Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Lindsey Graham

0:01Margaret Brennan:I'm Margaret Brennan in Washington and this week on Face the Nation, President Trump travels to Asia hoping to make trade deals with foreign friends and adversaries alike. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be here with breaking news in advance of the much anticipated Trump-She meeting. President Trump was all smiles as he kicked off a trip filled with plans for international reeling and dealing.

0:30Margaret Brennan:He may be ready for deal-making abroad, but back home, the standoff over funding the government continues. Health care subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are about to run out, causing premiums for millions to spike, and grocery prices continue to soar. Inflation I've already taken care of. Economically, the country is the strongest it's ever been. Thank God for tariffs. If we didn't have tariffs, we'd be a third world nation. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be here, as will South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. We'll also talk with Congressman John Molinar. He's the head of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S.

1:14Margaret Brennan:and the Chinese Communist Party. Finally, also breaking this morning, Paris prosecutors say arrests have been made in last week's robbery of an estimated$100 million worth of jewels and diamonds He's at the Lube. It's all just ahead on Face the Nation.

1:47Margaret Brennan:Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. President Trump has left the government shutdown now in its 26th day behind him, and is making his way through three Asian countries on a globe trotting trade tour this week. His trip will culminate on Thursday when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. We spoke just a short while ago with Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, who has been leading the trade talks with China in advance of the meeting between the leaders of the world's two largest economies. We asked the secretary whether or not the president's threat to impose a 155 percent tariff on China effective November 1st was still on the table.

2:32Margaret, I think we had a very good two-day meeting. I would believe that the so it would be an extra 100 percent from where we are now. And I believe that that is effectively off the table. I'm not going to get ahead of the two leaders who will be meeting in Korea on Thursday, but I can tell you we had a very good two days. So I would expect that the threat of the 100 percent has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime.

3:09Margaret Brennan:That export control on rare earths, which is used in all sorts of electronics and automobiles, that'll be lifted? Well, it was never imposed. So they threatened to impose it in December, and President Trump to give me and the trade team leverage decided that it would be a good idea for him to threaten 100 percent additional tariff. And it did give us a great deal of leverage. President Trump's very good at creating leverage for us. This is the fourth meeting, excuse me, the fifth meeting that we've had with the Chinese. My Chinese counterpart is the vice premier, Holy Fung. So we had a very good two days.

3:54We discussed a wide variety of issues from the rare earth, from the rare earth magnets to trade, to substantial purchases of American agricultural products, to the Chinese helping us in this fentanyl crisis that we have in the U.S.

4:11Margaret Brennan:On the purchases of American goods, American farmers have been hit hard by China's boycott of American soybeans that went into place after the tariff war began here. The administration is pumping at least three billion dollars in financial aid to farmers to help make them whole or at least offset the pain. Can farmers expect to sell their soybeans to China again and when? Margaret, I'm not going to give you the details here, but I can tell you that the soybean farmers are going to be extremely happy with this deal for this year and for the coming years. A few weeks ago, there was a photographer who snapped a photo of you texting with the agricultural secretary about this.

5:00Margaret Brennan:She indicated concern about the unintended damage to American farmers from the U.S. financial lifeline being given to Argentina because that country was able to sell more to China. That gave Beijing leverage over the United States. Is that leverage still a problem today? Well, first of all, the text from Secretary Rollins was talking about a purchase of soybeans that the Chinese did. And those soybeans were always going to get purchased. They just did it at a time when the Argentines had lifted their export taxes. So those soybeans were always going to be on the market. It's a global market. The three leading suppliers are Brazil, Argentina, and the U.S.

5:56And I believe that we have brought the market back into equilibrium. And I believe that the Chinese will be making substantial purchases again.

6:06Margaret Brennan:So you dispute the idea that America hurt itself by giving this$20 billion lifeline to Argentina. Can you guarantee Americans they'll be made whole on that? Margaret, I can tell you that the exchange stabilization fund has never lost money. It will not lose money this time. And we are not giving money to Argentina. It is a swap line, which the U.S. has done many times in the past, and we've never lost money. On the Chinese, I saw that you mentioned TikTok was discussed. Are the details of the president's executive order released in September. Are those finalized? Has China agreed to give up control of the algorithm that determines what users see?

