The Megyn Kelly Show - August 13, 2025


BLS Nominee Suggests Major Shake-Up, Markets Rally on CPI News, Redistricting Drama： AM Update 8⧸13


Episode Stats


Length

20 minutes

Words per minute

155.79817

Word count

3,168

Sentence count

213

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Trump nominates E.J. Antony as the new head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, floating a new idea to improve government data collection. And he s already being attacked. All that and more coming up in just a moment on Your AM Update.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly.
00:00:34.920 It's Wednesday, August 13, 2025, and this is your AM Update.
00:00:39.280 We want to ensure that all of the data, the inflation data, the jobs data,
00:00:42.900 any data point that is coming out of the BLS is trustworthy and is accurate.
00:00:47.680 President Trump's nominee to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics
00:00:50.980 floating a new idea to improve government data collection.
00:00:54.880 And he's already being attacked.
00:00:56.840 The latest inflation numbers inspiring investor confidence.
00:01:01.180 Does this mean interest rates will come down?
00:01:03.680 What the Supreme Court said was that it was perfectly constitutional
00:01:07.300 and the president had the legal authority to do it.
00:01:10.960 The Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky
00:01:13.800 breaks down the multi-front battle over congressional redistricting battles.
00:01:17.860 It goes a lot further than Texas.
00:01:20.620 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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00:02:40.520 On Monday evening, President Trump nominating Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antony as the new Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner.
00:02:50.120 The announcement coming 10 days after President Trump fired the previous Biden-appointed commissioner following a string of massive revisions to the jobs numbers.
00:02:59.020 The July jobs report coming in softer than expected with only 73,000 jobs added.
00:03:05.380 It also included a downward revision on May and June jobs numbers by a combined total of 258,000, the steepest monthly downward revisions since May 2020.
00:03:17.500 Antony, long critical of the BLS data-gathering process, telling Fox News Digital last week,
00:03:23.260 quote, it's a serious problem that needs to be fixed immediately.
00:03:27.520 Antony adding that until there is a fix, quote, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports,
00:03:33.780 but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely quarterly data.
00:03:38.060 Antony adding, quote, major decision makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers,
00:03:43.200 and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.
00:03:46.400 Antony's nomination predictably drawing backlash from anti-Trump critics who say his nomination will further erode trust in the numbers,
00:03:55.200 suggesting Antony will bend economic data to President Trump's will.
00:03:59.900 Democrat Senator from Washington, Patty Murray, writing on X, quote,
00:04:03.560 Any senator who votes to confirm this partisan hack is voting to shred the integrity of our nation's best economic and jobs data,
00:04:11.800 which underpin our entire economy.
00:04:13.800 Much of the concern appearing to come from Antony's work at the Conservative Heritage Foundation,
00:04:19.520 where he contributed to the infamous Project 2025,
00:04:22.980 the conservative policy blueprint vilified by Democrats in the 2024 election,
00:04:27.800 as Donald Trump's playbook for imposing fascism.
00:04:31.440 On Tuesday, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt saying the administration has full confidence in Antony to restore integrity to the BLS.
00:04:39.560 We want to ensure that all of the data, the inflation data, the jobs data,
00:04:43.600 any data point that is coming out of the BLS is trustworthy and is accurate,
00:04:48.200 which is why the president has restored new leadership at the BLS.
00:04:51.080 This president wants to ensure that the BLS, again, is putting out accurate and honest data that the American people can trust.
00:04:58.280 Since you brought up the new commissioner, he holds a master's in doctor's degree in economics from Northern Illinois University.
00:05:04.180 He's the chief economist in the Heritage Foundation's center for the federal budget.
00:05:10.360 And in addition to his work at Heritage, he has multiple other roles.
00:05:14.240 He's been widely renowned for his work on economic issues.
