1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Welcome in his verdict with Center. Ted Cruz. 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 2: Nice to have you with us on this Friday morning, 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 2: and Center, We've got a lot to talk about, including 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 2: the tragedy that happened. You were right there in Washington 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 2: when all this was unfolding with this helicopter and airplane 6 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 2: colliding at Reagan National Airport. 7 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 3: Well, it was truly a tragic and horrific accident, and 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 3: it cost the lives of sixty seven souls. The commercial 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 3: airliner from American Airlines, flying from Wichita, Kansas to Washington 10 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 3: d C. Reagan Airport had sixty passengers on it and 11 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 3: four crew members, and then an Army black Hawk helicopter 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 3: had three soldiers on it, bringing the total death toll 13 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 3: to sixty seven. The two collided just before nine pm 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 3: on Wednesday night. They collided as the American Airlines airliner 15 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 3: was landing at d C. Reagan Airport. And I'll tell 16 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 3: you today, so you and I are recording this Thursday night. Today, 17 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 3: I spent a lot of the day dealing with the 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,559 Speaker 3: aftermath of this. So, as you know, I'm the chairman 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 3: of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 3: has jurisdiction over all of aviation. And so today I 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 3: hosted briefings from the FAA and the NTSB, the National 22 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 3: Traffic Safety Board, and we were heard from. They were 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 3: bipartisan briefings. I had senators both Republicans and Democrats that participated, 24 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 3: and we got we got briefings the NTSB, which is 25 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 3: as I said, the National Transportation Safety Board does investigations 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 3: whenever there's a serious accident, whenever there's an accident, an 27 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 3: aviation accident, whenever there's a rail accident, they do investigations, 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 3: and we heard from them. Now as of Thursday, the 29 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 3: NTSB had over a dozen investigators on the ground. And listen, 30 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 3: in the wake of an accident, you've got to actually 31 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 3: see what happened. You've got to investigate and discover the facts, 32 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 3: discover the evidence. In this instance, we know that the 33 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 3: American Airlines flight was coming in. It was initially on 34 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 3: runway one at Reagan Airport, and then the air traffic 35 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 3: controllers moved it to runway thirty three, So they shifted 36 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 3: the runway right at the very end, and the American 37 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 3: Airlines pilots changed their descent to land on runway thirty three. Now, 38 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 3: simultaneously there was an Army black Hawk helicopter that was traveling. 39 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 3: There are multiple helicopter routes that go in and around 40 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,959 Speaker 3: Reagan Airport, and that Army helicopter was on Route one 41 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 3: and then it was shifting from Route one to Root four, 42 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 3: and the air traffic controllers were in contact with the 43 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 3: pilots of the American Airlines flight and also the pilots 44 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 3: of the helicopter, and after telling the American Airlines jet 45 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 3: to land on Runway thirty three, the air traffic controller 46 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 3: tells the black Hawk pilots to visually confirm and have 47 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 3: in the line of sight the incoming plane, and the 48 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 3: black Hawk helicopter pilots confirmed that yes, they have the 49 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 3: plane in sight, and they also instruct the black Hawk 50 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 3: pilots to come behind the plane that is landing. What 51 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 3: in fact happens, or what appears to have happened, is 52 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 3: the black Hawk helicopter came in front of the plane 53 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 3: that was landing. The two collided midair and exploded midair. 54 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 3: Now at this point it appears everyone involved died. Both 55 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 3: the plane and the black Hawk helicopter sunk into the 56 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 3: Potomac River. They were both in relatively shallow water about 57 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 3: seven to eight feet of water where they had sunk, 58 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 3: and as of Thursday, the black box, the flight recorder 59 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 3: had been recovered from the airplane and they are in 60 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 3: the process of recovering the black box the audio transcript 61 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 3: recorder for the Blackhawk helicopter, so both of those will 62 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 3: be recovered and they're trying to piece together what happened. 63 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 3: What do we know. We know that somebody were multiple 64 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 3: somebodies made a catastrophic mistake, a catastrophic mistake that led 65 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 3: to a massive loss of life at this point, and look, 66 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 3: there are lots of people who are giving all sorts 67 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 3: of theories, who are jumping on all sorts of possibilities. 68 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 3: In my view, we shouldn't speculate. We shouldn't we shouldn't 69 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 3: get ahead of the evidence. We need to understand exactly 70 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 3: what caused this accident, whether it was an error on 71 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 3: the part of the army pilot, whether it was conceivably 72 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 3: an error on the part of the commercial airliner pilot, 73 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 3: whether it was an error on the part of the 74 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 3: air traffic controller, or some combination of multiplayers in that regard. 