Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 22, 2025


Trump's Cabinet Nominees Continue to Move Forward


Episode Stats

Length

30 minutes

Words per Minute

158.70761

Word Count

4,768

Sentence Count

323


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.220 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:09.080 And Senator Cruz, unfortunately, could not do the show with me right now because he has lost his voice.
00:00:14.460 He did, however, have enough strength to deal with questioning today of Elise Stefanik in the confirmation hearing.
00:00:22.040 And I'm going to have that for you.
00:00:23.460 Plus, we're going to talk about the big news of Donald Trump saying we're going to have a 90-day moratorium on foreign aid.
00:00:31.400 What does that mean?
00:00:32.180 Well, it means that Marco Rubio is going to have a lot to look at when it comes to where your tax dollars are going.
00:00:39.240 And I'm going to have for you back from January the 17th, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz's conversation on the three questions that he said he'll ask regarding every State Department program.
00:00:51.080 Before we get into that, though, I want to talk to you about my friends at IFCJ.
00:00:56.320 I want to say first off to so many of you that listen to Verdict, thank you for your help, for the people in Israel.
00:01:04.700 On January the 27th, it is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
00:01:09.940 That is less than a week away.
00:01:11.580 It is the day that we remember the great evil of the Holocaust when millions of Jews were slaughtered during the Nazis' reign of terror.
00:01:18.280 Today, the rise in global anti-Semitism and the constant attacks on Israel show us that it's more important than ever to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust to ensure it never happens again.
00:01:31.100 And that's why I am proud to partner with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
00:01:36.480 They do incredible work with your help.
00:01:39.100 They provide food, shelter, and safety to Jews in Israel and around the world, including those remaining Holocaust survivors.
00:01:48.500 Now, your donation will help provide that food, water, medicine, and other basic necessities to Jewish communities.
00:01:55.840 Your donations have also paid for bomb shelters and armored ambulances just to get people to the hospital in areas where the terrorists attack.
00:02:05.160 And your gift, well, it allows for the world to see that there are still many of us that stand with the Jewish people and against the growing anti-Semitism and hatred that we're seeing right now.
00:02:16.220 So to show your support, I ask you to visit supportifcj.org.
00:02:22.360 That's one word, supportifcj.org.
00:02:27.320 You can also call to donate, 888-488-IFCJ.
00:02:32.480 That's 888-488-IFCJ or supportifcj.org.
00:02:39.160 So as I mentioned earlier, Senator Cruz has lost his voice.
00:02:43.740 I could literally not even talk to him earlier.
00:02:46.640 We were having to communicate in text.
00:02:48.780 But what he did do today was some pretty incredible work on the Hill.
00:02:53.480 Senator Cruz questioned Elise Stefanik in the confirmation hearing.
00:02:56.620 And I want you to hear what he had to say.
00:02:59.020 Also, I'm going to play for you in a moment the back and forth with Marco Rubio and what is changing at the State Department.
00:03:05.440 This in light of the big breaking news from the president about pausing foreign aid for 90 days.
00:03:12.540 Now, after that, I'm also going to have something else for you.
00:03:15.400 There's also a new morning podcast that I'm the host of called the 47 Morning Update.
00:03:20.900 It gives you the biggest news in a short-form podcast, 10 to 12 minutes, of what is going to happen each and every day in Donald Trump's administration from the Oval Office.
00:03:31.460 We'll have that for you as well.
00:03:32.880 But first, take a listen to what Senator Cruz had to say today on Capitol Hill in the questioning of Elise Stefanik.
00:03:40.500 Congratulations on your nomination.
00:03:42.300 You're going to be terrific.
00:03:43.060 I want to go back to a topic you discussed with Senator Cornyn.
00:03:47.520 I want to focus on Iran's push to build a nuclear arsenal, which poses, I think, the most immediate and acute threat to American national security.
00:03:58.840 When the Ayatollah chants, death to America, he means it.
00:04:03.000 And I believe he would absolutely detonate a nuclear weapon over an American city if he could.
