0:03

Matt Gaetz, the biggest fire brand

0:05

inside of the House of Representatives. You're

0:07

not taking Matt Gaetz off the board,

0:09

okay? Because Matt Gaetz is an American

0:11

patriot and Matt Gaetz is an American

0:13

hero. We will not

0:15

continue to allow the Uniparty to

0:17

run this town without a fight.

0:20

I want to thank you, Matt

0:22

Gaetz, for holding the line. Matt

0:24

Gaetz is a courageous man. If

0:26

we had hundreds of Matt Gaetz

0:28

in D.C., the country turns around.

0:30

It's that simple. He's so tough.

0:32

He's so strong. He's smart and

0:35

he loves this country. Matt Gaetz. It

0:38

is the honor of my life to

0:40

fight alongside each and every one

0:42

of you. We will save America.

0:45

It's choose your fighter time. Send

0:47

in the firebrains. And

0:55

this bill today funds all

0:58

of that, continues to fund all of that. Every

1:01

single Republican should vote no, should

1:03

vote no, and should be ashamed of

1:05

ever voting yes. This is our opportunity.

1:07

This is the time. Remember, this was

1:09

supposed to be done last September. We're

1:12

now in the middle of March of the next year.

1:15

This is their opportunity to say, what happened on

1:17

the border yesterday that all of America is now

1:19

looking at as they wake up this morning, this

1:21

is going to stop and it's going to stop

1:23

with us. And if they

1:25

don't vote no on this bill, what

1:28

they're saying to their constituents, their bosses who

1:30

sent them to Washington, D.C., Democrat or Republican,

1:32

what you saw at the border, that's

1:35

fine with me. That's good. Let's get more of that.

1:38

I urge all of our colleagues, not

1:40

just the brave ones that are standing

1:42

here today in front of you, but

1:44

every single member of the House, Republican

1:46

and Democrat, reject this bill. that

2:00

scott perry describes played out as the

2:03

house of representatives passed the second half

2:05

of the omnibus spending legislation today that

2:07

we've worked so hard to try to

2:09

stop at the end there were two

2:11

hundred eighty six yes votes a

2:14

hundred and thirty four no vote so an

2:16

overwhelming more than two-thirds majority for this terrible

2:18

piece of legislation we're gonna go through from

2:20

the bad earmarks in it uh... some of

2:23

the bad uh... bad funding choices that were

2:25

made we always like to look at where

2:27

the republicans stood and you heard scott perry

2:29

there a leader in the freedom caucus uh...

2:32

calling out republicans who would vote

2:34

for this democrat spending bill one

2:37

hundred and one republicans shamefully

2:39

voted yes one hundred

2:42

and twelve republicans voted no so

2:45

that means a majority of

2:47

the majority voted against

2:49

this terrible legislation and yet

2:51

is going to become a lot anyway the

2:54

majority of the majority you fought for got

2:57

rolled by the democrats and there

2:59

was one particular moment in uh...

3:01

in this bill that got me

3:04

it was when uh... mike

3:06

bost fresh off of his one point

3:08

primary election victory voted

3:11

yes and

3:13

then when it became clear that the bill

3:15

had all of the votes that it needed to pass all

3:17

that he ran down to the clerk and change his vote

3:19

to a no vote so mike

3:21

bost was actually for it then

3:24

flip to be against it when the no vote

3:27

didn't matter i wonder if that one point primary

3:30

election victory had anything to do uh...

3:32

with that motivation but it's

3:34

deceptive and it's dishonest and

3:37

uh... unfortunately we saw a

3:40

betrayal of republican values there's no other

3:42

way to describe it from a one

3:44

hundred and one republicans one

3:47

hundred and twelve of us who voted no were

3:49

not enough to stop this bad bill there's

3:52

other breaking news on capitol hill today

3:54

mike gallagher just announcing that he will

3:56

be resigning from the house of representatives

3:58

prior to the conclusion of his term.

4:01

The end, I guess middle of end of

4:03

April, we saw April 19th bouncing around as

4:06

a date that was being reported by Jake

4:08

Sherman at Punchbowl News. And Mike Gallagher is

4:10

a very smart person. Mike Gallagher

4:12

is someone who understands the world a great

4:15

deal. I sat next to him on the

4:17

House Armed Services Committee for seven years. He

4:19

chairs one of the cyber

4:22

intelligence evolving technologies subcommittees

4:24

upon which I serve.

