We're joined now from Capitol Hill to continue this conversation by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
Senator, it's good to see you.
We thank you for coming back here as we conduct the conversation here overfunding and our view of the situation in Ukraine. President Zelenski is of course coming to town this week following the UN General Assembly where Anne Marie is right now. He's going to go to the White House and apparently meet at least with Senate leadership and Speaker McCarthy. Senator Cruz, do you plan to meet with President Zelensky and what would you tell him?
I will, he will be sitting down with senators and I'll be visiting with him.
Listen.
I think it is in the United States's interest for Russia to lose this war, for Putin to lose this war. But I also think the Biden administration has screwed this up almost from the get go. The Ukraine War did not have to happen, and the reason it happened is because Joe Biden formally waives sanctions on Russia on Putin
for the nord Stream two pipeline. Those were so bipartisan sanctions that I had authored that I had written in the law and that had prevented a war, and Biden started as presidency by effectively surrendering on those sanctions to Putin. It's what caused the invasion. And I got to say now, the way the Biden administration is conducting this war is
utterly incoherent. Right now, Joe Biden is asking for twenty four billion dollars to go to Ukraine to fight the war, but simultaneously they're announcing that they sent sixteen billion dollars to Iran. Iran is using that money to make drones, and those drones are going to Russia and the Russians are using them to kill Ukrainians.
And so.
It's funding both sides of the war.
It's not sixteen billion dollars, it's six billion dollars, and it's Ranian funds. It's Iranian funds that we're in South Korea, which ran made that money when they got waivers from the Trump administration to sell oil and gas. We saw similar versions of these kind of funds being used, whether it was in India, whether it was in Japan under the Trump administration. But I'm confused about how sanctions with
Putin caused a war with Ukraine. At the same time, it's Republicans in the House who are concerned about sending more aid to Ukraine. How do you really thread the needle there between the two if you don't agree with the Biden administration is doing, do you agree with your House Republicans?
So let me break down what you said, because there were a number of things you said that were incorrect. Number one, you're right that what they announced this week was six billion dollars in a hostage exchange for five hostages. But that follows two weeks after they released ten billion dollars that came from Iraq to Iran. So in total, it's sixteen billion dollars than the last couple of weeks
they have flowed into the Ayatolas coffers. And what this is a part of is essentially the Biden's administration to re enter an Iran nuclear deal. I think this is a down payment on that nuclear deal. And let's be clear, I don't care if this was Iran's money or not. The Iatola Kameini is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Is responsible for murdering hundreds of Americans, hundreds of our allies, and he routinely leads mobs enchanting
death to America and death to Israel. And it is a bizarre political obsession of the Biden White House to want to send him tens of billions of dollars. It is a one hundred percent certainty this money that they're sending to Iran will be used to fund terrorism, to kill Americans.
Americans will die.
Not only that by paying ransom, they're effectively sending a bounty of three billion dollars a person on Americans. We will see future American hostages from Iran and from other nations because of this deal. But when it comes to Ukraine, it's also utterly incoherent because this money is going to drones that Iran is producing, and Iran is the number one weapons supplier to Russia. So the Biden administration is funding the drones that are being used to killing soldiers.
And use for humanitarian aid. Cenator, I'm going to give it over to Joe. But the fund being they're just not you are wrong and over the court talking points.
Well, but they're factually incorrect. You're repeating talking to Let me ask you about that.
Because the secretary, the Secretary of State senator said that that this is in fact money that's been put in accounts that are only allowed for humanitarian aid. And you talked about a secret nuclear deal. You said that with the Iranian regime that the Biden administration is not put in front of Congress.
Are you just.
Connecting the dots here in this narrative or do you have evidence of a nuclear deal? To what extent? Do you know specifics about this? How come we haven't heard from Israe about this? How come just Senator Ted.
Cruz, Well, the Biden administration is quietly trumpeting this Iran nuclear deal, which has been their number one foreign policy objective from the day they arrived.
By the way, the.
Israelis are very concerned about it, but they faced two and a half years of the Biden administration putting unrelenting pressure on Israel, actively undermining Israel at every single stage, so much so that Joe Biden refuses to meet with Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin NETTNYA, who he's made clear that the elected Prime Minister of Israel is not welcome in the Biden White House, and that has been deeply, deeply harmful.
Well, President, I want to ask you about where this is going here, Sorry, Anne Marie. When it comes to the matter of a shutdown, Senator, it's looking like this is inevitable at this point, and it may well hinge on funding over Ukraine. Is it worth shutting the government down on this point, as some members of the Freedom Caucus said to make a point.
So listen, I don't think we should have a shutdown, but I agree with you that I think it is
very likely. And I think the reason it is likely is I think Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer both believe politically it is in their best interest to have a shutdown because they believe that in a shutdown that the press will eagerly blame it on Republicans, and I think Biden and Schumer think they get a political benefit from it, and so I think their incentive is to try to force a shutdown by the way, Schumer did that previously as well, and I think we're likely headed to the same thing.
