so you feel that would be an opportunity. and what about something like technology? i mean, that has been the whole push for a company like palantir and some of those data companies that can help sort of streamline the defense process. >> yeah. look, palantir's a great company, and we do think a company like that, and there are others like it that are really kind of on the edge, kind of leading edge of using a.i. in order to make, you know, to which is something that microsoft is talking about, you know, that's probably the next push we're coming to in the tech space, away from the hyperscalers and more towards those firms that are going to be using it. liz: scott, thank you very much. we appreciate you being here. markets close mostly in the red. we'll see you tomorrow. ♪ ♪ david: hello, everyone, and welcome to a special edition of "kudlow."

i'm david asman many for larry kudlow. the clock is ticking for federal workers as a elon musk delivered an ultimatum requiring the federal work force to reply with five bullet points of y what they've accomplished just in the last week, and if they don't respond, they risk losing their jobs. deadline is tonight at midnight, but some agencies appear to be trying to overrule doge. we're going to be talking about that and much more with ohio congressman jim jordan in just a moment. plus, former secretary of state mike pompeo joins me with the very latest on president trump's peace talks with russia and his plans to get payback for taxpayers from all those billions going to ukraine. but first, our very own hillary vaughn is live from capitol hill with the very latest on what's going on with doge and their attempts to define exactly what the work force does for us. hillary. >> reporter: hi, david. some federal worker unions are so upset by this e-mail request asking them to explain what they

did last week that they are suing in federal court over it hoping that a judge rules that it is illegal for the federal government to require a response to an e-mail or face termination. but president trump today says he thinks the idea is, quote, genius. >> we're trying to find out if people are working. and so we're sending a letter to people, please, tell us what you did last week. if people don't respond, it's very possible that there is no such person or they're not working. if you don't answer a, like, you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired, because a lot of people are not answering because they don't even exist. >> reporter: musk says he's already received a large number of responses and says those people should be considered for a promotion, or but musk says this is more about a proof of life saying, quote, in some cases we believe non-existent if people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. in other words, there is outright fraud. but democrats are offended that

anyone dare ask federal workers what they did last week. people who work for americans, whose paychecks are paid for by american taxpayers. democratic senator tina smith saying if you're surprised people are p if issed, you need to get out of your d.c. bubble. nothing more american than hating a bad boss, especially an illegitimate one like musk. >> imagine that you got this e-mail tomorrow from your boss' boss' boss' boss' boss. this would be like tim cook sending that e-mail to every single apple store employee. if he did that, we would say tim is past his due date and doesn't know how to run a company anymore. >> reporter: but not all a democrats think this is a crazy request. senator mark warner tweeting moments ago it's not nuts to ask federal workers what they've been asked up to. he -- been up to. he asks his staff to do weekly check-ins, but he doesn't agree with the way elon musk is going about it.

he doesn't think it's practical to get all these e-mails back, he doesn't think anyone's wail going to read them. david? david: well, at least good for him for demanding some payback for the taxpayers. we're the ones paying for all this. >> reporter: we're the bosses, right, david? david: exactly. the federal unions don't seem to get that a one. hillary, thank you very much. joining me now is ohio congressman jim jordan or, chair of the house judiciary committee. i would love to see this attitude brought into any place in the private sector. and, by the way, these people are not getting paid minimum salary. we're talking about the average a federal worker's annual salary and benefits is $144,000, and they're objecting to being asked just five little things that that they may have done last week? are you kidding me? >> how dare the president of the united states tell people the come back and work in person and tell us what you do. i mean, that's all this is. and yet, oh, my -- you would think this is something you can never do. how dare they ask that. that is -- this is how out of