4:28

And it's very disappointing to see him

4:30

resigning before the end of his

4:32

term. When we get elected, we get

4:35

elected for two year terms. We're on a two

4:37

year contract. I think every member

4:39

should stay for the two years. And it's,

4:42

I have this view whether I like the person or not. I

4:45

didn't like Kevin McCarthy. I was

4:47

disappointed when he left before the conclusion of his

4:49

term. I like Mike Gallagher, disappointed

4:52

that he's leaving before the conclusion of his term.

4:54

Because to me, it's like a breach of

4:56

contract with your voters. You

4:58

signed up for a job you knew when you signed up

5:01

for it, how long it lasts. And my

5:03

frustration comes from the

5:05

fact that we are now at a

5:07

one seat majority. One. One.

5:12

And that puts everything that

5:14

we could potentially do at grave risk. And

5:16

it, it strengthens the hand of

5:18

those who want to draw us into

5:20

these bad bills that give away the

5:22

forms of the Democrats when our majority

5:24

is reduced, cut

5:27

by a quarter, cut in half, cut

5:30

to barely nothing. The other breaking news

5:32

on Capitol Hill today is that Marjorie Taylor

5:34

Greene has filed a motion to vacate. When

5:37

I filed a motion to vacate Kevin

5:39

McCarthy, it demanded immediate legislative

5:41

action within a prescribed window.

5:43

So two days after I

5:45

filed the motion to vacate

5:47

McCarthy, there was

5:49

a window that opened and

5:51

immediately upon that window opening, I called

5:54

for a vote. We heard Congresswoman Greene

5:56

describe her intentions very differently today. Her,

5:58

her Tension was not

6:00

to file this and call it up for a

6:02

vote within two days as I did. She's

6:05

filing it and I guess for

6:07

lack of a proper legislative term, she's

6:09

allowing it to cook. She's allowing it

6:11

to simmer. She's allowing it to, I

6:13

guess, be the subject of some discussion

6:15

and debate. It's hard not

6:17

to view these two stories, Gallagher leaving,

6:20

Green filing this in

6:22

some concert, right?

6:25

Because whether or not you can execute a

6:28

motion to vacate the speaker is

6:30

contingent upon your size of majority at

6:32

any given moment. When I

6:35

vacated McCarthy, I

6:37

made a promise to all of you, to

6:40

the entire country, that we would not end

6:42

up with a Democrat speaker. I knew

6:44

it. I promised it. Had

6:46

we ended up with a Democrat speaker, then I

6:49

would have broken my word to you and I

6:51

would have been rightfully dropped out

6:53

of this job. As

6:55

I sit here now with a one vote majority with

6:58

like, I don't know, 10, 12 of our members

7:00

in Biden districts, am I

7:03

sure that one, two, three of

7:05

those people to be the head of the budget committee,

7:07

to be the head of the appropriations committee, to be

7:09

the head of the intelligence committee, to be

7:11

the head of the rules committee, to be the floor

7:14

leader, that one or two

7:16

of them wouldn't cross over and vote for a

7:18

Democrat, maybe even Hakeem Jeffries? I'm not sure of

7:20

that. Because I'm not

7:22

sure of that, do not count me among those

7:24

who would support a motion to vacate at this

7:26

time. Not that there's one that's been

7:28

called up to be fair to Congresswoman Green. I

7:31

think she understands that dynamic. That's

7:33

why she is pursuing a different path

7:35

than I pursued with Kevin McCarthy. But

7:37

we'll continue to follow up on it.

7:40

Really what brought us to this moment,

7:42

or even having this discussion, unfortunately,

7:45

is this omnibus spending bill.

7:48

And it violates all of the principles that

7:50

I set forth. And frankly, it violates a

7:53

lot of the principles that I know Mike

7:56

Johnson campaigned on when he ran for speaker.

