1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You're listening to the 2 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: noon and five pm Eastern on Apple, Cocklay and Android 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: Auto with the Bloomberg Business App. Listen on demand wherever 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 2: Joe and I, yes are in Washington, but we actually 7 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 2: have our eyes on Las Vegas at this hour with 8 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 2: the Bitcoin twenty twenty five conference is taking place. Remember 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 2: last year when it was in Nashville, then candidate Donald 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 2: Trump spoke before the conference, and today his now sitting 11 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 2: Vice President Jade Vance was the keynote speaker, talking a 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: big game about how this administration wants to be friendlier 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 2: for the crypto industry overall. Make it, of course, as 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 2: they've said often, the bitcoin capital of the world. Jadvance 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 2: today Joe saying, we want our fellow Americans to know 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 2: that crypto and digital assets and particularly bitcoin are part 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 2: of the mainstream economy and are here to stay. 18 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 3: So helping us connect the dots between Las Vegas and Washington. 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 3: Here an actual policy from what goes on inside the 20 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 3: Venetian Resort to underneath the Capitol Dome is Byron Donald's 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 3: the congressman Republican from Florida's nineteenth is with us right 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 3: now on balance of power. Congressmen, welcome back. I hope 23 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 3: things are going well in Las Vegas. 24 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 4: Kaylee's right. 25 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 3: It was Donald Trump's turn last year when he promised 26 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 3: America would become a bitcoin superpower under his leadership. What 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 3: changes need to happen right now to make that happen. 28 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 5: Well, First, it's good to be with you. The first 29 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 5: couple of changes are going to be a legislation. We're 30 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 5: going to be moving through the Financial Services Committee this 31 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 5: summer one, dealing obviously with stable coin legislation. We've been 32 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 5: at that for a couple of years now under the 33 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 5: leadership of former Chairman McHenry who's now left Congress and 34 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 5: now chairman of french Hill. And then of course our 35 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 5: market structure legislation to create the regulatory framework for digital 36 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 5: assets overall, to actually have a rule so the road 37 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 5: where you have regulators understanding what their purview actually is 38 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 5: and unlike what was happening with Gary Gensler just making 39 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 5: up your purview as you go along, because. 40 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 4: That's how you see that industry. 41 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 5: So I think those those are steps one and two 42 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 5: for making bitcoin, as the President talks about the making 43 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 5: bitcoin the United States the bigcoin capital of the world, 44 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 5: you have to address a regulatory environment. You have to 45 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 5: create a clear regulatory system when it comes to stable 46 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 5: coins in particular, that will feed the engine for people 47 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 5: to bring more investments. 48 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 4: Into the United States. 49 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 5: And then that's how the United States will become a 50 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 5: true leader when it comes to digital assets. 51 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: But as all of that legislative effort, Congressman, and it's 52 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 2: great to have you on the program again, complicated by 53 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 2: the conflict of interest questions around President Trump knowing he 54 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 2: has a meme coin and attended a dinner last week 55 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 2: with investors in said meme coin that DJT, the media 56 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 2: company that literally bears his name, is raising money so 57 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 2: that it can buy a bitcoin. Does that add a 58 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 2: complicating factor to any kind of bipartis an effort in 59 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 2: advancing legislation like that when that's giving Democrats a lot 60 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 2: of noise to make, no, I. 61 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 4: Don't think so. 62 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 5: There's a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill who do 63 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 5: realize that digital assets are here to stay. 64 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 4: Bitcoin is here to stay. It's not going anywhere, and 65 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 4: so it's. 66 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 5: Time for the United States to actually take the necessary 67 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 5: steps forward to fully embrace digital assets. And so I 68 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 5: think what's going to happen is we're going to move 69 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 5: that policy out of the House. There are going to 70 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 5: be Democrats in my view, we're going to support both 71 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 5: packages in the House, and you're going to have Democrats 72 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 5: in the Senate support it. I think what what you saw, 73 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 5: and I think Democrats saw this by and large with 74 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 5: how they acted towards the digital assets industry under the 75 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 5: Biden administration, and you know, if you're here on the conference, 76 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 5: it was soundly rejected. I think people here understand that 77 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 5: you have to have clear rules for to the road. 78 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 5: You can't have regulators just picking and choosing how they're 79 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 5: going to look at digital assets. You simply can't. So 80 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 5: I think that to your question, I don't think that's 81 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 5: going to matter at all. We're talking about an industry 82 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 5: that it really has the potential to be a trillion 83 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 5: dollar industry here in the United States, and not just 84 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 5: to talk about the guys who are doing big things, 85 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 5: whether it's coinbase or any other company that's out there, 86 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 5: talk about the little guy people who are getting in 87 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 5: at the bottom of this industry who are finding an 88 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 5: opportunity to really build a company, really build wealth that 89 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 5: crosses party lines, acrosses demographic lines. And so we need 90 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 5: to lead on this and not be afraid of talking 91 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 5: points or other things that are going on. 92 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 2: But as we consider building wealth, what if all of 93 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 2: this effort directly leads to further building the wealth of 94 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 2: the President of the United States. Do you not see 95 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: an issue their Congressman, Well. 96 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 5: I would tell you that a rising tide lifts all boats. 