00:05:17.660 He's been called before Congress to testify as an economic expert.
00:05:21.520 So he's a qualified individual, and the president trusts him to lead this important department.
00:05:25.380 The New York Times reporting on the nomination this way, quote,
00:05:28.980 Past commissioners have typically come to the job with decades of experience in government or academia.
00:05:34.760 Dr. Antony has spent virtually his entire career at conservative think tanks.
00:05:39.720 His work there has mostly been on fiscal issues such as taxes and Social Security,
00:05:44.300 not on the labor and macroeconomic topics that are the agency's focus.
00:05:48.440 This unconventional pick mirroring other unconventional picks under Trump 2.0,
00:05:53.940 like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and HHS Secretary RFKJ,
00:05:58.820 both with resumes differing from typical nominees and with strong previous criticism of the departments they now run.
00:06:05.880 Despite outcry from the left over the firing of the previous commissioner and the nomination of Antony,
00:06:11.820 many nonpartisan experts agree BLS data collection methods are outdated and ineffective,
00:06:17.320 especially in the wake of COVID, which led to delayed reporting of jobs numbers and steeper, more concerning revisions.
00:06:25.660 Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan on CBS earlier this month saying government data collectors can do better.
00:06:33.000 It's 2025, and the data should be able to be.
00:06:35.820 They use surveys and things like that, which, frankly, just aren't as effective anymore.
00:06:39.980 So if you look at the rate of people who respond to their surveys, it's down from 60 percent level to 50 percent level.
00:06:45.560 You know, we don't use surveys as aggressive as we do.
00:06:48.000 We watch what consumers really do.
00:06:49.420 We watch what businesses really do.
00:06:51.520 They can get this data, I think, other ways.
00:06:53.220 And I think that's where the focus is.
00:06:54.420 I mean, how do we get the data to be more resilient and more predictable and more understandable?
00:06:58.760 Because what bounces around is restatements.
00:07:01.200 And that was one of the largest restatements going back five or seven years into the pandemic, five years in the pandemic.
00:07:06.520 That creates doubt around it.
00:07:08.040 And so I think the key is let's get let's spend some money.
00:07:11.380 Let's bring the information together.
00:07:13.120 Let's find where else in the government money is reported.
00:07:15.760 We report millions and millions of data points to the government every day.
00:07:19.380 The data is out there somewhere.
00:07:21.180 BLS commissioner is a position that requires Senate confirmation, and Tony's hearing date has yet to be determined.
00:07:27.260 The July Consumer Price Index, the monthly report gauging inflation, coming in slightly better than expected, rising just 0.2% for the month and 2.7% on an annual basis.
00:07:41.720 As of Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reporting that investors believe an interest rate cut is likely at the upcoming Fed meeting in September.
00:07:50.700 Traders predicting a 9 in 10 chance of a cut, up slightly from Monday.
00:07:54.920 The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs off the news.
00:07:59.760 The Dow Jones also rising.
00:08:01.720 Press Secretary Caroline Levitt touting the latest numbers on Tuesday.
00:08:05.580 Overall, inflation has run at a 1.9 average annual pace in President Trump's first six months in office.
00:08:14.080 Energy prices fell in July, including gasoline, which is down nearly 10% over last year, and propane, which is down 2.5% over last year as well.
00:08:24.920 Egg prices fell once again in July and are down 20% since President Trump took office.
00:08:30.760 Shelter inflation, the largest contributor to overall inflation, is at its lowest level since October of 2021.
00:08:39.620 Wage growth for American workers is beating inflation once again.
00:08:43.920 American real wages are up 1.3% over last year and have increased each month since President Trump took office.
00:08:51.220 And small business optimism, according to this morning's report, has also reached a five-month high.
00:08:57.540 Ignore the panikins and trust in President Trump. 0.83
00:09:00.260 That is our motto here at the White House.
00:09:02.480 The America First economic agenda is working.
00:09:05.560 On CNBC, host Joe Kernan noting that President Trump's tariffs have not yet caused the surge in inflation that his critics predicted.
00:09:13.560 People were thinking this will finally be the time when we see it.
00:09:17.760 We saw a little, but not that much.
