Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Trump eyes China’s Port Monopoly plus the Republican Reconciliation Revolution

Transcript

Trump eyes China’s Port Monopoly plus the Republican Reconciliation Revolution · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: There's two stories I need to get on your radar
0:01
Speaker 1: screen real quick, and one of them actually is coming
0:04
Speaker 1: out of Athens, Greece. The Strait of Hormus in the
0:07
Speaker 1: Middle East is hardly the only waterway on President Donald
0:11
Speaker 1: Trump's mind at the moment. While Trump and the international
0:16
Speaker 1: media may be talking about the Straight of Hormoves non stop,
0:19
Speaker 1: the broader question about other sea lanes and shipping waterways
0:24
Speaker 1: have very much dominated the geopolitical discussions worldwide upon Trump's
0:29
Speaker 1: return to the White House and have been at the
0:31
Speaker 1: center of actual tensions between the US and China, and
0:35
Speaker 1: that is set for a worldwide primetime showdown when President
0:40
Speaker 1: Trump visits Beijing in May. A top Greek government official
0:46
Speaker 1: is now talking about this on how Trump and his
0:50
Speaker 1: envoy to the Hellenic Republic have out maneuvered the Chinese
0:55
Speaker 1: president Ggping in the East Mediterranean by building its own
1:01
Speaker 1: US funded port after a Chinese Communist Party connected company
1:05
Speaker 1: took over a Greek port during Trump's first term. You
1:09
Speaker 1: notice the media has not been covering this story at all. Now,
1:13
Speaker 1: the current Minister of Health of Greece, who also serves
1:17
Speaker 1: as the vice president of the governing party New Democracy,
1:22
Speaker 1: set down with Breitbart for a lengthy interview in February.
1:27
Speaker 1: They actually traveled to Athens for this event with the
1:30
Speaker 1: US Ambassador to Grease. You may know her as Don
1:33
Speaker 1: Junior's ex girlfriend former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Gilfoyle
1:39
Speaker 1: sat for lengthy interview on stage at an event in Athens,
1:43
Speaker 1: and she hosted Greek business people as well in mid February. Now,
1:48
Speaker 1: back in nineteen in Trump's first term in the White House,
1:51
Speaker 1: they talked about this being a real problem and the
1:55
Speaker 1: fact that China was well building these ports and that
1:59
Speaker 1: was putting America in a very bad spot. This company
2:03
Speaker 1: that they claimed was doing at the time was called Costco.
2:07
Speaker 2: Not like the store Cosco.
2:10
Speaker 1: It had already bought up many of the different areas
2:12
Speaker 1: they needed, including bring in the board members. And then
2:16
Speaker 1: the ambassador said, they came to office and they told
2:19
Speaker 1: me they wanted to buy another shipyard. They explained, it's
2:23
Speaker 1: a Chinese state company. It's not a private company. Costco again,
2:29
Speaker 1: this Chinese company belongs literally to the Chinese government. The
2:36
Speaker 1: very same company, is what it's worth. The Spring called
2:41
Speaker 1: off operations in Panama over the Panamanian government's move to
2:45
Speaker 1: strip Chinese companies of the operations of the port on
2:49
Speaker 1: both ends of the Panama Canal. That was a move
2:53
Speaker 1: that was viewed as retaliation against the Panamanians. After the
2:57
Speaker 1: Trump administration held the move and Western companies set to
3:00
Speaker 1: handle the ports until a competitive bid process plays out.
3:04
Speaker 1: In other words, China doesn't have their monopoly there anymore.
3:08
Speaker 1: Secretary of State Marco Rubio also praised the move by
3:11
Speaker 1: the Panama Supreme Court and Costco's move is not the
3:16
Speaker 1: only retaliation China has unleashed on Panama. The country is also,
3:21
Speaker 1: according to sources who revealed this in March, threatened to
3:25
Speaker 1: detain Panama flag vessels at Chinese ports.
3:28
Speaker 2: This is not a joke.
3:29
Speaker 1: Now, all of this is happening, and the President seems
3:33
Speaker 1: to understand just how important it is to our foreign
3:36
Speaker 1: policy to make sure that China is not able to
3:40
Speaker 1: just own these ports and to force America out or
3:44
Speaker 1: control the water weights. Definitely, that was part of their
3:47
Speaker 1: plan in the Panama Canal. Now this also brings us
3:51
Speaker 1: back to the other issue in Iran and the straight
3:53
Speaker 1: up horn moves. I want to take a quick moment
3:55
Speaker 1: and talk to you about an incredible organization and it
3:58
Speaker 1: is called Compassion International, and how you can get involved.
