Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg Sound on.
Speaker 1: This is not Ukraine's fault. Rushaw bears ultimate responsibility. I
Speaker 1: believe this is an opportunity for the administration to remove
Speaker 1: what we're already misguided restrictions on US military aid to Ukraine.
Speaker 1: Russia is putting Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure in its guds.
Speaker 1: Floomberg Sound on Politics, Policy and perspective from DC's top name.
Speaker 1: My fellow citizens, America's comeback starts right now, and let's
Speaker 1: off a part of this one. We rise together back
Speaker 1: to the boon and Yon Bloomberg Sound on with Joe
Speaker 1: Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. The US and NATO say it
Speaker 1: was not on purpose, but they're blaming Russia anyway. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the fastest hour in politics. As President Zelenski keeps
Speaker 1: the heat on Vladimir Putin it and Biden considers his options.
Speaker 1: On the way home from the G twenty, we're joined
Speaker 1: ahead by Kurt Vulker, former US Ambassador to NATO, on
Speaker 1: what happens next. Later, leadership battles begin to settle in
Speaker 1: the House and Senate, or are they We'll talk with
Speaker 1: Drew Lippman, former chief of staff for Senator Al Frankin
Speaker 1: the same sex marriage legislation, and Donald Trump makes it official.
Speaker 1: We'll hit all these stories with our panel today, Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Politics contributor, Democratic analyst Jeanie Schanzano, and Lisa Kamuso Miller,
Speaker 1: former communications director for the Republican National Committee. So let's go.
Speaker 1: We start with NATO and the US appeared to be
Speaker 1: on the same page here when it comes to the
Speaker 1: incident in Poland. Twenty four hours later after the headlines
Speaker 1: first broke of the blast. This is Secretary of Defense
Speaker 1: Lloyd Austin briefing reporters today. Our information supports what President
Speaker 1: Dudah said earlier in his parliamentary assessment was that this
Speaker 1: was most likely most likely a result of Ukrainian air
Speaker 1: defense missile. But well at the investigation play out here,
Speaker 1: President Vladimir Zolensky sees it differently. He blames Russia here,
Speaker 1: he says the rocket that caused the explosion in Poland
Speaker 1: came from Russia, and he's asking that Ukraine be part
Speaker 1: of the investigation. It's unclear what happens with that. NATO
Speaker 1: Secretary General again Stoltenberg's suggesting it doesn't matter either way.
Speaker 1: We're blaming Russia here he is, this is not Ukraine's fault.
Speaker 1: Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues it's illegal war
Speaker 1: against Ukraine. So what should be in the response that
Speaker 1: this was the result of a deliberate attack. That's the key,
Speaker 1: And you have no indication that Russia is preparing offensive
Speaker 1: military actions against natal President on his way back from
Speaker 1: the G twenty via Hawaii now has some stuff to
Speaker 1: think about here. He did speak to reporters for a
Speaker 1: while while this was up in the air yesterday, but
Speaker 1: he's got some time before he addresses the public and
Speaker 1: the response. And that's where we start with Kurt Vulker,
Speaker 1: the former US Special Representative for Ukraine negotiations. He knows
Speaker 1: the people as well as the country. The former US
Speaker 1: Ambassador to NATO. Mr Ambassador, thanks for coming back to
Speaker 1: talk to us here. What shall be the responses? It
Speaker 1: a military one? Well, thank you for having me. It's
Speaker 1: great to be with you. I think that the most
Speaker 1: important thing that we heard in all of that clip
Speaker 1: that we just played is that no one believes that
Speaker 1: this was an intentional Russian attack against a NATO ally.
Speaker 1: It could have been a Russian fired missile, It could
Speaker 1: have been a Ukrainian and air defense missile. That needs
Speaker 1: to be investigated. But no one believes this was a
Speaker 1: deliberate attack. So Russia doesn't want to be in a
Speaker 1: war with NATO. NATO doesn't want to be in a
Speaker 1: war with Russia. So we should avoid getting into a
Speaker 1: situation where we wide into a war that nobody wants.
Speaker 1: And I think that's that's where things are today. So
Speaker 1: it seems leaders have succeeded in in in lowering the temperature,
Speaker 1: will say, but there are those who believe Russia should
Speaker 1: be sent a message. None of this would have happened
Speaker 1: if it hadn't been busy bombing dozens of civilian infrastructure
Speaker 1: sites throughout Ukraine. Do you just let it go exactly right? Yes,
Speaker 1: that is exactly right. So first off, there needs to
Speaker 1: be a very strong message of demand that Russia stopped
Speaker 1: the terrorizing the civilians and the bombing campaigns in Ukraine.
Speaker 1: I think we need to hear more of that, including
Speaker 1: from NATO. Um there also needs to be a stepped
Speaker 1: up support for air defenses in Ukraine. That's happening, but
Speaker 1: some missiles and some rockets are still getting through and
Speaker 1: that is knocking out civilian infrastructure. So everybody in Kiev
Speaker 1: now and everybody in most other major cities is going
Speaker 1: through periodic power outages, including heat and including water. So
Speaker 1: paise because of this Russian bombing campaign's completely barbered. I
Speaker 1: think we still have you, Ambassador. I want you to
Speaker 1: hear from General Mark Millie, who spoke to reporters today
Speaker 1: in that briefing UH with Lloyd Austin, speaking of the
Speaker 1: fact that the power is out across a good chunk
Speaker 1: of the country, civilian death surmounting, and we're headed for
Speaker 1: a very cold winter. Listen to how he put it.
