Rep. Jody Arrington Talks Texas Floods, Impact of Tariffs

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This was scheduled and to be an interview of Joy talking about the House, the Budget Committee and all. Jody Errington is from the Texas that a lot of people, particularly Northerners, don't know. We fly into DFW. Maybe we've got a wandering understanding of San Antoni and down to the Mexican border, but the northern Texas of Abilene and Delbert McClinton and Buddy Holly's Lubbock is just not talked about. Mister Errington is of the nineteenth district in the House

Well, what a beautiful introduction. My folks in the food, fuel and fiber capital of the world would be would be very pleased and proud by that introduction.

It is three hundred some miles down eighty three south to Kerrville. There's people making that drive today. This flood has turned the nation upside down. Give us an update, sir well.

It's unimaginably heart wrenching for the families who've lost, especially their children overnight. A wall of river that rows almost thirty feet in less than an hour. That area is prone to flash floods. We have a ranch about three miles up the road from Camp Mystic, which is at the epicenter of this, but we've never seen anything like this. I don't know how you could prepare for it. But

It's Atlanta States Rise, It's Atlanta less federal. You had a horrific winter storm. The s winter storms. Folks in northern Texas are glacial. I mean they're they're like back to the the ice Age. And the answer is, in nineteen twenty one, Loveock and Aveline was absolutely leveled and you dialed one eight hundred FEMA to get assistance. Is the FEMA of twenty twenty one the same as the FEMA now?

Well, I hope it's much improved, but I'm not sure that's the case. I think the President's right to push that down at the state, local level, not necessarily the resources we're taxed on it one way or the other. I just think folks at the local and state level are probably best to handle it.

So Congressman talked to us about this legislation that is a big success story for the Trumpet administration. I know you had a big hand and it talked to us about what this spending bill, of this tax bill, what does it mean for this economy do you think going forward?

I think it's significant and it couldn't come at a better time. I know there's some uncertainty with the tariff realignment. I think that will work out in a very positive way when we get these new deals and they we have reciprocal trade relationships with folks, so I'm supportive of that. In the meantime, we have supercharged the growth that we saw from the first Trump tax cuts by making permanent, for example, business expensing for R and D, capital interest expensing,

How does it impact maybe people in your district, some a rural district for example. Does the folks in your district are they here on Global Wallstery Here at bloomber we talked tariffs all day every day. Did the people in your district did they think about that or how did they think about some of them issues that you're trying to address in your bill and maybe the President's trying to address with tariffs.

Well, on the bill, it's just more money in their in their pockets, right, That's a good thing for them and they recognize it. On the on the other piece, you got ag and energy dominate.

Yeah, I mean it.

Is the largest oil patch and cattle feeder system and in the world. And so they understand unfair trade, they understand that it's not sustainable. And I think they're all in to support this president getting to that even competitive playing field.

I'm looking for folks with this.

Judy Arrington here from Texas were thrillies with us in nineteenth Congressional district of Northern Texas.

You know, I look at you. You slipped by in.

The last election, you win eighty percent of the vote. I mean, they gotta do better next time. The President took Texas with fifty six percent. I don't know what you know off the top of your head what he took in the nineteenth congressional little bit.

Okay, so we're going to get him up there. Okay.

But the bottom line is, at least they had this for Michael Barr. Today, student loans are going to affect Texas Tech. They're gonna affect your Texas Tech. How do you balance the Trump mantra of tear the federal government apart with those eight hundred and forty two kids at Texas Tech. They can't go there this fall. I'm making it up, folks, they can't go there this fall because of the student loan shifts he's proposing.

Well, I think the fact that we have all of this student aid and not targeted necessarily the people who need it, I think is an inflation area, has an inflation effect on the cost of education. I'm a former vice chancellor at Texas Tech. That's my alma mater.

And the larger they do with the walk on football players, they give him like a fancy job.

What was it like when you walk down? I mean, with Patrick Mahomes on the field, when you walked down, I would never have a chance.

I couldn't even catch the balls that he throws today. This was under the Spike Dyke's era, where just about anybody in their body you could fog, a mirror could walk on and and in fact, I didn't play football in high school. And when the recruiter asked me when we sat down right before my physical, he said, what did you play in high school? I said tennis? And he thought, old man, I want to see this question.

Cowboys are chiefs, you know what.

Cowboys over the chiefs. But I'm a college football guy. I'm not really interested. And we're losing that uniqueness in college sports because of Aniela another conversation, I think we're destroyed.

Another D one powerhouse, Duke Cole.

One of the key topics and key issues for President Trump and in his election was immigration. You come from a state that is boy, that is right on the front lines of immigration. How do the folks in your district think about it? I mean a lot of these folks that come over, they pick our agric culture, they build our homes, they do all that kind of stuff.

