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Joining us now live from Capitol Hill is Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. As promised, he serves on the Senate Budget, Finance, and Agriculture committees. And Senator, it's great to have you back with us here on Bloomberg TV and radio.
I'd like to.
Start with the matter of Iran, and there are a few issues that we'd love to spend some time with you on here. The Washington Post, as you may have heard, is reporting that it could take six months to fully clear the Strait of horror moves. This based on a Pentagon briefing to Congress, knowing now that Iran is reportedly mining or has mined the Strait. Well, we've got gasoline at four dollars a gallon diesel with a five handle. How long can farmers in your state put up with?
This is six months too much?
Well, look, President Trump's going to announce this week some help with the fertilizer issue as well. And still today diesel prices gasoline prices less than they were significant amount of time under Joe Biden. But I am concerned. I want the gas prices to come down. I know there's a group of people out there that are hurting, and we're working on the cost of housing, of healthcare, of childcare, all those types of things. But look, this is hurting
Iran much more than it's hurting us. I mean, we're basically embargoing their entire country that they can't even feed themselves right now. So if they have no income, no food, hopefully this war will come to a much.
Of an end.
Remember this, so if Iran had nukes, if they had nuclear weapons, then the gasoline would be ten dollars a gallon, and that straight would be would be blocked off for years as well.
And not to mention just.
The safety of Americans going forward for generations to come. Think about, you know, if North Korea had nukes along with the income of Iran, what they would look like.
So, look, we need to stay the course here.
Well, when we consider staying the course, Senator and you mentioned the nuclear threat from Iran as well as obviously the straight of for moves, what is your degree of confidence that a diplomatic resolution to this conflict is going to yield a guarantee that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon, a guarantee that they will never again reclose the Straightupore News when Iran, at every opportunity frankly is countering President Trump's suggestions that they will.
Well, look, what we know for sure is in the previous Obama agreement that Iran would as sure have had would for sure have had nukes by twenty thirty, maybe even sooner. I think it's a year to year thing, and sometimes it's whack a mole, But I think by us controlling the airway, by us destroying their missiles, bus destroying their navy, we can go in there and if we have to come back, we will. There's no guarantees, and this is why it's so hard to predict and
negotiate with an irrational, emotional theocracy. They're just impossible to deal with. Seeing you're getting mixed messages out of Iran right now because they are having a challenge. They don't know who's controlling Iran right now. But we have the upper hand, and I think that's what's important to remember. We have our foot on their neck right now, and we need to keep it right there.
Yeah, is there.
Navy destroyed those Senator. We keep hearing about the threat from gunboats. They're laying mines. Obviously, there still seems to be a threat in the Strait that we have not eliminated. Why does the President keep saying that, Yeah.
I think that's a good point, that there are some small gunboats out there. I think it's fair to say we destroyed ninety percent of their navy, maybe more like ninety five percent. This last five percent maybe more difficult, but we need it. We're going to address that. But remember we've embargoed them that we've we put up this blockade to blockade them from getting any money as well. So I think we're winning this, you know, I just this analogy I've been.
Thinking about all day.
If today's national media we're covering the Gettysburg, the Ward Gettysburg after day one, we would acquit that, you know, is the is the price worth it or not? Sometimes freedom is not free, and it is time for American patriots to stand up. For forty seven years, Iran has been killing Americans and threatening us, acting the bully part. Right now, we have our food on their neck. It's time to finish the job. For the sake of future generations. We cannot have an Iran with nuclear weapons.
Do you have an estimated price tag as to what exactly finishing the job will cost. Senators. Obviously, there is still not a supplemental budget request that has been made to your colleagues on top of the one and a half trillion dollar defense budget that the President has already asked for. How high is this tally going to go for American taxpayers?
Yeah, I don't have a number for that, But what I do know is if Iran to get nukup, if we allow an Iran to get nuclear weapons, though, ghastly is going to go up to ten.
Dollars a gallon.
I think it's all. It's all a guesstimate. Is this war going to last a day? Is going to last a week? You'll all make it seem so simplistic. Again, look who we're dealing with right now. These folks, they have no respect for life at all. They treat children and women like animals.
It's very difficult to tell.
I'm sure it's going to be fifty billion dollars, one hundred billion dollars. It's a lot of money, But I still think at the end of the day, keeping I Ran from having nuclear weapons is our top priority here.
Yeah, we're actually interested in the complexities of this whole standoff. To be honest with you, Senator, it was the President who said two to three days, then four to six weeks,
and now it appears to be indefinite. I know that you're still waiting for a supplemental budget request on that, and we'd love to speak with you when we get there, but I'd like to ask you about some other matters as well, because it appears that potentially even by the end of this day, if not tomorrow, the Administration is going to reclassify our reschedule cannabis. Now, of course we'd
only call you senator, we call you doctor Marshall. And I know that that's something that you have great issues with. Have you tried to counsel the President against making this move?
Not personally, and I'm not sure.
I've sent some messages to the White House and had some discussions with folks there, but I'll be disappointed and concerned about it as well. I think cannabis is a gateway drug. It does lead to mental health issues as well. It leads to just lots of challenges for folks. It decreases their purpose in light. They seem to lose any type of drive as well. So I'm very concerned about it, and it'll be disappointed.
Speaking of.
Things of your concern right now, especially this evening Senator, when it comes to the budget reconciliation effort moving forward. Obviously, there has been some concern from your colleagues, the likes of, for example, John Kennedy, about this potentially being kind of the last train to leave the station before the midterms and Republicans needing to seize on other opportunity besides just
funding ICE and CBP. When all is said and done, is this going to be the narrow skinny bill that the Majority leader initially promised, not just when it leaves the Senate, but once the House is through with this.
You know, I'm afraid it has to be that way.
Look, I've been calling since we passed our Working Family tax cuts bill, which by the way, is leading to a record of in Americans getting a nice large tax refund this year. But I've been calling for this bigger bill since then. But right now, time is of the essence that we're going to run out of money to fund DHS and we've got to get this passed sooner than later. And I'm going to be out there pushing
and fighting for a bigger reconciliation bill. Whether we can get that done before the November election, time will tell, But I think there's a lot we can do to work on to bring down the cost of health care, the cost of childcare, housing, There are lots of things that I do want to work on in the same token.
We have bipartisan opportunities our transparency, our price tax bill forcing every health care provider to show you the price of something before you have health care done, we'll bring down the price of healthcare more than anything setting out there that should be done on a bipartisan basis. So I think there's bipart as an opportunity. But if that, if the Democrats refuse to do anything on a bipartisan basis, then let's do this third reconciliation bill as well well.
With reconciliation at hand here, Senator, do you expect a vote rama tomorrow night? What can you tell us about the process of just about out a time?
But it's tomorrow and all nighter. Yeah, yeah, maybe even tonight.
I hear that folks are interested in starting it tonight. So whatever whatever it takes to get this reconciliation budget across the finish line. The sooner we can start paying everybody at DHS and then move on to other matters like fixing the bringing down the cost of healthcare, the cost of housing, and in the cost of childcare. So what, maybe tonight we'll get some coffee brewing here soon