The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - October 26, 2023


Episode 124 LIVE： New Leadership In Washington – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz


Episode Stats


Length

24 minutes

Words per minute

160.0161

Word count

3,843

Sentence count

249

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

5

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Mike Johnson is the new House Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Matt Gaetz is the newest House Speaker. What does that mean for the future of the Republican majority in Congress? And what does it mean for his chances of becoming Speaker?

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Matt Gaetz, the biggest firebrand inside of the House of Representatives.
00:00:07.200 You're not taking Matt Gaetz off the board, okay?
00:00:10.000 Because Matt Gaetz is an American patriot and Matt Gaetz is an American hero.
00:00:14.720 We will not continue to allow the Uniparty to run this town without a fight. 1.00
00:00:20.300 I want to thank you, Matt Gaetz, for holding the line.
00:00:24.400 Matt Gaetz is a courageous man.
00:00:26.400 If we had hundreds of Matt Gaetz in D.C., the country turns around.
00:00:31.180 It's that simple.
00:00:31.980 He's so tough.
00:00:32.800 He's so strong.
00:00:34.000 He's smart and he loves this country.
00:00:36.380 Matt Gaetz.
00:00:38.060 It is the honor of my life to fight alongside each and every one of you.
00:00:43.300 We will save America.
00:00:45.400 It's choose your fighter time.
00:00:47.180 Send in the firebrands. 1.00
00:00:48.660 Now the attention is drawn to Capitol Hill and the fact that the Republicans are so incapable of governing, they lost a speaker.
00:01:05.360 And what, you know, hasn't really happened before in this way.
00:01:08.440 Your reaction tonight?
00:01:09.320 And the most devastating question for Matt Gaetz today, just as it was eight months ago, is, okay, what's the alternative?
00:01:17.260 And he doesn't seem to be able to give you an alternative.
00:01:20.180 And the alternatives he offers are people that don't want to have anything to do with it.
00:01:24.560 I do think that, you know, you can, you know, we have known we were going to have a calamity since the day Speaker McCarthy got elected speaker after 15 rounds.
00:01:35.080 We knew it was going to eventually come to this.
00:01:37.560 It was going to come to a government shutdown.
00:01:39.500 The criticism I would have of Kevin McCarthy is that he hasn't gone on ahead from the beginning and laid the groundwork to make this catastrophe we're seeing today about something.
00:01:49.520 Say a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to enforce the border or a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to stop inflationary spending.
00:01:59.160 All of which American people would understand.
00:02:01.500 So it's kind of a marketing thing that I would criticize Kevin McCarthy for.
00:02:05.940 But honestly, when you look at what happened today, the same criticism you could level against Matt Gaetz because nobody knows what this is about.
00:02:14.620 I think that a lot of the underlying issues are important, and I agree with Matt Gaetz about it.
00:02:19.300 But you can't beat something with nothing.
00:02:22.960 And right now, Matt Gaetz has nothing.
00:02:27.580 We are live.
00:02:28.940 Welcome back to Firebrand.
00:02:29.900 And I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz, and I don't have nothing, Charlie Hurt.
00:02:33.460 I have Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House, someone who everyone I think has tremendous respect for.
00:02:39.620 He gave a terrific address as House Speaker yesterday.
00:02:43.280 Make sure to watch yesterday's episode if you want to learn more about Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House.
00:02:48.560 And the devastating question for Matt Gaetz, according to Charlie Kirk, who's the alternative?
00:02:54.760 Can anyone other than McCarthy lead the House of Representatives?
00:02:58.100 I think Mike Johnson is going to lead us quite well.
