ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Mornings With Maria on Fox Business to Discuss China, Reconciliation, Iran, Proxy Advisors and new Federal Reserve Chairman

Washington-On Tuesday, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Banking Committees joined Mornings With Maria on Fox Business to discuss U.S.-China talks, budget reconciliation, Iran, proxy advisors and new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh

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Partial Transcript

Hagerty on President Donald Trump's visit to China: "The president clearly understands the strategic value of Taiwan, and I'm certain that the conversations with [General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party] Xi Jinping focused on the aggressive behavior of China in the Strait. I think that President Trump has been very clear that Taiwan is a strategic asset that's critical not only to our economy, but to the world economy, and it would be devastating to our economy-but to China's economy much more significantly-were something to happen in Taiwan. Everybody is handling this very carefully; the negotiations are proceeding. I was very pleased with the president's meeting in China with President Xi. We demonstrated massive strength in terms of our innovative capacity. The CEOs that traveled with the president there with the best of American business, and allies like Japan, Australia, the Philippines are significantly stepping up their military strength and capabilities. I think we have had a significant show of strength in the region."

Hagerty on trade deals with China: [Trade deals] would do a great deal to adjust the trade imbalance that we've long had-and long endured-with China… I think what President Trump is doing is normalizing the trade relations with China where he can. Roughly 90% of the goods that we trade with China are not dual-use goods. I think the president is going to be very clear-eyed about dual-use products, and make certain that America maintains its competitive advantage when it comes to these key technologies, whether that be in AI or technology that could be deployed on a dual basis to military uses."

Hagerty on the conflict in Iran: "We're at a point where the Iranians have to agree to something that is going to work for us, or suffer the consequences. President Trump is making that very clear. He has been incredibly patient listening to allies in the Middle East region-I'm certain that they want to see a deal done, because it's been so devastating to all of them-but President Trump's patience must be wearing thin at this point. We certainly have the military capacity to deliver exactly what President Trump is suggesting. Brad Cooper, our head of [U.S. Central Command], still has a significant target package left to go. It will take a couple of weeks to execute that, but at that point in time, it will be an entirely different show. I think the Iranian regime needs to wake up, understand that, and make a clear decision. They will not have nuclear weapons, nor will they have that capacity. They have to stop the terror in the region and stop their hostile behavior. It's clear to me that the decision time has come. Let's hope they make the right one."

Hagerty on proxy advisors: "[ISS and Glass Lewis] are a duopoly of companies that advise passive investors… how to vote on the shares of stock that they represent in America's companies. And we found these proxy advisors engaging in political activity … to prohibit the free movement of American corporations. It's absolutely unconscionable-it's a racket and it's a duopoly. [Proxy advisors] are misusing their monopoly status. It's time for it to come to an end, and I intend to pursue it legislatively with any Republican or Democrat that is willing to work with me […] I was serving on the board of directors of a New York stock exchange traded company before I came into public office, and we got a recommend against one of the positions on our proxy statement…then we get a call the next week to the CEO's office saying, 'we have a consulting arm that can help you get right with us.'… They shouldn't be involved in politics; they need to be held to account… We need to step and get clarity and transparency in terms of what they're doing and get them out."

Hagerty on budget reconciliation and DHS funding: [The ballroom funding] is a negotiation that's ongoing with the parliamentarian. Senate leadership are reconsidering how they're going to present that. But, that discussion is not over. […] The important thing here is that we need to fund [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. We need to fund the Department of Homeland Security, and this $72 billion package is going to do what the Democrats have refused to do in the face of massive increase in death threats and assaults against ICE officers. The Democrats have been willing to stand back and let this happen, and defund the police here in America-that's not going to stand. Republicans will not allow it; the president is not going to allow it. We will get this done in a matter of days.

Hagerty on Federal Reserve interest rates: Here, we're talking about a market that's dealing with a specific event. There is significant backwardation in the market right now, which means that the market is expecting prices on West Texas crude oil to be significantly lower in six-nine months, that certainly feels transitory to me. I think that we'll be capable of looking past that. I look forward to getting [Chairman of the Federal Reserve] Kevin [Warsh] in the position. He certainly has the capacity and the maturity to look at this wholeheartedly, and get the right answer for America.

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