Podcast Host / Narrator (3:48)

Pretty stunning from a Republican senator. But he didn't stop there. Because if you recall, last year, Mark Wayne Mullen went after the Teamsters President, went after him, I mean, and threatened to have a duel on the Senate floor. Take a listen to what Rand Paul grilled Mark Wayne Mullen on today.

Senator Rand Paul (4:06)

In the days after the fight, you did many interviews in which you justified the violence as historically justified by precedents such as caning and dueling. Is it today your opinion that the caning of Charles Sumner was not only justified, but argues still for resolving our political differences with violence?

Senator Mark Wayne Mullen (4:26)

What I was simply pointing out is some of the rules that still apply to this body. For instance, dueling with two consenting adults is still there. I was pointing out what is still

Senator Rand Paul (4:37)

legal for 170 years. There's no precedent for legal dueling. Even then, they fled the country. Do you realize that the man that beat Charles Sumner with a cane, he beat him till he was unconscious. You know why no senators intervened? Because his friend held a gun on the other senators, and he kept beating him and beating him until he crushed his skull. That's what you're insinuating is the President of the Senate, and that's what you live by. That is a very, very dangerous sentiment.

Podcast Host / Narrator (5:08)

Pretty stunning that Mark Wayne Mullen is admitting that he. That dueling to him is okay as long as there are two consenting adults. And as the Republican Senator Rand Paul notes, that's been illegal. But there was another revealing moment this morning that I want you to know about. It's when Senator Hassan asked Mark Wayne Mullen whether or not he would reject an illegal order from the President. Take a listen.

Senator Hassan (5:30)

Let's start with a question I have asked every one of the President's nominees. If directed by the President to take an action that would break the law, would you follow the law or follow the President's direction?

Senator Mark Wayne Mullen (5:43)

Senator, thank you for the questions and thank you for the concerns. First of all, I've enjoyed working with you on several different issues. We've had very blunt conversations. To answer your question. The President would never ask me to do that.

Senator Hassan (5:56)

Well, certainly everyday Americans who have served on juries would disagree with you about that. And the example he has set calls him to question that answer.

Podcast Host / Narrator (6:06)

He wouldn't answer it. So that's the latest right now. I spoke with Congressman Gabe Amo about this, the long lines at TSA and much more. So I want you to listen to that. Let me know what you think. Like comment, share and subscribe. Here's my interview with the congressman. Super excited today to be joined by Congressman Gabe Amo from Rhode Island. Now, Congressman, I got to jump right in. A lot of folks are concerned. TSA wait times are sometimes in the hour is for them. They have to get to airports early. TSA agents are working unpaid right now. What is the status regarding the partial government shutdown? How long will folks feel the pain of the shutdown?

Congressman Gabe Amo (6:38)

Look, people are going to continue to feel pain because Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are choosing to have this be the way that we're traveling right now. They would much rather have ICE and CBP continue their terror and the creation of fear in communities across America rather than compensate the hard working public employees who are at tsa, the Coast Guard and so many important functions like fema. Right. We had a major storm in Rhode Island. This should be the priority. But instead Trump wants, you know, ICE to rain and create terror in communities. So I've seen a proposal, I think most of us have seen something released that says things like we will codify the non deportation of US Citizens. That's insane. That's already not a thing that you're allowed to do. So until they end roaming patrols, until they change policies, some practices have better training. Get rid of the damn masks. Like we cannot allow the status quo of ICE to persist. And so the question for the administration is clear. Do you care about the hardworking public employees, the travelers moving about for work, spring breaks, all of the things that are happening for Americans, or do you care more about ice? This is a choice, and I think they're answering us. But you're seeing my colleagues in the House of Representatives. Republicans feel the heat. That's why they released their weak proposal. But we have to be more vocal and more committed about the chaos that they're creating. So, in fact, today, House Democrats are launching a discharge petition to fund all of the parts of DHS except for the CBP and ice. So every Republican who cares who's running their mouth should sign this discharge petition, get it to the floor, and make sure that we pay these employees, we get those critical functions of DHS that are causing terror. The support that they need.

Podcast Host / Narrator (8:47)

Right now, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen is having a hearing to possibly be confirmed as Kristi Noem's replacement at dhs. Do you support Senator Mullen to be the next secretary of dhs?

Congressman Gabe Amo (8:57)

I don't see how he's any more qualified than the last unqualified person to do the job. And it seems like he's going to be a puppet of Donald Trump. No fierce independence, no management abilities that we've seen thus far. I think he's most widely known for trying to start fights with union leaders in hearings. I don't think those are the skill sets that we need for this job that is about keeping the homeland safe. DHS has been littered with unprofessional, unqualified people, grifters like Corey Lewandowski, the teenager that's basically a teenager that they put in charge of domestic violence extremism. Like, we need serious people. This is a serious time. The cyber threats that exist, the threats to the homeland. You know, I do a lot of work around preventing issues that houses abortion. I support and lead a letter on the nonprofit security grant program. In fact, I've requested a billion dollars for that program so that people at synagogues, at mosques, at churches don't have the fear of your worshiping, of participating in the community activities like we saw last week in Michigan. So we need to have serious people doing serious work. I'm not sure he's a serious person, but we'll see.

