00:02:26 · Kailey Leinz, Patrick McHenry, S0
[00:02:26] S3: And let's turn now to our political panel who's joining us here at World Headquarters in New York. Patrick McHenry, former chair of the House Financial Services Committee and House Speaker Pro Tem, alongside Adam Hodge, managing director at Bully Pulpit International and a Democratic strategist. Both of them are Bloomberg contributors. Troy Jackson is making promises about what he's going to do when he takes the oath and sits in this seat in January. Tallarico was doing the same thing. All of these candidates have big hopes for what happens a couple months from now. But we still have to finish out this congressional session before that happens. And Mr. Chairman, I'll come to you first. This lame duck is going to be potentially a very ambitious one for Republicans as they hold on to their last breaths of power, at least for the time being. What realistically can we expect to get accomplished in their remaining time? [00:03:09] S1: Well, I think they're far less ambitious as the night is taking it out of them. [00:03:15] S0: Right. [00:03:15] S1: And on a night like this, the vibes going back to D.C. among Republicans who are in the majority in the House and the Senate. and do have an ambitious agenda, will be of utter dejection. This is not some marginal outcome. This is one where your party's been repudiated. [00:03:31] S0: It hurts.
00:03:31 · S0, Patrick McHenry, David Gura
[00:03:31] S0: It hurts. [00:03:33] S1: And it's very difficult to think clearly when you are in pain and grieving. And so what is on the agenda here for the lame duck is the National Defense Authorization Act that the Congress has passed. every year since Truman was president. I think they'll prioritize that. I think they'll prioritize a continued resolution to punt this into keeping the government open into next year. Mind you, it was a fight with the Democratic Party and President Trump that resulted in the largest government shutdown this Congress. in American history. So I think we're going to see more of that next year. But you'll have a CR, National Finance Authorization, a CR, and perhaps a permitting reform bill that has been prioritized by soon-to-be whip Brian Schatz. [00:04:19] S4: Adam, you gave your props a minute ago to Hakeem Jeffries and the focus that these Democratic candidates had. I noticed that when I interviewed them, affordability was often the first or second word that came out of each candidate's mouth. How does he maintain that focus among his caucus going forward here as he tries to prioritize a policy agenda for them?
00:04:19 · David Gura, Adam Hodge, S0
[00:04:19] S4: Adam, you gave your props a minute ago to Hakeem Jeffries and the focus that these Democratic candidates had. I noticed that when I interviewed them, affordability was often the first or second word that came out of each candidate's mouth. How does he maintain that focus among his caucus going forward here as he tries to prioritize a policy agenda for them? [00:04:34] S5: I think the fact that it is a such a sizable majority and the majority will be made by a lot of these moderate districts and moderate wins across the country. you want to protect those incumbents in the sort of more difficult seats that will then be to hold in 2028. But there's no question, the focus from the very beginning was on affordability. From the shutdown, which was about health care and rising costs for the American people, that has clearly been an undercurrent, also on top of gas prices. I think you're going to see them try to focus on that issue exclusively. [00:05:06] S0: In the lame.
00:05:06 · S0, Adam Hodge, David Gura, Patrick McHenry
[00:05:06] S0: In the lame. [00:05:07] S5: Duck, he will not be surprised if he tries to actually help cut a little bit of deal to give him some breathing room to whether that is a debt limit extension, whether that is a CR that goes a little bit more time for him to sort of corral the caucus and get things moving. I think it'd be in his political interest to try to do that. I don't know that the Republicans will let him clear the decks a little bit going forward, but there's no question that would be in his interest. The defense bill is a really tough one to see because I think... There is clearly a backlash to the war and what it has meant for the Republicans and the cost there. And you're going to find a lot of voters that that is the one check that they have. Do you continue opening the purse to fund this war when it's clearly backlash against so many dead Republicans in this race? So I think that's where I think we'll see how things shake out. But there's no question. Hakeem Jeffries will become speaker, a historic speaker. with a much more comfortable margin and a much more comfortable time ahead, the night ahead. [00:06:08] S4: Patrick McHenry, very quickly here, do Republicans feel emboldened now going forward? Are they less under the control of the president in light of what's happened here? Can they cut the kind of deals that I was talking about? [00:06:18] S1: No. [00:06:18] S0: No, okay.
00:06:18 · S0, Patrick McHenry
[00:06:18] S0: No, okay. [00:06:19] S1: And the takeaway here was you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. And so, separating for the president. So they made the active choice to stick closely with him. We see the results and everybody, you know, the House was swept out in a very uniform fashion. The Senate rode on candidate quality, but was uniform in fashion. This is a substantial way for the Democratic Party. There is no way to argue counter to that. What you do with that is really a telltale sign. Do House Republicans come in with the leadership elections that they have to take on in the next couple weeks? Do they make a change there? Do they double down on the direction they're going? We'll see that take form in the next week. But I think all light will be on the incoming Democratic majority. crowning achievement will be a unified Democratic majority in the House with his leadership team all going in without any opposition, which is a substantial statement about unity within the Democratic Party going into their control of Congress.
00:07:23 · Kailey Leinz, David Gura, Ron Brownstein, S0
[00:07:23] S3: Decision Desk HQ projecting that the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will win in Michigan's Senate race against Mike Rogers. Of course, this is not a pickup for Democrats. This is a hold. This is the seat being vacated by the outgoing Democratic Senator Gary Peters. That would make him the first Muslim ever elected as a United States senator. And I raise that not just because of the historical significance, David, but because that had been a major issue, part of the closing argument Mike Rogers was making against him in the final stretches of this race. But it does seem Abdul El-Sayed is going to hold on to this seat for Democrats. All right. [00:07:58] S4: President Trump's MAGA coalition just got vaporized over the course of the night. That is the view from Ron Brownstein, who is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He joins us now. And Ron, I can't resist having you react to the news that Kailey just read on our air a moment ago here, the fact that Abdul El-Sayed has won this race in Michigan. I know it is a state to which you traveled during the course of this campaign. And I'm just genuinely curious what your reaction is to this news. [00:08:18] S2: Well, you know, over the last 10 years, it has often seemed that President Trump has repealed all the laws of political gravity. [00:08:26] S0: But in this election, you know. [00:08:28] S2: I've called it for months the Casablanca election because the fundamental things apply. And the most fundamental thing in modern midterm elections is that views of the incumbent president is the single most important factor.