Speaker 1: This is Mark Milly. We assess now that over a
Speaker 1: quarter of Ukrainian civilians or without power. The deliberate targeting
Speaker 1: of the civilian power grid, causing excessive collateral damage and
Speaker 1: unnecessary suffering on the civilian population, is a war crime.
Speaker 1: With the onset of winter, families will be without power
Speaker 1: and more importantly without heat. Basic human survival and subsistence
Speaker 1: is going to be severely impacted and human suffering for
Speaker 1: the any population is going to increase. That's the Chairman
Speaker 1: of the Joint Chiefs Human suffering, Ambassador, war crimes. We're
Speaker 1: predicting this all coming more of it for this winter.
Speaker 1: I know that there are rules of the road here
Speaker 1: and we're trying like hell to avoid World War three
Speaker 1: in a direct conflict with Russian forces. But Ambassador, you
Speaker 1: know the people of Ukraine. How do we sit here
Speaker 1: for the next three or four months and watch this happen? Well,
Speaker 1: it is appalling, and as I was saying, I think
Speaker 1: that NATO needs to make a stronger demand of Russia.
Speaker 1: Stop the bombing, stop the terrorizing the civilians. And this
Speaker 1: is barbaric, it is unnecessary. Um, that's one thing. We
Speaker 1: need to be helping Ukraines with air defenses so that
Speaker 1: they shoot down more of these missiles. The ratio is
Speaker 1: getting better between now, but still some are getting through.
Speaker 1: And we also need, uh, you know, I think to
Speaker 1: think creatively about how we can help Ukraine quickly repair
Speaker 1: and store its energy grid, make sure that it is
Speaker 1: able to keep the lights on. Um. Different types of equipment. No,
Speaker 1: we should be turning to Central and East European allies
Speaker 1: that have Soviet era equipment that might quickly go in.
Speaker 1: We might want to think about whether we can provide
Speaker 1: assistance that would quickly flip over some of their systems
Speaker 1: to a Western system where the spare parts are more
Speaker 1: readily available. They're going to need a lot of help
Speaker 1: through this winner. It's going to be a long winner
Speaker 1: for sure. At some point there's going to be a debate,
Speaker 1: it sounds like, on Capitol Hill about funding for Ukraine
Speaker 1: or will there be after this story? Does this? Does
Speaker 1: this end the debate from the progressive left and the
Speaker 1: conservative right that have begun complaining about this. Well, I
Speaker 1: think that the progressive left quickly pulled back their letter.
Speaker 1: They realized that it is not the time to start
Speaker 1: negotiations with Russia, not when Putin is doing what he's
Speaker 1: doing and determined to keep doing it. Um on the right,
Speaker 1: you have some people who are questioning security assistance or
Speaker 1: economic assistance to Ukraine. But I think this is being
Speaker 1: channeled fairly successfully by incoming Speaker McCarthy when he says, look,
Speaker 1: what we want is accountability and transparency, and that is
Speaker 1: a reasonable demand. That's a reasonable thing for congressional oversight,
Speaker 1: and I think it is a very achievable objective as well.
Speaker 1: So rather than saying stop giving aid to Ukraine, I
Speaker 1: don't think that's where the American people are anyway, but
Speaker 1: making sure that the aid that we give is clear, transparent,
Speaker 1: and that we are held accountable for where it goes.
Speaker 1: If Russia is on the ropes here and we keep
Speaker 1: pushing that. The whole idea behind this was to strengthen
Speaker 1: Ukraine's hand at the negotiating table. Ambassador, when do we
Speaker 1: have a serious conversation about that, Is it even possible
Speaker 1: and and could the Minsk Agreements still be a platform
Speaker 1: to negotiate a settlement? Well, I think the Minsk Agreements
Speaker 1: are dead. The Minsk Agreements basically ratify a partial Russian
Speaker 1: to takeover of portions of Ukraine that Russia has now
Speaker 1: gone well beyond. It also called for the removal of
Speaker 1: foreign forces i e. Russian forces, a permanent ceasefire that
Speaker 1: was never put in place. I think this is now
Speaker 1: well beyond. There needs to be something else in terms
Speaker 1: of strengthening Ukraine's hand. I think that's exactly what's happening here.
Speaker 1: Despite what we're talking about with the bombings and taking
Speaker 1: out the electricity grid, Ukraine is actually winning on the ground.
Speaker 1: They have pushed Russian forces out of overt of the
Speaker 1: territory that Russia had conquered earlier in the war, including
Speaker 1: the city of Hairstone, including outside of Hockey, including outside
Speaker 1: of Kiev. So the Ukrainians are actually pushing the Russians
Speaker 1: back and that is going to force the Russians to
Speaker 1: recognize that they're not going to be able to keep
Speaker 1: the gains that they've made, and that will set the
Speaker 1: stage for negotiations. But we're not there yet, because Russia
Speaker 1: is continuing to to fight, to drop these bombs into
Speaker 1: try to lock in the gains that it still has left.
