Episode 4233: Tragedy Over The Potomac; Kash, Tulsi, And RFK Hearings Cont.

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon’s War Room – Episode 4233: Tragedy Over The Potomac; Kash, Tulsi, And RFK Hearings Cont.

Release Date: January 30, 2025

In Episode 4233 of Bannon’s War Room, host WarRoom.org delves into a multifaceted Senate hearing addressing the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard for the position of FBI Director. The episode intricately weaves through high-stakes political debates, policy discussions, and a poignant national tragedy, providing listeners with comprehensive insights into the current political climate and its implications.

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1. Senate Hearing on FBI Director Nomination

Participants:

• Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)
• Senator Tulsi Gabbard (I-HI)
• President Donald Trump (appears later in the episode)

The episode opens with Senator Dick Durbin vehemently questioning the suitability of Tulsi Gabbard as the next FBI Director. Durbin emphasizes the importance of character and integrity in leadership roles, expressing skepticism about Gabbard's past statements and actions.

• Durbin [00:00]: "Conduct shows character. And if you look at history, you see the danger of security chiefs in authoritarian regimes becoming the tools of political power."

Durbin cites historical precedents where poor conduct in leadership positions led to authoritarianism, urging his colleagues to scrutinize the nominee thoroughly.

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2. Criticisms and Accusations Against the Nominee

Durbin raises concerns about Gabbard's previous actions, specifically her stance on pardoning individuals involved in the January 6th Capitol riot. He lists several controversial pardons during the Trump administration, highlighting the gravity of these decisions.

• Durbin [02:55]: "Thomas Sanders, a kidnapper who murdered a 12-year-old girl named Lexus and her mother, Swell and Roberts."

He continues to question the nominee's commitment to national security and adherence to constitutional principles, suggesting that Gabbard's history aligns with traits unfavorable for the FBI Director role.

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3. Defense from Senator Tulsi Gabbard

Senator Tulsi Gabbard counters Durbin's accusations by defending her record and intentions. She argues that her 16 years of service exemplify her dedication to depoliticizing law enforcement agencies.

• Gabbard [02:24]: "The only thing that will matter if I'm confirmed as a director of the FBI is a de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and a singular standard of justice."

Gabbard accuses the FBI of disseminating false information and stresses her commitment to maintaining the agency's integrity and constitutional adherence.

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4. Policy Debates: Pardons, Abortion Pill, and Whistleblower Protection

The discussion shifts to specific policy issues, including the use of the abortion drug mifepristone and the Protect Brave Whistleblowers Act, introduced by Gabbard.

• Durbin [05:16]: "The most widely used medication, abortion drug mifepristone, has been FDA approved for nearly 25 years. More than 100 studies have confirmed that 99% of patients who took the abortion pill had no complications."

Durbin questions Gabbard's stance on mifepristone, demanding detailed scientific data to support policy decisions.

Gabbard responds by advocating for evidence-based policies and criticizes previous legislative attempts to weaken protections for whistleblowers.

• Gabbard [10:31]: "I would recommend a de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution."

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5. Accusations Regarding Gabbard’s Statements

Durbin accuses Gabbard of making inflammatory statements comparing the COVID-19 vaccine program to Nazi death camps and the Catholic Church’s pedophilia scandal.

• Durbin [13:00]: "Is it hyperbole to say that the people who run our vaccine programs should be in jail? They should be in jail. To me, this is like Nazi death camps."

Gabbard defends her statements by clarifying the context and emphasizing her efforts to maintain public health integrity.

• Gabbard [13:20]: "The police officers were heroes that day... They broke the chain of command."

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6. Tragedy Over the Potomac River

Midway through the episode, the podcast reports on a devastating aviation accident involving an American Airlines regional jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The collision resulted in the loss of all passengers and crew aboard both aircraft.

• Senator Josh Hawley [22:49]: "Yesterday a mistake was made and I think the president is right. There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating."

The incident prompts a heated debate on air traffic control practices and diversity hiring policies within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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7. Debates on Air Traffic Control and Diversity Hiring

Senators discuss the potential link between the FAA’s diversity hiring initiatives and the recent crash. Durbin criticizes the current hiring standards, advocating for the recruitment of the "best and brightest" to ensure aviation safety.

• Durbin [23:00]: "You reported that the FAA has a diversity hiring plan which includes individuals with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities... I don't think so."

Hawley defends the importance of high standards and suggests that the crash may be attributed to human error rather than hiring practices.

• Hawley [25:00]: "We have a high standard. We've had a much higher standard than anybody else."

Gabbard interjects, questioning the immediate blame placed on diversity initiatives without concrete evidence linking them to the tragedy.

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8. President Trump’s Response

In response to the tragedy, President Donald Trump delivers a statement emphasizing leadership and the importance of restoring high standards within the FAA.

• Trump [32:31]: "We are going to restore faith in American air travel. I'll have more to say about that."

He critiques previous administrations' policies and underscores his commitment to ensuring that only highly competent individuals manage critical safety roles.

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9. Conclusion of the Hearing

The hearing concludes with continued tensions between the senators, highlighting the deep political divisions and the ongoing debates over national security, public safety, and the role of diversity in government agencies.

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Notable Quotes

• Senator Dick Durbin [00:00]: "Conduct shows character. And if you look at history, you see the danger of security chiefs in authoritarian regimes becoming the tools of political power."

• Senator Tulsi Gabbard [02:24]: "The only thing that will matter if I'm confirmed as a director of the FBI is a de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and a singular standard of justice."

• Senator Josh Hawley [22:49]: "Yesterday a mistake was made and I think the president is right. There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating."

• President Donald Trump [32:31]: "We are going to restore faith in American air travel. I'll have more to say about that."

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Insights and Conclusions

This episode of Bannon’s War Room encapsulates the intense political maneuvering surrounding high-profile government nominations and the intersection of policy, national security, and public safety. The Senate hearing serves as a microcosm of broader national debates, illustrating the challenges in balancing diverse perspectives with the imperative of maintaining robust and effective governance. The tragic Potomac River collision further amplifies these tensions, prompting urgent discussions on the efficacy of current aviation safety protocols and the potential implications of hiring practices within critical agencies like the FAA.

