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Carol Massar
Carol I'm Carol Massar.
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Tim Stanwak
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Carol Massar
Now every day we are bringing you.
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Tyler Kendall
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Carol Massar
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Carol Massar
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Tim Stanwak
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Tyler Kendall
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Tim Stanwak
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Carol Massar
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Tyler Kendall
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Carol Massar
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Carol Massar
That's the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast.
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Tyler Kendall
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Tim Stanwak
And I'm Tim Stanovec. Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:08]
Carol Massar
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.
- [01:30]
Tyler Kendall
It's not just any Friday here in Washington. It is the Friday of yet another likely partial government shut down. When the clock strikes midnight tonight, funding will run out for the Department of Homeland Security, at least parts of it, knowing that much of it was funded through the one big beautiful bill, ICE specifically. But tsa, fema, the Coast Guard, all could see funding running dry in the absence of a deal that lawmakers did not reach before flying out of Washington yesterday. One of those who actually flew out and arrived in Munich earlier today is Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who of course sits on the Armed Services Committee, but given his state and his constituency is a valuable voice on issues of immigration and the border as well. And Joe actually asked him directly about the CHS shutdown, how long exactly Democrats would be willing to hold the line on this issue and allow the shutdown to drag on. This was Senator Kelly's response.
- [02:20]
Rick Davis
What we've seen from ICE over the past months in Minneapolis and other cities Is is an agency that has just run amok and is violating the constitutional rights of thousands and thousands of Americans. We have two dead Americans. We have people that have been beaten up. I have a constituent that was just standing on the sidewalk in a federal agent in a vehicle, just sprays her in the face with Mace. I mean, what is going on? I mean, this agency needs to be overhauled. People need to be fired. Why are they in uniforms that tactical operators in Fallujah wear? I mean, why don't they wear name tags? They seem to not follow any reasonable use of force criteria. The agency needs to be fixed in a dramatic way. And until that happens, I mean, I am not in favor of funding them beyond what they what the president gave them and Republicans in the House and Senate gave them in his big piece of legislation which was $75 billion to be spent over three years. You know, they have resources. They do not need more resources that will go towards violating the rights of the American people.
- [03:38]
Tim Stanwak
We're going to have a lot more of our extended conversation with Senator Mark Kelly. He spoke with us just as he landed in Munich with some important conversations that he's going to have ahead. As you can see, Tyler Kendall is with us live in Washington. Bloomberg Washington correspondent as we try to figure out next steps here. Guys, you just heard from the senator on this because when they do come back, we're going to be hearing stories about TSA agents missing paychecks. So I guess the question, Tyler, is are talks really underway? Is that narrative correct?
- [04:07]
Tyler Kendall
Well, if you ask the White House, they're going to see that they are. In fact, we heard from President Trump during the last hour speaking to reporters on at the White House on his way out to Marine One. When he was asked if whether or not we will see a deal struck imminently, he said we'll see what happens and did affirm that the two sides are talking. The issue is, is that publicly they seem very far apart and it's been difficult to glean even what details that they are trading between each other. I did catch up with Senator Kenny, Katie Britt, I mentioned this in the last hour of this program. She's the lead negotiator for Republicans when it comes to DHS funding. She said that they're making significant strides. They are exchanging the text back and forth. But at this point we haven't heard really any details on exactly what they are talking about and what middle ground there could be because Democrats have held really firm. They believe they have the upper hand when it comes to changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, those new warrant requirements, the demasking of agents that we know are non starters for a lot Republicans. Well, but when we consider Republicans and the leader of the Republican Party, specifically President Trump, it does seem that there already is a shift underway evidenced by Tom Holman pulling out or announcing that there will be the pullout of those in Minnesota. Operation Metro surge is coming to an end. The administration already is shifting tact on this somewhat, at least when it comes to what's happening on the ground. And I think that it's fair to say that the administration was hoping that this could perhaps spur some movement on Capitol Hill. You know, you ask Republican senators and they say this is a good faith effort by the administration to enact some change. The thing is though, if we take a step back and we go to when these talks were percolating two weeks ago when we first got that continuing resolution, Republicans were saying, look, take executive action from the president as a solution to this. And Democrats have repeatedly held firm that they need to see changes to ICE codified into law. That something like a pullback of federal agents in Minnesota isn't going to be enough because they need to make sure that there are safeguards, Democrats say, from preventing unrest in the future related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So that's sort of the nuance here. Lawmakers feel like they really have to get involved. And Democrats do feel pretty confident in their issue when you look in their position, when you look at the polling and also the fact yesterday only one Democrat broke ranks, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to join Republicans to vote for what ultimately failed, which would have been a full year fiscal year funding for dhs. All right, Bloomberg Washington correspondent Tyler Kendall, thank you so much. And as we consider the position of Democrats here, one of them is joining us now. Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida is here with us on balance of power on Bloomberg TV and radio. Congresswoman, welcome back. It's always good to have you. I'd like to ask you the same question that Joe posed to Senator Kelly, which you may have heard his answer to. How long exactly are you? Should the party be willing to hold the line to allow this partial shutdown to continue as you seek these reforms?