97 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 5: You know, if Eric and Donn are doing things in 98 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 5: their personal capacities, that's fine, and that's all well and good. 99 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 5: That's America. I don't think people should be told that 100 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 5: you can't do business in our country. Actually, to be 101 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 5: blunt with you, it's better that these things are actually 102 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 5: out in the open for people to know and to see. 103 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 5: As opposed to what was happening under the previous administration, 104 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 5: where they were hiding how the family was making money. 105 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 5: They were hiding it from everybody. They were lying to 106 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,679 Speaker 5: the American people. The president, President Biden, or the Auto 107 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 5: pen whichever one you choose, had to do preemptive pardons. 108 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 5: That stuff is ridiculous, that's outrageous. What we're talking about 109 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 5: is regulating an industry in a proper way so the 110 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 5: industry can thrive, it can grow, people can invest, capital 111 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 5: can be raised, and people, whether you're at the top 112 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 5: or the bottom, can get in. One of the things 113 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 5: that I'm so excited about digital assets is that when 114 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 5: we finally get the regulatory environment settled, you can do 115 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 5: things like fractional You can do fractional exchanges where people 116 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 5: can buy a fractional piece of real world assets or 117 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 5: a fractional piece of companies going forward. So if somebody 118 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 5: doesn't have, you know, fifty thousand dollars to their name 119 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 5: to invest, and they might have a couple hundred dollars, 120 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 5: it might have five thousand dollars under a fractionalized a 121 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 5: fractionalized tokenized exchange, you can invest in that. That helps 122 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 5: people grow their asset base, it helps them grow themselves financially. 123 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 5: In our country, that's a good thing. We should celebrate that. 124 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 3: Congressman, I want to ask you about the effort on 125 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 3: Capitol Hill that you're in the midst of right now 126 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 3: when it comes to reconciliation of the Trump tax cuts, 127 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 3: the spending cuts, and all the rest that comes with it. Here, 128 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 3: Caylee mentioned a moment ago that the President was just 129 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,919 Speaker 3: asked in the Oval office about comments from Elon Musk 130 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 3: about the way this bill took shape in the House 131 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,239 Speaker 3: and is now of course on its way to the Senate. 132 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 3: Let's listen to what he said and we'll have you react. 133 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 6: I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, 134 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 6: which increases the bunch depths, if not doesn't decrease it, 135 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 6: and that reminds the work that the notes team is doing. 136 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,679 Speaker 7: I actually thought that when this big, beautiful bill came along. 137 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 8: I mean, like everything he's done on dough gets wipes 138 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 8: out in the first year. 139 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 6: I think, I think a bill can be can be 140 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 6: can be big, or it can be beautiful. 141 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 3: It can be big or it can be beautiful. Congressman 142 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 3: that was with CBS, is Elon Musk wrong? 143 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 4: Well, a couple of things. One in the package. 144 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 5: Obviously, we maintained all of the president's UH tax policy 145 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 5: and made a lot of it permanent, which is to 146 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 5: the betterment of of every small business owner, every American. 147 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 4: We secure the. 148 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 5: Border, we actually build border wall, We modernize our defense department. 149 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 5: We do a lot of things that have been neglected, 150 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 5: especially over the last four years, that need to get done, 151 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 5: and we were able to accomplish that. When it comes 152 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 5: to spending cuts, yeah, Elon's right on this. We have 153 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 5: to do a much better job and making sure that 154 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 5: these DESA bills are at a minimum deficit neutral. But 155 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 5: what they need to do is decrease deficits. And so 156 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 5: that was a major sticking point for a lot of 157 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 5: conservatives in the House. They want to see real spending 158 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 5: cuts in these packages. I know that there's a recisions 159 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 5: package that the that the House has and possession. We 160 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 5: need to move that to the floor and do that immediately. 161 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 5: A lot of the DOGE cuts are in that recisions package. 162 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 5: We should be voting on that at the end of 163 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 5: the day, before you get to bills or how any 164 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 5: of that looks like. I look at the bond market 165 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 5: and one thing is crystal clear. The bond market is 166 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 5: looking at the United States and they are saying, you 167 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 5: better get your fiscal house in order, or we're going 168 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 5: to charge you more to borrow money. No nation can 169 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 5: thrive under that kind of a scenario. So we have 170 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 5: to be serious on Capitol Hill. Last thing I will 171 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 5: say is the President and his team. They did a 172 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 5: tremendous job of trying to get this bill through the House. 173 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 5: Some of the sticking points on why we didn't cut 174 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 5: more spending was because of Republicans who, to be blunt, 175 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 5: we're concerned about their re elections and their districts as 176 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 5: opposed to making sure that we put the fiscal health 177 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 5: of the nation forward to have that be the number 178 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 5: one thing we're concerned about. So I think that as 179 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,319 Speaker 5: this bill goes through the Senate, the Senate's going to 180 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 5: make changes, it will come back to the House and 181 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 5: if for future packages, I'd urge my colleagues we have 182 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 5: to take our deficits in our debts seriously because if 183 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 5: we don't get this under control, the bond market is 184 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 5: going to come for everybody. I don't care if you're 185 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 5: a Republican or Democrat, it does not matter. The bond market. 