Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: We looked to voices of Washington who could provide not
Speaker 2: only a perspective of a Battle of the Pentagon, but
Speaker 2: of the politics of the moment. Patrick McHenry is steeped
Speaker 2: in this of the tenth Congressional district in North Carolina.
Speaker 2: He is absolutely typical of starting your political career young.
Speaker 2: I think he was ten years old when he won
Speaker 2: his first effort in the tenth Congressional district. He's gone
Speaker 2: on to substantial Republican acclaim, including chairman of the House
Speaker 2: Financial Services Committee. He is a Bloomberg committer, a contributor,
Speaker 2: i should say, is a former chair of the House
Speaker 2: Financial Finance Committee. Patrick McHenry, thank you so much for
Speaker 2: joining us this morning. How divided is the Republican Party?
Speaker 1: Not very The truth is the the President has executed
Speaker 1: a limited, targeted effort here that is fifteen years in
Speaker 1: the making, when the Obama administration entered into nuclear negotiations
Speaker 1: with Iran in twenty twelve. The culmination of that of
Speaker 1: those talks led to today, and in fact, the precipitating matter
Speaker 1: here is a reigning proxies that have taken serious action
Speaker 1: against American troops in Iraq and in the Gulf. They
Speaker 1: were the funders and in many ways the designers of
Speaker 1: the Hamas attack on our ally Israel, and the President
Speaker 1: was patient and saw it a negotiated outcome in a
Speaker 1: quite measured way, and without the reigning regime coming to
Speaker 1: the table with a serious, serious counter So I think
Speaker 1: the politics of this, you're going to have a few
Speaker 1: very ideologically viewed, very ideologically opposed to any foreign intervention,
Speaker 1: being overwhelmed by most Republicans who want a strong America.
Speaker 1: And the way to ensure strong America is when it's necessary,
Speaker 1: we will punch back with overwhelming force. And I think
Speaker 1: that's what we just saw.
Speaker 2: Patrick McHenry and returning to the folks in our four
Speaker 2: hours of coverage this morning with the former Congressman Patrick McHenry,
Speaker 2: I find what's absolutely fascinating here and benumbing is Russia
Speaker 2: has lost a harbor essentially on the eastern Mediterranean. They've
Speaker 2: lost Syria, maybe they're in the process of losing around
Speaker 2: the Foreign Minister of Iran will travel to Moscow. I
Speaker 2: guess explain where you said our relationships now after this
Speaker 2: attack with Russia and with China.
Speaker 1: Well, look, I think they're the ones that are taking
Speaker 1: the greatest note of what happened here, which is not
Speaker 1: that this president is against all foreign action, but that
Speaker 1: he will be measured, will use force when necessary when
Speaker 1: when negotiations end. I think the person that should be
Speaker 1: most taking note here, as Vladimir Putin. This administration has
Speaker 1: wanted and campaigned on a peaceful, negotiated a quote unquote
Speaker 1: peaceful negotiated settlement in Ukraine if there is one, and
Speaker 1: it is evident through open source that Russia has gotten
Speaker 1: its drone technology that has been effective in the Ukrainian
Speaker 1: battlefield from Iran. And that linkage here is quite evident
Speaker 1: from that news you just you shared, which is the
Speaker 1: Iran foreign minister is going directly to meet with Putin
Speaker 1: the day after the United States strikes. There is a
Speaker 1: concerted effort among our enemies here, and there's a lot
Speaker 1: of connectivity between the president's action in the Middle East
Speaker 1: and it's you know, it's the Sinews to the Ukrainian battlefield.
Speaker 3: Patrick, what do you expect to see from a response
Speaker 3: from the Democrats in Congress. There's concerned that a they
Speaker 3: weren't consulted. Maybe maybe this was an action the President
Speaker 3: exceeded as his authorizations. But it's tough to argue all
Speaker 3: that stuff when it appears to be so successful. What
Speaker 3: do you expect from the Democrats.
Speaker 1: Well, look, both parties are divided on the authorization of
Speaker 1: force in Congress. Both parties are have have divisions here
Speaker 1: for the effort to review authorizations that date back to
Speaker 1: the Gulf War, to nine to eleven, to our engagement
Speaker 1: in Afghanistan. They've been utilized by both to take action
Speaker 1: in very broad ways. There's been efforts in Congress to
Speaker 1: have revisions to those authorizations of force, but have not
Speaker 1: been successful in total. And so I think you'll see
Speaker 1: that divide in both parties on this. But by and large,
Speaker 1: stopping the Ukrainian i'm sorry, the Iranian nuclear program or
Speaker 1: slowing it down is a global good. This is why
Speaker 1: you see your Cure Stormer in the UK, a left
Speaker 1: of center Prime Minister of the United Kingdom being supportive.
