Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
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Speaker 3: I'm Kaylie Lines in Washington tracking the movement in politics,
Speaker 3: and while much of that this week has focused on
Speaker 3: the incoming president President elect Donald Trump and his transition
Speaker 3: the forming of his second administration, there is still an
Speaker 3: administration in place right now and a sitting US president
Speaker 3: That would be Joe Biden, who is taking his presidential
Speaker 3: duties abroad over the course of the next several days.
Speaker 3: In fact, right now as we speak, he is in Lima,
Speaker 3: Peru for the APEC Summit, and on the sidelines of
Speaker 3: that summit. Tomorrow he will be meeting for the third
Speaker 3: time of his presidency face to face with Chinese President
Speaker 3: Xi Jinping. We want to get more on this meeting
Speaker 3: and the outlook for US and China policy, and turn
Speaker 3: out to Anne Ashton. She is founder of Ashton Analytics
Speaker 3: and of course knows a lot about China and this
Speaker 3: geopolitical relationship. Thanks for joining us on balance of power, Anna,
Speaker 3: if we can just focus on tomorrow. Should we expect
Speaker 3: any tangible outcome from that Biden she meeting or is
Speaker 3: once again this mostly about talking for the sake of
Speaker 3: doing so.
Speaker 4: Hi, Kailey, thank you for having me on and hopefully
Speaker 4: you can hear me clearly, my headphones suddenly stopped working, but.
Speaker 5: I can hear you.
Speaker 6: I can hear you. Great, Anna, perfect, We'll be fantastic.
Speaker 4: So no, I don't think that we should expect any
Speaker 4: big outcomes from this talk. The talk is significant as
Speaker 4: a sort of taking stock. As Jake Sullivan said that
Speaker 4: this is an opportunity to for the two leaders to
Speaker 4: assess how they've been doing with responsibly manage competition, you know,
Speaker 4: and they're likely to talk about sort of the perennial
Speaker 4: issues in US China relations, including Taiwan, China's relationship with Russia,
Speaker 4: and human rights issues, but really in terms of what
Speaker 4: the US policy towards China is going to be moving forward.
Speaker 4: Bid Biden is now the lame duck president and all
Speaker 4: eyes are on incoming second term President Trump.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, and he certainly has made his feelings about
Speaker 3: trade with China, specifically well known, he's floated the idea
Speaker 3: of sixty percent tariffs plus on everything exported from China
Speaker 3: to the US. And I wonder, Anna, if you think
Speaker 3: that discussion around tariffs and those levels of tariffs specifically
Speaker 3: is actually just a negotiating tactic or something that is
Speaker 3: likely to come to fruition.
Speaker 4: Well, we can all hope that it's a negotiating tactic,
Speaker 4: because of course sixty percent tariffs on everything from China
Speaker 4: would be inflationary, and you know, it would raise prices
Speaker 4: for American consumers and businesses, which is I think exactly
Speaker 4: the opposite of what most people were hoping would be
Speaker 4: accomplished with a second Trump presidency when they cast their
Speaker 4: vote for him. You know, I think we should fully
Speaker 4: expect that there will be an increase in tariffs of
Speaker 4: some kind, whether it's sixty percent or something less than that,
Speaker 4: whether it's on all Chinese goods or on currently tariff
Speaker 4: to Chinese goods.
Speaker 5: And I think we should.
Speaker 4: Expect that because we know that Lightheiser has been involved
Speaker 4: in economic strategy for the incoming Trump administration, and we
Speaker 4: know that Trump has appointed you know, a series or
Speaker 4: has announced an intention to a point a series of
Speaker 4: people to significant roles who are known for being Chinahawks.
Speaker 4: But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not a jumping
Speaker 4: off point for negotiations. It could be, And we know
Speaker 4: that that Trump has a history of cycling through cabinet
Speaker 4: members and senior officials, so this could be the starting lineup.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 3: And there's not just China hawks that will surround him
Speaker 3: in his second administration at the executive branch level of
Speaker 3: government ANA, but plenty of China hawks in Congress, which
Speaker 3: is going to be controlled by Republicans in both chambers.
Speaker 3: In fact, the Republican chair of the China Select Committee
Speaker 3: in the House is putting forward new legislation to revoke
Speaker 3: the US or China rather hit China's normal trade status
Speaker 3: with the United States. What would the consequence of that.
Speaker 4: Be significant and not dissimilar to sixty percent tariffs on
Speaker 4: everything coming in from China. You know, I think that
Speaker 4: the writing has been on the wall for some time
Speaker 4: now that most policymakers in Washington feel that there needs
Speaker 4: to be a much tougher approach to China and there
Speaker 4: needs to be an expedited effort to make the US
Speaker 4: less dependent on China. In a full variety of supply chains,
Speaker 4: and you know, Republicans by and large have been more
Speaker 4: aggressive of them, forward leaning in their approach to that.
Speaker 4: So we should fully expect that that will be on
Speaker 4: the minds of members of Congress, as well as on
Speaker 4: the mind of Donald Trump and his advisors.
Speaker 5: And I think the key thing will be to, you know.
Speaker 4: Hopefully their ears will also be open to people who
Speaker 4: are pointing out the perhaps unintended consequences of the policies
Speaker 4: that they're considering and ways to mitigate them.
Speaker 3: We spoke anna with someone who did help to shape
Speaker 3: trade policy during the first Trump administration at the Commerce
Speaker 3: Department earlier this week, and her suggestion to us was
Speaker 3: that this is really about addressing China's over capacity problem,
Speaker 3: like flooding the world with supply that it doesn't actually need,
Speaker 3: that there's no demand for, and that you have to
Speaker 3: do tariffs, not just on China, but actually globally, inclusive
Speaker 3: of say, allies in Europe to actually help level that
Speaker 3: out and address those oversupply concerns. I wonder what you
Speaker 3: make of that logic or if there is an alternative
Speaker 3: approach that could be utilized to have China stop producing
Speaker 3: so much and to pull back on some of this
Speaker 3: capacity expansion.
Speaker 5: Well, I certainly questioned Kayleie the idea.
Speaker 4: That applying tariffs to Europe is going to make a
Speaker 4: difference US applying tariffs to Europe would make a difference to.
Speaker 5: China's over capacity.
Speaker 4: I do think it's worth pointing out that Europe is
Speaker 4: actively exploring and pursuing tariffs on certain Chinese goods such
Speaker 4: as electric vehicles, because of Chinese over capacity and because
Speaker 4: of the fact that it looks like China is doubling
Speaker 4: down on its reliance on exports to help generate more robust.
