OVER THE STARTER HOMES ACT. GOOD MORNING. I’M ADAM SEXTON. SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN IS READY TO CALL IT A CAREER, BUT NOT UNTIL JANUARY OF 2027. RIGHT NOW, THE SENATOR IS IN THE THICK OF SEVERAL POLICY AND POLITICAL BATTLES IN WASHINGTON AND AROUND THE GLOBE, AND SHE IS OUR GUEST THIS MORNING ON CLOSE UP. SENATOR, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. NICE TO BE HERE. SO WE’LL GET TO THE BIG DECISION AND ANNOUNCEMENT IN A BIT. I WANT TO START WITH SOME FOREIGN POLICY AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE. OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS NOT ENDED WITH A PHONE CALL, AS PRESIDENT TRUMP PROMISED DURING HIS CAMPAIGN. VLADIMIR PUTIN IS NOT GOING TO CAPITULATE THAT EASY. YOU’VE BEEN WORKING ON A PACKAGE OF SANCTIONS THAT WOULD BE TAKING EFFECT ON RUSSIA IF THEY BREAK A DIPLOMATIC AGREEMENT. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET BIPARTISAN BUY IN ON THIS, AND PARTICULARLY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE? WELL, IT’S NOT CLEAR WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WILL DO, BUT THE FACT IS WE ALREADY HAVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. THE CASA SANCTIONS, WHICH WE PUT IN PLACE A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, THEY NEED TO BE REAUTHORIZED. AND SO WE’RE WORKING ON THOSE. BUT THE OTHER ISSUE IS SENATOR GRAHAM IS ALSO WORKING ON A PACKAGE OF SANCTIONS, AND WE’RE WORKING WITH HIM TO SAY THERE WOULD BE A TRIGGER IF RUSSIA AND PUTIN DON’T ABIDE BY WHATEVER THE TERMS OF ANY NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT ARE, THAT THOSE SANCTIONS WOULD GO INTO PLACE. BUT I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, ADAM, THAT UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT WE’RE SEEING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE IS REALLY I THINK HE’S THE PRESIDENT IS BEING MANIPULATED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN BECAUSE HE’S ALREADY GIVEN AWAY MUCH OF THE LEVERAGE THAT WE HAVE OVER RUSSIA BEFORE THESE NEGOTIATIONS EVEN REALLY GET STARTED VERY FAR. AND UNFORTUNATELY, BOTH CEASEFIRES THAT THIS PRESIDENT IS TALKING ABOUT TAKING CREDIT FOR ARE FALLING APART ALREADY. THE CEASEFIRE IN ISRAEL WITH GAZA HAS ALREADY FALLEN APART. THE CEASE FIRE THAT HE’S TRYING TO BROKER WITH RUSSIA HAS ALREADY FALLEN APART BECAUSE RUSSIA’S TODAY THEY ATTACKED OR THIS WEEK THEY ATTACKED ODESA AND A MAJOR CAMPAIGN IN UKRAINE, EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID THEY WERE NOT GOING TO ATTACK ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IT TAKES THIS KIND OF A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, TAKES HARD WORK. THEY’RE COMPLICATED AND YOU CAN’T RUSH THEM. YOU CAN’T BULLY PEOPLE INTO A SETTLEMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO AGREE TO LONG TERM. AND THAT’S WHAT WE REALLY NEED. WE REALLY NEED TO PROVIDE SOME GUARANTEES FOR SECURITY FOR UKRAINE. IF THEY’RE GOING TO BE WILLING TO REALLY COME TO AN AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA. AND OF COURSE, THAT’S THE THING. VLADIMIR PUTIN DOESN’T WANT BECAUSE WHAT WE KNOW, BASED ON HIS HISTORY IS THAT HE GOES AFTER HE’LL REGROUP, HE’LL TAKE SOME TIME, AS HE DID IN CRIMEA BEFORE COMING BACK INTO UKRAINE. AND THAT’S NOT GOOD FOR UKRAINE. IT’S NOT GOOD FOR THE UNITED STATES, AND IT’S NOT GOOD FOR EUROPE. HE’S CERTAINLY BEEN PLAYING THE LONG GAME FOR A LONG TIME. ONE OF HIS LONG TERM GOALS HAS BEEN THE END OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION. ABSOLUTELY. HOW IS THE U.S. SENATE GOING TO REACT IF PRESIDENT TRUMP TRIES TO WITHDRAW OR WEAKEN NATO? WELL, IN THE LAST SESSION OF CONGRESS, WE SAID THAT A PRESIDENT CAN’T TAKE US OUT OF NATO WITHOUT APPROVAL OF CONGRESS. NATO HAS STRONG SUPPORT IN THE SENATE. WE HAVE, ALONG WITH THOM TILLIS FROM NORTH CAROLINA, WE CO-CHAIR THE SENATE, NATO OBSERVER GROUP, WHICH IS A WAY TO BUILD SUPPORT IN THE SENATE FOR NATO. AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S THE STRONGEST, MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY ALLIANCE IN OUR HISTORY. AND IT’S STRONGER NOW BECAUSE OF PUTIN’S INVASION OF UKRAINE. WE’VE ADDED FINLAND AND SWEDEN, SIGNIFICANT EXPERTISE AND ABILITY TO BORDER RUSSIA IN WAYS THAT WE DIDN’T HAVE BEFORE. SO IT’S A STRONGER ALLIANCE. AND SO FAR, AT LEAST, THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID HE INTENDS TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ARTICLE FIVE. HE INTENDS TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THE TROOPS IN EASTERN EUROPE THAT ARE THERE BECAUSE OF THE NATO ALLIANCE. SO THAT’S GOOD NEWS FOR OUR OWN NATIONAL SECURITY. PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY HAS PUT UP A VALIANT FIGHT. AND NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT WHAT WENT DOWN IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE OVAL OFFICE BETWEEN HIM AND PRESIDENT TRUMP AND VICE PRESIDENT VANCE, THAT JUST WASN’T GOOD FOR HIM. DO YOU THINK UKRAINE WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITH A LEADER WHO CAN CONNECT BETTER WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP? NO, I THINK PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, WHOSE APPROVAL RATINGS HAVE GONE UP AS THE RESULT OF THE ENGAGEMENT WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP, HAS BEEN AN AMAZING LEADER IN THE COUNTRY. IN WARTIME. AND I WAS NOT NECESSARILY A FAN OF PRESIDENT ZELENSKY BEFORE THE WAR STARTED. I THOUGHT HE DIDN’T LISTEN VERY WELL. BUT HIS RESPONSE, HIS ABILITY TO KEEP THE COUNTRY TOGETHER, TO CONTINUE DOWN A REFORM PATH AND TO REALLY MAKE THE CASE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD ABOUT WHAT UKRAINE IS DOING, HOLDING OFF THE RUSSIANS AT A TIME WHEN THE UNITED STATES AND EVERYBODY ELSE THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD JUST ROLL RIGHT INTO KYIV, HAS BEEN TRULY IMPRESSIVE AND A MODEL FOR DEMOCRACIES AROUND THE WORLD. NOW HE’S GOT WORK TO DO, AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM IN THAT EFFORT. BUT WHAT THE UKRAINIANS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IS TRULY COURAGEOUS, AND THEY ARE SO RESILIENT. I WAS THERE A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO ON A BIPARTISAN DELEGATION, AND WHAT WE SAW ABOUT THE ABILITY OF THE UKRAINIANS TO CONTINUE TO TO KEEP THE WAR GOING, TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS GOING AT HOME. WE VISITED BUCHA, WHICH WAS THE SUBURB OF KYIV, THAT THE RUSSIANS CAME IN AND REALLY SLAUGHTERED CIVILIANS AND TALKED TO THE INVESTIGATORS WHO HAVE FOUND THE RUSSIANS RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH OF THOSE MURDERS. AND THE COMMANDER WHO GAVE THE ORDER THAT BASICALLY SAID KILL, TORTURE, SCARE THE UKRAINIANS SO THAT WE CAN SCARE THEM INTO SUBMISSION. AND THEY REFUSED TO DO THAT. THEY HAVE JUST STOOD UP IN WAYS THAT ARE REAL MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD. AS WE’VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, THIS MAY NOT BE A GLOBAL CONFLICT, BUT THERE ARE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS. YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW CHINA IS WATCHING AND THE SITUATION IN TAIWAN. YOU KNOW, THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT ELON MUSK WAS GOING TO BE BRIEFED ON A WAR PLAN WITH THE CHINESE. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DISMISSED THAT OUT OF HAND. YOU KNOW, IF MUSK IS ABLE TO ACCESS THIS KIND OF INFORMATION, IF HIS PORTFOLIO MORE BROADLY IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE FOREIGN POLICY AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY INFORMATION, WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY? WELL, I THINK THEY’RE ALREADY BAD. IT WAS HE’S THE PERSON WHO CAME UP WITH THIS BRILLIANT IDEA TO GET RID OF USAID. AND SO HAS UNDERMINED SO MANY OF OUR EFFORTS THAT HELP US COMPETE WITH CHINA AROUND THE WORLD. OUR EFFORTS TO KEEP AMERICANS SAFE, BECAUSE WE’RE TRACKING EPIDEMICS IN PLACES LIKE AFRICA THAT PROMOTE DEMOCRACY EFFORTS IN COUNTRIES WHERE IF WE’RE NOT THERE, CHINA COMES IN AND TAKES UP THAT VACUUM THAT WE’VE LEFT. SO I THINK HE’S TOTALLY