touch, i think you had someone earlier, this is how out of touch this town is with the common sense of regular americans across this great country. and when i talk with folks, they're fired up about -- they like what president trump and elon musk are doing. they like the fact that there's a focus on you work for the taxpayer. and if you're not working for the taxpayer, if you're not showing up to work, if you think you can work remote and not tell us what you do all week, that's not going to fly any longer. god bless these guys for doing what they're doing. david: in the private sector, i was just talking to martha maccallum about it, you ask somebody what they're doing. an employee would love to tell you what he's doing. he loves to be -- not just for bragging rights, but to be the appreciated. in the bureaucracy, it's more -- it's not about what you do, it's how you can avoid doing anythin- [laughter] i mean, that is the nature. i understand, i'm going to get letters from all these federal employees saying what we do is so important. >> yeah. david: can i understand there

are people who really do work, but there are a lot of people who don't, and if they can't name five damn things they do for us, little things from last week, i don't think they should be here, do you? is. >> no. you can name five things you've to done today. i met with a member of the european parliament today, i met with our personal staff, what's going on in our district, we've got four hearings this week, just got done with a meeting with the chairman, republican chairman in the house of representatives. there's all a these kind of things that you're involved in, if you can't name what you're doing, maybe it's because you're not serving the taxpayers like you're supposed to. david well, whether they like it or not, elon musk and doge are saving taxpayers billions of dollars already, and they're going to continue to do so. we're going to talk about the court battles to stop them from doing that in a moment. but there are certain people, you know, there's this idea that if he gets the $2 trillion in savings, we should cut a $5,000 check to every taxpayer in the united states which seems, at first i was kind of wobbling

about maybe it should go to pay down the debt, but no, no, no. americans deserve to get payback right now. that's what they need. they want 5,000 -- but here's what -- >> it's their money. it's their money. [laughter] david: congresswoman crockett came out with one of the most outrageous things i've ever seen. i'm going to play that and get your reaction. roll it. >> we are not in the business of giving out money and, honestly, i don't know what $5,000 will do for you if you are unable to find a job because i am telling people, we are headed towards a version. a. david: first of all, it ain't your plunger congresswoman, it's our dun -- money, congresswoman, it's the our money. and we should be able to decide how it goes to good use. secondly, it just shows, like you said, how out of touch they were. $5,000 is a lot of dollars to the average american. maybe not to somebody who's making her salary in benefits and perhaps trading stocks on the side, but for the average american, it's a lot of money.

go ahead. >> no, i think you're exactly right. it belongs -- the money belongs to the people, the families of this great country. it's their money. it's not the government's -- the biggest difference between conservatives and the left the left thinks government has all the control, the bureaucrats should run everything, and we control the money. it's our money. no, no. no it -- it belongs to the families and the taxpayers. if we achieve this savings that we're setting out to do -- 2 trillion as elon has talked the about as a target, give some back to the people, and then we do have this deficit problem and this huge debt that's piling up, let'ses use some of it for that. but, certainly, give some money back to the american people. after all, it's their money. david: congressman, all of these lawsuits, i tell you, they look for all the world, to me, like the lawfare we saw in months and years past. >> yep. david: against donald trump and other efforts by the american people to get what they want, to get what they voted for. is that the way it looks like to

you? because it looks like lawfare to me and a lot of other people. >> no, this is the left. i mean, i say the left and the democrats, instead of stopping, helping us stop the stupid spending that's going on that elon musk has shown, they go after the guy who's exposing the stupid spending. i think we should work with on just stopping the stupid spending. they want it to continue. most of these, the left, you know, lives off big government whether it's some organization giving a grant to them or just the bureaucracy itself, they're going the oppose this. the left says, no, no, no, we're going to attack the guy, poagz the crazy thing -- exposing the crazy things their money is going to. what he's identified, we have to make sure that no longer happens as we move forward in the appropriations process. david: one of the arguments, and we hear it echoed in the media echo chamber by a lot of media elites, is that elon musk is not, first of all, he doesn't have to be confirmed. he's an outsider, an outsider