Listeners are left with a nuanced understanding of the complexities involved in governmental appointments, the significance of evidence-based policy-making, and the enduring impact of national tragedies on political discourse.

Transcript

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Is not only illogical, but completely devoid of any evidence in the record that's from a judge. This is a dangerous time and I ask all my colleagues to consider whether these plain comments by this person and by his own Trump administration colleagues should be given a blind eye, just overlooked. Or whether, like the warnings of pardoning violent January 6th offenders, there are warnings to be heeded. There is an unfathomable difference between a seeming facade being constructed around this nominee here today and what he has actually done and said in real life when left to his own devices. Conduct shows character. And if you look at history, you see the danger of security chiefs in authoritarian regimes becoming the tools of political power. The characteristics that they often show are that they are vengeful, that they are grandiose, that they are intemperate, that they are partisan and blindly loyal, and that they are servile and won't say no. I'm afraid that the history of this nominee's conduct raises those warnings. And I yield my one second back before Senator Cornyn.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

You said you'd like to explain something. I forget the point he made. You can do that now if you want to.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Simply this Senator in the collective. All of those statements are taken out of grotesque context. And anyone that thinks my 16 years.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Of service is an exemplary on how.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

I would proceed if confirmed as FBI is intentionally putting false information into the public ether and creating more public discourse. The only thing that will matter if I'm confirmed as a director of the FBI is a de, weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and a singular standard of justice.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Before I call on Senator Carnan, I'd.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Like to say that we've heard about the January 6th pardons. I think it's important that we remind.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

People at the same time of some pardons by the previous administration.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thomas Sanders, a kidnapper who murdered a 12 year old girl named Lexus and her mother Swell and Roberts.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Adrian Peeler, a Connecticut drug kingpin who was convicted in the death of an.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

8 year old boy and his mother.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Leonard Peltier, that's already been referred to.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

That murdered two FBI agents and even Director Ray at that time. Former Director Wray said that that shouldn't have happened. And Judge Michael Conahan, who took kickbacks for wrongly sending juveniles for profit detention centers.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

And Alex Saab, who laundered illicit proceeds.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

For narcotics terrorists, Nicholas Madero and was.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

A key connection between Venezuela and Iran. And five family members of his own family.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

President Biden did that.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Senator, welcome Mr. Patel, do you believe America is an exceptional nation?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

It's the greatest nation. Your family went through a lot to get here.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

They sure did. And your life story is, I think.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

A great example of people pursuing the American dream. Do you believe what?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

A large part of what makes America an exceptional nation is the rule of law.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

It is one of the fundamental precepts that determines that.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

And why is that?

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Because without a singular application of a.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Rule of law, we go back to.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

The Uganda that my father fled in Idi Amin.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

20 trusted studies. It depends what the.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

What's your number?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

It completely depends on the kind of study you're talking about. Randomized studies or observational studies. Is it safe to assume that 100 studies that are replicable and peer reviewed is enough? Well, it could be one study if.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

It was a powerful enough study.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

The most widely used medication, abortion drug mifepristone, has been FDAA approved for nearly 25 years. More than 100 studies have confirmed that 99% of patients who took the abortion pill had no complications. So with all of that, I can.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Only conclude that you would commit to.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Keep this science backed and proven medication on the market and accessible for women. Is that correct? I'm going to with mife. President Trump has not chosen a policy and I will implement his policy. So regardless of the studies, regardless of the data, regardless of the science you've been talking about, show me the data. Show me the studies. Well, if you would have that policy, regardless of what the science says, Senator, the devil is in the details. If you're telling me 99% of women did okay, but 1% died, I would say that is not a beneficial risk profile. Studies show. I know, but you're not showing me. I need those details from the study before I. I can't buy a pig and a poke. Show me what the study says.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Let's move on.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Next it would be Senator mullen. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy, for being here. You know, we have fortunately going to.

[President Donald Trump]

Tulsi Gabbard being grilled by Warner friendship.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Remember, the 702 is critical to our national security. 60% of the President's Daily Brief, 60% of the information President Trump gets every day in PDP will come from this. You've had a long history of opposing 702. Many members of Congress have. But one of the things you actually done that not many have is not to reform it. But you actually said you wanted to repeal it. But now, whether it's, you know, confirmation conversion or whatever you call 702 Vital and I'm quoting because of significant FISA reforms have been enacted since you left Congress. Ms. Gabbard, what are the reforms that have led you to now support 702? In the short time that I have, Senator, I will just note that my actions in legislation and Congress were done to draw attention to the egregious civil liberties violations that were occurring at that time. Ms. Gabbard, you said. Ms. Gabbard, I ask you a question, Please give me the courtesy of responding. You said the reforms now make you supportive. What can you cite? Which reforms? There are a number of reforms to include getting rid in the new law that all of you and your wisdom. My time is getting short, but I gotta just tell you, after the reforms were passed into law In April of 24, you went on Joe Rogan's podcast in May, the bill is now law, and you said, quote, this bill took an already bad problem and made it many, many times worse. Again, in my mind, this is a question of judgment. 702 is critical. I appreciate this late conversion, but I'm not sure I buy it because you've had such a consistent position. Again, I know my colleague's gonna raise these, but rather than standing up to dictators like Putin and Assad, you've sometimes amplified his talking points. I mean, I just do not understand how you can blame NATO for Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine. And when Assad used chemical weapons against his own people, he didn't condemn him. I can go through all the quotes. He actually questioned Americans intelligence. Now, you mentioned a lot about trust. One of the things that I'm so proud on this committee is my friend Senator Burr said, we always follow the truth. I say on this committee, the most valuable work I do in this, we have a bipartisan approach to intelligence. I think we have worked to try to keep the intelligence community and earn their trust and frankly, earn the trust of the American people. But I respectfully, ma'am, I just don't believe on your judgment and credibility issues that this is the appropriate role that you should take going forward. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Gabbard, Edward Snowden does stand out.

[President Donald Trump]

As having done particularly grave harm to.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Our national security by revealing top secret secret information, including sensitive sources and methods.

