Trump has ‘no real economic agenda’ for working class: Dem Rep. on Spirit Airlines bailout failure

[0:00] Well, Johnny, right now is our friend, California Congressman Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. [0:06] Welcome. And as you heard both Laura and Jake just laying out for us, the country is facing a number of economic hardships today. [0:13] And I want to start with your reaction to Spirit Airlines shutting down after the bailout talks with the White House failed. [0:19] What kind of impact will this have? And should the administration have made a stronger effort to prevent this from happening? [0:26] Absolutely, they should have. But most importantly, look, if you look at the economic picture right now, we know that jobs have slowed down. [0:34] The economy is down. Inflation is up. Prices continue to soar, including the cost of health care. [0:41] And so when you look at what happened here with Spirit and you actually match that with what's happening with gas prices and the Iran war, [0:48] it's very clear that right now the president and the White House have really no interest in a real economic agenda that supports working families. [0:58] Now, the Spirit leadership today made it very clear that the gas prices were not sustainable for Spirit. [1:04] And so without intervention, without a focus on the economy, we're going to continue to see both small businesses and large businesses like Spirit that employ a lot of people. [1:15] They're going to continue to suffer. Why are we in a war that continues to raise the gas prices for the average American family and that continues to raise the price to also travel? [1:28] We're going into the summer months. This is having a real impact on families. [1:33] And we have no explanation why we're actually in this war with no objective for the American public. [1:38] And so it's time to actually focus on lowering prices. And that has to also begin with actually stopping this war. [1:47] Well, as the graphic just showed, and we're going to show again, the gas prices are on the rise again today. [1:53] The national average has climbed to $4.43. That is up 34 cents from this time last week. [1:59] It is even higher in our home state of California, where, as you know, the average is currently, what, $6.09 a gallon? [2:06] So how is this affecting your constituents? And how much longer can this go on before we experience some severe economic consequences, if not already, for some people? [2:18] I was just about to add that. Gas prices here in California are over $6, $6 a gallon. [2:26] Families cannot afford to get to work. They're trying to take their kids to the soccer game, to the softball game. [2:33] And every single dollar that's being spent at the gas pump is less money in the pockets of working families that are trying to already survive. [2:41] The struggle for families right now is real. And these gas prices, there's no relief in sight right now. [2:47] And where are we spending our money? I'll tell you where. [2:50] We've already spent $25 billion of it in a war with Iran with no clear mission and no clear objective. [2:58] You know what we're spending our money on? We're giving tax breaks to billionaires and the largest corporations in this country. [3:06] That's what we're spending our dollars on. [3:07] And so while we continue to make enormous profits for companies that are in the defense sector, [3:14] we continue to make enormous profits for billionaires in this country. [3:17] American families are struggling. [3:20] We need to focus on affordability. That needs to be the key. [3:23] And here in California, we're feeling almost harder than anybody else. [3:26] Yeah, yeah. No, absolutely. So, look, much of this is, of course, connected to the war in Iran, which has now passed the 60-day mark. [3:33] And according to the law, the president must seek authorization from Congress to continue waging war. [3:39] But Trump rejected this on Friday, claiming he doesn't need legislative approval because of the ceasefire in place with Iran. [3:47] How is Capitol Hill reacting to this? And is the president right? He doesn't need congressional approval now? [3:52] This is an illegal war. He needs congressional approval. [3:55] We've actually put multiple war power resolutions on the floor of the House. [4:00] But Republicans and Mike Johnson have no interest in actually holding Donald Trump accountable. [4:04] They basically do whatever he wants. [4:06] And so we are now in these foreign legal wars that nobody asks for or wants. [4:11] Republicans in Congress continue to support them. [4:13] And I'm telling you, look, back to your home in California, it doesn't matter if someone's a Republican or a Democrat or what their political party is. [4:20] Folks are struggling. And folks are saying, why are we in this war? [4:24] And people finally, longtime supporters of President Trump, are finally turning on him and understanding that his interest is really not affordability or the American public. [4:34] His interest is to continue these wars with what he calls himself this possible president. [4:39] He's going to do more conflicts than most presidents do in a single term. [4:43] It's time to end the wars and focus on affordability. [4:45] Let me get into a question on the developments relative to the Epstein investigation, because the New York Times reports that Jeffrey Epstein's possible suicide note has been sealed from public view after being discovered by his cellmate weeks before his death. [4:59] Now, we should note, the DOJ and the Times have not seen or authenticated this note. [5:04] But is the Oversight Committee trying to retrieve it from the courthouse, where it is reportedly being kept? [5:12] Yeah, we're actually working. [5:14] This is a very interesting report, obviously, by the New York Times. [5:17] And so we are obviously investigating it and doing our due diligence there. [5:21] We, of course, would love to get our hands on the note. [5:23] So, broadly speaking, though, we're also going to be interviewing here in just about a week, the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive, the prison guard that was actually there. [5:33] And the last person to interact with Epstein before his death, that's someone that is going to be in front of our committee in just about a week's time. [5:41] And so that's going to be a very important interview as it relates to this broader investigation, as is many of the depositions ahead of us, including, finally, Pam Bondi, who had tried to start our investigation, who did not show up for her scheduled subpoena deposition. [5:57] And it was only after House Democrats on the Oversight Committee filed a contempt motion on her, 45 minutes later, James Comer, the chairman of the committee, Republican, finally agrees to a date with Pam Bondi. [6:11] I mean, give me a break. [6:12] We have to force these guys every single time to do the right thing. [6:16] Let's actually get justice for the survivors and end this cover-up once and for all. [6:21] Okay. [6:22] Representative Robert Garci, it's good to see you, my friend. [6:24] Thank you much.