Speaker 5: Economic growth at home.
Speaker 4: Right now, I think that that is going to continue
Speaker 4: to be a problem for the United States as well
Speaker 4: as other treating partners with China, unless China rolls out
Speaker 4: a very different approach to its economic recovery, one that
Speaker 4: more directly benefits consumers and causes consumers to spend money.
Speaker 3: So Anna is effectively what you're saying, Actually, the tariffs
Speaker 3: could have the opposite of the intended effect, which is
Speaker 3: that because of the hit to the economy of China
Speaker 3: by not being able to export all those goods necessarily
Speaker 3: to the US, China could actually stimulate more, spend more
Speaker 3: money on trying to build out its productive capacity, and
Speaker 3: therefore make the over capacity problem even worse.
Speaker 4: Well, I certainly think that if China feels that it
Speaker 4: can't successfully export to the United States, it's going to
Speaker 4: be trying to export elsewhere to our trading partners, and.
Speaker 5: It will.
Speaker 4: I don't see a sign that China is considering rolling
Speaker 4: back its efforts to stimulate growth by increasing exports of
Speaker 4: certain kinds of products, such as electric vehicles or lithium
Speaker 4: ion batteries. It is possible that tariffs from the United
Speaker 4: States will cause a rethink, or that you know, China
Speaker 4: will consider policies that are US specific to improved ties
Speaker 4: by not offloading oversupply into the United States, which of
Speaker 4: course will be harder to do anyway, given tariffs and
Speaker 4: given other laws and regulations that are in place that
Speaker 4: make it hard to send things like Chinese electric vehicles
Speaker 4: into the US market.
Speaker 3: Just quickly, and we have about a minute left here.
Speaker 3: The US China relationship is one thing, but the US
Speaker 3: also has concern about China's relationship with other adversaries like Russia.
Speaker 3: How should we be thinking about the nature of that
Speaker 3: relationship right.
Speaker 4: Now it's going to be a really interesting few months
Speaker 4: as this new administration gets settled in, because, of course,
Speaker 4: you know, the Trump Trump hasn't always had a different
Speaker 4: sense of Russia and in Vladimir Putin than the Biden
Speaker 4: administration seems to have.
Speaker 5: He seems to be.
Speaker 4: Interested in more dialogue and in trying to come to
Speaker 4: an agreement that will end the conflict in Ukraine. Maybe
Speaker 4: not an agreement that Ukraine would like, but one that
Speaker 4: might settle things.
Speaker 5: And I think, you know he's going to be pursuing.
Speaker 4: That, which will change the dynamic between the US and
Speaker 4: China in terms of China support for Russia. If the
Speaker 4: United States is wanting to come to the table with
Speaker 4: Russia to talk about ending the conflict in Ukraine in
Speaker 4: some way, you know, China would like to have that
Speaker 4: conversation too. And if it is on terms where Russia
Speaker 4: is able to retain some of the territory that it
Speaker 4: has taken control of.
Speaker 3: Of Astan Analytics, we have to leave it there. Thank
Speaker 3: you for joining us on Bloomberg.
Speaker 2: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast Ketch
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Speaker 2: Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Speaker 3: So as we consider those that Donald Trump has not
Speaker 3: tapped yet, we do know some that he has a
Speaker 3: few of them that he selected have actually been pulled
Speaker 3: from the House of Representatives. That includes now former Congressman
Speaker 3: Matt Gates for ag Florida Congressman another one, Mike Waltz
Speaker 3: for National Security Advisor, and then of course Congressman Elisetaphonic,
Speaker 3: who has been tapped to be the UN Ambassador for
Speaker 3: the US. So that reduces what looks like it could
Speaker 3: be a very tight majority. And we want to turn
Speaker 3: now to a member of that majority, both the current
Speaker 3: one and the one in coming. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of
Speaker 3: Iowa is joining me now here on Bloomberg TV and Radio. Congresswoman,
Speaker 3: welcome back to balance of power. Can the Conference afford
Speaker 3: to lose one more member to this administration or should
Speaker 3: would you encourage the President elect to stop here?
Speaker 7: Well, I think it's very very clear we have a
Speaker 7: narrow House majority and we need to be able to
Speaker 7: deliver and to govern on President Trump's agenda starting on
Speaker 7: day one.
Speaker 8: So that's going to be my priority.
Speaker 7: I'm very very proud of our of course, next to
Speaker 7: you and Ambassador in Elis Daphonix. She's been a good
Speaker 7: friend of mine and a great mentor to me here
Speaker 7: in Congress as well. And I look forward to seeing
Speaker 7: the Senate do its job to confirm all President Trump's
Speaker 7: nominees so that we can execute on that agenda. But look,
Speaker 7: we have a very narrow house majority, we have one
Speaker 7: right now.
Speaker 8: I would like to see us work together.
Speaker 7: And hopefully I think what you're seeing here on the
Speaker 7: Hill right now is definitely a more unified government approach,
Speaker 7: and certainly in our House Republican conference, we are feeling
Speaker 7: that momentum heading into the next Congress.
Speaker 3: Well, as the Senate does have to confirm these nominees,
Speaker 3: should they be armed with all potentially available information when
Speaker 3: they do so, Specifically, when it pertains to your now
Speaker 3: former colleague Matt Gates, does that ethics report need to
Speaker 3: come out?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 7: I think, look who's going to be chairing the Senate
Speaker 7: Judiciary Committee. Every single one of these nomine is going
Speaker 7: to get a thorough vetting from my calling from Iowa
Speaker 7: and Senator Chuck Grassley. I know he has a lot
Speaker 7: of experience in going through this process, so I would
Speaker 7: just encourage all of the Senators to do their job
Speaker 7: and bet every nominee. But I think we do need
Speaker 7: to get these nominees through. President Trump did win this election.
Speaker 7: We need to make sure that his picks do get
Speaker 7: that vetting, but that we can get them into place
Speaker 7: as soon as possible.
Speaker 3: Well, all of that, of course, is going to come
Speaker 3: in the next Congress, and there is still been a
Speaker 3: business to finish in this one, including sorting out funding
Speaker 3: by the deadline in December. Congressman, we were speaking with
Speaker 3: your colleague Andy Barr of Kentucky yesterday who suggested to
Speaker 3: us he does not want to see the can kick
Speaker 3: down the road with another continuing resolution, that there needs
Speaker 3: to be a clean slate in January, and that means
Speaker 3: actually getting the appropriations bills passed. I just wonder if
Speaker 3: that means we're either going to end up with that
Speaker 3: cr that he doesn't want or some kinds of omnibus
Speaker 3: to end the year.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Well, I certainly don't want to see an omnibus.