[President Donald Trump]

Thus jeopardizing agents in the field.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

So let me ask you a question. If confirmed, would you support or recommend.

[President Donald Trump]

A pardon or any kind of clemency for Edward Snowden?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you for the question, Senator Collins. If confirmed, as the Director of National Intelligence, my responsibility would be to ensure the security of our nation's secrets and would not take actions to advocate for any actions related to Snowden. So the answer is no. Is that correct? In 2020, you introduced the Protect Brave Whistleblowers act, which would amend the Espionage act to make it more difficult to prosecute individuals who reveal classified information. In particular, the bill would allow individuals to disclose even top secret information as long as it's not done with the specific intent to injure the United States States or advantage any foreign nation.

[President Donald Trump]

Your bill would also have created an.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Affirmative defense if public disclosure of classified information were made for several reasons, one of which was to expose gross waste of funds. I strongly oppose this legislation, which would.

[President Donald Trump]

Hamper our ability to prosecute people who.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Give our adversaries classified information.

[President Donald Trump]

So let me ask you this, Ms. Gabbard. Do you still support providing individuals who.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Have access to top secret information with the ability to make their own decisions regarding whether that information should be publicly disclosed, even though disclosure may cause tremendous harm to our country or our allies? Senator, we cannot and should not have individual vigilantes within the intelligence community making their own decisions about how and where and when to expose our nation's secrets. The intent of the legislation that you have pointed out was pointed towards ensuring due process for those who are charged under the Espionage Act.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Put it on the record. These claims made in that statement were rejected by courts, including by Republican judges. Is that correct?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I don't have enough of the facts.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

In front of me to make that I will put that statement on the record. But I think everyone in this committee, including the Republican members, knows that these statements were rejected by court. You were asked about the police officers in the Capitol who testified in the January 6th hearings, and you accused them of lying. Is that correct or not correct?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I don't think that's accurate.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Okay, Joe Pact podcast, March 2024. We'll put it on the record. I was there. The police officers were heroes that day.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Yes.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Did you post on your personal social media account in May of 2024? January 6th. Never an insurrection. Cowards in uniforms exposed. They broke the chain of command.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I believe you're referencing a post that was shown in part earlier. I don't have it in front of me.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

You posted it and it was on your account. And we will again put that out there once more as we go on. I don't want to lose any more time on this, but every one of these, there's a record of it, and you haven't answered. You promoted a COVID vaccine reversal or detox supplement. One scientist said, I quote, none of these substances in any form would minimize side effects from a COVID 19 vaccine that is preying on innocent people. Did you perform clinical trials before you made that claim? I'm not a doctor, so no. But you did promote this supplement and told people that it would reverse or mitigate the side effects from COVID vaccine. Did I give people an opportunity to make an independent choice for what's best for their families?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Yes.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

You did that last year, correct?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I don't have it in front of me again.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Senator, Mr. Patel, the FBI tackles some of the most complex threats that we face. Terrorists, hostile foreign powers, violent gangs, fentanyl, criminal organizations. Your mission, though, has been to go after people. I've looked at it. I've read this stuff. Yes or no? When Trump wins. Did you say this? When Trump wins in 2024 and is in power in 2025, we can prosecute them. Referring to Justice Department officials for an actual RICO statute violation for criminally organizing the United States government to break the law to rig presidential elections. Did you say that? Yes or no?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Again, Senator, you're reading a partial statement.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

So I'm unable to fully respond. Okay, again, we'll put it on the record. X22 Report podcast 20 that is from. I'll get you the date. About a year ago, one of the names on your list was Bill Barr. Chairman Grassley has called him one of the most capable cabinet officials I've ever been able to vote for. Senator Graham has said I have nothing but total respect and admiration for the job done by William Barr as Attorney General of the United States. Is Bill Barr on your list of whatever you want to call them, been referred to as an enemy's list. You've called them deep state. After serving his country as the Attorney General of the United States. Is he on your list because of a personal vendetta? Well, it's not whatever we want to call it, Senator. With all due respect, it's not an enemy's list. That is a total mischaracterization. I ask you. I actually used the words you used for the list, which was Deep state. Right. That's what you put at the end. It is a glossary against the Attorney General of the United States. Is it because of a personal vendetta that he's on the list? You're under oath.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I have no personal vendetta against Peloton. Okay.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

He said about you, you would never be able to command the respect necessary to run the day to day operations of the Bureau. That was actually in writing in his book, he had virtually about you, no experience that would qualify you to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency, and that your appointment, as noted by Senator Durbin, as Deputy Director to the FBI would happen over his dead body? Is it yes or no why you would put him on the list of Deep State as a former Attorney General Trump, Attorney General of the United States? Because he wouldn't break the law for Donald Trump. Is that why? Absolutely not. As you know, he repeatedly told the president in no uncertain terms that he did not see evidence of fraud that would have affected the outcome of the election. Did you say in February of 2021 that the election stuff was never my job? And I stayed all of it. All. I stayed out of that stuff.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Again, I don't know what comment you're referring to, but I'm sure you're reading.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

A piece of something. You said it on Pushback on a podcast. Is it true, though, that In December of 2020, you reached out to the Trump acting deputy Attorney General to investigate a conspiracy theory claiming that people in Italy had used military technology and satellites to remotely tamper with voting machines in the US and switch votes for Trump from Biden to. From Trump to Biden? Is that true? What was the date that was out of December of 2020? I was Chief of Staff to the Department of Defense, so I don't believe that's accurate in any way that came out of testimony before Congress. I will give it to you. Have you referred to the media as the most powerful enemy of the United States that they have ever seen? Is that right? Again, you're reading a quote. I take two. 23, 24. You said we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig the elections. We're going to come after you whether it's criminally or civilly. Is that something you said?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

That's a partial statement of what I said.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Steve Bannon's podcast. You also said you had put the entire fake news mafia press corps on your list. Is that correct? Is that what you said?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I don't have that in front of me.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Benny Johnson's podcast. 8 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. You have said that the FBI, including today, you said that they remain utterly corrupt. This is an agency with agents who have taken down terrorists, taken down bank robbers, taken down crime. And you wrote that the FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless Drastic measures are taken. Do you know that under Chris Wray's leadership, he took over at a very difficult time. We all know that appointed by President Trump, that the. During his tenure the applications to the FBI has in fact tripled. Do you think people would be applying to that agency like in those numbers if they thought it was so corrupt? The American public's trust in it is at 40%.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

