As we brace to see whether the Department of Education will be dismantled or not, we feel very strongly that Title I, which provides additional funding for those districts that have high percentages of families living on the poverty level, that's done through government.
So government could be and is a force of good.
And so I don't believe in dismantling government.
I am not an anarchist.
I don't believe that we should have no government.
I believe in a republic.
And yes, I am an appropriator and I agree with you that through the appropriation process in a bipartisan way, the American people want us to work together to ensure that we pass a budget that's responsible, that is balanced, and that addresses the deficit.
The deficit cannot be addressed if we continue to provide major tax cuts to the very rich.
We're just not going to get the kind of revenue in that we need to provide for the services that are needed on a daily basis by the American people.
All right, Congressman, Representative Adriano Espeat, Democrat of New York, member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees.
Thanks so much for joining us today.
Thank you, Mimi.
Thank you for having me.
Welcome back to Washington Journal.
We are in open forum, but first we're going to speak to Representative Tom Tiffany, Republican of Wisconsin and member of the Judiciary Committee and also a member of the Freedom Caucus.
Representative Tiffany, welcome to the program.
Mimi, it's good to join you this morning.
We'll just get your reaction to the election last week.
Well, you know, I come from northern Wisconsin, the 7th Congressional District, and they were difference makers, my constituents.
We had places that turn out 80-85% traditionally, which is a really good turnout in many counties in rural and northern Wisconsin.
We saw a turnout of up 90% or more.
My hometown, Oneida County, 94% turnout.
A lot of those low-propensity voters that everybody talked about, they showed up and they outvoted Dane County and Milwaukee County in Wisconsin this election.
And there is a funding deadline on December 20th.
What do you support?
Will you be voting for another short-term extension or what direction are you going to be going in?
Yeah, you know, not a big fan of the continuing resolutions.
We should be drafting new budgets, but I think in this instance, the voters spoke on November 5th with a new Congress and a new president, a new direction.
And so I think we should push it off until after the first of the year.
Let the new president, let the new Congress decide what the budget is going to be.
So I would support a continuing resolution into 2025.
You serve on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.
I want to ask you about President-elect Trump's mass deportation policy.
How do you expect that to play out?
How many people would be involved?
So we had a mass importation program over the last four years under the Biden-Harris administration.
We can do a mass deportation program.
I think it starts by getting the violent criminals out.
What is it?
There's over a million people that have records of, you know, not just entering our country illegally, but of crimes that they committed in their home countries.
And I think you start there.
I mean, remember, we have 13,000 murderers, 15,000 rapists that are in this country.
You start there and remove those people.
And I guess violent criminals would already have deportation orders.
What happens after that?
Would you be in favor of going into workplaces, doing raids there?
And then also separation of parents from their children.
If you're here illegally, you need to go back and get in line.
And I think what we do is the humane thing is say to people that you can come back in our country, but you need to willingly leave at this point.
If you're going to insist on staying here illegally, then we're not going to be able to let you in in the future.
And I think if we put it to people that way, get in line.
Because remember, so many of the people, millions of people that came in illegally over the last four years, they jumped the line.
That's not fair to people who want to do it the right way.
Let's do it the right way because we all believe that we should have an immigration system, a legal immigration system, that benefits America.
So let's make sure that those that are coming into our country are doing it legally.
And for those that did not do it legally and have children that are American citizens, would you be in favor of separating those families?
You need to return to your home country.
I mean, we talk about this separation.
There's 320,000 children right now that are documented that the Biden-Harris administration has no idea where they're at.
These families have been separated.
In some instances, they've been separated by their own parents who have said, I'm going to send my children ahead.
I don't think that that's humane to begin with.
So we need to reverse what has happened here, especially over the last four years.
People that came into this country, they knew the Biden-Harris administration was working against the will of the people.
That was proven on November 5th.
This is a cornerstone of the Trump agenda.
It is time for those who are here illegally that they go back.
And last year, the University of Wisconsin estimated that more than 10,000 unauthorized workers are employed in Wisconsin's dairy farms.
That's your home state.
What kind of impact do you think a mass deportation policy might have on that industry?
So very familiar with that.
But so there's just a couple steps here that need to happen.
Number one, we secure the border.
