← Squawk Pod
Squawk Pod
Debating the DOJ’s Criminal Investigation into Jay Powell 1/13/26
00:32:34
Division over the federal investigation of the Federal Reserve has rattled the Republican Party. CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports from Washington, DC, and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy discusses the probe and the President’s power at home and abroad. Tune into CNBC tonight for “Warren Buffett: A Life and Legacy,” a two-hour special of exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with Warren Buffett about his views on business, philanthropy, and life, and how his philosophies have evolved over the decades. Hosted by CNBC’s Becky Quick, the program will also feature interviews with Warren Buffett’s three kids – Susie, Howie, and Peter – who reflect on the enormous responsibility their father has entrusted to them – to eventually donate his entire fortune. Eamon Javers - 8:34 Kevin McCarthy - 18:10 In this episode: Kevin McCarthy, @SpeakerMcCarthy Eamon Javers, @eamonjavers Becky Quick, @BeckyQuick Joe Kernen, @JoeSquawk Andrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkin Katie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie
Loading summary
Transcript178 lines
- [00:00]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Comcast Business helps retailers become seamlessly restocking.
- [00:04]
Joe Kernen
Frictionless paying favorite shopping destinations. It's how nationwide restaurants become touchscreen ordering quick serving eateries and how hospitals become the patient scanning data, managing healthcare facilities.
- [00:16]
Becky Quick
That we all depend on.
- [00:17]
Joe Kernen
With leading networking and connectivity, advanced cybersecurity.
- [00:21]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
And expert partnership, Comcast business is powering.
- [00:24]
Joe Kernen
The engine of modern business powering restriction supply.
- [00:29]
Katie Kramer
Not every sale happens at the register. Before AT&T business Wireless checking out customers on our mobile POS systems took too long. Basically a staring contest where everyone loses. It's crazy what people say during an awkward silence. Now transactions are done before the silence takes hold. That means I can focus on the task at hand and make an extra sale or two. Sometimes I do miss the bonding time sometimes.
- [00:54]
Joe Kernen
AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything.
- [01:00]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Bring in show music, please.
- [01:03]
Katie Kramer
Hi, I'm CNBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on Squawk Pod, the criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell that has rattled Republican unity.
- [01:15]
Joe Kernen
This is one of the first times I think we've ever seen frankly a break in the party like this over almost any issue since the beginning of the administration.
- [01:22]
Eamon Javers
Give Republicans a little more credit and they're, they're not in lockstep.
- [01:26]
Katie Kramer
Who's spoken out against the probe, what it means for fed independence and what politics has to do with it. CNBC's Eamon Javers from Washington, bear in.
- [01:35]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Mind that the president's position still is that he has nothing to do with this.
- [01:39]
Katie Kramer
Then former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the power concentrated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
- [01:46]
Becky Quick
President Trump is at a stronger position than I think even Ronald Reagan was at any given time. We have not seen a president with this type of power since Roosevelt.
- [01:53]
Eamon Javers
He is the chief whip.
- [01:55]
Katie Kramer
Plus a sneak peek or sneak listen at Becky Quick's two hour CNBC special airing tonight. Warren Buffett, a life and legacy. He did say he was willing to write a check for $100 billion that day if someone came to him with a good idea. So he's always on the hunt. It is Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Squawkpod begins right now.
- [02:19]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Stand Becky by in 3, 2, 1.
- [02:22]
Joe Kernen
Q, please.
- [02:25]
Katie Kramer
All right. Welcome back everybody to Squawk Box. Good morning. We are right here. I'm Becky Quick along with Joe Cardin and Andrew Ross Sorkin. It's good to see everybody. Good morning. It's a Tuesday. The Dow is off by about 55 points after closing at a record yesterday. The S and P is off by 9 points. It closed at a record level to Nasdaq indicated off by about 67 points. But it was a pretty big turnaround from where we were yesterday at this time when the was down by 300 plus points ahead of the opening bell. A lot of concerns about what happened with Jay Powell and the what the Federal Reserve had received in terms of some of those criminal inquiries. We'll continue to talk about that Today.
- [03:03]
Eamon Javers
We got McCarthy coming up and talked. I don't know anybody that's really thrilled Republicans notwithstanding. But you can interpret yesterday in either one of two ways that no one really believes Fed independence is going anywhere because of the backlash and outcry or go ahead and cut rates and got.
- [03:24]
Katie Kramer
It sound like I read it even.
- [03:26]
Eamon Javers
Force them to cut, force them to cut rates and the markets go up.
