Team 47 - Waste and Weaponization

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Episode: Team 47 - Waste and Weaponization
Release Date: March 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, the hosts delve into significant governmental issues related to waste, abuse, and weaponization of funds within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The discussion features insights from Lee Zeldin, the new head of the EPA, and Congressman Jim Jordan, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and ongoing efforts to reform government operations.

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EPA Waste and Abuse under Lee Zeldin

[01:07 - 04:13]

Clay Travis opens the conversation by introducing Lee Zeldin, the newly appointed head of the EPA. The focus quickly shifts to the misuse of EPA funds, with Travis highlighting the discovery of "buried secrets" that detract from the agency's environmental mission.

Lee Zeldin elaborates on the extent of financial mismanagement:

"I canceled a $50 million grant to the Climate Justice Alliance... canceled about 90 grants working with DOGE towards DEI and environmental justice. That's totaling over $127 million."
[01:35]

Zeldin exposes a $20 billion fund improperly allocated to various non-environmental NGOs, including a $2 billion grant to Stacey Abrams' organization despite minimal past funding:

"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."
[03:10]

Another significant instance involves $160 million allocated to a Canadian electric vehicle school bus company, which subsequently declared bankruptcy without fulfilling most of its contracts:

"...they declared bankruptcy. They still haven't delivered on $95 million worth of school buses for 55 school districts."
[04:00]

Zeldin emphasizes the administration's commitment to ending waste and abuse within the EPA, portraying these actions as the initial steps towards greater accountability.

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Simplifying EPA Operations and Addressing Environmental Policies

[04:13 - 07:05]

Buck Sexton seeks clarity on the EPA's grant allocation processes, questioning the oversight mechanisms that allowed such abuses:

"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."
[04:57]

Zeldin confirms the lack of stringent oversight, attributing the misuse to "self-dealing" and "conflicts of interest." He critiques the broad definitions of terms like "environmental justice," arguing that they have been co-opted to distribute funds to politically aligned organizations under the guise of addressing environmental issues.

He further criticizes the Biden administration's climate policies, labeling them as economically detrimental:

"...in the name of climate change, there's this willingness to cause extreme economic pain for the people who can least afford it."
[06:30]

Zeldin aligns with President Trump’s stance on climate skepticism, advocating for policies that prevent economic strain while maintaining environmental protection.

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Progress and Priorities under the Trump Administration

[07:05 - 12:39]

Clay Travis inquires about the tangible changes brought about in the first 30 days of the Trump administration, especially in regions like New York and New Jersey, which have historically leaned Democratic.

Zeldin responds by highlighting the administration's focus on key issues such as the economy, crime, public safety, and border security. He underscores efforts to secure the border and reduce illegal immigration, which he believes have positively impacted crime rates and economic stability:

"President Trump in his first month in office has been working to make tremendous progress on all of that."
[07:53]

On the energy front, Zeldin discusses the establishment of the National Energy Dominance Council and the Constitution Pipeline project, aimed at enhancing natural gas transportation across the Northeast:

"...we are not a month in saying our work is done here and now we're going to start coasting. We're just getting started."
[09:45]

He contrasts the administration's energy policies with previous restrictions in New York, advocating for a balanced approach that supports both energy development and environmental considerations.

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EPA’s Future Priorities and Initiatives

[10:31 - 12:39]

Buck Sexton presses Zeldin on the EPA's future initiatives beyond eliminating waste:

"What are some of the things you're going to try to get done as EPA Administrator..."
[10:54]

Zeldin outlines the EPA's five-pillar initiative titled "Powering the Great American Comeback," which includes:

1. Unleashing Energy Dominance
2. Pursuing Permitting Reform
3. Bringing Back More American Auto Jobs
4. Ensuring the United States of America is the AI Capital of the World

He reaffirms the EPA's commitment to statutory obligations under laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, emphasizing "cooperative federalism" to collaborate with states:

"We are going to do our job exceptionally. We are going to follow our obligations under the law."
[12:00]

Zeldin concludes by assuring listeners that the administration is dedicated to protecting human health and the environment through legal and cooperative means.

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Congressman Jim Jordan on IRS Tax Return Leaks

[17:16 - 21:56]

Later in the episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton shift focus to a discussion with Congressman Jim Jordan from Ohio, addressing the alarming leak of over 400,000 individual tax returns by an IRS contractor.