- [07:08]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Well, Kaylee and Joe, thanks for having me again. Let's just be very clear that the ball is in Republicans court. What Democrats are doing is making a stand that ICE and CBP are completely out of control in the United States of America. We do not allow law enforcement entities the right to just Batter. Come into your home with a battering ram, banging on doors, banging down doors with masked thugs who have no identification, no way that an occupant has any idea who they are or if they are who they say they are. Stopping people randomly based on their accent, their skin color, or how they look, that's just unacceptable. And on top of that, going into homes and businesses without a judicial warrant, that is the way things work in authoritarian regimes that undocumented immigrants or immigrants to this country fled from. We don't adopt those same practices in the United States. And until that kind of reform is agreed to by Republicans, then I'm not voting for any more funding for ice. I believe that criminals should be deported, but that's not what Donald Trump has done. 14%, DHS's own numbers of undocumented immigrants who have been detained had a criminal record. The overwhelming majority have not had one at all. And these abusive practices, the random killing of protesters in the streets, needs to end.
- [08:43]
Tim Stanwak
Congresswoman, thanks for being with us. This is obviously something that's not going to be solved in the next couple of days here, so I wonder your thoughts on this idea that's come forth from the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee upon which you serve. Rep. Dolos got a funding deal that would basically carve out ice. It would fund the tsa, it would fund fema, it would fund the Coast Guard. It would put ICE in a box knowing that ICE has gobs of money from the big beautiful bill. Is that a good idea to spare tsa, FEMA, and the others while this has worked out.
- [09:17]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The big ugly law, the reconciliation law that passed last summer basically has a slush fund, billions of dollars that, that the administration is able to use. They can transfer that, fund the Coast Guard and FEMA and tsa. They have the flexibility, all the flexibility they need. What we need to do is have a comprehensive agreement that ensures that we rein ICE in, that they aren't abusing constitutional and human rights. Joe, I have, in my own, just outside my own neighborhood, we had ICE enforcement randomly stopping lawn trucks and arresting and detaining people randomly based on how they spoke, whether they spoke another language, whether they had dark skin. That is just unacceptable. We can't have ICE threatening to stand outside polling places, which they're threatening to do under the Trump administration. They're engaging in enforcement actions in hospitals, outside hospitals and schools and courthouses. This is not how fair adjudication of the law works in the United States. And the other problem is that the administration has sent out thousands of poorly trained individuals who clearly have no idea how to actually enforce laws and conduct detentions under the rules and Constitution like normal law enforcement officers do. And that all has to be reined in before we agree to additional funding.
- [10:51]
Tim Stanwak
Okay, so as long as the parties are oceans apart here, though, Congresswoman, would you support this idea of preserving funding for TSA and female while ICE is put on ice?