Speaker 7: As a House appropriator I've worked tirelessly to get all twelve,
Speaker 7: all of these individual appropriations bills across the finish line.
Speaker 7: I'm very frustrated that we haven't been able to do that,
Speaker 7: But I do want to again make sure that on
Speaker 7: day one, come the next one hundred nineteenth Congress, that
Speaker 7: we're giving President Trump the best success plan.
Speaker 8: I do think that also means clearing this deck.
Speaker 7: But I'm going to wait to hear from the President,
Speaker 7: and I know our Appropriations Chair Tom Cole is.
Speaker 8: Planning to do the same.
Speaker 7: We want to see what he wants to do in
Speaker 7: terms of government funding, and all of that is going
Speaker 7: to have to kind of come colliding in with the
Speaker 7: end of your priorities for the farm bill. We're already
Speaker 7: talking about what the tax bill for next year is
Speaker 7: going to look like. So we just want to make
Speaker 7: sure that we're doing this right. What I don't want
Speaker 7: to see is a continuation of a lot of really,
Speaker 7: really bad Democrat policies that we've had to negotiate on
Speaker 7: over the past couple of years. I think with the
Speaker 7: current balance of power and knowing what's coming in the
Speaker 7: next Congress, I think some of my colleagues across the
Speaker 7: Aisle may be a little bit more willing to negotiate
Speaker 7: heading into the end of the year.
Speaker 3: Well, I did want to ask you about that farm bill, Congresswoman,
Speaker 3: considering you are representing constituents in Iowa that could be
Speaker 3: effect did ultimately buy this What is the prospect of
Speaker 3: that actually happening in this lame duck session.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Well, I've continued to advocate to our leadership about this.
Speaker 7: Our producers and our manufacturers need this long term stability.
Speaker 7: We have some great investments, and therefore precision agriculture for trade,
Speaker 7: which I know is going to be a huge priority
Speaker 7: for the next administration, hasn't been much of one under
Speaker 7: the current administration.
Speaker 8: So there are a lot of.
Speaker 7: Provisions in there that I am excited to see move
Speaker 7: forward that I think are not only about preserving our
Speaker 7: food security, which I think is national security, but also
Speaker 7: again making sure that we can be competitive on the
Speaker 7: global stage. So I will continue to advocate to our
Speaker 7: leadership to hopefully get that done in the next couple
Speaker 7: of weeks. Again, I would defer to the chairman on that, Gt. Thompson,
Speaker 7: who's been working in a bipartisan way. I know that
Speaker 7: passed out of the House with bipartisan votes out of
Speaker 7: the House Agriculture Committee, and our Senate counterparts haven't done
Speaker 7: any bill yet, so that's a little disheartening.
Speaker 8: But again I'm.
Speaker 7: Hopeful that they'll take up our House bill and I'll
Speaker 7: continue to put pressure on our leadership to do that.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 3: Congressman, I'd like to pick up on your trade point
Speaker 3: because earlier this week here on Balance of Power, we
Speaker 3: spoke with the CEO of Landis, which is an agricultural
Speaker 3: services company, Matt Carson's, and this is what he had
Speaker 3: to say about the way in which trade relationships is
Speaker 3: that influences agriculture should be approached.
Speaker 6: Take a listen, and then I'll have your response.
Speaker 9: We've got to make sure that both sides are being understood,
Speaker 9: whatever the solve is and whatever the cause and effect
Speaker 9: is to agriculture, because those international markets are absolutely critical
Speaker 9: for companies like Landis and Conduit that are trying to
Speaker 9: move those goods out of our state, out of the
Speaker 9: Midwest and get them into a position to go into
Speaker 9: a global market. And when you lose a volume like
Speaker 9: we have the China, that has a long term ripple
Speaker 9: effect and it's hard to recover from.
Speaker 6: So congresswoman.
Speaker 3: As the President elect has talked about ratching ended up
Speaker 3: ratcheting up tariffs on China, what should farmers in the
Speaker 3: agricultural community be bracing for in terms of potential retaliation.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, for every action that we take, we know
Speaker 7: China is going to take some sort of action and
Speaker 7: to retaliate. I think the most important thing here is
Speaker 7: that President Trump is the first president in a long
Speaker 7: time to actually stand up to the Chinese Communist Party
Speaker 7: and to stand up to President she. If there's one
Speaker 7: thing that I know, it's that China has been taking
Speaker 7: advantage of the United States for decades. They haven't been
Speaker 7: following normal trade rules. And while they are a very
Speaker 7: critical market for our producers, not just from Iowa, but
Speaker 7: from this country, we need to make sure that we
Speaker 7: are playing fair going forward. You know, it was in
Speaker 7: my district just about ten years ago that the Chinese
Speaker 7: were discovered trying to literally steal seeds to take them
Speaker 7: back to China, to reverse engineer them and cheat. So
Speaker 7: they're cheating, they're trying to steal our intellectual property, whether
Speaker 7: that's in the manufacturing space or in the agriculture space.
Speaker 7: So I look forward to seeing a tough stance on China.
Speaker 7: This current administration has not taken a tough stance, has
Speaker 7: really acquiesced there.
Speaker 8: And now we see that debt trapped diplomacy.
Speaker 7: Continuing to happen all over the world with President she
Speaker 7: you know, going around and handing out cash all of
Speaker 7: these nations. We need to be making sure we're making
Speaker 7: entrees to people who not just for trade relationships, but
Speaker 7: for defense purposes.
Speaker 8: As well, and I will look forward to.
Speaker 7: Seeing our new Defense secretary and the President work to
Speaker 7: achieve those goals so we can actually be competitive on
Speaker 7: the global stage.
Speaker 1: Again.
Speaker 3: Well, we have seen this administration leave intact the tariffs
Speaker 3: in large part that were put into place in the
Speaker 3: Trump administration and expand export controls as well. But you,
Speaker 3: of course did on the China Select Committee, which makes
Speaker 3: you a very valuable voice on this, and I wonder
Speaker 3: if you support that committee's chairman, Chairman Molinar's legislation that
Speaker 3: he put forward this week to revoke China's normal trade status.
Speaker 6: Are the votes there for that.
