| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
Be sure to include your first name and city and state, and you might hear your question asked at the next briefing. | |
| In a nation divided, a rare moment of unity. | ||
| This fall, C-SPAN presents Ceasefire, where the shouting stops and the conversation begins. | ||
| In a town where partisan fighting prevails, one table, two leaders, one goal, to find common ground. | ||
| This fall, Ceasefire, on the network that doesn't take sides, only on C-SPAN. | ||
| Democracy. | ||
| It isn't just an idea. | ||
| It's a process. | ||
| A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. | ||
| It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. | ||
| Democracy in real time. | ||
| This is your government at work. | ||
| This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered. | ||
| Speaker Mike Johnson has scored a major victory this morning. | ||
| House Republicans have approved on a party line vote President Trump's tax and spending cuts bill. | ||
| Close to 7 a.m. Eastern Time on a vote of 215 to 214 with one present. | ||
| The House approved the legislation that would cut $1.5 trillion in spending and make permanent President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. | ||
| The battle is not over because the Senate needs to take up this legislation and they can approve it with a simple majority, meaning they don't have to have the 60-vote filibuster threshold because they are proceeding with this legislation under reconciliation. | ||
| If the Senate passes it and if there are no changes, it could go to the president's desk. | ||
| Changes are expected though, and then it will have to go back to the House and Speaker Mike Johnson will have to pray again. | ||
| He said this morning that throughout the last few days and weeks, he frequently knelt down in prayer and hoping that he could score this victory and get it over the finish line. | ||
| The speaker also told us that the vote actually would have been 217 to 214. | ||
| Two Republicans missed their chance. | ||
| One of them was Congressman Gabarino. | ||
| He fell asleep. | ||
| Here's Jake Sherman of Punch Bowl News with a quote from Gabarino's office. | ||
| After sitting through proceedings all night, the congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. | ||
| He was present throughout the lead up to the legislation's consideration and fully intended to support it. | ||
| This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day, not in the dead of night. | ||
| David Schreichert also missed the vote. | ||
| He said he would have voted yes. | ||
| He put his card into the machine on the House floor in the remaining seconds, but just missed casting his vote for yes. | ||
| And both of them said that they will then go on record saying they would have voted yes. | ||
| All the Democrats opposed it, along with two Republicans, David Warrenson of Ohio, Thomas Massey of Kentucky. | ||
| They all voted, those two voted no. | ||
| And Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the Conservative Freedom Caucus, he voted present. | ||
| Now it's your turn to tell these lawmakers what you think about this vote. | ||
| Let's go to Meryl, who's in Pomona, New York, an independent. | ||
| Good morning to you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, good morning. | |
| Morning. | ||
| What's your reaction to the approval of the so-called big beautiful bill? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I am devastated. | |
| I was up all night long. | ||
| I'm sorry. | ||
| I'm trying to get stupid TV. | ||
| You're good. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
All night long watching all this. | |
| And then, of course, the vote comes and I miss that, which is, you know, regardless. | ||
| I mean, did you fall asleep? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Destroyed. | |
| No. | ||
| No. | ||
| I just, I needed a break. | ||
| It was the same stuff. | ||
| Yeah. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You know, I watched the Rules Committee all night long. | |
| So it was the same. | ||
| I mean, I am mortified. | ||
| I cannot believe that the people on the rules committee, they are from states that take more federal dollars than anybody else. | ||
| And I am so sad for my grandchildren and my children. | ||
| You know, deregulation of everything. | ||
| You know, all it takes now is how much money can you pay this man to do whatever you want to do. | ||
| Meryl. | ||
| It's so sad. | ||
| Can I ask you, how old are you? | ||
|
unidentified
|
63. | |
| 63. | ||
| We had another woman earlier, 88 years old. | ||
| She stayed up all night. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, I saw. | |
| Yeah. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I saw. | |
| And why do you think you and that woman stayed up all night long? | ||
| Because you talked about your children and your grandchildren. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You know, was I hoping that somebody would do the right thing? | |
| You know, that these Republicans would actually do the right thing for their constituents. | ||
| You know, where, you know, there's going to be primary anyway. | ||
| You know, he has come in, he has destroyed towns across this country with, you know, shutting down universities, research. | ||
| You know, people are unemployed everywhere. | ||
| And now, on top of it, all that unemployment. | ||
| And there's no accountability, no transparency. | ||
| You know, they talked about illegal immigrants. | ||
| They're undocumented workers. | ||
| You know, the funny thing is, they come in, they buy Social Security numbers, they pay into the system, and knowing they'll never get a penny out of it. | ||
| All right. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So when they narrow that. | |
| Mary, I'm going to leave it there. | ||
| Marilyn, New York, 63 years old, I believe she said, pulled two all-nighters. | ||
| She was up with House Rules, she said, watching Wednesday morning when they started at 1 a.m. Eastern time. | ||
| They worked for 21 hours to debate and then finally vote on a final passage of the legislation. | ||
| It included a manager's amendment with changes to try to get, and most successfully Republicans did, GOP holdouts. | ||
| You heard from about Republicans who were not going to vote yes for this. | ||
| There were different factions within the party, moderate Republicans, conservatives, who were threatening to vote no. | ||
| And in the end, it was only two Republicans who voted no. | ||
| C-SPAN has been there for the debate, the amendments that were offered. | ||
| There were 500, almost 500 amendments before the Rules Committee. | ||
| That's what took the Rules Committee hours and hours to do their work before it was then brought to the floor at 1 a.m. this morning. | ||
| And as the clock approached 7 a.m., House Republicans were successful in their bid to pass President Trump's tax and spending bill. | ||
| What was in that manager's amendment? | ||
| It lifted the mortgage deduction from up to 40,000 for people making under $500,000. | ||
| It triggered work requirements for Medicaid recipients to start at the end of 2026 rather than 2029. | ||
| It accelerated phase-out of the Inflation Reduction Act clean energy credits. | ||
| It also lowered remittance tax rate from 5% to 3.5%, provided an additional $12 billion to reimburse states for border security, and it renamed new savings accounts for kids from MAGA accounts to Trump accounts. | ||
| Those are some of the details. | ||
| Of course, the legislation, over 1,000 pages. | ||
| All of our coverage can be found on our website online on demand at c-span.org or our free video mobile app. | ||
| Before we go back to calls, let's go to the debate on the House floor. | ||
| Thomas Massey, one of two Republicans who voted no, argued this was a debt bomb. | ||
| Here's what he had to say. | ||
| Well, I'd love to stand here and tell the American people we can cut your taxes and we can increase spending and everything's going to be just fine. | ||
| But I can't do that because I'm here to deliver a dose of reality. | ||
| This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now. | ||
| Where have we heard that before? | ||
| How do you bind a future Congress to these promises? | ||
| This bill is a debt bomb ticking. | ||
| Congress can do funny math, fantasy math, if it wants, but bond investors don't. | ||
| And this week, they sent us a message. | ||
| Moody's downgraded our credit rating, and the bond investors who buy our debt and finance our debt demanded higher interest rates on the 10-year note, the 20-year note, and the 30-year note. | ||
| What does this mean? | ||
| Very soon, the government will be paying $16,000 of interest, interest alone per U.S. family. | ||
| And what are we telling them? | ||
