CSPAN - Washington Journal 03/18/2026
Aired: 2026-03-18
Duration: 03:00:59


=== NATO Response to Iran (15:06) ===

[00:00:00]  Global Affairs will talk about the latest on U.S.-Israeli combat operations against Iran and other news of the day.
[00:00:06]  And then the American Enterprise Institute's John Fortier on proposals to require identification and proof of citizenship to vote and the role of the federal government in elections.
[00:00:16]  Also, California Democratic Congressman Sam Licardo will talk about the latest on U.S.-Israeli combat operations against Iran, the spike in oil and gas prices, and other congressional news of the day.
[00:00:28]  C-SPAN's Washington Journal is next.
[00:00:30]  Join the conversation.
[00:00:44]  President Trump expressed extreme disappointment of NATO countries for their failure to come alongside the United States for assistance in reopening the Strait.
[00:00:54]  Even as the President made his comments yesterday, the leaders of several NATO countries have expressed varying degrees of support for the U.S.-Israeli operations at Iran, including recent comments from U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer saying they would not be drawn into, quote, a wider war.
[00:01:09]  To start the program today, your thoughts on the latest international concerns over Iran and those countries' support of the United States at this time.
[00:01:17]  2027-8000 for Democrats, if you want to give your thoughts.
[00:01:21]  For Republicans, 202-748-8001.
[00:01:26]  And Independents, 202-748-8002.
[00:01:30]  If you want to text us your thoughts, you can do that too.
[00:01:32]  202-748-8003 is how you do that.
[00:01:36]  If you want to post on our social media sites, it's facebook.com slash C-SPAN.
[00:01:41]  And on X, it's at C-SPAN WJ. Politico takes a look at the latest comments from the President concerning the support of NATO countries at this time of the U.S.-Israeli effort in Iran.
[00:01:53]  They start this way, saying President Donald Trump on Tuesday fumed at longtime American allies as saying they are not doing enough to help the U.S. and Israel in their war against Iran, now arguing that their assistance was never needed after spending days publicly requesting for help.
[00:02:10]  Quote, because of the fact that we have such military success, we no longer need or desire NATO countries' assistance.
[00:02:16]  We never did, he says in all caps and true social.
[00:02:19]  Likewise, Japan, Australia, and South Korea, in fact, speaking as President of the United States, by far the most powerful country anywhere in the world, we do not need the help of anyone.
[00:02:28]  Again, those are in all caps.
[00:02:29]  When it comes to talking about the NATO allies' support at this time, it was at the White House in the Oval Office that the President continued his thoughts on support from other countries when it comes to the U.S.-Israeli effort in Iran.
[00:02:42]  Here are his comments from yesterday.
[00:02:45]  All of the NATO allies agreed with us, but they don't want to, you know, despite the fact that we help them so much, we have thousands of soldiers in different countries all over the world, and they don't want to help us, which is amazing.
[00:03:01]  I mean, amazing.
[00:03:02]  And I didn't do a full court press because I think if I did, they probably would be.
[00:03:07]  But we don't need help.
[00:03:09]  You know, that war has been long prosecuted as far as I'm concerned.
[00:03:15]  Almost from day one, we knocked out many of these things.
[00:03:18]  We knocked out the Navy essentially in a couple of days.
[00:03:21]  But I was surprised to see that NATO, while they agreed that it was a very important thing to do, they agree fully.
[00:03:28]  Nobody said, oh, you shouldn't do it.
[00:03:30]  They would have had a nuclear weapon within one month of when we had the B-2 bombers bomb the nuclear potential, I call it the nuclear dust.
[00:03:41]  So I think NATO's making a very foolish mistake.
[00:03:46]  And I've long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us.
[00:03:52]  So this was a great test because we don't need them, but they should have been there.
[00:03:57]  So those are the comments of the president yesterday when it comes to NATO efforts on the effort in Iran and the U.S.-Israeli effort in Iran.
[00:04:05]  You can agree or disagree with them and you want to share those comments with us.
[00:04:08]  2027 8-8000 for Democrats, Republicans, 202748-8001, and Independence, 202-748-8002.
[00:04:18]  Politico has rounded up some of the comments made about international leaders' response to calls of help from the president, saying, quote, starting with, quote, we did not start this war.
[00:04:29]  That was the German Defense Minister Boris Pistoris saying Monday the President's push for European assistance was tantamount to blackmail.
[00:04:36]  Luxembourg's deputy prime minister said to reporters, French President Emmanuel Macron panned the strikes on Iran as illegal just days after the conflict began.
[00:04:46]  British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, in comments that he made just a few days ago, said the UK, quote, will not be drawn into a wider war in the region.
[00:04:55]  Those are some of the comments made in the last couple of days.
[00:04:58]  Also, recently adding to that, the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, in an interview with Bloomberg, asked about the current efforts of the U.S. and Israel, and here are his comments.
[00:05:10]  Said NATO faces a very bad future if U.S. allies fail to assist.
[00:05:15]  How should we take that?
[00:05:17]  Well, I think, you know, we obviously have to take everything that the President of the United States says seriously.
[00:05:25]  I think the key now is to focus on the alliance and what we do.
[00:05:28]  We are a defensive alliance, which means that we don't do military attacks as such with 32 countries.
[00:05:38]  Of course, after the Cold War, we had some peacekeeping missions, but they were always justified through international law and UN charters.
[00:05:46]  So this is quite different from that.
[00:05:49]  Do you think the U.S. should be helped?
[00:05:51]  I think those countries that have the capacity and the will to help the United States will do that and should do that.
[00:05:58]  We have to understand that the situation, of course, in the Middle East and in the Gulf region right now is extremely serious.
[00:06:04]  We have Iran that has attacked somewhere between 10 to 13 different countries with missiles and drones.
[00:06:11]  And that's why I think any de-escalatory measure right now would be very useful.
[00:06:18]  President Trump said that NATO faces.
[00:06:20]  We'll show you more international reaction in a bit.
[00:06:22]  Let's hear from Virginia in California Independent Line on this latest criticisms of the president of NATO countries.
[00:06:28]  Virginia, hello.
[00:06:29]  Thanks for calling.
[00:06:31]  Yes, he got no approval whatsoever.
[00:06:33]  He on his own just decided to do this.
[00:06:36]  And I think it's tremendously embarrassing.
[00:06:38]  And I'm just shocked that sometimes even claiming to be an American the way this guy has acted, he's not our president.
[00:06:46]  When you say it's embarrassing, what do you mean by that?
[00:06:49]  Just randomly, the guy is not fit for office.
[00:06:53]  And I've said that before.
[00:06:55]  Oh, I thought you meant as far as the international reaction.
[00:06:57]  Is that what you were referring to, as far as the embarrassment part?
[00:07:01]  I'm embarrassed of him, not America Trump, just randomly, you know, on his own without any approval from any nations whatsoever.
[00:07:13]  He had no business doing it.
[00:07:15]  He's just not fit for office.
[00:07:17]  Okay.
[00:07:18]  Thank you.
[00:07:19]  Elaine in Missouri Democrats line on this international reaction to the president's calls for help.
[00:07:24]  Hello.
[00:07:26]  I think that, good morning.
[00:07:27]  Thank you for this opportunity.
[00:07:29]  I really enjoy the show.
[00:07:32]  But I do believe that it illustrates that the world does not see Trump as a peacemaker.
[00:07:45]  And it is laughable that he feels as though he is protecting someone.
[00:07:55]  And I'm happy that the other nations are turning their back on him because he is insensitive.
[00:08:08]  The way that he speaks to female reporters, I find humiliating.
[00:08:16]  And I am not sure.
[00:08:19]  Well, Elaine, back to the point where you said the president isn't seen as a peacemaker.
[00:08:24]  Elaborate on what do you mean by that in light of the NATO response that we've seen?
[00:08:28]  Well, you know, his fault was that he prevented seven wars.
[00:08:33]  And he was such a good negotiator.
[00:08:37]  He has not offered any alternatives to the folks that he's at war at, and he's killing folks.
[00:08:49]  And if you believe in peace, you don't want to kill children, people, even other soldiers.
[00:08:58]  You want to solve problems peacefully.
[00:09:02]  Okay.
[00:09:03]  Elaine there in Missouri.
[00:09:05]  Nita joins us from Alabama Republican Line on this international reaction.
[00:09:10]  Good morning.
[00:09:11]  Go ahead.
[00:09:13]  Good morning.
[00:09:14]  Morning, you're on.
[00:09:15]  Thanks for taking my call.
[00:09:17]  First of all, the lady that was down in Trump for doing this, she's got to stop and realize he didn't make this decision on his own.
[00:09:28]  He has people behind him that he gathers with to make these decisions.
[00:09:34]  Second of all, what were we supposed to do?
[00:09:38]  Sit here and wait until they attacked us with nuclear bombs.
[00:09:43]  Again, he does not make these decisions by himself.
[00:09:49]  And until these people that are criticizing everything, until it hits their family and their home, they're not going to support him.
[00:10:00]  I do support him.
[00:10:02]  I'm sorry.
[00:10:02]  Oh, no, no, I was going to ask, you talked about criticism.
[00:10:05]  What do you think about the international criticism?
[00:10:08]  Well, I have a thought about that, too.
[00:10:12]  I feel like him and his people behind him should have went to NATO to start with and have them ready to help him.
[00:10:26]  Because then he would get more support now instead of asking for it after the actions have begun.
[00:10:33]  Exactly.
[00:10:34]  He should have had the people behind him lined up to help NATO, to help us if needed, instead of going in blindsided without the help standing by.
[00:10:48]  Okay.
[00:10:48]  Nita there in Alabama, Republican line, giving us her thoughts on the international reaction, especially in the light of these recent calls on the Strait of Hormuz.
[00:10:56]  You can add your thoughts to the mix on the phone lines.
[00:10:59]  Pick the best one that represents you.
[00:11:01]  And if you've called us in the last 30 days, hold off from doing so today.
[00:11:04]  It was a couple of days ago that the Guardian newspaper posted this editorial when it comes to the president's asking for help on the Strait of Hormuz.
[00:11:13]  There's the headline, The Guardian's view, if Trump's war with Iran, if the U.S. is winning, why ask NATO for help?
[00:11:20]  And the editors write this.
[00:11:21]  Mr. Trump's argument is that countries that depend on Gulf oil should help secure the strait.
[00:11:27]  But many are cautious and for good reason.
[00:11:29]  Naval escorts would come under fire from Iran's drones, missiles, and swift boats, as well as having to navigate mines.
[00:11:36]  Participating navies would find themselves in an illegal war.
[00:11:39]  The U.S. could attempt to secure shipping through the strait alone, but doing so without traditional allies would expose Washington's isolation.
[00:11:47]  Europeans also have to weigh domestic reaction, a dilemma that's shared by Gulf nations caught between U.S. alliances and public sentiment.
[00:11:56]  This is further complicated by Israel's invasion of Lebanon, which has displaced nearly a million people as it tries to finish off Iran's proxy, Hezbollah.
[00:12:03]  Once war is spread across several fronts, no one controls escalation.
[00:12:08]  Again, that's the editor's thoughts from the Guardians.
[00:12:10]  That was from a couple of days ago.
[00:12:12]  Randy, Democrats line in Kentucky, you're next up.
[00:12:17]  Hello.
[00:12:18]  Hello.
[00:12:19]  Thank you for taking my call.
[00:12:22]  I just wanted to say that President Trump did make that decision alone.
[00:12:28]  His cabinet is subservient to him like he's a king.
[00:12:35]  He's appointed billionaires to his cabinet.
[00:12:39]  Pete Hag says, the Secretary of War, is an idiot.
[00:12:45]  He's a news commentator and a not very good one at that.
[00:12:51]  But to the international reaction, what's your thoughts on that?
[00:12:55]  I don't blame them.
[00:12:56]  I don't blame them.
[00:13:00]  They want to help us because they're allies of us.
[00:13:04]  But NATO doesn't have anything to do with the Middle East.
[00:13:10]  And it's just a dadgum horrible situation.
[00:13:17]  We need to kick Donald Trump out of the 24th Amendment or whatever.
[00:13:27]  Okay, Randy in Kentucky there.
[00:13:29]  Mary Wise from Facebook.
[00:13:31]  Some of you posting, and you can do the same if you wish when it comes to your thoughts on this on Facebook on X. Mary Wise on Facebook saying the shocking part is starting this war and then asking for help afterwards.
[00:13:44]  She just finishes with wow.
[00:13:46]  Again, you can make your thoughts on Facebook, on X when it comes to this topic.
[00:13:50]  You can text us at 202-748-8003 and phone lines available for your use as well.
[00:13:55]  Rameen in Georgia, independent line on this idea of the NATO reaction, the international reaction to U.S. efforts in Iran, on U.S.-Israeli efforts in Iran.
[00:14:06]  Go ahead.
[00:14:07]  Yes, good morning.
[00:14:08]  Thank you for having me on.
[00:14:11]  My comment is that NATO has come to the defense of our country when we were attacked.
[00:14:20]  Afghanistan, Iraq, many of these NATO countries lost soldiers, resources, both blood and treasure.
[00:14:31]  And the country that attacked Iran wasn't a NATO member.
[00:14:35]  It was Israel.
[00:14:37]  And they're not a NATO member.
[00:14:40]  So by definition, they could not participate because they weren't, you know, a NATO member wasn't attacked.
[00:14:54]  And as the Prime Minister of Finland, I believe, said that, you know, it's mostly a defensive kind of body anyway.
[00:15:03]  Thank you.
[00:15:04]  That's Rameen there in Georgia.

=== Trump Picks This War (14:51) ===

[00:15:06]  The editors of the Wall Street Journal take their own view in light of the president's comments yesterday.
[00:15:12]  The Allies take a pass on Iran.
[00:15:14]  The editor's writing that let's assume Mr. Trump feels he must keep bombing for many more weeks to end an Iranian veto on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
[00:15:23]  Who will be harmed the most?
[00:15:25]  Not the U.S., which is large and self-sufficient in energy.
[00:15:28]  Americans will pay more for gasoline because oil is a global market, but the price of West Texas crude is still lower than the Brent crude global price, and natural gas is far less expensive in the U.S. than in Europe or Asia.
[00:15:42]  This tragedy of this Western division is that the real winners are Iran, Russia, and China.
[00:15:48]  They're working together to defeat the U.S. and the Gulf and weaken American deterrence.
[00:15:52]  If Iran emerges with a veto over Strait of Hormuz oil flows and U.S. credibility is damaged, Mr. Trump will be hurt.
[00:16:00]  Again, the Allies take a pass on Iran.
[00:16:02]  You can find that in the opinion section today of the Wall Street Journal.
[00:16:07]  West Virginia is where Lloyd is.
[00:16:09]  He's on our line for Republicans.
[00:16:11]  Go ahead.
[00:16:12]  You're next up.
[00:16:15]  Yeah, I just like to say that I think he ought to stop the war, just let it sit in place, and let the power grids shut down, let the gas pump shut down, and these other countries.
[00:16:30]  And then when they don't have any power and any gasoline, they'll find a way to help Trump and NATO get in there and help him.
[00:16:42]  And these other countries will help him.
[00:16:44]  And I think that's what he ought to do.
[00:16:46]  And then maybe, and then let people sit at home for a while.
[00:16:49]  And if they need the heat, let them burn their furniture.
[00:16:56]  Because they don't appreciate nothing what Trump's doing.
[00:17:00]  So if they had a man like Biden in there, he wouldn't have ever done anything.
[00:17:05]  They'd already had their nuclear weapons.
[00:17:08]  So that's the way I look at it.
[00:17:11]  Lloyd is in West Virginia.
[00:17:14]  This is Joy.
[00:17:16]  Joy in Pennsylvania.
[00:17:17]  Democrats' line.
[00:17:18]  Hello.
[00:17:19]  Yes.
[00:17:20]  I have one question.
[00:17:22]  Where is Trump hiding his young son during this war?
[00:17:25]  Or does he think they're suckers and losers just like his father?
[00:17:29]  Well, we're speaking to the international aspect of it.
[00:17:33]  What do you think of that?
[00:17:35]  Well, to me, international, yes, but how about him helping his buttons?
[00:17:38]  How about him helping some with his family?
[00:17:41]  No, he does not.
[00:17:43]  So that's just my comment.
[00:17:45]  So I have nothing else to say.
[00:17:47]  Well, one more question of you.
[00:17:50]  Internationally, what do you think of the response of these NATO countries overall?
[00:17:54]  Oh, I think they're right.
[00:17:56]  Absolutely.
[00:17:57]  How so?
[00:17:57]  They should not because they didn't pick this war.
[00:18:02]  Trump picked this war for himself.
[00:18:05]  So it's all with Trump.
[00:18:07]  It's all about Trump.
[00:18:10]  Whatever he wants, he wants, and it doesn't matter who he hurts in the meantime.
[00:18:16]  Okay.
[00:18:16]  Joy there in Pennsylvania.
[00:18:18]  Robert is next up in New Jersey.
[00:18:21]  Republican line.
[00:18:22]  Hello.
[00:18:24]  Hello.
[00:18:27]  I never thought I'd say this, but I would have to agree with the previous caller.
[00:18:33]  I'm a Republican.
[00:18:34]  I've voted for Trump because he said no new wars.
[00:18:37]  And now here we are finding ourselves in this conflict with Netanyahu leading him around by the nose.
[00:18:43]  And I have to say, Trump now is looking for, it seems like he's looking for a way out of the conflict that he started.
[00:18:50]  Gas prices are going to hit hard.
[00:18:52]  Food is going to hit hard.
[00:18:54]  Inflation is going to hit harder.
[00:18:56]  And now he's looking for Europe and NATO, the same countries he disrespected, to come and get us out of this conflict.
[00:19:04]  The Strait of Hormuz is a death trap.
[00:19:06]  No one would want to sail into that zone and risk their ships being sunk to the bottom of the sea.
[00:19:13]  It makes zero sense.
[00:19:16]  What's your level of concern about the U.S. going it alone when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz?
[00:19:20]  I'm very terrified of it.
[00:19:23]  And my main fear is that Trump and Netanyahu will see this thing going so awry that one of them might consider using a nuclear weapon.
[00:19:33]  And even beyond that, that in order to gin up some sort of support among the public, they might try to do some false flag and attack a city in the United States to pit it on Iran.
[00:19:47]  Robert there in New Jersey giving us his thoughts, another Republican giving their thoughts on X, but reported on in Politico that Senator Lindsey Graham, a key proponent of the operation on Iran, a close ally of the president, he said he spoke to the president over the phone Tuesday.
[00:20:03]  Graham wrote on X Tuesday that, quote, never heard him so angry in my life.
[00:20:08]  I share the anger given what's at stake, he said.
[00:20:11]  The arrogance of our allies to suggest that Iran with a nuclear weapon is of little concern and that military action to stop the Ayatollah from acquiring a nuclear bomb is our problem, not theirs, is beyond offensive.
[00:20:25]  Again, Lindsey Graham giving her thoughts on X. Let's hear from Tom.
[00:20:28]  Tom in Montana, Democrats line.
[00:20:31]  Good morning.
[00:20:33]  Good morning.
[00:20:35]  I quote from the Constitution, Article 3, Section 3.
[00:20:39]  Treason against the United States shall consist only in serving, in levying war against them, the United States, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them, and this is the point here, giving them aid and comfort.
[00:21:04]  When Trump pulls back controls on the Soviet Union, or excuse me, on Russia, he is committing treason because he's giving aid and comfort to Iran.
[00:21:18]  Because that pulling those back, those sends his back, allows Russia to aid Iran.
[00:21:29]  And how do you relate that to the wider international reaction to all of this?
[00:21:34]  Well, it all has to do with the fact that virtually everything Trump is doing is unconstitutional.
[00:21:40]  The war itself is unconstitutional.
[00:21:43]  And I don't think this gets mentioned enough.
[00:21:45]  Everything he does virtually is unconstitutional.
[00:21:48]  I think you people have a responsibility to point the unconstitutionality of everything he does out because the American people are woefully ignorant to the Constitution.
[00:21:59]  Okay, Tom there in Montana.
[00:22:01]  The president also asking in light of comments made about the international reaction, about his personal relationship with the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in wake of Iran's conflict.
[00:22:13]  This was in the Oval Office yesterday.
[00:22:15]  No, I was disappointed because Keir was willing to send two aircraft carriers after we won because essentially there's no threat for the aircraft carriers right now.
[00:22:27]  And they said, no, no, we want things sent before the war, not after the war is won.
[00:22:32]  So, yeah, I'm disappointed with Kier.
[00:22:34]  I like him.
[00:22:34]  I think he's a nice man, but I'm disappointed.
[00:22:40]  You see that man right there?
[00:22:42]  You know who that is?
[00:22:43]  Churchill.
[00:22:44]  It's the late, great Winston Churchill.
[00:22:47]  And Barack Hussein Obama did not want his bust in this office.
[00:22:51]  Did you know that?
[00:22:52]  And Barack Hussein Obama sent that bus back to England.
[00:22:57]  They didn't want it.
[00:22:59]  And when I came in, I was asked if I wanted it.
[00:23:02]  I said, absolutely, I want it.
[00:23:03]  And I put it right there, Winston Churchill.
[00:23:06]  And, you know, unfortunately, Kier is not Winston Churchill.
[00:23:11]  That was part of his comments yesterday, still available on our website and our app.
[00:23:16]  If you want to see the exchange with reporters, let's hear from a Floridian.
[00:23:20]  This is Pete on Our Line for Republicans.
[00:23:25]  Good morning, Pedro.
[00:23:28]  Good morning.
[00:23:28]  Go ahead.
[00:23:29]  Hello.
[00:23:30]  Yeah, I think that NATO should assist us in the straight to Hormuz, just for the fact that we're all supposed to be together.
[00:23:43]  We're supposed to have each other's back.
[00:23:47]  They want all the benefits, but they want the United States to do all the heavy lifting, just the same way we were funding all the wars around the world, some of them and their conflicts as well.
[00:24:01]  So I think they should do something or just make the offer or whatever.
[00:24:07]  And, you know, Trump said himself that he didn't, he asked for the help and he used it as a test to see if they would help.
[00:24:18]  And I guess they answered this question.
[00:24:22]  They're not there.
[00:24:23]  They don't have this.
[00:24:24]  The best interest of the United States is not of importance to them.
[00:24:32]  So, I mean, you know, if we wanted to be isolationists and drop out of NATO, who would be hurt?
[00:24:40]  I don't think we would be hurt.
[00:24:41]  Do you?
[00:24:42]  Pete there in Florida sharing his thoughts this morning.
[00:24:45]  You can add to the mix, NBC and its analysis, NBC News adds this saying: the Iran war amounts to a test of the president's, quote, America first approach to global conflict.
[00:24:55]  He's long been skeptical of military alliances warning that the U.S. builds a protective umbrella around other nations without guarantee of those beneficiaries of American power would come to his aid when needed.
[00:25:05]  The position has alienated NATO countries that have sent troops to U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only to see them die in action.
[00:25:13]  The one time NATO invoked the Article 5 mutual security guarantee was in defense of the U.S. following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
[00:25:23]  And it quotes the former British ambassador to the United States, Peter Westmcott, saying that Trump's bullying and tendency to negotiate by megaphone don't go down well with European allies.
[00:25:35]  Frank is next.
[00:25:36]  Frank is in Illinois, independent line, the NATO international reaction to the president's calls for help on Iran.
[00:25:43]  Hello.
[00:25:44]  Hello.
[00:25:46]  I was just curious.
[00:25:49]  Wasn't Congress supposed to be the body that decided whether we did this or not?
[00:25:59]  And I'm allies in this strait of Hormuz.
[00:26:06]  I don't understand why Trump didn't understand that that was going to be a choke point right from the start.
[00:26:17]  And without even involving our allies in the beginning and now wanting them to come to the Strait of Hormuz to attempt to block or unblock the shipping lane, that's just laying an open ground for Iran to be able to attack our allies within that strait.
[00:26:44]  And I don't know.
[00:26:47]  Where did we go from there?
[00:26:50]  I thank you so much for C-SPAM and have a good day.
[00:26:55]  Frank in Illinois, we'll be joined next by Todd, Todd in West Virginia, Republican line.
[00:27:02]  Hello, you're next.
[00:27:04]  Hey, Pedro.
[00:27:05]  Good morning.
[00:27:05]  Thank you for the platform and good morning, America.
[00:27:09]  But I asked a couple of things to say about the geopolitical situation over in that strait.
[00:27:16]  My friend in 1983 lost his daddy.
[00:27:18]  He was a Marine in Beirut.
[00:27:21]  Okay, these idiots in Iraq have been playing this game for 40 plus years.
[00:27:29]  And as well, they want to stranglehold on the Middle East.
[00:27:32]  You have Middle East unrest.
[00:27:36]  As well, when you cut the neck off the snake, and oil's not getting to Russia for one, and two, China, now Cuba is in the dark.
[00:27:49]  It's a situation where if it was the Strait of Humez, it is 30 miles wide.
[00:27:55]  They need to get these minesweepers in from NATO.
[00:27:59]  They need to do their job because for eight years, people, we were the world's whore again.
[00:28:05]  And it was real sad where all of our money went.
[00:28:08]  It went to the fraud of the fraud of the country instead of taking care of us.
[00:28:14]  I think what Trump's done is he's trying to eliminate a problem that's been there for 47 years.
[00:28:20]  And like I said, I'm retired Department of Public Safety.
[00:28:23]  And I lost my buddy lost his daddy because of those guys.
[00:28:28]  And I think they need to go ahead and sweep both edges of that, get all those batteries cleared, get these guys in from NATO to do their sweeps.
[00:28:39]  We can open up this lane and get the world back on track because we're all a bunch of high school kids in Congress.
[00:28:47]  You know what happens when you get old, guys?
[00:28:49]  You all regret to going back into your youngness.
[00:28:52]  And that's what we have on the hill right now.
[00:28:54]  We got a bunch of politicians that need to retire because they all act like high school kids.
[00:29:01]  Okay.
[00:29:01]  Okay.
[00:29:02]  One more call.
[00:29:02]  One more call.
[00:29:03]  This will be Joe in Michigan, Independent Line.
[00:29:06]  Good morning.
[00:29:08]  Pleasure to be on.
[00:29:10]  Michigan, nine months a year, Florida, about three or four.
[00:29:17]  I think it's typical of the NATO countries to want to not fight for their peace in their country.
[00:29:29]  It was evident in World War II, they would have lost without us.
[00:29:34]  They would have probably lost World War I without us.
[00:29:38]  And they hate us for it, but it's the truth.
[00:29:43]  Those maybe Trump should take and say, you know, we're going to keep the American oil in America.
[00:29:50]  We're going to take the Venezuelan oil and market in America.
[00:29:53]  And you guys worry about your own fun.

