Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 13, 2026


Minnesota AG Crashes & Burns in Senate Testimony Covering up Fraud plus Dems Cause Largest Sewage Spill in History


Episode Stats


Length

34 minutes

Words per minute

188.16609

Word count

6,409

Sentence count

593

Harmful content

Misogyny

7

sentences flagged

Hate speech

9

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Ted Cruz is officially on TikTok, and it's a good one. He also explains why he's not cool enough to dance for Mardi gras. And we talk about Keith Ellison's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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 .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.720 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.540 Welcome. It is Vertique with Senator Ted Cruz.
00:00:07.820 Ben Ferguson with you as well.
00:00:09.400 And if you're listening on the radio, welcome.
00:00:11.260 So nice to have you.
00:00:12.280 And if you like the show, you'll love the podcast that we do three days a week.
00:00:15.240 So make sure you download Vertique with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcasts.
00:00:20.240 Also, it's on YouTube as well.
00:00:23.020 Senator, as we start, I rarely get to give you a hard time.
00:00:26.340 So we're just going to start with that.
00:00:27.780 You are now officially on TikTok.
00:00:30.880 And I just love the number of followers that you have because I don't get to give you a hard time.
00:00:34.940 But it's very low, Senator.
00:00:36.400 Like, extremely low.
00:00:37.680 Forget the fact we just started the page.
00:00:39.940 I just want to say how low it is.
00:00:41.500 So if you want to, like, actually be seen when you follow Senator Cruz, like, you could be the first one, like, second one, third one.
00:00:47.800 You could actually see their name.
00:00:49.060 Like, it could actually be there.
00:00:50.840 It is terrifying.
00:00:52.460 It is pitiful.
00:00:53.660 So we just opened a TikTok account two days ago.
00:00:57.000 So I am at a measly 2,000 followers, which is, look, it's two days into it.
00:01:05.680 But, you know, I got to say my teenage daughters have already told me I'm not nearly cool enough to be on TikTok.
00:01:11.560 I will not be doing teenage dance moves, although I will neither confirm nor deny I may have done them at their requests at home.
00:01:19.900 But those videos are suppressed forever.
00:01:22.480 We're also trying to bribe them for said videos so that we can put them on TikTok.
00:01:26.460 There's a full court press from the staff.
00:01:28.040 Well, look, I have deliberately stayed off TikTok because when the Chinese communists controlled it, I didn't want to be subject to their surveillance or propaganda. 0.89
00:01:39.260 But because President Trump got the deal through and moved them to American ownership and control, we've opened up yet a TikTok account.
00:01:49.400 So now we're communicating on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram.
00:01:53.300 And you are going to dance for Mardi Gras, though.
00:01:55.420 I was told that's like one of the things, like certain holidays you'll do things, right?
00:01:59.320 Ben, let me be clear.
00:02:00.900 No matter how many beads you give me, the answer is no.
00:02:04.780 No matter how many beads that T.C. gets, Senator Cruz gets, I like that.
00:02:09.460 Now, I'm going to test you here.
00:02:12.000 Do you know what your handle is, right, when you set it up?
00:02:15.020 Do you know?
00:02:16.300 Yes, it's Ted Cruz.
00:02:18.200 Oh, wow.
00:02:18.960 I'm shocked no one took that from you.
00:02:20.300 I thought the Chinese would have registered that years ago.
00:02:22.480 Okay, so it's not at Ted Cruz America, Ted Cruz Flying Eagle.
00:02:26.600 I thought we were going to have to get creative there.
00:02:28.820 I like it.
00:02:29.260 Ted Cruz.
00:02:29.420 Same thing my Twitter handle is, which is Ted Cruz.
00:02:32.140 I like it.
00:02:32.700 So there you go.
00:02:33.340 At Ted Cruz on TikTok, you can be one of the first ones to get on the edge there.
00:02:37.680 Now, Twitter, we're north of 10 million between the two accounts.
00:02:41.460 But we're just at 2,000 on TikTok, so we've got some work to do.
00:02:45.140 Just north of 10 million.
00:02:46.740 I love how that was.
00:02:48.140 That is what you call a congressional flex there.
00:02:50.300 That's exactly what that was.
00:02:52.220 I promised the family that was your rebuttal at home as well
00:02:56.160 when they said you weren't cool enough for TikTok.
00:02:57.600 I love it.
00:02:58.280 So follow him there.
00:02:59.480 Welcome to the crazy world of TikTok, and you can make him go forward and backwards
00:03:02.800 with the boomerang thing.
00:03:03.740 There's lots of things.
00:03:04.560 It's going to be exciting to see what's out there.
00:03:06.160 I can tell you're excited about that aspect of it.
00:03:08.460 All right, we've got a lot to talk about.
00:03:09.460 I may be doing every TikTok with a cat filter on, although I think that's like seven generations
00:03:14.140 ago.
00:03:15.180 That's very true.
00:03:16.200 So we've got a lot to talk about on today's show.
00:03:18.140 What are we going to be?
00:03:19.140 There's some big news.
00:03:19.920 So let's go through what we're going to talk about today.
00:03:21.820 All right.
00:03:22.600 So Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, testified in the Senate this week.
00:03:27.300 It was a train wreck falling off a bridge on fire and exploding.
00:03:31.920 I think that is the understated way to put how well his testimony went.