186 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 5: Charging higher rates for treasury bonds is going to be 187 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 5: a major issue that really could hurt the United States 188 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 5: over the long term, if not. 189 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 2: Sink us well on the bond market. Congressman White House 190 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 2: Trade advisor Pete Navarro just penned an op ed about 191 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 2: that today in the Hill, saying that the bond market 192 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 2: is wrong about Trump's tax bill. It misses the substantial 193 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 2: positive revenue impact of tariffs. What's your take on Navarro's argument. 194 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 5: Well, I agree with Peter when it comes to the 195 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 5: President's tax policy and even some tariff policy. Yes, those 196 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 5: are revenue raisers, and I would argue that when you 197 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 5: get out of the frankly, the negotiating around what the 198 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 5: economic growth rates are going to be on Capitol Hill, 199 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 5: that was a negotiation. It's not about what's going to happen. 200 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 5: I think things in the President's tax package, obviously Section 201 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,199 Speaker 5: one ninety nine A being continued and now permanent one 202 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 5: hundred percent expensing over four years, no tax on tips, 203 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 5: no tax on overtime. I think all those things are 204 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 5: going to be stimulative to the economy. But I think 205 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 5: what the bond market is really talking about is our 206 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 5: deficits and our debts and the velocity of borrowings into 207 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 5: the future. That's what we have to get under control. 208 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 5: I would argue that if the bill was deficit neutral 209 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 5: coming out of the House, Moodies would not have downgraded. 210 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 4: I'll tell you that right now. 211 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 5: I think they would have, and so I think that 212 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 5: those are the things that the bond market is looking at. 213 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 5: It's not tax policy. Peter is correct when it comes 214 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 5: to tax policy. Totally agree with him on that. But 215 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 5: the bond market is looking at the deficit projections, the 216 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 5: debt projections of the United States. We have to take 217 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 5: this stuff seriously. There are real reforms that need to 218 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 5: happen in Washington, DC. And so that's the stuff that 219 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 5: when you look at future pieces of legislation when it 220 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 5: comes to deficits and debts, that's the stuff that we 221 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 5: have to get to get serious about. 222 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 3: This is fascinating for us to hear. Congressman in our 223 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,439 Speaker 3: remaining moment, Are you quietly hoping the Senate cuts spending 224 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 3: further when it gets its hands on the bill? 225 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, of course. 226 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 5: Listen. I am all for cutting spending. And look, let's 227 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 5: be clear on this. I know that there are a 228 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 5: lot of Americans to say, well, if you cut spending, 229 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 5: is that the thing that I use? And I will 230 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 5: tell you that the federal government weighs so much money, 231 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 5: we could actually do more when it comes to spending 232 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 5: and actually not hit vulnerable populations. I'll give you an example. 233 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 5: There was a lot of conversation around Medicaid and this bill, 234 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 5: the Democrats are saying, oh, Medicaid is to pay for 235 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 5: tax cuts. That is a lie that is simply not true. 236 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 5: The reason why it's a lie is because when the 237 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 5: Democrats were in charge, they did not touch Donald Trump's 238 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 5: tax policy. They left it in place because it's good 239 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 5: tax policy. So what the real argument is in medicaid? 240 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 4: Should the federal. 241 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 5: Government be spending nine dollars for every one dollar that 242 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 5: the state spends on able bodied adults with no kids, 243 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 5: versus the same federal government paying a dollar thirty three 244 00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 5: for poor kids, elderly people who were poor, and pregnant women. 245 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 5: That is a dichotomy set up by Barack Obama and Obamacare, 246 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 5: and it's terrible policy because what you've done is you've 247 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 5: expanded the Medicaid population for able bodied adults, and you're 248 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 5: actually disincentivizing state systems and hospitals from serving the most vulnerable. 249 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 5: So there are positions on the Hill that said, look, 250 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 5: let's try to rework some of this stuff. Let's do 251 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 5: more investment into poor people, vulnerable populations. Let's actually try 252 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 5: to take a stab at rural health and some other 253 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 5: issues that are happening in the country. But we have 254 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 5: to end this Medicaid expansion fallacy around essentially creating expansion 255 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:41,680 Speaker 5: populations around Medicaid. 256 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 4: You have to end that. 257 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 5: One of the big reasons the Democrats want to keep 258 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 5: Medicaid expansion is not for health care. It's because they 259 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 5: want single payer health care. That was the reason they 260 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 5: wanted the public option back when they did the Affordable 261 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 5: Care Act back in what twenty ten, That was the 262 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 5: purpose of that. So there are conversations like that happening 263 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 5: on Capitol Hill where you can make changes to a 264 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 5: program like Medicaid, you can make sure people who are 265 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 5: on those programs are grandfathered in, their benefits don't get cut. 266 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 5: But going forward, the federal government says we're not going 267 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 5: to be funding able bodied adults going forward into the future. 268 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 5: We're going to make sure we prioritize vulnerable populations, people 269 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 5: who are truly in need. That's the kind of spending 270 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 5: reform that I think the bond market would say, you 271 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 5: know what, they're being serious. That's also the type of 272 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 5: spending reforms that I think the American people would get 273 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 5: behind because they'll be like, that makes sense. We should 274 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 5: be making sure that people who are truly vulnerable get 275 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 5: the help that they deserve. 