Joe Mathieu

Attorney General Rob Bonta of California, we thank you for the insights.

We're joined now by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, an important voice as she is ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

I should mention the senator is joining us from a rare earths processing plant run by Phoenix Tailings in Exeter, New Hampshire.

And Senator, we're looking forward to hearing more about why you're there.

I want to ask you, though, first about the situation with Iran as the State Department calls on American citizens to leave the country immediately.

Is this the prelude to war?

Well, I do hear you on that, but the president, of course, has kept military options on the table.

We have a massive armada, as he likes to call it, off the coast of Iran prepared to strike.

The USS Lincoln carrier strike group is there, and we've put a number of other assets in the region.

The president has repeatedly said things like help is on the way to protesters.

He said this week that Iran should be very worried.

Some have suggested that every time the president has assembled this much hardware, he has intended to use it.

How about this time?

Can I ask what you think about who's at the table?

These are being framed as indirect talks, Senator.

But we once again see the president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, speaking for the United States.

Are those the two people who should be in the room?

Well, in the spirit of national security, we've been talking a lot about critical minerals and rare earths here in Washington this week.

The president gathered a number of countries, in fact, to start work on what is at least beginning as a $12 billion critical minerals stockpile.

And it's something that you've been leaning into as well with your secure minerals act.