- [03:29]
Katie Kramer
So many people speaking out against what I think yesterday. I think that. And you have Republicans with senators who are saying we're not going to go along with this. I think that probably reinforced the markets.
- [03:38]
Eamon Javers
The people that don't like Powell said that that was an attempt to get a market check, his video to get a market check and that he was hoping for some, some chaos and the markets to prove his point. And that didn't happen. They said so Jay, that, that, that didn't work.
- [03:55]
Katie Kramer
But I don't, I didn't read it that way.
- [03:57]
Eamon Javers
No, I don't either.
- [03:58]
Katie Kramer
For Jay Powell to say something after he's kind of taken this onslaught for a very long time, for him to say this was kind of a line in the sand.
- [04:07]
Eamon Javers
He Trump last week or the week before started again in just saying the worst things you could say about, about someone. And we've been, you've been in, we've been in cutting mode.
- [04:18]
Katie Kramer
Right. That hasn't just been the last year that the president has office for this term. That started in his last term too. Some of the things that he was saying along that.
- [04:27]
Eamon Javers
But Thune, Thune said this better be something there and it better be serious. And the Thune said something and Kennedy down in Louisiana said something.
- [04:37]
Joe Kernen
That commentary, don't you think Joe and Becky, it's that commentary from Republicans who are speaking out for the very first time. And not just that. I don't know if you saw the Wall Street Journal report about Scott Bessen apparently calling the president on Sunday upset about the investigation unto himself telling him that this was going to rattle the markets and this is going to be a problem. Then apparently a whole other group of Republican senators and potentially congressmen suggesting maybe there's some kind of off ramp to this whole thing. So I would imagine I think that's.
- [05:06]
Katie Kramer
What compromise, to the extent the market.
- [05:09]
Joe Kernen
Is settling, it's more that. And this is one of the first times I think we've ever seen, frankly, a break in the party like this over almost any issue since the beginning of the administration.
- [05:19]
Eamon Javers
Give Republicans a little more credit and they're not in lockste or goose step what some people would say with Trump.
- [05:29]
Joe Kernen
Can you think of another.
- [05:31]
Eamon Javers
This is.
- [05:31]
Joe Kernen
Can you think of another issue?
- [05:33]
Eamon Javers
I don't think. Okay, Greenland. Remember what Thune said about Greenland? That's just part of the checks and balances that I was talking about with you. We still have normal people in the world. Trump tests the waters in the most insane ways. And actually there's a piece in the Journal today about that. He likes the chaos. He likes what it makes other countries think when he does something like Venezuela or Iran, doesn't know what to think. If he says something to Iran, Iran's like, whoa, may believe it. So I just think that there are still checks and balances. And, you know, I don't know whether he. He's dragged maybe kicking and screaming into the real world at times from his own.
- [06:14]
Joe Kernen
All I'm suggesting is, I think this is the first time that we have seen both sitting politicians that are part of the Republican Party speak out so vocally. And then you layer on top of that all former Fed chairmen who've had this role prior. You had treasury secretaries, including Hank Paulson and other Republicans who historically have not been out. I mean, I actually think when you think about all of the moments throughout this administration where there are things that felt like they were breaking norms, and we talked about whether people would come forward and say that these norms were being broken and they had problems with them. And I do think that this is probably the first real example in break like that.
- [06:51]
Eamon Javers
I don't think that. How come I've read so many times in media, I've even been. They've even said, oh, even Trump's loyal acolytes are breaking. I've seen that article a dozen times in the last year. Wow. Even Trump's most loyal, blah, blah, blah, are pushing back. Every time they get a chance to write that article, they write that article. And it's been again and again and again. So it's not monolithic. It's not a bunch of just, you know, I know you'd like to portray the Republicans that way of following the dictator into, you know, insanity, but I just don't think that's the case. But in this case, it's Good. And I, you know, there are times where I think common sense takes over for everybody. You can't with a straight face say that you just want someone in there that's going to just lower rates all the time. When the dual mandate is both inflation and full employment, we'll have McCarthy. You know what? Ask McCarthy today. Ask McCarthy today. I mean, we just had. How about the five senators that voted to advance the War Act. That, that didn't impress you? They were Republicans. That, that was kind of a slap last week for more symbolic.
- [08:02]
Joe Kernen
You now have people who are saying that they're going to hold up the nomination of the next, of the next Fed Chair until this is resolved. That's different.
- [08:11]
Eamon Javers
You know what, what's monolithic? The House of Representatives on the Democratic side and on the Senate side, that's what's monolithic. So maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. But both parties do it.