00:03:35.880 We're going to give you some excerpts of that.
00:03:37.600 He refused to take responsibility for any of the massive fraud in his state.
00:03:42.880 He refused to take responsibility for his own wrongdoing.
00:03:45.820 He was angry, bitter, and partisan.
00:03:47.800 So it was exactly what you would have expected from Keith Ellison.
00:03:51.120 We're also going to talk about that Democrats are responsible for the single largest spill 0.91
00:03:57.560 of sewage in American history.
00:04:00.420 And that is not a joke.
00:04:01.800 I am not making that up.
00:04:03.280 And the press is not telling you about it.
00:04:05.380 Well, Ben and I are.
00:04:07.620 And finally, we're going to we're going to talk about the Save America Act, where it
00:04:11.100 is, what the Senate needs to do to pass it, how we protect integrity in our elections.
00:04:15.900 All of those are in today's pod and today's show.
00:04:18.680 Yeah, it's going to be a good one.
00:04:19.780 So make sure you download Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:04:22.040 Also, we're every year podcast.
00:04:23.460 And you can also watch, as I mentioned earlier, on YouTube and even some of the shorts on
00:04:27.140 TikTok as well.
00:04:27.880 All right.
00:04:28.100 So let's start with Ellison testifying and really fail to take accountability for Minnesota
00:04:33.400 and the fraud there.
00:04:34.700 It is not surprising that he wanted to deflect in a major way.
00:04:40.440 That's what he's decided to do, obviously, Senator.
00:04:43.180 And I get the strategy.
00:04:45.160 But it didn't really work out for him when he had to answer real questions.
00:04:49.060 You can only dodge so much.
00:04:51.040 Yeah, it did not work out at all.
00:04:52.880 We're going to start with Josh Hawley, my colleague, who questioned.
00:04:57.840 And Keith Ellison did a very good job.
00:05:00.460 Ellison was battling and dodging the whole time.
00:05:03.440 But this was fiery, to put it mildly.
00:05:06.580 Give a listen.
00:05:07.360 Try another question.
00:05:08.060 Are you familiar with the $9 billion in historic fraud out of your state, including the $250
00:05:13.520 million in the Feeding Our Future program alone?
00:05:16.980 Are you familiar with that?
00:05:17.620 Don't turn to the pages in your book to get your potted answers.
00:05:19.900 Are you familiar with it?
00:05:21.160 Yes or no?
00:05:21.860 Yes, I am familiar with it.
00:05:23.180 Very familiar, aren't you?
00:05:24.100 Because the people who ran the Feeding Our Futures program came to you in your official
00:05:28.560 office in the state capitol, December 11th, 2021, and asked for your help in getting investigators
00:05:35.420 off their backs.
00:05:36.860 They complained to you for upwards of an hour about state investigators going after them.
00:05:42.560 And they begged you to help them.
00:05:44.660 And you agreed to it, amazingly.
00:05:46.960 And we know you did.
00:05:48.000 That's not true.
00:05:48.420 Because it's all caught on tape.
00:05:50.440 Every single sentence is caught on tape.
00:05:52.540 Here's what you said.
00:05:53.060 Let's take a look.
00:05:54.080 You said it's not a question.
00:05:55.700 You said to them, send me the names of all these folks who are investigating them.
00:06:01.480 You said to them, send me their names.
00:06:03.720 And I'll take that list.
00:06:04.960 And I'll call the person over at education who is investigating them and say, what's going
00:06:09.140 on?
00:06:09.960 Why am I getting these complaints?
00:06:11.840 Then you went on to say, I already have my team working on this.
00:06:16.080 What day should we get together to discuss it again?
00:06:20.240 You made pledge after pledge to them.
00:06:22.540 You said, we've got to make sure this guy who's investigating them stops it.
00:06:26.500 You said, you have my attention.
00:06:28.360 I'm concerned about this.
00:06:30.120 You said, let's go fight these people.
00:06:32.860 Meaning the people who are investigating the fraud.
00:06:35.900 Why'd you do it?
00:06:38.060 Why'd you help them?
00:06:39.060 Are you going to let me answer?
00:06:40.720 Please.
00:06:41.280 We're all ears.
00:06:42.100 So first of all, you're cherry picking quotes out of there.
00:06:44.780 Why did you help them?
00:06:45.700 I thought you were going to let me answer.
00:06:47.040 Why did you help them?
00:06:47.540 Are you going to let me answer?
00:06:48.740 Why did you help them?
00:06:49.360 You let me answer and I'll answer you.
00:06:50.840 Tell the truth and I'll let you answer.
00:06:52.140 I will tell the truth.
00:06:52.960 Let's do that.
00:06:53.360 That'd be a nice change.
00:06:54.180 Why'd you help them?
00:06:54.560 Now see, Mr. Chairman, I didn't come here to be insulted.
00:06:58.260 I came here voluntarily.
00:06:58.960 You came here for the truth.
00:07:00.180 Let's have it.
00:07:00.860 Why did you help them?
00:07:01.820 The quotes are here.
00:07:03.220 They're in black and white.
00:07:04.320 And every member of this audience can listen to the recording.
00:07:07.020 It's 54 minutes long.
00:07:09.720 It's all in public.
00:07:10.820 You can Google it right now and listen to it.
00:07:12.700 Right.
00:07:12.720 And listen to it all.
00:07:13.600 Why'd you help them?
00:07:15.240 First of all, I didn't help them.
00:07:16.700 You did help them.
00:07:17.200 No, I did not.
00:07:18.500 I certainly didn't.
00:07:19.480 You're saying you didn't do anything for them.
00:07:21.420 You didn't.
00:07:22.160 You didn't.
00:07:22.700 Well, wait a minute.
00:07:23.340 I already have my team working on this again.