Speaker 1: So they need to see that they're losing first. Is
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin determined then to push this through winter just
Speaker 1: to inflict as much emotional damage as possible? And what
Speaker 1: does that mean for our diplomatic core, ambassador, you know
Speaker 1: what it's like to serve and Kiev this is a
Speaker 1: target zone now, sure, no, it is um You know,
Speaker 1: I was on the line with people in Kiev today,
Speaker 1: people with the National Security Council and and people with
Speaker 1: the media. Everybody is getting on with things. You know,
Speaker 1: the power goes out for several hours, that comes back on.
Speaker 1: People are working from home if they are subject to
Speaker 1: the you know, the air raid, sirens and bombing is
Speaker 1: actively going on. They stay at home, but the population
Speaker 1: is back. People are getting on with life, and they
Speaker 1: are incredibly determined and resilient to protect their country, to
Speaker 1: win the war and make sure that Ukraine survives. They
Speaker 1: don't have any other choice, and so they are remarkably resilient.
Speaker 1: And as a diplomat, you want to be there with them.
Speaker 1: You want to show that they have full support from
Speaker 1: the United States and from the international community in their
Speaker 1: fight to protect themselves and to maintain their independence. Well,
Speaker 1: this is why we should salute all of their service,
Speaker 1: and we thank you for your time. Ambassador Kurt Volker,
Speaker 1: former US Special rep for Ukraine Negotiations, former US Ambassador
Speaker 1: to NATO. As we bring you voices of expertise here,
Speaker 1: like Kurt Volker every night on Bloomberg Sound On, we'll
Speaker 1: assemble our panel next for two more voices. Genie is
Speaker 1: with us Genie Chanzano, Bloomberg Politics contributor, joined tonight by
Speaker 1: Lisa Kamusa Miller, former COMPS director for the Republican National Committee.
Speaker 1: As we bring balance and perspective to the conversation. Following
Speaker 1: a while twenty four hours in Ukraine and in Poland's
Speaker 1: We'll check traffic and markets for you on the way.
Speaker 1: I'm Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: You sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. Is
Speaker 1: he day in the Senate today where Mitch McConnell is
Speaker 1: reelected as the Republican leader. We'll have more on that
Speaker 1: coming up later on this hour as we keep our
Speaker 1: attention on the events overseas and the looming response here,
Speaker 1: presumably by President Joe Biden in the administration. We did
Speaker 1: hear from the Pentagon today, of course, we heard from NATO.
Speaker 1: We heard from the President loosely yesterday as he was
Speaker 1: taking questions outdoors, but he's on his way back from
Speaker 1: the Chief twenty now and they'll be a little bit
Speaker 1: more opportunity for that later on here. With new calls
Speaker 1: from Capitol Hill to loosen the strings on the types
Speaker 1: of material that we are sending to Ukraine, let's assemble
Speaker 1: our panel. Bloomberg Politics contributor Jeanie Schanzano is with US
Speaker 1: Democratic analysts joined today. I'm glad to say by Lisa
Speaker 1: Kamusa Miller, former Khams director for the Republican National Committee.
Speaker 1: Great to have both of you with us here. Jeannie,
Speaker 1: what does Joe Biden uh need to do when he
Speaker 1: steps off the plane here. Surely he's talking with his
Speaker 1: advisors and the best way to manage this, it's still
Speaker 1: not exactly even own for sure what happened in Poland. Well,
Speaker 1: first they need to find out and be clear on
Speaker 1: exactly what happened, and we will get that information. But
Speaker 1: as you hear the administration calling what Russia is engaged
Speaker 1: in a war crime, the President is going to have
Speaker 1: to very clearly tell the American public and more importantly,
Speaker 1: tell Russia and putin what they are going to demand
Speaker 1: in terms of getting Russia to stop this attack on
Speaker 1: innocent civilians that has gone on. And the idea that
Speaker 1: you know, this was not um done purposefully is something
Speaker 1: we keep hearing, and of course that may be the case.
Speaker 1: But what was done purposefully with sending about a hundred
Speaker 1: missiles into Ukraine and destroying people as we get to
Speaker 1: the dead of winter, so that was purposeful. This was
Speaker 1: you know, collateral damage, and that's unacceptable and he's going
Speaker 1: to have to say how we've respond to that, because
Speaker 1: apparently it won't be with Article five? Does that require
Speaker 1: a formal address and the president? Lisa, how does Joe
Speaker 1: Biden do the right thing here? Oh? I think so.