6:55Margaret, we reached a final deal on TikTok. We reached one in Madrid. And I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out. And that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.

7:15Margaret Brennan:Can you tell us any details of that transaction? Margaret, I'm not part of the commercial side of the transaction. My remit was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction. And I believe we successfully accomplished that over the past two days. Over the past two days, did the U.S. make any concessions here beyond what we discussed with the tariffs? Are you dropping restrictions on exports of, for example, semiconductor chips or restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States? There have been no changes in our export controls. when presidents she and trump are able to speak on thursday do you believe that the president's position here his ability to negotiate a deal with china is going to be hurt by the fact that he's been unable to get a deal here at home to reopen the u.s government well look i i don't think it's gonna i i don't think it's gonna hurt it's a global embarrassment what these democrat senators are doing, keeping the government shut down.

8:31I mean, look at the numbers. It's 52 to three, 52 Republican senators, three Democratic senators have come across the line. So I just think it's an embarrassment. Doesn't affect his ability on the international stage. Now, what it does affect, it's starting to affect the economy. It's starting to slow down air traffic. And I would urge moderate Democrats to be heroes, come across the aisle like they did in the spring and pass a clean CR.

8:59Margaret Brennan:A continuing resolution just to fund the government without any add-ons. Does that mean when the president comes back to the United States, he's going to summon congressional leaders to the White House to end what you call the global embarrassment? I don't know what good it does to summon him to the White House. This is a Democratic-led boycott, and I'm just not sure what they're doing. What's changed between now and March, other than Chuck Schumer's poll numbers. And I think Hakeem Jeffries is now going to be primary from the left. And I didn't think there was a lot of room over there. So both of them are worried about their primaries and not the American people, not the government employees, not our military employees, because we were able to pay the military employees from excess funds at the Pentagon middle of this month.

9:49I think we'll be able to pay them beginning of November. But by November 15th, our troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives aren't going to be able to get paid. What an embarrassment.

10:03Margaret Brennan:Understood. We'll talk to Hakeem Jeffries later in the program. I want to ask you about what the president just announced in regard to Canada. Today, the president said he wants to raise tariffs on Mexico. Yesterday, he said he's going to raise tariffs on Canada by 10 percent. he blames what he called a fraudulent ad that featured Ronald Reagan advocating for free trade. It was put up by the province of Ontario. Is this ad really the issue here or is it just a tactic in this negotiation? Does the president want the USMCA free trade deal renegotiated or is he looking to do two separate deals, one with Canada, one with Mexico?

10:47Well, a lot of questions there, Margaret. But let's go to the first one. I've read that the province of Ontario is spending up to$75 million on these advertisements. And it's propaganda coming across our border to decry the tariffs. So the premier of Ontario seems to have come off the rails a little. He has taken the ads down. But what's the purpose of that other than to try to sway U.S. public opinion? We've seen the I'm sure the U.S. network have decried election interference. Well, this is interference in U.S. sovereign matters.

11:30Margaret Brennan:But is it really the premise for damaging negotiations with a top trading partner? Well, it's clearly damaged our relationship with the most populous province in Canada. When it comes to inflation here at home, the president said it's been defeated. But as you know, that core inflation edged up to 3 % in September, less than forecast, hotter than August. But for people at home, they are seeing prices still high on furniture, energy, gardening, lawn care, apparel. Do you expect these things to cool off and when? Well, it is cooling off because the core inflation number that you referenced was 0.2%, which is down from the previous sequence over the previous months.

12:22And you listed the things that are up, but we're seeing plenty of things that are down, whether it's energy and rents. Inflation is a composite number. And I think we are on a glide path to lower inflation over the coming months.

12:36Margaret Brennan:Lower inflation, but not necessarily that Americans will look around and things have gotten cheaper. Margaret, again, there's affordability and then there is inflation. So some of the things that can get cheaper, rent has gotten cheaper, mortgages have gotten cheaper. We are at, I I believe, an 11 or 12 month low on mortgage rates. Mr. Secretary, before I let you go, I want to ask you, the U.S. sanctioned Russia's top oil and gas companies this past week. But Vladimir Putin's envoy, who is here in the United States, Carol Dmitriev, I know you know him, said the sanctions will have, quote, absolutely no effect on Russia's economy.