shouldn't be allowed to do the work that he's doing, gain access to the files, to the money trails, etc. the last president was essentially run by senior advisors who were never confirmed and never vote voted on. first of all, it'ser the delay -- terribly hypocritical can, but i don't think that's going to hold any water with the supreme court, do you? >> no. i mean, look, this is, again, a fundamental difference. president trump put his name on the ballot. hen he ran for the position of president of the united states to head the executive branch, article ii, section one, first sentence, power in the executive branch is vested in a president. he got collected during the campaign. he said he was going to create this doge department, elon musk was going to run it. it was clear what was going to happen. and we, the people, 77 million of us, said we want that the model. it's consistent with article ii of our constitution. and now that he's implementing it, the people on the left who think dr. fauci and all the

unelected people are smarter than the rest of us, that they should have the power which is not according to the constitution, they're all mad. that's the fundamental fight. i'm actually with the guy we, the people, put in charge, not with the bureaucrats whoty they're smarter than david asman, jim jordan and all your viewers. that is b.s., that is the fundamental fight, and we have got to win this if we're going to protect freedom and liberty moving forward. david: right on. i agree with you. let me quickly talk about the senate bill that they're coming on their own with and, frankly, you know, you guys in the house are doing what the president wants, one big, beautiful bill. putting that together which includes the tax edges pension -- extensions. if they are not extended before december 31st of this year, we will have one of the biggest tax the increases in history which means you guys will lose control of the house, the senators will lose control of the senate, and the president will be a lame duck for his last two years. so you don't want that to happen. senator johnson came out with an idea because their bill, the

senate bill is all about a spending. it's not about a tax decreases or keeping taxes low, it's about spending more money. here's what senator johnson said about what the senate should be doing. listen. >> i'd be happy to just extend current, the current tax code to make sure we take a massive automatic tax increase off the table and then start working on what is far more complex, you know, in tax on tips, those types of things. that's just a far more complex package to put together. david: why doesn't the senate do that, just extend the current tax code, that way -- and maybe later on you can put in what the president wants to add in, the no tax for tips, all the other things. just make sure that the deadline doesn't pass and we get this huge tax increase. >> no, i -- look, i'm for one bill, two bills, three bills, whatever. i'm for what senator johnson, smart guy, i think an outstanding senator, if that concept and that a plan works,

i'm for that too. i'm just for getting what the voters elected us to do. what i do know is the budget resolution that's coming out of the house budget committee and slated to be voted on tomorrow, it cuts taxes, it cuts spending, it helps national defense and secures the border. sounds like we're being republicans -- [laughter] david: well, why doesn't the senate get it, congressman>> tht the votes for that a and, frankly, we're still working on that in the house. if we can't, you got to break it up, senator johnson's plan, i think, would be just fine too. but what we've got to do is what we told the voters we were going to do. that's what a president trump's doing. that's what elon musk is doing. david: right. very quickly, i'm way over time here, but could the blue state republicans, the ones who want to see the cap lifted on the state and local tax, the s.a.l.t. tax deductions, they want to see a big change in the tax system is, would they be satisfied with just extending the tax cuts and then waiting

for another bill eventually in year two or three? >> yeah. and i think you've cut to the chase, it's a real question because in some ways they view it as leverage to get what they need for their constituents, some leaf on the s.a.l.t. issue. -- relief. again, that's why we focused on one bill where you can put all those different competing in some cases positions together and come up with a bill that's consistent with what we told the voters we were going to do and good for the country. david: jim jordan, you're the best. thank you very much for being here. appreciate it. coming up, is president trump moving europe to the right, and will the europeans just get out of their own way and let him negotiate peace in ukraine? we're going to be asking former secretary of state mike pompeo. he's right here on set when "kudlow" continues. ♪ ♪