Speaker 1: I think that he probably will address the nation. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure if it will happen before or after, but
Speaker 1: certainly he's very calculated and making, um, you know, thoughtful
Speaker 1: decisions about how we as a U, as the US,
Speaker 1: approach this because obviously, if this does trigger Article five,
Speaker 1: that makes a very big difference for how um we
Speaker 1: proceed is a country and how we provide stability in Europe. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to hear from Rob Portman. This is from
Speaker 1: the Senate floor, Senator Rob Portman, Republican from Ohio, of course,
Speaker 1: and you know, I won't say an ally, but well,
Speaker 1: you know, a friend of of President Biden helped him
Speaker 1: craft the infrastructure deal. He says, it's it's time to
Speaker 1: get on with it and deliver everything that Ukraine is
Speaker 1: asking for. Listen, at the very least, I believe this
Speaker 1: is an opportunity for the administration to remove what we're
Speaker 1: already misguided restrictions on US military aid to Ukraine. He's
Speaker 1: talking about longer range weapons, genie tanks, fighter planes, presumably,
Speaker 1: is this conversation going to continue it is, you know,
Speaker 1: I think one thing that yesterday reminded all of us
Speaker 1: is that we need to get this war done quickly.
Speaker 1: And the fear of right now is that we're going
Speaker 1: into a stalemate, a prolonged war at the heart of winter,
Speaker 1: and so you need to get this over quickly. The
Speaker 1: only way to do this is to pull off the
Speaker 1: band aid and give them what they need to protect themselves.
Speaker 1: We we've been told over and over what they need.
Speaker 1: Now it's got to be delivered. And it's not just
Speaker 1: the United States, it's also our allies, and that is
Speaker 1: a big concern as well. So how do you turn
Speaker 1: up the heat leave So I know you're not a
Speaker 1: military analyst, but even politically, how do you turn up
Speaker 1: the heat on Vladimir Putin so you force him to
Speaker 1: the table or is that just not possible? Oh? I
Speaker 1: don't necessarily know if it's possible to bring him to
Speaker 1: the table, but I do think that and I hoped,
Speaker 1: I hope Joe, that this quiets down a lot of
Speaker 1: that contradictory language that was coming out of Leader McCarthy
Speaker 1: just a couple of weeks ago about how it would
Speaker 1: be more thoughtful and calculated about how how money would
Speaker 1: be sent to Ukraine. I mean, that just doesn't make
Speaker 1: any sense. That is absolutely it's toned up to what's
Speaker 1: happening in um overseas. And and that to me alone
Speaker 1: ought to be a signal to Capitol Hill, both on
Speaker 1: both sides of the House and on both sides of
Speaker 1: the of the building, that that this needs to be addressed,
Speaker 1: and it needs to addressed quickly. And Progressive seemed to
Speaker 1: kind of pull back their their concerns, at least they
Speaker 1: retracted that letter, Lisa. But you know, there's another conversation
Speaker 1: that's happening on Capitol Hill, and that's how to replenish
Speaker 1: our own stockpiles, Lisa. How to Republicans work that into
Speaker 1: the conversation here, because we've sent a lot of our
Speaker 1: own gear, a lot of our own weaponry to Ukraine.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, there's I mean, there's no question about it
Speaker 1: that is something that we absolutely need to consider. But
Speaker 1: we still are, I mean, by exponentially larger and more
Speaker 1: equipped than any other nation on the globe. And so
Speaker 1: I have to believe that with the extraordinary partnerships that
Speaker 1: we have with all of the government contractors that we
Speaker 1: work with. I mean, Joe, I really think that they
Speaker 1: will be working as quickly and as hard as they
Speaker 1: can to make sure that we are well positioned, not
Speaker 1: only here in the homeland, but overseas as well. What
Speaker 1: kind of a conversation is that, like, between the White
Speaker 1: House and progressive Democrats than Jennie. We need more money
Speaker 1: than we thought for military hardware and we don't have
Speaker 1: a blank check, but we are going to be sending
Speaker 1: a lot more money to Ukraine. Well, it's a conversation
Speaker 1: the White House has to have with Progressives, has to
Speaker 1: have with Congress, but more importantly with the American public.
Speaker 1: You know, listen to what we hear from people like
Speaker 1: Warren Davidson from Ohio. He's saying his constituents are telling
Speaker 1: him we feel badly about Ukraine, but we're suffering here too,
Speaker 1: and they use this analogy of putting your own mass
Speaker 1: and oxygen mask on. That's a real fear that Americans have,
Speaker 1: and the President and the Democrats and Republicans have got
Speaker 1: to address that. So it's not just with representatives and senators,
Speaker 1: it's with the American public as well, which is why
Speaker 1: Joe Biden needs to come out and say why this
Speaker 1: isn't our interest because Americans have to write to say
Speaker 1: we've spent billions of dollars. We are suffering here. Our
Speaker 1: border is a mess, crime is up, inflation is up.