00:03:00.800 And for the Laura Ingram argument that we are incapable, just see how much we can do under strong leadership and good leadership.
00:03:13.060 I want to thank everyone for joining us.
00:03:15.140 The live stream is fired up.
00:03:16.840 Folks are watching from New Jersey, Arizona, Mississippi, Florida, South Dakota, South Carolina.
00:03:22.080 Jeff on Facebook says, Hannity and Levin, oh, Matt Gaetz, an apology.
00:03:28.040 I love Hannity.
00:03:29.400 Levin, maybe we'll send him the apology form that was on yesterday's program.
00:03:33.860 But I think it's safe to say that the devastating question that Charlie Kirk posed about who could be the alternative presupposes, I think, a real pessimism regarding the talents and skill stacks that exist within the Republican conference.
00:03:49.880 We've got great people.
00:03:50.900 Mike Johnson's one of them.
00:03:52.520 Jody Arrington's one of them.
00:03:53.860 As a matter of fact, when we chatted about the real heroism in this contest from Kevin Hearn and Mark Green, we saw people that were willing to lead, but they also understood that part of leadership is working toward a team dynamic that can be prosperous and successful for the House of Representatives and ultimately the country.
00:04:15.480 The Daily Beast has some thoughts on the speaker contest.
00:04:18.980 They're not usually my biggest fans, but we get this headline.
00:04:22.500 Mike Johnson got elected, but Matt Gaetz is the big winner of the GOP's House Speaker battle, and the piece says,
00:04:31.040 Gaetz deserves most of the credit or blame for this outcome, and not just because he took down Speaker McCarthy on October 3rd.
00:04:38.160 The elevation of MAGA Mike was the result of concessions Gaetz demanded from McCarthy way back in January.
00:04:46.080 As I observed at that time, here's the thing about confrontational politics.
00:04:50.580 It never ends.
00:04:54.240 Fights are inherently good because every fight results in you gaining turf.
00:04:59.020 As such, you must always be picking fights.
00:05:02.740 Unlike normies who just want peace and comedy, Gaetz understands that conflict is necessary to advance his MAGA worldview.
00:05:10.440 It took 11 months to complete the project, but Gaetz was finally able to upgrade, in quotes, Republican House leadership.
00:05:19.700 Think of it this way.
00:05:21.180 When Trump was first elected, he was forced to work with Republicans who had previously been hostile to him and did not share his worldview.
00:05:27.160 Then, a second wave included converts, who, though thoroughly co-opted by Trump, had started off in the establishment lane.
00:05:38.780 We are now entering into third-wave Trumpism, the elevation of true believers, the rise of the first MAGA speaker.
00:05:49.000 And if we have learned anything, it is that this is just the beginning.
00:05:53.600 Gaetz has been rewarded, and his theory regarding how to change the GOP in America has been confirmed.
00:06:01.260 So, there's a little bit here I want to unpack.
00:06:04.200 It is totally correct that we are in the third wave of Trumpism, and that that is elevating true believers.
00:06:12.400 I think that is essential to ensure that we take the vision of Trumpism and execute it better than ever before.
00:06:20.440 And if we do that, we'll have better trade deals, we'll have a secure border, we'll have an economy that lifts people up who are willing to work hard.
00:06:26.880 And I hope we can layer onto that more fiscal responsibility, single-subject spending bills, balanced budgets,
00:06:35.180 and a renewed sense that the way to advance our country is not just to keep printing more money
00:06:39.820 and avoid the tough decisions that we have to make about how it is spent.
00:06:44.240 Because if we do not, these rising interest rates will continue to be the norm.
00:06:48.240 And buying a home, even buying a car, will be out of reach for far too many Americans.
00:06:53.320 So, we are indeed in that third wave of Trumpism.
00:06:55.460 And the other thing I think the Daily Beast piece gets right is that I understand that the only way