00:04:11.160 The Trump administration got Iran's nuclear program in a box and kept it there.
00:04:17.040 President Trump withdrew from the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
00:04:23.060 He imposed maximum pressure in 2019.
00:04:26.280 He invoked the U.N. snapback mechanism in the U.N. Security Council, Resolution 2231, to reimpose international sanctions in 2020.
00:04:37.320 For that entire time, Iran was deterred from making significant advances on their nuclear program.
00:04:44.140 They did not even enrich uranium above 5 percent or cascade advanced centrifuges.
00:04:50.300 Starting in November 2020, the Iranian regime gambled that it could start rushing to a nuclear arsenal, and the incoming Biden administration would let them.
00:05:02.280 Unfortunately, that proved correct.
00:05:06.060 In November, the regime approved a new law calling for major nuclear advances.
00:05:11.400 In January, they started enriching at 20 percent at Fordow.
00:05:16.520 The underground enrichment bunker built into a mountain that the Obama-Iran nuclear deal left open.
00:05:24.680 The incoming Biden administration responded with appeasement.
00:05:30.140 In February, immediately after being inaugurated, they rushed to the U.N. to rescind President Trump's snapback, again allowing international sanctions to expire.
00:05:40.520 For the next four years, the administration continually dismantled pressure on the regime and refused to impose sanctions.
00:05:51.680 We know the result.
00:05:53.940 Today, the Ayatollah has achieved a nuclear breakout time of zero.
00:05:59.200 We now face the very real possibility of an Iranian nuclear arsenal.
00:06:05.540 I do not believe that this is a threat the U.S. can tolerate.
00:06:09.580 And I am confident that both the President and Secretary of State Rubio agree.
00:06:15.140 I asked Secretary of State Rubio whether he intends to go to the United Nations and again trigger the snapback mechanism.
00:06:22.640 As a part of his written testimony to this committee.
00:06:25.160 Here was Secretary Rubio's response, quote,
00:06:29.500 I believe it is in our national security interest for the U.N. Security Council to snap back the sanctions that were suspended under the JCPOA.
00:06:38.960 I will execute the President's guidance and work with our allies to ensure that snapback takes place.
00:06:46.180 First, do you agree with Secretary Rubio's assessment that it is in the national security interest of the United States to snap back those sanctions?
00:06:55.340 Yes.
00:06:57.000 Talk about how you would execute a strategy to do so, either unilaterally or working with allies.
00:07:03.020 We will have to – that will be a strategy that I develop with the National Security Council in tandem with Secretary Rubio and President Trump to work with our allies within the United Nations, within the Security Council.
00:07:15.680 And there are allies that are already considering this and looking at it.
00:07:19.500 And that has been publicly reported.
00:07:20.760 But obviously, pushing back on Iran is a top priority.
00:07:24.900 It was a success during President Trump's first term.
00:07:28.220 And we've seen the catastrophic results and loss of life during the previous four years when you have had an emboldened Iran that has led to directly the October 7th terrorist attack against Israel and Hezbollah firing tens of thousands of rockets against Israeli civilians.
00:07:44.900 Let's move to another topic.
00:07:46.940 You and I talked about the deep rot in the United Nations when it comes to supporting terrorism against America and our allies, especially Israel.
00:07:56.400 As you discussed with Senator McCormick, UNRWA has for decades provided material support for Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.
00:08:04.340 The World Health Organization has also been deeply complicit in the use of hospitals by Hamas for terrorist activities, including for the holding of hostages.
00:08:12.960 The complicity of these organizations deepened after October 7th.
00:08:18.600 The Biden administration embraced UNRWA and the World Health Organization.
00:08:23.460 Congress prohibited the Biden administration from funding UNRWA, but the administration officials circumvented that prohibition by using UNRWA infrastructure.
00:08:32.700 Yesterday, the President rightly and immediately withdrew our participation from them.
00:08:36.520 I think that was a critical first step, but the next step is to enable American citizens to hold these organizations accountable.