00:07:24.900 That's not you?
00:07:25.280 I have.
00:07:25.840 It's a ventriloquist?
00:07:26.680 My team.
00:07:27.760 My team assisted with the information that led to the prosecution and conviction of these people.
00:07:34.280 No, you didn't.
00:07:34.640 You didn't look the finger to prosecute them.
00:07:36.260 No, you did not.
00:07:37.060 You didn't look the finger to prosecute them.
00:07:38.540 It was like federal prosecution.
00:07:39.100 You had all BS.
00:07:40.600 You had whistleblowers coming to you as early as 2019.
00:07:43.180 You're the one talking BS.
00:07:44.240 Hey, listen.
00:07:44.940 It's my time.
00:07:45.640 You're the one who doesn't know what you're talking about, sir.
00:07:47.060 No, sir.
00:07:47.560 You now have encountered the truth and you don't like it.
00:07:49.700 Why'd you take your money?
00:07:51.200 Senator, you're a movie guy.
00:07:52.560 Let's see how good you are.
00:07:53.760 What's the movie where you can't handle the truth?
00:07:56.000 Yes.
00:07:56.520 Okay.
00:07:56.860 Ben, you and I have been doing this too long.
00:07:59.100 It is the greatest missed opportunity.
00:08:01.360 I knew when you were grinning, that's what you were thinking.
00:08:02.360 It is the greatest missed opportunity in the history of Senate hearings that Keith Ellison
00:08:09.680 didn't say.
00:08:10.500 You want the truth?
00:08:11.540 You can't handle the truth.
00:08:13.500 It was like, come on.
00:08:15.720 Oh, I mean, it was screaming for him to say it.
00:08:20.380 But listen, the reality is Keith Ellison doesn't want anything resembling the truth.
00:08:26.120 Josh is right.
00:08:26.940 That entire conversation is on tape.
00:08:29.780 And it is the criminals coming to the attorney general saying, would you stop the people who
00:08:35.260 are investigating us to find our crimes?
00:08:37.960 And the attorney general, this left-wing Democrat who was getting elected by these criminals,
00:08:44.860 said, sure, I'll help you.
00:08:46.120 It's all on tape.
00:08:47.620 Josh Hawley's question, why'd you take the money?
00:08:49.940 Let's listen to that question and what the facts are.
00:08:53.800 And spoiler alert, Ellison's just going to lie.
00:08:56.880 Give a listen.
00:08:58.120 Why'd you take their money?
00:08:59.860 Why'd you take their money?
00:09:01.500 I didn't.
00:09:02.180 You took $10,000.
00:09:04.740 That's a false statement.
00:09:05.720 $10,000 nine days after the meeting.
00:09:10.080 False statement.
00:09:10.560 You took $10,000.
00:09:12.240 Here's what happened.
00:09:13.200 They went to your office.
00:09:14.500 They solicited money from you.
00:09:16.140 They solicited help from you.
00:09:17.500 That's also wrong.
00:09:18.240 They came to your office.
00:09:19.400 It was your official office.
00:09:20.720 You met with them for 54 minutes.
00:09:22.680 They asked you for help.
00:09:24.080 You pledged it to them.
00:09:25.020 And they talked repeatedly about money.
00:09:27.100 In fact, it's all they talked about.
00:09:28.320 That's a lot.
00:09:28.540 Money, money, money, money.
00:09:30.940 They said, we will put our dollars in the right place.
00:09:34.360 We will support candidates that will fight to protect our interests.
00:09:37.000 You replied, that's right.
00:09:38.620 They said, if you are securing your donor base and securing your power base,
00:09:42.720 you can act the way you want.
00:09:44.080 You replied, money is freedom.
00:09:46.260 They said, the amount of money circulating.
00:09:48.440 I'm reading the transcript.
00:09:49.740 The amount of money circulating in our community today is powerful.
00:09:53.340 And we haven't realized it in a meaningful way.
00:09:55.440 And you said, give me the specifics.
00:09:57.960 And nine days later, you took $10,000 from people who were then indicted.
00:10:03.980 It's in your reports.
00:10:05.260 Why'd you do it?
00:10:06.300 Sir, this was it worth it?
00:10:08.640 You know what?
00:10:09.340 This is a theatrical performance.
00:10:10.700 This is the truth.
00:10:11.860 This is what accountability looks like, of which you've had none.
00:10:15.000 You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government of $9 billion,
00:10:20.340 and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it.
00:10:22.860 Sir, this is completely true.
00:10:23.400 You ought to be indicted.
00:10:25.260 That's the truth.
00:10:26.100 I think we've made the point.
00:10:27.640 Let's keep the tenor just a little more calm.
00:10:28.860 Well, for the record, he's lying, and that's the truth.
00:10:32.900 Oh, no.
00:10:33.340 This is all on the record, sir.
00:10:34.500 Did you bother to investigate where the money that you facilitated their fraud for, where it went?
00:10:41.220 Do you know where it went, what it was used for, the fraudulent money?
00:10:43.820 I do, because we just heard testimony about it yesterday.
00:10:46.720 Because we were key players in the investigation.
00:10:49.500 Hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorist groups, to transnational criminal organizations,
00:10:53.680 to the drug trade, to drug trafficking, to child trafficking.
00:10:57.860 And you took $10,000.
00:11:00.160 That's a lie.
00:11:00.680 And helped them do it.
00:11:02.260 You know, the other thing is, whistleblowers came to you as early as 2019.
00:11:06.120 Let's look.
00:11:07.440 As early as 2019, whistleblowers.
00:11:09.640 Don't talk over me.
00:11:10.560 No, no.
00:11:10.920 As early as 2019, it's my hearing, pal.
00:11:14.760 As early as 2019.
00:11:17.020 Don't call me, pal.
00:11:17.940 Whistleblowers came to you. 1.00