=== Free Exchange of Ideas (02:48) ===

[00:29:57]  And if we do go in and take over Iran, you're only going to do it with boots on the ground.
[00:30:03]  You cannot win a war for the air.
[00:30:05]  Somewhere out there, somebody's boots have to be on the ground.
[00:30:09]  And they have to take the government, the people who have been saying death to America all these years, which, by the way, to me is a declaration of war by them.
[00:30:20]  Okay.
[00:30:21]  Joe in Michigan, on our Independent Line, finishing off this half hour of calls.
[00:30:25]  Thanks for all of you who participated.
[00:30:27]  Several guests will join us throughout the course of the morning to talk about various issues.
[00:30:32]  Later on in the program, we'll be joined by the American Enterprise Institute's John Fortier.
[00:30:36]  He'll break down exactly what the Save America Act that's being debated in the Senate.
[00:30:41]  We'll explain the federal government's roles in elections.
[00:30:43]  But coming up next, because of the latest going on when it comes to Iran, Cosmopolitics Substack founder Elise Labitt on the latest news and what it means for the longer issue of the United States-Israeli conflict in Iran.
[00:30:56]  She'll join us when Washington Journal continues.
[00:31:12]  In a divided media world, one place brings Americans together.
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[00:32:01]  I love C-SPAN because I get to hear all the voices.
[00:32:05]  You bring these divergent viewpoints and you present both sides of an issue and you allow people to make up their own minds.
[00:32:11]  I absolutely love C-SPAN.
[00:32:14]  I love to hear both sides.
[00:32:15]  I've watched C-SPAN every morning and it is unbiased.
[00:32:19]  And you bring in factual information for the callers to understand where they are in their comments.
[00:32:26]  It's probably the only place that we can hear honest opinion of Americans across the country.
[00:32:30]  You guys at C-SPAN are doing such a wonderful job of allowing free exchange of ideas without a lot of interruptions.
[00:32:38]  Thank you, C-SPAN, for being a light in the dark.

=== Unbiased C-SPAN Coverage (14:51) ===

[00:32:45]  Washington Journal continues.
[00:32:47]  We welcome back to the program Elise Labbitt of Cosmopolitics.
[00:32:50]  She's the sub-sec founder, a global affairs journalist, a professor at the American University School of International Service.
[00:32:56]  Welcome back.
[00:32:57]  Good to be back.
[00:32:58]  With the latest on Iran, let's talk about the reported deaths of these leaders.
[00:33:03]  Explain who they are and put it into context how they fit into the leadership framework in Iran.
[00:33:07]  Sure.
[00:33:07]  Well, I think the most significant Pedro is Ali Larajani, who has had numerous security positions over the years.
[00:33:16]  He was actually one of the people that has been negotiating with the United States over the nuclear file recently, you know, in talks in Geneva.
[00:33:26]  And he was the head of the Supreme National Council, which is kind of the top security body.
[00:33:32]  So, you know, after the killing of the Supreme Leader and, you know, the fate of the new Supreme Leader, his son, Mustabah Khamenei, he was really one of the top one or two people in the country right now.
[00:33:47]  And so his death is very significant because he was able to bridge all of the different factions of the regime.
[00:33:56]  First, it was the clerics.
[00:33:58]  He had good contacts with the clerics and was very close to the late Supreme Leader.
[00:34:02]  He also is very close to the security apparatus.
[00:34:07]  But he was also the Speaker of Parliament at one time.
[00:34:10]  So he was able to bridge the political, the religious, and the security and really seen as a strategist in the country.
[00:34:17]  His loss is very significant, but we see that the regime is still intact.
[00:34:22]  The Supreme Leader spent the last few decades really building a very deep bench.
[00:34:28]  The other person that was killed was the head of the so-called Besiege, which is a paramilitary force, and they're the ones really responsible for the crackdown on the Iranian people, all of those protesters.
[00:34:40]  But again, the Basij is still putting out warnings to Iranians that if you go out in the street, you'll be killed.
[00:34:47]  So, you know, the new leader might be killed, but then they'll find another leader, and the foot soldiers are still out on the street.
[00:34:54]  What are the important questions to ask about who will fill that role now that there's a vacuum in the death of Larajani?
[00:35:00]  Well, there are a couple of people that could be in this mindset.
[00:35:08]  And I think for the Trump administration, they're really looking for someone they could do business with.
[00:35:15]  It's really hard because the Israelis, every time someone is named, the Israelis kill them.
[00:35:21]  And let's be frank, none of these people are Jeffersonian Democrats.
[00:35:27]  They still have this revolutionary ideology, which is really the main problem of the regime, this kind of great Satan, the U.S. is the great Satan, call for the destruction of Israel.
[00:35:38]  But I think the Trump administration is looking for someone who will at least say, okay, the war should end.
[00:35:46]  Let's cut a deal.
[00:35:47]  And a lot of experts on Iran think that there is a deal to be had.
[00:35:52]  The question is who is going to make that deal?
[00:35:55]  And there are a couple of figures, but I think the Iranians are a little bit hesitant to mention them right now because they're afraid that the Israelis will kill them.
[00:36:04]  Elise Labbitt joining us for this conversation.
[00:36:06]  If you want to ask her about latest news when it comes to Iran, call the phone lines 202-748 for Democrats, 8,000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans, and Independents 2027-8002.
[00:36:22]  You can text us, thoughts or questions, 202-748-8003.
[00:36:27]  Domestically, Joe Kent is the name in the news over the last 24 hours.
[00:36:32]  Who is he?
[00:36:33]  Why is his resignation influential?
[00:36:36]  Well, Joe Kent was the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, which is really a nexus of all the terrorist threats to the homeland.
[00:36:46]  He sat in the director of National Intelligence Office.
[00:36:50]  And he was pretty close to the Trump insiders.
[00:36:55]  President Trump, when he first appointed, nominated him, spoke very highly of him.
[00:37:01]  He resigned in recent days.
[00:37:03]  His resignation letter said that there was no imminent threat posed by Iran, and he is opposed to this war.
[00:37:12]  He did lose his wife Shannon, who was in the Navy in the Gulf War, and so in the Iraq War.
[00:37:24]  And so he's now kind of against the war, and he resigned.
[00:37:30]  Very strong resignation letter.
[00:37:31]  President Trump said, well, you know, I'm glad he's gone.
[00:37:34]  I thought he was weak.
[00:37:35]  That wasn't the position when he nominated him.
[00:37:38]  But this really shows, I think, two things.
[00:37:43]  One is the question of was there an imminent threat?
[00:37:46]  And when I say imminent, I don't mean Iran is dangerous.
[00:37:50]  They're moving towards a nuclear weapon.
[00:37:54]  We should probably have a preemptive strike to get rid of them.
[00:37:58]  Was Iran going to strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon soon or with an intercontinental ballistic missile soon?
[00:38:07]  Iran was moving towards a nuclear weapon, but they don't have the ingredients, if you will, to fit a nuclear warhead on a missile.
[00:38:16]  They call it weaponization and reach the United States.
[00:38:19]  So that would have been an imminent nuclear threat.
[00:38:21]  Can they reach the United States through intercontinental ballistic missiles?
[00:38:25]  Probably.
[00:38:26]  And the administration said we believe that they would do it right away.
[00:38:31]  So this Joe Kent said, no, the threat wasn't imminent.
[00:38:35]  Supposedly he's seeing the intelligence.
[00:38:37]  And now everybody close to Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, said, well, he wasn't in the briefings because obviously, you know, Mike Johnson said, I heard this morning, exquisite intelligence, exquisite, that they were going to hit the United States.
[00:38:51]  That's up for debate.
[00:38:53]  So the other thing is, Joe Kent has a lot of ties to the MAGA movement, if you will.
[00:39:01]  Very close to controversial figures like Nick Fuentes, white nationalist figures.
[00:39:07]  And there is a wing, Pedro, of the MAGA movement that is very anti-war.
[00:39:14]  It's kind of colored by an anti-Israel, some would say even anti-Semitic tint.
[00:39:21]  And he has spoken about this before.
[00:39:23]  Joe Kent was in the military.
[00:39:25]  He knows what battle is.
[00:39:26]  And so he was speaking from that point of view.
[00:39:28]  But you have to look at the wider picture.
[00:39:31]  I will note that he's all of a sudden now moving more towards these MAGA figures.
[00:39:36]  I understand he's going to be taping an interview with Tucker Carlson, who's very anti-war, who's very anti-Israel, some would say anti-Semitic, very close to Nick Fuentes, in the next day or two.
[00:39:48]  So I think what it does is it kind of reflects this split within the president's base.
[00:39:55]  We'll continue on with our guest, but let's hear from you.
[00:39:57]  Ray in Ohio, Democrats line, you're on with Elise Labbitt.
[00:40:01]  Go ahead, you're on.
[00:40:03]  Yeah, I'd like to know why we're over there.
[00:40:08]  One, Donald Trump literally told our allies he didn't want our help.
[00:40:16]  He said the war was over.
[00:40:20]  And that was weeks ago.
[00:40:22]  Yeah, I'd like to know why we're over.
[00:40:24]  It's not over, and we're still there.
[00:40:27]  That's Ray in Ohio, and as we were talking about in the last hour about the international reform.
[00:40:32]  Right, I was listening on the car on the way in.
[00:40:34]  Ray, you're right.
[00:40:36]  The war is not over.
[00:40:38]  I will say that even though the president is saying it's over, they did say the U.S. officials said, you know, this would probably take about four to six weeks.
[00:40:48]  So a lot of people are making snapshots on the war right now.
[00:40:52]  We're only two weeks in, and I think the picture will look pretty different, according to military analysts, as the U.S. military continues to hit those targets that they're trying to hit, whether it's the missile launchers or the drone manufacturing sites.
[00:41:08]  So we need to keep an eye on that.
[00:41:12]  Trump is saying that he didn't want the help.
[00:41:15]  I think that the president is probably, or my understanding from reading and listening to and speaking to some people, frustrated that the Allies are not, and we'll talk about that, that they don't want to help.
[00:41:31]  So I think he doesn't, from what I understand, want to seem kind of desperate and also doesn't want to send a message to the Iranians that now that the NATO allies are not coming to the U.S. help, that gives, you don't want to send the message to the Iranians that the troops are vulnerable.
[00:41:51]  So he did tell the Allies that he didn't want them help.
[00:41:54]  I suspect in the next few days we'll see some allies coming in.
[00:41:59]  But, you know, look, we saw a lot.
[00:42:01]  And I think the last time I was on the show, we might have, with you, we might have been talking about Greenland and NATO.
[00:42:07]  There's a lot of bad blood between Trump and the NATO allies over the last few months.
[00:42:13]  They feel that they weren't consulted and it wasn't, you didn't come to them before.
[00:42:20]  There was a caller earlier that said she wished that President Trump would have gone to the Allies and set up what they would call like a coalition of the willing before.
[00:42:32]  NATO allies are upset he didn't do that too.
[00:42:35]  But what military experts are saying is, listen, you really have to rise above and think about the security of the strait, of getting that oil through.
[00:42:47]  The Europeans need that strait to be open because they use a lot of natural gas that's coming through.
[00:42:53]  They're using the oil that's coming through.
[00:42:55]  The longer this goes on, the longer it helps Russia because Russia is being allowed to spend more oil.
[00:43:02]  So yes, Ray, he did tell the Allies he didn't want their help, but all military experts say he does need it, and these military experts say that they should provide it.
[00:43:13]  Max is from Maryland, Independent Line.
[00:43:15]  Hi.
[00:43:16]  Hi, thanks for taking my call.
[00:43:18]  Hi, Max.
[00:43:19]  Yeah, so the country is so in we have our head in the sand.
[00:43:24]  And I say this on both angles of the concern for the war.
[00:43:29]  So this is nothing new.
[00:43:31]  As long as I've been alive, whether it's, you know, Serbia, whether it's Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, I mean, Ukraine, I mean, we're always at war.
[00:43:43]  This country, we are the police of the world.
[00:43:48]  So then you have to ask yourself, forget about Donald Trump.
[00:43:51]  All these people who are foaming at the mouth about who the individual who's in office for four years, that guy doesn't care one way or the other about Iran.
[00:44:00]  He never did.
[00:44:01]  He doesn't do business over there.
[00:44:02]  You need to look at the last few years.
[00:44:05]  The Iranian regime has these people held hostage.
[00:44:09]  So regardless of the personalities, ask yourself, is it true that Hamas went in on October 7th and massacred those people at a dance party?
[00:44:20]  Is it true?
[00:44:21]  Is it true that rockets fly into Israel constantly?
[00:44:25]  Is it true?
[00:44:26]  Are these things true?
[00:44:27]  Do they kill 30,000 people when they want to have an election?
[00:44:31]  Is that true?
[00:44:32]  Okay.
[00:44:32]  Okay.
[00:44:32]  Got the point.
[00:44:34]  Well, Max, you make a good point.
[00:44:37]  And all of that is true.
[00:44:39]  Hamas, you know, is an Iranian proxy.
[00:44:42]  And, you know, this, we wouldn't be having this war right now if it weren't for October 7th.
[00:44:48]  For the Israelis, this is a continuation of that war.
[00:44:51]  You saw what they did over the last year, whether it was the June 12th, what they call the 12-day war in June, or the war in Gaza.
[00:45:01]  We see what's going on in Lebanon.
[00:45:03]  All this action over the last couple of years has been a continuation of October 7th.
[00:45:10]  And so no one is saying that the Iranians are not bad, Ray, or Max, sorry, Ray was the caller before.
[00:45:18]  But I think the question is, were they a threat to the eminent threat?
[00:45:24]  This is what the discussion is.
[00:45:27]  It's possible that the threat by Iran would have had to been neutralized at some point.
[00:45:33]  And it is true what they are doing to their own people.
[00:45:39]  So we are, some people would say, the world's police.
[00:45:44]  This is the responsibility of U.S. leadership.
[00:45:48]  I think now the question is less about how we got here and where we go from here and how we get out of this war, as opposed to there'll be plenty of time to talk about why are we here, how did we get here?
[00:46:01]  We're in it.
[00:46:03]  And, you know, obviously our thoughts are with the troops.
[00:46:08]  And obviously our thoughts are about making sure that Americans are safe.
[00:46:13]  The New York Times editorial this morning, their full page, what is Trump's strategy in Iran?
[00:46:18]  And to what degree has it been articulated?
[00:46:21]  Well, I think this is the issue, right?
[00:46:24]  That Americans don't know.
[00:46:27]  And so they don't know what the strategy is.
[00:46:31]  They don't know what the end game is.
[00:46:33]  And they don't know what success looks like.
[00:46:35]  So when you're asking the Americans to pay a couple of things.
[00:46:39]  When you're asking the Americans to put their family members who are members of the military in harm's way, when you're asking them to pay for, maybe we're going towards $4 a gallon at the pump, everyone feels that.
[00:46:55]  When we're, you know, this is what all the news headlines are.
[00:46:58]  Americans are confused and they don't know.
[00:47:01]  And so that's why I think the president has had a, we don't know what the strategy is.
[00:47:08]  And there is a lot of talk about that the president didn't really have, you know, the objective is to eliminate the Iranian threat.
[00:47:16]  But what does that mean?
[00:47:18]  What does that look like?
[00:47:20]  What is a definition of success?
[00:47:22]  Are we going for regime change?
[00:47:24]  Some days he says yes, some days he says no.
[00:47:26]  Sometimes he says the war is over.
[00:47:28]  I think that conversation with, you know, we're hearing from Americans every day, they want more information.