4:03
Speaker 1: I want to be honest with you for a second
4:05
Speaker 1: about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple
4:08
Speaker 1: of years ago, I made the choice to partner with
4:12
Speaker 1: an amazing organization called Compassion International. Why because I wanted
4:17
Speaker 1: to sponsor a child in need. It was a nice idea, sure,
4:21
Speaker 1: but I had no idea just how much that simple
4:24
Speaker 1: act would change my life as well. I sponsored Nadia
4:28
Speaker 1: and got to watch your life change right in front
4:31
Speaker 1: of my eyes, going from starving literally alone on the streets,
4:36
Speaker 1: to getting the healthcare and education she needs to reach
4:39
Speaker 1: her God given full potential. I got to be a
4:43
Speaker 1: part of that change, and the light of that compassion
4:46
Speaker 1: not only illuminates in her, it illuminates now in me.
4:50
Speaker 1: That is the power of compassion. The light of Christ
4:54
Speaker 1: shines on all of us. Feel it for yourself and
4:58
Speaker 1: change literally a child life, change the world, and you
5:02
Speaker 1: also change yourself. You can sponsor child today. Visit compassion
5:07
Speaker 1: dot com. That's Compassion dot com. JD Vans coming out
5:13
Speaker 1: saying this about the Iranians and warning that we will
5:17
Speaker 1: not allow it to happen.
5:18
Speaker 3: We have the leverage and we're going to see what
5:20
Speaker 3: the Iranians do with that.
5:22
Speaker 2: And so that's how the blockade works.
5:24
Speaker 4: US naval ships stop Iranian flagged vessels going to the
5:28
Speaker 4: straight through the Strait of removes.
5:30
Speaker 3: Not just Iranian flagged vessels, Brett, but any vessel that
5:33
Speaker 3: we know is going to Iranian ports or has come
5:35
Speaker 3: from Iranian ports. You're probably going to see some vessels
5:38
Speaker 3: try to reflag themselves, but of course we're going to
5:41
Speaker 3: know because we have very good intelligence which ships are
5:44
Speaker 3: going in and which ships are coming out that are
5:46
Speaker 3: connected to Iran But Brett, here's here's the very interesting
5:49
Speaker 3: thing about all this is that the only thing the
5:52
Speaker 3: Iranians have been able to do. They haven't, of course
5:54
Speaker 3: beaten US militarily, they've had their military been decimated, they
5:57
Speaker 3: haven't been able to prosecute the case when it comes
6:01
Speaker 3: to weapons of war. What they have done is engage
6:04
Speaker 3: in this active economic terrorism against the entire world. They
6:07
Speaker 3: basically threatened any ship that's moving through the Straits of Hormuz.
6:11
Speaker 2: Well, as the President of the.
6:11
Speaker 3: United States showed, two can play at that game. And
6:13
Speaker 3: if the Iranians are going to try to engage in
6:15
Speaker 3: economic terrorism, We're going to abide by a simple principle
6:19
Speaker 3: that no Iranian ships are getting out either. We know
6:22
Speaker 3: that's a big deal to them. We know that applies
6:24
Speaker 3: additional economic leverage. And again Brett, the President wants the
6:28
Speaker 3: Iranian people to thrive and succeed. He has had his
6:31
Speaker 3: negotiation team put on the table a serious proposal the
6:36
Speaker 3: balls in Iran's court. Did we make progress, Yes, but
6:39
Speaker 3: we're going to find out from the Iranians whether we
6:40
Speaker 3: can make that ultimate bit of progress that gets us
6:43
Speaker 3: to a big deal.
6:44
Speaker 1: Now, the words that we're used there by the Vice
6:46
Speaker 1: President are very clear that this is becoming a trend
6:50
Speaker 1: active economic terrorism. It is designed by Iran to choke
6:55
Speaker 1: off energy supplies and these stabilize global markets. And at
6:59
Speaker 1: the center of the crisis is, yes, the straight offour moves.
7:03
Speaker 1: It's that waterway that the President said is controlling about
7:07
Speaker 1: twenty percent of the world's oil supply. That is what
7:10
Speaker 1: passes through there. And right now that choke hold has
7:14
Speaker 1: become ground zero. Iran obviously has threatened the shipping routes.
7:18
Speaker 1: Oil prices have searched past one hundred of barrel. The
7:22
Speaker 1: global markets are trying to figure out what to do
7:25
Speaker 1: in real time, and Vance's message is now actually really simple.
7:30
Speaker 1: This isn't just about the Middle East. This is about
7:33
Speaker 1: the global economy being held hostage.
7:36
Speaker 2: Now.
7:36
Speaker 1: That also goes back to the President and what he
7:39
Speaker 1: said today. There has to be a maximum pressure campaign
7:44
Speaker 1: and that is where the story turns and where the
7:46
Speaker 1: Trump administration is framing this as a moment of strength.
