STATE LAND ALONG I-95. GOOD MORNING. I’M ADAM SEXTON. TARIFFS ARE TAKING HOLD IN BUDGET. CRUNCH TIME IS LOOMING. THERE’S LOTS TO DISCUSS ON CLOSE UP. AND WE HAVE SENATOR MAGGIE HASSAN WITH US TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. SENATOR, THANKS FOR COMING IN THIS MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY OVER THESE LAST FEW MONTHS, A SORT OF TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE DELEGATION HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTING POTENTIAL CUTS TO MEDICAID AND ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF HIGHER TAXES ON TRADE THROUGH TARIFFS. LET’S START ON THE BUDGET SIDE OF THINGS. YOU KNOW, ALREADY, IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME OF YOUR COLLEAGUES ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE IN THE SENATE ARE SAYING, GOSH, WHAT THE HOUSE IS PROPOSING ON MEDICAID GOES TOO FAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? LOOK WHAT THE HOUSE IS PROPOSING. BUT WHAT WE’VE ALSO, FRANKLY, SEEN FROM SOME OF OUR SENATE COLLEAGUES ARE REALLY SIGNIFICANT CUTS BY ABOUT A THIRD TO MEDICAID. AND REMEMBER, MEDICAID IS WHAT COVERS SENIORS IN NURSING HOMES, COVERS ABOUT 180,000 PEOPLE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, SOME ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES, ABOUT 7000 PEOPLE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WHO ARE IN RECOVERY GETTING TREATMENT FOR THEIR ADDICTION ARE COVERED THROUGH MEDICAID EXPANSION. ABOUT A MILLION PEOPLE NATIONWIDE GET ADDICTION TREATMENT THAT WAY. AND WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS THE ADMINISTRATION AND REPUBLICANS PROPOSING TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES AND CORPORATE SPECIAL INTERESTS, AND THEY’RE PAYING THEY’RE PROPOSING TO PAY FOR IT WITH THESE DRASTIC MEDICAID CUTS. SO WE’RE REALLY SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THAT. THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HARMFUL NOT ONLY TO INDIVIDUALS, TO OUR RURAL HOSPITALS AND TO OUR ECONOMY. WE’RE ALSO FOCUSING ON THE HARMFUL TARIFFS OF A COMMITTEE THAT I’M THE TOP DEMOCRAT ON. THE JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE JUST PUT OUT A REPORT WE ARE SEEING IN BUSINESSES WITH FEWER WITH TEN OR FEWER EMPLOYEES, A 3% REDUCTION IN EMPLOYMENT ALREADY. THAT TRANSLATES NATIONALLY TO ABOUT 366,000 JOBS. AND THE UNCERTAINTY IS SOMETHING I’M HEARING ABOUT FROM BUSINESSES ALL ACROSS NEW HAMPSHIRE, LARGE AND SMALL. SO THE PRESIDENT IS NOT DOING WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO, WHICH IS TO LOWER COSTS. HE’S, IN FACT, IMPOSING TARIFFS THAT ARE RAISING THEM, CREATING CHAOS AND UNCERTAINTY. HE AND ELON MUSK ARE PROPOSING REALLY DRASTIC CUTS AND HAVE ALREADY ENGAGED IN KIND OF ARBITRARY AND RANDOM AND INEFFICIENT LAYOFFS BECAUSE THEY’RE HAVING TO HIRE SOME PEOPLE BACK BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT THEY’RE NOT ANALYZING BEFORE THEY’RE DOING THIS. AND HE’S ALSO IGNORING THE RULE OF LAW. AND IN SOME CASES, WILLFULLY DISOBEYING IT. THAT’S UNDERMINING OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT. IT’S UNDERMINING THE SERVICES THAT OUR NEIGHBORS REALLY RELY ON WHEN THEY WHEN THEY’RE HAVING A HARD TIME AND NEED A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA HELP. IT’S ALSO PREVENTING US FROM COMING TOGETHER AND ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAY THEY WANT US TO ADDRESS. EVERYTHING