Podcast Host / Narrator (10:19)

Well, you talk about threats to the homeland, and I think that's a big concern a lot of Americans have right now because you do have a department shutdown. You do have less folks working at airports. You have a war overseas right now. What do you say to someone who says, I don't want to fly, I don't want to get on an airport, I don't want to go to a house of worship right now. I'm terrified.

Congressman Gabe Amo (10:37)

Yeah, well, look, we cannot ever let fear or terrorism win. And I know that is sort of a phrase that has been bandied about, but part of what the destabilizing impact of terrorism is meant to be is to put a chilling effect on all that we do in our lives. This is why, as public servants, we have to empower those who protect. And I would say to the average American citizen, the average Rhode Islander, I would say, look, go about your life. And then I will say to the people who work in my space, let's do our jobs. Right. Too often in this Congress, Congressional Republicans have said, you know, we're going to let go and let Trump. That's unacceptable. That's not the country and the system that we believe in. They elected us, our voters, our constituents, to do work, and so we have to do that work. So I say I'm gonna continue to compel my Republican colleagues to step up to the plate and protect our constituents across this country.

Podcast Host / Narrator (11:44)

Now, something your colleagues have said publicly is that Kristi Noem is leaving the Department of Homeland Security. But that doesn't mean accountability for Kristi Noem is over. Some folks have said suggested criminal charges for perjury. Others have suggested impeachment so she can't hold office again, potentially running for Senate in South Dakota. Where are you on that issue? Do you believe that Kristi Noem should be held accountable? Accountable more. And if so, what does that look like?

Congressman Gabe Amo (12:08)

Look, there should be a day of reckoning for every Trump administration official who carried out their functions for self enrichment. And that created danger for the American people. So what it looks like, I think we've got a lot of places in Congress to navigate that. You know, we've got Oversight Committee, we've got the whole Homeland Security Committee, but we have to have hearings and robust hearings when we are in the majority. That's not just so that we can have gavels, so that we can use gavels to compel people to show up. And not just those at the top, the folks that may not be in the headlines. You know, I bring up Corey Lewandowski because this is a guy who was known to transact. If you wanted something done at dhs, they said, call Corey, give a contract to his company. So there should be no safe harbor for these Trump administration officials. There are consequences. And I hope that those having their jobs now see that there are consequences and see, well, I better be on my best behavior. I better actually do the work and serve the American people, because I will have to show up in Congress and we will have them in front of us giving us answers, providing accountability. So I think that's, that's the first step. But I also think that we should certainly look at the whole ecosystem that is benefiting from the terrible actions of these officials and remind folks that if you're an enabler, you're part of the problem, too. That's corporate America. That's folks beyond the greed and the corruption has got to stop.

Podcast Host / Narrator (13:43)

Well, Congressman, before I let you go, I gotta ask you, to those watching, a lot of them are saying, well, why am I gonna give Democrats power right now? Honestly, it doesn't seem like they're doing much. So if you get power tomorrow, let's say we're in November, January, whenever. What's the first thing that you plan on doing? Whether it's launching an investigation or pushing a piece of legislation, what's the objective and what do the American people need to know?

Congressman Gabe Amo (14:05)

Look, the first thing that I want to work on is addressing issue number one, and that's the costs of living that Americans are dealing with. Right? Because the distraction and the chaos and the confusion and all the challenges brought forth by the Trump administration all takes these public officials off the ball of the real important things that the American people want us to address. And so my first priority would be addressing the high cost of health care. Health care, in many ways, for so many families, for so many individuals, is the beginning, middle, and the end. Right? Because if you aren't healthy, you can't go to work, you can't take care of your kids, your other expenses are sort of subsumed by this. So I want to work to help people afford their health coverage. That's issue number one. But then we have to look more broadly, because the profiteering that we see from the Trump administration across the board, refusing to hold to account the major issues around the high costs of groceries, around the high costs of energy. Right. The fossil fuel industry, the benefits greatly from Trump's in action. Remember when he ran, he said, you're rich, I'm going to make you richer. We have to look at all of these things that impact people's ability to afford their lives. Because at the end of the day, to your question, if you're a voter and you're thinking about who you're, you're going to pick next November. I hope the question revolves around who's going to make my life better. You know, and that's how we get ahead in this country, is that you have a system where people work hard, they play by the rules, and we help them get to a better life. In all measures of the way that we evaluate that from your cost, your ability to have a roof over your head for your kids to have opportunities for career or college, that's what people want. They don't want wars of choice, and they don't want endless corruption and enrichment of the few. And so that's what I'm going to focus on.

Podcast Host / Narrator (16:24)

Congressman, thank you for taking a few minutes. Hey folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow subscribe. See you soon for more Craving the

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