The Megyn Kelly Show - Vatican Prepares for Conclave, WH Says Hegseth Safe, IRS Commissioner Removed： AM Update 4⧸22

00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025. And this is your AM

00:00:08.900 Update. He was a good man, worked hard. He loved the world. Pope Francis dies at age 88. And now

00:00:17.680 the College of Cardinals will descend upon the Vatican to choose his successor. Unfortunately,

00:00:23.320 there have been people at that building who don't like the change the secretary is trying to bring.

00:00:28.100 So they are leaking and they are lying to the mainstream media.

00:00:31.100 The Trump administration stands behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid stories of alleged

00:00:35.820 dysfunction from within the department. And IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, days after being

00:00:42.020 elevated to the top job at the IRS, demoted from the post. What's going on there?

00:00:47.980 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

00:00:50.960 As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in

00:00:59.060 Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

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00:01:20.300 which means more risk for your credit and your identity. You can learn more for yourself at

00:01:25.980 guardyourcard.org. And you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government

00:01:32.560 takeover of your credit card before it's too late.

00:01:39.800 The Vatican confirming late Monday that Pope Francis passed away from a stroke and heart failure.

00:01:46.040 The Pope elected by his fellow cardinals in 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

00:01:52.340 He was the first Latin American Pope and first of the Jesuit order, which is known for its missionary work.

00:01:58.560 As head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis worked to modernize the institution,

00:02:02.140 pushing for a more inclusive vision of Catholicism, often facing criticism from the more traditionalist

00:02:08.720 wing. He sought to reform the Vatican, at times wading into political issues of the day,

00:02:14.240 emphasizing the fight against climate change and allowing priests to bless gay couples.

00:02:19.740 Pope Francis also breaking precedent by appointing women and laypeople to high-ranking Vatican roles,

00:02:25.880 most notably naming a nun to the second-highest position in Vatican City's government.

00:02:30.620 He drew the ire of some conservatives by restricting the use of Latin Mass,

00:02:35.660 a more traditional version of the Mass. With the changes, Pope Francis aiming to better reflect the

00:02:41.040 global church and expand leadership beyond the priesthood. The pontiff, born Jorge Moreo Bergoglio

00:02:47.080 in Argentina in 1936, inspired to join the priesthood after recovering from severe illness as a young man,

00:02:54.280 an infection resulting in the partial removal of one lung, leading to a lifetime of respiratory issues.

00:02:59.780 The Pope spending 38 days in the hospital earlier this year, released on March 23rd after complications

00:03:06.560 from an infection, leading to double pneumonia. Easter Sunday marking his first extended public

00:03:12.560 appearance since exiting the hospital. The Pope more often relying on a wheelchair, addressing crowds

00:03:18.460 from the balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, a clergy member assisting in the reading of the Easter message,

00:03:24.200 quote, Christ is risen. These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for

00:03:30.760 death, but for life. Easter is the celebration of life. God created us for life and wants the human

00:03:36.980 family to rise again. The Pope's remarks calling for peace in various conflict zones, ranging from

00:03:43.040 Ukraine and Gaza to Sudan and Myanmar. In the hours before his death, the Pope also visiting briefly with

00:03:49.600 Vice President J.D. Vance, an adult convert to Catholicism. Earlier this year, Pope Francis

00:03:55.340 criticized the Trump administration's mass deportation plans, while notably speaking from behind the

00:04:00.900 Vatican's towering 40-foot stone walls. Despite the differences in political policy, President Trump

00:04:06.980 posting on Truth Social, quote, rest in peace, Pope Francis. May God bless him and all who loved him.

00:04:13.720 Then on Monday from the White House, Mr. Trump addressing the Pope's passing.

00:04:17.160 I just signed an executive order putting the flags of our country, all of them, all federal flags and

00:04:24.880 state flags at half-mast in honor of Pope Francis. So he was a good man, worked hard. He loved the

00:04:34.340 world, and it's an honor to do that. President Trump also announcing Monday afternoon that he and the

00:04:39.940 First Lady will attend the Pope's funeral in Rome. The Pope's body, expected to be moved into St.

