The Megyn Kelly Show - Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants： AM Update 5⧸7

00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Wednesday, May 7th, 2025. And this is your

00:00:08.020 AM update. When President Trump asked me to take this job, he told me they're gonna come

00:00:13.620 after you. Boy, he was not kidding about that one. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sets

00:00:18.520 out to dramatically reform the military, the media hits keep coming. But in the meantime,

00:00:23.720 a big win for the Pentagon and the president. We are going to radically transform the way

00:00:28.920 air traffic control looks. We're going to build a brand new air traffic control system.

00:00:32.740 A harrowing systems outage leads to more than a week of dramatic delays at one of the nation's

00:00:37.780 busiest airports, underscoring the need for an overhaul of the U.S. air traffic control system.

00:00:43.600 The highly secretive deliberations set to begin in the Vatican as senior church officials begin

00:00:49.000 the process of electing a new pope. And Education Secretary Lyndon McMahon tells Harvard,

00:00:55.280 don't bother applying for any more federal grants. All that and more coming up in just a moment on

00:01:00.840 your AM update.

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00:02:16.140 A big win for the Trump administration on its executive order banning transgender people from

00:02:22.740 serving in the military. Several cases were filed challenging President Trump's executive order.

00:02:28.440 In the most prominent two, a district court judge in D.C. and one in Seattle finding that the ban had

00:02:34.020 no legitimate purpose, lifting the ban, allowing transgender service members to serve as the cases

00:02:40.440 moved through the courts. In one case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court.

00:02:45.480 In the other, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, which meant the ban was lifted, delivering

00:02:52.080 a setback to Team Trump. The government appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision

00:02:58.320 just overturned the Ninth Circuit, allowing the ban on so-called transgender people to go into effect

00:03:05.460 while the case plays out on the merits. Secretary Hegseth reacting to the ruling with a post on X as

00:03:11.800 follows. No more trans at DOD. It is a piece of good news for Secretary Hegseth, who continues to

00:03:18.660 take hits from the media. Since Monday, at least two new reports targeting the secretary. Reuters

00:03:24.640 reporting on a January order for military supplies to Ukraine, which Secretary Hegseth reportedly canceled,

00:03:31.020 possibly without the White House's blessing. The report, based on months-old information,

00:03:36.700 notes that Hegseth's order was allegedly given to stop the supplies right after a meeting between

00:03:42.740 Mr. Hegseth and President Trump. Reuters reports, however, that no instruction was given by Mr. Trump

00:03:49.360 to stop the aid, but also reports that the White House is now saying Hegseth was following an order

00:03:55.800 from Mr. Trump when he paused all aid to Ukraine. Reuters clearly skeptical of that claim. Many times since

00:04:03.240 then, President Trump has publicly backed Mr. Hegseth. The Wall Street Journal, also coming out

00:04:08.660 with an exclusive report, headlined, quote, Hegseth used multiple signal chats for official

00:04:14.420 Pentagon business. According to the report, Secretary Hegseth has at least a dozen separate chats on the

00:04:20.100 encrypted messaging app, quote, among the messages posted in some of the other chats by Hegseth were his

00:04:25.920 thoughts on personnel matters, Pentagon programs facing cuts, and details of administration national

00:04:32.180 security debates. The report, citing anonymous sources, indicates the Secretary was not sharing

00:04:38.080 classified but sensitive information on the app. The report cites a Biden-era policy restricting the

00:04:44.900 use of apps like Signal for official business, then goes on to note, quote, it couldn't be determined

00:04:50.060 whether Signal has been approved for use by Pentagon officials since the memo was issued. Director of

00:04:55.880 National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has said that Signal comes pre-installed on government devices and

00:05:01.660 was being used in the Biden administration. In the past, however, Pentagon officials have been

00:05:07.500 criticized for using the app. Secretary Hegseth, a frequent target of legacy media and entrenched

00:05:13.300 defense officials, represents a serious challenge to Washington's military status quo and its

00:05:18.660 multi-billion dollar machine. On Monday, the Secretary announcing a restructuring of senior military

00:05:24.060 leadership. We're back with more DOD reforms. This one is general and flag officer reductions. That's the

00:05:31.460 official title. My title is Less Generals, More GIs. It's a historic one, and it's in keeping with

00:05:39.020 President Trump's commitment to achieving peace through strength. We're going to shift resources

00:05:43.820 from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters. Let's take a bit of a trip down memory lane.

00:05:51.200 In history, when we were fighting across the globe during World War II, we had a force that was 12 million

00:05:56.460 strong. For that 12 million man element, we had 17 four- and five-star generals. Today, we have 2.1 million

00:06:05.800 service members with 44 four-star and flag officers. So it used to be a ratio of one general to 6,000 troops.

00:06:14.120 Today, it's one general to 1,400. More generals and admirals does not equal more success. Now, this is not a

00:06:22.980 slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. Nothing could be further from the truth.

