The House of Representatives has passed a $95 billion war bill that gives aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan (mostly Ukraine), with the help of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. Now, as the bill heads to the Senate, Sen. Mike Lee tells Glenn that “this is an insult to the American people.” But why does it seem like everyone is so set on war? Sen. Lee explains why NATO’s promise to invite Ukraine into the alliance would practically be “declaring war against a nuclear-armed adversary,” Russia.
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Mike Lee joins us now, from Washington, DC. There is a vote coming up for Ukraine. And, you know, Mike Lee just loves Vladimir Putin. And so he's against that Ukraine bill. Hello, Mike Lee.
MIKE: Naturally. You know, I don't know how to say good day to you, sir, in Russian. But I'm still working on it.
GLENN: Yeah, right. $95 billion. It only will take 41 senators to stop it.
There are 49 Republicans in the Senate. But you saw what happened in the House. They had Ukrainian flags. It was disgusting, Mike.
MIKE: Yep. Celebrating a foreign flag, on US soil, in a legislative chamber in the United States Senate. Seems odd to me. But not nearly as odd, is the fact that we're shelling out $95 billion with a B. At a time, when we don't have that money. So it's borrowed, which means we're going to print it, which means it's going to contribute even more to inflation. It's already causing Americans to shell out an additional $1,000 every single month, just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. This is an insult to the American people.
When you ask the American people what they want, it's overwhelming, they say no. Look, regardless of what you think about what's going on, in Ukraine. And I intensely dislike Vladimir Putin. I would love for Ukraine to win this battle. But, you know, Glenn, we've spent $113 billion plus on this whirlwind. Why are we spending another $51 billion to that effort, when Europe hasn't stepped up. We have given more than every other nation on earth, combined. And this is in the backyard of our European allies, who, by the way, we've been backfilling their security needs for decades. Through NATO. This is their problem, more immediately, than it is ours.
We shouldn't give a dime. Especially when our own border is not secure.
While we have a 34 and a half trillion dollar debt. And while Europe still hasn't paid up, a sum, not just equal to. But greater than what we put in so far. This is shameful.
GLENN: I heard someone in the House is that I, that their border is our border. No, it's not. No, it's not. Our border is our border.
Their border is their border. I mean, we're not getting any money to protect ourselves. We have a real and present danger, because of our own border.
Everything that I'm reading, I don't even know -- I don't even know what this is about, Mike. Other than, money laundering.
Sending money over there. And it's all going to oligarchs.
We're funding this thing. We're sending the message, that we want war. We are talking about bringing Ukraine in. And making them part of NATO.
Making other states part of NATO.
That is kind of a red line for Vladimir Putin.
And now, I read today. I think it was Poland, that says, they're ready for nuclear missiles in Poland. What do you think Vladimir Putin is going to do?
Exactly what we would do, if you put those in Acapulco.
MIKE: Right. First of all, Glenn, you're wrong about the border issue. We all know that Kyev just a few miles away from Laredo.
So you're mistaken there.
GLENN: Yeah.
MIKE: But, look, the idea of adding Ukraine to NATO, is itself an idea about declaring war. The United States declaring war, against Russia. Because Ukraine, of course, who is at war with Russia.
And if we brought Ukraine into NATO, we would have an Article V obligation to fight Russia. So let's just call this what it is. Those conversations are about declaring war with a nuclear-armed adversary. I know Russia, economically and militarily is not on par with the United States. Nonetheless, their nuclear arsenal is.
Their nuclear arsenal is massive. In part because they have cheated on us like crazy for decades on our nuclear arms treaties.
And consequently, you've got to tread lightly in this area. And nothing says the opposite of tread lightly, quite like declaring war on a nuclear armed adversary.
GLENN: It is insanity. It's insanity.
We are -- we are in so much. If we don't turn this around with elections, in the House, the Senate, and the White House, if -- if we don't turn this around, we're done. We're absolutely -- this is -- these actions are the actions of madmen. Who are -- I mean, if I was being charitable, would say, they're just horribly wrong, at everything they do.
But I -- I mean, I just don't know how to -- how to explain it.
And then the Republicans. I mean, what happened to -- to Johnson. Speaker Johnson.
I've always heard he was a good guy. He was devout. He really understood the Constitution. And he is just like, I mean -- he is part of the borgue.
MIKE: Well, he's Churchill. CNN literally -- literally called him Winston Churchill.
He had his Winston Churchill moment.
GLENN: Wait. Wait.
Let me give you the CNN headline.
By passing Ukraine aid, Johnson became an unlikely Churchill.
MIKE: Yeah. Last I checked, Glenn, Winston Churchill defended and protected his country while it was under attack, and threatened with invasion. He didn't send America -- British treasure to another continent and call that border security for his own home country.
