The Charlie Kirk Show - The Great Confirmation Marathon

00:00:00.000 Okay, everybody, to the Charlie Kirk Show.

00:00:01.000 It is Confirmation Frenzy.

00:00:03.000 Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi, Chris Wright, and more.

00:00:06.000 We analyze it in real time.

00:00:08.000 And also, in Israel, Gaza, peace deal, exclusively here on the Charlie Kirk Show.

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00:00:19.000 That is TurningPointUSA at TPUSA.com.

00:00:21.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:00:22.000 Here we go.

00:00:23.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:25.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:00:27.000 I want you to know we are lucky.

00:00:29.000 To have Charlie Kirk.

00:00:31.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.

00:00:34.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:00:35.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:00:36.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA. We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.

00:00:53.000 That's why we are here.

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00:01:21.000 We have a live analysis of all three hearings that are ongoing.

00:01:26.000 Looks like Senator Rubio is taking a break from them.

00:01:29.000 We have John Ratcliffe.

00:01:30.000 It looks like transportation going on as well.

00:01:34.000 This is your go-to news source for all confirmation process as the administration starts to take form.

00:01:41.000 But there is some major breaking news.

00:01:44.000 President Trump sent his envoy, Steve Witkoff.

00:01:47.000 On the other side of the planet, saying, get the hostages home.

00:01:52.000 Get the hostages home before the first day of my administration.

00:01:56.000 The world knows that President Trump is coming.

00:01:59.000 President Trump said if the hostages are not released, all hell will break loose.

00:02:04.000 And Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a ceasefire deal to end their 15-month war in Gaza.

00:02:11.000 Now, this is phenomenal news.

00:02:13.000 Whether it's going to last or not remains to be seen.

00:02:15.000 Under the deal, a ceasefire will last for at least six weeks.

00:02:19.000 Hamas will release dozens of hostages.

00:02:22.000 It is still holding from the 7th of October.

00:02:26.000 That terrible mini-holocaust that we saw. 0.99

00:02:28.000 An unspeakable tragedy that was performed against Israel.

00:02:33.000 That was unwarranted.

00:02:34.000 That was unprompted.

00:02:36.000 One of the most evil acts we've seen in the modern era.

00:02:39.000 Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will then be in exchange and allow large convoys of aid to enter Gaza.

00:02:46.000 Then after the initial exchanges, if the ceasefire holds, the second phase will be Israel withdrawing from the territory of Gaza.

00:02:55.000 Hamas releasing its remaining hostages and a permanent peace deal being settled.

00:03:00.000 Now the deal still has to be approved by Netanyahu's cabinet.

00:03:06.000 And his political coalition is not necessarily a big fan of this.

00:03:10.000 Now let me emphasize something.

00:03:13.000 Joe Biden had an opportunity to end this conflict.

00:03:16.000 In fact, you could make an argument that if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would have been able to end this war back last year, this would have helped them politically.

00:03:27.000 All of the kids who I told them, I said, vote for Trump.

00:03:32.000 Vote for Trump.

00:03:32.000 He will prevent World War III. Well, look, guess what?

00:03:35.000 President Trump is already delivering as the peace president before he takes office.

00:03:41.000 All the kids who voted for him, and on all of our TikTok videos that got billions of views, I said, vote for the president.

00:03:49.000 He'll prevent you from being drafted into a war.

00:03:51.000 It turns out that President Trump is the peace president.

00:03:55.000 This mandate is about peace through strength.

00:03:59.000 Diplomatic means first.

00:04:01.000 You can make an argument that we wouldn't have won the state of Michigan if it wasn't for President Trump.

00:04:07.000 Reaching out to the Arab Muslim community.

00:04:10.000 And Biden is just so useless.

00:04:13.000 Couldn't end Ukraine. 0.97

00:04:15.000 Can't end Gaza. 1.00

00:04:16.000 What it takes is for President Trump and Steve Witkoff to go right into the scenario before he's even president during a transition period.

00:04:25.000 President Donald Trump becomes president in four days and 23 hours.

00:04:30.000 Write it down.

00:04:31.000 He is president in four days and 23 hours.

00:04:35.000 And he's going to inherit What he has actually helped broker before he's even president.

00:04:40.000 Can you imagine what he's going to do with Russia-Ukraine?

00:04:43.000 I bet the Russia-Ukraine war will be over by the summer, which is a big deal, by the way.

00:04:48.000 Because during the winter, there's a fair amount of killing that happens.

00:04:51.000 The summer is exponentially higher.

00:04:53.000 There isn't the ice, things thaw, and it is killing season throughout the spring and summer.

00:04:59.000 Mud season, I think, ends in late March or early April.

00:05:04.000 Maybe May.

00:05:05.000 And as soon as the mud season is over, it is killing fields throughout Ukraine.

00:05:10.000 This is not because of Joe Biden.

00:05:12.000 It is despite Joe Biden that we are seeing peace in the Middle East.

00:05:19.000 Now, we say this as a show that is resolutely pro-America and pro-Israel.

00:05:24.000 But it's time for the killing to stop.

00:05:26.000 This is not good for Israel's PR. It's not good for their status in the international world to have an ongoing nonstop war.

00:05:34.000 Where they are being misrepresented as something that they are not.

00:05:38.000 It is time for us now to have an Abraham Accords 2.0. 0.71

00:05:43.000 Biden had to appease the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party, and he was unable to manage any of it.

00:05:49.000 And the stories, by the way, of how this deal was actually brokered are really interesting.

00:05:56.000 Steve Whitcock flies in and tells Netanyahu, we're going to strike a deal.

00:06:00.000 And Netanyahu didn't like it.

00:06:02.000 He said, oh no, I don't know about this.

00:06:04.000 He said, no, no, no.

00:06:05.000 We are not going to start day one of the Trump administration.

00:06:08.000 We're not going to have day one where President Trump has killing fields in unnecessary places.

00:06:17.000 We're not going to do that.

00:06:19.000 This is bad for Israel. 0.76

00:06:20.000 It's bad for America.

00:06:20.000 It's getting us closer to a war with Iran.

00:06:23.000 Let's calm down tensions and focus on our country first.

00:06:26.000 By the way, this deal is also very good for Israel.

00:06:29.000 They're getting their hostages back.

00:06:31.000 Some people are saying, oh, you know, we can't cut any deals.

00:06:34.000 Look, life is sometimes about bringing people to the table.

00:06:38.000 They get an end to the war.

00:06:41.000 Over a thousand Israeli troops have died.

00:06:44.000 It says so clearly in the scriptures, blessed are the peacemakers.

00:06:51.000 Blessed are the peacemakers.

00:06:53.000 And President Trump is the peacemaker in this situation.

00:06:56.000 And this is not, Joe Biden was not able to do any of this.

00:06:59.000 It just goes to show.

00:07:01.000 How we have been prisoners of the low energy, the bureaucracy, the administrative state.

00:07:08.000 If you can end the Israeli Hamas conflict before even becoming president, imagine what else is possible. 0.90

00:07:16.000 Imagine what else we could do.

00:07:20.000 As these hearings are ongoing, we are seeing the assembly of a superstar team.

00:07:25.000 We are seeing the Avengers squad that will be able to implement President Trump's agenda.

00:07:31.000 We're going to have a reset starting on Monday.

00:07:34.000 Peace, the Middle East, peace between Russia, Ukraine, a booming economy, a secure border, mass deportations. 0.62

00:07:41.000 You're seeing a little bit of a preview of what is to come.

00:07:44.000 And if you hear people complain about this peace deal, you should just take a step back and say, you don't want peace?

00:07:52.000 You don't want to stop to the killing?

00:07:54.000 What is in the best interest of America?

00:07:56.000 And the best interest of America is not get us closer to another quagmire in the Middle East. 0.98

00:08:02.000 While, of course, standing with our great ally Israel, both of which are simultaneously very important.

00:08:07.000 The hearings this morning, Pam Bondi was incredibly impressive.

00:08:11.000 And she had to endure this.

00:08:14.000 This guy targeted Turning Point USA before.

00:08:16.000 We're going to play this clip.

00:08:18.000 Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island has targeted me and Turning Point.

00:08:21.000 In fact, he wrote a letter.

00:08:24.000 Get this.

00:08:24.000 This is a real thing.

00:08:25.000 You can find the letter.

00:08:27.000 Blake can do it very quickly.

00:08:28.000 Sheldon Whitehouse wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service saying that Turning Point USA's 501c3 status should be revoked.

00:08:37.000 Why?

00:08:38.000 Because we hosted an event at Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach Convention Center without masks and social distancing.

00:08:46.000 I'm not kidding.

00:08:47.000 Sheldon Whitehouse said that our 501c3 tax deductibility...

00:08:53.000 Our ability to receive tax deductions and be a tax-free nonprofit, of which we have a five-star rating from Charity Navigator.

00:09:02.000 We do independent audits every single year.

00:09:04.000 We take it very seriously.

00:09:05.000 He said that it should be removed and revoked because we had an event where we did not require masks or social distancing.

00:09:16.000 So he was grilling Pan Bondi this morning.

00:09:18.000 Play Cut 69. Yes.

00:09:20.000 Would you have hired someone into the Florida Attorney General's office who you knew had an enemies list?

00:09:27.000 Senator, to cut to the chase, you're clearly talking about Cash Patel.

00:09:32.000 I don't believe he has an enemies list.

00:09:34.000 He made a quote on TV, which I have not heard.

00:09:37.000 I saw your sign or Senator Durbin's sign about Cash.

00:09:41.000 But I know that Cash Patel has had 60 jury trials.

00:09:47.000 As a public defender, as a prosecutor, he has great experience in the Intel Department, Department of Defense.

00:09:57.000 I have known Cash, and I believe that Cash is the right person at this time for this job.

00:10:05.000 Sheldon Whitehouse more interested in Cash Patel than in Pam Bondi.

00:10:10.000 By the way, we found the letter.

00:10:11.000 Documents reveal Senate Democrats pressured IRS Department of Justice.

00:10:15.000 To target conservative groups.

00:10:17.000 The tax-exempt status provides a substantial benefit to charitable organizations.

00:10:20.000 Organizations such as Turning Point USA, he urges the IRS to review whether it should be revoked.

00:10:27.000 That is the type of maniac who Pam Bondi had to endure today. 1.00

00:10:31.000 Blessed are the peacemakers.

00:10:32.000 Peace has come to the Middle East thanks to President Trump.

00:10:34.000 There is a chance that President Trump has just threaded the needle in a historic way.

00:10:38.000 Yes, please keep that up, guys.

00:10:40.000 We won the youth vote in Michigan.

00:10:42.000 We won the youth vote.

00:10:43.000 We almost won it in Wisconsin, and we almost won it in Pennsylvania.

00:10:46.000 But why is it that we won it in Michigan, but not Wisconsin or Pennsylvania?

00:10:52.000 It's because in Michigan, there was a serious movement of young Arab men.

00:11:00.000 We saw it firsthand.

00:11:01.000 Not in Michigan, we saw it firsthand in downtown Atlanta.

00:11:04.000 It was at Georgia State University, and...

00:11:09.000 I'd say 20 or 30 young Arab Muslim men who are huge fans of the program, huge fans of us on Instagram, on TikTok, came up to us.