- [08:22]
Joe Kernen
How's that Always, always is what about, is it okay, we've got the hypocriticism.
- [08:30]
Eamon Javers
Is what it's about.
- [08:32]
Joe Kernen
Or you've got Eamon Javas standing by. He's got some new news out of Washington this morning. President Trump threatening some new tariffs now on countries doing business with Iran as that country violently cracking down on protests. And Eamon joins us from D.C. right now. Good morning to you.
- [08:50]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Yeah, good morning, Andrew. President Trump posted late yesterday on social media that he'll be adding a tariff to the trading partners of Iran. The president did not name any specific countries, say whether this would be on top of any existing tariffs, or explain what the criteria are to be included in this new tariff. But in the post, he said effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter. That's from the president. The president also didn't say which legal authority he's going to use to impose the tariff. That's something that could become relevant in a week in which the Supreme Court may rule on the constitutionality of the president's Liberation Day tariffs last year. So we'll watch for that. His post comes at a time that the White House is reportedly considering new military action against the Iranian military as he's issued repeated warnings about the Iranian government's handling of mass protests that are taking place in that country. The White House did not respond to questions about the post last night. Guys. And if you look at the top trading partners for Iran. Who do you get the top of the list? Well, it's China. It's also Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. So big question here in terms of whether this post is going to sort of rekindle that China tariff war, which had kind of been in a detente ever since last winter. And we'll see, you know, exactly where this lands today. Guys, back over to you.
- [10:21]
Joe Kernen
Can I, can I pivot on you here, Eamon? You know, we were, this is new news and fascinating, but we've also spent most of yesterday talking about Jay Powell. I know you were on the telephone and doing all sorts of reporting. Is there, is there anything new that we should understand about the state of affairs as it relates to Jay Powell? We were talking about this Wall Street Journal report this morning suggesting that the Treasury Secretary called the President on Sunday, concerned about the implications of the investigation on the markets and elsewhere.
- [10:52]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Yeah, exactly. What the Treasury Secretary's position on this is is a real open question, I think, Andrew. I don't have reporting to match that phone call, and there's some question about exactly what he said to the president. What, you know, is his position more nuanced than simply opposition to this move, or is, is the Treasury Secretary sort of, you know, on its face, horrified by the idea of going after the, the Fed chair in this way? I, I can't tell you as I sit here the answer to that question. There are some reports out there in the media as to what he said. The question is, you know, how did he say it? What was the nuance? There were there layers of meaning in that, and we just don't know. But you guys are right that there's been this sort of, you know, reaction in Washington to what the administration has done. And bear in mind that the president's position still is that he has nothing to do with this. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told us yesterday that the president did not direct this Right. So take that for what you will. The position of the administration is just the Department of Justice on its own.
- [11:59]
Joe Kernen
A viewer actually asked me this question, so I'm going to ask it to you. They said, if you care. I think we all care about holding government accountable. Everybody wants to know how our taxpayer funds are being spent. And when you see a building like this that costs an extraordinary amount of money and is way over budget, they said to me, should the government be able to look into that, to try to understand that, to hold them accountable? And I thought to myself, yes, I think we'd all want that. And my question, though is, is there a way to do such a thing without starting what is in this case a criminal investigation? Meaning can this be done through hearings? Can this be done through other courses of action that wouldn't appear to be coercive to the extent that. That is the perception right now?
- [12:53]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Yeah. I mean, there are a lot of ways. I mean, throughout the federal government, Andrew, there are inspectors general who exist. You know, they were established post Watergate as a way of going into the federal government. They are independent of the agency they work for. They go into the government and investigate and look for waste, fraud, and abuse. They issue reports all the time. Actually comb through a lot of those to find a lot of interesting nuggets about, you know, this kind of excessive spending, if they find it. There's also, of course, the congressional hearing, as you mentioned. You can, you can do a lot of things to investigate wasteful government spending. Now, the Fed is a slightly different beast because it is sort of separate and apart from the federal government in terms of the way it's set up. So it finances itself. So there's a real question here about whether these even are taxpayer dollars. Right. Because the Fed finances itself out of its ongoing operations. It doesn't take a congressional appropriation.
- [13:45]
Joe Kernen
So I guess where I'm going with this, Amy, is there a, Is there a way to do this in a way that doesn't. Is there a way to look at these numbers to the extent you want to look at these numbers on behalf of the taxpayers without it appearing or raising the question about the independence of the Fed?