75 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 3: We don't know right now. What we do know is 76 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 3: two aircraft we're in the same place at the same time. 77 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 3: Now as we were having the briefing from the NTSB 78 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 3: and the FAA that they told us several things. Number 79 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 3: number one that had the helicopter stayed on Route four, 80 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 3: it would have been well out of the way of 81 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 3: the landing path of the airline, and it would have 82 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 3: been in a lower altitude than where the helicopter and 83 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 3: the jet collided. We don't know what happened exactly. One 84 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 3: of the things the NTSB is going to do in 85 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 3: this investigation is they're going to listen to the black 86 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 3: boxer coardings of both aircraft and they're going to retrace 87 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 3: the path the exact path of both aircraft to discover 88 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 3: was one of them where it was not supposed to be? 89 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 3: Were both of them where they were not supposed to be. 90 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 3: At this point, we don't have a clear answer to that, 91 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 3: and it's easy I would say, don't trust twitter, don't 92 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 3: trust every theory. Look, they looked at one theory and actually, 93 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 3: something I asked the NTSB, I said, when the air 94 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 3: traffic controller asked the black Hawk pilots, do you have 95 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 3: visual confirmation to the aircraft, and the black Hawk pilots 96 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 3: confirm that do we have evidence that they were looking 97 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 3: at a different airplane. You could certainly this strikes me 98 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 3: as a reasonable inference that the the helicopter pilot looks 99 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 3: and says, yes, I see the plane and perhaps didn't 100 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,840 Speaker 3: realize it was a different plane that was landing, because 101 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 3: presumably if they saw the plane that led to the collision, 102 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 3: they would not have stayed in the in the path 103 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 3: of the plane, but they would would have piloted elsewhere. 104 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 3: So NTSB and FAA told me right now, we don't know, 105 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 3: so that's not confirmed. That's a theory people are saying 106 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 3: online it is a plausible theory, but we don't have 107 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 3: confirmation of that right now. There's also discussion about the equipment. 108 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 3: So the Blackhawk helicopter had a transponder, so it was 109 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 3: appearing on radar. It did not have technology called ADSB, 110 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 3: which is technology that pings the location of an aircraft, 111 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 3: and it does so using GPS rather than radar, and 112 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 3: ADSB is more accurate and more reliable then simply a 113 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 3: transponder that is pinging on radar. Now, under the FAA rules, 114 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 3: military aircraft and federal law enforcement, an aircraft are exempted 115 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 3: from the requirement that they have ADSB technology, And I 116 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 3: will tell you as we were talking with the FAA, 117 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 3: as we were talking with the NTSB, what they told us, 118 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 3: at least initially, is that had the Blackhawk had ADSB, 119 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 3: they said, it would have not have altered the ability 120 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 3: of air traffic control and the American Airlines pilot to 121 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 3: see the helicopter. I don't know. I will confess I 122 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 3: don't know the technical answers to this precisely, which is 123 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 3: why the investigation needs to proceed. I expect to get 124 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 3: an answer on that, but we don't know the answer 125 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 3: to that exactly. I will say, also, Ben, I think 126 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 3: a very reasonable question that a number of senators were 127 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 3: asking is why exactly are there so many helicopter flight 128 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 3: paths immediately in the vicinity of such a busy airport 129 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 3: as DC Reagan Airport. Is that a sound policy decision 130 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 3: to have helicopters traveling that close. Now, now, I don't 131 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 3: know if that's the cause of it, By the way, 132 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 3: we will. What we do know is the two should 133 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 3: not have collided, and so somebody screwed up, and we'll 134 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 3: figure out who and how and why. 135 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 2: And look, Washington and I talked to a pilot today, 136 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 2: and he said, Washington's just different and Reagan's just different. 137 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 2: There's a lot more helicopters there, there's a lot more 138 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 2: airspace there that's different than other parts. It's a lot 139 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 2: more intense, there's a lot more rules, especially after nine 140 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 2: to eleven, and so you got to look at all 141 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 2: those things. It goes back to what you're saying, it's 142 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 2: just different. Private airplanes, for example, aren't going into Reagan. 143 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 2: You go into DoLS for that exact reason, because you're 144 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,559 Speaker 2: protecting and so there are so many X factors. Is 145 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 2: one pilot to today, There's so many questions to ask. 146 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 2: This is not a simple yes or no or point 147 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 2: of finger because there's so many X factors when you 148 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 2: fly to DCA. 149 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 3: Well, and I'll say the briefing that I hosted with 150 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 3: NTSB of the FAA, so I had, I was on it. 151 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 3: Obviously Maria Cantwell, who's the ranking member of the senior 152 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 3: Democrat on the Commerce Committee, she was on it. We 153 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 3: also had both of the Kansas Senators, Jerry Moran and 154 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 3: Roger Marshall. They both participated, and obviously the flight came 155 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 3: from WHICHITAS. So the Kansas senators are particularly engaged and 156 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 3: then we had Tammy Duckworth and Jerry Moran and Tammy 157 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,559 Speaker 3: Duckworth are the chairman and ranking member, respectively of the 158 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 3: Aviation Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, so they're both particularly 159 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,560 Speaker 3: engaged in aviation issues, which is why I invited both 160 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 3: of them to participate. So Tammy Duckworth was in the military. 161 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 3: She was a helicopter pilot and she's in a wheelchair. 