276 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 2: What about people who are vulnerable to the elements? Congressman, 277 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 2: And I ask you this knowing you would like to 278 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 2: be the next governor of Florida. Are you worried that 279 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 2: funding cuts in areas like FEMA and elsewhere, and as 280 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 2: we head into Atlantic hurricane season could leave states like 281 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 2: Florida more vulnerable in responding to disasters. 282 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 5: Well, look, I think that what you're going to see 283 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 5: is the reworking of FEMA, which is something I have 284 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 5: advocated for. I filed a bill with Jared Moscowitz, Democrat 285 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 5: out of Florida about getting FEMA out of Homeland Security, 286 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 5: having it being a direct report agency to the White House. 287 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 5: So I think I commend the White House on what 288 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 5: they're doing. President Trump is leading on this issue making 289 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 5: sure that FEMA is reformed. So I'm not concerned about that. 290 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 5: Knowing the President, knowing his team, they're going to be 291 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 5: there to make sure that people are getting every help 292 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 5: that they need and they deserve from the federal government 293 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 5: when disasters strikes. So I have no concerns about that. 294 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 5: But you do ask the real question about FEMA. FEMA 295 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 5: is a bureaucratic mess, and it has been for quite 296 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 5: some time. Go ask the people in North Carolina, they 297 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 5: will tell you. Ask the people in the in the Panhandle, 298 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 5: Big Band area, southwest Florida, my district, they will tell 299 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 5: you this. So FEMA needs to be reworked, reworked. I 300 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 5: commend the President for what he's doing. Let them go 301 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 5: through that process. But I will tell you Americans, Floridians, 302 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 5: they're going to get the help that they need. 303 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 4: One disaster strikes from Donald Trump. 304 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 2: All right, Florida gubernatorial candidate and current Republican Congressman representing 305 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: Flora's nineteenth district, Byron Donalds, thank you so much for 306 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 2: joining us here on Balance of Power Live from Las Vegas, 307 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 2: where Bitcoin twenty twenty five is underway. We'll have more 308 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 2: on crypto and its ties to this White House and 309 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 2: this president later on on the program, and our political 310 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 2: panel will join us straight ahead. Rick Davis and Jeanie 311 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 2: Shanzano will be with us here on Balance of Power 312 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 2: on Bloomberg TV and radio. 313 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch 314 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: us live weekdays at noon and five pm Eastern on Apple, 315 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: Cocklay and Android Atto with the Bloomberg Business App. You 316 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship 317 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: New York station. Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty. 318 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 3: So thanks for joining alongside Kaylee Lines. I am Joe 319 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 3: Matthew in Washington, where it's back to the future at 320 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 3: the White House. Kaylee, at least when it comes to 321 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 3: Fannie May and Freddie, you may have feel like you've 322 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 3: seen this movie before. Donald Trump says he's working. That's 323 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 3: the quote on taking Fanny and Freddie public, adding more 324 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 3: to suggest the government will retain guarantees and oversight for 325 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 3: Fanny and Freddie if in fact they are taking public. 326 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 4: The question is how do you get it done? 327 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, that if is a big if, and how you 328 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 2: get it done is a question we pose now to 329 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 2: Ben Elliott, Bloomberg intelligence analyst for financials, who is here 330 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 2: with us in our Washington, d C studio. So, Ben, 331 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 2: obviously this idea isn't anything new. In fact, it's something 332 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 2: that many Republicans have long advocated for since these went 333 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 2: into government conservatorship after the financial crisis. But how hard 334 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 2: is it to actually implement? What would it actually even 335 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 2: look like? 336 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 7: Yes, so it's an incredibly hard process. Right, the Trump 337 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 7: administration had four years to work on this, and they 338 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 7: didn't accomplish a whole lot at the end there, But 339 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 7: they have all that work on the shelf. They could 340 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 7: they could pull it down and they could speed up 341 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 7: the process this time around. I think the markets today, 342 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 7: you saw the price action on Fanning and Freddy very positive. 343 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 7: I think that's a response that investors are happy to 344 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 7: see that the government would still have a role in 345 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 7: housing finance. But actually the process of determining how that 346 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 7: guarantee will work is much more complicated than just a post. 347 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 3: Well, that I guess is the question here, right, do 348 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 3: we have anything comparable is an example of how that 349 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 3: would work? And how much oversight would Wall Street withstand? 350 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 7: Yeah, so there are analogs for how the government would 351 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,120 Speaker 7: exit a stake. You know, the federal governmente a ton 352 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 7: of equity investments in the way of the financial crisis, 353 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 7: AIG being sort of the biggest one that everyone remembers, 354 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 7: and the government could follow that playbook to get out 355 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 7: of its stake and Fanny and Freddy, but there's no 356 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 7: analog for you know the role of gs's play in 357 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 7: housing finance and providing a fixed rate thirty year mortgage 358 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,680 Speaker 7: to US home buyers. So that remains to be determined, 359 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 7: and it's very complicated. 360 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,959 Speaker 2: Well, and to that point, what could happen to mortgage 361 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 2: rates themselves if we were to see the government offloading 362 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 2: Fanny and Freddie? Is there a risk that actually costs 363 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:03,479 Speaker 2: to buy a home could go higher. 