=== Defining Success in War (06:42) ===

[00:47:37]  And I think that conversation with the American people, we've seen over history that there's more support for a war when the presidents lay the groundwork with the American people.
[00:47:47]  I mean, the Iraq war ended up being very unpopular as it was prosecuted.
[00:47:54]  But if you remember, you know, more than 70% of Americans supported the war when it started.
[00:48:02]  It turned out, you know, it was on a semi-false premise about the WMD there.
[00:48:11]  But presidents that historically would speak to the American people, would go to Congress, would have that dialogue and build that case.
[00:48:22]  Generally, the war is more perceived better.
[00:48:26]  But I think Americans are in the dark about why we're there and how we're getting out.
[00:48:30]  This is the Cosmopolitics founder, Elise Labitt, joining us for this conversation.
[00:48:35]  Joe in Kentucky, Republican line.
[00:48:36]  Hi there.
[00:48:38]  Hey, good morning.
[00:48:39]  I appreciate Charles' program a lot.
[00:48:41]  And the one thing I look at is the president's biggest fault that he has.
[00:48:46]  He does not want to listen to anybody else.
[00:48:50]  He won't not listen to his advisors that he has.
[00:48:54]  And this one young man, this one gentleman just resigned, he was doing the best that he can to give the information that he has, what he is supposed to do.
[00:49:05]  And you go back, I was thinking back in 2019 when he fired James Mattis, resigned because he gave him his advice what they had to do in Syria.
[00:49:16]  And he does not listen to his military commanders.
[00:49:19]  And that's his biggest fault that he has.
[00:49:21]  He can do this alone.
[00:49:23]  And if you remember, the one time he said he knows more than the generals.
[00:49:28]  And that's his biggest fault.
[00:49:32]  He wants to do what he wants to do, not what.
[00:49:34]  The advice of other people.
[00:49:36]  And we don't have an end game.
[00:49:39]  Thank you.
[00:49:40]  Joe, I think you're reflecting what a lot of people are talking about, including in the military experts, experts on Iran.
[00:49:49]  You remember, Joe, when the president said, I'll know when the war is over when I feel it in my bones, right?
[00:49:58]  I mean, generally, you would look at the intelligence and you would say, we hit this target, we hit this target.
[00:50:04]  I think it's time to end the war.
[00:50:07]  And I think one of the problems, Joe, is that I covered the State Department for close to 20 years.
[00:50:14]  There's a process.
[00:50:15]  We call it an interagency process.
[00:50:17]  It's a little wonky, but it means that all of the agencies are sitting and giving the president his best advice.
[00:50:25]  And right now, that process has pretty much broken down.
[00:50:28]  The president relies on a few close advisors and really just kind of operates on his, and he said it.
[00:50:36]  I'm not, you know, making anything up.
[00:50:37]  He said he operates on his gut.
[00:50:40]  And, you know, you have seen some reports that General Kaine, the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, if not was skeptical about the war, did present all of these scenarios for the president.
[00:50:54]  I'm a little bit worried.
[00:50:55]  These are the reports anyway.
[00:50:57]  I'm a little bit worried that this could be a quagmire.
[00:51:00]  Here are the scenarios.
[00:51:01]  Now the president is saying, well, how did we know that this was going to happen?
[00:51:07]  Would suggest, as Joe said, that he doesn't listen to his advisors.
[00:51:13]  And you saw him get rid in the first term.
[00:51:16]  He's right, of James Mattis, of Kelly, of John Bolton, many.
[00:51:22]  You can disagree or agree with their actual advice, but these are people with a lot of experience.
[00:51:29]  And the president does, you know, operate from his gut.
[00:51:34]  Now, the question on Joe Kent is interesting, and we were talking slightly about this during the break.
[00:51:41]  Joe Kent, yes, he's talking about that there was no imminent threat, but I think what's becoming controversial about him is now he's blaming it on Israel.
[00:51:51]  And that we're, you know, in his words, we're a tool of Israel.
[00:51:55]  We are, you know, we went to this war on behalf of Israel, and we've done this in the past.
[00:52:00]  And his wife did die in battle.
[00:52:04]  And he said that the Israelis dragged us into that war.
[00:52:07]  And so I think that's the controversy surrounding him.
[00:52:10]  But he had access to the intelligence.
[00:52:12]  And when he says, you know, there was no imminent threat, you have to think, well, he might know something.
[00:52:19]  Our viewers are going to be able to watch Tulsi Gabbert, the director of national intelligence on C-SPAN 2 later on this morning, 10 o'clock.
[00:52:25]  This is worldwide threats, I think, the larger topic.
[00:52:27]  But what do we expect to hear about intelligence leading up to Iran from this?
[00:52:30]  I'm sure, well, the global threats hearing for policy wonks like myself is an annual hearing where they talk about the biggest threats around the world for U.S. assets, allies, U.S. troops, and to the homeland.
[00:52:50]  And I think it'll be most, I would say it'll be mostly about Iran.
[00:52:55]  And I'm sure, undoubtedly, and someone like Joe Kent would have been testifying possibly as well, but about threats posed by Iran.
[00:53:05]  Now, there'll be a lot of threat, talk about the threats leading up, but what I'm going to be listening for are the threats now, okay?
[00:53:14]  Because Iran is still the biggest sponsor of terrorism, not just in the region, but around the world.
[00:53:21]  And they are very active in cells around the world.
[00:53:24]  And what is the threat to Americans anywhere?
[00:53:28]  They're very active now in South America, Hezbollah, one of their proxies.
[00:53:34]  And a lot of terrorism experts are worried that there could be cells that are figuring out how to get into the United States.
[00:53:44]  So I think they're really, Tulsi Gabbard is going to be really drilled down on what the threat is posed by Iran, not only leading up to, but now.
[00:53:55]  And then tomorrow, we're also going to be airing in full the hearing on the House.
[00:54:02]  And some other, the CIA director and some other people will also be testifying.
[00:54:06]  So there'll be a lot of people talking about Iran in the next couple of years.
[00:54:09]  Viewers, stay close to our networks as we air those hearings, and you can see them also on the app and the website, Keith in Colorado Democrats line.
[00:54:16]  Hi.
[00:54:18]  Good morning.

=== Beyond Partisan Lens (08:40) ===

[00:54:19]  Thank you for your analysis.
[00:54:23]  A couple of things.
[00:54:28]  I start with a comment that this should not be viewed through a partisan lens because it's not just about Trump, who's president, sadly, at the time, currently, but how would we view this if it was any other president, Republican, Democrat, or independent?
[00:54:58]  So my concern is the There's no other way to put it, the willful ignorance of some, not all, some of the president's supporters who are just cultists.
[00:55:18]  And to be quite honest, when they don't understand a word like imminent, that's what this all hinges on.
[00:55:28]  The legality of this very war hinges on the term imminent.
[00:55:38]  Secondly, I should say, you know, please explain Article 52, NATO.
[00:55:51]  Article 5, I think you mean, right?
[00:55:53]  Article 5.
[00:55:54]  I'm sorry.
[00:55:55]  Yep, let's leave it there.
[00:55:56]  Yeah.
[00:55:57]  Okay.
[00:55:58]  So, you know, Keith is reflecting what a lot of people think.
[00:56:02]  I mean, this is, this is not a national, unfortunately, and I think for people that cover it, this is not a national security conversation anymore.
[00:56:13]  Everything we're talking about is through a partisan lens.
[00:56:17]  And it makes it hard, you know, to figure out what's going on because it's not a conversation about war or security.
[00:56:25]  It's a political, every thing that happens is a political fight.
[00:56:30]  And so it is, you know, there are, as Keith said, people that are just going to support the president whatever he does.
[00:56:38]  The idea of imminent threats and the legality of war, I think there's going to be a lot of time to talk about this going forward.
[00:56:45]  But if we're not looking at it in a partisan lens, Keith, and we're not looking at it regardless of any president, I think now what a lot of people, particularly in the administration, but just in the national security community where I kind of hang out, is we have to talk about how we got here, but we have to talk about how we get out.
[00:57:11]  And we have to support the troops.
[00:57:13]  And we can't, this is a country at war.
[00:57:16]  And it's really unfortunate that the country is so divided as a whole that we can't even look at it through that lens.
[00:57:28]  Again, the Iraq war was very unpopular after it started.
[00:57:33]  But after 9-11, when we went into Afghanistan during Iraq, Americans were, even if they weren't supportive of the war, there was like a national unity that hopefully I hope we get back to at some point.
[00:57:48]  Keith, on the Article 5 real quick, Article 5 is the kind of foundation of the Article of the Charter of NATO, which is an attack on one is attack on all.
[00:58:00]  And it means that the only time it's ever been invoked is on 9-11 when I think it was the Canadians kind of said to the NATO ambassador, Nick Burns, at the time, we should invoke Article 5.
[00:58:18]  You were attacked.
[00:58:18]  We're all with you.
[00:58:19]  And a quick anecdote is he said to Secretary of State, Conde Leeza Rice, he told her about it, and she said, it's nice to have allies.
[00:58:29]  And so I think that's the discussion that we're having.
[00:58:33]  This was not an attack on the United States.
[00:58:36]  President Trump kind of sometimes forgets that Article 5, the only beneficiary so far has been the United States.
[00:58:46]  But it is kind of interesting, this debate about NATO and him saying, you know, NATO's not there for us.
[00:58:56]  I understand that NATO doesn't want to be on an offensive going against another country, although they did in Libya, you know, but and they did in Afghanistan.
[00:59:10]  However, what Gulf countries are saying is we've been good friends to you too.
[00:59:16]  Maybe you don't have to be on the offensive.
[00:59:18]  You could be on the defensive.
[00:59:20]  Why don't you come kind of shore up our defenses and leave the offensive to others?
[00:59:29]  And I think that's what we're going to see because I think cooler heads will prevail.
[00:59:35]  This morning, Admiral James Stavridas, who is the former Supreme Commander at NATO, did say like it's time for NATO allies to rise above.
[00:59:46]  It's unpalatable the way he's been talking to you, he said.
[00:59:52]  But this is something that NATO could help out with.
[00:59:54]  One more call for you.
[00:59:55]  This is from Mohamed in D.C., Independent Line.
[00:59:58]  Go ahead.
[00:59:59]  Hello, good morning, guys.
[01:00:01]  Yeah, I just have a quick question.
[01:00:03]  First, just say if he wasn't October 7th, this war is not going to happen.
[01:00:10]  How will she come with that?
[01:00:12]  How I'm going to believe that?
[01:00:13]  Because Netanyahu, he's trying to take us to fight Iran since we get done with Iraq.
[01:00:21]  So how I'm going to believe that?
[01:00:23]  Netanyahu, he's going to take us there.
[01:00:25]  The second question, are we a really independent country?
[01:00:28]  Are we just following what Netanyahu is telling us to do?
[01:00:32]  Yeah, Mohamed, let me explain what I meant there, which is Israel does see this as a continuation of October 7th.
[01:00:43]  So when October 7th happened, and again, this was Hamas with support from Iran.
[01:00:49]  If the Iranians didn't direct it or order it, they knew something was happening and they have provided a lot of support to Hamas to allow this to happen.
[01:01:00]  And so they have said this is never going to happen to us again.
[01:01:05]  They've been going after Iranian proxies, really trying to reshape the battlefield and the geopolitical landscape, Mohammed, so that to weaken Iran.
[01:01:16]  And I think that what I meant was Israel would not have gone forward on this.
[01:01:23]  They feel that this is their moment.
[01:01:26]  There was never a U.S. president that helped them during October 7th as much as President Trump, in their view.
[01:01:34]  And so this was the Israeli moment.
[01:01:38]  And I'm not just quoting, I'm not just saying this, it's my opinion.
[01:01:41]  Military experts, I was just at a meeting of Iranian experts and military experts yesterday, and they said this is never going to happen unless it was October 7th.
[01:01:50]  And that leads you into another question about Israel and whether we're following Israel.
[01:01:56]  I don't think President Trump thinks he's following Israel.
[01:02:00]  This was definitely a coordinated.
[01:02:02]  You see that the Israelis attacked in June, then the president kind of came in for one day and said, you know, and the U.S. helped out.
[01:02:11]  But that was not a coordinated.
[01:02:14]  But it is a question that a lot of people in the United States around the world feel that Israel sometimes kind of leads the U.S. into fighting their security.
[01:02:29]  But Israel is one of our closest allies in the world.
[01:02:33]  And the threat posed by Iran is one that is a global threat.
[01:02:39]  It's not just a threat to Israel.
[01:02:41]  Of course, when you look at the revolutionary ideology, it's Israel and the United States.
[01:02:49]  Elise Labbitt is the founder of the substack Cosmopolitics, where she takes a look at international issues, include activities in Iran.
[01:02:56]  You can find it online.
[01:02:57]  Elise Labbitt.
[01:02:58]  Thanks for your time as always.
[01:02:59]  Good to be here.

=== Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (02:41) ===

[01:03:00]  Later on in the program, we'll talk to Democratic Congressman Sam Licodardo.
[01:03:05]  He covers or represents California's 16th district.
[01:03:08]  We'll talk to him about news on Capitol Hill.
[01:03:10]  But first, John Fortier of American Enterprise Institute discusses the Safeguard American Voter eligibility, the Save America Act, as you probably know it, that's being considered in the Senate right now.
[01:03:22]  And we'll talk to him about that when Washington Journal continues.
[01:03:26]  We bring you into the chamber, onto the Senate floor, inside the hearing room, up to the mic, and to the desk in the Oval Office.
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[01:04:38]  And then at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, White House Historical Association President Stuart McLaurin reflects on the life and legacy of President James Monroe as part of More Perfect's In Pursuit Project, highlighting the leadership of America's presidents and first ladies.
[01:04:53]  And at 8 p.m. Eastern on Lectures in History, Gonzaga professor Robert Donnelly explains why he believes that President Jimmy Carter's role in ending the Cold War has largely been overlooked.
[01:05:04]  Exploring the American story, watch American History TV.
[01:05:08]  Saturday is on C-SPAN, too.
[01:05:10]  And find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org slash history.
[01:05:21]  Washington Journal continues.
[01:05:23]  This is John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute.
[01:05:26]  He's their senior fellow and along to talk about efforts in the Senate to change federal election laws or add to them.
[01:05:32]  Mr. Fortier, good morning.
[01:05:34]  Thanks for having me.
[01:05:34]  The Save America Act, the concentration of the Senate this week.
[01:05:38]  What's important to know about the Senate's focus?

