Tulsi Gabbard (3:03)

together in close coordination with President

Kelly O'Donnell (3:05)

Trump, close coordination between America and Israel,

Tulsi Gabbard (3:10)

our militaries, our intelligence services, we're achieving

Kelly O'Donnell (3:13)

goals and lightning speed.

Courtney Kuby (3:16)

The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government.

Kelly O'Donnell (3:25)

Meanwhile, energy prices are surging in the wake of those strikes. Crude oil settling at around $96, up 43% since the start of the war. Gas and diesel prices also continue to tick up as the war moves on. Despite that, President Trump trying to downplay the economic consequences of the a little bit more of what he said today in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump (3:50)

Iran is a serious threat to the world, to the Middle east and to the world. And everybody agrees with me. I think virtually every country agrees with me on that. So I wanted to put out that fire. And I said, you know, if I do that, oil prices will go up, the economy will go down a little bit. I thought it would be worse, much worse, actually. I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It's not bad, and it's going to be over with pretty soon.

Kelly O'Donnell (4:17)

As the administration looks for more ways to bring prices down, Treasury Secretary Bessant said the US could remove some of its sanctions on Iran in the coming days.

President Donald Trump (4:30)

We may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water. It's about 140 million barrels. So depending on how you count it, that's 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out. That would have all gone to China. In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign.

Kelly O'Donnell (4:59)

And joining me now is NBC News senior White House correspondent Garrett Hake, NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby, and NBC News chief international correspondent Keir Simmons. Welcome all. Gary, let me start with you. There's been a lot of concern that we've heard about within the White House about these rising prices. Give us sort of a snapshot of where you think that stands today.

Garrett Hake (5:22)

Well, look, I think the White House is clearly aware of this problem, and they're willing to do things that might otherwise be politically unpalatable to try to address it. They've made several attempts to loosen loosen sanctions on Russian oil in particular to get it back on the market to try to keep prices down. And that comment from Scott Bessant kind of cuts both ways. Loosening restrictions on Iranian oil when we're at war with them seems counterintuitive but also speaks to the fact that the president's had to punt that big summit he planned to do with China. Getting that Iranian oil back to China might keep things a little more copacetic with the Chinese. The administration has found themselves now, if they didn't know at the start, in the middle of a mess as relates to the global energy market. It is global. It doesn't necessarily relate just to American production. And you're seeing them test different ways to, if not actually lower the price of oil, at least be caught trying to do so for the benefit of American consumers and voters.

Kelly O'Donnell (6:16)

We saw the President sitting alongside the Japanese prime minister today. In the early days of this conflict, there was talk that Japan was one of the countries that he was urging to come help deal with the Strait of Hormuz. Any sense of where that stands now?

Garrett Hake (6:31)

It's hard to say for sure. The president seemed to be, you know, pushing the prime minister to say something in that meeting, saying several times that Japan was stepping up or would step up, sort of suggesting that they should step up. He kept using that language in different terms. The Japanese constitution is essentially pacifist after World War II. It is very difficult for them, in keeping with their own laws and constitutions, to deploy military assets anywhere outside their own territorial waters. It's unclear if there were any commitments made today in that meeting or afterwards. We're now several hours hence, and there's been nothing announced by the White House.

Kelly O'Donnell (7:07)

There were a number of moments today where knowing history would have been very helpful in the interactions there and the body language we could see. We also have seen some reporting, and it appeared that Secretary Hegseth seemed to confirm it today that the Pentagon will ask Congress for as much as $200 billion to fund the ongoing operations and replenish supplies. Do you sense that the administration's ready to unveil a justification for that, to really outline the request?

Garrett Hake (7:36)

Well, the President gave a little bit of a preview of what that might look like today, talking again about how elite American weaponry is and suggesting that our stockpiles need to be topped up, not just for this conflict, but for the future. That matches his rhetoric, at least about the state of the war and the state of munitions that we're using. But it may not sell on Capitol Hill. I mean, Kelly, you know this. Well. It feels to me like that $200 million number is perhaps an opening offer for discussions that could take quite a while with Congress pretty even divided on this issue.

Kelly O'Donnell (8:09)

Garrett, we thank you for that. Let me turn to Courtney now. And one of the questions today is was the US Aware of, did it give any tacit approval for the big strike that Israel carried out? What is your reporting telling you?

Courtney Kuby (8:22)

Yeah, and we heard from President Trump first on Truth Social, where he said that the US didn't know that that was going to happen, but that Israel wasn't going to do it again unless Iran were to retaliate. Here, what we're told, according to a US Official familiar with this, is that in fact the US Was aware that Iran, or excuse me, that Israel was planning carry out this strike. And the reason that this is such a big deal is not just the fact that Israel struck this facility, this very critical facility, oil and gas facility, is that Iran retaliated, striking a number of different facilities in the region, including one in Qatar. It's really caused a lot of concern and people being upset in the region about this. Now the big question is what will happen next? Will Israel actually follow through and not strike more oil and gas facilities? Will Iran escalate even further? That's what everyone's watching to see. And it comes as we've been talking about forever, gas prices are very high. This only will make them rise higher.

Kelly O'Donnell (9:13)

And do you get the sense that based on your reporting and then when the president says there's coordination, does that rise all the way to his level, or is it the Pentagon is informed in advance of an operation.

