Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - The Laken Riley Act Passes with Sen. Katie Britt

00:00:00.000 hello everybody welcome to the games for girls podcast what an exciting week it has been uh

00:00:16.000 what an exciting next four years i imagine it will be i actually got to i mean a once-in-a-lifetime

00:00:23.400 opportunity i got to be in dc at the inauguration and to be there and to witness it all uh on both

00:00:32.040 ends of the spectrum might i add uh was nothing short of remarkable uh it's it's pretty amazing

00:00:40.220 you think back to four years ago i can think of how i felt i was at a different stage of my life

00:00:45.720 certainly uh right i i this was never what i intended to be doing but nonetheless i've i've

00:00:50.540 always been christian number one conservative uh number two uh and i remember how i felt

00:00:57.080 watching when joe biden uh was inaugurated into office and comparing that to how i feel now

00:01:05.800 uh it feels like a weight has been lifted if you've watched the show you heard me say that

00:01:10.540 uh on the episode following the election actually with pete hegseth all exciting things for him in

00:01:16.920 the future it's just a really good time it's a great time to be an american how about that

00:01:22.500 uh today's guest um she's someone who i admire for a lot of reasons uh number one she's an sec girl

00:01:32.580 which always makes it better uh but she's a strong female leader and i've said it many times even on this 0.94

00:01:38.700 podcast that is rare especially in the halls of the capitol building in washington dc

00:01:45.360 uh but before we get into that and the amazing work that she has done i want to tell you about

00:01:51.360 today's sponsor yes that is good ranchers uh they are amazing my husband and i we've been trying this

00:01:59.180 whole carnivore diet thing uh so we have really utilized and loved what good ranchers is making and

00:02:06.880 bringing to the table uh you can check them out at good ranchers.com again no antibiotics no hormones no

00:02:14.280 no seed oils uh the quality is amazing it's super duper convenient and so again good ranchers.com use

00:02:22.700 my code riley to get 25 off and free express shipping and your choice of either free ground beef or chicken

00:02:30.960 or salmon in every single order for an entire year good ranchers.com american meat delivered um

00:02:39.280 but let's get back to today's guest i've been following her career for the past two years 0.93

00:02:46.140 um something pretty pivotal this this legislative session the 119th congress she introduced in the

00:02:54.620 senate side the laken riley act we're going to get into what that is what that does uh and why it was

00:03:01.120 important for her to sponsor it uh in this episode exciting news it passed the senate uh just last week

00:03:11.040 with a vote 61 to 35 it had to have 60 uh yeses in order to to advance in the senate before hopefully

00:03:20.680 soon making it to president trump's desk all exciting things we're going to get into all of that and more

00:03:27.120 in this episode with senator katie britt well senator britt thank you so much for joining the gains for

00:03:33.920 girls podcast uh it is always good to have another sec girl on as well absolutely i'm just thrilled to

00:03:41.480 talk with you uh we're we're chatting after some very very exciting news uh of course the senate just

00:03:48.360 cleared the final 60 vote hurdle on the laken riley act uh which puts this bill on track to to get on

00:03:56.180 president trump's desk where he will surely sign and so uh just take a brief minute and tell us

00:04:01.080 about the laken riley act and why you you chose to sponsor this absolutely well riley first thank you

00:04:07.440 so much for allowing me to be on i told my entire team i'm having a fangirl moment uh getting to be on

00:04:13.520 with you you are remarkable what you have done for young women what you have done for my daughter

00:04:20.120 who plays basketball and volleyball and runs track um the example and the opportunity that you're

00:04:26.800 ensuring is there for her as a mom i cannot thank you enough um and as a united states senator i want

00:04:34.840 you to know your influence has been tremendous and you are behind the momentum that we continue to build

00:04:40.740 right now so on behalf of all of us thank you thank you thank you um and then um look this is a big

00:04:48.360 day so i was just texting with laken's mother and her stepfather um as as everyone knows she was taken

00:04:55.720 and stolen from this earth way too soon she was a beautiful woman who had her entire life ahead of her

00:05:02.960 wanted to be a nurse wanted to give back um and they said that she just in everything she did 0.58

00:05:08.900 exemplified her faith she was unfortunately taken by an illegal immigrant who had committed not just one 1.00

