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Speaker 2: Of course, involvement captivated by the first days in office
Speaker 2: of Donald Trump as he begins his second go at
Speaker 2: the presidency, and he has wasted no time executive ordering,
Speaker 2: using the office of the President to do everything he can.
Speaker 2: You will, not unilaterally, but for all the stuff that
Speaker 2: comes next, he's going to need the cooperation of Congress,
Speaker 2: specifically as we've discussed frequently on this program when it
Speaker 2: comes to tax policy. Hence multiple meetings about the legislative
Speaker 2: way forward at the White House this week.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and a big one on salt. We talk about
Speaker 3: salt every day here because we're Bloomberg. And there's a
Speaker 3: question about how much you can be fit into this
Speaker 3: package to extend the twenty seventeen tax cuts, because that's
Speaker 3: going to compete with no taxes on tips over time.
Speaker 4: All the other proposals that emerged on the campaign trail.
Speaker 3: But this is a big one, and we know that
Speaker 3: Republicans from states like New York, particularly those who won
Speaker 3: in Biden districts, have an enormous amount of inflatable I
Speaker 3: should have said that probably have an enormous amount of
Speaker 3: influence over this process right now, because every vote will
Speaker 3: be needed to make it happen.
Speaker 2: Yes, hence why you saw not just Republican leadership at
Speaker 2: the White House earlier this week, but yesterday three key
Speaker 2: Republican moderates, one of whom is from the aforementioned state
Speaker 2: of New York, and he's joining us now live from
Speaker 2: Capitol Hill.
Speaker 3: Indeed, let's go to Mike Lawler, Republican from New York,
Speaker 3: seventeenth Congressman.
Speaker 4: Welcome back to Bloomberg TV and Radio.
Speaker 3: It's a pleasure to have you live from Capitol Hill
Speaker 3: because I know it's a busy time right now, to
Speaker 3: the extent that you can bring us in the room.
Speaker 3: The question of how high to raise the cap I'm
Speaker 3: sure is something you discussed with the President.
Speaker 4: How did he respond?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 6: Well, first, thanks for having me.
Speaker 7: I'm not going to get into the specifics of the
Speaker 7: conversation out of respect for the President, but I will say,
Speaker 7: obviously it was a very productive meeting with the President,
Speaker 7: great opportunity for myself, Brian Fitzpatrick, Don Bacon, the three
Speaker 7: of us who won districts that Kamala Harris won juxtaposed
Speaker 7: to four years ago, there were eighteen districts that Republicans
Speaker 7: won that Joe Biden won in twenty twenty two. So
Speaker 7: you know, obviously the country has moved right word, These
Speaker 7: districts have moved right word. But there's three of us
Speaker 7: left in Harris districts, and so it was a good
Speaker 7: opportunity to sit down with the President. Salt did come up,
Speaker 7: of course, you know, and the President reaffirmed his support
Speaker 7: for lifting the cap. We talked extensively about it down
Speaker 7: at mar A Lago just ten days ago with a
Speaker 7: group of us from California, New York, and New Jersey.
Speaker 7: But this is I mean, I've been very clear on
Speaker 7: this issue. If we do nothing, if we pass no
Speaker 7: tax bill, salt comes back unlimited, which I would support.
Speaker 7: But the problem is that it would be associated with
Speaker 7: the largest tax increase in American history.
Speaker 6: The Alternative minimum.
Speaker 7: Tax would come back, which would have a detrimental impact
Speaker 7: on New York. So you know, we have to negotiate
Speaker 7: in good faith. It's incumbent on everybody to do that.
Speaker 7: We are working through the numbers right now with the
Speaker 7: Ways and Means Committee to come up with a number
Speaker 7: that actually will provide real tax relief to middle class families.
Speaker 7: This is not an issue of the uber wealthy or rich.
Speaker 7: This is not an issue of those awful blue states.
Speaker 7: This is an issue of fairness. It's an issue of
Speaker 7: double taxation and providing real tax relief to working families.
Speaker 2: Well, when you say working families, we've had sources telling
Speaker 2: Bloomber that in a listening session yesterday, Congressman Fitzpatrick actually
Speaker 2: suggested that he's worried about the Republican Party having a
Speaker 2: disconnect with what is increasingly its base versus those who
Speaker 2: might be able to benefit from something like an elevated
Speaker 2: salt cap. Congressman, were you part of that. What have
Speaker 2: your conversations been with some of your colleagues, not from
Speaker 2: these blue higher tax states, about the way forward on this.
