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October 16, 2025 14 mins

In this episode of The Truth with Lisa Boothe, Senator Dave McCormick joins Lisa to break down the latest government shutdown and the partisan gridlock driving it. McCormick calls out Democrat obstruction and highlights how President Trump’s decisive leadership helped secure the release of Israeli hostages and could pave the way toward peace in the Middle East and Ukraine. The conversation also tackles the growing threat of political violence, urging a return to civility and bipartisan respect. McCormick champions school choice as a cornerstone of new legislation, challenging Democrat governors to put students before politics. The Truth with Lisa Boothe is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Tuesday & Thursday. 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get
to the heart of the issues that matter to you. Today,
we've got Senator Dave McCormick from the great State of Pennsylvania.
We're going to talk about the ongoing government shutdown fight,
How does it end? Why are Democrats digging in their heels.
We'll talk about that. Also, President Trump's got big momentum
after getting a Moss to release the Israeli hostages and

(00:22):
pushing for peace in the Middle East. What does this
mean for Europe? Will he be able to get peace
between Russia and Ukraine as well? Also a lot of
people don't know this, but do you know that school
choice is in the big beautiful bill? What does that
mean for you? What does it mean for your kids?
I'm gonna ask Senator McCormick about that. Also, his governor,
Governor Josh Shapiro, a man just pled guilty for ourson

(00:44):
for trying to burn down the governor's house. We'll talk
about the political violence in this country.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Will it stop?

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Stay tuned for my interview with Senator Dave McCormick. Senator McCormick,
I appreciate you taking time to come on show. How
do you when you were running for Senate. So congratulations
on a winning So glad to have you in the Senate.
A great thank thank you so much for coming on.
We appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Oh, thank you. That was a it was a wild ride,
but we ended in the right place.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Are you enjoying it so far?

Speaker 2 (01:16):
I really am. You know, I feel like to be
to be the Senator from Pennsylvania at any time is
you know, a real privilege. But at this moment it's
so consequential. There's so much going on and everything from
you know, peace break down the Middle East to this
you know, landmark legislation that we put in place with

(01:38):
the big beautiful bill. And I'm the fifty fourth elected
Senator in the history of Pennsylvania and the ninth senator
who's ad in the history of America that's a graduate
of West Point. So I really feel like it's an
honor to be here. I really do.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
You know, you're a business guy, a military guy, so
you know, you're used to getting things done. That doesn't
always has in Congress no, So I imagine you know
that part's a little bit frustrating. You know, right now
the government's been shut down. You know, not quite the
longest shutdown we've had so far, but potentially it could
head that direction. How do you think this thing ends? Like,

(02:15):
how does this shutdown fight end?

Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well? To start with, I mean, this is I think
good reason and good evidence. Why you know, the majority
of Americans don't like Washington and don't like the people
that serve in Washington. Because here you have this, what
I think is clearly political gimmickstry to try to use
opening the government is leverage as a way to hold

(02:40):
the Republicans hostage and blackmail to get things that the
Democrats want. So it's the Schumer shutdown, and it's truly
going out of the normal course. Continuing resolution, a clean resolution,
which is what we put forward, is a way to
keep funding the government while we're going through the pro
process of appropriations. It happened fourteen times under Biden, and

(03:04):
the Democrats are now trying to use it as a
way to negotiate the extension of the healthcare subsidies that
were put in place during COVID. So I think it's
a it's bad policy. I think it's it's bad politics.
I'm really disgusted by the whole thing, and I don't
know how it ends. I think ultimately the Democrats and

(03:26):
Chuck Schumer, I think this is the Schumer shutdown. Chuck
Schumer is in a call to sack the left wing
of his party is insisting that he fight back against
President Trump. So this is an effort to poke President
Trump in the eye. And the reality is that Republicans
are going to stand on this because we're certainly not

(03:46):
going to be blackmailed into making some sort of negotiation
that we don't think makes sense. And so I think ultimately,
when the pressure grows when young men and women in
the armed services and in the boarder Patrol, in the
FAA and TSA aren't getting paid, I think that's the
fever will break. But it's really a bad idea. You know,

(04:08):
my fellow Republican, or my fellow a Pennsylvania Senator John
Fetterman has voted to open the government, and I of
course have voted nine times to open the government, and
he says that he would never vote to close the government.
He thinks it's a bad leadership, bad policy, regardless of
what parties in place. And that's the way I feel.

