April 11, 2025 • 28 mins
Newt talks with Congressman Wesley Hunt (TX-38th), a U.S. Army veteran and Apache helicopter pilot. He discusses his recent appointment by President Trump to the Board of Visitors for the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hunt shares insights into his family's long history of military service, his experiences at West Point, and his combat deployments to Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He emphasizes the importance of leadership, duty, and honor, and critiques the influence of "woke" ideologies on military institutions. Hunt also highlights his legislative priorities, including extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reducing national debt, and unleashing American energy. Additionally, he introduces the bipartisan Sneaker Caucus initiative aimed at fostering unity in Congress. The Sneaker Caucus will host a “Sneaker Day” event on Capitol Hill on May 21st.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
On this episode of the New World. Wesley Hunt is
a US Army veteran Apache helicopter pilot and graduate of
West Point. He was just appointed by President Trump to
the Board of Visitors for the United States Military Academy
at West Point. His life is shaped by faith, family,
and a strong commitment to service, built on a legacy
of over sixty years of military dedication in his family.
(00:28):
His eight years of service, including combat deployments to Iraq
and Saudi Arabia, have deeply influenced his values of leadership, duty,
and honor. Here to share his unique perspective on the
Academy's vital role in shaping future leaders. I'm really pleased
to welcome my guests, Congressman Wesley Hunt, representing Texas's thirty
(00:49):
eighth Congressional district. Wesley, welcome, and thank you for joining
me in newch World.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Thank you, missus Bigger.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
It's an honor to be here and against the absolute pleasure,
and thank you so much for your strong leadership to
this country. And again, thank you for considering me to
be on your show right now. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I didn't realize this about you, and I've been a
big fan of yours since you first started running for Congress.
But you actually come from a long line of military service,
and your great great grandfather, Silas Crawford fought for the
Union in the Civil War.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
That's correct, great great grandfather he was born on Rosedown
Plantation about thirty miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, born
on a plantation, fought in the Civil War, and that
was kind of the beginning of the service aspect.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Of my family.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
So my father is a retired lieutenant colonel. He served
for twenty two years in the Army. My sister is
at west Point graduate class in ninety three, so she
served for twenty three years active duty in the Army,
retired as a lieutenant colonel. I'm at west Point graduate
class of two thousand and four, served eight years active
duty as an Apache helicopter pilot to Iraq and Saudi
(02:01):
as you said. And my brother is also a west
Point graduate. He is west Point class of two thousand
and five. So my parents had three kids. All three
of us went to west Point, All three of us
served this nation, and at one point in two thousand
and six, all three of us were deployed in Iraq,
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
For three months I noticed it on Facebook. You said,
your mother is the strongest of all of us.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
She is. She is My mother is the one that
served those who served.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
And so you could imagine the prayers and a strong
mother that lended her children to this country with an
unwavering faith and belief in America and a belief in
this country, and knowing that even if her children maybe
not returning home, it was her duty to make sure.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That we preserved this nation for the future, and she
lended us to do it.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
And I'm forever grateful for having a strong mother that
was willing to do that.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
All three of you, your brother, your sister, and yourself
all attended West Point. I mean, that is quite an accomplishment.
He had three people into Words Point.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
And the funniest thing about it is this is saying
at West Point, it says the history we teach was
made by those we talked. So our instructors at West
Point were usually captains and majors that graduated from West
Point or rotc went off to get their graduate degree
paid for by the military, and then they would come
back as instructors during their active duty time and So
my sister went and got her master's degree in applied
(03:23):
mathematics and then was a West Point instructor as a
captain and major, while my brother and I were both cadets.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So what was that like to be a cadet with
your sister as a professor.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Mister Spiker was terrible because I have to salute my
sister every single day, and unfortunately I still do. But
it was great. It was a family affair. My sister
is my hero. She's the reason why that, you know,
my brother and I followed her into service and followed
her to West Point, and she was a great example
of sacrifice of service that was set before us.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Now, when you graduated in two thousand and four and
got commissioned with the army, you actually graduated a Batchel
of Science degree and leadership and management with the field
of study and mechanical engineering. How do you think West
Point is unique in its ability to shape leaders.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Well, because if you think about just the history of
West Point and what it means to this nation and
the idea of this country lending our sons and daughters
to defend this country against all enemies both foreign and domestic,
and having West Point founded in eighteen oh two as
a premier leadership institution of the entire world. This is
where Eisenhower went to school. This is where MacArthur went
to school. This is where Grant went to school. Keep
(04:32):
in mind that all the statues and all the buildings
that are at West Point are named after prominent people
that serve this country with distinction. My all time favorite
general of all time is General George S. Patten, and
his statue actually stands prominently in front of the library.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But the funny thing.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
About it is, mister Speaker, is that his back is
facing the library because he graduated last in his class,
and apparently he'd never spent a day in the library.
But he was a military or a savant. So that's
the kind of history that's rich at West Point. And
they imbue that kind of history within us to continue
to serve in that manner for the future.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That's great. So when you graduated, you became an Apache pilot.
What led you to pick that branch?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, nine to eleven happened while I was at West Point.
I was a sophomore when nine eleven happened. And one
fun fact about West Point is the first two years
at West Point are monetarily free, meaning that if you
go to West Point for the first two years and
then you choose to leave the day before your junior
year starts, then you owe no time back to the military.