00:05:16.300 but multiple crimes what this bill would do was maintain or mandate detention for that individual

00:05:22.440 he would have never been out roaming our nation if this had been law and she would still be with us

00:05:29.640 so today was a huge victory this was the last really big hurdle where we had to get to 60 votes

00:05:35.880 we will have final passage right after president trump is sworn in on monday we'll come back into the

00:05:42.460 senate chamber this will be the first piece of legislation that we vote on it's a big moment

00:05:47.560 it's a big moment for uh keeping americans safe and secure and it's also a moment where we're getting

00:05:52.680 to say riley we heard you on november 5th and now with a republican senate with a republican house and

00:06:00.480 a republican back in the white house we are actually taking actions and we're going to be delivering

00:06:05.660 results so it'll honor lakin and it'll keep americans safe and i am really excited um about about what's to come

00:06:14.120 you and as as you made clear um majority of americans who had their voices heard on november 5th

00:06:22.360 uh and it very narrowly passed you know 61 votes uh and as you said the timing of it all coming

00:06:28.780 i mean right as president trump is inaugurated it feels really really historic uh that's how this

00:06:35.020 feels to me it is it is historic and you know i don't know the last time we passed anything that

00:06:40.720 was you know related to illegal immigration and and you know border policy since the mid-90s so i mean

00:06:48.120 this is a real moment for our country and i think it shows the type of momentum that president trump

00:06:54.040 builds people know that he means business they know that we are moving things in the right direction

00:06:59.440 and i'm really proud of all of my colleagues that chose to advance this bill um because it's

00:07:04.800 ultimately going to save lives so it is it's historic and it's it's kind of crazy when i walked off the

00:07:09.520 floor i thought i can't believe we did it you know and and we did and that's exactly what i texted her

00:07:16.020 parents we did it a lot of people doing a lot of things but um hopefully monday we'll get final

00:07:22.280 passage and then we'll get this to his desk soon thereafter well you are to thank uh i watched

00:07:28.280 h.r 30 representative mace's bill on the house floor uh just this week and i got to listen to

00:07:34.420 some of the democrats uh this was the violence against women by illegal aliens act and i got to

00:07:39.100 listen to some of the democrats because i'm curious you know what is their argument i try to always learn

00:07:44.520 from the other side try to understand understand their their perspective their point of view but

00:07:50.180 listening to their arguments hearing them say things like this bill will actually make our

00:07:54.800 national security weaker i mean some of the most outlandish stuff they're they're so open-minded

00:08:00.640 their brains have fallen out it seems uh what was some of the pushback from your colleagues that you had

00:08:06.520 who voted nay you know i actually was talking with many of them throughout the process there were

00:08:12.820 misconceptions about the bill that that um that were out there there were things that we were able to

00:08:17.700 clarify um you know this bill actually gives states the opportunity to in to uh enforce essentially to

00:08:25.500 to sue the government and to sue department of homeland security if they are not actually meeting

00:08:31.940 um the mandatory provisions of our immigration laws so not discretionary but mandatory um it seems that

00:08:39.680 some people didn't want them to have that that opportunity i think it's important for them to have that

00:08:43.720 opportunity you think about what is happening in texas you think about what's happening coast to coast um

00:08:49.760 and so you know that was a provision that was really important um and you know some people uh felt a

00:08:55.760 little bit differently about um additionally you know you you look at this and there were some

00:09:01.340 interesting um arguments coming out that uh unfortunately to me seem to undermine police officers

00:09:08.680 um and the integrity of our police force which is something i absolutely will not engage in i am

00:09:14.820 grateful for our men and women in uniform and i know that they leave the safety of their home every

00:09:20.680 single day so that we can return to ours and um you know so they were coming up with hypotheticals um

00:09:27.120 that you know were really outlandish and also the application of other things to it and kind of how

00:09:33.100 things worked but um for the most part we were able to sit down with enough of our colleagues

00:09:38.120 explain how this works and any misconception they had or questions they had we were able to answer

00:09:43.760 and we didn't have full attendance today if we had had full attendance then we think that vote would

00:09:48.500 have been even bigger so that's great um but at the end of the day we did get the vote to proceed to

00:09:54.560 the bill so it's a good day it's a really good day huge and a no-brainer for sure yeah i know