That's an all time low.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Did you say that the FBI headquarters should be shut down and reopened as a museum of the deep state?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr. Chairman, are we allowed to go an extra time?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Let's see you got you get a second round. Before I call on Senator Lee, could.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

He just answer the question? If he said that the FBI headquarters where they investigate cybercrime and terrorism should be shut down and open as a deep state.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Mr.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Chair.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

As a museum. Did he say that the headquarters should be shut down?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Chair, I deserve an answer to that question. He is asking to be head of the FBI and he said that their headquarters should be shut down.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Chair. Parliamentary inquiry.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

You got anything you want to say.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Mr. Patel, before I go on to Senator Lee?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Simply this.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

If the best attacks on me are gonna be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

I stood with them here in this country in every theater of war we have. I was on the ground in service of this nation. And any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

The Constitution are grotesquely unfair.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

And I will have you reminded that I have been endorsed by over 300,000.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Law enforcement officers to become the next director of the FBI. Let's ask them.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Mr. Chairman, I am quoting his own words from September of 2024. It is his own words. It is not some conspiracy. It is what Mr. Patel actually said himself. Facts matter.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

You forget that you had three minutes in the next round to say what you just said.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Okay, I'll say them again.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Okay.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Before I call Lee.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr. Chair, just, just parliamentary inquiry.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

And was on time. It wasn't disputing any of the debate.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

But I intend to keep to my seven minutes and I appreciate you keeping everyone to it. If we go over, can we have that decrement against the time in the second round if a member goes over. That was actually 10 minutes, Mr.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Chair, I'm not sure that I want to. Sometimes it's faster to get things done here.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Just letting people shout and.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

And then it does shut them up.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr. Chairman, you're a wise man.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Mr. Chair.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Before we go to Lee.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr. Chairman.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Yes, what do you want?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I love this guy. Mr. Chairman, I'm unlike Senator Tellis. I mean, if we're going to start this, I don't. I want an extra three minutes. Well, now my friend Senator Kopitar with three minutes.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

So here what you're saying is the chairman wasn't a very good chairman. But not shutting her up. But I've gone through this before and I think I know how to handle it and get.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I think you're. I think you're a star spangled awesome chairman. I just want to say that for the record. But if you're going to let somebody over there go three minutes over, I want my extra three minutes.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Well, let's see. Let's see if it's abused by anybody else before we make that decision.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I'm just telling you I'm going to abuse it.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Well, I'm not going to let you abuse it.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

You're a good man. Mr. Chairman, before I go to Lee.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

I want to put a record statement.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

In the record from 56 former FBI.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Agents wrote to this committee to support.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

This nominee, quote, never has the FBI.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Faced such an urgent and compelling need of for comprehensive reform as it does today. Mr. Patel has proven he possesses the.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Breadth of experience required to address these challenges.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

You said you never said that. Now, I'm not asking you to explain what you said. I didn't say it. Never. You didn't say that, Senator. I did not say that. I hadn't said that. Senator, the other question. That's fine. You're doubling down on that. You said Senator Warnock also asked you if you compared America's vaccine campaign to the Nazi death camps and the Holocaust. Again, you said yesterday you didn't say that. I did not say that. You did not say that. Senator Bennett asked you yesterday if you had made an allegation that AIDS is a different disease in Africa than it is in America. On that one, you said you didn't recall having had a day to think about it. Do you recall saying that AIDS is a different disease in Africa than it is in the United States? I looked up that passage in my book and found that indeed the diagnostics for AIDS are very different in Africa than in the United States, that the list of symptoms is almost completely different. So let me just. I'll submit this for the record. But having denied the first two statements, let me just read what you said you said in 2013. Is it hyperbole to Say that the people who run our vaccine programs should be in jail. They should be in jail. To me, this is like Nazi death camps. Look at what it does to the families who participate in the vaccine program. I can't tell why somebody would do something like that. I can't tell you why ordinary Germans participated in the Holocaust. I can't tell you what was going on in their minds with respect to the pedophilia scandal. You said the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church is a perfect metaphor for what's happening in the United States. The vaccine program. It's the same reason we had a pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church. It's because people were able to convince themselves that the institution of the church was more important than these little boys and girls who were being raped. I don't disagree with Senator Mullen. I don't want an HHS secretary that's not going to question science. I think it's important to question science. But you're not questioning science. You've made up your mind. You have spent your entire career undermining America's vaccine program. You make these purposeful comparisons to those that are administering the vaccine program, to the Nazi executioners, to the people who covered up the Catholic Church's pedophilia scandal, because you have made a decision that there is a comparison, that there is evil in the vaccine program as there was evil in the pedophilia scandal and the Nazi death camps. You aren't exploring science. You have made up your mind. You've spent your entire career trying to undermine these programs. The reason that these statements, these incredibly aggressive over the top statements matter to us is because it just isn't believable that when you become secretary, you are all of a sudden going to be consistent with science. People who have spent their career saying these kinds of things, running the kinds of campaigns that you have run, don't all of a sudden change their stripes. And so, Mr. Chairman, I will submit these statements.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Can I respond to that, Senator?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

My statement about the Catholic Church is almost identical. The findings of the Government Oversight Investigation committee and investigated CDC's vaccine program in 2003. Senator Burden was chairman of that committee and he said that certain individuals in that program had written off a generation of kids because of, quote, misplaced institutional loyalty to the CDC and because of entanglements with the drug companies. Let me finish what I'm saying. You made some grave accusations. Pedophilia to the administration of vaccines. No, it wasn't pedophilia. So it was a perfect metaphor. Well, if you have 1 in 36 kids who has neurological injuries and if that is, you know, linked, that's a perfect metaphysical study. Is it a perfect metaphor? It's not a perfect metaphor, but there's no metaphor that's perfect. But I am pro vaccine. I am going to support the vaccine program. I want kids to be healthy and I'm coming in here to get rid of the conflicts of interest.

