CSPAN - Washington Journal Rep. Judy Chu D-CA
Aired: 2026-04-24
Duration: 10:51


=== War Powers Resolution Needed (06:58) ===

[00:00:00]  War is hell.
[00:00:01]  It's the last thing you want to do until you've exhausted every other option.
[00:00:06]  But in this case, we had.
[00:00:09]  So very regrettable.
[00:00:10]  But again, compare that to a regime that specifically targets civilians.
[00:00:15]  That's what Iran has done.
[00:00:16]  They've killed 30,000 to 40,000 of their own people just in the recent past.
[00:00:26]  You're comparing apples and oranges there.
[00:00:29]  You're comparing good with evil.
[00:00:31]  And I think that's a kind of warped way to look at the world.
[00:00:36]  And the other issue that we're talking about... Bitcoin and the president of the United States.
[00:00:39]  Yeah, I don't know.
[00:00:40]  Again, the president has a vast business empire that is run by other people for the most part.
[00:00:50]  I think it's he's one of the fewer, you know, a few titans of industry who's ever been president of the United States.
[00:01:00]  So he's going to have business activities while he's the president.
[00:01:04]  The question is, is there a conflict of interest in anything he's done?
[00:01:07]  And I haven't seen that.
[00:01:08]  If somebody can present that to us, well, then it'll be a different discussion.
[00:01:12]  All right.
[00:01:12]  Well, that's Representative Tom McClintock, Republican of California.
[00:01:15]  Thanks so much for joining us.
[00:01:17]  My pleasure.
[00:01:17]  Thanks again for having me.
[00:01:19]  Welcome back.
[00:01:19]  We are in open forum, so if you'd like to call in, you can start doing so now.
[00:01:24]  In the meantime, we are going to take, we're going to talk to Representative Judy Chu, a member of the Budget and Ways and Means Committee and a Democrat of California.
[00:01:34]  Congresswoman, welcome to the program.
[00:01:36]  Thank you for having me.
[00:01:38]  So the Senate GOP has voted against the war powers resolution.
[00:01:42]  Those 60 days are coming up on April 29th is the deadline for that.
[00:01:47]  I know that you're opposed to the war with Iran.
[00:01:52]  What options do Republicans in the House have at this point?
[00:01:56]  Well, we will keep on bringing up the War Powers Resolution because one thing we know is that the American people are against this war.
[00:02:05]  It is an illegal war, and also it is causing harm to our economy.
[00:02:12]  We are experiencing a great rise in the cost of gas, but it is also causing all kinds of other consequences.
[00:02:21]  Basically, it's making life unaffordable for Americans, and it is something that we should not have gotten involved with anyway, because there was no imminent threat to America, which would normally be the reason for getting involved in a war.
[00:02:39]  So yes, I am very opposed to this, and we will keep putting on the war powers resolution onto the floor until we get a vote.
[00:02:47]  And actually, this time we were closer than ever.
[00:02:50]  There was only a one vote difference to pass that war powers resolution.
[00:02:54]  Now, you serve on both the budget and the ways and means committees.
[00:02:58]  Is there something that Democrats can do through the appropriations or the budget process?
[00:03:06]  Well, there is going to be a proposal from the Trump administration to have supplemental monies for this war.
[00:03:18]  And I can tell you Democrats will be totally against this.
[00:03:22]  We should not give a blank check to this war, which should never have been authorized in the first place.
[00:03:30]  Already, they have spent $50 billion on this war, and they're going to ask for $200 billion more, very possibly.
[00:03:43]  But they can't spend a penny on people's health care.
[00:03:48]  There are 15 million people that are being thrown off their health care, and they will be in desperate straits pretty soon.
[00:03:59]  There are those who are paying two to three times higher for their Affordable Care Act coverage because the tax subsidies were allowed to expire.
[00:04:09]  This is a country where we should make sure that at least the most basic needs are met instead of throwing people off onto the streets where they could have a very desperate situation with regard to making sure that they can be healthy in the future.
[00:04:29]  And Congresswoman, you mentioned gas prices earlier and AAA is saying that in your state of California, the average is $5.80 higher than the rest of the country.
[00:04:40]  Our previous guest, Representative McClintock, also from your state, a Republican, said that it was due to the socialist policies of the governor of California and moving away from fossil fuels.
[00:04:54]  What's your response to that?
[00:04:56]  Well, I would say that gas prices are going up for everybody across the country.
[00:05:02]  Yes, California gas prices are somewhat higher than the rest of the country because of more monies that goes into the highway trust funds and funds to make sure that we can have clean air.
[00:05:17]  And so, yes, that is there.
[00:05:20]  But hey, the burden of gas prices is on every American, and it's due to this Iran war, where gas is dependent, of course, on oil crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
[00:05:37]  And now, President Trump has caused this crisis in the Strait of Hermuz where ships cannot pass, and it's causing fuel shortages across the whole world.
[00:05:52]  And in fact, there are airlines that are saying they're going to run out of fuel in a few weeks.
[00:05:59]  How could we be in this situation?
[00:06:01]  It's because of President Trump's entrance into a war that never should have been done in the first place.
[00:06:08]  And now that we are in the war, what do you think should happen?
[00:06:11]  I think that we should have a war powers resolution pass that would make for an actual vote of Congress as to whether this war should be enabled in the first place.
[00:06:27]  And of course, I would vote no.
[00:06:29]  And Congresswoman, even after that, if there was a no vote, then what happens?
[00:06:34]  Do you think it should just be a unilateral pullout of Iran?
[00:06:38]  Do you think there should be some kind of negotiation?
[00:06:42]  I think that we should end this war.
[00:06:44]  I think that we should end this war with a negotiation that makes sure that it's responsible.
[00:06:51]  Nonetheless, the move should be towards ending this war, which Americans do not want.

=== Ending War Through Negotiation (03:52) ===

[00:06:58]  And finally, I want to ask you about the Pentagon budget that was unveiled earlier this week.
[00:07:04]  I should say that's $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027.
[00:07:08]  So raises of 5% to 7% for troops, increase of 44,000 active duty troops, and $750 billion for defense capabilities and weaponry.
[00:07:20]  Is there a chance that that size of a budget could pass Congress?
[00:07:26]  The budget for the Department of Defense is already very high and it's bloated.
[00:07:37]  And in fact, the audits of the Department of Defense are never done.
[00:07:43]  They do not ever have any kind of accountability.
[00:07:48]  Now, one thing is for sure: I support the higher pay for the military.
[00:07:53]  I support making sure that they are made whole.
[00:07:57]  But I do not support a blank check to the Department of Defense, and there should be some accountability.
[00:08:07]  All right, that's Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat of California.
[00:08:11]  Thanks so much for joining us today.
[00:08:13]  Thank you.
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[00:10:11]  On Capitol Hill, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took questions from kids and reporters during the national Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
[00:10:20]  Hakeem Jeffries was asked by a child of a congressional reporter if he would have voted to expel former Representative Sheila Scherfilis-McCormick after stealing $5 million in COVID relief funds.
[00:10:31]  Here's his response and answers to other questions asked by several kids.
[00:10:49]  I'd like to give you like a bunch of this team