Trump urges Pulte to FIRE intel employees: Report

[0:02] There has been no redemption for this man. [0:05] He's just only been caught the way he behaved and the things that he said and done over his entire life. [0:12] The only thing that he'll acknowledge and apologize to is just the thing that he was caught. [0:17] New concerns emerging for Democrats as Maine Senate candidate Graham Plattner faces fresh scrutiny ahead of Tuesday's primary. [0:25] For more, let's bring in Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick. [0:29] Senator, thank you for being here this morning. Appreciate your time. [0:33] Good morning. [0:34] So you heard our conversation in the last block with the minority leader Jeffries. [0:40] He did not have a vocal defense for Plattner, but he also didn't have a vocal defense for the members in his party who are standing by Plattner. [0:50] Why are Democrats at this juncture standing beside him? [0:55] And does it take a leg out from under them in their messaging in November? [1:00] Well, I think Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats have two problems. [1:03] The country under Joe Biden was an unmitigated disaster in terms of economic, sky-high inflation, a wide-open border, an attack on fossil fuels. [1:15] So that's the first problem. [1:16] And now we're making huge progress on those under President Trump, and they're trying to sort of change the story. [1:21] Second, they've got a number of candidates, not just Graham Plattner, who are extreme. [1:27] I mean, who would have thought that you could be a nominee for the United States Senate with a Nazi tattoo? [1:33] Who would have thought you could be a misogynist, have allegations of violence against women, be on kick, and have the mainstream of your party endorsing you? [1:44] And he's not alone. [1:45] There are candidates across the country. [1:47] So those are the two challenges. [1:49] And when you have those kinds of challenges, you try to change the story. [1:52] And, listen, I think it's really bad for the country that this kind of extremism exists on the Democratic Party, socialist ideas that are going to destroy our economy. [2:02] But I think it's also bad for the Republican Party because we need a Democratic Party that's sane and that we can have real debates with. [2:09] Yeah, and you saw Ro Khanna campaigning with Plattner on Friday, saying that the character that really matters is the character of being willing to stand up to the powers that be. [2:20] He named the billionaire class, the Epstein class, and AIPAC. [2:24] You know, talking about character when you're standing beside someone like Graham Plattner is really a choice. [2:29] But, you know, I want to ask you about this because Republicans have some of their own drama right now. [2:34] Bill Pulte's nomination for acting DNI has, as you just heard, Democrats refusing to support FISA reauthorization. [2:42] It's this critical surveillance tool that lets the country gather intelligence on foreign terrorists living abroad. [2:48] The president says that he does not intend for Pulte to be in the role for that long. [2:54] Given this risk to FISA, should he just pull him? [3:00] Well, before I talk about Bill Pulte, let me just talk about the importance of 702. [3:04] This is a tool for our national security and our intelligence that has been instrumental to saving the lives of thousands of Americans. [3:12] It allows us to get intel regarding foreign adversaries. [3:16] It comprises about 63% of the president's daily brief. [3:20] About 90% of our operations are informed by it. [3:22] So to lose this tool would be catastrophic, which is why Tom Cotton, the chairman of Intel, and Chuck Grassley, the chairman of Judiciary, have sent a letter to Marco Rubio saying, get ready. [3:34] If this authority ends, we have a real national security risk. [3:40] There's very little connection between the DNI, the role of the DNI, and 702. [3:46] The president has put Bill Pulte in there in an interim. [3:50] Sadly, Tulsi Gabbard had a family crisis and had to resign somewhat abruptly. [3:54] But he's made clear that he's going to put someone in that role that he's already considering. [3:59] He's already had a number of candidates. [4:00] And Bill Pulte is an interim choice. [4:03] And it's very clear in the statute that you have to have national security experience to be able to fulfill that role on a permanent basis. [4:10] And Bill Pulte doesn't have it. [4:11] He did a fine job. [4:12] He's doing a fine job in his current role, but he's not qualified to take on this role. [4:16] And the president's acknowledged that. [4:17] So, given that, do you think that the president should pull back from Pulte? [4:26] No. [4:26] I think having him in there in an interim role is absolutely going to create the kind of continuity the president's looking for. [4:33] He trusts Bill Pulte. [4:34] And make no mistake about it, if the