Courtney Kuby (9:23)

Like, it's hard to know. And it could also be that it's CENTCOM that's that's informed of it or the, the combined air operations that are known as the chaoc. It could be all of those things. But, and it's hard to know when the military will say we should probably let the president know about this or not. We don't have a really good sense of his briefing schedule, of how often they're keeping him updated on the ins and outs of this war. And I only point to one thing as evidence of that, is he was very upset when the Wall Street Journal, excuse me, Reuters, I believe, first reported that there were a number of US Aircraft that had been damaged in an Iranian strike. Early on he read that in the press rather than being told about it. So we don't have a really good sense of exactly what he's being told at this point.

Kelly O'Donnell (10:02)

That's interesting. Now, this pledge from Israel, as we understand it today, of holding off from additional strikes, is that going to create tension between the US And Israel? Does that put them out of alignment?

Courtney Kuby (10:16)

I mean, what's very clear is no matter how this war started with the US And Israel together. Their strategic goals have just have separated.

Kelly O'Donnell (10:27)

And that's notable right on its face.

Courtney Kuby (10:30)

Absolutely. And I will say the US Goals keep shifting. So now we keep hearing about the military goals, and those have actually remained somewhat the same, and that is going after the ballistic missiles and the drones. And sometimes they talk about the nuclear program, sometimes they don't. But Iran is, or, excuse me, Israel is really focused on regime change in Iran, and we don't hear that as much from the United States. So we don't really know what the US Political goals in Iran are. Right now we are focused more on the military goals. So it's not. There's a potential for a huge crossroads here. At some point when the US really finishes carrying out some of these military objectives and is able to really take care of a lot of these Iranian threats. If Israel wants to keep going to get rid of the regime, is the US Gonna have to keep in this war as well? I mean, there's gonna be a crossroads at some point where that happens.

Kelly O'Donnell (11:19)

And are you seeing any evolution in the plans for US Boots on the ground? You've reported about some units that are moving to the area. We heard the president say today he's not going to do that. How do you put those two things together?

Courtney Kuby (11:33)

I mean, the more we get into this Strait of Hormuz continuing to be closed or at least very inaccessible to most commercial traffic, I find it difficult to see a scenario where the US doesn't put boots on the ground. I don't know how they will reopen it in any short order without some sort of a military intervention here. We don't exactly know what that's gonna look like. The president keeps giving the same response, including again today, saying, well, I don't think I'm gonna do that, but I wouldn't tell you if I was going to. Reality is, we just don't know.

Kelly O'Donnell (12:03)

That has become his reflexive answer. Let me turn now to Kir, who is in the region. He's in Saudi Arabia, and I know you've been tracking a lot of the developments there, and obviously the region is hot. What can you tell us about what officials are saying about these strikes and how yet again, it is expanded to partners in the region?

Keir Simmons (12:27)

Yeah, Kelly, the. They're worried, they're angry, they're frustrated, all of those things. And when you talk to the Saudi Arabian government here, as we do, what you get from them is a sense that they are putting aside questions over how this started. Who's Responsible. But what they are saying is that Iran's behavior is. This is frustrating, actually has them furious. And not least because in the past 24 hours, this meeting, emergency meeting of foreign ministers from around the region was held here in the capital, Riyadh, and there were missiles from Iran. We heard the boom. We saw the get to a safe place alerts on our phones. We heard all that while we were seeing ministers walking around the hotel lobby. And then I managed to ask the Saudi foreign minister about it. Take a listen

Kelly O'Donnell (13:23)

to me.

Saudi Foreign Minister (13:23)

It was clear that the attack today

Kelly O'Donnell (13:26)

was timed to coincide with this meeting in order to attempt, I don't know, to intimidate those present to send home the message that Iran will not stop. All I can say is we were not intimidated. So the reality is any re engagement

Saudi Foreign Minister (13:51)

with Iran, this conflict will end at some point.

Kelly O'Donnell (13:56)

But I have to tell you, what little trust there was before has completely been shattered.

Keir Simmons (14:06)

The piece of that Kelly that people should really pay attention to is that effectively what he's saying there is that this region is very close to the point of no return, where it becomes impossible to reengage with an Iran that might still have missiles or drones or the ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, this has to be finished. And again, the overriding question with all of the conversations you're having there is how do you get to the point where there is an outcome that these allies and partners of the US and the Trump administration is satisfied with?

Kelly O'Donnell (14:39)

These are some of the dominoes that happen when you cannot predict all of the consequences of war. Do you get a sense from the conversations you're having that, that urgency to see it be concluded? How is that defined in time? Is that weeks, as we've heard President Trump sometimes talk about, or do they see this spilling into a longer term?

Keir Simmons (15:01)

Well, I think they would like to see a conclusion quickly, but they also now are increasingly saying, the governments here in the gcc, the Arab governments, Islamic governments, are increasingly saying we need to see the right conclusion. And just to just think about this in terms of a timeline, there are reports from Doha, from Qatar, that the strikes by Iran on the oil, on the gas facilities there that are crucial to the world economy, that the repairs to that may take years. Now, that is a serious impact on the world economy and inflationary impact. So already it's too late to conclude this without any repercussions. But the repercussions continue to escalate. And again, though I'm sensing, and it does depend on which government Here you speak to Oman, for example, is much more interested in trying, as it says, to help the US get out of this effectively. It does depend which government you speak to. But increasingly my sense is that they need to see the right conclusion to this, not just a quick conclusion to it from their perspective.

Kelly O'Donnell (16:06)

Well, Keir, you are in the right place to help us understand this. Thank you so much for your reporting. And now I'm going to turn to more on how the war is affecting the energy markets. And we're joined by energy industry analyst John Kilda, founding partner of Again Capital. So you've heard our discussion. If the US Goes ahead and hits one of these gas fields and oil infrastructure, as the president has threatened, what would the impact be on global energy markets?

