Again, this means so much to me and meant so much to Lindsey, so thank you very much.

What a great day for Ukraine.

What a great day for freedom and democracy.

I know Lindsey Graham, my friend and mentor, just shining down upon us and you, Darlene.

I can't tell you how much this means to me.

You know, Lindsay, when this, I was in Ukraine at the same time, and he said that this is a magic moment, a rare opportunity to help end the war in Europe and secure peace through strength.

He said this bill would be his greatest legislative achievement ever.

What did you make of the president's remarks?

Well, overall, the speech was very strong.

He did talk about the conflict, Russia and Ukraine, in a very heartfelt way that 25,000 people are dying every month in this conflict.

And I know...

the president well enough to know that this really does impact him.

He wants to stop the death toll.

And we gave him the tools to do that.

Explain why it's so important to try to bring this to a resolution before winter as was mentioned today.

The U.S. military being involved, this is simply using these economic tools, oftentimes against countries that are not our best friends, like Iran, like India, China, that's buying that Russian oil.

That's right.

You know, we have three elements of power.

We have military, economic, diplomatic.

This one really is the economic power we can pressure, we can put to get to a diplomatic resolution.

And to your point, what I like about it is we're not sending weapons into Ukraine.

In fact, the taxpayer is not spending a dime.

How do you respond to that?

We know they're brave.

My, you know, your, uh, the, the, your guess is absolutely correct.

Uh, this does not end until the Iranian people rise up and take out this theocracy since the Ayatollah came into power in 1979.

And, you know, I've had briefings in that space, and I've asked them, you know, "What plans do we have?" I knew the plans to take out the nuclear, uh, capabilities.

Where I always thought we were a little bit of a deficit was on, uh, the issue of empowering the people to take their government back, to, to free Iran from the theocracy of the Ayatollah.

And, um, you know, we never really had a good plan, Brian.

We didn't have a...

But a lot of people look at this and say, "Man, there's, they're gonna be more loyal to Hezbollah th- than they're gonna be even to the Lebanese government." Where are you gonna find troops that are gonna be loyal to, uh, loyal enough or brave enough to push back this Iranian-financed terror group? How do you feel about this plan?

We know they're brave.

My...

You know, you're, uh, the, the, your guess is absolutely correct.

Uh, this does not end until the Iranian people rise up and take out this theocracy since the Ayatollah came into power in 1979.

And, you know, I've had briefings in that space, and I've asked them, you know, "What plans do we have?" I knew the plans to take out the nuclear, uh, capabilities.

Where I always thought we were a little bit of a deficit was on, uh, the issue of empowering the people to take their government back, to, to free Iran from the theocracy of the Ayatollah.

And, um, you know, we never really had a good plan, Brian.

But a lot of people look at this and say, "Man, there's, they're gonna be more loyal to Hezbollah th- than they're gonna be even to the Lebanese government." Where are you gonna find troops that are gonna be loyal to, uh, loyal enough or brave enough to push back this Iranian-financed terror group? How do you feel about this plan?

What's the path forward? Is there one for the Save America Act in the Senate?

Senate?Look, I think that's just common sense.

People wanna know that their elections are safe.

We wanna know that our vote counts and that it is in fact us that gets to vote.

I think you see voter ID in 35, 36 states across the country.

We wanna work diligently to ensure that we protect and, and save, um, our election process.

So we're gonna keep pushing on this, Shannon.

How long do you think it will take to get the sanct- sanctions package done here, and how long can Ukraine hold on? What did President Zelenskyy say to you about that?

How long do you think it will take to get the sanction, sanctions package done here, and how long can Ukraine hold on? What did President Zelensky say to you about that?

Let me say it is Lindsey Graham's, uh, final wish, uh, from Ukraine.

Uh, he and I worked the last year on this bill.

Uh, I'm gonna introduce it tomorrow, Monday.

Uh, we anticipate it could pass as early as this week.

And nothing would honor Lindsey's legacy greater than the Congress passing, uh, this sanctions bill.

Because he knew to be strong at home, you have to project strength abroad.

... how does this end?

Uh, should, should we turn back to Israel, do you think, in terms of this idea of refreshing the leadership? Because they're pretty good at doing that.

Yeah, I, I do think that was the original goal of this whole operation.

Uh, Netanyahu sold it that way.

Uh, they, they hit the bunker with the ayatollah and his top leadership.