00:11:21.000 They don't like this radical feminism. 1.00

00:11:22.000 They don't believe in any of the trans stuff.

00:11:24.000 They're very pro-life.

00:11:26.000 The question they had, these young Arab Muslim men, as you can see how young men moved to the right, They said, what is President Trump going to do about the war in Gaza?

00:11:37.000 Is he going to end the war?

00:11:40.000 And I disclosed to them, I'm very pro-Israel, but I want to see the killing to stop, which of course is a very reasonable thing to say. 1.00

00:11:47.000 It's the most reasonable thing.

00:11:48.000 And they said, we're all going to vote for Trump.

00:11:50.000 Our whole community is going to vote for Trump.

00:11:52.000 And they said, if, they told me this, these young Arab Muslim men, they said, if President Trump delivers a peace deal, it will change the direction.

00:12:04.000 Of how Arab Muslims view politics for a generation.

00:12:07.000 They were telling me that amongst all of their friends and their family in Middle Eastern Arab Muslim communities in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, in Minnesota, they will be watching Trump very closely.

00:12:22.000 And that if Trump does deliver this victory, if Trump does deliver a peace deal, that they will leave the Democrat Party in major numbers.

00:12:33.000 According to CNN exit polls in Michigan, President Trump won the youth vote, R plus 3, a 27-point swing from 2020. In 2020, Biden won the youth vote by 24 points.

00:12:47.000 In 2024, Trump won the youth vote by 3 points.

00:12:52.000 Even amongst young, non-Arab kids on campuses, I would be asked about the Gaza-Israel conflict all the time.

00:13:03.000 Charlie, when is the killing going to stop?

00:13:06.000 When is the war going to be over?

00:13:08.000 I said, if you want a chance at a war to be over, put President Trump in charge.

00:13:14.000 And show 78. This is how young men moved.

00:13:18.000 Young men did not want to be drafted to another foreign war.

00:13:21.000 And young Arab men especially were giving Trump a shot.

00:13:24.000 In 2018, young men favored the Democrat Party by 19 points.

00:13:29.000 In 2020...

00:13:30.000 By 15 points.

00:13:31.000 In 2022, by one point, young men now vote Republican by 13 points.

00:13:36.000 By the way, that's the power of turning point action and the power of the social media canon that we have here.

00:13:44.000 All this to say that the breaking news of the Gaza-Israel-Hamas peace deal could recalibrate and change politics for a generation.

00:13:56.000 Could change the way that young Arab Muslims view politics. 0.99

00:14:02.000 And with it, we could turn Michigan into a solidly red state.

00:14:05.000 We could win back Minnesota with this.

00:14:07.000 Now, mind you, we should not pander.

00:14:09.000 If you are in support of radical Islamic terrorism, I got nothing for you.

00:14:13.000 If you're anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, we're not going to cut a deal with that.

00:14:19.000 However, spending time with some of these young Arab Muslim men, they don't see the Israel...

00:14:28.000 And they were right.

00:14:42.000 Turns out Joe Biden and the American war machine brought to you by Kamala Harris and Leon Panetta, they're the ones that wanted to see this conflict continuing.

00:14:54.000 And it's a pause in fighting, which is a phenomenal thing.

00:14:59.000 It is a ceasefire.

00:15:00.000 Now, a deeper peace agreement is going to come down the road.

00:15:02.000 But it goes to show the command that President Trump has and the Arabs who flipped to voting for Trump just learned something very quickly.

00:15:11.000 More than any other politician in America, Trump keeps his promises.

00:15:15.000 I want every Arab Muslim that is watching right now, and there's a lot of you, young Arabs.

00:15:21.000 And especially young men that watch us on social media, I want you to listen carefully.

00:15:26.000 Donald Trump kept his promise.

00:15:27.000 It's one of his greatest traits.

00:15:29.000 He believes in keeping his campaign promises.

00:15:33.000 That's why he nominated Bobby Kennedy to Health and Human Services.

00:15:36.000 It's so revealing that so many in Washington wanted Trump to just ignore his promises to Bobby Kennedy after the election.

00:15:43.000 In Washington, they lie casually.

00:15:45.000 President Trump is a man of his word.

00:15:47.000 Email us, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:15:50.000 Marco Rubio is back.

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00:16:55.000 That it doesn't come at our expense, that we don't find ourselves in a world in which we are dependent on China or any foreign power for that matter.

00:17:02.000 For the raw materials that we need, for the ability to make medicine, for the ability to fuel our economy.

00:17:10.000 the ability to feed ourselves or our people.

00:17:12.000 We cannot be a country that becomes dependent on foreign powers.

00:17:15.000 And so much of that involves not simply how we engage in the world, but also what we do here domestically.

00:17:21.000 That is not the responsibility of the Department of State, but it is important for us to point to that much of what's happened with China, much of what's happening now, is what we are not doing.

00:17:30.000 Whether it's through our own industry and the development of our own industries, or access to raw minerals and raw resources that are critical to fueling and or building a modern economy.

00:17:42.000 You talk about China playing by a different set of rules, and they do the ones that we think of as traditional rules.

00:17:47.000 And I appreciate your comments to Senator Ricketts about China and even the definition of them as a developing nation.

00:17:54.000 I think it's a big problem.

00:17:56.000 They can't be allowed to...

00:17:57.000 Continue to play openly with a different set of rules.

00:18:00.000 In addition to the hidden rules, I oppose China exploiting its status as a quote developing nation within international organizations.

00:18:07.000 I think it helps them gain an additional unfair advantage in what you described as this unbalanced relationship.

00:18:15.000 China is not in any way a developing country.

00:18:18.000 You just mentioned they're a rich and powerful country.

00:18:20.000 That's not a developing country.

00:18:21.000 It's the second largest economy in the world.

00:18:23.000 Clearly has the financial resource, access to capital to meet its own needs.

00:18:28.000 So I think we need to end China's preferential treatment and hold it accountable on the global stage. 0.88

00:18:33.000 I mean, we see it in the World Bank.

00:18:34.000 We see it in other locations.

00:18:36.000 Are there things that we can do and you can do as Secretary of State to try to eliminate this unfair advantage that they have?

00:18:41.000 It's an open unfair advantage.

00:18:43.000 Absolutely.

00:18:44.000 I think we need to, first of all, and I mentioned this in my opening statement, we have to acknowledge that many of the global institutions that were created, not just in the post-war era, but the post-Cold War era, have been weaponized against this.

00:18:55.000 And I can use a number of examples.

00:18:57.000 The first is, you think about...

00:18:59.000 The Security Council of the United Nations, which was created ostensibly for two of the greatest drivers of instability in the world today, hold a veto vote at the Security Council.

00:19:08.000 It's basically rendered the Security Council almost irrelevant.

00:19:11.000 By the same token, I would say I am not against multilateral organizations.

00:19:15.000 As long as that or any foreign arrangement we have serves the national interest of the United States.

00:19:20.000 I do not believe, and the President has made this abundantly clear, President Trump, that under no circumstances should any foreign entity or multilateral international organization have veto power over the national security interests of the United States of America.

00:19:35.000 The second point that I would point to is that the Chinese have very aggressively played this. 0.87

00:19:39.000 They have figured out, and it isn't hard to figure out, that even the smallest nation-state has a vote at the United Nations General Assembly.

00:19:45.000 And they have worked hard to not just court, but entrap a handful of votes around the world, and including in our own hemisphere.

00:19:52.000 If you look at the Caribbean basin in Grenada and places like that, where they go into these countries and they don't just provide a million dollars, a billion dollars to build the stadium.

00:20:00.000 They also give you five or six million dollars under the table for your family and friends.

00:20:04.000 They do that in place after place.

00:20:06.000 We've seen that practice as well in Africa.

00:20:08.000 So we need to understand that there has to be in many of these parts of the world.

00:20:12.000 Look, we're not bribing anybody.

00:20:13.000 We're not going to do that.

00:20:14.000 And it's certainly illegal for American companies to do it.

00:20:17.000 But it's hard to engage these countries, who in many cases have legitimate needs, when they say the Chinese.

00:20:23.000 We prefer to have your stuff.

00:20:24.000 We prefer to have American investment, but you're not offering any.

00:20:28.000 And so we're left with the only alternative, and that is take the Chinese investment, even though it comes with strong strings attached that include things like debt diplomacy or debt traps.

00:20:38.000 And expectations of diplomatic cooperation at these international forums.

00:20:43.000 My final question has to do, because you used the phrase, we need to be able to fuel our economy, and I'll talk a little bit about energy.

00:20:49.000 People who live in foreign developing nations, they want to be able to fuel their economy as well.

00:20:53.000 They need a stable energy source to grow their economy, to improve lives.

00:20:57.000 Many of the countries you've traveled to and I have, we've seen what energy poverty can do to people to make it harder for them.

00:21:03.000 We have an ability to help these countries develop a stable energy supply.

00:21:07.000 But this current administration, the Biden administration, has put restrictions in place on funding of certain energy resources, such as coal, natural gas.

00:21:16.000 The United States should be working to promote an all-of-the-above energy strategy and help our friends and allies have affordable energy as opposed to what is the politically correct type of energy to be used.

00:21:28.000 I believe we should be helping these countries with energy.

00:21:32.000 And are you committed to ensuring the State Department is promoting all forms of energy projects across the globe, including oil, gas, coal, affordable energy that will help people raise their standards?

00:21:41.000 Yes.

00:21:42.000 In fact, there should be a centerpiece.

00:21:43.000 One of our centerpieces for economic diplomacy.

00:21:45.000 We talked earlier, I think it was Senator Coons, had mentioned the work on fragile states and the hope of preventing fragility so that states don't collapse into some of the havens that you now see where terrorism takes a hold and so forth.

00:22:00.000 One of the things you can do to help a country become more stable and then more prosperous...

00:22:05.000 We have, who's Cory Booker talking to?

00:22:07.000 Let's go to the Cory Booker and go full screen and see what he's yammering about, and we'll cut in and out.

00:22:13.000 I think he's talking to Marco Rubio right now.

00:22:15.000 ...the whole planet.

00:22:16.000 We know in the days of infectious diseases, for example, an outbreak of an infectious disease anywhere is a threat to public health everywhere.

00:22:24.000 More than that, we see the climate challenges, migration patterns there, threaten to destabilize the Middle East and other areas.

00:22:31.000 Egypt, for example, literally is hosting millions, millions of refugees in Egypt right now.

00:22:39.000 Now, my frustrations in my 12 years here is that we as a nation have not really prioritized it.

00:22:46.000 We do not have ambassadors in some countries where China And Russia, who understand the African opportunities, are investing heavily.

00:22:56.000 I've gone around the world and in my times in African countries, I often encounter people that say, hey, the Chinese are here, where are you?

00:23:05.000 And it's not just ambassadorial placements.

00:23:08.000 Other critical positions in embassies just aren't being filled.

00:23:12.000 And therefore, we're being outplayed by the Chinese and the Russians.

00:23:17.000 African countries and leaders have told me time and time again, we prefer you.

00:23:22.000 We'd rather deal with you.

00:23:23.000 We'd rather work with you.

00:23:24.000 And we can see by legal immigration patterns that their people would rather our way of life than the Chinese or the Russians. 0.63

00:23:31.000 But we are simply being outplayed in ways that we can counter if we had a real focus and a real strategy for engaging Africa.