00:11:18.600 Well, I should call you a prisoner, because you ought to be in jail.
00:11:20.620 Well, see what you can do about it.
00:11:21.740 In 2019, whistleblowers came to you in your office,
00:11:26.020 and referred to you fraud allegations from Feeding Our Futures, and you blew them off.
00:11:30.000 Listen, your own state newspaper investigated.
00:11:31.620 That's a lie.
00:11:32.040 The Minnesota Star Tribune, the Partners in Nutrition, brought its concerns to the Attorney
00:11:36.340 General's office in 2018 and in 2019, and you did nothing.
00:11:41.160 You did nothing for years.
00:11:42.500 The only action you took is, once all these fraudsters came to your office,
00:11:46.560 and asked you to get involved and offered you money, then you got involved.
00:11:50.540 Then you took the money, and then you got involved.
00:11:52.640 They did not come to my office.
00:11:54.580 You're completely wrong about that.
00:11:55.980 You met with them for 54 minutes, and you took $10,000, and they also gave your family money.
00:12:01.960 They gave your family thousands of dollars in campaign contributions,
00:12:04.680 in addition to what they gave you.
00:12:06.600 This is a false statement.
00:12:07.020 Let's put the sign back down.
00:12:08.220 You know, this is completely untrue.
00:12:09.860 The New York Post.
00:12:10.960 Yeah, we know the New York Post.
00:12:12.500 Minnesota Keith Ellison, AG, accepted campaign donations from individuals linked to the $250 million
00:12:17.200 COVID fraud scheme after they were in your office.
00:12:19.860 The donations came on December 20th, you met with them on December the 11th,
00:12:23.900 and on January 20th, the FBI knocked over their headquarters.
00:12:27.760 No, no.
00:12:28.160 That's the sequence of events here.
00:12:30.380 No, it's not the sequence of events.
00:12:31.400 You've been right at the center of this fraud thing from the beginning, and you've enabled it.
00:12:35.900 And, sir, you should resign.
00:12:38.920 I mean, you look at this hearing, and he's like, you know, good luck with that, basically putting me in jail.
00:12:44.680 He does seem incredibly arrogant and cocky for a guy that's being accused of all these things.
00:12:48.860 But I guess they've just been conditioned, right?
00:12:51.120 Like, who cares?
00:12:51.520 Yeah, he's never been called to account, and his response is just a lie.
00:12:55.900 Say, that's a lie, that's a lie, that's a lie.
00:12:57.240 By the way, he doesn't have any facts to the contrary, and when Josh lays out the receipts,
00:13:01.840 that he actually received the contributions, received them nine days after meeting with the fraudsters
00:13:08.200 and promising to help them, he has no response other than scream, liar, liar, liar. 0.85
00:13:13.180 But, look, it's not just that.
00:13:14.620 Keith Ellison, like the rest of the Minnesota Democrats, is extreme and radical.
00:13:19.600 Listen to him here, refusing to condemn Louis Farrakhan's bigotry and anti-Semitism.
00:13:25.460 This is Bernie Moreno, senator from Ohio, questioning him.
00:13:28.600 Give a listen.
00:13:29.220 I speak against anti-Semitism.
00:13:30.960 I condemn it as repugnant and wrong.
00:13:32.880 Let's pause there.
00:13:33.420 You speak against anti-Semitism.
00:13:35.120 Will you condemn Louis Farrakhan's comments, saying that Judaism is a dirty religion?
00:13:40.300 You know, sir, I thought I was coming here to talk about immigration policy.
00:13:45.640 That was a layup question, by the way.
00:13:47.140 No, no, no.
00:13:47.560 I thought I was talking about immigration policy.
00:13:50.200 I didn't know that we were going to be talking about all these matters.
00:13:54.560 I mean, I'm reluctant to just sort of, I mean, we already had one thing where we didn't mention immigration policy at all.
00:14:01.160 Now, I'm fine with you asking about questions around asylum and things like that.
00:14:06.200 That makes a lot of sense to me.
00:14:07.740 But now we're going off in all kind of different directions.
00:14:10.680 I think there should be some scope to this hearing.
00:14:13.260 And so thank you for your interest.
00:14:16.660 And we both share a need to condemn anti-Semitism.
00:14:21.500 Senator, I love how it's almost like he's trying to steal a line from Donald Trump.
00:14:24.900 They're like, thank you for your attention to this matter.
00:14:26.980 You can't make it up.
00:14:28.000 Well, and of course, he was completely unwilling to condemn Louis Farrakhan's vicious anti-Semitism.
00:14:35.900 Keith Ellison is Muslim.
00:14:37.520 Louis Farrakhan is Muslim.
00:14:39.180 And they both have reveled in bigotry.
00:14:42.980 Look, a related – he said he was willing to talk about immigration.
00:14:47.600 Well, when it comes to the anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota,
00:14:52.080 you remember the ones that burst into the church service and disturbed the Christian church? 0.98
00:14:56.320 Well, Keith Ellison did an interview about that where he said, quote,
00:15:03.440 I think that protest is fundamental to American society.
00:15:06.180 You know, it's freedom of expression.
00:15:07.740 People have a right to lift up their voices and make their peace.
00:15:10.460 And none of us are immune to the voice of the public.
00:15:13.020 And then he says they're getting tender about a church service now.
00:15:17.720 So he is, of course, siding with the anti-ICE protesters who are disrupting a church service,
00:15:23.920 which, by the way, is a violation of federal law, the Federal Face Act.
00:15:27.400 And his statement, they're getting tender about a church service.
