| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
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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. | ||
| Take you back up to Capitol Hill now, where we are joined by Hawaii Democratic Congresswoman Jill Takuta. | ||
| Congresswoman, good morning to you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Aloha, John. | ||
| I wanted to start on the one big, beautiful bill. | ||
| I know you've been closely watching the path of this legislation. | ||
| When the House eventually gets back, whatever the Senate does on this legislation, how different do you expect it to be from the bill that you voted on back in May? | ||
|
unidentified
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Well, I voted against the big, ugly bill, and let's just hope when it comes back to the House that this big, dirty bill, as we know and we've been fighting against, hopefully gets a proper bath and a cleaning, and it looks very different from what we saw when we voted on it here in the House. | |
| Unfortunately, we know that Senate Republicans are doing their darndest to try to continue the dirty work of the Trump administration and literally trying to find ways to fund billionaire tax credits on the backs of everyday working Americans who need health care, who need food money, who need to be able to support their farms and small businesses. | ||
| And that's just not happening in the bill that we see right now. | ||
| What can House Democrats do when this bill comes back to the House? | ||
| What's the strategy here, especially as Republicans look to move this legislation as quickly as possible? | ||
| They originally thought July 4th, but that may not happen. | ||
|
unidentified
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Absolutely. | |
| We have to, first of all, demand a proper debate, demand that we have the time to be able to produce amendments, to be able to debate them, to fight for them. | ||
| The American public deserves transparency and discussion. | ||
| They did not vote for a mandate that would be rammed down their throat as a 4th of July present to Trump and his friends. | ||
| Absolutely not. | ||
| If you want to do something right, don't set arbitrary dates and times before you first know the full facts and you're committed to doing something right. | ||
| And so I think Democrats here in the House are going to be demanding a full debate on this and the ability to be able to tease out every single change that was made by the Senate and ask the fundamental question, is this good for America? | ||
| How optimistic are you that you'll get that kind of debate in the House again? | ||
|
unidentified
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You know, if anything we've seen this year, we know we're going to have a fight on our hands. | |
| But it's a fight we're willing to step up to, quite frankly. | ||
| We have to. | ||
| That was our mandate when people elected us to demand that we come and do the work of Congress, which is not to rubber stamp what the Trump administration wants. | ||
| It's to ask tough questions. | ||
| It's to propose real changes that are going to benefit our constituencies. | ||
| So it will be no doubt an uphill fight. | ||
| We are in the minority, but that's no excuse. | ||
| We need to do our jobs and demand better. | ||
| Congressman Joe Takuta joining us for about the next 20 minutes here on the Washington Journal. | ||
| Phone lines are open for you to call in Republicans, Democrats, Independents. | ||
| Phone numbers are on the screen. | ||
| And Congressman, I know you have to leave right before 9 o'clock to head to that all-members briefing when it comes to Iran. | ||
| You're a member of the Armed Services Committee. | ||
| What questions do you have entering this classified briefing? | ||
| What do you want to hear? | ||
|
unidentified
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You know, first of all, we should ask the basic question, what took you so long? | |
| I mean, it's been a week since the planes left Missouri, literally. | ||
| And as members of Congress, we have yet to get clear answers. | ||
| You probably have more answers than we do based upon the press briefings that you have had before Congress. | ||
| This has been delayed, put off. | ||
| We're told now intelligence would be limited going forward. | ||
| We don't even have the DNI presenting as far as I know today. | ||
| And while Tulsi and I have disagreed, she actually served in my seat previously in Congress. | ||
| She is in fact the director of national intelligence. | ||
| She is the one that the president and this country should be looking towards for answers. | ||
| And the fact that they've publicly disagreed and now kicked her to a corner, this is unacceptable. | ||
| And so there's a number of questions in terms of why did it take so long? | ||
| What were the actual objectives that you're trying to achieve? | ||
| How is it possible that this president can usurp war powers authority from Congress? | ||
| And really, we should be asking our fellow members, how can you stand by and let this happen? | ||
| And so there's a ton of questions. | ||
| Let's just pray we get some real solid answers from this. | ||
| And they should know this should not and must not be the first and only time they come to Congress to answer questions. | ||
| And at some point, they should be answering those questions honestly and openly and fully in the court of public opinion. | ||
| When you say they, is it the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that you're expecting and who else? | ||
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unidentified
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This entire administration, Pete Hegseth, will be here. | |
| I'm sure he'll be surrounded by his, you know, his top brass there. | ||
| But there is the question often when we go into that room, who will not be there? | ||
| And then the question is, why not? | ||
