🚨Trump Nominees IMPLODE UNDER CROSS-EXAM at SENATE HEARING!!

[0:00] now that's how you cross-examine and expose donald trump's nominees democrats in the [0:05] united states senate cross-examine donald trump's picks for critical federal government positions [0:11] let me show you what went down you have democratic senator merkeley cross-examining trump's pick to [0:17] be the deputy white house budget director hal duncan watch what went down here let's play this [0:23] clip do you believe the 2020 election was rigged um i believe that joe biden was certified as the [0:30] winner of the 2020 election he was certified yes but do you believe the election outcome was rigged [0:37] senator i appreciate the question as mentioned i believe that joe biden was certified as the [0:40] winner of the 2020 election okay uh duly noted that you're not responding to the question [0:46] then you had democratic senator tim kane make the point even clearer let's play it was the 2024 [0:53] presidential election rigged senator president trump won the 2024 presidential election yeah folks how [0:59] about that so he was asked twice was the 2020 presidential election rigged and he said [1:06] president biden was certified to be the winner he wouldn't answer the question saying president [1:11] biden was certified as the winner of that election is like saying today is tuesday june 16. i mean [1:17] it's obviously it's a fact but he wouldn't acknowledge that president biden won that race now there's only [1:25] one of two reasons mr duncan you you have either fallen victim to the conspiracy mindset that says [1:32] that that election was rigged and if you're a conspiracy theorist you shouldn't be let anywhere [1:37] near the position you've been nominated for or you know president biden won the election but you're afraid [1:44] of making an insecure president mad by acknowledging that fact you answered so easily when i asked you the [1:50] question about 2024 you didn't fight you didn't evade you didn't obscure you didn't try to end run [1:55] you said president trump won the election which he did he won the popular vote he won the electoral [2:00] college the answer was just as simple about 2020 the fact that you were unable to give the simple [2:07] answer about 2020 raises real serious questions much let me ask you this and we move on to democratic [2:13] senator blumenthal who was cross-examining one of donald trump's pick perthiamu about the same types [2:19] of questions here let's play this clip right here so let me test your independence who won the 2020 [2:28] election joe biden as certified by the senate no mr berthamu who won the 2020 election we have seen [2:39] that script by the way you should check with the white house that script has been abandoned they have a [2:47] new one oh well my understanding from the 2020 election is we had an election and joe biden certified [2:54] the joe biden was certified the winner of that election that is a fact who won the popular vote [2:59] uh from what i recall i'm reporting at the time that was joe biden and who won the electoral college [3:05] in the 2020 election again i my recollection and he served as president joe biden would have been [3:12] certified the winner of the uh electoral college vote as well did you discuss your answers to these [3:18] questions with the white house before coming here today no uh let me ask you uh was the capitol [3:24] attacked on january 6th uh i don't know if i would use the term attacked i mean we had activity outside [3:32] the white at the capitol uh protests and such and there was you you have to be now the author of the [3:40] most obvious understatement uh that there was activity outside the capitol on january 6th was was it [3:52] attacked you you've seen the videos you're supposed to be the inspector general capitol police were [3:59] injured some died was the capitol attacked so again it's more a term that you're using attacked [4:06] there was protest activity there was violence on capitol grounds those people were prosecuted well [4:14] there was protest activity there was protest activity people went to the capitol grounds people [4:22] entered the capitol building which is contrary as far as i know to law but you wouldn't agree with [4:27] me that the capitol was attacked i just don't agree with the term attack when i think of attack police [4:33] officers attacked on that day there was physical violence outside the capitol that day but the [4:40] capitol police weren't attacked so what is it about that word that so troubles you it's not that i'm [4:48] troubled by it the term attack to me seems to imply like there was a coordinated effort to attack [4:54] specific things let me ask there is physical violence associated with i regard these kinds of quest [5:00] questions as a test of your prospective independence and so far i think you're failing that test [5:09] okay and i hope my colleagues will agree that the inspector general of the department of justice [5:17] should recognize reality and facts for what they are going back to hal duncan now for a moment [5:23] let me show you as democratic senator chris van holland cross-examined hal duncan right here on a [5:30] very important issue let's play it you're aware of the fact that the irs has warned that this year's [5:35] tax season was at risk due to staffing shortages are you aware of that fact senator obviously we're [5:41] trying to i'm just asking you if you're aware of that fact that they warned that this year's tax [5:46] season efficiency was at risk because of staffing shortages