| Instead of taking care of that problem, we're going to give you a $1,600 tax break. | ||
| Under the taxing and spending levels in this bill, we're going to rack up, the authors say $20 trillion of new debt over the next 10 years. | ||
| I'm telling you, it's closer to $30 trillion of new debt in the next 10 years. | ||
| Mr. Speaker, we're not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. | ||
| We're putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. | ||
| If something is beautiful, if something is beautiful, you don't do it after midnight. | ||
| I oppose this bill. | ||
| Thomas Massey, Republican of Kentucky, one of two GOP lawmakers who voted against President Trump's tax and spending bill. | ||
| It ultimately was passed on a narrow margin, 215 to 214, with one present. | ||
| Reese Gorman, who reports for notice, saying that someone started playing, we are the champions over on the House Republican side as they voted on this so-called one big beautiful bill. | ||
| That was on the floor earlier, close to 7 a.m. Eastern Time, and C-SPAN was there with our coverage. | ||
| They started playing We Are the Champions. | ||
| You also heard chants of USA coming from the Republicans as well. | ||
| Speaker Mike Johnson given a victory here as they approve the president's domestic agenda and send it over to the Senate. | ||
| The Speaker getting very little sleep along with reporters and many, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the past 36, almost 36 hours. | ||
| Nicole in Michigan, Democratic caller. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, hello. | |
| I would like to respond to a caller a while ago that said that he was talking about where this bill was going, and I was impressed by what he said. | ||
| From what I understand, there's many short-term benefits in this bill, such as no tax on tips and overtime and certain Social Security numbers. | ||
| There's a bigger standard deduction. | ||
| Plus, there's something happening to keep the gas prices low. | ||
| That's going to make us all feel good, you know, while we're paying more for everything else. | ||
| I had speculated a while ago that this administration's remedy to the tariffs was going to be a big fat check to all of us, and that's kind of what it seems like right now. | ||
| You can't replace the lack of revenue that this bill is going to cause. | ||
| Okay, Nicole's thoughts there. | ||
| In Michigan, a Democratic caller. | ||
| Ron's a Republican in Illinois. | ||
| Hi, Ron. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| We're listening, Ron. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can you hear me? | |
| Yes, we can. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| Yeah, I am so proud of the Republicans last night. | ||
| They did a fantastic job. | ||
| And as far as the Democrats, they just have Trump hate syndrome. | ||
| It doesn't matter what the man does or accomplishes. | ||
| They would disagree with everything he does and the Republicans do. | ||
| And I am just so proud of the Republicans. | ||
| It really makes me sad that the Democrats are totally on the wrong page and not up with what the American people voted Donald Trump into office to do. | ||
| And he's doing exactly what he said he would do. | ||
| And I couldn't be more prouder of this big, beautiful bill and the Republicans. | ||
| Hey, Ron, what did you think of Speaker Mike Johnson before this was passed? | ||
| And has that changed now after he was able to get it approved? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mike Johnson, we could not have a better person, human being, in his spot. | |
| Thank God for Mike Johnson. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Ron's thoughts there. | ||
| Republican in Illinois. | ||
| Michael Schnell, who reports for The Hill, tweets out that a quote here from Virginia Fox, who is the chair of the Rules Committee, 80-some years old, and she was heading up that marathon session in the Rules Committee. | ||
| Here's a quote from her. | ||
| I told him I'm going to nominate him for sainthood because he's now done many miracles here as Speaker. | ||
| Raleigh in California, Independent. | ||
| Raleigh, let's hear from you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, good morning. | |
| I've never been affiliated with any party. | ||
| I don't believe in it. | ||
| I believe you should pay attention to everyone and you should vote your conscience. | ||
| I'm appalled at what our government has come to. | ||
| There are three branches of government, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. | ||
| And their job is to keep each other in check. | ||
| And they're not doing their job. | ||
| This GOP party. | ||
| What a joke. | ||
| What about the Democrats? | ||
| Have the Democrats done enough to oppose? | ||
|
unidentified
|
They did everything they could. | |
| They don't have the numbers because we have a country full of idiots that are followers that are buying in to whatever comes out of the mouth of a habitual liar. | ||
| He hasn't followed through on any of the things he said that benefit us. | ||
| He's going to run this country into the ground. | ||
| He's trying to turn it into a dictatorship. | ||
| I'm so appalled. | ||
| That managers that they put in at the last minute. | ||
| The changes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Nobody in either party, nobody in either party has gone through that entire bill. | |
| There could be all kinds of pork bellies in there. | ||
| We all know we've suffered in the past from them. | ||
| And they put the last line that they don't need three to five, three out of five to change and raise our taxes. | ||
| Why would you put that in if you're not going to raise our taxes? | ||
| This is a joke. | ||
| I'm a veteran of the United States Army. | ||
| I'm 64 years old. | ||
| I've served as a civil servant in our government for another 12 years. | ||
| I worked independently in the private sector. | ||
| I can't believe what's happening. | ||
| I'm embarrassed to be an American citizen. | ||
| Do you see, do you people see what this man is doing to heads of other countries, inviting them into the Oval Office and humiliating them? | ||
| He is butting up to everything that we have disdained for my entire life, and he's kicking to the side everyone that has been our allies. | ||
| All right, Raleigh, I'll leave it there. | ||
| Raleigh from California and Independent, she says, in opposition to the President Republicans' agenda, the agenda move forward with a vote early this morning, 215 to 214. | ||
| It's a sweeping piece of legislation on the president's domestic agenda. | ||
| It has been approved in the House, but it still has to go to the Senate, where they only need a simple majority to get it through. | ||
| If there are changes, it has to go back to the House. | ||
| And Speaker Johnson needs to pull off another vote again if that happens before the president can sign it. | ||
| And they want him to do so by 4th of July. | ||
| Kevin in Mount Erie, Maryland, Democratic caller. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| I'd like to thank you for being on the air and give everybody an opportunity to speak their mind. | ||
| You are very nondiscriminatory in that regard. | ||
| I don't understand why the conversation of a flat tax isn't brought up. | ||
| It seems like every problem could be taken care of if there was just a simple flat tax. | ||
| Everybody pays their fair share. | ||
| If you have a less than livable income, maybe you get relief. | ||
| But I do believe that the fact that Trump keeps saying he has a mandate is just completely false. | ||
| There are 73 million people who did not vote for him, and they seem to be kicked off to the side of the road. | ||
| And it just doesn't seem fair. | ||
| And I'm curious how Representative Johnson can pray to his God for all the misgivings that this bill is doing to those in need. | ||
| Who is their God? | ||
| The Republicans need an off-ramp so that some of the more Respectable humans, compassionate humans, have an opportunity to speak their mind and not have to fear reprisal. | ||
| All right. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Republicans need an offlam. | |
| Got it, Kevin. | ||
| Got it, Kevin. | ||
| Kevin, referring to what he heard from Speaker Johnson after this bill was approved, Speaker Johnson, along with other leaders of the Republican Party and rank-and-file members after no sleep, went before the cameras once again and reporters to highlight their victory and talk about the passage. | ||
| And we heard the speaker say that he prayed many times at the little chapel he said up there on Capitol Hill that this legislation would go through. | ||
| You heard the speaker on the floor in his closing arguments invoke God then as well. | ||
| And Virginia Fox says that she would nominate him for sainthood. | ||