- [14:03]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Yeah, look, I mean, the Fed discloses these, these numbers all the time. I mean, their annual reports have detailed descriptions going back years of this construction project. Right. So you can go back and look at them, and they, they, you know, put it all out there in black and white. So the accounting is there, the ability to investigate this is there. You could have, Congress could do it. You know, you could have independent agencies do it. There's, there's a million ways to set this up, but the President, you know, if he directed this, he didn't choose to go that way. The President says he didn't direct it.
- [14:36]
Joe Kernen
And then we got to run. But final question, maybe you can arbitrate the debate we were having earlier. You've been here now, I don't know, following this administration for the past year. No, I'm curious if you look at this past year and think about the times that there have been public breaks between the party and the President. And potentially folks like former Fed chairs and others. Have we seen this movie before or is this new at a new level?
- [15:05]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Yeah, look, I think this is new, especially when it comes to, you know, the issues that matter to our audience of finance and the economy. But I think there's been two big breaking points between Republicans and President Trump over the past year. One was the Epstein files and the other one was this. And they're both sort of core principal issues, right? I mean, a lot of Republicans campaigned on the idea of releasing the Epstein files and so did the president. And when he switched on that and said, actually, I'm going to suppress the Epstein files, I don't want to see those out. There was just nothing for Republicans to do with that. This was one of their key issues. And you saw this sort of open rebellion against President Trump that is very rare, Republicans, but does happen. And then this one, you saw, you know, Thom Tillis sort of leading the charge yesterday on this. You know, he's a guy who's not running for reelection, so it's easy for him. Others, you know, have a harder time coming out in public and going against the president. But you did see it.
- [16:01]
Joe Kernen
Amy Jabbers in Washington. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
- [16:06]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Tease will be next.
- [16:08]
Katie Kramer
Coming up next on Squawk Pod. One year in, we're unpacking President Trump's second term agenda with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
- [16:16]
Becky Quick
With every great successful CEO, they have to upset the apple cart. There's people who are not going to like it because you can't be nice to everybody. You can't make it easier on everybody.
- [16:26]
Katie Kramer
Global affairs, defense and much more. Right after this.
- [16:32]
Joe Kernen
Comcast business helps retailers.
- [16:34]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Become seamlessly restocking frictionless paying favorite shopping destinations.
- [16:39]
Joe Kernen
It's how nationwide restaurants become touchscreen ordering quick serving eateries and how hospitals become the patient scanning data managing health care.
- [16:47]
Becky Quick
Facilities that we all depend on.
- [16:49]
Joe Kernen
With leading networking and connectivity, advanced cybersecurity.
- [16:52]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
And expert partnership, Comcast business is powering.
- [16:56]
Joe Kernen
The engine of modern business powering possibilities. Restrictions apply.
- [17:01]
Katie Kramer
Not every sale happens at the register. Before AT&T business Wireless checking out customers on our mobile POS systems took too long. Basically a staring contest where everyone loses. It's crazy what people will say during an awkward silence. Now transactions are done before the silence takes hold. That means I can focus on the task at hand and make an extra sail or two. Sometimes I do miss the bonding time. Sometimes.
- [17:25]
Joe Kernen
AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything.
- [17:31]
Becky Quick
What made you confident that you could.
- [17:33]
Katie Kramer
Do something that hadn't been done before? I Have no fear of failure. Trailblazing women, changing the game. One of my favorite pieces of advice, think about what your boss's boss needs. Leadership can look in many, many different forms. It really does come down to just trusting yourself. Life is short and you just gotta think big to accomplish big things. Julia Boorstin hosts CNBC Changemakers and Power Players. New episodes every Tuesday. Wherever you get your podcasts, this is Squawk Pot.
- [18:06]
Becky Quick
Stand by, Joe His Mic Q.
- [18:09]
Eamon Javers
And joining us now on all the latest news out of Washington, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now chairman of the Alpha Institute.
- [18:16]
Joe Kernen
We're back.
- [18:16]
Eamon Javers
And it was weird because just last week and welcome gracing us on the set. Welcome. Just last week saying if Warsh is in the lead in the prediction markets, then I would say that that dispels some of the concerns about a Fed chair that's just in the tank for the president because Warsh is an independent thinker. So I said maybe we don't need to worry about, you know, Santelli agreed with me that maybe the hair on fire loss of Fed independence, maybe we didn't. So we have to worry about that was rekindled in spade. You know, now it's, it's exponentially higher after this. But the market closed up yesterday. So we have been going back and forth in the I'm making the argument that common sense and cooler heads were bound to prevail here, that this is not the way necessarily to get what you want in terms of monetary policy. And that is, you know, by sort of bludgeoning or blackmailing the Fed chair to do what you want. Yeah.