00:09:20.940 Does that summarize what happened?
00:09:23.160 Absolutely.
00:09:23.880 You know, if I look at all the metrics, as I said, we were hotter in the beginning of the year, even on the hottest read on that year-over-year core.
00:09:31.160 What it tells me is that if you take it very simple, you summarize very accurately.
00:09:36.440 There has been a push that things are going to get worse.
00:09:39.240 You're going to look at a month that's going to be really scary.
00:09:41.840 But most likely, if you look at the entire regime of the effects of tariffs and the uncertainty, we are definitely over the hump.
00:09:50.200 And considering that this number isn't worse than expected, I would say moving forward that your interpretation is exactly correct.
00:09:57.600 Coming up, an attempt to redraw congressional maps in Texas set to spark a red versus blue redistricting war.
00:10:06.660 Senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation breaks down that battle.
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00:11:25.520 What began as a legal skirmish in Texas over redrawing its congressional map, now threatening to spark a full-blown gerrymandering war between America's red and blue states.
00:11:39.240 Earlier this month, a group of Democrat state lawmakers fleeing Texas for friendly blue states to deny the quorum needed in a special session to pass a new congressional map that would likely add five GOP seats in Texas.
00:11:53.080 The stunt in turn prompting arrest warrants and a legal push by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to declare their seats abandoned and vacant, which, if successful, would allow the governor to fill the seats.
00:12:06.380 ABC News reporting Tuesday evening the Texas Dems are considering a return now to the Lone Star State just in time for a second special session.
00:12:14.860 Governor Abbott announcing Tuesday morning he plans to adjourn the current special session early, ending this Friday instead of next week, and then will initiate a second special session.
00:12:26.340 ABC reporting one source says the Democrats loosely plan on returning this weekend, declaring a victory by having killed the first session.
00:12:35.140 One source telling ABC plans could change if Republicans go back on their word to end the first session early, robbing Democrats of their symbolic victory.
00:12:44.860 The Texas House Democrats ex-account posting, quote, members are still assessing their strategies going forward and are in a private meeting to make decisions about future plans currently.
00:12:54.200 If and when Texas House Democrats breaking quorum decide to go home is squarely dependent on the actions of the governor, speaker and Texas Republicans with regard to prioritizing flood victims over redistricting that hurts Texans.
00:13:08.480 It is unclear if the Democrats are planning a similar boycott of the second session.
00:13:12.140 The governor has indicated he will call as many special sessions as needed to bring a vote on these maps.
00:13:18.640 Also still unclear, if the Dems return, what happens with A.G. Paxton's legal effort to declare their seats vacated?
00:13:25.860 The debacle infuriating blue state governors who are now threatening to retaliate against Texas by redrawing their own maps, aiming to counter the five additional GOP-leaning U.S. House seats.
00:13:37.120 Amid this battle, President Trump calling for a new census, one that would exclude illegal immigrants.
00:13:43.900 We spoke to senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Hans von Spakovsky, who says this Texas fight is not merely political gamesmanship.
00:13:52.720 It's a legal mandate set by the DOJ.
00:13:55.120 They received a warning letter from the Justice Department in July telling them, listen, you've got four districts that are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.
00:14:06.120 You've got to fix it because of a court decision last year in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
00:14:13.600 In 2021, the Texas legislature created four congressional districts, really at the behest of Democrats, to elect Democrats, which was made up of what they call coalition districts.
00:14:26.460 So what they did in these coalition districts, they combined two different racial groups, black voters and Hispanic voters, so that they together would constitute a majority of the vote in those districts.
00:14:39.660 And what the Fifth Circuit said last year is that the Voting Rights Act does not protect political alliances of those type.
00:14:49.520 The bottom line is those districts were drawn up based on race.
00:14:54.040 That was the primary factor used to draw the boundary lines.