(04:29):
If roles were reversed and there were Democrats leading the
majority in the Senate, in the House, in the White House,
I would not vote to shut the government down. I
think it's it's really a disgrace.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Did you know Fetterman before he ran for Senate, Because
I'm not going to lie. During his election, I thought
he was like super progressive, like very liberal. So I've
been surprised. I did not see it coming that he
would end up being like one of the most reasonable
Democrats in Congress.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
You know, I did not I know him. He campaigned
against me, so we we've had a bad, sort of
a rough start. Yeah. Yeah, but I went to see
him after I had won, and you know, we were
both Pittsburgh guys, and he he's a very decent person.
And we don't agree on a lot of things, but

(05:19):
what we agree on we work together. I'm he's very trustworthy.
We have a great relationship, and I'd say we're friends.
And you know, the thing I admire about him is
he's authentic, but he's also common sense and he just
you know, he told me in the first day I
sat down with him, I'm never going to vote to
shut down the government. You know, fent and all is
a huge problem in Pennsylvania, so we co sponsored legislation

(05:42):
on that. We both are strong supporters of Israel and
the fight against anti Semitism. So we found a lot
of ways to work together. And I think it's because
that's who he is, but I think it's also because Pennsylvania.
You know, the people expect that I'm a Republican, he's
a Democrat. But the people expect us to work together
to get things done on their behalf. And I feel

(06:04):
like we're off to a great start in doing that.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Do you think there's beefed up subsidies extended or what
do you thinks can it?

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well? I think the starting point is you have to
say Obamacare, which was fifteen years ago, was designed to
lower prices, improve quality, and increase access. It has failed
on all counts. It's been you know, we've seen huge
growth and healthcare costs. And what happened during COVID, of course,

(06:34):
is the Obamacare subsidies were increased fairly dramatically, and you
now have a situation where there's people that make five
or six hundred thousand dollars a year that are actually
still getting additional subsidies. So something that was put in
place during COVID was not meant to be extended into perpetuity.

(06:56):
So you know, that's what that's where Republicans are coming from,
and listen, and we got to look at this carefully.
We can look at it with a gun to our
head and be blackmailed with the government shutdown. I think
there'll be, you know, varying views among Republicans. My view
is that our healthcare costs are spiring out of control.
We got to make sure healthcare is available to those

(07:17):
among us that have the most vulnerability, but we also
have to create market forces that are bringing down prices.
The President's trying to do that with pharmaceutical cost and
a bunch of other things. And so we'll look at
it closely, but it's it's going to be a tough issue.
And we've got to stop throwing money at a very

(07:38):
failed program in Obamacare.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
Got to take a quick break. If you like what
you're hearing, please you're on social media or maybe send
it to a friend or a family member. You look
at President Trump. You've served in Iraq, you've served in
the Middle East. You know, President Trump coming off of
getting those really hostages released, taking steps towards peace in
the Middle East hopefully, you know, fingers crossed of momentum

(08:00):
does that give him the party? And then also what
kind of momentum does this give him in trying to
also negotiate peace in Europe between Ukraine and Russia.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
I think it gives him enormous momentum. I think it's
incredible what's happening. Only Donald Trump, I think could have
been able to seize this moment. And I think it's,
you know, stepping back. You know that the headlines are
he got the hostages released, but it's much it's much
more profound than that. It's deep seated support for Israel

(08:32):
and fighting back against Tomas Hezballah. It's standing with Israel
with its attacks on Iran and using US capabilities to
destroy the nuclear capability of Iran. It's this incredibly deep
and strong relationships with the Arab countries, particularly the Gulf countries.

(08:53):
And it's it's the candor and the fair mindedness, all
of those things, and the and the steadfastness and saying
we have to bring the hostages home that brought us
to this moment, building on on Abraham Accords one from
his first administration. So this is an incredible moment of opportunity.

