Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 31, 2025


Inside the Investigation into the Tragic DC Airline Crash, plus Trump Confirmations Accelerate


Episode Stats

Length

39 minutes

Words per Minute

167.70107

Word Count

6,566

Sentence Count

150

Misogynist Sentences

6

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.560 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.440 Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz.
00:00:07.900 Nice to have you with us on this Friday morning.
00:00:10.040 And Senator, we've got a lot to talk about,
00:00:12.580 including the tragedy that happened.
00:00:15.660 You were right there in Washington
00:00:16.960 when all this was unfolding with this helicopter
00:00:20.400 and airplane colliding at Reagan National Airport.
00:00:24.040 Well, it was truly a tragic and horrific accident.
00:00:26.740 And it cost the lives of 67 souls.
00:00:30.640 The commercial airliner from American Airlines
00:00:33.680 flying from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C.,
00:00:36.380 Reagan Airport had 60 passengers on it
00:00:39.220 and four crew members.
00:00:41.360 And then an Army Blackhawk helicopter
00:00:44.000 had three soldiers on it,
00:00:46.180 bringing the total death toll to 67.
00:00:50.240 The two collided just before 9 p.m.
00:00:55.500 on Wednesday night.
00:00:59.100 They collided as the American Airlines airliner
00:01:03.460 was landing at D.C. Reagan Airport.
00:01:06.620 And I'll tell you today,
00:01:08.140 so you and I are recording this Thursday night,
00:01:10.820 today I spent a lot of the day
00:01:12.240 dealing with the aftermath of this.
00:01:14.280 So as you know, I'm the chairman
00:01:15.880 of the Senate Committee on Commerce,
00:01:17.180 Science, and Transportation.
00:01:18.560 It has jurisdiction over all of aviation.
00:01:20.760 And so today I hosted briefings
00:01:24.680 from the FAA and the NTSB,
00:01:28.200 the National Traffic Safety Board.
00:01:32.500 And we were heard from,
00:01:37.840 they were bipartisan briefings.
00:01:39.100 I had senators, both Republicans and Democrats,
00:01:42.600 that participated.
00:01:43.760 participated, and we got briefings.
00:01:49.360 The NTSB, which is, as I said,
00:01:51.660 the National Transportation Safety Board,
00:01:53.840 does investigations whenever there's
00:01:56.080 a serious accident,
00:01:57.020 whenever there's an accident,
00:01:58.500 an aviation accident,
00:01:59.680 whenever there's a rail accident.
00:02:01.900 They do investigations.
00:02:03.620 And so we heard from them.
00:02:06.180 Now, as of Thursday,
00:02:08.560 the NTSB had over a dozen investigators
00:02:11.600 on the ground.
00:02:13.040 And listen, in the wake of an accident,
00:02:15.980 you've got to actually see what happened.
00:02:18.180 You've got to investigate
00:02:18.940 and discover the facts,
00:02:20.380 discover the evidence.
00:02:21.720 In this instance,
00:02:22.920 we know that the American Airlines flight
00:02:25.280 was coming in.
00:02:27.340 It was initially on Runway 1
00:02:30.040 at Reagan Airport.
00:02:31.680 And then the air traffic controllers
00:02:33.180 moved it to Runway 33.
00:02:35.100 So they shifted the runway
00:02:36.120 right at the very end.
00:02:37.140 And the American Airlines pilots
00:02:39.120 changed their descent
00:02:41.580 to land on Runway 33.
00:02:44.100 Now, simultaneously,
00:02:44.980 there was an Army Blackhawk helicopter
00:02:47.260 that was traveling.
00:02:49.360 There are multiple helicopter routes
00:02:51.360 that go in and around Reagan Airport.
00:02:54.140 And that Army Blackhawk helicopter
00:02:56.180 was on Route 1,
00:02:57.500 and then it was shifting
00:02:58.400 from Route 1 to Route 4.
00:03:00.340 And the air traffic controllers
00:03:02.380 were in contact,
00:03:04.060 obviously, with the pilots
00:03:05.360 of the American Airlines flight.
00:03:07.140 And also the pilots
00:03:09.380 of the helicopter.
00:03:10.180 And after telling
00:03:12.440 the American Airlines jet
00:03:15.120 to land on Runway 33,
00:03:18.080 the air traffic controller
00:03:19.640 tells the Blackhawk pilots
00:03:21.380 to visually confirm
00:03:25.200 and have in line of sight
00:03:26.900 the incoming plane.
00:03:28.860 And the Blackhawk helicopter pilots
00:03:30.700 confirm that, yes,
00:03:31.740 they have the plane in sight.
00:03:33.100 And they also instruct
00:03:36.480 the Blackhawk pilots
00:03:38.460 to come behind the plane
00:03:41.300 that is landing.
00:03:42.640 What in fact happens,
00:03:44.620 or what appears to have happened,
00:03:46.080 is the Blackhawk helicopter
00:03:47.520 came in front of the plane
00:03:49.440 that was landing.
00:03:50.760 The two collided midair
00:03:52.160 and exploded midair.
00:03:53.840 Now, at this point,
00:03:55.700 it appears everyone involved died.
00:03:57.920 Both the plane
00:04:01.240 and the Blackhawk helicopter
00:04:02.740 sunk into the Potomac River.
00:04:05.380 They were both
00:04:07.020 in relatively shallow water,
00:04:09.000 about seven to eight feet
00:04:10.500 of water
00:04:12.000 where they had sunk.
00:04:14.400 And as of Thursday,
00:04:18.660 the black box,
00:04:20.000 the flight recorder,
00:04:20.960 had been recovered
00:04:22.120 from the airplane.
00:04:23.060 and they're in the process
00:04:25.060 of recovering the black box,
00:04:26.940 the audio transcript recorder
00:04:30.120 for the Blackhawk helicopter.
00:04:31.400 So both of those
00:04:32.100 will be recovered.
00:04:33.460 And they're trying
00:04:34.680 to piece together
00:04:35.340 what happened.
00:04:35.920 What do we know?
00:04:36.980 We know that somebody
00:04:39.160 or multiple somebodies
00:04:40.660 made a catastrophic mistake,
00:04:43.440 a catastrophic mistake
00:04:44.660 that led to
00:04:46.280 a massive loss of life.
00:04:48.340 At this point,
00:04:49.480 and look,
00:04:49.780 there are lots of people
00:04:50.600 who are giving
00:04:51.240 all sorts of theories,
00:04:52.200 who are jumping
00:04:52.800 on all sorts of possibilities.
00:04:54.760 In my view,
00:04:55.860 we shouldn't speculate.
00:04:57.100 We shouldn't get ahead
00:04:59.400 of the evidence.
00:05:00.160 We need to understand
00:05:01.160 exactly what caused
00:05:02.860 this accident,
00:05:04.240 whether it was an error
00:05:05.540 on the part
00:05:06.240 of the Army pilot,
00:05:07.880 whether it was conceivably
00:05:09.260 an error on the part
00:05:10.740 of the commercial airliner pilot,
00:05:13.480 whether it was an error
00:05:14.260 on the part
00:05:15.460 of the air traffic controller,
00:05:17.120 or some combination
00:05:18.820 of multiple errors
00:05:19.740 in that regard.
00:05:20.700 We don't know right now.
00:05:22.200 What we do know
00:05:23.480 is two aircraft
00:05:24.620 were in the same place
00:05:25.840 at the same time.
00:05:26.800 Now,
00:05:27.160 as we were having
00:05:29.160 the briefing
00:05:29.660 from the NTSB
00:05:31.640 and the FAA,
00:05:33.300 they told us
00:05:34.940 several things.
00:05:36.240 Number one,
00:05:38.000 that had the helicopter
00:05:40.820 stayed on Route 4,
00:05:43.260 it would have been
00:05:44.380 well out of the way
00:05:45.460 of the landing path
00:05:47.260 of the airline,
00:05:48.460 and it would have been
00:05:49.900 at a lower altitude
00:05:50.860 than where the helicopter
00:05:54.240 and the jet collided.
00:05:57.420 We don't know
00:05:58.240 what happened exactly.
00:05:59.340 One of the things
00:06:00.000 the NTSB is going to do
00:06:01.320 in this investigation
00:06:02.060 is they're going to listen
00:06:03.440 to the black box recordings
00:06:04.620 of both aircraft,
00:06:06.020 and they're going to retrace
00:06:07.980 the path,
00:06:08.780 the exact path
00:06:09.960 of both aircraft
00:06:10.800 to discover
00:06:11.400 was one of them
00:06:13.040 where it was not supposed
00:06:14.680 to be,
00:06:15.100 were both of them
00:06:15.900 where they were not
00:06:16.700 supposed to be.
