Karoline Leavitt: This is GREAT news for the Republican Party

[0:00] So joining me now is former White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt to understand this busy day and change of leadership. [0:06] Caroline, good to see you. Thanks for being with us here today. [0:10] Your reaction to Jim Jordan, now the Republican minority leader? [0:16] Well, I think it's great news for the Republican Party. [0:19] Jim Jordan is not only a terrific guy, he is a fighter. [0:23] And that's what the GOP is now going to need over the course of the next two years. [0:26] We're going to have sham impeachments. We're already seeing articles being brought against our defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. [0:33] I expect impeachment articles against President Trump as well. [0:37] And nobody was more effective in exposing the sham impeachment of President Trump's first term than Jim Jordan. [0:43] He has a wide range of respect across the Republican caucus. [0:47] He's a great communicator, and I have no doubt he's going to do a great job as minority leader. [0:52] Okay, in fact, together, let's take a look at some of those greatest hits from the past. [0:56] It tells them that a single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus for the president [1:07] can attempt to veto national security decisions made by the duly elected. [1:13] Sorry, Caroline, that's the wrong thought. That's not Jim Jordan. That's Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. [1:17] And so that brings us to this, actually. If you'll hang with me for just a moment, let's get to what you just referenced. [1:21] And that is the impeachment proceedings against Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. [1:25] It is a new day in Washington, new minority leaders. [1:30] And with that, you would assume Democrats taking control of Congress would pursue what at least conventional wisdom says rode them in to office. [1:40] A blue tsunami of promises of cheaper gas, better health care, maybe even an end to an unpopular war in Iran. [1:46] You'd think they would be laser focused on your life. [1:50] But along with a few lame duck GOP members, they are instead focused on, of course, impeachment, [1:58] starting with the impeachment of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. [2:01] And it's political theater, personal grudge that Hegseth says goes way beyond just him. [2:07] It tells them that a single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus for the president can attempt to veto national security decisions made by the duly elected commander in chief. [2:21] It puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time. [2:30] This is not patriotism. This is sabotage. These are not high crimes. This is the job. And it's the job well done. [2:41] And it's a job he was commissioned to do by the commander in chief. [2:46] The eight articles presented by Massey boil down to the war in Iran, U.S. strikes on drug boats, retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly, [2:53] the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. [2:59] Six of the eight are about the president's constitutional authority to wage war. [3:03] They have nothing to do with Hegseth. [3:06] The target of Massey's War Powers Resolution argument is really President Trump. [3:10] So let's bring this conversation back now to Caroline Levitt. [3:15] Caroline, you mentioned this starts with the secretary of war. [3:18] Let's take these for just a moment, these articles of impeachment. [3:22] These seem to all go directly to President Trump. [3:25] Secretary of War Hegseth doesn't make the decisions. He just executes the decisions. [3:30] And yet they're starting with Hegseth. [3:35] That's exactly right, Will. And I was in the situation room. [3:38] I was in the Oval Office on many occasions where I watched firsthand Secretary of War Pete Hegseth act directly at the request and the execution of the commander in chief, his boss, the president of the United States. [3:53] That's why these articles of impeachment are fundamentally so flawed, because Secretary of War Hegseth was always acting on behalf of the president and directing the military. [4:03] And if you just look at the list of some of these articles that obviously the disgruntled congressman is bringing forth, the war in Iran, regardless of how you feel about the decision to launch military strikes against Iran, you can disagree with that all you want. [4:17] It doesn't make it an impeachable offense. [4:19] Number two, the successful capture of Nicolas Maduro. [4:23] Again, a brave military mission that was launched at the behest of President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. [4:30] Thanks to him and his skill and his belief in the United States military, was able to successfully execute that raid, along with, of course, the brave men who were there