Senator Jon Husted on The Government re-opening

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There was in the news which Chuck just sent me
a New York Post article Olympic figure skating legend here
in Las Vegas. She was away caring for her cancer
stricken mother, and somebody went in and stole medals from
the Olympics. And I'd like to go on record as
saying it was not me.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
You just happened to be there.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yeah, I'm just I happened to be here and it
was not me.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
No, No, it was not me.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
You're making a jingling sound when you move around. What
is that?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Oh? You can hear that? Like when I moved that
the medals?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Can you hear anything? I was trying to cover them
up to see make sure they weren't jingling. After you
said that, I didn't think it was coming through the mic.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
It sounds like two golds in a bronze.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
It Dad gone it all right?

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Let's bring him on. Senator John Houstad is joining us now. Senator,
good afternoon, welcome, How are you.

Speaker 4 (00:55):
I'm doing great, great to be with you, guys.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Hey, thank you very much for jumping on with us. So, yeah,
first day the government is back.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Open. Take me through what you're hearing and seeing.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
We'll get to your visit, which is incredible that you
were at the White House, which we'll get to here
in a second, but I just want to hear the
temperature of the way things are going.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
We see in the news.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
It's pretty pretentious we're seeing, you know, it's crazy the
way that this thing is all played out. But finally
we're going to start to get back on track. But
what are your thoughts with all that?

Speaker 4 (01:26):
Well, it was a big waste of forty three days
of you know, suffering for people that didn't have paychecks,
uncertainty regarding snap, air traffic issues and safety issues, and
flight delays for what. For nothing. Nothing is different now
than it was forty three days ago. And the Democrats

(01:49):
just held us up. We had three Democrats in the
Senate that voted with us from the beginning, and after
forty three days, five more came along because Chuck Schumer
didn't want them to break rang wanted to keep them
all together. I don't know what their endgame was, going
to shut it down forever. Well, finally eight reasonable people
joined us. We got the government back open, and now

(02:10):
we can hopefully play offense by doing some constructive things
to help make life better for the American people. But
what a waste of time that was.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
No doubt, And Chuck and I were even talking last hour,
Senator that you know, the end of January when this
runs out, are we do you predict that we're going
to maybe see more of what we've been seeing over
these last forty three days.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Possibly, hopefully not, But do you how do you feel
about that?

Speaker 4 (02:38):
No, because we got three appropriations bills passed with this
that funds things like SNAP funds, funds our air traffic
controllers and our you know, safety in agricultural programs, and
our military construction, all this thing. So a lot of
the appropriation spills that fund government got accomplished, along with

(03:03):
the continuing resolution for the things that we didn't get accomplished.
So I don't predict, you know, the temperature has been lowered.
There's a lot less at stake when this next Continuing
Resolution runs out at the end of January. So hopefully
we will make progress on some other issues and we
will never have to face this again. But I'm telling

(03:24):
you I don't want this ever happen again. I think
members of Congress should lose their pay during a government shutdown.
I think that I think we should actually pass a
law that prohibits government shutdowns, that we just fund things
at the current levels and until we can agree on
what the new spending platform should. This is ridiculous. Four

(03:45):
hundred million dollars a day go to pay the federal
payroll and the taxpayers did not get services for many
of those people during that period. A waste of money,
a waste of time and productivity. And this must stop.
America can't do this again.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Center, you staid, let me first of all, I want
to take you away. I can hear you, so let
you calm down first, I can hear you.

Speaker 4 (04:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
I want to I want.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
To compliment it just it just frustrates me.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
I want to compliment you on the Olive branch. I
saw on your Facebook page today regarding Senator Fetterman. Why
can't I never say his name?

Speaker 4 (04:24):
Right?