364 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 4: Yeah. 365 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 7: So if you look at the sort of spread of 366 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 7: agency NBS over Treasury, it's really moved very little as 367 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 7: a result of the President's latest post. So I think 368 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 7: that indicates that the bond market basically assumes there'll be 369 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 7: no change in how the securities are perceived. But you know, 370 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 7: if more credit risks were to come into the agency 371 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 7: NBS marketplace, then the securities would have to price higher 372 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 7: and that would be reflected in mortgage rates. 373 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 3: Really interesting and it's something that we'll keep tabs on 374 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,119 Speaker 3: for you here, Ben Elliot with Bloomberg Intelligence. Great to 375 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 3: have you with this, Ben, it'll be a stranger on 376 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 3: balance of power. As we assemble our political panel. Rick 377 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,959 Speaker 3: and Jennie are both with us Bloomberg Politics contributors with 378 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 3: our eyes on Elon Musk and some of the commentary 379 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 3: that he made in a series of interviews, not only 380 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 3: about the Doge, but about the President's big, beautiful bill. 381 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 3: Genie is Bloomberg politics contributor, Democratic analyst, and senior Democracy 382 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 3: fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency 383 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 3: in Congress, Rick are Republican strategist and partner at Stone 384 00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 3: Court Capital. What do you make of this? 385 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 9: Genie? 386 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 3: Elon Musk says, the bill can be big or it 387 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 3: can be beautiful. Apparently it cannot be both. Has Donald 388 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 3: Trump lost the man who ran the doge? 389 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:12,920 Speaker 9: He seems to have. And you know, I was thinking, boy, 390 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,440 Speaker 9: that was quick. It was like literally over the weekend 391 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 9: he was cheap truthing. No, now he doesn't truth. He 392 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 9: tweets xing I should say about he was going to 393 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 9: spend twenty four to seven at work, he was going 394 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 9: to be sleeping on factory floors, and then all of 395 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 9: a sudden he's back in. Sort of sounded to me 396 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 9: a little bit like an exit interview bemoaning what is 397 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 9: going on in Washington, d C. I have to agree 398 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 9: with him on the bill. I don't think it's either well, 399 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 9: I don't think it's beautiful. I do think it is 400 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 9: very big, and I think he is right on the 401 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 9: question of the deficit in the spending. So I agree 402 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 9: with him on that, but I can't. I imagine his 403 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 9: investors are not happy that he's not sleeping on those 404 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,400 Speaker 9: factory floors like he promised. 405 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 2: Well, of course, it's not just his investors that seem 406 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 2: to have paid attention into his comments. The Speaker of 407 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 2: the House seems to have been responding as well on 408 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 2: X Today Rick as he says Elon Musk in the 409 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 2: entire Doach team have done incredible work, and that the 410 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 2: House is eager and ready to act on Joje's findings 411 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,640 Speaker 2: so we can deliver even more cuts to big government 412 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 2: that President Trump wants and the American people demand. He 413 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 2: says the two ways of doing that are acting on 414 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 2: a recisions package when the White House sends it to 415 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 2: the House, and then using the appropriations process to swiftly 416 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 2: implement the president's twenty twenty six budget. Does the Speaker 417 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 2: have a point that actually, this one big, beautiful bill 418 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 2: is not supposed to be where we see spending cuts materialize, 419 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 2: that that has to happen separately legislatively. 420 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 8: Well, it can happen separately legislatively, But the reason you 421 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 8: use reconciliation is because it's easier to do. You don't 422 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,640 Speaker 8: have to have a sixty vote majority in the Senate 423 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 8: to pass. And so if you're going to go deep 424 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 8: with the knife and cut government programs excess of what 425 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 8: the House attempted to do, then where are you going 426 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,679 Speaker 8: to get the votes for it. You barely had the 427 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 8: votes to pass the big beautiful bill, and now everyone's 428 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,200 Speaker 8: out criticizing it for not actually having cut enough. Chip Roy, 429 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 8: it must be doing, you know, a dance in the 430 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 8: House floor right now, because he's been saying that for 431 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 8: a month. And so when we heard Byron Donald start 432 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 8: talking about earlier on this program, how you know he 433 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 8: really feels frustrated by the inability to cut more into 434 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,640 Speaker 8: the deficit. I mean, he was voting on this bill. 435 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 8: You could have stopped it and gone back and cut more. 436 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 8: Now as soon as the bills is sent to the Senate, 437 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 8: it's like, well the Senate needs to cut more. I mean, 438 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 8: it's really unusual for Washington to play this dance. But look, 439 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 8: the good news is everyone's focused on trying to cut 440 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 8: that deficit. And I do think that's a high priority 441 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 8: for both the Trump administration and Capitol Hill. 442 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 3: I did have to wonder how many times in your 443 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 3: years in the Senate you heard somebody in the House 444 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 3: hoping that the Senate would cut further to make the 445 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,399 Speaker 3: bill better. But you know, we're also concerned about Elon 446 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 3: Musk's feelings when it comes to the Doge Genie. He 447 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,639 Speaker 3: did a couple of interviews. There was another one with 448 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 3: the Washington poach Post in which he talked about the 449 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 3: Doge as a whipping boy for everything quote so like 450 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 3: something bad would happen anywhere and we would get blamed 451 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 3: for it, even if we had nothing to do with it. 452 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 3: And we know that Elon Musk was bumping into members 453 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 3: of the cabinet just like he was lawmakers and members 454 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 3: of the voting public. But if you're swinging a chainsaw 455 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 3: around on stage at sea pack, shouldn't you expect to 456 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 3: offend somebody. 