=== Federal Election Law Changes (15:08) ===

[01:05:41]  Well, this is an act that deals with the proof of citizenship to register to vote.
[01:05:48]  We do not have a national law that requires documentation at this point.
[01:05:52]  We do have a national law that says you must be a citizen to vote.
[01:05:57]  The Republicans are for this.
[01:05:59]  It's passed the House and we're now before the Senate.
[01:06:01]  The Senate typically has a 60-vote margin to break a filibuster.
[01:06:08]  And in this case, it's very likely that Democrats will not go along with this bill and there will not be those 60 votes.
[01:06:16]  There has been talk on the Republican side that senators should stand up and maybe break the filibuster in this case, take away as they have done in some other areas.
[01:06:26]  It doesn't look like it's going to happen.
[01:06:28]  But the argument is really over whether it's a good idea to require some documentation to prove you're a citizen to register.
[01:06:38]  Whereas today we have sort of a mishmash of state laws, some of them requiring it, others asking you to verify or to swear that you're a citizen but not require proof.
[01:06:48]  But as far as the changes that the Republicans are asking for, what case would you make for or against why these changes are needed?
[01:06:55]  Well, I think there are some arguments for it, which are that we have a country now that has more people who are not citizens, not legal citizens, or also illegal citizens.
[01:07:07]  Neither can register to vote.
[01:07:10]  But we don't have a perfect system for proving that.
[01:07:13]  I think Republicans would say we do ask in the Real ID Act.
[01:07:19]  Many Americans will know that they've had to upgrade their licenses.
[01:07:21]  We did ask for proof of citizenship, whether you are or not.
[01:07:25]  You can still get it as a legal citizen.
[01:07:28]  But there's a lot of information out there that's been provided, but none of that has really gone to the voting system.
[01:07:32]  And so this is asking for that.
[01:07:34]  Democrats say, look, there are too many burdens being put on the voting system.
[01:07:39]  It's going to make some people not be able to find their birth certificates or their passports or other forms of documentation that would prove this and maybe will keep people from actually getting registered and then ultimately voting.
[01:07:52]  When you hear that argument from Democrats about the inconvenience for some, what do you make of it?
[01:07:58]  Well, I do think that there are surveys that they point to that say a certain number of Americans, 7, 8, 10% of people, have difficulty of getting these documents.
[01:08:09]  I think if you look a little more at the surveys, many people have those documents, but they're worried they don't have easy access to them.
[01:08:15]  It's hard to get your birth certificate.
[01:08:17]  As I mentioned earlier, one thing I think I wish we had done in a better way is that the states have all had to go through this real ID process where you've upgraded your license.
[01:08:27]  And many people have shown proof of citizenship to get their license.
[01:08:32]  And most states didn't really take that information and transmit it to the voting system.
[01:08:38]  And so the voting lists, we have less proof of documentation.
[01:08:43]  So it's really an argument about how much it's going to inconvenience voters.
[01:08:48]  But on the other hand, can we really get the proof for citizenship, which we don't really have in a widespread way?
[01:08:54]  Do you think that there is enough of those who vote in elections that are not supposed to vote to sway elections?
[01:09:01]  Or is this a small amount of actions like that happening?
[01:09:05]  And if that's the case, why make these widespread changes?
[01:09:09]  Well, we don't know exactly how many people are registered to vote who are non-citizens and how many vote, but we have good estimates that it's a relatively small number, that you might get on a voter registration list either you sneak on or perhaps you get on inadvertently because there are some processes in states that put people on voter lists which they might not even know that they're on.
[01:09:33]  And so there is a case that more people are not citizens and we should do a better job of getting that.
[01:09:41]  I do think that the question of how we do it, and as I mentioned, I wish we had used the massive move we've made in the last 10 years to getting people real IDs, which they need to get on airplanes and other things in a way that gets to the voting system.
[01:09:58]  So people do have some of that information.
[01:10:00]  But again, it's a question of how quickly we implement it and what the details are as to how it works.
[01:10:06]  The legislation is being debated in the Senate, the Save America Act, and if you have questions about it and how it works and what it would do if it were to pass, 202748-8000 for Democrats is where you can call and ask questions for Republicans.
[01:10:19]  202-748-8001.
[01:10:22]  And Independents, 202748-8002.
[01:10:25]  Text us two at 202-748-8003.
[01:10:29]  You've talked about a couple of things.
[01:10:30]  The Act, if it were to pass, requires individuals to present eligible photo identification before voting.
[01:10:36]  It requires states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering an individual to vote, requires states to remove non-citizens from those existing voter roles.
[01:10:44]  There is also an amendment being debated that if it were to pass, it would also change mail-in voting.
[01:10:50]  What do you think about that add-on to what's currently in this legislation?
[01:10:55]  Well, as I said, there are several bills around, and that's not what the Senate is considering today.
[01:11:02]  But they want to add it through amendment.
[01:11:05]  The President has said that he is not such a big fan of voting by mail.
[01:11:11]  And we have seen a big increase in voting by mail over the last 25, 30 years.
[01:11:16]  Over 30% of the country votes by mail, but it's very episodic.
[01:11:20]  In some states, we do a lot of it in the West, and some states we don't do as much.
[01:11:25]  I personally have been always a bit of a critic of widespread voting by mail.
[01:11:30]  I'd prefer to see voting early at voting early centers as well as Election Day, and for those who need it, vote by mail.
[01:11:38]  But that's been a state-by-state matter at this point.
[01:11:41]  And the question is, do we want to do this on a national level?
[01:11:45]  Again, I think there's some divide in this between the parties.
[01:11:48]  And we saw, especially during COVID, that the divide got very wide when the parties had very different ideas about whether it was a good thing or not to even go out and go to the polling place and whether you needed absentee ballots.
[01:12:02]  It's calmed down a little bit, but there's still a partisan divide.
[01:12:04]  As I say, if I were in a state, I think I'd prefer a system that provided a lot of early voting, provided Election Day voting, and mail voting for those who didn't, who absolutely needed it.
[01:12:17]  But there are some states that think that's the system that they want, that they essentially are 100% voting.
[01:12:22]  And so there's a divide in the country.
[01:12:23]  What's the chief criticism of mail-in voting to you?
[01:12:26]  Well, I think there are some questions about how well it works in some ways, that there are potential problems of voters making mistakes on ballots that are not correctable.
[01:12:42]  There are some questions about some of the state's policies as to how long they take to count if they don't require them to be in by election day.
[01:12:50]  Some of the counts take a very long time.
[01:12:52]  I think there are some around the edges, privacy questions.
[01:12:55]  If people have absentee ballots, maybe someone else can see it.
[01:13:00]  We had a long history in our country where we had some corruption and we put in the privacy of the voting booth.
[01:13:07]  That was a big reform that we did in the 19th century to really improve our voting.
[01:13:10]  And in some ways, I prefer the polling place.
[01:13:13]  It has a set of protections that is, I think, better.
[01:13:17]  Not clear that really any of these reforms are big changes in turnout.
[01:13:21]  People like to sometimes like the convenience.
[01:13:24]  So my personal opinion is I think I'd like to see that.
[01:13:28]  But as I say, we do that on a state-by-state basis.
[01:13:30]  Now, this would potentially make it a federal policy everywhere.
[01:13:34]  And of course, that would mean some very big changes, especially in states in the West like California and Washington State, where there's substantial voting by mail.
[01:13:41]  John Fortier of America Enterprise Institute joining us for this discussion.
[01:13:44]  First call for you comes from Sandra.
[01:13:46]  Sandra's Republican Line, North Carolina.
[01:13:48]  You're on with our guests.
[01:13:49]  Go ahead, please.
[01:13:51]  Hi, thanks for taking my call.
[01:13:53]  I support the SAVAC, but it has to mandate that states pay for copies of birth certificates and copies of marriage licenses.
[01:14:04]  If it doesn't, it places an undue burden on the poor because the average costs of getting a copy of these are between $25 and $60, depending on the state where you live.
[01:14:16]  So the elections are not free to the poor at all.
[01:14:22]  And maybe that's the underlying goal here, to dissuade the poor from voting.
[01:14:28]  Well, I would agree with you, Sandra.
[01:14:30]  I mean, we have a similar case in the states that require a photo identification.
[01:14:36]  Courts have generally upheld some of those laws, but they've said that those who can't afford them could get them for free.
[01:14:43]  And there are a number of states that provide that.
[01:14:46]  Some of the question of whether people have access to these documents is whether they really have them in their house, and they might need to go back to the state or the state they were born and get the actual copies.
[01:14:57]  And that is something of a cost.
[01:14:59]  So I do think that the implementation of this, there would be some issues, and that would be a very likely aspect to what states should do.
[01:15:09]  I mean, also that states might really help the voter in locating some of these documents if they're having trouble.
[01:15:16]  Jack, Jack from Maryland in Baltimore, Democrats line, you're next up.
[01:15:21]  Hello.
[01:15:22]  Hey, hello.
[01:15:23]  Good morning, guys.
[01:15:25]  I'd like to make a few quick points.
[01:15:27]  One, voter fraud is not an issue.
[01:15:30]  It hasn't really become an issue until Donald Trump entered the political arena, and he's been sowing doubt into our political election system ever since.
[01:15:40]  Two, I'd like to make the point that Donald Trump committed voter fraud.
[01:15:48]  He solicited 11,780 votes from the Secretary of State from Georgia.
[01:15:54]  That's illegal.
[01:15:55]  He had this fake elector scheme thing going.
[01:16:00]  That's illegal.
[01:16:01]  So I'd like to know if one, your guests thinks that's illegal.
[01:16:03]  And two, I'd like to ask him who won the 2020 presidential election.
[01:16:08]  And three, I'd like to ask a question that was asked to the Speaker of the House just yesterday, which is provide one example of past voter fraud that the SAVE Act would counteract if passed.
[01:16:20]  Thanks.
[01:16:23]  So I do think that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
[01:16:26]  That was one of your questions.
[01:16:28]  And on the question of fraud, I think you're right in terms of the level of fraud that we know about.
[01:16:35]  And we don't know everything, but I don't want to leave the impression that we think that there are a substantial number of votes out there that are cast by people who are not citizens.
[01:16:45]  The counterpoint to that is that we have a federal law that says you may not vote if you are not a citizen.
[01:16:52]  And that is something that we only enforce generally speaking by the kind of honor system.
[01:16:58]  People might swear that they're a citizen, but they don't have to provide proof.
[01:17:02]  And that we do ask people to provide that proof to get one of these real ID licenses, to get a job, to get a Social Security card.
[01:17:10]  So there may be some access issues that we want to work through, but the fact that people provide this for some very common things like getting a job and getting your retirement and getting a real ID license means that there's likely to be the ability to get these things as well.
[01:17:28]  So voter fraud, directly speaking, I think in the way you mean it, in a very narrow sense, is not something that is widespread or likely throwing elections.
[01:17:38]  But I think it's reasonable to ask people to show the very minimal requirements we have for voting, one of which is that you be a citizen.
[01:17:46]  Jerry.
[01:17:46]  Jerry in Texas, Republican line.
[01:17:49]  Hi.
[01:17:51]  Good morning.
[01:17:52]  Yeah, I just wanted to know.
[01:17:54]  Title 18, U.S. Code 611, makes it a felony for a federal election.
[01:18:04]  You can get one year to $1,000 fine or both.
[01:18:08]  This is never brought up.
[01:18:11]  I have a driver's license about 10 years ago in Texas.
[01:18:15]  They required us, I'm 90, they required us to bring our birth certificate, our marriage license, and Social Security to get a driver's license to prove we're a citizen.
[01:18:31]  And they put a little star in our driver's license that designates we are a citizen when we vote.
[01:18:37]  So they can tell in Texas whether you're a driver's legal voter or not.
[01:18:43]  But how did Joe Biden get 16 million votes since 2016 more than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton when he stayed in the basement?
[01:18:54]  Okay.
[01:18:55]  Okay, Jerry in Texas.
[01:18:56]  Well, you're right.
[01:18:58]  We do have a federal law that says you must be a citizen in order to vote.
[01:19:02]  And I think the parties view that slightly differently.
[01:19:05]  I think Democrats would say, well, there's this law.
[01:19:06]  Why do we need more than that?
[01:19:08]  And Republicans would say, well, we don't really ask people to prove it, at least in a comprehensive way.
[01:19:14]  And then secondly, on your point on Texas, there were a few states that did well with this real ID process.
[01:19:22]  You were mentioning the process by which you had to bring in some extra documentation to get a license which was up to standards of real ID, which now allows you to travel on a plane and do other things.
[01:19:33]  And a few states actually used that information, got it to their voting system, and maybe even have it on their actual ID on your license so that it's easily identifiable.
[01:19:43]  Many states didn't.
[01:19:44]  And so they, in a way, they collected the information already, but they didn't really use it.
[01:19:48]  And so that's my one lament.
[01:19:50]  And there might be ways in which we go forward if this act isn't going to pass, which I think it probably is not, that states can use their DMV process when they upgrade and be more coordinated with their voting process to get the people who are already showing this ID and this form of proof of citizenship to get to the place where they are that now voters will have shown that citizenship for the purposes of voter registration.
[01:20:15]  Why are you skeptical that it won't pass?
[01:20:17]  Well, I think that it will pass.
[01:20:20]  It's not going to pass unless we have a breaking of the filibuster.
[01:20:23]  And again, we've done that in a few ways and a few times with judicial and other nominations in recent years.
[01:20:30]  But for most legislation, there's a 60-vote threshold.
[01:20:34]  And Democrats are unified that they're not going to vote for this or even let it come to a vote.
[01:20:41]  And so unless Republicans take a kind of nuclear action, they sometimes call it, to break the filibuster, which is very rarely done, that it probably will not get done.

=== Identifying Non-Citizen Voters (10:33) ===

[01:20:50]  If that's the case, why do you think senators are putting so much time and effort?
[01:20:54]  Republicans in the Senate are putting so much time and effort on it.
[01:20:57]  Well, I think it's something that's relatively core to Republican beliefs.
[01:21:02]  They see the issue both as a popular issue in the polls, but also something that they believe in.
[01:21:06]  And if you look back to Democrats when they were in charge, they had a bill, HR1, they called it a couple of years, where they had a strong set of very Democratic priorities for voting, which they pushed very hard.
[01:21:18]  And yet, again, we're not able to get it through because ultimately they didn't have the 60 votes in the Senate.
[01:21:23]  You've hinted on this, 230 days until the November general election.
[01:21:27]  Let's say it does pass.
[01:21:28]  What's the burden on states to make the changes and are they ready for that?
[01:21:32]  Well, I think, you know, the details are a little unclear.
[01:21:35]  And, you know, there are some details that I think are problematic.
[01:21:39]  One of them is allowing people to sue their election officials if they find that some voter gets through that's not a citizen.
[01:21:49]  I think our voting officials, they should do a good job.
[01:21:52]  They should be held accountable.
[01:21:54]  But putting them in legal jeopardy for something that really could be some administrative mistake, I think that's a problem.
[01:22:00]  I also think that there is some uncertainty exactly how states will do this.
[01:22:04]  They are required to get this kind of information.
[01:22:09]  It's a short period of time, too.
[01:22:10]  I would say, even if we did move in this direction, one has to be very careful because primaries are coming up before those elections.
[01:22:18]  And so having this in place is going to take some time, even if it moves in a federal direction.
[01:22:23]  American Enterprise Institute's John Fortier along for this discussion.
[01:22:27]  Let's hear from Maurice in California, Independent Line.
[01:22:31]  Good morning.
[01:22:32]  Good morning, sir.
[01:22:33]  How are you today?
[01:22:34]  Well, thank you.
[01:22:34]  You're on with our guests.
[01:22:36]  Okay, I'd like to make a couple of points.
[01:22:39]  First off, I'm from Los Angeles, California, and I don't understand how people keep coming on here, pretty much lying,
[01:22:50]  saying that we don't have people voting in their elections fraudulently when you can, it's a well-known fact that you can go downtown Los Angeles on Alvarado Street and buy a complete identity for a thousand bucks.
[01:23:10]  Okay, birth certificate, social security, ID, everything, you know.
[01:23:17]  And number two, anyone that's going against voter ID, they're just letting you know they're for cheating.
[01:23:25]  You have to have ID to walk down the street in Los Angeles.
[01:23:29]  You have to have ID to pick up your children from school.
[01:23:33]  You have to have ID to buy beer.
[01:23:35]  You have to have ID to get on a plane.
[01:23:38]  You have to have an ID for anything in Los Angeles except vote.
[01:23:43]  That's ridiculous.
[01:23:45]  You know, quit lying to the people about this ID thing because, again, you can go downtown on Alvarado Street, downtown Los Angeles, and buy a complete profile.
[01:23:59]  Okay.
[01:24:00]  You made that point, so we'll let our guests respond to what you said.
[01:24:03]  Well, I mean, the issue of whether there are a lot of people on lists that should be on lists.
[01:24:09]  And just to clarify, the issue of showing an ID at the polls is something Republicans are also in favor of.
[01:24:15]  But this bill is really particularly about proving that you're a citizenship to get on the registration list and maybe having a good license system where it indicates whether you're a citizen is also might be a way in which that would be met.
[01:24:29]  But we do have some sense that this is not a large problem.
[01:24:33]  We have some states that have done some deep dives on their registration lists and found a very low number of non-citizens.
[01:24:42]  It's also true that we don't have full information.
[01:24:44]  Some states haven't done this.
[01:24:46]  The federal government provides some help to the states in terms of identifying whether people are citizens or not.
[01:24:53]  So I think we can do a better job.
[01:24:55]  There are a lot of ways in which we can do a better job.
[01:24:56]  But I also don't think if we look at the numbers that we know it's a very large problem in the hundreds of thousands or millions of people, those sort of numbers are not there in terms of registration.
[01:25:07]  In terms of voting, I think the numbers are even lower for non-citizens voting.
[01:25:11]  They're pretty small.
[01:25:12]  Nancy?
[01:25:13]  Nancy is in Pennsylvania.
[01:25:15]  Democrats line.
[01:25:16]  Hello.
[01:25:18]  Hi.
[01:25:19]  My question is something I've been thinking about that I haven't heard anybody talk about.
[01:25:26]  And that is, if the Supreme Court were to rule that we no longer have birthright citizenship, then if someone wanted to prove that they're a citizen, their birth certificate wouldn't prove that.
[01:25:45]  And what extra documentation would they need to have to prove that they are a citizen?
[01:25:56]  Well, that's a good question.
[01:26:00]  There presumably would be some people who the government would say they were given a birth certificate or their birth certificate here doesn't allow them to be, doesn't allow them to be a citizen.
[01:26:16]  So you're right.
[01:26:17]  There would be a set of people who you would have to go back and identify.
[01:26:23]  And if the government identified them, then presumably they wouldn't fit into any of these categories.
[01:26:27]  But I think we're several steps down the road from that, whether that will happen or not.
[01:26:32]  And I do think there's some issues with the current bill and trying to identify good ways in which we can get people to show that they're citizens.
[01:26:39]  And that might be a challenge enough.
[01:26:41]  So let's cross that bridge and we'll get to it.
[01:26:43]  We saw the federal government years ago give money to states to help with elections, the Help America Vote Act, I believe it was.
[01:26:50]  What have we seen as a result of that?
[01:26:52]  And are we better off for that investment of federal money?
[01:26:56]  Well, I think we are better off.
[01:26:57]  The Help America Vote Act, somewhat amazingly, was passed after a very contentious 2000 election when the parties really strongly were at odds and yet came together to fund a bill.
[01:27:10]  First time they provided funding.
[01:27:11]  And we've had several rounds of funding, smaller rounds, more recently, dealing with issues like foreign interference and the COVID crisis.
[01:27:19]  I do think that, generally speaking, we do need to take a look and make sure that our elections are funded well enough.
[01:27:26]  So not all the money was spent perfectly, but I think broadly speaking, there are some needs that the states need to have.
[01:27:34]  And on this case, in the case of identifying non-citizens, there's a real case to be made that some changes might need to be made at the Department of Voter Vehicles or at the voter registration offices or their connections.
[01:27:50]  And so it wouldn't be a bad idea if one thought this is the way to go, that you would provide funding to upgrade those systems.
[01:27:58]  Because some of this really is the systems that states have in terms of registering voters, identifying voters, getting them from the license motor vehicle situation to the polling place situation.
[01:28:10]  And that's something that some funds would help.
[01:28:14]  So when the part of the legislation that dealing with the updating of voter roles and making sure everybody who's supposed to be on there is on there, what's the process involved in that?
[01:28:23]  And what are the dangers of updating that without making sure that people inadvertently who are supposed to vote get left off the list?
[01:28:31]  Well, we do have several federal laws dealing with voter registration, and they've both made it easier for people to register, especially at the Motor Vehicles Department, but also at some other agencies.
[01:28:44]  And there was money in the Help America Vote Act that could go to that, as well as some voting technology.
[01:28:50]  So there may be some additional changes.
[01:28:53]  The federal government also is trying to upgrade their databases to be helpful to the states, to allow them to check people, whether they're citizens or not.
[01:29:01]  And so there's some funding and institutional issues that I think you should take seriously.
[01:29:06]  If you're going to change the policy, you want to have money behind it to make sure that it happens.
[01:29:11]  Let's hear one more call, and this will be Eddie in New Jersey, Republican line.
[01:29:16]  Good morning.
[01:29:17]  How are you?
[01:29:18]  Fine.
[01:29:18]  You're on with our guests.
[01:29:19]  Go ahead, please.
[01:29:20]  Yes, I heard him downplay that the voting is not a big issue, that they have a small minority.
[01:29:29]  The bottom line is you cannot get no government assistance that you're entitled to without providing proper ID.
[01:29:37]  So if voting makes a difference in our country because who you elect becomes in power, makes decisions, then We should make sure that those voting are American.
[01:29:47]  Doesn't necessarily mean they're going to share all our values, but at least I'd rather have somebody that I know is an American and understands what this country is about, as opposed to somebody who was led in here illegally and doesn't know, and they're here solely for that vote.
[01:30:03]  And if that's not happening, let's put an end to it and just make sure that everybody's voting has verification that they are eligible to do so.
[01:30:12]  Eddie, thank you.
[01:30:14]  Well, I think you're right that there are a number of places to get some government benefits, to get a job, to get a social security number, to retire, to get government benefits, and again, to get these real ID licenses where we really have asked people to prove that they're citizenship, or at least to state their citizenship status.
[01:30:33]  And one of the problems is we didn't do a very good job of translating getting that information, which many people have provided in all these other contexts, to the voting system.
[01:30:43]  So we don't know as much in many places as to whether the voters on the voter registration list are citizens.
[01:30:49]  They've often sworn an affidavit or sworn that they are citizens in some way, but the proof of it has not really come through.
[01:30:57]  So in some ways, this is an administrative issue that we probably should have done and we might be able to do in certain ways at the state level or perhaps at the federal level, although I don't think this bill is going to pass.
[01:31:07]  And that's something that I think would be a good thing if we were more universally able to have people have shown that they're citizens in order to prove that they're eligible to vote.
[01:31:18]  If the bill doesn't pass, does that mean the debate and the fight over this is over?
[01:31:23]  No, I don't think so.