They bust our tables.

How do people in your district think about it?

Well?

I think they appreciate the fact that we don't have Americans that would do the jobs that are needed in the fields, as you mentioned in agriculture. Probably the same could be said in the in the oil patch. But I think they first and foremost wanted security and from a return to law and order from the chaos. It's been devastating and I'm just there with law enforcement. I'm telling you, the gangs, the drug activity exponential over the last four years.

So in order to.

Have the conversation that we need to have about legal immigration and making sure we have a win win situation with people who want a better life and filling the jobs that we need to produce the food, fuel, and.

Fiber, we had to do.

We needed a president with the will to do what has been done by this president in terms of border security, but there's more to be done on the legal side so that we can continue to facilitate the economic.

Okay, including agriculture, which is a small matter from ablee.

To love it to cut to the chase.

Henrietta Tree's Beautiful Analyst was on earlier and says they're almost hiding the president's langeductedness because Jody Arrington has to get re elected in November of twenty twenty six.

What's your Republican.

Party in particularly the Texas delegation look like after President Trump? Is this like a moment you guys shift back to you know, hating Lynden Bans Johnson, or you know, what.

Does the framework look like after Trump?

I think President Trump's philosophy and focus on America First is here to stay. I think it's here to stay for all the right reasons, and I think it resonates with all the Republican districts, certainly in Texas. I mean it's a ruby red state, and so putting our ag producers for in trade, putting our families first, in allowing them to keep more of their money, putting the safety of our families first. Again, we've been at ground zero in this border crisis for several years now.

So I don't think it.

I think it remains the America First agenda into the future, and I think that's a good thing, and I think they will support that.

Does he understand H two A program and dairy farms. I think he does. I think he does.

In fact, he's the one that led and did that well in the first Trump administration. You'll recall he actually pushed our party to a deal in fixing.

H two A.

It was called H two C.

It was a reform.

It was a much improved reform along with giving legal status to Dhaka. He pushed our party outside of our comfort. It failed ultimately because we didn't get a Democrat.

To support it.

We continue with Jody Arrington of the nineteenth Congressionalistic This is Northern Texas. Paul did an all night or Friday and Saturday. Did you watch all A land Man?

Oh?

Yeah, I'm all in.

I know everything you know about oil and gas When you see Landman? Is it fiction? No?

I think he's pretty true to form, actually for better for worse.

So it's funny when you think about Texas and energy. Obviously you think about the oil and gas, but you guys also have tons of wind farms and solar and you kind of lead the nation all of those things. So how does the folks out in your tentstry? How did they think about, you know, fossil fuels versus you know, alternative energy? I guess is the term? How did they think about that?

I think most folks are for all the above. I just think it's how you get there. Accelerating R and D for example, where we accelerate the amortization, we make that expensing immediate and permanent in this tax bill, as long as it's technology neutral. I don't think they want the government picking winners and losers. I think they see the the good that could come of renewable resources in

Question, how do you respond in the bill that Paul mentioned that the huge benefit goes to the wealthy. Granted the wealthy on a percentage basis or paying a lot of taxes. How the middle class of Lubbock and Abolene fair in this bill.

I think they believe and have experienced that the value of the tax breaks that we extended from the first Trump administration in seventeen are greater among the lower and middle income folks than the upper up income, and in fact, the top one percent pay a greater share.

And in fact, the top ten.

Percent of the income earners in the country paid seventy percent of all the federal bills. Now they pay seventy five percent.

You're in a Paul mentioned this earlier. You're in a house. You guys are riding tall.

Maybe you lose House Senate president here over the next.

Two four years ago. What's your response to how the Democrats have been so ineffective off of the election. You barely won the House. We witnessed that, you barely won the Senate. Good morning, Vice President Advance, we witnessed, we witnessed that. I mean, are you surprised that the Democrats can't get.

Their act together?

I am.

I mean, I'm in the land of Anne Richards. I mean, she was iconic. I am.

They are still wondering why.

I don't know.

I think they're so used to being against President Trump and making demonizing him that that has become And then you've got the left that has overpowered their party to the point that it's going to be really difficult to break free from their agenda that is disconnected from mainstream Americans.

Why are you in New York?

Well, I'm here to tell the good news, the gospel of prosperity and security and opportunity that is going to come when you get the right policies and set the right conditions. We've done it, and I want people to know that help is on the way.

If we do a remote from Abilene all we're the Luke cass I love Texas.

This guy knows his Texas. He knows his Texas. No height, Well, you're welcoed anytime.

Jody, thank you so much for joining us Today's with the nineteenth District, the Real Texas and Delbert McClinton and one Buddy Holly from years ago. Jody Arrington, thank you so much