Matt Gaetz was one of the few members in the entire Congress who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents. Matt Gaetz is a problem in the Democratic Party. He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing applause.
00:02:10.000So why does the president keep speaking out against U.S. policy?
00:02:14.000Congressman, the president has made clear that he has not changed U.S. policy and regime change.
00:02:23.000No, no, but why does he speak against it?
00:02:26.000That he is appalled by the horrors, as I think we all are, of what Russia is wreaking in Ukraine.
00:02:35.000But how could it not confuse our allies and our fellow Americans to have the president saying the exact opposite of what you just correctly defined as U.S. policy?
00:02:47.000My understanding from allies is that they value U.S. leadership.
00:02:50.000They are confident in American commitment to the NATO alliance,
00:02:55.000and in particular the president's words that the United States will deter Russian attack against NATO and defend every inch of NATO territory.
00:03:04.000That's all fascinating, but it doesn't get to the question of speaking directly against our policies.
00:03:10.000Does the Department of Defense assess that the president is likely going forward to speak against U.S. policy on other matters?
00:03:18.000Congressman, I can't speak to that. I don't believe that there is any such assessment.
00:03:24.000Maybe should, I mean, do we have a plan in place for the next moment, right?
00:03:29.000I mean, because this didn't happen once, it didn't happen twice, it happened three times on, like, highly consequential stuff,
00:03:34.000like regime change and chemical weapons and sending our service members into Ukraine.
00:03:39.000And so I sort of wonder whether or not we have to have contingency plans for a president who seems to be a little confused on those matters.
00:03:47.000And you're saying there is no such contingency plan?
00:03:50.000I'm telling you, Congressman, that the Department of Defense leadership is focused on sustaining
00:03:58.000and advancing American national security policy of this administration.
00:04:02.000Is the Department of Defense leadership frustrated by the president's statements against U.S. policy?
00:04:08.000Congressman, I think that is an inappropriate characterization of the Defense Department's commitment.
00:04:13.000But it's not a characterization. It's a question. Is the Department leadership frustrated?
00:04:17.000I'm not characterizing. I'm trying to ascertain how hard this job must be to get our force posture aligned,
00:04:24.000to get our information operations that Mr. Giramendi asked about in line,
00:04:28.000when you've got a president who seems to be misaligned on these key questions.
00:04:33.000Congressman, I can only speak for myself. I think it's appropriate.
00:04:37.000I mean, it's a you have the right to ask the question. And so speaking for myself, I'm sorry, but you can't.
00:04:42.000I am the witness. If you ask a question, you've got to give her at least five seconds to say something before you then interrupt.
00:04:49.000Badgering the witness and it was that badgering to you to ask the Department of Defense how they intend to deal with what is likely to occur in the future.
00:04:57.000I mean, we've seen it on three big things. But do you think we've seen the last of Joe Biden speaking against U.S. policy?
00:05:04.000No. First of all, you were not badgering the witness. I thought you were overly kind to the witness, to be honest with you.
00:05:10.000I mean, she clearly did not want to answer an incredibly uncomfortable question like, yeah, we think our bosses is losing it.
00:05:17.000OK, I mean, that's really what you're asking and in a very nice diplomatic way.
00:05:22.000And she didn't want to answer that. But but yeah, you're going to see more.
00:05:25.000I just wrote a piece about how would you like to be the cleanup team behind Joe Biden?
00:05:30.000And then when you go out there, he says, I'm we're walking it back.
00:05:33.000And then he says, I'm not walking it back. But when you when you talk about the cleanup on aisle Biden, every day.
00:05:40.000Exactly. Yeah. They got that mop bucket on wheels, rolling it around the.
00:05:44.000But do we need better preparation and planning for the likelihood this is going to continue?
00:05:50.000Because I think you see just a series of these foreign policy failures from Afghanistan to the inability to contain Vladimir Putin.
00:05:58.000We all know that big problems are coming with China. We focus on those issues a great deal.
00:06:03.000And so how should our own government think about preparing for the inevitability of these Biden gaffes and walkbacks?
00:06:11.000Well, they're going to happen. So so I think the American people now know that that he's he's degenerating.
00:06:20.000OK, he's mentally having difficulties. He can't get it out.
00:06:24.000So when I look at it, I'm much more concerned about what you just mentioned, which is what do our opponents think?
00:06:32.000What do what do our foes, our enemies think? What is what what does Putin think?
