Verdict with Ted Cruz - Bonus Pod： Democrats hold Government Hostage plus Trump vs the Department of Education

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.680 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.720 We have a dream, and you know what the dream is?

00:00:07.960 We're going to move the Department of Education,

00:00:10.000 we're going to move education into the states,

00:00:12.440 so that the states, instead of bureaucrats working in Washington,

00:00:15.800 so that the states can run education.

00:00:18.180 You're listening to a 47 Morning Update,

00:00:20.640 special government shutdown edition with Ben Ferguson.

00:00:23.380 Good Thursday morning, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:25.340 It's nice to have you on the 47 Morning Update,

00:00:27.460 as we have a special show for you this morning.

00:00:30.240 So many of you that listen to the show want to know the facts

00:00:32.660 about what the president's actually accomplishing.

00:00:35.120 This is one of those special shows that I hope you will share everywhere on social media.

00:00:39.920 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.

00:00:43.240 Story number one.

00:00:44.420 A government shutdown is now likely after Chuck Schumer says

00:00:48.320 the Senate Democrats will block a GOP funding bill.

00:00:53.000 The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson,

00:00:55.000 making it very clear that the same Democrats who've always said,

00:00:58.400 we can never shut down the government,

00:01:00.220 and it hurts Americans and poor people,

00:01:02.340 and the world is going to end.

00:01:04.260 Now that Donald Trump is in charge,

00:01:06.260 they've decided, nah, we'll just throw that all out the window

00:01:08.560 and go with a government shutdown just to try to hurt Donald Trump.

00:01:12.560 Take a listen to the Speaker in his own words.

00:01:14.560 They're planning to vote down the simple bill.

00:01:16.620 They are going to try to shut the government down.

00:01:18.780 Every House Democrat will participate in this, it looks like.

00:01:21.800 That would be a shame if it's true.

00:01:23.340 I hope some of them will have a moment of clarity themselves and do the right thing,

00:01:26.840 but it looks like they're going to try to shut down the government.

00:01:29.540 It's a striking new posture for Democrats,

00:01:32.120 who have always said they've just been apoplectic

00:01:34.660 about the prospect of government shutdowns.

00:01:36.760 So just think for a second about what the Speaker just said.

00:01:39.920 It's very clear that Democrats are solely doing this for political reasons,

00:01:43.900 and they want America to suffer.

00:01:46.440 They want Americans to suffer, 0.99

00:01:48.020 because they want you to blame Donald Trump

00:01:50.820 for any inconvenience or real pain that comes from a government shutdown.

00:01:56.900 You can also look at it this way.

00:01:58.400 They're advocating for tanking the American economy,

00:02:01.320 because they don't actually care about Americans.

00:02:03.280 In fact, listen to the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

00:02:07.440 in his own words about why they're doing it.

00:02:10.560 Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort,

00:02:13.840 but Republicans chose a partisan path,

00:02:16.940 drafting their continuing resolution without any input,

00:02:20.320 any input from congressional Democrats.

00:02:23.320 Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate

00:02:27.380 to invoke cloture on the House CR.

00:02:30.240 Our caucus is unified on a clean April 11th CR

00:02:35.180 that will keep the government open

00:02:37.220 and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass.

00:02:42.960 We should vote on that.

00:02:44.760 I hope, I hope, our Republican colleagues will join us

00:02:48.520 to avoid a shutdown on Friday.

00:02:51.120 Translation, Chuck Schumer saying,

00:02:53.060 we, the Democratic Party, are holding Congress

00:02:55.420 and the American people hostage.

00:02:57.840 Because of that, as he said, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate

00:03:01.500 to invoke cloture on the House continuing the resolution.

00:03:05.240 So now, it is a government shutdown

00:03:07.540 that will be created solely by the Democrats,

00:03:11.280 with Republicans holding a 53 to 47 advantage in the Senate.

00:03:15.260 Chuck Schumer also understands that, guess what?

00:03:17.560 You don't always work together with the other side.

00:03:19.780 Because when the American people voted in Donald Trump

00:03:22.320 and gave the Senate back to the Republicans

00:03:24.780 and the House control in the hands of the Republicans,

00:03:28.160 they didn't ask Donald Trump to, quote,

00:03:30.340 compromise with Democrats.

00:03:32.440 They said to Donald Trump,

00:03:33.840 go to Washington, save us money,

00:03:36.420 and go with a mandate to do what we're sending you there to do.

00:03:40.360 Now, the question is, how long could this last?

00:03:43.980 Only the Democrats can answer that question

00:03:45.960 as they're holding all of us hostage.

00:03:48.440 Next, story number two.