457 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 9: You would think, right? You know, it sort of reminded me, 458 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 9: as good as he is at business, or brilliant as 459 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 9: he is at business, he's very very new to this 460 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 9: Washington DC game. Because you know, he was surprised that 461 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 9: he was being criticized, or what he said, blamed, and 462 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 9: Doze was being blamed and of course that suggests somebody 463 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 9: who hasn't spent a lot of time in Washington, d C. 464 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 9: Even Donald Trump today in his comments, tried to say, listen, Elon, 465 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 9: you know, we'd like to do other things, but the 466 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 9: reality is we need to get enough votes for passage. 467 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 9: And so, you know, I think Elon Musk sounds a 468 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 9: little bit naive sometimes when he talks about either Doze 469 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 9: or the cuts in these kinds of things that are 470 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 9: going on in Washington, d C. 471 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,400 Speaker 2: Well, when he's talking about these things going off going 472 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 2: on in Washington, d C, knowing he's about to spend 473 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 2: a whole lot less time in Washington, d C. Rick, 474 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 2: is this actually when we see honesty coming into the picture. 475 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 7: Well, I don't know if it's honesty. 476 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 8: I mean, maybe a little naive to think that you 477 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 8: were going to go to Washington with the chainsaw and not, 478 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 8: you know, ruffle some feathers. But since why did Elon 479 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 8: Musk ever care about ruffling feathers. He's been ruffling feathers 480 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 8: since the day he was and thank goodness he has. 481 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,880 Speaker 8: He's upended the space launch industry. He's got so many 482 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 8: other inventions that are revolutionizing technology. I really Actually, I'm 483 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,679 Speaker 8: more concerned with the fact that he's now feeling like 484 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 8: he's got feelings and all of a sudden, you know, 485 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 8: because the dosing didn't quite work out. So what I mean, 486 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 8: rockets blow up and you keep working on it. In Washington, 487 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 8: you need to sort of pick your friends, and so 488 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 8: in this case, I think, you know, someone needs to 489 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,919 Speaker 8: sit down with Elon and say, look, your friends, the 490 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,199 Speaker 8: Trump administration, their followers probably are very happy with what 491 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 8: Doge accomplished. Rest you assured that will be your legacy 492 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 8: in Washington. Keep moving, launch some space, and look, save 493 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 8: a seat for me to go to Mars. I want 494 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 8: to be an easter planetary species. 495 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:48,119 Speaker 6: I love that. 496 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 3: Rick, I guess you're just gonna have to wait til 497 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 3: longer than next year. Genie, Is this a concerted pr 498 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 3: campaign to distance Elon Musk from all things Washington? 499 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 9: Yeah, it absolutely could. I mean, it wasn't that long ago. 500 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 9: We were talking about the fact that everything he had 501 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,440 Speaker 9: done on behalf of Doge had alienated the big base 502 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,160 Speaker 9: of his of his buyers for Tesla, and so how 503 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 9: do you get those back? And of course the numbers 504 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 9: are really suffering. You distance yourself and we've seen him 505 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 9: do that on tariffs already, we're seeing him do it 506 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 9: big time when it comes to the issue of reconciliation. 507 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 9: So I do think there might be some of that 508 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 9: going on here. And of course also the fact that he, 509 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 9: you know, has long been disenchanted with Washington, DC and 510 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,199 Speaker 9: the fact it's now being run by the Republicans and 511 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 9: Donald Trump's hasn't changed any of his feelings about it, 512 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 9: because of course Washington hasn't changed. Granted, it's only been 513 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 9: one hundred and what twenty thirty days? 514 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that's true. Who's still counting at this point? 515 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,360 Speaker 2: I think it has been like one hundred and thirty days. 516 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,160 Speaker 3: Right, that's right, end of April. Well, I guess that's true. 517 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 3: Elan's one hundred and thirty day Marcus Friday. 518 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 2: Yes, end of the contract of the Special government Employee status. 519 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:03,120 Speaker 5: Rick. 520 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,439 Speaker 2: In our final minute here, what happened to the DOGE 521 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 2: caucus in Congress? Is it them that have to kind 522 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 2: of take the helm going forward? 523 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:10,719 Speaker 6: Here? 524 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 2: Have we all resigned ourselves to the fact that this 525 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 2: effort is maybe a lot easier to talk about than 526 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 2: to actually implement in reality, especially when it comes to 527 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 2: congressional recisions. 528 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 8: Yeah, well, we see now there's sort of a remake 529 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 8: that DOGE is going to focus on upgrading and modernizing 530 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,880 Speaker 8: the computer systems and government, which they desperately need to do. 531 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 8: So if it becomes something like that, which could be 532 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 8: fruitful for taxpayers and for those getting benefits from the administration, 533 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 8: then I think I think that would be a good 534 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,959 Speaker 8: sort of second act. You know, we know that there 535 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,400 Speaker 8: have been discussions about, like, gosh, why can't we operate 536 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 8: the federal government like American Express. You know, you can 537 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 8: get your you get things done in an easier way. 538 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,439 Speaker 8: But at the end of the day, I think that 539 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,959 Speaker 8: you're going to see sort of a limitation put on 540 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 8: DOGE because at the end of the day, it's hard 541 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 8: to get your job done if you're in Congress, and 542 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,159 Speaker 8: to then have to deal with things like DOGE just 543 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 8: is a massive distraction. They're the ones who have to 544 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 8: cut the budget, They're the ones who have to create 545 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 8: these programs, not an outside entity. 546 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 2: And Rick and Jeanie are the ones who have to 547 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,640 Speaker 2: answer our questions here on Balance of Power Political Panel today, 548 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,440 Speaker 2: Rick Davis and Genie Schanzeno, thank you so much, and 549 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 2: we have more of the program straight ahead, as we 550 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 2: sit down with the Atlanta Mayor, Andre Dickens next on 551 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 2: Bloomberg TV and Tredio. 