Saudi Foreign Minister (16:35)

It would be another escalation. And good day to you. Another escalation that is almost unimaginable. I mean, this most recent attack, you know, again up the ante. And just when you think the ante can't be raised any more, it happens again. I will say the the Iranian gas production out of the Pars field is mostly for domestic consumption. So as far as upending the global supply, it doesn't necessarily have the impact it does if you're hitting the Qatari portion of the South Par fields. But at this point we're watching all this very, very closely in terms of what the balance is going to be. I will say that the damage estimates and the repair estimates might be a little overblown. They generally exaggerate the amount of time it would take to get those sort of operations back online. I don't think it would take much more than really a year to a year and a half rather than the two to four that I'm hearing bandied about in the marketplace.

Kelly O'Donnell (17:35)

And we've been in our last report heard three to five. And so that timepiece is an important part of this. And you're suggesting that it wouldn't be as long even if there is ongoing conflict?

Saudi Foreign Minister (17:48)

Oh no. The conflict has to stop. The strait has to get secured. What we're focusing on here is this next two week period. The military seems to be indicating that this whole operation was a four to six week plan, that the strait was not the top priority, which we're all learning the hard way. But, but it is now and it will be. I mean, you hear the administration officials, all hands on deck, including Secretary Bessant talk about this and they're all using this two week sort of time period. So let's see what kind of force they can muster to secure the transit of the Strait of Hormuz, because that's where it's all going to be. It's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be some kind of required US Military footprint on the GR in Iran along the shoreline at least to be able to secure the strait. But this is what we're going to be learning in the coming days. I'll tell you, the market reaction has been somewhat moderate. We did see oil prices decline a bit here today on the idea floated that we could unsanction the Iranian floating storage, the oil that's on tankers right now, as the Secretary Besson said as well, that would represent a chunk of supply that would help ease really what's developing into a crisis and shortages in Asia in particular.

Kelly O'Donnell (19:07)

So even though those sanctions were meant to be punitive to the regime, sounds like you're describing that that would sort of release the valve a bit and help to adjust some of the strain on the global market. Is that what you think?

Saudi Foreign Minister (19:22)

Yes. I mean, it's a band aid for an acute problem that we're facing. It's not a fix. There is nothing anyone can do to fix this situation in the short term where no matter how you slice and dice it, alternative pipelines, you know, you name it, in terms of trying to get oil out of the Gulf region any way, shape or form, you're still talking about 10 million barrels a day at least of production and supply to the global market. That's offline and we can't make that up anywhere know how. But for now, I will tell you that the oil market is pricing in an end to this, a liberation, if you will, of the straight sooner rather than later. A lot of us have have circled April 1st on our calendars to see where we're at. But after that period, once we get into April and now we're several more weeks into this and there's no resolution seemingly close. That's when you're really going to see oil prices ramp up. And that's when you're going to start to see the shortages of supply hit the market.

Kelly O'Donnell (20:25)

And dare I remind you that if you circled April 1st, that's April Fool's Day. We hope that's not the case. You know, the president talks about the fact the US does not rely on the product coming through the Strait of Hormuz. Does that make any difference given all of the supply issues that you described?

Saudi Foreign Minister (20:45)

Well, look, we still import about 6 to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day into the United States, mostly from Canada and the additional liberation of the Venezuelan, Venezuelan oil that was also desanctioned recently, for lack of a better word, if that's a word helped.

Kelly O'Donnell (20:59)

Here it is now, but.

Saudi Foreign Minister (21:01)

No, but it is now. Thank you. So that April 1st date. That too. But the. What I was going to say is that we are energy dominant. People talk about us being energy independent. We're not that. But we're certainly not energy insulated. Okay. This is a global market and I will tell you that our barrels of crude oil that are being exported along the Gulf coast will reflect just the premium and the security premium of the global marketplace very shortly because those ships in the Gulf here can obviously sail to Asia as well. It will take some time, but everybody will be on the hunt for every available barrel of crude oil as we get here into April. So that's why I say that we're definitely not energy insulated.

Kelly O'Donnell (21:44)

That's a great observation and it will help people to understand this. John Kilduff, thank you for being with us and having some fun with us on very serious matters. Thank you so much.

Mark Short (21:54)

Thank you.

Kelly O'Donnell (21:55)

Coming up, the president's own intelligence community is unable to back up his primary justification for this war, that Iran posed an imminent threat against the United States as top national security officials are again grilled on Capitol Hill. You're watching Meet the Press now.

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Kelly O'Donnell (23:40)

Welcome back. President Trump has repeatedly justified the war with Iran by saying there was an imminent threat to the United States. But during testimony on Capitol Hill today, top intelligence officials presented no specific evidence of such a threat, and their explanation sometimes seemed at odds with the administration. Let's watch.

President Donald Trump (24:01)

So is there any evidence that Iran intended to conduct a preemptive attack on

Kelly O'Donnell (24:05)

the US Prior to beginning this war?

Mark Short (24:07)

Yes or no, Congressman?

Courtney Kuby (24:09)

The answer to this question needs to

Kelly O'Donnell (24:11)

be reserved for a closed hearing.

Courtney Kuby (24:14)

I will say, however, the intelligence community does provide the assessments of the threats that exist to the president so that he can make that determination.

President Donald Trump (24:25)

As the DNI said, there's a body of intelligence that we'll be able to cover in the, in the classified portion of this hearing that reflects that, does reflect that in the likely event of a conflict between Iran and Israel, that the US Would be immediately attacked, regardless of whether the United States stayed out of that conflict.