7:49
Speaker 1: President Trump has made it clear I'm going to take
7:52
Speaker 1: decisive action.
7:53
Speaker 2: Number one.
7:55
Speaker 1: This US naval blockade targeting Iranian ports is now literally underway.
8:00
Speaker 1: The US forces are actively securing key shipping lanes, and
8:05
Speaker 1: the administration is demanding that Iran reopened the straight offour
8:08
Speaker 1: moves and the biggest demand is that Iran hald its
8:13
Speaker 1: nuclear ambitions.
8:15
Speaker 2: Now.
8:15
Speaker 1: All of this, according to Vance, is the pressure campaign
8:19
Speaker 1: and its producing results. He said the US had made
8:22
Speaker 1: a lot of progress in the talks and that the
8:24
Speaker 1: next move is now on Iran. There are also, at
8:28
Speaker 1: this hour signs of movement behind the scenes. There are
8:32
Speaker 1: signs that the strategy is working. US officials now say
8:37
Speaker 1: Iran is under intense economic and military pressure. There are
8:41
Speaker 1: reports of renewed outreach and discussions with the US, and
8:45
Speaker 1: even after the talk stalled, the US gained valuable intelligence
8:50
Speaker 1: on Iran's negotiating position as well. President Trump has also
8:54
Speaker 1: suggested that Iran is feeling the pressure and maybe looking
8:58
Speaker 1: to make a deal that would be a major turning point.
9:02
Speaker 1: This is what the administration is now calling a two
9:05
Speaker 1: track strategy. As I talked to many at the White House,
9:09
Speaker 1: they described it this way. Number one, force economic pressure,
9:14
Speaker 1: then sanctions, naval power, and number two the negotiations, giving
9:20
Speaker 1: Ran a path to rejoining the global economy. Vance has
9:25
Speaker 1: framed it clearly now with these new talking points, Iran
9:29
Speaker 1: has literally only two choices. Rejoin the world and abandon terrorism,
9:35
Speaker 1: or you face the escalating economic isolation. And that is
9:40
Speaker 1: really what is at stake here. This moment is about
9:43
Speaker 1: more than politics. It's about global energy markets, supply chains,
9:49
Speaker 1: and the risk of a broader regional conflict, a regional war.
9:54
Speaker 1: The stakes are massive. But what the present seems to
9:58
Speaker 1: be doing each and every day. Vice President obviously making
10:01
Speaker 1: this clear what they believe is they have isolated Iran
10:06
Speaker 1: to the point where they're going to have to come
10:08
Speaker 1: back to the table and give up their nuclear program.
10:13
Speaker 1: If that happens, It's not just a win for the
10:15
Speaker 1: United States of America. It's a win for national security worldwide.
10:20
Speaker 4: Now.
10:21
Speaker 1: The President also sang at the White House that America
10:24
Speaker 1: is not going to negotiate with terrorists if it's coming
10:28
Speaker 1: down to the issue of nuclear weapons. The President believes
10:32
Speaker 1: that this maximum pressure campaign will deliver what he has
10:36
Speaker 1: said it was a mandate from the very beginning. Iran
10:40
Speaker 1: obviously is trying to see just how much they can
10:43
Speaker 1: push the envelope. So far, it's been a disaster for
10:46
Speaker 1: them and has cost countless leaders of Iran their lives.
10:50
Speaker 1: The President also making it clear he's not afraid of
10:55
Speaker 1: taking out even more Iranian leadership if he needs to.
11:00
Speaker 2: Finally something to cheer about. Coming out of Washington, d C.
11:04
Speaker 1: In the Senate, a major development is happening as we speak,
11:08
Speaker 1: and it'll be a big win for border security, and
11:11
Speaker 1: it's coming straight from the Republicans, the Senate Majority Leader
11:16
Speaker 1: John Thune making it clear funding for border enforcement is
11:21
Speaker 1: not just a priority, it's going to happen. And importantly,
11:25
Speaker 1: he says Republicans are prepared to get it done with
11:29
Speaker 1: or without Democrats support.
11:32
Speaker 5: So the budget resolution Senator Graham is preparing, we will
11:36
Speaker 5: have on the floor, hopefully as early as next week,
11:39
Speaker 5: will provide multiple years of funding for these agencies, and
11:42
Speaker 5: a reconciliation bill which will follow shortly after we'll ensure
11:46
Speaker 5: that that job gets done. So that's where we are
11:49
Speaker 5: in the process. But we're going to move quickly, decisively,
11:53
Speaker 5: and hopefully in a very focused way on ensuring that
11:57
Speaker 5: those important law enforcement agencies, contrary to the Democrats' defund
12:02
Speaker 5: law enforcement efforts, are funded not only today but well
12:05
Speaker 5: into the future.