00:15:31.040 That's just how intolerant he is.
00:15:33.640 Just a minute ago, he refused to condemn Louis Farrakhan's bigotry and anti-Semitism.
00:15:38.640 And instead, he said, can we talk about immigration policy?
00:15:42.800 Well, that wasn't the best idea either.
00:15:45.300 Bernie Moreno did ask him about immigration policy, and it didn't go so well.
00:15:49.040 Give a listen.
00:15:50.000 Mexico and Canada, do you consider those to be safe countries or no?
00:15:54.340 Generally, I do.
00:15:55.340 But there are certain circumstances.
00:15:56.400 Generally, you do?
00:15:57.080 Well, I mean, I'll just say this.
00:15:58.740 You border Canada.
00:15:59.440 Don't insult your neighbors to the north.
00:16:00.800 No, I love my neighbors to the north.
00:16:02.160 So is it a generally safe country?
00:16:04.380 Generally, yes.
00:16:05.040 So then somebody seeking asylum could certainly be safe in Canada and Mexico, no? 1.00
00:16:11.300 Now, so, like, if somebody, we do know that in Mexico, which is another country I truly admire
00:16:17.620 and think it's a wonderful country, but there have been cases of persecution,
00:16:21.820 people who have legitimate fear.
00:16:23.480 So people aren't safe in Mexico?
00:16:24.980 Refugees cannot be safe in Mexico? 0.94
00:16:27.020 Some might not be.
00:16:28.440 And I think, and what I'm saying, Senator.
00:16:30.100 So maybe we shouldn't have a free trade agreement with them then.
00:16:32.380 I didn't say that.
00:16:33.540 Senator, he didn't like answering those questions at all, did he?
00:16:35.980 After he already said he wanted to bring up the topic.
00:16:39.100 Yeah, no, he did not.
00:16:40.320 He did not like those questions at all.
00:16:42.680 And I got to say, his testimony was nothing but a bunch of crap.
00:16:48.420 Now, that actually happens to be highly relevant because our next story is really an amazing
00:16:53.500 story that deals with Democrats and a bunch of crap.
00:16:57.700 Yeah.
00:16:57.820 Democrats in Washington, D.C. and Virginia and Maryland are responsible for the largest
00:17:06.220 sewage spill in American history.
00:17:09.480 I want to read a headline to you.
00:17:10.740 The failure in a section of a 72-inch sewer pipe in Maryland has released close to a billion,
00:17:19.200 that's with a B, a billion gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River just inside the
00:17:26.560 beltway.
00:17:26.960 It's now considered the largest spill of wastewater in U.S. history.
00:17:34.140 Maryland and Virginia Democrats haven't said a word.
00:17:39.300 Nothing.
00:17:39.880 They don't want you to know about it.
00:17:41.060 They don't want you to know this is like a massive oil spill, except it's raw sewage in
00:17:46.080 the Potomac River.
00:17:46.920 It is going to have an impact on like everything there, including the fish and the crabs and
00:17:53.120 the whole list goes on and on.
00:17:54.920 And usually the left is like the scream and yell and show up for the wildlife and PETA and
00:18:01.220 all of that when you have things happen that they don't like.
00:18:04.160 But on this one, they're like, let's just be quiet and act like it's not happening.
00:18:07.460 And a billion gallons of sewage is going into the Potomac, right?
00:18:12.300 Like, we just won't cover it, we won't talk about it.
00:18:15.120 A billion gallons of human waste, of human excrement, was dumped into the Potomac River.
00:18:21.640 And Democrats, look, Democrats' answer to everything is government.
00:18:25.240 We want government in charge.
00:18:26.300 We want government in charge.
00:18:27.360 And the dirty little secret, whether it's Minnesota or whether it's Maryland and D.C.,
00:18:31.380 is Democrats are really, really bad at government.
00:18:34.060 They like power.
00:18:34.820 Especially when they're in charge.
00:18:35.740 Look at Mondani in New York.
00:18:36.940 In like two weeks, he's like, can't figure out how to get trash or melt ice or deal with the
00:18:41.560 rat problem.
00:18:42.140 Like, that's what's happened in a few weeks.
00:18:44.660 And by the way, D.C., for the last two weeks, has been buried in snow.
00:18:48.360 They can't figure out how to shovel the sidewalks.
00:18:50.860 I mean, they're completely confused.
00:18:53.380 I did an event with President Trump at the Treasury Department, I think it was two weeks
00:18:59.120 ago, where to get into the Treasury Department, I literally had to scale basically the snow
00:19:04.620 bank that was about four feet high because there was no break in it.
00:19:07.980 Apparently, nobody in the Washington, D.C.
00:19:10.980 government can figure out where a sidewalk is.
00:19:13.360 That's what people want on TikTok.
00:19:14.700 You should have taken that video.
00:19:16.080 That would have gone viral.
00:19:17.660 And my press secretary was in four-inch spike high heels. 1.00
00:19:21.940 And she managed to scale that icy snow bank.
00:19:25.160 I thought she was going to break her neck. 1.00
00:19:27.700 And the problem is she would have sued D.C.
00:19:29.620 And D.C.'s judgment proof they have no money because they're run by Democrats.
00:19:33.860 But listen to some more details on this sewage spill.
00:19:36.960 Because I'm curious, has this been on the 6 o'clock news on any of the networks?
00:19:42.280 No.
00:19:42.880 No one's talking about this.
00:19:43.880 I mean, until we go through the rundown, I didn't know about this until we were planning
00:19:49.020 the show for today, had not heard about it at all.
00:19:52.200 The news is completely ignoring it.