Speaker 1: Why are we sending more? He's got to explain that
Speaker 1: there is an explanation. It's the right thing to do,
Speaker 1: but you can't just do it and leave people to
Speaker 1: their own devices to feel that they've been robbed in
Speaker 1: their own country. Well, there's lots of cover. They're certainly Genie,
Speaker 1: thank you and Lisa, thank you. We will continue our
Speaker 1: panel through the course of the hour. Lisa Camuso Miller
Speaker 1: and Jennie Chanzano. I'm gonna put my oxygen mask on
Speaker 1: as we turned back to what's happening in the back
Speaker 1: rooms on Capitol Hill. Fascinating leadership battles in both the
Speaker 1: House and Senate. Neither apparently will change anything. So who
Speaker 1: actually lost here? We'll talk with Drew Lippman coming up
Speaker 1: on the fastest hour in politics, Sancho Matthew, this is
Speaker 1: Bloomberg so interesting here. I have started to sound like
Speaker 1: a broken record, but I'm just trying to keep track
Speaker 1: of what's going on. Okay, it's been a week. It
Speaker 1: has now been one week since Kevin McCarthy declared victory
Speaker 1: in the House. And as I'm watching Donald Trump last
Speaker 1: night at mar Lago, well, I thought maybe the whole
Speaker 1: thing had just come together. Listen, exactly one week ago,
Speaker 1: our citizens voted in the important mid term elections, and
Speaker 1: despite a ridiculously long and unnecessary period of waiting, far
Speaker 1: longer in fact than any third world country, just a
Speaker 1: short time ago, the Republicans one back control of the
Speaker 1: House of Representatives. Well, is that right? I'm thinking, Man,
Speaker 1: how did I miss? Like terminals not working? No, it
Speaker 1: hadn't been called. Now it could be. Of course, he
Speaker 1: even named the lawmaker resists that, Kevin. I tell you,
Speaker 1: Kevin Kylie, by God, glad that he was the guy
Speaker 1: to put us over the top. But of course the
Speaker 1: House has not been called. Republicans are one seat away
Speaker 1: here to seventeen for the GOP. I mean, it's clear
Speaker 1: how this story ends, but we've got to wait a
Speaker 1: long time for votes to be tallied. In California. This
Speaker 1: is basically why there's been so much upheaval in the
Speaker 1: leadership battles. There might have been a challenge either way.
Speaker 1: But as you remember Andy Biggs challenge Kevin McCarthy for
Speaker 1: his leadership post in the House, it didn't work out
Speaker 1: well for Andy Biggs. Kevin McCarthy lives to see another day.
Speaker 1: But there was quite a revolt led by lawmakers like
Speaker 1: Matt Gates, the congressman from Florida, who was kind of
Speaker 1: dealing with this openly with reporters in the corridors of
Speaker 1: the Capitol. Here he is, well, I think that the
Speaker 1: conference is going to go through some soul searching, and
Speaker 1: you know, we're we got to go through the stages
Speaker 1: of grief here a little bit. There's some still in
Speaker 1: denial believing that votes can get someone to be speaker,
Speaker 1: and so once we moved through through that, I think
Speaker 1: ultimately we'll work our way to acceptance for someone who
Speaker 1: has brought support throughout the conference and can unitas. But
Speaker 1: no one has come forward otherwise. And his colleague from Georgia,
Speaker 1: Marjorie Taylor Green, is with Kevin McCarthy. She says, there's
Speaker 1: no time to be bickering about this. Now. We have
Speaker 1: a very slim majority, and so this is why it's
Speaker 1: so important for us to stay unified and get behind
Speaker 1: him as our speaker, because we cannot open the door
Speaker 1: to the Democrats peeling off several of our Republicans and
Speaker 1: and working together to choose a speaker that they would control.
Speaker 1: We have to have the gavel. Drew Lippman is policy
Speaker 1: director at Brownstein Hyatt, Farber Shrek and former chief of
Speaker 1: staff for Senator Al Frank And he has spent a
Speaker 1: lot of times in the corridors of power on Capitol Hill.
Speaker 1: Don't you miss all this, Drew? Oh heck yeah. Actually
Speaker 1: this is super interesting to people like me. It's like,
Speaker 1: um baseball Pennant race sort of stuff. But everybody knows
Speaker 1: how this series is gonna end, right, It's gonna be
Speaker 1: miss McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, it is. And the McConnell's
Speaker 1: stuff is straightforward. You know, in the Senate, to be
Speaker 1: elected majority leader, you just need a majority of your
Speaker 1: own caucus. It's not a Senate position, it's really a
Speaker 1: caucus position from McCarthy. To be elected Speaker of the House,
Speaker 1: that's different. He has to be elected by the whole House.
Speaker 1: Now what he has one so far as not the speakership.
Speaker 1: It's the Republican nomination to be Speaker, and that's why
Speaker 1: the fact that he lost thirty one votes is significant
Speaker 1: because if he's a Democratic votes for him, he's jammed up.
Speaker 1: Of course, he's eventually going to go elected speaker. Is
Speaker 1: no one running against him. But you could see how
Speaker 1: the Republican uh if you want to call him, dissidents
Speaker 1: or outliers, can make his life hard for a little while. Yea,
Speaker 1: So this is an exercise in embarrassing Kevin McCarthy a
Speaker 1: little bit. That's perfectly accurate, and Matt Gates will be
Speaker 1: laughing all the way. I guess to the bank here.
Speaker 1: But what about Marjorie Taylor Green? Is it because she
Speaker 1: was invited to the big Commitment to America speech, she
Speaker 1: vying for some certain committee. What's in it for her? Well,
Speaker 1: what's in it for her, she believes, is a seat
Speaker 1: on the House Oversight Committee, which is probably going to
Speaker 1: be the most visible committee Republican controlled House, divided government.