00:07:01.780 we are going to be able to achieve our goals is through conflict at times.
00:07:06.700 I have seen in Washington, D.C. that you don't get anything without a fight.
00:07:11.820 The establishment does not cede power.
00:07:13.960 The lobbyists and special interests that donate millions of dollars to congressional campaigns
00:07:18.460 expect something in return for that money.
00:07:21.540 And what we've all got in return is a diminished America.
00:07:24.340 Decline for the greatest nation on earth.
00:07:27.540 And so, yes, I love this country enough to fight for her.
00:07:31.560 And if you're viewing this program, I certainly hope that you do too.
00:07:35.040 One thing you could do is subscribe.
00:07:37.020 Make sure you share our messages so that more people get the information.
00:07:40.660 And make sure you've got notifications turned on on this podcast
00:07:43.840 so that we can continue to give you the clear evidence of Washington's failures
00:07:49.920 and then a plan to make it better.
00:07:51.900 And we saw a lot of that plan in the calendar put out by House Speaker Mike Johnson
00:07:56.060 to be able to deal with these challenges.
00:07:58.460 But it's not just the Daily Beast reacting to our new House Speaker.
00:08:02.820 We seem to have conflicting reactions from the White House and the Biden-Harris campaign.
00:08:08.980 So, I've got the statements up on the screen now.
00:08:12.540 But first, let's start with the White House statement.
00:08:16.320 Just consider the tone here.
00:08:17.960 Statement from President Biden on the election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.
00:08:22.100 Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.
00:08:25.300 As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is,
00:08:28.440 I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people.
00:08:31.720 I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle
00:08:35.300 after Republicans won the majority in the House last year.
00:08:38.960 We need to move swiftly to address national security needs
00:08:42.200 and avoid a shutdown in 22 days.
00:08:44.420 Even though we have real disagreements about important issues,
00:08:47.320 there should be a mutual effort to find common ground whenever we can.
00:08:52.220 How sweet and conciliatory.
00:08:54.040 But then we get on the heels of that a statement from the Biden-Harris campaign.
00:08:58.100 Biden-Harris 2024 statement on new MAGA Speaker.
00:09:03.500 In the Biden-Harris announcement, Mike Johnson doesn't even get his name.
00:09:07.580 He's just MAGA Speaker.
00:09:10.080 MAGA Mike Johnson's ascension to the speakership
00:09:12.420 cements the extreme MAGA takeover of the House Republican Conference.
00:09:17.720 Now, Donald Trump has his loyal foot soldier to ban abortion nationwide,
00:09:22.480 lead efforts to deny free and fair election results,
00:09:24.920 gut Social Security and Medicare, and advance the extreme MAGA agenda
00:09:29.180 at the expense of middle-class families.
00:09:32.480 Well, they seem triggered at the campaign.
00:09:36.060 They seem eager to work together at the White House.
00:09:38.820 Who knows who's calling the shots anymore in Biden world?
00:09:41.460 The one thing I'm certain of, it is not Joe Biden.
00:09:45.080 He is not the one calling the shots or even approving these statements.
00:09:47.980 And so when you don't have that center point of vision,
00:09:51.440 because you're just dealing with like the weekend at Bernie's White House right now,
00:09:56.460 this is the manifestation.
00:09:58.420 This is the fruit of all of that.
00:10:01.880 While the White House and the Biden campaign are still trying to figure out
00:10:05.320 how they feel about all of this,
00:10:06.900 one person who definitely knows how he feels is Missouri Congressman Jason Smith.
00:10:12.960 Now, to set this up, Congressman Jason Smith is a Republican,
00:10:16.440 though when you hear what he has to say, it's not going to sound like one at times.
00:10:21.180 And he has been one of the most loyal lapdogs for former Speaker McCarthy