- [19:22]
Becky Quick
I mean, if you think about whatever staff thought this was a smart idea, didn't play. It's not playing out the way they thought it because there's enough people on both sides aisle who think Powell has not done a good job, too slow in action and movement. But now it's united people around him. It's going to make it a little harder when it comes to confirmation hearings. It's going to raise different questions.
- [19:44]
Eamon Javers
Tom Tillis has to sign off on.
- [19:45]
Becky Quick
Things and Tillis has nothing to lose.
- [19:48]
Eamon Javers
Right.
- [19:49]
Becky Quick
He's not, he's already made that statement. He's not running for reelection.
- [19:52]
Eamon Javers
And Jay Powell may decide to stay. Just okay.
- [19:56]
Katie Kramer
So James feels like he has to as chairman.
- [19:58]
Becky Quick
He's out in May, but his term as a governor is to January 31 to 28.
- [20:03]
Katie Kramer
Right.
- [20:04]
Becky Quick
So it's not having the outcome that you want. It's not having the debate that you want. Look, nobody's above Accountability. I get that he's spending too much. People look at that. And if this whole election's going to be based on the economy. But a criminal inquiry, yeah, it doesn't play. But if you. Look, Besset didn't like what happened here.
- [20:23]
Eamon Javers
Right.
- [20:23]
Becky Quick
President said he didn't know about it or didn't have anything to do with it. A staff could have taken an action.
- [20:31]
Katie Kramer
Trying to appease it. Based on what?
- [20:34]
Eamon Javers
Let's talk about actual sources that the Journal is citing here. And it's an opinion piece, but they're saying that, you know, we saw the President visit the building with Jay Powell and he was, you know, up in arms about. They both had, you know, a hard hat on. But then it kind of went quiet. The Journal says its sources tell them that Bill Pulte got into Pirro's ear thinking he could curry more favor. And the Journal's not very nice to Bill Pulte. Says one particularly eager toti is Bill Pulte that got into Pirro's ear. Pirro then goes to Pam Bondi, who's already in hot water, according to the Journal. So she's all too willing to do something that. That maybe they think Trump would like to do. Although the Journal points out this would be the first time any of this stuff has happened without President Trump knowing what was going on.
- [21:23]
Becky Quick
They're not doing the president any favors there, but the president handled it the right way. When he was concerned about the building, what did he do? He went to tour the building with Jay Powell and Senator Tim Scott, and then you heard it kind of go away afterwards. But he raised the questions. He raised the question.
- [21:36]
Katie Kramer
And Jay Powell was looking at him when he was saying some of the stuff. When they were there, you saw the video, the President was saying things and Jay Powell was going, what are you talking about?
- [21:43]
Becky Quick
Yeah, but you got that all out in the the air. That's how you do accountability. That's how you do hearings. It wasn't doing some probe into it that was criminal or anything else. That's how the President, I thought that was right. But now we've moved on. The economy is so critical in this election. We've watched the economy grow better than we've anybody thought beforehand. He's gone through the tariff problem that people thought that didn't bring his inflation. He just had a very successful. When you went down in Venezuela, I mean, everything is hitting in place. You do not want to have a hiccup that takes you off message on this. I think what you said happened yesterday. Calmer heads will prevail.
- [22:19]
Eamon Javers
And we know that the President is the Chief Whip of the Republican Party. We know that any other whip, any other whip is. But I made the point that there have been plenty of times and articles written about me that, oh, my God, the Trump loyalists are finally breaking with. And I've seen it. And in the past year, I've seen it six, seven, eight times. This wasn't just didn't happen to be the most egregious time when Republicans break. And of course, I've made the point that, oh, in the last administration, how did any Democrat ever say that Biden was a potted plant in the White House? Did you ever hear that while it was happening? I mean, Brian Stelter even came up with cheap fakes, not deep fakes, when he's tripped, stumbling along the beach. That. That was like a fake video, something. Look, parties don't break with the guy in charge. They're not.
- [23:07]
Becky Quick
And President Trump is at a stronger position than I think even Ronald Reagan was at any given time. We have not seen a president with this type of power since Roosevelt.
- [23:16]
Eamon Javers
He is the Chief Whip. I mean, he is more than the Chief Whip. And at your own peril, break with him.