=== Epstein Files Investigation (12:01) ===

[01:31:24]  I mean, I think it will go and continue in the states.
[01:31:27]  Some of the states both could change their laws, but also could change their administrative policies.
[01:31:33]  There are also court cases and decisions as to whether the way in which some of these states implement things are appropriate or not, whether they're a burden or not.
[01:31:41]  So I think there'll be a lot of action in the courts and state legislatures and local election, local and state election officials, because this is something that the parties are divided on, but I do think at least a good chunk of the American people say we should prove that you're a citizen to be able to vote.
[01:32:00]  AEI.org, the website for the American Enterprise Institute, John 48 serves Senior Fellow of the organization.
[01:32:06]  Thanks for your time.
[01:32:07]  Thank you.
[01:32:08]  Our next guest represents California.
[01:32:10]  He's a member of the House Financial Service Committee, California Congressman Sam Licodardo, on topics of Iran and other things happening in Congress.
[01:32:18]  We'll have that discussion when Washington Journal continues.
[01:32:20]  C-SPAN is as unbiased as you can get.
[01:32:41]  You are so fair.
[01:32:43]  I don't know how anybody can say otherwise.
[01:32:45]  You guys do the most important work for everyone in this country.
[01:32:49]  I love C-SPAN because I get to hear all the voices.
[01:32:53]  You bring these divergent viewpoints and you present both sides of an issue and you allow people to make up their own minds.
[01:32:59]  I absolutely love C-SPAN.
[01:33:01]  I love to hear both sides.
[01:33:03]  I've watched C-SPAN every morning and it is unbiased.
[01:33:07]  And you bring in factual information for the callers to understand where they are in their comments.
[01:33:13]  This is probably the only place that we can hear honest opinion of Americans across the country.
[01:33:18]  You guys at C-SPAN are doing such a wonderful job of allowing free exchange of ideas without a lot of interruptions.
[01:33:26]  Thank you, C-SPAN, for being a light in the dark.
[01:33:32]  In a divided media world, one place brings Americans together.
[01:33:36]  According to a new MAGIT research report, nearly 90 million Americans turn to C-SPAN, and they're almost perfectly balanced.
[01:33:43]  28% conservative, 27% liberal or progressive, 41% moderate.
[01:33:49]  Republicans watching Democrats, Democrats watching Republicans, moderates watching all sides.
[01:33:56]  Because C-SPAN viewers want the facts straight from the source.
[01:34:00]  No commentary, no agenda, just democracy.
[01:34:03]  Unfiltered every day on the C-SPAN networks.
[01:34:07]  Washington Journal continues.
[01:34:10]  Our next guest is Representative Sam Licardo, Democrat of California.
[01:34:13]  He serves the 16th District, also a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
[01:34:18]  Representative, thanks for giving us your time.
[01:34:20]  Good morning, Peter.
[01:34:21]  Great to be with you.
[01:34:21]  There was some reporting from a town hall you did last week, and you said this.
[01:34:25]  You said that when it comes to Iran, you said the chaos, corruption, and war that, quote, cracks were forming in President Trump's vice grip on the Republican coalition.
[01:34:34]  Can you follow up and what did you mean by that?
[01:34:36]  Well, what we're seeing, and this has really taken hold, particularly since the vote on Jeffrey Epstein a couple months ago, is increasingly Republicans are starting to find their spine.
[01:34:48]  We saw it on some votes on some labor bills on weakening wages.
[01:34:52]  I think six or seven Republicans jumped over to the Democratic side.
[01:34:56]  The Republican leadership took the rest of the bills off the floor.
[01:34:59]  Similarly, a vote on tariffs imposed on Canada.
[01:35:04]  Again, six or seven Republicans jumped over and ultimately enabled us to prevail.
[01:35:11]  What we are starting to see, and this is only a start.
[01:35:14]  I know it's by no means consistent across all votes, but I think that Republicans are discovering that this administration is not going to be the one that is going to help them win reelection.
[01:35:26]  And I think that has really been what has fueled Trump's strength for the last year and a half.
[01:35:33]  When it comes to the idea of finding the spine, how does Iran fit into that?
[01:35:36]  Yeah, that's going to be interesting.
[01:35:38]  I mean, we're certainly seeing the cracks within the Trump administration as we decided resignation yesterday.
[01:35:44]  I can't pretend to predict there'll be more resignations, but I certainly am hearing the grousing among many of my Republican colleagues that they don't believe this war was particularly well-advised, and it's certainly not consistent with MAGA beliefs.
[01:35:59]  Our guests with us, and if you want to ask him questions, by the way, you can do so.
[01:36:02]  202-748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans, Independents, 202-748-8002.
[01:36:11]  And you can text us at 202-748-8003.
[01:36:15]  When it comes to the Democrats on Capitol Hill, there have been calls for demands on hearing more information when it comes to Iran on what the president's doing, what the strategy is.
[01:36:23]  What's been the total response to those calls?
[01:36:27]  We're not getting answers to the calls.
[01:36:30]  I mean, the fact that we're alienating all of our allies and somehow or another placating our enemies like Russia and China through, for example, reducing sanctions on the sale of Russian oil.
[01:36:41]  This is really a perfect storm for ensuring that those powers in the world that are most adverse to us are strengthened through bad decision-making and alienating every NATO ally imaginable.
[01:36:59]  It is not surprising that we're not seeing our friends rush to our aid with regard to opening the state of Hermus, despite the fact that it's very much in their own economic self-interest.
[01:37:09]  You talked about the resignation of Joe Kent in his resignation letter.
[01:37:13]  He made very sharp comments about the reasons of why, at least to him, we were led into this conflict.
[01:37:18]  What did you think of those sentiments?
[01:37:19]  Do you agree with those sentiments?
[01:37:21]  Well, I know some have accused Kent of being anti-Semitic.
[01:37:24]  I have no idea, and I don't pretend to know Kent, but I don't think it's anti-Semitic to say Netanyahu has an outsized influence on this administration.
[01:37:32]  I do think that there were plenty of reasons why this decision to enter this war was a bad idea.
[01:37:41]  And the first and foremost is this president did not define a clearly achievable objective in going into this war.
[01:37:48]  Whether Netanyahu had anything to do with it or not, I don't pretend to know.
[01:37:52]  I do know that there is no pathway to regime change that I see.
[01:37:58]  And I also see without an invasion of ground forces, I don't see any way that you're going to get uranium out of Iranian stranglehold.
[01:38:07]  So we've got a real problem in that the only way out of this war is to leave a regime that's theocratic and hostile to the United States and supporting terrorism and to leave uranium in the hands of that regime.
[01:38:20]  I don't see how we declare victory in any way.
[01:38:23]  When it comes to the idea of eminent threat, where are you on this idea?
[01:38:28]  There's a lot of ways to describe Iran as a threat, and all of them are true, whether it's imminent or not.
[01:38:34]  I think the question is, what exactly do we get out of this bombing or invasion?
[01:38:40]  If we thought there was, for example, a likelihood that those missiles were going to be launched at American targets, we're certainly justified in hitting those missile sites.
[01:38:49]  I haven't seen that evidence.
[01:38:50]  When it comes to the economics, what are gas prices like in California currently?
[01:38:54]  Well, certainly they're going up like they're going up everywhere else in the United States.
[01:38:57]  California has its own problems with regard to gas prices, I'll be the first to admit.
[01:39:02]  But look, the reality is that China figured this out many years ago and decided they were going to massively invest in clean energy to make itself more independent of the oil in the Persian Gulf for all the obvious reasons.
[01:39:17]  The geopolitical ones are certainly paramount as we look at this war and what it's doing potentially to our economy and the global economy.
[01:39:24]  This is Sam Licardo joining us.
[01:39:26]  And if you want to ask some questions, you can call the line.
[01:39:28]  Let's hear from Chuck.
[01:39:29]  Chuck in New York, Independent Line.
[01:39:31]  You're on with our guests.
[01:39:32]  Good morning.
[01:39:34]  As a former Republican, now independent, betrayed by MAGA, I was wondering what Democrats can do to work with some rational Republicans to put an end to the war, because your previous guest, Elise Labbitt, said she was thrown around the anti-Semitic term to describe a patriot, Joe Kent, who lost his wife.
[01:39:57]  And if we can challenge that notion that people who are critical of the war or critical of Israel are anti-Semitic, I think this country would be a lot better off.
[01:40:09]  Yeah, I agree with the fundamental notion that, look, to be against the war isn't to be anti-Semitic.
[01:40:16]  There are, and I don't pretend to know, again, to what extent Ned and Yahoo had influence in Trump's decision.
[01:40:24]  The truth of the matter is this is an ill-advised war.
[01:40:27]  I think Republicans and Democrats can unify on that principle.
[01:40:31]  Certainly, we see that in the voting populace.
[01:40:35]  There are plenty of Republicans and Democrats that agree that this is not a good use of American resources.
[01:40:41]  We know billions of dollars are being spent on this war that could be spent on health care or housing or a host of other critical needs.
[01:40:48]  And we also know this is having a huge impact on oil prices and ultimately will on food prices and many other costs that families are struggling with already today.
[01:40:57]  From Bill, Bill in Ohio, Republican line.
[01:41:01]  Hi.
[01:41:02]  Yeah, hi.
[01:41:03]  Thank you for C-SPAN.
[01:41:05]  I'm recalling regarding the opening statement about the Epstein files.
[01:41:11]  Why didn't Joe Biden release those files if there's such damning information in there?
[01:41:17]  Yeah.
[01:41:17]  I don't understand that.
[01:41:19]  And one more quick thing, Pedro.
[01:41:21]  You said about one person voting wrong.
[01:41:24]  And the shoe bomber, we had to take our shoes off for 20 years.
[01:41:29]  But thank you.
[01:41:29]  I enjoy C-SPAN.
[01:41:32]  Yeah, I appreciate the question about Joe Biden and the release of the Epstein files.
[01:41:35]  I'm a former criminal prosecutor, and I was also both on the federal side and locally.
[01:41:40]  There was an active investigation going on during the Biden administration, both of Epstein himself as well as of Maxwell.
[01:41:48]  And until those prosecutions are concluded, the Department of Justice will not release files under virtually any circumstance.
[01:41:55]  It's certainly not a circumstance I've ever heard of.
[01:41:58]  And so it was well understood those files would not get released as long as that investigation was ongoing.
[01:42:03]  Maxwell was just sentenced, I think, in 23, maybe in 24, I don't recall.
[01:42:09]  That's when the investigation would conclude, and the files would then be able to be released under any standard Department of Justice practice or protocol.
[01:42:17]  Under your hat of being a former prosecutor, what's the significance of the Attorney General being called and being subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee on the Epstein files?
[01:42:27]  Well, that's telling.
[01:42:28]  Look, Democrats don't control the Oversight Committee.
[01:42:30]  Republicans do.
[01:42:31]  That tells you there was significant Republican support for the notion that this Attorney General needs to be held into account.
[01:42:36]  Look, I've spent five or six hours at the Department of Justice looking at these files.
[01:42:40]  It is very obvious.
[01:42:41]  They are not unredacted.
[01:42:43]  We're getting redactions that were left with the Justice Department that obviously made at the FBI or another agency.
[01:42:49]  Those redactions are clearly relevant to questions of whether or not very powerful people are implicated in this growing scandal, and obviously the president himself and people very close to the president.
[01:43:01]  That was part of the response from the Justice Department that legislators could come down and look at these things.
[01:43:05]  Why should I have to come up and testify on, or at least be subpoenaed on these things?
[01:43:08]  Yeah, in addition to the fact that there appear to be millions of pages that are missing.
[01:43:12]  But clearly, you can look at the documents, as I have, for several hours and see that there are very obvious redactions still.
[01:43:19]  Let's hear from Al.
[01:43:20]  Al is in Illinois.
[01:43:22]  Democrats line.
[01:43:24]  Hi, how are you doing?

=== Sanctions and Oil Prices (02:55) ===

[01:43:26]  I have a big concern about that straight of Hormuz.
[01:43:30]  From what I understand is it's only four miles wide because of the depth these tankers have to go through.
[01:43:40]  Also, China's going through the Strait of Hormuz.
[01:43:44]  They go off of transponders off these ships.
[01:43:47]  So they're getting through fine.
[01:43:49]  So I don't know how they're having an oil problem.
[01:43:52]  And that's what scares me because what I hear what Iran's doing is they're accepting Chinese currency.
[01:43:58]  That's going to cause a big problem for our currency.
[01:44:01]  I don't know what our economy can withstand.
[01:44:04]  Like, can we withstand $15 a gallon?
[01:44:07]  That's my question.
[01:44:09]  Yeah, that's an important question is whether or not our economy and global economy can sustain the oil shock that's coming in addition to what we've already experienced.
[01:44:20]  With regard to the Strait of Hormus, you may well be right.
[01:44:24]  I'm not an expert in understanding the geography of the channel.
[01:44:28]  I know it's 21 miles at its narrowest point.
[01:44:31]  The actual channel for the very large ships that require the tankers to actually move oil may in fact be narrower.
[01:44:39]  The point is it is a relatively narrow channel.
[01:44:42]  And my understanding is that any ship, we've already had, I think, 17 ships attacked in some way by drones or missiles.
[01:44:50]  I think there is no commercial vessel in the world that wants to get through that strait right now until the fighting has ceased.
[01:45:00]  This is, I think everyone is paralyzed for very good reason.
[01:45:03]  It is simply too perilous.
[01:45:04]  You're a member of the Financial Services Committee.
[01:45:06]  There was a story in the New York Times a few days ago taking a look at the idea of sanctions against the country and how it limits their ability to do things that are of concern of the United States.
[01:45:14]  They target Iran and Venezuela, but specifically to Iran, what's been the role of sanctions and what do you think is the future as far as more sanctions against that country and others?
[01:45:25]  Yeah, I mean, I don't know if there's much more ceiling left in the sanctions we've imposed on Iran.
[01:45:31]  What we know is that over time, the evidence is that countries adjust, as Russia did, for example, the sanctions.
[01:45:40]  You obviously reorient supply chains.
[01:45:43]  An economy becomes more self-reliant over time and less reliant on international trade.
[01:45:48]  Obviously, there are implications.
[01:45:50]  It reduces your growth, reduces employment.
[01:45:53]  There are a lot of severe sanctions impacts, but usually over time, those impacts lessen.
[01:45:59]  And I expect that Iran has been going on alone long enough to figure out how to make their economy at least, well, I don't want to say tolerable because I think we know the Iranian economy is a mess, certainly because of this war.
[01:46:14]  But I don't think sanctions themselves at this point are a significant tool in our arsenal beyond what we're already using.

=== Need for Federal Standard (13:59) ===

[01:46:21]  Let's go to Jay.
[01:46:22]  Jay, you're on with our guest.
[01:46:24]  Good morning.
[01:46:25]  He's from Maryland.
[01:46:25]  Yes, good morning.
[01:46:27]  There's a small group of avid C-SPAN watchers.
[01:46:30]  We call ourselves the Crazy 88s, and we've been ranking the host.
[01:46:35]  And you are still the most improved host.
[01:46:37]  So congratulations on that.
[01:46:38]  Well, you've given me that title several years in a row.
[01:46:40]  I'd like to think I've improved, but there, but that's not the point.
[01:46:43]  What's your question for our guest, please?
[01:46:45]  Okay, I have a couple of quick yes or no questions.
[01:46:50]  First, do you have any children?
[01:46:52]  I do not.
[01:46:53]  Okay.
[01:46:54]  Secondly, can a man get pregnant?
[01:46:56]  Yes or no, real quick.
[01:46:58]  Not to my knowledge.
[01:46:59]  Okay, thirdly.
[01:47:01]  Thomas Massey said that all the Republicans in the House had a handler on the APAC.
[01:47:09]  Do you have an APAC handler?
[01:47:11]  Yes or no?
[01:47:13]  I'm not sure I know what that means.
[01:47:15]  But anyway.
[01:47:17]  The lobbyist from AIPAC that directs you on policy.
[01:47:22]  Do you have an APAC handler?
[01:47:24]  No.
[01:47:24]  I mean, there are people, I know people in AIPAC who I talk to on occasion, but no.
[01:47:30]  One more question, caller.
[01:47:31]  Okay, last question.
[01:47:34]  Is criticism of the state of Israel or the government is that anti-Semitic?
[01:47:39]  Yes or no?
[01:47:39]  Okay, thank you.
[01:47:40]  No, I don't think criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.
[01:47:43]  Look, I live in a community with many Jewish Americans who are critical of Netanyahu in the war cabinet.
[01:47:49]  I don't think it's anti-Semitic.
[01:47:51]  I think there are deep concerns that Jewish Americans and many Americans have with Netanyahu's conduct of the war in Gaza and actions in the West Bank and certainly internationally.
[01:48:03]  Sam is joining us for our guest.
[01:48:06]  He's in Wisconsin, Independent Line.
[01:48:08]  Morning, gentlemen.
[01:48:09]  I have a simple question for the congressman.
[01:48:12]  Could you tell me what the state gasoline tax is in California?
[01:48:16]  And I'll listen to your response.
[01:48:18]  And Pedro, there's always room for improvement.
[01:48:20]  Thank you, gentlemen.
[01:48:22]  I couldn't tell you what the tax is.
[01:48:24]  I know that it has been often described as being among the highest in the country.
[01:48:29]  I think Hawaii might be a little higher, but we're certainly among the highest four or five.
[01:48:33]  I think some in your state are calling on the state government to suspend some of those taxes for the duration.
[01:48:39]  What do you think of that effort?
[01:48:40]  Yeah, I'm not sure.
[01:48:41]  Look, the reality is we're going to be stuck with very high gas prices regardless of whatever the tax is.
[01:48:47]  I am certainly concerned about our ability to fund basic transit measures and transit operations, I should say, and repave roads and so forth.
[01:48:58]  And so, look, it may or may not be a good idea to waive taxes for some short period of time, but the reality is we are all going to be paying much more at the pump, whether you have those taxes or not.
[01:49:09]  That is the consequence of going to war with a country that borders the Persian Gulf.
[01:49:14]  Sam Licardo is our guest, representative of the 16th District of California, Andrew in Michigan, Independent Line.
[01:49:23]  Hello, good morning, gentlemen.
[01:49:25]  former Trump supporter here, current independent.
[01:49:28]  My question for the representative is this.
[01:49:32]  So a few weeks ago, Trump said in a press conference that it was the advisement of Jared Kushner and Howard Butnick that brought us into the Iran conflict.
[01:49:46]  In a separate press conference, Marco Rubio said basically that it was Israel that got us into the Iran conflict.
[01:49:55]  You have NATO allies not supporting it.
[01:49:59]  You have the recent resignation of Joe Kent.
[01:50:03]  And all of these facts, I think, are suggestive that this war is a rogue act, and it does not have the backing of the NATO Atlanticist establishment security consensus.
[01:50:23]  So with that being said, does the congressman see a potential future where certain actors in the Trump administration could face criminal charges over what appears to be a rogue act?
[01:50:39]  And that's my question.
[01:50:40]  Thank you very much for your time, gentlemen.
[01:50:42]  Andrew, thank you.
[01:50:43]  You know, I don't disagree with anything that the color that Andrew just said, but I don't think there's a basis for criminal charges because of a very bad decision.
[01:50:54]  I think that we'd agree on entering war.
[01:50:57]  Look, I could think of a lot of ways in which I would charge members of this administration, starting with the president.
[01:51:01]  I mean, we could start with his crypto meme coin issuance and go down a long list of criminal charges you could bring for a whole lot of different violations.
[01:51:13]  But I don't think that this would be the basis, that this decision going to war in Iran would be a criminal act.
[01:51:21]  You just did an interview with the Washington Post.
[01:51:23]  It's under the headline, Congress is losing the race to regulate AI.
[01:51:27]  Is that your sentiment?
[01:51:29]  Yeah, I think, look, we're not particularly adept at regulating technology, period.
[01:51:35]  We've been waiting 30 years for some kind of statute to govern digital privacy and protect Americans like every other industrialized nation currently has.
[01:51:45]  We've waited about three decades for some kind of amendment or reform to Section 230 to protect children online and so forth.
[01:51:56]  It is clear that Congress is not good at regulating technology, and I think we're seeing that here with AI as well.
[01:52:01]  I am working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on how we can move forward.
[01:52:06]  I've been in Congress all 13 months, so as you can imagine, I've got some learning to do myself.
[01:52:11]  And I think there are a lot of good people who have good intentions.
[01:52:14]  I have real concerns about whether or not we can really build enough of a centrist coalition to get something over the gold line.
[01:52:20]  Where's the place to start when it comes to regulation?
[01:52:23]  Well, I think where we all agree, and let's start with children, there's pretty compelling reasons for us to get out there today and protect children.
[01:52:32]  There's a lot of ways we could do it.
[01:52:34]  I have my own ideas.
[01:52:35]  I think we would start there.
[01:52:37]  Your idea, what's chief among them?
[01:52:39]  How would you change it?
[01:52:40]  Well, for example, we know what the best practices are in the industry for protecting children around age verification, for example, around halting push notifications on social media platforms, for example.
[01:52:51]  We are all deeply concerned about how sycophantic AI search engines, or sorry, AI agents can be.
[01:52:59]  Let's take the best practices in the industry.
[01:53:02]  Let's hold those up as a threshold and tell all those actors who are developers and others who are creating LLMs or AI agents that if they do not meet those basic thresholds, then they are subject to whatever the whims are of 50 different states and their own laws.
[01:53:24]  And if they can meet the best practices thresholds, then they have the benefit of federal preemption, which is what I know Republicans have sought for a long time.
[01:53:31]  Now, the problem is Republicans have been pushing for federal preemption without any federal standard at all.
[01:53:36]  I think we should have a very high federal standard.
[01:53:39]  And when companies meet that high federal standard, then they should be able to avoid having to navigate the thicket of 50 different state laws.
[01:53:47]  If I understand it correctly, you represent parts of Silicon Valley.
[01:53:49]  You talk about those companies.
[01:53:50]  How do they respond to this idea of regulation of AI?
[01:53:54]  You know, obviously there's a wide variation, but I think some very much accept and embrace the fact that there needs to be federal regulation.
[01:54:03]  And they're particularly accepting of it when they are starting to see many state legislatures going in a lot of different directions.
[01:54:10]  They don't want to have to navigate all that.
[01:54:12]  No industry does.
[01:54:13]  There should be a federal standard.
[01:54:15]  Let's go to Alan.
[01:54:16]  Alan is on our line for Republicans in Oregon.
[01:54:18]  Hello, you're on.
[01:54:20]  Yeah.
[01:54:21]  Hey, if we can't negotiate with Iran seriously about not developing nuclear weapons, what are we supposed to do?
[01:54:29]  I mean, we've got to take them out as far as I'm concerned.
[01:54:32]  The facilities out.
[01:54:34]  And I just don't get why there's even an argument about this.
[01:54:42]  I don't know.
[01:54:42]  I mean, I'm just confused why there's even an argument.
[01:54:46]  So that's my comment.
[01:54:49]  Yeah, I appreciate the point.
[01:54:51]  Look, I think the real question is what you mean by take them out.
[01:54:55]  If by take them out, you mean regime change.
[01:54:57]  The intelligence that we have in the United States from Trump's own intelligence experts, as well as according to the Washington Post this morning, according to Israeli's best intelligence, is that there is not going to be regime change as a result of this bombing campaign.
[01:55:13]  That is going to require a ground invasion that I don't think the American public is willing to support, putting women and men of our armed forces in that kind of obviously there would be thousands of American deaths and any kind of ground evasion.
[01:55:29]  And if you're talking about the uranium stockpiles, if you're talking about how you can get that uranium out of Iranian hands, that is going to require one of two things.
[01:55:39]  Either Iran's going to have to be willing to hand that over, or we're going to have to go in and get it.
[01:55:44]  That's all the intelligence I'm aware of.
[01:55:46]  It's going to require American forces going in to physically remove it.
[01:55:51]  And so again, the question is, what are American people willing to support?
[01:55:55]  I think what we had in place in 2015, though certainly not without flaw, what we had in place was a treaty that enabled AEI inspectors to be in the country providing us intelligence about where the uranium was, at what level it was enriched, so we knew how to neutralize it and get to it in the case that conflicts would become more imminent.
[01:56:22]  We don't have that capability today because that treaty, of course, was completely destroyed when Trump came into office, and we no longer have the ability to get inspectors and to get that intelligence in place.
[01:56:35]  I think we need to go back to a place where we can actually get inspections in the country.
[01:56:40]  Now, we're a long way off from that.
[01:56:42]  And obviously, we now have to extricate ourselves from a war which is increasingly demonstrating that it is producing no fruitful end.
[01:56:49]  From Michael, Michael in Connecticut Independent Line.
[01:56:52]  Hi there.
[01:56:54]  Good morning, sir.
[01:56:56]  Congressman, I'll ask you a question.
[01:56:59]  You've never been bullied in school?
[01:57:01]  I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question.
[01:57:04]  My question is, you've never been bullied.
[01:57:07]  Oh, bullied?
[01:57:08]  Sure.
[01:57:10]  I think certainly I haven't.
[01:57:13]  Okay, now why are America bullying you, Bob?
[01:57:18]  Why who make policy, Israel or America, against this war?
[01:57:25]  Well, I think we can blame ourselves on this one.
[01:57:28]  Look, I know a lot of folks want to point fingers at Nanyahu or anyone else, but we have one commander-in-chief, and that's the person who made the decision.
[01:57:37]  So we should hold the Trump administration accountable for what is a very bad decision.
[01:57:43]  When it comes to further pushes from Congress for a war powers resolution, anything happening on that front?
[01:57:49]  I'm not hearing anything, though.
[01:57:50]  I would certainly expect if news continues that there is no clear way to obtain any military political objective in this war.
[01:58:02]  I mean, look, obviously, we're winning all the battles.
[01:58:05]  Winning the battles is very different than winning the war.
[01:58:08]  And if we're not able to wrap this thing up in the next couple weeks, I expect you're going to see some cries for a new war powers resolution on the House side.
[01:58:16]  And I expect you're going to see some Republicans join that.
[01:58:19]  Before we let you go, what's your assessment on the current lack of funding at Homeland Security, and where do you see the resolve coming?
[01:58:25]  How does this get resolved as far as funding being restored?
[01:58:29]  Well, today, there is going to be an opportunity to sign a discharge petition on a bill that I co-sponsored some time ago from Rosa Deloro that would separate appropriations for ICE and Border Patrol from the rest of DHS.
[01:58:47]  In other words, to ensure that TSA employees and Coast Guard employees could get paychecks while we are debating and negotiating over badly needed reforms to ICE.
[01:58:59]  I think it would be wise for Republicans to sign on to that discharge petition.
[01:59:04]  Obviously, Republican leadership won't allow that bill to get to the floor because for whatever reason they think it's appropriate to allow TSA employees and others not to get paid while they hold the line to defend what is an indefensible agency, that is ICE.
[01:59:19]  So we are going to push hard to separate those decisions.
[01:59:24]  That is to ensure that the rest of DHS can get funded appropriately.
[01:59:28]  Those employees who are hardworking are going to get paid, and we're going to fight it out to ensure that American people are protected from the chaos of ICE on our streets.
[01:59:43]  And let's be clear about what we're demanding in terms of changes at ICE.
[01:59:47]  This is the bare minimum, the table stakes, what every major city police department has been doing for years.
[01:59:54]  We're talking about body-warrant cameras, about independent investigations of officer-involved shootings, of basic officer identification.
[02:00:01]  This is basic accountability for law enforcement that apparently ICE believes it's exempt from.
[02:00:06]  And there is no chance that Democrats will pull back from that initial list of demands in order ultimately to get everything funded in Homeland Security.
[02:00:13]  Well, let's see the Republicans actually come forward and say they're willing to accomplish seven of the ten demands.