12:07
Speaker 1: Now, the key part here that you need to understand
12:09
Speaker 1: is the planning aspect of this. Using a powerful legislative
12:13
Speaker 1: tool called budget reconciliation. That is the only way that
12:17
Speaker 1: this will actually happen. Now, let me make it even
12:20
Speaker 1: more clear for you so that you understand why this
12:23
Speaker 1: is being celebrated by me and many others that have
12:26
Speaker 1: been demanding stronger border enforcement in Washington. Most major legislation
12:33
Speaker 1: requires sixty votes in the Senate to.
12:35
Speaker 2: Move it forward.
12:36
Speaker 1: That means you typically need what bipartisan support. Well, right now,
12:40
Speaker 1: the Democrats are so out of their mind you're never
12:42
Speaker 1: going to get that. But reconciliation, well, that is the
12:46
Speaker 1: game changer. Because reconciliation it allows certain budget related bills
12:54
Speaker 1: to pass with just a simple majority, meaning fifty one votes.
12:58
Speaker 1: So instead of needing Democrats to sign on, Republicans are
13:02
Speaker 1: now saying we're going to move forward on our own,
13:05
Speaker 1: and as long as Republicans stay united, this will absolutely work.
13:10
Speaker 2: And that's exactly what John Thune is signaling.
13:13
Speaker 1: No more delays, no more gridlock, just action and a
13:17
Speaker 1: massive win for the American people on a national security issue.
13:21
Speaker 1: And what kind of action are we talking about, Well,
13:23
Speaker 1: it will be more resources for ICE agents on the
13:26
Speaker 1: ground and more support for CBP officers on the border,
13:31
Speaker 1: more funding for enforcement as well, and the technology needed
13:36
Speaker 1: as well as operations designed to secure the United States
13:39
Speaker 1: of America for millions of Americans who've been frustrated watching
13:43
Speaker 1: border issues spiral. While Washington argues, this is being seen
13:48
Speaker 1: as a turning point and something Republicans needed to get
13:51
Speaker 1: done very quickly ahead of the midterm elections. So that's
13:56
Speaker 1: why they chose this approach. If Congress can't come together,
14:00
Speaker 1: they're in their traditional way. Leadership is now signaling they're
14:03
Speaker 1: going to use every legal tool available to deliver the
14:06
Speaker 1: results the American people demanded in the last selections, and
14:10
Speaker 1: that's what makes this moment even more significant because reconciliation
14:15
Speaker 1: isn't just a procedural maneuver.
14:17
Speaker 2: It's a signal of urgency.
14:19
Speaker 1: It's leadership finally saying, and I'm criticizing Republican leadership right now,
14:25
Speaker 1: this issue is too important to wait. Obviously, the President
14:29
Speaker 1: United States of America couldn't be happier about this now.
14:33
Speaker 1: Supporters of this movie are also arguing that strong funding
14:36
Speaker 1: for ICE and CBP not only means better enforcement of
14:40
Speaker 1: existing immigration laws, increase nacial security, and more stability at
14:45
Speaker 1: the border, but also it supports the men and women
14:48
Speaker 1: who are tasked with protecting this country and put their
14:51
Speaker 1: life on the line every day, and by using reconciliation,
14:55
Speaker 1: lawmakers can ensure these priorities don't get bogged down in
15:00
Speaker 1: political stallmates stalemates. Now, of course, Democrats are going to
15:05
Speaker 1: fight tooth and nail to do everything they can to
15:07
Speaker 1: try to stop this.
15:08
Speaker 2: But the good news is the plan right now is simple.
15:11
Speaker 1: If Republicans stay together, this will actually become a reality.
15:17
Speaker 1: And that is exactly the message from the leadership. John
15:20
Speaker 1: Thune isn't hedging, He's not saying maybe or we'll see.
15:24
Speaker 1: He's now finally saying Americans are going to get the funding,
15:28
Speaker 1: and they're going to get it soon. And that's exactly
15:32
Speaker 1: what the President has been demanding for now almost two years.
15:36
Speaker 1: All right now, I also want to get to another
15:38
Speaker 1: really important story that no one is covering right now.