Speaker 1: No ledgis lation really going on, but there's going to
Speaker 1: be a lot of aggressive oversight. Some of it might
Speaker 1: be quite ridiculous, but it's going to be aggressive. They're
Speaker 1: going to be on TV a lot, They'll dominate Fox
Speaker 1: News they're gonna have a lot of hostile witnesses to question,
Speaker 1: and you can see why Marjorie Taylor Green is salivating
Speaker 1: for the opportunity live at the improv Well, so, okay,
Speaker 1: let's shine the light on you here and your party drew.
Speaker 1: A lot of people want to know what Nancy Pelosi
Speaker 1: is gonna do if this does end up being a
Speaker 1: House majority for Republicans. However, slim does she call it quits?
Speaker 1: I don't know, And as of today, people close to
Speaker 1: her still don't know. Every Democrat. That is incredible to
Speaker 1: me that nobody can see inside this deliberation. Well, I
Speaker 1: started on the hill with Barbara Boxer. She and Pelosi
Speaker 1: represented adjacent house districts. So I was around Pelosi quite
Speaker 1: a bit, and that's going back more than thirty years.
Speaker 1: I've been around there plenty of times since. Really nobody knows,
Speaker 1: and and that's probably because she's Pelosi. She doesn't have
Speaker 1: to tell you in advance, because if she wants to
Speaker 1: be the leader, she'll be the leader. She just has
Speaker 1: to decide. It's not like she has to muster votes
Speaker 1: or muster resources or get you know, big shots from
Speaker 1: the outside. She doesn't have to get Barack Obama to
Speaker 1: call somebody to ask for their vote. She can make
Speaker 1: a decision at the very last minute if she wants to.
Speaker 1: So is this gonna be a good year for Hakim Jeffreys?
Speaker 1: I think probably, Yes, there's a good year coming for
Speaker 1: Hakim Jeffreys. I think it's probably this year. Part of
Speaker 1: what's interesting, though, is it's not just Pelosi. You have
Speaker 1: Steenny Hoyer, you know, immediately below her in the leadership,
Speaker 1: and James cliburn below Yer. Now, the average age of
Speaker 1: those three leaders Felosi, Woyer and Cliburne has got eighty
Speaker 1: one years. So so one of the big questions is,
Speaker 1: and this is when I get asked a lot, if
Speaker 1: one goes, if FELOISI goes today, all go? Or is
Speaker 1: it just Pelosi? That's the an open question for Democrats. Well, fascinating, Drew,
Speaker 1: Thank you. I love talking this out with you. Drew
Speaker 1: Litton is policy director, Brownstein Hyatt former chief chief of staff.
Speaker 1: Easy for me to say. For Senator Al Franken, same
Speaker 1: sex marriage legislation moves forward in the Senate, an important
Speaker 1: vote today. It's far from over, but still alive. And
Speaker 1: we'll reassemble our panel with more on that coming up.
Speaker 1: I'm Joe Matthew in Washington. The fastest Hour in Politics continues.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg, So long with Joe
Speaker 1: Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. On this vote, the yeas are
Speaker 1: sixty two, the nays are thirty seven. Three of the
Speaker 1: senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative.
Speaker 1: The motion has agreed to, and there it is. Same
Speaker 1: sex marriage advances in the Senate. Senator John Hick and
Speaker 1: Looper presiding as the vote count came in today. This
Speaker 1: is not the end. This is a procede, real step,
Speaker 1: but it's a necessary one on the way to passage.
Speaker 1: Here sixty two thirty seven. What do you think? We
Speaker 1: reassemble the panel here. This is one of the things
Speaker 1: that Democrats said they would try to do in the
Speaker 1: lame duck, and here we go. Jennie Schanzano was with
Speaker 1: US Democrat analyst and Bloomberg Politics contributor, joined today by
Speaker 1: Lisa Kamuso Miller, former comms director at the r n C.
Speaker 1: They are our panel. What do you think about this one? Lisa?
Speaker 1: For Republicans, it's obviously something that not all Republicans support,
Speaker 1: but are there enough there with Mitt Romney, for instance,
Speaker 1: on board to make a difference. Absolutely, Joe. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think the outcome of the election, my estimation is
Speaker 1: that people were saying that they're tired of this kind
Speaker 1: of rhetoric to back and forth. I mean, look, this
Speaker 1: bill is is is to preemptively, uh stop the backslide
Speaker 1: of same sex sex marriage if the Supreme Court were
Speaker 1: to make a ruling that we're to be in some
Speaker 1: way in contrast with that. So, yes, I do I
Speaker 1: think that the party itself has come a long way.