Speaker 7: We're definitely taking a look at all bills, but I
Speaker 7: think what I support about the chairman is that he
Speaker 7: is taking a tough stance on China, they have not
Speaker 7: been following the rules. I'm not sure if that bill
Speaker 7: is the ultimate answer here. We definitely want to be
Speaker 7: cognizant of the impact to agricultural states like Iowa. And
Speaker 7: that is one thing that I I heard loud and
Speaker 7: clear from my producers is you know, we still need
Speaker 7: to be able to sell our products to China. So
Speaker 7: I want to be cognizant of that in any stance
Speaker 7: that we take. It is a pretty bold stance, and
Speaker 7: what I will say is that I think we do
Speaker 7: need to be signaling though that we're ready to get
Speaker 7: tough on them. Right if you don't play by the rules,
Speaker 7: and you don't start playing on a level playing field,
Speaker 7: and you continue with these malign practices, then there are
Speaker 7: going to be some consequences there, and I support the
Speaker 7: Chairman in his efforts to do that.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 3: President Biden is going to be sitting down with Chinese
Speaker 3: President Chieshin Ping in person tomorrow on the sidelines of
Speaker 3: the APEC summit in Peru. It's their third such meeting
Speaker 3: of his presidency, and obviously, as his presidency is almost over,
Speaker 3: it will be the last. And I wonder if you
Speaker 3: still see room here for some kind of forward movement
Speaker 3: to be made when it comes to this relationship and
Speaker 3: the normalization of communication here before President Trump takes office
Speaker 3: in January.
Speaker 7: Well, I think communication is always a key goal no
Speaker 7: matter who it is that we're trying to work with.
Speaker 8: As I said, we need to make sure we still
Speaker 8: preserve those markets for trade going forward.
Speaker 7: I'm hopeful President Biden will continue to hopefully express that
Speaker 7: we need to have American dominance. America needs to be
Speaker 7: strong on the global stage. And again, this is about
Speaker 7: fairness and a level playing field. And so I think
Speaker 7: what we will see as president she probably take a
Speaker 7: little bit of a different posture knowing who's coming in next.
Speaker 7: He's seen this show before. He knows that President Trump
Speaker 7: talks tough carries that he's not, you know, speak softly
Speaker 7: and carry a big stick. No, it's speak loudly and
Speaker 7: carry a big stick too. So I think that he
Speaker 7: certainly understands what's coming down the pipeline.
Speaker 8: But again, my goal for diplomatic.
Speaker 7: Relations is always going to be to be able to
Speaker 7: have open lines of communication.
Speaker 3: How important, as we don't have the announcement yet as
Speaker 3: to who Donald Trump would like this to be congressome,
Speaker 3: when will the US trade representative be in this next administration?
Speaker 3: And is there anyone you hope gets the job.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, certainly, Ambassador Leiheiser did a I think fantastic job.
Speaker 7: We've had him actually as a witness before our China
Speaker 7: Select Committee several times to to talk about the importance
Speaker 7: of trade. I would certainly hope someone like him is
Speaker 7: being considered for that. You know, it took far too
Speaker 7: long for the Biden administration to get a trade representative
Speaker 7: in place. I think we have suffered economically. We see
Speaker 7: major gaps in our trade export numbers, and we are
Speaker 7: actually experiencing a deficit in that in some key sectors
Speaker 7: for the first time.
Speaker 8: We need to reverse that.
Speaker 7: And I think that someone like Ambassador Lthheiser would be
Speaker 7: great if he decides to come back. But I look
Speaker 7: forward to seeing who the President picks to fill out
Speaker 7: the rest of his cabinet, because I do think Agriculture
Speaker 7: Secretary and obviously Trade rep are going to be critical
Speaker 7: for a state like Iowa.
Speaker 3: Well, you and me, both, congresswomen, I'm keeping a close
Speaker 3: eye on the wire to see when more names come down,
Speaker 3: But we sincerely appreciate you joining us here on Bloomberg
Speaker 3: TV and radio. That is the Republican Congresswoman from Iowa,
Speaker 3: Ashley Henson.
Speaker 6: Life from Capitol Hill, your list name to.
Speaker 2: The Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast Ketch just live weekdays
Speaker 2: at noon Eastern on Epocarplay and then roud Otto with
Speaker 2: the Bloomberg Business app on demand wherever you get your podcasts,
Speaker 2: or watch us live on YouTube.
Speaker 3: I literally glued to my Bloomberg terminal and specifically the
Speaker 3: ni heads function. If you have one, you know what
Speaker 3: I'm talking about, because we're tracking everything that's coming out
Speaker 3: of this Trump transition team. Donald Trump just confirming that
Speaker 3: Stephen Chung, who of course was working with his campaign,
Speaker 3: will be joining the administration as director of Communications. But
Speaker 3: sources now telling Bloomberg someone doesn't want to join this
Speaker 3: second administration, Larry Kudlow. Remember there was reporting earlier today
Speaker 3: that Larry Cudlow could be up for either National Economic
Speaker 3: Counsel or even Treasury Secretary. It's currently a host on
Speaker 3: Fox Business. But source is telling us that he has
Speaker 3: told the Trump team that he does not want a
Speaker 3: job in this second term.
Speaker 6: So who's going to get it.
Speaker 3: We still don't know about Treasury secretary or other important
Speaker 3: economic roles that could help shape economic policy under a
Speaker 3: second go round with Donald Trump. So let's turn to
Speaker 3: our political pain for more. Jeanie Shanzeno is with me,
Speaker 3: Democratic analyst, Bloomberg Politics contributor, and senior Democracy Fellow at
Speaker 3: the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress,
Speaker 3: alongside Ashley Davis, Republican strategists and principle at West Front Strategies. Ashley,
Speaker 3: just to begin with you, we've kind of seen this
Speaker 3: happening where people are taking themselves out of contention. John
Speaker 3: Paulson did it. It was too financially complicated for him. Now
Speaker 3: I guess Larry Cudlow maybe would rather stay in the
Speaker 3: anchor chair. And it's all kind of playing out publicly
Speaker 3: in the press. What do you make of it?
Speaker 1: I mean, that's not real surprising with the Trump you know,
Speaker 1: we're back to the waking up every day to tweets
Speaker 1: or now it's yeah, true social posts, true spocial So
Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's not surprising. And what I
Speaker 1: was what was really interesting was your earlier segment on
Speaker 1: Jamie Diamond, because I think him being a little coy
Speaker 1: during the election of really not supporting either candidate was
Speaker 1: probably why Trump right away came out and said, you know,
Speaker 1: Jamie Diamond's not going to be I mean, talking about
Speaker 1: one of the best Treasury secretaries he could pick, it
Speaker 1: would be him. I also agree that I think that
Speaker 1: the names that are being floated right now for Treasury
Speaker 1: secretary are probably not who it's going to be. I mean,
Speaker 1: at least the final contenders, because I think that he
Speaker 1: would have made It's obviously one of the most important positions,
Speaker 1: and I think that he, uh, there's some reason he's
Speaker 1: not picking one of them. But I do think Linda
Speaker 1: McMahon gets commerce because I think she's just slow and steady.