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david: well, president trump hosted french president emmanuel macron at the white house today as e.u. leaders continue to resist trump's plan to negotiate a russia-ukraine peace if deal. our very own edward lawrence is live from the if white house, and things got a little testy today -- testy today, edward. >> reporter: it did with a little fact checking, by emmanuel a macron. he seemed put off by some of the things president trump was saying. i can tell you tariffs and

ukraine brought the european union as well as emmanuel macron, the french president, here to the white house. we just it should a lengthy news conference between the two world leaders. macron said he understands the reciprocal tariffs the president wants to put in place. president trump saying he's moving forward with those tariffs on the event u. and tariffs on mexico and canada. >> all we want is reciprocity. we want to have the same. so if somebody charges us, we charge them. it's very simple. but it'll be very good for our country. our country will be extremely liquid and rich again. >> reporter: so president donald trump serious about leveling the trade playing field. that a deadline for the european union, april 2nd, saturday for mexico and canada. when it comes to ukraine, president trump saying we're close to an agreement over rare earth minerals and energy, adding that president zelenskyy will be here this week or next week. french president macron says

europe is willing to be a partner on ukraine. president trump pointing out the u.s. contributed three times as much money as europe did in ukraine. >> the fact is, there is a recognition of grand sovereignty, a recognition of the ukrainian interests, and this is de facto a very important alignment of interests. now, the security guarantees will be negotiated in due time. >> reporter: president trump saying it would be european troops on the ground in ukraine once a peace deal is signed, to american troops would be involved in that peace-keeping process. back to you. david: thank goodness for that. edward, thank you very much. let's bring in mike mike pompeo, of course, the former secretary of state and fox news contributor. thanks for being here, great to see you. steve witkoff, who's been the envoy for the president both for the mid and ukraine, he's been a busy guy, essentially an ad hoc secretary of state, if you will,

but he's getting blamed now for not directly blaming russia for the ukraine invasion. now, obviously, ladies and gentlemen, obviously russia's to to blame for invading ukraine. i can say it, you can say it. but the man in the middle of the negotiations can't. he's trying to negotiate an almost impossible peace deal. but they seem to care more about a virtue signaling than they do about stopping a conflict that's ed a million casualties. >> look, i think that's mostly right. moral clarity does matter, so we have to speak to that. but i when your in the middle of a very complexer multifaceted -- by the way, the europeans are in different places, not just one view in europe, the ukrainians, the russians, the american interests, that is a complex system. and the best things are done quietly. those negotiations take place in private amongst the parties where you exchange ideas about what's possible, how do you actually get the shared vision

of bringing more peace, more prosperity, ensuring that that ukraine's sovereignty is protected. it's something i'm less concerned about what people say out loud and more importantly that they're work working toward achieving that that objective. david: there's another objective, of course, which goes beyond ukraine and russia's interests, and that's the interest of the american taxpayer. if we don't get -- obviously, we're not going to get all of the money back. they paid with their lives dearly for the russian invasion, but taxpayers deserve some kind of, some kind of assurance that it's not just going to be a black hole in which all of our money goes while people are getting killed by the hundreds of thousands in ukraine. what about this mineral deal? is that a way of getting some of our money back? >> yeah. i think more than that, i think it's even better tan that for ukraine and for the united states of america. i think having american companies invest their private money to rebuild some peace of the united states economy, shareholders to benefit from that it's an enormously good

outcome from ukraine. one of the best ways to ensure security is to ensure they have a robust, thriving economy in the aftermath of in this war so they can rebuild their own nation and protect themselves in the years ahead. david: which leads us directly to the middle east and to the president's very unique way of thinking about how to deal with gaza a is, like getting his developer instincts in motion and thinking that maybe we need to resettle people until we can fix up gaza, turn the it into -- turn it into a paradise on the mediterranean and 9/11 get the gauze sans back in. what do you make of that? >> look, we need to stretch the imagination, and i think that's what a president trump did when he talked about in this. he was saying, look, we have to have a solution that has to be different from the way this has rolled for an awfully long time. if we can figure out a way to the underwrite the reconstruction and completely eliminate the terror threat for israelis and so that americans don't have to risk their lives 5, 10, 15 years from if now, if