Jim Jordan attributes the leak to a singular individual aiming to expose former President Trump's tax returns:

"It's a contractor hired by the Biden administration who came in with a specific goal, accomplished that goal, and 405,000 other people also had their information public."
[17:24]

He criticizes the IRS's handling of the situation, highlighting the minimal punishment received by the perpetrator compared to the vast number of affected individuals:

"405,000 have their tax information in violation of Section 6103... he gets charged with one count. One count should be 405,000."
[17:24]

Buck Sexton seeks assurance on the notification process for those affected:

"How do we know this and will those people be notified of this?"
[18:27]

Jordan confirms that notifications are being sent and draws parallels to past IRS overreach, citing Matt Taibbi's experience where the IRS initiated an investigation following his journalistic activities:

"...IRS was knocking on his door... This is why big government is bad."
[20:10]

He underscores the administration's commitment to stopping such abuses, aligning with efforts led by Elon Musk and President Trump to curtail governmental waste and overreach.

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Congressional Actions and Future Legislation

[22:36 - 29:23]

Buck Sexton inquires about legislative measures necessary to support executive actions in cleaning up governmental waste.

Jim Jordan discusses the importance of passing a budget package through reconciliation to enable tax cuts, spending reductions, and enhanced national defense:

"We're trying to pass a budget resolution... setting the stage for us to cut taxes, cut spending, help with national defense and secure the border."
[27:55]

He emphasizes the need for broad legislative support to address the nation's trillion-dollar deficits and $36 trillion debt, advocating for the codification of initiatives identified by Elon Musk's team:

"Citizens Against Government Waste... There's never been this kind of intensity and focus and effort with the media attention on Elon Musk and President Trump."
[24:34]

Buck Sexton humorously remarks on the potential of passing "one big beautiful bill," to which Jordan expresses optimism about the administration's ability to secure necessary votes:

"Let's hope we can get it done tonight. Get that first step done later this evening."
[29:04]

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a strong affirmation of the Trump administration's commitment to dismantling wasteful government practices and refocusing agencies like the EPA on their core missions. Both Lee Zeldin and Jim Jordan present a united front advocating for fiscal responsibility, enhanced oversight, and legislative action to sustain the momentum of their reformative efforts.

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Notable Quotes

• Lee Zeldin:

  "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."
  [03:10]

• Buck Sexton:

  "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."
  [04:57]

• Jim Jordan:

  "It's a contractor hired by the Biden administration who came in with a specific goal, accomplished that goal, and 405,000 other people also had their information public."
  [17:24]

• Jim Jordan:

  "We're trying to pass a budget resolution... setting the stage for us to cut taxes, cut spending, help with national defense and secure the border."
  [27:55]

---

Final Thoughts

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show provides a critical examination of governmental inefficiencies and the ongoing battle against bureaucratic overreach. Through candid discussions with key figures like Lee Zeldin and Jim Jordan, the episode underscores the importance of accountability, legislative action, and strategic reforms in steering the nation towards fiscal responsibility and effective governance.

Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

The Team 47 podcast is sponsored by.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Team 47 with Clay and Buck starts now. We're joined now by the new head of the epa. He is Lee Zeldin. 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. 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 were 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.

[Buck Sexton]

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 how? 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. It will elimina 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. You know, 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, can at least afford it. And it's wrong. And he wants to stop that. And he's right, Lee.

[Clay Travis]

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.

[Lee Zeldin]

Administration, 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.

[Buck Sexton]

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, 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, 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.

[Buck Sexton]

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. If you owe the IRS money or have years of unfiled returns, you'd be crazy to try to deal with the IRS on your own. They can levy your bank account, garnish your paycheck, even have your passport revoked.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Jim Jordan]

But by one guy, Clay, who went to the IRS with the specific objective of leaking President Trump's tax return.

[Clay Travis]

Wow.

[Jim Jordan]

And as an. In that effort, 405,000 either businesses or individuals have their tax information in violation of Section 6103, something we've dealt with in a long time and in time in Congress. But that information goes public and he gets charged with one count. One count should be 405,000. I mean, for goodness sake. And, you know, we hear so much about, oh, Elon Musk having access to sensitive information. Here was a contractor hired by the Biden administration who came in with a specific goal, accomplished that goal, and 405,000 other people also had their information public. And it just, I mean, it is, it's the irs. The same instinct with what they, you know, a dollars for 80,000 new people to come in there. And yet, oh, Elon Musk can't have access to this information where he's actually going to save taxpayers money. It's, it's so ridiculous. You know, this is the irs, though. This is big government. It's why, you know, God bless President Trump and the Doge effort, because I think they're, they're, they're highlighting how Ridiculous. Some of these things in government really are.

[Buck Sexton]

Congressman Jordan, always appreciate you being with us. I'm sorry, I just want to make sure that I'm getting this right because this is one of these things where it actually, it feels a little mind blowing, even given the stuff we've seen from the government. As bad as a lot of the bureaucracy stuff is, 400,000 tax returns were leaked. How do, how do we know this and will those people be notified of this? It just seems like, yeah, the IRS.