Nine eleven happened my sophomore year, and so my class
(05:39):
had the opportunity to quit knowing that we were all
going to go to war, and almost every single one
of my class made stayed knowing that we were going
to go fight. And I had it in my head, Sir,
that if I was going to go fight, I wanted
to fly in the Apache. The Apache is the attack
platform for the military. It's a two seater aircraft with missiles,
guns and rockets. It is our job to find the
(06:00):
enemy and to destroy them. And that is what I
wanted to do. I wanted to actually get in and
fight for this great nation, and the Apache was my vessel.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
You did deploy to Iraq. What did you learn from that?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I learned how amazing our country is, Sir. I gained
an appreciation for America that you can never believe. I
gain an appreciation of knowing that you are never going
to have soldiers from a foreign land walking our streets
and flying at our skies because we are the strongest
nation in the entire world, and we are a beacon
of light, and we are the house on the hill
for the entire world, and every generation we have got
(06:36):
to defend this or we can become like these other
countries that are being invaded and have other soldiers from
other countries and other helicopters and planes from other countries
flying in our airspace. You see, because of West Point
and because of people that I wanted to die for
this country in less than one percent of this country
raises their hands and say, I'm going to defend this
(06:56):
country because of those brave volunteers.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
That is why we are in the place that we're at.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And I got to tell you, when you spend two
years in Saudi Arabia, like I have, you spend a
year in Iraq, you have a real appreciation for how
great we are and on our worst day, we are
still better.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Than any other nation in this world. And I think
you know that very well.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
What was your impression of Saudi We.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Live in a country where you have freedom of speech,
you have freedom of religion, you have the freedoms that
not everywhere has. And when I was in Saudi Arabia.
Let's keep in mind this was in twenty twelve and
women did not even have the right to drive. There
was basically one religion. Everybody prayed six times a day. See,
they didn't have the kind of choices that we have
(07:40):
in America. They didn't have the kind of freedoms that
we have in America. And when you live in an
environment like that and then you come back home and
you see a lot of people complaining about some of
the issues that we have here, it really puts things
in perspective. I always like punching back and telling people
that a lot of people fought and died for us
to be in this position, and there's no place in.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
The world like it.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
But a lot of people go visit places and they
come back home. They go vacation on the beach or
on a resort in some of these countries, but they
don't live there for two years. When you are embedded
in all these different cultures, you would not believe how
fast I wanted to get back home. And that's actually
what made me a strong conservative. That's what made me
in America first patriot is having that perspective.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
What do you think of the kind of leadership principles
you learn both a west Point and then an active
duty that you find applies to what you're doing today.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Excellent question, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
You know, the model at west Point is duty, honor,
and country, and you have got to understand that that's
the priorities of your life. And when you're in combat
and you're fighting in wars, which you also realize is
that it's not about what the war is or what
the war is about. You are fighting for your fellow
man and your fellow woman besides you, because if you
don't do your job, then they don't go home and
(08:54):
see their family and kiss their mother and kiss their parents,
and kiss their father and.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Kiss their children.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Again, your oath is to this country and to your
fellow soldier. It's the same thing in the halls of
Congress for me, and I actually view this as a deployment,
except for I work for the American people and they
are relying on me to take the sense of duty, honor,
and country in DC and again bringing more of that
(09:20):
to DC.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Instead of the other way around.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
And so once that gets ingrained in you, four years
of West Point, eight years of active duty, you find
out very quickly just how important it is to prioritize
the needs and wants of this country.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
President Trump talks about America first.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
And that to me equals duty, honor country, and maintaining
those pillars for this country and putting America first.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I had the sense, just as an observer that under
both Obama and Biden, that there was a drift to
be getting to build into the service academies that was
making them a little more woke and a little less
focused on duty, honor country. That's why I was intrigued
when President Trump appointed you to be one of the
board of visitors. What's your sense about focusing West Point
(10:07):
on its real mission and getting beyond whatever it was
that the woke left was trying to accomplish.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yes, sir, great questions speaker.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
So West Point is Alstone as the United States USMA,
the United States Military Academy, and there needs to be
a heavy emphasis on the word military.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
That is the point.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
You hear a lot of people on the left of
Democrats say, you know, our diversity is our strength.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I disagree. Our lethality is our strength.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
And the idea that we are the greatest military force
in the entire world because we can destroy any enemy
with extreme prejudice. That is our strength. It has nothing
to do with your race, religion, color, or creed. Has
everything to do with your acumen and your ability to
serve this country and meet the standard that's set before
us by the academies. My brother, sister and I came
(10:56):
through West Point in the nineties and in the early
two thousands, there was no DEI. We worked hard, we
had good test scores, we were good leaders. We got
into West Point because of our acumen and our ability,
not because of the color of our skin. And what
I've realized when I served is that nobody cared what
anyone looked like at that point. Were You're good at
your job and I want to serve next to the
(11:17):
best Americans. End of discussion, full stop. How about we
get back to that. How about we find these brave
Americans that just want to serve this country and not
try to divide us based on the way we look.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And as a.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Black man, sir, I'm here to tell you I do
not want anything to be given to me because of
the color of my skin. I want somebody to know
that I'm an American, I am a patriot, i am
a father, I am a husband, I'm a and I
States Congressman. I have three master's degrees from Cornell University.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
And oh, by the way, I'm a black man, and
I'm proud of that.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But I want to be known for all of the
things that I have done in this country well before
someone sees me as simply a person of color.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
What took you to Cornell?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
You know?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I finished up my time in Saudi Arabia and I realized,
mister Speaker, that I wanted one more combat deployment, so
I called Cornell Combat because it was very cold and.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
It was very liberal.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Obviously, through the GI Bills, some opportunities Cornell are reached
out and I applied and got in and I was
able to do a master's in Business administration, a master's
in public administration, and a master of Industrial and Labor Relations.
I was able to complete three master's degrees in four years.
And it was during that time that I realized that look,
liberals a lot of times can be very well intentioned,
but their practical application is lost.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And it helped me tremendously when I became the.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
United States Congressman, because I could see how the other
side thinks they are just a little off and their
practical application and how real life meets theory. And so
I think what I've been able to do is take
that education, take my time at West Point, take my
eight years of active duty, take my time in the
business sector, meild it all together and be able to
convey a message to the American people that is concise,
(13:18):
that is academic, but at the same time very relatable.
I am so glad from my opportunity at Cornell because
it really taught me how.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
To speak fluent liberal and know exactly how to combat it.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
That's wild. Now, when did you decide to run for Congress?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Today is my sixth year anniversary when I actually got
into politics. I don't know if you recall, sir, but
I ran the first time in twenty twenty. I lost
in a very close race. Redistrict thing happened in Texas,
and that hard work was actually not for nought. I
was able to get a very conservative district. There's thirty
eight congressional districts in Texas. I am the congressman for
(13:53):
Congressional District thirty eight. And God has a plan. It
just so happens to be a district that I grew
up in. I grew up in the northern part of Houston, Texas.