00:08:44.200 We currently have a very odd legal environment where these organizations enjoy more sovereign immunity than states and thus are shielded from accountability.
00:08:53.980 Last Congress, I introduced the Liable Act and was joined by four current members of this committee, including, as well as, Secretary of State Rubio.
00:09:03.340 The bill will allow American victims of terrorism and their family to sue international organizations that support terrorism against this.
00:09:10.620 I will soon reintroduce it in this Congress.
00:09:12.720 What is your understanding of the role these organizations have played in facilitating terrorism against Americans, Israelis, and our allies?
00:09:22.160 Well, UNRWA, there were individuals in UNRWA who participated, who executed, and committed terrorist acts against Israel on October 7th.
00:09:32.240 Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, carried an UNRWA passport.
00:09:35.760 You had a Hamas data center under UNRWA headquarters.
00:09:40.540 So the rot is deep.
00:09:42.160 Congress made the right decision.
00:09:43.520 I was proud to be one of the leaders when it came to defunding UNRWA.
00:09:46.920 And I am committed to holding them accountable and working with the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House and the President if that legislation passes.
00:09:55.760 Terrific. Thank you.
00:09:56.860 Now, there's also other big news that we want to talk about, and that deals with the Secretary of State.
00:10:02.320 The Secretary of State now has an even bigger job than any Secretary of State had during the time of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being in office.
00:10:12.420 And what's really cool about what's happening now is Donald Trump is empowering leaders to do their job well.
00:10:19.120 Now, there was some big breaking news, and that is that President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all U.S. foreign assistance programs for 90 days,
00:10:28.060 pending a comprehensive review to ensure their alignment with his administration's policy objectives.
00:10:34.420 Now, this suspension affects a wide range of global initiatives, including humanitarian aid, economic development, and health programs.
00:10:42.300 Notably, the U.S. contributes approximately $70.3 billion annually in foreign aid, supporting various international efforts.
00:10:51.500 So what did the President do?
00:10:52.700 He said it's time for all of this to go back under a review, and is calling out other countries for what he described as not paying their fair share.
00:11:02.080 Who's going to be looking over this?
00:11:04.240 Well, that would be Marco Rubio.
00:11:06.840 He will do a deep dive into where your tax dollars are going, and then come back with recommendations.
00:11:13.440 What's also interesting is how this relates back to Marco Rubio and his conversation with Senator Cruz on January the 17th.
00:11:21.200 Take a listen to what he had to say then.
00:11:23.500 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I've got to say, boy, that sounds good, Mr. Chairman.
00:11:27.560 That isn't as good as it sounds to me.
00:11:29.660 Thank you.
00:11:30.260 Well, congratulations, and I'm looking forward to the next two years working together.
00:11:33.760 Thank you.
00:11:34.500 And to Senator Rubio, let me say congratulations to you as well.
00:11:37.360 We're going to miss you on this committee.
00:11:38.880 We're going to miss you in the Senate, but you're going to do an extraordinary job at Foggy Bottom,
00:11:44.220 and I will say if they capture you and tie you up in the basement, we will send a team to pull you out.
00:11:49.940 You know, as I look back over the last four years of the Biden-Harris administration,
00:11:57.640 there are a lot of policies that have done a lot of damage, domestic policies, economic policies,
00:12:03.240 but I think all of those pale compared to the damage that has been done to national security and foreign policy over the last four years.
00:12:10.700 Over the last four years, this administration has systematically undermined and abandoned our allies,
00:12:18.200 and it has systematically shown weakness and appeasement to our enemies.
00:12:23.540 And the consequence has been disastrous.
00:12:25.640 We've gone from four years ago, peace and prosperity, to today, a situation with wars across the globe
00:12:33.780 and every enemy of America stronger than they were when this administration came into office.
00:12:41.400 I am confident the incoming administration is going to change that direction.