we can get that right not just in gaza is, but in lebanon, in western syria, if we can get the security situation right and given to rebuild, perhaps there'll be a brighter, more produce pows -- prosperous day for the people who live in gaza. david: i have talked to people who think if the gauze sans are moved out, they'll never be able to move back in again. what could kind of assurance could there be to our arab partners that won't happen. >> if. >> look, i think the gulf arab states are going to have to lead that, they need to come up with a solution whether it involves taking them out of gaza is, moving them back, doing the rebuilding from north to south or from from south to north, it's their turn to say here's how this is going to be paid for and how we're going to deliver that in a way that is fundamentally decent, that doesn't repeat past history. that's the tragedy we've all a suffered for 40-odd years now. david: the key is, as you said, getting the arabs directly

involved maybe with the palestinian out of the middle ground. of course, something john kerry said butted never done -- [laughter] >> the three nos, yes, exactly. david: and extending the abraham aa -- accords would be vital with two goals. one, that that nas never -- hamas never get back in control of gaza, and, two, that iran which has caused so much mischief, making sure that they don't get a nuclear weapon. those two goals are unnegotiable, correct? >> unnegotiable, totally achievable, and we should draw back to what we were just saying in ukraine. don't forget, the iranians and russians have a deep set of ties, the iranians to provide weapons systems. not the failed outcome in afghanistan when president biden allowed that calamity to take place, to the extent we get a good, solid outcome, we increase the probability we can get a good outcome for the gulf, the israelis -- david: i wasn't planning to ask

cu you about afghanistan, but my son served there as a malign, and so many people were -- marine. having set is up a plan for withdrawal, which you did in the first trump term, what did you think of when you saw that catastrophic withdrawal? >> absolutely heartbreaking, unnecessary, didn't have to happen. those were my first thoughts. but to your son and those who served there, they did amazing work. as the cia a director, i saw the enormous number of american lives they saved, so so bless them, i want the thank them for the work they did. i know their work was noble, decent and important. we could have is gotten it right, president trump was on the trajectory to get it right and then president biden came in and just pulled the pin. david: i'm also a hearkening back to your days as secretary of state. did you see -- thinking about panama and the recent charges that the president and others have leveled against china's

influence there, did you see the beginning of that influence when you were secretary of state? many. >> undoubtedly. no, the chinese communist party is running too fast and free in that place. the rest of panama if's not going to handle that in a way that is consistent with their treaty obligations. i'm glad that president trump and secretary rubio are taking that on. david: they're not exaggerate aing the chinese influence? >> not one bit. the risk is very real. david: great to see you. coming up, the democrats and media a have a new line of attack on doge. get this, they are upset elon musk is defunding sesame street in iraq. truly, they are. we're going to be talking about it with steve moore and james fishback with coming next. ♪ with a commercial auto quote online so you can get back to your monster to-do list. super helpful. see if you can save money at progressivecommercial.com. thank you. 7 million us businesses

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money on wabc radio and co-author of "the trump economic miracle" with a guy named art laffer. we thank you both for coming. james, you had a wonderful debate with a cnn host over the value of funding a sesame street in iraq as a means of claiming to use soft power to help out people. this was aid a money. here's the exchange, and he's sort of defending soft power and then you come in. roll it. >> the coinage of the word soft power, you know, you'd rather spend on that than bullets. but, wait -- >> there was a terrorist attack in iraq last month that killed 40 people. it's clearly not working. >> okay, so -- >> soft power and sesame street are not working. we need to kill the terrorists, we don't need to fund big bird and elmo. >> david: it's really that simple, if you want to kill terrorists, you can't use soft a power to do it, right? >> that's exactly right, david. and the funny thing about that

the little debate is moments later he argued we have the money for big bird in iraq, but we don't have the money for president trump sending a tax refund check the hard working americans after a doge has exposed the waste, fraud and abuse. it's time to pass the doge dividend plan. i'm proud that president trump and elon support it. david: i agree. i gotta say, steve, the whole what we've seen with doge is illustrative of another point. a big difference between the biden administration and this one and apple's announcement today that they were planning to invest $500 billion not with any subsidies from the u.s. government, just incentives, tax incentives and regulatory incentives, to put private capital at risk, not put the taxpayer at us risk. like, by the way, with the chips act, the $280 billion chips act which not only cost a lot of money, but it didn't really help. you think of what happened to