Speaker 7: Well, I'll let Brian speak for himself, and I'm not
Speaker 7: going to discuss what occurred in conference, but i will say, obviously,
Speaker 7: when you look at the coalition that President Trump built,
Speaker 7: It was comprised of working class families, It was comprised
Speaker 7: of union workers, It was comprised of folks who, day in,
Speaker 7: day out, are working to put food on the table,
Speaker 7: to pay their mortgage, to pay their car loans, etc.
Speaker 7: So we have a responsibility as we work through this
Speaker 7: tax bill to focus on the issue of affordability, to
Speaker 7: focus on the issue of tax relief from middle class
Speaker 7: and working class families. And that is really what all
Speaker 7: of us are are focused on. Obviously, you know, when
Speaker 7: you look at historically some of the policies that have
Speaker 7: been pushed by some Republicans within the conference, you know
Speaker 7: that may be at juxtaposition with where the party is
Speaker 7: today and certainly where our bases and certainly where the
Speaker 7: coalition that Donald Trump put together is. And so I
Speaker 7: think a key part of this is obviously what the
Speaker 7: President wants. He's talking about no tax on tips, He's
Speaker 7: talking about lifting the cap on salt. That is certainly,
Speaker 7: you know, a little bit different than obviously where the
Speaker 7: party was in twenty seventeen when the Tax Cuts in
Speaker 7: Jobs Act.
Speaker 3: Passed, right, and of course your legislation, we could remind
Speaker 3: our audience calls to lift a cap on salt to
Speaker 3: one hundred thousand dollars for single filers two hundred thousand
Speaker 3: dollars for married couples. Your Salts Fairness and Marriage Penalty
Speaker 3: Elimination Act. We want to have a broader conversation about taxes, Congressman.
Speaker 3: But while we're on the matter of salts, you've said
Speaker 3: some of your fellow Republican lawmakers are quote reflexively opposed
Speaker 3: because they think they're subsidizing bad blue state policies.
Speaker 4: You referred to that a second ago. Why are they wrong?
Speaker 7: Well, first of all, New York is a donor state.
Speaker 7: We send more in tax revenue to the federal government
Speaker 7: than we get back. I don't disagree about the disastrous
Speaker 7: leadership in New York or California under Kathy Hochel and
Speaker 7: Gavin Newsom. And in fact, the policies in New York
Speaker 7: do need to change. The tax burden does need to
Speaker 7: come down, The overall cost of living and cost of
Speaker 7: doing business does need to come down, and I've long
Speaker 7: advocated for that. But folks shouldn't be penalized for living
Speaker 7: in these states.
Speaker 6: And the fact is there are red.
Speaker 7: States in which they get more money from the federal
Speaker 7: government than tax revenue they send.
Speaker 6: To the federal government.
Speaker 7: So you know, if we want to get into the
Speaker 7: whole argument about who's subsidizing who, we can do that,
Speaker 7: I don't find that overly productive.
Speaker 6: I think the bottom.
Speaker 7: Line here is we want to have a tax bill
Speaker 7: that provides broad based relief. If you look at where
Speaker 7: people are today from twenty seventeen and the median household,
Speaker 7: the fact is that in twenty nine of fifty states
Speaker 7: they blow through this ten thousand dollars salt cap with
Speaker 7: their tax burden, property taxes, income taxes, etc.
Speaker 6: So, you know, what may have made.
Speaker 7: Sense to some of my colleagues back in twenty seventeen,
Speaker 7: I think in some of these states, they're starting to
Speaker 7: see that ten thousand dollars cap is woefully insufficient and
Speaker 7: really does cause harm to taxpayers.
Speaker 6: So look, we're working through that.
Speaker 7: I have confidence, certainly in my conversations with the President
Speaker 7: that we are going to get a tax deal done
Speaker 7: that does lift the cap on salt and really provides
Speaker 7: real tax relief to middle class families.