- [11:04]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
What I support is making sure we have a comprehensive agreement to ensure that we rein ICE in and make sure that their abusive practices stop. I don't want the people that I represent, which is tens of thousands of people who are immigrants to this country, lawful immigrants. That's the problem here, is that we have ICE stopping people who are lawfully in this country who aren't even undocumented at all. They're detaining U.S. citizens. They're being incredibly abusive. And so I don't think that the ranking member, who I respect, she's my ranking member. I'm on the Appropriations Committee. I don't think it's necessary for us to take that action because the administration has the flexibility to continue to fund those three components of the Department of Homeland Security. And frankly, you know, I don't know why that at the moment I want to give any more money to Kristi Noem. If you look at the Wall Street Journal story today, Kristi Noem is a hot, horrific mess who, if she doesn't get fired or step down herself, needs to be impeached. If we give her any more money, she's already sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursement that should already have been approved for natural disasters and leaving people literally twisting in the aftermath of wind, fire and other national natural disasters. So we need a comprehensive solution here and an agreement where Republicans and Democrats come to the table and ensure that the ICE abuse ends.
- [12:38]
Tyler Kendall
Well, Congresswoman, as you speak about Secretary Noem here, she of course, was effectively removed or sidelined from the situation in Minnesota. Specifically, and President Trump made the decision to send in his borders are Tom Homan, who yesterday, as I'm sure you're well aware, announced the end of Operation Metro Surge. They are going to start pulling out the remaining federal personnel. Does that move the needle for you at all? Do you find yourself happy with the job Tom Homan has done since arriving in Minnesota? Do you expect that this could continue in the other areas in which we have seen this kind of ICE activity?
- [13:10]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
I mean, I join Minnesotans who I'm sure are relieved that the administration has ended the occupation where they sent out sent in 3,000 ICE agents to a city with a relatively small law enforcement presence. They are sending in ICE agent. The number of ICE agents that they're sending in and the amount that they're funding rivals the military budget of Turkey. I mean, the overkill, the undertraining, the over enforcement, the abusive practices. I'm glad that they've pulled back out of Minneapolis, but that doesn't change the fact that they killed two people on the streets of Minneapolis who were simply exercising their First Amendment right. They have engaged in brutal thug tactics where no one knows who they are. They're wearing masks, they don't have name tags, they aren't identifying themselves and they are going into homes and businesses without a judicial warrant, which is the government is not allowed to just invade your home in the United States of America. That that was goes all the way back to the founding fathers when they wrote our Constitution and we need to make sure observes the law and our constitutional principles.
- [14:28]
Tim Stanwak
Congresswoman, what's going to come from this story in the Wall Street Journal that you mentioned about Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski. They fired a Coast Guard pilot, apparently Lewandowski, after Noem's blanket was left behind on a plane, only to rehire the pilot when they realized they needed someone to take them home. That's the story that's getting a lot of talk here. But there's much more in terms of the disarray within the agency. Knowing that they had just recently met with President Trump to talk about what's going on at dhs, a tenure that has been studded by controversy here. And the story describes the 737 that they fly around in that includes a private cabin in the back of the plane, realizing they're both married and have denied allegations of having an affair. Is there a congressional answer to this? Is there the equivalent of human resources on this story, Joe?
- [15:27]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The vanity project that Kristi Noem has engaged in, where she has essentially assembled one of the largest agencies in our federal government in service of her own self promotion and attention. Attention is an outrage. And she is singularly incompetent. She has really hamstrung so many small towns and cities across America because she has required approval of anything over $100,000 with her signature to release reimbursement funds for natural disaster relief. These are funds that cities across the country and counties across the country have already spent and FEMA reimburses them. There are funds, nonprofit security grant funds that thousands of synagogues and churches and religious institutions who need those resources to keep their congregations safe that she has sat on and not released. It' sthe incompetence is breathtaking. And the violent abuse of officers under her jurisdiction and her supervision, the buck stops with her. So if she isn't fired and or doesn't resign, then she needs to be impeached. And we need to turn our focus on affordability in this country so that Americans are able to know that their government is fighting for them to make their life more affordable.
