Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the budget battle

The US is facing a budget battle. 

House Republicans have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded and avoid a government shutdown.  

The measure is backed by President Donald Trump, but some key Republicans in the House have refused to back similar measures in the past. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Trump has posted pleading for support, but it’s uncertain if he will get it. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stateside Richard Arlo, very good morning to you. What do
you make a budget battle this week?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Who would have thought, oh, yes, there's going to be
another rollercoast a few days with time running short for
a spending bill too. Is this unfamiliar? Avert a government shutdown?
That is the last thing, of course, that Trump wants
for his new regime. Midnight Friday, here is the deadline.
So President Trump and Speaker Johnson pushing for a stopgap
measure that would keep things to float until the end
of September. However, some key Republicans in the House have

(00:27):
refused to back this kind of short term measure in
the past. Now that Republicans run everything, what are they
going to do? A stop gap would lock into place
the Biden priorities for most of this year. So this
would be I guess the surrender by Republicans. Trump has
posted quote, I am working with the great House Republicans,
so pleading hardliners to back him. This short term measure,

(00:47):
says Trump, will give him time to work out his
tax cutting plan that will be even tougher to get
through the Congress. So Trump is calling for support, not
clear he's going to get it. He had some of
the hardliners in his own party over for meeting at
the White House. Some of them left that meeting saying
again to think about it. Meantime, the Trump team cabinet
members are all over the airwaves today claiming the level

(01:09):
of pain economic pain caused by the on and off
Trump terraff is going to be relatively minor. Really, thousands
and thousands of dollars more for a new car going
to be minum, says the Treasury Secretary Scott Basant of this.
There's going to be a short period of time where
there'll be some higher prices on certain products. It's not inflation,

(01:30):
that's nonsense. So inflated prices not inflation. Finally, Trump is
downplaying the now widely reported rift between Elon Musk and
his chainsaw cutters and Secretary of State Mircer Rubio. At
they closed door cabinet session the other day, Trump was
asked about this, it's potentially a team secretary of Rubio
and Secretary dot Flash. I was there. You're just a

(01:52):
trouble maker, and you're not.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Supposed to be asking that question because we're talking about
the World Cup.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
So it's all piece of love behind those doors. Rubio
was teed off about the sacking or sackings at USAID,
which was meant to be his domain. You have fired nobody,
said Musk Rubio. What about the fifteen hundred State Department
people who took the buyouts? You want to rehire those people, Elon,
just so you can make a show of firing them.
Begin SNL. The Comedy Show had this take with their

(02:20):
opening satirical spot last night. I can't have you fighting
with Elon, Okay, I need you to be my good
little Marco.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Mister Trump, did you think I'm going to stand here
and let you call me that? You're right, boy?

Speaker 2 (02:34):
The real Trump says, future doge cuts will be made
with a scalpel, not the chainsaw that Musk was waving about.
So seeing the Elon taken down half a pig.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
And what a tragedy with Hackman story.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Gosh, what a heartrending saga this turned out to be. Yeah,
you know, mystery surrounded the death of the great actor
and his wife and one of their dogs after their
remains were found late last month in their home. Now
we find that Gene Hackman's wife died of hunter virus.
This is a virus that is transmitted through the droppings
of myce and rats. The actor's wife was sixty five

(03:09):
years of age. She'd been something of a health not,
urging her husband to keep fit through bike riding and yoga.
Now investigators in New Mexico say it seems she died
some days before Hackman, who had significant advanced Alzheimer's. They're
speculating that maybe he didn't even know that his wife
had died at their place. Then he passed away from
a heart attack, and one of their dogs seemingly suffered

(03:29):
from starvation. So I guess some questions remain unanswered, but
all rather shocking.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Is all right, might see you in the middle of
the week. Appreciate it, Richard Alds. So, the other thing
that the US got involved with over the weekend was
around They're going to destroy ran the again, to slash
the oil exports to a trickle. This is percent again
the aforementioned maximum pressure campaign Tankern's economy. If I was
an Iranian, I'd get all my money out now, so
you see.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
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