00:06:17.220 At this point,
00:06:18.000 we don't have a clear
00:06:19.000 answer to that,
00:06:19.760 and it's easy.
00:06:20.700 I would say,
00:06:21.340 don't trust Twitter,
00:06:22.360 don't trust every theory.
00:06:24.800 Look,
00:06:25.040 they looked at one theory,
00:06:26.180 and actually something
00:06:26.780 I asked the NTSB.
00:06:28.420 I said,
00:06:29.140 when the air traffic controller
00:06:30.360 asked the Blackhawk pilots,
00:06:31.980 do you have visual confirmation
00:06:33.540 of the aircraft,
00:06:34.320 and the Blackhawk pilots
00:06:35.280 confirmed that.
00:06:36.860 Do we have evidence
00:06:38.000 that they were looking
00:06:38.720 at a different airplane?
00:06:39.840 You could certainly,
00:06:41.120 this strikes me
00:06:41.780 as a reasonable inference,
00:06:43.020 that the helicopter pilot
00:06:44.740 looks and says,
00:06:45.420 yes,
00:06:45.660 I see the plane,
00:06:46.700 and perhaps didn't realize
00:06:48.840 it was a different plane
00:06:50.000 that was landing
00:06:50.680 because presumably
00:06:52.160 if they saw the plane
00:06:53.380 that led to the collision,
00:06:55.120 they would not have stayed
00:06:56.160 in the path of the plane,
00:06:57.880 but they would have
00:06:58.460 piloted elsewhere.
00:07:00.360 So NTSB and FAA
00:07:02.620 told me right now
00:07:03.540 we don't know.
00:07:04.240 So that's not confirmed.
00:07:05.460 That's a theory
00:07:06.360 people are saying online.
00:07:09.060 It is a plausible theory,
00:07:11.300 but we don't have confirmation
00:07:12.840 of that right now.
00:07:13.660 There's also discussion
00:07:16.520 about the equipment.
00:07:19.180 So the Blackhawk helicopter
00:07:21.600 had a transponder,
00:07:22.840 so it was appearing on radar.
00:07:25.140 It did not have technology
00:07:27.600 called ADS-B,
00:07:30.540 which is technology
00:07:32.060 that pings the location
00:07:34.340 of an aircraft,
00:07:35.720 and it does so using GPS
00:07:37.920 rather than radar.
00:07:39.200 And ADS-B is more accurate
00:07:41.540 and more reliable
00:07:42.560 than simply a transponder
00:07:44.980 that is pinging on radar.
00:07:46.500 Now, under the FAA rules,
00:07:50.880 military aircraft
00:07:52.180 and federal law enforcement aircraft
00:07:54.340 are exempted
00:07:56.440 from the requirement
00:07:57.280 that they have ADS-B technology.
00:07:59.780 And I will tell you,
00:08:00.520 as we were talking
00:08:01.100 with the FAA,
00:08:02.380 as we were talking
00:08:03.400 with the NTSB,
00:08:05.420 what they told us,
00:08:09.760 at least initially,
00:08:11.340 is that had the Blackhawk
00:08:14.280 had ADS-B,
00:08:15.500 they said it would have not
00:08:16.520 have altered the ability
00:08:17.800 of air traffic control
00:08:19.480 and the American Airlines pilot
00:08:22.340 to see the helicopter.
00:08:24.920 I don't know.
00:08:25.840 I will confess,
00:08:27.440 I don't know the technical answers
00:08:28.820 to this precisely,
00:08:30.840 which is why
00:08:31.860 the investigation needs to proceed.
00:08:34.580 I expect to get an answer on that,
00:08:36.260 but we don't know
00:08:37.020 the answer to that exactly.
00:08:39.740 I will say also, Ben,
00:08:41.260 I think a very reasonable question
00:08:43.000 that a number of senators
00:08:44.400 were asking
00:08:45.060 is why exactly
00:08:47.700 are there so many
00:08:49.400 helicopter flight paths
00:08:51.040 immediately in the vicinity
00:08:53.480 of such a busy airport
00:08:54.940 as D.C. Reagan Airport?
00:08:56.800 Yeah.
00:08:57.560 Is that a sound policy decision
00:09:00.620 to have helicopters
00:09:02.780 traveling that close?
00:09:04.160 Now, I don't know
00:09:05.780 if that's the cause of it,
00:09:06.720 by the way.
00:09:07.320 What we do know
00:09:09.040 is the two should not have collided,
00:09:10.500 and so somebody screwed up,
00:09:11.760 and we'll figure out
00:09:13.080 who and how and why.
00:09:15.760 And look, Washington,
00:09:16.800 I talked to a pilot today,
00:09:18.020 and he said,
00:09:18.540 Washington's just different,
00:09:20.060 and Reagan's just different.
00:09:21.340 There's a lot more helicopters there.
00:09:23.040 There's a lot more airspace there
00:09:24.620 that's different than other parts.
00:09:26.000 It's a lot more intense.
00:09:27.580 There's a lot more rules,
00:09:29.140 especially after 9-11,
00:09:30.580 and so you've got to look
00:09:31.920 at all those things.
00:09:32.960 It goes back to what you're saying.
00:09:34.460 It's just different.
00:09:35.980 Private airplanes, for example,
00:09:37.520 aren't going into Reagan.
00:09:38.540 You go into DOLIS
00:09:39.440 for that exact reason
00:09:40.700 because you're protecting,
00:09:42.980 and so there are so many X factors.
00:09:45.760 As one pilot said to me today,
00:09:47.340 there's so many questions to ask.
00:09:49.120 This is not a simple yes or no
00:09:50.920 or point of finger
00:09:51.800 because there's so many X factors
00:09:53.860 when you fly into DCA.
00:09:55.380 Well, and I'll say,
00:09:56.200 the briefing that I hosted
00:09:57.240 with NTSB and the FAA,
00:09:58.860 so I was on it, obviously.
00:10:01.780 Maria Cantwell,
00:10:02.540 who is the ranking member,
00:10:03.560 the senior Democrat
00:10:04.280 on the Commerce Committee,
00:10:05.220 she was on it.
00:10:06.580 We also had both
00:10:08.200 of the Kansas Senators,
00:10:09.460 Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall.
00:10:11.400 They both participated,
00:10:12.580 and obviously the flight
00:10:13.360 came from Wichita,
00:10:14.480 so the Kansas Senators
00:10:15.500 are particularly engaged.
00:10:18.000 And then we had Tammy Duckworth,
00:10:19.540 and Jerry Moran
00:10:20.420 and Tammy Duckworth
00:10:21.620 are the chairman
00:10:23.240 and ranking member,
00:10:24.160 respectively,
00:10:24.780 of the Aviation Subcommittee
00:10:26.020 of the Commerce Committee,
00:10:26.820 so they're both particularly
00:10:28.320 engaged in aviation issues,
00:10:29.700 which is why I invited
00:10:30.660 both of them to participate.
00:10:32.600 So Tammy Duckworth
00:10:33.580 was in the military.
00:10:35.000 She was a helicopter pilot,
00:10:36.240 and she's in a wheelchair.
00:10:37.920 She was very badly wounded
00:10:40.220 in a combat injury,
00:10:42.880 but she is an experienced
00:10:44.660 helicopter pilot.
00:10:45.500 And I will tell you
00:10:46.080 in the briefing,
00:10:46.780 I commented,
00:10:48.040 I said,
00:10:48.320 Tammy,
00:10:48.540 it's really helpful
00:10:49.120 to have an experienced
00:10:51.000 helicopter pilot
00:10:51.940 as part of this discussion
00:10:53.740 because she was literally,
00:10:54.720 she had the maps
00:10:55.440 out of the flight paths,
00:10:56.820 and she's looking at,
00:10:58.240 okay,
00:10:58.500 where Runway 33 is
00:10:59.920 and where Helicopter Route 4 is.
00:11:02.120 And Tammy was saying
00:11:03.180 in the course of the discussion,
00:11:04.380 look,
00:11:04.640 if the helicopter stayed
00:11:06.280 on Helicopter Route 4,
00:11:08.160 it should not have been
00:11:09.520 anywhere close
00:11:10.560 to the landing pattern
00:11:12.400 for Runway 33.
00:11:14.140 So that was an insight.
00:11:15.840 Look,
00:11:16.020 I'm not a helicopter pilot.
00:11:17.380 I don't have the insight
00:11:18.200 to look at those maps
00:11:19.180 and determine that.
00:11:20.520 I thought that was
00:11:21.100 a very interesting insight
00:11:22.040 from her.