Speaker 1: I don't think that this this would even have been
Speaker 1: something that would have come up as early as so
Speaker 1: we're seeing progress. Yes, it's slow, but it is progress,
Speaker 1: and we're seeing Republicans come over to the right side
Speaker 1: of this. Of this decision, you need the Respect for
Speaker 1: Marriage Act caught afy federal recognition of same sex and
Speaker 1: interracial marriages. We should note twelve Republicans voted with all
Speaker 1: Democrats on this. This never would have happened without the
Speaker 1: Roe v. Wade ruling, right, it wouldn't because in his
Speaker 1: concurring opinion, UH, Clarence Thomas said the President underpinning same
Speaker 1: sex marriage should be quote reconsidered, and that, of course,
Speaker 1: as Lisa was just saying, is what sparked this concern
Speaker 1: and led to the passage of this in the House
Speaker 1: and moving it to the Senate. And I think it's
Speaker 1: truly a remarkable moment because you do have some Republicans
Speaker 1: in the Senate who are concerned about the issue of
Speaker 1: liberty and the religious liberty protections, and the Democrats did
Speaker 1: massage the bill to address their concerns. And the hope
Speaker 1: is that that was enough that they move even beyond
Speaker 1: the vote today, as important as it was to passage,
Speaker 1: and it gets to Joe Biden's desk, it would be
Speaker 1: a momentous time. As the Court has suggested, not Clarence Thomas,
Speaker 1: but otherwise do this work in the legislature, and that's
Speaker 1: where they should do it. Congress has not done this
Speaker 1: kind of work for a long time, leaving these rights vulnerable,
Speaker 1: and they're doing it now well as we pick up
Speaker 1: the pieces here from the mid term election cycle, and
Speaker 1: you know, all of this is informed, to Genie's point,
Speaker 1: by by what voters told us a week ago tonight,
Speaker 1: and it was last night at Marl Lago that Donald
Speaker 1: Trump stood at the podium, of course, announcing that he
Speaker 1: was officially running for president, and said, hey, you know
Speaker 1: you won the House. What's the big deal? Listen? I
Speaker 1: told them, I said, if you just keep a little
Speaker 1: bit lower standard, you're gonna have a big victory. They said,
Speaker 1: let's win by forty seats. Let's win by fifth. I said,
Speaker 1: if you win by two seats, be happy. But she's
Speaker 1: on her way to another country right now. She's been
Speaker 1: fired talking about Nancy Pelosi. But of course, Lisa, uh,
Speaker 1: does he have a point? You know, when you start
Speaker 1: talking about winning fifties sixty seats, you know, some people
Speaker 1: just look at this as a win or lose game.
Speaker 1: If if you're in terms of messaging the success of
Speaker 1: the party, I don't know. Is Donald Trump telling you
Speaker 1: to lower your standards or be more realistic? I don't know.
Speaker 1: But Joe I just have to laugh about all of that.
Speaker 1: I mean, Donald Trump is not a political mind. He
Speaker 1: is not somebody that understands what the map was going
Speaker 1: to look like. I mean, look, history absolutely positively showed
Speaker 1: that Republicans were going to pick up a lot of seats. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: it was this this dissonance, the distracted messaging that was
Speaker 1: coming out of these candidates that were hand chosen by
Speaker 1: Donald Trump, that caused that distraction, that caused voters to
Speaker 1: go to the polls and deny that many seats to
Speaker 1: be won by Republicans. And so I think he's trying
Speaker 1: to save faith in those in those remarks from last night.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what you watch the speech. I'm sure
Speaker 1: Jeanie uh is that the best news is that what
Speaker 1: you're gonna tell me that Democrats could have going into
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew, I was watching a very good movie that
Speaker 1: I turned off to put this on because in my
Speaker 1: duty to you, I felt that I needed to. And
Speaker 1: it was a painful hour, as Lisa's Lisa's chuckle indicates.
Speaker 1: And I want to know if both you and Lisa
Speaker 1: can say, what is it? Magaga make America great and
Speaker 1: glorious again? It's a top twister there. Yeah, that's the
Speaker 1: that's the new slogan that I learned. And yes, this
Speaker 1: is a good moment for Democrats, but it's not a
Speaker 1: good moment for the American people for democracy and certainly
Speaker 1: not for the Republican Party. And one thing I am
Speaker 1: curious to see does the party going forward try to
Speaker 1: take steps like the Democrats did as they started to
Speaker 1: lose in the nineteen seventies to ensure that the party
Speaker 1: faithful and the elites and the party have more control
Speaker 1: than the base, because that things like super delegates is
Speaker 1: what will erupt out of this kind of takeover of
Speaker 1: the party they've been experiencing since, which has cost them
Speaker 1: so much power in Washington. Lisa, if you're Glenn Uncan
Speaker 1: or Rhonda Santist, do you have any reason to hurry
Speaker 1: an announce or or quite the opposite, you wait as
Speaker 1: long as you can before you jump in. Well, I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody's in a rush to announce. I think
Speaker 1: Donald Trump probably had his own reasons for doing that.
Speaker 1: But look, I think this is a cautionary tale, Joe.
Speaker 1: I mean, we counted Donald Trump out in UH nights
Speaker 1: that he was paying people to sit in the audience
Speaker 1: to make it appear that he had supporters, when in
Speaker 1: fact they were not. They were paid UH seat fillers.