Speaker 2: Well, Congressman, I'm sure you well know. The President addressed
Speaker 2: the World Economic Forum at Davos earlier today, yourself virtually
Speaker 2: joined a panel related to NATO over the course of
Speaker 2: Davos this year, And I do wonder what you make
Speaker 2: of his remarks specifically and as we heard him or
Speaker 2: at least saw him post on True Social yesterday about
Speaker 2: trying to bring Russia to the negotiating table to end
Speaker 2: the war in Ukraine. How are you viewing this through
Speaker 2: your lenses to whether or not Russia is ready for that,
Speaker 2: and whether or not Ukraine is going to be able
Speaker 2: to negotiate good terms with Russia at this point.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, I think you know, President Trump is absolutely
Speaker 7: correct to start to apply pressure to Vladimir Putin to
Speaker 7: come to the table and in this war. I've been
Speaker 7: very clear in my support for Ukraine. I do believe Russia, China, Iran,
Speaker 7: and North Korea are engaged in an holy alliance that
Speaker 7: seeks to undermine and destabilize the United States, Israel, Europe
Speaker 7: in the free world. But we cannot have endless conflict.
Speaker 7: And I think President Trump is beginning that negotiation, extending
Speaker 7: out a hand to come meet him and have a
Speaker 7: conversation about how we bring this to a close. We
Speaker 7: have spent hundreds of billions of dollars, supporting our allies,
Speaker 7: supporting Ukraine, supporting NATO in this effort. But when you see,
Speaker 7: for instance, Europe purchasing gas from Russia and helping fund
Speaker 7: Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the same time while they
Speaker 7: are trying to guard against it, you see some of
Speaker 7: the foolishness that has been going on. The Biden administration
Speaker 7: was extremely weak. The fact that Joe Biden did not
Speaker 7: speak to Vladimir Putin in any meaningful way over the
Speaker 7: last three years contributed to allowing this conflict to continue uninterrupted.
Speaker 7: So there's a lot of work ahead, not just with
Speaker 7: respect to the Russia Ukraine conflict, but obviously the Middle
Speaker 7: East and with respect to China and the Indo Pacific.
Speaker 7: President Trump is here now to reassert America's role in
Speaker 7: the world and re establish peace through strength and reverse
Speaker 7: many of the policies of the Biden administration that created
Speaker 7: this tinderbox that we find ourselves in. And that was
Speaker 7: in part what I discussed last night overnight with Jony
Speaker 7: Ernst and Ambassador Grennell when we spoke before the conference
Speaker 7: in Davos.
Speaker 2: All Right, Congressman, we appreciate you joining us in the Aftermath.
Speaker 2: That's Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York here on
Speaker 2: Balance of Power Live from Capitol Hill.
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Speaker 2: Thirty as we were discussing with the Congressman. Donald Trump
Speaker 2: obviously spoke at Davos earlier today, where he talked about
Speaker 2: a wide variety of subjects, including the speed with which
Speaker 2: he has been moving since taking office on Monday.
Speaker 8: My administration is acting with unprecedented speed to fix the
Speaker 8: disasters we've inherited from a totally inept group of people,
Speaker 8: and to solve every single crisis facing our country. This
Speaker 8: begins with confronting the economic chaos caused by the failed
Speaker 8: policies of the last administration.
Speaker 2: The other thing he wants to confront economically, according to
Speaker 2: his remarks, is what he says is the trade deficit
Speaker 2: with the EU, that something should be done about that.
Speaker 2: That he wants to have a fair relationship with China.
Speaker 2: All of this as he was talking once again about
Speaker 2: tariffs today with those gathered at Davos, and of course
Speaker 2: the CEOs that were questioning him. So for more on this,
Speaker 2: we turned to Sarah Bianki. She's former deputy US Trade
Speaker 2: Representative during the Biden administration, now senior managing director and
Speaker 2: chief strategist of International Political Affairs and Public Policy at
Speaker 2: Evercore ISI. Sarah, welcome back to Bloomberg TV and Radio.
Speaker 2: As we just heard the President there talk about how
Speaker 2: he's doing a lot of things very quickly. Enacting new
Speaker 2: tariffs is actually not one of them, even as he
Speaker 2: suggests maybe we're looking at a deadline here of February
Speaker 2: first for Mexico, Canada and China. But how are you
Speaker 2: viewing the way in which he, if not slow walking,
Speaker 2: does seem to be at least thinking through and calibrating
Speaker 2: the way in which these levees are implemented.
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's a good point.
Speaker 5: He put out a framework on Monday, but that was
Speaker 5: a far cry from some of the detailed policies that
Speaker 5: he had spoken about. He had said he was going
Speaker 5: to do twenty five percent a tariff on Canada and
Speaker 5: Mexico on inauguration day. I think what's going on is
Speaker 5: that his team on this issue does have some divisions.
Speaker 9: That's how he likes it.