15:43
Speaker 1: There is a new breaking news article that is extremely
15:46
Speaker 1: important and there's a reason why the media is not
15:49
Speaker 1: covering it because it deals with how the Biden administration
15:54
Speaker 1: partnered literally with abortion activists to track and improve and
16:00
Speaker 1: pro lifers. The Biden administration snooped on pro life activists
16:06
Speaker 1: before charging them with any crimes. President Joe Biden's administration relied,
16:12
Speaker 1: we now have learned on information gathered from radical pro
16:16
Speaker 1: abortion groups to prosecute and snoop on the peaceful pro
16:21
Speaker 1: life protesters. The new emails released Tuesday by the Trump
16:24
Speaker 1: administration explicitly show The emails not only show that a
16:29
Speaker 1: top Justice Department official was referring to an abortion activists
16:35
Speaker 1: as an MVP for flagging pro life protests to prosecute
16:41
Speaker 1: and seeking to track the travel plans of Christian pro
16:45
Speaker 1: life activists not yet charged with any crimes. The emails
16:49
Speaker 1: also revealed pro abortion organizations providing dossier's to the Biden
16:55
Speaker 1: DOJ with personal information and pictures of pro life activists
17:01
Speaker 1: who were later literally arrested by the FBI. Now, these
17:06
Speaker 1: files that were put together by these radical abortion activists
17:11
Speaker 1: contained the information we now have learned of the pro
17:13
Speaker 1: life activists who were not yet charged with any federal crimes,
17:19
Speaker 1: but were deemed threats by the abortion groups because of
17:22
Speaker 1: their activities, you know, like praying on a sidewalk outside
17:25
Speaker 1: of an abortion clinic. Many of these individuals would later
17:29
Speaker 1: be prosecuted by the Biden administration. Under Biden, we also
17:35
Speaker 1: learned that dozens pro life protesters were prosecuted for peaceful
17:38
Speaker 1: protests that included praying, singing, and sitting in front of
17:43
Speaker 1: doors of abortion facilities. Several were sentenced to years in prison,
17:48
Speaker 1: with others awaiting sentencing before President Trump pardoned the pro
17:52
Speaker 1: life activists his first week in office. These emails, released
17:57
Speaker 1: on Tuesday were included in an extent sensive report documenting
18:02
Speaker 1: how the Biden administration weaponized the freedom of access to
18:06
Speaker 1: clinic entrances, known as the Face Act, against these pro
18:10
Speaker 1: life activists. Now, this law was originally passed to protect
18:14
Speaker 1: both crisis pregnancy centers and abortion facilities, but has been
18:18
Speaker 1: disproportionately used against pro life protesters. And now you know
18:22
Speaker 1: why because this weapisation now can be directly traced to
18:28
Speaker 1: Biden resurrecting the National Task Force on Violence against Reproductive
18:33
Speaker 1: Healthcare Providers shortly after he was elected. That according to
18:37
Speaker 1: Justice Department, and the task Force operated largely out of
18:40
Speaker 1: the Department's Civil Rights Division under the direction of san
18:45
Speaker 1: Joh Patel, who was reportedly.
18:47
Speaker 2: Fired on Monday. Quote.
18:50
Speaker 1: The task Force director was in regular ongoing contact with
18:56
Speaker 1: pro abortion non governmental organizations You'll know them as NGOs
19:02
Speaker 1: and the clinics they represented, but disparaged pro life groups,
19:07
Speaker 1: the Justice Apartment said in their statement. Pro abortion groups
19:11
Speaker 1: capitalized on their relationship with the task Force to gain
19:14
Speaker 1: internal information and then pushed targets to face ACT enforcement.
19:20
Speaker 1: Patel was on texting terms with the National Abortion Federation
19:24
Speaker 1: security team and regularly communicated with Planned Parenthood, Federation of America,
19:30
Speaker 1: and the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Justice Apartment confirmed as well.
19:35
Speaker 1: In just one exchange from November of twenty twenty one,
19:40
Speaker 1: Patel connected an FBI agent with Michelle Davison, the security
19:45
Speaker 1: director for the National Abortion Federation. Patel told the unidentified
19:49
Speaker 1: FBI agent the Davison was a wonderful contact for me
19:54
Speaker 1: as it relates to the Face Act investigations. She has
19:57
Speaker 1: been an MVP bringing incident to my attention, often in
20:01
Speaker 1: real time, which usually results in investigation slash prosecution. The
20:07
Speaker 1: email was labeled as highly important and began with Patel
20:11
Speaker 1: greeting both how the heck are you now? The Bombshell
20:14
Speaker 1: revelation also included details of how abortion group provided dossier's
20:19
Speaker 1: to government officials with information on multiple pro life activists
20:24
Speaker 1: that were then arrested by the FBI. The report said
20:27
Speaker 1: that Petel monitored the pro life activists for years before
20:31
Speaker 1: charging them. This monitoring included three of the pardon defendants.