- [16:57]
Tim Stanwak
The distraction Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democrat from Florida. We thank you Congresswoman, for the insights. Kristi Noem will be before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3rd. Stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- [17:14]
Carol Massar
Bloomberg Daybreak is your best way to.
- [17:16]
Tyler Kendall
Get informed first thing in the morning, right in your podcast feed. Hi, I'm Karen Moscow.
- [17:22]
Tim Stanwak
And I'm Nathan Hager. Each morning we're up early putting together the latest episode of Bloomberg Daybreak US Edition. It's your daily 15 minute podcast on the latest in global news, politics and international relations.
- [17:35]
Tyler Kendall
Listen to the Bloomberg Daybreak US Edition podcast each morning for the stories that matter with the context you need.
- [17:42]
Tim Stanwak
Find us on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen.
- [17:48]
Carol Massar
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.
- [18:04]
Tim Stanwak
Lawmakers out of Town It's a quiet day here in Washington, D.C. as we count down to a partial government shutdown just after midnight. The Department of Homeland Security, it appears, will go unfunded for days, if not weeks because lawmakers have left and they'll be gone for the better part of 10 days unless they're called back early. Many senators and some House members have made their way to the Munich Security Conference. This is an annual confab that they would not miss with some important discussions around foreign policy, meeting with allies, sideline meetings with other lawmakers potentially talking about dhs. And it comes after an important development this week with a federal grand jury in Washington declining to indict a number of lawmakers, including Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, on charges of seditious conspiracy following the video that they made urging members of the military to disobey what they call unlawful orders. Alyssa Slotkin just spent some time with Bloomberg's Oliver Crook at the Munich Security Conference talking about this very development. Let's listen.
- [19:05]
Tyler Kendall
I don't think anyone considers it closed and we're already hearing rumors that they're going to try again to indict us for I guess sedition. And just to review the bidding, it's a 90 second video that just restates current military law that you have a responsibility to refuse illegal orders. All of us are servicer, veteran folks. We all served in some capacity. And I think, you know, the president is weaponizing the federal government against his adversaries. It's right out of an authoritarian playbook. Many Europeans understand that better than most Americans. And I think this is where we've come to in the United States. And if they can do it to a sitting senator, what can they do to a business leader, a community leader?
- [19:45]
Rick Davis
Is that where you see the sort.
- [19:46]
Tim Stanwak
Of next the next line of that sort of progressive or is it a flood the zone tactic or do you consider something much more?
- [19:51]
Tyler Kendall
No, I think intimidation is the point. It's physical intimidation. I had like a month long threats, you know, to my home, bomb threats my parents were went after. And it's legal intimidation, right? Make me pay lots and lots of money to have a lawyer and be in this legal limbo. You do that to the average person. They say, you know what, I'm just going to go quiet. I'm not going to speak up anymore, I'm not going to shout from the rooftops and I'm just not going to do that because I know that he is trying to intimidating intimidate people to be quiet.
- [20:21]
Rick Davis
And you've had some sort of words of support from a number of Republicans, perhaps not actions of support. How do you interpret that?
- [20:27]
Carol Massar
Is there more do you think that.
- [20:28]
Rick Davis
Needs to be done?
- [20:29]
Tyler Kendall
Ms. Yeah. Again, five or six Republicans said I think the right thing, which is look, you can't go after someone out of their freedom of speech, even if they didn't agree with the video. And I would never want that for them. You know, the tide can turn. Democrats could win again. I don't want Democrats saying, oh, we should go after Republican senators for a 90 second video. I don't want that for anybody. So I appreciate those who stood up. I would like there to be more. Joining them, Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan with our colleague Oliver Crook at the Munich Security Conference, of course, where we also were joined by Mark Kelly, the Democratic senator from Arizona, who we heard from earlier on this hour. And interesting to see them both there, Joe, clearly with this issue in the background, raising their political profile somewhat or at the very least elevating them to the forefront of of the news Cycle domestically. Now they are abroad meeting with foreign leaders in many instances or foreign dignitaries at the Munich Security Conference. All of a profile elevating. Yes, indeed you will including for Senator Kelly and other Democrats who are eyeing for 2028.
