WEBVTT - Alabama Senator Katie Britt Talks Trump VP Selection, Supply Chains

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>Katie Britt of Alabama, Welcome. It's wonderful to see you.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much. I appreciate it having me obviously

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<v Speaker 1>being here and getting to be in front of your audience.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, for sure, we have a lot of questions for you.

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<v Speaker 2>That was a big moment for you last night. I

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<v Speaker 2>was if you want to reflect on that, because that

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<v Speaker 2>was a big crowd. We keep hearing it's only weeks

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<v Speaker 2>ago that you were on every short right to be

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<v Speaker 2>Donald Trump's running mate. We now know it's Jade Vance.

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<v Speaker 2>Clearly you're supporting him. He's being framed as the future

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<v Speaker 2>of MAGA, the future of the Republican Party. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 2>the future of our To get that way as another

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<v Speaker 2>young lawmaker, this agenda.

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<v Speaker 1>For so first off, when you talk about last night,

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<v Speaker 1>what an electric moment, I mean to walk on that stage,

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<v Speaker 1>to feel the energy and the arena people are coming together,

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<v Speaker 1>not just our party, but you can feel people coming

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<v Speaker 1>together across the nation. And so to get to be

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<v Speaker 1>a part of that, to get to be a part

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<v Speaker 1>of telling our party story, talking about the message, the

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<v Speaker 1>message of helping hard working Americans, helping parents, putting them

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<v Speaker 1>back into the driver's seat. It was an honor and

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<v Speaker 1>it was an amazing just it was an amazing evening

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<v Speaker 1>for JD. I am so excited for JD. So we

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<v Speaker 1>are freshman classmates, and in that Wesley and I are

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<v Speaker 1>now not just only proud for me to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to call JD a colleague, but proud to call he

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<v Speaker 1>and Usha friends. So the freshmen get together once a

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<v Speaker 1>month for dinner, and it has given us an opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>not just to only talk you know, policy or procedure

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<v Speaker 1>or even personnel issues, but to really get to know

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<v Speaker 1>each other as people. And when America hears his story,

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<v Speaker 1>when they learned that he truly has lived the American dream,

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<v Speaker 1>he pulled himself up. I mean, he fought through the unimaginable.

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<v Speaker 1>When you look at his service to the nation, when

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<v Speaker 1>you look at where he is, when you look at

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<v Speaker 1>his vision for moving forward, the dynamic bringing he and

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<v Speaker 1>Trump together is going to be incredible for the forgotten

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<v Speaker 1>men and women of America, for parents. I think he

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<v Speaker 1>will bring a renewed energy to what we're doing, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to be exciting to see this continue to

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<v Speaker 1>move forward. Than when in November and then what we're

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<v Speaker 1>able to do starting in January.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, as you speak of his vision moving forward, obviously

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<v Speaker 3>you have a closer seat than most in getting some

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<v Speaker 3>insight into his visions. You also sit with him on

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<v Speaker 3>the Banking Committee.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, we set shoulder to shoulder on the banking And

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<v Speaker 1>a number.

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<v Speaker 3>Of policies that Jadevance has advocated for when we think

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<v Speaker 3>about these kind of populist ideas, include things like higher

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<v Speaker 3>tariffs and knowing that in the Banking Committee right now,

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<v Speaker 3>you spend so much time talking about high inflation and

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<v Speaker 3>the cost everyday people are struggling with how do you

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<v Speaker 3>explain to voters the effect tariffs are going to have

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<v Speaker 3>on those costs, knowing that they are likely going to

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<v Speaker 3>drive them higher.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, look and every time, and you can go back

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<v Speaker 1>and look at jd every time he is on the

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<v Speaker 1>Banking Committee, every time he has an opportunity, he uses

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<v Speaker 1>his five minutes to fight for hard working Americans. He

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<v Speaker 1>drives it down to how is this affecting main street?

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<v Speaker 1>How is this affecting workers? How is this affecting people

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<v Speaker 1>trying to achieve the American dream? And the truth is

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<v Speaker 1>we know that places like China, people like the Chinese

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<v Speaker 1>Communist Party have undercut the American worker at every turn.