20:36
Speaker 1: One dossier provided to Pattel from an abortion group in
20:39
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one contained personally identified information including addresses, photographs,
20:46
Speaker 1: including of spouses and young children, names of associates and
20:51
Speaker 1: affiliated ministries, information about their upcoming travel plans or protest plans,
20:58
Speaker 1: and even driver's licensed members of pro life activists that
21:02
Speaker 1: all according to the Justice Department. One man who faced
21:07
Speaker 1: particular scrutiny from the Biden DOJ was Calvin Zastro, an
21:12
Speaker 1: evangelical Christian from Michigan who travels the country with his family,
21:17
Speaker 1: engaging in evangelism and pro life activism. Emails showed that
21:22
Speaker 1: Zastro and members of his family were flagged for the
21:25
Speaker 1: Justice Department, and that Patel even enlisted the help of
21:28
Speaker 1: abortion activists to track the whereabouts and activities of Zastro,
21:33
Speaker 1: years before he was charged with any crimes. A few
21:37
Speaker 1: months later, Pateel reached out to the National Abortion Federation
21:41
Speaker 1: to inquire about his travel plans, saying this, do you
21:45
Speaker 1: have any info on Zastro and companies traveled to Montana?
21:50
Speaker 1: Pattel asked Davidson of the National Abortion Federation on September
21:53
Speaker 1: the ninth, twenty twenty one. That came after Davison emailed
21:58
Speaker 1: the DOJ telling officials quote she bet that Disastro might
22:02
Speaker 1: attempt to lead a protest and an abortion facility in Montana.
22:07
Speaker 2: So what does this mean? It means that the government.
22:10
Speaker 1: Was weaponized by the Biden administration to go after anyone
22:15
Speaker 1: that disagreed with Joe Biden, his DOJ or neither radical
22:19
Speaker 1: left politically, and didn't matter if you had or had
22:23
Speaker 1: not committed a crime, if you said the wrong thing,
22:27
Speaker 1: or prayed at the wrong place, or supported the life
22:30
Speaker 1: of an unborn child. Then you were a target for
22:34
Speaker 1: the Biden administration to put into jail. Let that sink in,
22:38
Speaker 1: and now you understand exactly why no one in the
22:41
Speaker 1: media is covering this story. Senator John Thune doing something
22:47
Speaker 1: that many Republicans have been waiting for for quite some time,
22:51
Speaker 1: standing up to the radical left that he has to
22:53
Speaker 1: deal with in the Senate. And now the majority leader
22:57
Speaker 1: in the Senate is signaling the Republicans are prepared to
23:01
Speaker 1: go around Democrats entirely to secure new funding for immigration
23:06
Speaker 1: and customs enforcement. You know that as ICE as well
23:09
Speaker 1: as US and Border Protection known as CBP, and the
23:13
Speaker 1: tools they're preparing to use is one called budget reconciliation,
23:17
Speaker 1: one of the most powerful and controversial maneuvers in Congress.
23:21
Speaker 1: So what exactly does this mean is what many of
23:24
Speaker 1: you I'm assuming are asking. Well, let me explain it
23:26
Speaker 1: to you the best way I can. Normally, in the Senate,
23:30
Speaker 1: you need sixty votes to pass major legislation. That gives
23:34
Speaker 1: the minority party in this case, the Democrats, the ability
23:37
Speaker 1: to block bills through the filibuster. But reconciliation is actually
23:41
Speaker 1: very different. It allows certain budget related bills to pass
23:45
Speaker 1: with a simple majority fifty one votes. No filibuster can
23:50
Speaker 1: stop it. No need by the way, for biparson support.
23:53
Speaker 1: If your party just backshoot, you're going to get it done.