| We're getting your reaction to what the House Republicans have pulled off here this morning in the early hours after pulling an all-nighter to get the bill to the floor for a vote. | ||
| This is how you can join the conversation. | ||
| Democrats 202-748-8000. | ||
| Republicans 202-748-8001. | ||
| And Independents 202-748-8002. | ||
| You can text if you'd like at 202-748-8003. | ||
| We heard that caller talk about the tax portions of this legislation. | ||
| I want to go back to the debate earlier this morning around 4 a.m. when Representative Linda Sanchez, Democrat of California, talked about the tax cuts in this piece of legislation. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The bill that we are debating this morning is an insult to every American who works for a living. | |
| American families are struggling. | ||
| Under President Trump and Republican leadership, they've seen nothing but chaos. | ||
| Prices for everyday necessities like food, clothing, diapers, and formula keep rising because of Trump's tariffs. | ||
| Premiums for health insurance, car insurance, and housing are going up, making it harder to make ends meet. | ||
| Americans are worried about their future. | ||
| People are afraid about losing their jobs, their health care, student aid, and food assistance. | ||
| And this bill brings that pain. | ||
| Almost 14 million people will lose their health care coverage under this Republican bill. | ||
| And for what? | ||
| So billionaires can get even richer while the rest of us drown in debt. | ||
| This is outrageous. | ||
| Republicans are doling out tax cuts for the wealthiest while destroying the means of survival for hardworking families. | ||
| This bill assaults those seeking the American dream by stealing tax benefits and services from working people who are paying taxes. | ||
| It would deny the child credit to 2 million children who live in the United States. | ||
| Here's an idea. | ||
| How about you start working for the people that you represent, not your wealthy children? | ||
| But I guess that's asking too much from people who have lost their moral compass. | ||
| Thank you, Mr. Speaker. | ||
| If the Trump tax cuts expire in the Congresswoman's district, 95,070 of California 38 families would see their household child tax credit slashed in half. | ||
| That is helping your constituents. | ||
| From the debate earlier this morning, the House Republicans and Democrats squaring off over President Trump's tax and spending cut bill, ultimately, Republicans were the victor and they approved it 215 to 214. | ||
| More from that debate. | ||
| Let's go and hear from Nicole Maliotakis, Republican of New York. | ||
| She talked about the accomplishments in the bill. | ||
| In this bill, we are providing real tax relief for hardworking Americans, for middle-class families, for us senior citizens, not the billionaires like the Democrats claim. | ||
| We increase the state and local tax deduction, the standard deduction, the child tax credit. | ||
| The last two would be cut in half if we take no action today. | ||
| We provide tax relief by including my legislation to provide a bonus deduction to reduce the taxes that our seniors pay on their Social Security income. | ||
| We fulfill President Trump's commitment to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and we stop the return of the alternative minimum tax that crushed middle-class families. | ||
| We allow Americans to fully deduct auto loan interest on their American-made vehicles, and we help young graduates with student loan debt get reimbursed by their employers tax-free. | ||
| All of that is for working-class, middle-class, not billionaires. | ||
| We also make sure that this bill keeps our borders secure and funds the deportation of criminal, illegal immigrants. | ||
| We increase and strengthen domestic energy production and security. | ||
| We safeguard Medicaid for our seniors, for our disabled, for our children with disabilities. | ||
| And we crack down on the fraudsters by targeting waste, fraud, and abuse. | ||
| The Democrats can continue to fight for the fraudsters. | ||
| They continue to fight for the illegal immigrants, but we're going to deliver for the working families, middle-class, and senior citizens. | ||
| Thank you, and I yield back. | ||
| After a sleepless night, the floor debate in the House of Representatives and final vote for President Trump's tax and spending cuts bill. | ||
| It was approved at 2:15 to 2:14 with one present, close to 7 a.m. Eastern Time. | ||
| C-SPAN was gabble-to-gavel, of course, with our coverage of the House of Representatives. | ||
| President Trump has posted on Truth Social this morning, close to 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the one big, beautiful bill has passed the House of Representatives. | ||
| This is arguably the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country. | ||
| The bill includes massive tax cuts, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, tax deductions when you purchase an American-made vehicle, along with strong border security measures, pay raises for our ICE and Border Patrol agents, funding for the Golden Dome, Trump savings accounts for newborn babies, and much more. | ||
| Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson and the House leadership. | ||
| And thank you to every Republican who voted yes on this historic bill. | ||
| Now it's time for our friends in the U.S. Senate to get to work and send this bill to my desk as soon as possible. | ||
| There is no time to waste. | ||
| The bill does head to the upper chamber next, where there will be debate and vote, and more than likely, according to news reports, changes to the underlying legislation. | ||
| And then, if those changes take place, it has to go back to the House for another round of debate and vote. | ||
| Linda, let's hear from you in Harlan, Kentucky, Republican. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I am so very proud of our Republican Party. | |
| I was up all night. | ||
| I enjoyed every minute of it. | ||
| And I'm thankful to God that we have Mike as Speaker of the House and Trump and his great team that put this bill together. | ||
| And yes, ma'am, it is one beautiful bill. | ||
| Linda, why did you stay up all night long? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I wanted to know everything going on. | |
| Did you also hear her say I want to know? | ||
| Well, said an oral argument, and believe me, I've heated a few times. | ||
| But I tell you what, Trump's got one great team. | ||
| One great team. | ||
| So Linda, you were watching right here on C-SPAN because you wanted to hear it for yourself. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Absolutely. | |
| All right. | ||
| Linda, she didn't want to get it filtered through other people or hearsay. | ||
| She wanted to hear word for word, uninterrupted, with no analysis. | ||
| She wanted to hear it for herself. | ||
| So she watched along here on C-SPAN. | ||
| Linda? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I can do it at 72 with cancer. | |
| America better start paying attention and support our president. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Linda's thoughts there. | ||
| Republican from Kentucky. | ||
| Mona in Pittsburgh, Democratic caller. | ||
| Hi, Mona. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, Greta. | |
| Thank you and C-SPAN for putting all of this out there live and uninterrupted. | ||
| I watched most of all day yesterday, but God bless the 88-year-old woman who could stay up all night because I fell asleep. | ||
| But I have to watch the vote, so God bless her. | ||
| Yeah, I have been a long time registered Democrat. | ||
| I did vote for Trump in this last election. | ||
| With respect to your recent caller, Rolena, I strongly disagree with her comments regarding the Trump administration and what he is doing. | ||
| He is literally putting Americans first, and he is resetting the world stage. | ||
| And with that, tariffs are helping to reset that world stage because other countries have been taking advantage of us for way too long. | ||
| And so I strongly disagree with that. | ||
| Her comment about, which I believe was about the South African president yesterday who was in the Oval Office, which I watched, you know, the fact is, you know, he pointed out exactly what's going on. | ||
| And my reasoning for voting for Trump, I did not vote for him in the first term. | ||
| I did vote for Biden. | ||
| But my reasoning for voting for Trump was not only watching his rallies, but when I saw that, you know, I was a legacy media watcher all my life, CNN, MSNBC, you know, the whole group there, NBC, et cetera. | ||
| I started to watch Newsmax last year. | ||
| And when I saw Biden go on stage for that presidential debate, and I saw how bad he looked, and I kept following Newsmax, and I could tell there was something wrong with him. | ||