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<v Speaker 1>So whether it is Alabama shrimpers or steel manufacturers, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it is stealing our intellectual property, what they're doing essentially

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<v Speaker 1>stealing American wages and opportunity is real. And so we've

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<v Speaker 1>seen this in the last Trump administration, I mean, looked

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<v Speaker 1>at our agriculture industry as they allowed President Trump to

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<v Speaker 1>work to create a fair playing field for them. And

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<v Speaker 1>so I am excited to actually take policies then drive

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<v Speaker 1>them down to like how do they affect America? How

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<v Speaker 1>do they affect opportunity? Here? Making sure that we're putting Americans,

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<v Speaker 1>American manufacturing, American capability at the forefront of every conversation,

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<v Speaker 1>because look, when you go back to COVID, if we

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<v Speaker 1>learn nothing else, it's that we need to secure our

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<v Speaker 1>supply chains. And part of that comes from making sure

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<v Speaker 1>that we're strategic and that we're intentional. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>you'll see that with JD and you'll see that obviously

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<v Speaker 1>with President Trump.

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<v Speaker 3>And if the result of that is higher cost, that's

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<v Speaker 3>a price that needs well.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think you'll see wages rise, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think that you'll see opportunity rise as well, and as

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<v Speaker 1>we obviously work through all of these things, as we

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<v Speaker 1>work to drive down inflation, as we work to create

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<v Speaker 1>a better environment for workers, when we work to actually

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<v Speaker 1>create higher pay for them. Obviously, those things, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>take a minute. But I have great confidence in the

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<v Speaker 1>vision of President Trump and soon to be Vice President

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<v Speaker 1>Vance and look forward to helping move policies forward to

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<v Speaker 1>that effect.

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<v Speaker 2>We've had a lot of very credible economists join us

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<v Speaker 2>here on Bloomberg TV and Radio to talk to us

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<v Speaker 2>about the inflationary impacts of tariffs coupled with making the

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<v Speaker 2>Trump tax cuts permanent. If Donald Trump is re elected,

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<v Speaker 2>if Congress plays along, that's likely to happen as a

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<v Speaker 2>big debate in Washington, I realize going on right now.

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<v Speaker 2>But the question then becomes, ready get cut and without

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<v Speaker 2>getting into the entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, which.

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<v Speaker 1>Trump has said he you will not.

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<v Speaker 2>So we're just kind of nibble around the edges here

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<v Speaker 2>right There is the potential to add trillions to our death.

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<v Speaker 1>So look, we are thirty four point five trillion dollars

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<v Speaker 1>in debt. In my personal opinion is that that's not

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<v Speaker 1>only fiscally irresponsible, that's morally irresponsible, and so we've got

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<v Speaker 1>to take a look at spending. We've got to take

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<v Speaker 1>a look at how we do this all together. And

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<v Speaker 1>I understand there are going to be pieces of this

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<v Speaker 1>that we actually have to take a look at. So

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<v Speaker 1>right now we're talking about ideas. When you put the

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<v Speaker 1>plan on paper, that's when we need to take a

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<v Speaker 1>look at, like how do these things work together. I

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<v Speaker 1>say continually, a lot of times, particularly in government, we

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<v Speaker 1>don't take a look at how things overlap and then

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<v Speaker 1>take a look at the triple down effect of those

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<v Speaker 1>We must do that look. I am on the Appropriations

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<v Speaker 1>Committee in addition to the Banking Committee. It is frustrating

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<v Speaker 1>to me, you know, the Appropriations Committee, which is obviously

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<v Speaker 1>our discretionary spending, is now only twenty eight percent of

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<v Speaker 1>what we spend. Mandatory spending has eaten it up. We're

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<v Speaker 1>about I think seventy two percent mandatory spending. Eleven percent

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<v Speaker 1>of that is actually interest on the debt, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the first time it's actually been higher than what we

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<v Speaker 1>spend on our defense capabilities. Any nation that has hit

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<v Speaker 1>that point, as you know and have well read, begins

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<v Speaker 1>a downclient. So we have to have a serious conversation

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<v Speaker 1>about all of these things. What we do know is

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<v Speaker 1>that we've got to find a way to put America's

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<v Speaker 1>America first, put American workers first, put American families first.

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<v Speaker 1>We live in a global market. That is clear. That's

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<v Speaker 1>something that is obviously important. But I don't think that

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<v Speaker 1>we are taking time to drill down on these things independently.

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<v Speaker 1>And to your point, you're right, we're going to have

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<v Speaker 1>to look at how do these things overlap, and then

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<v Speaker 1>what do we do moving forward. Those are serious conversations

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<v Speaker 1>we have to have. I have confidence that President Trump

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<v Speaker 1>will put a good plan together and we'll be able

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<v Speaker 1>to work diligently to get it through the House.

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<v Speaker 3>In the Senate, right, Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama.

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<v Speaker 3>Great to see you here in Milwaukee. Hopefully we'll thank

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<v Speaker 3>thank you for having me back in Washington. We appreciate it.