on the ground in Venezuela that night. [4:42] And now Nicolas Maduro, who is a well-known, dangerous narco-terrorist, is sitting behind bars. [4:48] The boat strikes, if you look at what the secretary of war and the president did together there, these were narco-terrorists. [4:54] These were foreign terrorist organizations that were illegally trafficking illicit drugs onto the United States of America, coming through our shores. [5:02] And fentanyl deaths and overdoses in this country are plummeting in large part thanks to that military strategy. [5:07] So what Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has done is make our country and our homeland safer. [5:13] And he should be thanked for it, not impeached for it. [5:16] And, Will, you know him very well, as do I. [5:18] Pete Hegseth is not going to lie over, lie down and just let this happen. [5:22] He is going to stand up and he is going to fight on behalf of the president, on behalf of our country, most importantly to him, [5:28] on behalf of the great men and women who put on the uniform and serve our country under his leadership. [5:33] You know, Caroline, perhaps as a tell as to the weakness of these particular charges, there's a new line of argument that's begun. [5:42] You've heard it suggested by Republican Senator Joni Ernst. [5:46] And just in the last hour, Congressman Jason Crowe said this to Martha McCallum. [5:51] They're now suggesting not that the war or its execution is a failure, not that Hegseth actually has the power to make these decisions, [5:59] as you and I both know and has just been laid out. [6:01] Those are the decisions of the president. [6:02] But instead that the secretary is lying to the president. [6:07] Now, I want you to listen to this argument made by Congressman Jason Crowe. [6:12] Pete Hegseth is lying to you. [6:14] About what? [6:15] Give me one example. [6:16] He has misrepresented the success of this war. [6:18] He went into the White House in February and said this was going to be quick. [6:22] This was going to be easy. [6:23] They were going to win this war in a matter of weeks. [6:25] That's what he said. [6:26] That's true, actually. [6:26] And anybody who has spent any time, including you, Martha, observing war in the Middle East knows it's neither quick nor easy. [6:34] It seems a pretty obvious tactic to pit the president against the secretary of war. [6:40] You were in those rooms, Caroline. [6:42] You know the relationship. [6:43] Is there any sense at all that there was deception involved between the relationship between Hegseth and Trump? [6:51] No, absolutely not. [6:52] And I've never seen that congressman walk through the halls of the White House in my life. [6:56] So who is he to speak on the private conversations that took place between the president and his secretary of war? [7:02] What I saw from Pete Hegseth behind closed doors and in front of the public, in front of the cameras, [7:08] is somebody who loves our military, who understands deeply its capabilities, [7:13] and who gave honest advice to the president of the United States, laid all the cards on the table, [7:19] and then allowed the president to make the decisions that he did, again, to launch this military operation against Iran. [7:26] And they are now moving, they're shifting the goalposts with this impeachment inquiry already, [7:30] because they cannot say that this war has been a loss for the United States of America. [7:36] Again, you can disagree with the decision, but it is indisputable that our military has done a tremendous job at executing this mission. [7:45] The Iranian military has been completely obliterated. [7:48] Their ability to create a nuclear weapon has been gravely diminished, and their economy is in complete shamble and ruins. [7:55] Those are indisputable facts. [7:57] They can't talk about those. [7:58] So now they're shifting the goalposts, and they are lying to try to justify these sham articles brought by, [8:04] again, a very disgruntled and loser congressman. [8:07] You know, you described it as shifting the goalposts. [8:09] I see it as throwing everything about the kitchen sink at Hegseth, [8:13] whether or not it's Senator Tom Tillis or, as you just referenced, Congressman Thomas Massey or the Democrats. [8:19] They've had a personal grudge against Hegseth from day one, and that hasn't changed. [8:24] Now there's just power to exact that, even if the charges don't add up. [8:28] And that's why they'll keep changing, keep throwing different charges at it. [8:31] And sadly, to your point, Caroline, this is probably the first we'll see of all these different impeachment proceedings. [8:36] Caroline Levitt, thank you. [8:37] This is the first time having you on this show. [8:39] I hope it's not the last. [8:40] See you soon, I hope. [8:42] It is. [8:42] It won't be. [8:43] Good to see you, Will. [8:44] Thanks for having me.