00:04:45.560 Peter's Basilica as early as Wednesday, Pope Francis breaking with tradition again, requesting that

00:04:50.720 his body not be laid on a typical raised platform used for his predecessors, asking instead to lie

00:04:56.500 inside a simple wooden casket with the lid removed, a more humble position. The pontiff is to be the first

00:05:02.720 pope in more than a century laid to rest in a place other than the Vatican crypt, instead opting to be

00:05:07.840 buried in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, about three miles from the Vatican. The process to now

00:05:14.480 choose a successor known as a conclave will begin 15 to 20 days after the pope's death. The College of

00:05:21.020 Cardinals, the most senior officials under the pope, convene in the Vatican to begin the highly

00:05:25.960 secretive deliberations. Of the 252 cardinals, 135 are eligible to cast ballots. Only those under the

00:05:33.940 age of 80 may vote. The new pope must secure a two-thirds majority. During the voting process,

00:05:39.900 cardinals are cut off from the outside world. No phones, no internet, no newspapers, much like a 0.86

00:05:45.820 sequestered jury. Deliberations take place in the Sistine Chapel, which will be swept for listening

00:05:51.420 devices throughout the process. Secret ballots cast up to four times per day until a new pope is agreed

00:05:57.760 on, the process typically taking several days. Pope Francis elected on the fifth ballot in just two days of

00:06:03.980 voting, one of the shortest conclaves in history. The longest of the 20th century, spanning five days

00:06:09.680 in 1922, electing Pope Pius XI. Each day, the world's 1.2 billion Catholics will watch the Vatican

00:06:17.380 closely, waiting for the only official update, a plume of smoke. The secret ballots are burned twice

00:06:23.800 daily, first after the morning session, then again in the afternoon. Black smoke signals no decision

00:06:29.580 has been reached until finally, white smoke rises, announcing a new pope has been chosen.

00:06:35.720 Within the hour, the new pope will select his papal name, then step on the balcony overlooking

00:06:40.180 St. Peter's Square. The senior-most cardinal will announce to the crowd, Habemus Papem, Latin for

00:06:46.560 we have a pope. Coming up, new reporting alleges widespread dysfunction from within the Pentagon.

00:06:53.120 The Trump administration calls this revenge from disgruntled former employees. And IRS whistleblower

00:06:59.580 Gary Shapley promoted to acting IRS commissioner, but in half a scaramucci, then losing the post.

00:07:06.000 What's really going on inside the IRS?

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00:08:04.600 to use code MK to save 15% off your order. Several new reports zeroing in on one of the media's

00:08:13.860 favorite punching bags in the Trump administration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On Monday, NPR

00:08:19.560 reporting the White House is looking for a new Secretary of Defense. Press Secretary Caroline

00:08:24.980 Levitt responding on X, quote,

00:08:26.580 the NPR story is total fake news based on one anonymous source who clearly had no idea what

00:08:33.260 they are talking about. NPR not exactly known for its big Trump exclusives. NPR is reporting

00:08:39.660 following a weekend media blitz targeting Secretary Hegseth. Here's CBS, MSNBC, and CNN.

00:08:46.320 Signalgate is back, and the White House is pushing back against the fallout.

00:08:50.420 New alarming reports reveal deepening turmoil at the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

00:08:54.820 This does punctuate a period of chaos inside the Pentagon and inside the inner circle of Pete

00:09:01.820 Hegseth. The New York Times publishing a report reading, quote, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

00:09:06.240 shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15th in a private signal

00:09:12.220 group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, according to four people with

00:09:16.800 knowledge of the chat. The Times acknowledges Mr. Hegseth's brother Phil and lawyer Tim Parlatore

00:09:22.360 are employed by the Pentagon. The newly reported signal chat is separate from the original signal

00:09:28.420 gate incident first reported by the Atlantic in March, when reporter Jeffrey Goldberg claimed he

00:09:33.240 was mistakenly added to a group chat discussing war plans against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.

00:09:39.160 That initial controversy setting off a firestorm in the media and among Democrats,

00:09:43.640 both eager to pin the blame on a senior Trump official. President Trump admitted that including a

00:09:48.620 reporter in a secure chat was not ideal, though dismissed it as a teachable moment. A review

00:09:54.420 later determining Mr. Goldberg's number had been inadvertently saved under the wrong contact

00:09:59.020 in National Security Advisor Mike Waltz's phone. The New York Times reporting that this second signal

00:10:05.360 chat created by Secretary Hegseth was typically used for, quote, routine administrative or scheduling

00:10:11.420 information. The Times alleging Mr. Hegseth shared sensitive military planning in that chat.

00:10:16.740 Around the same time, similar information appeared in the group mistakenly reported on by the Atlantic.

00:10:22.460 Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell releasing a statement reading in part, quote,

00:10:26.960 another day, another old story back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed

00:10:31.860 with destroying anyone committed to President Trump's agenda. There was no classified information

00:10:37.040 in any signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story. The Times later defending its

00:10:43.220 reporting, pointing out it did not allege the use of classified information in this latest signal

00:10:48.140 account, only sensitive information. President Trump on Monday standing firmly behind Secretary

00:10:53.820 Hegseth from the White House. Ask the hooties how he's doing. Ask the hooties how much dysfunction

00:10:59.600 is. There's none. Pete's doing a great job. Everybody's happy with him. We have the highest

00:11:05.320 recruitment numbers I think they've had in 28 years. No, he's doing a great job. It's just fake news.