162 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 3: She was very badly wounded in a combat injury. But 163 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 3: she is an experienced helicopter pilot. I will tell you 164 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 3: in the briefing, I commented, I said, Tammy, it's really 165 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 3: helpful to have an experienced helicopter pilot as part of 166 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 3: this discussion, because she was literally she had the maps 167 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 3: out of the flight path and she's looking at, okay, 168 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 3: where runway thirty three is and where helicopter Roote four is. 169 00:10:57,920 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 3: And Tammy was saying in the course of the discussion, 170 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 3: if the helicopter stayed on helicopter Route four, it should 171 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 3: not have been anywhere close to the landing pattern for 172 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 3: runway thirty three. So that was an insight. Look, I'm 173 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 3: not a helicopter pilot. I don't have the insight to 174 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 3: look at those maps and determine that. I thought that 175 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 3: was a very interesting insight from her. I'll tell you 176 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 3: something else she said that I didn't know that was interesting. 177 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 3: It's been widely reported the Army black helicopter was on 178 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 3: a training mission. What she said is the Army routinely 179 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 3: codes virtually every flight as a training mission. And she 180 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 3: said the reason they do that is Army pilots are 181 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 3: required to have a certain number of hours to keep 182 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 3: their certification, and so every flight they do as a 183 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 3: training mission to maintain those hours. So what she said 184 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 3: is it doesn't necessarily convey what the purpose of that 185 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 3: flight was that it is being called a training mission. 186 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 3: I have to admit I would not have known that 187 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 3: had she not said that, And I think all of 188 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,199 Speaker 3: us we were like, oh, that's. 189 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 2: Interesting because when you listen this, especially if you're just 190 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 2: watching the news, and they're like, why would you have 191 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 2: this training flight this time of night? Yeah, right there 192 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 2: in this airspace. Surely there's somewhere else you could go 193 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 2: and treat that is a lot less congested than DCA 194 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 2: and all the regulations that you have, and this bravo 195 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 2: space around the Washington d C. At the highest level 196 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 2: go somewhere else and be safer. But the way that 197 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 2: you just described it from her, well, this actually makes sense. 198 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:27,559 Speaker 2: They could be doing real work and they categorize it. 199 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: As a training mission. 200 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 3: So look, I think in the days that go forward, 201 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 3: we're going to find out what the precise mission was. 202 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 3: My understanding is the pilots for the American Airlines flight 203 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 3: were quite experienced. They had a very significant number of 204 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 3: hours of flight, so they were very experienced. At this point, 205 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 3: I don't have a clear picture of what the experience 206 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 3: level was for the Army pilots. I'm confident we will 207 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,719 Speaker 3: find out more about that, and I'm confident we will 208 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,200 Speaker 3: have discussions on policy questions. One discussion I'm sure we 209 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 3: will have is whether the exemptions of the FAA rules 210 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 3: for military aircraft and federal law enforcement aircraft from having 211 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 3: the ADSB technology, Whether that is a good decision or not. 212 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 3: My understanding is one of the reasons for that exemption 213 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,560 Speaker 3: is the military law enforcement sometimes doesn't want to be tracked. 214 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 3: They don't want their location evident, And there may be 215 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 3: reasons for both military law enforcement context why you want 216 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 3: the ability not to be tracked in real time. I 217 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,439 Speaker 3: think that's a discussion we're going to have to have, 218 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 3: and as I sit here today, I don't know whether 219 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 3: that if the Blackhawk had that technology, whether it would 220 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 3: have made a material difference preventing this accident. I think 221 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,719 Speaker 3: that's a reasonable question to ask. Secondly, I think we're 222 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 3: going to get some real questions about, Okay, how many 223 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 3: helicopter flights are there in and around Reagan Airport? Do 224 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 3: we need all of those flights? Is there an unnecessary 225 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 3: unreasonable risk. I don't know the answer to that. There 226 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 3: may be some compelling reason why you need to have that. 227 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 3: I certainly think you ought to give the military a 228 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,479 Speaker 3: chance to explain it. But I think given this horrific 229 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 3: collision and the lives that are lost, we're going to 230 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 3: have to have a very serious conversation about what caused 231 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 3: this accident and what steps can be taken to prevent 232 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 3: this from happening in the future. 233 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 2: Well, let's talk about the government aspect of this as well, 234 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 2: because there's people that have been asking is there full staffing? 235 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 2: Are we understaffed? Are there enough people in the towers? 236 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 2: Are there enough qualified people in the towers? Has that 237 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 2: even become part of the conversation yet? 238 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: On the hill. 239 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 3: It's certainly part of the conversation. I would say, at 240 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 3: this point, we don't know. So I've seen reports that 241 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 3: the air traffic controller was assigned to multiple responsibilities. It's 242 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 3: not clear what the facts are on that. And one 243 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 3: of the dangers coming out of a catastrophic accident is 244 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 3: there's a fog of war. There's people here snip at 245 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 3: this and the other, and they repeat it. And I'm 246 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 3: a big believer, I will say the NTSB, I've grown 247 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 3: to really respect the work they do. They investigate when 248 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 3: you have a catastrophic accident. They investigate based on the facts, 249 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 3: based on evidence, and they do a good job of 250 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 3: not jumping into conclusions, trying to figure out, okay, exactly 251 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 3: what happened. So a last airlines when you had the 252 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 3: door plug blow off, and TSB did a very thorough 253 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 3: investigation there and presented their conclusions. And so today we 254 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 3: heard from them, but it was barely twelve hours into 255 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 3: the investigation, so they didn't know a whole lot yet. 256 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 3: And I do think and they will reach a conclusion expeditiously. 