| And I have to question now who really was running our country the past four years and who was the autopen. | ||
| But needless to say, those things will come out. | ||
| Mona, can I go back? | ||
| Because you tried to stay up all night long. | ||
| And we've heard from several viewers who said they did. | ||
| One 88 years old, another 63, 77, staying up all night long along with C-SPAN to watch this debate and vote. | ||
| You fell asleep, and so did Congressman Gabarino, Andrew Gabarino. | ||
| He's 40 years old. | ||
| And Speaker Johnson said he fell asleep in the back and missed this vote. | ||
| What do you think about that? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I heard about that. | |
| You know what? | ||
| I can't blame them because I watched pretty much all day yesterday into the, you know, I don't know, it might have been 1230 and I zonked out. | ||
| So he's a lot younger than me, I tell you that. | ||
| Yeah. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Well, Mona, this is from Jake Sherman, who covers Capitol Hill, a veteran reporter and co-founder of Punch Bowl News, saying he has a quote here from Gabarino. | ||
| After sitting through proceedings all night, the congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. | ||
| He was present throughout the lead up to the legislation's consideration and fully intended to vote yes. | ||
| And he goes on to write, this is why you should not legislate in the dead of night. | ||
| We'll go to Jeffrey in Burbank, Illinois, Independent. | ||
| Jeffrey, good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, good morning. | |
| How are you? | ||
| Morning. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
All right. | |
| So, you know, I'm watching the debates and I see the Democrats doing all these theatrics and shaking their fists at the sky. | ||
| And, oh, the Republicans are going to do this and that. | ||
| And you know what? | ||
| I remember years ago, everybody was saying, you know what, we're going to run out of money for Medicaid and Medicare. | ||
| We're going to be broke. | ||
| There's too much going on. | ||
| There's too much going out. | ||
| I didn't see them lift a finger when 11 million, 15 million, 16 million people were pouring over the border and they were putting those people on those same programs. | ||
| I didn't see them do a single thing about that. | ||
| They weren't worried about it then when they thought they were bringing in, you know, 20 million new Democratic voters. | ||
| And now all of a sudden, when somebody, I don't care if it was Trump or a Democrat or Bernie Sanders, somebody's going to make a change and a real change to the system. | ||
| And now, oh, it's the end of the world. | ||
| Everybody, you know. | ||
| We're going to leave this to take you live to the State Department for a briefing with spokeswoman Tammy Bruce. | ||
| I missed you. | ||
| I did. | ||
| I missed you. | ||
| I don't know. | ||
| You could not have missed me because of Tommy Piggott. | ||
| Thank you for taking care of him, being nice the first day and not so much the next day. | ||
| But thank you, Tommy. | ||
| Great job. | ||
| I'm very, very proud and honored that you're standing up here. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I appreciate it. | ||
| Thank you, everyone, for being here. | ||
| Welcome aboard. | ||
| Daphne's smiling. | ||
| That's a good sign. | ||
| But she's always smiling. | ||
| That might be a bad sign. | ||
| I don't know. | ||
| We do, of course, have a statement and a few announcements here. | ||
| And thank you again all for being here. | ||
| We condemn the heinous murder of two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. last night. | ||
| Every day we talk about in this room the aftermath of one of the most obscene attacks on Jews in history. | ||
| The October 7th massacre was a reminder to the world that Jew hatred and murder is the hallmark of terrorists and monsters around the world. | ||
| The envy feeding this hate is thousands of years old. | ||
| It is now the 21st century and it is time for the barbarity to end. | ||
| While this obscenity happened in Washington, D.C., we have a president and a secretary of state that recognize the importance of saying, enough is enough, and genuinely, never again. | ||
| There is a reason why we stand in solidarity with Israel. | ||
| There is a reason why we stand with our partners at the Israeli embassy. | ||
| And there is a reason why we stand with the Jewish people here in the United States and around the world. | ||
| Because America has a history of not allowing the monsters among us to destroy life, the future, and everything that matters. | ||
| The Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service is providing ongoing support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and their investigation of this incident and coordinating with other federal and local law enforcement partners. | ||
| As Secretary Marco Rubio has said, make no mistake, we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice. | ||
| Our prayers go out to their loved ones. | ||
| Sarah Milgram and Yaron Leshinsky. | ||
| Sarah Milgram and Yaron Leshinsky. | ||
| May their memory be a blessing. | ||
| Now, on Capitol Hill this week, Secretary Rubio went before Congress to share how we are implementing President Trump's vision of an American first foreign policy. | ||
| He made clear that America is back and that securing our borders, making communities safer, and combating criminal cartels are once again key priorities of our foreign policy. | ||
| He also explained how the fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of State will enable the Department to deliver on President Trump's foreign policy agenda that makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. | ||
| The budget request and the State Department's reorganization will ensure our ability to respond to the challenges of the 21st century on behalf of the American people. | ||
| And now finally, ahead of Memorial Day, which I know we're all looking forward to, I want to recognize and honor the Americans who gave their lives to defend our freedom. | ||
| Their bravery, service, and sacrifice represent the very best of America. | ||
| The heroes of this country would have preferred long, enjoyable, quiet lives, but instead they answered the call when we needed them most. | ||
| Every day that we simply enjoy is due to the sacrifice of the men and women who died on the field. | ||
| We will never forget those who've given all to defend our country, our way of life, and the American people. | ||
| God bless all who have served and are serving our nation. | ||
| And now, ready for your questions. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Daphne. | |
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Following the shooting last night, are U.S. embassies on any sort of special alert or thinking about any change in posture? | |
| I can't speak to security measures that are being implemented or being discussed or decided upon. | ||
| What I did note in my topper is that, in fact, we are working certainly with the D.C. Metropolitan Police, and the security of this building, of American diplomats, of diplomats throughout this city, is of paramount importance to the United States of America. | ||
| We act on that every single day, and certainly we're continuing to do that today and in the days that come as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And has Secretary Rubio had any conversations with Israeli officials or the Israeli ambassador today? | |
| I can't remark on the specifics of any conversations that have been had, but I know that, of course, you've seen his messages, the tweets, and of course, we will hear no doubt again soon about the nature of what's transpiring. | ||
| But I can tell you that he is, as all of us are, is heartbroken. | ||
| We're all affected by this. | ||
| It is something we deal with, in a sense, of course, every day. | ||
| This administration, the Secretary's work, the President's work, and often I don't know how they do it. | ||
| I have maybe 40, 45 minutes with you guys twice a week. | ||
| And these are issues that are existential all the time. | ||
| And I know that, again, my work is made easier because I know the people running this country care about life and about the condition of our lives. | ||
| And so that's the most I can say, separate from certainly specifics of who they're speaking with. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Yes, Andrea Mitchell. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi. | |
| Thank you very much. | ||
| A couple of questions about South Africa and also Sudan. | ||
| In South Africa, the State Department is empowered legally with deciding when a genocide exists. | ||
| Has there been an investigation that supports any such contention because there is no credible evidence from any authority on the ground there in their government, in NGOs, | ||