- [23:21]
Katie Kramer
Look, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
- [23:23]
Becky Quick
Well, you don't just get it. You have to earn it. There's. I can make arguments all different ways, but if you want to catch up with China, if you want to do something about critical minerals, this Congress was not going to do anything. He has moved us forward. He has reset the world stage. When you look at how he dealt with Iran, if you watch from the Middle east, if you watch from the settings of ending these wars, if you watch what he did on the border, I think that is very successful. And you never would have been able to do that if you sat around and waited for Congress.
- [23:53]
Eamon Javers
Kevin, it's coming back to me. There were times where you tried to step away from certain things that the President was pushing at your own peril, too. I can remember some specific instances. And you came, you got back in the fold, but you were out of the fold at times. It happens to everyone.
- [24:10]
Becky Quick
I think the way people, what I always, how I deal with President Trump is talk to him directly. And when people just sit and say, no, he's going to find another way.
- [24:20]
Eamon Javers
What was it about? Do you remember what I'm talking about specifically? What were you in the doghouse for? Again? You don't want to go.
- [24:26]
Becky Quick
What I would say, look, we have difference of opinion you're not going to tell.
- [24:30]
Katie Kramer
Wait a second. I have AI.
- [24:33]
Joe Kernen
Look it up.
- [24:34]
Becky Quick
There's difference of opinion when it comes to January 6th. There's difference of opinion.
- [24:37]
Joe Kernen
That's right.
- [24:38]
Eamon Javers
It was January 6th.
- [24:39]
Becky Quick
But these are healthy. And this is the way I look at President Trump. I want to have a very honest discussion with him and I have it directly with him.
- [24:46]
Joe Kernen
Yeah.
- [24:46]
Becky Quick
And the thing I like about where he is, he is not so rigid in one certain way. What I always ask him is, what do you want to achieve? There's other ways to achieve it. It make your case for it. If he thinks it's better, he'll say, go that way. And is it as I am a leader of the party?
- [25:02]
Katie Kramer
Nope, that's not it.
- [25:02]
Eamon Javers
There's another one.
- [25:03]
Katie Kramer
There's more.
- [25:05]
Becky Quick
There's many more.
- [25:06]
Katie Kramer
McCarthy breaks with Trump over lynching. Comments over January 6th over on.
- [25:11]
Eamon Javers
See, this supposedly never happened ever before. Oh, no at all.
- [25:15]
Becky Quick
But it's healthy. And the President breaks with other parties. People have different.
- [25:18]
Eamon Javers
What about Greenland? What's he want? Do you think that this is going to be the same situation with Greenland that people are going to go, Mr. President, you know, Denmark, they're longtime allies. They, they went with whenever we've needed Denmark, They've been on our side. We don't need to do. We need to do this.
- [25:34]
Becky Quick
There's always style and where people go. But Europe was upset with Trump of how he would deliver and say, you've got to spend more on defense, otherwise Russia, Putin's going to invade you. You know what? He was right about that Merkel was wrong. She dealt with Putin more and got more dependent upon him. What he's really doing is resetting the world stage.
- [25:53]
Joe Kernen
One of the other sort of major debates is some of the moves that the President has made around things like trying to cap the rates on credit cards, credit cards, trying to limit buybacks, trying to limit dividends. I mean, things that when Elizabeth Warren was talking about the Republican Party was having a heart attack about and now seems to be just fine with. Where are you?
- [26:18]
Becky Quick
No, I think what this is, is this is Trump's way of negotiating. I believe the credit cards are going to be because does he have the power, the jurisdiction to be able to do that? I don't think he does. I think this is going to be like how he got the pharmaceutical prices lower. It's a little different because government has greater control over where you're spending on pharmaceuticals. But he's probably going to get these credit cards to come in and say, yes, they're going to lower some rates. His whole focus is get this economy moving. His negotiation style is different, but his outcome, it actually works many times that is what he's focused upon. And I think that's where you're going to continue to see this move.
- [26:55]
Eamon Javers
Let me ask you though, is defense different if they're behind on projects and if they're not doing what they need to do to supply the United States with what it needs? In that case, would a Republican say that the executive branch telling them what to do with Executive pit. Is it okay in that case?
- [27:11]
Becky Quick
Okay. But you're not giving the full story of what President Trump did. And this is where he's very smart. Ok? So he goes in and says, I don't want any more buybacks. You can't pay the CEOs as much. He's trying to get their attention. In the exact same day, he goes, I want to spend 1.5 trillion on defense. So what he's doing is a Reagan moment. I don't want three people to get all the money and you're too slow. I need Silicon Valley in. I need like the. And it just so happens next week I'm going to announce I'm joining the board of a brand new defense company that will take public later in this year. But it's a smart way to do. You need more suppliers in this. We need to be able to build these weapons faster, cheaper. You've watched the Secretary of War, where is he today? Yesterday he was at Lockheed. He was out in LA before going to Divergent and others. These are new tech companies redoing our military. And you watch what happened in Venezuela. Nobody else can do.
- [28:03]
Eamon Javers
Dividends and buybacks don't go to three people. They go to the share, they go.
- [28:06]
Becky Quick
To the shareholders getting their attention. It doesn't have the. What he's wanting to do is, look, I'm going to put a whole new pot of gold over here, but I'm not just going to give it to have you keep doing what you're doing now because we won't get there. I need to shake you up and get your attention.
- [28:22]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Style.
- [28:23]
Joe Kernen
Can I just ask a question about the shake it up, get your attention. Just conceit. I get that's what he's doing. But I do think there's a lot of Americans that look at this approach as a shakedown that so much of the way this administration often operates is around shaking people down. Whether it's in the context of what seems to be happening with Jay Powell or in so many other instances, whether it was the law firms or, you know, some of the media companies, if there's something this president doesn't like, there is a shakedown. And most people don't want to say that aloud, but that's what's happening. And why is that considered acceptable?
- [29:02]
Becky Quick
I don't see how it's a shakedown in the defense world. No one's getting any money here. He's saying, I'm going to deny you the ability. I want to do more. I want to change the structure. Structure dictates behavior. So the judgment here is going to be, what is the final outcome that you're going to see from this? It's a different style negotiation. How else are you going to shake Washington up? If you want to sit around and wait for the House and the Senate to act, they're not doing it. And he only has one term to go, so he's trying something different. I think people voted for a disruptor, and that's what he's doing. So at the end of the term, you could determine that. But if you look within the last year, he's done more in accomplishments than people have been able to do.
- [29:41]
Joe Kernen
I have to say. Oh, if you look at the effect to the extent that he's effectuating the things he said he wanted to do, he's doing it. He's doing it. The question is whether you think the American public likes the way he's getting there. And I think that's going to be a big question. I imagine in the midterms with every.
- [29:58]
Becky Quick
Great, successful CEO, they have to upset the apple cart. There's people who are not going to like it because you can't be nice to everybody. You can't make it easier on everybody. And you know what? As a country, we can't sit back and he has trans transformed. He has set the world in a different order right now. And it's been successful for America. People are going to be able to have a voice on election day. And yeah, some people will vote that they don't like the. Maybe the personality in others. But the outcome, there could be a lot more people who say, yes, I will put up with that because I want something better to happen. And that's exactly what I voted for.
- [30:33]
Eamon Javers
You got to go, huh?
- [30:35]
Becky Quick
I don't have to go.
- [30:36]
Eamon Javers
No, I was. I mean, we didn't get to talk.
- [30:38]
Becky Quick
About what else you want to talk about. I'll talk about anything you want to talk about.
- [30:42]
Eamon Javers
Suddenly, the most important state in the union is Minnesota. Minnesota, nice. I don't mean most important, but we talk about it all, you know, immigration.
- [30:50]
Becky Quick
We got Minnesota is going to go further because you watch the account, the lack of accountability in Minnesota of how they've overspent the money. You go to look to California, this is going to be the death number.
- [30:59]
Eamon Javers
And you might know something about California.
- [31:01]
Becky Quick
But you look at Illinois, this is where Congress should be focusing. They should be doing the accountability there. They should be going out, they should be going down and celebrating the border. The president accomplished something that no one said he could do and he did it pretty much all the time.
- [31:16]
Eamon Javers
We didn't get to talk about whether you think Americans that voted for the president knew we'd do Venezuela and Iran.
- [31:24]
Becky Quick
Look, every, every president in the second term kind of focuses on international. He's done it much bigger than anybody else. You don't get the reward for that instantaneously in an election.
- [31:35]
Eamon Javers
I think they're going to reset.
- [31:37]
Becky Quick
When you talk generational changes, that's the generational. You're playing for the history of the country itself.
- [31:43]
Eamon Javers
I'm not saying they won't because at this point things have worked remarkably. I guess we got to go.
- [31:50]
Katie Kramer
Next up on Squawk Pod, cash is.
- [31:52]
Eamon Javers
Not a good asset.
- [31:55]
Katie Kramer
A Preview to to CNBC's upcoming two hour special, Warren Buffet A Life and Legacy. We'll be right back. Did you know Tide has been upgraded.
- [32:05]
Becky Quick
To provide an even better clean in cold water?
- [32:08]
Katie Kramer
Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it. Even in cold butter.
- [32:14]
Becky Quick
Yep.
- [32:15]
Katie Kramer
Chocolate ice cream. Sure thing.
- [32:17]
Joe Kernen
Barbecue sauce.
- [32:19]
Katie Kramer
Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean.
- [32:31]
Becky Quick
It'S gotta be Tide. What made you confident that you could.
- [32:34]
Katie Kramer
Do something that hadn't been done before? I have no fear of failure. Trailblazing women, changing the game. One of my favorite pieces of advice, think about what your boss's boss needs. Leadership can look in many, many different forms. It really does come down to just trusting yourself. Life is short and you just gotta think big to accomplish big things. Julia Boorstin hosts CNBC Changemakers and Power Players. New episodes every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Squawk Pod.
- [33:08]
Joe Kernen
You're watching Squawk Box right here on cnbc. I'm Andrew Ossorkin along with Joe Kernan and Becky Quick.
- [33:13]
Katie Kramer
Tonight we're bringing you a special primetime show, Warren Buffett A Life and Legacy. We Speak with Warren Buffett about his views on life, philanthropy and business and how they've changed over his lifetime. One thing that has changed significantly over the last few decades, that would be the amount of cash that Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on. It's upwards of $350 billion as of the company's last report. I asked Buffett if he thinks cash is a good investment.
- [33:41]
Eamon Javers
I know the cash, I mean certain levels necessary, but cash is not a good asset.
- [33:50]
Joe Kernen
You need oxygen, you know.
- [33:53]
Eamon Javers
You don't need to be surrounded out. You don't have to pay a lot for it or anything like that, but.
- [33:57]
Joe Kernen
You do need oxygen.
- [33:59]
Eamon Javers
And if you're ever without it for.
- [34:02]
Becky Quick
Four or five minutes, it will learn.
- [34:05]
Eamon Javers
And cash is that way. So you always need to have it.
- [34:10]
Joe Kernen
Available because you do not know what will happen.
- [34:14]
Katie Kramer
He did say he was willing to write a check for $100 billion that day if someone came to him with a good idea. So he's always on the hunt and that hasn't changed. You can see much more of that conversation and others with Warren Buffett and a rare interview with his kids. That's tonight at 7:00pm Eastern Time. And a two hour premiere of Warren Buffett A Life and Legacy.
- [34:34]
Eamon Javers
You don't think I should call him and tell him about bitcoin?
- [34:37]
Katie Kramer
Oh, I thought you were going to call and say give me $100 million.
- [34:39]
Eamon Javers
No, 100 billion. You said earlier he didn't buy tech until he did. Yeah, never going to happen for bitcoin.
- [34:46]
Katie Kramer
I doubt it.
- [34:47]
Eamon Javers
Charlie. Charlie went to his grave calling it a rat poison.
- [34:50]
Katie Kramer
I mean the problem is is they would never invest in anything even like gold. He's no different. How he thinks it's a terrible investment because it's not a producing. It's not an.
- [35:00]
Eamon Javers
He has given me analogy. I, you know, send things to say, here's why Bitcoin doesn't. I didn't really understand what the point was. We're talking past each other.
- [35:09]
Katie Kramer
Yeah, it's just, look, he's pretty upfront about it. He doesn't claim to blockchain. I mean he does say that it's not the type of investment I would do. Got a very, you know, he likes cash flow businesses. He likes to be able to understand.
- [35:21]
Eamon Javers
An asset that he looked into blockchain and how it's going to change a lot of.
- [35:24]
Katie Kramer
I don't think that's in his wheelhouse. And that is Squawk Pod for today. Thank you as always for listening. Listening Squawk Box is hosted by Joe Kernan, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin Tune in weekday mornings on CNBC at 6 Eastern or follow Squawkpod wherever you like to get your podcasts. Have a great day. We'll meet you right back here tomorrow.
- [35:48]
Andrew Ross Sorkin
We are clear. Thanks, guys.
- [36:00]
Becky Quick
What made you confident that you could.
- [36:02]
Katie Kramer
Do something that hadn't been done before? I have no fear of failure. Trailblazing women, Changing the game One of my favorite pieces of advice? Think about what your boss's boss needs. Leadership can look in many, many different forms. It really does come down to just trusting yourself. Life is short, and you just gotta think big to accomplish big things. Julia Boorstin hosts CNBC Changemakers and Power Players New episodes every Tuesday. Wherever you get your podcasts.