00:23:41.000 And the impact of U.S. engagement is real.

00:23:43.000 And the backbone of our diplomacy is that diplomat abroad.

00:23:47.000 Is that Secretary of State on down people saying this is a priority?

00:23:52.000 I said this to you in our office and I want to make it plain now that we are at a point in this country that what we do in the Senate and in the White House and in the State Department are planting seeds for the future.

00:24:04.000 We could put a tremendous harvest in 10-20 years prioritizing and emphasizing our work in Africa.

00:24:10.000 Not to do so undermines the three points that you said at the beginning that I agree.

00:24:15.000 Our foreign policy should be guided by what makes us safe, strong, and prosperous.

00:24:21.000 And the future, in so many ways, is Africa. 0.92

00:24:23.000 Could you just talk to me a little bit about how you are prioritizing it, how you understand the critical opportunities and the dangers of not engaging at a higher level than either the Biden administration, Trump administration, Clinton administration, Bush administration have done?

00:24:36.000 Yeah, and I'll preface it by saying that, obviously, I'm not confirmed yet.

00:24:40.000 President's not in office yet.

00:24:42.000 There will be a national security strategy that will frame much of what we do in foreign policy.

00:24:46.000 So what I'm going to share with you basically here today is – As someone who will be at that table, some of the impressions that I would share with regards to our historic involvement in Africa and also some of our challenges moving forward.

00:24:58.000 And you've already highlighted all the things about the growth that's going to happen.

00:25:02.000 They'll double in population between now and 20, 20, 35, or what have you.

00:25:06.000 So it's extraordinary.

00:25:07.000 That isn't just an interesting number.

00:25:10.000 That's what markets.

00:25:11.000 Those are also consumers.

00:25:12.000 Those are also places that I think provide an extraordinary opportunity, properly positioned for America to become more prosperous.

00:25:19.000 Literally, more people that can afford to buy the things Americans provide, both in services and goods, and vice versa.

00:25:24.000 So I think there's an extraordinary opportunity.

00:25:26.000 Where I think some of our situation in Africa has fallen off, it's been, and rightfully so, heavily focused on counterterrorism and solely on counterterrorism in some places. 1.00

00:25:37.000 And that's valuable and important.

00:25:39.000 It is very difficult for a country to progress or move forward if they are, in fact, a haven that's open and that's open.

00:25:46.000 And so, you know, the freaks come out at night and you've got terrorist groups that are operating and undermining that country.

00:25:51.000 So it's not that it's unimportant.

00:25:53.000 I think we're also learning from the Sahel how quickly the situation changes.

00:25:56.000 Despite significant counterterrorism contributions, each of those countries have pivoted to their great mistake, grave error, towards the Africa core led by Russia. 0.82

00:26:05.000 These people are not any good at fighting counterterrorism and unreliable.

00:26:10.000 And I think the moment will come when they'll realize that and maybe there will be a new opportunity to engage.

00:26:14.000 On the flip side of it, if you look at littoral West Africa, there are real opportunities there.

00:26:19.000 And in fact, ongoing engagements, not just on counterterrorism, but on economic progress.

00:26:23.000 I look in the north to Morocco.

00:26:25.000 another place where we have already seen substantial improvements because of the The Accords, but also because phase two of that relationship that continues to build.

00:26:34.000 You also talk about one thing that I don't think has been talked about enough, and I think we hear the term as a 19th century term.

00:26:40.000 The impact that malaria has is not simply a health crisis, a humanitarian crisis.

00:26:48.000 It has deep economic implications.

00:26:51.000 It pulls kids out of school for long periods of time and not end their lives.

00:26:55.000 It literally sets people and communities back.

00:26:58.000 We're leveraging private partnerships to deal with things like malaria.

00:27:02.000 It pays extraordinary dividends if it's appropriately done and channeled.

00:27:05.000 And that is something that I think could, as part of an overall approach to Africa, include, be included in things that you could argue are improving our prosperity, our security.

00:27:16.000 Thank you, Senator Rubin.

00:27:17.000 You've affirmed a lot of this to me in our private talks.

00:27:21.000 I just want to make an emphasis publicly here.

00:27:23.000 That the disinformation in Africa, and I've mentioned disinformation writ large, but, you know, for example, the Washington Post published an article in October detailing how Russian propagandists targeted U.S. anti-malaria programs in Burkina Faso.

00:27:37.000 The Africa Center for Strategic Studies report published in March 2024 highlighted how Russia and China are leading sponsors of disinformation campaigns in Africa that are showing incredible success because we aren't doing a coordinated campaign to counter their misinformation.

00:27:53.000 And so I'm looking forward to working with you.

00:27:55.000 I hope that you'll prioritize this for the sake of America's future, that you could be the Secretary of State that says we have a vision for Africa and we're backing it up, not just from the Secretary's office, but all the way down to making sure key resources are invested in countering disinformation as well as making sure...

00:28:14.000 That we have personnel in there.

00:28:17.000 It's not a popular post, as you know, for many State Department people.

00:28:20.000 We've got to make it that way and let people know that they're helping to define the future of not just the United States, but humanity by focusing on Africa.

00:28:28.000 I cannot let my time expire without talking about the biggest humanitarian crisis going on on the planet Earth right now, what is happening in Sudan.

00:28:40.000 It's been called by our country a genocide.

00:28:42.000 There's a famine being declared in areas where you're seeing unbelievable levels of systemic sexual violence going on.

00:28:51.000 I traveled to the Sudan border with Chad and saw humanitarian crises like I'd never seen before, and I've been around the world looking at humanitarian crises.

00:29:01.000 We have a great special envoy who you've already positively name-checked in this confirmation hearing.

00:29:08.000 It is so important and vital that that work continue and that we work for diplomatic solutions.

00:29:15.000 There are a lot of our allies who've been implicated in fueling this crisis.

00:29:19.000 This is an opportunity to end this crisis by diplomacy, to bring about one of the most important peace processes there are.

00:29:27.000 And I'm hoping that you and incoming President Trump will prioritize that.

00:29:32.000 In an era in which the term genocide has been misappropriated to almost a global slander, an international slander, this is a real genocide.

00:29:42.000 By its very definition, this is the ethnic targeting of specific groups for extermination, for elimination. 0.86

00:29:49.000 By groups, by the way, that are being funded by nations that we have alliances and partnerships with in other parts of the world.

00:29:55.000 And we should express that clearly.

00:29:57.000 I think part of our engagement with the UAE, and it'll have to be a pragmatic engagement.

00:30:01.000 I mean, they're important players in what we hope to resolve in the Middle East.

00:30:04.000 And I think as part of that engagement, we also need to raise the fact that they are openly supporting an entity that is carrying out a genocide.

00:30:13.000 And I think for those who are interested in going out and actually protesting a real genocide, this is to be the one.

00:30:20.000 And I just don't see it.

00:30:21.000 I don't see people mentioning it.

00:30:22.000 It is morally reprehensible that this crisis gets virtually no attention in our country, especially because of the role we should be playing today.

00:30:33.000 And my time is over, but I want to say this.

00:30:36.000 We need to respond.

00:30:37.000 But the other place on the planet that gets no attention, that we are responsible for in our hemisphere, is the crisis in Haiti as well.

00:30:47.000 I know that you know this intimately.

00:30:49.000 And again, I just want to keep calling out these moral omissions of our country, often at least in the press, of an inability to focus our compassion, empathy, and understanding of our interwoven destinies with places like Africa and places like Haiti. and understanding of our interwoven destinies with places like Africa Thank you, Senator.

00:31:11.000 Thank you, Senator Booker, for that.

00:31:13.000 Those are things that needed to be said.

00:31:15.000 Having said that, you have underlined probably the most difficult.

00:31:23.000 And I think everybody's ready to sign up on a path forward.

00:31:27.000 So far, nobody's laid out that path forward.

00:31:29.000 And you're right.

00:31:31.000 We have an obligation to at least try to design a path forward.

00:31:34.000 And when that happens, I have no doubt that we'll pull together Republicans and Democrats as Americans to do something about this.

00:31:41.000 But I'll tell you, identifying who are the people there that are the good guys that you can partner with.

00:31:50.000 Is very, very difficult, as you know.

00:31:53.000 Thank you.

00:31:53.000 Thank you, Senator Rubio, for your comments in that regard.

00:31:56.000 We will move now to Senator Paul.

00:32:00.000 Senator Rubio, congratulations on your nomination.

00:32:04.000 One of the questions that I've asked over time to secretaries of state, as well as ambassadors and others from the State Department, is can you name for me instances where sanctions have changed behavior for the better?

00:32:18.000 I'm not going to ask you that question now.

00:32:20.000 I'm going to wait until you come back to ask you.

00:32:21.000 There's a preview of what I'll ask you the next time.

00:32:24.000 But the reason I bring that up is that I think...

00:32:28.000 Hopefully, people think of sanctions as a way of trying to modulate behavior.

00:32:32.000 You want better behavior out of a country.

00:32:34.000 A country's doing something you don't like.

00:32:35.000 You'd like them to change their behavior for better through sanctions.

00:32:38.000 And I think it rarely works.

00:32:40.000 And I think we pile more on.

00:32:42.000 Now, some would say, well, sanctions are just to punish them.

00:32:45.000 And we just want to, you know, Russia invaded Ukraine.

00:32:47.000 We're just punishing them.

00:32:48.000 And so as punishment, they kind of work.

00:32:51.000 I don't think they're deterring Russia's behavior or changing it.

00:32:54.000 But really, sanctions can have effect in a couple of ways.

00:32:58.000 I think the threat of a sanction, the same way the threat of a tariff, can have an effect on behavior.

00:33:03.000 But once placed, I think a sanction or tariff only has effect on someone's behavior if you remove it.

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00:34:10.000 Dual use parts to Russia to use in the war against Ukraine.

00:34:18.000 A noble goal, I share the goal.

00:34:20.000 But they got to China and they shamed them in public and called them names and told them they're terrible people and they should quit doing it.

00:34:27.000 I would argue that there's another way to try to get behavioral changes.

00:34:32.000 I would argue that the opposite of sanctions is trade.

00:34:35.000 And so we have a lot of sanctions on China.

00:34:37.000 If I had been the one going to China with a mission, I would have said to China very quietly, We may not be able to undo everything, but perhaps we could undo one bit of sanctions that will enhance your economy by X amount if you'll agree to quit selling dual-use parts to Russia.

00:34:54.000 And I think that's just a different look on things, and I don't think we're getting it very often.

00:34:59.000 I guess my hope is that you will think about a different way of doing business other than just saying, let's sanction everybody and let's call people names we don't like, because I don't think it helps.

00:35:09.000 I think it actually makes the situation worse.

00:35:11.000 It doesn't mean we throw up in a ball and just say, do whatever you want.

00:35:14.000 But there has to be some give and take.

00:35:16.000 There has to be something we take back.

00:35:18.000 And so I guess my general question to you would be, we know a lot to stick.

00:35:23.000 We know about sanctions and this and that.

00:35:25.000 Do you see any possibility of any carrot with China to make relations better with China?

00:35:31.000 Well, let me first say, indeed, I've been strongly worded in my views of China.

00:35:35.000 Let me just point out, they've said mean things about me, too.

00:35:38.000 I'm not sure that they're fans of mine in that regard here.