[President Donald Trump]

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[Senator Dick Durbin]

Action in the agency. Make sure that we have gold standard evidence based science. And if you show me where I'm wrong on this, show me a single statement I made about science that is erroneous. Thank you, Senator Hawley, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Kennedy, welcome. I enjoyed our conversation last month in our office and thank you for remembering as you did, I met with people.

[President Donald Trump]

We're going to cut to the White House briefing room. President Trump is coming. I give brief remarks about the tragedy last night, but then I think he's going to take questions. This could be a wild one. Going to go to the White House.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

President, United States victims and their families, please. Thank you very much. I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our Nation. Just before 9pm last night, an American Airlines regional jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three military service members over the potential Potomac river in Washington, D.C. while on final approach to Reagan National Airport. Both aircraft crashed instantly and were immediately submerged into the icy waters. Of the Potomac. Real tragedy. The massive search and rescue mission was underway throughout the night, leveraging every asset at our disposal. And I have to say, the local, state, federal, military, including the United States Coast Guard in particular, they've done a phenomenal job. So quick, so fast, it was mobilized immediately. The work has now shifted to a recovery mission. Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions. As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. And we are a country of really. We are in mourning. This has really shaken a lot of people, including people very sadly from other nations who were on the flight. For the family members back in Wichita, Kansas, here. Here in Washington, D.C. and throughout the United States. And in Russia, we have a Russia contingent of very talented people. Unfortunately, we're on that plane. Very, very, very sorry about that. Whose loved ones were aboard the passenger jet. We can only begin to imagine the agony that you're all feeling. Nothing worse. On behalf of the first lady, myself, and 340 million Americans, Americans, our hearts are shattered alongside yours. And our prayers are with you now. And in the days to come, we'll be working very, very diligently. In the days to come, we're here for you to wipe away the tears and to offer you our devotion, our love, and our support. His great support. In moments like this, the differences between Americans fade to nothing compared to the bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all, both as Americans and even as nations. We are one family. And today, we are all heartbroken. We're all searching for answers. That icy, icy Potomac. Was it cold? Cold night, cold water? We're all overcome with the grief, for many who have so tragically perished will no longer be with us. Together, we take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God. We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. And I think we'll probably state those opinions now because over the years, I've watched as things like this happen, and they say, well, we're always investigating. And then the investigation, three years later, they announce it. We think we have some pretty good ideas, but we'll find out how this disaster occurred, and we'll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. The FAA and the NTSB and the US Military will be carrying out a systematic and comprehensive investigation. Our new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, his second day on the job. When that happened, it's. That's a rough one. We'll be working tirelessly. He's a great gentleman. The whole group is. These are great people and they are working tirelessly to figure out exactly what happened. We will state certain opinions. However, I'm also immediately appointing an acting Commissioner to the FAA, Christopher Rochelieu, a 22 year veteran of the agency, highly respected. Christopher, thank you very much. Appreciate it. We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system. I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. You remember that only the highest aptitude, they have to be the highest intellect and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers. That was not so prior to getting there. When I arrived in 2016, I made that change very early on because I always felt this was a job that and other jobs too. But this was a job that had to be superior intelligence. And we didn't really have that. And we had it. And then when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first. And they put politics at a level that nobody has ever seen because this was the lowest level. Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse. So, as you know, last week, long before the crash, I signed an executive order restoring our higher standards for air traffic controllers and other important jobs throughout the country. So it was very interesting. About a week ago, almost upon entering office, I signed something last week that was an executive order, very powerful on restoring the highest standards of air traffic controllers and others. By the way, then my administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety. We have to have our smartest people. It doesn't matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. It matters. Intellect, talent, the word talent. They have to be talented, naturally talented. Geniuses. You can't have regular people doing that job. They won't be able to do it. But we'll restore faith in American air travel. I'll have more to say about that. I do want to point out that various articles that appeared prior to my entering office, and here's one. The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. And then it says, FAA says people with severe disabilities are most underrepresented segment of the workforce. And they want them in and they want them, they can be air traffic controllers. I don't Think so. This was in January 14th. So that was a week before I entered office. They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA's program. Then another article, the Federal Aviation Administration. This was before I got to office. Recently, second term. The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website. Can you imagine? These are people that are. I mean, actually their lives are shortened because of the stress that they have. Brilliant people have to be in those positions. And their lives are actually shortened, very substantially shortened because of the stress where you have many, many planes coming into one target and you need a very special talent and a very special genius to be able to do it. Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the federal government, as a matter of policy, as identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. The FAA's website states they include hearing vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism. All qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country. Pouring into a little spot, a little dot on the map, a little Runway. The initiative is part of the FAA's diversity and inclusion hiring plan. Think of that. The initiative is part of the FAA's diversity and inclusion hiring plan, which says diversity is integral to achieving FAA's mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel. I don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's just the opposite. The FAA website shows that the agency's guidance on diversity hiring were Last updated on March 23 of 22. They wanted to make it even more so. And then I came in and I assume maybe this is the reason. The faa, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a real winner. This guy's a real winner. Do you know how badly everything's run since he's run the Department of Transportation? He's a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground and he's a disaster. Now. He's just got a good line of bullshit. The Department of Transportation, his government agency, charged with regulating civil aviation while he runs it. 45,000 people, and he's run it right into the ground with his diversity. So I had to say that it's terrible. Then it's a group within the faa. Another story. Determined that the workforce was too white, that they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately. This was in the Obama administration, just prior to my getting There. And we took care of African Americans, Hispanic Americans. We took care of everybody at levels that nobody has ever seen before. It's one of the reasons I won. But they actually came out with a directive, too white. And we want the people that are competent. But now we mourn and we pray. And would like to ask all Americans to join me in a moment of silence as we ask God to watch over those who have lost their lives and bring comfort to the loved ones. And I just want to say God bless everyone in this room. This has been a terrible, very short period of time. We'll get to the bottom of it. So we all saw the same thing. We've seen it many times. I've had the honor of hearing tapes. Tapes are scary. Very scary tapes. You had a airliner coming in, American Airlines. He was doing everything right. He was on track. He was the same track as everybody else they came in. It's probably the same track as they've had for 25 years or more. He's coming in the path, and for some reason, he had a helicopter that was at the same height, obviously, when they hit, but pretty much the same height and going at an