We thought we would take out the regime and have regime change.

It didn't happen is, is, is the bottom line.

And the IRGC, you know, is the, is the, basically the Revolutionary Guard arm of regime in Iran, and they are very fully intact.

Uh, they're trying to extort people for protection money.

I- is that story true, and what can you tell us about that?

Well, absolutely.

It's absolutely true.

That's why I wanted to visit the front lines, to see myself what was happening.

And you're right, you know, four years ago we were told that this whole conflict would be over in four days, Russia would be occupying Ukraine.

Here we are four years later.

In that interim time, I got the emergency wartime supplemental bill passed which gave them a lifeline to help them innovate their own technology that, to your point, is correct, is that they are now a leader, uh, in, in the world in terms of drone technology.

What did you learn?

What did you discover there about the disposition of the fighting force? on the Ukrainian side? And how likely is it Congress is finally going to put this sanctions legislation together and get it to President Trump?

Well, the tide has turned, and Lindsey and I have been working on this since the invasion, our fight for Ukraine against the aggression by Russia.

He knew he was on the right side of history, and it was an honor to work with him.

It's so sad he's gone.

But in his final days, he announced our Russian sanctions bill that we've been working the last year on, that he's come to consensus with the White House.

We were planning to introduce that bill this week, and unfortunately, with this passing, that may not happen.

We anticipate it hopefully will next week.

Very quickly, then, Congressman, does this have to be a regime change operation ultimately?

How do you think Senator Graham should be remembered?

Well, first of all, it's a sad day for America.

I think the Senate lost a giant, uh, today.

Uh, he was my mentor, my friend.

We shared the same worldview that when, when, uh, we are strongest at home, uh, the United States is, when we're stronger abroad.

He believed in a strong America and a strong foreign policy.

He believed in Reagan's peace through strength, uh, doctrine, and I think that's how, uh, he would like to be remembered.

And, and what about aid to Ukraine? Where does that stand?

One, is that realistic? Is the view that the American public sees true? And if so, when did you start to see that shift?

It has changed.

There, there...

Now it's very vogue and style to demonize the other side of the aisle and not, you know, almost vilify them.

And it's, that's because of the theater.

You're on a, a stage, if you will.

And I think with, uh, you know, more coverage, uh, social media has certainly transformed the experience.

Yeah.

Describe to me why they need to continue.

Well, you remember when you harkened back to high school, college, when you went on field trips? Sure.

And, you know, it's great to learn about things in the textbook, but when you travel and see it and see the people and the leadership there, you come back so much better educated.

So...

Yeah, it's not for every committee, but the two committees I chaired, both Homeland, at the height of ISIS and the caliphate, for me to travel to Afghanistan, to travel to Iraq, to Pakistan... and even parts of syria to see what is this and and protect the country from terrorism very valuable experience and then foreign affairs committee uh the same i mean my travels to ukraine very educational you know and you can bring back legislative ideas like the emergency wartime supplemental bill that i passed and that was a you know it was not an easy thing to accomplish but it saved ukraine from russian occupation AUKUS, right? Traveling to Australia to see how important the alliance is, the beachhead in the Indo-Pacific to counter China.

So we passed the AUKUS bill to, you know, submarines, but also AI quantum with advanced weapon systems.

Hugely important to see that firsthand.

A time where I think the Republican Party is in a identity, maybe not crisis, but trying to find its identity on foreign policy, on foreign footing.

What did you hear from the president? What, what does that look like in real terms if, if Ukraine's able to do that?

Well, if I could, uh, put the threat landscape in picture, uh, for your audience, um, there are a lot of shellings where I'm sitting right now in Kyiv of ballistic missiles.

Uh, I just came back from the front lines.

Uh, it's heavy, uh, drone warfare on the front lines.

Uh, they're actually winning on the front lines right now.

They're actually capturing Russian territory, which is hugely significant, I think, in President Trump's eyes.

Uh, seeing them as a winner has been helpful in his discussions with Zelenskyy.

And I'm curious, do, do you see a lot of support within Congress to establish a more formal tie between these two count- countries when it comes to, uh, unmanned, uh, weapons in particular?

So really, is there an end in sight? Well, they said it

would be over in four days.

Here we are four years later.

I think the Ukrainians have surprised everybody with their innovation, their drone technology, modernization, warfare.

It's like a laboratory in Ukraine.