00:06:28.360 This has been a deliberative process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff with one goal,

00:06:34.300 maximizing strategic readiness and operational effectiveness by making prudent reductions

00:06:39.900 in the general and flag officer ranks. The Secretary is saying phase one of the plan will cut at least

00:06:45.660 20 percent of the military's top-ranking generals and admirals in both the active duty forces and the

00:06:51.020 National Guard, with another 10 percent cut coming across the Pentagon's senior leadership in phase

00:06:56.220 two. Secretary Hegseth moving swiftly since taking his position in the Pentagon, dismissing several

00:07:01.480 high-ranking Pentagon officials, including those previously aligned with woke ideology and DEI programs.

00:07:08.420 The dismissals often sparking criticism from Democrats and some in the media, pointing to the race and gender

00:07:14.340 of those removed, while supporters, including President Trump, argue the focus should remain on merit

00:07:20.400 and mission readiness. Secretary Hegseth on Tuesday addressing the attacks against him at a Special

00:07:26.400 Operations Forces conference. When President Trump asked me to take this job, he told me, well, one key

00:07:34.580 thing, but really two. The first was, um, Pete, you're gonna have to be tough as shit. They're gonna come

00:07:44.080 after you. Boy, he was not kidding about that one. Uh, this job requires a steel spine, and that's fine.

00:07:51.540 My job's easy compared to what you do. We're doing the work on behalf of the American people and the

00:07:56.720 American warfighter. But then the president, after he said that, went on to say, I need you, and I want you

00:08:02.920 to restore the warrior ethos in our military full stop. And that's been my first priority since day one.

00:08:11.100 We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession.

00:08:22.560 No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses. We're done with that shit. We're focused

00:08:30.500 on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness. Under President Trump and Secretary

00:08:37.560 Hegseth, military recruitment is skyrocketing, reversing a decade-long slump marked by missed

00:08:42.720 quotas and declining enlistment. Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation's

00:08:50.200 busiest, grappling with widespread delays and cancellations following a critical systems

00:08:55.620 failure, leaving air traffic controllers unable to see or speak to incoming flights for roughly 60 to

00:09:02.440 90 seconds. On April 28th, controllers at the Philadelphia-based control center responsible

00:09:08.460 for managing the Newark, New Jersey airspace, lost radar and radio contact with the flights under their

00:09:15.060 supervision. The union representing air traffic controllers saying operators were unable to see,

00:09:20.600 hear, or communicate with the planes. CNN reporting at least five controllers working during the outage now

00:09:26.540 taking up to 45 days off under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, a law designed to allow federal

00:09:33.680 employees time off to recover following a traumatic event on the job. The CEO of United Airlines, Newark's

00:09:41.300 largest carrier, slamming the controllers for, quote, walking off the job, further exacerbating already

00:09:47.500 critical staffing shortages. Since Friday, the airport experiencing more than 400 canceled flights

00:09:52.980 and more than 2,000 delays. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday turning the incident into a

00:09:58.700 political attack against the Trump administration, once again recalling an early round of doge cuts.

00:10:04.740 So today, I'm demanding a full Inspector General investigation as to what went on. The chaos at

00:10:14.180 Newark could very well be a harbinger if issues like these aren't fixed. How much has the recent loss of

00:10:22.120 several thousand experienced safety and support personnel due to doge firings and resignations

00:10:28.340 forced involuntary contribute to the current chaos? Large numbers of people were fired and others quit

00:10:35.100 because they saw what mismanagement was coming from doge. How has that affected things?

00:10:41.780 Under President Obama, the FAA replaced its merit-based selection process for air traffic controller

00:10:47.180 applicants in favor of a test designed to advance certain racial groups. It was part of an effort

00:10:52.780 to decrease the number of whites hired, contributing to a shortage of air traffic controllers and resulting

00:10:59.380 in a class action which is ongoing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said no critical safety

00:11:05.940 positions were affected by any doge cuts, also highlighting new FAA hiring incentives aimed at boosting

00:11:12.340 recruitment. The FAA reporting it's currently 3000 controllers short of desired levels. The Newark

00:11:18.680 system failure traced to a burnt copper wire, an outdated component symbolic of the broader need

00:11:23.940 for infrastructure overhaul. Secretary Duffy since taking office in January repeatedly saying the U.S.

00:11:29.940 air traffic control system is in desperate need of modernization, citing decades of mismanagement

00:11:35.000 and neglect. We have really old infrastructure in America. It hasn't been updated in the last

00:11:40.460 30, 40 years. This should have been dealt with in the last administration. They did nothing. We are

00:11:45.160 going to radically transform the way air traffic control looks. We're going to build a brand new

00:11:49.180 air traffic control system from new telecom to new radars to new infrastructure. We're bringing

00:11:55.080 on new air traffic controllers. This has been a problem in the decades coming and we're going to fix it.