13:24Margaret Brennan:they will simply lead to higher prices at gas stations in the United States. Is Dmitriy wrong? And when will Russia actually feel the pain? Well, I think Russia is going to feel the pain immediately. I can tell you that we've already seen India has done a complete halt of Russian oil purchases. Many of the Chinese refineries have stopped. And, you know, Margaret, are you really going to publish what a Russian propagandist says? I mean, what else is he going to say? That, oh, it's going to be terrible, and it's going to bring Putin to the table? Of course, the Russian economy is a wartime economy.

14:10Growth is virtually zero. Inflation, I believe, is over 20 percent. And everything we do is going to bring Putin to the table. It's oil that funds the Russian war machine. And I think we can make a substantial dent in his profits.

14:32Margaret Brennan:I understood you had some competing noise there. But just to be clear, Dmitriev is in the United States because sanctions were lifted on him to conduct meetings here, including with President Trump's envoy, Steve Whitcoff. When you say he's a propagandist, do you mean that we shouldn't listen to anything he says? What do you think is going to happen to him if he goes back home and says, the good Lord, what if he had said on TV, this is terrible. President Trump just did the right thing. This is a maximum pressure campaign that's going to work. Margaret, what's he going to say? Of course he's going to say this.

15:15If you go through and look at every Russian talking point, they seem to use the word, we have immunized the economy against this. Well, they haven't immunize the economy. Their oil earnings are down 20 % year over year. I would suspect that this could take them down another 20 or 30%. So, you know, again, President Trump was criticized for not doing enough. He takes this bold maneuver, and then you're quoting a Russian propagandist. All right.

15:47Margaret Brennan:We'll leave it there with you, Mr. Secretary. I know you've had a long day. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us. And we're back with the top Democrat in the House, Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He joins us from his Brooklyn, New York district. Good morning. Good morning. Great to be with you. Well, Leader Jeffries, Treasury Secretary Besson said the shutdown is starting to affect the economy. And by November 15th, the troops will not be paid. Do you expect the shutdown to last that long? I certainly hope not. This is day 26 of the Trump Republican shutdown.

16:27And as Democrats, we've maintained from the very beginning and continue to maintain. We will sit down anytime, anyplace with anyone, either at the Capitol or back at the White House to reopen the government, to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people and to decisively address the Republican health care crisis, particularly as it relates to the urgent need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so we can prevent tens of millions of Americans from experiencing dramatically increased health insurance premiums that will make access to a doctor unaffordable.

17:02Margaret Brennan:I want to come back to health care in a moment, but the Treasury Secretary accused you of playing politics personally. And I know that your Democratic whip, Catherine Clark, said on Fox this past week that shutdowns are terrible. But as she put it, it's one of the few leverage items Democrats have. Do you think Democrats are gaining from this fight? No, our focus continues to be on driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans. Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they would lower costs on day one. We know costs haven't gone down. They're going up. Inflation is moving in the wrong direction.

17:37The Trump tariffs have made life more expensive for the American people to the tune of thousands of additional dollars per year. We know that electricity bills are through the roof. Housing costs are too high. Childcare costs are too high. Groceries too expensive. And now tens of millions of Americans are at risk of having their premiums explode in some cases by a thousand to two thousand dollars per year. That's what this fight for us is all about. Republicans have come up with a new conspiracy theory every week for the last six weeks. The Democratic position, Margaret, has been clear. Cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save health care.

18:13Margaret Brennan:Well, that was the quote from the whip herself when she said leverage. But I hear you on rising health care costs, but the immediate term, people aren't getting paid. 750 ,000 federal workers are on unpaid leave. 80 % of the folks who work on our nuclear program are included in that figure. The Agriculture Secretary said there will be delays in food stamps for many of the 41 million people who rely on SNAP. And then at airports across the country, half of the flight delays, according to the Transportation Secretary, are because of staffing shortages. This pain is real now. So is there a point at which it becomes too great to justify continuing the shutdown?

