“They’re basically borrowing from our kids and our grandkids to fund a tax cut for really wealthy people right now, that’s what we’re doing. We’re borrowing against the future.”
View the full interview HERE.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to react to Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s refusal to answer whether he would give military orders to use lethal force against protesters, discuss the need for President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before deciding to engage in direct conflict with Iran, and emphasize the devastating impacts that the Republican budget bill would have on access to health care for millions of Americans.
Key Excerpts:
On Secretary Hegseth’s disturbing response to questions on whether to allow U.S. troops to use force against protesters:
[…] Californians, and I think people around the country, are appalled that the Secretary couldn’t [answer] a very simple, straightforward question like that. That either he wanted to leave it ambiguous to continue to kind of stoke fear and panic among people, or he doesn’t know the answer because he is in over his head in this position in every way. But I have to think it’s just going to increase the temperature, increase the anxiety, and frankly, things are already fraught enough in the state of California with the decision of the president to ignore the governor, ignore local law enforcement to federalize the National Guard. And I share what Senator Slotkin said — we have great reverence for the military in California and for our National Guard. They’re there for us in storms and hurricanes and floods and fire, and to see them misused this way and the potential of distrust between our guard and our people, it’s just tragic.
On the need for President Trump to seek congressional authorization before any offensive military action in Iran:
[…] I think what should happen in the White House is they should be laying out for the president — okay, here are the alternatives. Here’s what it would mean if the U.S. goes in and bombs Fordow. This is what the Iranian reaction is likely to be. Here are the risks of escalation. Here are the risks to our troops. If they do attack our troops and any of our troops are killed, we’re going to have to respond, and we will be in this, then potentially a full-flown conflict with Iran.
They should lay out the consequences of leaving Fordow intact. They should really set it out for the president and provide intelligence to back it up, not just shoot from the seat of their pants. That’s what Donald Trump does, that is shoot from the seat of his pants. But they should also be involving Congress in this. We had to beg and plead for a briefing. I’ve raised this a couple times. I’m glad to see that the administration is going to come brief Congress. They should be submitting this question to Congress. They should seek our authorization. If we’re going to be taking a step like bombing Iran, that should be something that is only done constitutionally with Congress’ approval. So, that’s what should be happening. In terms of what is happening, who the hell really knows.
On Republicans borrowing against the future to pay for billionaire tax cuts:
[…] They’re basically borrowing from our kids and our grandkids to fund a tax cut for really wealthy people right now, that’s what we’re doing. We’re borrowing against the future. We’re also stealing money from seniors and others that need health care, either through Medicaid or through Medicare. We’re taking their money and their health care likewise, to fund these tax cuts that we can’t afford. They’re taking food from hungry families by raiding the SNAP program also to fund these tax cuts. So, it’s so irresponsible. And if the Republicans go ahead and pass this, then they should just shut up about the national debt. They should just shut up about deficits, because they don’t mean anything they have to say about it. They couldn’t care less. If they could put more money in the pocket of rich people, that’s the cost of raising the debt and deficit. They simply don’t care. So, if they vote for it, then they just need to shut up about this in the future.
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