| I want to come to you mentioned war powers, the potential war powers vote in the Senate today. | ||
| Senator Tim Kaine expected to introduce that resolution this evening. | ||
| What are you expecting in the Senate for that? | ||
| Is that something that's going to eventually make it to the House? | ||
|
unidentified
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You know, I would hope no matter what side of the aisle you sit on, you understand that the public deserves a full debate on this particular issue. | |
| To say that there was no overstepping on behalf of the president is truly not upholding your constitutional oath that you took as a member of Congress. | ||
| And so, you know, I would expect the ability for us to debate fully, to air all sides, to have proper votes where everyone's vote will be documented so your constituencies know what you think, where you stand on the issues of war power authorities, which impacts every single American, every service member in this country. | ||
| And so I would hope that we will see a full debate, a vote that people can hold us accountable to, and pass it to the House, where we can then also have that full and informed discussion. | ||
| Some viewers may be asking why that debate needs to happen when it comes to Iran when President Trump has announced the ceasefire and trying to move Iran back to the negotiating table. | ||
| Why is it still needed now? | ||
|
unidentified
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If you're asking that question, then you're questioning the entire separation of powers of the United States, the basis of our Constitution, three branches of government. | |
| We have a president who's operating as if he is a monarch of one right here. | ||
| Whether it's war powers, authority, trade and tariff, the power of the person, impoundment. | ||
| Last I checked, the American people, democracy relies on that separation of powers, and we have severe encroachments stepping over the line by this president. | ||
| That is why this absolute debate is necessary. | ||
| And by the way, when we talk about true, lasting, sustainable ceasefires, when we even talk about obliterated versus severely damaged versus you can come back in a few weeks or months and continue operations in Iran, there are still many questions, many things that, while the president may say it, does not make it necessarily so. | ||
| Congresswoman Jill Takuda is our guest Democrat from Hawaii Armed Services Committee member. | ||
| She has one of the longest commutes in Congress from Hawaii's second congressional district here. | ||
|
unidentified
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One of the most beautiful. | |
| And here to take your phone calls as well. | ||
| James is up first out of Philly line for Democrats. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
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Hi, thanks for taking my call. | |
| So I'm a Democrat and I'm a Trump-hating Democrat and I'll admittedly. | ||
| However, when the president took this military action, I found myself leaning towards, well, he did the right thing. | ||
| And I actually was a little bit more convinced by two of your guests that you had on previously. | ||
| I think it was this week, but it might have been, it was recent. | ||
| And they were taking opposite points of view on whether or not he should have done this. | ||
| The one point they both agreed on was that Iran has never shown that they're enriching uranium for the purpose of energy or, I think, or a medical reason. | ||
| And they both agreed on basically that means that Iran is enriching uranium for a bomb, and whether they want a bomb, it's for a deterrent. | ||
| A deterrent implies that someone's not going to use it. | ||
| I mean, it's used as, well, to say, don't do it to us or we'll do it back to you. | ||
| And I just don't come to trust the Iranian message over the years, how they're always saying death to Israel, death to America. | ||
| I just don't trust them with that kind of power. | ||
| And I got your point. | ||
| Let me let Congresswoman Takuta jump in. | ||
|
unidentified
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Thank you so much for sharing that perspective. | |
| You know, I think we need to remember that in 2015, we had a joint agreement. | ||
| We had the ability to have that oversight over Iran and their uranium enrichment program. | ||
| When Trump came in, one of the very first things he did in office was he walked away from that agreement. | ||
| He ripped it apart because he thought no one could do it better than him. | ||
| And let's be real. | ||
| He ended his first term with no agreement in place. | ||
| We are here in this moment today because of what Trump did during his first term. | ||
| And let's ask ourselves: is walking out on diplomacy, which is what you do when you say, let's give it two weeks and see what the negotiation table does, and then literally two days later you bomb the country. | ||
| While that may seem like forceful, decisive action, you're backing your adversaries into a corner. | ||
| You're allowing for so much miscommunication and misinformation to go out, them not understanding where America is coming from. | ||
| You actually endanger America more. | ||
| You put the peace process in danger more than you ever did before. | ||
| And so I respectfully disagree with you. | ||
| I think we had the ability to have proper oversight over their programs and to ask and monitor them. | ||
| We walked away with that, away from that during Trump 1, which is why we are here today. | ||
| Our best option is diplomacy. | ||
| That's negotiation. | ||
| That's being able to sit with trust at a table. | ||
| And trust only comes when they believe what you say. | ||
| And based on Trump's action over the last two weeks, why would anyone, our allies and our adversary, really know what they can trust when it comes to American foreign policy? | ||