Speaker 1: She's keeping under the radar screen, she's being very professional,
Speaker 1: and so I would expect that to happen.
Speaker 5: I hope.
Speaker 3: So she's a good Yeah, of course, former small business
Speaker 3: administrator during the first administration. Genie, I wonder what you
Speaker 3: make of that, the fact that people are trying actively
Speaker 3: in public to secure this job, could that make them
Speaker 3: actually less likely to get it?
Speaker 5: It?
Speaker 10: Absolutely could?
Speaker 8: You know.
Speaker 10: The reality is it's hard to get in Donald Trump's brain.
Speaker 10: I mean, you know, just reading what Mark Caputo was
Speaker 10: reporting about how Matt Gates rose to the top of
Speaker 10: that list. Apparently early this week he wasn't even on
Speaker 10: the list for ag I end up flying to the
Speaker 10: Washington together, and Donald Trump, frustrated by the other contenders
Speaker 10: talking about legal theories and the constitution, looks at Matt Gates,
Speaker 10: and Matt Gates says he's going to go over there
Speaker 10: and start cutting heads, and he gets the nods. So
Speaker 10: you know, this is back to what you guys were
Speaker 10: just talking about. The Donald Trump who likes to do
Speaker 10: this as a reality TV game, and so this is
Speaker 10: where we are. So I would never pretend to know
Speaker 10: what he's going to do next with treasury or otherwise.
Speaker 3: Well, it is interesting, though, Ashley, when we consider what
Speaker 3: we were hearing from him on the campaign trail, the
Speaker 3: messaging that ultimately got him elected to a second go
Speaker 3: at the presidency. Part of it was the border, and
Speaker 3: we got a lot of those kind of appointments first,
Speaker 3: not just Christy nun for DHS, but Stephen Miller for example,
Speaker 3: being tapped, Tom Homan being tapped as well. I would
Speaker 3: have thought, based off of what he was saying, that
Speaker 3: he was going to take on the economy next, right,
Speaker 3: It was fixing the economy that he was running on.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, but we have to remember it's only a week.
Speaker 6: It feels like it's been a year exactly.
Speaker 1: That's why I do think that he hasn't that there's
Speaker 1: probably someone else out there. I mean, obviously you've still
Speaker 1: have been young, and who would be fantastic as a
Speaker 1: Treasury secretary? You know, is does Haggardy come back?
Speaker 8: Maybe?
Speaker 1: You know, he's always someone that's been talked about. But
Speaker 1: I do agree as well that there's probably someone from
Speaker 1: Wall Street that's going to get it. I would expect
Speaker 1: that we find someone over the weekend or by Monday,
Speaker 1: or he announces someone.
Speaker 3: Well, certainly we're all hoping for that here on Bloomberg.
Speaker 3: This one's really important to us because it's a reminder
Speaker 3: as well that Donald Trump, as I was saying, made
Speaker 3: a lot of promises on the campaign trail, a lot
Speaker 3: of things he would like to do from an economic perspective,
Speaker 3: but he only has so much unilateral power as the president,
Speaker 3: especially in kind of enforcing these kind of things. So
Speaker 3: just characterize Ashley how important these roles actually are in
Speaker 3: ensuring that Donald Trump's agenda actually becomes reality.
Speaker 1: Treasury and USTR Ambassador is very important, especially in regards
Speaker 1: to Tara for both friends. Obviously, the Sexuary of Commerce
Speaker 1: is also very important important, but a lot of the policies,
Speaker 1: obviously with tax reform coming up, Treasury is going to
Speaker 1: the Hill's going to look to Treasury a lot to
Speaker 1: see what the Trump administration wants. But at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, they have to pass the bill. And
Speaker 1: I do think some of what Ashwoods Congressman Henson was
Speaker 1: saying in regards to the small numbers in the House,
Speaker 1: I do think some of those members that are kind
Speaker 1: of the far right that have caused problems for the
Speaker 1: last few years for the Speaker and obviously McCarthy before
Speaker 1: that they're going to get in line better if it's
Speaker 1: Trump's policies because they're Trump people. Okay, So I actually
Speaker 1: think that the moderate Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick and others are
Speaker 1: going to be the ones that have more of the
Speaker 1: power this time than the extreme right.
Speaker 3: Well, and they're the ones, right Genie that need to
Speaker 3: get reelected in twenty twenty six so that Donald Trump
Speaker 3: doesn't say, get impeached again if we have a democratic House,
Speaker 3: because he has four years. This Congress only has two.
Speaker 3: So it makes those kind of frontline Republican men, if
Speaker 3: you will, really important.
Speaker 10: Oh, they are absolutely important, you know. And I think
Speaker 10: we forget that he's coming with a much narrower margin
Speaker 10: in the House than he did the first time. But
Speaker 10: to Ashley's point, you have a lot more people who
Speaker 10: line up with his you know, make America First values,
Speaker 10: and so he may be able to make up for that.
Speaker 10: But I'm not one of the people who thinks that,
Speaker 10: And I've been debating with so many of my friends
Speaker 10: on this that this is a Washington on the Republican
Speaker 10: side that is without schisms. I think there are schisms
Speaker 10: in Washington on the Republican side, and we are going
Speaker 10: to see those play out.
Speaker 5: I mean, you just look at.
Speaker 10: Who he is nominated so far, and you can see
Speaker 10: people with vastly different governing philosophies from you know, say
Speaker 10: a Marco Rubio all the way to Matt Gates. Now
Speaker 10: you know, who knows who's going to get in, but
Speaker 10: you know, America First. The Donald Trump Republican Party is
Speaker 10: a big party now, and they've got p from all
Speaker 10: different elements, and the trick is going to be able
Speaker 10: to make them work together and I think it's going
Speaker 10: to be easier said than done when it comes to
Speaker 10: passing some of these economic bills that he has talked
Speaker 10: about on the campaign trail.
Speaker 3: Well as we consider potential schisms within the party leadership
Speaker 3: is a question here. I actually spoke with a member
Speaker 3: of the newly elected and current Senate leadership, Republican Senator
Speaker 3: Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, last night, specifically on
Speaker 3: this notion of recess appointments that could be made by
Speaker 3: Donald Trump.