Kelly O'Donnell (24:46)

Now, this all comes after yesterday when, under questioning from Senators dni, Gabbard said the intelligence community assessed that Iran, quote, maintained the intention to rebuild their nuclear capabilities but had not resumed uranium enrichment since the US Bombed Iranian nuclear sites. And joining me now is NBC News intelligence reporter Dan Delouse. Dan, welcome. What does this tell us about the kinds of intelligence that, that the president was reviewing before he made these decisions?

Tulsi Gabbard (25:17)

It was interesting, right? We had two days of this testimony, and they were asked, you know, what did the president know about the possible retaliation that Iran would take? Would they shut down the Strait of Hormuz? Would they attack energy sites across the region? And their answers indicated that he was informed about those possibilities. And here's what Gabbard said when she

Kelly O'Donnell (25:38)

was asked, did the intelligence community brief

Saudi Foreign Minister (25:42)

the president on the potential impacts a conflict could have on global supply chains and on oil and gas prices prior

President Donald Trump (25:48)

to the outbreak of hostilities.

Kelly O'Donnell (25:52)

Were you in a meeting, Were you in any meetings where that came up?

Courtney Kuby (25:54)

Yes, that is the intelligence community's assessments, and those were provided.

Tulsi Gabbard (26:00)

So that was Tulsi Gabbard's answer to that question. But then just a few days ago, the president was asked about how he expected or whether he expected something like that at the Strait of Hormuz and in the Gulf and neighbors of Iran being attacked. And here's what he had to say.

Kelly O'Donnell (26:18)

Are you surprised that nobody briefed you

President Donald Trump (26:20)

ahead of time that that might be their retaliation?

President Donald Trump (26:23)

Nobody? Nobody? No, no, no, no. The greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit. They were, I wouldn't say friendly countries they were like neutral. They were. They lived with them for years. There was no expert that would say that was going to happen.

Tulsi Gabbard (26:36)

So that's quite a contrast.

Kelly O'Donnell (26:37)

It certainly is. And when the job of these intelligence professionals is to give options and potential outcomes, and then he says nobody, no experts said that. That really is a contradiction. Does that tell you anything about how the president reviews these intelligence briefings or how he consumes the information?

Tulsi Gabbard (26:58)

I think what's interesting is the president is used to using the sound bite. He's able to sort of shape or frame issues often.

Congressman Tracy Mann (27:06)

Right.

Tulsi Gabbard (27:07)

And this is a situation where the facts and the reporting and the intelligence that's coming across in these hearings doesn't always sync with the way he would like to frame something. And so I think what he's having a problem with is articulating the rationale for the war still, because it has shifted, and then also trying to explain how the US Was prepared for these foreseeable reactions from Iran.

Kelly O'Donnell (27:29)

And do you think that because this is now public that it may in any way alter how the president has to then answer these questions in the future? Because we've had this testimony, I think

Tulsi Gabbard (27:41)

it makes his life more complicated.

Kelly O'Donnell (27:44)

That is a complicated job. Dan, thank you so much. We appreciate your expertise on this. And up next, an NBC News exclusive. This is new reporting on allegations of a kickback scheme tied directly to Corey Lewandowski, a top advisor to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, a longtime ally of the President. He's denying those allegations, but we'll explain more of it coming up on Meet the Press.

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Kelly O'Donnell (29:37)

And we're turning now to exclusive new reporting from NBC News that multiple companies complained to the White House that Corey Lewandowski, as a special government employee at the Department of Homeland Security, directly or indirectly stood to personally profit from the DHS contracting process. And that is a court, according to four senior White House officials and a former White House official and a person familiar with the conversations and one White House official telling NBC News they had received a, quote, dozen complaints from at least four companies about Lewandowski's involvement in the contracting process. Now, Lewandowski denies these allegations. We have now one of the people who've been working for months on this story. Julia Ainslie is here with us. And Julia, you have been doing a lot of the very difficult work to trace all of this, a follow the money kind of story and for our viewers to understand that contracting is supposed to be separate from anything that would allow for personal enrichment. So give us a sense of what have you found and how surprised were the companies involved in having this alleged ask for some kind of benefit?

Julia Ainslie (30:47)

Well, as you know, we've been reporting this over the past seven months and it has not been a quiet seven months on the DHS beat as surges across cities, fatal shootings by Ice Age and cbp. But this is something that came to my attention at the end of last summer. We started working with our colleagues across NBC News because it seemed that these allegations just kept adding up. And we were hearing they were starting to make their way to the White House. The allegation being that Corey Lewandowski directly and indirectly was soliciting payment from people who wanted to do business with dhs. And as you point that out so well, this is supposed to be a completely apolitical process. It's supposed to be left in the hands of, of procurement officers who look at all the bids in a competitive process and decide who can do this in the best manner for the cheapest amount of money for the American taxpayer. So taxpayer money is at hand here. And what we understand is that Corey Lewandowski in a meeting with Geo Group CEO George Zoli, that's the largest holding of ICE detention, regular contractor, regular contractor. They hold a billion dollars in ICE contracting. They hold the most ICE detention anywhere in the country. That he told Zoli he wanted an exchange for a proportional amount of money in exchange for contracts that he could renew or get new contracts for Geo Group. He refused. And as a result, we've seen Geo Group, a company whose stock soared after Trump's election, actually lose contracts and have their contracts shortened. And another example, there was an indirect payment solicited through a third party through a company named Salus that had previously been awarded a $1 billion contract through DHS. They reached out to a marketing firm about contracts they said they could have for multimillion dollars. It was secured as long as they properly thanked the person who secured it for them. And they told this marketing firm that would be a consulting firm that would ultimately pay Corey Lewandowski, kind of like

Kelly O'Donnell (32:33)

a finder's fee, that if you help bring about the deal, you'd get some kind of a benefit through a company he was associated with or something like that. Now, again, he has denied these allegations.