intel, after intel which was one of the largest recipients of that money, i think they got over $7 billion in funds and guaranteed loans, they went right down. they went down so far, they lost their spot on the dow jones industrial average. >> well, yeah, david. corporate welfare never works, and my kind of moore's theorum is if you want to destroy an industry, subsidize it with government funds. we should have learned that by now with the wind and solar industry. over the last 30 years, you know, we've put over a trillion dollars into it, and it's nowhere. it hasn't advanced at all. you're so right that the whole approach that donald trump has brought to the white house or, i should say brought back to the white house, is let private capital markets do it. we are the richest and most powerful economy in the world because we have these amazingly strong capital markets that direct capital to the highest, best usage. government, politicians are really bad at that, david.

[laughter] they can't pick winners and losers. well, they do, they pick losers over and over again. so i love the apple story. think about how many jobs are going to be created by that -- david: oh, absolutely. absolutely. and not only up front, but very often there's a back cost of this government-funded welfare which is to corporations which is that the companies go bankrupt and they need a bailout by the taxpayer. so not only is the taxpayer in on the front end, they have to get -- in on the back end to bail out these companies. and, james, they really do more damage than good, a lot of these companies. and you mentioned, of course, you know, running cartoons in iraq doesn't do anything to get rid of the terrorists. but more than that, sometimes we're actually giving advice that sends other economies and other people -- makes certain people filthy rich, a lot of those foreign leader that are taking the aid money and putting it in their pockets not to mention the people here like aid

administrators and stuff who may be lining their pockets as well. it's a big negative,, when the government gets that much involved. >> that's exactly right, david. that's exactly right. think about it, are roads -- our roads and bridges in america are crumbling. we have seniors and veterans who are being denied health care all while at the same time we're funding a transgender opera in colombia and a dei musical in burma. it's pathetic. what president trump has exposed with doge over past month is the beginning, and that's why the doge dividend calls for restitution. americans sent their money to washington, d.c. to be spent in america, not to be spent in fallujah or bogota. and so restitution is overdue, and that's what this plan calls for. david: so, steve -- >> can i just sad one thing to that, david -- add one thing to that, david? david: go ahead. >> you're not in washington, you're in new york, but people are running around this city like their hair is on fire -- [laughter] tide a. david: good.

>> -- because donald trump and elon musk are saying you have to tell your superior officer what you did this week. tell us five things you did this week. and the fact that they're forcing people to go back to work, to be on the job, people -- the federal employees are indignant about this. david: yeah, yeah. >> there's an attitude that a they're some kind of special class of people that don't have to live by the rules -- >> david that's what happens. bureaucracies have done this going back centuries -- >> exactly. david: it leads me to the question of whether we can get rid of these bureaucracies. department of education, hud, housing and urban development, commerce department, epa. i mean, we see from lee zeldin that $20 billion slush fund that was going to cronies that were still in the administration. setting up a little savings bank for them on the side when they leave office. i mean, can we get rid of entire agencies? i know that's what the president has in the back of his mind.

>> we've tried to do that for so long. i'll give you one perfect example of something trump favors that makes so much common sense. we spend about $100 billion, not million, $100 billion on the department of education every year. how about we gave that money to low income parents to to choose the best schools for their kids? you would help if millions of parents, and you could get rid of a whole bureaucracy. why do we need these middlemen in washington to do it? david: yes. >> it doesn't help anybody in toledo, ohio, in a crappy school. david: james, you've only got about 20 seconds, but those curtains have been is pulled back. people can't unsee what they're beginning to see, and they're going to see a lot more, so maybe there will be enough evidence to get with rid of the department of ed and other agencies that have made things worse, not better. >> that's exactly right. president trump won a historic victory in move on the basis of major government reform and, boy, is he delivering. the american people are proud whether you're in toledo or

