Verdict with Ted Cruz - September 30, 2025


BONUS POD： Democrats play Politics w Government Shutdown


Episode Stats

Length

22 minutes

Words per Minute

170.98283

Word Count

3,825

Sentence Count

295

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

6


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.880 I'm meeting with, as you know, a couple of Democrats in a little while about the country,
00:00:10.560 about keeping our country open.
00:00:12.600 They're going to have to do some things because their ideas are not very good ones.
00:00:16.840 They're very bad for our country.
00:00:17.920 So we'll see how that works out.
00:00:19.780 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:23.560 Good Tuesday morning.
00:00:24.560 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:26.800 And we've got one big extended story for you.
00:00:30.320 We are hours away from a government shutdown,
00:00:33.400 as Democrats and Chuck Schumer have made it very clear,
00:00:37.180 unless we give them $1.5 trillion in radical extreme spending programs,
00:00:43.940 they're going to hold you, the American taxpayer, hostage.
00:00:47.720 We'll break down all of the moves.
00:00:50.180 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:00:53.420 Story number one.
00:00:54.520 We are hours away from a government shutdown.
00:00:57.880 That is the big story.
00:00:59.440 Now, we know that Democrats don't want to shut down the government, right?
00:01:03.500 How do we know this?
00:01:04.380 They've been saying it for years.
00:01:06.220 But all of a sudden now, they're in favor of it.
00:01:09.880 So which Democratic Party do you really trust?
00:01:12.840 Well, I'd love to just remind you, the American people,
00:01:16.440 what the Democrats have said in the not-too-distant past about government shutdowns.
00:01:22.120 Many of the voices that you're going to hear are still in power,
00:01:26.280 running our government right now.
00:01:28.900 These people hostage, instead of just letting them do their jobs,
00:01:33.220 which they want to do while we work out our differences, so wrong.
00:01:37.560 This is democracy.
00:01:39.780 And in a democracy, hostage tactics are the last resort for those who can't win their fights
00:01:46.880 through elections, can't win their fights in Congress, can't win their fights for the
00:01:52.180 presidency, and can't win their fights in the courts.
00:01:55.900 A government shutdown of any duration would harm hard-working Americans and our economy.
00:02:01.280 Why should we ask TSA officers to go without their hard-earned pay while they protect our
00:02:06.340 airports?
00:02:07.100 I'm a senator from Virginia.
00:02:08.360 Some of the hardest effects of shutdown will be seen in my state.
00:02:11.840 If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer most.
00:02:15.860 Some who right now are trying to figure out how they're going to pay rent,
00:02:19.440 how they're going to make mortgage payments, how they're going to keep college payments going,
00:02:23.820 how they're going to keep the lights on, how they're going to keep food on the table.
00:02:26.700 Had the government shut down, hundreds of thousands of people would have not gotten
00:02:31.080 their paychecks. Federal employees would have been furloughed, sent home.
00:02:35.600 Our military won't get paid. Head Start teachers won't get paid. Our wildfire fighters
00:02:41.620 won't get paid. Federal prison guards won't get paid.
00:02:45.400 A government shutdown means seniors who rely on Social Security could be thrown into chaos.
00:02:50.360 Our veterans could see regional VA offices shut down and support services put on halt.
00:02:56.500 Shutdowns are not good for the economy.
00:02:58.620 Shutdowns cost taxpayers billions of dollars per week.
00:03:02.560 Shutdowns cost the economy billions of dollars.
00:03:07.680 They cost businesses money.
00:03:09.900 They could even cause a downgrade to the nation's credit rating.
00:03:14.020 Families who benefit from WIC and other nutrition programs could see benefits halted.
00:03:18.360 If this shutdown continues indefinitely, 39 million Americans will risk not having enough food.
00:03:24.520 They will lose their SNAP benefits in February.
00:03:27.280 So that means American children will be going to bed hungry. It's unacceptable.
00:03:31.520 The longer that this shutdown goes on, the more Americans it will be affected.
