WEBVTT - Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy Talks President-Elect Trump's Agenda

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

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I love what Majority Leader John Thune said. It's

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<v Speaker 2>clear as mud in terms of the sequencing. But the

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<v Speaker 2>priorities are clear for President elect Trump in order to

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<v Speaker 2>get as a gender through and we're going to talk

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<v Speaker 2>about that right now with former Speaker of the House

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<v Speaker 2>Kevin McCarthy. You know how challenging it is its slim

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<v Speaker 2>majorities to get anything done in Congress.

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<v Speaker 3>What's your advice to President Trump?

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<v Speaker 2>Does he go for this one big, beautiful bill or

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<v Speaker 2>does he lean on the Senate who wants to see

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<v Speaker 2>a two track approach.

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<v Speaker 1>I think one bill is the right answer, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is why you've got to understand for you.

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<v Speaker 3>But is it big? Well, this is the point. It's different. Okay,

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<v Speaker 3>this is the.

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<v Speaker 1>First time in modern history the majority in the Senate

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<v Speaker 1>is larger than the House. So the Senate's going to

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<v Speaker 1>have a different view. They've got fifty three, but they

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<v Speaker 1>really have fifty four. By having the Vice president. The

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<v Speaker 1>House is and has a smaller majority than it had

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<v Speaker 1>in the last Congress.

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<v Speaker 3>They lost seats why everybody else won?

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<v Speaker 1>Plus come January twentieth, they're going to lose two more

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<v Speaker 1>members for a time period. Those two Florida seats won't

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<v Speaker 1>get filled till April first, and then the New York

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<v Speaker 1>seat won't get filled to after that. So you can't

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<v Speaker 1>take that many bites of the apple. And remember for

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<v Speaker 1>your viewers why you're doing reconciliation. It's a special provision

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<v Speaker 1>that allows you, if your party controls the scent in

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<v Speaker 1>the House, to pass in the Senate without sixty votes.

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<v Speaker 1>But you can't write a perfect bill. So this is

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<v Speaker 1>how the Democrats did Obama carrots, how we did tax reform.

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<v Speaker 3>You've got tax reform.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to get done by the end of the year,

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<v Speaker 1>otherwise your taxes all go up.

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<v Speaker 3>So the pressure is on you.

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<v Speaker 1>If you make the bill too big and too beautiful,

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<v Speaker 1>most in history, it collapses upon itself because it's too big.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason why they're looking at two different bills. They

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<v Speaker 1>need money now for the border, but I believe the

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<v Speaker 1>border is a disaster. Declare it a disaster. Pull money

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<v Speaker 1>from the disaster fund. You're going to be putting more

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<v Speaker 1>in for californiawards, and let you do the border right

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<v Speaker 1>now because tax will take a little longer. The other

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<v Speaker 1>problem they have, though, is they made a mistake they

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<v Speaker 1>never finished the funding from last year, and this is

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<v Speaker 1>a disadvantage for Trump. They hurt Trump by making him

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<v Speaker 1>worry about last year's funding now, which is due in March.

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<v Speaker 3>Is that a fault of Speaker Johnson?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know whose fault it is, but they should

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<v Speaker 1>have got the job done okay, and they should have

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<v Speaker 1>done the debt ceiling already.

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<v Speaker 3>So these are two.

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<v Speaker 1>Provisions that the Democrats could use to an advantage and

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<v Speaker 1>slow down your agenda. So the first thing I would do,

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<v Speaker 1>you still have time now finish the funding from last

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<v Speaker 1>year and take care of the debt ceiling, so President

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<v Speaker 1>Trump could have the honeymoon or the agenda he wants

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<v Speaker 1>to start putting forward. Because we're now in they got

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<v Speaker 1>to confirm in the Senate the new cabinet. He's got

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<v Speaker 1>to get his people in line to start working. But

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<v Speaker 1>President Trump knows this job already. He knows he's got

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<v Speaker 1>four years. He's not going to waste one moment. He'll

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<v Speaker 1>do tremendous on the executive orders, but he needs the

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<v Speaker 1>legislative body to catch up to him.

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<v Speaker 2>Who's going to be that moderating voice to make sure

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<v Speaker 2>that it's not too big, so that it doesn't actually collapse.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it's what I love. It's the free market. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a natural that you'll see.

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<v Speaker 3>So you think it's this bond market.