Julia Ainslie (32:43)

He has denied the allegations. And neither of those companies paid. What's tricky here, as you know, is those who will pay are probably less likely to speak to us. But those who refuse to pay feel that they didn't get the contracts that they wanted as a result.

Kelly O'Donnell (32:55)

And your reporting also shows the White House has been made aware of this and has expressed some concerns.

Julia Ainslie (33:00)

That's right. Even President Trump, we're told it did get to him in a meeting. In a meeting last fall, someone raised a concern that Corey Lewandowski may be getting paid as he had this very large influence over the contracts at DHS. He had to approve of anything over $100,000, as did Kristi Noem. And so this was brough to him. One White House official said that they are aware of the allegations of pay to play. And then as you also point out at the beginning, one White House official, this is a third, said they were aware of dozens of complaints about his role in the contracting process.

Kelly O'Donnell (33:33)

And we know that Kristi Noem has been fired. She's out by March 31st. What's the future for Lewandowski?

Julia Ainslie (33:39)

You know, it's interesting. I spoke to Corey Lewandowski on the phone last week, and he said, first of all, that he's never taken one penny from any contractor that he's overseen their contract bids for. And he also said that he has not any decision about whether he will leave the government or not. That he is there as a volunteer, unpaid employee, and he does not see Kristi Noem's departure as a sign that he needs to leave. And he believes he still has a good relationship with the president. As you know, Kelly, he goes back

Kelly O'Donnell (34:05)

to even way back 2015. Yes, exactly. He was early campaign manager in the first go round. We also heard during the confirmation hearing for Mark Wayne Mullen that there is ongoing scrutiny of this and he said he would go along with any investigation when he he takes over. He did.

Julia Ainslie (34:23)

It was an interesting exchange. And I know you watched it where it's actually a matter of DHS or the Congress saying will you look at help us with our investigation? And then he says, basically admits that There is an IG investigation that we've confirmed into a $220 million ad campaign. And now he says he will be

Kelly O'Donnell (34:41)

supportive and we'll be watching that for sure. Congratulations on really impactful reporting. And after the break, the growing costs of war. President Trump tells reporters that an additional $200 billion to fund the Iran war is, quote, a small price to pay. We'll get the panel's take. This is MEET THE press. Now. It's panel time. Despite the president repeatedly insisting that the war with Iran is nearly over, today he appeared to confirm the Pentagon is seeking as much as $200 billion from Congress to finance the war.

President Donald Trump (35:21)

Well, we're asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we're talking about in Iran. This is a very volatile world. So we're in very good shape. But we want to be in the best shape, the best shape we've ever been in. We want to be sure. And it's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top.

Kelly O'Donnell (35:40)

Tippy top. On Capitol Hill, Republicans today sounded open to funding the massive request quest. I'm sure it will be detailed and specified. I'm sure it's not a random number. So we'll look at that.

Saudi Foreign Minister (35:54)

But obviously, it's a dangerous time in

Kelly O'Donnell (35:56)

the world and we have to adequately fund defense.

President Donald Trump (35:58)

I'll go through it, see what they need.

Kelly O'Donnell (35:59)

I want to make sure that Iran's, you know, their ability to produce nuclear

Tulsi Gabbard (36:03)

weapons and ballistic missiles is destroyed.

Congressman Tracy Mann (36:05)

Maintaining bases in the Middle east to

President Donald Trump (36:07)

protect Americans against Iranian attack is also very explicit.

Kelly O'Donnell (36:11)

So we got to be able to figure out what's the cost, what's it going to, how it's managed on that.

Congressman Tracy Mann (36:16)

But we need to finish what we've begun.

Kelly O'Donnell (36:20)

And joining me now is our panel. Audrey Falberg, reporter for the National Review. Chuck Rocha, host of the substack show the Roca Revolution and co host of the Latino Vote podcast. And Mark Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. And of course, he's also a contributor on Meet the Press. So, Audrey, let me start with you. We heard a little bit from Republicans. What is your assessment of how they are looking at this number? Is it sticker shock or is it what they expected?

Morgan Stewart (ad segment) (36:47)

Well, thank you for having me on today.

Kelly O'Donnell (36:48)

Good to see you.

Morgan Stewart (ad segment) (36:49)

You know, when we think about Congress, we think about it theoretically as an institution that likes to jealously guard its power. I think under the Trump administration, Republicans have been really amenable to all of Trump's requests, whether that's, you know, tariffs, you know, foreign entanglements overseas. I think broadly speaking, when. When we think about House and Senate leadership, they're gonna be amenable probably to whatever number that Trump wants. Definitely watch moderate Republicans, because they're not just gonna want an invoice. They're gonna want to. Some of them are gonna wanna. Probably try to assert some congressional authority over the war in Iran.

Kelly O'Donnell (37:20)

Mark, we've heard from Republicans at times when Ukraine was in the subject line for funding for that, a lot of pushback. Do you think this will be viewed quite differently?

Mark Short (37:30)

Oh, I do. I think there's much more unity to support American troops in conflict. And quite frankly, Kelly, I think you'll end up seeing Democrats support, too. I don't think Democrats only perceive as voting against troops.

Kelly O'Donnell (37:41)

Hard to do that.