| or elsewhere that we can find to support an allegation of genocide, that white farmers are at all as disadvantaged as the crime wave there that is a problem against blacks in much greater numbers and proportionally even greater numbers than whites. | ||
| The fact checkers have shown that the white crosses were put up as a protest against the criminal movement and against the death of the farmers. | ||
| The crosses and the burial were all part of a protest against the criminality, not as described. | ||
| So what information was given to the White House, if any, by the State Department, by the experts in the field, to support what was described as an ambush widely around the world of a South African visitor who had a celebrated background as a leader of a biracial government and someone who was jailed with Mandela and who has been one of the civic leaders of a new South Africa, | ||
| as troubled as their history has been, as troubled as their current situation is? | ||
| Well, I would say that, as we all knew, of course, the President has been very vocal about his concern about the violence, the nature of what's been transpiring in South Africa. | ||
| The president did not come to the United States of America unaware of the position and the posture of the president and of the Secretary of State and of his administration. | ||
| So I would argue against very much that there was some kind of an ambush. | ||
| South Africa also has been facing a dynamic where there's been regular criticism, ranging from not just the collapse in some ways when it comes to the violence in civil society, but then the referral of Israel with the ICJ for the issues of genocide while ignoring Hamas, cozy up to Iran, the general choices that they've made. | ||
| In the meantime, also of passing a law that has allowed them to take property, to possess property, of white Afrikaner farmers with no reason. | ||
| One element is equity. | ||
| And so when you're passing laws like that that target a group, ostensibly sending a message to the population that these people have a price to pay, there's something that they need to be doing, that they deserve to have their land taken, combined with the chance of kill the boar, the massive rallies where encouragement of violence is prevalent and is at the core of it, | ||
| in addition to the associations South Africa and its president have chosen to make, like with Iran, and their actions against Israel, it creates a picture that is worthwhile having a conversation in the Oval Office. | ||
| And that is, I think, it is the transparency of the president. | ||
| Certainly, both leaders aware of what the concerns have been and what the arguments have been. | ||
| So I don't think President Ramaposa was somehow surprised or shocked at the fact that we have an honest man who's in the White House who's spoken and continued to speak about violence and the trajectory of South Africa. | ||
|
unidentified
|
What I'm just suggesting is that the facts matter with the credibility of the president, and that the, as it was explained in the Oval Office, and it has been explained elsewhere, that is a minority party, a protest party that is legally permissible, but that the white agricultural minister said in the Oval Office, that's why we joined the coalition to make sure that they didn't get into the parliament, that they don't have power. | |
| They've been, you know, they've been in the power of the power. | ||
| And the nature of the weeds of something like that, where that individual you saw also the larger video of the thousands and thousands of individuals in a stadium framework. | ||
| And I think that what Americans in the world and what South Africans see is a movement and an attitude that is not only not punished, but reinforced, but Andrea, reinforced with a law that says, oh, those people that you're calling to have be killed, yeah, let's take their land. | ||
| Who does that? | ||
| Who does that in the midst of that environment? | ||
| And I think that when we think about it, I'm not certainly going to get ahead of the president. | ||
| President Trump is someone that the world knows, says what he thinks and acts on what he thinks, but I think that it was very clear, and he's been clear, as has the Secretary, about the problems with South Africa, the nature of the signals that it sends, the quality or lack thereof of life, the fact that we have taken in refugees, very basic standard of looking for asylum. | ||
| They've met that standard. | ||
| And it's more than just complaining. | ||
| It is about acting and finding an element where we can make a difference for those people. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Taking of the land, first of all, it's with judicial review when it has happened. | |
| It's not, it's not. | ||
| But let me correct you right there, Andrea, and then I'm going to move on. | ||
| This particular law they tout has not even been implemented yet. | ||
| That's correct. | ||
| So it's not about judicial review. | ||
| The law, if you have a judicial review of a law that says there is no standard, well, then you'll have judicial review of no standard. | ||
| They have not taken it. | ||
| And it is in part, I would argue, because of the global attention that has been placed on them because of President Donald Trump's attitude, his comments, and bringing attention to that framework in general. | ||
| That is why that hasn't been acted on. | ||
| And I will move on, but I think I've been clear, yes, ma'am, I think you have probably something to say. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Let me just go. | |
| Andrea, four questions. | ||
| I've answered them. | ||
| You've asked in depth. | ||
| We are going to move on. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
| I'm sure others might have the same sort of question. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks, Hammy. | |
| Two, I think, should be quick ones on sanctions. | ||
| One, can you just explain the discrepancy or apparent discrepancy between what Secretary Rubio tweeted last night on Venezuela's sanctions and what the Special Envoy Grinnell said, the Secretary saying that the Chevron waiver would not be extended and Special Envoy Grinnell saying it would be. | ||
| And then, just secondly, on Sudan, sorry, Syria sanctions. | ||
| Just what's the status of the relief that the President promised last week? | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Well, I can tell you that the Secretary did put up a tweet making it clear where we stand on chevron, which is a license which is due to expire in May. | ||
| And what I will speak to is not what others have said, but certainly the people who are in charge of the nature of what we are doing, and that is Secretary Rubio, making it clear that that license is going to expire. | ||
| And so that's what I take my lead from is his remarks in that regard. | ||
| So there's no confusion. | ||
| I think many people on every issue can have a lot of opinions, but I think clearly who we look to are the people who have the power to have the impact and who make the decision. | ||
| And of course, this is at the direction of President Trump as well. | ||
| About Syria. | ||
| Yes, it was a very exciting moment. | ||
| I was in Riyadh and in the building when President Trump announced that he was lifting the sanctions on Syria. | ||
| That is something that we've discussed, and many people have wondered when that would occur. | ||
| And clearly, the President decided now was the time. | ||
| And I do know that, of course, there's a team of people who immediately started working on that, who are working on it now. | ||
| There is, of course, it's worth noting that the president has some powers in the nature of what can get done, but sanctions are administered through different departments in this country. | ||
| So it is, his was a message and certainly the order to reverse our dynamic, to remove the sanctions, which involves departments like the Treasury Department. | ||
| So it is a process that will take some time, but as we know with the Trump administration, that they've sped up the trend a bit. | ||
| And they understand the importance of getting things done quickly. | ||
| And that is the intention of getting things done quickly as they take the order from the President from that afternoon. | ||
| And we're working on it. | ||
| It's been a week. | ||
| But I do think, because of not just the urgency, but they understand the urgency, but of the recognition of this administration, the government as a whole, of how the president works, that things have to happen and should happen as quickly as possible. | ||
| So all I can say is without a specific date, is it will be done quickly and certainly more quickly than we're used to. | ||
