WEBVTT

00:01.900 --> 00:04.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: The U.S.
House passed a nearly $900
billion budget for the

00:04.233 --> 00:09.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
armed forces today largely
on partisan lines. Most
Democrats voted no after

00:10.800 --> 00:13.333 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
Republicans added
anti-abortion and other
provisions to the bill.

00:13.333 --> 00:18.000 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
House Speaker Kevin
McCarthy and Democratic
Leader Hakeem Jeffries
laid out the divide today.

00:20.433 --> 00:22.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY
(R-CA): A military cannot
defend themselves if
you train them in woke.

00:24.800 --> 00:26.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
We don't want Disneyland
to train our military.
We want our men and women

00:26.833 --> 00:30.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
in the military to have
every defense possible. And
that's what our bill does.

00:30.466 --> 00:34.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY):
As House Democrats, we
are going to cut out the

00:34.466 --> 00:39.333 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
cancer that the extreme
MAGA Republicans have
put in the National
Defense Authorization Act,

00:39.333 --> 00:44.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
no matter what it takes,
and we're going to partner
with Senate Republicans and

00:46.300 --> 00:49.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Senate Democrats to get
a responsible National
Defense Authorization Act.

00:49.033 --> 00:52.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: New York Times
congressional correspondent
Karoun Demirjian is here to

00:52.633 --> 00:56.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
help us understand the
plan's implications for the
military and in Congress.

00:56.766 --> 00:58.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Demirjian, good to see you.

00:58.300 --> 01:00.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, The New
York Times: Good to be here.

01:00.466 --> 01:01.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: So, before we
get into the details of
some of these provisions,

01:01.500 --> 01:03.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
just give us the top lines here.

01:03.033 --> 01:05.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
What are the key funding
changes in this bill?

01:05.433 --> 01:10.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: We're
looking at a bill that
authorizes $886 billion to

01:10.066 --> 01:12.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
be spent on various defense and
national security priorities.

01:12.933 --> 01:17.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
It covers everything from
programs to help the United
States better counter

01:19.566 --> 01:23.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
China and Russia, sends
$300 million in security
assistance to Ukraine,

01:25.066 --> 01:29.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and includes a 5.2 percent pay
increase for active-duty troops.

01:29.300 --> 01:31.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
AMNA NAWAZ: So, as we
mentioned, it passed
mostly along party lines

01:31.833 --> 01:36.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
219-210. Why did so many
Democrats vote against it?
What are they opposing?

01:36.500 --> 01:41.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Well,
in the last few days, the
Republicans in the House
have been adding a series

01:41.533 --> 01:45.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
of measures, amending them into
the bill, that do a whole bunch
of things Democrats don't like.

01:45.933 --> 01:50.900 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
There was a measure that
they voted on yesterday
that rolled back a
Pentagon policy that offers

01:52.900 --> 01:55.566 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70%
time off and travel
reimbursement to people
who have to go --
service members who have

01:55.566 --> 01:59.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
to go out of state to obtain
an abortion after the fall
of Roe v. Wade. There was

01:59.166 --> 02:02.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
another provision they attached
that would end the military's
ability to offer health

02:02.933 --> 02:06.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
care coverage for gender
transition surgeries
and hormone therapies.

02:06.833 --> 02:11.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
And there was a provision
that slashed all the Offices
of Diversity training

02:11.133 --> 02:15.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
and the officials that
worked in those offices and
another one that today that

02:15.166 --> 02:19.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
banned the DOD from actually
implementing Biden's climate
change executive orders.

02:19.833 --> 02:23.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
So all of these things
together are anathema
for the Democratic Party.

02:23.333 --> 02:25.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And so all but four
said, we're not on this

02:25.966 --> 02:28.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
anymore. This was supposed to be
a bipartisan bill. And it's not.

02:28.600 --> 02:31.433 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
AMNA NAWAZ: There were
two notable Republican
amendment efforts that

02:31.433 --> 02:35.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
did fail. There was an attempt
to limit Ukraine aid. That was

02:35.333 --> 02:39.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
backed by Republican Matt
Gaetz and also Marjorie
Taylor Greene, among others.

02:39.766 --> 02:44.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
There was another provision
to restore the old Confederate
names of military bases.

02:44.700 --> 02:47.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Why did some of those provisions
fail to make it into this spell?

02:47.400 --> 02:50.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Well, look,
the Confederate name issue
came up a couple of years ago,

02:50.133 --> 02:53.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
and it was -- as much as
President Trump at the
time was pushing for it,

02:53.466 --> 02:55.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
it wasn't really completely
popular in the Republican Party.

02:55.933 --> 02:59.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
So the fact that you had
people defect on that one
in the GOP wasn't all that

02:59.733 --> 03:03.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
much of a surprise. The Ukraine
one is really interesting,
because we always knew that the

03:03.766 --> 03:08.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Ukraine -- the initiative to
try to cut the Ukraine funding
was going to fail. There's

03:08.133 --> 03:11.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
too many mainstream Republicans
and leaders in that party
that had been outspoken about,

03:11.933 --> 03:15.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
we need to actually maintain
the support for Ukraine,
because this is about the

03:15.933 --> 03:18.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
West versus Russia, and we
don't want to have to fight
a war with Russia and NATO.