Mark Short (37:42)

And I think that because the margin of the House is so small, they're going to need it to be bipartisan. So I think you're going to see this bill like it always does, become larger, include other priorities that Democrats have, and therefore get the funding across the line?

Kelly O'Donnell (37:56)

Well, let's turn to you then. Do you think Democrats will be in that kind of tough spot of wanting to look like they're supportive of men and women in uniform, want to replenish the supplies that are needed, et cetera? Or is this a time to show some opposition?

Audrey Falberg (38:09)

You know, if everybody's taxes were low and everybody's belly was full and gas was $3 a gallon, I think they'd be amenable. I don't think right now that's the case. I think that this Congress always finds a way to fund wars, but we can't find a way to fund Medicaid, fund childcare, fund things that will bring down utility costs. That's what I hear every day. I'm not just on TV pontificating. I run campaigns across the country and Every voter, Democrat, Republican or Independent, are sick and tired of this anxiety around the cost of living. And they don't want to see their tax dollars spent wars overseas.

Kelly O'Donnell (38:38)

And are you hearing that notion that the President talks about, that it's a short term thing that's worth it to try to eradicate a problem with Iran, that costs may be up as a result?

Audrey Falberg (38:47)

Look, if it was a short term thing in America's money would already be over. It's already went too long for folks because gas prices, everything that everybody has to deal with every time that war is a vision a long way away. But what they deal with every day is on their mind.

Kelly O'Donnell (38:58)

Audrey. There was a really notable moment today when the President was with the Japanese prime minister and they were talking about why Japan wasn't notified ahead of time for the US Action in Iran. And the President used a bit of history in an awkward moment. Let's play that and then talk about it.

President Donald Trump (39:18)

One thing you don't want to signal too much. You know, when we go in, we went in very hard and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?

Kelly O'Donnell (39:36)

You could see the Prime Minister breathing in there. Obviously, for more than 80 years, the US and Japan have been trying to heal that relationship and have had a strong bond. Was that an issue for President Trump? Were you surprised by it? How do you think people will hear that?

President Donald Trump (39:52)

That?

Morgan Stewart (ad segment) (39:53)

I wasn't particularly surprised by that. I think the President likes to keep foreign leaders on their toes. You know, I'm a political reporter. I was in the White House when Trump made a similar crack at the. To the German chancellor's face. You know, this kind of thing is common with him. I think he likes to keep foreign leaders on their toes. I think broadly speaking, those two do have a solid relationship. She's kind of new to that, new to her post, and maybe he's trying to test her a little bit, but definitely kind of a wild thing to watch in real time.

Kelly O'Donnell (40:18)

It was something to watch. And Chuck, what do you think in terms of the President has said he wants help from Japan with the Strait of Hormuz. That has not been forthcoming. That is a moment where she appeared uncomfortable, hard to know what was in her thoughts.

Audrey Falberg (40:33)

I think every time he has one of these things in the White House where he has a foreign leader there and he spent so much of his presidency deal with international. And I understand as the president, you have to deal with international matters, but What I just said while ago is there's so much wrong on domestic soil. And I think every time a voter sees, whether it's this person or this other folk, they see them dealing with international stuff. When they're like, we should be focusing on what things are at home.

Kelly O'Donnell (40:53)

Well, let's go home. In terms of you had worked in the White House, you were part of the Trump administration in the 45 era. Wanna point your attention to the reporting we've talked about today from some of my colleagues about Corey Lewandowski, who you obviously know, who's been working as a top aide to Secretary Noem at dhs. So the reporting suggests that there may have been request for some kind of compensation in exchange for contracts related to especially the mass deportations. He denies those claims. Does that have legs in a Trump White House? Is that something that would get the president's attention?

Mark Short (41:30)

Of course it would, Kelly. And I think also the fact that you're seeing Republicans initiate investigations, I don't think they'd be doing that unless the White House was comfortable with it. I think there's no doubt that President Trump could tell them to stop those investigations. The fact that he's not gives me every reason to believe that the White House is comfortable investigating this further.

Kelly O'Donnell (41:50)

And is there an atmosphere in sort of the Trump era where people are engaged in some level of business relationships? We see that with Jared Kushner, who is also one of these. He's not even a special government employee at this time, but he is not being paid by taxpayers. But he's in roles officially. Is there an environment that's been fostered by the Trump administration?

Mark Short (42:10)

I think in the second Trump administration, there's an extraordinary amount of grift that I think a lot of Americans are uncomfortable with. And so I think this is just a piece of it.

Audrey Falberg (42:19)

I think also when you think about the way this presidency started with Doge and about us all talking about waste, fraud and abuse and we were going to save all of this money, I think that this flies in the face of that. I think the American voters just wanting somebody to be responsible and spend their tax dollars on things that matter to them.

Kelly O'Donnell (42:34)

We're at a turning point, Audrey. With the Department of Homeland Security awaiting a new secretary, first step of the vote today for Mark Wayne Mullen. The committee passed him out through the Senate. Now for the next review. Do you see that as a turn the page moment based on your reporting there?

Morgan Stewart (ad segment) (42:51)

I absolutely do. I think people are really optimistic that Mullen will work better with dhs. Officials. You have to remember looking back, I mean, the straw that really broke the camel's back was the president's frustration that during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Noem had suggested that the President greenlit that $220 million ad campaign that's become so controversial. Beyond that, there's. There's also been a lot of infighting between Noem and other DHS leaders like border czar Tom Homan and others. There's hope that under Mullen, that kind of infighting will stop.