Speaker 2 (04:24):
John Fetterman? Who who he fell? And and you actually,
you know, had kind of an update thing out there
to let people know how he was and that I
just thought that was that was a classy thing. I'm
sure he's getting it from from his side of the
aisle right now for being supportive of common sense and
uh and regardless of party, you just put the good

(04:45):
word out there that he would be okay after that fall,
and I just I wanted to compliment you on that.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
You want to know something, John Fetterman, I feel for him.
He's got a new book out there, and he talks
about how when he was running the CA campaign and
he had a stroke, how harmful, and then he had
a bad debate performance, how he got pilloried from the
right and pillar Reid from the left, and now that
he's went with us and voted to keep the government open,

(05:12):
he's getting you know, the radical left is really causing
him all kinds of problems. And he talks about in
this book how he nearly committed suicide and the one
thing that stopped him from doing that, as he explained
it was that one of the counselors said, you know,
every child needs the dad, every child needs their dad,
and he realized that it wasn't about him, it was

(05:34):
about his responsibilities to other people and why he had
to get things right. And I think he's a decent person,
and I think he's been treated very unfairly by his
own party during this process. And you know, I hope
he's hope he's doing.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well well taking every child needs a dad right into
the next topic here, the fact that you were at
the White House for the signing of this executive order.
I mean, President Trump's getting all the glory first, but
it's Malanie. She should have had a sub signature on
there or something for we have.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
A sub signature.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
That's one she co signed.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
That's wonderful because this was at her behest as I
understand it, this foster Care bill or executive order that
basically just creates some pathways for young people when they
come out of the foster system so that they don't
stall at eighteen years of age and have nowhere to go.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Yeah, well it was great the first Lady and the
President putting foster care at the top of the map
for this day in America. Lets all those children out
there who are in the foster system know that they're
not forgotten, that people care about you at the highest
levels of government. America cares about you.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
And you know, this is a.

Speaker 4 (06:48):
Special issue to me. I started out life in the
foster in foster care, but I got blessed, had adopted
by my mom and dad, Jim and Judy Houstead, which
is greatest blessing in life. That I I've ever had,
But I know not every child is as lucky as
I was, and many of them go from foster home
to foster home. Imagine this. You know the state literally

(07:11):
you're a reward of the state when you're in that system,
and the state tells you what you do, where you live, where,
all of those things, and so you don't have a
stable home life. Everybody tells you what to do, and
then you turn eighteen, and then what happens when you
turn eighteen, Well, you don't have a place to live,
you don't have a job, you don't have a support system.

(07:34):
And what the President and first Lady we're talking about
today is how educational institutions can do better, for the
private sector can focus on hiring these young people, How
we can do a better job with transitional housing so
that they have those places. And there are some wonderfu people,
wonderful people in Ohio doing this.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
I was with a.

Speaker 4 (07:52):
Lady, Michelle Mays, who runs the Foster Hub in Logan,
Ohio that helps those aging out students. But seriously, you
can do you can do amazing things for them. Maybe
have a car that it's older and you don't really
want to sell it. What are you going to do
with it? Well, you can donate it to help an
aged out foster kid have transportation back and forth to work. Maybe.

(08:14):
You know, there's like so many things that we can
all do to help them. I'm very passionate about it
because it's so hard, because so many of them, like
fifty percent of kids an age out of foster care
end up homeless, many of them involved with the criminal
justice system, or pregnant or involved with drugs, And we
got to do better at helping them.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Absolutely, And I get, you know, my willingness to bring
this out today because I you know, Mike Queen also
went through the foster care system, and I've seen so
many kids do it. May was designated by the President
as a National Foster Care Month. If you want to
come back to Ohio for anything and you know, do

(08:54):
any sort of of pr work or whatever around the
foster care system here in central Ohio, I would be
very very happy to make sure, first of all, the
word gets out and to help you anyway I can,
because I know it's near and dear to your heart.

Speaker 4 (09:06):
Yeah, well, look, we you know, everybody has a different
start in life and a different way to grow up.
But a lot of these kids have it the toughest
and and you know, and and we just we can
do better. And that's what we tried to do today
at the White House. It was I was so honored
that the President first lady invited me to be there

(09:27):
today and wanted to be part of it, and I
was honored to do so.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
Senator John Houstad joining us now kind of piggybacking on that.
And I haven't heard you talk about this, but I
would dying to ask you because I figured at some
point I hopefully would get to talk to you.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
But take me through what it was like for you.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
I mean you you've been in state government for a
long time and you get to d C.

Speaker 3 (09:50):
And you're going into the capital.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
You're like seeing and you're now a part of it,
you're a senator and all that.