| Clarksville, Tennessee, Independent Lions, Susan. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You're on with Congresswoman Takuda. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning, Congressman. | |
| Congresswoman. | ||
| I absolutely agree with everything you just said. | ||
| I had words I was going to say, but Trump definitely needs some guardrails. | ||
| I feel like this was all just a distraction away from Gaza. | ||
| You know, him and DB are okay with killing those people so he can build his resort, you know, on our taxpayer dimes. | ||
| I really feel that way. | ||
| And he is acting like a king, doesn't want to be bothered. | ||
| Just let me do what I want. | ||
| And he'll bankrupt our country if we don't stop this. | ||
| And thank you for standing up for us as well. | ||
| Congresswoman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Thank you so much. | ||
| And you know what? | ||
| You said the absolute right word. | ||
| It's a distraction and it's dangerous because back home where I live and across this country, people are struggling right now just to keep a roof over their head, food on the table, keep their farms and their small businesses doors open right now. | ||
| And everything that we're seeing, every threat to Medicaid, every cut to snap, every time we reinig on contracts that farmers were going to use to put seeds in the ground and give them the chance to pass on their farm to the next generation, when we create unnecessary trade wars with both allies and adversaries, this is not helping people survive in this country. | ||
| We cannot have dangerous distractions that only make life harder for Americans. | ||
| And I'm here to do the work where we actually lift that burden from people's shoulders and help them have a chance at the real American dream in this country. | ||
| Jamestown, South Carolina, Danny, Republican, good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, ma'am, Mr. Takudo. | |
| Myself, I hear a bunch of Trump haters this morning, but I'm not too much worried about Iran right now. | ||
| I think Trump took care of that problem pretty quickly. | ||
| I just want to ask you two questions. | ||
| I hope you answer them. | ||
| The first question is, did you vote for the Inflation Reduction Act? | ||
| And second of all, did you read it? | ||
| And did it help the country? | ||
| That was three questions. | ||
| I apologize. | ||
| And I'll take your answers off the air. | ||
| Thank you very much for those questions. | ||
| I came into Congress in 2022. | ||
| So I was not here to vote on the Inflation Reduction Act. | ||
| I did read through that working back home in Hawaii and understanding the positive impacts that it had on our local economy, whether it was accessing affordable health care and things like insulin, to making sure we had energy and conservation projects that really actually help people deal with extreme weather conditions and other climate conditions that we are facing right now. | ||
| So I hope I answered your question. | ||
| I was not here. | ||
| I did read the bill, and that is something that we have to do with everything that comes before us. | ||
| So, Mahalo, for your question, sir. | ||
| What did you do before you became a member of Congress, and why did you want this job? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I served in the Hawaii State Senate for 12 years, doing everything from running the Education Committee to the Ways and Means Committee, which manages the entire budget and every tax provision for the state. | |
| I did lose a statewide election, spent four years back in the private sector where I ran a small business doing consulting and other kind of public relations communications work as well. | ||
| And I will tell you, the loss that I had going back into the private sector, especially during COVID, and being able to use my skills formally in government to be able to navigate how we got people through this crisis, utilizing both the resources from the federal government, private sector dollars, really was eye-opening. | ||
| It was one of the best things that could have happened to me. | ||
| I know that's crazy seeing a loss as being the best thing, but I think it best prepared me to now be in Congress to know exactly what we have to fight for and quite frankly, how everything hits the grounds for people on the other side of the table when we make decisions here in Congress. | ||
| So sometimes, while it hurts, it is good for us to step back and go back to the real world where we understand how laws, polity decisions, and budgets can either make a difference or break people back at home. | ||
| Less than 15 minutes before the House comes in, Congresswoman Takuda with us for about the next 10 minutes or so, and we are expecting the Supreme Court to have its final day of decisions at 10 a.m. Eastern, a half dozen of decisions set to be handed down. | ||
| Which one are you watching most closely, Congresswoman? | ||
|
unidentified
|
There are so many. | |
| It's like noodles on a wall right now. | ||
| I think I'm still spiraling and trying to get over the Planned Parenthood decision yesterday. | ||
| You know, I co-lead and co-founded the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus in Congress. | ||
| There's over 70 members of us, Democrats and Republicans. | ||
| What we know as our reality is we live in health care deserts in our community. | ||
| And when you strip away the ability for Planned Parenthood to be able to serve, to provide non-abortion care, we're talking about primary care services, whether it's vaccinations, mental health, mental health services, whether it's taking a look at even being able to get birth control, screenings, cancer screenings, these basic things, you're going to rob people of their futures in rural and remote America. | ||
| And so I see this as an absolute tragedy. | ||
| Again, I'm still reeling from that decision because I know that no doubt there will be lives lost from the inability to get the health care, basic screenings that they need, the primary care services that Planned Parenthood provides every single day across our country. | ||
