Grassley Unpacks First Week of the Trump Administration with Maria Bartiromo

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, joined Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street on Fox Business to discuss energy policy, the Senate confirmation process, reconciliation and tax cuts.

Audio and excerpts of Grassley’s remarks follow.

VIDEO

On Trump’s actions to unleash American energy:

‘I might say about all the actions [President Trump has] taken in the first 48 hours [in office] is like a tornado going through Washington, D.C. This town needs a shakeup, and I think he’s doing it.

“For decades I’ve always said, ‘The best energy program is all of the above.’ That means all the fossil fuels we need, all the alternative energy we can have, conservation and nuclear. And I think [Trump’s] headed in that right direction. It’s going to have a very strong ripple effect through the entire economy…

“Every service, every product that we buy has an energy component to it. When we have cheaper energy, we’re going to see cheaper prices paid for almost everything.”

On the confirmation process:

“If [Democrats] don’t agree to unanimous consent to bring a nomination up, you’ve got to have a separate vote to bring it up, and then you have unlimited debate. You have to have 51 votes to stop debate, and even after you have 51 votes to stop debate, then there’s 30 hours of debate possible afterwards. If people don’t yield back that time, that stretches out most nominees to a two- or three-day process…

“This president has a popular mandate and an electoral mandate [that] he’s got to deliver [on]. The Democrats should realize that and let the cabinet people get in place, so this mandate can get underway very quickly. Until you get those cabinet people in their positions, this town doesn’t move as quickly as it otherwise would.”

On reconciliation:

“If we have two big, beautiful bills, [President Trump] will still use the same adjectives, only one number will change. We’re going to get the job done either way. I saw the President on Fox News [with Sean Hannity], and he did make clear that he likes one bill, but he says — ‘One bill or two bills, as long as we get the job done, i’s ok with him’… Our meeting at the White House with the House and Senate Republican leadership [this week] was a very productive meeting, and helps move things along very well. And so I’m very hopeful that we’re going to be able to get this mandate delivered very quickly.”

On renewing the 2017 Trump tax cuts:

“I think the tax extensions will take a little longer. Of course, we in the Senate have to wait until the House passes a bill, that’s the way the Constitution [approaches] tax legislation. But we’re not going to sit around and wait for the House. Going way back to September, anticipating a big Trump victory, we set up six working groups within the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, and we’re well along on the goals that we want to accomplish in the Senate bill.”

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