Speaker 5: On trade, he has a very very pro tariff part
Speaker 5: of the community, with the USTR nominee and others, but
Speaker 5: also some who are less comfortable, and I think he
Speaker 5: does understand actually, this economy is in pretty good shape,
Speaker 5: and he does have some anxiety in the markets, particularly
Speaker 5: in the bond market, about inflation and about tariff. So
Speaker 5: I think they're trying to calibrate. I don't put much
Speaker 5: stock into the February first deadline, but I do believe
Speaker 5: that Donald Trump always comes back to tariffs, and our
Speaker 5: projection is that with due time, we will get tariffs,
Speaker 5: not only in China but in other parts of the world.
Speaker 4: Sarah, it's good to have you.
Speaker 3: What did you make of the tone of this conversation,
Speaker 3: dear leader, The way that Donald Trump was showered with
Speaker 3: compliments everyone there, the elite being so deferential to the president,
Speaker 3: not terribly concerned with even kind of insulted Brian moynihan, Well,
Speaker 3: he was at it, who thanked him for his service.
Speaker 3: They talked about his family, what does it tell us
Speaker 3: about the influence that Donald Trump has.
Speaker 4: Over the titans of this industry finance.
Speaker 9: Well, for right.
Speaker 5: Now, Donald Trump is at the height of his power,
Speaker 5: and I think a lot of leaders coming in understand
Speaker 5: that this is a very, very transactional president and that
Speaker 5: working with him when possible has a big advantages. We
Speaker 5: could Ultimately we'll start to see that splinter a little bit. Again,
Speaker 5: we are in inauguration week that is again the height
Speaker 5: usually of support.
Speaker 9: And look, there's some things that Trump wants to.
Speaker 5: Do that they welcome, an easier m and a environment,
Speaker 5: you know, some things on digital taxes, so I think
Speaker 5: they're willing to kind of take some of the side
Speaker 5: flights that come along with that. But ultimately, as we
Speaker 5: get into the agenda, the markets are worried about deficits.
Speaker 5: They're worried about these tariffs. Business leaders are too, So
Speaker 5: the governing, the hard part is still really yet to come.
Speaker 2: Well, and when we consider the deficit, and we were
Speaker 2: just having a conversation about looming tax cuts with Republican
Speaker 2: Congressman Mike Laller, which could help to balloon the deficit
Speaker 2: if there's not offsets to it. Donald Trump also used
Speaker 2: things like tariffs as not just a way to recalibrate
Speaker 2: trade relationships that the US has with other countries, but
Speaker 2: also as a way to raise revenue. And I wonder, Sarah,
Speaker 2: you can just give us a reality check as he's
Speaker 2: outing this external revenue service as to what that revenue
Speaker 2: would actually look like with the kind of figures that
Speaker 2: he has floated to this point.
Speaker 5: Well, the challenge that he has is that a number
Speaker 5: of tax cuts in you all I heard were just
Speaker 5: talking about salt, and that's even more money.
Speaker 9: Uh.
Speaker 5: And they're not that interested in spending cuts. So there's
Speaker 5: a real uh, you know, the hard facts of numbers
Speaker 5: are a real challenge for this president. And the other
Speaker 5: challenge that they have is lots of the tariff stuff
Speaker 5: they can do through executive order, but our Congressional Budget
Speaker 5: Office and our budgeteers don't count that as revenue when
Speaker 5: it's done that way, and so they're trying to find
Speaker 5: a way to get credit for that that money. You know,
Speaker 5: I don't put a ton of of of stock in it.
Speaker 5: I think, Look, they're they're right in the sense that
Speaker 5: if they do do more teriffs, more revenue will come in.
Speaker 9: The death sit will go down who collects it is really.
Speaker 5: Just kind of a Washington accounting gimmick, really and signed
Speaker 5: to show.
Speaker 9: But but but it does raise revenue.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 5: And I don't think Congress is particularly interested in the tariffs,
Speaker 5: so I think he's trying to square that circle. Well.
Speaker 3: It's interesting because Scott Bessett would tell you can't have
Speaker 3: one without the other. It's the combined effect, right of
Speaker 3: the tax cuts and tariff policy that they say will
Speaker 3: in fact raise enough revenue to lower the deficit. Are
Speaker 3: you suggesting that there there might be some sunlight between
Speaker 3: the two.
Speaker 4: Donald Trump, the stroke of a pen gets the terriffs.
Speaker 3: This tax debate is going to be tortured as we
Speaker 3: make our way further into the year. Could we be
Speaker 3: in a world where where you've got tariffs but no
Speaker 3: tax cuts.