Second of all, let's make sure able-bodied Americans are working.
I've seen estimates of five to ten million people who are Americans who are able-bodied that are not working.
Let's make sure that those people are working.
Then the third thing is to have a legal immigration system that benefits America.
And if we need labor like that, I'm very familiar with it having grown up on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin.
I talked to these dairy farmers.
If there is a need after that, then we should help fill that void.
But let's do it legally.
Congressman The Hill is reporting this headline, Conservatives Plot Challenge Against Johnson in Internal Speaker Elections.
You're a member of the Freedom Caucus.
Are you, guys, planning to do something as far as the elections happening today for leadership?
From my perspective, we're just going to go through the process that we always do after every two years in picking leadership.
And I think everyone from the newest member who is from the state of Wisconsin, Tony Weed, who was sworn in last night, all the way to leadership, they all know who's setting the agenda here, and it's President Trump.
I think everybody's going to be on board in regards to that.
But there's always a discussion in regards to the rules and things like that.
So I think some of the process stuff will be debated.
But we all know what needs to get done in 2025.
And Congressman, can you tell us where you stand on the option to vacate the Speaker's chair?
Are you in favor of retaining that option?
Yeah, I think we should leave it there.
It's been there for 200 years, and I don't see any reason to change that.
I understand what happened last session, but I think people are very, very hesitant to use that again as it should be.
But it's been in place for 200 years, and If someone has a proposal to change it, put it on the table.
I'm happy to take a look at what they propose.
And finally, Congressman, your top priorities for the first 100 days of the new Congress.
Oh, it's to get America back on track.
I helped write H.R. 2.
Let's pass H.R. 2 once again, the Secure the Border Bill.
Let's get that done and have a Senate that'll pass it this time.
Let's get back to energy independence.
We cannot be prosperous as a country without having low energy prices.
That's going to be one of my primary focuses, sitting on the Natural Resources Committee.
We do that, and we're going to get America back on track real fast.
All right, Representative Tom Tiffany, Republican of Wisconsin, member of the Judiciary Committee and Freedom Caucus member.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Good to join you today, Mimi.
And we are in open forum.
We will go straight to your calls and start with Joe in New Orleans, Louisiana, Democrat.
Hi, Joe.
Good morning.
Morning.
In my opinion, the Democratic Party should stop pointing fingers at each other and moaning why and what happened.
I think that Ms. Harris, Vice President Harris, did not win because the country, the United States of America, is not ready for a female president, even though she had all the qualifications that could be, in that she is the current Vice President of the United States.
And that the real reason is, as I said, the United States is not ready for a female president and certainly not one of color.
John is next in Tulaire, California, Republican.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good to be on this morning.
I've watched CNN since the Currence Thomas hearings.
That lady called from New Orleans.
You know, we elected Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
I don't want to get distracted because I go to other topics, but this Ropo-Dope campaign that Kamala ran, she had to do some press conferences.
She had to answer some questions.
She passed on a question about Prop 36 in California that has to do with low crime.
If she had done more of that, she probably would have done better.
Had nothing to do with the fact what race she was or what gender she was.
Anyway, going from there, your congressman that you had on from New York that said 40% of ag workers, agricultural workers, were undocumented.
I take exception to that.
I'm involved in the ag industry in California, and we've got a lot of Hispanic workers.
And I will guarantee you that if there were 20% of them that were undocumented, I would be shocked.
What Trump needs to do, they need to put the onus on the employers to not hire illegals.
They do need to get the criminals, those guys that beat up the policemen in New York City, for example.
Where are they today?
Are they still in the country?
As far as I know, they are.
From drunk drivers to petty theft, if you commit a crime in this country and you are here undocumented, you need to be deported.
It's that simple.
We can produce enough criminals of our own without.
John, would you be in favor of deporting all illegal immigrants?
Well, here's the thing I think we miss.
A lot of those are going to deport.
And here's a family of four and a husband and wife, hardworking two kids.
It would tear up my heartstrings.
I've got to admit that.
However, they jump the line.
It's like the congressman you just had on from Wisconsin.
He stole a lot of my thunder because they do jump the line.
And there are good people that wait in line.
Now, maybe we need to do something to speed the lineup.
I don't know.