00:19:54.000 Here's the headline.
00:19:55.660 Or here's a little bit of the details.
00:19:57.200 D.C.
00:19:57.500 Water CEO David Gattis resolved to do everything possible to reclaim the Potomac River after
00:20:02.400 last month's disastrous sewer pipe break, he said in an open letter to the community
00:20:08.220 Wednesday.
00:20:08.720 The failure in a section of 72-inch sewer pipe known as the Potomac Interceptor resulted
00:20:14.240 in the release of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river just inside
00:20:18.620 the Beltway along the C&O Canal in Montgomery County, Maryland.
00:20:21.920 It's considered the largest spill of wastewater in U.S. history.
00:20:25.640 Quote, the Potomac River is a shared natural treasure.
00:20:29.040 And in any event, and in any event that threatens its health, understandably causes concern, frustration,
00:20:35.180 and a sense of loss.
00:20:36.400 Those feelings are not only valid.
00:20:38.060 They are also shared by all of us at D.C.
00:20:40.380 Water, Gattis said in the letter, not mentioning, that's why Democrats are dropping a billion
00:20:45.800 gallons of crap into the water that you care about.
00:20:49.460 The letter went on to explain that on January 19th, Cruz noticed unusual activity in security
00:20:54.920 cameras monitoring an odor control facility along the C&O Canal.
00:20:59.340 I would imagine that would cause some unusual activity.
00:21:01.500 A billion gallons, if you can't smell that, you've got a problem.
00:21:05.320 Upon inspection, the Cruz discovered the break.
00:21:08.420 In the days since the discovery, D.C. water personnel and contractors worked to, quote,
00:21:12.120 contain the overflow, protect public safety, and begin repairs.
00:21:16.720 A bypass system was constructed to pump waste around the damaged area of the pipe and reinsert
00:21:21.260 it into a section of the structure downstream.
00:21:22.960 Complicating the repairs was the discovery last week of a large rock dam blocking a significant
00:21:29.280 section of the pipe about 30 feet south of the break.
00:21:32.700 D.C.
00:21:33.380 Water is waiting for five large capacity pumps to arrive from.
00:21:37.520 Where do you think they're coming from?
00:21:38.940 Where are they?
00:21:39.360 Let me guess.
00:21:39.900 Texas?
00:21:40.940 And Florida.
00:21:41.780 Texas and Florida.
00:21:42.700 Oh, there you go.
00:21:42.780 Okay.
00:21:43.400 Just to be clear.
00:21:44.120 So we have two conservative states that are going to save the liberals from their own
00:21:47.560 like feces. 0.58
00:21:49.000 Got it.
00:21:49.280 They're sending large pumps to pump.
00:21:52.860 To pump liberal feces. 0.98
00:21:54.420 The billion gallons of crap that the Democrats have dumped into the water.
00:21:59.740 Yeah.
00:22:00.840 They then plan to build a bulkhead near the break to divert more water so workers can safely
00:22:05.560 remove the boulders.
00:22:07.000 Apparently no one had noticed the boulders until then.
00:22:08.680 D.C.
00:22:09.080 Water expects this to take an extra six weeks to accomplish.
00:22:16.400 By the way, no way in the private sector it would take six weeks.
00:22:18.760 I just want to be very clear about that.
00:22:20.240 Like in the private sector, it would not take you six weeks.
00:22:23.700 And in the private sector, they would work 24-7 to get it fixed.
00:22:26.840 Can I get an amen on that one?
00:22:28.660 They would.
00:22:29.580 But fortunately, the government is in charge, so it's cheap and efficient.
00:22:32.760 Give a listen.
00:22:33.360 Yes.
00:22:33.920 Gattis noted that D.C.
00:22:35.480 Water will be dedicating resources not only to the repairs, but also to an
00:22:38.640 environmental restoration program to mitigate the damage that's already been done.
00:22:42.140 The letter detailed a $625 million investment to rehabilitate the Potomac Interceptor as
00:22:51.080 part of a 10-year, $10 billion capital improvement program.
00:22:56.620 A $10 billion capital improvement program, except for the minor detail of dumping a billion
00:23:01.320 gallons of crap into the water.
00:23:03.380 Gattis pointed out.
00:23:04.040 The number is still going up, by the way, as we're speaking.
00:23:06.020 I just want to be clear about that.
00:23:07.060 Gattis pointed out that several tunnels they built along the northeast boundary are currently
00:23:12.140 building along the Potomac have resulted in billions of gallons of combined sewage being
00:23:17.820 prevented from entering the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers through the Utilities Clean Rivers
00:23:23.460 Project.
00:23:23.820 So what he's saying is, well, yeah, we've spilled a billion gallons, but we could have spilled
00:23:29.780 billions more.
00:23:30.900 I mean, look at all the crap we could have dumped in the river.
00:23:34.520 And it's only the worst sewage leak in the history of the United States of America.
00:23:39.820 And it's not leading on the nightly news.
00:23:41.860 I mean, let's just go be clear.
00:23:45.320 If this happened in a conservative run city, it would be on the nightly news.
00:23:51.740 PETA would be out there losing their minds. 1.00
00:23:54.380 All the environmental groups would be out there losing their minds.
00:23:57.660 It would be on the front page of the newspapers nationally if it was a conservative place where
00:24:03.500 the largest sewer spill in history had happened.
00:24:07.980 But because it's Democrats, no one knows what's going on, and probably unless you're listening to this show.
00:24:14.560 And look, the consistency of the incompetence of Democrat leaders of government,