23:57
Speaker 1: So in other words, if Republicans stay unified, which again
24:01
Speaker 1: we're talking about Republicans here, and Republicans know how to
24:04
Speaker 1: screw that up a lot. But if the Republicans hypothetically
24:07
Speaker 1: stayed unified, they could then pass funding increases for ICE
24:12
Speaker 1: and CBP without a single Democrat vote. That it would
24:16
Speaker 1: be amazing And that's the reason why it looks like
24:19
Speaker 1: this could possibly happen. Now here's how this would actually
24:23
Speaker 1: work moving forward, so you understand, like the timeline on this,
24:28
Speaker 1: Republicans would include new funding for border enforcement agencies inside
24:34
Speaker 1: the broader budget package, something tied directly to federal spending,
24:38
Speaker 1: deficits or revenue is what is needed, and this would
24:41
Speaker 1: obviously work into those categories. That is key because reconciliation
24:46
Speaker 1: rules require that everything in the bill have a direct
24:49
Speaker 1: budget impact, then the package would go through a fast
24:53
Speaker 1: track process in the Senate debate. Time is also limited,
24:58
Speaker 1: so you can't just run out the clock. Or stop
25:00
Speaker 1: everything forever. Amendments are also restricted, and most importantly, it
25:06
Speaker 1: cannot be blocked by a filibuster, which is what Democrats
25:09
Speaker 1: will love doing. Now, there is a catch, and I
25:13
Speaker 1: want you to understand this. There's something called the Bird rule,
25:17
Speaker 1: which allows the Senate Parliamentarian to strike any provisions that
25:22
Speaker 1: are considered extreneous to the budget. So Republicans will have
25:27
Speaker 1: to carefully structure this plan to ensure that the funding
25:31
Speaker 1: for ICE and CBP clearly qualifies as a budget related
25:36
Speaker 1: spinning measure. It cannot just be a policy change, otherwise
25:41
Speaker 1: it be kicked out. Now, if the Republicans can thread
25:45
Speaker 1: the needle on this, and if they can succeed, the
25:49
Speaker 1: bill passes with a simple majority vote. And that's the
25:54
Speaker 1: strategy that John Thune is now laying out, a way
25:57
Speaker 1: to deliver more resources for immigration enforcement even in a
26:01
Speaker 1: divided government where biperson agreement is nearly impossible. Now, politically,
26:07
Speaker 1: this is a major escalation. Democrats argue that using reconciliation
26:12
Speaker 1: this way is an abuse of the process, abuse of.
26:14
Speaker 2: Power, and they're going to lose their minds. Get ready
26:17
Speaker 2: for it.
26:17
Speaker 1: It's just going to be a normal day where Democrats
26:19
Speaker 1: scream and beat their heads against the wall, right, like
26:22
Speaker 1: that's normal. This was designed, by the way, for fiscal policy,
26:27
Speaker 1: is not designed for sweeping enforcement priorities.
26:30
Speaker 2: That is what's going to be argued on TV.
26:33
Speaker 1: Now, what are the Republicans and what are conservatives going
26:36
Speaker 1: to say in response to that? They're going to counter
26:38
Speaker 1: that border security is a budget issue. It's pointing the
26:42
Speaker 1: cost of illegal immigration and the strain on federal resources.
26:47
Speaker 1: We have numbers to back it up, right, you could
26:49
Speaker 1: bankrupt this country if you continue to allow the flood
26:53
Speaker 1: of a wide open border of legal immigrants coming in.
26:55
Speaker 1: We know they've cost US hundreds of billions of dollars
26:58
Speaker 1: at this point, and it will end up costing US
27:01
Speaker 1: trillions of dollars to take care of the illegal immigrants
27:03
Speaker 1: that have come into this country. That is the talking
27:06
Speaker 1: point for Republicans. So, yes, this is literally a budget issue.
27:11
Speaker 1: Now the other question you're going to ask is, all right, well,
27:13
Speaker 1: then what's next. So here's how this is going to
27:15
Speaker 1: play out. Based on what I've been told, Republicans will
27:19
Speaker 1: move quickly. Reconciliation windows are limited, and the leadership knows
27:24
Speaker 1: this may be their best or only chance to secure
27:27
Speaker 1: major funding increases for ICENS CBP this year, especially before
27:31
Speaker 1: the midterms, if they can hold their votes. And that's
27:34
Speaker 1: the problem because we've got some squishy Republicans in Washington,
27:37
Speaker 1: so we got to keep our majority alive, okay, And
27:41
Speaker 1: if we can hold our votes, they will not need
27:43
Speaker 1: any Democrats to support this measure, and then that sets
27:47
Speaker 1: up a high stakes battle over not just immigration policy,
27:50
Speaker 1: but the rules of the Senate itself. Now, this isn't
27:54
Speaker 1: just about funding these agencies, okay, It's really about rewriting
27:58
Speaker 1: how major policy gets passed in DC. And this fight
28:03
Speaker 1: is clearly started and it's been planned, and Thune seems to.
28:06
Speaker 2: Be on board.
28:07
Speaker 1: Now, I want you to hear what Thune said when
28:10
Speaker 1: he was walking out in front of the media. I
28:12
Speaker 1: also want to be clear he said this very quickly.
28:16
Speaker 1: He didn't dive into it much, and I think part
28:18
Speaker 1: of that's just because he's like, look, I want to
28:19
Speaker 1: get this done. I want to get done now, and
28:21
Speaker 1: I don't want to argue over it much. And we're
28:23
Speaker 1: going to go full court press. That is promising because
28:26
Speaker 1: there seems to be some actual gamesmanship here and planning
28:30
Speaker 1: by the Senate leadership.
28:31
Speaker 2: Listen.