00:35:41.000 My role now as the Secretary of State is to lead the diplomatic wing of the country, and that will involve engaging them.

00:35:48.000 The fact of the matter is, in a mature and prudent conversation, and I would expect that they, at the end of the day, are also mature and prudent practitioners of foreign policy.

00:35:57.000 They've got a billion people and nuclear weapons and a large economy.

00:36:00.000 We have 400 million people, the largest economy in the world, and nuclear weapons.

00:36:03.000 And it is in their interest, our interest, and the interest of the world for two great powers to be...

00:36:08.000 In fact, despite everything I have said, I have consistently throughout my career said that it is that geopolitical balance between our countries, or imbalance, developing imbalance, that is the greatest risk to global security and prosperity, because that could quickly trigger not just a trade and economic conflict, but an armed one, which could be catastrophic.

00:36:27.000 Never in the history of mankind have two powers like the United States and China.

00:36:32.000 Ever faced off in a global conflict, and the outcome would be catastrophic, and we should want to avoid it, and so should they.

00:36:38.000 So the bottom line is this.

00:36:39.000 Yes, we are going to have to deal with China.

00:36:40.000 They're too big and too important in the world, and they're going to have to deal with us.

00:36:43.000 And my goal is that it is dealt with in a way that furthers our national interest.

00:36:47.000 What cannot continue to happen is that China continues to assume all of the benefits of the international system and none of its obligations. 0.84

00:36:54.000 All the benefits of global trade and commerce and none of its obligations.

00:36:57.000 Your point on sanctions are important.

00:37:01.000 I think that one of the things that's happened over time is we have adopted this view that we're going to be involved in less armed conflicts, which I think is a positive, generally speaking, right?

00:37:09.000 Most people would agree.

00:37:10.000 The only other alternative left in the toolbox, then, is economic sanctions.

00:37:14.000 And while I do think that you can question whether it has an impact over changing the behavior of a country, it can achieve two things.

00:37:21.000 The first is it can deny a nation state the resources they could use to fund more of that activity.

00:37:27.000 We have live coverage.

00:37:28.000 It's almost like a March Madness game.

00:37:30.000 Where you got three or four games coming up at once.

00:37:34.000 Senator Ted Cruz, I believe, is chairing the Transportation Committee.

00:37:38.000 I don't know the exact name.

00:37:39.000 I think it's Transportation and Security.

00:37:41.000 Let's listen in on Senator Cruz and his new chairmanship and Mr. Duffy, who is going to replace Pete Buttigieg.

00:37:49.000 By the way, this doesn't get enough coverage.

00:37:51.000 The Transportation Department is very important.

00:37:55.000 Looks like Senator Schmidt, who's now going to be asking a question of Mr. Duffy, let's throw it there.

00:38:01.000 ...of kids with special needs.

00:38:03.000 My Steven's 20 now, but it's the reason I do this.

00:38:07.000 And the perspective, as you know, that you gain is life-changing, and I'm very grateful.

00:38:14.000 So thanks for sharing that.

00:38:15.000 Even though I didn't get to hear that public portion we talked about at my office.

00:38:20.000 I want to just start by saying...

00:38:24.000 I extend my congratulations to you and your family.

00:38:26.000 You're going to do a great job.

00:38:28.000 I thought our conversation in my office was great.

00:38:30.000 We talked about a bunch of different things.

00:38:33.000 And I think the American people deserve new leadership in this position and be focused on the right things.

00:38:40.000 So I just want to rifle through a couple of questions.

00:38:43.000 One of the things I think in refocusing the attention of the office and one of the real challenges I think we've dealt with the last four years.

00:38:50.000 Is this obsession that the Biden administration has had with DEI. And Pete Buttigieg, for example, implemented this and was focused on this.

00:39:02.000 And a month before the first national ground stop of our national airspace since 9-11, he was busy renaming the air notice system to be more inclusive.

00:39:13.000 I just think it's a...

00:39:14.000 It's such a priority problem that we've had the last four years.

00:39:18.000 I really welcome your leadership.

00:39:20.000 And so how do you intend to tackle that, to sort of refocus the department on building big, beautiful roads, as President Trump says?

00:39:30.000 I appreciate the question.

00:39:32.000 When we talk about safety, we're talking about getting on airplanes and flying through the airspace, so air traffic controllers and pilots and the mechanics and the machinists that build the planes.

00:39:45.000 We want the hiring decisions to be based on merit.

00:39:49.000 We want excellence.

00:39:50.000 We want the best people in these jobs.

00:39:53.000 Now, we can have a conversation and should have a conversation about what communities are we drawing from?

00:39:58.000 Are we accessing the right communities saying, hey, there's great opportunities at Boeing or one of the airlines or at air traffic control, accessing a lot of communities with the information about opportunities in these fields?

00:40:12.000 Is something that I would commit to doing.

00:40:15.000 But we can only hire the best and the brightest because everyone's safety is at stake.

00:40:21.000 It's on the line.

00:40:23.000 I talked the last time we met, under the FAA, there's the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, or AST, and it's responsible for licensing and regulating all the commercial space.

00:40:35.000 The commercial rocket launch and reentry activities in the United States, it's a little-known agency.

00:40:41.000 The only reason, quite frankly, that I'm aware of it is because I was the ranking member of the Space and Science Subcommittee the last two years and learned more than I ever thought I would ever learn coming into the Senate about how important and how critical.

00:40:52.000 So let me explain the profundity of what's happening here.

00:40:56.000 Senator Schmidt is going back and forth in between committees, typically under the Mitch McConnell rules.

00:41:02.000 You have one hearing, and you're not allowed to bounce back and forth.

00:41:06.000 But the new energy of people like Jim Banks, previously J.D. Vance, of Eric Schmidt, of this new generation of senators that say, wait a second, I sit around and do nothing half the time in one of these committee hearings.

00:41:22.000 Why don't we have two or three of those going on at once?

00:41:25.000 And I'll ask my question, exit, go back to the next one, and I can have a staffer sitting there.

00:41:31.000 Taking notes, hearing what people are saying.

00:41:34.000 This allows you to do concurrent nominations.

00:41:39.000 It's very unappreciated.

00:41:40.000 The young guns in the Senate demanded to fast-track this whole process.

00:41:45.000 Typically, it would be just one a day.

00:41:47.000 So on Tuesday, you have Pete Hegson.

00:41:50.000 And on Wednesday, you have Marco Rubio.

00:41:52.000 And then you end up in late March, and you might have a cabinet by Easter.

00:41:58.000 No, no, no.

00:41:59.000 We're not doing it that way anymore.

00:42:01.000 We are now going to do simultaneous concurrent nominations.

00:42:04.000 If we have to bounce around, that's fine.

00:42:07.000 Ask your question.

00:42:08.000 Go to the next committee.

00:42:09.000 We are going to try to have the fullest cabinet possible for President Trump on day one.

00:42:16.000 Far ahead of what we saw in 2017. Way, way, way, way ahead.

00:42:21.000 This is a new philosophy in the U.S. Senate.

00:42:25.000 I'd love to see it.

00:42:26.000 It's Congress, most recently the Foreign Service Families Act.

00:42:32.000 As you know, and we discussed yesterday, you know the importance of supporting the men and women at the State Department, including the Foreign Service.

00:42:40.000 And I appreciate your willingness to work with us in the caucus to continue to make sure that they have what they need to do their jobs effectively.

00:42:51.000 We also discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine and the importance of supporting the Ukrainian people.

00:42:56.000 Against Putin's aggression.

00:42:58.000 And I just want to say for the record, I support and endorse everything that Senator Shaheen said on that score, so I don't have to go into great detail.

00:43:05.000 I will say that we know what happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine.

00:43:12.000 And it's not just me saying that.

00:43:14.000 That is what we've heard repeatedly from leaders in Japan, leaders in South Korea, and other partners of ours in the Indo.

00:43:25.000 I hope that we will continue to focus on that because what we do know is that President Xi has one eye on what's happening in Ukraine and another eye on what's happening in Taiwan and measuring everybody's response.

00:43:44.000 Like you, and we've worked on a bipartisan basis to try to make sure that we meet the challenge of China.

00:43:51.000 Lots of important pieces of legislation that have passed, but none yet to really rise to meeting those challenges.

00:43:59.000 I do support the Biden administration's ongoing efforts to restrict the flow of very high-end technologies, the highest-end ships, to China that can be used in their military.

00:44:11.000 We need to do that successfully with our allies to do that, just like the Trump administration back in the day worked on the Huawei issue.

00:44:18.000 So my view is that we need to expand that effort.

00:44:23.000 We also discussed the volatile situation in the Middle East.

00:44:28.000 You know we often talk about the importance of shifting our focus to China.

00:44:34.000 China and the Indo-Pacific, but we always seem to get dragged back into conflicts in the Middle East.

00:44:40.000 I want to start with Syria. 0.93

00:44:42.000 Good riddance to the murderous Assad regime. 0.76

00:44:47.000 Obviously, we have a stake in what comes next in Syria, given the fact that it's a very volatile part of the world.

00:44:56.000 I support the very cautious engagement of the Biden administration with HTS, but we should acknowledge their very poisonous genealogy, beginning with al-Qaeda morphing into al-Nusra. 0.71

00:45:11.000 The other issue, of course, in Syria is that when you've got a situation Like we see today, there are opportunities for ISIS to get further back on its feet, to provide it more oxygen.

00:45:27.000 And as you know, the tip of the spear in our fight against ISIS has been our Syrian Kurdish partners, the SDF. But at this moment, President Erdogan of Turkey has been backing attacks of the so-called Syrian National Army.

00:45:47.000 Which Turkey largely controls against our partners, the Syrian Kurds, which opens the door to a revival of ISIS. Because of the actions of the United States government, Turkey has so far paused that effort.

00:46:04.000 Senator Graham and I have introduced legislation to impose sanctions on Turkey.

00:46:09.000 Should they renew those attacks in an aggressive way?

00:46:14.000 We talked about this.

00:46:16.000 I know that you recognize the importance of that partnership with the Syrian Kurds, but just a very straightforward question.

00:46:23.000 Do you agree that we should continue to support our partners, the SDF, in the fight against ISIS?

00:46:33.000 Not only that, but I think we also need to recognize that there are implications to abandoning partners who have a great sacrifice and threat actually to the ISIS. Fighters.

00:46:43.000 One of the reasons why we were able to dismantle ICE is because they were willing to host them in jails.

00:46:47.000 A great personal threat to them.

00:46:49.000 And obviously that situation is very tenuous.

00:46:51.000 I don't want to take up a lot of your time, but I do think it's important to respond to this opportunity in Syria.

00:46:56.000 Because it could be an opportunity.

00:46:57.000 Look, the new people that are in charge there are not going to pass an FBI background check.

00:47:00.000 We recognize that.

00:47:02.000 These are not people we know it all about, and their history, as you said, is not one that gives us comfort.

00:47:06.000 That said...

00:47:07.000 It is in the national interest of the United States, if possible, to have a Syria that's no longer a playground for ISIS, that respects religious minorities, ranging from Alawis all the way to Christians, that protects the Kurds, and at the same time is not a vehicle through which Iran can spread its terrorism to Hezbollah and destabilize Lebanon, not to mention what's happened in other parts.