| All right. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Yes. | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
| Sure. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Secretary Rubio said in one of his hearings on the Hill that he had met with the World Food Programme in Rome. | |
| I just want to get clarity on whether this means that the current U.S. policy is for the UN's leading food program, leading food organization is like that they will remain the main food provider for Gaza, hence his meeting with them, or whether that's a good idea. | ||
| You're reading an awful lot into the meeting. | ||
|
unidentified
|
It would be good to have more detail on that. | |
| Sure. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Given there's a lot of reporting on heated conversations between humanitarian aid organizations, discussion over this new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. | |
| And I've got one more after that. | ||
| Sure. | ||
| Well, Secretary Rubio visited with Cindy McCain, who leads that program. | ||
| And he doesn't visit personally to shut something down. | ||
| It was, from what I know, a very good meeting. | ||
| I cannot share the details with you, as you might imagine. | ||
| But I think that regularly we should view the nature and certainly after the rhetoric the Secretary has used and the actions that the State Department has implemented when it comes to our continuing commitment to life-saving aid around the world, and certainly food aid, is that I would have expected, since her office is in our embassy at the Holy See, that that is a meeting that should have taken place and did take place. | ||
| And I'm looking forward to the nature of that kind of a conversation and what can come from it. | ||
| And we'll see. | ||
| But it was that entire visit was very good. | ||
| I think very, certainly we went to the inaugural Mass with the Pope. | ||
| But overall, it was A recognition and a commitment, seeing this from the Secretary, being there as he is a practicing Catholic, but also knowing how each part of his work mattered and also was implemented on that trip. | ||
| The nature of what the importance of Italy, the importance of the Vatican, the importance of faith, and the nature of his work in the process. | ||
| And of course, that meeting was part of that work. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So it's just part of looking at options. | |
| I'm not going to speculate or guess. | ||
| I'm a little psychic, but not enough for that to answer that specifically. | ||
| A little psychic, but you know. | ||
| Well, nothing you want to know. | ||
| But don't speculate on that, but I do think because of the speed in which we work, we will all see the intention of the Secretary, the nature of what's happening with the World Food Program, under certainly the leadership of Cindy McCain and what her intentions are as well. | ||
| So you had some more. | ||
| You had Sudan. | ||
|
unidentified
|
No, just one on Gaza as well. | |
| Gaza, yes, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. | ||
| Sure. | ||
| There's reporting about private security that would be used for this new foundation. | ||
| I just want to understand if this administration is okay with private security personnel for a foundation like that, presumably of which they'll be armed, going into Gaza, and presumably some of the personnel for that private security would be American citizens. | ||
| Just want to understand that. | ||
| Watch out. | ||
| I can use the word presumably. | ||
| Watch out. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I mean, looking at other private security firms and what they do and some of the things that we're doing. | |
| Well, you know, I think that, yes, it's good that you're concerned about security. | ||
| We all are. | ||
| And that's been one of the problems we've had with Gaza: the ability to move food aid and medical aid through an arena that is not thinking as you think. | ||
| They are not concerned about safety. | ||
| It is about terrorists who've been keeping food aid and medical aid from the people of Gaza. | ||
| And that has impacted our ability to move all that aid, the aid that we've wanted to move through, that we would do only when it was safe to do so. | ||
| So our concern has been constantly about safety and what we could achieve in that environment. | ||
| That's the point of ceasefires, is to have safety. | ||
| So I would, with that being a standard, that we will support having things move in if it can be safe, that having a security service is important. | ||
| I think we all would agree. | ||
| I won't get into the details of how it's being managed, because that's the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is private and operates on its own. | ||
| But clearly, when it comes to what one of our core elements was, which is that we support all of this, if it can be moved in safely and securely and without falling into the hands of terrorists and the people who are causing death and destruction in that area, It seems like they've structured something that can manage that, that is the equivalent of something that we can all agree on, and they're moving forward. | ||
| So that's the story, is that we've been able to do it, we being humanity, that it's something that all of us have wanted to see, which is a movement of aid. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So if they use private security... | |
| You need to call them. | ||
|
unidentified
|
They're in support. | |
| When we speak about private security, what I look at is the story, is that we've managed or expect to manage a security that gets food and medicine to the people who all of you have wondered about whether or not they're going to get it. | ||
| That's my story. | ||
| And that's the story of humanity and the people of the Gaza Strip. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
On Iran, Mr. Witkoff is meeting with Professor Arakshi tomorrow in Rome. | |
| Both sides have been stressing on respective positions in the past few days regarding enrichment. | ||
| Do you see a chance to have a path forward towards compromise or not? | ||
| And if I may, a second question. | ||
| Answer that one so that we can, and then I will, Def, don't, I won't lose you, don't worry. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| It's like we're on a slide, you're hanging on. | ||
| Yes, what I can say is that we've made it clear on every project we're working on, certainly including Russia and Ukraine, that our involvement is really because we feel we can make a difference, and that's why we do it. | ||
| This additional meeting, certainly the fifth round of the nuclear talks, would not be happening if we didn't think that there was potential for it. | ||
| And so, I would say that clearly we believe that we are going to succeed. | ||
| We've also been very clear on some basic things, like they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. | ||
| They've been very clear, most of our leaders have been, who have spoken on it, that this is about no enrichment. | ||
| And the Iranians are at that table. | ||
| So, they also understand what our position is, and they continue to go. | ||
| So, we feel something's good enough for us to continue this work. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Second question: Secretary Rubio, this week at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the past four meetings have been focused on enrichment only. | |
| So, other issues like Iran's support for the proxies, which is like a concern for the regional countries. | ||
| Are those issues going to be discussed later on, or are they going to be part of another round of discussions? | ||
| Well, I'm not, again, part of the negotiating team, won't discuss what might be the plan. | ||
| But, just like an issue of needing a ceasefire before you discuss what the land is going to look like and what the nations are going to be doing after the fact, there's points that you have to get to before you discuss elements that might not even be a factor if you can't get to the bright line that allows us to move forward. | ||
| And that bright line has been enrichment, certainly not getting a nuclear bomb. | ||
| And those things have to be addressed. | ||
| I say this because that's what I've seen them do, and being very specific, which is fabulous, because nobody's guessing at what the goal is. | ||
| But, of course, considering the generational issues involved, this is, and the President has said this about everything he's worked on. | ||
| With the generational issues involved, that these cannot be solutions that last six months or are able to be broken in 18 months, or in three years, your 15-year-old is suddenly pulled into a war because now they're 18. | ||
| That these have got to be enduring, fundamentally changing arrangements that only Donald Trump can bring because of the nature of his attitude, his vision, and because of the support of the American people, understanding that this was a factor. | ||