28:31
Speaker 5: So the budget resolution Senator Graham is preparing we will
28:35
Speaker 5: have on the floor, hopefully as early as next week,
28:38
Speaker 5: will provide multiple years of funding for these agencies, and
28:42
Speaker 5: a reconciliation bill which will follow shortly after. We'll ensure
28:46
Speaker 5: that job gets done. So that's where we are in
28:49
Speaker 5: the process. But we're going to move quickly, decisively, and
28:53
Speaker 5: hopefully in a very focused way on ensuring that those
28:57
Speaker 5: important law enforcement agencies, contrary who the Democrats' defund law
29:02
Speaker 5: enforcement efforts, are funded not only today but well into
29:05
Speaker 5: the future.
29:07
Speaker 1: You can hear it there, very quick moving quickly, going quickly.
29:11
Speaker 1: That is what the Senate Majority leader is saying. Now.
29:15
Speaker 1: What's also interesting is while this was happening, it seems
29:19
Speaker 1: that John Thune has actually woken up to the idea
29:22
Speaker 1: that he better starts sitting up for what conservatives want
29:24
Speaker 1: ahead of the midterms. The leader of the gop on
29:29
Speaker 1: voter ID said this from the floor of the Senate.
29:34
Speaker 1: Listened to what he's saying, and this involves the Save Act.
29:37
Speaker 4: The junior Democrat from New York said this, and again
29:39
Speaker 4: I quote the ideas that we have in our wallets
29:42
Speaker 4: should be good.
29:43
Speaker 2: Enough to vote.
29:44
Speaker 4: End quote. Well, mister President, that is exactly what we offered. Licenses,
29:54
Speaker 4: state ID cards, tribal IDs. We're all acceptable forms of
29:59
Speaker 4: idea in our papol, the same kinds of ID that
30:03
Speaker 4: we have in our wallets right now, this President. Multiple
30:08
Speaker 4: Democrat centers even acknowledge that their own states have voter
30:11
Speaker 4: IDA requirements and that they work. The junior senator from
30:14
Speaker 4: Georgia came to the floor and said this, and I
30:16
Speaker 4: quote again, I think you should have to prove that
30:19
Speaker 4: you are who you say you are before you vote.
30:23
Speaker 4: I support voter ID. We have voter ID laws in
30:27
Speaker 4: my state. You should have to prove that you are
30:30
Speaker 4: who you say you are before you vote.
30:33
Speaker 2: End quote.
30:34
Speaker 4: I couldn't have said it better myself. And the Democrat
30:38
Speaker 4: leader said, and I quote, our objection as Democrats is
30:43
Speaker 4: not to a photo ID end quote, except as democrats
30:47
Speaker 4: recent vote demonstrates, that's not actually true. Before the vote,
30:51
Speaker 4: the Democrat leader spoke on the floor and made it
30:53
Speaker 4: clear that when he says he supports voter ID, he
30:56
Speaker 4: means that he supports voter ID as law long as
31:00
Speaker 4: the ID requirements in question are essentially meaningless, and he's
31:06
Speaker 4: not the only one to quote a recent news story,
31:09
Speaker 4: the Junior Center from Colorado said, and I quote, he
31:13
Speaker 4: supports voter ID, but signal he will vote know when
31:17
Speaker 4: informed that the bill does not allow voters to use
31:21
Speaker 4: a utility bill to prove identity. End quote, he voted
31:26
Speaker 4: no because you can't show a utility bill as a
31:31
Speaker 4: form of ID. Miss President, you can't make this stuff up.
31:36
Speaker 4: The senator from Colorado used to own a brewery in Denver,
31:40
Speaker 4: and I have to wonder whether you could show a
31:43
Speaker 4: utility bill to buy a beer there.
31:46
Speaker 2: I doubt it, but this is what.
31:47
Speaker 4: Democrats think is good enough for our elections.
31:50
Speaker 2: Now, let me just be clear.
31:51
Speaker 1: I've been pretty critical of fun and his leadership. I
31:55
Speaker 1: think he doesn't lead boldly enough. I'll give him credit.
31:59
Speaker 1: In the last four hours on these two issues, he
32:01
Speaker 1: seems to finally have woken up and realize he has
32:05
Speaker 1: to lead. I hope that he moves forward with us quickly.
32:09
Speaker 1: As he's describing it. We're going to keep you updated
32:11
Speaker 1: on all of it that, I can promise you. We've
32:13
Speaker 1: got a lot more that's going to happen the days ahead,
32:15
Speaker 1: So make sure you don't forget grab our podcast The
32:18
Speaker 1: Ben ferguson podcasts. Wherever you get your podcasts as well,
32:22
Speaker 1: hit that subscriber at or download button so you don't
32:25
Speaker 1: miss any of the breaking news.