00:06:36.000I think the fact that Afghanistan went so bad and that Biden appears to be so incompetent and weak emboldened Putin.
00:06:45.000I think the same thing with Xi Jinping. I mean, these these things we knew were potential, but they were at bay under a very strong leader in President Trump.
00:06:54.000But under a weak leader, you got Kim Jong Un, who's firing ICBMs over Japan on a regular basis.
00:07:00.000Now you've got you've got India being forced and pushed into the arms of China now when they had a shooting war going on on the border between India and China.
00:07:09.000And and Biden says we're going to sanction you when you start looking the international policy perspective.
00:07:15.000There's probably been I can't think of a more, quite frankly, incompetent leader than Joe Biden, an American leader than Joe Biden.
00:07:24.000I can think of a few other foreign leaders, but not a more incompetent American leader.
00:07:28.000And speaking of a lack of competence, we really are watching in Ukraine, Russia, unable to bring all of the elements to the fight together at once.
00:07:38.000You know, I mean, we understand that when when America goes into the fight, you've got your ground assets, your air assets, your cyber assets, your information assets that you all have.
00:07:47.000You have to coordinate their entry to the fight. And the lack of command and control, the lack of material support seems to maybe have led us to the belief that that we could have overestimated Russia in that in that same armed services hearing.
00:08:02.000We saw Congressman Norcross, a Democrat, ask the question of General Waller, who commands American forces in Europe.
00:08:10.000Have we misunderstood Russia? Take a listen.
00:08:14.000Have we overestimated and outside of the Ukrainian resistance and what they're doing in the fight?
00:08:21.000Have we overestimated their technical abilities, particularly with their Russian armor?
00:08:31.000And I think once we get to the post conflict phase, we need to go back to these very areas and make sure that we conduct a comprehensive old domain after action review and find out where our miscalculations were.
00:08:47.000I mean, you always get the most candid version of these generals when they're on their way out of command.
00:08:53.000So General Waller has been in Europe that time is set to conclude.
00:08:58.000And I think he gave a very accurate assessment.
00:09:00.000And so what questions do we need to be asking in Congress if our own national security intelligence and analysis told us that the Afghanistan government led by Ghani was going to stand, but that Russia was going to in a matter of days or weeks just totally overrun Ukraine?
00:09:20.000I mean, don't we have an obligation to the people as the board of directors of this country to ensure that we have more accurate assessments of the enemy?
00:09:31.000And I'm glad you brought up Afghanistan and the bad IC intelligence community prognostications there.
00:09:38.000And it makes me, quite frankly, as I listen to that, it certainly appears that it's the case that Russia, we may have overestimated Russia.
00:09:46.500But at the same token, Russia sat there in not the wisest position with a 40-mile long caravan for like five days.
00:09:58.080And Ukraine basically inflicted very little damage on that convoy.
00:10:02.820So I wonder now even, this is how twisted you can get in this, is the intelligence good now that Russia really is not advancing and poised to actually overrun Ukraine?
00:10:16.540Inevitably? Or what? I mean, you see what I'm saying? It's just, how do you trust them?
00:10:21.860Well, and you and I fight in the Judiciary Committee every day to ensure that these national security authorities, these tools that we expected to use against foreign adversaries and terrorists, aren't turned inward against our own people.
00:10:35.280So, I mean, you know, here we are kind of evaluating the national security apparatus at a 10,000-foot view, and you're saying, wait a second, you're seeking new authorities and new departments
00:10:43.880and new ways to target parents at school board meetings, to politicize the Department of Justice.
00:10:48.980And yet on these like highly consequential questions about Russia's capabilities, about the Afghanistan government's capabilities, we seem to be swinging and missing.
00:10:57.940I want to go from Ukraine's border to ours.
00:11:01.160And for our viewers, you need to know this, Andy Biggs has led more congressional trips to the border than anyone else in the Congress.
00:11:09.600And when there are key questions up before the Congress on matters of immigration and border security, I sit near Andy on the floor.
00:11:16.380Everyone comes around to get his perspective.
00:11:18.560And you really are on a one-man mission to evangelize this Congress about the threat that exists on our southern border.
00:11:25.700For people who aren't as dialed in on this, first just walk us through, during the Biden presidency, how many people have come into our country illegally, and what are you seeing going forward?
00:11:35.680The estimates anywhere from two and a half to three million people have come in illegally.
