The Excerpt podcast: Haley, DeSantis trade barbs in latest Republican debate

On today's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis traded attacks in Wednesday night's presidential debate. Chris Christie drops out of the 2024 presidential race. USA TODAY Border Reporter Lauren Villagran looks at census data around foreign-born Americans. USA TODAY Congress & Campaigns Reporter Riley Beggin has the latest on the budget fight ahead of a possible government shutdown. Nick Saban is retiring from college football.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Podcasts:  True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Thursday, January 11th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, we look back at the latest Republican debate, this time between just Haley and DeSantis. Plus Chris Christie drops out. What does that mean for remaining Presidential candidates? And we look at the latest conversation around immigration with the percentage of foreign-born Americans on the rise.

♦

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis clashed last night in the final debate before next week's Iowa Republican caucus. They were the only candidates on stage as GOP front-runner Donald Trump again skipped out, but Trump's name was still front and center. Audio is courtesy, CNN.

Nikki Haley:

I wish Donald Trump was up here on this stage. He's the one that I'm running against. He's the one that I wish would be here. He needs to be defending his record.

Ron DeSantis:

He said he was going to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. He did not deliver that. He said he was going to drain the swamp. He did not deliver that. He said he was going to hold Hillary accountable, and he let her off the hook. He said he was going to eliminate the debt, and he added $7.8 trillion to the debt.

Taylor Wilson:

And a more narrow Republican field on the debate stage meant more direct and heated confrontations. Audio courtesy, CNN.

Nikki Haley:

He can call me whatever name and be demeaning as much as he wants. It doesn't change the fact that Ron's lying because Ron's losing.

Ron DeSantis:

We don't need another mealy-mouth politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear just to try to get your vote, then to get in Office and to do her donor's bidding.

Taylor Wilson:

Both candidates also had strong words on a key Republican issue in 2024, immigration. Haley said she supports deporting all of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the US. DeSantis, who as Governor has used state dollars to send undocumented immigrants to other states, said immigration laws must be enforced. You can read more about last night's debate with a link in today's show notes.

♦

Before last night's debate, 2024 election season was handed its latest turn as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dropped out of the Presidential race. Former President Donald Trump's most vocal critic. Christie made his announcement at an event in New Hampshire saying that he's been in the race to tell the truth. He also mentioned the name of the Republican front-runner.

Chris Christie:

I'm going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again.

Taylor Wilson:

Christie did not endorse a challenger, but his exit could shore up more support for his Republican rivals who remain in the race. Political analysts have predicted that Christie's withdrawal from the race could help Nikki Haley, who has closed the gap against Trump in several New Hampshire polls.

♦

As the percentage of foreign-born Americans rises, immigration appears to be a major issue for the 2024 election. I spoke with USA Today border reporter Lauren Villagran for more. Hello, Lauren. Thanks for hopping on.

Lauren Villagran:

Thanks for having me, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So I want to start here. What does census data tell us about the foreign-born population in the US right now?

Lauren Villagran:

It's a really interesting moment in US history, Taylor, in which the percentage of people who are foreign-born in the United States is reaching a historical high. The last time the foreign-born percentage of the total population was this high was in the 1920s. Again, we're not talking about sheer numbers. The US population is much, much larger than it was 100 years ago. And there are many, many more immigrants in the United States today in sheer numbers. But as a percentage of the total population, we're only just nearing what was essentially a 15% threshold. So in 1910, the United States percentage of foreign-born was 14.7%. That was the last time it was that high, until 2022 when we reached 13.9%. And monthly numbers suggest we may have hit 15%, topping that earlier high.

Taylor Wilson:

Lauren, how does US economic growth relate to immigration?

Lauren Villagran:

It's really interesting. A lot of times, this gets left out of the debate around immigration. Folks on multiple sides of the aisle, Republican, Democrat, libertarian even, will talk about how the US labor market is in desperate need of new workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' last report said there were nearly nine million job openings. And these jobs are not just in traditional lower wage or lower prestige jobs, but in things like manufacturing.

Taylor Wilson:

This is obviously a big election year. We're already into it. Lauren, how big an issue is immigration shaping up to be for the 2024 election?