552 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch 553 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:48,119 Speaker 1: us live weekdays at noon and five pm Eastern on 554 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 1: Alma Cockley and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business Up. 555 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch 556 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 1: us live on YouTube. 557 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 3: On Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg TV on YouTube, and Bloomberg Originals. 558 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,719 Speaker 3: As we try to connect the dots on the debate 559 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 3: here in Washington about tax and spend, with what's happening 560 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 3: in local and city governments, statewide governments as well, for 561 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 3: that matter, all over the country downstream, if you will, 562 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 3: from the decisions that are being made here in the 563 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 3: nation's capital. As Kaylee lines and I look forward to 564 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 3: talking with the Mayor of Atlanta, Kayley, We've heard a 565 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 3: lot of questions and asked a lot of questions about 566 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 3: the impact of cuts to Medicaid, the SNAP program, food stamps, 567 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,680 Speaker 3: and it's an interesting equation for a mayor who doesn't 568 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,479 Speaker 3: always have the flexibility to deal with debt and deficit 569 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:37,360 Speaker 3: spending the way we do. 570 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 4: Here in DC. 571 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 2: Certainly, and considering that the federal government policies that are 572 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 2: affecting cities like Atlanta don't just end with potential cuts, 573 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 2: but also cuts they are making to things like the 574 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 2: Centers for Disease Control, for example, elsewhere that actually could 575 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 2: directly impact the Atlanta economy. So it's on that note 576 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 2: we do now turn to the Mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens. 577 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 2: Mister mayor, thank you for being with us here on 578 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 2: balance of power. Ask you weigh all of these different 579 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,479 Speaker 2: policies and and the cutting policies in particular that are 580 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,719 Speaker 2: coming from here in Washington, DC. How are you feeling 581 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 2: it at home? 582 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 10: Yeah? At home, it's a little tough for uh, every 583 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,719 Speaker 10: day at Lantin's, which are everyday Americans. Uh, when we 584 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 10: have tariffs that have increased the cost of goods, whether 585 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 10: that's at your grocery store or at your hardware store, 586 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 10: or the costs that it takes us to produce an 587 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 10: affordable housing unit. These things have increased under Donald Trump. 588 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,160 Speaker 10: And it also affects us right here at home because 589 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 10: the CDC is headquartered here in Atlanta, and thousands of 590 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 10: people have been laid off, and not only CDC workers 591 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 10: but other federal workers that work in various departments of 592 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:51,560 Speaker 10: HOOD or in uh NIH funded medical technology and research 593 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 10: operations here, whether at Emory or at Morehouse School of Medicine, 594 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 10: et cetera. So there's a lot of people that's looking 595 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 10: for work because of layoffs and DOGE cut in the 596 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 10: city of Atlanta, and so we try to help them 597 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 10: find new employment and for their skill set. And then also, 598 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,240 Speaker 10: you know, just thinking about how there were projects that 599 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 10: we had that we were looking forward to receiving the 600 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:17,719 Speaker 10: funds for, but those projects installed, the funding is questionable 601 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 10: at this point due to various departmental cuts at Transportation 602 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 10: or at HUD. 603 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 3: I'd be curious to hear, mister Mayor, it's good to 604 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 3: have you back. What programs are on ice because of this, 605 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 3: and do you have the resources, the money, the programs 606 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 3: to help these people who are in transition, who've been 607 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 3: laid off at for instance, the CDC or somewhere else 608 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 3: in Atlanta. 609 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 8: Yeah. 610 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 10: So some of the things that get very close to 611 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 10: affecting us is around our transportation dollars. Things that we 612 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 10: have won, we've been awarded and some of those came 613 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 10: under the Biden administration and they were for reconnecting communities. 614 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 10: They were for various type of projects that might have 615 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 10: had equity involved or sustainability involved. Uh, the i JA 616 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 10: for instance, these things, the or the IRRA as well 617 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 10: the Inflation Reduction Act. These things came under Biden and 618 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 10: so now they've been kind of stalled and we uh 619 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 10: don't know the future of these which is tough to 620 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 10: operate under. Which is a project that we bid on 621 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 10: that we were hopeful to win and you know, they 622 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 10: would provide a tremendous amount of connectivity for the city, 623 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 10: and they are questioned at this point. So we haven't 624 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 10: gotten no official letter that is no, it's but it's 625 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 10: definitely uh, these these various grant projects have been put 626 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 10: on stalled, you know installed and then so when you 627 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 10: think about all of the above as a mayor, you know, 628 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 10: we still have to operate under a balanced budget. That's 629 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 10: our mandate. Can't go into deficit spending, et cetera. So 630 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 10: we have to balance our budget, which means either we 631 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 10: have to make adjustments to our personnel, will make adjustments 632 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 10: to our service delivery, or raise taxes, which of course 633 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 10: is a last resort. So we are in our budget 634 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 10: talks right now. We're on a fiscal year of July 635 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 10: one through June thirtieth, and it's tight. It's tough. Luckily, 636 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 10: over the past three years, we have a tremendous amount 637 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 10: of reserves and we have a triple A credit rating, 638 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,960 Speaker 10: so we're very proud of our financial standing. It just 639 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,440 Speaker 10: puts more burden down at a local government level. 