7:58

And that's why he wants to... to get

8:00

to a discussion of 2025 spending

8:03

to lay out a vision, to show those

8:05

priorities. And a lot of people

8:07

are smarting and hurting over what

8:09

we just experienced today. And if

8:12

there is a sentiment

8:15

that is just so Washington and

8:17

so wrong and so vile and

8:20

so destructive to our economy and our nation, it

8:23

is the sentiment that you always just have to be

8:25

for the deal. Some people

8:27

get deal hungry, deal happy. You

8:29

know what, we just need a deal. And it doesn't

8:32

matter if it's a bad deal, good deal. If it

8:34

increases inflation, if prices go up, if

8:36

the lobbyists get paid off, just get the deal

8:38

done. It

8:41

is so corrosive. And no one expresses

8:43

that sentiment more than someone

8:46

who is leaving Congress at the end of his term,

8:48

but fulfilling his term,

8:50

North Carolina Congressman and former,

8:52

I guess, McCarthy wet

8:54

nurse, Patrick McHenry. Here's Congressman McHenry

8:56

making this bad argument. You

9:01

know, it's been well covered my

9:03

constructive criticism of the speaker. And

9:06

I think I wanna emphasize the first

9:08

part, which is go

9:11

land the deal. Do not

9:13

fear the deal. You

9:15

have to go land those legislative priorities

9:17

in order to show power and

9:20

to exercise power. Otherwise, you don't wanna

9:22

be speaker unless you wanna go land deals. He

9:25

has now landed his second big deal as

9:28

a speaker and he'll land it this week. That

9:30

should be commended. Just

9:35

worked for the deal. And I'm gonna go

9:37

over some of the bad stuff that was

9:39

in that deal, but we've got some comments

9:41

on the live stream. People wanna know who

9:44

voted which way. And so Jacob, let's make

9:46

sure we get the vote sheet from our

9:48

legislative team and post on our official Facebook

9:50

and our official X pages so that the

9:53

people here who wanna know where their member

9:55

of Congress can see how the

9:57

vote played out. But it was a

9:59

vote on so. many things that do not have

10:01

an appropriate federal nexus. Let me just go

10:04

through some of these earmarks. So New Jersey

10:06

senators are at half

10:08

a million taxpayer dollars that they

10:10

got to fund a state organization

10:12

that force feeds the LGBT agenda

10:14

in schools. The group,

10:16

Garden State Equality, assists in

10:18

finding gender mutilation

10:20

surgeries for minors and

10:23

they harass schools that prevent biological men

10:25

from using women. Bathrooms and participating in

10:28

women's sports. So that's what half a

10:30

million went to. Massachusetts senators got a

10:32

million bucks in taxpayer funds to support

10:35

a leadership academy for left

10:37

wing political organizations. The

10:40

Massachusetts Women of Color

10:42

Coalition that explicitly caters

10:44

to non-white women. So

10:47

if you're a man or if you

10:49

are white, this million dollars in Massachusetts

10:51

is not for you and really it

10:53

is a beachhead for the defund the

10:55

police movement. Part of what

10:57

they're advocating for is quote, use of

10:59

force statutes and policies, close

11:02

quote for police to change. Maryland

11:04

getting their nose down in the

11:06

trough, their senators won half a

11:08

million in taxpayer dollars for an

11:10

organization called the Third that provides

11:12

a safe space for women of

11:14

color entrepreneurs. I mean, in

11:17

Maryland, if you need to go

11:19

create safe spaces for a specific

11:22

ethnic or immutable trait

11:25

of entrepreneurs, then do it with your own

11:27

money. Connecticut senators won

11:29

$156,000 to subsidize construction of

11:31

the Hartford Gay and Lesbian

11:33

Health Collective. Wisconsin senator wanted

11:36

half a million dollars to

11:38

promote LGBT programs to

11:40

teenagers. So we're going into

11:42

debt, we're $34.5 trillion in debt. We're

11:45

driving $2.5 trillion annual deficits.

11:48

But teens like us is

11:51

a program that you are now funding so

11:54

that there can be trans tape

11:56

kits provided to minors. That's

11:58

literally what they do. and Wisconsin's

12:01

Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth wanted that.

12:04

Connecticut senators got $155,000 in taxpayer monies going

12:08

to an organization called Make

12:10

the Road CT. Their

12:13

executive director recently criticized Joe Biden

12:16

for rightfully calling Lick and Riley's

12:18

murder illegal. So

12:21

the head of this organization criticized

12:24

his Biden for calling

12:26

a murder illegal and a $155,000 windfall

12:29

as a consequence. This legislation is chock

12:31

full of this stuff. The top lines

12:33

are too high. The

12:35

debt is just blown out

12:37

and no one seems to be too

12:39

eager in taking responsibility for it. One

12:42

of my terrific colleagues, fellow firebrand Chip

12:44

Roy, was debating on the floor against

12:46

this bad legislation. Take a listen. The

12:51

Democrat leader talks about the

12:54

mosaic. I assume by

12:56

the mosaic that anyone who votes for this

12:58

bill today will be supporting that

13:00

we're talking about $156,000 for the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health