I'll tell you what I'm really in favor of: is a guest worker program that a person can come here, they can work, they can make some money.
It expires, they can go back, they can come back again.
A lot of the illegals that are here, if they could go home for a period of time without having a lot of trouble getting back in here, they go.
Yeah, I'm in favor.
If you're here illegally, you need to go back home.
It's that's right.
Here's Carl in Inwood, West Virginia, Independent Line.
Yes, finally, I got back through.
This is Carl from West Virginia.
I called this election eight months ago.
The country is still 62, between 62 and 65% white.
They want to keep it this way.
The judges know it.
Everybody knows it.
Don't cut me off.
I got one more thing to say.
That's why Trump won.
And his vice president, his ancestors, go back to manifest destiny.
I went to all you black folks.
I know the Indians know about it.
Look that up.
This is what's happening to this country.
And in other news, this is ABC reporting that Biden hosted Israel's president at the White House amid a peace push.
And we have a portion of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and President Biden in the White House from yesterday.
On behalf of the people of Israel and the nation of Israel and the state of Israel, to say to you, Mr. President, thank you very much, as we say in Hebrew, Toda Abba.
You've been an incredible friend of Israel and the Jewish people for decades.
And we will never forget, ever, in history, how you stood up with us in our darkest hour, which became our finest hour.
How you came to Israel a few days after the barbaric attack of October 7th.
How you helped us and supported us with words and deeds.
And I want to express our heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. President, which is a great legacy that you stood up with the Jewish people and the state of Israel, as you always did.
So I brought you a little gift, which is an archaeological artifact from the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which has the word Joseph, Yosef.
And as you know, in the Bible, it is said that Joseph will strengthen Israel.
And clearly, Mr. President, you've done it.
Thank you very much.
Well, I hope my father heard it.
My father was what we call a righteous Christian.
He couldn't understand why we didn't move more rapidly back in World War II and less.
And anyway.
That was a great legacy of your father.
Well, it was.
I remember how I got in trouble.
We were friends even back then when I said years ago as a senator, I said, you don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.
And I know you are.
You're clearly a Zionist, Mr. President.
Well, God love you.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for being here, Pal.
It was yesterday in the White House, and this is Edgar in Houston, Texas, Democrat.
Yes, good morning, Vimy.
Two things I'm trying to make sure I can bring up.
First thing the board is saying, that's the political football that they've been kicking back and forth for years.
When Ronald Reagan gave amnesty to the people that have come across that border, the Republicans refuse to hold big businesses accountable.
Now, had they done what they were supposed to do at that time, then the immigration situation wouldn't have gotten as bad as it has come to be.
The other thing is if they want to balance the budget, all those Republicans that keep calling in talking about the money and all that, all they have to do is use the same formula that Bill Clinton used, the very same formula.
Everybody pays their fair share of taxes and everything will be much better.
We can get closer to balancing the budget.
Yellow?
Yep.
And here is Jeff in Darby, Montana, Republican.
Hi, Jeff.
Good morning.
I am hopeful that this election was the beginning of the end of identity politics.
I really think the American people are sick and tired of being divided up by race and gender.
And I think the coalition that Trump built belies that fact that this is all about what race you are or what gender you are.
I think the policies and the problems that we face transcend those boxes that they want to shove us into.
And I'm really hopeful that we can start seeing each other as Americans and all wanting the same thing regardless of our race or creed and begin to come together.
All right, Jeff.
And an item for your schedule for later today at 11.30 a.m., a House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee holds a second hearing on the government's investigation into UFOs, also known as UAPs, unidentified anomalous phenomena.
That's live.
You can watch that on C-SPAN 3 at 11.30 a.m. Eastern.
It's also on our app, C-SPANNow, and online at c-span.org.
And let's talk to Michael, Manor, Texas, Republican.
Thank you so much for taking my call.
And yes, I did vote Republican in this election cycle.
However, I do want to preface that I'm not the archetypal Red Hat Republican.
I did vote for Biden in 2020, and I voted for Obama in 2012.
I do want to touch on a couple things.
First, I know Floride has been mentioned on C-SPAN a couple of times on this pod, I mean, on this caller line.
I do want to cite United States District Court September 24th, 2024.