00:24:19.840 whether it's Keith Ellison not able to stop fraud and, in fact, being complicit in fraud
00:24:24.940 because he's profiting from it, whether it's the D.C. mayor who can't shovel snow on the sidewalk,
00:24:29.620 whether it is D.C. and Maryland who dump a billion gallons of sewage into the river and into the water,
00:24:35.380 or whether it's Gavin Newsom who, when you're facing the worst wildfires ever,
00:24:41.380 has dumped the water into the Pacific Ocean so it's not available in the fire hydrants
00:24:45.680 and everyone's houses burn.
00:24:47.420 And, by the way, the Marxist mayor of L.A., Karen Bass, who's in Africa during the fire
00:24:53.660 and is so focused on DEI that she doesn't actually have the resources to fight the fire
00:24:58.860 and California won't let them do fire mitigation strategies.
00:25:02.480 All of this, there is a thread throughout it all, and it is incompetence and people paying the price.
00:25:08.620 Canadian women are looking for more. 1.00
00:25:10.600 More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them.
00:25:14.700 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
00:25:18.440 I'm Jennifer Stewart.
00:25:19.620 And I'm Catherine Clark.
00:25:20.860 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.
00:25:24.240 entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers,
00:25:28.160 all at different stages of their journey.
00:25:30.340 So, if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
00:25:33.560 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
00:25:39.540 Senator, let's talk about a big piece of legislation that a lot of people are very focused on this country.
00:25:46.640 A lot of voters voted on this issue specifically, and it deals with the Save America Act.
00:25:53.760 And what has happened this week?
00:25:55.060 Let's give an update to that.
00:25:56.960 Well, the House of Representatives passed the Save America Act, passed it with only one Democrat vote.
00:26:02.660 Every Democrat but one voted against it.
00:26:05.400 The Save America Act requires proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, and it requires a photo ID to vote.
00:26:10.720 It's a very simple, straightforward, common-sense bill.
00:26:13.800 It's now gone over to the Senate.
00:26:15.320 I am leading the charge, pressing hard to get the Senate to take it up, to use every procedural tool we have
00:26:22.440 to force the Senate to vote on it and pass it.
00:26:25.860 This week, I put out a video explaining the issues concisely, and the video went viral.
00:26:31.540 It has over a million views.
00:26:33.740 Give a listen.
00:26:34.320 Give a watch.
00:26:35.260 The House just passed the Save America Act.
00:26:38.300 The Senate needs to take it up and pass it. 1.00
00:26:41.620 I'm an original sponsor of the Save America Act.
00:26:44.100 This is common-sense legislation.
00:26:45.900 This is legislation that requires proof that you're an American citizen in order to register to vote,
00:26:52.320 and it requires a photo ID to go in and vote.
00:26:56.380 Texas already requires a photo ID.
00:26:58.960 It's an easy, common-sense step to avoid voter fraud.
00:27:02.100 The vast majority of Americans support photo ID, and yet Senate Democrats are doing everything they can to block it because they want more voter fraud.
00:27:13.440 How do we take it up and pass it in the Senate?
00:27:16.300 What I am urging my colleagues is that we should use every procedural tool we have to defeat a Democrat filibuster, and in particular, we should nuke what's called the zombie filibuster.
00:27:29.620 Under the Senate rules, everyone has a right to filibuster, to talk as long as they want.
00:27:35.860 We should require them to talk as long as they can.
00:27:39.580 Go back to an old-style talking filibuster, like Jimmy Stewart did and Mr. Smith goes to Washington, like I did in 2013 for 21 hours on the floor of the Senate.
00:27:51.740 We should use the procedural rules to force the Democrats to do a talking filibuster and force them to keep talking and talking and talking, and when they can't talk anymore, then we should pass the Save America Act.
00:28:06.040 That's what I'm urging my colleagues to do.
00:28:08.180 It's what President Trump wants us to do, and it's what I hope and pray we accomplish.
00:28:12.840 Senator, you said it, I think, perfectly there, and explain a little bit more about what it would mean to nuke the zombie filibuster so that we get more context for that, so people understand, in essence, what they would be advocating for.
00:28:27.440 Well, for most of the history of the Senate, the filibuster involved talking, involved standing up and talking and talking and talking.
00:28:34.440 And in recent decades, the Senate has allowed simply whoever is filibustering to say, we're going to filibuster, you cast a procedural vote, and then you're done, and it's treated as blocked.
00:28:46.060 But we don't have to do that.
00:28:47.740 We can force them that there is what's called a two-speech rule in the Senate that limits every member of the Senate to two speeches on any legislative topic.
00:28:57.680 And what I've been advocating, and Mike Lee has been advocating, and Rick Scott has been advocating, and Ron Johnson has been advocating, is that we force them to give the speeches, force them to talk, and when they're done talking, then you can vote on it.
00:29:12.760 But the thing is, there's a price to that, because they can fight back, and in particular, they can do what's called suggest the absence of a quorum.