13:05

Collective, an organization self-described

13:07

as champions of LGBTQIA equity and

13:10

provides training and cultural competency and

13:12

access to health care for LGBTQ

13:14

youth, or $2 million in

13:16

Oregon clinic that provides hormone therapy for

13:19

kids, or the $850,000 for gay senior

13:22

housing in Massachusetts, or $400,000

13:24

for the Briar Patch Youth Services

13:27

in Wisconsin, then its gender affirming

13:29

clothing program for kids 18 to 13 to

13:31

18, or $400,000 to the Garden

13:35

State Equality Education Fund, which helps

13:37

minors transition genders, promote biological boys

13:39

playing girls sports, and using the

13:41

same restrooms. I could go on

13:43

and on. How about the million

13:45

dollars for the inner city Muslim

13:47

network, which calls for the destruction

13:49

of Israel? That's what we're

13:52

funding. That's precisely what we're funding

13:54

in legislation. So when the

13:56

Democratic leader talks about a mosaic, that's

13:58

what he's talking about. talking about. And

14:01

my Republican colleagues who will campaign against

14:03

it all year, they will, they're

14:06

voting to fund it today. To

14:08

be very clear, my Republican colleagues

14:10

are voting to fund that so-called

14:12

mosaic today, unless they choose the

14:15

right path and vote against it. And

14:17

my friend from California, when he talked

14:19

about, oh, oh the horrors that will

14:21

happen if we have a CR, well

14:23

we shouldn't be here. This is the

14:25

swamp acting what it does. Have government

14:27

funding expire on the Friday before a

14:29

two-week recess heading into Easter, precisely

14:32

to have the pressure of jet fumes

14:34

so that the American people are the

14:36

ones left holding the bag, so that

14:38

we, members of Congress, can go off

14:40

to our CODELS, can go travel, can

14:42

go do your fundraisers, can make sure

14:44

you get home. But

14:47

the ones left holding the bag are the American

14:50

people. And we talk about this,

14:52

the game was given up. When we talk

14:54

about defense, everything that is happening

14:56

here is being done in the name of defense. Everything

14:59

that you see and talking about

15:01

our national security will be undermined. Well tell

15:04

me about national security in Texas, when

15:06

you have the National Guard getting rolled over in

15:08

El Paso, when you have Texans

15:10

dying from fentanyl poisoning, when you

15:12

have gangs and cartels operating in Texas.

15:15

Talk to me about national security then. That

15:20

was Congressman Chip Roy, we're back live and

15:22

despite that effective and persuasive debate, again, we

15:24

had over a hundred Republicans voting for this

15:27

bad legislation and they will have to face

15:29

their voters and I think the judgment is

15:31

going to be very harsh. We

15:33

have another report from businessinsider.com. Ex-Trump

15:36

official, we'll get

15:38

to why that's ridiculous in a moment, file

15:41

suit arguing lawmakers should make more than $174,000 a

15:43

year. So here's the crux

15:47

of this argument. The 27th Amendment

15:49

to the Constitution says, No

15:51

law bearing the compensation for the

15:54

services of senators and representatives shall

15:56

take effect until an election of

15:58

representatives shall have intervened. So

16:00

this lawsuit filed by Ken Cucinelli, the

16:03

former attorney general of the state of

16:05

Virginia, was

16:07

on behalf of Republican Congressman Rick

16:09

Crawford of Arkansas and a trio

16:11

of ex-lawmakers from both parties. And

16:14

it says that because the

16:17

members of Congress have a $174,000 a year salary that has it changed,

16:22

that it has been, quote,

16:24

unconstitutionally suppressed. They're seeking

16:26

$50 million in this

16:29

class action lawsuit. And

16:31

one of the named plaintiffs is

16:34

actually, this caught me by surprise, former

16:36

Republican representative Tom Davis of Virginia is

16:39

seeking $268,839 additional dollars. Tom

16:43

Davis is now a lobbyist for

16:46

foreign governments. I think he might

16:48

be like a registered foreign agent or something. But

16:52

how you can go from being a lawmaker

16:55

and then you go to

16:57

using that prior

17:00

experience to make money from foreign

17:02

governments to lobby members of Congress

17:04

and then the nerve to come

17:06

back and say that's not a

17:08

sweet enough deal and you need

17:11

to get paid back pay, it is

17:14

legally flawed and

17:16

I believe it is morally bankrupt

17:19

to back this lawsuit. So don't count me

17:21

among those who want to get

17:24

the $50 million in back pay for members of

17:26

Congress. No one needs to be worried

17:28

about us. We get taken care of just

17:30

fine compared to the working people who get

17:32

screwed each and every day just like Chip

17:35

Roy was talking about. Outside

17:37

of the substance of this report,

17:40

what really got me was

17:43

that Ken Cuccinelli, the person

17:45

who is bringing this lawsuit

17:47

is described in this big headline as

17:49

ex-Trump official. Ken

17:51

Cuccinelli was the chairman of Never

17:54

Back Down. Ron DeSantis is

17:56

super fact. Why wasn't he described as, I

17:58

don't know, the guy who formerly led a

18:01

super PAC attacking Donald Trump just

18:03

to give you a flavor of it and spare

18:05

me the throwback. But

18:08

I guest hosted a Newsmax program some

18:10

months ago when the presidential contest was

18:12

still raging between Trump and DeSantis and

18:14

I had Cucinelli on to have a

18:16

debate right where I was the pro-Trump

18:18

person and he was the pro-DeSantis person.