00:11:22.460 I'll tell you something else
00:11:23.260 she said that I didn't know
00:11:24.500 that was interesting.
00:11:26.040 It's been widely reported
00:11:27.180 the Army Black Helicopter
00:11:28.900 was on a training mission.
00:11:30.840 What she said
00:11:32.060 is the Army routinely codes
00:11:34.180 virtually every flight
00:11:35.620 as a training mission.
00:11:37.500 And she said
00:11:38.000 the reason they do that
00:11:38.980 is Army pilots
00:11:39.700 are required
00:11:40.300 to have a certain number
00:11:41.600 of hours
00:11:42.080 to keep their certification.
00:11:44.560 And so every flight
00:11:46.200 they do
00:11:46.600 is a training mission
00:11:47.380 to maintain those hours.
00:11:48.560 So what she said is
00:11:49.520 it doesn't necessarily convey
00:11:51.820 what the purpose
00:11:52.680 of that flight was
00:11:53.780 that it is being called
00:11:55.280 a training mission.
00:11:55.920 I have to admit
00:11:56.660 I would not have known that
00:11:58.480 had she not said that.
00:11:59.540 And I think all of us
00:12:00.440 we were like,
00:12:01.120 oh, that's interesting.
00:12:02.860 Yeah, because when you listen
00:12:04.160 especially if you're
00:12:05.140 just watching the news
00:12:06.060 and you're like,
00:12:06.540 why would you have
00:12:07.280 this training flight
00:12:08.120 this time of night
00:12:09.160 right there
00:12:10.240 in this airspace?
00:12:11.760 Surely there's somewhere else
00:12:12.680 you could go and train
00:12:13.560 that is a lot less congested
00:12:15.460 than DCA
00:12:16.220 and all the regulations
00:12:17.380 that you have
00:12:18.200 in this Bravo space
00:12:19.620 around Washington DC
00:12:21.840 at the highest level
00:12:23.440 go somewhere else
00:12:24.200 and be safer
00:12:24.880 but the way that you
00:12:25.860 just described it from her
00:12:27.080 well, this actually makes sense.
00:12:28.580 They could be doing real work
00:12:30.480 and they categorize it
00:12:31.880 as a training mission.
00:12:33.280 So look,
00:12:33.880 I think in the days
00:12:35.460 that go forward
00:12:36.180 we're going to find out
00:12:37.300 what the precise mission was.
00:12:40.500 My understanding is
00:12:41.880 the pilots
00:12:42.340 for the American Airlines flight
00:12:43.840 were quite experienced.
00:12:45.180 They had a very significant
00:12:46.800 number of hours of flight
00:12:48.160 so they were very experienced
00:12:49.200 at this point
00:12:50.160 I don't have a clear picture
00:12:51.280 of what the experience level was
00:12:53.120 for the Army pilots.
00:12:54.940 I'm confident
00:12:55.780 we will find out
00:12:56.560 more about that
00:12:57.520 and I'm confident
00:12:59.720 we will have discussions
00:13:00.740 on policy questions.
00:13:02.080 One discussion
00:13:02.960 I'm sure we will have
00:13:04.220 is whether the exemption
00:13:06.460 to the FAA rules
00:13:07.640 for military aircraft
00:13:08.700 and federal law enforcement aircraft
00:13:10.260 from having the ADS-B technology
00:13:12.280 whether that is a good decision
00:13:15.400 or not.
00:13:16.280 My understanding is
00:13:17.440 one of the reasons
00:13:18.420 for that exemption
00:13:19.140 is the military
00:13:19.800 and law enforcement
00:13:20.460 sometimes doesn't want
00:13:21.420 to be tracked.
00:13:22.040 They don't want
00:13:22.740 their location evident
00:13:24.420 and there may be reasons
00:13:25.940 for both military
00:13:27.640 and law enforcement context
00:13:28.880 why you want
00:13:30.020 the ability
00:13:31.240 not to be tracked
00:13:33.120 in real time.
00:13:34.780 I think that's a discussion
00:13:35.940 we're going to have to have
00:13:36.900 and as I sit here today
00:13:39.960 I don't know
00:13:41.140 whether that
00:13:41.840 if the Blackhawk
00:13:43.420 had that technology
00:13:44.360 whether it would have made
00:13:45.160 a material difference
00:13:46.180 preventing this accident
00:13:48.400 I think that's
00:13:48.960 a reasonable question
00:13:50.760 to ask.
00:13:52.140 Secondly
00:13:52.580 I think we're going to get
00:13:53.480 some real questions
00:13:54.320 about okay
00:13:54.960 how many helicopter flights
00:13:56.940 are there in and around
00:13:58.980 Reagan Airport?
00:14:00.820 Do we need all of those flights?
00:14:02.540 Is there an unnecessary
00:14:04.260 and unreasonable risk?
00:14:05.500 I don't know the answer to that
00:14:06.720 there may be some compelling reason
00:14:08.500 why you need to have that
00:14:10.140 I certainly think
00:14:10.860 you ought to give the military
00:14:11.740 a chance to explain it
00:14:12.920 but I think
00:14:13.440 given this horrific
00:14:15.720 collision
00:14:17.280 and the lives that are lost
00:14:20.220 we're going to have to have
00:14:21.120 a very serious conversation
00:14:22.460 about what caused this accident
00:14:25.600 and what steps can be taken
00:14:27.440 to prevent this
00:14:28.560 from happening in the future.
00:14:30.140 Well let's talk about
00:14:31.180 the government aspect
00:14:32.080 of this as well
00:14:32.840 because there's people
00:14:33.560 that have been asking
00:14:34.560 is there full staffing?
00:14:37.300 Are we understaffed?
00:14:38.460 Are there enough people
00:14:39.280 in the towers?
00:14:39.900 Are there enough qualified
00:14:41.520 people in the towers?
00:14:42.640 Has that even become
00:14:44.160 part of the conversation
00:14:45.100 yet on the Hill?
00:14:46.400 It's certainly part
00:14:47.520 of the conversation
00:14:48.300 I would say at this point
00:14:49.580 we don't know
00:14:50.280 so I've seen reports
00:14:51.460 that the air traffic controller
00:14:52.780 was assigned
00:14:53.900 to multiple responsibilities
00:14:55.100 it's not clear
00:14:56.480 what the facts are on that
00:14:57.700 and one of the dangers
00:14:58.860 coming out of
00:14:59.580 a catastrophic accident
00:15:01.420 is there's a fog of war
00:15:03.320 there's people hear
00:15:04.360 a snippet this and the other
00:15:05.540 and they repeat it
00:15:06.280 and I'm a big believer
00:15:08.180 I will say the NTSB
00:15:09.660 I've grown to really
00:15:11.380 respect the work they do
00:15:12.580 they investigate
00:15:14.120 when you have
00:15:15.260 a catastrophic accident
00:15:16.800 they investigate
00:15:17.540 based on the facts
00:15:18.640 based on evidence
00:15:19.480 and they do a good job
00:15:20.880 of not jumping
00:15:22.080 to conclusions
00:15:22.680 trying to figure out
00:15:23.540 okay exactly what happened
00:15:24.700 so Alaska Airlines
00:15:25.580 when you had the door
00:15:26.220 plug blow off
00:15:26.980 NTSB did a very
00:15:28.440 thorough investigation
00:15:29.400 there and presented
00:15:30.800 their conclusions
00:15:31.540 and so today
00:15:32.980 we heard from them
00:15:34.020 but it was
00:15:35.120 it was barely
00:15:36.700 12 hours
00:15:37.540 into the
00:15:38.140 the investigation
00:15:39.260 so they didn't know
00:15:40.540 a whole lot yet
00:15:41.480 and I do think
00:15:43.720 and they will reach
00:15:44.640 a conclusion
00:15:45.320 expeditiously
00:15:46.660 these guys are serious
00:15:47.800 and technical
00:15:48.480 and they try
00:15:50.120 to follow the facts
00:15:51.020 and that investigation
00:15:52.300 is important
00:15:53.420 once we know
00:15:54.480 the facts
00:15:55.180 of what caused
00:15:57.080 the accident
00:15:58.220 then we can say
00:15:59.200 all right
00:15:59.660 what steps
00:16:01.600 can be taken
00:16:02.440 to minimize
00:16:03.100 these risks
00:16:03.800 going forward
00:16:04.600 but I do think
00:16:07.780 one of the things
00:16:09.240 I'm urging my colleagues
00:16:10.420 both Republicans
00:16:11.140 and Democrats
00:16:11.720 is don't
00:16:13.200 don't get ahead
00:16:14.000 of ourselves
00:16:14.700 and by the way
00:16:15.460 I'll tell you
00:16:15.840 just a personal
00:16:17.340 aspect to this
00:16:18.240 so last night
00:16:20.160 Wednesday night
00:16:20.880 I was having dinner
00:16:22.360 in Washington D.C.
