Bloomberg Talks
US Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) Talks Ceasefire Talks, Reconciliation Push
10 Apr 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Podcasts, radio, news. Listen to what we have heard from the president over the course of the last two weeks about the prospects for this agreement.
All I can tell you is they're begging to make a deal. If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants. We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oils.
So for more, we turn to Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who is in our New York headquarters right now, joining us on Bloomberg TV and radio. Congresswoman, it's wonderful to have you back on Balance of Power. I think clearly there is a sense in the White House here in Washington that the hope is that diplomacy prevails.
But the president maintains that there is the military threat still there that he is willing to use if necessary, if no deal is can be reached. In the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough this weekend, would you be supportive of the president resuming military operations and specifically going as far in those as he has indicated he is willing to?
Well, look, we don't know the specifics of what he means by military action. What we do know is that he has three leverage points, right? He has the economic, which we've implemented multiple sanctions, sanctioning those who are providing support and equipment and missiles to Iran. We also have the diplomatic, which is going to be taking place this weekend.
And then you have the military, which we've seen the decimation of so much of Iran's capabilities, whether it be manufacturing capabilities of drones and missiles, or whether it be the overall components of its military, naval, and air capabilities. So, look, I think that we need to really just wait and see what happens this weekend. But I have faith that we'll be able to get a good outcome.
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Chapter 2: What are the latest updates on ceasefire talks between the US and Iran?
His argument is that actually when it comes to the energy flowing out of the Middle East, that is much more a concern for other countries, European, Asian ones, not so for the United States. Is that a sentiment that your constituents would agree with, especially as they're looking at prices of the pump, as you alluded to?
Well, he's right in the sense that the oil that is going through that strait really goes to many of our partners in Asia, but it does affect the overall world market. So I think that it is kind of both, a little bit of both. The reality, though, here on the ground, here in my community, as well as parts of the country, gas prices have increased. We need to get those prices back down.
We were under $3 a gallon. About $2.89 was the national average. And I think this is a temporary spike. And it is an important long-term investment that is being made for the security of our country, for the Middle East, and the world. The reality is we need to make sure Iran is weakened here and that there is regime change.
That is important, I think, because they continue to try to kill Americans. They've attacked our military bases. Over the last decades, they've killed Americans. They've killed their own people, tens of thousands of their own people. And we need to make sure that there is a change there because they are the most destabilizing factor in that Middle East, which affects the entire globe.
And so I think the objective here is to come out of this with some type of agreement to open up that strait. If he can get them to turn over any enriched uranium, that's also critical. We need them to stop funding these proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis as well. And that should be really the main objectives of this.
And I think again, they're in a much weaker position today than they were five weeks ago. So hopefully the United States and these negotiations can extract those concessions.
Well, and what role should Congress play, if any, in ultimately the finalization of an agreement? As we know, the president didn't ask you and your colleagues first before launching these operations. You didn't have a direct say, but should there be a say in how this ends?
Senator Lindsey Graham, of course, who has been an advocate for this war, says any agreement should have a vote in the Senate, that they should get to take a look at it. I wonder if you agree with that notion.
I don't know that we need to have a vote on a particular agreement. The president did abide by federal law. He gave the federal government or his partners in the federal government, Congress, the 48 hours notice that was necessary. The president does have, under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, 60 days notice. And so I think after that 60-day period, he certainly should come back to Congress.
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Chapter 3: What military options does the US have if diplomatic efforts fail?
of Kristi Noem from the agency, the Democrats will not work with us in a bipartisan manner to fund those critical agencies that do important jobs, knowing who is coming in and out of our country, and removing those who should not be here.
We just saw an 83-year-old man here in New York City killed, being thrown in the subway tracks by somebody who should not have been here, and had multiple prior arrests. There was a lack of cooperation between these municipalities and our federal government to have that person removed prior to this 83-year-old veteran being killed. Completely preventable.
We've seen that taking place, again, over the last few weeks of multiple states. So I think that we're going to go in there and fund this agency and we're going to have to do it with only Republican votes through reconciliation. Then we will work together to get that done. We were hopeful that the Democrats would work with us in a bipartisan manner, but clearly that has not happened.
And the reality is this agency needs to be funded. It's the 25th anniversary of 9-11. You have the FIFA World Cup coming. You have all these America 250 events happening. This can no longer be delayed. The agency needs to be fully funded from Coast Guard to TSA to ICE to CBP to counterterrorism to cybersecurity.
Well, and to be clear, Congresswoman, to get all of the parts of the agency fully funded, are you supportive of the plan to pass the Senate, pass DHS funding bill X, ICE and CBP, and then handling those portions with reconciliation? That two-track plan, is that one that works for you?
That may be the only way we can get it done, but a lot of members, including myself, would like to see ICE and CBP funded first. Now, if the White House can reassure us that they have the necessary funding to fund those, because remember we did this in the first reconciliation, we did put additional money in there so ICE can continue its operations and enhance those operations.
If they have the resources, perhaps we'll be able to do the other parts first, but I think a lot of members would feel a lot better knowing that we're funding ICE and CBP first or at the same time as the rest of the department.
Well, and of course, this is Reconciliation 2.0 that we're talking about here. But Congresswoman, I'm sure you're well aware that there's a lot of buzz about a third reconciliation package. In fact, your chair on the House Ways and Means Committee, Jason Smith, has suggested if there's going to be one, there's going to be some tax measures included.
What would you like to see included in a third reconciliation package? Do you think achieving that is a realistic legislative outcome in a midterm election year?
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