WASHINGTON – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt on Monday to discuss the Biden Administration’s border crisis, Democrats’ partisan $1.9 trillion stimulus package, election integrity, and school re-openings.
Partial Transcript below:
Hagerty on the Biden Border Crisis: “Well, the crisis at the border is certainly one of their own making. I reached out to the Biden White House almost a month ago to warn them not to do away with the Mexico [Migrant Protection] protocols, to warn them that this would likely be a crisis, to ask some simple questions: Will these people be tested for coronavirus as they come across the border? Will they be inoculated before American citizens? Will they get work permits? How will you know if they have escaped and how will you get them back? No answers as of yet.”
Hagerty on Democrats’ Partisan $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Package: “One of the largest, most aggressively liberal bills ever passed $1.9 trillion at a time where we already have a trillion dollars from previous COVID relief packages that have yet to be spent. This wasn’t about pandemic relief. This was the Democrats’ utilizing a crisis to push through their liberal agenda, yet again. The White House Chief of Staff said, this is the ‘most progressive piece of legislation… in a generation’. [It’s] one of the most embarrassing pieces of legislation we’ll see in a generation, in my opinion…”
Hagerty on Democrats Giving Stimulus Checks to Felons and Illegal Immigrants: “We actually tried to make certain that illegal immigrants would not get stimulus checks. The Democrats blocked that. Even felons in penitentiary right now, they’re going to get stimulus checks while they’re in the penitentiary. These are creating all the wrong incentives in particularly as you say, when they sat there and blocked our attempt to block these stimulus checks from going to illegal immigrants, we’re saying that’s just an invitation to come right across the border.”
Hagerty on H.R. 1: “They’re going to attack it from every angle, but the Constitution clearly puts the conduct of these elections in the domain of state legislatures. What the Democrats want to do is federalize it at every turn. They’re going to loosen the requirements continually. They’re even talking about not allowing states to require a photo ID. They want to be able to sign up by internet. This is going to be fraught with opportunities for more fraud and less security I should say.”
Hagerty on his Legislation to Ensure Election Integrity: “What it would do is it would force an audit of all the federal elections that took place across the states in 2020. There were some very serious constitutional problems that took place. These problems would have to be addressed and they’d have to be fixed before they get another federal dollar. Over $800 million was spent on quote election security in the 2020 election. And if states are going to violate the constitution, they certainly don’t deserve to get any of that federal money.”
Hagerty on the Biden Admin’s Lack of Plan to Reopen Schools: “I tell you Rob so much for President Biden’s promise that he would have schools reopened within a hundred days. This has been just pathetic. I think what you heard the White House Press Secretary say is we still have no plan. That’s where they are right now…. The teachers unions may like it, but certainly not the parents and the students. It’s putting us well behind.”