baltimore, it's time to defund these agencies and send the people back to the states and her people. david: great to see you, gentlemen. thank you for being here. now that kash patel has been sworn in as a president trump's fbi director, what are the most important issues he needs to focus on? joining me now is tennessee senator marsha blackburn. i know you must be if pretty happy that ka a sh made it -- kash made it, and a lot of people are because you really need somebody to shake things up. where does he start, marsha a? >> oh. and, david, it was so exciting to be over at a the white house with him when he was sworn in. and i know that the fbi is going to benefit by having kash patel and dan bongino there running the agency. the first place to start is to go for accountability and transparency. that is what the american people are wanting to see. they want an end to this two tiers of justice.

and, of course, my item on his early to-do list is to make certain that the epstein files are released. we need to know who participated with jeffrey epstein in building this global human trafficking, sex trafficking network. david: what about lawfare? if i know most of that is concerning the department of justice itself, but the fbi is involved in a lot of investigations. we saw how they were acting as a rogue agency, in particular there was one fbi agent himself who made up tough in order to get a fisa a warrant. how can we, how can we really stop the fbi or hold the fbi accountable when any of their investigations deal with political figures? >> well, and this is why you want to end that two tiers of justice and root out the the politicization that has taken place in that agency. and kash patel has said that he was going to do that, and i have

no doubt that he will. it is important to president trump to end those two tiers and to end that lawfare. people preponderance do not want to see federal government agencies weaponized against political opponents or against their neighbors or even against citizens that are out and about and speaking on an issue like parents that are concerned about school or pro-lifers that are out trying to defend life. and making certain that that weaponization has ended, that needs to happen. david: well, there's got to be transparency at the very least, and that would lead to questioning what do we do about the fisa courts themselves, should they exist, but that's -- i want to switch quickly to to the defense department and secretary that of defense pete hegseth. he's being criticized for

getting rid of too many folks who know the most about how the pentagon operates, and he's looking like an amateur, etc. you know the deal against pete hegseth and what he's doing. what do you think about a his job and how does he go about doing it? >> pete hegseth is doing a commendable job. and president trump was so wise to choose a cabinet that had experience in fields, but they were kind of outside of the box. they had other experience other than military, or they had a worked in the private sector, not just in government. these are the nominees that a president trump is bringing forward. what you're seeing from pete hegseth is saying, look, there is a new way to do things, a better way, a more responsive way to the american people. there is a way to provide better

treatment for our men and women in uniform. and in tennessee i talk to people that are active duty, i talk to people that are with the national guard, i talk to our veterans. they are very pleased -- david: yeah. >> -- with the job that pete hegseth is doing, and they are very pleased that he is bringing transparency and accountability to the department of defense. david: and it means a lot that his boots were on the ground in some of these places where they send our soldiers and our troops. and that's so important to the folks, particularly the veterans who look at what's happening there. marsha blackburn, great to see you, senator. thanks so much for being here. >> good to see you. david: much appreciated. coming up, europe is in a panic over president trump's new world order. we're going to be talking about it with rich lowry and the great miranda devine. that's next. ♪

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our xfinity network is built for streaming all the stuff people love. how can it get any better? -i'm just spitballin' here, but, what if we offer people apple tv+, netflix and peacock? for one low monthly price. -yes. so, people could stream the shows they love. and we could call it... xfinity streamsaver! mmmmm. what about something like: streamsaver? ooooooo. -i love that. add streamsaver with apple tv+, netflix and peacock included for only $15 a month... and stream all your favorite entertainment, all in one place. >> will france support the u.s. being compensated? >> i support the idea to ukraine, first, being compensated. second, all of those paid for -- but but not by ukraine, by russia. because it was the one to finish. >> just so you understand, europe is loaning the money to