MISGUIDED. HE HAS NO REAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE UNITED STATES TO BE A LEADER IN THE WORLD. AND HE SO FAR HAS JUST DONE EVERYTHING HE CAN TO UNDERMINE OUR LEADERSHIP. AND TRUMP HAS HIS OWN STYLE. THIS PRESIDENT, YOU KNOW, WHEN HE STARTS TALKING ABOUT SORT OF BECOMING AN EXPANSIONIST POWER IN OUR OWN HEMISPHERE AGAIN, TAKING GREENLAND, YOU KNOW, SUBSUMING CANADA IN SOME WAY, BRINGING BACK THE PANAMA CANAL UNDER US CONTROL. WHAT DOES THAT DO TO U.S. SOFT POWER AND THE ABILITY OF AMERICA TO KEEP THE PROJECTION OF LIBERTY AROUND THE GLOBE? WELL, IT UNDERMINES IT. IT UNDERMINES OUR LEADERSHIP. AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT’S HOW DOES THE PRESIDENT THINK HE’S GOING TO TAKE THE PANAMA CANAL? ARE WE GOING TO SEND TROOPS INTO PANAMA? I DON’T THINK SO. AND SO THIS IS A WAY OF DISTRACTING, OF ANTAGONIZING SOME OF THE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN OUR MOST IMPORTANT AND BEST ALLIES. WE KNOW HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE HOW IMPORTANT CANADA IS, HOW IMPORTANT OUR TRADE RELATIONSHIP IS. IT’S THE LONGEST UNSECURED BORDER IN THE WORLD BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. WE HAVE ALWAYS COOPERATED, AND FOR THIS PRESIDENT TO ANTAGONIZE OUR CLOSEST ALLY, TO ANTAGONIZE OUR EUROPEAN ALLIES, THAT’S NOT WHAT KEEPS AMERICA SAFER. WHAT KEEPS AMERICA SAFER ARE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES THAT WHEN THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN IN TROUBLE, THEY’VE COME TO OUR DEFENSE. WHEN WE GOT ATTACKED ON NINE OVER 11, THOSE WERE THE COUNTRIES THAT WENT INTO AFGHANISTAN WITH US TO GET OSAMA BIN LADEN. THOSE ARE THE COUNTRIES THAT WE FOUGHT ALONGSIDE OF ON THE BEACHES OF OMAHA. AND FOR THIS PRESIDENT TO UNDERMINE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS DOES NOT MAKE US SAFER. IT MAKES US LESS SAFE, AND IT MAKES US MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO WHAT WHAT CHINA, WHAT IRAN, WHAT NORTH KOREA ARE TALKING ABOUT. AND OF COURSE, WHAT RUSSIA IS DOING IN UKRAINE AND IN EASTERN EUROPE. LET’S MOVE TO THE MIDDLE EAST BEFORE WE WRAP UP THIS SEGMENT. SYRIA, IS IT GOING TO BE A DEMOCRACY OR IS IS IT TRENDING NOW IN A DARKER DIRECTION? WELL, I THINK THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN. AND WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY IN SYRIA THAT WE HAVEN’T HAD IN HALF A CENTURY, BECAUSE THE ASSAD REGIME IS FINALLY GONE. AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN PUT IN PLACE SOME CRITERIA TO LIFT SANCTIONS IN SYRIA SO THAT WE’RE PROVIDING HOPE FOR THE SYRIANS, THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BETTER. AND IF, AGAIN, IF WE DON’T DO THAT, THEN WE’RE GOING TO SEE IRAN AND RUSSIA MOVE BACK INTO SYRIA. WE’RE ALREADY SEEING THEM MAKE OVERTURES. AND WE’VE BEEN VERY THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN VERY SLOW TO TO COME TO SOME SORT OF A PLAN FOR HOW WE’RE GOING TO ADDRESS SYRIA GOING FORWARD. YOU KNOW, THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT BEEN SLOW IN ITS EFFORTS TO DEPORT PEOPLE FROM THIS COUNTRY WHO IT DEEMS A THREAT. AND SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GREEN CARD HOLDERS. THERE’S A LOT OF CONTROVERSY AND DEBATE OVER THIS RIGHT NOW. DO YOU THINK PRESIDENT TRUMP, THOUGH, IS DOING THE RIGHT THING BY TRYING TO NIP WHAT HE WOULD CONSIDER PEOPLE WHO ARE FOMENTING ANTI-SEMITISM AND SORT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE AGITATING AGAINST THE UNITED STATES TO GET THEM OUT? WELL, I THINK FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A CRIMINAL HISTORY, WE SHOULD GET THEM OUT. I THINK WE SHOULD DEFEND OUR BORDERS AND KEEP THEM SECURE. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW THE RULE OF LAW, THAT WE FOLLOW OUR LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. AND THAT, I THINK, IS WHAT’S REALLY IN QUESTION RIGHT NOW. ALL RIGHT, SENATOR SHAHEEN, DON’T GO ANYWHERE. WE’LL BRING YOU BACK FOR ANOTHER SEGMENT. WHEN WE COME BACK, WE’LL TALK TO THE SENATOR ABOUT HER DECISION NOT TO SEEK A FOURTH