00:47:31.000 Not only is it in the national interest of the United States, it's in the national interest of virtually every nation state in the Middle East to see that come about.

00:47:38.000 That is worth exploring.

00:47:39.000 There is an interesting dynamic at play.

00:47:43.000 And Senator Post a moment ago about the impact of sanctions.

00:47:46.000 I would argue that the Caesar sanctions directly contributed to the downfall of the Assad regime in many ways.

00:47:53.000 We find ourselves in this interesting situation now where because it, I think, is reauthorized as part of NDAA, we now have these sanctions in place against the government that no longer exists.

00:48:02.000 But nonetheless, it's an opportunity for us to explore how we could use that tool, the removal of it, and others, if in fact the territory is fertile for these outcomes.

00:48:13.000 There are impediments to this that go beyond simply the new people in charge.

00:48:17.000 And one of them, as you pointed out, is Erdogan and what his intentions are.

00:48:21.000 Right now, there's a very tenuous ceasefire with regards to the Kurds.

00:48:24.000 It's important for that to be maintained.

00:48:25.000 I think it's important to signal to Erdogan early, including through this hearing, that they should not view a transition in power in the U.S. as a window in which they could take advantage of to sort of violate whatever agreements were in place.

00:48:39.000 Right now, what we want in Syria is stability so that we can explore what opportunities exist to bring I agree with everything you just said.

00:49:08.000 I look forward to working with you on that.

00:49:10.000 Let me turn to the Israeli-Palestinian.

00:49:17.000 We've also witnessed the devastation and human rights catastrophe in Gaza.

00:49:28.000 Like you, I've met Israeli families who lost loved ones on October 7th.

00:49:32.000 I've met with hostage families.

00:49:33.000 I've also met with Palestinian families who lost kids and other innocents in this war.

00:49:38.000 So I'm very pleased to see the announcement.

00:49:43.000 Today of the ceasefire and the return of hostages.

00:49:48.000 Let us pray that it holds and that it is implemented.

00:49:51.000 But of course, as we discussed yesterday, the question is what happens next.

00:49:56.000 And we all agree that Hamas can have no role in the governance of Gaza or any other place.

00:50:03.000 We also know that for all its flaws and faults, the Palestinian Authority has recognized Israel's right to exist for the last 30 years since the Oslo Accords.

00:50:13.000 Their security forces are trained by U.S. forces.

00:50:16.000 They today are fighting Palestinian militants in certain parts of the West Bank.

00:50:21.000 But at the same time, their funds have been restricted by Gaza.

00:50:26.000 The Netanyahu government today, these are the funds that belong to the PA. We've seen a record increase in the number of settlements in the West Bank.

00:50:36.000 And so the PA is not able to deliver on what had been the hope of Oslo, which is self-determination, security, and dignity for both Israelis.

00:50:47.000 Will you commit?

00:50:50.000 Senator, I will do everything in my power to prevent illegal gunrunners in our country.

00:51:05.000 When I left being a state prosecutor to run for attorney general, I almost didn't run because I was working on a wire case involving illegal gunrunners.

00:51:17.000 The DOJ issued in 2022 a use of force policy for its federal law enforcement officers.

00:51:22.000 It was approved by the heads of the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals, and ATF, and many of them said it is actually a use-of-force policy that actually protects law enforcement officers as well as protects others from having their rights violated.

00:51:39.000 It was also endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police and NAPO, the National Association of Police Organizations.

00:51:45.000 This policy is considered best practices in law enforcement.

00:51:48.000 Will you commit to continuing this policy?

00:51:50.000 While we may have won this election, the fight to restore our great nation is only beginning.

00:51:57.000 Now is the time to take a stand.

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00:52:51.000 The 2021 DOJ policy on these issues.

00:52:56.000 I'm familiar with the policy.

00:52:57.000 I have not read it.

00:52:58.000 I'm committed to reading it and studying it and reporting back.

00:53:02.000 To you on that policy once again.

00:53:04.000 Thank you.

00:53:05.000 Mr. Chairman, thank you.

00:53:06.000 Senator Hawley.

00:53:07.000 Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

00:53:10.000 Ms. Bondi, welcome.

00:53:11.000 Congratulations on your nomination.

00:53:12.000 I'm so glad that you've been nominated, as we discussed when we had the chance to meet.

00:53:16.000 Thank you.

00:53:16.000 It was a pleasure to work with you as a state attorney general for a number of years, and I'm delighted to see you here today before the committee.

00:53:22.000 I look forward to your confirmation.

00:53:23.000 You will be confirmed.

00:53:25.000 I, too, have taken note of the number of times you have been asked about weaponization of the Department of Justice as if it was a theoretical possibility that might happen in the future.

00:53:34.000 One of my colleagues on the other side said, weaponization may well occur under your tenure.

00:53:40.000 We all know that weaponization has occurred like we've never seen before in American history under this administration.

00:53:46.000 And I want to get even more specific.

00:53:47.000 In the last four years, this administration has carried out an unprecedented attack and campaign against people of faith.

00:53:56.000 I hope that you will reverse this and do right by every American citizen, including especially people of faith.

00:54:14.000 Let me give you some specifics.

00:54:16.000 After the Dobbs case was decided by the Supreme Court, over 100 pregnancy care centers, And over 300 churches in this country were attacked, vandalized, firebombed.

00:54:30.000 Do you happen to know off the top of your head how many prosecutions Merrick Garland's Justice Department brought in those cases?

00:54:40.000 It's a stunning number.

00:54:43.000 It's two.

00:54:44.000 Hundreds of churches.

00:54:46.000 Hundreds of pregnancy care centers.

00:54:47.000 And I might just add, these pregnancy care centers, the attacks on them, which were violent, which were gruesome, were egged on and encouraged by rhetoric from members of Congress, including members of this body, who have said that pregnancy care centers aren't real medicine, that they're not real doctors.

00:55:04.000 They have legitimized these attacks.

00:55:07.000 And the same thing was true of churches.

00:55:09.000 And this Justice Department couldn't lift a finger to defend these Americans.

00:55:13.000 But at the same time...

00:55:15.000 They use legislation, a law known as the FACE Act, to prosecute at least 53 different pro-life demonstrators, including people like Mark Hauk from Pennsylvania, whom this Justice Department sent a SWAT team to his door in the early morning hours.

00:55:33.000 He has, I think, seven children.

00:55:34.000 In the early morning hours, an FBI SWAT team shows up at his door to take him into custody and prosecute him.

00:55:42.000 By the way, he was acquitted.

00:55:43.000 This kind of outrageous disparate treatment has to end.

00:55:47.000 So here's my question to you.

00:55:48.000 Will you protect churches and pregnancy care centers when they are targeted for violence, when they are targeted for intimidation, when their members or parishioners are threatened with violence or other acts of illegal behavior?

00:56:02.000 Yes, Senator.

00:56:03.000 Will you stop the disparate treatment of Americans on the basis of religious faith?

00:56:08.000 Yes, Senator.

00:56:09.000 Will you stop the deliberate persecution of pro-life Americans for nothing more than their pro-life beliefs?

00:56:16.000 Yes, Senator.

00:56:17.000 Will you ensure that nothing like the Mark Houck case happens again, that Americans do not have SWAT teams arriving on their front doors with armed weapons to terrorize their children and their spouses?

00:56:29.000 Only in the end, of course, to have the case lost because there was nothing to it.

00:56:33.000 Will you put an end to that kind of deliberate intimidation of the good American citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs?

00:56:41.000 Yes, Senator.

00:56:42.000 I'm glad to hear you say that because we need it.

00:56:44.000 We need it.

00:56:45.000 Ms. Bondi, we need a new chapter at the Justice Department and we need it quickly.

00:56:50.000 And I'm glad you're committed to it.

00:56:52.000 I also have heard you've been asked about your comment that you thought that in some cases we need to investigate the investigators, the ones who were bad.

00:57:00.000 You know, I have to say I'm glad to hear you stand by that.

00:57:03.000 We need to do that.

00:57:04.000 You need to do that.

00:57:06.000 And I'll give you another example.

00:57:08.000 I'm sure you've read about this memo, which I now hold in my hands.

00:57:13.000 This memo that was...

00:57:15.000 Developed by the FBI field office in Richmond, Virginia, 23rd January, 2023, targeting Catholic parishes for spying, for recruitment of infiltrators.

00:57:27.000 I mean, the memo goes on and on and on about the FBI's plans to put assets into Catholic parishes, into choirs.

00:57:37.000 This is an unbelievable, unbelievable assault on Americans' First Amendment rights, and we only know of it because of a brave whistleblower who came forward and released it to us.

00:57:46.000 And I will tell you, I have never been misled and lied to like I was by the current Attorney General and the now former FBI Director when they sat right where you're sitting now and told this committee, oh, we don't know anything about it.

00:58:00.000 Oh, only one field office was involved.

00:58:03.000 It was the single work of a single field office and very few individuals.

00:58:07.000 As it turns out, that's not true.

00:58:09.000 Multiple field offices were involved.

00:58:11.000 Multiple individuals were involved.

00:58:13.000 Under your leadership, will you put a stop to the use of FBI or Department of Justice resources to try and recruit informants and spies into Christian churches or any church or house of worship in this country on the basis of nothing more than faith?

00:58:30.000 Of course, Senator.

00:58:32.000 Let me just say this.

00:58:35.000 To our knowledge, no one who is involved in the writing and performance execution of this memo has been disciplined or fired.

00:58:44.000 Will you conduct an investigation?

00:58:47.000 Like you talked about, Ms. Bondi, that will get to the bottom of abuses like this.

00:58:51.000 And to be clear, this is an outrageous abuse.

00:58:54.000 It is an outrageous abuse.

00:58:57.000 One of the worst abuses of Department of Justice and FBI authority in our history.

00:59:02.000 Will you conduct an investigation to find out who signed off on this, who approved it, who advocated for it within the Department of Justice?

00:59:11.000 Will you open the books?

00:59:13.000 On these abuses, so that the American people can have confidence in their DOJ. Senator, and I think what you're talking about is the ultimate weaponization, what we've been discussing all day.

00:59:22.000 If I am confirmed as Attorney General, one of the first things I will do, there'll be many, but I will personally read that memo, and if Mr. Patel is confirmed, discuss it with him right away.

00:59:34.000 Fantastic.

00:59:35.000 And will you work with this committee?

00:59:37.000 And our relevant subcommittees, I'm going to chair a subcommittee called the Crime and Terrorism Committee.

00:59:42.000 We're going to do our own investigation into what happened here at the FBI and the DOJ. Will you work with us as you discover?

00:59:51.000 Senator, yes, I look forward to working with you and the Democrats.

00:59:58.000 I would think this is something that we can all agree on, on both sides, that this should not be happening in the United States of America and work together on it.

01:00:08.000 That's fantastic.

01:00:09.000 Let me ask you one other question here in my just few seconds that are remaining.

01:00:12.000 This memo, this memo targeting Catholic parishes, repeatedly refers to as an expert source a group called the Southern Poverty Law Center.

01:00:23.000 Now, the Southern Poverty Law Center has a long history as an anti-religious group that has repeatedly gone after.

01:00:30.000 Conservative and religious organizations called them hate groups, called them sometimes terrorist groups.

01:00:36.000 They're cited in this memo.