- [21:34]
Tim Stanwak
Yeah, I'd be curious to hear what the panel thinks about this because this, this is an event that has evolved into a platform for, for political messaging. You've got a half dozen senators who could be on a list for president and a couple of House members. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez going to be speaking there as well. Following JD Vance's visit last year, it really changed, I guess the way we look at the Munich Security Conference, which used to be a pretty quiet discussion about defense.
- [21:55]
Carol Massar
Yeah.
- [21:56]
Tyler Kendall
And of course, while J.D. vance gave the big speech last year, it's going to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio giving it this time around. So on that note, let's turn to our political panel. Bloomberg Politics contributors Rick Davis and Jeannie Shan Zaino are with us. Rick Davis, of course, Stone Cord capital partner and Republican strategist. Jeannie is a democracy visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash center. And Democratic analyst. Rick, if we could just talk about that. The idea that the Munich Security Conference suddenly seems to be a magnet for people who were at least buzzing about as potential presidential contenders. Is that the platform that we really think it is?
- [22:30]
Rick Davis
You know, it's served as a platform for global debate quite a bit. John McCain used to, to rail against Vladimir Putin on a regular basis, attack the Chinese for violating all kinds of, you know, trade and tariff and treaties. At the end of the day, it has cycled in and out of importance. It is very Europe focused. So ever since the Russians invaded Ukraine, it's been a central focus of debate around the use of force and NATO, you know, unity and things like that. So, yeah, I mean, it's a place where you go get your spurs. I remember when Elizabeth Warren first indicated to John McCain she'd like to attend, he, I would say the Codell, the congressional delegation name is still the McCain Codell that goes to Munich every year. So everybody was on the McCain Codell right now. And he questioned her as to why she wanted to go. Do you want to go just for politics or you want to go learn something? Those days are gone. Nobody questions your motivation anymore in the Senate. And, and I have no doubt that as John McCain used to say, you, if you're a United States senator, you consider yourself a candidate for president unless you're in indicted, intoxicated or otherwise. Dead.
- [23:53]
Tim Stanwak
Well, we found a couple of them. They've already been on the air here. Jeannie, consider the names. Senator Ruben Gallego, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Maybe we'll put that one aside. He's speaking for the administration, but could be running in 2020. Alexandria, Ocasio Cortez, California Governor Gavin Newsom. These are some of the folks who have made their way overseas. At this moment, Jeannie is whatever happened to politics stops at the water's edge?
- [24:22]
Carol Massar
Those days are long over, Joe. Matthew and you know, it's fascinating because we are sitting here in February 2026 and we are already in the invisible primary. This is what so many Americans can't stand about American politics. This is what so many people overseas look at and scratch their heads. We are constantly in campaign mode. You guys know I'm in favor of it. I love a good campaign, but that's precisely what is going on. These guys and gals are all putting their foot into the water, testing to see how their, their messages, you know, land, perfecting their arguments, you know, in the process of writing books that they're going to be putting out, all in an effort to get their name in that top, you know, 5, 10, 15, who may be considered for the presidency in 28. And of course, we haven't even had the midterm yet. And we are on the brink of this, you know, 12 hours away, a partial or a fractional government shutdown. So it is just another reminder of why so many people hate American politics. 6. But here you go. They are in campaign mode.
- [25:33]
Tyler Kendall
Well, and Jeannie, you're right to point us to the fact that the midterm is what we really need to get through first, which could ultimately be the first real test of what headwinds the Republican Party potentially are going to be facing going into 2028 with President Trump not going to be directly on the ballot, at least we think, and yet very much could be. And as we consider Jeannie, or could be in the sense that, that, you know, people are going to be thinking about him when they vote. Jeannie as we consider how the, the winds seem to be shifting around President Trump himself, the idea that his grip on the Republican Party may be loosening a bit as we saw six Republicans vote against him on Canadian tariffs in the House this week. He didn't get or the DOJ was not able to get the grand jury indictment we were just hearing Senator Slotkin about. Arguably, you could say that there are some losses that are stacking up for the president here nine months out to the midterm. Do you expect that that's something that could just continue or can he resolidify that Crip?