18:58Well, there is an urgent need to reopen the government, which is why we continue to demand that Republicans sit at the negotiating table so we can enact a spending agreement that's bipartisan in nature. That's what we've called for from the very beginning. But the Republicans are saying

19:14Margaret Brennan:they won't do that until you pass the funding bill, the clean funding bill that already passed the House. Why can't Democrats in the Senate get on board with that? What we've made clear, and I'm thankful for the leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats, that we were not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people. In an environment where Republicans have already enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing all across the country. There's the possibility that Medicare could face a$536 billion cut, the largest cut to Medicare in history if Congress doesn't act by the end of this year because of what Republican policies have done in their one big ugly bill.

20:01And now they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. That impacts working class Americans, middle class Americans and everyday Americans throughout the country, including in rural America.

20:11Margaret Brennan:Well, they haven't refused. Leader Thune said he'd even put that up for a vote if you open the government first. But next Saturday is the beginning of open enrollment. I mean, people are going to see what that bill is going to look like. Practically speaking, aren't you out of time here? Insurance companies have set these premiums in place. That's how they're already in the mail for people to open and see on Saturday. What becomes the strategy after November 1st if this shutdown lasts that long? Well, listen, we want to reopen the government and we need to stand by our hardworking federal employees who are doing all that they can to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently, even under the most adverse circumstances.

20:57Remember, in terms of federal employees, the Trump administration has fired or dismissed more than 200 ,000 civil servants prior to them shutting the government down on October 1st. We want to reopen the government now in terms of health care. part of the reality is that tens of millions of people are already receiving notices in October that their premiums are about to skyrocket because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit. And by the way, they have had the opportunity, both House Republicans and Senate Republicans, repeatedly throughout the year to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and they've consistently voted against it.

21:37That's why we need action, not simply words, a wing and a prayer promise from people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times since 2000.

21:49Margaret Brennan:But aren't the premiums already locked in here? Or are you saying Republicans are right when you can make up for it at the end of the year with the tax credit? The premiums are not locked in in terms of the reality that if we can act legislatively and act now, we can extend the open enrollment period. We can push it back and we can intervene as a Congress in order to actually protect the affordability of health insurance for tens of millions of people. The Paris prosecutor's office announced today that French police have made arrests, although we don't know how many, in last Sunday's robbery at the Loup.

22:25Margaret Brennan:One suspect was detained at the Charles de Gaulle airport as he tried to flee the country. Thieves stole an estimated $100 million worth of jewels and gems during a brazen daytime robbery that took less than eight minutes. I think I ask direct questions. I don't know that they're tough questions per se. When do consumers actually get to touch and feel a difference in their lives? So you would encourage Democrats to work with Donald Trump on an issue like health care. That's the role of Face the Nation, to focus on the issues at hand. That means a civil conversation with perspective. We'll be right back with more from Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, plus Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

23:26Margaret Brennan:Welcome back to Face the Nation. We return now to our conversation with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, I want to ask you about some other matters as well. In New York City, city of more than 8 million people, there's about to be an election of a new mayor. You waited until this Friday, the day before early voting began, to endorse the Democratic Socialist candidate Zoran Mamdani. Why did you wait so long? Well, as I indicated, last several weeks, we've been immersed in the intensity around the government shutdown and the run-up to that in advance of September 30th and the expiration of the fiscal year.

24:09But I support the Democratic nominee, as I indicated, and we're in alignment in terms of the issue related to affordability and the need to address it decisively for the city of New York. And, of course, affordability is an issue for people all across the country. From a public safety standpoint, I supported the notion that he would retain Police Commissioner Jessica Tish to continue to lead the NYPD forward. That's incredibly important from a public safety standpoint for every community, including as a high priority, the safety and security of the Jewish community. And in terms of the moment that we find ourselves in, Donald Trump represents an existential threat to the city of New York and beyond because of the extreme assault that has taken place throughout this year on the economy, on health care, on farmers, on veterans, on law law-abiding immigrant communities on due process, on the rule of law, and of course on the American way of life itself.