1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,680 Speaker 1: I'm Kevin Crelli, chief Washington correspondent for Bloomberg Television and 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio. There is never enough time. There's never enough 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: time to get to everything that I want to get to, 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: especially when you have a New York Times duo bestselling 5 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: authors on the New York Times left. The Hill to 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: Die On is the name of their book, The Hill 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: to Die On. It is an insider account from the 8 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: staff level up to the principal level of every lawmaker 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: in Washington in Congress, the rise of Speaker Pelosi again, 10 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: the decline of former Speaker Paul Ryan, sent a majority Leader, 11 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: Mitch McConnell, Schumer. It's like, who's who you got to 12 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: read this book? Jake Sherman and a Palmer, senior writers 13 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: for Politico, co authors of Political Playbook, and the authors 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: of The Hill to Die On? All right, we didn't 15 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: get to Jared Kushner on the show. How has Jared 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: evolved since when he first came to Washington to now? Jake? 17 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: I think the answer is short. I'm not sure he has. 18 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,959 Speaker 1: I think that he believes himself to be uniquely qualified 19 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: to solve problems that, uh, we don't know that he's 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: qualified at all to solve he we begin the book 21 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: three anecdotes, I'll tell you. We begin the book with 22 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: him and John McCain in the Oval Office talking to 23 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: the President and McCain is talking about military procurement reform, 24 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: which is a passion of his for a long time, 25 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: and uh, Jared says, you know what, Senator, We're gonna 26 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,839 Speaker 1: change the whole way Washington works. Don't worry. And McCain 27 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: looks at him and says, good luck, son. Uh. And 28 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: then we fast forward a little bit to the government shutdown. 29 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: That's a lot of it. It's two years and Jared 30 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: blows into you know, the government's about to shut down 31 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: over immigration reform. Jared's riding high from a criminal justice reform, 32 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: which was a big he believed to be a big coup. 33 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: Republicans in the Hill were more circumspect. They believe that 34 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: Republicans would have done it no matter who was in 35 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: the White House. And Jared blows into a meeting with 36 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy and says, don't worry, guys, 37 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: I could quickly fix this, meaning the shutdown, which he 38 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: was unable to fix. Later, he was in negotiations with 39 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: Republicans and Democrats to try to find a way out 40 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: of the shutdown. And he was musing about how much 41 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: the government spends to house undocumented immigrants, which is obviously 42 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: a huge cost, a huge problem that the United States 43 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: is grappling with, and Jared said, well, for that price, 44 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: we should just put them up at the Four Seasons 45 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: in Georgetown. So that's kind of his view of Washington. 46 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: And does Washington bended at all Anna to Trumpians style? 47 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: And if so, how Yeah? I mean, I think that's 48 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: really what this book looks at, right, is you have 49 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: a change candidate in a change election who says he's 50 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: going to change Washington. Uh, he comes to Washington is 51 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: a place that's obviously steeped in tradition and rules, and 52 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: I think it's a mixed bag. I think there are 53 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: some things that the president has Washington has been to him. 54 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: He's he's broken a lot of norms. I think that 55 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: he's also come up against the power though certain times, 56 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: whether it was the government shutdown for example, right where 57 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: he thought that Nancy Pelosi was going to blink and didn't. Okay. 58 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: So the other question that I always get from folks 59 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: outside of Washington when my friends and other industries. They're like, 60 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: is it like the West Wing? Is it like v 61 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: Is it like House of Cards? What show is? What 62 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: is Trump's Washington like? I think Trump's Washington might be 63 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: a little bit like Veep, but I think more generally, 64 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: you know, West Wing House. It has its moments, the 65 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: overworking of aids and and the I think the idealism 66 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: is not there. I think House of Cards is not 67 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: accurate because people aren't killing people and pushing them onto 68 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: subway tracks. But I think House of Cards um does 69 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: take into account more than any other show, probably over 70 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,119 Speaker 1: dramatizes the personally ambition which we are so fascinated by. Yeah, 71 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: and I think that's really what our books about, right, 72 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: is about getting power and obtaining more power. So I 73 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: think I would say, I mean, I think House of 74 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: Cards stands the like pushing people into the subway is 75 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: much more about it. And also I think it gives 76 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: a much more holistic view of industry and corporate money 77 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 1: and how people try to actually influence the system. Those 78 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: hearings were, I mean, I remember covering it. It It was 79 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: like and I think this was lost. I mean, listen, 80 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: there are enough twenty something journalist who want to make 81 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: themselves story. But I did not look around the press 82 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: courts in Washington, d C. During the Kavanaugh hearings and 83 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: and see one journalist who enjoyed at all just the 84 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: intensity of that. Take us behind the scenes. What did 85 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: you learn from your reporting in the book that that 86 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: emerged from from that that week or so? I mean, 87 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: it was a tinder box, right, I mean there was 88 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 1: protests on Capitol Hill like I have never seen in 89 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: my entire career. Uh, there were Republicans and Democrats that 90 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: couldn't speak to each other. Republicans Republicans couldn't speak to 91 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: each other. One of the key scenes is us talking 92 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: to Mitch McConnell, who clearly the JI area is his 93 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: legacy and he almost, you know, single handedly, with the 94 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: help of some other Republicans, pushed that nomination through when 95 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: it could have teetered. And we asked him because I 96 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: think one of the things that a lot of people 97 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: want to know is how did how did you feel 98 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: as a reflection moment that all of a sudden You're like, oh, 99 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: this is really tough or whatever. And he said, you know, 100 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: we spent a lot of time talking to him about 101 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: this and he said, you know, for a week, every 102 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: speech I Gate was on cable news. My poll numbers were, 103 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,039 Speaker 1: you know, going up through the roof. All the people 104 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: on Talk Republican Talk Ready who say I'm a squish 105 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: said I was leading the charge for the moment. I'm 106 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: a rock star. Wow. All right, Anna and Jake. I 107 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: cannot thank you enough. The book is amazing. Read it, 108 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: read it, read it, read it because so many of 109 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: the books are like through the lens of the White House, 110 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: and this is a it's a different vantage point. And 111 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: anyone in Washington will tell you it's the capital. It's 112 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: the capital and those relationships, that's where the action is. 113 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: And quite frankly, that's where no one's looking right now. 114 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: So it's a real treat. The Hill to Die Out. Congratulations. 115 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: I grew up in politics and I watched you guys. 116 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: I mean, you're all stars. You're still inspiring us young folks. 117 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: Jacob Sherman, Anna Palmer subscribed to Political Playbook. There authors 118 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: of the new book The Hill to Die On. I'm 119 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: Kevin Cirelli, chief Washington correspondent for Bloomber TV, Bloomberg Radio. 120 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you.