Rep. Ami Bera addresses the 40-day government shutdown, noting a Senate deal collapsed after the President warmed to it, while insisting on funding TSA and Customs but excluding ICE due to due process violations in San Francisco and Minneapolis. He contrasts new DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen with toxic predecessor Christy Noam, whom Bera co-sponsored impeachment articles against. Furthermore, Bera criticizes the President's lack of clear objectives in the war against Iran, citing intelligence findings of no imminent nuclear threat and disappointment over the failure to present data to Congress before proceeding. Ultimately, the segment highlights tensions between executive authority and legislative oversight regarding national security and immigration reform. [Automatically generated summary]
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Back at our desk this morning, it's California Democrat Congressman Ami Berra, member of the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.
Before we get to foreign affairs, start with Homeland Security.
What are you hearing about a potential deal here to end the now 40-day-long partial government shutdown?
You hear a lot of things.
It sounds like the Senate got close to the deal, the president was warmed to it and then kind of killed it.
And things are going back and forth.
I think we've got to get the TSA agents paid.
We've got to get most of Homeland Security funded.
Again, we've got real issues with how ICE is conducting itself.
So if you could carve that piece off of it and negotiate some of the reforms in ICE, I think you'd get this done.
What would it take for you to support funding ICE again?
I mean, so we do need some customs and border protection, immigration enforcement.
But, you know, even in my hometown in San Francisco, you saw how ICE conducted themselves, grabbing a woman from Sacramento.
Like, use the warrants that you have and so forth, but conduct yourselves through due process, et cetera.
And again, I think we saw what happened in Minneapolis.
So I do think ICE has to rein itself in in terms of how they're doing these rights and conducting themselves.
Do you think Congress will or should stay in session here over these next two weeks, this recess that was supposed to happen, to get this thing solved?
I think we should get this then, yeah.
What's the path to doing that?
I mean, again, it sounded like the Senate was pretty close.
There's a bill that's over there.
If we've got our discharge petition, which funds everything outside of ICE, that's where I would start.
Bring up that vote and let's vote for it.
What are your thoughts on the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Mark Wayne Mullen?
Yeah, we came to Congress together, so I know Mark Wayne fairly well.
He is definitely heads and held above Christy Noam.
So I hope he sees how toxic Christy Noam was, makes the necessary reforms, comes up to Congress, works with us a lot of us, Noam in the House.
And again, I think there's a possibility to get some reforms.
What makes him heads and tails against Christy Noam?
And I would note that you co-sponsored articles of impeachment against Chrissy Noome.
I mean, Christy Noam was pretty low bar.
Just how she conducted themselves, the complete disdain for the American public as well as congressional oversight.
Again, I think Mark Wayne saw that example.
I think the president understood that Christy Noam was becoming toxic, and I think this is a chance to reset things.
Come to your Foreign Affairs Committee work.
What's your understanding right now of our objectives in this war against Iran?
The president has not articulated those objectives.
He's been all over the place.
I disagree with his decision to go to war.
I'm on the intelligence committee.
We had a chance to ask Tulsi Gabbard, ask the CIA director.
There was no imminent threat.
And thus far, there was no nuclear breakout.
They weren't days away?
They were not days away.
And if the president has data that suggests that, get on television, speak to the American people, come up to the Hill.
But as a member of Foreign Affairs and the Intelligence Committee, they failed to demonstrate that.
We take you live now to a news conference with New York City Mayor Zorhan Mamdani on F.