angle that was unbelievably bad when the air traffic controller said, do you see. You know, he's talking about, do you see him? But there was very little time left when that was stated. And then also he said, follow him in. And then almost immediately after that, you know, seconds after that, there was the crash that took place. Well, you follow them in, that means, like, everything's fine. Follow them in. You had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter. I mean, because it was visual, it was very clear night. It was cold, but clear and clear as you could be. The. The American Airlines plane had lights blazing. They had all their landing lights on. I could see it from the Kennedy center tape. We had a tape up on the Kennedy center. That seems to be the primary thus far. I'm sure we'll see other tapes because it's such a. An area where there are a lot of cameras, a lot of cameras looking up into the air, into space. So we'll probably see many other shots of it before too much time goes back by. But we had a situation where you had a helicopter that had the ability to stop. I have helicopters. You can stop a helicopter very quickly. It had the ability to go up or down. It had the ability to turn. And the turn it made was not the correct turn, obviously. And it did somewhat the opposite of what it was told. We don't know that that would have been the difference because the timing was so tight. It was so. It was so little. There was so little time to think. But what you did have is you had vision. The helicopter had vision of the plane because you had vision of it all the way, perfect vision of it all the way from at Kennedy center where the tape was taken. And for some reason there weren't adjustments made. Again, you could have slowed down the helicopter substantially. You could have stopped the helicopter. You could have gone up, you could have gone down. You could have gone straight up, straight down. You could have turned. You could have done a million different maneuvers. For some reason, it just kept going and then made a slight turn at the very end and it was, by that time it was too late. They shouldn't have been at the same height because if it was at the same height, you could have gone under it or over it and nobody realized or they didn't say that it's at the same height. At the same height, it still wouldn't have been great, but you would have missed it by quite a bit. It could have been 1,000ft higher, it could have been 200ft lower, but it was exactly at the same height and somebody should have been able to point that out. So all of this is going to be studied, but it just seems to me from a couple of words that I like to use the words common sense. Some really bad things happened and some things happened that shouldn't have happened. So you had a helicopter going in identical direction. You had a helicopter that was at the exact same height as somebody going in essentially the opposite, opposite direction. You had a plane that was following a track, which is a track that every other plane followed. And I don't imagine, I know, I've heard today that they might have been following the preceding plane, which was pretty close, but not that close, the preceding plane, but you wouldn't have even been able to see that because of the direction that the helicopter was coming in at. So you had a confluence of bad decisions that were made and you have people that lost their lives, violently lost their lives. We're going to take a few questions. I'd like to ask our new Secretary of Transportation to say a few words. Sean Duffy, great gentleman, just started. It's not your fault, and I know you agree with me very strongly on intellect and even psychological, well being of the air traffic controller, such an important position. And I think I can't emphasize stronger. I changed it. When I first ran in 2016, I changed it. We had the Highest standard that you could have. And then they changed it back. That was Biden to a standard. You just. I read it to you. That was from one of your papers. One of the people in this room actually wrote that. And then I changed it back a few days ago. And unfortunately, that was. We'll see. We don't know that necessarily. It's even the controller's fault. But one thing we do know, there was a lot of vision, and people should have been able to see that. You know, at what point do you stop? At what point do you say, wow, that plane's getting a little bit. So this is a tragedy that should not have happened. Please, Sean.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you, Mr. President. And I would just note the president's leadership has been remarkable during this crisis. We have had a whole of government response, local, state, federal. And when you see that kind of cooperation, it begins with the leadership in this body. So. So thank you for that, Mr. President. You make our jobs a lot easier. You made an important point that when we deal with safety, we can only accept the best and the brightest in positions of safety that impact the lives of our loved ones, our family members. And I think you make a really important point on that, Mr. President. That is the motto of your presidency. The best and the brightest, the most intelligent, coming into these spaces. I want to take a moment and extend my condolences to the families of the loved ones. We commit to them that we are going to get to the bottom of this investigation, not in three years, not in four years, but as quickly as possible with the ntsb, who is here today, as well as the faa. What happened yesterday shouldn't have happened. It should not have happened. And when Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination. That didn't happen yesterday. That's unacceptable. And so we will not accept excuses. We will not accept passing the buck. We are going to take responsibility at the Department of Transportation and the FAA to make sure we have the reforms that have been dictated by President Trump in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again and again, I want to thank you for your leadership, Mr. President, and I appreciate the confidence you placed in me.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Thank you very much. Pete, would you like to say something, please?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Well, thank you, Mr. President. Again, I want to echo what the transportation Secretary said about your leadership. From the moment we found out about this, we were in contact with the White House trying to determine exactly what happened. I would echo it as well. No excuses. We're going to get to the bottom of this. We first and Foremost from the Defense Department want to pass our condolences to the 64 souls and their families that were affected by this. Never should happen. And certainly the three service members, the three soldiers, young captain staff sergeant and CW2 Chief Warren, all routine annual retraining of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission. The military does dangerous things. It does routine things on a regular basis. Tragically, last night a mistake was made and I think the president is right. There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating at the DoD and Army level. Army CID is on the ground investigating top tier aviation assets inside the DOD are investigating, sir, to get to the bottom of it so that it does not happen again because it's absolutely unacceptable. But I want to echo what the Transportation secretary and you, Mr. President, said because it pertains to the DOD as well. We will have the best and brightest in every position possible. As you said in your inaugural, it is colorblind and merit based. The best leaders possible, whether it's flying Black Hawks and flying airplanes, leading platoons or in government. The era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department and we need the best and brightest, whether it's in our air traffic control or whether it's in our generals or whether it's throughout government. So thank you for your leadership and courage on that, sir, and we'll stand by you on it.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Thank you. JD please.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Well, thank you Mr. President, for your leadership. I just want to reemphasize something the president said and you've heard from the Secretary of Transportation and of defense. There really was a whole of government response. We were all on the phone, we were all communicating yesterday, trying to get to the bottom of this immediately, but also try to communicate with the American people about what happened. Something the president said that I think bears re emphasizing, which is that when you don't have the best standards in who you're hiring, it means on the one hand you're not getting the best people in government. But on the other hand it puts stresses on the people who are already there. And I think that is a core part of what President Trump is going to bring and has already brought to Washington, D.C. is we want to hire the best people because we want the best people at air traffic control and we want to make sure we have enough people at air traffic control who are actually competent to do the job. If you go back to just some of the headlines over the past 10 years, you have many hundreds of people suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers, but they were turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump's leadership because safety is the first priority of our aviation industry. Thank you, Mr. President.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Mr. President, on DEI and the claims that you've made, are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