Kelly O'Donnell (43:21)

And do you get a sense that that could in any way lead to a resolution of the budget impasse with dhs, or is that on its own track?

Mark Short (43:29)

I think it's shocking. The midst of us having a conflict with Iran, Democrats are stopping funding of the Department of Homeland Security. You've already seen a couple domestic incidents. And the fact that they're not providing security for the United States citizens, I think is absolutely shocking. I was surprised, though, in hearing that. I thought Republicans should have been focused on that message, like the fact that Republicans aren't hitting that message each and every day. I think it's an incredible liability for Democrats and we should be on the offense there. But instead we're talking about, you know, personal attacks on Rand Paul as opposed to focusing on Democrats, not funding homeland security.

Kelly O'Donnell (44:01)

There were a couple of senators, Moreno and Hawley, who took their time to make that case.

Mark Short (44:06)

But it should be unified. Yeah, it really should.

Kelly O'Donnell (44:08)

It did not break through with some of the contentious aspects of this. I want to say thank you to our panel. Appreciate all your insights and coming in today and giving us your real world expertise. Thank you so much. And we're going to turn now to the latest installment of what we call our Common Ground series, where Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta of California and Republican Congressman Tracy Mann of Kansas have teamed up to co captain the congressional football team. Now, while they didn't win their annual game against the U.S. capitol Police this week, the congressman told Kristen Welker, our of course, regular host of this program, that part of being on the team is about much more than the game itself. And it has helped Republicans and Democrats come together, have some fun tackle, no pun intended. Yeah, it is intended. Some of the congressional issues that can be most troubling. Let's look at her conversation.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (45:01)

So you're both sore after this game?

Congressman Tracy Mann (45:04)

Little bit in the rearview mirror. Still sore. Still some bumps and bruises, but slowly recovering.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (45:09)

Well, look, Congressman Panetta, this game is about so much more than football. This is about raising money and it's about bipartisanship So y' all didn't win the game, but talk about the importance and why you wanted to participate in this game.

President Donald Trump (45:27)

Yeah, that's an understatement about not winning. But the fact is, is that there are other goals when it comes to the Congressional football game in which Democrats and Republicans, with the aid of a few former football players, play against the Capitol Police. Obviously it is about the game, but it's also about the charities that we support. I think we raised over $350,000 for four charities, especially the Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Boys and Girls Club here in Washington, D.C. a advantage for kids and our military kids all impacted impactful charities that are taking place and affecting people's lives right here. So yes, it's about the game. Yes, it's about the charities and it is about bipartisanship, an opportunity for us to come together which unfortunately now is few and far between.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (46:13)

Well, and pick up on that point, Congressman Mann, to what extent does this foster bipartisanship? You are co captains of this great team and you and I are talking about the practices are almost as important as the game itself.

Congressman Tracy Mann (46:26)

And it's fun to get to code my good friend Jimmy Panetta. You know, I'm from Kansas, he's from California. Can I be more different in some ways. But the point is you get to know people. And you know, when you're sweating, you know, in the mornings at practice and the sun's coming up, doesn't matter what party you're from, there's commonalities that you, that you reach. You know, you get to know people in a way you wouldn't otherwise. Part of the problem in Washington, D.C. is that people just don't know each other. And there are ways to do that. And things like this bipartisan football game game, one, it's a lot of fun. But two, it's a way to get to know people in ways you wouldn't otherwise.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (46:57)

Well, it's just fantastic. And kudos for raising all of that money for really important causes. On the issue of bipartisanship, I want to talk about some of the pressing issues facing Congress right now. Let's start with the partial government shutdown. DHS shut down. Currently Democrats demanding some key changes to ICE tactics. The White House has actually put forward some proposals. I want to read it so our viewers have a sense the administration releasing a letter detailing the changes it's willing to make, including body worn cameras for officers, limiting immigration enforcement at sensitive locations like hospitals and schools, and allowing oversight of detention facilities. Congressman Mann, would you vote for these reforms to dhs. Is this something you could get behind?

Congressman Tracy Mann (47:46)

I'd have to look at, but certainly the White House is putting that forward. Those seem reasonable at first glance. It's always about the details. But at the end of the day, you know, we've got to come together as a country. What you just outlined seems pretty reasonable to me, but we'll take a look at it.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (47:59)

Well, Congressman Panetta, the list that I just read only addresses some of what Democrats are demanding. One of the big things is they're demanding that the masks be abandoned, that they no longer can wear masks, for example. Do the reforms go far enough for you? Would you be able to get behind what I just read?

President Donald Trump (48:18)

Yes. And look, as a former prosecutor, I dealt with law enforcement quite a bit for close to 20 years. And if you're going to call yourself law enforcement, then you dang well better act like law enforcement. And unfortunately, what we've seen, especially in Minneapolis and through other parts of the country, you have a rogue agency that's acting with impunity. That rogue really is not anything like the law enforcement I dealt with at the local levels. And so I would hope that there are these certain basic commonsensical law enforcement procedures and protocols that get put in place before we do anything. You mentioned three of them. Obviously, our leader Jeffries has come out with a list of them that include other things like judicial warrants before you go into a house, making sure there's not a paramilitary force that's out there acting with impunity and making sure that there are actually body cameras that are worn, stored, and has proper protocols when it comes to that. So like I said, it comes down to if you're going to call yourself law enforcement, you got to act like law enforcement. And these types of procedures have to be put in place before we even consider determining whether or not we're going to vote for DHS funding.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (49:26)

All right, let's talk about the SAVE Act. Now, again, just for some context, it would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections as well as a photo ID when voting nationwide. Congressman, man. Records show that just 4% of voters, 0.04% of voter verification cases are returned as non citizens. Why is this bill necessary?