257 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 3: These guys are serious and technical and they try to 258 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 3: follow the facts, and that investigation is important. Once we 259 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 3: know the facts of what caused the accident, then we 260 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 3: can say, all right, what steps can be taken to 261 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 3: minimize these risks going forward. But I do think one 262 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 3: of the things I'm merging my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, 263 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 3: is is don't don't get ahead of ourselves. And by 264 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 3: the way, I'll tell you just a personal aspect to this. 265 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 3: So last night, Wednesday night, I was having dinner in Washington, 266 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 3: d C. I was having dinner with Mike Waltz. Mike 267 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 3: Waltz is President Trump's national security advisor. And so most 268 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 3: nights when I'm in Washington, d C. I have working dinners. 269 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 3: I have dinners with colleagues, with other senators or House members. 270 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 3: I have dinners with cabinet members. Sometimes I have dinners 271 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 3: with subject matter experts. So last night I was having 272 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 3: dinner with Mike Waltz, the Trump's national security advisor, and 273 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 3: we were talking foreign policy. We're talking the Middle East. 274 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 3: We were talking Israel and Iran and China and all 275 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 3: of the foreign policy challenges facing this country. And I 276 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 3: will tell you right at the end of the dinner, 277 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 3: we actually were just wrapping up when Mike got a 278 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 3: call and said, oh, wow, okay, there's been a collision 279 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 3: between a jet and helicopter a DC Reagan airport. So 280 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 3: Mike left to go back to the White House to 281 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 3: deal with it. And as I was walking out, I'll 282 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 3: tell you been a particularly personal aspect. So last night 283 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,440 Speaker 3: Heidi was flying into d C and she was flying 284 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 3: into Reagan. Wow. And she was due to land about 285 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 3: thirty minutes after this accident happened. And so I'll say, 286 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 3: my body man, who's a great kid, is with me frequently, 287 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 3: came up. I'll give him credit what he said to 288 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,640 Speaker 3: me walking up, As he said, Heidie's okay, but there's 289 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,680 Speaker 3: been an accident at d C Reagan and a commercial 290 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 3: jettis Hitt helicopter. I was very glad he started with 291 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 3: Heidie's okay, because I got to say, and so what happened. 292 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,119 Speaker 3: Her flight was diverted from Reagan and it landed in 293 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 3: BWI for beer. 294 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: They don't know. 295 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 3: Bw's Baltimore, Baltimore, Washington, and it's about forty five minutes away. 296 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 3: There are three airports that serve DC Washington. Reagan is 297 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 3: the closest to d C Washington. Dulles's in northern Virginia 298 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 3: a little further out, and then BWI Baltimore, Washington is, 299 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 3: like I said, forty five minutes to an hour out. 300 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 3: So she was diverted. And so when she landed it 301 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 3: was interesting. I texted her immediately said hey, are you okay? 302 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,120 Speaker 3: I got no answer because she was still in the air. 303 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 3: And then when she landed, I called her immediately, and 304 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 3: as she was getting off the plane, she said, what happened? 305 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 3: I don't understand. Why do we get sent to BWI? 306 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 3: So they didn't tell the passengers why they were diverted, 307 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 3: and so I told her what had happened, and she 308 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 3: was and I look, I understand, you don't want to 309 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 3: tell passengers on an airplane. Hey, there was just a 310 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 3: plane crash that freaks people out. But I told her 311 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 3: and then she came home. But I got ad met it. 312 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 3: It freaked me out a little bit that my wife 313 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,159 Speaker 3: was within twenty thirty minutes of where there was a 314 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 3: fatal plane crash at that airport, and you and I 315 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 3: both landed at DCA hundreds if not hundreds of thousands 316 00:18:54,480 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 3: of times, and so it's I got to say. I did. 317 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 3: I was, I said a long prayer and was like God, 318 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 3: thank you for sparing Heidi and I. When she got 319 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 3: to our apartment, I gave her a very long hug. 320 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 3: And it's uh. And I am grieving for the sixty 321 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 3: seven families who are mourning the loss of their loved ones. 322 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 3: It's horrific and and and we're certainly grieving them. And 323 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 3: we're grateful for all the first responders and everyone who's 324 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 3: been really heroic, UH, try to deal with this, this 325 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 3: this catastrophe since it happened. 326 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 2: Well, I also want to just highlight the response was incredible. 