Speaker 5: I think ultimately they're going to get a tax bill done.
Speaker 5: It's just really complicated given the deficit situation that we're in.
Speaker 5: And despite that, the Secretary of Treasury nominee uh, you know,
Speaker 5: claim that we can reduce the deficit. There aren't any
Speaker 5: really hard plans And the problem is the numbers get sticky.
Speaker 5: Most of the death most of the deficit and government
Speaker 5: spending comes from social Security, Medicare, interest we pay on
Speaker 5: the debt, and uh, if you don't want to touch those,
Speaker 5: very very challenging. So some of the things that he's
Speaker 5: doing with DOJE and other issues are welcome initiatives, but
Speaker 5: I don't see any plan right now that does They're
Speaker 5: lucky if they keep the death cit even I expect
Speaker 5: the more like the scenario.
Speaker 9: Is that it goes up.
Speaker 6: Sarah.
Speaker 2: Something else we heard the President talking about today's the
Speaker 2: ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. This is after he
Speaker 2: took to True Social yesterday saying that Putin needs to
Speaker 2: come to the negotiating table. It can be done the
Speaker 2: easy way or the hard way, and he outlined the
Speaker 2: hard way as being greater sanctions but also taxes and
Speaker 2: tariffs on Russian imports or exports being imported into the
Speaker 2: United States. To what extent is that actual usable leverage
Speaker 2: against Russia, given the relatively small amount that we actually
Speaker 2: do import from the country, given the ongoing war, and
Speaker 2: the fact that there are already or sanctions which were
Speaker 2: tightened just at the very tail end of the Biden administration.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think that you've outlined it exactly correctly. The
Speaker 5: iminustration has taken a lot of action too. Took a
Speaker 5: lot of action to Titan sanctions. Potentially one could do
Speaker 5: more that is going to be more impactful on Russia
Speaker 5: than any tariff on an import into the United States, which,
Speaker 5: as you noted, is a.
Speaker 9: Small part of the challenge.
Speaker 5: But look, I think it is I'm glad to see
Speaker 5: Trump uh talking tough on Russia. I think some of
Speaker 5: us were concerned that given of the pressure that he
Speaker 5: feels to sort of get a mission accomplished with on
Speaker 5: this ongoing geopolitical issue, as as well as many others.
Speaker 5: You know, definitely was hired in part to address these
Speaker 5: quote forever wars. You know, I think some were concerned
Speaker 5: that he was going to cut a deal quite quickly
Speaker 5: that that might not be advantageous to Ukraine.
Speaker 9: So we'll have to see where it all lands.
Speaker 5: But I don't blame the President now for starting the
Speaker 5: conversation by talking tough.
Speaker 3: Sarah, It's always a pleasure to have you, former Deputy
Speaker 3: US Trade Rep now senior managing director, chief strategist of
Speaker 3: International political Affairs public Policy at Evercore is Si Sarah
Speaker 3: Bianki with us once again on Bloomberg TV.
Speaker 6: And Radio.
Speaker 3: I'm Joe Matthew alongside Kaylee Lines in Washington. I had
Speaker 3: to stop down, which she said, it's still inauguration week.
Speaker 3: It's the same week. It's only Thursday.
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Speaker 4: Balance of Power at the early edition.
Speaker 3: We do have breaking news here, Kaylee, and it has
Speaker 3: to do with Donald Trump's confirmations his nominee, specifically, in
Speaker 3: this case, his nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth.
Speaker 4: We've been counting the votes here.
Speaker 3: It does appear, just to be straight up on this,
Speaker 3: no matter who we talk to, Kaylee, Democrat or Republican,
Speaker 3: they tend to think that he will be approved. He
Speaker 3: will be confirmed as Defense Secretary. But we do now
Speaker 3: know that there is a Republican vote that he has lost.
Speaker 4: The Senator from Alaska is not on board, yep.
Speaker 2: Senator Lisa Murkowski just putting out a statement on x
Speaker 2: in which she speaks about her concerns of regarding mister Hegseeth.