00:12:45.280 I am confident that President Trump and the White House and you as Secretary of State are going to shift us back to where we should be,
00:12:53.540 which is standing by our friends and allies and standing up to our enemies.
00:12:59.060 Do you agree with that assessment?
00:13:00.620 Is that what you intend to do as Secretary of State?
00:13:03.000 Well, let me say first, the foreign policy of the United States will be set by the President,
00:13:06.420 and my job is to advise on it and ultimately to execute.
00:13:08.820 I think the President has been abundantly clear, and that is his policy is going to be driven about making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
00:13:16.080 As I said in my opening statement, everything the State Department does, every policy, every program, every dollar it spends,
00:13:22.980 every initiative it takes has to answer three questions.
00:13:26.100 Does it make us safer? Does it make us stronger? Or does it make us more prosperous?
00:13:30.180 And if it doesn't, if the answer is not yes to one of those three, you're going to have a hard time moving that forward
00:13:35.700 because that's the priority that the President, and that's the priority that, by the way, voters gave this President when they elected him.
00:13:41.500 You point to a number of things that I think are critically important, and I'll phrase it a different way,
00:13:46.580 but I think we're saying the same thing.
00:13:48.160 We have lost deterrence in multiple theaters around the world.
00:13:52.340 So as an example, and I use this as a small-scale example, but it's really an important one.
00:13:56.080 I think the year was 2020, 2019, the Wagner Group tried to get cute and came after some of Americans operating in Syria.
00:14:04.500 And fire from the sky rained down on them, and that group was pushed back pretty hard.
00:14:11.080 That's deterrence. They threatened us, and they knew what the response would be.
00:14:15.180 I recall the consternation here and in other places when Soleimani met his demise.
00:14:22.800 But I can tell you it impacted Iranian behavior for a substantial period of time.
00:14:26.580 No matter how tough they talked, it impacted their behavior.
00:14:29.420 I think it's important to reestablish deterrence.
00:14:32.620 And to the extent that that's been lost for a variety of reasons, the lack of deterrence is an invitation to war.
00:14:39.220 The lack of deterrence is an invitation to hostility.
00:14:41.900 It prevents the very thing that we hope to achieve, which is peace and stability in the world.
00:14:47.260 And I do think we've lost deterrence.
00:14:50.680 And I think in some ways it contributed to what happened in Ukraine.
00:14:54.180 An item I know is very close to you, and you've worked very on, and we talked earlier today about, is energy dependence.
00:14:59.740 I recall President Trump at both a NATO summit and at the United Nations, and I recall the United Nations one in particular,
00:15:06.180 President Trump said Germany is dependent, entirely going to be left dependent on China, on Russia for its energy.
00:15:14.100 And they laughed at him.
00:15:15.520 There were diplomats in the hall that were snickering.
00:15:17.560 That's exactly what happened.
00:15:18.840 It is one of the reasons why Putin believed he could invade Europe is because Europe would not push back because they depended on him so much for energy.
00:15:26.640 Now, Europe is to be congratulated.
00:15:28.040 They have moved very swiftly, particularly the Germans, to diversify their energy resources.
00:15:32.300 But one could argue that we may never have had that invasion had that dependence not existed,
00:15:37.540 because maybe who would have thought the European response would have been more forceful than he anticipated.
00:15:43.860 So I do think reestablishing deterrence and strength is important because it prevents war,
00:15:48.660 and it gives us leverage in diplomacy, which where we hope to solve 99.9% of the global disagreements,
00:15:55.540 we hope to solve through diplomacy, not through armed conflict.
00:15:58.540 I think that's very well said.
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00:16:31.980 Now, as I mentioned earlier, Senator Cruz lost his voice.
00:16:35.720 We expect him hopefully to be back with us on Friday after getting some rest.
00:16:39.540 But let me put something else on your radar screen real quick.
00:16:42.700 Many of you that voted for Donald Trump and support the MAGA agenda have said for a long time that you would love to have something each and every day