00:03:49.760 Donald Trump ran on an issue that actually saw incredible engagement

00:03:54.780 in the presidential election cycle.

00:03:56.940 It was the issue of education.

00:03:59.100 American schools are failing. 0.79

00:04:00.940 In fact, we are the lowest in many categories

00:04:03.720 with the rest of the world in reading and writing and arithmetic.

00:04:07.280 There are quite a few failing schools

00:04:09.360 virtually everywhere you go in the country.

00:04:12.140 And public education has been a disaster.

00:04:14.600 We've continued to throw more money at it.

00:04:16.380 And we've seen no increase on test scores

00:04:19.120 or a return on our investment

00:04:21.020 where students are getting better at the basics

00:04:23.160 like reading, writing, and arithmetic.

00:04:25.700 The president has made it clear he believes

00:04:27.380 that the federal Department of Education

00:04:29.620 is a disaster, something that you cannot fix.

00:04:33.200 Now, let's be clear.

00:04:34.240 The president has not said that we can't fix education.

00:04:37.180 And he believes it should be going back to the states.

00:04:39.760 Well, the president was in an Oval Office meeting

00:04:42.440 and the conversation came up about education.

00:04:45.160 And here's what the president said.

00:04:47.220 They're not doing a good job.

00:04:49.180 And if you take a look at our education process

00:04:53.480 and if you look at the charts,

00:04:55.260 because they have numerous charts

00:04:56.640 where they do the top 40,

00:04:58.780 we're at number 37, 38, 39, and 40.

00:05:02.400 And recently they hit,

00:05:03.980 during Biden's last few days, they hit last.

00:05:06.980 So they were number 40

00:05:08.120 and yet we're number one in cost per pupil.

00:05:12.100 So it's pretty bad.

00:05:12.880 But we have a dream.

00:05:15.220 And you know what the dream is?

00:05:16.200 We're going to move the Department of Education,

00:05:18.080 we're going to move education into the states

00:05:20.780 so that the states,

00:05:22.300 instead of bureaucrats working in Washington,

00:05:24.860 so that the states can run education.

00:05:27.040 Now, this goes back to a basic promise

00:05:29.000 that Donald Trump had made during the campaign.

00:05:31.480 He believes that on the local and state level,

00:05:33.880 they can run education in a much more efficient way

00:05:36.820 than the federal government can

00:05:38.160 with all of the corruption in Washington, D.C.

00:05:41.500 Which brings me to something else.

00:05:43.960 Linda McMahon, the education secretary,

00:05:46.320 has now come out and had a major round of layoffs,

00:05:49.960 gutting the civil rights office as well.

00:05:52.340 The education department's civil rights branch

00:05:54.660 is losing nearly half of its staff

00:05:56.620 in the Trump administration's layoff round one,

00:05:59.420 effectively gutting an office

00:06:00.700 that already faced a backlog

00:06:02.000 of thousands of complaints

00:06:03.740 from students and families,

00:06:05.300 they say, from across the nation.

00:06:07.000 Among a total of more than 1,300 layoffs

00:06:10.340 that were announced this week,

00:06:11.960 roughly 240 in the department's office

00:06:14.240 for civil rights were in that group.

00:06:17.920 That, according to a list obtained

00:06:19.500 and verified by the Associated Press,

00:06:22.000 seven of the civil rights agency's

00:06:23.900 12 regional offices were entirely laid off,

00:06:27.340 including busy hubs in New York,

00:06:29.580 Chicago, and Dallas.

00:06:31.060 Despite assurances that the department's work

00:06:33.180 will continue unaffected,

00:06:34.760 huge numbers of cases,

00:06:35.980 as Democrats now say,

00:06:37.580 appear to quote-unquote be in limbo.

00:06:40.220 Insert fear-mongering right here.

00:06:42.440 What Democrats do well.

00:06:44.020 Now, the Trump administration

00:06:45.160 has not said how it will proceed

00:06:47.840 with these cases being handled

00:06:49.460 by its staff and many of those around them

00:06:51.880 that have been eliminated.

00:06:53.080 The cases will involve families

00:06:54.660 trying to get school services

00:06:56.240 for students with disabilities,

00:06:58.040 and that is something

00:06:58.940 the Trump administration has said

00:07:00.280 is important.

00:07:00.920 We also know, though,

00:07:02.280 that the entire Department of Education

00:07:04.160 is, well, bloated,

00:07:06.660 and it's time to dismantle it piece by piece

00:07:09.560 so that the President of the United States

00:07:11.340 of America can then hand control

00:07:13.180 back to the states.