00:03:37.040 Critical services and our economy are being threatened with poison pill partisanship.
00:03:42.740 Shutting down the government should not be a negotiating tactic.
00:03:46.540 Hostage taking is all they have left.
00:03:50.320 A last gasp of those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy.
00:03:57.000 That is the Democratic Party.
00:04:00.340 That montage put together by the White House.
00:04:02.860 President Donald Trump putting it out on True Social as well.
00:04:06.560 And the question that everyone should be asking is, where are those Democrats and what changed?
00:04:12.280 Well, we know a lot of what changed, and that is the fact that they want to hold America hostage for what they want.
00:04:19.000 What do they want?
00:04:20.240 Well, they want a $1.5 trillion pork barrel list for them.
00:04:26.680 What is included in it is what should shock most of you.
00:04:31.080 Free health care for illegal immigrants.
00:04:34.380 Child mutilations that are covered by the taxpayers.
00:04:38.860 Medicaid fraud is also something they want to keep going.
00:04:43.120 Open borders is part of the $1.5 trillion as well.
00:04:46.580 And demanding men in women's sports.
00:04:50.940 But what are Democrats saying online?
00:04:52.860 Mark Warner said this.
00:04:54.920 Democrats' position is simple.
00:04:57.000 Lower costs.
00:04:58.280 Save rural health care.
00:05:00.020 Keep the government open.
00:05:02.020 It shouldn't be this hard.
00:05:03.660 Let's just repeal costly cuts to health care and save millions of Americans money.
00:05:08.140 Well, then the question is, why is it costing us $1.5 trillion?
00:05:12.260 For all the radical ideals that they're demanding.
00:05:15.760 This is who the left is.
00:05:18.560 They're literally holding the country hostage now.
00:05:21.740 And it is a party of open borders.
00:05:23.740 Of allowing for violent crime.
00:05:26.240 And transgender for everybody.
00:05:28.440 And all of those ideas are now literally jeopardizing a lot of important things.
00:05:33.960 Which include military pay.
00:05:36.560 Critical care for veterans.
00:05:38.940 Firefighter pay.
00:05:40.680 Disaster relief funding.
00:05:42.520 And many more programs on which many Americans rely on.
00:05:47.880 Now, Donald Trump and Republicans are committed to keeping the government open.
00:05:51.740 With a clean funding extension.
00:05:55.860 What's even more shocking is, they don't want that.
00:06:00.280 Now, you may say, well, hold on a second.
00:06:02.500 What is a clean funding extension?
00:06:04.960 What does this actually mean?
00:06:07.080 How do we know that's a good thing?
00:06:08.960 Well, take a listen to what the White House press secretary had to say about it when she was explaining it to the press.
00:06:15.720 What I will share is that what this White House wants and what Republicans want.
00:06:19.820 We want a clean funding extension to keep the government open.
00:06:23.740 That's all we're advocating for, a simple, clean budget extension, a straightforward, responsible solution to keep the government open to November 21st and allow the full year appropriations process to move forward.
00:06:35.200 And I will add, this is the same budget that the Democrats approved six months ago just adjusted for inflation.
00:06:40.840 And unfortunately, all of a sudden now, they want to shut down the government.
00:06:45.720 And if the government is shut down, it's only going to, it will be the fault of the Democrats.
00:06:49.880 And it will only hurt the most vulnerable in our country, our seniors, our veterans, our military families, increasing security for members of Congress, which is something this White House and the administration supports.
00:07:01.060 And if you look back at the statements made by Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries in the past, they, too, have advocated against a shutdown and for keeping the government open.
00:07:11.800 Democrat Chuck Schumer himself said a shutdown would mean chaos and pain and needless heartache for the American people.
00:07:19.380 He said once, avoiding a shutdown is very good news for the country, for our veterans, for parents and children, for farmers and for small businesses.
00:07:26.960 Hakeem Jeffries also said it's about the harm.
00:07:29.380 Families will be hurt.
00:07:31.060 If there is a government shutdown, farmers will be hurt.
00:07:34.020 Holiday travel will be impacted.
00:07:36.220 Democrats clearly know what the right thing to do is here.
