Current Odds on Trump Nominees' Success

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcoming Ryan Walker back to the program. Ryan's executive VP
at the Heritage Foundation, and they are, along with conservatives
all over the country, doing whatever they can to try
to get Donald Trump's nominees across the finish line and
confirmed by the Senate.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Ryan, good morning, good morning, Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, and you can do more than the average bear,
because you guys have amounted a million dollar campaign in
this effort, right, that's correct.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
We're going to spend over the next six to eight
weeks a million dollars supporting President Trump's cabinet nominees to
get quickly confirmed in the United States Senate.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
I understand the reporting this morning from Fox is that
Senator Jony earnstar friend from right across the river in
Iowa here, seems to have had a change of heart.
She was seen to be campaigning vigorously against hag Seth,
and now she seems to have turned according to what
p said about his meetings with her, what do you

(01:02):
think happened?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, I think that she's had You know, she's one
of the only senators who's had multiple meetings with Pete
heg Seth, and this week she has changed her tune
She put out a statement earlier in the week saying
that she was going to support Pete throughout the process.
I think it was honestly pressure from her constituents people
in Iowa. After all, she is up for reelection here shortly,

(01:25):
and so she's responding. She's responding to the mandate from
the people that was given to President Trump and the
response that they're giving her as she came out initially
seemingly an opposition, and so I think she's responding to
that external pressure, most importantly from the voters.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Where is your focus, Ryan, What specific senators do you
think are problematic and might need a nudge?

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, Look, we're running a soft appeal campaign. We're trying
to be you know, honest, broke and all this. We're
urging the senators to get to a yes on all
of the cabinet nominees writ large, and we're we're looking
at places like Maine with Senator Susan Collins, who's also
meeting with Pete Hegseth today, places like Indiana with Senator

(02:15):
Todd Young, who again is meeting with Pete Hegseth today.
So we're focused on some senators who have not expressed
support for these nominees to date and urging them to
get to a yes.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Where do you think the action is. Is it inn
the commit various committees or on the floor if they
survived the committee hearings.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, I think right now what we're seeing is activity
going on in these meetings that are being held, and
we're seeing the news reporting all of this activity and
the people being able to respond. And I think it's
kind of interesting because we haven't even gotten to the
one hundred and nineteenth Congress. We haven't had a single
hearing yet. These folks haven't spoken publicly, so right now

(02:57):
all of this is going on sort of behind closed doors.
But thank goodness, we have folks covering this like you
all to explain it to the American people that those
decisions are being made. Now.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Do you think in the real world here that it
would be impactful for Americans to contact their US senator
about this issue or do the senators even care about that?

Speaker 2 (03:22):
No? I absolutely think that they do, And I also
think it's part of our civic responsibility to let our
voices be known. I think this election showed us one
big lesson that the American people have woken up and
are re engaged in the politics and the political world
of our society, of the American society, and so as
an extension of that, I think that we all need

(03:44):
to be participating and urging our senators to get to
a yes. After all, Trump won the popular vote, and
he has a clear mandate from the American people to
get his agenda across the finish line. I think he
has eighteen months to do it, and getting these people
in as quickly as possible is vital.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, I think I'd have answered my own question, Ryan,
because I think that's a big part of what happened
with Joni Earnst's switch here. Because judging from the input
that we got here from people in Iowa, we got
we cover a large part of the state of Iowa.
A lot of people are saying they're going to let
her know and they're going to primary her if she
votes against him. So it does have an impact.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh absolutely. And the more news and attention is focused
on this, on this activity, on this process, you know,
I think senators need to hear from the people and
and senators, you know, they have six year terms and
and for some of that time, I think that they
they don't have to take all of this into consideration
as much as they otherwise would. But this year is different.

(04:42):
We're under a new a new regime I think in
American politics, and the people again are are re engaged.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
I believe it. Ryan. Thank you always great to have
you on. Appreciate the time. Thank you, Ryan Walker, Heritage
Foundation