00:29:22.440 That means we have to be able to produce 50 senators on the floor.
00:29:26.160 There are 53 of us.
00:29:27.960 That means we need 50 bodies.
00:29:30.280 It would entail very long hours.
00:29:32.020 It would entail all-nighters.
00:29:33.340 It would entail 50 of us being willing to stand together.
00:29:36.620 It's not clear right now that we have 50 Republicans willing to do that.
00:29:40.200 I'm trying to make the case this is a fight worth fighting.
00:29:43.920 But it would be a massive and extended, this could extend days or even weeks.
00:29:50.180 But I think we should be fighting with everything we got.
00:29:52.740 I think this issue is important enough.
00:29:54.260 It merits fighting, and so I'm trying to make that case to my colleagues.
00:29:58.140 All right.
00:29:58.280 Let me ask you a question.
00:29:59.260 If you nuke it the way that you described it, is it just for this one issue, and then things go back to the regular order of business, how it works normal now?
00:30:07.900 Or would that change it moving forward?
00:30:11.700 Explain that.
00:30:12.440 So this is different from nuking the filibuster.
00:30:17.080 So nuking the filibuster, that phrase involves breaking the Senate rules to change the Senate rules.
00:30:24.920 So what happens, and we saw, for example, the Democrats nuked the filibuster for cabinet appointees and judicial appointees.
00:30:35.480 And the way they did it, the Senate rules made it clear in the terms of the Senate rules that a nomination required 60 votes to go forward to proceed to it.
00:30:48.180 However, what happened was Harry Reid, when he was majority leader, any ruling of the chair can be challenged on the floor of the Senate, and 51 senators can overrule the ruling of the chair.
00:31:01.960 And so Harry Reid inquired of the chair, what is the rule, and was told the rule is 60 senators.
00:31:08.120 And then he said, I appeal the ruling of the chair, and the Democrats all voted party line.
00:31:12.840 And when they did that, that becomes a binding precedent.
00:31:16.840 So they broke the rules of the Senate to change the rules of the Senate.
00:31:20.520 It is still in the Senate rules that a filibuster can be used to stop legislation.
00:31:26.680 And I will say, we have used that, Republicans have used that, to stop terrible legislation from the Democrats.
00:31:33.240 I think that's an important safeguard.
00:31:34.420 So it is valuable, is the point that people need to also understand.
00:31:37.800 It's very valuable.
00:31:40.020 If the Democrats had succeeded in nuking the filibuster when Joe Biden was president and when they had the House and Senate,
00:31:46.840 they would have passed legislation, number one, striking down every photo ID law in the country
00:31:51.660 and striking down every election integrity law in the country.
00:31:53.980 Number two, making D.C. and Puerto Rico both states and electing four new Democrat senators.
00:31:59.560 Number three, making every illegal alien in America a U.S. citizen and giving them immediate voting rights, 0.93
00:32:04.840 which would have, among other things, turned Texas bright blue instantaneously.
00:32:09.780 And number four, they would have packed the U.S. Supreme Court and added four left-wing justices immediately to it. 0.80
00:32:15.840 I think that would have been, I don't want to be hyperbolic,
00:32:19.780 but I think that would have been essentially the end of the republic.
00:32:22.040 There's no way to turn that around if they do that.
00:32:24.620 And so how do you put that back in Pandora's bike?
00:32:27.640 Once that box is open, it's game over.
00:32:29.640 It's that agenda.
00:32:31.700 Notice the Democrats' top policy agenda is all to rig the game and make it impossible to ever defeat Democrats again.
00:32:38.940 There's nothing they value more than staying in power.
00:32:41.320 That's what they wanted to do.
00:32:44.100 This is not nuking the filibuster in terms of changing the Senate rules.
00:32:48.720 This is using the existing Senate rules and just enforcing them, making them stand up and speak.
00:32:54.580 And one of the advantages of it is if they're standing up and speaking for hours and hours on end,
00:32:59.720 trying to stop requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, trying to stop photo ID.
00:33:05.860 Look, both of those popular policies are incredibly popular.
00:33:11.200 70, 80 percent of Americans agree with photo ID for voting.
00:33:14.620 More than 70 percent of African Americans agree with it.
00:33:17.120 More than 70 percent of Hispanics agree with it.
00:33:20.140 More than 70 percent of Democrat voters agree with it.
00:33:24.780 And so this is a fight we should be having.
00:33:26.820 And I'm urging my colleagues, let's stand and fight for voter integrity.
00:33:30.300 Yeah, great point there.
00:33:32.260 Don't forget, we do this show as a podcast Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
00:33:36.380 Hit that subscriber auto download button wherever you get your podcast.
00:33:39.400 Also, follow us on social media, on TikTok.
00:33:42.760 Center Cruz there now, at Ted Cruz.
00:33:44.460 We're also both on Instagram and on X and Facebook as well.
00:33:48.260 And you can watch this show on YouTube, as I mentioned earlier.
00:33:51.120 So make sure you do that.
00:33:52.180 If you've been listening to us on the radio, thank you for joining us.
00:33:54.380 You'll see us back here on this station next week.
00:33:56.740 And we'll see you on the podcast all week long.
00:33:59.180 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:34:02.540 Guaranteed human.