Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor joins us now, currently of MOLUS. And I want to start on the economy and all of these deals that we see going on. I mean, is this just an incredibly robust deals pipeline on the heels of a benign economy and wide open capital markets? I think you're right.
I mean, I know at Mollis, you know, our bankers are really busy as we come into the very end of the year running through the tape. And so there's a lot of dialogue. We're in the business of advising on transactions. Transactions are a tool for companies to accelerate growth, to figure out how to better position, to gain efficiencies.
And as you say, they're accommodative capital markets right now, too. And so we are seeing just a lot of dialogue, a lot of activity. And I think a general optimism as we come to the New What's interesting is in markets right now, you're seeing a bit of skepticism, pushback. Broadcom, perfect example of that. We also saw that with Oracle.
Debt investors are saying you need to pay up a little bit more. As vice chair of MOLUS, are you seeing that pushback in any way, shape, or form? Or are deals just coming out of the woodwork in ways that keep even your associates really busy?
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Chapter 2: What insights does Eric Cantor provide about the current US economy?
into effect in the coming weeks. How much of it is still in co-ed or clear for you at this point of where it's headed regulatorily?
I think with this president and this administration, I think there is just sort of an acceptance that you're never really going to know for certain anything because of the way that You know, the rapidity that things are about in Washington, the way that President Trump sort of approaches, you know, the power he's got and the position, very unique.
But I think on the whole, it's a much more constructive regulatory environment. And you just don't have this overhang that you had in the prior Biden administration where, you know, there was really an anti-business sentiment. And if you just remember, it's like...
eons ago, but with the likes of Lena Kahn and Jonathan Kanter, they were sitting in these spots in the head of the antitrust regulators, and they really definitionally said, if you are bigger, that is bad, and therefore we are not really inclined to allow you to do it.
Whereas this administration, it's not like it was under the Bush administration, but it's certainly much more constructive than they like to do deals.
As you've watched that parade of executives going through the Oval Office, some of whom are giving up equity stakes to the U.S. government, what are you thinking as a lifelong Republican, this kind of new breed of Trump Republicanism that involves, again, it's not dirigism, but it's sort of like the state is having a heavier hand in the way that these companies are being run.
David, I still remain a limited government, free market Republican and conservative. So it's obviously something very new to me to see that the government wants to take a stake in a business and or a toll if it's an export. That is something that is obviously, and I think for the majority of the members, that are in the Congress now, it is something that's very new.
But I do think it's much more in keeping with what President Trump's about and what his career's been about. It's all about deal-making. And I think if you look at sort of the intel situation and what happened there, it was more of a response to the disdain that the White House had for the CHIPS Act and just giving away monies and instead say, hey, we need to do something for the taxpayers.
Now, where I have an issue is the governance rights. You know, that is, you know, it's not as if the federal government has not stepped in before. I mean, you and I were down there when the great financial crisis happened and a lot of bailouts. You look at the airline industry, you look at the GSEs. I mean, there's a lot of history.
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Chapter 3: How is the M&A landscape evolving in a robust economy?
Because it is, we've always been about real growth comes from the private sector. And if you look at where the administration has been taking stakes, it's really in these industries that are critical to the national security. It is about AI related. It is about the rare earths minerals.
It is all about how do we go and continue to take the lead in these critical sectors vis-a-vis China and other bad actors. How do you think this administration has done with respect to messaging around affordability? This is something that has been dogging the administration quite a bit.
Now we're talking about dolls and Christmas presents, but there's this issue of people aren't feeling great, even though the economy is chugging around. What do you think the Congress should be doing? How do you think the president should be messaging this? Well, you know, it's interesting.
After the off-year elections, one of which was in my state of Virginia, and the party didn't fare well, the president was fairly nimble. And 10 days later, turning around and taking the steps he did in lifting the tariffs on 200 food items, and which directly impact people when they go into the grocery store to look to prepare for the holiday meals.
including not just the things that we don't grow here, but like beef, right? And Brazilian beef. And there's a real inflationary pressure in the beef industry in this country. And I think the administration took the steps necessary to provide the relief. So I think you're going to see a lot more in terms of that as we head into the new year.
And look, the president's also, this is something also very novel, David, back to your original point about the kinds of things this administration's doing. He's talking about a dividend from the tariffs. But that is something directly related to the issue, Lisa, that you bring up, and that is how is a president supposed to bring down prices when we're in a free market?
Don't have a whole lot of time left, but I want to ask you about the prospect of the fiscal stimulus in the new year from the tax bill. I mean, the president talks about it so much, maybe he hasn't been focused enough sort of on the potential benefits of that for ordinary Americans. How do you see that playing out in the year ahead?
Look, what's going on with AI and with CapEx necessary to bring about this infrastructure not just in the data center piece and all that, but on the power end of things. I mean, there is a tremendous tailwind we're going to experience from the ability to completely, you know, write off the expense up front.
So, you know, I do think, and I think most economists will say, there will be an uptick in terms of what that will do to increase people's willingness to go and put capital to work. Vice Chair Erica Cantor of Mollis and Company, also the former House Majority Leader. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.
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