01:00:38.000 They once infamously, the SPLC, called the Family Research Council a terrorist hate group and an armed gunman came into their lobby and opened fire.

01:00:46.000 Will you put a stop to the use of the SPLC as an official source for any Department of Justice memorandum or finding?

01:00:54.000 That will be one of the first things we will look at as well, Senator, and report back to you and the committee.

01:01:00.000 Thank you very much.

01:01:02.000 Congratulations.

01:01:02.000 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:01:04.000 Is that Adam Schiff as a senator?

01:01:05.000 That ruined my day.

01:01:07.000 I'm sorry, I just have to say it.

01:01:08.000 That's disgusting.

01:01:10.000 That should not be allowed on TV. That should be censored.

01:01:13.000 It's disgusting.

01:01:15.000 The president has said Jack Smith should go to jail.

01:01:19.000 Will you investigate Jack Smith?

01:01:22.000 Senator, I haven't seen the file.

01:01:24.000 I haven't seen the investigation.

01:01:26.000 I haven't looked at anything.

01:01:28.000 It would be irresponsible of me to make a commitment regarding anything.

01:01:34.000 You're a long-practicing attorney without looking at a file.

01:01:41.000 So you would need a factual predicate.

01:01:44.000 To open an investigation of Jack Smith, is that right?

01:01:47.000 Not a summary by you sitting here.

01:01:48.000 Yes, sir.

01:01:49.000 And not a summary by the president either, right?

01:01:52.000 Absolutely.

01:01:53.000 So a summary by the president or his desire to investigate Jack Smith would not be enough for you sitting here today.

01:01:59.000 Are you aware of any factual predicate to investigate Jack Smith sitting here today?

01:02:04.000 Yes or no?

01:02:05.000 Senator, I will look at the facts and the circumstances of anything brought to me.

01:02:10.000 You're not a part of the department yet.

01:02:11.000 There's no worry about divulging law enforcement-sensitive information.

01:02:17.000 So just tell us, are you aware of a factual predicate to investigate Jack Smith?

01:02:22.000 Yes or no?

01:02:23.000 Senator, what I'm hearing on the news is horrible.

01:02:26.000 Do I know if he committed a crime?

01:02:27.000 I have not looked at it.

01:02:28.000 You seem reluctant to answer a simple question.

01:02:30.000 Let me ask you a different simple question.

01:02:33.000 The president also wants to jail Liz Cheney.

01:02:35.000 Sitting here today, are you aware of any factual basis to investigate Liz Cheney?

01:02:40.000 Yes or no?

01:02:42.000 Senator, that's a hypothetical, and I'm not going to answer that question.

01:02:45.000 No, no, it's not a hypothetical.

01:02:46.000 I'm asking you, sitting here today, whether you are aware of a factual predicate to investigate Liz Cheney.

01:02:51.000 Senator, no one has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney.

01:02:55.000 That is a hypothetical.

01:02:55.000 The president has called for it publicly.

01:02:57.000 You are aware of that, aren't you?

01:02:59.000 No one has asked me to investigate.

01:03:02.000 We're also worried about Liz Cheney, Senator.

01:03:05.000 You know what we should be worried about?

01:03:06.000 The crime rate in California right now is the way of the roof.

01:03:11.000 Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average.

01:03:16.000 That's what I want to be focused on, Senator, if I'm confirmed as Attorney General.

01:03:21.000 And what you're suggesting today by your non-answer is you don't have the independence to say no to the president.

01:03:26.000 So let me ask you a different question.

01:03:27.000 It also requires you, if you're going to be a good attorney general, to be able to tell hard truths to the president.

01:03:34.000 So my questions now are, can you tell hard truths to the president?

01:03:38.000 So let me start with an easy truth that you could speak to the president.

01:03:43.000 Can you tell us?

01:03:44.000 Can you tell him?

01:03:46.000 That Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

01:03:49.000 Can you say that?

01:03:50.000 Do you have the independence to say that?

01:03:51.000 Do you have the gravitas, the stature, the intestinal fortitude to say, Donald Trump, you lost the 2020 election?

01:03:58.000 Can you tell us that here today?

01:04:00.000 Senator, what I can tell you is I will never play politics.

01:04:04.000 You're trying to engage me in a gotcha.

01:04:06.000 I won't play politics with any ongoing investigation, like you did leaking your colleague Devin Nunes' memo.

01:04:15.000 If you can't answer the question, let me ask you a different, what should be a simple truth, not a hard one.

01:04:20.000 Was there massive fraud affecting the result of the 2020 election, yes or no?

01:04:25.000 Senator.

01:04:26.000 I'm glad you asked that question, if you'll let me answer what I saw in Pennsylvania.

01:04:29.000 No, I asked a simple question about massive fraud.

01:04:32.000 I can only tell you what I saw in Pennsylvania.

01:04:34.000 I know you want to answer a different question, but my question is, can you tell us whether there was massive fraud affecting the results of the 2020 election?

01:04:43.000 Yes or no?

01:04:44.000 Was there or was there not?

01:04:44.000 I can tell you what I saw when I went as an advocate to the campaign.

01:04:47.000 That's not my question.

01:04:48.000 So you can't answer that question.

01:04:50.000 You can't speak that.

01:04:51.000 Even easy truth to us, let alone to the president.

01:04:55.000 So let me ask you a different question.

01:04:58.000 It will also be important that you give good advice to the president.

01:05:02.000 Are you prepared to advise the president not to pardon people who beat police officers?

01:05:08.000 Senator, as I said, the pardons are at the direction of the president.

01:05:13.000 We will look and we will advise.

01:05:15.000 I will look at every case on a case-by-case basis.

01:05:19.000 And I abhor violence to police officers.

01:05:22.000 Follow up with that.

01:05:23.000 So will it be your advice to the President?

01:05:25.000 Mr. President, I know you said you want to issue hundreds of pardons on day one.

01:05:30.000 Will it be your advice to the President?

01:05:32.000 No, Mr. President, I need to go over them on a case-by-case basis.

01:05:36.000 Do not issue blanket pardons.

01:05:38.000 Will that be your advice to the President?

01:05:40.000 Senator, I have not looked at any of those files.

01:05:43.000 If confirmed, I will look at the files for the parties as well as the ongoing investigation.

01:05:45.000 And will you be able to review hundreds of cases on day one?

01:05:50.000 I will look at every file I am asked to look at.

01:05:53.000 Of course you won't.

01:05:53.000 So will you advise the president?

01:05:55.000 Can I answer the question?

01:05:56.000 I would have plenty of staff.

01:05:58.000 You said, of course you want?

01:05:59.000 You'll be able to review hundreds of cases on day one?

01:06:03.000 I'm not going to mislead this body, nor you.

01:06:06.000 All right, let me ask another question.

01:06:07.000 You don't want to answer that.

01:06:08.000 Let me ask another question.

01:06:09.000 Hey, everybody.

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01:06:17.000 Cyber attacks on our power grids, drones in the sky, violent attacks on everyday Americans.

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01:07:15.000 Let's go more with Pam Bondi and Mr. Schiff.

01:07:21.000 ...ethical basis to destroy evidence in the January 6th investigation?

01:07:25.000 Then why can't you answer the question?

01:07:26.000 Why can't you say, I commit to this committee, we will never destroy the evidence in the January 6th investigation.

01:07:32.000 Why can't you give this committee and the American people that assurance?

01:07:35.000 Are you frightened because evidence was destroyed against President Trump that was false?

01:07:39.000 Is that why you're frightened now?

01:07:41.000 Why do you have difficulty answering that question?

01:07:44.000 I can't believe they're asking such a question.

01:07:47.000 Why do you have difficulty promising to preserve...

01:07:49.000 Evidence at the Department of Justice.

01:07:51.000 Why is that a difficult question?

01:07:53.000 I will follow the law.

01:07:55.000 It shouldn't be a difficult question.

01:07:59.000 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:08:00.000 Ms. Bundy, I know that you are pleased that we are moving to the end of round one.

01:08:06.000 And we appreciate your being here.

01:08:09.000 And I appreciate that you told my California colleagues you were willing to work with them.

01:08:20.000 Now, one thing I think we need to have everybody understand that is watching this hearing today and everyone sitting in here, what we have witnessed over the last four years with a weaponized DOJ. My colleagues have talked about this.

01:08:41.000 And the American people know this.

01:08:45.000 No.

01:08:47.000 What was carried out against President Trump in his administration?

01:08:52.000 And in November, they voted to see an end to two tiers of justice, two tiers of treatment, two tiers of access, because they have absolutely had it with the lies, with the accusations.

01:09:13.000 And with the attacks that have come against so many people who were just seeking to live their lives, and then all of a sudden found the FBI or another federal agency or the DOJ knocking at their door.

01:09:33.000 You know, Ms. Bondi, it would make you believe that my colleagues have learned nothing, nothing, They don't see this as a movie script that someone may have liked to write.

01:09:52.000 What they see is this is real life.

01:09:57.000 And they want a restoration to equal justice, equal access, equal treatment, abiding by the rule of law.

01:10:10.000 Many of us have talked today about making America safe again.

01:10:16.000 And in Tennessee, I hear a good bit about this.

01:10:21.000 And as we've discussed your nomination, one of the things I've mentioned to people is your career as a prosecutor.

01:10:30.000 And you have touched on that some today.

01:10:33.000 And you are bringing that insight of being a prosecutor to bear.

01:10:40.000 And I do appreciate that.

01:10:43.000 Now one thing that I think is noteworthy, and in preparation for the hearing I looked some of these numbers up.

01:10:51.000 During President Trump's first term, violent crime in this country actually failed.

01:10:58.000 It fell by 17 percent.

01:11:02.000 And in the first two years of the Biden administration, it soared by 43 percent.

01:11:12.000 This is crime that is taking place in all of our communities.

01:11:17.000 We've seen a rise, whether it's California or Tennessee, we have seen a rise.

01:11:24.000 So I want you to talk.

01:11:26.000 To Tennesseans, to Californians, to all Americans about what you're going to do to get this crime rate down in this country.

01:11:39.000 Senator, thank you for that question.

01:11:41.000 And despite the questions from Senator Schiff...

01:11:46.000 I look forward to working with you and the state of California to do everything we can to fight violent crime in California.

01:11:54.000 And you know as well as I, that crime is only going to go through the roof now after these forest fires.

01:12:00.000 You're going to have looting.

01:12:02.000 You're going to have price gouging.

01:12:03.000 You're going to have so many things that I have dealt with in the state of Florida, and I am committed to working with California just as much as I am committed to working with you, Senator Kennedy, in the tragedy that just took place in Louisiana, given all the human beings that were murdered in your state.

01:12:21.000 And we have the Super Bowl coming up in less than three weeks now, I believe, Senator.

01:12:26.000 I've been a little busy.

01:12:26.000 But we've got to ensure, if I'm confirmed, that everyone in this country is safe.

01:12:33.000 And I will work with you.

01:12:34.000 I will work with you, Senator.

01:12:36.000 I will work with all of you in this country for everything that Senator Blackburn said.

01:12:41.000 We have got to reduce violent crime and we have got to restore integrity to our law enforcement officers.

01:12:50.000 Donald Trump.

01:12:51.000 Amazing.

01:12:52.000 She's doing wonderfully.