| So, I would say, well, I'm not going to go on from that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I think that'll be it. | |
| Yes, but yes, the U.S. sent some migrants to Djibouti, and I'm wondering: are you in negotiations with Djibouti to accept these people, or are you still trying to get them to South Sudan who say they won't take third country nationals? | ||
| What's the State Department's role in this? | ||
| Well, we know that, of course, the Secretary has been very open about the fact that we are negotiating with a number of countries to facilitate the deportation of people who are here in this country illegally. | ||
| I can say also, as the Secretary has noted, that we remain unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass migration and bolster America's border security. | ||
| I won't discuss the diplomatic conversations, which clearly is part of this framework with specific countries here. | ||
| I would also point you to Caroline Levitt's remarks the hour before my briefing here, where she noted a court order required the flight to go to Djibouti. | ||
| And I know the White House has more details on the framework involving that. | ||
| So we're currently just in the sense of handling this in an immigration posture. | ||
| Certainly, it is a reflection of our continued attitude and position. | ||
| And I don't think that this situation is certainly in the courts, which I can't remark on, but we're familiar with having to make our arguments in a variety of arenas, and this is one of those times. | ||
| But I know Caroline had more specifics. | ||
|
unidentified
|
In South Sudan, there was a dispute before with them for not taking somebody, and you guys stopped issuing visas. | |
| Has that been resolved? | ||
| Yeah, the visa situation remains the same. | ||
| Yes, we reacted in that regard because they had confirmed that this one particular person was a citizen, prepared to take him back, and then that did not happen at the last moment. | ||
| And so our response was when you're having a diplomatic negotiation with a country, you're going to respond to certain situations. | ||
| We can say that in the midst of that, in the aftermath, our posture on visas and all of that has not changed. | ||
| And we've noted, of course, regularly that we monitor their behavior, their attitudes, which, of course, continues to matter to us. | ||
| But we also are, though, are currently accepting certain diplomatic and official visa applications if eligibility is determined in that regard. | ||
| And we do that as always on a case-by-case basis. | ||
| So at this point, I have nothing more to report on that, except that it is still in place. | ||
| Yes? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Just as a quick follow-up on Iran, two Iranian sources told my colleague Fred Pliken, who's currently in Tehran, that they are concerned about the sincerity of the United States heading into this next round of nuclear talks. | |
| And they think Trump is steering the conversation towards deadlock. | ||
| Obviously, the administration has said that they want an Iran-nuclear deal, but is there anything you can shed light on in terms of the dialogue between the two sides that might be causing unnamed Iranian sources to tell us this? | ||
| Unnamed Iranian sources, no, it's not, that's not, that doesn't interest me. | ||
| It's gossip at that rate. | ||
| Certainly when we have, and we've said repeatedly, to not discuss this in the media because it makes things harder. | ||
| Everybody has an interest in all of our negotiations doing well. | ||
| Some people don't have an interest in that. | ||
| And that's where you get unnamed sources from, I don't know if there's an Iranian national inquirer, maybe there is, but that's not something that I'm going to take seriously. | ||
| What is the story and what matters is that everyone is at the table in Rome. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And what is the intention of Steve Witkoff going into the talks? | |
| Well, it's very clear what I've also just said a little earlier, and we've said in multiple briefings, the goal is to end the inability for them to have a nuclear weapon, to change and end the enrichment of their nuclear program and the intentions of that nuclear program. | ||
| So it's a significant structural change in what Iran thinks it's going to be doing. | ||
| And that's the negotiations. | ||
| I think they've been very clear about what the intentions are. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And just one follow-up on a different topic, but this is just coming out now from Homeland Security. | |
| No, don't. | ||
| Not another one. | ||
| Not like last time. | ||
| Okay, good. | ||
| But Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam says that DHS is now terminating Harvard's ability to allow any foreign students to enroll in the university, saying in a statement that the administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party. | ||
| This is obviously a program that isn't run out of the State Department, but some of these J-1 visas are issued by the State Department. | ||
| So can you shed some light on this decision by the administration? | ||
| We've seen those reports, and we're looking at them, and I can't answer that immediately, but as soon as we might have an answer, I can get it to you. | ||
| I'm sure that when we get our answer, we'll get it to everybody. | ||
| But yeah, so I've seen those reports, and I would also refer you, of course, to DHS and to Secretary Noam, who might have more details and more answers for you. | ||
| Said, nice to see you again. | ||
| I hope it's nice to see you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I appreciate it. | |
| Two quick follow-ups, one on Andrea on South Africa, and then one on Gaza. | ||
| Sure. | ||
| On South Africa, you said that the president was also influenced by what South Africa has done in terms of referring its role with the ICC. | ||
| We all have been, yes. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Its role with the ICC. | |
| Just to clarify that. | ||
| So he was, because South Africa referred Israel to the ICC. | ||
| Well, I did not say for a specific event that that influenced him. | ||
| I don't speak. | ||
| President Trump is a very clear man. | ||
| No one has to wonder his position. | ||
| But I think for all of us who've been looking at the condition of South Africa, it's never just one thing, is it? | ||
| It's a number of things. | ||
| I'll finish. | ||
| I know you might not be liking my answer, but I'll finish. | ||
| Said, it is a series of things that point to the intention of an administration or of a regime. | ||
| And it is usually consistent. | ||
| So if you're wondering about the nature of why it matters that people are at a huge stadium shouting, kill the boar, which are the, for those at home, the Dutch descendants of the settlers of South Africa, and who are white farmers, combined then with the government that says, oh, we reject that. | ||
| They're not part of our government. | ||
| But then pass a law that allows the government to take the property of those very same people simply because they're white farmers. | ||
| So that speaks to the intention of a regime in addition to their behavior with other nations, their foreign policy, how they would view the victims of October 7th, the Jews, as those who should be referred to a criminal court versus Hamas, in addition to having a rather cozy relationship with Iran. | ||
| So you don't need to be in a seminar at Stanford to understand and to recognize the trajectory of South Africa. | ||
| That is the argument for those who are looking at that, again, beyond one issue. | ||
| And I think those issues speak quite loudly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And very quickly on Gaza, now the Israelis are saying they allowed maybe six trucks or nine trucks, we don't know. | |
| And international agencies say no trucks were allowed. | ||
| Could you clarify if you have the information, have any trucks been allowed in? | ||
| The number of trucks, if you know the number, and so on. | ||
| And what's next in terms of figures and numbers? | ||
| Well, I won't share numbers with you, but what I can tell you, and you know this, having covered this situation, that Israel has been honest about the nature of what it's been doing and why, as it fights for its security and in its own defense. | ||
| And if you're getting a report from Israel about the nature of what has moved into the region, I would suggest that you should take that report seriously. | ||
| I think that everyone knows that the eyes of the world are on that region. | ||
| And at the same time, the story is, what I would argue, is, as opposed to the numbers, is the fact that aid is moving in to Gaza. | ||