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<v Speaker 2>We've seen yields go up, people start to help. That's

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<v Speaker 2>going to be on the debt financial discipline? Do you

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<v Speaker 2>think the bond market is? Do you have does Congress

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<v Speaker 2>have room to spend as much as Trump's rhetoric is

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<v Speaker 2>talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>Well the problem Trump's just now coming in. It's like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm taking over a company, and remember what the debt

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<v Speaker 1>ceiling is.

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<v Speaker 3>You've got to give him leeway.

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<v Speaker 1>So all it says is paying the debt that the

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<v Speaker 1>last people had spent. But the debt ceiling doesn't solve

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<v Speaker 1>all these problems.

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<v Speaker 3>The market right.

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<v Speaker 2>Now is pricing in his future plans and spending.

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<v Speaker 3>Will that be the moderating We're not counting in Doze? Okay?

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<v Speaker 3>And what I look to doze.

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<v Speaker 1>I think this is good because it gives people the opportunity.

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<v Speaker 1>But the way to handle this, and I tried to

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<v Speaker 1>get Biden to go for this. In nineteen eighty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet Union collapsed, so we need to reform our

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<v Speaker 1>military all designed to fight the Soviet Union. But what

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<v Speaker 1>member was going to raise their hand and said close

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<v Speaker 1>my military base. Nobody, but you need to created a commission.

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<v Speaker 1>But this was the important part.

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<v Speaker 3>You had teeth to it. If they got their work.

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<v Speaker 1>Done, it got to vote in the House and the

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<v Speaker 1>Senate with no amendments and long and beholded pass.

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<v Speaker 3>They need to do something like that for Doge.

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<v Speaker 1>When Doge gets their work done, let them vote in

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<v Speaker 1>the House and the Senate with no amendments, and you'll

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<v Speaker 1>know whether you can get it. I think one of

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<v Speaker 1>our greatest threat is our debt. Okay, but we've got

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<v Speaker 1>to do a lot of things going forward. The debt

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<v Speaker 1>ceiling is not a part of that. You should take

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<v Speaker 1>that out of the way. Let the president be able

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<v Speaker 1>to govern do the job that has to be done.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you feeling that this can potentially be done though

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<v Speaker 2>in April? What Speaker Johnson's talking about all of this spending,

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<v Speaker 2>reconciliation and a disaster.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I think it's hard to say by April first,

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<v Speaker 1>because you haven't put every vote matters. I'd wait to

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<v Speaker 1>the Florida seats because that's two more seats. You can't

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<v Speaker 1>get tax done that fast because remember tax, they're going

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<v Speaker 1>to do something about salt. They're going to do something

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<v Speaker 1>about tax on tips. That costs money, so how are

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<v Speaker 1>you going to pay for it? But you've got to

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<v Speaker 1>start working on the border. So take that money from

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<v Speaker 1>disaster and do the executive orders.

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<v Speaker 3>Get that done.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to do something on energy, but if you

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<v Speaker 1>put the debt ceiling to reconciliation.

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<v Speaker 2>Which is what people are talking about, that won't work.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is why because there are members in the

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<v Speaker 1>Republent Party that will never vote for it, and you

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<v Speaker 1>have no votes to see.

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<v Speaker 2>House Freedom Caucus. Yeah, so you should wins that fight

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<v Speaker 2>Trump or the House Freedom Caucus.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, no, Trump will always win.

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<v Speaker 1>House Freedom Caucus loses from that perspective because the House

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<v Speaker 1>Freedom Caucus is in saying to the American public, your taxes.

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<v Speaker 3>Are going to go up.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know a lot of you've watched in the

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<v Speaker 1>House Freedom Caucus. Their former chairman was anti Trump. They

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<v Speaker 1>have anti Trump people in that caucus and it's unfortunate.

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<v Speaker 3>So nobody can fight here.

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<v Speaker 1>They've got to focus on priorities, but they got to

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<v Speaker 1>focus on the policy. You're not going to get it

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred percent right, but government isn't designed.

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<v Speaker 2>That way right.

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<v Speaker 3>You've got to have combat because you've got to deal

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<v Speaker 3>with the Senate. But you will get this done. It's

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<v Speaker 3>in the sequencing of how you do it. I also

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<v Speaker 3>want to ask you.

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<v Speaker 2>You mentioned California the disaster at the top. How do

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<v Speaker 2>you think Trump is going to deal with when he's

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<v Speaker 2>inaugurated and the incoming tragedy devastating fires that are apocalyptic,

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<v Speaker 2>people not having their homes, not having enough water, not

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<v Speaker 2>having enough firefighters. How is he going to work with

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<v Speaker 2>Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom to solve this new vice.