00:10:00.620 myself and again uh majority of americans we have been enjoying if that's the word you want to use

00:10:06.480 watching uh some of these senate confirmation hearings i know oh my god they've been awesome

00:10:11.700 they have been awesome uh they have been entertaining to say the least uh so how are you feeling how are

00:10:17.880 you feeling about trump's cabinet picks uh any concerns for any of of the people that he has appointed

00:10:23.820 no i mean look i think they are all doing tremendous so for me it was a little bit of an

00:10:29.100 out-of-body experience like walking into my first hearing um for a nomination for a cabinet secretary

00:10:35.680 obviously i did not have the opportunity to do that in the last two years and to um to be a part

00:10:42.920 of that you know to to listen to pam bondy in front of us so that was at senate judiciary that was the 1.00

00:10:48.180 the hearing that i was a part of first this week she just did tremendous i mean rally i don't know if

00:10:52.400 you watched her but i mean she was absolutely brilliant um she was very direct about that she will

00:10:57.740 follow the law that she will be transparent um it was it was a moment too in there where i kept

00:11:03.500 listening to democrats say we're worried you're going to weaponize the department of justice

00:11:07.780 and i honestly sat there and rally i was so happy that my children had taught me what gaslighting was

00:11:15.060 um because now i have a perfect example of it for them i'm going to be like go back and watch this

00:11:20.680 this is where i got to see it firsthand literally the gaslighting that was occurring on the other side of

00:11:25.580 the aisle um about that i thought the weaponization of the department of justice occurred under this

00:11:32.020 administration i mean you think back to the fact that you know they had parents that were speaking

00:11:37.320 up at school board meetings that they were targeting as potential domestic terrorists you think about

00:11:42.120 you know after the dobbs decision actually infiltrating the you know the catholic church and faith and

00:11:48.220 and in ways that they did i mean you think about like 1507 which i brought light to so if you

00:11:53.200 remember after the dobbs decision was leaked there was all kinds of protest outside of the justices

00:11:59.800 homes well i exposed in a hearing last year riley that that um the attorney general had said he had

00:12:06.140 not prosecuted anyone because no arrests were made well i exposed from a whistleblower that actually the

00:12:11.840 u.s marshals we had the slides where they were trained for this and they actively discouraged them

00:12:18.820 from making arrest which is just completely contrary to 18 u.s code 1507 and so this this weaponization

00:12:27.220 that has occurred over the last four years has been on full display um and i believe pam bondi is going

00:12:33.640 to bring back integrity she's going to bring back faith uh to the justice department the american people 1.00

00:12:39.660 deserve to feel like they have a credible person at the helm of the justice department um that is that is

00:12:46.340 doing what's best for the american people and that's what she's going to bring but all of them riley all

00:12:50.840 of them i mean it's been fun to watch i had a friend of mine um pete headsess uh hearing and in the

00:12:57.680 middle of the day she's like i'm glued to my tv she was like i'm watching every word um and i think

00:13:02.740 americans for the first time riley have hope again i mean they have hope that we're going to have people

00:13:07.960 in these positions that aren't going to focus on wokeness or weaponization but they're going to focus

00:13:15.100 on the safety and security of americans and creating an environment where every american can live

00:13:21.480 their american dream and so i am really excited about it and i think the momentum and just the energy

00:13:27.440 around this building i've never felt anything like it absolutely and yeah i agree uh whether it was

00:13:33.780 watching pete hexeth uh pam bondi i'm so excited about her getting into office

00:13:38.860 the attacks that they're using especially with pete right i mean it was pretty horrific to watch

00:13:48.680 but it's just not sticking after that hearing it came out that you know his his chances only really

00:13:54.020 increased of getting confirmed uh we're sick and tired of of the identity politics we're sick and tired of

00:14:00.200 of the labeling and and the things the attacks really the tactics that the democrats use

00:14:05.360 um i want to ask you too more news that has has come out this week but feels pertinent to this

00:14:11.980 conversation especially as we're talking about pam bondi another strong woman yourself a strong woman

00:14:16.500 how do you feel about getting another uh fantastic female uh senator up there with you and ashley moody 1.00