00:07:14.460 It's exactly what he said

00:07:15.860 about Martin Luther King

00:07:17.060 and his dream now,

00:07:18.420 which is to give every kid

00:07:19.860 a quality education,

00:07:22.040 and an education they can be proud of,

00:07:24.320 and an education that has a return

00:07:25.900 on our investment,

00:07:26.780 and an education that prepares kids

00:07:28.860 for college and the future.

00:07:31.260 We have far too many public schools

00:07:33.000 in America,

00:07:34.040 and the President's made this clear,

00:07:35.820 that are handing out

00:07:36.580 basically worthless pieces of paper

00:07:39.140 after you, quote,

00:07:40.520 graduate the 12th grade,

00:07:42.340 even though you're not reading

00:07:43.640 at that level,

00:07:44.600 writing at that level,

00:07:45.680 or doing math and science

00:07:47.280 at that level.

00:07:48.340 So for Donald Trump,

00:07:49.680 this is another step

00:07:51.200 in that promise from his campaign,

00:07:53.540 and a step that many parents

00:07:55.820 will be happy about in states

00:07:57.660 when they actually get back control

00:07:59.860 of their public school system.

00:08:01.740 And finally, story number three.

00:08:03.560 I want to take you back to 2016.

00:08:06.340 It was the very first time

00:08:07.680 that the media and Democrats

00:08:09.080 used Russia to try to attack Donald Trump.

00:08:12.860 You may remember the Russian collusion,

00:08:14.860 Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,

00:08:16.560 as Donald Trump has said

00:08:17.560 countless times with good reason.

00:08:19.940 Well, now the Democratic Party

00:08:22.500 is trying to use Russia again 0.50

00:08:24.560 to undermine Donald Trump

00:08:26.260 and his popularity,

00:08:27.160 all because he wants to see 0.74

00:08:29.140 a ridiculous war be ended 0.54

00:08:31.840 between Russia and Ukraine.

00:08:33.880 They're trying to drive a wedge

00:08:35.640 between the President

00:08:36.940 and the American people,

00:08:38.860 claiming that Donald Trump

00:08:40.220 favors Vladimir Putin

00:08:41.940 and that there's some sort of

00:08:43.580 shady, corrupt business

00:08:45.500 going on between the two men,

00:08:47.380 which we all know

00:08:48.680 is obviously a massive lie,

00:08:50.700 a lie that's been orchestrated

00:08:52.120 by the Democratic Party.

00:08:53.540 Well, there's a new story

00:08:54.860 that you probably haven't heard about,

00:08:56.920 and I hope you'll take this show

00:08:58.500 and share it everywhere

00:08:59.820 because what I'm about to tell you

00:09:01.720 is something that literally

00:09:03.120 no one is covering.

00:09:05.040 Donald Trump has threatened

00:09:06.980 devastating financial penalties now

00:09:10.180 for Russia.

00:09:12.040 I didn't say Ukraine.

00:09:13.640 I said for Russia 0.97

00:09:16.020 and Vladimir Putin.

00:09:17.820 President Trump on Wednesday

00:09:19.260 threatened the, quote,

00:09:20.640 devastating financial penalties

00:09:22.220 for Russia

00:09:22.840 if the President Vladimir Putin

00:09:24.820 does not agree to a ceasefire

00:09:26.640 with Ukraine

00:09:27.720 that Ukraine has agreed to.

00:09:30.060 Quote,

00:09:30.620 there are things

00:09:31.360 that wouldn't be pleasant

00:09:32.580 in a financial sense.

00:09:34.640 I can do things financially

00:09:36.440 that would be very bad for Russia.

00:09:38.880 I don't want to do that

00:09:40.260 because I want to get peace.

00:09:42.660 That is what Donald Trump

00:09:44.060 told reporters in the Oval Office.

00:09:47.140 Quote,

00:09:47.500 in a financial sense,

00:09:49.000 yes,

00:09:49.520 we could do things

00:09:50.660 that would be very bad for Russia,

00:09:52.680 that would be devastating for Russia.

00:09:54.560 But I don't want to do that

00:09:55.980 because I want to see peace

00:09:57.620 and we're getting close

00:09:58.920 to maybe getting something done.

00:10:01.220 We got Ukraine done. 0.92

00:10:03.580 And as you know,

00:10:04.680 Ukraine might have been

00:10:06.040 the more difficult party here.

00:10:08.320 You were here a week ago

00:10:09.580 when some interesting things happened,

00:10:11.460 referring to the Zelensky meeting

00:10:13.200 in the Oval Office.

00:10:14.680 Trump went on to say,

00:10:15.580 I had somebody

00:10:16.920 who didn't seem to want peace.