00:12:00.680 Secretary Duffy saying the administration is set to announce the full air traffic control overhaul

00:12:05.060 on Thursday. Coming up, the conclave begins today. Catholic cardinals set to choose the next pope and

00:12:12.420 education secretary Linda McMahon blasts Harvard University in a letter informing the Ivy that it

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00:13:25.140 Today marks the start of the conclave at the Vatican. The secretive process in which Catholic cardinals

00:13:31.000 begin selecting a new Pope to lead the world's approximately 1.4 billion Catholics, several names

00:13:37.840 appearing as early favorites, though Vatican watchers cautioned that the process is notoriously

00:13:42.600 unpredictable. Ahead of the last conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was far from a front runner,

00:13:49.580 but ultimately emerged as Pope taking the name Francis. In the lead up to the start of the conclave,

00:13:55.440 security officials locking down the Sistine Chapel, where voting will take place, ensuring absolute

00:14:01.160 secrecy within the proceedings. Let's hope whoever leaked that draft Supreme Court decision on Dobbs is

00:14:06.680 not in this room. Later today, all mobile phone signals in the Vatican will be deactivated, officials

00:14:12.440 installing phone jammers around the Sistine Chapel and the residences, sweeping the grounds for listening

00:14:18.140 devices. Security in St. Peter's Square also beefed up to include metal detectors and anti-drone systems.

00:14:24.620 The modern anti-surveillance technology paired with an age-old tradition, an oath to secrecy,

00:14:31.160 with the penalty of excommunication if broken. The oath extending beyond the voting cardinals,

00:14:37.020 all Vatican support staff also taking the vow on Monday. The cardinals will take their vow later today

00:14:42.620 ahead of the first round of ballots. The next Pope will be chosen by a two-thirds majority. Secret ballots

00:14:48.000 cast up to four times per day until a new Pope is agreed upon, the process typically taking several days.

00:14:53.980 The secret ballots are burned twice daily, first after the morning session, then again in the

00:14:59.460 afternoon. Black smoke signals no decision has been reached until finally white smoke rises,

00:15:06.120 announcing a new Pope has been chosen. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Monday writing a

00:15:13.020 blistering letter informing Harvard University officials the institution should no longer seek

00:15:18.560 federal grants since none will be forthcoming. The letter marks the first official response since

00:15:24.360 Harvard sued the government over a $2.2 billion freeze in grants and contracts. Secretary McMahon on

00:15:31.480 Fox on Monday describing the latest in the legal battle.

00:15:34.740 Oh, he's just made it abundantly clear until they can come on board and fight anti-Semitism,

00:15:39.720 obey the laws that the Supreme Court have put in place about the kind of admissions policies they should

00:15:45.160 have. Stopped driving the Jewish students, you know, almost underground with their anti-Semitism and just

00:15:52.800 many more things. And we've written, we've talked to them. Their answer to us was filing a lawsuit on freedom

00:15:59.340 of speech. And I have said that is not the issue. It's a civil rights issue on campus relative to the anti-Semitism.

00:16:06.940 And they've just said that we're trying to dictate to them how they should run their university, which is clearly

00:16:12.820 not the case. But why should taxpayers continue to give money to a university that has an endowment of over

00:16:21.820 $53 billion? It just doesn't make any sense. The secretary going on to say the administration is looking into

00:16:27.520 possibly revoking Harvard's tax exempt status, which would basically take this to DEFCON 1. More from the

00:16:34.480 letter, quote, Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution and can instead operate as a

00:16:39.940 privately funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment and raising money from its large base of

00:16:45.660 wealthy alumni. You have an approximately $53 billion head start, much of which was made possible by the

00:16:52.060 fact that you are living within the wall of and benefiting from the prosperity secured by the United States

00:16:58.100 of America and its free market system you teach your students to despise. Secretary McMahon slamming the

00:17:04.960 university further, quote, Harvard University has made a mockery of this country's higher education

00:17:09.780 system. It has invited foreign students who engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United

00:17:15.640 States of America to its campus. The Department of Homeland Security is conducting a separate probe into the

00:17:21.760 disciplinary records of foreign students. Following the events of October 7th, 2023, when the Hamas

00:17:27.880 terror organization unleashed its horrific terror attack on men, women and children in Israel, 34 Harvard

00:17:34.940 student groups co-signed a letter laying the blame for the murder of innocents squarely and entirely on

00:17:41.100 Israel. A recent anti-Semitism report commissioned by Harvard highlighting numerous incidents of anti-Semitic

00:17:47.360 harassment reported on campus, causing genuine fear amongst Jewish students. And that'll do it for your AM

00:17:54.160 update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the Megan Kelly show live on Sirius XM Triumph channel 111

00:17:59.580 at noon east on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.

The Megyn Kelly Show - May 07, 2025

Hegseth vs. Top Generals, Air Traffic Control Nightmare, DOE Cuts Off Harvard Grants： AM Update 5⧸7

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