Senate Republican leaders hold their weekly press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon. We are wrapping up our first 100 days here in the United States Senate and I couldn't be prouder of what our colleagues have accomplished, the things that we've gotten done.
00:18We have moved the president's nominees through the Senate in the fastest possible pace in 20 years. We did the longest continuous Senate session, 10 weeks, that we've had in 15 years.
00:36And obviously we've rolled back a lot of really owners and burdensome Biden administration regulations through the Congressional Review Act. We passed Lake and Riley, which the president signed into law, the Holt Fentanyl bill.
00:49Same thing, been signed into law, both important and consequential, I should say, pieces of legislation.
00:56And we passed a budget resolution that sets us up to do the things that we have on our agenda along with President Trump.
01:03And that is to extend the Trump tax cuts, obviously rebuild the military, restore American energy dominance, and secure our southern border.
01:12At the same time that we are saving money, finding ways to have the government operate in a less costly and more efficient way in attacking deficit reduction.
01:22So I'm hopeful that as we head into this week now, that the House will be able to act on the Senate budget resolution so we can get the reconciliation process started,
01:33which is where we actually do the hard work of ensuring that there isn't a $4 trillion tax increase on the American people at the end of the year,
01:42where we're actually building the wall and taking the steps to secure our southern border,
01:47where we're actually preparing our military to face any of the threats that they face in an increasingly dangerous world,
01:53and also lowering the cost of gasoline and other forms of energy in this country through the energy reforms that we intend to make.
02:02So we're excited about what we've gotten done so far, but we know there's a lot more work to do,
02:08and we intend to work closely with President Trump and his team, with our counterparts in the House of Representatives,
02:14as together we move forward with an agenda that is a good one for the American people
02:19and deliver on the mandate that we got in the election last November.
02:24Questions?
02:25The President, good afternoon.
02:26There seems to be some consternation in the House right now about passing the Senate-approved budget resolution.
02:31Is what House conservatives are proposing, could that have passed with that level of cuts in the Senate?
02:37Well, I'm not sure exactly what their...
02:40They want a lot less.
02:42They want a much lower or much higher...
02:45I said higher, yeah, yeah.
02:46They want a much higher spending.
02:48Yeah.
02:49And part of what this is all about, obviously, is the Senate, we have different rules that govern,
02:56and strict restrictions that are placed through the Byrd Rule on how we act through budget resolutions
03:00and ultimately budget reconciliation.
03:04And all we simply did was add the Senate, basically, priorities to the House passed legislation.
03:11So we didn't touch the instructions that the House gave.
03:14They can proceed with those.
03:15And as we get into the reconciliation process, we're going to be very committed to doing as much as we possibly can on deficit reduction.
03:22I think, as you saw, there was a number in there.
03:25It was a $2 trillion number.
03:26The House was at $1.5 trillion when they went through their budget resolution process.
03:32But I think right now, in some ways, these are...we're speaking slightly different languages
03:36because the House and the Senate operate in such different ways.
03:39But at the end of the day, what this does is it unlocks budget reconciliation
03:43and unleashes all the things that we want to accomplish on behalf of the American people.
03:48And that can only happen when the House and the Senate pass the same budget resolution.
03:52So I'm hopeful that we'll be able to move on that, get the votes that are necessary to get it across the finish line
03:57so we can start the next phase of this, which is really where we start making law and deliver on our agenda.
04:04Senator, with respect to tariffs, the White House has said that an additional 50% tariff will go on China
04:09if retaliatory tariffs by China are not taken down.
04:12This means that, according to some estimates, the tariffs could reach as high as 104%.
04:17What do you say to that?
04:18And what do you say to the markets in particular, which are very rattled by all of these tariffs?
04:22Well, look, and I think you've all covered this place long enough.
04:26I think everybody kind of knows my views on tariffs.
04:29But the fact of the matter is the President ran on this.
04:33There wasn't a campaign event where he didn't talk about the importance of getting other countries to treat us more fairly
04:41when it comes to trade, bilateral trade, multilateral trade in this country.
04:46And 77 million people voted for him and his agenda.
04:50And I think he deserves the opportunity to see what kind of deals he can get from some of our trading partners.
04:55And I think most of us are giving him the space in which to do that and hope that he is successful,
05:00because that's good for not only for him and his administration, but it's good for the country.
05:04Given how important, though, the Chinese market is, specifically to South Dakota, soybean exporters,
05:10soybean exporters, how concerned are you that China says it's going to fight until the end,
05:14indicating that they may not reach a deal for months or even longer than that?
05:18Well, and I think there's a lot of rhetoric right now, but I'm hoping that in the end that the Chinese,
05:25like a lot of other countries, will come to the table.
05:28There is clearly, in my view, room for negotiation that would achieve the objectives the President has laid out,
05:37and it could be to the benefit of both the U.S. and China.
05:41But at this point, I think where we are right now in the process is the President has made it very clear
05:47that he wants changes made, starting with fentanyl and the precursors that the Chinese makes
05:52and then distributes and gets into this country.
05:55But I think there are other, you know, reciprocal-type trading policies that could be implemented
06:06if the Chinese will come to the table and work with this administration.
06:09But I think you've got to give them room to do what they need to do.
06:12And, you know, China right now, that's a lot of hot rhetoric, but they are very dependent upon the U.S.
06:17They need us as a marketer.
06:18Do you think Americans want to pay more in prices as a result of these policies?
06:23You know, I think at the end of the day, and as I've said this before, and, you know, you asked the question about South Dakota and agriculture,
06:29yeah, there are all kinds of implications.
06:31These are – there are a lot of very intricate trading relationships that exist today across the world.
06:37And, you know, ultimately we don't know what the economic impacts are going to be.
06:43We hope that the President is successful.
06:45And if he is and he gets some reciprocity from other countries around the world, you know, this may all be temporary.
06:51It may be something that the administration ultimately, you know, adopts a different policy with respect to individual countries that actually come to the table and work out deals.
07:02And if they do that, then ultimately I think that's a good thing for the American consumer.
07:06But obviously we're all paying attention, and I think the entire country is to the implications of what's been proposed by the administration.
07:14And, you know, clearly we want to see an economy that's stronger and more robust where you've got more jobs being created in this country.
07:21And, you know, the income gap in this country closing as we create better paying jobs in a lot of places around the country that have suffered as a result of the loss of the manufacturing base that we've had here for a long time.
07:34What do you think of the idea of raising taxes on the ultra-rich as Andy Harris and the House voted?