It just could have been. We have a high standard. We've had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower, you have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various very powerful tests that, that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden, and Biden went by a standard that's the exact opposite. So we don't know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn't have happened. And we'll see. We're going to look into that and we're going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that psychologically smart, superior, and that's what we're going to have. Yeah. Please go ahead, Mr. President. You mentioned at the top of the.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Briefing that there were several Russian nationals on the flight.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Yes. Will the US Government be willing to.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Facilitate the transfer of their remains, considering, in fact, there is no direct air travel between the two countries?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

We've already been in contact with Russia, and the answer is yes, we will facilitate. Yes, Please go ahead.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you, Mr. President. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is getting worse, even though President Joan Lorenzo has been mediating the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo because he wants to bring peace and stability. The situation is really bad right now. I want to hear from Mr. President, if, if you have any plan in the future to bring peace in the democratic Republicans.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

I have a question about Rwanda, and it is a very serious problem. I agree, but I don't think it's appropriate right now to talk about it. But it is a very serious problem. You even yet know the names of.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

The 67 people who were killed, and you are blaming Democrats and DEI policies.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

And air traffic control and seemingly the.

[President Donald Trump]

Member of the US Military who was.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Flying that Black Hawk helicopter. Don't you think you're getting ahead of.

[President Donald Trump]

The investigation right now?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

No, I don't think so at all. I don't think with the names of the people. You mean the names of the People that are on the plane, you think that's going to make a difference?

[President Donald Trump]

They come for their families.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

They are a group of people that have lost their lives. If you want a list of the names, we can give you that. We'll be giving that very soon. We're in coordination with American Airlines. We're in coordination very strongly, obviously with the military. But I think that's not a very smart question.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

But are you.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

I'm surprised coming from. Please. Thank you, President Trump, thank you for being here. Based on your analysis so far, do you have a sense of who was at fault?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

If it was the plane, the helicopter, air traffic control? And can you assure people that it is safe to fly in and out.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Of D.C. well, I've given you the analysis and the analysis was based on vision. You had a lot of people that saw what was happening. You had some people that knew what was happening. There was some warnings, but the warnings were given very, very late. You know, those warnings were given very late. It was almost as they were given. A few seconds later there was a crash. It should have been brought up earlier, but the people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going. I can't imagine people with 2020 vision not seeing, you know, what's happening up there. Again, they shouldn't have been at the same height. You're going in reverse directions or sideways directions. Obviously you want to be at different heights. I see it all the time when I'm flying. You have planes going on the opposite. They're always lower, we're higher or they're. So if somehow there's a screw up, there's not going to be a tragedy. It'll be close, but you know, there's never going to be a tragedy. If you're at a different elevation. For whatever reason, they were at the same elevation. And also from the American Airlines standard, he's along the track that every plane is along. You say what was a helicopter doing in that track? It's very sad, but visually somebody should have been able to see and taken that helicopter out of play. And they should have been at a different height.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

So you mentioned the Russians that were.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

On board that plane. What other nationalities were on board that passenger?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

There were a couple of others. We're going to be announcing it in about an hour. We have some very specific information. We're calling the countries, we've spoken to most of them, but there were some other countries represented spoken to President Putin. I have not, no, not about this.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

On your executive board, you've already issued an executive order, you say will restore aviation safety. This crash happened after that. Was the executive order successful and what more needs to change to keep people safe?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Well, you know, we issued it three days ago and we were in the process of making those changes. This is something that should have been done a long time ago. Actually, my original order should have never been changed. And I think maybe you wouldn't have had this problem. Maybe. Yeah, please go ahead.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Yes, thank you. We see like everyday life that very.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Often those diversity hires cause sometimes issues.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

As you just mentioned. So what plan do you have? Are we going to see some fire? Are you going to fire some of those diversity hire in the federal government? What plan do you have?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

I would say the answer is yes. If we find that people aren't mentally competent, you see the language. The language is put out by them. And if you see that, I'm not going to bore you by reading it again, but these are not people that should be doing this particular job. They'd be very good for certain jobs, but not people that should be doing this particular job.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Mr. President, you have today blamed the diversity elements, but then told us that.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

You weren't sure that the controllers made.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Any mistake, then said perhaps the helicopter pilots were the ones who made the mistake.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

It's all under investigation. I understand that. That's why I'm trying to figure out.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

How you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to.

[Senator Tulsi Gabbard]

Do with this crash.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Because I have common sense, okay? And unfortunately a lot of people don't. We want brilliant people doing this. This is a major chess game at the highest level, when you have 60 planes coming in during a short period of time and they're all coming in different directions and you're dealing with very high level computer, computer work and very complex computers. And one of the other things I will tell you is that the systems that were built, I was going to rebuild the entire system and then we had an election that didn't turn out the way it should have. But they didn't build the system systems properly. They spent a lot of money renovating a system, spending much more money than they would have spent if they bought a new system for air traffic controllers, meaning the computerized systems. There are certain companies that do a very good job. They didn't use those companies. They use companies that should not have been doing it. No, I think, I think this, I think it's very important to understand that for some jobs, and not only this, but air traffic controllers, they have to be at the highest level of genius.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

I want to ask you about the ice skaters in a moment because the U.S. ice Skating Committee was affected. But first, if I can, the cited FAA text that you read is real, but the implication that this policy is new or that it stems from efforts that began under President Biden or the Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is demonstrably false. It's been on the FAA website. What's that new? No, it's on the website. The FAA is website. It was there in 2013. It was there for the entirety. It was there for the entirety of your administration, too. So my question is, why didn't you change the policy during your first administration?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

I did change it. I changed the Obama policy and we had a very good policy. And then Biden came in and he changed it. And then when I came in two days, three days ago, I signed a new order bringing it to the highest level of intelligence. Okay.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

It was on the website. Welcome back to the I'm sorry, you mentioned that a vision was probably the problem that was at issue in this crash. There's been some reports that one of the pilots in the head, the helicopter may have been using night vision equipment.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Is there any. I heard that. We don't know. We're going to know that pretty soon. It may change your view plan if you do have the night vision. So it's very possible that could have happened. That would be. That would be maybe a reason why you wouldn't actually see as well as on a clear night. You can see sometimes better without it.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

A couple of more Mr. Presidents, is.