- [26:26]
Carol Massar
I think there is time to re solidify but the numbers are brutal. You have him on the most important issue, bar none According to Axios 26 points down on the economy from where he was in his first term. He's underwater 15% on the economy today according to the real quick Clear Politics average. They are entirely way off message. I mean forget about immigration and everything else else this is going to all be about the economy. And his numbers have cratered. The YouGov poll has him 51 point swing among people in Gen X that those are bad numbers. And Kelly, since you are just back with your beautiful baby, I want to tell you that the one thing that stunned me so much when we talk about how off message these people are in the administration is Howard Lutnick in defense of his visit to a Epstein island after lying about it said oh don't worry, I went there with my wife and kid and nannies, plural. And I cannot tell you how many people said to me, you know, forget the Epstein stuff, this man has nannies and we can't even afford child care, health care, we can't afford groceries. And he has nannies, plural with plural that he travels with on vacation. It's part and parcel of a Epstein class that John Ossif talked about last week and that is killing an administration led by somebody who says affordability is a hoax. They've got to get back on message. There's time but it is quickly, quickly running out.
- [28:00]
Tim Stanwak
Hey Rick, Senator Slotkin said a short time ago that she expects Marco Rubio to sand some of the the edges off of JD Vance's speech at Munich last year. What do you expect the administration's message will be?
- [28:16]
Rick Davis
You know, I think that they've perfected this idea that by the US withdrawing some of its sort of coverage in Naito that it's made European countries stronger and I think they're going to want to do a victory lap on that. I think a year into his administration defense budgets strategies, discussions amongst partnerships of the European has strengthened the European role in NATO and sometimes that tough love is what was needed to get that to happen. So there's no doubt that a little different than J.D. vance's view, which is Europe is a corrupted model that will never succeed. I think that Secretary Rubio has the ability to transition from that to you're stronger today because of our policy and you should feel good about that, and we certainly do too.
- [29:13]
Tim Stanwak
Rick Davis and Jeanne Shann Zaino stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this. April 29th and 30th Bloomberg House arrives in Miami at the Formula One Grand Prix. Set against one of the world's most electrifying sporting events, Bloomberg House brings business, investment and culture together. Powered by Bloomberg Journalism, real time data and forward looking conversations. From onstage discussions to exclusive networking with global leaders, this is where ideas connect Bloomberg House Miami. Learn more@Bloomberglive.com BloombergHouseMiami you're listening to the.
- [29:53]
Carol Massar
Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa play Bloomberg 11:30.
- [30:11]
Tim Stanwak
I'm Joe Matthew in Washington. Thank you for being with us here on the Friday edition, 1201am less than 12 hours from now is when DHS shuts down. And I can say that with some credibility because there's no one here to fix it. I mean they're normally you'd see lawmakers on the floor of the House or the Senate or both, looking at the.
- [30:35]
Carol Massar
Clock.
