Transcript
Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING
From The Hill · Episode page · Watch on YouTube
· 11 min · 2,057 words · 28 timestamped sections
This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING", an episode of The Hill published January 24, 2026 (11 min, about 2,057 words). It mentions 8 people, works and ideas, including Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Department of Homeland Security, USDA, Kevin McCarthy.
What this episode is about
The discussion centers on recent chaotic events in Washington, D.C., including a disturbing confrontation during a hearing, Jack Smith's testimony regarding ongoing legal matters, and the looming threat of a government shutdown. Key points include rising tensions among lawmakers, personal safety concerns, and the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships amid political turmoil.
Key takeaways
- When politicians argue about groceries, remember: a chicken dinner can spark a national debate.
- Bipartisan friendship is like a marriage; calm dialogue helps us avoid messy divorces.
- In extreme times, even extreme measures like impeachment can be on the table—but it’s a slippery slope.
- Taxpayer dollars fueling extremism? Sounds like public funds need better oversight, not an existential crisis.
- Feeding a family on a budget? Good luck proving $3 for all three meals isn't a clever illusion.
Who speaks in this episode?
- Unnamed Speaker (Host) · 2 min speaking
- Jack Smith (Guest) · 2 min speaking
What is discussed, and when
- – 3:00: Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security, Prime Minister Starmer
- – 6:00: USDA, Chief Judge Boseberg
- – 9:00: Donald Trump, Jack Smith
- – 11:04: Jack Smith, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan
Notable quotes from "Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING"
Will continue to do that. I want to assure you this morning that is still the case. I spoke to President Trump at length yesterday and I told him that I really felt that my…
about Donald Trump · atTaxpayer dollars are being used by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to unleash extremism on the streets of America.
about Department of Homeland Security · atAnd about two weeks ago, I asked our economists over at USDA said, I really want y'all to dig in the food on this now upside down triangle, what exactly the food on the triangle, if you were to.
about USDA · atAnd I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they're supposed to operate. It would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down the law, so to.
about Chief Judge Boseberg · atComing in front of us after there. Only thing we did different here, this is because Jack Smith was literally trying to put the president in prison with this ridiculous…
about Jack Smith · atYou think it was right or not, did you withhold the name of Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House, when you were seeking records on Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house, or Jim Jordan, the chairman of this committee?
about Kevin McCarthy · at
Who and what is mentioned in this episode?
People
- Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political figure / subject of discussion · 4 mentions · first at
Central figure in multiple segments: a diplomatic call referenced alongside UK relations, and later as the target of investigations and congressional oversight discussions. - Jack Smith — Person · Referenced legal official / witness in oversight hearing · 4 mentions · first at
Discussed as the focal point of a congressional hearing and criticized as part of a broader effort to prosecute/investigate President Trump; questioned about nondisclosure orders and records requests involving members of Congress. - Kevin McCarthy — Person · Referenced U.S. legislator mentioned in records-request dispute · 1 mention · first at
Raised as an example of a senior congressional figure whose name (as Speaker) was allegedly withheld from an Article III judge when seeking records, used to challenge Jack Smith's process. - Prime Minister Starmer — Person · Referenced foreign leader in diplomatic context · 1 mention · first at
Mentioned in a segment describing a meeting at Downing Street and remarks about UK–US alliance management and calming tensions via dialogue.Was to encourage our friends and help to calm the waters, so to speak. And I hope to do so. As the prime minister said yesterday, let us look to agreement, continue our…
- Jim Jordan — Person · Referenced committee chair in hearing exchange · 1 mention · first at
Mentioned as the chairman of the committee in the context of records requests and nondisclosure orders, alongside Kevin McCarthy, during questioning of Jack Smith.The House, when you were seeking records on Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house, or Jim Jordan, the chairman of this committee?
- Chief Judge Boseberg — Person · Referenced judge in impeachment/oversight discussion · 1 mention · first at
Cited as an example in a conversation about alleged judicial overreach and the possibility of impeachment as a congressional response to 'egregious abuses.'
Companies & orgs
- Department of Homeland Security — Company · Government agency · 1 mention · first at
Mentioned in the context of immigration law enforcement and oversight discussions. - USDA — Company · Government agency · 1 mention · first at
Discussed in the context of food prices and economic simulations related to meal costs.
Full transcript with timestamps
have. Why are you so fabulous? Absolutely. Look behind me. Excuse me. Excuse me.