=== Bridging Political Divide (11:19) ===

[02:00:21]  Let's actually see some real negotiation.
[02:00:23]  I just haven't seen that on the other side where they're willing to say, oh, we understand this needs to get fixed.
[02:00:28]  Three U.S. citizens have died already.
[02:00:30]  Entire communities are terrorized by this agency.
[02:00:34]  And we need to see some movement by the Republicans saying we understand there's a problem.
[02:00:39]  Sam Licardo is with, he serves the 16th District of California, a member of Congress, a member of the Financial Services Committee.
[02:00:47]  Thanks for your time.
[02:00:48]  Great to be with you, Peter.
[02:00:49]  It's open forum.
[02:00:50]  And if you want to participate, you can do that by calling the following lines, 202-748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans.
[02:01:00]  And Independents, 202-748-8002.
[02:01:03]  We'll take those open foreign calls when Washington Journal continues.
[02:01:18]  Best ideas and best practices can be found anywhere.
[02:01:21]  We have to listen so we can govern better.
[02:01:23]  Democracy depends on heavy doses of civility.
[02:01:26]  You can fight and still be friendly.
[02:01:28]  Bridging the divide in American politics.
[02:01:31]  You know, you may not agree with the Democrat on everything, but you can find areas where you do agree.
[02:01:34]  He's a pretty likable guy as well.
[02:01:36]  Chris Coons and I are actually friends.
[02:01:37]  He votes wrong all the time, but we're actually friends.
[02:01:40]  A horrible secret that Scott and I have is that we actually respect each other.
[02:01:44]  We all don't hate each other.
[02:01:45]  You two actually kind of like each other.
[02:01:47]  These are the kinds of secrets we'd like to expose.
[02:01:49]  It's nice to be with a member who knows what they're talking about.
[02:01:52]  You guys did agree to the civility, all right?
[02:01:54]  He owes my son $10 from a bed.
[02:01:57]  He is never paying for it.
[02:01:58]  Don't fork it over.
[02:02:00]  That's fighting words right there.
[02:02:01]  I'm glad I'm not in charge.
[02:02:03]  I'm thrilled to be on the show with him.
[02:02:04]  There are not shows like this, right?
[02:02:06]  Incentivizing that relationship.
[02:02:09]  Cease Fire, Friday nights on C-SPAN.
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[02:02:43]  Gear up for engagement.
[02:02:46]  Washington Journal continues.
[02:02:48]  Again, it's open form.
[02:02:50]  And if you want to give us your thoughts on matters of politics, 202-748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans.
[02:02:59]  And Independents, 202-748-8002.
[02:03:04]  As calls are coming in, we'll introduce you to Representative Ana Paulina Luna, who joins us from Capitol Hill via Zoom and here to answer your questions or at least talk to you a little bit about certain topics that are happening in Congress.
[02:03:17]  Representative Luna, thanks for giving us your time.
[02:03:20]  Thank you for having me.
[02:03:21]  Happy to be back.
[02:03:22]  Representative, as a member of the House, what do you make of the debate going on in the Senate over the Save America Act?
[02:03:29]  Look, I have a back-channel network of people that are feeding me information about conversations and what the strategy is here.
[02:03:36]  And I actually had posted just, you know, 24 hours ago that this is nothing more than political tap dancing and that they're not actually serious about getting this passed.
[02:03:46]  Thun knows that he doesn't have the votes as is unless he embraces the standing filibuster.
[02:03:51]  And really what the chatter and consensus was from some of the Senate leadership was to pacify Americans because they were tired of the pressure campaign and really the American people calling their offices.
[02:04:02]  They are tired of getting lit up on social media for their lack and inability to get one of the basic things passed that you know an overwhelming amount of Americans, I think the number is like 83% of Americans regardless of party affiliation want in voter ID.
[02:04:16]  And then you hear these crazy arguments, which you know I think is coming out in the debate and Senator Mikely actually did a great job debunking the whole it's going to be more difficult debate or the talking point from the Democrats that it's going to be more difficult for women, females, and veterans to vote, which I check all three boxes and it's not.
[02:04:34]  And Senator Mikely actually pointed that out in the specific language of why it's not.
[02:04:39]  But the point is, is that I don't think that they're actually serious about getting this legislation passed.
[02:04:44]  And so this is something called a show vote.
[02:04:46]  It's something that happens all too often here in Washington, D.C.
[02:04:50]  And so I basically made my position very clear in that I'm not interested in performative politics and I don't think the American people are either.
[02:04:57]  And so I think that in order to get this passed, we're going to have to stick it on FISA.
[02:05:02]  Explain that, elaborate on that.
[02:05:04]  On the FISA stuff?
[02:05:05]  Yes.
[02:05:06]  Yeah, so FISA is a must-pass piece of legislation.
[02:05:10]  It's something that happens every couple of years.
[02:05:13]  And so I had voted against it last time.
[02:05:16]  I was kind of on the naughty list.
[02:05:18]  I actually was kept off of House Armed Services because I had voted it down.
[02:05:21]  But in the current form, specifically with Section 702, it does need to be reformed because it's not constitutional.
[02:05:27]  And many, many members of Congress on both sides, you kind of see that horseshoe coming together in politics, agree that this reform needs to happen.
[02:05:37]  Now, in the current form, House Leadership does not have the votes from Republican members of Congress to pass it on the rule.
[02:05:45]  They don't have the votes to pass it in conference.
[02:05:47]  So they're going to have to rely on Democrats if they'll support it.
[02:05:50]  But last year, the last time it was up for renewal, actually went down by, or it was passed by one vote.
[02:05:57]  So to kind of just talk about the margins that we're dealing with here, now obviously we have an even slimmer majority.
[02:06:03]  And so I am hoping that we can put the Save America Act on this must-pass piece of legislation that members of the Senate would literally walk over broken glass in order to pass.
[02:06:15]  And I think that that's the only way that we're going to be able to get this done.
[02:06:18]  And I've made my position on this very vocal, not just to House leadership.
[02:06:23]  I told directly, Speaker Johnson, that I was in no way, shape, or form budging on this unless Save America was attached.
[02:06:29]  And you have a lot of the intelligence community here in Washington, D.C. pushing back because they don't want to get a warrant.
[02:06:34]  But I think that there's a good blockade of us that are going to say, hey, you're not going to get what you want with FISA unless Save America is attached.
[02:06:41]  And that's unfortunately, you know, you probably know it the best, but D.C. only functions on two levers.
[02:06:46]  That's pressure and pain.
[02:06:47]  And we're activating that.
[02:06:48]  There were reports of some Republicans saying, until you pass the Save America Act, we won't pass anything else that comes from the Senate until that happens.
[02:06:56]  Is that still a thing?
[02:06:57]  And are you part of that?
[02:06:58]  Yes, I am part of that coalition.
[02:07:00]  I think at the number is about 45-ish members, 45 to 50 members.
[02:07:05]  What we saw even just yesterday is in order to even get anything on the floor from the Senate, the House leadership actually told us on Monday that our votes were canceled.
[02:07:14]  And then while we were all flying in on Tuesday, they had actually passed something under suspension, meaning it went by voice vote and there was no one there to object.
[02:07:23]  And so we're going to have to actually do this thing where we literally babysit the floor because we can't trust House leadership not to do this again.
[02:07:30]  And so, yes, I am part of that coalition.
[02:07:32]  And you have a lot of Republican members that are saying, look, we're frontline members.
[02:07:36]  This is the bare minimum.
[02:07:37]  The American people, just like banning insider trading, overwhelmingly support this.
[02:07:42]  And yet you have members of the Senate and even some of the leadership that's actually working in conjunction with the Senate to try to still get their legislation passed.
[02:07:49]  But the Senate will not get any legislation passed.
[02:07:52]  We have literally a group of babysitters that are going to be watching the floor and we're blocking everything from the Senate until this gets done.
[02:07:57]  You serve on House oversight.
[02:08:00]  What was your reaction to the call of the Attorney General being subpoenaed to come testify on the Epstein files?
[02:08:05]  You know, she had actually agreed to come in to talk to members of Congress before the subpoena was authorized.
[02:08:11]  But I think that there are some trust issues between the DOJ and Congress.
[02:08:16]  And so the members decided that they would go ahead and send the subpoena anyways, which is their role and their right if they so choose to send that to the DOJ's office.
[02:08:31]  And so, you know, she'll be coming in.
[02:08:34]  And I think that the questions that will be presented are all questions that the American people want to know.
[02:08:38]  And I actually think that it's an opportunity for the AG to kind of really get everyone on the same page because I think when you're looking at, you know, I know she had spoken to House Judiciary and it got kind of contentious.
[02:08:49]  But, you know, I do think that there are people, specifically on oversight, since we've been charged with this investigation that want to make sure that there is, you know, justice for the victims.
[02:08:59]  And what we're seeing right now is many of the co-conspirators, of which I did actually read, because I'm protected under speech and debate clause, some of those names of the co-conspirators that were actually charged with initially with trafficking young girls.
[02:09:15]  And they were given plea deals and they were given quote unquote victim status, even though they were co-conspirators.
[02:09:21]  And so what I've told the DOJ, and I will continue to reaffirm to the DOJ, is I believe that they need to look at some of these plea deals.
[02:09:28]  The only person sitting in jail currently is Galene Maxwell, and that's unacceptable.
[02:09:31]  There needs to be more.
[02:09:32]  I think that they can look and reassess what some of these charges were and then hit them under the civil rights statute violation.
[02:09:40]  And look, I think it's important for the American people to remember that Congress does not have technically any punitive authorities, right?
[02:09:48]  That is given to the Department of Justice.
[02:09:50]  But if you have people that were trafficking young girls, if you know that they were getting paid to do so, if they were essentially operating as a madam would, if you will, that's unacceptable.
[02:10:02]  And it's ultimately destroyed lives.
[02:10:04]  And so we are looking to hear on what her plans are next.
[02:10:07]  I know that I'll specifically be asking her those questions when she comes in on where she stands with that.
[02:10:13]  But again, I mean, look how many administrations refused to release this information.
[02:10:17]  I am happy to report at least, this is probably, you guys are the first ones getting it, but I was able to obtain a file specifically of one victim that under multiple administrations since Jeffrey Epstein was basically still alive and initially charged, she had been denied access to.
[02:10:34]  And so this administration, as well as Todd Blanche, was able to help deliver on that.
[02:10:38]  And hopefully she's on the road to recovery.
[02:10:41]  You probably saw the reaction from the Department of Justice in their response saying that legislators like yourself could come down and look at the information.
[02:10:47]  Why the need for the reverse of her coming up and giving testimony?
[02:10:52]  Yeah, and look, I have been one of those legislators that has gone down there.
[02:10:56]  And I would have preferred her to just come in without having to send the subpoena.
[02:11:01]  But ultimately, I think that each member of Congress has their own opinions on the matter.
[02:11:07]  And if they feel that she might not necessarily come in, then they're going to be more inclined to vote for that.
[02:11:13]  But again, I'm more interested in delivering facts to the American people and to let them decide.
[02:11:18]  And so I think that this will be a net positive for the DOJ and for Congress as well.
[02:11:22]  Representative Anna Polina Luna of Florida joining us for this conversation.
[02:11:26]  And Congresswoman, thanks for your time.
[02:11:28]  Thank you.
[02:11:30]  Again, this is open forum.
[02:11:32]  And thank you for those who called and were waiting, including John, John, and staff of Virginia, Independent Line.
[02:11:37]  Thanks for waiting.
[02:11:38]  Go ahead.

=== Iran Nuclear Capabilities (02:27) ===

[02:11:40]  Yeah, hi.
[02:11:40]  I guess I can note, and this goes back to the congressman who was on air earlier about Iran's nuclear capabilities.
[02:11:48]  What no one's really emphasizing here is that I know we're criticizing the Trump administration, rightfully so for its current assessments about nuclear.
[02:11:59]  Like, remember, Midnight Hammer was supposed to have completely destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities.
[02:12:07]  But we have to remember that they should never even have that capability if the 2015 agreement under the Obama administration actually was implemented and was effective because their capabilities, by the time Obama left office, supposedly the Iranian nuclear capability was bugged so that if they wanted to resume it, they would have to go back to scratch and it would take them decades to resume nuclear capabilities.
[02:12:35]  But by 2025, they were already on their way to enriching uranium and producing nuclear weapons, which means that the 2015 agreement was pretty much ineffective.
[02:12:49]  And that's something that should be acknowledged on both sides, that even Obama wasn't able to implement the security agreements and the nuclear peace deal as envisioned back then.
[02:13:02]  Okay.
[02:13:04]  Let's go to Mark.
[02:13:05]  Mark in Maryland Democrats line.
[02:13:07]  Hello.
[02:13:08]  Good morning.
[02:13:09]  Thank you for the opportunity.
[02:13:11]  I want to note four questions of four priorities of this administration.
[02:13:19]  One is we're talking about oil prices.
[02:13:23]  Whatever happened to all the above, solar and wind.
[02:13:28]  There are a lot of renewable sources that could keep the price of energy down that this administration has tossed.
[02:13:37]  Secondly, if anyone remembers during Mr. Trump's first administration, he took money away from military family housing to build the wall.
[02:13:51]  And yet within this same agency, DHS, he cannot take money away from ICE, all the $75 billion extra to pay TSA workers.

=== Energy Policy Shifts (04:56) ===

[02:14:08]  Where's the money?
[02:14:11]  Third point, Mr. Carr is going after the media.
[02:14:16]  I don't know if this hopefully does not affect C-SPAN, but there was the most decorated Marine ever, at least until 1940, man named Smedley Butler who warned, dictators go after the press.
[02:14:35]  And he got it straight from a person who knows about war warning about what dictators do.
[02:14:44]  Last but not least is health insurance, average health insurance is $27,000 annum for premiums.
[02:14:58]  Okay, that's Mark there.
[02:15:00]  A couple of things to highlight you as far as the day is concerned.
[02:15:03]  Two hearings to watch out for particularly.
[02:15:06]  Today's the confirmation hearing for Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, Republican of Oklahoma, chosen by the president to be the next head of Homeland Security.
[02:15:14]  His nomination confirmation hearing on C-SPAN 3.
[02:15:18]  That will begin in about 15 minutes from now on C-SPAN 3.
[02:15:23]  You can also see it on C-SPAN Now, our app and c-span.org.
[02:15:27]  We'll show you a little bit of Mr. Mullen or Senator Mullen's opening statement in just a few minutes from now.
[02:15:33]  That's the room where it's going to take place.
[02:15:35]  And so we'll take you to that for just a few minutes before to give you a sense of what Mr. Mullen's going to, Senator Mullen's going to say, and then you can watch the rest on C-SPAN 3.
[02:15:44]  Also, later on this morning, 10 o'clock, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, joining us.
[02:15:50]  She'll be joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Radcliffe, and other national security officials talking about global threats to the United States.
[02:16:00]  Clearly, discussions probably about the resignation yesterday of the head of the National Counterterrorism Center.
[02:16:05]  We'll come into that.
[02:16:06]  That's the room where that hearing will take place, set to start at 10 o'clock.
[02:16:11]  Always, you can follow along on our respective networks and our platforms too.
[02:16:16]  Let's hear from Rick, or let's hear from Jerry in Maine, Independent Line.
[02:16:23]  Good morning.
[02:16:23]  I'm calling on the Open Forum context.
[02:16:26]  It's a short comment about Iran.
[02:16:29]  I watched an interview with the Iranian ambassador to the UN this past week.
[02:16:36]  And prior to the war starting, he indicated that the Iranians had put as part of their At the negotiations, that the 880 pounds of uranium that were enriched to 60% and were now buried under all this rubble, they were willing to downgrade that uranium context to a lower grade.
[02:17:01]  It was part of their part, part of what they were doing in the negotiations before the war started.
[02:17:07]  It hasn't been followed up on by much of the media.
[02:17:10]  I was just curious about that.
[02:17:12]  They were willing to downgrade their uranium before the war started.
[02:17:16]  Thank you.
[02:17:16]  From Rick.
[02:17:17]  Rick is in Tennessee, Republican line.
[02:17:21]  Hi, I have a different subject about Minnesota and the nurse who had a nine millimeter and two magazines and a permit.
[02:17:38]  He got that permit because how dangerous it was after his shift in his area from the hospital.
[02:17:50]  Also, when they were protesting ICE, some of the neighborhoods they were in were very dangerous.
[02:17:58]  So when ICE left, they left.
[02:18:02]  They left fast because if they were being robbed or any kind of attack, ICE would help them.
[02:18:15]  People don't realize that.
[02:18:18]  My second one is: I'm not seeing a whole lot of Jews attack Muslims synagogues here in America.
[02:18:28]  Hey, thanks a lot.
[02:18:30]  Have a good week.
[02:18:31]  Okay.
[02:18:32]  That is John.
[02:18:33]  That's Rick, Rick in Tennessee.
[02:18:37]  Again, lots of going on today.
[02:18:39]  On top of everything else, later on this morning, the Federal Reserve Chair, Al Jay Powell, expected to make comments on the U.S. economy.
[02:18:50]  Of course, there's always the interest of whether interest rates will be lowered.
[02:18:53]  That's later on at 230.
[02:18:55]  By the way, the House White House Press Secretary, Caroline Levitt, coming to cameras right now.