This is absolutely crazy. But this is part of the fantasy land that we live in.
A lot of these guys, want to think of themselves as Churchill. And they think, this is the way to do it.
By printing money we don't have. And putting on the backs of hard-working Americans. Who are made incrementally poorer, and a lot less safe, every time we do crap like this.
GLENN: All right. So we want you to call your senator today.
Call your senator.
You call all 50 or 49 senators from the Republicans.
And respectfully, nicely. Kindly.
Tell them, not to spend this money, in Ukraine.
And I will tell you, I have talked to a lot of people. There are more and more good guys up on Capitol Hill.
They're still outnumbered. But there are more really good dependable guys.
And I hear from them every time.
When the audience calls, it makes a difference.
So please call. And -- and tell them, no! No more spending money on Ukraine!
No!
Spend it on our border.
Keep us safe. What are you doing? Stop it.
One other thing I want to talk to you about, Mike. Is I don't understand. The president just doled out, I think it was another $7 billion in the last couple of days. On relieving student debt.
30 percent of that money, I think is going to people that make over $300,000 a year.
What the hell -- how -- how do you -- when somebody says no to the Supreme Court and does it anyway, and says, I know I don't have this power.
And the Supreme Court just told me, I have this power.
But I'm not stopping.
What has to happen, to get a president who thinks he's just the king, from spending our money and giving it to people, who don't deserve it!
They -- they took out the loan. Not me.
MIKE: Yeah. So in the first place, I think the most obvious answer is, don't elect to the presidency, someone who is manifestly unfit for office.
There's also a deeper question. That we all need to assess, which is, decades of congressional forfeiture, of fundamentally legislative authority, to the executive branch.
Have to a degree empowered this kind of action.
Whenever we enact vague loosy-goosy language that gives a degree of discretion, to the president. And the bureaucrats who work under him, in the executive branch.
Who are handing over a loaded gun, to people who we have to assume, will from time to time, behave as imbeciles. And so we've got reverse that trend.
And, yes, it's lawless what he's doing. He tried to do it under a the different legal theory. A while back. And was shot down by the Supreme Court.
But as soon as that happened, it's a sad commentary, on the law in our country. Without a hint of hesitation. He just said, okay.
Well, I'll find another legal mechanism, by which I could do it.
I believe he had the authority to do it. Last time, I don't think he had the authority to do it this time. But we have to clean up our laws, so that we get rid of any kind of vague delegation of power of the president.
Because they can't be trusted. This is why we can't have nice things. And this is why presidents shouldn't be given vast discretion.
GLENN: On both sides.
STU: Senator, isn't it true. I mean, when you have a thing like the student loan situation. Where he's ignoring the Supreme Court.
And just trying to jam all this through.
He did this with the -- with the eviction moratorium as well. Aren't these examples of specifically what the Founders were talking about, when they were introducing the idea of impeachment? I mean, I understand the pragmatic limitations of that politically, with something like this.
But isn't this, shouldn't this be included in the impeachment inquiry?
MIKE: Yes, without question. And, Stu, you are right. Except, remember, with the new definition of impeachment that we had after last week, basically nothing is impeachable.
I mean, you can lie to Congress, knowingly, intentionally, under oath.
And according to new Senate precedent set by Senate Democrats last week, that's not impeachable. So too, if you take legislative authority that commands you to do X, and not Y. And you instead do Y and not X.
And that is also not impeachable. So it begs the question. What is impeachable anymore?
I don't know. According to the Senate Democrats, nothing is. So this is really troubling. Yet another reason why we have to focus on who we elect as president. I hope we elect Donald Trump as president this fall. And I hope we elect a new raft of lawmakers, not just Republicans, but Republicans who understand the vital pressing need to right size our federal government, to restore the vertical protection of federalism, and the horizontal separation of powers.
There is no other way to save our republic than that. And yet, that gets if a terror, too, little attention from Republicans these days.
Because they're just too damn busy, spending money on wars that aren't ours with money we don't have.
GLENN: Mike, 30 seconds.
Any comment on the Trump case going on in New York right now?
MIKE: This is just a sad display of lawfare, of the weaponization of our legal system. There isn't anybody who thinks this would be going on, were he not the presidential frontrunner from the Republican Party.
They would never be doing it. And so speaking of things that need to go differently in elections, I hope that the people of New York will see this as the embarrassment to the Empire State that it is. And see that this as something that does not bode well.
If you have a business in New York. I -- I wonder how long you can handle this, knowing that, you know, sure, Donald Trump is the target today. Who will be next?
GLENN: Yeah. And they can take a misdemeanor and make it into a felony.
A misdemeanor that the statute of limitations has run out on. And somehow or another, make that a felony, and bring that into court.
No one is safe. No one is safe.
Thank you so much, Mike. I appreciate it.
Senator, Mike Lee.