00:16:23.580 I was having dinner
00:16:24.220 with Mike Waltz
00:16:25.000 Mike Waltz is
00:16:25.940 President Trump's
00:16:27.200 National Security Advisor
00:16:28.240 and so most nights
00:16:30.080 when I'm in Washington D.C.
00:16:31.920 I have working dinners
00:16:33.260 I have dinners
00:16:33.940 with colleagues
00:16:35.420 with other senators
00:16:36.260 or house members
00:16:36.940 I have dinners
00:16:37.380 with cabinet members
00:16:38.220 sometimes I have dinners
00:16:40.240 with subject matter experts
00:16:41.480 so last night
00:16:42.180 I was having dinner
00:16:42.780 with Mike Waltz
00:16:43.460 Trump's National Security Advisor
00:16:45.260 and we were talking
00:16:46.480 foreign policy
00:16:47.300 we were talking
00:16:47.800 the Middle East
00:16:48.380 we were talking
00:16:48.920 Israel and Iran
00:16:50.020 and China
00:16:50.560 and all of the
00:16:51.360 foreign policy challenges
00:16:52.900 facing this country
00:16:53.800 and I will tell you
00:16:55.180 right at the end
00:16:55.980 of the dinner
00:16:56.380 we actually were just
00:16:57.560 wrapping up
00:16:58.500 when Mike got a call
00:17:00.280 and said
00:17:00.900 oh wow
00:17:01.540 okay there's been
00:17:02.140 a collision
00:17:02.620 between a jet
00:17:03.360 and a helicopter
00:17:03.900 at D.C.
00:17:04.420 Reagan Airport
00:17:04.880 so Mike left
00:17:06.280 to go back
00:17:06.660 to the White House
00:17:07.280 to deal with it
00:17:08.140 and as I was walking out
00:17:11.400 I'll tell you Ben
00:17:12.160 a particularly
00:17:12.880 personal aspect
00:17:13.780 so last night
00:17:16.060 Heidi was flying
00:17:16.980 into D.C.
00:17:18.740 and she was flying
00:17:19.840 into Reagan
00:17:20.400 wow
00:17:21.360 and she was due
00:17:22.540 to land
00:17:23.060 about 30 minutes
00:17:24.120 after this accident
00:17:25.040 happened
00:17:25.520 and so I'll say
00:17:28.200 my body man
00:17:29.580 who's a great kid
00:17:30.960 and is with me
00:17:31.840 frequently
00:17:32.320 he came up
00:17:32.820 I'll give him credit
00:17:33.840 what he said to me
00:17:34.840 walking up
00:17:35.520 is he said
00:17:36.080 Heidi's okay
00:17:37.260 but there's been
00:17:39.160 an accident
00:17:39.620 at D.C.
00:17:40.220 Reagan
00:17:40.460 and a commercial jet
00:17:42.340 has hit a helicopter
00:17:42.880 I was very glad
00:17:44.080 he started with
00:17:44.860 Heidi's okay
00:17:45.500 because I gotta say
00:17:47.240 and so what happened
00:17:48.000 her flight was diverted
00:17:49.020 from Reagan
00:17:49.660 and it landed in BWI
00:17:51.160 for people that don't know
00:17:52.720 BWI is Baltimore
00:17:53.700 Baltimore, Washington
00:17:55.160 and it's about
00:17:56.720 45 minutes away
00:17:57.800 there are three airports
00:17:58.700 that serve D.C.
00:18:00.160 Washington and Reagan
00:18:00.980 is the closest to D.C.
00:18:02.880 Washington and Dulles
00:18:03.740 is in northern Virginia
00:18:04.880 a little further out
00:18:05.920 and then BWI
00:18:06.940 Baltimore, Washington
00:18:07.800 is like I said
00:18:09.420 45 minutes to an hour out
00:18:10.900 so she was diverted
00:18:12.240 and so when she landed
00:18:14.080 it was interesting
00:18:14.660 I texted her immediately
00:18:15.780 said hey are you okay
00:18:16.720 I got no answer
00:18:17.520 because she was still
00:18:18.020 in the air
00:18:18.440 and then when she landed
00:18:20.380 I called her immediately
00:18:21.800 and as she was
00:18:22.940 getting off the plane
00:18:23.800 she said what happened
00:18:25.460 I don't understand
00:18:26.060 why did we get sent
00:18:26.800 to BWI
00:18:27.440 so they didn't tell
00:18:28.180 the passengers
00:18:28.740 why they were diverted
00:18:29.580 and so I told her
00:18:32.560 what had happened
00:18:33.220 and she was
00:18:34.000 and look I understand
00:18:35.200 you don't want to tell
00:18:35.900 passengers on an airplane
00:18:36.920 hey there was just
00:18:37.680 a plane crash
00:18:38.380 that freaks people out
00:18:39.700 but I told her
00:18:41.520 and then she came home
00:18:42.480 but I gotta admit
00:18:43.200 it freaked me out
00:18:45.720 a little bit
00:18:46.300 that my wife
00:18:47.240 was within 20-30 minutes
00:18:49.400 of where there was
00:18:50.460 a fatal plane crash
00:18:51.660 at that airport
00:18:52.460 and you and I
00:18:53.800 have both landed
00:18:54.920 at DCA
00:18:57.000 hundreds if not
00:18:58.060 thousands of times
00:18:59.380 and so it's
00:19:01.420 I gotta say
00:19:03.840 I did
00:19:04.720 I was
00:19:06.420 I said a long prayer
00:19:09.280 and was like
00:19:09.880 God thank you
00:19:10.560 for sparing Heidi
00:19:11.640 and when she got
00:19:12.720 to our apartment
00:19:14.020 I gave her
00:19:14.580 a very long hug
00:19:15.520 and I am grieving
00:19:17.620 for the 67 families
00:19:19.940 who are mourning
00:19:21.040 the loss
00:19:21.540 of their loved ones
00:19:22.360 it's horrific
00:19:24.020 and we're certainly
00:19:26.060 grieving them
00:19:26.840 and we're grateful
00:19:27.400 for all the first responders
00:19:28.580 and everyone
00:19:29.100 who's been really heroic
00:19:30.240 trying to deal
00:19:31.900 with this catastrophe
00:19:33.300 since it happened
00:19:34.160 well I also want
00:19:35.960 to just highlight
00:19:36.820 the response
00:19:38.040 was incredible
00:19:39.460 and I'm sure
00:19:40.180 you've got
00:19:40.800 some of that briefing
00:19:41.960 that came about this
00:19:43.200 you know
00:19:44.200 there's always criticism
00:19:45.420 of we could do things
00:19:46.360 better
00:19:46.680 but the on the ground
00:19:48.080 first responders response
00:19:49.860 truly seemed
00:19:51.180 unbelievable
00:19:52.420 how quick
00:19:53.820 they were responding
00:19:54.880 how fast
00:19:55.960 there were so many
00:19:56.880 people there to help
00:19:57.780 you were hoping
00:19:59.220 for good news
00:19:59.960 that there were going
00:20:00.460 to be survivors
00:20:01.280 we now know
00:20:02.100 the tragic loss
00:20:03.440 of life
00:20:03.900 and what the reality
00:20:05.520 was
00:20:05.960 but even in the recovery
00:20:07.840 it was all hands
00:20:09.340 on deck
00:20:09.820 and it made me proud
00:20:10.920 to be an American
00:20:11.940 I mean it was
00:20:12.480 truly incredible
00:20:13.500 to watch it
00:20:14.200 in real time
00:20:14.800 on TV
00:20:15.300 yeah I talked
00:20:16.700 early this morning
00:20:17.560 to Robert Isom
00:20:18.900 who's the CEO
00:20:19.620 of American Airlines
00:20:20.600 he flew to DC
00:20:22.060 he was on the ground
00:20:23.120 obviously they were
00:20:23.960 dealing with
00:20:24.580 60 passengers
00:20:26.420 and four crew members
00:20:27.540 who were killed
00:20:28.140 and they were dealing
00:20:28.920 with trying to provide
00:20:30.300 help and support
00:20:31.000 to the families
00:20:31.660 and I talked to him
00:20:33.840 I also talked to
00:20:34.440 Sean Duffy
00:20:34.980 who's the Secretary
00:20:35.580 of Transportation
00:20:36.320 you know Sean
00:20:37.700 was confirmed
00:20:38.420 the day earlier
00:20:39.800 like it literally
00:20:41.560 this was his first
00:20:42.660 day on the job
00:20:43.500 yeah
00:20:44.140 and Sean
00:20:45.880 is a good man
00:20:46.880 and a serious man
00:20:47.720 and he's been diving
00:20:48.580 in and trying to deal
00:20:49.440 with it