18:20

So just like take a listen to

18:22

that and think about when they're not

18:24

it's fair for the media to describe

18:26

him as an ex-Trump official. Take a

18:28

listen. Can

18:31

you commit tonight that none of the money

18:33

from the never back down super PAC will

18:35

be flipped to support the candidacy of Glenn

18:37

Youngkin in the event that you guys don't

18:40

see DeSantis as a good bet. You know

18:42

they didn't tell me they were bringing me

18:44

on for your conspiracy theories. Look this PAC

18:46

is committed. That's a fair question. Are you

18:48

going to use the money that way? No,

18:51

no it's not really. I mean not with

18:53

your 12 degrees of Kevin

18:55

Bacon. This we're committed. Wait a

18:57

second. You have the total control to be

18:59

able to direct that money. You don't think it's

19:01

a fair question to ask you where it's going? I'm

19:04

answering it aren't I? So it really doesn't matter. Again,

19:12

any connection that they can make to

19:14

Trump for any negative headline they

19:17

take an absurd

19:19

license to do so. So we

19:21

don't back the lawsuit. We don't back

19:23

the characterization and the tide of Trump.

19:25

I don't think anyone associated with President

19:27

Trump believes that what we really need

19:30

to do is create more of a golden parachute

19:32

for members of Congress. Another

19:35

story I want to bring to you

19:37

is the wave of illegal immigration that

19:39

continues to pound our country and particularly

19:41

the Sunshine State. St. Lucie County is

19:43

a small county in Florida. It's a

19:45

coastal county that is

19:47

right there on Highway 95 and

19:50

also is on the Atlantic

19:52

Ocean. And they are even

19:54

experiencing some pretty odd

19:57

circumstances. This report from St. Lucie County

19:59

and their terrific law enforcement officials, their

20:01

sheriff. Take a listen. I'm

20:06

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson. Illegal

20:08

aliens aren't just flooding across our southern borders,

20:10

they're arriving all across South Florida beaches, including

20:12

right here in St. Lucie County. They are

20:14

undocumented and unbedded individuals whom we have no

20:17

idea what type of positive or negative impact

20:19

they could have on public safety of our

20:21

community or nation. Working with

20:23

immigration to enforce the law of the land,

20:25

our deputies helped with this interception. After

20:28

making sure there were no immediate medical needs, we

20:30

provided fresh water while they wait to be picked

20:32

up from the United States Coast Guard and processed.

20:34

Behind me, you see a vessel loaded with the migrants

20:37

that we're talking about. The men

20:39

and women of the St. Lucie County

20:41

Sheriff's Office will continue to monitor and

20:43

assist our federal partners to ensure we

20:45

protect our borders. And

20:50

we are proud of the men and

20:52

women of the St. Lucie Sheriff's Office

20:54

for doing this, but frankly, there should

20:57

be a force multiplier from the federal

20:59

government. We know we are facing a

21:01

mass wave of these Haitian migrants, and

21:03

if Joe Biden would declare the anticipated

21:05

mass maritime migration, we would have support

21:08

for folks like those brave public

21:10

servants that are working for the St. Lucie

21:12

County Sheriff's Office. Again, we thank you, we

21:14

salute you, and the federal government should be

21:16

doing a lot more to have your back.

21:18

And really, this immigration crisis takes so many

21:20

twists and turns and has so many tentacles.

21:23

I wanted to just bring you an

21:25

interesting perspective on how bad it's gotten.