Speaker 2: She talks about how she is concerned about the message
Speaker 2: that confirming Hegseth would send to women currently serving in
Speaker 2: those inspiring to join. She also talks about character, noting
Speaker 2: not just allegations of sexual assault and excess of drinking,
Speaker 2: but behaviors. She says Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity
Speaker 2: on multiple occasions and a lack of which demonstrates to
Speaker 2: her a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone
Speaker 2: who would lead our armed forces. She says, above all,
Speaker 2: I believe character is the defining trait required of the
Speaker 2: Secretary of Defense and ends her statement saying I regret
Speaker 2: I am unable to support mister Hegseth. That is one
Speaker 2: Joe three knows he can get through because Jade Vance
Speaker 2: would provide a tie breaking vote four nos, though.
Speaker 3: He wouldn't be able to and we have a sense
Speaker 3: that Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell may not be on board,
Speaker 3: so that fourth vote will be critical. We've also learned
Speaker 3: by the way that we're going to have a flurry
Speaker 3: of confirmations next week. Pete Hegseth may not in the
Speaker 3: end have had the most dramatic session. Remembering he did
Speaker 3: not meet with Democrats, he knew he would likely not
Speaker 3: get a single Democratic vote, and the members from.
Speaker 4: The other party certainly assured him of that.
Speaker 3: When you heard from Tim Kaine, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth
Speaker 3: and others, yep.
Speaker 2: And as you say, more fireworks to come next week,
Speaker 2: but we're dealing with these headlines now. And joining us
Speaker 2: for some live reaction from Capitol Hill is a member
Speaker 2: of Congress who represents a district that has a large
Speaker 2: military population. Congressman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia's fourth District of
Speaker 2: the Democrat is joining us now here on Bloomberg TV
Speaker 2: and radio. Congresswoman, thanks for being here. I do wonder
Speaker 2: what you are hearing from your constituent, specifically the ones
Speaker 2: who are going to have to report up through the
Speaker 2: chain ultimately to the Secretary of Defense what they think
Speaker 2: about mister Hegseth.
Speaker 10: I am hearing a lot of women who are in
Speaker 10: our armed forces that they are concerned first his comments
Speaker 10: opposing women in combat, many of whom are decorated and
Speaker 10: have acquitted themselves very well with his own sexual assault allegations.
Speaker 10: There's a concern that it would halt or reverse progress
Speaker 10: that we have made addressing sexual assault in the military
Speaker 10: and creating an environment less hostile to women in the military.
Speaker 10: But I'm also hearing concerns about his drinking and the
Speaker 10: fact that you need to be sure that you have
Speaker 10: someone who will decide whether we attack someone or who
Speaker 10: could decide to what extent nuclear weapons could be used,
Speaker 10: having the presence of mind and not being impaired, and
Speaker 10: their concerns about mister Hexeth in all of those areas.
Speaker 3: The senator congresswoman wrote about the message that it would send.
Speaker 3: I remain concerned about the message confirming mister Hegseth sends
Speaker 3: to women currently serving and those aspiring to join. And
Speaker 3: that's the part that I want to ask you about
Speaker 3: what that might mean in your view for recruitment, for
Speaker 3: attracting new talent in a massive navy hub like Norfolk.
Speaker 10: I would say, and I have been saying since he
Speaker 10: was first announced, that his appointment would have a chilling
Speaker 10: effect on attracting and retaining the best and the brightest
Speaker 10: in our armed forces, women also minorities, and making sure
Speaker 10: we have done a really good job making sure that
Speaker 10: our armed forces reflect the diversity of the country that
Speaker 10: they defend, and we've had challenges meeting some of our
Speaker 10: recruitment goes for a wide variety of reasons, and mister
Speaker 10: Hegseth would add to those problems if he were confirmed.
Speaker 2: Well, so as you speak to the reflection of the
Speaker 2: country the US military is defending. What do you make
Speaker 2: of the unwind of DEI programs across the federal government
Speaker 2: as of last night, but the Pentagon included.
Speaker 10: I'm very concerned about it. I mean, these go so
Speaker 10: far as to even to rescind a nineteen sixty five
Speaker 10: executive order from President Johnson that applies to contractors federal
Speaker 10: government contractors that includes contractors that serve our military, contractors
Speaker 10: that build our warships, and it basically means now there's
Speaker 10: nothing prohibiting them by executive order from engaging in discrimination
Speaker 10: against employees simply for who they are. It's appalling and
Speaker 10: undone so much progress that we have made over the
Speaker 10: past sixty years.
Speaker 3: Well, congresswomen, our viewers and listeners are going to get
Speaker 3: a good sense here of how important your district is
Speaker 3: and some of the issues that we're talking about as
Speaker 3: Kaylee mentioned Virginia's fourth disc that DEI undoing if you will,
Speaker 3: and we understand now according to reports that the administration
Speaker 3: is actually asking federal.