(09:13):
I think it's historic. In our lifetimes, there's never been
anything quite like it, and I think it lays the
groundwork for the possibility of a true Abraham Accords too,
where you could really see Israel and other countries across
the region coming together creating commerce, opportunity, opportunity for all.
This is really about opportunity for everybody, including the innocent

(09:36):
people in those who are innocent in Gaza. And that's
what I'm hoping we'll see.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
You know, I know school choice is important to you,
and you engaged in a press conference recently. I think
a lot of people don't understand that school choice was
in the Big Beautiful Bill. There's this one hundred percent
tax right off for money given to any school or
scholarship fund. Why don't Why don't you think that's sort
of been out there more. I mean, I feel like that's,
you know, one of the important selling points of the

(10:04):
Big Beautiful Bill.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, you know, it's it's such a it's such a
moment of success, and it should get more attention because
if you think about what the American dreams all about,
the American dream is creating opportunity, equality of opportunity for everybody.
And right now, many of our kids are are stranded.

(10:27):
They're hostage to a school system, often public schools and
urban areas or some rural areas where they're just disadvantage
from day one because of a very poor education. We're
losing the battle globally on math and science and engineering
and reading, and so we got to we got to
fix the system. And the only way to fix it

(10:47):
is to create competition and opportunity for for every student
to choose a school, it's best for them. For parents
to choose a school, it's best for them in terms
of being able to offer the education that they need.
There is school choice in our country, it's just for
rich people. Rich people can send their kids wherever they want.

(11:08):
So the reason this legislation was so important it allows
a tax exemption for donors that are donating to a
school choice, whether it's tutors or actual tuition programs. We
think it's going to generate billions and billions of dollars

(11:29):
that people will philanthropically give to school choice programs, and
it will not take a single dollar away from existing schools,
existing programs. So this is all additive to create school
choice Now what it requires is for the democratic governors

(11:50):
and Democrats. It is all the Republican governs are going
to opt into this. It requires the democratic governors to
opt in. And this will be a real test. What
are you for? Are you for an educational opportunity for everybody?
Are you? Are you four giving disadvantaged children the opportunity
to have the best schools possible? Or are you going
to be held accountable and held to the talking points

(12:14):
of the teachers' unions? And this is the moment we're in,
and I think I think it's a real test and
a huge moment of opportunity. I'll say one more thing
on this. None of this would have been possible without COVID,
I don't think. Because during COVID, what happened when kids
were getting schooled from home, their parents were looking over

(12:34):
their shoulders on these zoom calls and seeing how weak
the education system was, how hijacked it had been by
an ideological lefty progressive agenda in many cases. And now
with this legislation, we have a chance to really provide
opportunity for all.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
And Senator, before we go, you're governor of Pennsylvania, the
governor of Pennsylvania. A man recently pleaded guilty to assented
murder aggravated arson, as well twenty two counts of arson,
burglary and other offenses, sentenced to twenty five to fifty years.
We're seeing a lot of this, right, you know, Charlie
Kirk murdered the attack on ice in Dallas. This with

(13:15):
your governor, So a lot of political violence, like where
is this heading?

Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, it's it's entirely unacceptable. Political violence of any kind
is something that we need to have public officials like
myself and others step up and stand strongly against. I mean,
I'm I was on the stage a minute before Trump,
was Shad and Butler. You know, this is my governor,

(13:41):
Governor Shapiro. His family was in the governor's mansion when
when the arsonists came in. I was. I was friendly
with Charlie Kirk, who had campaigned with me and had
endorsed me. This is I mean, it's it's without doubt,
it's getting worse. It's something that we have to stand
up against. The bypart artisanship that I'm demonstrating with Center

(14:03):
Fetterman as an example, you can disagree with the other
side without being painful without trying to dehumanize them. And
I think this dehumanizing language, particularly on the left, to
be honest with you, when they call Republicans fascist or
Nazis or authoritarians, it is the first step towards violence,

(14:24):
because that dehumanization is an imitation to go to the
next step. We got to stop it. We've got to
stand strongly against it. And you know, I can't solve
that with the wave of a hand. But what I
can do and I try to do, is be a
great example of the kind of mutual respect we need
to have if we have very very different views on

(14:47):
the direction to take our great country.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
Center day, McCormick, appreciate you for making the time, sir,
Thank you so much

Speaker 2 (14:53):
Thank you, thanks for having me

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