=== Protecting Our People (15:18) ===

[02:19:04]  For the dignified transfer of the six recently killed in the Middle East.
[02:19:09]  This is, I know, the hardest thing the president does as commander-in-chief and as president.
[02:19:15]  He made it a point to adjust his schedule to be there to grieve with these families today.
[02:19:19]  I'll be going with him and just keep those families in your thoughts and your prayers as they endure this unimaginable time.
[02:19:25]  So we will do that today, and you'll probably see or hear from the president later at some point.
[02:19:30]  But I'm happy to take a few questions now.
[02:19:32]  Carol, I'm going to ask a couple questions first on NATO.
[02:19:34]  Sure.
[02:19:34]  Obviously, something the president's been focusing on.
[02:19:37]  He did not consult NATO before the war began, and it's a defensive alliance, obviously, that doesn't traditionally engage in the Middle East preemptively.
[02:19:46]  Why is it fair for the president to expect NATO allies to help now after the fact?
[02:19:53]  NATO allies benefit far more from the reopening of the Strait of Hermuse than the United States does.
[02:19:59]  As you know, thanks to this president's energy agenda, we are a net exporter of oil.
[02:20:05]  We have enough resources here at home for our people, and that's a good thing, thanks to President Trump.
[02:20:09]  The straight opening is obviously good for America because it will stabilize the global oil industry.
[02:20:15]  It will bring prices down again, but it greatly benefits Europe and our allies in NATO, and the president wants to see them do more.
[02:20:22]  Look, I think you guys know this.
[02:20:24]  One of the president's guiding principles is fairness.
[02:20:27]  And he's long called out NATO for being what he believes sometimes an unfair alliance for the American taxpayer and our American military.
[02:20:36]  You look at the billions of dollars we spend housing U.S. troops on the soil of our NATO ally countries.
[02:20:43]  That's a benefit to them because it serves as a deterrent from our adversaries around the world.
[02:20:48]  If you look at our unfair trade deals with many of our NATO allies, the president and his trade team have obviously worked to rectify those new trade deals with the UK, with the EU.
[02:20:57]  The president wants all of our alliances to be fair for the American people, for the American taxpayer.
[02:21:03]  And I think he's right to call on them to step up and do more in this time.
[02:21:06]  I have a follow-up.
[02:21:06]  I'll ask one other question and leave that to others, which is very simply, can the president declare this war effort a success if the U.S. does not retrieve Iran's nuclear fuel?
[02:21:16]  Look, that's something the president has refused to comment on.
[02:21:19]  It's an option on the table for him, but I'm not going to comment on it or take it off the table.
[02:21:25]  We've defined the objectives of Operation Epic Fury very clearly, which is, of course, to wipe out Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, which we have been very successful in doing.
[02:21:35]  We've achieved dominance over the skies of Iran, to annihilate their navy, which we have done.
[02:21:41]  According to CENTCOM this morning, I received the updated numbers.
[02:21:43]  More than 120 naval vessels are at the bottom of the sea because of our United States Armed Forces.
[02:21:50]  That's a great thing for the American people.
[02:21:52]  That's a great thing for our allies in the region.
[02:21:54]  And of course, to ensure that, yes, Iran cannot permanently, permanently cannot possess a nuclear weapon is something this president has long said for decades.
[02:22:03]  But I'm not going to forecast or remove any future options off the table.
[02:22:07]  Do you still have the ability to produce a nuclear weapon or no?
[02:22:09]  Look, again, we're in a place right now where we're ensuring that Iran can no longer threaten the United States of America, and the United States military is doing a tremendous job at achieving these objectives.
[02:22:19]  Jack Caroline, is Tulsi Gabbard's job in jeopardy right now, given the Joe Penn staff?
[02:22:24]  Not to my knowledge.
[02:22:25]  I haven't heard the president say that, nor have I heard him say that.
[02:22:29]  So obviously that's a question for him, but I haven't heard him say that at all.
[02:22:33]  Can you give us an update on what you're hearing from the Chinese about when this trip might be rescheduled?
[02:22:38]  We're working with them.
[02:22:39]  They have agreed to postpone the trip.
[02:22:42]  I think they understand the president's rationale for doing so.
[02:22:45]  But again, we're working on those dates.
[02:22:47]  The president has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to, and I'm sure President Xi is a very busy man as well.
[02:22:53]  So we'll get the dates on the books as soon as we can and we'll keep all of you posted.
[02:22:57]  Given that the Allies seem to have rebuffed the President's request for help and now he says he no longer needs their votes, what is the plan to reopen straight up for us quickly?
[02:23:08]  The president is going to continue to talk to our allies both in Europe and also in the Gulf and Arab region.
[02:23:14]  The United States military has a lot of capabilities as you have seen play out over the last 18 days.
[02:23:19]  They still do have tricks up their sleeve.
[02:23:22]  I won't broadcast them for the media, but rest assured there is a plan.
[02:23:25]  They're working on it.
[02:23:27]  We have seen some progress with respect to that.
[02:23:29]  But of course, the president, again, continues to call on our allies to step up and do more.
[02:23:33]  Nancy.
[02:23:36]  The White House was warned last year when the President nominated Kent that he had a history of embracing conspiracy theories, that he had some ties to white nationalists.
[02:23:48]  Given that, why did the president nominate him to the position of the first president?
[02:23:53]  The president spoke on this a little bit yesterday in the Oval Office.
[02:23:56]  He said he always thought Joe Kent was a good guy, obviously has a commendable military record and experience.
[02:24:06]  However, he was not someone who was involved in the presidential daily brief, part of the president's intelligence briefings over the last several months.
[02:24:15]  Have not seen him here at the White House for quite some time.
[02:24:17]  And the President feels it's deeply disappointing that after the President gave him an opportunity in this administration to serve the American people, that he would resign with a letter filled with falsehoods accusing the President of the United States by being controlled by a foreign country.
[02:24:33]  That's both insulting and laughable all at the same time.
[02:24:36]  The president is the leader of the most powerful country and military in the world.
[02:24:40]  Nobody tells him what to do.
[02:24:42]  He makes decisions based on what's in the best interest of this country.
[02:24:45]  Sorry, the president said yesterday that he always thought Kent was weak on security.
[02:24:51]  Why would he name someone to run the counterterrorism center who he thought was weak on security?
[02:24:57]  Again, I just told you, the president gave Joe Kent a chance.
[02:25:00]  He thought he was a good guy with good military experience.
[02:25:03]  And unfortunately, he proved he was not up for the job.
[02:25:06]  And we don't want somebody leading the counterterrorism task force who cannot agree that the number one state sponsor of terror in this world did not pose a threat to the United States.
[02:25:15]  That's what another falsehood he said in his letter of resignation, which is just unequivocally false.
[02:25:21]  It's backed by intelligence.
[02:25:22]  It's backed by the fact that Iran was building ballistic missiles at a rapid rate to build a shield of immunity so they could build a nuclear bomb.
[02:25:29]  And it's backed by the fact that the president of the United States made the decision to attack Iran before they could tack American troops in our assets and bases in the region.
[02:25:38]  And that was, of course, a good decision, not just for the United States, but for the rest of the world.
[02:25:42]  It should be commended.
[02:25:43]  It should not be degraded in the form of a resignation letter that's riddled with lies.
[02:25:47]  Thank you.
[02:25:49]  Caroline.
[02:25:50]  What else?
[02:25:51]  Press Secretary making comments on a variety of fronts.
[02:25:53]  So look for that later on our website, our app, and you can follow along on other things that we've been telling you about, including those hearings.
[02:26:01]  Just a few minutes from now, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, the candidate picked by the president to become the next head of Homeland Security, his hearing, confirmation hearing.
[02:26:10]  You can see that on C-SPAN 3.
[02:26:12]  We'll show you a little bit of it when he starts his opening statements.
[02:26:16]  John is in Atlanta, Georgia.
[02:26:18]  John, thanks for waiting.
[02:26:19]  Independent Line, go ahead.
[02:26:21]  Hey, thanks a lot.
[02:26:22]  Jose, I appreciate that.
[02:26:23]  I just want to go back to the new voting right bill that they got coming out.
[02:26:28]  And the thing about that is this: how can we trust a guy that's a felon and don't and didn't want to admit that he lost the election?
[02:26:37]  Way back in 2020, I mean, in 2019, before the election with him and Joe Biden, this guy came out and said that if I didn't win, it's rigged.
[02:26:48]  Now, this guy has came to Georgia and got the ballots and all of this stuff.
[02:26:53]  This guy is nothing but corruption, man.
[02:26:56]  That's all it is.
[02:26:57]  I used to live in New York.
[02:26:58]  I'm a Navy veteran.
[02:26:59]  This guy is nothing but corruption.
[02:27:02]  And everything that the administration is doing, that's what they did back in the 30s.
[02:27:07]  Don't take my word for it.
[02:27:08]  Just do your research.
[02:27:10]  Do your research, people.
[02:27:11]  And I advise everybody now to go out and register to vote.
[02:27:16]  Now, if they so in hand about people, you know, voting illegal, hey, let the whole United States pay for voter ID cards.
[02:27:28]  Okay.
[02:27:28]  You know, it's our money.
[02:27:30]  Okay, John in Georgia, this is Johnny in Georgia, Democrats line.
[02:27:35]  Yes, how are you doing?
[02:27:36]  Yeah, I want to piggyback a little bit on what he said, but go as far as to back a little while there, they saw that the Republican was losing their voting base, which is the white base.
[02:27:48]  So they got to the point that they had to do something to make sure they get somebody in there and they do what they got to do.
[02:27:54]  They slip Trump in there some kind of way.
[02:27:57]  Because Trump, this Kamala was the most qualified person that ever ran for president.
[02:28:02]  People don't know that.
[02:28:03]  She's the most qualified person to ever run for president.
[02:28:05]  So the bottom line is this Epstein file thing.
[02:28:11]  Epstein foul is where this has been going on through history.
[02:28:15]  Even in the Bible, Mary was only 12 years old.
[02:28:18]  So whoever wrote this part of the Bible put that in there.
[02:28:21]  So they've been protecting this stuff for a long time.
[02:28:24]  So now the Epstein files are up.
[02:28:25]  We're in war.
[02:28:26]  We're at war now, trying to kind of cover these guys' butts, cover their behind.
[02:28:31]  And they doing, and they still doing it.
[02:28:33]  Probably they got another island somewhere, and he got little girls on there.
[02:28:37]  So the bottom line is, we need to protect our people.
[02:28:40]  Okay, Johnny in Georgia there, Politico reporting that it was a federal judge Tuesday ordering that the near shutdown of Voice of America was illegal and has ordered the government to reinstate more than 1,000 people who are placed on leave from the media organization.
[02:28:55]  The order by District Judge Roy Lambert mounted to a sharp rebuke to the administration, which aggressively sought to shrink and remake VOA through Kerry Lake, the ally of President Donald Trump, who has served as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
[02:29:09]  Lamberth said in a pair of rulings that Lake's moves to close the agency violated federal administrative law and directed that the employees return to work by March of 23rd.
[02:29:18]  He also ordered the resumption of international broadcasting, which the U.S. has used for decades to promote press freedom around the world.
[02:29:26]  Tony, up next.
[02:29:27]  Tony, our line for Democrats out of Detroit.
[02:29:30]  Hello.
[02:29:31]  Hey, hey, Pedro.
[02:29:33]  Good morning.
[02:29:35]  I, yeah.
[02:29:37]  I don't know where to begin, but I am really, really sick and tired of this with Donald Trump.
[02:29:45]  I don't know how he is still sitting in office.
[02:29:49]  I just don't get it.
[02:29:51]  There is not a crime or nothing wrong that he won't attach himself to, and it seems to bring some kind of pain to the American people.
[02:30:05]  Everything he does is like a disgrace.
[02:30:09]  And I am really sick and tired of it.
[02:30:12]  I don't know who or what they need to do to remove him from office, but something needs to happen because this is it's it's I don't see how we can this country will be able to survive this.
[02:30:29]  I just don't get it.
[02:30:31]  I understand racism and hatred.
[02:30:34]  I understand I'm 55 years old, so I'm old enough.
[02:30:38]  I've seen a lot.
[02:30:40]  My father was a World War II veteran, all of that.
[02:30:44]  Okay.
[02:30:45]  But I am really surprised at how America don't care enough about itself to remove the infection.
[02:30:56]  Okay.
[02:30:57]  Okay.
[02:30:57]  Steve in Colorado Republican line.
[02:30:59]  Again, that hearing for Senator Mark Wayne Mullen just about to get underway.
[02:31:03]  So Steve, jump in, please.
[02:31:06]  Good morning.
[02:31:07]  Praise the Lord.
[02:31:08]  Just want to let everybody know that this, you know, Save Act is common sense.
[02:31:13]  You know, we use an ID to buy, to go, jump on an airplane.
[02:31:18]  It's common sense.
[02:31:19]  I don't understand these Democrats that are just going against it.
[02:31:23]  We have to come together as one and understand that is the only way we have, you know, the border wide open, everything that's going on.
[02:31:32]  We've got to give the Lord, you know, our first breath and understand that's just common sense.
[02:31:37]  That's all I have to say.
[02:31:38]  Save act is a good thing.
[02:31:39]  Thanks for your time.
[02:31:41]  God bless you.
[02:31:42]  From Richard in Minnesota, Democrats line.
[02:31:48]  Good morning.
[02:31:51]  Good morning, Your Hon. Go ahead.
[02:31:53]  Oh, good morning.
[02:31:54]  This is happy.
[02:31:55]  I'm a union construction laborer, and I'm very proud of that.
[02:31:58]  And I'll tell you right now, this country needs to find a way to bring back the appeachment thing, the 25th Amendment, and get done.
[02:32:05]  And here's the deal.
[02:32:07]  Donnie John Trump is nothing but a fifth grade schoolyard bully.
[02:32:12]  He will never be nothing but that.
[02:32:15]  He started this war to get his name in the history books, and that's the bottom line.
[02:32:20]  He's nothing but a fifth grade schoolyard bully.
[02:32:23]  And I need to go or I will say things that are worse.
[02:32:27]  Y'all have a very nice day.
[02:32:28]  Thank you for having this program.
[02:32:30]  I appreciate the fact to be able to say what I said.
[02:32:34]  Okay.
[02:32:35]  Let's show you a little bit of Senator Mark Wayne Mullen just entering the room right now, where he will face his confirmation hearing as the next Department of Homeland Security head.
[02:32:47]  Again, we'll show you a portion of his opening testimony as part of this open forum.
[02:32:53]  As we do that, we'll continue showing what's going on in that room in the Senate.
[02:32:57]  But we'll hear from Charles II, Charles in Missouri, Independent Line.
[02:33:02]  Yes, I'm 80 years old, and I've been voting since I was 21.
[02:33:08]  Back then, you simply had to show a driver's license or a birth certificate, something like that.
[02:33:15]  That was all that was required.
[02:33:17]  I feel today that so many people were born by midwives or, as I say, on Indian reservations, or very poor people were born at home.
[02:33:28]  They're going to have trouble getting a birth certificate.
[02:33:31]  Only half of Americans have a passport.
[02:33:35]  So basically, if they're going to require voter IDs, they should issue state voter IDs to everybody in every state so that they can take them in to satisfy the federal regulations if they should ever pass.
[02:33:52]  It's real simple.
[02:33:54]  There's no reason anyone like me who's voted at 80 years of age since they were 21 should have to go dig out or order a birth certificate or whatever.
[02:34:08]  I do have a passport, so I'm not worried.
[02:34:11]  But so many people who are eligible to vote will not be able to do that, even though they are legitimate American citizens and have always voted.