21:27

And we get this story from the

21:29

terrific team at WEAR in

21:32

Pensacola, but the

21:34

illegal immigration and

21:37

the phony asylum process

21:39

has gotten so bad it's created

21:42

a cottage industry of

21:44

fraud feasers who go and act

21:46

as if they are the government or a

21:48

lawyer or helping you to make

21:51

your asylum claim when you come to the

21:53

country illegally, and then they end up grifting

21:55

the illegal aliens. So in this

21:57

story, you have a Honduran man living in

21:59

Pensacola. and he used a

22:01

massive immigration scheme to make $2.8 million. This

22:05

from the WEAR report, a Honduran

22:08

national living in Pensacola has been

22:10

sentenced to 9 years in federal

22:12

prison for orchestrating a massive immigration

22:14

fraud scheme involving over 425 victims

22:16

nationwide. Franklin

22:20

Javier Perez Rios, age 29, orchestrated

22:22

a fraud scheme from 2017 to 2023 in

22:26

which he claims to be able to

22:28

provide immigration related services to foreign nationals

22:30

living in the United States. He

22:32

posted at least, or he profited at least $2.8

22:35

million from victims according to the district

22:37

attorney's office which he used for gambling

22:40

and to fund a lavish lifestyle. Perez

22:42

Rios, who had no legitimate

22:44

qualifications, pretended at

22:46

various times to be a United States

22:49

government official, a former United States government

22:51

official, an immigration attorney, a paralegal, or

22:55

an immigration services personnel of some

22:57

other means. Perez Rios did

22:59

not obtain status for any of the

23:01

victims he promised. Rather, he routinely filed

23:03

asylum paperwork with USCIS on the victim's

23:06

behalf and told them they had to

23:08

travel to California with him where they

23:10

would be subjected to medical examinations and

23:12

vaccinations. Neither of the medical examinations

23:14

nor the trips to California were legitimately part

23:17

of the asylum process. For

23:19

other victims, Perez Rios filed no paperwork

23:21

on their behalf, and to keep victims

23:23

believing he was working on their behalf,

23:25

Perez Rios provided them with forged documentation

23:27

supposedly from the United States government. Again,

23:30

it's gotten so bad that you've

23:32

created a cottage industry of fraudsters

23:35

to go after the illegal aliens.

23:37

I never thought we'd be at this point,

23:39

but nonetheless, that's

23:42

where we are. We

23:44

had big testimony from General Mark Milley on

23:47

the Hill this week regarding the botched withdrawal

23:49

from Afghanistan. And one thing I found interesting,

23:51

like, you can always count on Mark Milley

23:54

to throw somebody under the bus. Right, I

23:56

mean, he took every occasion to throw Trump under the bus,

23:58

and now they're even throwing money. the Department of State

24:01

under the bus regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal. A lot

24:03

of shade being thrown at the Biden White House.

24:05

See if you can read them between the lines.

24:07

Take a listen. Number

24:11

of Americans. This was always an

24:13

issue. The number of

24:15

Americans, as General McKenzie said,

24:17

an F77 report is supposed, every ambassador

24:20

in every country of the world keeps an F77

24:22

report, and they're supposed to track the Americans, whether

24:24

at the phone numbers, address, etc., in the country.

24:27

That was always a difficult number for

24:29

us in the Department of Defense to

24:31

get ahold of, and I think it's true at the tactical

24:34

level and operational level as well. And

24:36

I'll be candid. I don't know the exact number

24:38

of Americans that were left behind because the starting

24:40

number was never clear. Same

24:43

is true of at-risk Afghans, SIVs,

24:45

the commandos, other Afghans that served

24:48

with us. Those

24:50

numbers varied so widely that

24:52

they were quite inaccurate. As

24:55

best I could tell at the time.

24:57

So I would just say,

25:01

I'm not sure, even today, about

25:03

the accuracy of all those numbers. I

25:06

think the call to execute the NEO came too

25:08

late, and as General

25:10

McKenzie mentioned, it was officially logged in

25:12

on the 14th. At that

25:14

point in time, the Afghan government senior leadership was

25:17

preparing to depart, and they departed the next day

25:19

on the 15th. The

25:21

thousands of Afghan civilians were gathering at

25:24

the airport. The Afghan security forces

25:26

were collapsing in the various provincial capitals, and

25:28

although there were some still in and around

25:31

Kabul. So the general situation at that point was

25:33

750 U.S. soldiers in and

25:35

around the embassy. The Turkish troops

25:38

were required, along with some ANSF, to

25:40

protect HKIA. They

25:43

melted away. So you had a situation with the

25:45

U.S. embassy and 750 troops when

25:47

that NEO was called. Now

25:50

we had leaned forward, so I think

25:52

it's the 9th, 10th, or 11th timeframe. We

25:54

had already put forces on alert, etc., but

25:57

in essence, we alerted Marshall, deployed 82nd and

25:59

3rd. Airborne Division, Division Ready Brigade,

26:02

and the Mu out of

26:04

Saudi that was underneath General McKenzie's control.