327 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 2: And I'm sure you've got some of that briefing that 328 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 2: came about this. You know, there's always criticism of we 329 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 2: could do things better, but the on the ground first responders' 330 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 2: response truly seemed unbelievable. How quick they were responding, how 331 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 2: fast there were so many people there to help. You 332 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 2: were hoping for good news that they were going to 333 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,239 Speaker 2: be survivors. We now know that the tragic loss of 334 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 2: life and what the reality was, but even in the recovery, 335 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 2: it was all hands on deck. And it made me 336 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 2: proud to be an American. I mean, it was it 337 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,920 Speaker 2: was truly incredible to watch it in real time on TV. 338 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. I talked early this morning to Robert Isam, who's 339 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 3: the CEO of American Airlines. He flew to DC. He 340 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 3: was on the ground. Obviously they were dealing with sixty 341 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 3: passengers and four crew members who were killed, and they 342 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,800 Speaker 3: were dealing with trying to provide help and support to 343 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 3: the families, and I talked to him. I also talked 344 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,959 Speaker 3: to Sean Duffy as the Secretary of Transportation. You know, 345 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 3: Seawan was confirmed the day earlier, like it literally this 346 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 3: was his first day on the job. Yeah, And Shawn 347 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 3: is a good man and a serious man, and he's 348 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 3: been diving in and trying to deal with it. But 349 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 3: this is a heck of a welcome to be Secretary 350 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 3: of Transportation. We've got a major airplane accident on day 351 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 3: one and he's dealing with it and look the resources 352 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 3: to investigate to try to determine ex exactly what happened. 353 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 3: The NTSB in particular, they're very good at this, and 354 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,640 Speaker 3: we're trying to track down Obviously there was a massive 355 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 3: mistake somewhere, but we need to figure out who made 356 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 3: it and why and and and how could it have 357 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 3: been prevented so that we can learn lessons and try 358 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 3: to stop this from happening again. I will say this 359 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 3: though also as just to comfort everyone. As horrific as 360 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 3: this is, it is worth remembering that air travel is 361 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 3: is hands down the safest mode of transport it and 362 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 3: your odds of being killed driving to the airport are 363 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 3: still higher than they are being killed flying on a 364 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 3: commercial airline, so they're not zero. And and and in 365 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 3: some ways it is amazing given the flights that occur 366 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 3: all over this country in so many places, that that 367 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 3: that that it has been a long time since we've 368 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 3: had a mass fatality accident in the United States, given 369 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 3: how complicated lying is, and in some ways that's remarkable. 370 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 3: But nonetheless this tragedy, we should do everything we can 371 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 3: to press for zero fatalities. And so we're going to 372 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 3: learn lessons from this and try to try to prevent 373 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 3: it from happening again. 374 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 2: You mentioned something and just you talk about perspective, it 375 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 2: was it's amazing just how fast things can change. Because 376 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 2: Sean Duffy, who you know well, and his wife Rachel, 377 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 2: they have a large family, and he was welcomed just 378 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 2: minutes before at his office and his family was there, 379 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 2: and he walked up to walk into the office where 380 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 2: he's going to serve the American people. And he went 381 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 2: into that office and then I'm sure afterwards was immediately 382 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 2: rushed out because of what happened. And I sent a 383 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 2: note to is what Rachel last night. I just said, 384 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 2: you know, I'm so proud and I'm so sorry that 385 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 2: the first night that this is what you're having to 386 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 2: deal with the best that I know. God has put 387 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 2: y'all there for times like this to lead into comfort. 388 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 2: And I do think the American peoples to understand they're 389 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 2: incredible leaders that we have just gained who are going 390 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,640 Speaker 2: to do an amazing job in times like these. 391 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: Sean is one of those. 392 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:13,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, and look, I'm grateful that he was on board 393 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 3: and confirmed and was able to be doing his job 394 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 3: on the day of this accident. Also Pete Hegseth, who 395 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 3: was just confirmed as Secretary of Defense. Listen, this is 396 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,640 Speaker 3: a crisis involving the loss of life for three soldiers 397 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 3: as well and the question of who was at fault. 398 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 3: There's at least some real question whether the military pilots 399 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,639 Speaker 3: have committed some serious error. We don't know for sure, 400 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 3: but that you look at Pete Hegseith, you're just confirmed 401 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 3: his Defense secretary. This is a serious challenge to deal 402 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 3: with in his first couple of days as well, and 403 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 3: I'm grateful both of them were confirmed on the job, 404 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 3: because you need strong leadership to deal with the crisis 405 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 3: of this magnitude. 406 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 2: I was going to ask you my next question quickly 407 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 2: was going to be the follow up on the military. 408 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 2: We talked so much about, you know, transportation, the airlines 409 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,880 Speaker 2: and the CEO and et cetera, But let's talk about 410 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 2: the military side. 411 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: There was loss of life there as well. What do 412 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: we know from that perspective. 413 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 3: We know three soldiers were aboard the Blackhawk and they 414 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 3: were all killed. We don't know the details now of 415 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 3: who made the mistake. Obviously somebody did because this should 416 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 3: not have happened, But we don't know where the mistake was, 417 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 3: and it's where the investigation, like NTSB will retrace the 418 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 3: exact path of each airline, each aircraft and figure out, Okay, 419 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 3: who was not where they were supposed to be, Who 420 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 3: was in the wrong place? Was there a miscommunication? Look, 421 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 3: as you review the transcripts, you know FA and NTSB 422 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 3: told us, at least initially reviewing the transcript. It appeared 423 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 3: like when the air traffic controllers said, okay, do you 424 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 3: have visual confirmation of the airline and the helicopter pilot 425 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 3: said yes. What we were told in the b anything 426 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 3: is ordinarily the air traffic controller would move on say okay, 427 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,680 Speaker 3: you guys are taken care of, onto the next flight. 