| And it's interesting to me, Saeed, that that is something that I've talked with you and we've even had some sort of fights about. | ||
| And that isn't something that has been recognized, but I'll do that recognizing. | ||
| And that's what the real story is. | ||
| Yes, sir, in the back. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Tami. | |
| The delegation led by Kyrgyz Prime Minister Masoud Barzani is in town. | ||
| They have signed two energy deals with the U.S. companies valued at 110 billion U.S. dollars. | ||
| These two deals have been rejected by the Iraqi government. | ||
| I'm wondering if you have any comments and reaction to that. | ||
| And do you have anything to share with us about his scheduled meeting with Secretary Robio tomorrow? | ||
| Well, I can tell you that we were pleased to see Prime Minister Barzani sign massive deals with U.S. companies to expand natural gas production in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which will help Iraq harness its own domestic resources to become energy independent, which we've, again, talked about. | ||
| It's really great. | ||
| We've talked about these things. | ||
| Often I can't give you answers. | ||
| We don't know when it's going to happen. | ||
| And then to be able to report to you that it has happened. | ||
| And that is a key administration priority. | ||
| Being energy independent is obviously a major national security issue. | ||
| And so these deals, I think it's like over $100 billion. | ||
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unidentified
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$100. | |
| And yes, and that's what we've all been working for. | ||
| So we support these deals, and we have encouraged Baghdad and Erbil to work together to get gas production to commence as soon as possible. | ||
| At the same time, we have, of course, the declaration that these are null and void, right? | ||
| Now, this is the kind of shenanigans that can be a problem. | ||
| But we also know that, I'll give you a sense of our relationship with Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister and his visit to the United States signals our desire to strengthen the U.S. relationship with the Iraqi Kurdistan region. | ||
| And as you've noted, Secretary Rubio will meet with KRG Prime Minister Barzani to discuss expanding trade and investment between the United States and the Iraqi-Kurdistan region. | ||
| He has also stated, Secretary Rubio, that we support the Kurdish autonomy and the U.S. companies doing business there and urge the government of Iraq to respect this economic lifeline that is necessary to prosper and succeed. | ||
| We believe that U.S., Iraqi, and Iraqi Kurdish interests are best served by having a strong and resilient Iraqi Kurdistan region within a sovereign and prosperous federal Iraq. | ||
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unidentified
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Thank you so much. | |
| All right. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
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Yes. | |
| Our issue. | ||
| Well, I won't have much more, but you're welcome to. | ||
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unidentified
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You deferred to DHS. | |
| But in a bigger picture, presumably the United States wants to attract the best and the brightest insofar as foreigners, students, immigrants. | ||
| And these top-tier universities are one of the most prominent ways to do that. | ||
| So do you think prohibiting Harvard to enroll foreign students kind of gets in the way of that goal? | ||
| Well, again, I can't speak to Secretary Noam's plans and strategy and her decision to implement this. | ||
| What I would argue is that we have an interest as a nation, as President Trump has spoken to quite often, that we have an interest as a nation for these universities that are supposed to be the gold standard to actually deliver people who are educated and can function in society and on campuses that encourage a learning environment as opposed to one of left-wing activism, | ||
| where you have individuals leaving the university level in this country as our rates are declining when it comes to comprehension and reading and a whole host of other things. | ||
| It has to be more than just a label or a brand. | ||
| It has to deliver results for the families that do pay a lot of money for it. | ||
| And I think that there's a point, as you've seen, I think it's obvious from the Trump administration, with the federal money that flows into those coffers and the nature of the kind of talent. | ||
| You can speak about foreign talent. | ||
| Let's speak about American talent. | ||
| You've got a wonderful kid who's done very, very well, and then you send them to Harvard and a kid comes home and you don't even recognize them. | ||
| And they're definitely primed to be a fabulous left-wing activist, but they're maybe not going to be able to get a job. | ||
| And so, you know, this is a recognition and movement that universities around this country are recognizing, that American families have standards. | ||
| We spend money so our children can be educated in the normal function of life. | ||
| And we get kids back who have not received the kind of education we expected. | ||
| COVID highlighted this for many of us, but I think that this opens up a conversation, as it should, between the federal government and the universities that we rely on and have been proud of, that we deserve to be proud of them again. | ||
| And if we're going to speak about who we rely on for the best and the brightest, there's plenty of American kids who also deserve to be taken seriously. | ||
| And I believe that we can handle all of them properly. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
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unidentified
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Thanks very much. | |
| My question is. | ||
| On U.S.-India relations. | ||
| Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump both are very famous in India. | ||
| As far as U.S. policies are concerned, most Indians agree with you. | ||
| I heard you're pretty famous in India. | ||
| All right. | ||
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unidentified
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My question is, madam, as far as terrorism against India recently in the state of Kashmir is concerned, innocent Indians were purists were massacred. | |
| Oh, yes, we all know that. | ||
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unidentified
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Yes, ma'am. | |
| My question is that as far as talking with Pakistan is concerned, India's Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, and also Foreign Minister Mr. Jaashankar, we both met with the Secretary Rubio and President. | ||
| What they are saying is that as long as terrorism is continuing against India, what they said by Pakistan supporters inside that they have training centers inside Pakistan. | ||
| Well, here's what I can, here's what I can see, and this is and I understand your point and what has been a generational concern about violence and terrorism in that region, certainly with the troubles between India and Pakistan, is that there is a ceasefire. | ||
| Obviously we know that we're very close to full-scale war erupting and what's very exciting and heartening is that you know, America's involvement and assistance made a difference in that stopping and a ceasefire that has continued. | ||
| But of course, within that one expects, as the world noticed, That has not been resolved, that the potential of having these long-term problems resolved has returned, and it is an opportunity. | ||
| And the good news is that, unlike some other regions, there has been a commitment to a ceasefire that makes oh, is that my alarm? | ||
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unidentified
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Yeah. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| I should ask you to put on your alarms. | ||
| It's like, oh, Tammy's done. | ||
| All right, we're going to have, we're going to have, all right, we'll have one more and the green jacket in the back. | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
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unidentified
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Thank you, Tommy. | |
| Make sure her mic is on, just as she's in the back here. | ||
| The sound here is. | ||
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unidentified
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Two quick question, too quick. | |
| Do you have any update on the peace deal agreement between Rwanda and the Democrat Republic of Congo when we will see this peace deal signed? |