Speaker 6: This is what she told me.
Speaker 11: We can fulfill in the regular order way of confirming
Speaker 11: the nominees, and that's what we intend to do. I
Speaker 11: think all of this talk about recess appointments is way premature.
Speaker 11: I don't believe that's the direction that we want to go,
Speaker 11: and I don't think President Trump will want to go
Speaker 11: that he wants the confirmation of the Senate because we're
Speaker 11: going to be working together all throughout these next several years,
Speaker 11: and we need to make sure that we respect each
Speaker 11: other's roles, but that we have the confirmation from each
Speaker 11: other that's we're moving in the right direction.
Speaker 3: So she doesn't think Donald Trump is going to want
Speaker 3: to abandon the checks and balances here, Ashley, but she
Speaker 3: can't know for sure what Donald Trump wants any more
Speaker 3: than the rest of US can. And I wonder if
Speaker 3: you do think this brand new leadership team that's going
Speaker 3: to take a hold in January could potentially run into
Speaker 3: conflict with Donald Trump pretty early on.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: I think the statement that John Thune made is right
Speaker 1: after he got elected, was the fact that he's going
Speaker 1: to keep the filibuster in place. And I to me,
Speaker 1: no matter what side of the out you're on, I
Speaker 1: think that's a very important. If we don't have that
Speaker 1: philibuster in place, no matter if you're a Republican or Democrat,
Speaker 1: there's going to be really bad policies that are passed
Speaker 1: beyond what already gets past sometimes. So I really was
Speaker 1: I was really happy that he came out that. I
Speaker 1: think that Trump will go after him publicly, just like
Speaker 1: he did McConnell when McConnell said he's keeping the philibuster
Speaker 1: in place. So I think that's going to be the
Speaker 1: number one moral I agree with the Senator with Senator Capitol,
Speaker 1: I really as I said earlier in the segment, I
Speaker 1: think this recess appointment is a little bit of a
Speaker 1: noise right now.
Speaker 3: Well, I guess we'll I'll find out come January whether
Speaker 3: or not it's noise or real.
Speaker 6: It's sometimes hard to tell.
Speaker 1: You also think we're going to be in until like Easter,
Speaker 1: because they're going to want to get stuff done. They're
Speaker 1: going to pass the budget resolution, They're going to do
Speaker 1: tax reform right away. I think we're never it's going
Speaker 1: to be crazy, so much to look forward to.
Speaker 3: Just when we think we might get a break at
Speaker 3: some point, Ashley's like, just wait, you won't keep your
Speaker 3: jobs right. This is very true. Is certainly going to
Speaker 3: keep Genie Shanzano busy as well.
Speaker 6: Genie.
Speaker 3: If we consider everything as Ashley is outlining, this incoming
Speaker 3: Congress is going to want to get done. We already
Speaker 3: discussed what is a very tight majority. It's going to
Speaker 3: be in the House. In the Senate right now, the
Speaker 3: majority is fifty three. But there is a recount in
Speaker 3: Pennsylvania in the Dave McCormick, the Republican versus the incumbent
Speaker 3: Democrat Bob Casey race. Do you think there's potential this
Speaker 3: goes down to fifty two or is that a recount
Speaker 3: going nowhere?
Speaker 10: You know, historically the recounts done in Pennsylvania. I think
Speaker 10: there were four, and they have all gone the way
Speaker 10: that they were originally decided or initially decided. So my
Speaker 10: guess would be that it still remains with Dave McCormick
Speaker 10: and Casey is going to have to concede. And you know,
Speaker 10: while I do agree that Donald Trump may be throwing
Speaker 10: out a trial balloon on the recess or more likely
Speaker 10: to threaten the Senate, no president worth their salt is
Speaker 10: happy with the advice and consent of the Senate. They
Speaker 10: all want to get rid of it. Nobody wants to
Speaker 10: have to go to somebody else to do their job,
Speaker 10: so you know, he doesn't want to have to go there.
Speaker 10: And I am waiting with baited breath because Kaylee, remember
Speaker 10: when he said, Mike Johnson and I have a secret,
Speaker 10: And of course that secret is the recess. I don't know,
Speaker 10: but the House Speaker has an enormous role potentially there.
Speaker 10: So Hayley, don't sleep this week and figure the secret out,
Speaker 10: would you.
Speaker 3: I was told that the secret was Teletown Halls during
Speaker 3: the final startch of the campaign for the House.
Speaker 6: I don't know, maybe we'll find out.
Speaker 8: Probably was then who knows.
Speaker 3: The secret will remain secret. Perhaps Ashley Davis and Jeanie
Speaker 3: Shanzino our wonderful political panel today. Thank you both so
Speaker 3: much for joining me and enjoy the weekend certainly well
Speaker 3: deserved for everyone who has had to keep track of
Speaker 3: what's going on here in Washington. We've talked a lot
Speaker 3: about what could happen in terms of the economic policy team,
Speaker 3: but we have to focus on the legal and justice
Speaker 3: team as well. Bloomberg Sarah Forden is on her way in,
Speaker 3: and we'll have Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman of California as well.
Speaker 6: On Bloomberg.
Speaker 2: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast Ketch
Speaker 2: just live weekdays at noon Eastern on Applecarplay and thenroyd
Speaker 2: Oto with the Bloomberg Business App. You can also listen
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Speaker 2: Just Say Alexa Play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Speaker 3: We're still awaiting some pretty important cabinet picks from the
Speaker 3: President elect Donald Trump, think Treasury or Commerce roles that
Speaker 3: you might think would be pretty high on the checklist
Speaker 3: in terms of nominees. You need to get out there,
Speaker 3: maybe less so lower down on the checklist you might
Speaker 3: expect would be say, US Attorney for the Southern.
Speaker 6: District of New York. But that's what we got yesterday.
Speaker 3: Donald Trump has tapped Jay Clayton, the former SEC Chair,
Speaker 3: for that role. He's also tapped a number of his
Speaker 3: personal attorneys to serve him in this upcoming administration, and
Speaker 3: of course most of all, he has tapped former Congressman
Speaker 3: now Matt Gates to serve as Attorney General. Though there
Speaker 3: are some pretty serious confirmation questions there. But we want
Speaker 3: to get into all of these questions and turn to
Speaker 3: Sarah Ford and who leads Bloomberg's legal coverage here in Washington,
Speaker 3: and she's joining me in our DC studio. So, Sarah,
Speaker 3: if we could start with Gates, because if confirmed, he
Speaker 3: would be running the entire Department of Justice.