Speaker 3 (09:56):
Like, take me through what that was like. You have
to be pinching yourself.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Man, this is unbelievable, I know, cause and the reason
I bring it up is, you know Congressman Balderson, good friend,
good friend of the show.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
He's on all the time.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
He talks about you know, he's a runner, and he
goes out and He'll run early in the morning, like
five am when it's still dark and so on, and
he's like, Blazer, I'm telling you, man, it is like
I pinched myself. I'm thinking, I cannot believe you know,
I'm part of the House of Representatives and all of
this stuff. But take me through what that was like
for you when you get there and you're going through
and I know you've been there a little while now,

(10:29):
but do you have any thoughts on all that?

Speaker 4 (10:32):
Yeah, well nine months and I've been here, and she
I think you both know. I was. I wasn't planning
on being a US senator. I enjoyed my job as
lieutenant governor, was considering running for governor, but I'm an
Ohio guy. I was never never really thought about going
to Washington. Then jd. Vance goes and gets elected Vice presidents,

(10:52):
and Governor DeWine and President Trump have to find somebody
they could both agree on, and I was that guy.
So the next thing, I literally I learned about this
on a Thursday. We announced it on a Friday, and
on Tuesday, I was being sworn in as well. I
was next US editor, So I it happened very quickly.
It's like well called my wife. I'm like, looks like

(11:14):
we're going to Washington. So here we go and like
throw some things in a bag, We're head off to
go do this.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
I thought you were Sam's Club, you said Washington.

Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah, I mean like literally like I had this. I
have this like one room apartment with the bathroom like
you know. Like but but Troy's right, you're one of
the things my favorite thing to do when I like
a lot of times I don't. I can't get out
of here until like late on Thursday night, like the
ten o'clock flight, and so I'll have maybe some time
in the evening. I love to walk down past the

(11:48):
Supreme Court, past the Capitol, down to the Washington Monument
and maybe maybe if I have time, to the Lincoln
Memorial and back up. And I've been places in the
world that people talk about. Well, I've been in Parliament
and all of those things and all these there's no
place that's greater in the world than the United States
Capital when you think of our courts, the monuments, the

(12:14):
White House, the Capital, all of those things. And now
as we had to the two hundred and fiftieth year
of our nation next year, remember this is a country
worth loving. This is a country that, with all of
its imperfections, is still the greatest hope for freedom and
prosperity in the world. It's still the place that people
want to sneak across the borders and get into it is.

(12:36):
It is a place worth loving and sacrificing for. And
I am honored to be able to do some of
that in my role as a US Senator.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
I can tell you, Senator, a week ago, I had
the privilege of being a guardian volunteer for Honor Flight
one that was right there obviously in the Capitol, and
it was a week ago, and it was such a
special special thing to be there for that, and that
I mean, that's twice this year for me, because in January,

(13:06):
Congressman Balderson did get me into the House chamber for
the election certification. So I watched Kamala up there certifying
and I was in there up in the gallery.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
But what a special, special place when you think.

Speaker 1 (13:19):
About how important what you're doing day in day out
for this country, and man, it's just a it's just
an honor and.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
A privilege and a special special thing.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
And that's cool that you kind of gave us a
little insight into the way that it happened.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
Very cool.

Speaker 4 (13:34):
Well, you know what the you know what the other
fun thing was is that is that I was by
waiting until Tuesday to get sworn in. That way, I
got JD to do my swearing in rather than Kamala.
So that was a nice That was a nice thing
for me to have. But I was told, I don't
know if this is true, is the first time that
a vice president had sworn in his successor in the

(13:59):
in the I sentate. So I thought that was a
pretty cool thing. I've just been told that you might
want to look it up and see if it's true.
But I've been told that that's true.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
So that's really cool, very very cool.

Speaker 1 (14:11):
Senator John Houstead, thank you so much for jumping on
with us today.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
Appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Thank you for your hard work and onward and upward
now that the government's open, and yeah, anything like Chuck
was saying, I just want to echo what he was saying. Well,
we'll do anything we can to help you, and just
say the word and we'll get it out there and
do whatever you need.

Speaker 4 (14:29):
Man, Hey, I appreciate it, and you know, it's one
of those days we look out, We count our blessings
and try to share those blessings with others.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
Amen to that, all right, Senator John Hustaid, thank you
so much for joining us.