00:07:38.680 It's to join with Republicans to pass this clean funding extension.
00:07:42.040 That's what the White House and the president wants.
00:07:44.040 So that's the playground that we have right now before us.
00:07:48.580 They are playing with many people's lives.
00:07:50.500 They're playing with people who desperately need their paychecks.
00:07:53.360 They're playing with our men and women in uniform, including their paychecks.
00:07:58.020 And if you look at all of what I just described to you, you would think that Democrats would say, all right, let's just have a clean extension.
00:08:06.460 No, no, no.
00:08:07.160 That is absolutely not what they're wanting to do.
00:08:10.120 So then you have to ask yourself the question.
00:08:12.400 Why is this Schumer shutdown becoming a reality?
00:08:15.960 Well, it actually is all about politics, but not the usual them against us mentality.
00:08:24.100 It's actually really simple.
00:08:26.860 Chuck Schumer is going to shut down the government to show that he is a radical liberal.
00:08:32.360 Now, you may say, why would he want to do that?
00:08:34.380 It's actually very simple.
00:08:36.440 He is terrified of a primary challenge from the famous radical AOC.
00:08:43.340 The Senate Minority Leader is pushing Congress to a government shutdown because he's so scared of being challenged in a primary by far left representative Alexander Ocasio-Cortez.
00:08:55.420 The Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, Tom Cotton, also throwing this out today, making it clear this is all about him trying to save himself.
00:09:05.460 And after Schumer and the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, left their Monday afternoon meeting with President Donald Trump without a deal to avoid a government shutdown before the Wednesday deadline,
00:09:15.940 Cotton blasted the New York senator in a statement saying, quote,
00:09:19.620 Chuck Schumer is shutting down the government because he's terrified of a primary from AOC.
00:09:25.420 His actions are disgraceful, referring to when asked about the reaction of Democrats' refusal to agree on even a short-term funding deal.
00:09:37.320 House Republicans were joined by a singular Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine,
00:09:43.600 and passing a bill on September the 19th that would have kept the government funding until November 20th.
00:09:49.640 But Senate Democrats blocked it from advancing.
00:09:52.200 Instead, they proposed their own funding bill demands with that extra, you know, $1.4, $1.5 trillion for the radical far left projects,
00:10:02.040 including free health care for illegals, funding, by the way, for NPR and PBS,
00:10:06.760 and transgendered surgeries that you're supposed to pay for.
00:10:11.340 Now, Republicans blocked the Democrats' counteroffer for advancing this in the Senate,
00:10:16.180 leaving Congress to either come to an agreement by midnight on Tuesday or accept a real government shutdown that could actually last a long time.
00:10:27.600 Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are willing to shut down the government because they're scared of their radical base.
00:10:34.420 Take a listen to Senator Cotton saying this to Hugh Hewitt.
00:10:38.500 Schumer is about to shut down the government because he's scared of a girl in New York City.
00:10:43.500 Her name is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he fears that she will primary him four years from now in 2028
00:10:53.420 if he doesn't do the far left bidding.
00:10:56.500 If you recall, Hugh, in March, as we were on the verge of another Schumer shutdown,
00:11:01.580 he caved and voted to keep the government open and gave all kinds of backflipping explanations
00:11:09.020 for why he was not doing what the left demanded, and he got some blowback from his left and from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
00:11:17.220 And he's been fearful of her and of this vote ever since.
00:11:20.740 So he's apparently about to lead his caucus over the cliff and shut down the government
00:11:27.420 because he doesn't want Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run against him in four years.
00:11:32.740 Is it actually that simple?
00:11:35.120 The answer is yes, especially if you listen to Democrats that we played for you earlier in their own words.
00:11:41.940 So where do we go from here?
00:11:43.980 The reality is we are moments away, hours away, minutes away from a government shutdown.