428 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 3: So that was their initial take. Is that exchange appeared 429 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 3: to be a fairly typical exchange back and forth of 430 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 3: navigating multiple aircraft in close proximity. Nevertheless, we'll find out 431 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 3: as we examine. Was there just one individual who made 432 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 3: an error? Were there multiple individuals? Was what was the 433 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 3: cause of this? And that I'm confident I've told the 434 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 3: other members of the Commerce Committee. As NTSB reaches conclusions, 435 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 3: i'll have another briefing where we sit down with them 436 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 3: and can ask them, ask them hard questions and understand, Okay, 437 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 3: what really caused this and how do we prevent it 438 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 3: from happening again. 439 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 2: This brings us to confirmations, and I do want to 440 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 2: just give a quick update for everybody about where we are. 441 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 2: It shows you the importance of having people in these 442 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:01,439 Speaker 2: positions you talk about. Sean Duffy is a great example. 443 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 2: Confirmed on the day this happened. There are several other 444 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 2: major posts that we have confirmation hearings that wrapped up 445 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 2: on Thursday, as you and I recording this Thursday night. 446 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 2: There will not be votes on them till next week. 447 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 2: How are things moving forward? Where are we in general 448 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 2: right now compared to in the past, Because I'm just saying, 449 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,119 Speaker 2: are they slowing us down? Are we getting back on track? 450 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:25,719 Speaker 2: Where are we? 451 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 4: So? 452 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 3: Look, the Democrats are certainly engaged in delay and obstruction. 453 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 3: That being said, where we are now? Eight cabinet members 454 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 3: have been confirmed, So we. 455 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: Are so ple know what's the total number that is 456 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: a full. 457 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 3: Cabinet in the low twenties. 458 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 2: Okay, So we're far away. We're not even a half, 459 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 2: We're not even a fifty percent. 460 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 3: Correct, But we are ahead of where Biden was at 461 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 3: this point, and we're ahead of where Trump was in 462 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 3: the first term. So eight is moving with greater expedition 463 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 3: than the last two administrations of scene and so started with. 464 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 3: The first cabinet member confirm was Marco Rubio. He was 465 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,919 Speaker 3: confirmed on January twentieth, the first day, and he was 466 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,439 Speaker 3: confirmed ninety nine to zero. The second cabinet member was 467 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,639 Speaker 3: the CIA director John Ratcliffe. He had seventy four yeses 468 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,440 Speaker 3: and twenty five knows. After that, you had Pete Hegseth 469 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 3: as Defense Secretary. He had fifty one yeses and fifty knows. 470 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 3: The Vice President J. D. Vance cast the tie breaking vote. 471 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 3: The next person confirmed was the Secretary of Homeland Security, 472 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 3: Christy Dome. She had fifty nine yeses and thirty four nos. 473 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,679 Speaker 3: After that, the Treasury Secretary was confirmed. He had sixty 474 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 3: eight yes, twenty nine knows. That's Scott Bessent. After that, 475 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 3: the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was confirmed. We're very glad 476 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 3: he was confirmed given this crisis. He had seventy seven 477 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 3: yeses and twenty two knows. After that, the EPA Administrator 478 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 3: Lee Zelden, former congressman from New York, former candidate for 479 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 3: governor in New York, a friend of mine. He was 480 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 3: confirmed as EPA administrator with fifty six yes's, forty two knows. 481 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 3: And then just today, the Interior Secretary Doug Burgham, the 482 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 3: former governor of North Dakota. He was confirmed seventy nine 483 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 3: yes as eighteen nos. Now where do we stand now? 484 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 3: In addition to confirming Doug Burgham, we've teed up as 485 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,639 Speaker 3: the next cabinet members to be confirmed, Chris Wright as 486 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 3: Secretary of Energy, Doug Collins as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 487 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 3: and Pam Bondy as Attorney General, and Scott Turner as 488 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,640 Speaker 3: Secretary of Housing in Urban Development. All of those are 489 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,640 Speaker 3: our scheduled to be confirmed next week, so they're teed up. 490 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 3: We were going to ram through the weekend and keep 491 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 3: the Democrats here because they were engaged in obstruction, and 492 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 3: Thursday night the Democrats caved and they agreed to expedite 493 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,479 Speaker 3: and move these forward. So we're moving now on a 494 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:57,440 Speaker 3: faster pace than we would have if we had rammed 495 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 3: through the weekend and the Democrats had extended all the time. 496 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 3: So they agreed, all right, we'll compress the time if 497 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 3: we let them fly home, and so by next week, 498 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 3: as I said, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Eddans Affairs, 499 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 3: Attorney General and hud we'll all make it through next week. 500 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 2: That obviously means the pace is moving up. When you 501 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 2: look at so far what's happened there does seem to 502 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 2: be a little bit of a change. Now we're noticing 503 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 2: it with