Speaker 4: Workers to rat each other out.
Speaker 3: If there are DEI processes left in place, it's going
Speaker 3: to end up with a lot of layoffs. You have
Speaker 3: a lot of federal workers in the state of Virginia.
Speaker 3: You also have a lot of veterans, and this could
Speaker 3: impact some veterans programs as well with the undoing of DEI.
Speaker 3: When you put that all together, what's the net effect?
Speaker 3: How many people could lose their jobs?
Speaker 10: Well, we have over two hundred thousand federal employees and
Speaker 10: contractors and over one hundred thousand, over one hundred and
Speaker 10: forty thousand veterans. It's already having an effect. The VA
Speaker 10: hospital in my district had a meeting yesterday to talk
Speaker 10: about how it was going to impact their ability to
Speaker 10: provide services to veterans. They were about to open a
Speaker 10: new VA hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia, less than thirty minutes
Speaker 10: away from my day strict. Now they're not sure they
Speaker 10: can do that because they can't hire the staff to
Speaker 10: staff it. We've seen VA hospitals and other states that
Speaker 10: have rescinded employment offers to nurses. We already have a
Speaker 10: nursing shortage. We are already struggling to meet the healthcare
Speaker 10: needs of our veterans. This is going to make it worse.
Speaker 10: The VA is concerned they're going to have to start
Speaker 10: sending veterans to hospitals, in civilian hospitals in the region.
Speaker 10: They are already struggling with nurses and provider shortages. This
Speaker 10: is a mess, and this is not what the American
Speaker 10: people voted for when they voted for Donald Trump. They
Speaker 10: thought they were voting to reduce costs. Instead, he is
Speaker 10: burdening our veterans, He is burning our soldiers, and he
Speaker 10: is burdening our military families.
Speaker 2: Well, we really appreciate your insight into these matters, Congressoman.
Speaker 2: As we consider as well, where this administration is now
Speaker 2: sending our soldiers with the deployment of troops to the
Speaker 2: US border, do you see this as an appropriate use
Speaker 2: of the mility Terry, considering he has declared an emergency.
Speaker 10: Well, what we need to do and what Democrats were
Speaker 10: ready to do with Republicans last Congress was pass an
Speaker 10: immigration border security bill that invests in border patrol agents
Speaker 10: and put them on the border so that our armed
Speaker 10: forces can do the job they were trained for, and
Speaker 10: that is to serve our needs both here in bases
Speaker 10: but also overseas.
Speaker 3: What are you concerned about as we consider the impact
Speaker 3: in your district that changes to military policy would have
Speaker 3: here when it comes to climate, when it comes to resources, shipbuilding, etc.
Speaker 3: This is something that Donald Trump has talked about a
Speaker 3: lot when it comes to the proposed.
Speaker 4: Purchase of US steel.
Speaker 3: Is that a conversation that you'll be part of considering
Speaker 3: your district and your constituency on Capitol Hill?
Speaker 10: Absolutely?
Speaker 6: Absolutely.
Speaker 10: I mean, first of all, a member of the Armed
Speaker 10: Services Committee and the last Congress, when I went to
Speaker 10: Norfolk Naval Station and asked their commanding officer what is
Speaker 10: the number one thing that keeps you up at night?
Speaker 10: She talked about the fact that when they have heavy rains,
Speaker 10: not just increased storms and higher intensity storms, but heavy rains,
Speaker 10: there is a street that bisects that naval station that floods,
Speaker 10: and she can't get her people from one side to
Speaker 10: the other. How is she going to be able to
Speaker 10: deploy ships in an emergency or when they are deployed
Speaker 10: if she can't get across the base because it's flooded.
Speaker 10: And by rolling back all of the efforts that we
Speaker 10: have made to address resiliency and climate action, particularly in
Speaker 10: the Navy, in the Armed services, what the President is
Speaker 10: doing is ignoring the impact that climate change has on
Speaker 10: military readiness and on our soldier's ability to do their
Speaker 10: job and frankly, their quality of life.
Speaker 2: As we consider a climate change Congress women, of course,
Speaker 2: we all have our eyes on the West coast with
Speaker 2: fires still raging in the Los Angeles area. And I'm
Speaker 2: sure you're well aware that there are colleagues of yours
Speaker 2: in the House on the Republican side who are suggesting
Speaker 2: any emergency aid for LA should be conditioned and that
Speaker 2: it could be leveraged to get Democratic votes on other
Speaker 2: matters like raising the debt ceiling for example. Where do
Speaker 2: you come down on.