00:20:49.760 but this is a heck
00:20:50.560 of a welcome
00:20:51.580 to be Secretary
00:20:52.220 of Transportation
00:20:52.860 we've got a major
00:20:53.980 airplane accident
00:20:55.960 on day one
00:20:57.140 and he's
00:20:57.760 dealing with it
00:20:58.800 and look
00:20:59.160 the resources
00:21:01.120 to investigate
00:21:02.100 to try to determine
00:21:04.140 exactly what happened
00:21:05.260 the NTSB in particular
00:21:07.260 they're very good
00:21:08.060 at this
00:21:08.520 and we're trying
00:21:09.720 to track down
00:21:10.700 obviously
00:21:12.200 there was a massive
00:21:13.900 mistake somewhere
00:21:15.140 but we need to figure out
00:21:16.520 who made it
00:21:17.680 and why
00:21:18.560 and how could it
00:21:19.920 have been prevented
00:21:20.540 so that we can learn
00:21:21.320 lessons
00:21:21.720 and try to stop
00:21:23.260 this from happening
00:21:23.920 again
00:21:24.300 I will say this
00:21:25.500 though also
00:21:25.980 as just a comfort
00:21:27.000 to everyone
00:21:27.460 as horrific
00:21:29.160 as this is
00:21:30.140 it is worth
00:21:31.880 remembering
00:21:32.480 that air travel
00:21:33.580 is hands down
00:21:35.180 the safest mode
00:21:35.900 of transport
00:21:36.420 and your odds
00:21:37.880 of being killed
00:21:40.840 driving to the airport
00:21:42.220 are still higher
00:21:43.260 than they are
00:21:43.980 of being killed
00:21:44.860 flying on a commercial
00:21:46.320 airline
00:21:46.680 so they're not zero
00:21:48.140 and in some ways
00:21:50.040 it is amazing
00:21:51.720 given the flights
00:21:52.560 that occur
00:21:53.020 all over this country
00:21:54.080 in so many places
00:21:55.580 that it has been
00:21:57.620 a long time
00:21:59.240 since we've had
00:22:00.220 a mass fatality
00:22:01.240 accident
00:22:01.700 in the United States
00:22:02.600 given how complicated
00:22:04.140 flying is
00:22:04.900 and in some ways
00:22:05.720 that's remarkable
00:22:06.440 but nonetheless
00:22:08.260 this tragedy
00:22:09.300 we should do
00:22:10.760 everything we can
00:22:11.760 to press
00:22:13.220 for zero fatalities
00:22:15.160 and so we're going
00:22:15.960 to learn lessons
00:22:16.720 from this
00:22:17.200 and try to
00:22:17.800 prevent it
00:22:18.920 from happening again
00:22:19.660 you mentioned something
00:22:21.200 and just you talk
00:22:21.840 about perspective
00:22:22.580 it's amazing
00:22:24.340 just how fast
00:22:25.380 things can change
00:22:26.380 because Sean Duffy
00:22:28.620 who you know well
00:22:29.400 and his wife Rachel
00:22:30.520 they have a large family
00:22:33.180 and he was welcomed
00:22:35.280 just minutes before
00:22:37.880 at his office
00:22:40.180 and his family was there
00:22:41.520 and he walked up
00:22:42.420 to walk into the office
00:22:44.200 where he's going to serve
00:22:45.000 the American people
00:22:45.880 and he went into that office
00:22:47.540 and then I'm sure afterwards
00:22:48.980 was immediately rushed out
00:22:50.160 because of what happened
00:22:51.440 and I sent a note
00:22:53.300 to Rachel last night
00:22:54.780 and I just said
00:22:55.180 you know
00:22:55.720 I'm so proud
00:22:56.720 and I'm so sorry
00:22:57.460 that the first night
00:22:58.580 that this is what
00:22:59.540 you're having to deal
00:22:59.960 with the best
00:23:00.300 that I know God
00:23:00.960 has put y'all
00:23:01.700 there for times like this
00:23:03.200 to lead into comfort
00:23:04.180 and I do think
00:23:05.540 the American people
00:23:06.120 should understand
00:23:06.700 there are incredible leaders
00:23:08.060 that we have just gained
00:23:09.680 who are going to do
00:23:10.480 an amazing job
00:23:11.600 in times like these
00:23:12.980 Sean is one of those
00:23:14.220 yeah and look
00:23:15.360 I'm grateful
00:23:16.120 that he was on board
00:23:17.480 and confirmed
00:23:18.100 and was able
00:23:18.680 to be doing his job
00:23:20.160 on the day of this accident
00:23:21.040 also Pete Hegseth
00:23:22.320 who was just confirmed
00:23:23.340 as Secretary of Defense
00:23:24.400 listen this is a crisis
00:23:26.980 involving loss of life
00:23:28.540 for three soldiers as well
00:23:30.460 and the question
00:23:32.940 of who was at fault
00:23:34.260 there's at least
00:23:35.000 some real question
00:23:36.700 whether the military pilots
00:23:38.800 have committed
00:23:40.440 some serious error
00:23:41.540 we don't know for sure
00:23:43.000 but that
00:23:44.140 you look at Pete Hegseth
00:23:46.100 you're just confirmed
00:23:46.920 as Defense Secretary
00:23:47.800 this is a serious challenge
00:23:49.660 to deal with
00:23:50.280 in his first couple
00:23:51.380 of days as well
00:23:52.120 and I'm grateful
00:23:52.740 both of them
00:23:53.680 were confirmed
00:23:54.780 and on the job
00:23:55.600 because you need
00:23:56.220 strong leadership
00:23:56.920 to deal with
00:23:57.900 a crisis of this magnitude
00:23:59.460 I was going to ask you
00:24:00.600 my next question
00:24:01.320 quickly was going to be
00:24:02.260 the follow-up
00:24:03.100 on the military side
00:24:04.560 we talked so much
00:24:05.320 about you know
00:24:06.860 transportation
00:24:07.760 the airlines
00:24:08.680 and the CEO
00:24:09.420 and etc
00:24:10.040 but let's talk about
00:24:11.180 the military side
00:24:12.160 there was loss
00:24:13.280 of life there as well
00:24:14.180 what do we know
00:24:14.780 from that perspective
00:24:15.920 we know three soldiers
00:24:17.760 were aboard the Blackhawk
00:24:18.840 and they were all killed
00:24:19.960 we don't know
00:24:20.780 the details now
00:24:21.860 of who made the mistake
00:24:25.500 obviously somebody did
00:24:27.480 because this should not
00:24:28.260 have happened
00:24:28.720 but we don't know
00:24:30.360 where the mistake was
00:24:31.420 and it's where
00:24:32.080 the investigation
00:24:33.040 like NTSB
00:24:34.100 will retrace
00:24:35.840 the exact path
00:24:37.360 of each airline
00:24:38.240 each aircraft
00:24:39.620 and figure out
00:24:41.760 okay
00:24:42.080 who was
00:24:43.000 not where they were
00:24:45.100 supposed to be
00:24:45.720 who was in the wrong place
00:24:47.020 was there a miscommunication
00:24:48.920 look as you review
00:24:49.740 the transcripts
00:24:51.300 you know
00:24:52.200 FAA and NTSB
00:24:53.540 told us at least
00:24:54.380 initially reviewing
00:24:55.240 the transcript
00:24:55.840 it appeared
00:24:56.500 like when the air traffic
00:24:57.980 controller said
00:24:58.680 okay do you have
00:24:59.280 visual confirmation
00:25:00.160 of the airline
00:25:00.760 and the helicopter pilot
00:25:01.940 said yes
00:25:02.660 what we were told
00:25:04.100 in the briefing
00:25:04.580 is ordinarily
00:25:05.260 the air traffic controller
00:25:06.600 would move on
00:25:07.200 say okay
00:25:07.580 you guys are taken care of
00:25:08.820 onto the next flight
00:25:10.060 so that was their initial take
00:25:12.640 is that exchange
00:25:13.680 appeared to be
00:25:15.900 a fairly typical exchange
00:25:17.980 back and forth
00:25:18.740 of navigating
00:25:19.760 multiple aircraft
00:25:21.260 in close proximity
00:25:23.100 nevertheless
00:25:24.960 we'll find out
00:25:26.940 as we examine
00:25:27.860 was there just one individual
00:25:30.500 who made an error
00:25:31.760 were there multiple individuals
00:25:33.080 what was