FROM LOWERING COSTS TO INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF HOUSING. SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE STAKES AND WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH OUR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES, BECAUSE SOME OF THEM SHOULD BE JOINING US TO COME TOGETHER AND DO THE WORK THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT US TO DO. AS YOU NOTED, WITH THOSE MEDICAID DOLLARS, NEW HAMPSHIRE IS HUGELY RELIANT ON THOSE MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER. BUT THERE IS THE BIGGER FISCAL REALITY HERE FACING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DOESN’T SPENDING HAVE TO BE CUT AT SOME POINT IN SOME PLACE IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THIS MASSIVE DEBT PROBLEM? WELL, WE DO HAVE A DEBT AND DEFICIT PROBLEM AND WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING IT. BUT THAT IS WHY YOU HEAR DEMOCRATS SAYING, WHY ARE YOU GIVING MORE TAX CUTS TO BILLIONAIRES AND CORPORATE SPECIAL INTERESTS? ONE OF THE PROPOSALS WE’RE HEARING FROM THE SENATE, IF THEY CHANGE THE WAY THEY ACCOUNT FOR THEIR TAX CUTS, WOULD DRIVE THE DEFICIT UP BY $37 TRILLION OVER 30 YEARS. THAT’S UNACCEPTABLE. THERE ARE A GROUP OF US, BIPARTISAN GROUP THAT HAVE LONG HELD THAT THERE ARE WAYS WE CAN CUT FEDERAL SPENDING, STREAMLINE SERVICES. THAT IS WORK THAT I’VE DONE IN A BIPARTISAN WAY. BUT THIS PRESIDENT, ALONG WITH ELON MUSK, FIRED A WHOLE BUNCH OF THE PEOPLE WHO DO THAT WORK. SO IT’S A REALLY IMPORTANT TIME FOR AMERICANS TO COME TOGETHER, THINK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES WE NEED TO ADDRESS. PROBABLY THE ONE I HEAR THE MOST ABOUT AFFORDABILITY OF THE THINGS THAT MATTER, RIGHT? HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, HOUSING, FOOD, FUEL, RIGHT. ALL OF THOSE THINGS WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND WE NEED TO DO SOME THINGS DIFFERENTLY, INCLUDING THE WAY OUR GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS. BUT WE CAN’T DO THAT IF WE HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS UNDERMINING OUR GOVERNMENT, TAKING AWAY CRITICAL SERVICES JUST AT A TIME WHEN PEOPLE NEED THEM, AND IMPOSING TARIFFS THAT ARE DRIVING PEOPLE’S COSTS UP. YEAH, THE COST OF LIVING OBVIOUSLY A HUGE ISSUE FOR AMERICANS RIGHT NOW. AND THE TRADE WAR WITH CHINA, THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT POTENTIALLY, WE’RE GOING TO START TO SEE IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS, WILL WE SEE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS ON PAR OR CLOSE TO WHAT WE SAW DURING COVID, OR IS THAT FEAR MONGERING? YOU KNOW, WHAT BUSINESSES ARE TELLING ME IS THAT THEY’RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT SUPPLY CHAIN FROM CHINA AND ELSEWHERE. NOW, OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID IN A BIPARTISAN WAY WITH THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT WAS ACTUALLY BRING CRITICAL MANUFACTURING BACK TO THE UNITED STATES. SO I AM HOPEFUL THAT SOME OF THOSE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS WON’T BE AS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE OF THE WORK WE DID IN THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT AROUND SEMICONDUCTORS AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. BUT AGAIN, THIS ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO UNWIND SOME OF THAT WORK. AND SO THAT CREATES MORE