president's waking up in the middle of the night and has intel questions or national security questions, [4:40] he's reaching out to John Ratcliffe, our CIA director, or Marco Rubio, our national security advisor. [4:46] So, the president's well-served with his national security and intelligence officials. [4:51] And Bill Pulte is going to be a temporary fix until we get the right qualified person in there permanently. [4:58] So, however long he's there, the president has made clear that he wants Pulte to, you know, get some things done. [5:05] He said that he wants Pulte to fire a large number of employees. [5:08] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the president said, I'd like to see it smaller. [5:12] I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there, Trump said, [5:15] pointing to holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations. [5:18] Trump in the interview argued that Pulte's acting status is an asset. [5:22] You're less shackled, he said. [5:24] It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time. [5:28] Are you comfortable with a big purge at an intelligence agency like that? [5:33] I think the idea, I mean, when you go back to the original DNI concept, ODNI, what was imagined, it really has grown and ballooned in terms of its size. [5:41] So, I think the idea of streamlining the office of DNI makes sense. [5:46] It's more than 1,000 folks today. [5:48] I don't think the originators ever imagined that. [5:51] So, the idea of going through its streamlining and sending those folks back to the agencies from which they came, [5:59] I think has a lot of merit, as I said, my fellow senator, Tom Cotton, chairman of Intel, has made a similar point. [6:07] And so, that kind of reform and streamlining, I think, does make a lot of sense. [6:11] Listen, our Intel community, like any other part of our government, is a mix of folks. [6:18] But, in general, it's the finest Intel set of organizations in the world, and we're fortunate to have them out in the front line. [6:26] And I think getting more people out in the front line probably makes a lot of sense. [6:29] Okay. [6:30] I want to get your response to Democrats who are looking at Pulte's nomination and pointing to Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general [6:37] and making claims that it's part of a broader scheme. [6:41] Listen to what Ed Markey said. [6:42] Their plan this November is to steal the election, and they're going to need Pulte over at intelligence. [6:50] They're going to need Blanche over at the attorney general's office in order to make sure that the laws are not enforced. [6:58] It's all a part of weaponizing ICE, putting him on the streets, and have the attorney general and the head of intelligence [7:06] all part of that coordinated plan to steal the election in November. [7:11] What's your response to that? [7:12] You know, Todd Blanche is a distinguished attorney with a great track record, who we've had a chance [7:23] to see firsthand as deputy attorney general. [7:26] He's done a fine job. [7:28] I think his leadership at the Department of Justice is just what we need. [7:34] And, you know, people make the claim that because he was the president's lawyer that prior to the president [7:40] of becoming the president for the second time, that that somehow compromises, it's just not the case. [7:44] It's just not the case throughout history. [7:45] Attorney generals have had close relationships with the president and have been able to operate in a truly independent way, [7:53] including the president's brother during the Kennedy administration. [7:56] So I think this is just another area where the Democrats are looking for an opportunity to criticize, [8:02] rather than getting back to the business of securing our borders, supporting ICE, supporting 702, [8:08] the things that really matter to Americans. [8:12] Okay. [8:12] And we're out of time, but just very quickly, you've got a war powers vote that passed the House. [8:17] It's heading to the Senate this week. [8:18] It already advanced in the Senate once before. [8:20] What do you think happens with that vote? [8:24] Well, I'm not going to speculate. [8:26] It'll be close to state the obvious. [8:27] I will not vote to in any way restrict the president's authorities. [8:32] We can do that through the purse strings if we choose to on a defense supplemental. [8:36] There hasn't been live combat operations. [8:38] There's been exchanges, but there hasn't been actual extended combat operations for six weeks. [8:43] We're in the middle of a negotiation. [8:45] I think we should let the president continue on his path. [8:48] And I'm hopeful that we'll have a resolution to events in Iran here in the relatively short future. [8:55] Okay. [8:56] Senator Dave McCormick, thank you very much for joining us. [8:58] Always great talking to you, sir. [8:59] Thank you. [9:00] Thank you. [9:01] Thank you.