=== Voting Rights Concerns (09:32) ===

[02:34:23]  Thank you for allowing me to speak.
[02:34:26]  Alice joins us from Colorado Republican Line.
[02:34:29]  Good morning.
[02:34:32]  This is, yes.
[02:34:33]  I'm calling because I support President Trump with the voting, having ID for voting.
[02:34:42]  Senator Schumer says that it prevents the vote, but I say that the Voting Act ensures the act.
[02:34:50]  But I wanted to tell you about the Epstein files.
[02:34:54]  I was about three and a half when I was sexually molested.
[02:34:58]  I knew at that time that that was wrong and evil, but I waited till I was about 10 or 11 to tell my parents because the person had died.
[02:35:09]  He was not a relative.
[02:35:11]  He was in the family, but he was not a blood relative.
[02:35:15]  The girls who were with the Epstein people, whoever they were, Trump, anyone, they were wrong.
[02:35:22]  They knew that they were wrong.
[02:35:24]  And I feel some of them probably should be protected, of course.
[02:35:28]  But I'm so sick of hearing about the Epstein files.
[02:35:31]  And I wanted to say that even though I did not vote for President Trump, I am a Republican.
[02:35:37]  I love President Trump.
[02:35:38]  I support him in everything that he's doing right now.
[02:35:41]  And I feel that people should support their president and be Americans.
[02:35:46]  Thank you.
[02:35:47]  Mike in Oklahoma, Independent Line.
[02:35:50]  Hi.
[02:35:51]  Hi.
[02:35:51]  Thanks for taking my call.
[02:35:53]  My only comment is I hope someone asked John Wayne Mullins about how much COVID money he got and what did he do with it.
[02:36:04]  Thank you.
[02:36:05]  Okay.
[02:36:06]  Senator Mark Wayne Mullen is the one being considered to be the next head of Homeland Security.
[02:36:11]  Again, his hearing is underway.
[02:36:14]  Currently, there's the opening statement coming from Rand Paul, Republican Senator from Kentucky, towards the start.
[02:36:23]  There's what you'll see as you watch it.
[02:36:25]  We'll show you a portion of the senator's opening remarks, and then you can watch it on our sister network, C-SPAN 3.
[02:36:32]  Let's hear from Mary, Mississippi Democrats line.
[02:36:36]  Hi.
[02:36:38]  Hello.
[02:36:40]  I would like to say, please get the criminal out the office.
[02:36:45]  Please get the baby raper out the office.
[02:36:47]  Okay, okay.
[02:36:48]  Those are allegatory.
[02:36:50]  And so, but continue your thoughts, please.
[02:36:53]  Those are allegations.
[02:36:55]  Go ahead.
[02:36:57]  Paige is raping babies eating their intestines and all of that.
[02:37:01]  And y'all talking about your love the man.
[02:37:03]  You love this woo-hoo he hates.
[02:37:05]  Stop hating people.
[02:37:07]  Black people of color and the rainbow.
[02:37:10]  And we love, I love everybody.
[02:37:13]  And the Lord loves everybody.
[02:37:14]  He created us all on the same level.
[02:37:17]  But this war is just a distraction from the Epstein file.
[02:37:21]  All this foolishness in the United States, I'm so ashamed.
[02:37:24]  They should be proud to be American.
[02:37:26]  But I'm so ashamed.
[02:37:27]  You're letting a criminal run in the United States and start wars and stuff.
[02:37:31]  But see, I don't have no babies.
[02:37:34]  Everyone that had children is going to have to pay.
[02:37:36]  Okay.
[02:37:37]  Charlie in California, Independent Line.
[02:37:39]  Hi.
[02:37:40]  Hi.
[02:37:41]  Good morning.
[02:37:42]  I just want to comment on the SAVE Act.
[02:37:45]  Everybody seems to be talking about the Democrats don't want to have voter ID.
[02:37:55]  However, the SAVE Act has way more than just voter ID.
[02:37:59]  I believe I'm not a Democrat.
[02:38:01]  I'm not a Republican.
[02:38:03]  But I think that the issue with the SAVE Act is that it's requiring to allow the federal government to come in and pull all the voter records and all the voter files and a number of other things.
[02:38:19]  It's not just about voter ID.
[02:38:23]  And finally, I think if there's a concern with lack of voter ID in one of the parties, they should start a campaign to figure out how to get people voter IDs.
[02:38:36]  That's it, and thank you very much.
[02:38:39]  Robin is joining us from Alabama.
[02:38:41]  Democrats line.
[02:38:42]  You're next up.
[02:38:44]  Good morning.
[02:38:44]  How are you?
[02:38:45]  I'm well, thank you.
[02:38:46]  How about yourself?
[02:38:47]  Good, thank you.
[02:38:49]  My call is to comment on these people that put Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, in the same sentence with Donald John Trump.
[02:39:01]  And then they profess to be Christians, which is totally contrary to what this man is doing and what he stands for and what he has done.
[02:39:10]  And that's all there is to it.
[02:39:13]  One day, these people that sit in the pews and talk about this man as their God, they may think he's a God, but I think he's the Antichrist.
[02:39:26]  Thank you very much for your time today, sir.
[02:39:28]  Janison, Arkansas, Democrats line.
[02:39:31]  Hello.
[02:39:32]  Hello.
[02:39:33]  How are you?
[02:39:34]  Well, thanks.
[02:39:36]  I was just calling this young lady that just got through speaking.
[02:39:39]  I agree with her 100% that Trump is the Antichrist.
[02:39:44]  And then again, I want to say he's talking about all these IDs.
[02:39:49]  What about his wife?
[02:39:50]  She's not an American descendant.
[02:39:51]  Let her show her papers.
[02:39:53]  But he's not saying anything about that.
[02:39:56]  So that's my comment.
[02:39:58]  Again, of the hearings and events taking place today, one deals with the Department of Homeland Security.
[02:40:04]  You'll see that in a bit.
[02:40:05]  Tulsi Gabbert, the Director of National Intelligence and other intelligence officials testifying on global threats.
[02:40:12]  That's towards the top of the hour.
[02:40:14]  We'll show you that as well.
[02:40:15]  And then even later on this morning, later on today, it is Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, making comments and possibly talking about next steps when it comes to the actions of the Federal Reserve.
[02:40:28]  Again, you can follow along our various networks as you watch them, but always go to our platforms as well.
[02:40:34]  That's c-span.org.
[02:40:37]  The website, if you want to see things there, also, you can download and follow along in the app.
[02:40:42]  That's at C-SPAN now.
[02:40:44]  And follow along and see what happens, especially with these big hearings taking place today.
[02:40:49]  Maryland is next.
[02:40:51]  This is Evelyn, Democrats Line.
[02:40:53]  Go ahead.
[02:40:54]  Good morning, Pedro.
[02:40:56]  I'm calling about the same act.
[02:40:59]  Now, this real ID, I lost my ID and I didn't get it renewed for a year.
[02:41:08]  But when I went back to get it, I had to take my birth certificate and my marriage license.
[02:41:15]  So I guess I have an ID that I can use to vote because a lot of women, you know, they change their names into their husband's name, and then they don't have the proper ID, which I don't think is fair.
[02:41:30]  But I think the whole thing is the country is becoming more of a country of color.
[02:41:36]  And I think they're getting paranoid about people voting more Democratic than Republican.
[02:41:45]  And it's not really about the illegals.
[02:41:47]  I have never been to vote in a bunch of illegals been in the voting booths.
[02:41:53]  You know, so I think that's just a ploy to keep a lot of actually American citizens from voting.
[02:42:00]  Thank you.
[02:42:01]  This is Amy in Florida, Republican line.
[02:42:04]  Good morning.
[02:42:06]  Yeah, I just tell two things.
[02:42:09]  One, I don't think that the 2020 elections were fair at all because you had 51 Democrats saying that the laptop of Hunter Biden was Russian disinformation, and that was proved to be false, and they knew it, so they lied.
[02:42:27]  And they should have had some consequences for that.
[02:42:30]  And also, all this hollow blue about the oil, in 2020, Trump wanted to buy barrels of oil for somewhere between $20 and $24 a barrel.
[02:42:42]  And Nancy Pelosi and Congress would not let him do it.
[02:42:46]  So now if they have to replenish the strategic oil, it's going to be probably five times that if they do it at the prices today.
[02:42:55]  So you can thank your Democrats for a lot of these things that are going on.
[02:43:01]  That's all I have to say.
[02:43:03]  Rodney in Louisiana, Democrats line.
[02:43:06]  Hello.
[02:43:09]  Yeah, hello.
[02:43:10]  Hello, Justin Rodney.
[02:43:12]  Go ahead, you're on.
[02:43:13]  Yeah, how can a country go from black people not being able to vote at all to all this misinformation about not being all this you having to have all kinds of identification?
[02:43:28]  Okay, when a young person, when a young 18-year-old young man, a young woman goes to join the military, how much identification do they need to go fight for in a foreign war?
[02:43:44]  Okay.
[02:43:45]  From Ohio, BJ on our Independent Line.
[02:43:49]  Hi.
[02:43:50]  Yes.
[02:43:50]  Hello.
[02:43:51]  Hello, Bago.
[02:43:53]  I got a question.
[02:43:54]  I wonder.

=== Proof of Citizenship Documents (03:56) ===

[02:43:56]  Our president, Donald Trump, is always claiming to be such a patriot and how he loves America.
[02:44:03]  But I'm curious as to why he never had his son volunteer.
[02:44:10]  So to me, that would be the proof of your dedication to this country.
[02:44:17]  And second, when it was his time to go to Vietnam, he found an excuse to avoid that one also.
[02:44:27]  Former President Biden got a deferment.
[02:44:29]  The previous president before that, Barack Obama didn't have military service, nor did Bill Clinton.
[02:44:33]  Did you think the same things about them?
[02:44:37]  Well, yeah, but they didn't have sons either.
[02:44:40]  So, you know, you're going to have your sons, you know, have them represent if you're such a patriot.
[02:44:48]  Am I right or wrong?
[02:44:50]  Keith.
[02:44:51]  Keith in New Jersey, Democrats line.
[02:44:53]  Hi there.
[02:44:54]  How you doing?
[02:44:55]  Yeah, I'm calling in on the voter ID.
[02:44:57]  I'm currently actually happening to go get my birth certificate to get my passport.
[02:45:03]  It's going to be around 300 bucks, so between the two.
[02:45:06]  And I'm not even a woman that's changed my name to her married name or a child that's going through an adoption.
[02:45:13]  I can't imagine people expecting some little old lady that's living on Social Security to come up with that kind of money so she can go vote and the length of time it takes.
[02:45:22]  I also want to just make one point.
[02:45:24]  There's only one document, and anybody else can call in and try to prove it wrong.
[02:45:29]  There's only one document in the world that says that you're an American citizen because you have that document.
[02:45:35]  And that happens to be your passport.
[02:45:37]  You can't get a passport unless you're an American citizen.
[02:45:41]  And someone will say, well, there's an exception.
[02:45:43]  Yeah, America's Samoa.
[02:45:44]  Yeah, I got you.
[02:45:45]  They're still Americans.
[02:45:46]  And so for all of this hype, the documents that you use to go get that passport are all the documents you already have in your possession that were basically used off of your basic birth certificate.
[02:46:00]  And all of those things can be disputed.
[02:46:03]  So this is a smokescreen.
[02:46:05]  I was about to ask, doesn't the birth certificate show where you were born?
[02:46:09]  The birth certificate, if you go look it up, there's multiple types of birth certificate.
[02:46:13]  They're issued by multiple different people.
[02:46:15]  It's the witness, the person that witnesses the birth that helps to fill it out.
[02:46:20]  There's a lot of complications.
[02:46:22]  If you're flying in an airplane and you're born in the airplane, where are you considered born?
[02:46:26]  So let's just take international.
[02:46:28]  If you're flying international and you're born on that flight, well, technically, your birth certificate's going to say you were born, let's say in England, but your actual place of birth will go back to where you were from, where your parents departed from.
[02:46:41]  I mean, it's really complicated when you look at other documents.
[02:46:45]  Well, just for your birth certificate, where does it say you were born?
[02:46:49]  Okay, so I'm living in New Jersey, living in the same county I've lived in my whole life, 62 years old.
[02:46:55]  And I have a Delaware birth certificate because it's right across the bridge is where my parents went to the hospital to have me born.
[02:47:01]  And for me to get that birth certificate, I right now have to go through the Bureau of Statistics and order one up and pay for it and get it.
[02:47:11]  And then my wife, born in New Jersey, Camden, New Jersey, doesn't have her parents wanted either.
[02:47:17]  There's two types of birth certificate.
[02:47:18]  And this is what I'm saying, that you can get the short form and the long form.
[02:47:22]  There's a lot of different types of birth certificates.
[02:47:26]  There's only one passport.
[02:47:28]  Okay.
[02:47:29]  You made that point.
[02:47:30]  So we'll go to Tim.
[02:47:31]  Tim in Arkansas, Independent Line.
[02:47:33]  Hi.
[02:47:35]  Good morning, Pedro.
[02:47:38]  If there hadn't been 20 to 30 million non-citizens in this country before Biden came in, and if Biden hadn't let in another 20 million non-citizens, we wouldn't be worrying about the SAVE Act so much, would we?

=== SAVE Act Debate (02:59) ===

[02:47:53]  But we have to have only citizens voting.
[02:47:56]  If you're already registered and you've been there for years, you're not going to need anything else.
[02:48:01]  Go check your regular office where you're registered to vote.
[02:48:05]  Now, that's important.
[02:48:07]  But what's more important, have you done stories about the revelation that the FBI knew in 2020 about China's influencing the election and their efforts to influence the election, but yet they held that back?
[02:48:23]  They didn't tell Trump when he was in office.
[02:48:26]  Biden's DOJ hit it, of course, because Biden took millions from China.
[02:48:31]  But you see, we've got all these other actors, the state actors from somewhere else trying to vote in our elections.
[02:48:38]  We've got to have only citizen voting or we won't have a country.
[02:48:42]  And I give for the biggest example of that is Mandani in New York.
[02:48:51]  How do you get a jihadist elected unless you ship in like many other countries?
[02:48:59]  The EU is dying because they shipped in foreigners and let them vote.
[02:49:06]  Okay.
[02:49:07]  That's Tim there in Arkansas from North Carolina, Democrats line.
[02:49:13]  Caller, go ahead.
[02:49:15]  Hello, Pedro.
[02:49:18]  Can you hear me?
[02:49:19]  Okay, hold on.
[02:49:20]  Hold on for a second there, Caller.
[02:49:22]  We're about to start the process of Senator Markway Mulling testify before the Senate.
[02:49:25]  We'll show you a little bit of that.
[02:49:26]  Help you, God.
[02:49:31]  Senator Mullen, you are recognized for your opening statement.
[02:49:35]  I think before I can start my opening statement, I have to address the remarks the chairman made, calling me a liar.
[02:49:41]  Sir, I think there's everybody in this room who knows that I'm very blunt and direct to the point.
[02:49:46]  And if I have something to say, I'll say it directly to your face.
[02:49:49]  If you recall, back in your back in my house days, we actually did have this conversation because of remarks that I made.
[02:49:55]  You were in a room.
[02:49:57]  I simply addressed that I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I could understand why your neighbor, by the neighbor, did what he did.
[02:50:07]  As far as my terms, the snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems.
[02:50:12]  I've worked with many people in this room.
[02:50:14]  Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.
[02:50:17]  I did address those remarks.
[02:50:19]  I did explain your gimmicks by the amendment you put forth.
[02:50:23]  And as far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don't.
[02:50:27]  I don't think anybody should be hit by surprise.
[02:50:30]  I don't like that.
[02:50:31]  But if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I'll come straight to you.
[02:50:36]  I'll say it publicly and I'll say it privately, but I'll never say it behind your back.
[02:50:40]  So for you to say that I'm a liar, sir, that's not accurate.
[02:50:45]  And I got proof to say that because you have spent millions of dollars in my campaigns against me because we just don't get along.

=== Respect and Cooperation (02:30) ===

[02:50:52]  However, sir, that doesn't keep me at all from doing my job.
[02:50:57]  I can have difference opinions with everybody in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland, I'll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.
[02:51:07]  It's bigger than the partisan bickering that we have.
[02:51:10]  It's bigger than the political differences we have.
[02:51:13]  The truth is, I have a job to do, and I don't like to fail at anything at all.
[02:51:20]  So I can set it aside if you're willing to set it aside.
[02:51:24]  Let me earn your respect.
[02:51:26]  Let me earn the job.
[02:51:28]  I won't fail you.
[02:51:29]  I won't back down from a challenge.
[02:51:31]  And I'll also admit when I'm wrong.
[02:51:34]  I'm not perfect.
[02:51:35]  I don't claim to be perfect.
[02:51:37]  I make mistakes just like anybody else.
[02:51:41]  But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead.
[02:51:46]  And I'll make that commitment to you.
[02:51:50]  Ranking Member Peters, Chairman Paul, I do thank you for this opportunity.
[02:51:56]  It is a humbling experience.
[02:51:57]  A kid from Westville, Oklahoma, that grew up with a dad that worked hard.
[02:52:07]  He set the work example for all of us and all my families and my siblings.
[02:52:13]  We all work hard and I'm proud of the family we have.
[02:52:16]  But to say that a kid with a bad speech impediment would one day sit up here in front of you and be nominated to be the secretary of homeland, it was humbly enough to be selected by Oklahoma to be their U.S. Representative when I didn't even know how to tie a tie.
[02:52:32]  And 10 years later to be able to be called a United States Senator and serve with all you guys.
[02:52:37]  And I respect every one of you guys.
[02:52:39]  I do, regardless if I have an opinion about you or not, you were elected by your state, and I respect that.
[02:52:45]  I may disagree with you, but I respect it because we all make decisions based on two things: the way you're raised, which never changes, and our life experiences with constantly change.
[02:52:56]  For me, to be able to have the love of my life behind me, somebody I literally fell in love with in third grade, I knew I was going to marry her in eighth grade.
[02:53:12]  She didn't know that yet.
[02:53:13]  We had to work through that process.
[02:53:16]  But at 18 years old, and I was 19, she agreed to marry me.

=== Life Experiences Shape Views (07:36) ===

[02:53:22]  I didn't have anything.
[02:53:23]  I was on a wrestling scholarship living in a dorm.
[02:53:26]  She was cheering at Northeastern State University.
[02:53:30]  I think she fell in love with my truck because my truck was pretty cool.
[02:53:33]  But the truth is, we didn't know what we didn't know, but we did know we loved each other.
[02:53:40]  And I haven't been perfect.
[02:53:42]  I apologize to her quite often and send her flowers all the time.
[02:53:45]  But I still am humbled by the fact that we've got to enjoy this walk together.
[02:53:49]  We've had God on our side and her right beside me.
[02:53:53]  And to our six children who's been on this adventure with me, what an adventure it's been.
[02:53:58]  We have a saying in our family: you're never going to change anything you're willing to tolerate.
[02:54:03]  That's how we live our life, and that's how we move forward.
[02:54:06]  And those are the opening remarks from Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, Republican of Oklahoma, chosen by the president to become the next head of Homeland Security.
[02:54:15]  You can see the rest of that hearing on our sister network on C-SPAN 3.
[02:54:18]  You can also follow along on our various platforms, our app at C-SPAN, or our website at c-span.org, and the app to C-SPAN now if you want to see more of his comments.
[02:54:30]  Let's hear from Bill in Pennsylvania.
[02:54:32]  Republican line, thanks for waiting.
[02:54:34]  Go ahead.
[02:54:36]  Yeah, thank you.
[02:54:37]  Good morning.
[02:54:38]  I just wanted to basically talk about the Democrats.
[02:54:42]  I mean, leadership mainly.
[02:54:45]  I mean, we got a war going on, and we're looking at Homeland Security being defunded, basically, by the Democrats.
[02:54:56]  And everybody should know it's the Democrats.
[02:54:59]  And the first government shutdown was the Democrats fault.
[02:55:04]  I mean, it's ridiculous.
[02:55:05]  You got leaders up there talking about Trump could do save everything and cure cancer, and the Democrats would find a problem with the way he did it.
[02:55:19]  And they air again, this president for everything, Barack Obama bombed Libya for what, six, eight months?
[02:55:27]  A Democrat didn't say, oh, we need to have a vote on war powers.
[02:55:33]  That was bull crap.
[02:55:35]  They just continually come up with stuff and they need to fund the government completely.
[02:55:41]  And they need the Congress needs to pass a law that this can never happen again.
[02:55:47]  We can never stop the government from running.
[02:55:50]  Yeah, it's too fat.
[02:55:52]  It's bloated.
[02:55:53]  I wish those were still cutting government waste.
[02:55:59]  But we need to fund the government, especially now with all, like I said, like the other person said, with all the illegal aliens in this country that Obama and the Democrats have let in over the past 12 years.
[02:56:13]  Okay.
[02:56:14]  Okay.
[02:56:15]  That's Bill there in Pennsylvania.
[02:56:16]  We've shown you one hearing that's already started, just about to start that hearing on looking at global threats that will feature the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
[02:56:27]  Other members of the intelligence community, that's the room that it will take place in, starting just a few minutes from now.
[02:56:34]  You can follow along on that hearing too on our network and our various platforms.
[02:56:39]  As you look at that, let's hear from Larry in North Carolina, Independent Line.
[02:56:47]  Yes, sir.
[02:56:48]  On your birth certificate, anybody can go to the county seat that was born and get a birth certificate for about $20, $30, or you can even call, give them permanent information.
[02:57:06]  And that's all you have to do to get your birth certificate.
[02:57:09]  Appreciate it.
[02:57:10]  Thank you.
[02:57:11]  Bye.
[02:57:12]  From Kentucky, this is Velma, Republican Line.
[02:57:17]  Yes, good morning.
[02:57:19]  You don't even have to go to the county seat.
[02:57:22]  You can just mail in your request.
[02:57:24]  It's very simple.
[02:57:25]  If anybody that is capable of voting is certainly capable of acquiring a birth certificate.
[02:57:32]  Last time I mailed out my request for one, I think it was $5.
[02:57:37]  So that's just an excuse, of course, the Democrats have to keep all the illegals in the country.
[02:57:44]  And as far as that goes, they brought them all in here.
[02:57:48]  And folks, they weren't going to sit back quietly while they were legally removed.
[02:57:55]  We're trying to legally get them out of the country.
[02:57:57]  And their pre-plan was when that took place, when a Republican tried to get them out of the country, they would just attack ICE and attack the Border Patrol and all that because they want them in this country.
[02:58:15]  They want to keep them in this country.
[02:58:17]  And they're always saying that they're not getting benefits.
[02:58:21]  Well, no matter what channel or avenue they use to get them benefits to them and what terminology they use, they are getting it.
[02:58:28]  They've said so themselves.
[02:58:30]  They didn't bring them in here to let them go hungry without housing, without medical care.
[02:58:34]  They brought them in here for the taxpayers to take care of.
[02:58:36]  And the Democrats stand there with their fists in our face saying, we don't care what you said on November 5th, 2024.
[02:58:43]  You are going to pay for them, whether you like it or not.
[02:58:46]  Okay, Velma there in Kentucky.
[02:58:48]  The House is just about to come in.
[02:58:49]  Emmanuel in Texas, Independent Line.
[02:58:51]  Go ahead.
[02:58:53]  Good morning.
[02:58:55]  Thank you for your show.
[02:58:57]  Just wanted to mention a couple of things.
[02:58:59]  Me being in Texas, I have no skin in the game, but you know, somebody like Mandami in New York, for somebody to call him a jihadist.
[02:59:15]  Emmanuel, are you there?
[02:59:16]  I'm here.
[02:59:17]  Go ahead and finish your thought, please.
[02:59:21]  For somebody to call Mamdani a jihadist, there's no proof of that.
[02:59:28]  So why are we letting people call him that?
[02:59:32]  There's no proof for that.
[02:59:35]  The man is trying to do a job, and I think he's doing a good job.
[02:59:43]  Okay, David in Ohio, Independent Line.
[02:59:46]  Like I said, the House just about to come in.
[02:59:48]  So jump on in, please.
[02:59:51]  Yes.
[02:59:52]  I'm calling from Ohio, and I want to make a statement about the voter act.
[03:00:00]  You have to remember that during Jim Crow days, there was a lot of blacks in the South that didn't go to hospitals to have their children.
[03:00:11]  They had them there in their home because of the situation in the South at that time.
[03:00:16]  And there's no birth certificates for those people because they were born in a house.
[03:00:23]  Maybe they had a person with them and maybe they didn't.
[03:00:27]  And there's no information on them with a birth certificate.
[03:00:31]  They were born here and have the right to vote.
[03:00:35]  So let's try to get that figured out.
[03:00:38]  Thank you.
[03:00:39]  Goodbye.
[03:00:39]  That is David in Ohio.
[03:00:41]  And if you are interested in following the debate that's currently going on over the Save America Act, which we talked about earlier this morning, you can continue following along on our companion network, C-SPAN2, as that debate is underway and follow along of where that goes.
[03:00:58]  Again, you can always follow.