I went to your private school on the southern border
of the district, and that happens to be the lines
that were drawn.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
For the district that I get to represent.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
And I got the Congress, sir, because my dad always
said that no matter what we do, you always find
a way to serve this country.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
In this home, we serve the Lord and we serve
our country. No matter what.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
You have got to preserve this country and preserve the
progress that we've had. When we're sitting here talking about
my great great grandfather being a slave and growing up
on a plantation and fighting in a civil war, you
have three of his great great grandchildren that went to
West Point and served this country. And I am a
congressman in a white majority district that President Trump would
have won by twenty points.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I just won by twenty six points. And I am
living doctor Martin Luther King's dream.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
I'm being judged not by the color of my skin,
but by the content of my character. That's the America
that I love, and that's the America that I want
the world to see.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
I remember, on your very first race, the one you
lost that you just stood out the kind of leader
who is really going to make a difference. You were
going to bring a kind of leadership and a kind
of candor that the Republican Party and the country both need,
and so far watching you in Congress, you're certainly meeting
that kind of standard.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Thank you, sir. The amazing world to me. Thank you
coming from you.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Explain the Sneaker Caucus.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
You know, it's a speaker.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
You know, every now and again, sir, it's good to
add some levity to the party and kind of cut
through all the divisiveness. And I'm the coachair of the
Snecret Caucus, and I got to tell you it's been
a joy to work with Congressman Moskowitz from Florida to put.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
This whole thing together.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
And look, you know, I grew up in a Jordan era,
big fan of Michael Jordan, you know, George, Sneakers were
just everything and from me growing up in the eighties
and nineties, and kind of to bring a little bit
of that levity to Congress, I think is great. It's bipartisan,
it's fun. We're going to have a Sneaker Day on
May the twenty first, and so everybody in the Hall
of Congress put on your best pair of sneakers, and
let's take a photo to show some solidarity and have
(16:00):
a little fun.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Do you have a particular kind of sneaker you like?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Oh, sir, I have quite a few pairs of Jordan's,
and my favorite pair of Jordans is known as the
Jordan eleven.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
And these are the ones that I will be wearing
on May eleventh.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Did you too invent this? And when we say around
and said why don't we do something to bring us together?
How did the I have to say? As a former
Speaker of the House twenty years in the House, I
never quite thought of a sneaker caucus, but I like
it a lot. We need a certain amount of levity
in getting beyond the anger and the hostility and the fighting.
I wish I'd thought of it myself. But how did
you two come together and decide to do this.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
It's existed for the previous few years, but really there
hasn't been two congressmen or two congressmen and women that
I've taken this and run with it. So I remember
that it was like a sneaker day, and everyone wore sneakers,
so that we decided to get together and actually call
it a caucus, make it a day. You know, we're
going to put everything aside, kind of have a bit
of a political stand down.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And again have fun with this whole thing, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
And I like to say that I'm the bridge between
the older generation and the younger generation that's coming up.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I'm forty two years old, and so I like to
be able to say, hey, look.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
You know, to the older generation, this is kind of
what we're interested in, and then also bringing younger voters
into the tent and seeing that you know what, like
Michael Jordan said, you know, he loves sneakers. Michael Jordan said, hey, Republicans.
Republicans buy sneakers too, and so Republicans that Democrats can
get together on something that we can all agree just
have a little bit of fun.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Okay. So I have to confess I currently wear Hokus
is my.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Projector extremely comfortable by the way.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
So I'm curious though, because you're sort of partnered up
with it. Ru Bide frankly to Noboy called souls for Souls.
Walk us through just for a second. What is soles
for Souls?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Souls for Souls is a nonprofit organization and they're working
with us.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
We're going to do it some shoes to Soles for Souls.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
We're going to make it any event and then they're
going to publicly give these shoes away. And again, it's
a nonprofit that provides shoes, and it's gonna be some
really nice sneakers from us, but shoes for people that
just flat out can't afford it. So it just gives
us an opportunity to be public service as well.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
A sign of your commitment that you're going to donate
a pair of your favorite Air Jordan's.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So let's be clear by something, sir, I'm not sure
it's will be my favorite pair of Air Jordans.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Okay, it's a pair of your favorite I'm going to
get my language right here. If people hear about the
Souls for Souls project, can they contribute?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Oh? Yes, you can go to Souls number four soulsfoursouls.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Dot com and you can go there.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
You're able to donate directly to the website even if
you're unable to participate in the event in DC.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
To take a brief detour from the fun things, what
would you say are your two or three biggest goals
of this Congress trying to get something done.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Our two or three biggest goals are very very simple.
The American public gave President Trump a mandate. It is
our job to get his agenda through before the midterms.
And so again, it's extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
it's making sure that we get the reconciliation, it's getting
inflation rained in, and it's ensuring that we codify some
of these spending cuts that's being done by DOGE and
(19:23):
working together to get that done. That's our only mandate.
That is our only goal, and I think so far
we've seen a lot of victories early on with President Trump,
but it's up to us in the halls of Congress
to codify that. That's my number one mission, Number one goal.
Number two, mister Speaker, is that the entire Energy Corridor.
And for those that don't know this, the energy Corridor
is tenn them out to Silicon Valley in California. It's
(19:45):
tennabout to Wall Street in New York. It is the
energy capital of the world. The entire energy Corridor is
in my district. We have got to unleash American energy.
We have got to continue to make sure that we
are net exporters of oil and natural gas. And again,
we can literally control the price of a barrel of
oil because of the God given resources we have in
(20:07):
this country. Supporting President Trump, getting the oil and gas
industry back on track, and unleashing American energy.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Those are my two priorities.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Your biography says quote Wesley is an avid outdoorsman, thrill seeker,
and family man. What's the most thrill seeking thing you've
ever done?
Speaker 3 (20:26):
You trapp into an Apache fifty five times the fifty
five combat missions in Baghdad.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That's quite the thrill, I gotta tell you, and I haven't.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I haven't experienced anything like that since and so if
I've dough from that, I've jumped out of airplanes, repelled
from helicopters.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I'm an avid motorcycle rider.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
My wife won't let me ride as much as I
would like, although I was able to ride in Iowa
for the Roast and Ride this past year. I got
to hop on a Harley and ride to the back
roads of Iowall. It was beautiful, but it's the idea
of living your life to the fullest, having a good time.