00:10:26.260 and for the lobbyists and special interests on K Street.
00:10:30.720 See, Jason Smith has achieved power in Washington in a lot of the way most people do.
00:10:35.980 You get money from the lobbyists and special interests,
00:10:38.560 you in turn give that money to the party bosses for their political funds,
00:10:42.020 and then they allow you to move up.
00:10:44.180 And no question, Jason Smith has one of the most prime posts
00:10:48.140 in the House of Representatives chairing the Ways and Means Committee,
00:10:51.980 and they determine taxation.
00:10:54.520 Well, you might say they determine those things,
00:10:57.700 but in reality, Jason Smith moved a bill out of his committee
00:11:00.640 that can never even get the votes and probably won't even make it to the floor.
00:11:04.660 But he was asked about the remarks I made on War Room,
00:11:08.740 and he was quite disturbed.
00:11:12.180 Take a listen.
00:11:14.700 So Gates claims yesterday on Steve Bannon's show
00:11:17.920 that he watched Kevin McCarthy repeatedly try to torpedo
00:11:22.100 the individual candidates, including Scalise and Jim Jordan.
00:11:27.040 What's your take on that, how that went down?
00:11:29.020 Let me just tell you, if Matt Gates' lips are moving,
00:11:32.500 it's only lies that's coming out of it.
00:11:34.540 That gentleman only loves to propel himself and propaganda.
00:11:39.820 He sounds like a Democrat.
00:11:41.360 It's exactly what Democrats say.
00:11:43.140 They accuse Donald Trump of everything that they're doing.
00:11:46.140 Matt Gates is accusing Kevin McCarthy for everything that he's doing.
00:11:50.220 The blood is on his hands for 22 wasted days
00:11:54.160 for him to join with 100% of the Democrat Party
00:11:58.560 to remove the Speaker of the House.
00:12:00.580 He's all about himself.
00:12:02.020 He's not about conservatism.
00:12:03.660 He's not about Republicans.
00:12:05.380 He's about himself.
00:12:07.300 Interesting.
00:12:07.780 I mean, my perception is,
00:12:10.020 why would the House vote as they did to elect Mike Johnson,
00:12:16.660 who's clearly got the conservative base?
00:12:21.220 I mean, he's like Jim Jordan,
00:12:23.160 but they wouldn't elect Jim Jordan.
00:12:24.860 Why?
00:12:25.140 Because there was several holdouts from the Scalise world
00:12:30.700 that was upset that Scalise didn't have the votes
00:12:33.820 because a lot of the Freedom Caucus held out on Steve Scalise.
00:12:39.600 So it was all about individuals.
00:12:42.120 You had the chair of the Appropriations Committee
00:12:45.760 stand up and vote against Jim Jordan
00:12:48.220 because she didn't like how Jim Jordan wanted to cut spending.
00:12:52.480 And she was a main Scalise ally.
00:12:56.020 So for Matt Gaetz to say that kind of stuff,
00:12:59.060 it's simply not true.
00:13:01.240 I know the dynamics of the 20 people that voted against Steve Scalise,
00:13:05.880 the 25 that voted against Tom Emmer,
00:13:08.460 and the 22 that voted against Jim Jordan.
00:13:12.000 They were not the same people.
00:13:13.760 They were all different people,
00:13:14.980 and it was for different reasons. 1.00
00:13:16.340 So Matt Gaetz is a foolish liar. 1.00
00:13:18.220 A foolish liar. 1.00
00:13:22.540 We are back live. 1.00
00:13:24.260 Jason Smith says,
00:13:25.080 if my lips are moving, I'm lying.
00:13:28.040 Well, you know what?
00:13:29.440 If Jason Smith is breathing,
00:13:32.160 he is living a lie.
00:13:34.980 There might not be another member of Congress
00:13:37.200 who lives a lie every day more than Jason Smith.
00:13:41.400 And Jason Smith knows exactly what I'm talking about.
00:13:44.300 And by the way, so does almost every member of the House Republican Caucus.
00:13:49.680 So there's a good deal of projection in Jason Smith calling me a liar
00:13:54.740 when it's Jason Smith who literally has to live a lie.
00:13:58.780 And I honestly pity him for that
00:14:00.540 because, you know, it wouldn't be something that,
00:14:04.660 I wouldn't live that way.
00:14:06.460 I'll just put it that way.
