Graham Joins Maria Bartiromo to Discuss Venezuela War Powers Resolution and Latest on Iran Pt. 1

[00:00:01] Welcome back. Five Republican senators [00:00:03] broke ranks on Thursday, siding with all [00:00:05] Democrats to advance a resolution that [00:00:07] would block President Trump from using [00:00:09] military force against Venezuela unless [00:00:12] he receives prior approval from [00:00:14] Congress. The Senate is expected to take [00:00:16] up a final vote on the War Powers [00:00:18] Resolution this week with only a simple [00:00:20] majority vote needed to pass. Joining me [00:00:22] now ahead of all of that is South [00:00:23] Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. [00:00:25] Senator, it's good to see you this [00:00:27] morning. Thank you for being here and I [00:00:29] want to get your reaction to what we [00:00:30] just heard from Raza Palavi. But first, [00:00:32] can you tell me about this war [00:00:34] resolutions? Why is the Senate trying to [00:00:36] clip President Trump's wings at a time [00:00:38] that [clears throat] the world is [00:00:39] getting more dangerous? We just saw [00:00:41] what's going on right now in Iran. [00:00:44] >> Uh the War Powers Act was passed in 1973 [00:00:47] by a bunch of liberal Democrats. It's a [00:00:49] power grab by the Congress against the [00:00:51] commander-in-chief. Every president [00:00:53] since 1973 has rejected the idea that [00:00:57] Congress can substitute our judgment for [00:01:00] theirs. So what these five are good [00:01:02] friends, they're creating a situation [00:01:04] where you have 535 commander-in-chiefs, [00:01:07] not one. There's never been a court case [00:01:09] in the history of the country where a [00:01:11] military operation was terminated by the [00:01:14] Supreme Court because Congress didn't [00:01:16] approve. There have been 130 military [00:01:18] operations by the commander-in-chief [00:01:20] without congressional approval. So, [00:01:23] here's my point. You're creating a [00:01:25] disaster for the country. If a member of [00:01:27] Congress doesn't like what the [00:01:28] president's doing as commander-in-chief [00:01:30] militarily, cut off funding for that [00:01:33] operation. We have power of the purse. [00:01:35] You can do that. If you think the [00:01:36] president doing something illegally, you [00:01:38] can impeach him. But we can't have a [00:01:40] situation where Congress becomes [00:01:42] commander-in-chief. That would be a [00:01:44] disaster. This is an unconstitutional [00:01:46] power grab to my colleagues. You're [00:01:48] doing a lot of damage. You're embolding [00:01:50] our enemies. You're restricting [00:01:51] President Trump. Unconstitutionally [00:01:54] sound. Doing a lot of damage. Stop it. [00:01:57] >> Senator, over the weekend you tweeted [00:01:58] about [00:01:59] >> Can I have one thing? One last thing. [00:02:01] I've been a military lawyer for 33 [00:02:03] years. I was a judge uh advocate in the [00:02:06] Air Force. I was a prosecutor, defense [00:02:08] attorney, military judge. I feel [00:02:10] comfortable talking about this. What [00:02:11] you're doing is wrong. Go ahead, [00:02:13] >> Senator. Senator, over the weekend you [00:02:15] tweeted to the Iranian leadership, the [00:02:17] Kmeni regime. You said if you hurt the [00:02:20] people if you kill protesters, this will [00:02:22] not go unchallenged. What are you [00:02:24] saying? Do you want America to go into [00:02:26] Iran and take out the Ayatollah? [00:02:28] >> I don't want a military invasion of [00:02:29] Iran. I don't want any boots on the [00:02:31] ground. But President Trump has chosen [00:02:33] wisely to be with the protesters. He's [00:02:36] the first president since 1979 to pick [00:02:39] the people over the Ayatollah. Uh, [00:02:41] President Trump says, "If you continue [00:02:43] to kill your people, all hell will break [00:02:45] out. All hell to pay." That's as strong [00:02:48] as when Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachoff, [00:02:51] tear down this wall." President Trump is [00:02:53] not Obama. He picked the people over the [00:02:56] Ayatollah. Here's what's going to [00:02:57] happen. We got to make action match the [00:03:00] words. I'm looking for action, not an [00:03:02] invasion. That will do three things. [00:03:04] Three things. Be a gamecher. The people [00:03:06] will be emboldened. The Ayatollah will [00:03:09] be deterred. If we don't create [00:03:10] deterrence after whatever action we [00:03:13] take, uh, we made a mistake. If the [00:03:15] protesters are not stronger, after the [00:03:17] action we take, we made a mistake. So, [00:03:19] we're in a spot now. This is the biggest [00:03:22] deal since the fall of the Berlin Wall. [00:03:24] Regime changes what we're talking about. [00:03:26] Not from Lindsey Graham, but from the [00:03:28] people. The people of Iran are tired of [00:03:30] living the way they they live. If you're [00:03:32] a 16-year-old girl and you don't wear [00:03:34] the hairdress right, they take you off a [00:03:36] bus and they kill you. The people don't [00:03:38] want the Ayatoll any anymore. I don't [00:03:41] want him. If we can get rid of him, it'd [00:03:43] be the best thing could ever happen. But [00:03:45] if he stays, if after the people go back [00:03:48] into the streets yet again, they've done [00:03:50] this before. Trump's got their back. [00:03:52] Obama didn't. But if he hangs on the [00:03:54] Ayatollah, it'll be the biggest disaster [00:03:56] in the Middle East, like maybe forever. [00:03:59] If the ATA goes, it's the best change in [00:04:02] the history of the M East in a thousand [00:04:04] years. Well, you said on Fox last week, [00:04:06] [music] a message to you, Ayatollo [00:04:09] Kmeni. If you kill citizens, Donald [00:04:11] Trump is going to kill you. That's what [00:04:14] I want to talk about when we come right [00:04:15] back. Hold that thought. We'll be right [00:04:17] back with Senator Lindsey Graham. Stay [00:04:19] with us.