I gotta admit I have a six year old daughter,
of four year old daughter, and a two year old
little boy.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I love them more than life itself.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
So my wife kind of has told me I got
to cut back on some of the adventure stuff, but
it's just in my blood.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I can't help it all the time.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Let me ask you, when you look forward now, particularly,
I really identify I have two daughters, and I got
two grandchildren. I know a lot of what I do
and a lot of the reasons I say so busy
as a citizen, is I really worry about the country
that they're going to inherit As you look forward, what
are the things that most worry.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
We live in a meritocracy, and I never want to
see that go away again. I always talk about my
family history being a direct descendant of slavery. My father
is seventy five years old. He grew up and they
segregated south in New Orleans. My father never attended school
with a white person from kindergarten through college. And you
fast forward you look at his children that all attended
West Point, we all earned ivy league degrees, We are
(21:50):
all excelling as very true, heartwarming Americans in this country.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Let's continue that progress.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And I see the left attacking that forgetting the progress
and focusing on all the negatives. I think that's one
of the greatest threats that we see to our young
people is the ideology that America is inherently bad, and
that's not true.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
America is inherently exceptional. There's that.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And also, I do not want to burden our children
with this national debt. We are thirty six trillion dollars
in debt. We are running a two trillion dollar annual deficit.
That is unacceptable. The greatest existential threat to our children
and your grandchildren, Sir, is passing on this debt to them.
We have got to clean this up. This is what
DOGE is all about. This is what President Trump is
(22:35):
trying to do. To grow the economy, to make sure
we get inflation down, we unleash American energy, and we
start paying off our debt because we cannot saddle our
children with that kind of deficit.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Your concern is exactly right, and that's the big reason
why the Reconciliation Bill is so important.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yesterday, and we got to get started on the right track.
We have to codify some of these cuts, and mister speaker,
is going to be difficult. It's going to be hard
to make an omelet. You got to crack a few
and we've got to tighten our belts and know that
for the next few months, for the next few quarters,
it's not going to be easy. But that doesn't mean
that we shouldn't do this. Sometimes doing the right thing
require some sacrifice, and we have got to do this,
(23:12):
as you put it, for our children and for our grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I think that President Trump represents the fifth grade change
in the American system after Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR,
and so at the end of a ninety year cycle
that FDR created, there's going to be mistakes, They're going
to be confusion, and the people who dominated for ninety
years are going to be very bitter and are going
(23:36):
to fight this. We just have to accept this is
a historic moment that you and I are privileged to
be part of. That's truly amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Yes, sir, it is really amazing, And I'm glad we
have President Trump to actually come back and have the
guts to do it. And he's operating so quickly because
he knows that given the spending and the quantitative easing
in the last four years, and COVID that a pending,
horrible recession is pending, and we have to get in
front of this, we have to outrun this.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
That's why he's working so swiftly.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
He's working to save the economy of the American public,
not this year, but for the next decade.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
And that's why I admire his courage and what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
I've always said that if you're going to change these
large bureaucracies, you have to do it very fast, because
otherwise they'll maneuver around you and they'll grow around you,
and suddenly nothing will have changed.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Yes, and again we saw what he's done in the
first six weeks. I mean President Trump did more the
first six weeks than Biden did in the last I
was going to say four years, but probably fifty years.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I think the only parallel in modern times is what
FDR did in the first two years when he took
over during the Great Depression. And some of it's going
to be a mistake, some of it's going to be
a little sloppy, but you have to move at this
speed if you're going to break through.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yes, and I think President Trump learned from his first administration,
he had time to really learn and figure out what
was going on, lost a second race, then spent four
years to regear and rearm himself and recoup, and then
now he's hitting the ground running.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
He knows exactly what must be done swiftly.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
And again, thank God that we have a man like that,
with that kind of energy and that kind of resolve,
because he literally is going to save our future.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Given your West Point background and your Army background, having
folks learn to pool together to be a team is
so vital when you're in this kind of a circumstance.
And I'm just really proud of people like you who
are willing to put your shoulder the wheel and try
to make the team successful as opposed to whatever that
week's personal ideological belief is.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
It means a lot, and I don't want to beat
my chest, but I've never voted for continuing Resolution since
I've been in Congress, with the exception of last month,
and that's because the President asked us to do it.
And sometimes being a team player means you don't always
get to do what you want to do. You have
to do what in the greater interest of the team,
especially when we have the momentum. So the fact that
we're able to get a cr passed at these very
(25:54):
tumultuous times with a very slim majority, we're actually able
to jam the Democrats, which put us in a very
good place and put Chuck Schumer on his heels. That's
team play. And even though I didn't love it, I
didn't like it, it was the right thing to do at
that time. So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And I said at the time that this was an
extraordinarily important vote the change history because the Senate Republicans
didn't think you could do it, the Democrats didn't think
you could do it, and with President Trump's help, Mike
Johnson had it done.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yes, I will say, sir.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Part of what I learned at West Point is when
you're in charge, be in charge, and you met at,
always agree with your leader. You mad at, always agree with
your commander. But when you walk in the room and
you know someone's in charge, you respect it.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
We have that in our party now.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We know that when you walk into this room, President
Trump is in charge. The Democrats have no leader. Is
it AOC? Is it Bernie Sanders is it Jasmine Crockett,
who knows it could be all of the above.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But I tell you what, when.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
You look at our party, you know President Trump is
in charge, and I think that's why we're going to
have a very successful run.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Listen was they I want to thank you for joining me.
I want to let our listeners know they can find
more about the work you're doing for Texas's thirty eighth
congressional district if they visit your website at Hunt dot
House dot gov. And I really appreciate your taking this
kind of time to educate us.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Mister speaker. God bless you. Thank you for your wonderful
service to our nation. It's an honored to be on
with you.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Thank you to my guests, Congress and Wesley Hunt. You
can learn more about his work on the House on
our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newsworld is produced
by Gingishtree sixty n iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guarnsei Sloan.
Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show
was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team
at Ginglishtree sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope
(27:44):
you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate us with
five stars and give us a review so others can
learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld
can sign up from my three free weekly columns at
gingwidstree sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm newt Ginghich. This
is nuts, Wil
On this episode of the New World. Wesley Hunt is
a US Army veteran Apache helicopter pilot and graduate of
West Point. He was just appointed by President Trump to
the Board of Visitors for the United States Military Academy
at West Point. His life is shaped by faith, family,
and a strong commitment to service, built on a legacy
of over sixty years of military dedication in his family.
(00:28):
His eight years of service, including combat deployments to Iraq
and Saudi Arabia, have deeply influenced his values of leadership, duty,
and honor. Here to share his unique perspective on the
Academy's vital role in shaping future leaders. I'm really pleased
to welcome my guests, Congressman Wesley Hunt, representing Texas's thirty
(00:49):
eighth Congressional district. Wesley, welcome, and thank you for joining
me in newch World.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Thank you, missus Bigger.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
It's an honor to be here and against the absolute pleasure,
and thank you so much for your strong leadership to
this country. And again, thank you for considering me to
be on your show right now. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I didn't realize this about you, and I've been a
big fan of yours since you first started running for Congress.
But you actually come from a long line of military service,
and your great great grandfather, Silas Crawford fought for the
Union in the Civil War.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
That's correct, great great grandfather he was born on Rosedown
Plantation about thirty miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, born
on a plantation, fought in the Civil War, and that
was kind of the beginning of the service aspect.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Of my family.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
So my father is a retired lieutenant colonel. He served
for twenty two years in the Army. My sister is
at west Point graduate class in ninety three, so she
served for twenty three years active duty in the Army,
retired as a lieutenant colonel. I'm at west Point graduate
class of two thousand and four, served eight years active
duty as an Apache helicopter pilot to Iraq and Saudi
(02:01):
as you said. And my brother is also a west
Point graduate. He is west Point class of two thousand
and five. So my parents had three kids. All three
of us went to west Point, All three of us
served this nation, and at one point in two thousand
and six, all three of us were deployed in Iraq,
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
For three months I noticed it on Facebook. You said,
your mother is the strongest of all of us.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
She is. She is My mother is the one that
served those who served.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
And so you could imagine the prayers and a strong
mother that lended her children to this country with an
unwavering faith and belief in America and a belief in
this country, and knowing that even if her children maybe
not returning home, it was her duty to make sure.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That we preserved this nation for the future, and she
lended us to do it.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
And I'm forever grateful for having a strong mother that
was willing to do that.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
All three of you, your brother, your sister, and yourself
all attended West Point. I mean, that is quite an accomplishment.
He had three people into Words Point.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
And the funniest thing about it is this is saying
at West Point, it says the history we teach was
made by those we talked. So our instructors at West
Point were usually captains and majors that graduated from West
Point or rotc went off to get their graduate degree
paid for by the military, and then they would come
back as instructors during their active duty time and So
my sister went and got her master's degree in applied
(03:23):
mathematics and then was a West Point instructor as a
captain and major, while my brother and I were both cadets.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So what was that like to be a cadet with
your sister as a professor.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Mister Spiker was terrible because I have to salute my
sister every single day, and unfortunately I still do. But
it was great. It was a family affair. My sister
is my hero. She's the reason why that, you know,
my brother and I followed her into service and followed
her to West Point, and she was a great example
of sacrifice of service that was set before us.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Now, when you graduated in two thousand and four and
got commissioned with the army, you actually graduated a Batchel
of Science degree and leadership and management with the field
of study and mechanical engineering. How do you think West
Point is unique in its ability to shape leaders.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Well, because if you think about just the history of
West Point and what it means to this nation and
the idea of this country lending our sons and daughters
to defend this country against all enemies both foreign and domestic,
and having West Point founded in eighteen oh two as
a premier leadership institution of the entire world. This is
where Eisenhower went to school. This is where MacArthur went
to school. This is where Grant went to school. Keep
(04:32):
in mind that all the statues and all the buildings
that are at West Point are named after prominent people
that serve this country with distinction. My all time favorite
general of all time is General George S. Patten, and
his statue actually stands prominently in front of the library.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But the funny thing.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
About it is, mister Speaker, is that his back is
facing the library because he graduated last in his class,
and apparently he'd never spent a day in the library.
But he was a military or a savant. So that's
the kind of history that's rich at West Point. And
they imbue that kind of history within us to continue
to serve in that manner for the future.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That's great. So when you graduated, you became an Apache pilot.
What led you to pick that branch?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, nine to eleven happened while I was at West Point.
I was a sophomore when nine eleven happened. And one
fun fact about West Point is the first two years
at West Point are monetarily free, meaning that if you
go to West Point for the first two years and
then you choose to leave the day before your junior
year starts, then you owe no time back to the military.
Nine eleven happened my sophomore year, and so my class
(05:39):
had the opportunity to quit knowing that we were all
going to go to war, and almost every single one
of my class made stayed knowing that we were going
to go fight. And I had it in my head, Sir,
that if I was going to go fight, I wanted
to fly in the Apache. The Apache is the attack
platform for the military. It's a two seater aircraft with missiles,
guns and rockets. It is our job to find the
(06:00):
enemy and to destroy them. And that is what I
wanted to do. I wanted to actually get in and
fight for this great nation, and the Apache was my vessel.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
You did deploy to Iraq. What did you learn from that?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I learned how amazing our country is, Sir. I gained
an appreciation for America that you can never believe. I
gain an appreciation of knowing that you are never going
to have soldiers from a foreign land walking our streets
and flying at our skies because we are the strongest
nation in the entire world, and we are a beacon
of light, and we are the house on the hill
for the entire world, and every generation we have got
(06:36):
to defend this or we can become like these other
countries that are being invaded and have other soldiers from
other countries and other helicopters and planes from other countries
flying in our airspace. You see, because of West Point
and because of people that I wanted to die for
this country in less than one percent of this country
raises their hands and say, I'm going to defend this
(06:56):
country because of those brave volunteers.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
That is why we are in the place that we're at.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And I got to tell you, when you spend two
years in Saudi Arabia, like I have, you spend a
year in Iraq, you have a real appreciation for how
great we are and on our worst day, we are
still better.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Than any other nation in this world. And I think
you know that very well.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
What was your impression of Saudi We.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Live in a country where you have freedom of speech,
you have freedom of religion, you have the freedoms that
not everywhere has. And when I was in Saudi Arabia.