00:14:07.380 So, Jason, I would check yourself before you come at me
00:14:11.580 with any accusations of being dishonest about what I say
00:14:16.960 when you're dishonest about how you live and what you do.
00:14:21.780 He says,
00:14:22.380 the blood is on my hands for 22 days of not, I guess,
00:14:26.860 sending money to Ukraine or whatever else they wanted to do.
00:14:30.440 If it took 22 days to take the gavel away from Kevin McCarthy
00:14:34.780 and give it to Mike Johnson,
00:14:36.380 those are the 22 most productive days
00:14:39.680 that we have had in the 118th Congress
00:14:42.200 because we not only have our man,
00:14:43.640 but we have a plan for how to reduce spending.
00:14:47.420 And of course, Jason Smith doesn't want to do that
00:14:49.440 because if we cut spending,
00:14:51.440 then the lobbyists who fund his coffers will have less
00:14:55.500 and the American people will have more.
00:14:58.020 And that's not what they want.
00:14:59.520 And when you point those things out,
00:15:01.480 it doesn't make you sound like a Democrat
00:15:03.800 or even a Republican,
00:15:05.140 just somebody with eyes who can observe
00:15:07.800 how the corrupt power centers of this town
00:15:10.540 compromise people like Jason Smith
00:15:13.020 and then flip them to do their bidding,
00:15:15.920 not the work that folks sent us here to do.
00:15:19.280 We take six weeks off every single year
00:15:22.600 just for members to go on vacation mostly.
00:15:26.100 So 22 days to right the ship with House Speaker,
00:15:29.020 I don't think that that's chaos.
00:15:30.920 I think that that's constructive work
00:15:33.240 to get to a better outcome.
00:15:35.760 Jeremy Carl is a conservative commentator.
00:15:38.340 He does a lot of work with the Claremont Institute.
00:15:40.680 Those are some real smart folks
00:15:41.920 that we think highly of here in our congressional office.
00:15:45.100 And he had a tweet that I don't agree
00:15:46.800 with every single word here.
00:15:48.240 I think he's a little too harsh on Scalise and Emmer,
00:15:51.760 but I'm going to read you what Jeremy Carl
00:15:54.460 has put out on Twitter,
00:15:56.260 at JeremyCarl4.
00:15:59.580 Ignore all of the pundit hyperventilating.
00:16:02.760 When all is said and done,
00:16:04.020 assuming he lives up to his reputation,
00:16:06.340 the election of at Rep Mike Johnson as Speaker
00:16:09.060 is a major victory for Matt Gaetz
00:16:11.900 and his insurgent allies.
00:16:14.400 Johnson is much better than McCarthy.
00:16:17.360 The best you could say for McCarthy,
00:16:19.600 who, remember, elevated Liz Cheney to leadership
00:16:21.820 in only her second term,
00:16:23.740 is that he was an ideologically weak, empty suit
00:16:26.440 who would at least deal transactionally
00:16:28.660 with conservatives.
00:16:30.380 Jordan would have been great,
00:16:31.840 but he was never a viable choice,
00:16:34.000 too ideological,
00:16:35.420 and had burned too many bridges in the conference.
00:16:38.020 Scalise would have been more establishment pablum.
00:16:40.920 Emmer was so awful that Trump nuked him preemptively
00:16:43.400 before conservatives revolted.
00:16:45.160 Will Johnson disappoint the right at times?
00:16:48.680 No doubt.
00:16:49.940 Both on genuine issues of difference in ideology
00:16:52.800 and also on times when he needs to make concessions
00:16:56.180 to moderate establishment types
00:16:58.060 to keep the caucus together.
00:16:59.780 But that is the job of the Speaker.
00:17:03.120 In Johnson, we have someone who is aligned
00:17:04.960 with the base on key issues,
00:17:07.000 who will reach out beyond the base
00:17:08.780 when he needs to for practical reasons.
00:17:10.560 That is what we should want in a GOP Speaker.
00:17:15.220 Johnson is clearly not a grandstander,
00:17:17.260 and he seems very well-liked within the caucus.
00:17:20.140 This will be essential
00:17:21.340 in keeping a very fractious group together.
00:17:24.660 It is not about conservatives getting everything we want.
00:17:27.860 It is about getting everything that is feasible to get.