Lauren Villagran:

Obviously, immigration is going to be front and center. It already is. You have Donald Trump, who is campaigning for the Republican nomination, talking about a massive deportation program as part of his stump speeches in places like New Hampshire and Iowa. Clearly, the issue's at the US-Mexico border where you see thousands of people each week trying to seek asylum in the absence of any other legal pathway available to them or dominating newscasts. You mentioned the economy earlier. The US census also forecast that this year, in 2024, the US population would begin shrinking if it weren't for immigration. But as you know, this is not an issue that Congress has really wanted to take up. We see members of Congress negotiating with the White House using the border as a bargaining chip. But what we haven't seen in years, Taylor, is any concerted effort to rewrite the nation's immigration laws in a way that might reflect our current realities.

Taylor Wilson:

Lauren Villagran covers the border and immigration for USA Today. Lauren, thanks so much.

Lauren Villagran:

Thanks.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

We're less than two weeks away from a potential government shutdown, and the latest budget fight continues. I caught up with USA Today Congress and campaigns reporter Riley Beggin for the latest. Riley, thanks for making the time.

Riley Beggin:

Hey. Of course.

Taylor Wilson:

Riley, what is this spending package agreement that House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced over the weekend?

Riley Beggin:

It is essentially the same deal that was struck between former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden earlier last year to raise the debt ceiling. So they set expected funding levels at around $1.66 trillion, and that includes primarily the budget with some additional side adjustments that a lot of conservatives have been calling gimmicks. But obviously, Democrats don't feel that way about them. And it's a little complicated. A lot of these things are sort of moving money around the federal budget. But the short of it is that it is an agreement that both Senate Republicans and Democrats support and House Democrats support, and there is some division among the House Republicans over it.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. Let's get into some of those divisions. What are right-wing House members in particular saying about this proposed spending bill?

Riley Beggin:

They have argued that this does not go far enough to reduce federal spending. After McCarthy and Biden struck this deal, they argued that it should have been lower, and sort of dug their heels in last year. Eventually, when McCarthy was toppled, Speaker Mike Johnson became the new leader. They sort of went back on that and said that they would be willing to go along with the FRA, which is the law that came out of that negotiation between McCarthy and Biden. But they didn't want those so-called gimmicks. So this agreement does do that. And they are very, very angry about it, to say the least.

Taylor Wilson:

That deal, Riley, was one of the reasons conservative lawmakers voted McCarthy out of his position last year. Could we expect a similar fate for Mike Johnson here?

Riley Beggin:

I'd say it's a little too early to tell. At the moment, there are discussions among right-wing members about filing what's called a motion to vacate to kick him out of Office. That would require a majority of the House, which some members argued to us people don't have an appetite for that. Majority of the Republican conference, let alone Democrats, which would have to go along with the more conservative members who might want to kick him out. But that said, there is a lot of frustration with Johnson's handling of this among a select group of right-wing members. And we're going to have to see how that plays out.

Taylor Wilson:

And there are some crucial deadlines coming up for lawmakers to figure something out here. What are those deadlines? And what obstacles remain for passing funding bills before some of these critical programs expire in the coming weeks?

Riley Beggin:

The first deadline is coming at us quickly. It's January 19th, which is less than two weeks away. That is funding for agriculture, energy and water, military construction, Veterans Affairs, transportation, housing programs. So a pretty big portion of the federal budget. Whatever is left, that will expire on February 2nd, which is not that far behind that. So the place that we're at with building a budget is one where it's going to be very difficult for Congress to pass 12 appropriations bills on their own as they would like to. It is looking really likely. And a lot of members are calling for another short-term extension, potentially into March, to give them more time to negotiate.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Riley Beggin covers Congress and campaigns for USA Today. Thanks so much, Riley.

Riley Beggin:

Of course. Thanks for having me.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Nick Saban is retiring, ending one of the greatest coaching careers in college football history. Saban led Alabama to six national championships after leading LSU to one. And the seven national titles are the most in NCAA Division I history. He also coached four Heisman trophy winners at Alabama, the trophy given out to the best player in the country. And Saban didn't just win. He changed the entire sport. During Saban's time at Alabama, the school's enrollment doubled, its endowment exploded, and more than half its freshmen now come from out of state.

As USA Today sports columnist Dan Wolken writes, "Saban's innovations gave the competition no choice but to follow his blueprint." So strong was his legacy and impact on college football that after his retirement announcement, fans at Alabama's rival school Auburn took to the streets to throw toilet paper rolls over oak trees, usually reserved for big Auburn wins. They were that excited they'll no longer have to contend with Saban's greatness.

♦

Be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt later today when my colleague Dana Taylor looks at far right efforts to dismantle DEI programs in higher education. You can find the episode right here on this feed. Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you use a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson. Back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Excerpt podcast: Haley, DeSantis trade barbs, Christie drops out