are you not aware of that i'm not aware of [5:51] the exact item you're referring to i'm happy to take a look at it if it's in front of you [5:55] but obviously everything that we are doing is toward a commitment for efficiency for the american [6:00] people well in fact you've had to rehire people who were fired at the irs that doesn't sound like [6:06] it's more efficient to me the same is true at fema fema reinstated fire disaster response personnel [6:13] ahead of the hurricane season because they were unprepared were you aware of that fact senator i'm not [6:20] aware of this specific thing that would be a fema uh related item that i've had a lot of this of [6:24] course feeds up through the uh the omb same is true of national weather service uh gsa cited staffing [6:30] shortages on mission critical needs are you were you aware of that i'd have to defer to the national [6:35] weather service in fact by early this year an estimated 25 000 federal employees have been rehired [6:42] after being initially terminated do you know how much that's cost the taxpayer rehiring the same people [6:49] who were in the job before senator i don't have an estimate in front of me but we're always working [6:54] to optimize staffing levels well i have an estimate from the partnership for public service they're a [6:58] non-partisan entity they say just that process of having to go through rehiring the same people [7:03] that were fired cost the taxpayer 12 million dollars that doesn't sound more efficient to me mr duncan [7:11] um your boss at omb uh director vote uh has said quote when civil servants wake up in the morning we [7:20] want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains he went on [7:26] to say and i quote we want to put them in trauma unquote do you see merit-based civil servants as the [7:35] villains senator first director vote has addressed that quote multiple times and i'm asking you [7:42] what you believe do you believe civil servants are the villains as i mentioned in my testimony i [7:47] think the omb civil servants who are the ones i work most closely with as well as director vote [7:52] who has a wonderful relationship with those civil service are among the best best and brightest in [7:56] the federal government excellent so you don't want to put them in trauma do you senator that quote [8:01] you're referring to director vote is addressed is related to certain bureaucracies in the federal [8:07] government it's just a question for you not for mr vote do you want to put federal employees in [8:12] trauma yes or no senator you're directly referring what your view is do you think it's a good idea [8:19] to put federal employees in trauma i work very well with the civil servants at omb the quote that [8:24] you're referring to was a reference i'm asking you mr duncan i'm asking you right now what your view is [8:31] do you want to put federal employees into trauma yes or no senator like i said i completely support the [8:36] civil servants that work at omb and that quote that you're referring to has been taken out of [8:41] context and addressed by the director so it's interesting you don't want to provide a direct [8:46] answer so listen let me show you what that cross-examination now looked like when you had [8:51] democratic senator slotkin talk about how the trump regime officials are politicizing where budget funds [9:00] go to for disaster relief for research they are uh stealing it from blue states uh and they are not [9:08] providing critical funding and how duncan would be someone responsible uh for doing that and he [9:14] seems in lockstep with that plan watch this cross-examination right here let's play it i i want to [9:20] ask uh to mr duncan you've had an interesting couple of days up here on the hill made some news [9:25] gone viral a couple of times um and i just feel like um this idea that to get a federal grant [9:33] um you the rules have been rewritten so that you can reject any organization that represents quote [9:41] anti-american values um and anyone who quote damages the reputation of the government so you're [9:48] going to be in an important position of power you want the big job you answer the big questions [9:52] um if a university that was receiving federal dollars for a research grant into cancer but they allowed a [10:00] protest a peaceful protest of the iran war um on their campus would that be quote damaging to the [10:07] reputation of the government senator i appreciate the question um and uh as you know with 2cfr it's [10:14] signed off by all 41 agencies right but in your mind your decision you're asking to be a decision [10:19] maker right so i understand there's a chain i was a federal government employee for a long time [10:24] but you're you're asking you're up here for senate confirmation so it's a big job [10:28] is a protest a first amendment peaceful protest on a college campus threaten the federal dollars [10:35] that they are getting for cancer research under the rules that you will be enforcing yes or no [10:41] senator you're asking a hypothetical hypothetical question but i would note that this well we have [10:45] protests we do i mean i have university of michigan and michigan state there are protests from time to [10:49] dime that's for sure so it's not hypothetical this is something that literally in 15 20 days you could be [10:55] dealing with is a first amendment protest on a college campus enough to be quote anti-american [11:01] or threatening the reputation of this administration in the hypothetical question that you're asking [11:06] related to grants for cancer research this administration is committed to gold standard [11:11] science and wants to advance the best cancer research that we possibly can okay so if they can [11:18] have a protest on their campus if it and i would just say slashing cancer research and slancy slashing our [11:24] science institutions around the country and making us have to be literally one-tenth of the medical [11:30] research that's going on in like places like china and europe is not a way to uphold a gold standard [11:36] for cancer research and i say that for a woman who's you know got cancer in her family [11:43] if a domestic violence shelter receives a federal grant but they also post complaints about this [11:50] administration's cutting of domestic violence funding will that put them at risk of being labeled [11:55] anti-american or threatening the reputation of this administration senator again you're asking [11:59] hypothetical questions the ultimate deciders of these grants will be the political employees [12:05] at the agencies i would imagine in this situation it would likely be hhs the political employees [12:11] the political appointees like yourself the political appointees on b does not issue grants we issue [12:16] guidance um uniform guidance on grants so i would not make make decisions on a specific grant but if [12:22] someone calls you i mean again this is like you can't you can't want the big job but then not answer [12:28] the big questions i think the idea that first amendment activities um would be quote anti-american [12:36] or threatening the reputation of this administration you understand that you're creating a climate of [12:40] fear around things that are actually it's the opposite of anti-american it's the most american [12:44] thing in the world the first amendment so i i think um you've raised a lot of concerns in your testimony [12:50] of the last couple of days but um the idea that the administration would put that kind of language [12:55] out there to intimidate and scare people out of freedom of speech is something that is a the most [13:01] anti-american thing i've seen in a long time yield back then i'll show you right here democratic senator [13:06] gallego cross-examining another pick of donald trump uh charlton allen who's being picked to be on [13:13] the federal labor relations authority uh general counsel let's take a look at what goes on here [13:18] let's play it mr allen in the 1990s you found a conservative campus publication called the [13:23] carolina review if you look behind me you see the front cover of an edition of the carolina review [13:27] depicting aaron nelson a jewish candidate for student body president your magazine alter nelson's [13:34] photo depicting him with the horns and a pitchfork inside the article says the difference between [13:39] aaron nelson is simple he's jewish yes or no miss nelson do you stand by this depiction [13:48] turn your mic on your mic sorry i i'm mr allen not mr nelson but uh in terms of that cover uh you [14:03] know i would if i were 30 years ago um advocating uh for the review i would say don't run that cover [14:13] uh i think it was a mistake um that said if you look at full context of the article you're taking [14:20] a quote out of context okay so i mentioned the quote of context but that's not being taken out of [14:26] context right the pitchfork with the horns right is that because that's kind of hard to get out of [14:30] context in terms of uh the university of north carolina chapel hill our chief rival was the blue devils [14:38] still are the blue devils and the cartoonist intention was to make an analogy to that so [14:46] everything happened was just a total coincidence that the jewish candidate happened to have a pitchfork [14:53] and horns and that also at the same time inside the context of the difference with nelson is simple [14:59] he's jewish and the difference being between them and the blue devils so the difference is that he is [15:05] a jew jewish versus a blue devil is that what your your defense is no sir the point is this mr nelson [15:13] voted not to fund a christian group he voted to fund the jewish group he voted to fund the pagan group [15:20] but on two separate times he voted not to fund intervarsity christian fellowship and it raises a [15:27] conflict of interest when he was a member of a group that he voted for you certainly remember in detail [15:31] uh this the this uh incident in question for someone who wants to forget it so do you stand by uh [15:38] the statement that was made of that time period regarding mr nelson then what statement are you [15:43] referring well i would say overall this anti-semitic uh statement and depiction of this gentleman i would [15:48] not say that it's anti-semitic uh we were the group that was calling for the equal treatment of all [15:55] student religions so it's not anti-semitic to say your difference with nelson is simple he shares the [16:01] difference between a blue devil and nelson is the fact that he's jewish that's that you you stand by [16:08] that then the point was this he voted for the jewish group and on two separate occasions he voted [16:13] not to fund the christian group you know there you have it folks let me know what you think hit [16:17] subscribe let's get to seven million subscribers and thanks for watching want to stay plugged in [16:23] become a subscriber to our sub stack at midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from ron philipkowski [16:29] add free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com