03:18.933 --> 03:23.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
But while Democrats and
Republicans stayed together to
vote them down, the interesting

03:26.300 --> 03:29.333 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
thing is how many
more Republicans voted
to actually cut that
funding. About a year ago,

03:31.333 --> 03:34.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
we saw 57 Republicans vote
against a bill that was just
to send about $40 billion

03:34.733 --> 03:38.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
of humanitarian and military
assistance to Ukraine to
help with the war effort.

03:38.133 --> 03:42.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Now we saw 70 Republicans
say no more money for
Ukraine, and I think it was

03:42.766 --> 03:47.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
about 89 Republicans said, let's
cut that $300 million program
that I just mentioned. And so

03:49.433 --> 03:51.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
that means those numbers
are ticking up. So even
though they didn't pass,

03:51.133 --> 03:53.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
it's interesting to see
where the pendulum is
swinging in the parties.

03:53.400 --> 03:55.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: Some real divides
there in the party to track.

03:55.466 --> 03:58.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
But let's talk about the
Senate version now, which will
likely look very different...

03:58.800 --> 04:00.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Very.

04:00.266 --> 04:01.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: ... in the
Democratic-controlled Senate.

04:01.900 --> 04:05.066 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
So this is a critical
must-pass bill. How
does this get resolved?

04:05.066 --> 04:07.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Well,
that's a very good question.

04:07.066 --> 04:10.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
You're going to have a
really, really Republican
measure from the House

04:10.500 --> 04:14.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
coming face to face with a
really, really Democratic
measure looking at the Senate.

04:14.800 --> 04:19.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
Now, if this were left
just up to the chairs and
ranking members of the
Armed Services Committee,

04:21.700 --> 04:23.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
I would say that it
would end up being a very
boring bill. The four

04:23.866 --> 04:27.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
of them actually wanted to
do a bill that was going
to be very bipartisan,

04:27.233 --> 04:29.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that was not going to get into
these culture wars fights.

04:29.733 --> 04:32.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
And if you just left the
four of them in the room -- a
room together to work it out,

04:32.866 --> 04:35.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
they'd probably say, let's
just -- we did what we
needed to do,but let's just

04:35.933 --> 04:39.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
do something that we can pass
with both houses of Congress and
a strong bipartisan majority.

04:39.900 --> 04:44.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
But it's got to go through a
conference process where a whole
lot more people are going to be

04:44.200 --> 04:48.233 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
at the table. And they're
going to be fighting
really hard to include
these provisions. And so,

04:48.233 --> 04:52.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
at the end of the day,
it's not clear if they can
get a resolution for that.

04:52.233 --> 04:56.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
And that would be a situation
where you would break
Congress' streak of nearly six

04:56.200 --> 05:00.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
decades of passing this
annually, which would basically
mean that -- the defense

05:00.566 --> 05:04.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
bill is the biggest policy
bill Congress does every
year. They're supposed to do

05:04.000 --> 05:07.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
these policy bills before
passing the budgets
for absolutely every
part of the government.

05:07.533 --> 05:12.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Everything else has fallen away
but defense, because it's such
a huge, huge part of the budget.

05:14.166 --> 05:16.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
But I guess the worst-case
scenario, if they can't
actually get resolution,

05:16.533 --> 05:19.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
is that defense just goes
the way of everything
else has so far.

05:19.600 --> 05:21.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: You know, I
have to ask about one of the
provisions you mentioned,

05:21.833 --> 05:25.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
to cut the DEI, or Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion, Office.

05:25.833 --> 05:30.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
During the floor debate
last night, one Republican
congressman, Eli Crane,

05:30.300 --> 05:35.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
actually used an offensive
and outdated term to
refer to Black Americans.

05:36.700 --> 05:36.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Yes. AMNA
NAWAZ: He said "colored people."

05:38.400 --> 05:40.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
Doesn't that seemed to
undercut the Republican
argument that these

05:40.233 --> 05:42.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
kinds of DEI trainings
and that office is needed?

05:42.566 --> 05:44.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Yes,
there were a lot of
Democrats that went on

05:44.733 --> 05:47.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
the floor after that to say you
need DEI training in Congress if

05:47.633 --> 05:50.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
that's the terminology
that you're going to use
to describe this stuff.

05:50.400 --> 05:55.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
I mean, look, the GOP won its
fights in the House. Those
-- it's not going to win

05:57.366 --> 05:59.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
the fights through Congress.
They are going to have to make
compromises. But they have

05:59.266 --> 06:01.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
also been making their argument
based on this line of, we
don't need DEI training,

06:01.966 --> 06:06.000 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
it's a waste of money,
it just encourages more
racism, everyone's equal,
let's just say that.

06:06.000 --> 06:09.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
But the onus is on them
to kind of walk the
walk. And if people like

06:09.400 --> 06:13.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Eli Crane are using the terms
if they do, it really undercuts
the argument that they're

06:13.300 --> 06:17.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
making and makes it look
like they're actually
trying to roll things back.

06:17.366 --> 06:19.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
AMNA NAWAZ: A lot to
track there. We know you
will be following it all.

06:19.666 --> 06:23.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
That is New York Times
congressional correspondent
Karoun Demirjian
joining us tonight.

06:23.266 --> 06:24.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Karoun Demirjian,
good to see you.

06:24.766 --> 06:25.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Good to
see you too. Thank you.