00:11:12.740 It just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know, he was put there to

00:11:17.660 get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing. After record lows, military recruiting

00:11:22.820 has rebounded. According to the Pentagon, after two years of only pulling in 75 percent of the

00:11:28.180 soldiers needed, the Army is on pace to hit 115 percent of its annual recruiting goals. That's

00:11:34.920 the biggest increase in 15 years. The Navy, too, only hit 88 percent of its goal last year. It is

00:11:41.580 currently pacing at 105 percent of its goals. The Air Force, as well, says recruiting numbers are the

00:11:47.740 best they have been in 15 years. Over the past week, however, several senior Pentagon officials

00:11:53.300 placed on leave amid an investigation into leaks from within the Pentagon. Politico on Sunday

00:11:59.880 publishing a piece by former chief Pentagon spokesman John Elliott, who last week reportedly was forced

00:12:05.760 to resign. Mr. Elliott, writing in a left-wing publication, portraying himself as a MAGA supporter,

00:12:13.560 writing, quote, even strong backers of the secretary like me must admit the last month has been a full-blown

00:12:18.920 meltdown at the Pentagon and is becoming a real problem for the administration, end quote. Mr. Elliott

00:12:24.620 predicting Secretary Hegseth will soon be out of a job. The president's eldest son, Don Jr., reacting to

00:12:30.760 Mr. Elliott's Politico piece, writing on X, quote, this guy is not America first. I've been hearing

00:12:36.840 for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father's agenda. That ends today. He is officially

00:12:42.920 exiled from our movement. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, Monday on Fox. This is what happens when the

00:12:49.920 entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying

00:12:55.000 to implement. And unfortunately, there have been people at that building who don't like the change.

00:13:00.260 The secretary is trying to bring. So they are leaking and they are lying to the mainstream media.

00:13:04.720 We've seen this game played before. The secretary is doing a tremendous job and the president stands

00:13:09.540 strongly behind him. Secretary Hegseth also directly challenging reporters himself on Monday from the

00:13:14.640 White House. You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch

00:13:20.980 of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hopes. And as they peddle those

00:13:26.500 lies, no one ever calls them on. See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from

00:13:32.160 disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.

00:13:38.600 Not going to work with me because we're changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in

00:13:44.320 the hands of warfighters and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news.

00:13:49.360 It doesn't matter. IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley now out as acting commissioner just four days

00:13:55.940 after taking the job. However, there appears to be no performance issue. Mr. Shapley rising to national

00:14:01.940 prominence in 2023, publicly accusing the DOJ of slow walking his IRS investigation into Hunter Biden.

00:14:09.700 Treasury Secretary Scott Besson instead tapping Deputy Secretary of the Treasury,

00:14:13.980 Michael Falkinder to take the role. CNN citing three sources saying Mr. Shapley had the support

00:14:20.420 of congressional Republicans and of Elon Musk, but had not been approved by Secretary Besant prior to

00:14:26.620 his appointment by President Trump. Secretary Besant was out of the country when Shapley's appointment

00:14:31.640 was announced. According to NBC, Besant was later granted authority by President Trump to reverse the

00:14:37.020 move after learning Shapley had been appointed without the secretary's knowledge. Secretary Besant posting on

00:14:43.340 X, quote, Gary Shapley's passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and

00:14:48.800 lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior

00:14:54.320 advisors at the U.S. Treasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS, end quote. Secretary Besant

00:15:01.580 saying Mr. Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, the other IRS whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax probe, will both be

00:15:07.720 placed in senior government roles following the conclusion of their investigation into alleged political

00:15:13.180 interference in the Hunter Biden case. The media reporting on the story as another sign of great

00:15:18.480 division between Elon Musk and other senior White House officials, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt

00:15:23.860 downplaying any conflict, releasing a statement saying, quote, it's no secret President Trump has put

00:15:28.840 together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country.

00:15:33.940 Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately everyone knows they serve

00:15:39.300 at the pleasure of President Trump. President Trump's nominee to permanently head this office,

00:15:44.660 former Missouri Congressman Billy Long, remains stalled in the Senate with no hearing yet scheduled.

00:15:51.100 That'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show,

00:15:55.600 live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at Moon East, on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

00:16:02.380 I'll see you then.

The Megyn Kelly Show - April 22, 2025

Vatican Prepares for Conclave, WH Says Hegseth Safe, IRS Commissioner Removed： AM Update 4⧸22

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