[Jim Jordan]

Is not, they are being notified and, you know, that's the least we can do. But remember, this is the same irs. I mean, we just had Matt Taibi come and testify again two weeks ago. And if you remember, back In December of 2022, Matt Taibbi does one of the Twitter files, important Twitter file. The very day he releases that Twitter file, which just happened to be December 24, 2022, Christmas Eve, that very day, the IRS opens an investigation into his taxes. They open that very day. And then two and a half months later, he's testifying in front of our committee. And while he's testifying, while Democrats are asking him to reveal sources, while they're saying he's a so called journalist, while they're attacking him, the IRS was knocking on his door. So should we be surprised that the Biden IRS is actually, you know, having somebody get inside there and release President Trump's tax return and a bunch of hundreds of thousands of other American entities as well? I mean, this is how ridiculous. This is why big government is bad. And what, what, what we're focused on, what President Trump campaigned on and Elon Musk is now implementing is so darn important.

[Clay Travis]

Jim, I know there's a ton that you got, Clay.

[Jim Jordan]

I'm just, by the way, with Matt Taibbi. The IRS actually owed him money, you think about. They're trying to intimidate him and it turned out they owed him. You can't make this stuff up.

[Clay Travis]

So anyway, I think you know this. I mean, because you listen, Buck is being audited right now. I have been.

[Buck Sexton]

Good times, good times. Really fun.

[Clay Travis]

I, I never was audited in my entire life until we took over this show. Every one of my tax returns since I started this show has been audited. One of them, Congressman, the IRS told me I owed $39.75. I mean, I don't know who they've got $39.75.

[Buck Sexton]

You're lucky Doge didn't find you first, Clay. That $39, I don't know who they.

[Clay Travis]

Got pouring through my tax returns. But I don't know how many people have ever gotten a back tax owed bill of $39.75. But I did.

[Jim Jordan]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

And so it's like, you know this when you look and you've met Elon and you've had the opportunity to interact with him. Can you believe that Democrats have decided that the Hill they want to die on is being aggressive to try to cut waste and spending is unacceptable? Some of this stuff I just can't believe is a real argument.

[Jim Jordan]

No, I agree. And I caught you. I forget where I saw you doing an interview and you were making this point. No, I mean, instead of helping us stop the stupid spending, let's attack the guy who's exposing the stupid spending. Like what? That's your, that's your political position as a party. I mean, that's, that's the position you're going to take. And take that to the folks I get the privilege of representing in west central, north central Ohio. Farmers and people who work in manufacturing and good, regular families. They're like, what are you talking about? I'd actually like for you to stop the stupid spending. Yeah, I don't get it. But if they want to do that, God bless them. We will keep, we'll keep talking about the crazy things that their tax money is being used for and working to stop it. Work along with Elon Musk.

[Buck Sexton]

One of the most important things, Congressman Jordan, that you are looking to do and to get other members of Congress on board for so much of what we've seen so far is obviously executive branch action stuff from the White House, from the Oval Office, President Trump, from Elon and others, you know, his Cabinet, various Cabinet secretaries. We haven't been, you know, it must be interesting. Congress isn't getting beat up over all this stuff. Right now Congress is sort of on the side as everyone's focused on the executive branch. What do you want to see the House do in order to assist in cleaning up all the stuff that's going on here? I mean, what's feasible and what's on the agenda?

[Jim Jordan]

Well, I mean, first is reconciliation. I mean, we got a budget package that we're hoping to pass today. We're trying to round up the votes for that. But this, this budget resolution would allow us to, it sets the stage for us to cut taxes, cut spending, help with national defense and secure the border, which, you know, go figure. That sounds like we're being Republicans. It sounds like we're doing what we told the voters. We're going to do. So that's, that's where primary focus is in the, in the Congress right now is getting this package moving so we can actually do via reconciliation, which is, you know, I'm sure you've talked to your listeners many times is just a fancy word for you don't need 60 votes in the Senate to do the things that you want to do when it relates to budgeting and spending. So that's what we're really focused. But we are going to have to codify some of the stuff that Elon Musk is identifying and understand there's been efforts over the years to do. Citizens Against Government Waste and other fine organizations have highlighted some of this stuff over the years, the earmarks, the bridge to know where stupid things that money gets spent on. But there's never been this kind of intensity and focus and effort with the media attention on Elon Musk and President Trump campaigning on it and saying Elon is going to be the guy who ran Doge. That is what is new and I think dynamic and giving so much attention to this, which is needed, frankly, when you look at the trillion dollar deficits we're run and the $36 trillion debt that's now piled up. So that's, that's where we got to put at some point we're going to have to codify what, what he's, what, what Elon is identifying his team. But also we got to get this reconciliation package done.