Let's keep in mind this was in twenty twelve and
women did not even have the right to drive. There
was basically one religion. Everybody prayed six times a day. See,
they didn't have the kind of choices that we have
(07:40):
in America. They didn't have the kind of freedoms that
we have in America. And when you live in an
environment like that and then you come back home and
you see a lot of people complaining about some of
the issues that we have here, it really puts things
in perspective. I always like punching back and telling people
that a lot of people fought and died for us
to be in this position, and there's no place in.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
The world like it.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
But a lot of people go visit places and they
come back home. They go vacation on the beach or
on a resort in some of these countries, but they
don't live there for two years. When you are embedded
in all these different cultures, you would not believe how
fast I wanted to get back home. And that's actually
what made me a strong conservative. That's what made me
in America first patriot is having that perspective.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
What do you think of the kind of leadership principles
you learn both a west Point and then an active
duty that you find applies to what you're doing today.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Excellent question, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
You know, the model at west Point is duty, honor,
and country, and you have got to understand that that's
the priorities of your life. And when you're in combat
and you're fighting in wars, which you also realize is
that it's not about what the war is or what
the war is about. You are fighting for your fellow
man and your fellow woman besides you, because if you
don't do your job, then they don't go home and
(08:54):
see their family and kiss their mother and kiss their parents,
and kiss their father and.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Kiss their children.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Again, your oath is to this country and to your
fellow soldier. It's the same thing in the halls of
Congress for me, and I actually view this as a deployment,
except for I work for the American people and they
are relying on me to take the sense of duty, honor,
and country in DC and again bringing more of that
(09:20):
to DC.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Instead of the other way around.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
And so once that gets ingrained in you, four years
of West Point, eight years of active duty, you find
out very quickly just how important it is to prioritize
the needs and wants of this country.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
President Trump talks about America first.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
And that to me equals duty, honor country, and maintaining
those pillars for this country and putting America first.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I had the sense, just as an observer that under
both Obama and Biden, that there was a drift to
be getting to build into the service academies that was
making them a little more woke and a little less
focused on duty, honor country. That's why I was intrigued
when President Trump appointed you to be one of the
board of visitors. What's your sense about focusing West Point
(10:07):
on its real mission and getting beyond whatever it was
that the woke left was trying to accomplish.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yes, sir, great questions speaker.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
So West Point is Alstone as the United States USMA,
the United States Military Academy, and there needs to be
a heavy emphasis on the word military.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
That is the point.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
You hear a lot of people on the left of
Democrats say, you know, our diversity is our strength.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I disagree. Our lethality is our strength.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
And the idea that we are the greatest military force
in the entire world because we can destroy any enemy
with extreme prejudice. That is our strength. It has nothing
to do with your race, religion, color, or creed. Has
everything to do with your acumen and your ability to
serve this country and meet the standard that's set before
us by the academies. My brother, sister and I came
(10:56):
through West Point in the nineties and in the early
two thousands, there was no DEI. We worked hard, we
had good test scores, we were good leaders. We got
into West Point because of our acumen and our ability,
not because of the color of our skin. And what
I've realized when I served is that nobody cared what
anyone looked like at that point. Were You're good at
your job and I want to serve next to the
(11:17):
best Americans. End of discussion, full stop. How about we
get back to that. How about we find these brave
Americans that just want to serve this country and not
try to divide us based on the way we look.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And as a.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Black man, sir, I'm here to tell you I do
not want anything to be given to me because of
the color of my skin. I want somebody to know
that I'm an American, I am a patriot, i am
a father, I am a husband, I'm a and I
States Congressman. I have three master's degrees from Cornell University.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
And oh, by the way, I'm a black man, and
I'm proud of that.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But I want to be known for all of the
things that I have done in this country well before
someone sees me as simply a person of color.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
What took you to Cornell?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
You know?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I finished up my time in Saudi Arabia and I realized,
mister Speaker, that I wanted one more combat deployment, so
I called Cornell Combat because it was very cold and.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
It was very liberal.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Obviously, through the GI Bills, some opportunities Cornell are reached
out and I applied and got in and I was
able to do a master's in Business administration, a master's
in public administration, and a master of Industrial and Labor Relations.
I was able to complete three master's degrees in four years.
And it was during that time that I realized that look,
liberals a lot of times can be very well intentioned,
but their practical application is lost.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And it helped me tremendously when I became the.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
United States Congressman, because I could see how the other
side thinks they are just a little off and their
practical application and how real life meets theory. And so
I think what I've been able to do is take
that education, take my time at West Point, take my
eight years of active duty, take my time in the
business sector, meild it all together and be able to
convey a message to the American people that is concise,
(13:18):
that is academic, but at the same time very relatable.
I am so glad from my opportunity at Cornell because
it really taught me how.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
To speak fluent liberal and know exactly how to combat it.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
That's wild. Now, when did you decide to run for Congress?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Today is my sixth year anniversary when I actually got
into politics. I don't know if you recall, sir, but
I ran the first time in twenty twenty. I lost
in a very close race. Redistrict thing happened in Texas,
and that hard work was actually not for nought. I
was able to get a very conservative district. There's thirty
eight congressional districts in Texas. I am the congressman for
(13:53):
Congressional District thirty eight. And God has a plan. It
just so happens to be a district that I grew
up in. I grew up in the northern part of Houston, Texas.
