coast of Venezuela 219 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 5: begin to move to the Gulf in preparation now we 220 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 5: know for these efforts against Iran. So in both houses, 221 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 5: in both chambers, Democrats and Republicans have sponsored bills to 222 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 5: go to the floor to provide limits for what President 223 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 5: Trump can do with the Iran war. Now they're both 224 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 5: expected to fail, and they're both expected to fail because 225 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 5: in spite of some Republicans like Grand Paul or Thomas 226 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,559 Speaker 5: Massey who are against this kind of intervention slash foreign action, 227 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 5: there are Democrats who are very pro Israel who have 228 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 5: said they will either not vote or vote against it. 229 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,079 Speaker 5: So it's very symbolic at this point, you know, when 230 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 5: we keep talking about like, you know what the House 231 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 5: and the Senate canon can't do to check the White 232 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 5: House and Executive because because there's a majority in both chambers, 233 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 5: that's really really challenging. And I think that that's going 234 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 5: to be another thing to watch in November, whether the 235 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 5: House flips, whether the Senate also flips, and what difference 236 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 5: that makes to the remaining years of President Trump's term. 237 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 5: The most important part about all of this, and I 238 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 5: think that that's something that we're going to see play 239 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 5: out this week in Congress is the people who voted 240 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 5: for and people who voted against. And you know, this 241 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 5: was a thing that sort of like dogged Hillary Clinton 242 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 5: after the Iraq War became intensely unpopular when she ran 243 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 5: for president. And so when we see the War Powers 244 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 5: resolutions hit the floor in both the Senate and the 245 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 5: House this week, people who don't vote will be seen 246 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 5: to be given their tacit approval to the war. And 247 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 5: if this drags on, we've just had more US military casualties. 248 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 5: Both Hegseeth and President Trump have not said no to 249 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 5: the possibility of ground troops that we see, you know, 250 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 5: where Congress can and cannot have an effective role. 251 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 2: And Nancy in previous conflicts in the region, the US 252 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 2: has lined up international support as well, in particular from 253 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 2: European allies. What kind of support or response has Trump 254 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 2: been getting from Europe this time. What is the EU 255 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 2: said about their willingness to be drawn into this broader conflict? 256 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: Well, Trump didn't ask any of our typical allies for 257 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: permission on this, I mean, apart from talking about it 258 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: with Israel, but all of the European partners that we 259 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: normally work with, you know, weren't given the heads up. 260 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: But actually I think that that made it easier for them. 261 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: You know, they didn't have to you know, commit to it, 262 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: they didn't have to say they supported it, you know, 263 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 1: they weren't put in an awkward position. So I think 264 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: from their perspective, it's probably a good thing. You know, 265 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: they didn't have to sort of negotiate with Trump on this. 266 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: But I do think that it just shows the extent 267 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: to which he is willing to go out alone on 268 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: things and how much he is charging ahead without leaning 269 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: on traditional alliances in terms of foreign policy. And this 270 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 1: is just another instance. 271 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 2: On the US side. How do you expect these strikes 272 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 2: and their aftermath to play out in the midterms. We 273 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 2: might get a hint today as voters head to the 274 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 2: polls in primaries in North Carolina and Texas. 275 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: How they play out in the midterms depends how long 276 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: the strikes go on and what it really does to 277 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: the economy. So we saw the price of a gallon 278 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: of gasoline jump overnight up to three dollars and eleven 279 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: cents a gallon, and so that is something that I'll 280 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: be watching. If the strikes, you know, go on for 281 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: two months and that ends up hurting the price of 282 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: oil and the price of gasoline, then I think it 283 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: will play into the midterms quite a bit. If the 284 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: strikes are over, you know, in a few weeks, and 285 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: we're not embroiled into a huge regional conflict, then I 286 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: feel like by the time people are thinking about who 287 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: they'll vote for in the midterms, which typically happens in 288 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 1: the summer and fall, then you know, people will have 289 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: moved on to other things. People are so upset about 290 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: domestic policy issues right now, including the economy, ice is 291 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: handling of the immigration that that's really their focus. And 292 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: Trump voters don't necessarily want this nation building, and if 293 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: that continues to disrupt the domestic agenda. I think Republicans 294 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: will pay a price at the polls in November. 295 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 2: This is the big take from Bloomberg News. I'm Sarah Holder. 296 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: This is a developing story. 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