00:00All right. Good afternoon everyone. Hope everybody caught up on their sleep.
00:11We had an incredibly successful week last week when we passed the reconciliation bill.
00:18It was incredibly meaningful and historic legislation.
00:22And I think just in terms of what it will do to make our country safer, stronger, and more prosperous is a remarkable achievement.
00:35And frankly, there were so many components of the bill that in and of themselves would have been historic in terms of getting those things done.
00:41But combine them into one, if you think about the military readiness provisions that are included in there,
00:47talk about the transformational investment in border security,
00:51talk about unlocking American energy dominance,
00:55talk about making the tax relief of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent,
01:01those are all remarkable achievements in and of themselves.
01:04And couple that with a lot of the savings that we achieved in terms of trying to get the government on a more sustainable fiscal path,
01:12I think, too, was a remarkable achievement.
01:15So I'm grateful to and proud of our team, all the committees that were involved in this,
01:20all of our members that were involved in the floor exercise,
01:24truly something that, at least in my time here, I don't think we've done anything quite like it.
01:29That said, there's a lot more work to do.
01:32And we're not going to let up from our foot on the gas.
01:34We have, this week in particular, and the weeks ahead, a lot of nominees that are in the pipeline that we're going to try and get across the finish line.
01:43And that, without any cooperation or help, total obstruction, total delay, total blockage on the part of the Democrats.
01:50In fact, President Trump is the first president going back to the Hoover administration,
01:56who hasn't had a single one of his noms confirmed, either by voice vote or by unanimous consent.
02:02That's the level of obstruction we're seeing from the Democrats.
02:05And that includes even bipartisan noms, noms that we know have a lot of support on both sides of the aisle.
02:10So, we're going to keep pressing forward, notwithstanding that.
02:14We think that the path that we're on, the track that we're on, is the right one for the country.
02:18We're going to do everything we can to ensure that President Trump's nominees get in place.
02:24And then, obviously, we've got a lot of other work ahead of us in the weeks and months ahead.
02:28So, it's full speed ahead.
02:31On rescissions, after this current rescissions package, how many additional rescissions packages do you expect this year?
02:39I don't know the answer to that.
02:40This is the one that the administration submitted.
02:43So, obviously, it's got a Friday next week deadline to process it.
02:49So, we'll have it up on the floor next week.
02:52Hopefully, we get on it.
02:53And then, we'll have an amendment process.
02:56And I think, kind of like a budget reconciliation bill, it's an open amendment process, a vote-arama.
03:01type process, which I'm sure you're very excited about.
03:04But I'm hoping that as we get on that bill, we can see some savings achieved that will complement the things that we already accomplished in reconciliation.
03:14Japan and South Korea are two of our most important security and trade partners.
03:19In fact, we have trade agreements with both of them in technology and agriculture.
03:25Why does it make sense to threaten these two important allies with a 25 percent terror?
03:31Well, I mean, I think we've made great headway.
03:33I was in both Japan and South Korea last August with Bill Hagerty, who was the ambassador to Japan in the first Trump administration.
03:42And there were a lot of conversations around creating a trilateral trade agreement, where our countries would all have an open and fair trading process.
03:50I think, notwithstanding the progress that we've made, and I can speak from personal experience, they've opened up, Japan has, in the last few years, to American beef, which is something that previously we'd had a lot of issues with, with regard to tariffs.
04:03So I'm hoping that the administration, by getting Japan and South Korea to the table, can create the kind of trading relationship that will be economically beneficial, not only to the United States, but to Japan and South Korea, and that will further isolate China.
04:19And I think when there are good, strong economic relationships, it also has the tangential benefit of strengthening national security.
04:27And we have a lot of interests, a lot at stake in that region of the world.
04:31So I hope as the administration works through this, the conversations that they're having with Japan and South Korea, that the ultimate end state will be an agreement that opens up trade among our nations and creates that kind of a trilateral trading relationship.
04:45There are reports of the Secretary of Defense in the latter to help that aid to Ukraine, as was offered by Congress, and that even the White House recently did.
04:55Are you concerned about that breakdown of communication, and do you think it's important for the Secretary of Defense to maintain that, to provide that aid to Ukraine?
05:06And are you concerned about the question of the confidence of the Secretary of Defense?
05:09Well, I mean, I think the President echoed the importance and need to continue to support and allow Ukraine to defend itself and to provide the weaponry that's necessary for them to do that.
05:22And how that's communicated between the White House, between the President and the Secretary of Defense, they'll have to work that out.
05:27But I think the President's statement about that is the definitive one.
05:31And I think that's one that would be echoed and shared by a lot of folks up here on both sides of the aisle.
05:36Can you tell us if you have a plan to bring this Graham sanctions bill to the floor before the August recess?
05:43I hope that we can get it on the floor before the August recess.
05:47We are working with the administration, with the House, to try and get it in a form where it's ready.
05:52Obviously, there is a tremendous amount, as you know, of bipartisan support here in the Senate.
05:58I think that's shared in the House of Representatives, at least I hope that it is.
06:02And the White House, obviously, is very engaged in trying to get it in a form that we can transact it and move it across the floor of the Senate.
06:11So whether that happens in the next couple of weeks is a bit of an open question, but I'm hopeful that it can.
06:16How important is timeline cooperation with the White House on this sanctions bill?
06:22Are you talking to President Trump about when you might want to put this thing forward?
06:26We are communicating with the White House.
06:28Our team's been in touch with theirs on a regular basis.
06:30We've got individual senators, members who are talking to the White House and to our colleagues in the House.
06:37And we're sort of gaming out how that might ultimately be accomplished.
06:41But I think it's an important message to send, especially now.
06:45And I think it's leverage that we need and that, frankly, the White House needs in their negotiations with the Russians.
06:51So in my view, the sooner we can execute on that, the better.
06:55But I also understand that in order for this to work, it's got to be something that the White House, the House, our colleagues are all bought into.
07:02And it's got to get in a form that it's ready to move to the floor.