640 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 2: Well as you raised it, mister mayor, are you expecting 641 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:30,880 Speaker 2: to have to do any more layoffs as you look 642 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:31,479 Speaker 2: at your budget? 643 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,320 Speaker 10: Hopefully not. We are in good position right now. We 644 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 10: did do a hiring freeze and basically, out of ninety 645 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 10: five hundred employees in the City of Atlanta's employment, we 646 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 10: basically said no one can be hired unless they get 647 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 10: authorization from myself, the COO, or the Chief of staff. 648 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 10: And that was to make sure that we looked at 649 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 10: every single necessary position, look at any kind of vacancies 650 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 10: that we're in departments, because we want to make sure 651 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 10: we deliver the services that we've been, you know, known 652 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 10: for delivering on time and on schedule and on budget. 653 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,680 Speaker 10: And so we're still doing a good job, but we 654 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 10: definitely are watching every dollar out the door and every 655 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 10: dollar in the door because we are we know that 656 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 10: we won't have a lot of backing from the federal 657 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,880 Speaker 10: level that we can depend on with certainty. You know, 658 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 10: some of these policies they get called up on a Monday, 659 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 10: and then by Friday it's you know, altered, it's renegotiated 660 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 10: in some you know, conversation in Washington. And so we 661 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 10: don't want to make a knee jerk reaction to anything 662 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 10: because literally, you know, twenty four hours later, something that 663 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 10: has been said in a social media tweet or post 664 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 10: can be changed, you know, twenty four hours later or 665 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 10: forty eight hours later. So we have to just kind 666 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 10: of wait and see what's going to actually be real, 667 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 10: what's going to be codified, what's going to be legislated 668 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 10: by the Senators and the representatives via the White House's ambitions. 669 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 3: Well, mister Mayor, I'm trying to look over your shoulder 670 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 3: there at the skyline to find the stadium here, the 671 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 3: Mercedes Benz Stadium, where you're going to be hosting a 672 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 3: couple of World Cup games, actually more than a couple 673 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 3: next year. How do you prepare for an event like 674 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 3: that when you've got a hiring freeze and funding is 675 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:16,760 Speaker 3: in question. 676 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,240 Speaker 10: Yeah, well we're going to be very prepared for FIFA 677 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 10: World Cup. You know, Atlanta does big events. Well, We've 678 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 10: We've handled the Copa America the same night that we 679 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:32,879 Speaker 10: had the CNN presidential debate between Biden and Trump. We 680 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 10: the same day, I mean literally, and we've hosted multiple 681 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 10: Super Bowls, so we'll be prepared. We have about seven 682 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,840 Speaker 10: hundred police officers that will be working from the city 683 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,960 Speaker 10: right there for those every every each one of the 684 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 10: event nights that we have. So we have eight matches 685 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 10: that we've won for the World Cup, So each of 686 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 10: those eight matches for the day before, and the day 687 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 10: after and the day of, we'll have seven hundred Atlanta 688 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,840 Speaker 10: Police officers plus two hundred to three hundred more officers 689 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 10: from surrounding jurisdictions. We have our mounted patrols that are 690 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 10: here the horseback. We will be prepared. We have enough officers. 691 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 10: We definitely have done a good job since the pandemic 692 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 10: of increasing the amount of officers that we have. We 693 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,200 Speaker 10: increase pay, we have a new Atlanta Public Safety Training 694 00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:22,440 Speaker 10: Center that's really making them more prepared to do community 695 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,840 Speaker 10: based policing. And so we are going to be prepared 696 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 10: from a safety and securities perspective. We even came up 697 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:31,799 Speaker 10: with this idea that I have called Showcase Atlanta, where 698 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 10: not only are we just going to have folks go 699 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,880 Speaker 10: to this huge sporting event, but we also want them 700 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 10: to get outside of the sporting event and go to 701 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,960 Speaker 10: the museums, to the art galleries, go to the restaurants, 702 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 10: go to all the various communities around the city of 703 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,720 Speaker 10: Atlanta to be able to enjoy what Atlanta has to offer. 704 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 10: So Showcase Atlanta dot com is where people are going 705 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 10: to find out what local businesses and dining they can enjoy. 706 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 10: So we'll be very much ready for that because and 707 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,279 Speaker 10: we're hopeful that the federal government provides the fund that 708 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 10: it said it will provide to all of these World 709 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:06,600 Speaker 10: Cup cities. Canada cities have their money, Mexico cities have 710 00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:10,480 Speaker 10: their money, and American cities are waiting till August September 711 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 10: to be able to know what amount we will receive. 712 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 10: Atlanta has the second highest most games, so we're hoping 713 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 10: that we get an adequate amount of funding to support this. 714 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:21,080 Speaker 10: If not, we'll still do a good job, but we'd 715 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,319 Speaker 10: love to be supported and now have to pull out 716 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,960 Speaker 10: it put cash out of our pockets. 717 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 3: Come back and talk to us when you find out. 718 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:30,000 Speaker 3: It sounds like a massive production and we're glad you 719 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:32,319 Speaker 3: could be with us in our Atlanta bureau, mister Mayor, 720 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,799 Speaker 3: Thank you, Andre Dickens of Atlanta, a great conversation with 721 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:42,400 Speaker 3: us life on Bloomberg TV and radio. Thanks for listening 722 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,719 Speaker 3: to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe 723 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,440 Speaker 3: if you haven't already, at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you 724 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,279 Speaker 3: get your podcasts, and you can find us live every 725 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:55,520 Speaker 3: weekday from Washington, DC at noontime Eastern at Bloomberg dot com.