00:14:24.500 oh my gosh riley i am so excited so yesterday when we had our second round at the senate judiciary

00:14:30.740 i um i had an opportunity because several of the individuals that were testifying uh on behalf of

00:14:37.820 pam worked with ashley and so i had an opportunity to say i heard you mention ashley moody and then lo

00:14:43.440 and behold it did not dawn on me that they didn't have their phones because they had been testifying

00:14:47.580 so i actually got to break the news to them um that she was going to be joining me as a colleague and

00:14:53.060 look obviously they were thrilled and spoke so highly of her but i've heard nothing but the

00:14:57.900 like the best things that she is a brilliant attorney she's going to be an amazing addition

00:15:02.740 um i called her this morning i sent her a text yesterday and then called her this morning

00:15:07.140 she called me right back and said hey so sorry i was getting some baseball stuff together my son has

00:15:11.960 tryouts this morning and so to have another mom that is raising kids in this this environment this 0.94

00:15:18.800 day and age that wants to preserve the opportunities that we had in front of us for our children and

00:15:24.380 their children fighting alongside me fighting alongside the rest of our republican colleagues

00:15:28.840 like i am beyond thrilled so i can't wait to get her up here and get going um we are going to be a

00:15:36.000 force um and the republican conference is just going to be even stronger with her being up being part of it

00:15:42.900 and i love that uh it makes her a real person uh appointed to the senate yesterday and still doing 0.96

00:15:49.560 things with her kids and and all the tryouts and games and practices today i think people forget

00:15:55.960 like particularly those of us who are raising raising you know a family right now i mean that's

00:16:01.000 exactly what we're doing we are working our senate schedule around when the volleyball tournament is

00:16:06.300 and i'm like oh well that's you know she's she's travel we got travel this weekend we've got this this

00:16:11.140 wins the football wins the football banquet i mean these are the things that we're doing like

00:16:15.400 calling our children yesterday morning calling my son and saying don't forget the canned food that

00:16:20.420 you have to take to school i mean so all all of the things that you know that every other uh parent

00:16:25.860 out there is doing too we do but i thought that that was a neat moment when she called me right back

00:16:30.120 and said so sorry i was getting things together helping get them together baseball trials today and

00:16:34.840 getting all of it together and that's what you want i mean those are the kind of people you want up

00:16:39.240 here people that are living real lives that have uh real see the real issues in front of us and that

00:16:45.720 have the grit to actually do something about them no doubt about that i've had your your alabama cohort

00:16:52.860 on this show many times he's one of my favorites uh i really enjoyed watching him as senator mullen was

00:17:00.200 was uh during actually the pete heggs staring watching uh senator tuberville back there you know

00:17:05.660 he's making the faces it was it was just perfect yeah the mullen part that's the one my friend was

00:17:11.600 texting me about she was like are you watching this and i said i'm in a meeting but i will go back and

00:17:15.900 watch she was like this is amazing i sent mark wayne and christy a text i was like well done buddy well

00:17:21.920 done it was perfect and again it speaks to the point of um a lot of these people in these positions who

00:17:28.880 who you know sit from their ivory towers um we want real people but i want to ask you what's it

00:17:35.960 like being partners with with senator tuberville coach tuberville yeah coach yeah he'll correct you

00:17:41.600 quick he'll tell you he'll tell you to call him coach um so we go all the way back if you think about

00:17:46.500 this so my husband played football um he played at alabama and then he played for the new england

00:17:51.720 patriots he actually went through the recruiting process uh with tuberville at the helm of auburn he was

00:17:57.840 um he was the coach of albert at the time um and so we go all the way back to then he gives us um he

00:18:04.840 always gives us a hard time that wesley ended up at alabama instead of albert but his leadership on

00:18:10.040 the title nine issue has been exceptional and you know when you talk about um you know real people

00:18:16.700 talking about real things like that's exactly what's happening here with coach tuberville he has

00:18:21.480 been in the arena you have been in the arena that's why it's so important that your voice continues

00:18:26.860 to be elevated in this conversation because you have people that come to dc and this goes to your

00:18:31.180 earlier point who somehow think that they get here and then they have all the answers that they know

00:18:35.780 all the things about all all the issues in front of them and the truth is it's the boots on the ground