I went to your private school on the southern border
of the district, and that happens to be the lines
that were drawn.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
For the district that I get to represent.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
And I got the Congress, sir, because my dad always
said that no matter what we do, you always find
a way to serve this country.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
In this home, we serve the Lord and we serve
our country. No matter what.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
You have got to preserve this country and preserve the
progress that we've had. When we're sitting here talking about
my great great grandfather being a slave and growing up
on a plantation and fighting in a civil war, you
have three of his great great grandchildren that went to
West Point and served this country. And I am a
congressman in a white majority district that President Trump would
have won by twenty points.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I just won by twenty six points. And I am
living doctor Martin Luther King's dream.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
I'm being judged not by the color of my skin,
but by the content of my character. That's the America
that I love, and that's the America that I want
the world to see.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
I remember, on your very first race, the one you
lost that you just stood out the kind of leader
who is really going to make a difference. You were
going to bring a kind of leadership and a kind
of candor that the Republican Party and the country both need,
and so far watching you in Congress, you're certainly meeting
that kind of standard.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Thank you, sir. The amazing world to me. Thank you
coming from you.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Explain the Sneaker Caucus.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
You know, it's a speaker.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
You know, every now and again, sir, it's good to
add some levity to the party and kind of cut
through all the divisiveness. And I'm the coachair of the
Snecret Caucus, and I got to tell you it's been
a joy to work with Congressman Moskowitz from Florida to put.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
This whole thing together.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
And look, you know, I grew up in a Jordan era,
big fan of Michael Jordan, you know, George, Sneakers were
just everything and from me growing up in the eighties
and nineties, and kind of to bring a little bit
of that levity to Congress, I think is great. It's bipartisan,
it's fun. We're going to have a Sneaker Day on
May the twenty first, and so everybody in the Hall
of Congress put on your best pair of sneakers, and
let's take a photo to show some solidarity and have
(16:00):
a little fun.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Do you have a particular kind of sneaker you like?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Oh, sir, I have quite a few pairs of Jordan's,
and my favorite pair of Jordans is known as the
Jordan eleven.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
And these are the ones that I will be wearing
on May eleventh.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Did you too invent this? And when we say around
and said why don't we do something to bring us together?
How did the I have to say? As a former
Speaker of the House twenty years in the House, I
never quite thought of a sneaker caucus, but I like
it a lot. We need a certain amount of levity
in getting beyond the anger and the hostility and the fighting.
I wish I'd thought of it myself. But how did
you two come together and decide to do this.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
It's existed for the previous few years, but really there
hasn't been two congressmen or two congressmen and women that
I've taken this and run with it. So I remember
that it was like a sneaker day, and everyone wore sneakers,
so that we decided to get together and actually call
it a caucus, make it a day. You know, we're
going to put everything aside, kind of have a bit
of a political stand down.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And again have fun with this whole thing, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
And I like to say that I'm the bridge between
the older generation and the younger generation that's coming up.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I'm forty two years old, and so I like to
be able to say, hey, look.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
You know, to the older generation, this is kind of
what we're interested in, and then also bringing younger voters
into the tent and seeing that you know what, like
Michael Jordan said, you know, he loves sneakers. Michael Jordan said, hey, Republicans.
Republicans buy sneakers too, and so Republicans that Democrats can
get together on something that we can all agree just
have a little bit of fun.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Okay. So I have to confess I currently wear Hokus
is my.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Projector extremely comfortable by the way.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
So I'm curious though, because you're sort of partnered up
with it. Ru Bide frankly to Noboy called souls for Souls.
Walk us through just for a second. What is soles
for Souls?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Souls for Souls is a nonprofit organization and they're working
with us.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
We're going to do it some shoes to Soles for Souls.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
We're going to make it any event and then they're
going to publicly give these shoes away. And again, it's
a nonprofit that provides shoes, and it's gonna be some
really nice sneakers from us, but shoes for people that
just flat out can't afford it. So it just gives
us an opportunity to be public service as well.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
A sign of your commitment that you're going to donate
a pair of your favorite Air Jordan's.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So let's be clear by something, sir, I'm not sure
it's will be my favorite pair of Air Jordans.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Okay, it's a pair of your favorite I'm going to
get my language right here. If people hear about the
Souls for Souls project, can they contribute?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Oh? Yes, you can go to Souls number four soulsfoursouls.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Dot com and you can go there.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
You're able to donate directly to the website even if
you're unable to participate in the event in DC.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
To take a brief detour from the fun things, what
would you say are your two or three biggest goals
of this Congress trying to get something done.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Our two or three biggest goals are very very simple.
The American public gave President Trump a mandate. It is
our job to get his agenda through before the midterms.
And so again, it's extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
it's making sure that we get the reconciliation, it's getting
inflation rained in, and it's ensuring that we codify some
of these spending cuts that's being done by DOGE and
(19:23):
working together to get that done. That's our only mandate.
That is our only goal, and I think so far
we've seen a lot of victories early on with President Trump,
but it's up to us in the halls of Congress
to codify that. That's my number one mission, Number one goal.
Number two, mister Speaker, is that the entire Energy Corridor.
And for those that don't know this, the energy Corridor
is tenn them out to Silicon Valley in California. It's
(19:45):
tennabout to Wall Street in New York. It is the
energy capital of the world. The entire energy Corridor is
in my district. We have got to unleash American energy.
We have got to continue to make sure that we
are net exporters of oil and natural gas. And again,
we can literally control the price of a barrel of
oil because of the God given resources we have in
(20:07):
this country. Supporting President Trump, getting the oil and gas
industry back on track, and unleashing American energy.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Those are my two priorities.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Your biography says quote Wesley is an avid outdoorsman, thrill seeker,
and family man. What's the most thrill seeking thing you've
ever done?
Speaker 3 (20:26):
You trapp into an Apache fifty five times the fifty
five combat missions in Baghdad.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That's quite the thrill, I gotta tell you, and I haven't.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I haven't experienced anything like that since and so if
I've dough from that, I've jumped out of airplanes, repelled
from helicopters.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I'm an avid motorcycle rider.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
My wife won't let me ride as much as I
would like, although I was able to ride in Iowa
for the Roast and Ride this past year. I got
to hop on a Harley and ride to the back
roads of Iowall. It was beautiful, but it's the idea
of living your life to the fullest, having a good time.