Speaker 10: That this is a rubicon Republican should not cross. The
Speaker 10: American people expect their government to solve problems and help people,
Speaker 10: particularly when there is a natural disaster. There are people
Speaker 10: in California that voted for mister Trump. There are people
Speaker 10: in California that voted for Kamala Harris. There are people
Speaker 10: in California that did not vote at all, but they
Speaker 10: all expect their government to help them in an emergency.
Speaker 10: And we have never conditioned in a natural disaster. And
Speaker 10: there's so much misinformation that they're even using to justify
Speaker 10: these conditions, but they're ignoring the fact that it is
Speaker 10: difficult to fight a fire and hurricane force wins. So
Speaker 10: we need to make sure we're doing everything we can
Speaker 10: in California and North Carolina and anywhere else to address
Speaker 10: the needs of the American people, especially in a natural disaster.
Speaker 3: Well, so how do you how do you work against
Speaker 3: miss and disinformation, whether it's in Asheville and we heard
Speaker 3: a lot about that when FEMA showed up following the hurricanes,
Speaker 3: or now in California, where Donald Trump says Gavin Newsom
Speaker 3: only has to turn a valve that he's refusing to
Speaker 3: provide water to Los Angeles. A lot of people are
Speaker 3: going to believe that Donald Trump's on his way there tomorrow.
Speaker 10: Congresswoman, Well, I think we need to make sure that
Speaker 10: all of us this is all hands on deck moment.
Speaker 10: It's me as an elected official, it's you as a
Speaker 10: member of the press, making sure we are calling out
Speaker 10: this misinformation and that we are countering it. But in
Speaker 10: every medium where people will receive their information, and so
Speaker 10: that's what we need to make sure we are doubling
Speaker 10: down and being more aggressive. Whether you get your information
Speaker 10: from social media or your neighbor next door, we've got
Speaker 10: to make sure that we're giving you the truth.
Speaker 2: All right, Congressman, Well, we just have a minute left here.
Speaker 2: But I do wonder as we look ahead to Monday,
Speaker 2: in the Republican Conference meeting that will be happening in
Speaker 2: Florida that Donald Trump will attend, is they're discussing their
Speaker 2: legislative agenda border measures, energy measures, tax related measures they
Speaker 2: would like to implement. Are they going to be able
Speaker 2: to count on any Democratic votes for any of these things?
Speaker 2: Could this be a bipartisan process?
Speaker 10: Well, I'm gonna they have proven that even with a
Speaker 10: five person majority, let alone a one person majority, they
Speaker 10: are unable to do anything without Democrats because they fight
Speaker 10: each other. Democrats stand ready to work together to meet
Speaker 10: the needs of the American people and to put people
Speaker 10: over politics. Republicans are going to have to come to
Speaker 10: the table and do that. But we are not going
Speaker 10: to a violate our values, and those values include making
Speaker 10: sure we are centering people, that we are centering their
Speaker 10: needs and helping them, that we are not pitting one
Speaker 10: group of amer Americans against another, and that we are
Speaker 10: protecting our democracy. So if they want bipartisan help in governing,
Speaker 10: we stand ready to meet an easy the American people,
Speaker 10: but they are going to have to come to us
Speaker 10: and not just expect us to bend the knee and
Speaker 10: to their will and violate our values.
Speaker 5: All right.
Speaker 2: Democratic Congressoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia, thank you so much
Speaker 2: for joining us here on Balance of Power as we
Speaker 2: round out this early edition, where we've gotten some breaking
Speaker 2: news on a few fronts, Joe one being the first
Speaker 2: no vote in the Senate for Pete Hegseth's defense secretary,
Speaker 2: Lisa Murkowski saying she cannot support him for defense secretary.
Speaker 2: The other being a Cord in Seattle knocking down at
Speaker 2: least for now temporarily blocking Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright.
Speaker 4: Citizenship, as well.
Speaker 3: Telsea Gabbard confirmation hearing set for next Thursday.
Speaker 4: Next week is going to be wild. Thanks for listening
Speaker 4: to the Balance of Power podcast.
Speaker 3: Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already at Apple, Spotify,
Speaker 3: or wherever you get your podcasts, and you can find
Speaker 3: us live every weekday from Washington, d C.
Speaker 4: At noontime Eastern at Bloomberg dot com