Not this guy. Not this guy. See how many people are constrained. Look at me. Total control over your mind and body.
Sir, you have no shame. No shame. You have no shame treating these people that way.
This guy has threatened my family. Unbelievable. Threatened my children. Threatened. Threatened my children. My children. You sick. My children. Don't touch me. Do not.
When I met with Prime Minister Starmer at Downing Street yesterday, I I told him that I thought his national address a few hours earlier was well done. He he noted, of course, that the UK and the US are close allies and that our strong, constructive partnership all these years has been built on mutual respect and focused on results. I thought that was exactly the right message and the right tone. And because of that, we have always been able to work through our differences calmly as friends, and we will continue to do that. I want to assure you this morning that that is still the case. I spoke to President Trump at length yesterday and I I told him that I really felt that my mission here, even though we planned this back in the fall, we didn't know how the events would develop over the last few days. But uh but I I told the president that I felt that my mission here today was to encourage our friends and help to
calm the waters, so to speak. And I hope to do so. As as the prime minister said yesterday, let us look to agreement, continue our dialogue, and find a resolution just as we always have in the past. And in that process, I am confident that we can and will maintain and strengthen our special relationship between these two nations, send a message of unity and resolve to our allies around the world, and remind our adversaries and the terrorist and tyrants everywhere that our nations that are dedicated to freedom and justice and order and human dignity are stronger and more resolved. Now, we have a January 30 deadline to fund the remainder of the federal government, and we're on track to do that.
Taxpayer dollars are being used by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to unleash extremism on the streets of America.
We are looking at oversight, not abolishing ICE, not defunding ICE. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are doing a very novel thing. They are following federal immigration law. real quick. You got some criticism for a comment that you made on NewsNation actually about a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, and a tortilla, and one other item being around $3.
Do you regret those remarks? Do you think you were a little bit flip about the price of groceries?
No. Well, I I regret that I didn't make it sound like a more robust plate because that is what I meant to make it sound like, a really big piece of chicken and a and a when I said a piece of broccoli, I meant like a a big I'm a mom of four and I cook broccoli a lot. For me, that's a big head of broccoli, um, a baked potato, etc. Couple pieces of bread. I just came from a meeting where over at USDA, right before I got back here to the White House, where every week I'll check on food prices. And about two weeks ago, I asked our economists over at USDA said, "I really want y'all to dig in the food on this now upside down triangle, what exactly the food on the triangle, if you were to put that together and you were to put a day worth of meals together, whether it's pork or salmon, I'm kind of thinking of the food triangle, a glass of whole milk, um whole grain bread, um fruits and vegetables, rice and beans,
etc." I say, "Come back to me and let me know." And I don't want any funny business with numbers like I really want to know what that looks like because we had run almost a thousand simulations and between three and four dollars is a fair number if you can have access to that food. So just about an hour ago I saw new numbers that were run a full day meaning three full square meals and a snack is about $1564. $15.64 that's all three meals and a snack. So, we'll be talking more about that in the coming days and weeks. Um, part of me sort of cringed at the criticism that I got because it wasn't what I meant. And I grew up with a single mom in a really small town and certainly never meant to be flippant. But I also think that the left or those that were attacking me perhaps know that this is um an issue that 90% of Americans agree on. It is one that no one's really done anything about until this administration. And it
is one where we will fundamentally, I believe, change the trajectory of our country by changing the health of our country. I'm really proud of that. So, thank you though for letting me explain that.
I'm for it. I mean, I think you, Judge Boseberg, is one who's been mentioned and these are some egregious abuses. I mean, as you know, my background is constitutional law. I used to lead the constitution subcommittee and in the House Judiciary Committee. Impeachment, as we have discussed altogether many, many times, is an extreme measure, but extreme times call for extreme measures. And I I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they're supposed to operate. It would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down the law, so to speak, and to um and and you know, to make an example of some of these egregious abuses. So, we'll see where it goes.
Listen, I support our president. He's one of the best negotiators that we've had. Look at he's he's eliminated and ended over eight wars, right? He is trying to put the safety and security of Americans first. So I think what you see with the with President Trump is all options are on the table. What he's doing or more importantly what he's not doing is saying this is off the table that is off the table. I think the message that he's trying to send is all options are on the table to make sure that America is safe and secure. You know, right now a lot of people don't trust the United States because of this president and right now because of tariff policies, because of uh the way he has treated our allies like Denmark and uh others. You know, I think people feel like the US is no longer a surefire partner that they can work with anymore.