00:14:57.460 That makes them unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.
00:15:02.060 That is something you cannot do under the Constitution.
00:15:05.460 Democrat governors, including Gavin Newsom in California, Kathy Hochul in New York, and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois, floating redistricting efforts of their own in retaliation, even more than their states have done in the past.
00:15:18.660 And that's saying something.
00:15:20.160 Spakovsky noted the irony of Democrat outrage as gerrymandering was invented in a blue state and perfected thereafter in blue states.
00:15:28.420 Democrats really have perfected gerrymandering in New England, the blue states.
00:15:34.960 You know, the term gerrymandering comes from Massachusetts, from the former governor in 1812, Elbridge-Derry, who basically approved the first gerrymander there.
00:15:47.600 And Massachusetts has carried on that tradition, the Democrats there.
00:15:52.560 Today, even though 35 percent of the statewide vote has been Republican in past elections, out of the nine congressional districts, there's not a single one that a Republican holds.
00:16:06.660 And that's typical throughout the New England states.
00:16:09.220 In Illinois, 45 percent, the statewide vote is Republican, yet out of 17 congressional seats, only three of them are held by Republicans.
00:16:19.680 And that is directly the result of some of the most, if I can call it the best, most skillful redistricting in the country.
00:16:29.380 Amid this battle, President Trump earlier this month saying he was ordering the Commerce Department to conduct a new census, the last one done in 2020.
00:16:38.640 Census results decide how the 435 House seats are divided among the states and help determine the number of electoral college votes a state has.
00:16:48.400 Mr. Trump posting to True Social, quote,
00:16:50.940 People who are in our country illegally will not be counted in the census.
00:16:54.860 Many on the left and states benefiting from higher illegal immigrant populations for greater representation, decrying the move, saying the Constitution requires, quote,
00:17:05.040 all persons, not just legal citizens, to be counted.
00:17:09.040 And they say the president cannot simply order a new census.
00:17:12.800 Critics also pointing to a Supreme Court ruling under Trump 1.0, in which the high court rejected a Trump administration effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
00:17:23.420 What the Supreme Court said was that it was perfectly constitutional and the president had the legal authority to do it.
00:17:35.260 It's simply that he administratively did not give a full and sufficient explanation of why he wanted to do it.
00:17:45.460 It was a process issue.
00:17:46.560 They simply didn't have time to then go back and do that, as the Supreme Court told them to, because they had to get the census forms printed and distributed.
00:17:57.420 I've heard some folks say that the president doesn't have the power to do a second census.
00:18:02.800 They are actually wrong about that.
00:18:04.960 Back in the 1970s, Congress actually amended the federal statute on the census and directed the Commerce Department to do a mid-decade census.
00:18:19.620 They've never done it before.
00:18:21.400 So the president actually has all the legal authority he needs to do it.
00:18:25.380 Spakovsky detailing how removing illegal aliens from the census will affect how congressional districts are drawn.
00:18:31.580 If you get a new census, one that provides citizen population as opposed to total population,
00:18:39.800 and if states were to use citizen population instead of total population when they're drawing boundary lines,
00:18:47.260 it would also shift seats to Republicans.
00:18:50.560 Probably a good example of that is New York.
00:18:53.100 If the largest number of illegal aliens and legal aliens in the state of New York all live in New York City.
00:19:01.300 So if they were not being included in the redistricting process,
00:19:04.700 it would move the boundary lines of multiple congressional districts out of New York City and into the rest of the state.
00:19:13.940 And that would favor, tend to favor Republicans, because the Republican vote is in the rest of the state.
00:19:20.080 The timeline on creating and conducting a new census is unclear.
00:19:24.320 The process itself will take time and will face legal challenges along the way.
00:19:29.620 For now, the redistricting battle continues.
00:19:34.040 And that'll do it for your AM Update.
00:19:36.020 I'm Megan Kelly.
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