Congressman Tracy Mann (49:51)

Yeah, well, 4% matters a lot when you look at the elections around everybody. You know, we have. We have some elections that come down to 20, 30, 40 votes. I mean, every vote matters. Certainly Kansas has had these reforms for a long time. You know, proof of citizenship to be able to vote, and then photo ID you know, when actually the day of very reasonable to me, common sense, widely popular amongst Republicans and Democrats. I proudly supported the Save American act and want to see it signed into law.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (50:18)

And Congressman Panetta, what do you make of those arguments? You do have majority of people who do support some type of reforms to voter id.

Congressman Tracy Mann (50:28)

Yeah.

President Donald Trump (50:29)

And look, I'm all for showing some form of identification in the voter registration or voting process. The SAVE act unfortunately, isn't. Is about putting up barriers is what's happening here. And it's making it more difficult and tougher and actually going after something that really isn't an issue. When it comes to undocumented people voting. There is yet to be any sort of solid evidence that's been presented to make this such a big deal. Once again, I'm for voter identification, but it also comes down to when they show it, how they show it, what form of identification is necessary. And it was just so burdensome in the SAVE Act. It's why I voted against it.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (51:08)

Congressman Mann, the president is proposing adding some amendments to the SAVE act, which you're likely aware of. It would include banning biological men from women's sports and transition surgeries for transgender minors. Do you think those amendments make it even more difficult to pass the SAVE act, which is already an uphill battle?

Congressman Tracy Mann (51:29)

Yeah, we'll see. The Save America act has passed the House twice now. I probably supported it over. It's over in the Senate right now. There'll be various amendments that will come up on the Senate side probably, and we'll just have to take a look at what those actually end up being.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (51:41)

Do you think those amendments, though, do make it more complicated to get it through?

Congressman Tracy Mann (51:45)

But actually, with a lot of those amendments, there's quite a bit of bipartisan support, some common sense things as well. So it just all depends on what the amendment is and how it's approached.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (51:53)

All right, I want to zoom out a little bit and talk about actual ways that you think Congress can do a better job of coming together. Public trust in Congress right now is near historic lows. Only 16% of Americans saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its own job. That's according to recent polling. Congressman Panetta, why do you think this number is so low? And what do you think you and your fellow lawmakers can do about it?

President Donald Trump (52:20)

Look, unfortunately, when you turn on the tv, today's excluding your show. You see.

Kelly O'Donnell (52:25)

Appreciate that.

President Donald Trump (52:26)

You see, you know, you see the Partizans, you know, yelling and screaming at each other. And like I said earlier, good governing is just not sexy these days. But to me, good governing is good politics. And, and that's why I'm here, to get stuff done and to gravitate towards people like Tracy. As you've heard, we're going to have our differences, but we're not here just to point out our differences. We're here to at least find our similarities. And what I have to tell you and your viewers is that for the most part, there are people on both sides of the aisle that actually come here to work together to get stuff done. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are here just to yell and scream to blow things up and to not find solutions. However, people need to understand that for the most part, there are Democrats and Republicans willing to sit down, willing to have those conversations, willing to get to know one another, to develop that trust upon what you can actually come up with. Meaningful, impactful legislation.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (53:22)

Congressman Mann, final point to you. What would you tell your fellow lawmakers about finding common ground?

Congressman Tracy Mann (53:28)

Sure. Well, it starts with getting to know each other. Right. And really outlining where are the ways that we can agree and come together. We have to remember that Congress is a lagging indicator, not a leading indicator of where the country's at. The country's very divided. So as a result, of course, the Congress is going to be divided as well. We've got to keep talking about the areas. We have a lot of common ground. And those would be things like, I look at these housing bills that are coming up. You know, there's a lot of broad bipartisan support to lower the cost of housing. I'm on the House Ag Committee, broad bipartisan support out of a farm bill that we passed out of committee two weeks ago. There's going to be a big surface transportation reauthorization. You know, roads, bridges aren't Republican or Democrat. They need to be done for the good of the citizens. And those are things we ought to

President Donald Trump (54:07)

be focusing on beyond just being co chairs and co captains of the football team. We're co chairs of the Future Farmers of America Caucus. And so, you know, he has different agriculture than with his row crops, than my specialty crops. But there are certain areas and the people who work in agriculture are what we want to find our similarities and solutions for them, knowing how hard they work.

Congressman Tracy Mann (54:28)

And we both strongly support young people looking at agriculture as a career field, and that's an easy thing to get behind.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (54:33)

Well, and undoubtedly all of those football practices helped you to find some of that as well on that critical issue. Thank you for raising that. Really appreciate it. Congressman Mann and Congressman Panetta, great conversation. Thanks for being here.

President Donald Trump (54:45)

Thank you.

Kelly O'Donnell (54:48)

And I'll add our thanks to the congressman and Christen for that thoughtful conversation. We will be back tomorrow with more MEET the PRESS now. And as always, you can catch up on full episodes of Meet the Press and Meet the PRESS now with the Meet the Press podcast. Just scan the QR code and listen now whenever, wherever you get your podcasts. There's more news ahead on NBC News now.

Morgan Stewart (55:11)

Hey, everyone, it's me, Morgan Stewart. And I have a new podcast called the Morgan Stewart Show. Join me each week as I talk about pop culture, fashion, my personal life and just a warning, I'm gonna be giving my opinion on everything. I'll also have some really fun guests to join in on the fun. The Morgan Stewart show is out now. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts or watch full video on YouTube.