Speaker 1: This is the time when we need to be very
Speaker 1: very cautious. I'm with Janie. I am waiting to see
Speaker 1: I'm actually waiting to see more Republicans come out and
Speaker 1: speak against and speak towards the future rather than going
Speaker 1: backwards with Donald Trump as a candidate for twenty four
Speaker 1: I'm very very much interested to see if we can
Speaker 1: get away from him. But I also think that we
Speaker 1: need to watch closely because we have counted him out
Speaker 1: before and he became the president. Sure, and you know,
Speaker 1: a divided primary can make weird things happen. It's how
Speaker 1: you win with But there's one that slipped through last night.
Speaker 1: I felt like, uh, and I had certainly caught my attention,
Speaker 1: maybe you two, Genie as you were popping your popcorn.
Speaker 1: But the President did refer to not with the whole
Speaker 1: stop the steel movement, but he added a new actor. Listen.
Speaker 1: No president had ever saw it or received one dollar
Speaker 1: for our country from China until I came along, and
Speaker 1: we were getting hundreds of billions of dollars. Many people
Speaker 1: think that because of this, China played a very active
Speaker 1: role in the election. Just saying just saying, really, sure
Speaker 1: that didn't happen. Really, China, Lisa, have you ever heard listen?
Speaker 1: I realized that you were a very sensible, uh, political operative,
Speaker 1: but if you heard this knocked around in any corners
Speaker 1: of the Internet that the China medal in the election. No,
Speaker 1: I have not. I mean, Joe, I, this is just
Speaker 1: another one of those threads that Donald Trump pulls in
Speaker 1: order to get his supporters to come uh and and
Speaker 1: align with him. But but really, but what's unfortunate is
Speaker 1: that there's no one to call him on it. There's
Speaker 1: no one that calls nonsense when he says these kinds
Speaker 1: of things. I mean, this just causes more dissonance in
Speaker 1: the globe. No, there is no nothing, nothing in in
Speaker 1: what I have seen or heard that indicates that at
Speaker 1: all this is a Donald Trump fabrication. Once again, I'm
Speaker 1: assuming this goes nowhere, Jennie. Maybe the point is that
Speaker 1: the fact that it wasn't picked up by any major
Speaker 1: news agency says everything you need to know. It does.
Speaker 1: And you know, we haven't even talked about it yet,
Speaker 1: but I think it was very telling. Obviously, The New
Speaker 1: York Post has been on on Donald Trump for a
Speaker 1: few days now, but the fact that they said floor
Speaker 1: a man makes an announcement and then you had to
Speaker 1: see page twenty six. I love um aclass the bottom
Speaker 1: of the front page. Yeah, and you know, in all seriousness,
Speaker 1: it's a great it's a great title. But in all seriousness,
Speaker 1: I think one thing to watch for is how much
Speaker 1: media coverage Trump gets, because let's not forget it was
Speaker 1: the free media coverage he gets. He spent a lot
Speaker 1: less than than Hillary Clinton. It was the free media
Speaker 1: coverage that he's counted on. And of course you see
Speaker 1: everybody from Rupert Murdoch to the New York Post to
Speaker 1: a lot of elites in the Republican Party. The question
Speaker 1: is going to be that thirty percent you're talking about,
Speaker 1: and if there is a crowded primary, it's easier for
Speaker 1: him to win, which is why I'm not sure why
Speaker 1: he wants to knock everyone else out early. He should
Speaker 1: be hoping everyone comes in because then he has a
Speaker 1: chance of winning this thing. In a head to head
Speaker 1: it's gonna be harder. Oh gosh, maybe he won't. I
Speaker 1: don't know. I'm very confused about that whole idea. Something
Speaker 1: something part of me. Lisa feels like he just likes
Speaker 1: the fight, to be honest with you, and looks forward
Speaker 1: to the a debate stage because he's got to be
Speaker 1: missing it. Lisa camu similar, thank you, Jeanie Chanzano, thank
Speaker 1: you both for being with us and a great panel,
Speaker 1: and it finally happened, likely while you were sleeping. Of course,
Speaker 1: this thing gets off the path in the middle of
Speaker 1: the night. We're heading back to the Moon, the Orion
Speaker 1: spacecraft feeding towards lunar orbit as we speak, after a
Speaker 1: beautiful nighttime launch, an unmanned mission that will set the stage.
Speaker 1: Here we go. Listen, we rise together back to the
Speaker 1: moon and beyond what we saw tonight. It's an a
Speaker 1: plush like it looked like the sun was rising. Let
Speaker 1: me take you on a little trip Basonic ship such
Speaker 1: you're disposed and if you'll be so, what an amazing
Speaker 1: day and what an amazing n I'm telling you we've
Speaker 1: never seen such a tale of flame on the travel
Speaker 1: faster than night. So do have your obicle dight and
Speaker 1: we go anyway you want to decide. Today we got
Speaker 1: to witness the world's most powerful rocket take the Earth
Speaker 1: by sedges and shake the wicked Eyman rocket and it
Speaker 1: was quite a sight. It's quite a safe thanks to
Speaker 1: our panel, to Ambassador Kurt Vulcar and to Drew Lippman.
Speaker 1: On the fastest hour in politics. I'll meet you back
Speaker 1: here tomorrow from Washington. I'm Joe Matthew, This is bloombird,