00:11:51.200But the reality is for folks at home, you need to understand we have ports of entry.
00:11:55.280That's where you would go if you were legally, if you're interested in actually claiming asylum, you'd go there and you'd say, I'm claiming asylum.
00:12:02.060We have customs officers, everything else.
00:12:04.100Everything else is between ports, and there are miles and miles of open stuff, you know, open borders.
00:12:11.400Some fencing here, some fencing there, a Rio Grande River.
00:12:15.640But this administration basically has said, we're going to allow everybody to come in, and we'll determine at that point whether we're going to send you back or not.
00:12:25.740But if we decide to keep you even for a few hours, they're going to transport you somewhere in the country.
00:12:30.600What you identified there that's so true is that this is on purpose.
00:12:34.620This is not that we don't know how to solve the problem.
00:12:38.040There are purposeful steps that have been taken by Secretary Mayorkas, who you have introduced articles of impeachment against.
00:12:45.760And regarding Joe Biden, I guess a border czar Kamala Harris hasn't figured it out quite either.
00:12:50.000But, you know, when you lead these trips to the border, we get the raw, unvarnished truth from the people who America relies upon to provide our nation security and protection.
00:13:16.080Are we on a positive trajectory or given the likelihood of this change in authorities on April 1?
00:13:21.780Are you telling me that we're at the front end of the wave with those numbers?
00:13:25.240I think we're – so there is no doubt, I'm speaking a matter of fact here, that the policies that we had in 2019 and 2020 when it comes down to the Remain in Mexico, the Migrant Protection Protocol, the third-party asylum,
00:13:41.040all those things that were done that was – that minimized the reward opportunity for the migrants, when those were put in place, that made a huge impact.
00:13:54.140When those were taken away, here they come.
00:13:57.420So the only thing we have now is either a physical barrier where it exists, a CDC expulsion authorization under Title 42, or space in ERO's capacity, which is very limited, right?
00:14:11.320So without any of those, it ain't going to happen.
00:14:26.480So what's going to happen is Title 42 goes away.
00:14:29.940For people who don't know what that is, that is the ability to turn people away based on a health reason, and in this instance, it's COVID.
00:14:38.820And I remember when you were fighting hard for this because you thought, well, hell, if we're going to have to deal with lockdowns as a result of COVID, can the border be the first thing we lock down?
00:16:35.940And I want you to hear from one of them and react.
00:16:38.640You know, it's different when we're catching 100,000 pounds of marijuana and 50,000 pounds of Kilo or Coke and we're putting people in jail.
00:16:52.860That's calling your wife saying I'm working a double shift busy.
00:16:55.840Not I'm doing my eight and I'm getting out of here busy.
00:16:58.840So, by all means, you're going to say something.
00:17:00.580And just to piggyback on you, it's exactly correct.
00:17:03.840Like, for example, me, I came, I'm a veteran, right?
00:17:06.660You have that mindset of protect and serve, right?
00:17:10.700So, you get out of here and you're full of pride.
00:17:13.960As an instructor at the academy, you say, hey, this is why you're here, guys.
00:17:18.860This is, we, we're border security, right?
00:17:21.260And then when the job becomes immigration, you're sitting there behind a computer and you're processing, you're processing, you're processing.
00:17:29.000And then you see the different kind of demographic.
00:17:31.120Also, you know, you have women in high heels from, you know, well-off countries and they're coming in.
00:17:37.580You just became that guy punching, you know.
00:18:22.080And the policies that are really harming our border security are really, that executive order Joe Biden signed on day one.
00:18:29.460I mean, you know, your team drove me by millions of dollars of wall that is just laid up in the sand in Arizona that could be stood up to provide protection.
00:18:40.500And I mean, the morale wasn't this way under President Trump.
00:19:07.400I mean, and the reality is you've got caravans that are already forming as far away as Panama and Colombia, and they're getting ready to come on up.
00:19:17.580And it's going to be a steady stream of people, and this administration is doing nothing to prepare for it.
00:19:25.840I do think the Republican conference is waking up.
00:19:28.380You know, I mean, Congressman Biggs and I sit in a particular place on the floor with a lot more of the conservative thinking, Freedom Caucus-minded folks, Thomas Massey, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
00:19:39.460Those are the folks that are kind of in our vicinity.
00:19:41.560And yesterday, our good friend, who might not see the world precisely as we do, he aligns more with some of the more centrist caucuses.