| And I think it's going to be really sad when Americans realize what they've lost at the hands of a 6-3 decision at the Supreme Court. | ||
| And that decision coming yesterday and another half dozen decisions set to be handed down today. | ||
| See a live shot there just a second ago of the Supreme Court. | ||
| There's going to be more people gathering there over the course of the next hour. | ||
| Our C-SPAN cameras will be out there. | ||
| And we're with you for about the next 15 minutes on the Washington Journal. | ||
| This is Billy in Crockett, Texas. | ||
| Democrat, good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| I would just like to say that we as Americans, we are a nation of God. | ||
| And even though we have a president at times, we do crazy stuff. | ||
| He don't represent all of America. | ||
| America is the world's leader because if we wasn't in the world's leader, the world would be upside down because we got a lot of people that do anything for money. | ||
| And if we can stay a nation of God, we will continue to be the world's leader. | ||
| And I know, and being a son of God, I know that we will be a nation of God, even though we have times where people come out of cookie people come out and do crooked things, but they will never dominate America. | ||
| America was made great by God, and we will continue that. | ||
| Billy, got your point. | ||
| Let me go to Joe in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Republican, good morning. | |
| Hey, good morning. | ||
| How are you? | ||
| Getting well. | ||
| I just want to make three points. | ||
| The hypocrisy of Democrats never ceases to amaze me. | ||
| I don't know if she was in Congress, but 10 years ago, President Obama bombed countries from drones and never asked congressional approval. | ||
| Nobody said nothing about nothing. | ||
| And President Trump may have not had to take these actions if we didn't have a senior president that had open borders with 700 Iranian nationals are walking around our country. | ||
| A country that said they want to kill us. | ||
| They want to kill us. | ||
| And you just said before about being honest, and President Trump, he's the most honest president I think I've ever seen. | ||
| He says what's on his mind sometimes. | ||
| Sometimes it annoys me because he says what he says, he feels all the time. | ||
| What did you say when President Biden, you know, was a senior president? | ||
| Were you part of the cover-up? | ||
| That's Joe, Congresswoman. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Joe. | |
| And I appreciate the passion from all directions in which it's come. | ||
| I was not in Congress when, 10 years ago, when Obama made that decision, but let me say this very clearly. | ||
| Past presidents have always followed that protocol that if they are going to utilize their ability to make decisions unilaterally, they will inform Congress, not just the Congress members from their party, like this president apparently may have done, but actually go to all corners and tell them that this is my plan. | ||
| This is my reasoning. | ||
| This is my truth as to why I am making that decision. | ||
| And so let's talk about, we can have honesty. | ||
| We can share everything that comes out of our mind. | ||
| But what the American people deserve is not just honesty. | ||
| They deserve the truth. | ||
| And I will tell you that is significantly in question right now, especially when we have a president who does not follow the words, the advice, the information, the recommendations of his own intelligence community. | ||
| We rely on that intelligence community to keep us safe so we can make those best decisions. | ||
| But when you have unilateral, unauthorized, unconstitutional actions like what you saw from the president when he took it in his hands to bomb Iran, that does not keep Americans safe. | ||
| And even now, there is a discrepancy as to what actually came out of reports from intelligence. | ||
| Was it obliterated, severely damaged? | ||
| You know, was it only set back a few weeks to a few months? | ||
| I actually am even more profoundly disturbed to see the intelligence community trying to walk back to meet Trump where he is at. | ||
| It is not about pleasing the master. | ||
| It's about doing what's right for America and telling the truth. | ||
| That's what we're going to have to be demanding and keeping on every agency, the White House, and members of Congress in the next weeks, months, and clearly years to come because that's what America really does deserve. | ||
| Honesty, yes, the truth first and foremost. | ||
| And Congresswoman, that seems like a good place to end. | ||
| I know you need to run to get to your intelligence briefing. | ||
| We do appreciate your time on the Washington Journal. | ||
| Please come back, join us down the road. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mahalo. | |
| Now we want to take you up to Capitol Hill, where we are joined by Texas Republican Congressman Keith Self for a few minutes here. | ||
| Congressman, good morning to you. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| Glad to be here. | ||
| Glad to have you. | ||
| I know you've been watching closely the work of the Senate parliamentarian as she decides what's in and what's out of the one big beautiful bill and what the Senate will give back to the House eventually. | ||
| What's your assessment of the work that she has done so far in this process? | ||
| Well, it's hard to believe that what she's doing is not intentionally. | ||
| She is basically deconstructing all of the Republican priorities, all of the conservative priorities in the big beautiful bill. | ||
| So as I say, I can't believe this is simply not intentional. | ||
| It's hard to keep up with what she's throwing out of it. | ||
| She's throwing out massive amounts of the spending cuts. |