00:18:40.620 it's the people who are living it it's the people who've experienced it that we have to listen to

00:18:45.280 to fully understand the implications of what we're doing or what we're not doing or fighting for

00:18:50.560 that's where your voice has just been amazing and this title nine conversation and his as well i mean

00:18:57.220 having been a coach um having obviously um you know had a number of male athletes and having been

00:19:05.460 a part of an athletic director i mean athletic department and know the challenges that are in

00:19:10.500 front of us he can speak to it in a way that very few up here can and so i'm so excited about his

00:19:16.380 leadership on this issue riley and i think that we will do big things in this congress um with with

00:19:22.100 the foundation that he has laid um that's certainly the one that you continue to lay as well absolutely

00:19:27.940 last thing for you what are some other priorities for you uh in this this new legislative session

00:19:34.820 yeah so we've got a lot of stuff ahead of us so for all of you watching i mean it's gonna be like

00:19:40.760 go go go go go which is fun because we we need to be doing the things that we should for the american

00:19:46.840 people but we've got a number of nominees to get across the finish line so obviously we started that

00:19:51.180 process this week i think we had 13 nominees on the hill we'll continue that once we get them their

00:19:57.600 hearing completed we'll go back and we'll actually do a vote we'll vote them out of committee i think a

00:20:03.280 number of these nominees are going to have strong bipartisan support and if democrats um you know

00:20:10.220 democrats are being honest and truthful about it that's certainly the way that um that that this

00:20:15.740 will go down then additionally in that we have funding bills from fy25 riley which is like something

00:20:22.040 we've got to finish we've got reconciliation bills we've got funding bills for fy26 but on top of all of

00:20:27.520 that there are a number of things a number of things in addition to the border in addition to making

00:20:32.500 sure that hard-earned americans dollars go further in addition to making sure that we return to

00:20:38.420 president trump's peace through strength there are things like child care that i want to continue to

00:20:43.700 work on the cost and affordability of child care across our country um i've got a piece of legislation

00:20:49.320 on that that we're going to work and continue to build momentum on um to help those who want to

00:20:54.820 re-enter the workforce but maybe that that cost or availability is an impediment to it um helping

00:21:00.460 helping that and it does it in a way that puts parents back in the driver's seat so we'd love to come

00:21:04.620 talk to you about that also we'll have a number of conversations continuing on social media and

00:21:09.980 youth mental health um you know making sure that we are shining a proper light on that that people

00:21:15.120 understand um kind of what what's going on out there particularly what's happening to some of our

00:21:20.260 young people so that they can make smart decisions as they engage online um amongst a number of other

00:21:26.540 things so i i'm excited about what's to come um and i'm excited to actually be able to deliver results

00:21:33.060 which is exactly what we did today with lake and riley and i think what the american people can

00:21:39.000 take away from this is that there is more to come absolutely well we are grateful for you we are

00:21:44.800 cheering you on uh thank you for your leadership on this issue uh and as you said the many more to

00:21:50.560 come so thank you senator brett oh thank you so much riley and thank you for letting me be in front

00:21:55.380 of your audience i look forward to coming back as always thank you guys for joining the gains for

00:22:01.100 girls podcast uh you can check out all things gains for girls at outkick.com be sure to like

00:22:06.900 and subscribe and follow along be sure to share these episodes far and wide uh it really makes a

00:22:12.840 difference and i appreciate your support tremendously we have some exciting things planned

00:22:16.640 in the future for for this show uh how the dynamic is going to change what's that what

00:22:22.140 that is going to look like uh so make sure you're you're subscribing uh again it really matters

00:22:27.400 just joyous that's it that that's how we're signing off today i am overwhelmed with joy and

00:22:35.600 excitement and patriotism and energy it's been a long time uh since i think as a whole we have felt

00:22:43.000 those feelings um to be proud of the country that we live in consistently and i think that's what

00:22:48.860 we're going to see over the next four years so lots of stuff to look forward to we are grateful

00:22:53.340 uh for senator katie brit everything she's she has done we will certainly continue to follow what she

00:22:59.900 is doing and cheering her on every step of the way until next time we will see you guys next week on

00:23:05.400 the gains for girls podcast

Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - January 22, 2025

The Laken Riley Act Passes with Sen. Katie Britt

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript