Hour 3 - EPA Head Lee Zeldin

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – “Hour 3 - EPA Head Lee Zeldin”

Introduction to Lee Zeldin as EPA Administrator

In the February 24, 2025 episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton welcome Lee Zeldin, the newly appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin, a former governor of New York, shares his insights and the initial findings since taking office. The discussion primarily revolves around the mismanagement and financial irregularities within the EPA under the previous administration.

Uncovering Waste and Abuse at the EPA

Zeldin delves into the significant financial waste and abuse he has uncovered within the EPA. Reflecting on his Senate confirmation process, he references a misleading video by a Biden EPA appointee discussing the absurdity of throwing gold bars off the Titanic to secure NGO jobs. “Tens of billions of dollars” were found to be misallocated, with Zeldin highlighting several key instances:

• Grant Cancellations: Zeldin canceled a $50 million grant to the Climate Justice Alliance, citing their linkage of climate justice with geopolitical issues like the situation in Palestine. Additionally, approximately 90 grants totaling around $125 million related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice initiatives were terminated.

  “I canceled over a million dollars worth of media subscriptions where the agency was getting ripped off, having to pay too much.” (03:15)

• Misallocated Funds: A staggering $20 billion was discovered in a fund parked outside government oversight, funneling money to eight pass-through NGOs, including Stacey Abrams' organization, which received $2 billion disproportionate to its 2023 revenue of $100. Another $5 billion was diverted to the former employer of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund director.

  “We are not done. It's wild how much waste we've identified.” (03:15)

• Failed Contracts: A $160 million allocation to a Canadian electric vehicle school bus company under the Clean School Bus Program resulted in bankruptcy, leaving $95 million in undelivered buses for 55 school districts.

  “They declared bankruptcy without performing on most of the contract.” (03:15)

Critique of Environmental Justice and Climate Change Policies

Zeldin offers a critical perspective on the current interpretations of “environmental justice” and “climate change.” He argues that these terms are often co-opted to push left-leaning agendas without genuine oversight or accountability.

“In the name of environmental justice, they'll give $50 million to a left-wing advocacy group that's talking about how climate justice runs through Gaza.” (06:37)

He emphasizes that such policies could lead to extreme economic repercussions, including increased energy costs and reduced consumer choice, disproportionately affecting those least able to afford them. Zeldin defends President Trump’s stance, referencing Trump’s critique of climate change as a hoax aimed at preventing economic damage.

“There's a willingness to cause extreme economic pain for the people who can at least afford it. And it's wrong. And he wants to stop that. And he's right.” (06:37)

EPA’s Strategic Initiatives Under Zeldin’s Leadership

Zeldin outlines his administration’s priorities, encapsulated in the five-pillar initiative titled “Powering the Great American Comeback.” These include:

1. Clean Air, Land, and Water: Continuing efforts to remove hazardous materials and respond to environmental disasters swiftly.

   “We have over 1,500 workers on the ground to crush that job.” (12:52)

2. Energy Dominance: Promoting projects like the Constitution Pipeline to enhance natural gas transport across the Northeast, countering restrictions on gas extraction and the shift towards renewable energy sources.

   “There's a big pipeline project called Constitution Pipeline that would transport natural gas across many states in the Northeast.” (09:34)

3. Permitting Reform: Streamlining regulatory processes to foster economic growth and infrastructure development.

4. Revitalizing American Auto Jobs: Bringing back manufacturing jobs in the automotive sector to boost the economy.

5. AI Capital of the World: Ensuring the United States leads in artificial intelligence development and implementation.

Zeldin also highlights ongoing missions, including hazardous material removal post-wildfires in Los Angeles, responses to natural disasters in Flint, Michigan, East Palestine, Ohio, and Kentucky flooding.

“We are going to end the waste and abuse at the EPA.” (05:53)

Political and Economic Context

Buck Sexton engages Zeldin in a broader discussion about the Trump administration's efforts to restore sanity in governance, particularly in regions like New York and New Jersey. Zeldin attributes progress to prioritizing the economy, public safety, and border security. He underscores that the administration is “just getting started” and envisions a “golden age of American success.”

“Top issues for Americans... are related to the economy and crime and public safety.” (09:34)

Conclusion and Future Outlook

As the conversation wraps up, Zeldin reaffirms his commitment to restoring integrity and efficiency within the EPA. He emphasizes adherence to statutory obligations, respect for the rule of law, and cooperative federalism to work alongside state governments.

“We are going to do our job exceptionally, we are going to follow our obligations under the law. We are going to respect the rule of law, and we are going to embrace cooperative federalism.” (12:52)

Notable Quotes

• “It's wild how much waste we've ID'd.” – Lee Zeldin (03:15)
• “In the name of environmental justice, they'll give $50 million to a left-wing advocacy group.” – Lee Zeldin (06:37)
• “We are going to end the waste and abuse at the EPA.” – Lee Zeldin (05:53)
• “Top issues for Americans... are related to the economy and crime and public safety.” – Lee Zeldin (09:34)

Key Takeaways

• EPA Overhaul: Lee Zeldin is actively dismantling previous administration's financial mismanagement within the EPA.
• Fiscal Responsibility: Significant grants and funds misallocated towards politically biased organizations are being revoked.
• Policy Critique: Zeldin challenges the current narrative around environmental justice and climate change, advocating for policies that do not harm the economy.
• Strategic Initiatives: The EPA under Zeldin is focused on environmental cleanup, energy dominance, regulatory reform, job creation, and technological leadership.
• Future Vision: Zeldin envisions a robust, economically vibrant America with stringent oversight and efficient governance.

This episode provides an in-depth look into the challenges and reforms being undertaken by the EPA under Lee Zeldin’s leadership, highlighting a shift towards fiscal responsibility and policy realignment within the agency.

Transcript

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome to today's edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Podcast. Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We're rolling through the Monday edition of the program. Encourage you to all go subscribe to the podcast Clay Travis, you can search out my name. Search out Buck Sexton Numbers came out recently ranking Podcast audiences. And the show was one of the three or four most listened to podcasts in all of politics, according to those rankings. I shared them last week, and that's a credit to you guys, because Obviously we're on 500 stations nationwide and all 50 states. And we appreciate all of you out there listening, both in the United States and frankly, around the world and on podcasts. So thanks to everybody out there. We're joined now by the new head of the epa. He is Lee Zeldin. Uh, and Lee, we appreciate the time. We know you've been diving into how the money is being spent at the epa, and you are already uncovering some, frankly, buried secrets that don't have a lot to do with the environment or protection. Now, what can you tell us about what you found so far?

[Lee Zeldin]

It's great to be with you guys. Yes, tens of billions of dollars. When I was going through my Senate confirmation process, there was this video that came out, I'm sure both of you guys saw where the Biden EPA political appointee was talking about how they throwing gold bars off the Titanic. Says it multiple times in the video, talks about how he's trying to. That they are trying to get themselves jobs at the recipient NGOs. And these senators I was meeting with at the time were asking for me to commit, which was a pretty easy commitment for me to make, that once I was confirmed, I would come in and try to find these gold bars. Well, it didn't take us much time to start finding all sorts of waste and abuse. I canceled a $50 million grant to the Climate Justice Alliance. They say that Climate justice runs through a free Palestine. Canceled about 90 grants working with DOGE towards DEI and environmental justice. That's totaling over 125, $127 million. Cancel over a million dollars worth of media subscriptions where the agency was getting ripped off, having to pay too much. And the biggest one was a $20 billion pot of money parked at a bank outside of government. A rush job at the end of the Biden administration to offload tens of billions of dollars, all going to eight pass through NGOs, one of which was Stacey Abrams NGO, which received $2 billion, even though they only received $100 in 2023. $5 billion went to the former employer of the director of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. And a story out this morning of somebody who was involved in the council to design this plan. And this pot of money got $20 million for their organization that they work at, even though that organization, over the last few Years only raised in total just over 2 million. So there's a lot there with regards to that pot of $20 billion. We're not done. It's wild how much waste we've ID'd. And I'll just give you one more. There was $160 million sent to a Canadian electric vehicle school bus company as part of the clean School bus program. They then declared bankruptcy. They still haven't delivered on $95 million worth of school buses for 55 school districts. Yes, the Biden EPA gave them all $160 million up front and then they declared bankruptcy without performing on most of the contract. We are going to end the waste and abuse at the EPA.

[Unknown]

You know, Mr. Administrator. I was going to say Mr. Secretary, but administrator of the EPA. Lee, explain how this works in just the most simple layman's terms because we're hearing this stuff. So the EPA gives out grants, millions and millions of dollars to whatever organization some people in the EPA decide should get that money to do whatever. Like, like how does that actually go? And what kind of oversight is there on this? I mean, you're finding this, this obvious abuse and fraud. But I'm just wondering, how is the process, is it really just as simple as the EPA says? Oh, we like this climate change group of lunatics. We're going to give them, you know, 50 million bucks.

[Lee Zeldin]

That's pretty much how it worked out. And a lot of self dealing, a lot of conflicts of interest. And it's also a lie to the American public. When you talk about terms like environmental justice or climate change and you define them in a way that appeals to the masses. Like for example, with environmental justice, you say that there's some community that has been left behind and they need assistance to deal with this pressing environmental issue. There are a lot of people, conservatives, moderates, liberals, say like, oh wow, this community is in need. They don't have access to clean air, land or water. What can we do to assist? But here's the problem. In the name of environmental justice, they'll then give $50 million to an organization as a left wing advocacy group that's talking about how climate justice runs through Gaza. They'll talk about climate change in a way that appeals to the masses. And then in the name of climate change, they'll advance policies that would bankrupt our country if we did everything. It will raise the rates for energy costs and it will eliminate choice to the point where the people who get hurt the most are the ones who can least afford it. The President has been outspoken on this, his words have been criticized when he's used the term climate change hoax. What he's been talking about, I've heard him mention it a few times where it was in my presence. When I've heard him talk about it. He's talking about how there are people who said that the world was imminently about to end. This was a few years ago. I'm sure both of you guys remember this, that we were just a few years away from the end of time, and that we had to pass this green new deal that would cost tens of trillions of dollars if we did everything in this plan. And in the name of climate change, there's this willingness to cause extreme economic pain for the people who can at least afford it. And it's wrong. And he wants to stop that. And he's right.

[Buck Sexton]

Lee. So much is changing. It feels like, in terms of the president's just endorsing basic common sense, and you're talking about fraud and abuse in the epa. You ran for governor against Kathy Hochul. One of the areas that seems to be moving most aggressively towards sanity, I would say, is the New York, New Jersey area. What do you think the first 30 days has done to advance that ball? Moving more and more towards sanity? We know New York, for instance, was more competitive than Texas or California were in the national election, which stuns people. And the Trump team feels like if they'd had a little bit more money, they could have flipped New Jersey. What's really going on here? What are you seeing as a guy who's been in politics for a while and is now a part of this administration?

[Lee Zeldin]

Top issues for Americans of all walks of life are related to the economy and crime and public safety. They care about the illegal immigration at the border. And President Trump, in his first month in office, has been working to make tremendous progress on all of that. And we see it with the efforts of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. And he didn't waste any time. It was something that started on day one. If you are illegally in the country and you're the worst of the worst, we need to be doing everything in our power to get you out of the country and making sure that we are actually securing our border. And we're sending a message to those who haven't come yet, they might have been on their way to come illegally into the country, that there's a process, and if you want to break the law, you're not welcome here. And that message, I think, goes a long way inside of some of these cities where People have experienced the secondary effects of these policies, impacts on crime, budgets, health care, education, housing and more. And that progress is something that I think a lot of Americans are saying, thank God. On another front, on the energy front, President Trump just signed on, signed his executive order for National Energy Dominance Council, which I'm serving on along with Secretary Wright at the Department of Energy and Doug Burgum at this at the Department of Interior. And there's a big pipeline project called Constitution Pipeline that would transport natural gas across many states in the Northeast. And if you're a New Yorker, where they ban the safe extraction of natural gas, where they are on the pace towards banning the sale of gas powered vehicles, where they do not allow gas hookups to new construction and they are talking about offshore wind as if that is the replacement for baseload energy. Closing Indian Point, not getting new nuclear on site opportunities to, to have more air data centers. But those require energy too. It's just night and day when you look at where we were not that long ago and where we are since President Trump was sworn into office. And here's the thing, we're not, we're not a month in saying our work is done here and now we're going to start coasting. We're just getting started. This is just the beginning of what I believe too is a golden age of American success. Just like President Trump talks about.

[Unknown]

Mr. Administrator, I wanted to ask you about that to close us out here, which is right now. We've seen whether it's what you're doing at the EPA and obviously Doge government wide under President Trump's approval is getting rid of the waste. Right? The waste is bad. What are the EPA priorities under this Trump administration that are action for the environment or that are things that actually touch on what the, what the mission of your agency is supposed to be other than not paying a lot of money to left wing climate lunatics. Like what are some of the things you're going to try to get done as EPA administrator as long as you're in that role that Trump wants you to pursue.

[Lee Zeldin]

Love that question. And President Trump wants clean air, land and water for all Americans. The core mission of EPA is protecting human health and the environment. Right now we are finishing up our phase one hazardous material removal. It was a 30 day timeline in Los Angeles after the wildfires. President Trump set a bold deadline. But we have over 1500 workers on the ground to be able to crush that job. I was just in Flint, Michigan last week. I've been in East Palestine, Ohio with Our great new vice president, Western North Carolina with that hurricane response. We just got a mission assignment with the Kentucky flooding. There is so much that we are doing right now all across this country to ensure that we have clean air, land and water like President Trump wants us to set out for. Our five pillared initiative is called Powering the Great American Comeback. We were just talking just now about pillar one. We also want to help unleash energy dominance, pursue permitting reform, bring back more American auto jobs, and ensure the United States of America is the AI capital of the world. There are important priorities of this president. There are key statutory obligations from Congress like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substance Chemicals Act. We are going to do our job exceptionally, we are going to follow our obligations under the law. We are going to respect the rule of law, and we are going to embrace cooperative federalism to work with states across this country.

[Unknown]

EPA Administrator Zeldin, thank you so much, sir. And please, as, as you continue on with these missions, we'd love to have you back to hear how it's going. So thank you so much. Look, the everyday grind is, is tough, as you know. So if you're looking for an edge, if you're looking for a boost, something to help you with the energy, vitality and focus you need to get through your day, that's where my friends at Chalk come in. As some of you know, if you were subscribing to our, our video feed, if you're a Clay and Buck subscriber checking it out, you'd see it's pretty clear now. The buckster is down about 30 pounds and it took about five months. And a big part of this is, yes, diet and exercise, no question. You may have seen me, I'm sitting here eating green beans in a commercial break. Green bean. Green beans are quite good, but you also want to have the right. Clay is like, no, I don't like green beans, but green beans, I think.

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Join us on the calls. Also, remember, the talkback is a lot of fun. We took a lot of talkbacks last week. Download the iHeartRadio app, which is the best app for audio anywhere. And when you go to the Klan Buck page, you press the microphone button and you can record a message to us. And it is very likely that if you talk about how handsome, brilliant and hilarious we are, that your message will make its way on the air. Or if you make fun of us and it's actually funny, also very likely just Like Clay's AI Flute collage, which is now really its own art form, Clay AI flute playing has turned into a creative endeavor online that is.

[Buck Sexton]

Did you see me in the Hooters outfit?

[Unknown]

I did Hooters with a flute. You're. The people are listening. And the people are very creative, I must say. Teresa from San Antonio. Teresa, what have you got for us?

Yes, hi, client Buck. Love you guys. Love listening to you. Thank you so much for all you've done to make America great again.

Thank you.

Wanted to call in. I just wanted to call in and say that if you were going to represent with Crockett Coffee, you must mention that it is the 189th anniversary of the siege on the Alamo. It was actually yesterday that the Battle of The Alamo begun 189 years later. 189 years. It's a big deal here in San Antonio.

[Buck Sexton]

It's awesome. We're going to try to come down and visit the Alamo at some point this spring or summer. We got to figure out when Buck's baby is going to arrive and how that's going to rock his world as a new dad. But that would definitely be super cool. The other thing we should mention, History nerd. We got a couple of other calls maybe to get to here. Buck, Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the flag being raised above Iwo Jima. For those of you who are big time history nerds. That fair to say, Buck, that's one of the four or five most iconic photographs ever taken in American history?

[Unknown]

I absolutely think so. I think Letters from Iwo Jima is an underrated war movie for what it is. I think it's very well done. I know it. You know, it comes from the Japanese sort of the Japanese pov, but it's Clint Eastwood movie. Have you seen it, Clay?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I have. And the Flags of My Father's is the book that it's based on, right?

[Unknown]

Yeah, The. The first one. The. The. That one. The movie was not as good. I thought Letters from Iwo Jima actually ended up being a better movie than Flags of Our Fathers as a movie. But then again, Clay, I saw that you. I don't even know what to say. Sometimes I feel like I spend three hours a day with Clay. I know this guy pretty well. And then all of a sudden he does something and just totally blows. Blows my mind. You think the new Beverly Hills Cop movie is good?

[Buck Sexton]

I thought it was. You watch it? I thought it was. I thought it was pretty good. It felt like a 1980s movie. I think you've forgotten what it is to be a child. And so you're looking at all this. You've lost your, you've lost your, your childhood. When I watch these nostalgic movies, it takes me back to being a kid. That movie felt just like a 1980s cop buddy movie.

[Unknown]

For your own benefit, take Sports Rex from Clay. I think the movie Rex, he gets a timeout for a while here.

[Buck Sexton]

Axel F. You know what? Most people agreed with me. It was not bad. If you like Beverly Hills Cop. I'm sorry that Buck has awful taste, but I do have good taste sometimes on prize picks when it comes to getting everybody hooked up and making sure that you can take advantage of NCAA Tournament March Madness. Buck, did you ever fill out a bracket? I don't remember. Bucks never filled out a bracket. But we'll be making some NCAA tournament picks. That's going to happen in the next couple of weeks. But in the meantime, you've got NBA, you've got Major League baseball pitchers and catchers back underway. Spring training is happening. It will not be very long now, next month, until the season starts again. NBA action, NHL, most watched hockey game other than the Olympics ever on Thursday night. Get hooked up right now. Go to prizepix.com use my name, Clay, and you'll get 50 bucks. That's prizepix.com my name, Clay, for 50 bucks. We've got a lot to continue to update you on, including President Trump with Emmanuel Macron, the leader of France, in the Oval Office a few minutes ago. But I wanted to hit this because it became a big story over the weekend, Buck, even that I bet you saw and I mentioned it off the top, but a little bit more detail. The Philadelphia Eagles, as many of you certainly in the Philadelphia area will remember, won the Super Bowl. And there has been a lot of talk about teams visiting the super bowl and over a team's visiting the White House after winning the super bowl or after winning their championships. A story went mega viral over the weekend. Everybody was reacting to it. I bet a lot of you saw it, maybe come across your social feeds and it's just not true. And that report was that the Eagles had turned down an invitation to the White House and were going to basically thumb their nose at Donald Trump. That hasn't happened. It is fake news. I talked to someone inside the White House who confirmed for me and wanted me to put it out to the public that there had been no invite extended. In fact, most of those invites happen until the summer. I mean, this Just happened with the Super Bowl. And there have been other reports since saying that the Eagles are likely to end up taking a invite to the White House and meeting with Trump, as championship teams often do and as the Florida Panthers have already done the NHL champion. So I wanted to put that out there because a lot of people were reacting angrily to a report that came out of a British tabloid that is an anonymous source. And Buck, sometimes it's interesting how stories go mega viral. Sometimes you or I are involved in a story that might go mega viral and you're like, I don't really remember saying that or I don't remember doing that. These aggregating sites can take a sentence and then they play on it and it blows up. And it actually is not the truth and maybe not even representative of what someone said. So that is out there. I wanted to put that to rest. To the extent that you guys are paying attention, maybe you can celebrate by watching Axel F, which is a phenomenal movie available on Netflix right now.

[Unknown]

I think you all know whose movie taste to trust, our faithful audience. I think you all know those of you who watch Lives of Others. Go watch Axel F and then tell me who you should be listening to for movie recommendations. Okay.

[Buck Sexton]

Again, if you like 1980s buddy cops, it's very 1980s buddy cop. Like, speaking of, like, we appreciate.

[Unknown]

Before we go, I just, I would like to note that when you're talking about the Eagles, I did call that my beloved Eagles Fly. Eagles fly would win the Super Bowl. Was it a coin toss? Was it 50? 50, sure. But I did get it right. So I'm going to take a moment here. Yeah, I was wrong.

[Buck Sexton]

I had the Chiefs, Buck had the Eagles, and he is the big winner. E, A G, L, E S. Unlike the mayor, we can actually spell Eagles now. We wanted to mention this too. Our friend Dan Bongino has been elevated to second place in the FBI Dep.

[Unknown]

Of the Federal Bureau Investigation. And I absolutely. This is great for the country. Dan is a patriot. He is a true law enforcement officer by trade. Nypd, Secret Service, him running the number two spot at the FBI, he's going to be absolutely fantastic. He loves the country. He's a fighter. And we could not wish him more well in this than than we do. And I know so many of you are already writing in to tell him that. This is great. I mean, the Cash and Bongino team at FBI. I will tell you people at the FBI who have become partisan hacks and have used the powers of law enforcement to chase political agendas and to try to ruin people. They should be concerned because justice, I think is coming. They should actually be concerned about their professional future for sure. I will say that it is not. I, you know, if, if I, if I knew somebody inside the FBI who was like, I was a part of the Comey team and I was trying to do Russia collusion and I was, I would say you should probably lawyer up and think about a new career.

[Buck Sexton]

We worked behind the scenes. We can say it now because he's been confirmed to try to get cash that FBI job and, and, and help to get him across the finish line, I think, as we did for a lot of different people in the cabinet. But Bongino has put down the microphone. He's got a podcast radio show, been very successful, does a lot of work with Rumble, which is a competitor of YouTube. Again, I'm impressed with the hard work that he has put into the, into the universe. And he's been very successful at it. And credit to him and to the Trump team for continuing to put together a real collection of difference makers. I think, let's be candid.

[Unknown]

You know, people say disruptor. I actually prefer what you said, which is difference maker, because it's not just, you know, anyone can go in and like smash up the shop. But no, this is about picking where you're going to make those differences, picking what you're going, you know. Yeah, you got to get rid of the bad stuff, but you've also got to bring good stuff into the mix. And I think that there's another kind of a, more of a, of a, of a throwback here to the sense that we had of this country even at the founding, and I mean like the very earliest days of. We don't need to have people who, all they ever do is figure out how to get donor money to stay in their job in politics, you know, we don't actually have to be a country ruled by Pelosi's and McConnell's. We don't have to do that and we don't have to only have people who have spent. This is the bureaucratic equivalent of what I just laid out as the political, you know, the elected office side. It doesn't have to be. I've been in the FBI for 25 years, so I'm the only person who can run the FBI. That's just not, that's. I think we've seen what that leads to. I think that there's a lot of institutional capture that the left has been able to engage in because of the nature of these bureaucracies. And I think that bringing people in who have, we say real world experience, it's more just a realistic view of the world.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

I don't want people running any of these agencies who think that it is okay to, for the people working in these agencies to assume that they have a job forever, no matter whether they do it well or not. That's. That shouldn't be okay. But if you come from within these bureaucracies, that is the mentality. So it's a bit of the. You know, there used to be an old. In ancient Rome, it was like you're a soldier and then you're a businessman and then you're a statesman. You know, this is sort of a way that people would go through a kind of idealized view of, for men of the life that they could lead. Right. You go through these different phases of life. I think that's a much healthier thing. It's actually government service. I'm going to say this. For someone like Dan, for someone like Dan Bongino to go work is actually serving the government, to serve the country, to serve the people. It's not self service.

[Buck Sexton]

Right.

[Unknown]

What we see is a lot of people who honestly don't have other options, who just kind of sit around in a bloated bureaucracy and ride that train as far as they can. No, now we've got Elon and Bongino and you know, these other individuals who are coming together. I mean, you look, I mean, even what's FBI, FBI Director Cash, you know, he had a very lucrative private sector career that he's left behind now to do this. So this is something that I think we want to see a lot more of. And I can't, I can't say enough good things about the trend.

[Buck Sexton]

No doubt. And to your point, I think the Trump administration has more people now working in it who were successful in the private sector probably than we've ever seen in any administration. I mean, you mentioned Bongino, who obviously is leaving behind way more money to go take this job. Certainly look at Scott Bessant, look at Howard Ludnick. I mean, these are guys who were making money hand over fist. Look at Trump himself when he got his job.

[Unknown]

Yeah, he's a billionaire who could play golf the rest of his life and be very happy. And he decided to go right back into the maelstrom.

[Buck Sexton]

And Elon, obviously, who's the richest person in the world? We talked with one of the guys who's doing this, David Sacks, who is again, these are People who are independently wealthy that have the ability to make great sums of money and have decided, hey, I want to give something back. Public service, to your point, on behalf of the nation, I think it's something that we should really be applauding. So congrats to Dan Bongino. I wanted to play this because I thought it was kind of funny here. Buck, this is. I mentioned that Trump was meeting with Macron, the president of France. Here is a throwback to Trump discussing the meeting that they had back in 2017 in his first term. Listen to cut 25.

[Donald Trump]

I just want to tell you a little story. So we were at the Eiffel Tower having dinner with your wonderful wife. And. With my wonderful wife. And we came out and he started speaking, speaking the French deal. And we didn't have an interpreter. And he was going on and on and on, and I was just nodding yes, yes, yes. And he really sold me out because I got back the next day and I read the papers. I said, that's not what we said. He's a smart customer. I will tell you. That was exactly what we agreed to.

[Buck Sexton]

Very funny. If you remember that visit, it was layered in a lot of pomp and circumstance. When Trump went to France for one of his first, maybe his first international visit as president in the summer of 2017, if I remember correctly, because I think I was over there with my family when he happened to visit in the pomp and circumstance was really kind of overwhelming. All right, Buck, you can close us out here on this segment. We'll take some of your calls. When we come back, 800-282-2882 to close up shop on the Monday edition of the program.

[Unknown]

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[Buck Sexton]

What does the future hold for business? Ask nine experts, you'll get 10 answers. A bull market, A bear market. Inflation's going up, coming down. Can someone please invent a crystal ball?

[Unknown]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Unknown]

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[Unknown]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Unknown]

Seen the opinions from economists forecasting a depression by the year 2030? They paint a picture of a perfect storm as Social Security and Medicare hit a breaking point with the largest generation hitting retirement age. A smaller workforce means a smaller tax base. Pair that with our growing national debt and we have a big problem. So what are you doing to protect your family for the future? Gold is a safe haven in hard economic times and Birch Gold makes it easy to diversify a portion of your savings into physical gold. Birch Gold will help you transition an existing IRA or 401 into an IRA in gold and it doesn't cost you a penny out of pocket. Protect your future today. Text My Name Buck to 989898 to get your free info kit on Gold and a copy of the Ultimate Guide for Gold in the Trump Era with a foreword by Donald Trump Jr. Text my name Buck to 989898 today closing up shop on Clay and Buck and great time to remind you all to please subscribe to the Clay and Buck Podcast network. We have so many great podcast hosts there. Carol Markowitz Tudor Dixon Our good buddy Sean Parnell now is busy being an Undersecretary of Defense the Pentagon, formerly of the Clay and Buck Network. But he we're very proud of him but we've got so many great shows there. Ryan Graduski It's a numbers game really a lot and we really pick our people. One they're Great hosts in their own riot. Great podcast host, but also different kinds of shows. We got normally, which is kind of the. The moms. A lot of the moms like to listen to normally with Carol Markowitz and. And Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Mary Kathleen Ham.

[Unknown]

Thank you. Mary Katherine Ham. Pardon me. And then obviously Tutor Dixon as well. A lot of moms love listening to Tutor Dixon. A lot of guys love to listen to Tutor Dixon. So, yeah, it's. It's just a great podcast network. You should definitely check that out. All right, we've got people weighing in here. Since I'm. Since I'm bringing us back on this segment, I'm going to go right to Michael in Charleston, South Carolina. Michael, you wanted to. You wanted to tell us your thoughts?

[Michael]

Yeah, what's up, Buck? Absolutely love listening to you, man. Clay, you're pretty good, too. I just want to say that after having endorsed anyone but you for Valentine's Day and now Beverly Hills Cop, Clay should not be allowed to speak about movies in the future any longer.

[Unknown]

Wow. He's pulling your movie review card.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, first of all, I apologize for still having a childlike sensibility, Glee, optimism in my day, as opposed to all of you, you scoundrels out there. That look on the bad side of life. Look, I didn't say Beverly Hills Cop was Citizen Kane, all right? It's not the greatest movie that's ever been made. It was a homage to 1980s buddy cop movies, and I liked it. And most of the people, I will say, who read on Twitter reacted. I didn't know what the reaction was going to be. Most of them agreed with me. So why do you have such a. A heart of stone, I guess, is my question for you.

[Unknown]

I just feel like I'm going to. I'm going to put this to Michael. Michael, I think Clay is a repeat offender in this regard. I think. I think we're maybe even at the three strikes and you're out rule. Because he also thought Gladiator 2 was good, which was. I couldn't. I couldn't even get through that on a plane. I was stuck in a plane, and it was all. I had to watch, and I had to turn it off and just stare at the. Stare at the window.

[Michael]

Only reason Denzel did that was for money.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, to be. Okay, hold on. To be fair, how many jobs have you done for free?

[Michael]

Fair point.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, actually, I saw a quote, and this is from Denzel, that. Michael, hold on, Denzel. In an interview I was reading this weekend, somebody said you've been criticized for doing Gladiator 2. For money. And he said, of course I did it for money. He said, I've never done a movie for any reason other than money. Right. Like, if you're not doing something for free, then you're probably choosing to do it for.

[Unknown]

Well, it's not that he got paid. It's that he could have done any project he wanted, Clay, but he's already very wealthy and one of the greatest actors of his generation, and he probably could have been okay passing on this particular product.

[Buck Sexton]

I gave it a seven out of ten. I think that's a reasonable number. I mean, three.

[Unknown]

Three, maybe a four.

[Buck Sexton]

Did you see anyone but you?

[Unknown]

No. That one, I. Michael, did you see that one? You're, you got it. You got a filet. Clay, on your own on that one. Did you see it?

[Michael]

Which one?

[Unknown]

The comedy or anyone but you?

[Michael]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I watched the trailer and I was like, I, I don't know how this made it to production.

[Unknown]

See, there we go. Michael, thank you for calling in, speaking some sanity to Clay. You know, I'm just, I'm trying to help him with his cinematic taste a little bit. This is what I'm here for.

[Buck Sexton]

I will say this again, anyone but you. As romantic comedies go, pretty funny. I watched it on an airplane flight. There haven't been that many good romantic comedies in a long time. So if you had to watch a romantic comedy with your wife or your girlfriend, friend, I thought it was pretty good.

[Unknown]

Glenn, the blonde lady who is a buxom.

[Buck Sexton]

Buxom.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Glenn Powell, good looking guy. Sydney Sweeney, good looking girl. Little bit of eye candy in both directions. Good humor. I, I, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, with that endorsement of any of these movies. I'm not saying they're the greatest films that have ever been made, but pretty entertaining.

[Unknown]

Wow. By the way, Joy Reid, apparently we just saw this. Now, Crying. Crying with the, with the removal from msn, msnbc. Do we, are we going to address this tomorrow?

[Buck Sexton]

Are we going 100%? We will play Joy Reid crying tomorrow. So we will continue to tap dance on her career being over and we'll continue to take more of your career calls. But I apologize to all of you because Buck has lost that loving feeling. He's lost the ability to experience childlike glee. In fact, if he watched Goonies tonight, he would come back to you and he would say, there's no way that ship would still float. There's no way that wouldn't have been found.

[Unknown]

What Clay has shown you here is that not only would he be a very good defense attorney for you, he would be a good defense attorney for you, especially if you were guilty as all hell. Okay? Because he could take any position. Clay could have been on the OJ Team and would have been a rock star. Because he could take any position and make it work. Because I'm telling you. Gladiator 2 trash trash movie.

[Buck Sexton]

Just enjoy life and watch Axle F. Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton on the.

[Unknown]

Front lines of Truth Foreign.

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

It's over.

[Unknown]

Fly Eagles, fly.

[Clay Travis]

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[Unknown]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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