00:17:32.020 In a few months, nobody will care
00:17:33.460 about dumb process fights within the GOP caucus, 0.81
00:17:36.440 but the effect of having a party leader 0.91
00:17:39.360 who is actually aligned with party voters
00:17:41.720 will pay dividends for years.
00:17:45.440 It will help in terms of the primary candidates we select,
00:17:49.540 McCarthy torpedoed a number of good conservatives
00:17:52.040 in primaries in 2022,
00:17:54.480 and the issues that we focus on as a party.
00:17:56.620 It is trading a short-term loss
00:18:00.960 for a few weeks of infighting
00:18:02.980 into a major long-term win.
00:18:06.440 Matt Gaetz understands,
00:18:08.120 in a way that 90% plus of Republicans do not,
00:18:12.140 that you get political capital to spend it,
00:18:16.180 and he spent all that he had
00:18:17.580 to move to ultimately achieve
00:18:19.880 what could be a monumental victory
00:18:22.040 for conservatives for many years to come.
00:18:24.780 I would observe that what Jeremy Carl says
00:18:28.860 about political capital is absolutely my view of it.
00:18:32.180 I don't believe that we build approval ratings
00:18:35.060 and political capital
00:18:36.080 to set them on the shelf and admire them.
00:18:38.840 That doesn't help anyone but the politician.
00:18:41.920 The reason to try to build political capital
00:18:44.360 is to draw down on that political capital
00:18:46.960 so that the people who are actually our bosses
00:18:49.120 get to live better lives as a consequence.
00:18:52.380 And I know our lives will be better
00:18:54.180 with Speaker Mike Johnson
00:18:55.520 than they ever would have been
00:18:56.580 with Kevin McCarthy.
00:18:58.560 I want to chat about some foreign policy issues as well
00:19:01.480 that are going on in the world
00:19:02.680 that we focus on.
00:19:05.080 Let's start with this latest announcement,
00:19:07.480 quite unfortunate,
00:19:08.380 from the Biden administration on Ukraine.
00:19:11.140 Biden administration announces
00:19:12.360 additional security assistance for Ukraine.
00:19:14.700 They list out the drawdown,
00:19:16.860 including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
00:19:20.220 Great, that's what we gave the Mujahideen 1.00
00:19:21.960 that ultimately resulted in the Taliban.
00:19:24.220 Javelin anti-armor sisters,
00:19:25.940 night vision devices.
00:19:28.100 If I've got real concerns
00:19:29.500 about the night vision devices,
00:19:30.960 I don't know where those end up.
00:19:32.920 When we actually look at end-use monitoring
00:19:35.220 of the equipment that we send into Ukraine,
00:19:38.800 I have some of the highest concerns
00:19:41.080 that it's the night vision stuff
00:19:43.160 that we may end up seeing
00:19:45.020 in the hands of Hamas 0.80
00:19:46.780 or the drug cartels on our own border.
00:19:48.740 We're very concerned about that.
00:19:51.120 Demolition munitions for clearing obstacles.
00:19:54.060 So we're going to pay for the demolition,
00:19:56.900 and then I guarantee you
00:19:58.300 for the next 10 to 15 years,
00:19:59.720 there's going to be money in the budget
00:20:00.920 for some U.S. defense contractor
00:20:02.640 to go and demine the munitions
00:20:04.920 that we're paying for.
00:20:06.960 And the last bullet point here,
00:20:09.920 man, this really gets me.
00:20:11.360 We're sending spare parts,
00:20:12.880 maintenance,
00:20:13.440 and other equipment to Ukraine.
00:20:15.660 Right now in America,
00:20:17.440 the F-35s that cost you,
00:20:19.820 the American taxpayer,
00:20:20.800 about $180 million a copy,
00:20:24.300 40% of those,
00:20:26.280 we can't even fly today
00:20:28.360 because we don't have the parts
00:20:30.800 for some of our own stuff.
00:20:32.360 And so while I know
00:20:33.320 we're not sending F-35s to Ukraine,
00:20:35.820 there is a certain focus
00:20:37.440 on the supply chain
00:20:38.760 and the defense industrial base
00:20:40.320 that we need to have
00:20:42.480 in order to ensure
00:20:43.460 that our own equipment is usable.
00:20:45.140 I get worked up about this