00:11:50.120 And Democrats are doing this for two reasons.
00:11:52.680 They want to fund their radical agenda.
00:11:54.700 But what they're also doing it for is to try to save their leader.
00:11:58.740 Chuck Schumer came out in front of the cameras and made it very clear after he left the White House meeting,
00:12:04.900 here's his thoughts on the shutdown.
00:12:07.360 We have very large differences on health care and on their ability to undo whatever budget we agree to
00:12:14.120 through rescissions and through impoundment, as well as pocket rescissions.
00:12:20.220 It's very clear.
00:12:21.480 Chuck Schumer not talking like a man that wants to actually get anything done.
00:12:25.820 You had the Vice President, J.D. Vance, who came out of that meeting with Speaker Johnson.
00:12:30.660 Here's part of what he said in response.
00:12:33.300 We just had a very frank conversation with the Senate and House Democratic leadership.
00:12:37.300 Look, the principle at stake here is very simple.
00:12:39.540 We have disagreements about tax policy, but you don't shut the government down.
00:12:42.840 We have disagreements about health care policy, but you don't shut the government down.
00:12:45.800 You don't use your policy disagreements as leverage to not pay our troops,
00:12:50.900 to not have essential services of government actually function.
00:12:53.700 You don't say the fact that you disagree about a particular tax provision is an excuse
00:12:57.780 for shutting down the people's government and all the essential services that come along with it.
00:13:02.400 If you look at what Chuck Schumer has said in the past consistently,
00:13:05.740 it's whatever our disagreements are, let's negotiate with them.
00:13:08.600 Let's talk about them.
00:13:09.540 Let's figure out a bipartisan solution.
00:13:11.720 But you don't shut the government down.
00:13:13.620 In other words, you don't put a gun to the American people's head and say,
00:13:16.140 unless you do exactly what Senate and House Democrats want you to do,
00:13:20.640 we're going to shut down your government.
00:13:21.680 That's exactly what they're proposing out there.
00:13:24.020 Now, we have to remember, they're very frustrated.
00:13:26.140 They say that they're very frustrated about the fact that this negotiation has not taken place until today.
00:13:31.020 But if you look at the original thing they did with this negotiation,
00:13:35.420 it was a $1.5 trillion spending package,
00:13:38.320 basically saying to the American people,
00:13:39.820 we want to give massive amounts of money,
00:13:42.020 hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care,
00:13:45.080 while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills.
00:13:47.720 That was their initial foray into this negotiation.
00:13:50.560 We thought it was absurd.
00:13:52.340 We told them it was absurd.
00:13:53.640 And now they come in here saying that if you don't give us everything that we want,
00:13:58.940 we're going to shut down the government.
00:13:59.960 We think that's preposterous.
00:14:01.560 We think it's totally unacceptable.
00:14:03.000 And we think the American people are going to suffer because these guys won't do the right thing.
00:14:07.620 Now, I want to make one final point here.
00:14:09.220 You will hear a lot from Senate Democrats,
00:14:11.300 from House Democrats about the fact that American health care policy is broken.
00:14:15.000 Well, we know that American health care policy is broken.
00:14:17.320 We've been trying to fix it for the eight months that we've been in office.
00:14:20.500 But every single thing that they accuse about being broken about American health care
00:14:24.900 is policy that Democrats have supported for the past decade.
00:14:28.280 So if they want to talk about how to fix American health care policy, let's do it.
00:14:32.040 The Speaker would love to do it.
00:14:33.240 The Senate Majority Leader would love to do it.
00:14:34.980 Let's work on it together.
00:14:36.460 But let's do it in the context of an open government
00:14:38.860 that's providing essential services to the American people.
00:14:41.820 That's all that we're proposing to do.
00:14:43.560 And the fact that they refuse to do that shows how unreasonable their position is.
00:14:47.580 I think we're headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won't do the right thing.
00:14:51.100 I hope they change their mind, but we're going to see.