00:25:33.960 what was the cause of this
00:25:36.100 and that
00:25:36.800 I'm confident
00:25:38.180 and I've told
00:25:39.080 the other members
00:25:39.780 of the commerce committee
00:25:40.620 as NTSB
00:25:42.400 reaches conclusions
00:25:43.720 I'll have another briefing
00:25:44.940 where we sit down
00:25:45.760 with them
00:25:46.120 and can ask them
00:25:46.900 ask them hard questions
00:25:48.740 and understand
00:25:49.320 okay
00:25:49.900 what really caused this
00:25:52.300 and how do we prevent it
00:25:53.120 from happening again
00:25:53.820 Canadian women
00:25:55.360 Canadian women are looking
00:25:55.820 for more
00:25:56.420 more out of themselves
00:25:57.500 their businesses
00:25:58.340 their elected leaders
00:25:59.460 and the world around them
00:26:00.680 and that's why we're thrilled
00:26:01.820 to introduce
00:26:02.480 the Honest Talk Podcast
00:26:03.980 I'm Jennifer Stewart
00:26:05.520 and I'm Catherine Clark
00:26:06.720 and in this podcast
00:26:07.960 we interview Canada's
00:26:09.120 most inspiring women
00:26:10.420 entrepreneurs
00:26:10.980 artists
00:26:11.880 athletes
00:26:12.540 politicians
00:26:13.160 and newsmakers
00:26:14.060 all at different stages
00:26:15.360 of their journey
00:26:16.200 so if you're looking
00:26:17.520 to connect
00:26:18.060 then we hope you'll join us
00:26:19.520 listen to the Honest Talk Podcast
00:26:20.960 on iHeart Radio
00:26:22.040 or wherever you listen
00:26:23.100 to your podcasts
00:26:23.820 this brings us
00:26:26.560 to confirmations
00:26:27.480 and I do want to
00:26:28.360 just give a quick update
00:26:29.500 for everybody
00:26:30.200 about where we are
00:26:31.460 it shows you
00:26:32.760 the importance
00:26:33.360 of having people
00:26:34.040 in these positions
00:26:34.780 you talk about
00:26:35.500 Sean Duffy
00:26:35.980 as a great example
00:26:36.680 he was confirmed
00:26:37.460 on the day
00:26:38.400 this happened
00:26:39.120 there are several
00:26:40.380 other major posts
00:26:41.720 that we have
00:26:42.600 confirmation hearings
00:26:43.520 that wrapped up
00:26:45.220 on Thursday
00:26:45.880 as you and I
00:26:46.520 are recording
00:26:46.880 this Thursday night
00:26:47.780 there will not be
00:26:49.200 votes on them
00:26:49.880 until next week
00:26:50.700 how are things
00:26:51.920 moving forward
00:26:52.600 where are we
00:26:53.400 in general
00:26:53.960 right now
00:26:54.540 compared to
00:26:55.800 in the past
00:26:56.700 because I've been
00:26:57.200 saying are they
00:26:57.880 slowing us down
00:26:58.760 are we getting
00:26:59.460 back on track
00:27:00.360 where are we
00:27:01.080 so look
00:27:02.340 the Democrats
00:27:02.880 are certainly
00:27:03.440 engaged in delay
00:27:04.500 and obstruction
00:27:05.100 that being said
00:27:06.640 where we are now
00:27:07.440 eight cabinet members
00:27:08.440 have been confirmed
00:27:09.200 so we are
00:27:10.460 what's the total
00:27:12.300 number that is
00:27:12.940 a full cabinet
00:27:13.620 in the low 20s
00:27:16.080 okay so we're
00:27:17.000 far away
00:27:17.520 we're not even
00:27:17.940 a half
00:27:18.360 we're not even
00:27:18.780 at 50%
00:27:19.340 correct but we
00:27:20.640 are ahead
00:27:22.160 of where
00:27:23.600 Biden was
00:27:24.380 at this point
00:27:25.040 and we're ahead
00:27:26.340 of where Trump
00:27:27.020 was in the first
00:27:27.740 term so so
00:27:28.840 eight is moving
00:27:30.420 with with greater
00:27:31.400 expedition than
00:27:32.320 the last two
00:27:32.940 administrations
00:27:33.640 have seen
00:27:34.040 and so it
00:27:35.340 started with
00:27:36.080 the first
00:27:36.540 cabinet member
00:27:37.120 confirmed was
00:27:37.700 Marco Rubio
00:27:38.320 he was confirmed
00:27:38.920 on January 20th
00:27:39.880 the first day
00:27:40.440 and he was
00:27:42.240 confirmed 99 to
00:27:43.200 zero
00:27:43.420 the second
00:27:44.800 cabinet member
00:27:45.460 was the CIA
00:27:46.160 director John
00:27:46.960 Ratcliffe
00:27:47.480 he had 74
00:27:49.480 yeses and 25
00:27:50.480 noes
00:27:50.920 after that you
00:27:52.800 had Pete
00:27:53.160 Hegseth as
00:27:54.140 defense secretary
00:27:55.220 he had 51
00:27:56.240 yeses and 50
00:27:57.120 noes
00:27:57.620 the vice
00:27:58.320 president J.D.
00:27:59.100 Vance cast the
00:27:59.780 tie-breaking vote
00:28:00.460 the next person
00:28:01.920 confirmed was the
00:28:02.720 secretary of
00:28:03.220 homeland security
00:28:03.960 Christy Dome
00:28:04.780 she had 59
00:28:06.080 yeses and 34
00:28:07.120 noes
00:28:07.580 after that the
00:28:09.340 treasury secretary
00:28:10.180 was confirmed
00:28:11.000 he had 68
00:28:13.100 yeses
00:28:13.660 29 noes
00:28:15.020 that's Scott
00:28:15.600 Besant
00:28:16.000 after that the
00:28:17.540 transportation
00:28:17.980 secretary Sean
00:28:19.040 Duffy was
00:28:19.560 confirmed
00:28:19.980 we're very glad
00:28:20.640 he was confirmed
00:28:21.280 given this
00:28:21.780 crisis
00:28:22.180 he had 77
00:28:24.000 yeses and
00:28:24.700 22 noes
00:28:25.520 after that
00:28:27.220 the EPA
00:28:29.240 administrator
00:28:30.020 Lee Zeldin
00:28:30.840 former congressman
00:28:31.760 from New York
00:28:32.400 former candidate
00:28:33.100 for governor
00:28:33.660 in New York
00:28:34.200 a friend of mine
00:28:35.300 he was confirmed
00:28:36.600 as EPA
00:28:37.100 administrator
00:28:37.680 with 56
00:28:38.620 yeses
00:28:39.140 42 noes
00:28:40.400 and then just
00:28:41.540 today the
00:28:42.180 interior secretary
00:28:43.280 Doug Burgum
00:28:44.060 the former governor
00:28:45.320 of North Dakota
00:28:46.520 he was confirmed
00:28:47.400 79 yeses
00:28:48.620 18 noes
00:28:49.500 now where do we
00:28:50.100 stand now
00:28:50.860 in addition to
00:28:52.440 confirming Doug
00:28:53.160 Burgum
00:28:53.540 we've teed up
00:28:54.540 as the next
00:28:55.300 cabinet members
00:28:56.140 to be confirmed
00:28:57.500 Chris Wright
00:28:58.760 as secretary of
00:28:59.500 energy
00:28:59.840 Doug Collins
00:29:01.620 as secretary of
00:29:02.400 veterans affairs
00:29:03.100 and Pam Bondi
00:29:04.840 as attorney general
00:29:05.740 and Scott Turner
00:29:06.640 as secretary
00:29:08.000 of housing
00:29:09.380 and urban development
00:29:10.160 all of those
00:29:11.640 are scheduled
00:29:12.480 to be confirmed
00:29:13.160 next week
00:29:13.880 so they're
00:29:14.280 teed up
00:29:14.880 we were going
00:29:16.720 to ram
00:29:17.280 through the weekend
00:29:18.080 and keep the
00:29:18.760 Democrats here
00:29:19.440 because they were
00:29:19.980 engaged in obstruction
00:29:21.040 and Thursday night
00:29:22.660 the Democrats
00:29:23.280 caved
00:29:23.760 and they agreed
00:29:24.400 to expedite
00:29:25.180 and move
00:29:25.860 these forward
00:29:26.540 so we're
00:29:27.580 moving now
00:29:28.360 on a faster
00:29:29.180 pace
00:29:29.620 than we would
00:29:30.260 have
00:29:30.680 if we had
00:29:32.380 rammed through
00:29:32.840 the weekend
00:29:33.340 and the Democrats
00:29:34.100 had extended
00:29:34.580 all the time
00:29:35.200 and so they
00:29:35.680 agreed
00:29:36.060 all right
00:29:36.320 we'll compress
00:29:36.800 the time
00:29:37.400 if we let
00:29:39.280 them fly home
00:29:40.060 and so by
00:29:40.720 next week
00:29:41.220 as I said
00:29:41.800 Secretary of Energy
00:29:43.060 Secretary of Veterans