01:12:54.000 10 out of 10, Pam Bondi.

01:12:58.000 But if we're not safe, none of that works.

01:13:02.000 We have got to come together.

01:13:03.000 We have got to work together to make America safe again.

01:13:07.000 And that in turn will make America great again.

01:13:10.000 And I don't know where that phrase has become a bad word because I think that's a great one.

01:13:14.000 Making America great again.

01:13:15.000 Let me move on with you to something else that's about law and order.

01:13:20.000 And that is Section 1507. Because making certain that our justices are protected is important, and we also, with our judges, Section 1507 makes illegal any protest.

01:13:34.000 Outside of a judge's residence, if the intent is to influence the judge's decision-making.

01:13:41.000 And we have heard about the protests outside of justices' homes, where they were shouting loud and clear things like, and I'm quoting some of that, if you take away our choices, we will riot, end quote.

01:13:53.000 Another one, no privacy for us, no peace for you, end quote.

01:13:58.000 In other words, if the justices did not vote to uphold Roe and Casey, the protesters would continue to harass them.

01:14:08.000 Despite this clear violation of the law, Merrick Garland did not bring a single charge.

01:14:16.000 Not one single charge.

01:14:20.000 Under Section 1507, will you commit to faithfully enforcing Section 1507 as Attorney General?

01:14:29.000 I will faithfully enforce that law and all laws that I am asked to review.

01:14:35.000 And Senator, I watched that on TV and it horrified me, the protesters outside their houses.

01:14:41.000 You can't do that for a reason.

01:14:44.000 Because our justices have to remain safe and unbiased and protected from threats, as do we all.

01:14:52.000 But they do enjoy a special protection, and yes, that should be enforced.

01:14:56.000 Thank you, Ms. Fondy.

01:14:58.000 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:15:00.000 We'll now have our second round that I announced earlier.

01:15:04.000 We'll each have four minutes.

01:15:07.000 When we...

01:15:09.000 We're talking in my office.

01:15:11.000 I brought up the importance of your listening to whistleblowers.

01:15:16.000 And about 30 or 35 investigations I've got underway of the executive branch, and not just because of a Democrat president. 0.51

01:15:25.000 Some of them are probably carryovers from Republican presidents.

01:15:31.000 It's very important that the executive branch understand the cooperation that you must have with us.

01:15:39.000 To carry out our responsibilities to see that the president faithfully executes the laws.

01:15:47.000 And I think that too often, whistleblowers, being patriotic people they are, wanting government to do what government's just supposed to do, and find something wrong, they want to report it, and they want to report it within the agency.

01:16:05.000 They don't come to Congress unless they don't get any help.

01:16:08.000 In the executive branch, it seems to me that it's very important that you respect whistleblowers, but I've seen them treated like a skunk at a picnic by the agency they're in.

01:16:22.000 I've seen them ruin themselves professionally.

01:16:26.000 I see themselves, one time an FBI agent came to me, was escorted out of headquarters with his gun and badge taken away from him.

01:16:37.000 Just because the laboratory there was not using science to make sure that crime was actually committed.

01:16:48.000 So now we have a new $40 million science lab so that people are protected and get their constitutional rights.

01:17:00.000 So will you protect whistleblowers from retaliation and promote a culture?

01:17:05.000 And I think that last thing, promote a culture, is more important.

01:17:10.000 That value is the important contribution of whistleblowers.

01:17:14.000 Yes, and Senator, I think so people fully understand the importance of whistleblowers.

01:17:19.000 They have to be able to tell the truth and come forward without fear of retaliation.

01:17:25.000 And that's the purpose of the whistleblower statute.

01:17:28.000 When there's retaliation, the taxpayers' money is paying for that retaliation in most cases.

01:17:35.000 The Biden Justice Department issued guidance telling prosecutors to stop charging mandatory minimums and ignore laws setting penalties on drug type.

01:17:46.000 It also allowed folks to pay civil and criminal fines to politicize non-government organizations instead of the government treasury.

01:17:59.000 I put together a list of their guidance.

01:18:02.000 I find it very concerning and unfair to the taxpaying public.

01:18:07.000 And I'd like to have you review those policies very soon.

01:18:11.000 Hey, everybody.

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01:19:12.000 Okay, let's zoom back in right now.

01:19:18.000 Oh, you can't miss Dick Durbin from Illinois.

01:19:21.000 Let's listen to this good-for-nothing pile of stuff.

01:19:25.000 Listen to him.

01:19:27.000 That's a pretty amazing achievement in his life.

01:19:30.000 But he also has said and done some things which are impossible to understand and justify.

01:19:36.000 For example, are you familiar with something called the QAnon conspiracy?

01:19:40.000 I have heard of it, but I do not know what it is, but I've heard of it many times, Senator.

01:19:48.000 So let me tell you what I've learned about it.

01:19:51.000 Its core belief is that a cabal of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters are embedded within our government and are conspiring against President-elect Trump.

01:20:03.000 They asked Mr. Patel about it, and he said, quote, I agree with a lot.

01:20:10.000 End of quote.

01:20:13.000 Does that sound like a good preparation to run the FBI? Senator, I don't know anything about...

01:20:20.000 I actually...

01:20:21.000 I had heard of QAnon, but I've never heard that definition attached to it at all.

01:20:28.000 You're going to have to ask Mr. Patel about those statements.

01:20:31.000 We will.

01:20:32.000 And I'll tell you, until we get answers to those questions, I... Don't know many people on this side of the table will give him an unequivocal endorsement.

01:20:40.000 This and his enemies list, what he calls his government gangsters.

01:20:44.000 This is what you expect of Stassi.

01:20:47.000 This is what you expect of secret police.

01:20:49.000 It is not what you expect of justice in America, as you've even described it at the table today.

01:20:55.000 So I would say this unequivocal support of Mr. Patel should at least have some reservation until he explains some of these outrageous positions he has taken.

01:21:05.000 I look forward to hearing his testimony about QAnon in front of this committee.

01:21:09.000 You will.

01:21:11.000 Let me say another word about January 6th and what happened.

01:21:18.000 We lived through it, many of us.

01:21:19.000 We'll never forget it.

01:21:21.000 To think that the United States of America's Capitol building was desecrated by an insurrectionist mob that came in and did horrible things, particularly to our police force.

01:21:33.000 It keeps you safe as you sit there and keeps us safe every single day.

01:21:36.000 Over a hundred of them were attacked by these demonstrators.

01:21:41.000 One, Kenneth Bonowitz, a member of the so-called Proud Boys, another alt-right group, assaulted at least six officers, placed one in a chokehold and lifted him up in the neck.

01:21:52.000 Bonowitz injured one officer so severely he had to retire.

01:21:56.000 Kyle Fitzsimmons.

01:21:58.000 Convicted for five separate assaults against law enforcement, including one that caused a career-ending and life-altering injury to U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Akilino Gunnell.

01:22:09.000 Can you understand why when Donald Trump says, the day I am inaugurated as president, I will issue a blanket pardon to these, quote, political prisoners?

01:22:19.000 We view this with an outrage on our side.

01:22:21.000 These men and women risked their lives for us every day, and they almost died.

01:22:24.000 Some of them did die in the course of this attack.

01:22:28.000 Why aren't we treating them as such, and why do you have to reserve judgment?

01:22:32.000 Vice President Vance didn't when he was asked this week.

01:22:35.000 He said that pardon should not be extended to those who are guilty of violence against policemen.

01:22:41.000 And, Senator, I do not agree with violence against anyone.

01:22:47.000 But especially police officers.

01:22:50.000 And every time I've been walking through these halls meeting with all of you, the men and women of the Capitol Police Department are incredible.

01:22:58.000 They do a great job.

01:23:00.000 They deserve to be safe.

01:23:02.000 And I do not agree with violence against any police officer.

01:23:07.000 I would hope.

01:23:07.000 I never have, Senator.

01:23:09.000 You weren't able to answer my question affirmatively earlier, but I would hope that if this moves forward in a positive way on your nomination.

01:23:16.000 You will speak up at some point on behalf of these police officers who are keeping you safe today and your family safe.

01:23:22.000 I yield.

01:23:23.000 Okay.

01:23:24.000 Before Senator Graham, I want to enter into the record without objection from the members of this committee letters from law enforcement groups who support Ms. Bondi's nomination.

01:23:37.000 These groups include the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff's Association.

01:23:43.000 The National Association of Police Organizations.

01:23:46.000 They praise her, quote, support for law enforcement, crime prevention, and public safety, end quote, without objection.

01:23:55.000 So ordered.

01:23:58.000 Senator Graham.

01:23:59.000 Thank you.

01:24:00.000 Well, I've been gone for a while, so they're asking you about Cash Patel.

01:24:04.000 It must be going pretty well.

01:24:06.000 You didn't miss anything, Senator.

01:24:08.000 That's just an observation.

01:24:10.000 So, anyway, thanks to my colleagues on the Democratic side.

01:24:15.000 It's been a good hearing.

01:24:15.000 And a couple things.

01:24:20.000 Pardons.

01:24:21.000 If somebody applies for a pardon, you'll give the president legal advice as to whether or not he should grant it.

01:24:29.000 Is that the way the system works?

01:24:30.000 Yes, Senator.

01:24:31.000 Okay.

01:24:32.000 So rather than prejudging what you do, you would look at the application and give him your best advice, and you don't like people who beat up cops?

01:24:41.000 Correct.

01:24:41.000 I hope no one does.

01:24:43.000 Yeah, okay.

01:24:43.000 Fair enough.

01:24:44.000 So let's just get back to the process.

01:24:46.000 I'm not going to speak for the president, but the president does not like people that abuse police officers either.

01:24:52.000 Yeah, well, the hope is that through this pardon process, you'll make a rational decision.

01:24:58.000 Based on the applicant, rather than deciding the outcome in a Senate hearing.

01:25:04.000 That's all I'm asking.

01:25:05.000 That's what I would want if I represented somebody.

01:25:09.000 I'd want to at least be heard.

01:25:11.000 Now, Section 230, are you familiar with it?

01:25:14.000 Yes, Senator.

01:25:15.000 One thing that unites this committee is protecting children and society at large from social media abuse.

01:25:25.000 We passed online privacy legislation.

01:25:28.000 Senator Durbin's been great to work with.

01:25:31.000 Everybody, Klobuchar, we're all trying to find out how to empower people who may be victims of social media.

01:25:38.000 Woody, to empower a parent whose child's been bullied, when you call the social media platform and they blow you off, you go to court.

01:25:46.000 And they kick you out of court because of Section 230. Sexual exploitation of children on the Internet, we've heard stories that make us just break our hearts.

01:25:57.000 We're united of trying to give people a say.

01:26:00.000 If they take your content down, you're appealing to the people who've made the decision to take your content down.

01:26:06.000 So what I want to do, along with Senator Holley, everybody, is repeal Section 230 or replace it with a system that empowers consumers who may have been hurt.

01:26:19.000 Do you agree with that?

01:26:21.000 Senator, I would love to look at that with you.

01:26:24.000 I'm not familiar with what you want to do on the issue.

01:26:26.000 I've talked to Senator Klobuchar.

01:26:28.000 I think Senator Durbin and I may have even discussed it.

01:26:31.000 But I'm committed to looking at that with you.