Senator, Are you following the F thirty five that went missing, because we do have a new statement out from the Acting Commandment of the Marine Corps, General Eric Smith. He's directing the Mean Core Aviation Units to conduct a two day pause in operations.
Senator, do you know anything about this?
How do you mishandle or not know where an F thirty five jet is? This could cost about seventy to one hundred and twenty million dollars per a jet.
Yeah, Look, I would say it's deeply concerning. At this point, I do not have the details. I have not yet received a classified briefing on what we know happened. But when it comes to the F thirty five, the F thirty five is an incredibly sophisticated and effective airframe, and they're manufactured in the great State of Texas in Fort Worth's, and they are an incredible part of our readiness and
our ability to defend ourselves. And so this is deeply concerning, and I'm looking forward to that classified briefing, but I have not yet had the opportunity to have it.
Speaking of classified briefings, I'd love to ask you about AI, Senator Cruise. It's something that you've been talking about a little bit differently than your colleagues on both sides of the aisle. For that matter, we saw the Titans of Tech, as they say do in all senators briefing, at least those of you who chose to attend just about a week ago here and there does appear to be a
bipartisan effort to regulate AI. You've suggested it's too early for regulations, and I wonder, if you're encouraging growth in this very fast moving technology, how.
You at the same time keep that.
Out of the hands of China and others who might use it for obviously wrong means.
Well, I think it is critical, as your question suggests, that America lead on artificial intelligence, that we not lose the race for AI to China, to other nations that are not our friends. And I got to say it is a bizarre move in Washington, really driven by Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, but you're right, they're a handful of Republicans who've been suggesting openness to this. I think it is a bizarre suggestion to have the federal government
step in with a heavy handed regulatory regime. Look, the benefits of productivity and job creation from AI are enormous. They have the ability to help drive our economy forward. And if we follow through on the Democrats idea to have the federal government essentially give prior approval to new inventions to new innovations in AI. It will ensure that we have all of the innovation of the DMV. It would I think we would be running a risk of
seeding American leadership and artificial intelligence. Now that's not to say there are not risks and risks that we should take seriously. But I got to tell you in Congress there aren't five members of Congress that could even tell you what AI is, and they don't have the understanding to understand the risks, and so I think it would be really foolish to damage job creation simply because of fear of threats and threats that any new technology poses.
Sentator you were, of course in that briefing between a number of these tech executives. Elon Musk came out of that and what he said to reporters was that there is a risk though that AI could really be the death of civilization. Do you think that was just too dark and far fetch.
Well, listen, I can tell you eight years ago, in twenty fifteen, I chaired the very first Congressional hearing ever on artificial intelligence. I think it is enormously consequential and actually one of the questions I asked at that hearing eight years ago of the witnesses, I said, do any of you know on what date does sky net go active? And as you guys know, sky Net is, of course the artificial intelligence in the Terminator movies that wages a
war against humanity. I don't know if our computers someday wage war against us, but I do think we need to distinguish science fiction from actual science. And we need to take risks seriously. Their risks of fraud, their risks of crime, their risk of terrorism.
All of those are real.
But the answer is not to put the federal government in the place of stopping all new technological innovation, because you know what, our enemies are not going to stop. China is not going to stop, and so I think it is much better for America to lead rather than seed leadership to other countries.
I want to ask you this.
I never thought, by the way, I'd be spending time talking to Senator Cruise about Terminator films.
But I'll ask you later which one is your favorite? Senator.
I'm curious to talk about dress.
Like the original two good, but t one's the best?
All right, we got it. Thank you for Thank you for that.
I want to ask you about the as I as I speak to a tileist Ted Cruz right now, and I realize that you're not in the chamber. This this new relaxed dress code in the Senate chamber. I spoke with then Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman when he was running for office about his own dress code following the bridge collapse in his state that year.
He showed up in Schwartz. It was snowing outside.
Here's what he said, I just have to ask, if you end up serving in the Senate, will you wear shorts to work?
Jeez, I don't. I don't anticipate that. That's more of a getting ahead of getting ahead of ourselves here. I I just as soon as I found out what happened, I immediately rushed to the scene and I I went the way I was dressed, and that's how I showed up. Obviously wasn't trying to make fashion sense or history there, but that was just how things worked out.
Well.
I guess fashion history has been made for the full body.
Senator, what's your thought on this?
You can tell me if it's the end of an era or you're going to start wearing cargo shorts.
To work well.
Listen, every senator will have to decide how he or she dresses. I can tell you in the eleven years I've been in the Senate, I've only been on the Senate floor in a suit and tie, and as far as I'm concerned, I will continue to only wear a suit and tie on the Senate floor. I think virtually every senator is going to follow that, or for women, the professional dress equivalent, but it's up to each senator to make that decision.
Has this gotten a lot of talking points amongst you and your college or is everyone okay with what Senator Schumer has done.
I actually think there are a lot of strong opinions, but I'm going to refrain from expressing them publicly, but I will say behind closed doors, lots of people have a prey energized opinion on this topic.
I feel like we've stumped you with what I thought would be a very easy question. Texas Senator, thank you so much for joining us. Ted Cruz