the Democrats in the media especially, it seems 504 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 2: like there's a real appetite to just get a nominee 505 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 2: whatever when they get their hands on to not pass. 506 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 2: Is that part of the gainsmanship that we're witnessing. Am 507 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 2: I reading the room the right way? 508 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 5: Yeah? 509 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 3: Look, I still believe, and I've said this a number 510 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 3: of times, that all of Trump's cabinet nominees are going 511 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 3: to be confirmed, and I think they'll be confirmed within 512 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 3: thirty days. That we are leaning in. We're putting the 513 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 3: pedal to the medal under the Senate rules that the 514 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 3: Democrats can delay some, but I think within thirty days 515 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 3: we'll get them all through Out the two the three 516 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 3: that they are going after hardest are in terms of 517 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 3: cabinet nominees, Tulca Gabbert for Director of National Intelligence, Bobby 518 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 3: Kennedy for Health and Human Services, and then it's not 519 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 3: a cabinet position, but Cash Pateel for Director of the FBI, 520 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 3: which it's a sub cabinet position but a very very 521 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 3: important law enforcement position. Those are the three. It's not 522 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 3: complicated or subtle. Those three are the top targets of 523 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 3: the Democrats. Today. In the Senate Judiciary Committee, we had 524 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 3: cash Betel's hearing. I was vigorous at the hearing defending him. 525 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 3: I will tell you I think I think Cash did 526 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 3: very well. I think he acquitted himself in an excellent way. 527 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 3: This evening I was on Sean Hannity, and as I 528 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 3: put it, I said, my assessment of the Democrats behavior 529 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:55,360 Speaker 3: at cash Betel's hearing reminded me of the quote from 530 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,480 Speaker 3: Shakespeare's Macbeth. It was a tale told by an idiot, 531 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 3: full of out in fury and signifying nothing. 532 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 2: That is a great accurate way of describing it. Was 533 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 2: a you know what show is how I was going 534 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 2: to put it. 535 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 3: But they didn't land any material blows. And look, the 536 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 3: point on Cash. What they're attacking him on not that 537 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 3: he's not qualified. He's clearly qualified. He has over a 538 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 3: decade of experience in law enforcement, national security, including having 539 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 3: been a federal public defender, including having been a federal prosecutor, 540 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,160 Speaker 3: having worked in the National Security Division of the Department 541 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 3: of Justice, having worked in the White House and the 542 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 3: National Security Council, having been a senior intelligence staffer on 543 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 3: Capitol Hill, and having been the chief of staff at 544 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:45,280 Speaker 3: the United States Defense Department. They're not arguing he's unqualified. 545 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 3: What they're arguing is they're terrified he will do exactly 546 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 3: what President Trump promised he would do, which is eliminate 547 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 3: the politicization and weaponization of the FBI and get it 548 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,480 Speaker 3: back to its core function. I believe Cash Bettel will 549 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:00,280 Speaker 3: do that, and I think the Democrats are free out 550 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 3: because they don't want them to do that. But I 551 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 3: think Cash will make it through. We also had hearings 552 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 3: this week for both Bobby Kennedy and Tulsea Gabbert. I 553 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 3: don't know, it is not impossible that one of those 554 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,240 Speaker 3: nominees is defeated, but I think they all make it through. 555 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 2: Right now, when you look at the Republicans, when Democrats 556 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 2: are pushing this obstructionism the way that they are doing 557 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 2: it and trying to slow things down, does that unify 558 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 2: the Republican base more because it's like, all right, come on, guys. 559 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 2: Does that make it actually easier to get the votes 560 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 2: you need because you realize what you're up against? 561 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 3: A look, potentially, you had Pete hag Seth, who is 562 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 3: the one they went after the hardest so far, and 563 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 3: that vote was fifty to fifty. We lost three Republicans. 564 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 3: We lost Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell. Because 565 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 3: we have a fifty three to forty seven majority, losing 566 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 3: three made it fifty to fifty, and that meant the 567 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 3: Vice President JD. Vance could break the tie. I am 568 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 3: glad we have fifty three. If we had a fifty 569 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 3: one vote majority, I would not be nearly so sanguine. 570 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,040 Speaker 3: I would not be saying every Trump Cabinet nominee is 571 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:10,239 Speaker 3: going to be confirmed if we had a fifty one 572 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 3: vote majority. But because we have fifty three, we can 573 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 3: lose up to three, and so I think all of 574 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:22,160 Speaker 3: these make it through. Listen, Tulsi. Tulsi was a Democrat 575 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 3: for most of her career. She is perceived if you 576 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:29,719 Speaker 3: look at Republican foreign policy, they're interventionists and isolationists. There 577 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 3: are many who perceive Tulsi as much more of an isolationist. 