01:26:35.000 There are so many issues online.

01:26:38.000 That's one of the things.

01:26:40.000 We have to find things that can bring us together now.

01:26:43.000 And this has to be one of them.

01:26:44.000 Well, just protecting our children.

01:26:47.000 Here's what FBI Director said, Ray, where you agree with him or not, I agree with this.

01:26:53.000 I see blinking lights everywhere I turn regarding the national security threats.

01:26:58.000 Does that make sense to you?

01:27:02.000 Yes, Senator.

01:27:03.000 I was looking at the date of that.

01:27:05.000 That was a year ago.

01:27:06.000 Yes, Senator.

01:27:07.000 I also heard about, I haven't seen it yet, his 60 Minutes interview that was very troubling to me for our country.

01:27:13.000 Right.

01:27:13.000 We know we found eight guys from Tajikistan that were at least caught again because we were tied to ISIS. So the point I'm trying to make is January 20th, we own this.

01:27:24.000 I just urge you, to the extent you can, to urge the president to secure that border.

01:27:30.000 We need money.

01:27:31.000 The idea of moving money around from defense is not going to cut it.

01:27:35.000 We need a lot of money for bed space to finish the wall, do technology, hire ICE agents to accelerate deportation of people who are criminals and gang members.

01:27:46.000 We don't have time to waste.

01:27:48.000 I hope you'll make that an urgency because the threat is real.

01:27:54.000 Are you worried about an attack on our homeland being generated from ICE? Isis or their affiliates, and what should we do about it?

01:28:04.000 Senator, I don't have a security clearance yet, but only from the public reporting that I've seen, I'm terrified.

01:28:11.000 Senator Whitehouse.

01:28:12.000 Thank you, Chairman.

01:28:13.000 I'm going to try to fit in two questions in my four minutes.

01:28:18.000 Lindsay, stick around because I'm going to say something nice about you.

01:28:25.000 First...

01:28:25.000 Yes to 230. We've got to really work on that.

01:28:28.000 There's a lot of support for fixing 230. In fact, outright repealing 230 in this committee.

01:28:34.000 First question.

01:28:37.000 Presumably, your commitment to fairly enforcing the law based on facts and evidence would also apply to environmental cases.

01:28:46.000 Yes, Senator.

01:28:48.000 I'm concerned because, you know, under Trump...

01:28:52.000 Criminal prosecutions for pollution dropped sharply in his first term.

01:28:57.000 And you will be running an Environment and Natural Resources division that has things like, for instance, a methane task force that big polluters who spent big money to get President Trump re-elected don't like.

01:29:12.000 And they're going to be coming to you to say, hey...

01:29:16.000 We don't want a whole lot of enforcement on this.

01:29:19.000 Methane leaks, carbon dioxide leaks, it's a pollutant, polluting our water, polluting our air.

01:29:27.000 Hey everybody, Charlie Kirk here with New Year's Resolutions.

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01:30:27.000 There was a committee investigation into Crossfire Hurricane.

01:30:33.000 During that...

01:30:35.000 Crossfire Hurricane investigation box loads of material was provided by the department and the bureau to Senate Republicans.

01:30:44.000 They got files.

01:30:46.000 They got investigative reports.

01:30:48.000 They got internal memos.

01:30:49.000 They got stuff that would not be FOIA-able.

01:30:52.000 They really were able to do a deep dive because they got everything they asked for, even stuff that the FBI would ordinarily not produce.

01:31:02.000 That was happening.

01:31:06.000 For me, I had questions about Justice Kavanaugh's supplemental background investigation.

01:31:13.000 And I asked for things like, what is the Department of Justice policy for how tip lines work?

01:31:23.000 That's a FOIA-able question.

01:31:26.000 I didn't get a single piece of paper.

01:31:29.000 I asked for things like, what are the ground rules?

01:31:33.000 For investigations of supplemental background investigations.

01:31:37.000 I didn't get a single piece of paper.

01:31:39.000 Senator Graham called the Deputy Attorney General up into his office to say, will you guys please knock it off and give this guy some information?

01:31:50.000 So, you know, I have lived the example of, if you're a Republican on this committee, in a Republican administration, You get everything you ask for and more.

01:32:02.000 And if you're a Democrat, you get zero.

01:32:06.000 That was not a great moment for me and not a great moment for the department.

01:32:10.000 And so I will take the chairman at his word that he wants the department to be responsive to requests from all of us.

01:32:19.000 And I would ask you...

01:32:21.000 Will you be responsive to all of us, irrespective of our party affiliation, if we are asking legitimate questions that you have the power to answer?

01:32:32.000 From the beginning, yes, especially on Freedom of Information Act.

01:32:36.000 I will follow the laws that apply to the Freedom of Information Act.

01:32:39.000 I believe in that.

01:32:40.000 I actually dealt with the public records when I was a state prosecutor.

01:32:43.000 It's been so long ago I'd forgotten about that.

01:32:45.000 So I handled all the public records.

01:32:47.000 One sort of point of order here.

01:32:49.000 The Freedom of Information Act process is one thing.

01:32:52.000 Anybody can get information under the Freedom of Information Act process.

01:32:55.000 As senators, we should be able to do better than that.

01:32:57.000 When we're doing worse than that...

01:32:59.000 That's a sign that somebody's hiding something.

01:33:01.000 When we're doing better than that, that's a good thing for congressional oversight.

01:33:05.000 Thank you, Chairman.

01:33:05.000 Thank you.

01:33:06.000 Senator Tillis.

01:33:07.000 Can we take a minute off Senator Schiff since I'm joking, since he took an extra minute?

01:33:11.000 I'm joking.

01:33:12.000 Yes, you can.

01:33:14.000 You wanted to say something to Senator Schiff?

01:33:18.000 No, sir.

01:33:18.000 I asked if we could take a minute off Senator Schiff since Senator Whitehouse took an extra minute.

01:33:23.000 I was teasing.

01:33:24.000 Okay.

01:33:25.000 Senator Tillis.

01:33:27.000 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:33:30.000 Ms. Bondi, I wanted to come back.

01:33:33.000 I'm glad I did, because I got another mark on my bingo card.

01:33:36.000 QAnon came up.

01:33:40.000 It's a little-known fact, but the so-called...

01:33:43.000 Let's zoom a little on Senator Rubio, who's receiving a question from...

01:33:50.000 I can't see who he's getting a question from there.

01:33:54.000 I think it's a Democrat, just based on the camera angle.

01:33:58.000 So let's listen.

01:33:59.000 ...on some of your work supporting Taiwan and protecting Hong Kong dissidents as we work together on some legislation.

01:34:07.000 Now, in a twist of events, I sit not far from where you once sat, and there's another symbolic 600 feet between us, between the State Department and the Senate.

01:34:18.000 And I'm excited to work with you in your new role.

01:34:21.000 And I would like to continue to be wind at your back on a lot of issues and none more important to me than China. 0.90

01:34:28.000 And if you remember really nothing else about our short interchange today, please know that that's very important to me.

01:34:34.000 And I hope to work with you on what I do with the aggression of China. 0.99

01:34:39.000 And in many ways, their global push for military and economic supremacy, I think, is a threat in many ways.

01:34:48.000 China is imposing, it's what they call China one principle on the world, which is very different than our China policy.

01:34:58.000 Can you kind of describe how we can push back on that and how we need to make sure we're shaping that conversation?

01:35:05.000 Yeah, and well, the first is to understand that the one China policy is, and the U.S. policy towards the issue of Taiwan has been consistent.

01:35:14.000 and reaffirmed by every administration since 1979 and it is the combination of the Taiwan Relations Act We're the six assurances that make clear that the United States, we're not going to pressure Taiwan in any arrangement.

01:35:25.000 We're not going to tell you when we're going to stop, if ever.

01:35:28.000 We make no commitment to not helping them in their national defense.

01:35:32.000 We're not going to force any outcomes.

01:35:34.000 And frankly, we are going to do everything.

01:35:36.000 And we reject any effort to coerce, intimidate, and or forcibly drive Taiwan to do whatever China wants them to do.

01:35:44.000 And that's been our position.

01:35:45.000 That will continue.

01:35:46.000 That was the position under President Trump's first administration.

01:35:49.000 I anticipate it will continue to be in the second administration.

01:35:52.000 I think within that context, it's important for us to find every opportunity possible to allow Taiwan to engage in international forums where important issues are discussed.

01:36:02.000 And they're not represented.

01:36:04.000 Irrespective of what China claims about one China principle, they're not represented.

01:36:07.000 And so the view there needs to be...

01:36:11.000 They need to have an opportunity in these forums to be made clear.

01:36:14.000 But I think stability is critically important.

01:36:16.000 Here's the one thing I would point to here with regards to stability.

01:36:20.000 If the Chinese are in fact serious about stabilizing U.S.-China relations and finding avenues of which we can cooperate and avoid conflict, then they will not do anything rash or irrational when it comes to Taiwan or the Philippines for that matter.

01:36:35.000 The actions they are taking now are deeply destabilizing.

01:36:38.000 They are forcing us to take counteractions because we have commitments to the Philippines and we have commitments to Taiwan that we intend to keep.

01:36:46.000 And so if they want to destabilize the relationship or they want to at least create some pathway for stabilization of our relationship with them, even as we remain engaged in global competition and in some cases more adversarial than others.

01:37:00.000 They really need to stop messing around with Taiwan and with the Philippines because it's forcing us to focus our attention in ways we prefer not to have. 0.99

01:37:09.000 As a matter of interest, I actually lived in Taiwan in August of 1979, three months after that act that you referred to, and I think you're very accurate.

01:37:18.000 I think for a minute about Europe and there's some countries it feels like in Europe because of their presence, Poland, Czech Republic and Baltics that are more in tune with this issue.

01:37:29.000 But as a whole, it feels like some European nations are in denial of some of the things you've just said.

01:37:33.000 You talk a little bit about how we work with our NATO friends over there and how we get them to appreciate this and actually play a part in this.

01:37:41.000 Well, I think in the case of NATO, I think I would expand it to really talk about the European Union and the EU, which I think is increasingly every single day coming to the realization of the threat that China's policies and unfair trade policies. 0.57

01:37:55.000 What an amazing series of hearings.

01:37:58.000 And President Trump's nominees just did a phenomenal job enduring some complete nonsense from the Democrats.

01:38:04.000 As you can start to see, the team that will be running your government is assembled.

01:38:08.000 Secretary of State, yesterday Department of Defense, we have Great Energy Secretary, Drill Baby Drill. 0.95

01:38:15.000 We are putting the team together across the board in a very powerful and significant way.

01:38:22.000 An underappreciated fact of all this is how the Senate is doing concurrent, simultaneous nominations.

01:38:28.000 President Trump is going to have a staffed, full cabinet right out of the gate.

01:38:33.000 They are working for Trump, the Senate is, and they are ready to rock and they're ready to roll.

01:38:37.000 By the way, how impressive was Pam Bondi today? 1.00

01:38:40.000 There's just so much more alignment now.

01:38:42.000 The party is ready to go.

01:38:45.000 Eight years ago, they were at war with President Donald Trump.

01:38:48.000 Now everyone is in lockstep to fulfill his agenda.

01:38:51.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

01:38:52.000 Email us, as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - January 15, 2025

The Great Confirmation Marathon

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