[President Donald Trump]

It helpful to have your secretary of Transportation confirmed?

[Senator Dick Durbin]

And does this intensify your interest in getting other nominees confirmed quickly? Is it helpful to have your secretary of Transportation confirmed? And does this intensify your interest in getting other nominees confirmed quickly as well?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Well, sure. We want fast confirmation. And the Democrats, as you know, are doing everything they can to delay them. They've taken too long. We're struggling to get very good people that everybody knows are going to be confirmed, but we're struggling to get them out faster. We want them out faster. It's a good question, actually. We've been pushing Sean, everyone knows Sean for a long time. He got many, many Democrat votes, But they want to take as long as they can. They ask questions like some of the questions that Peter would ask that were totally irrelevant and not very good questions, but they want to just keep it going. They want to keep it going as long as possible. I was very honored, actually, that you got so many Democrat votes. That was really good that was really.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Good.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

When I applied to meet with two families.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

And second question, is it your impression that little training that was done during that time?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

The what, the training that the helicopter.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Was involved in, is it anything you.

[President Donald Trump]

Can tell us about?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

You don't know. These are the things that will come up with the investigation. You don't know. But the helicopter obviously was in the wrong place at the wrong time and a tragedy occurred. Please, I've got a question about the. No, go ahead, please.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Thank you. Mr. President, you've been critical of the current regulations and you've called for big reforms at faa. I'm curious, sir, what is.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Well, I made the reforms, actually.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

What is your message?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Mr. Three days ago I made them. Mr.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

Yes, sir. What is your message then to the American public in the weeks and months ahead? Should they feel hesitant to fly? And if you could clarify perhaps something that the defense secretary said when he said that this helicopter will not on a continuity of government mission, I don't.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

Know what that, what that refers to, but they were practicing. They were, they do that. They call it practicing and they were, and that's something that should be done. It's only continuity in the sense that we want to have very good people and that has to be in continuity, and that's what they refer to. But it was basically practice and it was a practice that was worked out very, very badly.

[Senator Dick Durbin]

On his question, the first question, should people be hesitant to fly right now?

[Senator Josh Hawley]

No, not at all. I've not hesitated to fly. This is something that it's been many years that something like this has happened and the collision is just something that we don't expect ever to happen again. We are going to have the highest level people. We've already hired some of the people that you've already hired for that position long before we knew about this. I mean, long before from the time I came in, we started going out and getting the best people because I said it's not, it's not appropriate what they're doing. I think it's a tremendous mistake. You know, they like to do things and they like to take them too far. And this is sometimes what ends up happening. Now with that, I'm not blaming the controller. I'm saying there are things that you could question like the height of the helicopter, the height of the plane being at the same level and going in opposite directions. It's not a positive. But no, we're already hiring people. No, flying is very safe. We have the safest flying anywhere in the world and we'll Keep it that way. Thank you all very much. Thank you very much, everybody.

[President Donald Trump]

Okay, welcome back. There's the President, United States with a just absolutely incredible press conference about this tragedy last night kind of threw down hard. His theories of the case of what happened. Look like he's got questions about air traffic controllers. Also has question about why the night vision training by the United States army in the Apache helicopter. We have Brian Glenn's there. Natalie Winters were there for the briefing also. Let's go back. We're going to punch out here in a couple of minutes with the war room, hopefully. We got different channels. Go to Grayson. We got the rumble channel, the ghetto channel. We tried to show as much of the hearings as possible where the President was there approximately for 35 minutes at the press briefing. He had the Secretary of Transportation. Duffy had a head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, he had the vice president states, J.D. vance, I'll step up, say a few words and then took questions after his statement. You saw the press is back into the feeding frenzy of, you know, President Trump's first term. He saw it right there, the hand to hand combat. Let's be brutally frank about what's going on at Capitol Hill. On the Senate side, Cash Patel, they're coming at Cash hard. They're coming at Bobby Kennedy hard. They're coming at Tulsi Gabbard hard. The Democrats right here are trying to do two things. Number one, they hope to knock down these appointments because they don't want President Trump to have his team and particularly a team of disruptors, which all three of these are today. But remember, what they're also trying to do is get them on the record of certain policies to basically make sure they've constrained what these folks can do when they take over the departments. They don't want Bobby Kennedy doing what Bobby Kennedy has done historically. They don't want Tulsi Gabbard with kind of her opinions and thoughts about intelligence and deconstructing the intelligence community. They don't want Cash Patel with what he feels has to be done at the FBI. This is the. So it's a two prong approach. Number one, to ding him up enough to get them to actually get what I call the fourth Republican debate. I came very close to Pete. The inside story in that was, was very close. They're going to try to do that because they feel they got Murkowski, they got Collins, they got McConnell. All they need is one more. They get one more JD's vote, Vice President Vance's vote cannot, cannot change it. The second thing they're trying to do is make sure they limit the field of action that these cabinet secrets can take if and when they are confirmed. You saw him try to do that with Pete Hegsett and Scott Besant and Russ Vogt. President Trump right there saying he asked John Thune he needs his cabinet secretaries. I think this tragedy last night shows we need to get a process where you get people in there quicker. President Trump on offense right there talking about what his policies were. Okay, want to thank birchgold birchgold.com we're coming out with a new special on Birch Gold. Price of gold today on fire. I think it's up 40%. Kobayasi newsletter up 40% over the last year. Remember, we don't tell you what to invest in. All we do is give a platform so you can meet people and talk to people and find out what you.

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