00:20:46.720 because when I go to our bases
00:20:48.200 in Northwest Florida
00:20:49.100 and talk to our service members,
00:20:51.060 it is infuriating
00:20:53.420 to see our hangars
00:20:54.860 and our buildings
00:20:56.040 rotted out,
00:20:57.120 moldy,
00:20:57.600 full of asbestos,
00:20:59.000 not enough military housing
00:21:00.360 for our service members,
00:21:02.360 not enough spare parts
00:21:03.420 so that our stuff works
00:21:04.480 for training
00:21:05.180 and for important
00:21:07.840 readiness development.
00:21:09.560 But here we go,
00:21:11.040 another $150 million
00:21:12.480 for Ukraine.
00:21:13.540 It is so America lasts
00:21:16.040 and I indeed hope
00:21:16.940 it comes to an end.
00:21:18.360 But it's not just Ukraine
00:21:19.400 where America
00:21:20.020 is now extended abroad.
00:21:22.140 Senator Rand Paul
00:21:23.080 is pointing to the fact
00:21:24.520 that we're still doing stuff
00:21:26.280 in Niger
00:21:27.000 that is not really effective.
00:21:30.840 Rand Paul wants
00:21:31.680 U.S. troops out of Niger
00:21:32.640 as the piece from The Intercept.
00:21:34.040 Nick Terse wrote that piece.
00:21:35.740 He's been really great
00:21:36.600 covering the failures
00:21:37.840 of the Biden administration's
00:21:39.320 policies in Africa.
00:21:40.280 And this tweet we've put
00:21:41.680 on the screen
00:21:42.220 from Nick Terse
00:21:43.800 says,
00:21:45.200 while the wars in Ukraine
00:21:45.980 and Gaza dominate the news,
00:21:47.500 the U.S. forever war
00:21:48.780 in Niger grinds on.
00:21:51.360 Since the U.S. began
00:21:52.060 counterterrorism efforts
00:21:53.040 in the region,
00:21:54.420 terrorist violence
00:21:55.300 has jumped 30,000%.
00:21:58.260 Not a typo.
00:21:59.940 This summer,
00:22:00.500 U.S. trained officers
00:22:01.420 overthrew the government.
00:22:03.380 So on an anti-terrorism mission,
00:22:05.340 we've seen terrorist instances
00:22:06.920 increase by 30,000%.
00:22:09.480 And the very people
00:22:10.960 we trained over
00:22:12.000 through the government,
00:22:13.080 I am certainly
00:22:13.840 with Rand Paul on this.
00:22:15.680 We need to be out of Niger.
00:22:18.400 And we at least need
00:22:20.700 the Biden administration
00:22:21.820 to tell us
00:22:22.300 what their foreign policy goals
00:22:23.700 are in Africa at this time.
00:22:25.960 So the House of Representatives
00:22:26.780 right now is debating
00:22:27.660 the energy and water legislation
00:22:31.000 on government funding.
00:22:32.620 That is one of the
00:22:33.420 single-subject spending bills.
00:22:34.860 It does not cut spending
00:22:36.340 as much as it should.
00:22:37.780 In an upcoming program,
00:22:38.920 we'll talk about
00:22:39.700 the appropriations process more,
00:22:41.600 what's good, what's bad.
00:22:42.800 But the principal thing
00:22:43.820 that we are doing
00:22:44.800 from a policy perspective
00:22:46.100 in this bill
00:22:46.820 that we'll be voting on shortly,
00:22:49.080 getting rid of the Obama-Biden 0.96
00:22:52.240 waters of the United States rule.
00:22:54.320 This is the rule
00:22:55.200 that has the EPA
00:22:56.520 hassling people
00:22:57.580 that have like a
00:22:59.160 10-acre lake
00:23:00.980 on their property
00:23:02.300 to water cattle
00:23:03.860 or even just like
00:23:04.720 a small watering pond.
00:23:06.080 They are exercising jurisdiction
00:23:08.020 in a way
00:23:08.400 that is killing
00:23:09.000 private property rights,
00:23:10.420 killing agriculture.
00:23:11.880 The farmers in my district
00:23:13.140 talked to me
00:23:13.640 all about the negative consequences
00:23:15.500 of this waters
00:23:16.160 of the United States rule.
00:23:17.300 I cannot wait
00:23:18.300 to vote
00:23:19.120 for our appropriations bill
00:23:21.080 that will abolish
00:23:22.160 that rule.
00:23:23.100 So thanks for staying
00:23:23.920 engaged and informed.
00:23:25.720 Thanks for having my back.
00:23:27.560 We'll be broadcasting
00:23:28.920 on Firebrand again soon.
00:23:30.560 Roll the credits.
00:23:31.000 We'll be right back.