00:14:52.920 I hope they change their mind, but we'll see.
00:14:56.220 He wasn't done there.
00:14:57.800 There's also other points that were made as well.
00:15:00.980 Leader John Thune on the Democrats pulling America towards a government shutdown.
00:15:05.780 Here's what he said walking out of the meeting.
00:15:08.140 This right here, ladies and gentlemen, is what we're talking about.
00:15:10.640 24 pages, it's a continuing resolution to fund the government through November the 21st.
00:15:15.720 I don't know where they're saying this is some huge partisan thing.
00:15:19.840 This is something we do fairly routinely.
00:15:21.980 And when the Democrats had the majority on 13 different occasions,
00:15:25.440 they had the majority, President Biden was in the White House,
00:15:27.940 we passed continuing resolutions to fund the government.
00:15:30.900 This is purely and simply hostage-taking on behalf of the Democrats.
00:15:36.400 The Republicans are united.
00:15:39.160 House Republicans, Senate Republicans, President Trump.
00:15:42.880 The House has passed a clean funding resolution to fund the government until November the 21st.
00:15:47.540 It's clean, it is bipartisan, and it is short-term.
00:15:52.180 But it gives us enough time to finish the appropriations process,
00:15:55.280 which is the way we should be funding the government.
00:15:57.800 So Republicans in the House, Senate, President United, they've passed the bill.
00:16:02.800 This is sitting right now at the Senate desk.
00:16:06.360 We could pick it up and pass it tonight.
00:16:08.540 We could pick it up and pass it tomorrow before the government shuts down.
00:16:11.880 And then we don't have a government shutdown.
00:16:13.920 It is totally up to the Democrats,
00:16:15.540 because right now they are the only thing standing between the American people and the government shutting down.
00:16:22.180 We're all in favor of funding the government.
00:16:24.640 And this is something that's been done routinely 13 different times by the Democrats when they had the majority.
00:16:29.360 So to me, this is purely a hostage-taking exercise on the part of the Democrats.
00:16:34.900 We are willing to sit down and work with them on some of the issues they want to talk about,
00:16:38.820 whether it's the extension of premium tax credits with reforms.
00:16:42.320 We're happy to have that conversation.
00:16:43.820 But as of right now, this is a hijacking of the American people,
00:16:50.600 and it's the American people who are going to pay the price.
00:16:52.700 It's a hijacking of the American people,
00:16:56.000 and the American people are going to be the ones that pay the price.
00:17:00.740 Democrats, by the way, want Americans to pay for health care for illegals,
00:17:05.060 and they're ready to shut down the government for it.
00:17:07.920 Elizabeth Warren, seven hours ago,
00:17:11.120 said Americans need affordable health care.
00:17:13.420 No one should go bankrupt because they get sick and needed a doctor.
00:17:17.020 If Republicans want to shut down the government so they can keep increasing costs and cutting health care,
00:17:22.720 then they need to explain that to the American people.
00:17:26.360 So what are the Democrats demanding?
00:17:27.880 Not health care for you.
00:17:29.560 They're demanding health care for illegal immigrants.
00:17:33.460 I'm going to say it again.
00:17:34.840 They're demanding it for illegal immigrants.
00:17:38.400 The Speaker of the House, Johnson, saying this on Fox News Channel about the shutdown.
00:17:44.000 It went well, Sean.
00:17:45.960 By the way, thanks for playing the highlight reel tonight.
00:17:48.400 Their hypocrisy is just breathtaking, and it's shameless, and it was on display in the Oval Office.
00:17:53.620 Credit President Trump showing real leadership.
00:17:55.880 He's operating in good faith, and that was on display by bringing the leaders in.
00:18:00.100 He heard the arguments and the debates.
00:18:02.720 They're baseless.
00:18:03.880 I mean, Chuck Schumer is now arguing exactly the opposite of what he has always said in his career and why.
00:18:11.300 You hit the nail right on the head, Sean.
00:18:14.160 He's doing it at a political desperation.
00:18:16.280 He is willing to force the government to shut down just to oppose President Trump for temporary political cover for himself,
00:18:23.360 and he will abandon the American people just to do that.
00:18:26.120 It's really something to watch.
