Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Congresswoman Gwen Moore is watching all of this from her perch in Wisconsin's fourth district. The Democratic congresswoman is with us right now live on Bloomberg TV and radio. It's great to see you, Representative more welcome back. Are you stockpiling tomatoes ahead of next week? How do we deal with these tariffs?
Well, I tell you I do have a tomato plant outside my back door, just in case.
You're doing it right apparently. How concerned are you about the impact this could have on Wisconsin? Of course, a major agriculture state, a major dairy state, as we enter a whole new level of trade war, it seems with Canada.
Well, of course I'm very concerned. Years ago I asked my youngest granddaughter where food came from, and she said,
pick and save. So I got worried. Then, you know, the whole supply chain is going to be disrupted, everything from farmers planning their foods to actually people who will need and rely on snap and so this will affect grocers, people who have jobs bagging grocers, groceries, inflation, the cost of groceries, and our farmers and the only way that this president seems to be able to address these things is to try to provide a subsidy for agriculture workers
or to declare that he is not going to deport Mexican migrants who might be working as agricultural workers. This is a real big stretch in terms of saving our economy and lowering costs.
Well, Congressman, I would mention in our audience on Bloomberg TV as well as on YouTube, can see this. Now. President Trump has just landed in Texas alongside First Lady Milania Trump. They of course are now heading into the helicopter and when they'll begin viewing some of the damaged areas in an around Kerrville, Texas from last weekend's devastating floods.
When we consider a congressmom in the future of FEMA, knowing President Trump has up until recently called for essentially it's dismantling and sending that responsibility back to the States, do you believe that that policy pursuit is one that he will still actively pursue or could this disaster actually spell a second chance for FEMA as it currently stands.
Well, I guess I wish I could predict to what President Trump was what was going to do, because I would not have predicted that FEMA would have been destroyed when we have seen a time and again, whether you believe in climate change or not, the environmental the environment be shifty calls, tornadoes, all kinds of five hundred year weather conditions, and surprise, surprise, this storm was yet another aggression on the part of Mother Nature and a warning
not to dismantle emergency services. I heard President Trump say, I wouldn't have even blamed Joe Biden for this, you know, but I'm telling you that there's nothing like preparedness and nothing like being able to reach people on several different platforms to warn them to escape. And so I think that it's fine for him to be there with his wife.
That's where any president should be. And maybe it's better late than never, But I think that the agony and misery of this community is going to continue long after the cameras are gone, long after Air Force one leaves.
Well. It is pretty heartbreaking to consider one hundred and seventy people still missing. Congresswomen in Texas is one of many states that has seen an influx in ice raids. Of course, Texas is a border state. And is no stranger to immigration security here. But I want to ask you about some of the raids that we have been seeing, in many cases by unmarked and masked individuals who are purportedly with ICE or sometimes it's hard to tell. Border
Patrol Department of Homeland Security. You just signed a letter urging ICE to not deport undocumented victims of crime. Did you hear a response from the federal government from the administration on this? Is there anything your office can do to help them?
No, the response is hopefully forthcoming. There's nothing more frightening to me to think of someone throwing a bag over my head and dragging me away. This is so Unamerican. To not announce which law enforcement agent you are, demonstrating your badge number, and that you have the authority to take people into custody. This is very chilling, and I think it's being done deliberately to replicate the tactics of
authoritarian regimes. This is totally unacceptable and to devise people's You know, I'm not an attorney, but I would think that if you need a warrant, you would at least need to disclose who you are as a law enforcement person. This is totally unacceptable.
Well, Congressman, when we consider ICE will be getting more funding along with customs and border patrol due to the one big, beautiful bill that just passed in all the various components in it, with the passage of that bill, with the potential passage of now a recisions package that could very well happen in the Senate, do Democrats have any incentive to deal with Republicans for a government funding deal.
Well, we always have an incentive to do our job if we're allowed to do our job. You know. The thing about the package now is that it's the largest border bill that we have seen in history, and I don't know that it's always directed at the right the right equipment. Democrats have long been for more electronic surveillance, more human beings, to actually evaluate and separate the sheep from the goat, as it were, at the border. We have always aired on the side of more border security,
you know. But the building, the optics of you know, putting people, you know, surrounding them by alligators, this is this is a costly It costs so much money to uh, you know, the optics Alcatraz, for example, it costs more money than it's worth in terms of being of incarcerating people. I think that the overkill is not only bad for people's personal rights, but for our budget.
All right, Congresswoman, we appreciate your time. As always, Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore representing Wisconsin's fourth district here with us on balance of power