00:10:19.500 Now he's agreed to peace.

00:10:22.140 Trump also said,

00:10:23.460 people are going to Russia right now

00:10:25.420 as we speak

00:10:26.600 and hopefully we can get

00:10:27.900 a ceasefire from Russia.

00:10:29.880 If we do,

00:10:31.020 I think that would be

00:10:32.100 80% of the way

00:10:33.420 to getting this horrible bloodbath

00:10:35.460 to end.

00:10:36.560 So the question

00:10:37.420 that all of us

00:10:38.440 should be looking at

00:10:39.380 and asking now is this.

00:10:41.040 Why is the media

00:10:42.020 not reporting this story,

00:10:43.400 number one?

00:10:44.320 And number two,

00:10:45.560 a president is trying

00:10:46.640 to bring peace.

00:10:47.860 Why aren't they celebrating this?

00:10:50.040 Why is the world media

00:10:51.680 not celebrating this?

00:10:53.380 And why is it

00:10:54.480 that this isn't

00:10:55.140 the number one leading story

00:10:57.060 on every news channel

00:10:58.840 right now?

00:11:00.000 That the president

00:11:00.840 got Zelensky

00:11:01.880 to agree to peace

00:11:02.940 after one week

00:11:04.500 of him being

00:11:05.400 in the White House

00:11:06.480 angry and yelling

00:11:08.080 and arguing

00:11:08.900 with Donald Trump.

00:11:09.780 And then the other

00:11:10.720 question is this.

00:11:12.300 Why aren't Democrats

00:11:13.460 if you really want to talk

00:11:14.780 about Russian collusion?

00:11:16.580 Why?

00:11:17.000 And this may be

00:11:17.540 the most important part.

00:11:19.260 Why are they not

00:11:20.100 demanding peace

00:11:21.100 from Vladimir Putin?

00:11:22.720 Why are world leaders

00:11:23.760 not demanding peace

00:11:25.760 from Vladimir Putin?

00:11:27.580 Let's be clear.

00:11:28.620 There is now

00:11:29.160 an official deal

00:11:30.040 on the table.

00:11:31.500 Why is it

00:11:32.000 that foreign leaders

00:11:32.880 aren't walking out

00:11:34.080 in front of microphones

00:11:35.160 and demanding

00:11:36.380 that Vladimir Putin

00:11:37.560 agree to the ceasefire deal

00:11:38.960 which Zelensky

00:11:39.840 and Ukraine

00:11:40.460 have agreed to?

00:11:41.980 And why aren't

00:11:42.700 any of them

00:11:43.320 talking about

00:11:44.100 how quickly

00:11:44.680 this deal was done

00:11:45.760 by Donald Trump?

00:11:47.240 Now look,

00:11:47.900 I expect the media

00:11:49.340 to hate Donald Trump.

00:11:50.820 I expect many world leaders

00:11:52.000 to, well,

00:11:52.800 be jealous of him.

00:11:54.040 But this should be

00:11:54.980 bigger than that.

00:11:56.380 This is about

00:11:57.080 saving countless lives

00:11:59.280 and so many families

00:12:00.720 that have been destroyed

00:12:01.700 in Russia

00:12:02.320 and Ukraine

00:12:03.260 in a senseless war

00:12:04.880 from the very beginning.

00:12:06.420 This is what leaders

00:12:07.720 do.

00:12:08.120 they lead.

00:12:09.480 And the sad thing is

00:12:10.540 apparently in this country

00:12:11.860 right now with our media,

00:12:13.540 if his name is Donald Trump

00:12:15.140 and he does something

00:12:16.100 incredible like

00:12:17.060 work for a peace deal,

00:12:18.800 they will at best

00:12:20.240 say something negative

00:12:21.480 about him

00:12:22.060 or maybe just

00:12:23.280 not tell you the story

00:12:24.420 at all.

00:12:25.140 Thank you for listening

00:12:25.840 to the 47 Morning Update

00:12:27.560 with Ben Ferguson.

00:12:29.200 Please make sure

00:12:30.120 you hit subscribe

00:12:31.060 wherever you're listening

00:12:32.500 to this podcast

00:12:33.340 right now.

00:12:34.300 And for more

00:12:35.060 in-depth news,

00:12:35.900 also subscribe

00:12:37.060 to the Ben Ferguson

00:12:38.060 podcast

00:12:38.600 and we will see you

00:12:39.920 back here tomorrow.

00:12:43.320 This is an iHeart podcast.

00:12:46.180 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - March 13, 2025

Bonus Pod： Democrats hold Government Hostage plus Trump vs the Department of Education

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