00:29:43.860 Affairs
00:29:44.240 Attorney General
00:29:45.120 and HUD
00:29:46.440 will all make
00:29:47.460 it through
00:29:47.720 next week
00:29:48.260 that obviously
00:29:49.720 means the pace
00:29:50.580 is moving up
00:29:51.320 when you look
00:29:52.340 at so far
00:29:53.660 what's happened
00:29:54.340 there does seem
00:29:55.300 to be a little
00:29:55.800 bit of a change
00:29:56.700 now we're noticing
00:29:57.640 it with the
00:29:58.080 Democrats
00:29:58.440 and the media
00:29:59.540 especially
00:30:00.360 it seems like
00:30:02.260 there's a real
00:30:03.300 appetite
00:30:03.940 to just get
00:30:06.020 a nominee
00:30:07.920 whatever one
00:30:09.220 they can get
00:30:09.480 their hands
00:30:09.940 on
00:30:10.200 to not
00:30:10.860 pass
00:30:11.420 is that
00:30:12.060 part of
00:30:12.460 the
00:30:12.580 gamesmanship
00:30:13.180 that we're
00:30:13.640 witnessing
00:30:14.020 am I reading
00:30:14.580 the room
00:30:14.900 the right way
00:30:15.500 yeah look
00:30:16.260 I still believe
00:30:17.820 and I've said
00:30:18.280 this a number
00:30:18.780 of times
00:30:19.300 that all
00:30:20.640 of Trump's
00:30:21.260 cabinet nominees
00:30:21.940 are going
00:30:22.280 to be confirmed
00:30:22.900 and I think
00:30:23.360 they'll be
00:30:23.660 confirmed
00:30:24.040 within 30
00:30:24.640 days
00:30:24.980 that we
00:30:25.580 are leaning
00:30:26.020 in
00:30:26.340 we're putting
00:30:26.760 the pedal
00:30:27.140 to the metal
00:30:27.660 on under
00:30:28.700 the Senate
00:30:29.120 rules
00:30:29.640 that the
00:30:30.160 Democrats
00:30:30.520 can delay
00:30:31.280 some
00:30:31.980 but I think
00:30:32.960 within 30
00:30:33.460 days we'll
00:30:33.880 get them
00:30:34.120 all through
00:30:34.520 now the
00:30:36.600 two the
00:30:37.920 three that
00:30:38.600 they're going
00:30:39.160 after hardest
00:30:40.040 are in
00:30:41.920 terms of
00:30:42.360 cabinet nominees
00:30:43.300 Tulsi Gabbard
00:30:44.220 for director
00:30:45.460 of national
00:30:45.940 intelligence
00:30:46.560 Bobby Kennedy
00:30:48.440 for health
00:30:49.120 and human
00:30:49.440 services
00:30:49.960 and then
00:30:51.200 it's not a
00:30:51.720 cabinet position
00:30:52.520 but but
00:30:53.200 cash Patel
00:30:53.980 for director
00:30:54.540 of the FBI
00:30:55.200 which it's a
00:30:56.180 sub cabinet
00:30:56.660 position but a
00:30:57.900 very very
00:30:58.420 important law
00:30:59.060 enforcement position
00:30:59.880 those are the
00:31:01.260 three it's not
00:31:02.040 complicated or
00:31:02.840 subtle those
00:31:04.180 three are the
00:31:04.780 top targets
00:31:05.400 of the
00:31:05.620 Democrats
00:31:06.120 today in
00:31:07.860 the Senate
00:31:08.140 Judiciary
00:31:08.580 Committee we
00:31:09.180 had cash
00:31:10.220 Patel's
00:31:10.660 hearing I
00:31:12.300 was vigorous
00:31:13.040 at the
00:31:13.400 hearing
00:31:13.740 defending
00:31:14.200 him I
00:31:15.300 will tell
00:31:15.720 you I
00:31:16.020 think I
00:31:17.360 think cash
00:31:18.260 did very
00:31:18.720 well I
00:31:19.240 think he
00:31:19.480 acquitted
00:31:19.740 himself in
00:31:20.400 an excellent
00:31:20.800 way this
00:31:22.360 evening I
00:31:22.740 was on
00:31:23.020 Sean Hannity
00:31:23.640 and as I
00:31:24.080 put it I
00:31:24.640 said my
00:31:25.080 assessment of
00:31:25.740 the Democrats
00:31:26.240 behavior at
00:31:27.420 cash Patel's
00:31:28.140 hearing reminded
00:31:29.500 me of the
00:31:30.020 quote from
00:31:30.660 from Shakespeare's
00:31:31.600 Macbeth it
00:31:32.960 was a tale
00:31:33.600 told by an
00:31:34.380 idiot full
00:31:35.060 of sound
00:31:35.480 and fury
00:31:35.940 and signifying
00:31:36.600 nothing
00:31:36.980 that is a
00:31:39.080 great accurate
00:31:40.200 way of describing
00:31:41.000 it was a you
00:31:41.820 know what show
00:31:42.540 is how I was
00:31:43.140 going to put
00:31:43.540 it but but
00:31:44.400 they didn't
00:31:44.860 land any
00:31:45.360 material blows
00:31:46.220 and look the
00:31:46.740 point on cash
00:31:47.680 what they're
00:31:48.940 attacking him
00:31:49.680 on not that
00:31:51.000 he's not
00:31:51.360 qualified he's
00:31:52.180 clearly qualified
00:31:52.980 he has has
00:31:54.100 over a decade
00:31:55.680 of experience in
00:31:56.720 law enforcement
00:31:57.300 national security
00:31:58.300 including having
00:31:59.520 been a a
00:32:00.460 federal public
00:32:01.600 defender including
00:32:02.400 having been a
00:32:02.860 federal prosecutor
00:32:03.620 having worked in
00:32:04.260 the national
00:32:04.580 security division
00:32:05.420 of the department
00:32:06.340 of justice
00:32:06.900 having worked in
00:32:07.560 the white house
00:32:08.100 and the national
00:32:08.460 security council
00:32:09.180 having been a
00:32:10.120 senior intelligence
00:32:10.940 staffer on
00:32:12.040 capitol hill and
00:32:12.840 having been the
00:32:13.300 chief of staff at
00:32:14.260 the united states
00:32:15.480 defense department
00:32:16.740 they're not arguing
00:32:19.640 he's unqualified
00:32:20.360 what they're arguing
00:32:21.280 is they're terrified
00:32:23.120 he will do exactly
00:32:24.260 what president trump
00:32:25.200 promised he would
00:32:26.040 do which is
00:32:27.280 eliminate the
00:32:28.060 politicization and
00:32:29.080 weaponization of the
00:32:30.080 fbi and get it
00:32:31.060 back to its core
00:32:31.740 function i
00:32:32.700 believe cash
00:32:33.220 patel will do
00:32:33.860 that and i think
00:32:34.500 the democrats are
00:32:35.140 freaking out because
00:32:35.740 they don't want
00:32:36.220 him to do that
00:32:36.840 but i think cash
00:32:37.960 will make it
00:32:38.440 through we also
00:32:39.800 had hearings this
00:32:40.700 week for both
00:32:41.360 bobby kennedy and
00:32:42.220 tulsi gabbard i
00:32:43.460 don't know it is
00:32:44.680 not impossible
00:32:45.680 that that one of
00:32:48.040 those nominees is
00:32:49.680 defeated but i
00:32:51.300 think they all make
00:32:52.220 it through right now
00:32:52.940 when you look at
00:32:54.420 the republicans
00:32:55.400 when democrats are
00:32:56.800 pushing this
00:32:57.260 obstructionism the
00:32:58.400 way that they they're
00:32:59.200 doing it and trying
00:32:59.840 to slow things down
00:33:00.440 does that unify the
00:33:02.440 the republican base
00:33:04.200 more because it's
00:33:05.360 like all right come
00:33:06.080 on guys does that
00:33:06.940 make it actually easier
00:33:08.080 to get the votes you
00:33:08.900 need because you
00:33:09.920 realize what you're
00:33:10.620 up against oh look
00:33:12.440 potentially um you
00:33:14.600 had pete hagseth who
00:33:15.720 is the one they went
00:33:16.560 after the hardest uh so
00:33:18.760 far and and that vote
00:33:20.780 was 50 50 we lost
00:33:22.140 three republicans we
00:33:23.180 lost susan collins
00:33:24.140 lisa murkowski and
00:33:25.060 mitch mcconnell um
00:33:26.700 because we have a 53
00:33:28.300 47 majority losing
00:33:30.400 three made it 50 50
00:33:31.680 and that meant the
00:33:32.520 vice president jd
00:33:33.440 vance could break
00:33:34.040 the tie i am glad
00:33:36.040 we have 53 if we
00:33:37.420 had a 51 vote
00:33:38.440 majority i would
00:33:39.660 not be nearly so
00:33:40.620 sanguine i would
00:33:41.280 not be saying every
