00:30Can you tell us, were you satisfied with the briefing today?
00:39Yeah, let me give you some thoughts about what just transpired in there this morning.
00:45We talked about how historic and fateful these moments are.
00:49This is a historic time that we live in, and this has been an incredible two weeks.
00:54Of course, it began with Israel's strikes that were targeted against Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
01:02They eliminated nearly the entire top echelon of Iran's military command and nuclear scientists.
01:09And of course, this past weekend, the United States acted as we needed to act.
01:14And we had our military forces, of course, strike the heart of Iran's nuclear weapons program.
01:21We delivered a major setback that resulted then in a feeble face-saving response from Iran and immediately thereafter a ceasefire agreement.
01:31We want to commend President Trump for his decisive and bold leadership and thank our military intelligence and diplomatic professionals for what they've accomplished.
01:40It is a true testament to America's leadership and military strength.
01:45And I will tell you, I was heartened by the briefing that we just got here and the reaction by all of our colleagues.
01:51It was bipartisan.
01:52There were Republicans and Democrats there.
01:54There was a couple of moments of rousing applause and support for our outstanding, extraordinary military service men and women.
02:03The pride that we all have as Americans.
02:05As the only nation on the face of the planet that is capable of this kind of decisive action.
02:10And again, as I said, it takes bold leadership to do so.
02:14The briefing today was thorough.
02:17I think very helpful for the members.
02:19They relayed very important information and answered a lot of the questions that were in the minds of members of the House here.
02:25And I know they did the same in the Senate yesterday.
02:28So we are blessed to be led by a cabinet of officials who are so good at their jobs to have the acumen of an extraordinary chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
02:39General Cain, and all of the personnel that work there at the Pentagon and in the U.S. military.
02:44I am very proud to be an American today.
02:47I think everyone should be.
02:49And what I will say next and what we expect and one of the things that was discussed this morning
02:52is that we now need Iran to engage with us in direct, good-faith talks, negotiations.
03:00Not through third parties, not through other countries.
03:02They need to sit down at the table with us and ensure that this peace is truly lasting.
03:06We are on the verge of a real peace in the Middle East for the first time in a long time.
03:12And that is because of the decisive leadership of the United States.
03:14Everyone around the world understands that.
03:16The President got a fantastic reception, as you know, at the NATO meeting, at the summit.
03:21And it is so encouraging to us that, for the first time now, the other countries, NATO partners,
03:29are agreeing to commit 5 percent of their GDP to the fund to defend the peace around the world.
03:37The American people, American taxpayers, cannot be leaned upon to carry everyone else any longer.
03:45We have to have and pursue an America-first policy, and that means what is in America's interest.
03:50Of course, what has been done here was not just in America's interest,
03:53but in the interest of all peace-loving people and free people around the world.
03:58So I have a couple of my great colleagues, our Majority Leader Steve Scalise here,
04:04and Brian Mast, who is the chair of one of our most important committees, our Foreign Affairs Committee.
04:11And if you want to have a few questions, I'm sure we can answer them.
04:13You called this a major setback for the US military capabilities.
04:16Do you have a sense on how much money may have survived and how it was destroyed?
04:21What are you worrying about that?
04:23We have a sense about that.
04:24Some of this is classified.
04:26But I will tell you that there was a CIA press release, I think it went out yesterday,
04:33and they concluded that, this is a quote,
04:36Iran's nuclear program has been severely damaged, unquote.
04:40I'll put that in layman's terms.
04:42I would say it's a substantial setback, and that was a firsthand authoritative and reliable account.
04:48That differs greatly from the low-confidence preliminary assessment that was leaked, sadly and dangerously,
04:56probably from this body, and we're going to get down to the bottom of that.
05:01But you can dismiss the low-level initial assessment,
05:03and you can rely upon what the CIA has said, because these are firsthand accounts.
05:09It is clear, everyone can see by the videos, that these massive ordnance penetrating bombs did the job.
05:18And I think their key facilities have been disabled,
05:22and I think Iran is now a long time away from doing what they might have done before this very successful operation.
05:27Should they rule out the potential for any re-strikes?
05:32I'm not sure how much of that's classified, and I shouldn't be getting into that today.
05:35But we are very encouraged about the situation and where it stands.
05:38We're very encouraged.
05:40I think the greatest evidence that we have of the effectiveness of this mission
05:43was that Iran came immediately and was willing to engage in a ceasefire agreement.
05:49That would have been unthinkable just a few weeks back.
05:52So it's a very good thing for the whole world.
05:54Do you believe that the president needs to strike a deal with Iran, have something in right here moving forward?
06:00Well, look, I think that's the next logical step.
06:03I mean, we will do what is necessary to maintain the peace,
06:06but it is in Iran's interest and, of course, in the world's interest for them to come to the table in good faith
06:11and make an agreement.
06:14That would be good for the entire region.
06:16We have peace in the Middle East, and that is a big step towards peace around the globe.
06:20On the big beat of the bill, have you talked to the Senate yet?
06:24Do you know when they will hold their vote and when the House will get a chance?
06:26I was in the Oval Office with Leader Thune as recently as early evening yesterday with the president.
06:34We had a long discussion about this and where the bill stands and its status, and we are very, very close.
06:41And Leader Thune has confidence that they could get the job done by this weekend,
06:45and we certainly are hopeful for that.
06:47We would still like to meet that July 4th self-imposed deadline, and the president likes that idea.
06:52I certainly like that idea, and so does Leader Thune.
06:55So we're going to wait and see posture in the House right here, and we'll see what happens.
07:00So we're ready to go.
07:00Are you comfortable with the Islamophobic sort of tropes that some of your members are using?