I gotta admit I have a six year old daughter,
of four year old daughter, and a two year old
little boy.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I love them more than life itself.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
So my wife kind of has told me I got
to cut back on some of the adventure stuff, but
it's just in my blood.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I can't help it all the time.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Let me ask you, when you look forward now, particularly,
I really identify I have two daughters, and I got
two grandchildren. I know a lot of what I do
and a lot of the reasons I say so busy
as a citizen, is I really worry about the country
that they're going to inherit As you look forward, what
are the things that most worry.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
We live in a meritocracy, and I never want to
see that go away again. I always talk about my
family history being a direct descendant of slavery. My father
is seventy five years old. He grew up and they
segregated south in New Orleans. My father never attended school
with a white person from kindergarten through college. And you
fast forward you look at his children that all attended
West Point, we all earned ivy league degrees, We are
(21:50):
all excelling as very true, heartwarming Americans in this country.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Let's continue that progress.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And I see the left attacking that forgetting the progress
and focusing on all the negatives. I think that's one
of the greatest threats that we see to our young
people is the ideology that America is inherently bad, and
that's not true.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
America is inherently exceptional. There's that.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And also, I do not want to burden our children
with this national debt. We are thirty six trillion dollars
in debt. We are running a two trillion dollar annual deficit.
That is unacceptable. The greatest existential threat to our children
and your grandchildren, Sir, is passing on this debt to them.
We have got to clean this up. This is what
DOGE is all about. This is what President Trump is
(22:35):
trying to do. To grow the economy, to make sure
we get inflation down, we unleash American energy, and we
start paying off our debt because we cannot saddle our
children with that kind of deficit.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Your concern is exactly right, and that's the big reason
why the Reconciliation Bill is so important.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yesterday, and we got to get started on the right track.
We have to codify some of these cuts, and mister speaker,
is going to be difficult. It's going to be hard
to make an omelet. You got to crack a few
and we've got to tighten our belts and know that
for the next few months, for the next few quarters,
it's not going to be easy. But that doesn't mean
that we shouldn't do this. Sometimes doing the right thing
require some sacrifice, and we have got to do this,
(23:12):
as you put it, for our children and for our grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I think that President Trump represents the fifth grade change
in the American system after Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR,
and so at the end of a ninety year cycle
that FDR created, there's going to be mistakes, They're going
to be confusion, and the people who dominated for ninety
years are going to be very bitter and are going
(23:36):
to fight this. We just have to accept this is
a historic moment that you and I are privileged to
be part of. That's truly amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Yes, sir, it is really amazing, And I'm glad we
have President Trump to actually come back and have the
guts to do it. And he's operating so quickly because
he knows that given the spending and the quantitative easing
in the last four years, and COVID that a pending,
horrible recession is pending, and we have to get in
front of this, we have to outrun this.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
That's why he's working so swiftly.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
He's working to save the economy of the American public,
not this year, but for the next decade.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
And that's why I admire his courage and what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
I've always said that if you're going to change these
large bureaucracies, you have to do it very fast, because
otherwise they'll maneuver around you and they'll grow around you,
and suddenly nothing will have changed.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Yes, and again we saw what he's done in the
first six weeks. I mean President Trump did more the
first six weeks than Biden did in the last I
was going to say four years, but probably fifty years.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I think the only parallel in modern times is what
FDR did in the first two years when he took
over during the Great Depression. And some of it's going
to be a mistake, some of it's going to be
a little sloppy, but you have to move at this
speed if you're going to break through.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yes, and I think President Trump learned from his first administration,
he had time to really learn and figure out what
was going on, lost a second race, then spent four
years to regear and rearm himself and recoup, and then
now he's hitting the ground running.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
He knows exactly what must be done swiftly.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
And again, thank God that we have a man like that,
with that kind of energy and that kind of resolve,
because he literally is going to save our future.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Given your West Point background and your Army background, having
folks learn to pool together to be a team is
so vital when you're in this kind of a circumstance.
And I'm just really proud of people like you who
are willing to put your shoulder the wheel and try
to make the team successful as opposed to whatever that
week's personal ideological belief is.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Thank you, mister speaker.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
It means a lot, and I don't want to beat
my chest, but I've never voted for continuing Resolution since
I've been in Congress, with the exception of last month,
and that's because the President asked us to do it.
And sometimes being a team player means you don't always
get to do what you want to do. You have
to do what in the greater interest of the team,
especially when we have the momentum. So the fact that
we're able to get a cr passed at these very
(25:54):
tumultuous times with a very slim majority, we're actually able
to jam the Democrats, which put us in a very
good place and put Chuck Schumer on his heels. That's
team play. And even though I didn't love it, I
didn't like it, it was the right thing to do at
that time. So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And I said at the time that this was an
extraordinarily important vote the change history because the Senate Republicans
didn't think you could do it, the Democrats didn't think
you could do it, and with President Trump's help, Mike
Johnson had it done.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Yes, I will say, sir.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Part of what I learned at West Point is when
you're in charge, be in charge, and you met at,
always agree with your leader. You mad at, always agree with
your commander. But when you walk in the room and
you know someone's in charge, you respect it.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
We have that in our party now.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We know that when you walk into this room, President
Trump is in charge. The Democrats have no leader. Is
it AOC? Is it Bernie Sanders is it Jasmine Crockett,
who knows it could be all of the above.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But I tell you what, when.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
You look at our party, you know President Trump is
in charge, and I think that's why we're going to
have a very successful run.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Listen was they I want to thank you for joining me.
I want to let our listeners know they can find
more about the work you're doing for Texas's thirty eighth
congressional district if they visit your website at Hunt dot
House dot gov. And I really appreciate your taking this
kind of time to educate us.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Mister speaker. God bless you. Thank you for your wonderful
service to our nation. It's an honored to be on
with you.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Thank you to my guests, Congress and Wesley Hunt. You
can learn more about his work on the House on
our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newsworld is produced
by Gingishtree sixty n iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guarnsei Sloan.
Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show
was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team
at Ginglishtree sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope
(27:44):
you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate us with
five stars and give us a review so others can
learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld
can sign up from my three free weekly columns at
gingwidstree sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm newt Ginghich. This
is nuts, Wil
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!