26:06

They rapidly deployed along with Special Forces

26:09

to take control of that airport. It

26:12

took two to three days. That's where those videos come

26:14

from. But they eventually rested control

26:16

of that airport. And General McKenzie, you

26:18

agree with that assessment? I

26:21

do. That reflects the opinion I had

26:23

at the time and the opinion I had now. Yeah,

26:25

I believe that accountability ensures mistakes of the past

26:28

are not repeated. From where

26:30

I sit, the President and

26:32

this administration refused to acknowledge

26:34

their failures. Our investigation

26:37

uncovered the White House refused

26:39

to listen to warnings about the

26:41

situation on the ground. Disturbingly,

26:43

we have uncovered that

26:46

State Department leadership prohibited its

26:48

employees from

26:51

even uttering the word NEO

26:54

shorthand for emergency

26:56

evacuation. Still

26:58

as late as August of 2021. Too

27:02

little, too late. We

27:07

are back live. Deanna on Facebook says, make

27:09

accountability great again indeed. And Joe on YouTube

27:12

asks, why does he look so bloated? Joe

27:14

help us out. Were you talking about me

27:16

or Millie? Because frankly, he looks bloated and

27:19

I feel a little bloated myself. This

27:21

week, we also had a chance in

27:24

the House Armed Services Committee to discuss

27:26

what is really going on with Taiwan.

27:28

And with a country so capable as

27:30

China with their ambition set on Taiwan,

27:32

what are the things we're actually doing

27:34

to try to deter that potential invasion

27:36

so that we don't get caught in

27:38

some war in Asia? I had the opportunity

27:40

to ask some of the top military leaders

27:43

about our Indo-Pacific strategy. Take a listen. Admiral

27:47

Och willing, during the Revolutionary War, I think

27:50

it was like 15% of Americans who

27:53

fought for liberty. Does that sound

27:55

about right? 15%,

27:57

20%? I couldn't answer that now.

28:00

Congressman I have to go back and look. I guess I'm

28:02

just kind of wondering in Taiwan what

28:04

percent of the Taiwanese do we

28:06

assess would actually fight in the

28:08

event of kinetic conflict with China.

28:12

Yeah I also don't have that calculation what

28:14

I can tell you is when

28:17

the Russians invaded Ukraine that was a pretty

28:20

good wake-up signal for a lot of people

28:23

across the globe and

28:25

especially for those people

28:28

on Taiwan and we continue

28:30

to execute our responsibilities under the Taiwan

28:32

Relations Act to ensure

28:34

we support their ability to defend themselves.

28:36

And does that act require the development

28:39

of a home guard in Taiwan? I'd

28:43

have to go back and look at the law.

28:45

I don't specifically know if that... I don't think

28:47

it does but maybe you could talk a little

28:49

bit about what what the home guard theory is

28:51

in Taiwan how that would enhance their capabilities. Well

28:54

again it's what the people

28:56

on Taiwan have done is they do have

28:58

a reserve activation program. President Tsai just extended

29:00

that to a one-year commitment. So

29:03

again when I talk about the Taiwan the

29:05

people on Taiwan taking it seriously they are

29:07

it includes that approach that you've just articulated.

29:09

Yeah and I almost think that's what it's

29:11

gonna take because I worry that the

29:13

Taiwanese military may be infiltrated by

29:15

the PLA and that if there's

29:17

really gonna be a deterrent for

29:19

a Chinese invasion that might

29:22

not come exclusively from the uniformed

29:24

military or even the reservists. We may have

29:26

to actually you know

29:29

render capability to the hundreds of

29:31

thousands of Taiwanese who don't want

29:33

to be part

29:35

of China right? Yeah your point is

29:38

valid and again I believe that that

29:40

approach is and actions are being

29:42

taken there. What I would say is the

29:44

example the best example that I think exists

29:47

is when Israel was

29:49

attacked by the violent extremists

29:51

in Hamas the

29:53

next day 360,000 Israelis reported for duty. That's

30:00

the type of response that I believe.

30:02

But I worry that we conflate the

30:04

cultural features there, right? Because what I

30:06

worry about in Taiwan is kind of

30:09

a replay of Afghanistan, where we

30:11

look at some fake government

30:14

and we do the

30:16

normal kind of DOD thing

30:18

of large weapon systems. And

30:22

then we give them to that government. And

30:24

then the real governing power, in

30:26

Afghanistan's case, the Taliban, in Taiwan's

30:28

case, perhaps China, has the

30:30

ability to then repurpose those assets against

30:33

the United States. So it just seems to

30:35

me, I mean, you are the guy, you're

30:37

the person in charge of this

30:40

theater. I think you need

30:42

to know, you need to have some sort of

30:44

assessment as to whether or not you're going to

30:46

get that Israel level response from

30:48

the Taiwanese. What percentage of

30:50

this group of people is going to stand up

30:53

and fight? And sure, we're all continuously informed by

30:55

events going on around the world. But

30:58

in Taiwan specifically, we've seen

31:00

cases where the PLA is infiltrating

31:02

their government, their military. And

31:05

I don't offer that as some sort of criticism. Heck,

31:07

I think they try to infiltrate our government and our

31:10

military too. But

31:12

I worry whether or not we're

31:14

going to be able to rely on the uniformed

31:16

service there. So is there a plan at DOD

31:18

to kind of make these assessments about a home

31:20

guard and ensure that you

31:23

have small arms in the hands of these

31:25

people that might deter a Chinese invasion? Congressman,

31:28

there absolutely is. And I'd love to talk to you

31:30

about it in a classified setting. Great know

31:33

it's good to know. And is

31:36

that consistent with this porcupine theory that

31:38

we think about often with Taiwan?