And so I I want to see a predictable economy. I want to see an economy that works for everyone. And this president right now is doing things abroad that are raising costs back home. And so that's going to hurt every single American unless he changes his policies.
United States of America is playing hard ball with countries that were more than happy to take advantage of the United States of America. Uh easy examples back go back to the 45 administration, right? When the president was saying, "Hey, we're providing all our time, troops, treasure for your security, and you're getting all of your energy from Russia who we're supposed to be securing you from that's taking advantage of us." They were playing hard ball against us, trying to have their cake and eat it to the United States of America is playing hard ball. Congressman, we talked to you really quickly about hearing him tomorrow. What are you hoping to hear?
What's this? I think the main the main takeaway will be Jack Smith's no different than Funny Willows, Alvin Brag, Bob Mueller, impeachable. It's all part of this effort to get get after President Trump. Thank goodness the American people saw through it. And of course, we've elected President Trump twice. But I think it'll just show that Jack Smith was sort of the culmination of this 10 year, this decadel long attack on uh on the president. It just didn't fly. And he was he was willing to do things. I mean, you saw that he's paying confidential human source. Why do you got to pay a source 20,000 bucks for when you can subpoena anybody and everybody? Uh he spent $35 million and uh of course got nothing. And then not to mention he's willing to go get the phone records of multiple members of Congress uh in his effort to find some some way to go after President Trump. So I think that'll all come out tomorrow. And that's uh that's
why we always intended to have him. It's sort of what we do. We had we had Mueller, we had her, we had Durham all coming in front of us after there. Only thing we did different here, this is because Jack Smith was literally trying to put the president in prison with this ridiculous investigation. Um, is we deposed him first along with Windam and Brad and Cooney, some of his key deputies, and we got others we're going to depose as well.
Why is it that no one should be informed, including the judges? As you went in to spy on these people, did you mention that you were spying on seeking records so you could find out about when conversations occurred between the US Speaker of the House and the president? Did you inform the judge or did you hold that back?
My office didn't spy on anyone. Wait a second. I The question I asked you, Mr. Smith, was pretty straightforward. Did you withhold that information from an article 3 judge in the process of of taking the records of the speaker of the house?
We complied with department. Did you hold back? Mr. Chairman, would you please instruct the gentleman to allow the witness to answer the question?
It's not your time. I' I'd like my time back. Mr. Chairman, you've repeatedly done that in the past. The witness has the right to answer the question.
And there'll be due time to answer the question. Would you please uh put my time back and let me finish this? Mr. Smith, I asked you a question and you were not responsive to it and I want you to be responsive to it. Did you, whether you think it was legal or not, whether you think it was right or not, did you withhold the name of Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House, when you were seeking records on Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house, or Jim Jordan, the chairman of this committee?
The time of the gentleman is No, please give me back the time. It will take it away. Time is expired, but we're going to let the witness answer your question because it's an important question. The witness can respond.
We did not provide that information to the judge when we uh requested a non-disclosure order consistent with the law and consistent with department.
Mr. Chairman, the amazing thing here today is that we have an admission that an article the gentleman's time is expired by now 34 seconds.
It gets more than 5 minutes. How many times you going to interrupt me? The time the time belongs to the gentleman from California has expired.
Will I will be brief in my address to the chairman. We have the evidence that an article one representative on behalf of the president withheld article. Mr. Chairman, I read the information and with that I yield back in disgust of this witness.
Questions about this episode
Who speaks in "Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING"?
Unnamed Speaker (Host), Jack Smith (Guest).
What is "Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING" about?
The discussion centers on recent chaotic events in Washington, D.C., including a disturbing confrontation during a hearing, Jack Smith's testimony regarding ongoing legal matters, and the looming threat of a government shutdown. Key points include rising tensions among lawmakers, personal safety concerns, and the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships amid political turmoil.
What is mentioned in this The Hill episode?
8 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Department of Homeland Security, USDA, Kevin McCarthy, Prime Minister Starmer. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.
How long is "Chaos On Capitol Hill: Hearing Room Altercation, Jack Smith Testimony, Looming Shutdown | TRENDING"?
The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 2,057 words in 28 timestamped sections.
More from The Hill
About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.