578 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 3: So there are Republicans who have real concerns with her 579 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 3: will that play out into no votes. I don't know. 580 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 3: I think the President deserves a considerable amount of deference 581 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 3: in naming his cabinet members, and he has decided to 582 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 3: name Tulci Gabbert. I'm going to vote yes, but I 583 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 3: don't know. It's not impossible that we get four no votes, 584 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 3: which would take down the nomination. Likewise, Bobby Kennedy. Bobby 585 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 3: Kennedy's a complicated situation. Both Kennedy and Tulsa, until like 586 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,960 Speaker 3: twelve minutes ago, they were both Democrats, and so Bobby 587 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 3: Kennedy obviously a scion of one of the great Democrat 588 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 3: royalty families, Camelot. It is a curious dynamic. It's not 589 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,359 Speaker 3: clear to me any Democrat is going to vote for him, 590 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 3: which is an interesting situation. Listen, there's some conservatives. Bobby Kennedy, 591 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 3: until recently, on many policies is his views were quite 592 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 3: left of center. I'm going to vote for Bobby Kennedy 593 00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 3: because I think he's a change agent, because I think 594 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 3: he has courage to take on I think some of 595 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,320 Speaker 3: the corruption that we have at HHS, particularly with big Pharma, 596 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 3: that gets in bed with the career bureaucrats there and 597 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:52,799 Speaker 3: stifles competition and drives up costs. I think if you 598 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 3: have a terrible disease, you should have a right to 599 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,760 Speaker 3: access life saving medication. And I'm one of the original 600 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 3: sponsors of the right to Try legislation. I think that's 601 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:07,279 Speaker 3: very important, and i think Bobby Kennedy is going to 602 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 3: shake up the cronyism that that has characterized HHS. What's 603 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 3: not clear to me is I don't if any Democrats 604 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 3: want that cronyism shaken up, and to be honest, there 605 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 3: may be some Republicans that don't. Let's play this exchange. 606 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,920 Speaker 3: So this is Bobby Kennedy responding to Bernie Sanders. Bernie's 607 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,320 Speaker 3: going to vote now. When Bernie was attacking him like crazy, 608 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:36,000 Speaker 3: but I got to say, Bobby Kennedy popped him back 609 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 3: pretty hard. Listen to this exchange. 610 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,239 Speaker 5: I'm going to make America healthier than other countries in 611 00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 5: the world. Right now, will. 612 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 4: You guarantee do what every other major country. It's a 613 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:47,720 Speaker 4: simple question. 614 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 5: And by the way, Bernie, you know the problem of 615 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 5: corruption is not just in the federal agents, is in 616 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 5: Congress too. Almost all the members of this panel are accepting, 617 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,480 Speaker 5: include yourself, or accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical 618 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,719 Speaker 5: industry protecting their interests. 619 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 4: Oh I thought that that would No. No, I ran 620 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:16,439 Speaker 4: for president like you. I got millions, millions of contributions. 621 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 4: They did not come from the executives, not one nickel 622 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 4: of pack money from the pharmaceuticals and they came to 623 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:23,880 Speaker 4: twenty twenty. 624 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,960 Speaker 5: In twenty twenty, you were the single largest. 625 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 4: Because I received a pharmaceutical combinations from workers all over 626 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:33,520 Speaker 4: this country. 627 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:34,200 Speaker 3: Workers. 628 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:37,160 Speaker 1: You were this, not a nickel from corporate. 629 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:41,800 Speaker 5: You was the single largest pharmaceutical. 630 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,879 Speaker 4: Dollars from workers in point three five million. Yeah, out 631 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 4: of two hundred millions. 632 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:47,239 Speaker 3: All right, but. 633 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:50,439 Speaker 4: You have not answered last question. 634 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:53,960 Speaker 2: I mean that you want to talk about a beatdown 635 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 2: with the facts there, Bernie, You've accepted millions of dollars 636 00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:58,360 Speaker 2: in the pharmaceutical industry. 637 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, you were this single. 638 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:03,840 Speaker 2: Largest receiver of pharmacyal dollars one point five millions. 639 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: Like, let's just move on here. 640 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:09,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, he did not like that exchange. By the way, 641 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 3: I've never seen a confirmation hearing where the nominee refers 642 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,560 Speaker 3: to the senator by his first name. He keeps calling 643 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 3: him Bernie. Like it's clear Bobby Kennedy and Bernie Sanators 644 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,160 Speaker 3: they know each other well. I mean, they've got a 645 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:25,120 Speaker 3: long history there. Because that's that that that's quite unusual too. 646 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:29,160 Speaker 3: But I gotta say Bernie was not anticipating that pop back. 647 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,480 Speaker 3: We'll see how it plays out. But I think Kennedy's 648 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,400 Speaker 3: gonna get confirmed. I want him to get confirmed. I 649 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,120 Speaker 3: like Bobby Kennedy, and I also think there are a 650 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 3: lot of Americans, a lot of Americans who are not 651 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,120 Speaker 3: even very political, a lot of moms who are worried 652 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:47,360 Speaker 3: about the garbage that that our kids are are consuming, 653 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 3: are worried about the rise in in in in chronic illness, 654 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:54,880 Speaker 3: that that that that. I think Bobby Kennedy is a 655 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,359 Speaker 3: very good person to take that on well. 656 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 2: And the keyword you use was an age of change. Ye, 657 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,320 Speaker 2: there is an appetite for that in Washington. The status 658 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:07,200 Speaker 2: quo people are sick and tired of. And that's part 659 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:08,960 Speaker 2: of the reason why I think Donald Trump brought who 660 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:12,640 Speaker 2: he brought to the table. Absolutely, don't forget. We did 661 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,800 Speaker 2: a show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We do a week 662 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,200 Speaker 2: in review as well on Saturdays. At that subscribe or 663 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 2: auto download button on those in between days, grab my 664 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,239 Speaker 2: podcast to Ben ferguson podcasts as well, and I'll keep 665 00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:25,839 Speaker 2: you up to down on the latest breaking news and the 666 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:28,239 Speaker 2: Sina and I will see you back here Saturday for 667 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 2: the weekend review.