ukraine. they get their money back -- >> new york in fact, to be frank, we -- no, in fact, we paid 60% of the -- can. [inaudible] >> if you believe that, it's okay with me. >> mr. president,. >> they get their money back, we don't. and now we do. david: a little jousting there in the meeting between macron and trump. joining us now is rich lowry, editor-in-chief of "the national review," and miranda devine is, new york post columnist and fox news contributor. rich are, you actually wrote about what's happening in europe, but it was wonderful to see this little jousting between macron and trump. i wonder -- i mean, i loved it. i wonder if europeans are getting their back up a little. the conservative europeans, the things that they oppose whether it's immigration or the green energy spending or a whole host of issues that we are turning around here. >> yeah. well, macron and the french have talked this big game about we need an independent european defense identity, we need our

own independent army. if you're going to do that, you actually need troops and howitzers and shell ises and airplanes and aircraft carriers. and they've built none of that. germany is a disgrace, liquidated their army after the cold war, and they've all a been depending on us. this is slowly changing, but it's going to change even more under pressure from donald trump. david: miranda, i'm sure the your or proproaccurates, not the european people, but the euro accurates who feel themselves losing a little control now, the control that was so emphasized during the pandemic and that they thought they could continue on, they're realizing now that they really -- is it beginning to slip through their fingers like as we saw with the german elections? >> i think that they are starting to feel a bit of existential angst thanks to donald trump who's just pointing out to them the realities of their economy. you know, germany in particular has this aging population, huge

welfare state. it relies on russia for its gas. that's the dirty little secret. david: incredible. in fact, they're spending more for their russian are gas than they are giving to ukraine, which is ironic, because essentially they're funding russia's war with ukraine while at the same time spending money on ukraine, not getting all of it -- >> incredible, isn't it? you know, even their, their vaunted car try, their cars, they tried to -- industry, they tried to turn them into chinese cars, and china's just outstripped them, stole their ip and is now the biggest car exporter in the world. so they've -- even in their best parts of their economy, they've screwed up. so i think this is a wake-up call for them. the election on the weekend, we'll just see, but i think that their so-called conservative party, the left of the rinos here, they're more like democrats. what they should do is make a

coalition with the afd can, the very right-wing, anti-immigration party -- david: the one that the elon's been posting about on x -- >> and that doubled its vote to 20%. david: the key issue, obviously, the economy's of great concern. they don't like the fact all the a billions they've been spending on green energy haven't worked out, rich, but immigration is really the issue. germany, for example, i think when merkel came in, 12% of the population were migrants, now it's more like 20%. 40% of all the crime committed in germany is committed by these migrants. i mean, that's really pushing them over the edge. >> yeah. so in trump's first term, there are two models of western leadership. one was angela merkel who was wilt up as this great leader -- built up who believes in mass migration, green energy subsidies and hurting their own energy base otherwise, and russian gas, right in and you had trump saying, no, this is all a mistake. and that merkel model, we're

seeing it crumble and get discredited before our eyes. and migration is a huge part of it. the population in europe didn't want this, they didn't vote for this, but the elite imposed it. and because we have more open, free democratic system is, our populace was able to say no and change our course quicker than theirs -- david: well, and it's still having effects in local elections here, miranda. we see the mayor of new york now announcing he's closing down one of the most ridiculous things i've seen in new york, putting up migrants in one of the most expensive, exclusive hotel, the roosevelt hotel -- >> the waldorf wasn't available. [laughter] david: exactly. is the pushback helping? do you think we have turned a corner even in blue cities like new york in. >> look, eric adams is taking credit for this, but it's pure and simple because donald trump closed the border, so the flood of migrants has stopped pretty much stone dead. so that's a good thing for new york. there are a lot of other hotels, though, that need to be emptied

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david: thank you, everybody for watching this special edition of kudlow. you'll be happy to know larry will be back tomorrow, but first, don't make a move, elizabeth macdonald is going to take you through the next hour. liz? liz: thank you, david a great show always good to see you we've got breaking news again coming in. welcome to the eachi "evening e" i'm elizabeth macdonald. >> the last e-mail where yo