- [30:37]
Tim Stanwak
Trading ideas, bartering, spending time in the Speaker's lobby, then to the cloak room, then you shuttle to the White House. We'd be up there live. There would be a climactic victory or failure at some point. In this case, just a whimper. They're all gone. You just saw Senator Slotkin, one of many senators on CODEL to Munich. House members had their codells canceled by Mike Johnson, but they're going too in some cases. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is going to be talking over there. I guess the point is this won't be fixed in 10 days at least. And even then it's going to take some time when they get back. So the next part of this story will be lawmakers returning to Washington to news that TSA agents are gonna start missing paychecks and that might put on the pressure. Then again, Kristi Noem has her own pressure at the Department of Homeland Security. If you look at this story today in the Wall Street Journal, it is a doozy. It's another disarray at DHS kind of thing. And we've seen these before. It aims directly at Kristi Noem and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski, knowing that there's been some pretty tough news around there, as I read in the paper, within dhs, Noam and Lewandowski frequently berate senior level staff, give polygraph tests to employees they don't trust and have fired employees in one incident. And this is the story that fulfills the headline. Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot after Noem's blanket was left behind on a plane, according to people familiar with the incident. And the story did not end there. WSJ writes that decision was reversed. The pilot was unfired when they realized they needed someone to take them home. DHS calls this salacious, baseless gossip. As the paper veers into the relationship between these two. Noam and Lewandowski say they are not having an affair. Quote, people say they do little to hide their relationship inside the department. Maybe all of this comes together in some kind of a deal, but somebody's leaking some pretty good stuff to the Wall Street Journal to make the secretary look awful and maybe advance this debate. Or DHS goes unfunded for weeks or months. We don't know. Maybe the panel does. Bloomberg Politics contributors Rick Davis and Jeannie Shan Zaino join on this merciful Friday. Rick is our Republican strategist and partner at Stone Court, Capitol famous around the world. If you saw the Daily Mail. Jeannie Shann Zaino, Democratic analyst and democracy visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ashe Center. Jeanne, I'm getting confused here. You read this story about Kristi Noem. You'd think that the secretary might be fired or impeached already. Is that a key to the deal?
- [33:39]
Carol Massar
Listen, Joe, a lady needs her blanket. I don't think we should dis that now, do you? Fire the pilot. You need to fly that. You fly you home. Probably not.
- [33:48]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Yeah.
- [33:48]
Carol Massar
It is quite a remarkable story in the Wall Street Journal and you've probably seen the memes going around showing Kristi Noem as Linus from Charlie Brown with her blankie. So it's been a lot of fun in that regard. In a serious note, the chaos we've been hearing about for weeks. But even before the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security has been a structural mess for a long time, almost since its creation. So while there might grow lack of managing, I think is the best way to say it has made it worse. This is not the first time we've heard this, of course. Of course she like Pam Bondi, they're all playing to an audience of one. And as long as they have the continued support of Donald Trump and he insists on not taking any scalps, she will remain in her position, blanket in hand. Joe Matthew and with her, you know, special governmental employee Corey Lewandowski overstaying his what, it's 130 days and he's overstayed that by a long shot.
- [34:54]
Tim Stanwak
Rick, when, when you see leaking like this coming from inside the House, what does that tell you about the stability of leadership at dhs?
- [35:03]
Rick Davis
Yeah, it might have been the easiest story to write for the Wall Street Journal investigative team because they, probably, everyone they called wanted to talk about this.
- [35:12]
Tim Stanwak
That's a problem.
- [35:12]
Rick Davis
It's not good for leadership. Right. And this has been going on since the administration started. So this isn't something that they've just discovered or, or something that has been triggered by some events. You know, ICE Barbie was doing nationally broadcast TV commercials that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars that had been run through a firm that Corey Lewandowski had relationships with. I mean, you know, this is why the White House, these kinds of things opened up a review of Corey Lewandowski's role in the dhs. Because as a special government employee, he is limited into what he does. He's a consultant. He's not a full staffer. He couldn't get that job. The White House smartly said no to him being chief of staff. So there's a lot of things that don't match. I mean, directions they're giving to the ICE director about go out there and show a force, get videos up on the web. We need to show what we're doing, going after people on the Internet, on the Web, and, and, and for what reason? Right? I mean, deterrence, I don't know. And yet at the same time, when something bad happens, you know, where ICE agents kill Americans in the, you know, standing around watching what's going on, that, that director of ICE gets lambasted by both Lewandowski and, and the director.
- [36:42]
Tim Stanwak
For.