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<v Speaker 3>There's a third point too.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of these families lost their insurance in the

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<v Speaker 1>last six months because of Gavin Newsom's anability to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with this problem. You know, insurance companies wanted to raise rates,

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<v Speaker 1>They wanted to be able to make sure they can

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<v Speaker 1>afford to insure. When he wouldn't focus on that issue,

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<v Speaker 1>they have left the state. My mother lost her homeowner

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<v Speaker 1>insurance from Geico and she had no claims because California

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<v Speaker 1>was uninsurable and they ignored the problem.

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<v Speaker 3>He gallivanted around.

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<v Speaker 1>You know the saddest part about all of this, We've

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<v Speaker 1>had these fires before I went out to California, with

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<v Speaker 1>then President Trump. November seventeen, two thousand and eighteen. We

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<v Speaker 1>just had Paradise where eighty five people died, and we

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<v Speaker 1>toured that with Gavin Newsom, who had been elected governor

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<v Speaker 1>not sworn in in Jerry Brown, and then we flew.

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<v Speaker 3>Down to Malibu that had a fire as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in the meeting walking these places where President

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<v Speaker 1>Trump is saying, you got to take the fuel away. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to get a fire when there's wind to

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<v Speaker 1>push it, but if it doesn't have fuel, it can't

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<v Speaker 1>keep growing. The other problem too, is had you worked

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<v Speaker 1>on the evacuation ahead of time, instead of these cars

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<v Speaker 1>getting stopped in people, that's what happened in Paradise. What

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<v Speaker 1>about the infrastructure. You can't go to a fire hydrant

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<v Speaker 1>and not have water. And President Trump worked on providing

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<v Speaker 1>the water further and you know who fought him.

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<v Speaker 3>On it, Gavin Newsom.

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<v Speaker 2>But looking ahead, Trump is going to come in and

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<v Speaker 2>want to make sure that California gets the money they need.

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<v Speaker 1>I think you're going to see Trump will be there

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<v Speaker 1>for California. But what Trump's going to do too is

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<v Speaker 1>you can't keep repeating the same mistake. I think you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to see executive orders pretty early about the water Again.

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<v Speaker 1>The President Trump did that lab time. Had Gavin followed through,

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<v Speaker 1>we would have had water. President Trump was very serious

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<v Speaker 1>about making sure taking out that fuel, protecting it, managing

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<v Speaker 1>it so you won't have that.

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<v Speaker 3>You're going to see him double down even harder on this.

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<v Speaker 1>But California, the state, they've got to change their behavior,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think what President Trump will do is put

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<v Speaker 1>the mechanism is where Gavin cannot make this mistake again.

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<v Speaker 2>Since you left Congress, I know you've been focused on AI.

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<v Speaker 2>I want you to want to end on this, but

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<v Speaker 2>you've also become an informal advisor to President LEC.

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<v Speaker 3>Trump.

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<v Speaker 2>You were at mar A Lago just last week. Do

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<v Speaker 2>you see yourself going into government or do you like

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<v Speaker 2>being that call on the outside?

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<v Speaker 3>I serve for a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to utilize the knowledge I have from being

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<v Speaker 1>speaker and everything else, and also on the outside that

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<v Speaker 1>Congress starts looking at the issues in the next fifty

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<v Speaker 1>sixty years. I mean, if Congress is looking back to

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<v Speaker 1>do the funding from last year, we're losing the battle

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<v Speaker 1>for the next century. And I firmly believe whoever captures

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<v Speaker 1>AI and quantum. So these are all the issues I

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<v Speaker 1>worked on while I was Speaker. You know, I went

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<v Speaker 1>to MIT, which teaches a course to all the generals

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<v Speaker 1>in our military, four years ago, having to develop a

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<v Speaker 1>course to teach it to all of our members of Congress.

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<v Speaker 1>The China Select Committee, right, the AI committee. So whoever

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<v Speaker 1>captures AI and quantum has the advantage. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>want to capture AI and quantum, you've got to get

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<v Speaker 1>the energy policy right, otherwise you'll never have a data center.

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<v Speaker 1>So what I'm doing at the Alpha Institute is literally

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<v Speaker 1>just policy showing a roadmap for the policy makers to

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<v Speaker 1>solve those problems.

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<v Speaker 3>Just continue what I did.

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<v Speaker 1>Why I was working there to help the policy makers

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<v Speaker 1>and America succeed and be successful.

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<v Speaker 2>Former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, thank you so

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<v Speaker 2>much for your time