00:19:51.020Congressman Jeff Van Drew, great guy, terrific public servant.
00:19:54.460And he comes over and sits with us and says, I asked him, I said, Jeff, you know, when we take over, what's the most important fight we've got to win on behalf of our people?
00:20:05.560And what does it tell you that a former Democrat, more moderate-leaning Republican from New Jersey, no less, understands this is the most important fight?
00:20:39.480And there's someone else we need to keep in place.
00:20:41.660And that is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
00:20:44.280There has been a very focused, well-resourced, planned-out campaign to destroy Justice Thomas, one of the very best public servants we have, probably the best member of the Supreme Court we have in this country.
00:20:59.180Take a listen to how the mainstream media is trying to set up Clarence Thomas' recusal, maybe even resignation.
00:21:05.700I'm curious if you believe Justice Thomas, these text messages that have come out from Jenny Thomas to the former White House chief of staff, saying some bizarre conspiratorial things.
00:21:18.300It's not against the law to believe in conspiratorial things.
00:21:22.280But I'm curious, given the precedent that Loretta Lynch, as attorney general, when she recused herself after a tarmac meeting with former President Clinton, the Justice Department was looking into something involving Hillary Clinton, is that a precedent Justice Thomas should follow and recuse himself on January 6th cases?
00:21:39.840The fact that a spouse of a Supreme Court justice was part of that QAnon effort is really disturbing.
00:21:46.340I think Justice Thomas has to recuse himself from anything related to the Trump administration, anything related to the January 6th commission, or anything related to our effort to hold individuals accountable for their participation in this attack on our democracy at the bare minimum.
00:22:04.280Senator Klobuchar made a pretty powerful case, it seemed, for Thomas to recuse himself. Do you agree with that?
00:22:09.180You know, when Judge Roberts, Justice Roberts, concluded that a press report of the exchange between Mr. Gorsuch and Ms. Sotomayor was in error, the Supreme Court put out a statement.
00:23:16.020But I came to the conclusion many years ago that there's nothing more important to the left in America than abortion and protecting Roe v. Wade.
00:23:26.360And they're scared to death that Clarence Thomas, if he stays, that there's a potential that Roe v. Wade.
00:23:38.660It is a hot take, but I think that's where it is.
00:23:40.880Look, they don't care about the January 6th thing.
00:23:44.160January 6th, you're arguing, is a veneer.
00:23:46.720That it is the tool that they are using to try to block changes that they ultimately think are coming from a court that is likely to overturn Roe.
00:24:46.000This is something that I think shows the values, priorities, goals, and objectives of his administration.
00:24:51.880Some key points that stood out to me, raising the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%, driving American dollars offshore.
00:25:00.940Of course, President Trump inherited the largest corporate tax rate in the world at 35%.
00:25:05.460We also see gun control in the Biden budget.
00:25:08.440$1.7 billion for ATF to continue their tracking and tracing of the gun sales that occur in our country that are not the business of the federal government.
00:25:19.240And then you and I are very America first when it comes to foreign policy.
00:25:23.100We stand frequently against the corrosive effects of globalism.
00:25:26.400$2.6 billion in the Biden budget for global gender equity.
00:25:31.580$200 million for the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund.
00:25:47.760And I can't let this go without just mentioning, because you mentioned what I consider to be some of the most horrific parts of it.
00:25:55.040But the waste and fraud and the improper payments will continue to go out.
00:26:03.100And if they were a single funding unit of this budget, they would be the fifth largest funding portion of this budget.
00:26:12.660In other words, explain to people how fraud is actually number five in terms of what the American budget funds under the Biden plan.
00:26:20.500Yeah, so you're going to fund things like Medicare, Medicaid, you're going to fund the Defense Department, you're going to fund, then you start getting into things like our debt, and then you get into fraud and waste.
00:27:49.140We couldn't even get the not real budget to balance.
00:27:51.920Yeah, and, well, I don't want to get the roots of this thing, but, I mean, when you and I were there, and he said that, I could not believe what I was hearing.
00:28:04.280But the idea was because we needed to do it with all these crazy procedures and processes to do another bad bill that they wanted to do because he said the Senate won't do it.
00:28:14.740But I am so sick and tired of that excuse, well, the Senate's not going to do it.
00:28:18.600How about we and members of the House do our job and then put the pressure on those guys?