And the fact that they're pushing the Russians back now, in fact, there are 30,000 casualties a month on the Russian side, speaks volumes.

And I think Putin is taking a hit now.

prepared for this? Prepared for the straight to be closed?

In hindsight, did anything seem unusual, first of all, before the incident?

Well, before the incident, when I go to, say, the Munich Security Conference in Munich, there are magnetometers outside the hotel before you even go in to the hotel.

That was not the case at the Hilton Hotel.

So, in other words, there is a soft perimeter, they call it.

It's not hardened.

where anybody with an ID can walk in.

And of course, there are guests in the hotel as well.

What's your view of that?

And then it became very, very quiet in the room.

Well, I heard three, uh, gunshots, so I knew something was horribly wrong.

Um, and y- you're not quite sure what's gonna happen after that, right? And, uh, I saw the president being taken off the stage, uh, Secret Service jumping up on the stage with their weapons pointed, uh, towards the audience.

Uh, and it was surreal.

You know, like, you know, it's not an ordinary event.

Unfortunately, it's becoming too commonplace in this country, but, but they went into action very quickly, uh, and escorted the Cabinet members out of the room.

Uh, but you don't know what's gonna happen quite after that.

[upbeat music]

Are they gonna be able to get a better deal this time around?

Well, the JCPOA would've legalized a nuclear bomb in Iran today.

That, that's what we were saying back when we opposed that.

Um, you know, I, I...

Look, as long as this regime is in power, you're gonna have this problem, and we've had this problem f- since 1979.

Every president since then has said, "No nuclear," you know, uh, "warhead in Iran." Uh, but no president's really done anything.

They tried the JCPOA.

Right

What is the president's strategy in Iran? Do you understand what it is and do you support it?

Well, first, it's great to be on your inaugural Sunday show.

Thank you so much, sir.

You know, I think, look, the president's trying to negotiate, just like Maduro.

The Iranians are very deceptive.

They're not good faith negotiators.

I believe in his mind he knew at the end of the day he couldn't trust them.

and Israel encourage the growth of a new administration, new government in Iran barring that?

Are your concerns about what happened in Minneapolis satisfied?

I've called for a full investigation.

DOJ has opened that investigation.

Civil Rights Division would have jurisdiction over this.

Look, I mean, Bovino went in there with these roving patrols.

He escalated the situation.

He escalated the tension between the public and law enforcement.

But you have to force it, or do you trust DHS to do

And then in 2017, an Austin police investigator searched a public online DNA database to see if he could get a hit, and unbelievably, he did.

I thought, "My God, we actually have a chance, a shot to solve this crime, after so many years." I really thought this was it.

I really thought we had a chance to solve it.

Finally, in early 2020, the FBI agreed to work with the Austin Police Department to see if further testing could be done on that Y-STR DNA from the crime scene.

I was very excited about it, the idea that we could bring this case to a, to closure for the families and bring those responsible to justice.

Are you going to vote again for final passage if it looks like this?

Now, I'm going to vote for it for this reason.

I think these numbers, it's all about waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid.

What I'm voting for is a border security measure, $80 billion, $12 billion to reimburse states like mine.

I'm voting for $150 billion that will go to our Department of Defense at a time when we saw with Iran is desperately needed.

The world is on fire.

Eastern Europe, Indo-Pacific, and then the tax cuts.

Do you think it is an overstatement by the White House or a mistake to declare mission accomplished?

How close are we, do you think, to a breakthrough?

If I could first say happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, especially my wife, Linda.

Now, getting on to the subject at hand, it's very intense.

You know, there was a 30-day ceasefire called for.

Mr. Putin decided to bomb Ukraine on Palm Sunday.

He's not making any concessions at all, while Zelensky seems to be making all the concessions.

So if The bottom line is Putin has to agree to a 30-day ceasefire for any peace talks to go forward.

I'm just curious, should ICE be arresting or even threatening to arrest members of Congress?

Do you think this is being done well?

Well, I think so.

The secretary in response to all this.

And by the way, I put holds on all those programs I was talking about that had nothing to do with the central core mission.

However, the secretary made waivers on humanitarian assistance and PEPFAR, which has been the most successful global health program initiated by President Bush, by the way.

The implementation of this is where I would urge the administration to move more expeditiously.

I just got word about 10 minutes ago at the World Food Program now.

people living and working in places like Syria aren't able to access computer systems and security warnings