00:18:27.900 Now, Speaker Johnson also had this to say as he walked out of the White House and talking about just how consequential this shutdown will be,
00:18:36.260 where Democrats aren't even thinking about our men and women in uniform, those needing FEMA funding, mental health services, and a whole lot more.
00:18:45.380 Their counterproposal, what Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are demanding,
00:18:48.600 is that they claw back the $50 billion that we put into the rural hospital support structure.
00:18:54.280 They want to take that back.
00:18:55.700 We're not going to do that.
00:18:56.660 We pass that because we have to allow for that.
00:18:59.980 Also, if they shut the government down, not only are troops unpaid, federal workers, and all the services that everybody relies upon,
00:19:06.280 but the WIC program, the nutrition program, women, infant, and children, they will not get that program, will not be funded.
00:19:11.820 FEMA won't be funded.
00:19:12.820 We have hurricanes off the coast of the United States right now.
00:19:15.340 This is serious business.
00:19:17.100 You have telehealth.
00:19:18.400 You have mental health services.
00:19:19.540 All that that's funded by the government would stop if Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats have their way.
00:19:24.860 The Democrat shutdown would be damaging for the country.
00:19:27.500 We can't allow for it.
00:19:28.580 So here we are on the verge of a major shutdown.
00:19:33.340 The White House Office of Management Director, Vought, saying this is something that the American people need to understand is going to cost you a lot of money,
00:19:41.900 all because of the demands of the Democrats.
00:19:45.280 We want to keep this government open.
00:19:47.040 It is not good for the American people to have the government shut down for any period of time.
00:19:51.780 We will manage it appropriately, but it is something that can all be avoided.
00:19:56.120 It can all be avoided by accepting a reasonable position, which is what the House has passed and what sits at the Senate desk,
00:20:02.840 which is to continue to fund the government with a short-term continuing resolution.
00:20:06.620 It has never been a viewpoint that $1.5 trillion is a reasonable amount of spending to be included on a short-term CR.
00:20:17.620 This is hostage-taking.
00:20:19.060 It is not something that we are going to accept.
00:20:21.680 And we hope that the Democrats come back from the brink, fund this government, and allow us to move forward.
00:20:27.440 Thank you.
00:20:27.720 So here we are.
00:20:29.820 We are in a moment where the government is about to be shut down.
00:20:33.580 And a shutdown will happen for one main reason.
00:20:36.860 Because Chuck Schumer needs to stand up to AOC and the radical left and show that he can be just as extreme as they are.
00:20:47.000 During the Biden administration, there were 13 threatened shutdowns.
00:20:52.980 The Republicans in the minority did the right thing.
00:20:56.560 They kept the government open.
00:20:58.880 And what Chuck Schumer has been asked is this.
00:21:02.160 They're asking the Democrats to do the same.
00:21:05.180 They're not willing to do it.
00:21:07.260 All because of a $1.5 trillion hostage plan.
00:21:15.020 Ransom.
00:21:15.940 That is what this is.
00:21:17.900 And Chuck Schumer making it clear in 13 seconds.
00:21:21.780 We have very large differences on health care.
00:21:25.080 Yes, we do.
00:21:28.060 Democrats want taxpayers to fund free health care for illegals.
00:21:32.000 And Republicans do not.
00:21:34.520 So here we are.
00:21:35.900 And the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, saying since President Trump took office,
00:21:40.680 capital spending, equipment spending, which is the stuff that really drives wage growth, is up 7%.
00:21:46.980 There's a massive investment boom.
00:21:49.160 And that's why we're seeing GDP growth.
00:21:52.620 And Democrats hate that.
00:21:54.380 And they want to stifon the economy as well.
00:21:57.320 And they clearly believe this is another way to do that.
00:22:00.980 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:22:05.100 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:22:10.020 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast.
00:22:14.920 And we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:22:18.460 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:22:21.380 Guaranteed human.