- [36:43]
Rick Davis
You know, being too aggressive. So, I mean, like, you can't follow that kind of direction and not have bad things happen. And so now we see inside how these kinds of events can take place where out of control operatives on the ground are having competing orders given to them by the administration.
- [37:05]
Tim Stanwak
Well, you read through this story, Jeanne, it makes you wonder what is going to come from this. Lewandowski and Noem, to be clear, are both married and have publicly denied reports of having an affair. But as we read after tabloid photos of Lewandowski showed him going back and forth between his apartment and Noem's across the street. Last year, Secretary moved into a government owned waterfront house on a military base here in Washington that is provided to the leader of the Coast Guard. We're talking about Coast Guard shutting down tonight falls under Nome's purview at dhs. Lewandowski also spends time at that house. Jeannie, the DHS spokeswoman Wall Street Journal talked to said no move there for increased security. Does this have to go to hr?
- [37:57]
Carol Massar
Yeah, I think the HR here is Donald Trump. And I think the big question for Donald Trump is how long? And this to me is politically mind boggling because he's very good at politics. Politics. How long does he want to keep up with this or does he want to allow this kind of chaos to continue? Whether it is the chaos out in Minneapolis that he had to send Tom Holman in to clean up, whether it is the chaos of these kinds of reports. And I think the term chaos appeared quite frequently in this Wall Street Journal report because whatever they're doing personally, what they are not doing is administering this department that is in control of the issue that is beyond beside the economy, the important issue to this president. They are not managing it properly. And I would just remind people that it wasn't long ago that Kristi Noem went to seekat fully enmeshed in a $50,000 Rolex watch and took pictures in front of men piled up like animals in one of the most dangerous mega prisons in the world, many of whom her department had deported against the Constitution and who we now find out are innocent. And she stood there for photo ops. It is one of the most deplorable things we've ever seen come out of the department, if not the White House as a whole. She did it proudly. She did it for Donald Trump. She's been serving Donald Trump. And I think the question now is how long does Donald Trump think this is working for him when polls quite show quite the opposite. I mean, you were just talking to Tyler and she appointed to several recent polls which show he is dramatically underwater when it comes to his handling of ice, immigration and border security. It was his number one issue. It is now starting to be second worst to the economy. That's all at the hands of Kristi Noem. And he should, you know, he should really think about the political ramifications for himself and the rest of the party if this continues.
- [40:00]
Tim Stanwak
The revelations just keep coming in this story. Lewandowski and Noem, it says, have lately been using a luxury set 737 jet, a 737 Max with a private cabin in the back for their travel around the country. According to people familiar with the matter. That's where they spend a good chunk of the flight. DHS is leasing the plane and in the process of acquiring it for $70 million. So as we're on the precipice of DHS shutting down here, Rick, not only do we we follow the beat on this story and what many thought was the sidelining of Kristi Noem when Tom Holman went to Minneapolis in our remaining moment, how long has it been since we've seen Stephen Miller in front of a camera? Has he been sidelined publicly?
- [40:49]
Rick Davis
Well, I think he continues to speak out, but he's certainly not taking the lead on cleaning up the mess that has been created by this administration in Minnesota, Louisiana, Portland, other places that clearly has been handed off to Homan. In this article, Wall Street Journal wrote, you know, evidently Kristi Noem was like paranoid about Holman's crowd size and how many times he was on tv. Well, her head must blow up. This week he's been Johnny on the spot in Minneapolis and frankly unraveled that situation in record time. So it doesn't doesn't help people like Alex Preddie at all, but it does at least get the administration back on track.
- [41:29]
Tim Stanwak
It really does come down to crowd size every time, doesn't President thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find us live every weekday from Washington, D.C. at noontime eastern@bloomberg.com you can get the news whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now.
- [41:53]
Tyler Kendall
I'm Amy Morris. And I'm Karen Moscow, here to tell you about our new on Demand news report delivered right to your podcast feed. Bloomberg News now is a short 5 minute audio report on the day's top stories. Episodes are published throughout the day with the latest information and data to keep you informed. Yes, there are other products like this.
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