00:33:42.240 trump cabinet nominee
00:33:43.140 is going to be
00:33:43.560 confirmed if we had
00:33:45.040 a 51 vote majority
00:33:46.140 but because we have
00:33:47.000 53 we can lose up
00:33:49.540 to three um and
00:33:51.500 and so i think all
00:33:52.700 of these make it
00:33:53.380 through listen tulsi
00:33:55.700 tulsi was a democrat
00:33:57.240 for most of her
00:33:58.060 career she is
00:33:59.020 perceived if you
00:34:00.120 look at republican
00:34:01.100 foreign policy they're
00:34:02.380 interventionists and
00:34:03.940 isolationists there are
00:34:05.160 many who perceive
00:34:06.100 tulsi as much more of
00:34:07.340 an isolationist so
00:34:09.160 there are republicans
00:34:10.800 who have real
00:34:11.280 concerns with her
00:34:12.040 will that play out
00:34:14.000 into no votes i
00:34:14.980 don't know i think
00:34:15.680 the president deserves
00:34:17.120 a considerable amount
00:34:18.040 of deference in in
00:34:19.180 in naming his cabinet
00:34:20.560 members and he has
00:34:21.420 decided to name
00:34:22.200 tulsi gabbard i'm
00:34:23.140 gonna vote yes but
00:34:24.780 i don't know it's
00:34:26.980 not impossible that
00:34:29.040 we get four no
00:34:30.140 votes which would
00:34:30.760 take down the
00:34:31.320 nomination likewise
00:34:32.320 bobby kennedy bobby
00:34:33.480 kennedy is a
00:34:33.940 complicated situation
00:34:34.840 both kennedy and
00:34:36.160 tulsi until like 12
00:34:38.020 minutes ago they were
00:34:38.900 both democrats yeah
00:34:40.480 and so bobby
00:34:42.260 kennedy obviously a
00:34:43.500 scion of of one of
00:34:45.000 the great democrat
00:34:45.960 royalty families
00:34:47.420 camelot um it is a
00:34:50.880 curious dynamic it's
00:34:52.020 not clear to me any
00:34:52.980 democrat is gonna
00:34:53.820 vote for him uh
00:34:55.560 which is a which is
00:34:56.680 an interesting
00:34:57.260 situation listen
00:34:58.720 there are some
00:34:59.260 conservatives bobby
00:35:01.360 kennedy until recently
00:35:02.580 on many policies his
00:35:03.980 his views were were
00:35:05.540 quite left of center
00:35:06.980 um i'm gonna vote for
00:35:10.220 bobby kennedy because i
00:35:11.340 think he's a change
00:35:12.140 agent because i think
00:35:12.980 he has courage to take
00:35:14.620 on i think some of the
00:35:15.620 corruption that we
00:35:16.340 have at hhs particularly
00:35:17.660 with big pharma that
00:35:18.760 gets in bed with with
00:35:20.540 the career bureaucrats
00:35:21.960 there and and stifles
00:35:23.300 competition and drives
00:35:24.420 up costs i i think if
00:35:27.880 you have a terrible
00:35:30.220 disease you should have
00:35:32.220 a right to access
00:35:33.280 life-saving medication
00:35:34.560 and and i'm one of the
00:35:35.680 original sponsors of the
00:35:36.740 right to try legislation
00:35:37.880 i think that's very
00:35:39.540 important and and i think
00:35:41.340 bobby kennedy is going to
00:35:42.580 shake up the the
00:35:44.580 cronyism that that that
00:35:46.340 that has characterized
00:35:48.180 hhs what's not clear to
00:35:50.980 me is i don't if any
00:35:54.100 democrats want that
00:35:55.300 cronyism shaken up and
00:35:57.480 to be honest there may
00:35:59.000 be some republicans or
00:36:00.020 don't let's play this
00:36:01.620 exchange so this is bobby
00:36:03.000 kennedy uh responding to
00:36:05.120 bernie sanders bernie's
00:36:06.160 gonna vote no and bernie
00:36:07.200 was attacking him like
00:36:08.160 crazy but i gotta say
00:36:09.400 bobby kennedy popped him
00:36:11.060 back pretty hard listen to
00:36:12.200 this exchange i'm gonna
00:36:14.500 make america healthier
00:36:16.360 than other countries in
00:36:17.520 the world right now
00:36:18.400 will you guarantee do
00:36:19.820 what every other major
00:36:21.140 country does it's a
00:36:22.380 simple question and by
00:36:23.720 the way bernie the you
00:36:26.680 know the the problem of
00:36:27.980 corruption is not just in
00:36:29.460 the federal agencies it's
00:36:30.900 in congress too almost all
00:36:33.100 the members of this panel
00:36:34.100 are accepting including
00:36:35.320 yourself are accepting
00:36:36.540 millions of dollars from
00:36:37.840 the pharmaceutical industry
00:36:39.280 oh no no no no
00:36:40.660 protecting their interests
00:36:42.060 oh i thought that that
00:36:44.500 would come no i ran for
00:36:46.720 president like you i got
00:36:48.400 millions and millions of
00:36:50.380 contributions they did not
00:36:52.520 come from the executives not
00:36:54.560 one nickel of pack money from
00:36:56.460 the pharmaceutical industry
00:36:57.480 they came from workers
00:36:58.480 in 2020 in 2020 you were the
00:37:01.560 single largest because i had
00:37:04.040 four contributions from
00:37:06.820 workers all over this country
00:37:08.740 workers you were the single
00:37:10.320 not a nickel from corporate
00:37:12.400 you were the single largest
00:37:13.840 except for pharmaceutical
00:37:15.420 dollars oh from workers in
00:37:17.860 1.5 million yeah out of 200
00:37:21.240 million all right but you have
00:37:24.500 not answered last question
00:37:25.700 yep i mean not you want to
00:37:28.320 talk about a beat down with the
00:37:29.440 facts there bernie you've
00:37:30.700 accepted millions of dollars
00:37:32.280 from the pharmaceutical industry
00:37:33.520 in 2020 you were the single
00:37:35.600 largest receiver of
00:37:36.660 pharmaceutical dollars 1.5
00:37:38.740 million like well let's just
00:37:40.520 move on here
00:37:41.260 yeah he he did not like that
00:37:43.540 exchange by the way i've never
00:37:45.580 seen a confirmation hearing where
00:37:47.000 the nominee refers to the
00:37:48.200 senator by his first name he
00:37:49.400 keeps calling him bernie like
00:37:50.620 it's clear bobby kennedy and
00:37:52.620 bernie sanders they know each
00:37:53.600 other well i mean they've got a
00:37:55.460 long history there because that's
00:37:57.260 that that that's quite unusual
00:37:59.900 too but i gotta say bernie was
00:38:02.180 not anticipating that pop back
00:38:04.500 we'll see how it plays out but i
00:38:07.160 think kennedy is going to get
00:38:08.080 confirmed i want him to get
00:38:09.180 confirmed i i i like bobby
00:38:11.120 kennedy and and i also think
00:38:12.700 there are a lot of americans a
00:38:15.340 lot of americans who are not even
00:38:16.440 very political a lot of moms who
00:38:18.820 are worried about the garbage that
00:38:20.540 that our kids are consuming are
00:38:22.800 worried about the rise in in in
00:38:25.500 in chronic illness that that i think
00:38:29.280 bobby kennedy is a very good person
00:38:30.920 to take that on
00:38:31.640 well and the key word you use was
00:38:34.380 an agent of change yep there is an
00:38:37.200 appetite for that in washington the
00:38:39.240 status quo people are sick and tired
00:38:41.120 of and that's part of the reason i
00:38:42.960 think donald trump brought who he
00:38:44.340 brought to the table
00:38:45.180 absolutely don't forget we do this
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00:38:59.740 to date on the latest breaking news
00:39:00.940 the center and i will see you back
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00:39:04.400 this is an iheart podcast
00:39:07.120 guaranteed human