Speaker 6: What would that actually look like?
Speaker 3: In what ways could he potentially dismantle the existing structure?
Speaker 12: Well, I mean, there's been a lot of coverage of
Speaker 12: Trump's angst about the Justice Department, the investigations well also
Speaker 12: dating back to the Russian investigation under the former leader
Speaker 12: of the FBI. In that case, you know, the Justice
Speaker 12: Department includes the FBI, the Criminal Division, the Civil Division,
Speaker 12: the Human Rights Division. It's a massive law enforcement agency,
Speaker 12: and you know the aim is to whittle it down
Speaker 12: and to weed out anybody who isn't loyal to the
Speaker 12: president's agenda.
Speaker 3: Well, of course, Matt Gates has argued that the Justice
Speaker 3: Department has been weaponized against him, and Donald Trump has
Speaker 3: argued the very same, because he, of course has been
Speaker 3: indicted by the DOJ, specifically Special Council Jack Smith in
Speaker 3: two separate federal cases that he's now Jack Smith that
Speaker 3: is trying to wind down before Donald Trump takes office.
Speaker 3: How is that process likely to go and is everyone
Speaker 3: who was involved in it going to have to leave
Speaker 3: the DOJ before Trump takes the oath.
Speaker 12: Well, it's most likely that they will all leave ahead
Speaker 12: of time, and they're winding down the cases because they
Speaker 12: have a long standing policy to not prosecute sitting presidents.
Speaker 12: So there's no you know, thinking to wait until Trump
Speaker 12: gets into office. You know, this is inevitable. These cases
Speaker 12: are going to go away, and so Jack Smith is
Speaker 12: preparing his filings to dismiss them. He's asked for a
Speaker 12: little more time to do that. This has not been
Speaker 12: postponed till December second, and the issues are a little
Speaker 12: bit different in the two cases. So the January sixth
Speaker 12: case is about Trump's efforts to overturn the results of
Speaker 12: the election. The Florida case is about his handling of
Speaker 12: classified documents, and that case was thrown out by federal
Speaker 12: Judge Eileen Cannon arguing that the special council. The dj
Speaker 12: wasn't authorized to appoint the special council. So that is
Speaker 12: an issue that Jack Smith wants to actually try to
Speaker 12: preserve because for decades in this country, president and the
Speaker 12: Justice Department have appointed special councils, you know, going back
Speaker 12: to Nixon and before.
Speaker 6: We're the one that investigated Hunter Biden for example.
Speaker 12: So this has been, you know, very standard practice of
Speaker 12: law enforcement to put a special council in charge of
Speaker 12: a politically sensitive case. So Jack Smith and his team
Speaker 12: are going to try to argue that appeal in a
Speaker 12: way to protect and preserve that right.
Speaker 3: Well, so that's that team, which was of course the
Speaker 3: prosecution team. Then there was the defense team for Donald
Speaker 3: Trump in all of these cases, his personal attorneys, some
Speaker 3: of which are now going to be having a role
Speaker 3: in his second administration.
Speaker 12: Well, and these are people that really put out for
Speaker 12: Trump and really successfully got those cases delayed and delegitimized
Speaker 12: in the views of many. And so he's, you know,
Speaker 12: in his loyalty principle, he's rewarding the people who who
Speaker 12: came through for him. So Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, Dean
Speaker 12: John Souer, all of these people are now going to
Speaker 12: be flanking him in his new administration.
Speaker 3: I want to, finally, Sarah, ask you about Jay Clayton
Speaker 3: as well, who, of course is best known to our
Speaker 3: audience here as the former SEC chair. He's getting sd
Speaker 3: and Y. So he's the cop literally on Wall Street.
Speaker 3: And I wonder what we should make of this pick.
Speaker 3: He was, I guess involved in securities law, surely, but
Speaker 3: what about criminal law.
Speaker 8: Well, exactly.
Speaker 12: I mean, he's a seasoned lawyer, he's senior partner with
Speaker 12: Sullivan and Cromwell's part of the establishment. He's seen as
Speaker 12: more of an institutionalist than some of Trump's other picks.
Speaker 12: But at the same time, the whole criminal enforcement area
Speaker 12: is a brand new chapter for him. So it's going
Speaker 12: to be interesting to see how he's going to interpret
Speaker 12: this mandate. For example, s d and Y, the US
Speaker 12: attorney in Manhattan, has been famous for going after financial crime,
Speaker 12: insider trading, white collar crime. So the question is are
Speaker 12: the priorities of this office going to change? Are we
Speaker 12: going to see sdn Y get involved in a push
Speaker 12: on the immigration agenda that the Trump administration has, So
Speaker 12: we're watching that very closely.
Speaker 3: All right, well, we look forward to the continued reporting
Speaker 3: from Sarah and her team on this Bloomberg Sarah Ford,
Speaker 3: and thank you so much, and we want to get
Speaker 3: reaction as well from Capitol Hill to some of these
Speaker 3: conversations and others. In turn, now to Democratic Congressman Brad
Speaker 3: Sherman of California, who's joining me live from the Hill
Speaker 3: here on Bloomberg TV and Radio. Congressman, welcome back to
Speaker 3: Balance of Power. There's much I'd like to discuss with you,
Speaker 3: but would love for you to take a swing, as
Speaker 3: you do sit on the Financial Services Committee, about Jay
Speaker 3: Clayton being a different kind of cop for the financial
Speaker 3: world potentially in the second administration.
Speaker 13: I think Clayton is one of the more reasonable picks
Speaker 13: for Donald Trump. I realize that isn't a real high standard,
Speaker 13: but I think is an entirely reasonable pick to be
Speaker 13: the chief prosecutor in the nation's financial capital.
Speaker 3: And what about the other picks that I feel like
Speaker 3: you are alluding to, Sir.
Speaker 13: Oh my god, Matt Gates Attorney general. Wow, it is
Speaker 13: just stunningly bizarre. Especially you'd think that Donald Trump, who
Speaker 13: says we should have openness with the American people, isn't
Speaker 13: demanding that the Ethics Committee investigation, which was supposed to
Speaker 13: report today and might still report today, that that report
Speaker 13: isn't made public. How can we spend all this government money,
Speaker 13: have a Congress, which is a House of Representatives, which
Speaker 13: is in Republican hands, do a bipartisan, fair investigation, and
Speaker 13: then hide it from the American people. I think that's outrageous.
