John Thune Holds Briefing After Trump Names Bill Pulte Acting DNI

[0:01] Good afternoon everyone. Last Thursday was the 102nd anniversary of the Border Patrol in this country. [0:09] And as we celebrate 250 years for America, I think it's interesting to also observe that we have had an agency like Customs and Border Patrol [0:19] defending our borders now for over 100 years. And if you think about what they've done just in this last year, [0:26] it's pretty remarkable because what we inherited from the Biden administration was the most open border that we've ever seen. [0:34] Literally millions of people pouring across the border literally every single year illegally. [0:40] And in a year's time, Border Patrol has completely cleaned that up to the point that it was the month of April, [0:49] there was an entire year where there hadn't been a single illegal released into the country. [0:54] And so a truly remarkable record and a tribute to the men and women, the dedicated men and women who make the Border Patrol work. [1:02] And Rodney Scott, the commissioner, has said that the mission of the Border Patrol has never changed. [1:08] What has changed is that now their members, their agents are able to do their jobs, the jobs that they're lawfully, we ask them to do. [1:18] And so tremendous change from one administration to the other. [1:23] Literally the time span of a year, Border Patrol has done just a truly incredible job of securing their southern border. [1:30] And that's what we are committed to doing as Republicans here in the Senate. [1:35] And we, as we move forward on the Secure Borders Act this week, intend to ensure that law enforcement, both ICE and CBP, [1:45] have the resources they need to carry out the responsibilities that they are given by the American people. [1:51] And I believe the American people are on our side on this issue. [1:55] They do not want to defund the police. [1:58] They don't want open borders. [2:00] Those are Democrat policies. [2:03] Republican policies are to have the back of law enforcement to ensure they have the resources, the personnel, the technology, [2:09] everything they need to keep our borders secure and to ensure that our nation's laws are enforced, [2:15] so that our communities in this country can be safe and secure for the people who live here, for our families. [2:21] Questions? [2:22] Republican senators satisfied the Justice Department saying this anti-weaponization fund is done. [2:29] Would they try reconciliation? [2:31] Would they insist again on putting a safeguard? [2:33] Or does that sidetrack a number this week to do reconciliation? [2:37] We had a quite robust conversation about that just now. [2:41] The Attorney General, Todd Blanche, is testifying in the House today. [2:45] I think you're probably all aware of that. [2:46] And I had a conversation with him shortly, a couple hours ago, in which he sort of previewed what he was going to say. [2:53] And I think his statements are going to be very definitive, very clear, and create the certainty that I hope all of our members and House members need as well [3:01] in order for us to proceed on the reconciliation bill. [3:04] But I'm not guaranteeing that happens yet. [3:06] We're still continuing to have conversations with our members. [3:09] I think as I've conveyed to you before, everything comes down to a function of math. [3:14] It's do we have the votes? [3:15] Do we have 50 votes to execute on getting a bill like that across the floor? [3:20] Because we have to have Republicans hanging together in order to do that. [3:24] The President just came up on this one. [3:27] On that later, it's his understanding that this fund is off the table. [3:32] So is that your understanding as well after speaking with the attitude of the HL? [3:36] That is correct. [3:37] The President just explicitly banned things like this will be created in the future, or is the President's board the Acting Attorney General Board enough for Congress? [3:47] Well, and I haven't had an opportunity to see what he's saying in front of the committee in the House this afternoon, but the conversation I had with him was very definitive. [3:57] I'll defer to the Chairman on that. [4:11] We were just made aware of that appointment this morning. [4:15] Obviously, it's something that if the administration decides to pursue a permanent appointment to that position, have to come to the Congress and have confirmation hearings, and ultimately a vote here in the Senate. [4:26] But does Senator Cotton want to speak to that? [4:28] We have four more weeks with Director Gabbard as the DNI, and I look forward to implementing last year's Intelligence Authorization Act with her to implement wide-ranging reforms that will shrink the DNI and take it back to its original intent to provide a mere coordinator process role for the intelligence community. [4:48] I have no observations on the matter. [4:51] In light of the Texas primary, another one of your members have essentially been pushed out by President Trump. [4:57] How much more difficult does that make your job as a leader? [5:00] How much more difficult does it make your government in the Senate in light of that? [5:06] Well, we need, as you know, we need 50 votes to get anything done here in the Senate. [5:10] And we have Republican senators who understand that we succeed as a team, we fail as a team. [5:18] And notwithstanding what's happened in the primaries around the country, our senators, our members are very committed to ensuring that the Republican Senate succeeds. [5:30] And in order to do that, we need to put up a record of accomplishment that we can take the American people. [5:35] And I think that everybody is committed to preserving, protecting, hopefully even expanding upon our majority in the fall elections. [5:42] And I would expect we'll have full cooperation from our colleagues, including those who have gone through primary campaigns. [5:51] And obviously, Senator Korn is somebody that we've all known and worked with for a long time, [5:57] have great admiration and respect for, and that we'll continue to work with over the course of the next several months. [6:05] I think the President has overwhelming support among Republicans across the country, as has been evident in a lot of the elections that have been held so far. [6:26] And I think that's reflected in the work that we do up here. [6:31] Obviously, we've got some tough issues in front of us, and this week is no exception. [6:35] And trying to find that sweet spot that enables us to get 50 votes, or in some cases, if we need to, with Democrats, 60 votes, [6:43] to get legislation across the finish line is never an easy process. [6:47] And we rely on the President, as does the House of Representatives, to help make sure that he's doing everything he can to help us move our agenda forward. [6:56] And he continues to do that. We continue to listen to his advice and counsel, and do everything we can to help the country succeed. [7:05] Because I think, in the end, that's what the American people expect, and frankly, that's what our jobs are all about. [7:10] Thank you. [7:11] Thank you.