31:44

I don't use the term porcupine theory. A lot of

31:46

people do. What I would. Why don't you use it?

31:48

I hear it a lot on this committee. Well, again,

31:50

I would articulate it in a way that is in

31:53

alignment with the law, which is we're providing the

31:55

people on Taiwan the ability, capability and

31:57

training to be able to defend themselves.

31:59

in time of conflict. That

32:01

by itself with regard to a strong

32:05

Taiwan sets of capabilities is a strong deterrent.

32:07

Yeah I just think this is a real

32:09

important piece of the homework to emanate from

32:11

this is to you've talked about

32:13

the Taiwan Security Engagement Act I get

32:15

that but I think you

32:17

and I are both a little unclear as

32:20

the extent to which that authorizes the work

32:22

with the home guard that we really need

32:24

to convert Taiwan into an effective

32:26

porcupine because I assess that

32:28

this is all about time. China

32:31

cannot endure an extended war with

32:33

Taiwan. They can't endure the sanctions,

32:35

they can't endure the other consequences and so if

32:37

we can demonstrate to them that that's going to

32:39

be a longer period of time I think that

32:41

pushes out the you know

32:43

the inevitability of a kinetic conflict with China. I

32:46

appreciate the exchange Mr. Chairman I yield back. And

32:50

we are back live there's a MTG

32:53

for speaker sentiment on

32:55

the live chat one man

32:57

wouldn't that be something I would be here

32:59

for the MTG for speaker experience no doubt

33:02

PK on YouTube asks how can I work

33:04

with the hundred and one Republicans who voted

33:06

for this bad bill and honestly it's not

33:08

that easy and they for

33:10

whatever dislike I have for that

33:13

vote they probably have plenty

33:15

of dislike directed back at me but the

33:17

difference is when I do things that folks

33:19

don't like in Washington they don't

33:22

like it because it makes them

33:24

uncomfortable it disrupts their fundraising and

33:27

their progression to power and

33:29

leadership and when the establishment does

33:31

things that I don't like it's

33:33

not like to me it's to the

33:35

country it's to every person paying higher

33:38

prices it's to the

33:40

next generation of Americans that will be

33:42

saddled with an unprecedented amount of debt

33:44

because we're unwilling to confront the challenges

33:46

that face us so we're gonna stay

33:48

on it this next two weeks is

33:50

going to be very critical I'm gonna

33:53

be traveling around the country doing a

33:55

lot of work with policymakers with

33:57

with thought leaders and doing some stuff that I

33:59

can exactly talking about on this platform, but

34:01

it's going to be important work. It's going to

34:03

be central to how we get a House of

34:06

Representatives that is actually willing to fight for we

34:08

the people. So since I'm going to be not

34:10

giving direct live reports on Firebrand for

34:13

a little bit of time here coming

34:15

up, we are trying out something new.

34:18

The Gates News Network will launch moments

34:20

after the conclusion of this broadcast. You'll

34:22

be able to see it on our

34:25

Twitter or X I guess now, on

34:27

Rumble and on YouTube.

34:29

And this is going to be a

34:31

24 hour stream of some of the

34:34

work we've done on investigations,

34:36

some of the work we've done on

34:38

the floor of the Congress, some of

34:40

the committee work that's been essential to

34:42

getting people into a fighting posture, and

34:45

also some of the reports that

34:47

we've been able to provide the country through Firebrand

34:49

on things like critical race theory,

34:52

DEI on the illegal immigration that's crushing

34:54

our nation. So we hope you'll enjoy

34:57

that. We hope it will deepen your

34:59

understanding of what we need to do

35:01

to change the United States Congress. So

35:03

tune in and share the live stream

35:05

on whatever platform you're using, the Gates

35:08

News Network. If you're picking up this

35:10

report on one of our great audio

35:12

platforms, make sure to go to Rumble,

35:14

YouTube or X and watch all the

35:17

work we're doing. And hopefully it'll

35:19

make you an even more capable operative

35:21

in the fight as we work on saving

35:23

the country together. Thanks so much. Roll

35:25

the credits.