Speaker 3: Well, I guess we'll see if that either leaks out
Speaker 3: or is formally issued, and we'll see whether or not
Speaker 3: Matt Gates ultimately is confirmed for that job.
Speaker 6: Congressman.
Speaker 3: I'd also like to ask you about a man with
Speaker 3: a job currently, and that is the FED Chair J Powell,
Speaker 3: who has had to field questions about whether he would
Speaker 3: resign if asked by Donald Trump. He's stated it's not
Speaker 3: legal for Trump to demote him or anyone else in
Speaker 3: FED leadership. But I wonder if you think those theories
Speaker 3: will be tested in this incoming administration.
Speaker 13: I wouldn't put it past Trump to try to do
Speaker 13: things that he doesn't have a legal right to do.
Speaker 13: I'm counting on the court system to defend our laws.
Speaker 13: And I think Jay Powell will serve out his term.
Speaker 3: Well, and he certainly has more work ahead of him.
Speaker 3: Just in the next couple of weeks, Congressman, there will
Speaker 3: be a rate decision. The market seems less convinced that
Speaker 3: they're actually going to cut rates again before the year
Speaker 3: is out, But do you believe the economy needs it, Well.
Speaker 13: You've got to look at what the economy is going
Speaker 13: to be next year. Trump is proposing policies which, according
Speaker 13: to the Peterson Institute, are going to boost inflation between
Speaker 13: four and seven percentage points. That's worse than COVID's effect
Speaker 13: on the inflation rate. And we would rely upon the
Speaker 13: Fed to somehow do its best to control inflation. Of course,
Speaker 13: higher interest rates are bad for consumers, just as inflation
Speaker 13: is bad for consumers.
Speaker 3: Well, so I guess we'll see how the Fed navigates
Speaker 3: that next year. But before this year is over, Congressman,
Speaker 3: the government also needs to be funded. There's a deadline
Speaker 3: coming up for that as well in December, and I
Speaker 3: wonder if you think it's more likely we end up
Speaker 3: with a continuing resolution or an omnibus package.
Speaker 13: Congress will tend to kick a can down the road,
Speaker 13: and omnibus is much more difficult to put together. I
Speaker 13: wouldn't be surprised if there was a continuing resolution until
Speaker 13: at least February. Republicans are talking about a continuing resolution
Speaker 13: all the way through the end of the fiscal year
Speaker 13: in September. And given how much I'd disagree with the
Speaker 13: things they would try to do in our Appropriations bill,
Speaker 13: putting the government on automatic pilot is it's not good,
Speaker 13: but it's not as bad as all the things.
Speaker 3: Well, try is an operative word there, sir. The votes
Speaker 3: will still be required, and it does seem that in
Speaker 3: the incoming Congress it is going to be, once again,
Speaker 3: as we've experienced for the last two years, a very
Speaker 3: tight majority, especially with Donald Trump having pulled not just
Speaker 3: Gates but two others out of the Republican Conference for
Speaker 3: roles in the administration. Is there a way Democrats can
Speaker 3: use that to their advantage.
Speaker 13: Well, in the Senate they're going to keep the filibuster,
Speaker 13: and in the Senate. They have only a three vote margin.
Speaker 13: So for example, if only four Republican Senators will stand
Speaker 13: up and say we can't vote on Matt Gates until
Speaker 13: we see the Ethics Committee report, then there'll be an
Speaker 13: important step for for honesty with the American people, the
Speaker 13: openness and uh uh on on that nomination. I would
Speaker 13: suspect that they will not allow, for example, Stephanic to
Speaker 13: take her role as UH as UN ambassador until such
Speaker 13: time as they've had special elections to fill other seats,
Speaker 13: say they can't operate with with you know, with a
Speaker 13: one seat majority, and we'll see how the elections come out.
Speaker 13: I think the ones in California that are still in
Speaker 13: uncalled or going to go our way.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad you raised a last stephonics Sir. She,
Speaker 3: of course, as you alluded to, tapped his ambassador for
Speaker 3: the United Nations.
Speaker 6: We also saw former Arkansas Governor Mike.
Speaker 3: Huckabee tapped as ambassador to Israel, and I wonder what
Speaker 3: that says to you about the way in which Israel
Speaker 3: policy could look different as we move forward into this
Speaker 3: next administration.
Speaker 13: I think Stephanic will do a good job, probably in
Speaker 13: the mold of Nikki Haley. I think Huckabee has gone
Speaker 13: way too far and will lead Israel in the wrong direction.
Speaker 13: Israel may be able to take extreme positions and still
Speaker 13: remain popular in the Republican Party of the United States,
Speaker 13: but there are eight billion people on this planet. And
Speaker 13: if Israel only has the support of Israelis, or a
Speaker 13: majority of Israelis and a majority of Republicans, then Israel
Speaker 13: is isolated from the rest of the world. The fact
Speaker 13: is that Israel seventy six years old. During its first
Speaker 13: half of existence, Democrats and Republicans were in control about
Speaker 13: halfway half the time, and that'll be true the next
Speaker 13: seventy six years. And if Israel puts itself in a
Speaker 13: position where it has no appeal to those to the
Speaker 13: left of Donald Trump, that's a terrible position for Israel
Speaker 13: to be in.
Speaker 3: Congressman, we just have a minute or two left here.
Speaker 3: The Washington Post reported this week that the Israeli Prime
Speaker 3: Minister Benjamin net Yahoo is preparing a ceasefire in Lebanon
Speaker 3: as a quote unquote gift to the incoming president Donald Trump.
Speaker 3: Do you think that is actually achievable before he takes office.
Speaker 13: I think if Hezbollah will follow the UN resolution. Usually
Speaker 13: UN resolutions aren't particularly good for Israel, but will follow
Speaker 13: you in resolution and move north of the Latani River
Speaker 13: as they agreed to do decades ago or over a
Speaker 13: decade ago, that we should get a cease fire. And
Speaker 13: I don't think we should continue killing people unnecessarily on
Speaker 13: either side just to make a gift to an incoming
Speaker 13: US administration. Israel should conclude a cease fire when it
Speaker 13: can do so in a way that will keep its
Speaker 13: northern Israeli safe. And that is pretty much a decision
Speaker 13: Hesbola has to make. Are they willing to do what
Speaker 13: they agreed to do over a decade ago and move
Speaker 13: north of the Latani River?
Speaker 3: All right, Congressman, appreciate your time on this Friday, sir,
Speaker 3: enjoy the weekend that is. Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman of California,
Speaker 3: a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committee,
Speaker 3: here with us on Bloomberg TV and Radio.
Speaker 13: Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make
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