Speaker 1: I think this is an action that the world is
Speaker 1: relieved that we have taken. And I think you'll see
Speaker 1: that similarly play out with a by and large the
Speaker 1: supermajority of the United States House and Senate, but divisions
Speaker 1: within both parties for sure.
Speaker 3: Patrick. Do you see the US military doing follow up
Speaker 3: actions here absent any retaliation or are they kind of
Speaker 3: in a waiting do you think at this.
Speaker 1: Point, I think there was a waiting CIMO. We see
Speaker 1: Israel taking action right after our strikes. There's further work
Speaker 1: to be done, obviously to restrain the ringing capabilities for
Speaker 1: retaliation against American troops and American assets in the Middle
Speaker 1: East and our allies, and so I think I think
Speaker 1: the coordination will continue, and there's evidence that there's coordination
Speaker 1: between US and Israel that there is real and more
Speaker 1: effective for both of us.
Speaker 2: Frankly, with this event, Congressman Henry, and this goes back
Speaker 2: to House Financial Services Committee and frankly Appropriations Committee as well.
Speaker 2: What's your experience of funding to the Pentagon after an
Speaker 2: event like this? Is this acutely aware need to budget
Speaker 2: the Navy with their reach in the Orens in the
Speaker 2: Gulf of Aman, or how does the budgeting work after
Speaker 2: an event like this?
Speaker 1: Weld Look, I mean the Pentagon budget is massive. It
Speaker 1: is a massive budget, so they have broad authorities with ordinance,
Speaker 1: with munitions, and the President does have broad say here
Speaker 1: we heard the Secretary of Defense say that they did
Speaker 1: comply with the War Powers Act on informing Congress of
Speaker 1: this action. I think we'll hear that from Congressional leaders.
Speaker 1: They'll be pressed on whether or not they were given
Speaker 1: the heads up on this in conformance with the law,
Speaker 1: and if they were, I don't think you'll see congressional
Speaker 1: action to limit the presence further ability to take action.
Speaker 1: So it's an important balance between the between the branches. Yes,
Speaker 1: but the presidential authorities that they're using here are not new,
Speaker 1: not novel, and do have some level of controversy, yes,
Speaker 1: but have been utilized by both parties of the last
Speaker 1: twenty years.
Speaker 2: Patrick mccenry, one final question, if we could in your
Speaker 2: Washington and you're a student there, I made a joke
Speaker 2: about it earlier, folks, of his tour of duty. This
Speaker 2: is public service, truly across the span of his adult life.
Speaker 2: Patrick mhag henry in the Washington here, I believe in wars,
Speaker 2: Democrats and Republicans come together. Can I wish that at
Speaker 2: this moment?
Speaker 1: No, because where we are in this process, you have
Speaker 1: a partisan reconciliation bill moving through the Senate this week.
Speaker 1: You've had mainly partisan fights outside of one piece of
Speaker 1: legislation on digital asseids cryptocurrency. But this week is going
Speaker 1: to be a rather partisan week in Washington based off
Speaker 1: of what is on the Senate floor and what is
Speaker 1: on that House floor. And so I don't think there'll
Speaker 1: be a Kumba moment. I don't think that's where the
Speaker 1: Democratic base is. But I think what you'll see is
Speaker 1: the MAGA based rally to President Trump's cause here almost totality.
Speaker 1: And so in one respect, the antagonism from the left
Speaker 1: towards a MAGA right on their statements in the election
Speaker 1: that President Trump would bring this great veil of peace
Speaker 1: to the world just by his election was grandiose, outsized,
Speaker 1: and in fact a fiction. But also you're going to
Speaker 1: see the left make those MAGA loyalists eat their words
Speaker 1: in the election, and that is so typical of Washington,
Speaker 1: so typical of our politics right now, and that won't
Speaker 1: stop just because of the international action here, unfortunately.
Speaker 2: Patrick McK henry, thank you so much. Bloomberg contribute to
Speaker 2: the former chair of the House Finance Services Committee for
Speaker 2: the Republican Party