CHAOS, MORE CONFUSION. AND ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, THE CORRUPTION WE’RE SEEING FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION AND THE UNDERMINING OF THE RULE OF LAW, IT IS MAKING A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND A LOT OF AMERICANS REALLY UNCERTAIN ABOUT THEIR FUTURE, JUST AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED TO BE UNIFIED TO REALLY ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES THAT ARE THERE. BUT THEY ARE CHALLENGES THAT ARE SURMOUNTABLE IF WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS THEM. OBVIOUSLY, THIS WON’T BE HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON, BUT SHOULD THE SENATE TAKE ACTION, WOULD YOU SUPPORT CONSTRAINING THE POWER OF THE EXECUTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO TRADE POLICY AND TARIFFS? WELL, CERTAINLY WE HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF RESOLUTIONS ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE TO DO JUST THAT. WE ACTUALLY HAD A COUPLE OF REPUBLICANS JOIN US ON THAT, BECAUSE WE THINK THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN TAKING TARIFF ACTION THAT IS HARMFUL. AND WE THINK IN SOME CASES HE IS EXCEEDING HIS AUTHORITY AND INVOKING AUTHORITIES THAT WEREN’T MEANT TO BE USED IN THE WAY HE’S USING THEM. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS AGAIN A BROKEN PROMISE FROM THIS PRESIDENT. HE SAID HE WOULD LOWER COSTS ON DAY ONE. HE HAS NOT. AND IN FACT, THESE TARIFFS ARE DRIVING COSTS UP. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK TO BUSINESSES ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, BUILDING SUPPLIERS, FOR INSTANCE, THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT ALL OF THESE BUILDING SUPPLIES, YOU KNOW, WINDOWS, BRACKETS, ALL KINDS OF SUPPLIES, THE TARIFFS ARE DRIVING THESE PRICES UP. WE HAVE A HOUSING CRISIS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE NEED TO BE BUILDING MORE, NOT LESS. AND THE PRESIDENT’S POLICIES ARE MAKING THAT MORE EXPENSIVE. YOU MENTIONED THE RULE OF LAW. A BIG DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW IS AROUND DUE PROCESS. AND WHAT SORT OF PROTECTION SHOULD BE AFFORDED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDOCUMENTED, WHO ARE IN THE COUNTRY, OBVIOUSLY, CERTAIN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS, WHEN THEY’RE CAUGHT WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF THE BORDER OR HERE WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, I THINK TWO YEARS, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO A MORE RAPID FORM OF DEPORTATION. BUT FOR THOSE OTHERS, YOU KNOW, THERE’S BEEN THIS BIG DISCUSSION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT DUE PROCESS DO THEY DESERVE? AND THE ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO MOVE THE LINE ON THAT. IF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO SORT OF ABROGATE DUE PROCESS FOR THAT CLASSIFICATION OF IMMIGRANTS, WHAT’S THE SENATE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? WELL, LOOK, THEY’RE NOT JUST TRYING TO MOVE THE LINE. THEY’RE SAYING DUE PROCESS SHOULDN’T APPLY. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES SAYS IF YOU’RE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, YOU HAVE THE PROTECTIONS OF DUE PROCESS. WE HAVE SEEN THIS ADMINISTRATION DEPORT SOMEONE BY MISTAKE AND THEN REFUSE A COURT ORDER TO BRING THEM BACK. WE HAVE SEEN A TWO YEAR OLD UNITED STATES CITIZEN DEPORTED WHILE SHE IS UNDERGOING CANCER TREATMENT, WHICH IS UNCONSCIONABLE AND WRONG, ALL BECAUSE THIS ADMINISTRATION IS IGNORING DUE PROCESS. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS PART OF THAT BIPARTISAN IMMIGRATION BILL THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING ABOUT A YEAR AGO AT THIS TIME, AND THAT THE REPUBLICANS REJECTED. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT DID WAS SAY WE SHOULD HAVE A LOT MORE STAFFING AT THE FRONTLINE IMMIGRATION COURT LEVEL SO THAT WE CAN PROCESS THESE CASES MUCH MORE QUICKLY. IF SOMEBODY IS HERE ILLEGALLY, IF THEY DON’T HAVE A CASE FOR ASYLUM, A QUICK DUE PROCESS HEARING WILL DETERMINE THAT, AND THEN WE CAN DEPORT THEM QUICKLY. AND WE SHOULD. WE NEED TO KEEP OUR BORDER SECURE. WE NEED TO LISTEN TO OUR FRONTLINE PERSONNEL AT THE BORDER, WHETHER THEY’RE IN THE IMMIGRATION JUDGE POSITION OR THEY’RE A CBP OFFICER. WE NEED TO MAKE OUR PORT OF ENTRIES TECHNOLOGICALLY MODERN AND UP TO DATE, AND WE NEED TO DO MORE TO FIGHT FENTANYL FROM COMING ACROSS THE BORDER AND THE FENTANYL PRECURSORS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT’S ABOUT INVESTING IN THE SYSTEM. IT DOESN’T MEAN TAKING AWAY DUE PROCESS FROM PEOPLE, WHICH WOULD PREVENT THE KIND OF MISTAKES WE ARE SEEING. THIS ADMINISTRATION MAKE. THE PRESIDENT IS PLANNING A MILITARY PARADE FOR NEXT MONTH. ONE. DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA? TWO WILL YOU ATTEND? I DON’T KNOW WHETHER I WILL ATTEND OR NOT. I DOUBT IT BECAUSE, LOOK, THIS IS ABOUT A HUGE EXPENDITURE OF MONEY AT A TIME WHEN WE REALLY NEED TO BE ADDRESSING THINGS LIKE LOWERING COSTS, PROTECTING PEOPLE’S HEALTH CARE, PROTECTING PEOPLE’S ADDICTION, TREATMENT, INVESTING FOR, FOR INSTANCE, IN MORE IMMIGRATION JUDGES AND MORE CBP OFFICERS AND MORE TECHNOLOGY AT THE BORDER TO KEEP OUR PEOPLE SAFE. AND INSTEAD, WE HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS GOING TO TAKE A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR A PARADE. I AM ALL FOR CELEBRATING AMERICA’S HISTORY. WE ARE COMING UP TO OUR 250TH, A WHOLE SLEW OF 250TH CELEBRATIONS, AND THE BEST WAY WE CAN CELEBRATE OUR COUNTRY IS RECOMMITTING OURSELVES TO OUR FOUNDING PRINCIPLES. INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM, RULE OF LAW, AND THE POWER RESTING WITH THE PEOPLE AND NOT A PRESIDENT WHO SAYS HE WANTS TO BE KING. THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAS TAKEN SOME HEAT FOR A SERIES OF MISSTEPS AND MISHAPS THERE AT THE PENTAGON. ALMOST TOO LONG TO LIST HERE IN TERMS OF THE REPORTS, WHAT’S YOUR ASSESSMENT OF SECRETARY HEGSETH AT THIS POINT? LOOK, PETE HEGSETH IS A FOOLISH AND RECKLESS PERSON USING THE SIGNAL APP THAT COMMERCIAL TEXTING APPLICATION TO PROVIDE AND DISCUSS SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN REAL TIME WITH OTHERS IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO WITH HIS WIFE AND HIS PERSONAL LAWYER, WAS RECKLESS. IT WAS STUPID. AND IT PUT OUR SERVICE MEMBERS IN HARM’S WAY. OTHER COUNTRIES ARE WATCHING, RIGHT? WE HAVE CHINA AND RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA ADVERSARIES WATCHING, AND WE HAVE A FOOLISH, RECKLESS PERSON RUNNING THE PENTAGON, ONE OF THE HARDEST JOBS IN THE WORLD. HE SHOULD RESIGN OR BE FIRED. OKAY, SENATOR HASSAN, DON’T GO ANYWHERE. WHEN WE COME BACK, WE’LL TALK ABOUT THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE SLATED FOR CLOSURE IN THE NORTH COUNTR