[Clay Travis]

I mentioned Ohio State off the top, obviously the vice president, Ohio State, Buckeye grad. I know he was happy to see that win over Notre Dame. You are also involved in addition to a billion other things going on, nil and college athletics, I think I saw coming across the line a little bit earlier today was that there's going to be a hearing surrounding that. Am I right? Where are we going? For people out there who are big college sports fans, what are you examining?

[Jim Jordan]

Well, we're actually doing something that typically doesn't happen all that often on Capitol Hill. We're actually going to do hearings where we're trying to get information where there's not some predetermined outcome that we want some bill we want to pass or something we're trying to achieve. We just want to everyone loves college sports. We want them to be around. I watched the Oklahoma State, Iowa match on tape last night when I got home late. And we want, we love college sports and most people football, basketball, but there's so many other sports. We want to make sure they're all doing well, we met with Charlie Baker, we met with, and through some of the work with uclay, we've met with some of the commissioners from some of the big conferences. So we're looking at doing some hearings and field hearings where we talk to people involved in college athletics and see we want to make sure this continues. It's been such an amazing thing and it's different from most other countries where it's all club level, different kind of concept, this idea that sports are good for students and student athletes. That's why we have them in school. And when you get to the top level, Division 1 athletics, it's really important to Americans. So we're going to have some of these hearings where we bring in people. We're kind of waiting for this House decision when it's finalized. So we sort of know exactly what's there, but we're actually going to solicit information. Imagine that Congress trying to get information and figure out what's the best way to move forward and should we move forward at all, as you know in Congress, or do you just let the marketplace work? So those are the questions we have and we're trying to get answers to.

[Buck Sexton]

Congressman, have you ever seen such a lack of gusto from your counterparts on the Democrat side in the Congress? It is a remarkable moment in American history right now. It just the deafening sound of crickets chirping as Trump is doing all this stuff. There's not much happening from, from them. What, where do you think that goes? Are they going to just summertime decide that they're going to focus in on health care for the midterms or something? How does it work?

[Jim Jordan]

Well, I mean, yeah, they're not, they're not, they're going to keep fighting. The left is the left and they don't like the idea that we the people are in charge. I mean, it's, I would say this is the fundamental fight. What you're seeing with, with mosque, it's like, oh no, no, no. It's the bureaucrats, it's the Fauci's of the world who are supposed to run things. You know, the experts. It can't be we the people via the people we actually elect into office. It can't be that model. That's the Constitution. We don't want that. We want the bureaucrats to run things. So that's the fundamental fight. They're still going to be the left. But you're right, the momentum is all, and the energy is all on President Trump's side and the Republican side and you see that with the fact that every single person he has nominated, with the exception of Mr. Gates, but every single one has been confirmed. And now we have Dan Bongino going to go help Cash. We got Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche coming into Justice Department. I mean, it's the team he has put together, good sharp people who understand they're supposed to be in those positions to serve. We the people. That's the attitude that was, I think, reflective in the election, and that's the attitude you see in these folks. And I'm excited about it all.

[Clay Travis]

Jim, what should we know about the timeframe here on bills getting passed? I know there's been a discussion, one bill, two bills, one big beautiful bill. What is the current process, I guess, under which the this is playing out on Capitol Hill? And what should we know from a time frame perspective based on what you know?

[Jim Jordan]

No, good. Good question. And, you know, I'm, I fell along tactically. One bill, two bill, 10 bills, I don't care. I just want to get done what we said we were going to do. But the one bill approach is the budget for creating that vehicle is supposed to happen tonight. Now, the speaker said we may or may not be able to get the votes tonight, but I think we can. We're working on that. And then the final package, the timeline that the speakers laid out and Leader Thune has talked about is sometime in April where we would get that one big beautiful bill, or if it's two, and you gotta do a second one. Okay. But the idea with one is to get it done sometime in April so that those tax cuts are in place, they stay in place. The new tax cuts come into place. The money needed for Tom Homan to do his job and secure our border, because it takes revenue, it takes resources to do that, and then some money for our national defense, which, again, are all the things we campaigned on. That's the timeline that the speakers laid out, and that's what we're trying to meet.

[Buck Sexton]

What do you think of the chances, Congressman Jordan, that for the first and maybe only time, you'll be a part of a bill that's actually called one big beautiful bill? I think it has a nice ring to it. I'm just throwing that out there.

[Jim Jordan]

You know, it's so President Trump. And, you know, you guys have spent time around him like I have, and he's a special guy and what a leader and the optimism and love he has for the country is just, it's phenomenal. And I think the bill's appropriately named. So let's hope we can get it done tonight. Get that first step done later this evening.

[Buck Sexton]

Fantastic. Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, appreciate you, sir. Thanks so much. We'll talk soon.

[Jim Jordan]

Take care.

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