00:16:50.720 that gives you kind of a blueprint of what the administration is actually working on.
00:16:55.460 Well, I am hosting a new podcast called the 47 Morning Update.
00:17:00.460 You can grab it wherever you get your podcasts.
00:17:03.300 And I'm going to let you hear exactly what that podcast sounds like.
00:17:07.060 It is a short podcast, 10 to 12 minutes to start your day.
00:17:10.560 Take a listen.
00:17:11.100 $500 billion in AI infrastructure.
00:17:14.980 No, it started.
00:17:15.720 It started.
00:17:16.240 All these teams are out there as of today.
00:17:17.840 You're fired.
00:17:18.940 Get out of here.
00:17:19.740 You're fired.
00:17:21.260 Get out.
00:17:22.620 Get the hell out of here.
00:17:25.500 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:17:29.600 Good morning.
00:17:30.220 It's Ben Ferguson.
00:17:31.180 It's nice to have you with us.
00:17:32.560 Here are the big stories that we're covering today on the 47 Morning Update.
00:17:36.340 First up, it's Black Tuesday when it comes to federal workers.
00:17:41.220 They're getting pink slips from Donald Trump saying,
00:17:43.720 you're fired.
00:17:44.580 So who all lost their jobs and why?
00:17:46.720 I'll have that for you in a moment.
00:17:48.500 Also, Donald Trump moved America forward with a $500 billion AI investment from the private sector
00:17:56.000 that's happening right here in the U.S. of A.
00:17:58.960 And finally, promises made and promises kept on border security.
00:18:03.120 Major moves by President Trump to make sure that we have a secure southern border.
00:18:09.680 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:18:13.040 Story number one.
00:18:14.220 It was Black Tuesday for many in the federal government as the head of the TSA and the Coast
00:18:20.180 Guard were fired on Trump's first full day in office.
00:18:23.940 President Trump moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security, firing the heads
00:18:28.840 of the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard before their terms were
00:18:33.180 even up and eliminated all members of a key aviation security advisory group as well.
00:18:39.900 Now, Trump's immigration policy changes drew the most attention at Homeland Security, but
00:18:45.540 he's also making changes at the rest of the massive agency.
00:18:50.300 Members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee received a memo Tuesday morning saying that the
00:18:55.540 Department is eliminating the membership of all advisory committees as part of a commitment
00:19:01.960 to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security
00:19:06.960 activities prioritize specifically our national security.
00:19:12.420 The Aviation Security Committee, which was mandated by Congress after the 1988 PAMM-103 bombing
00:19:19.800 over Lockenby, Scotland, will technically continue to exist, but it won't have any members to
00:19:25.000 carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports, liberals are claiming
00:19:30.920 at this hour.
00:19:31.900 But the reality is there are plenty of people that are doing that right now.
00:19:36.140 Who's angry about it?
00:19:37.540 Well, major unions.
00:19:39.500 That's right.
00:19:40.520 Because the airlines and major unions were a member of the group associated with all of
00:19:46.360 this government bureaucracy.
00:19:47.640 This is another example of Donald Trump saying, I'm coming in and I'm cleaning house.
00:19:53.900 Now, that isn't all who lost their jobs in our bloated government.
00:19:57.980 You know, Donald Trump became very famous for being the guy that says, you're fired.
00:20:02.580 Well, Donald Trump is telling many Biden appointees, you're out of a job.
00:20:07.400 And now it's a he said, she said, no, no, no, you didn't fire me.
00:20:11.160 I already quit.
00:20:12.640 I wish I was joking, but I'm not.
00:20:14.720 Donald Trump says he plans to remove over 1,000 Biden appointees.
00:20:20.300 And there are many that are very angry about President Donald Trump on Tuesday saying,
00:20:25.180 I have these plans because I'm not keeping any of them.
00:20:28.640 Joe Biden's appointees from their government positions, he said, yeah, you're gone.
00:20:32.920 And he had already fired four individuals immediately, including a celebrity chef,
00:20:38.220 Jose Andres, and a former top general, Mark Milley.
00:20:42.340 You're fired is what Trump wrote in an early morning post on his true social platform that
00:20:47.860 named Milley and Andres, as well as his former Iran envoy, Brian Hook, and the former Atlanta
00:20:54.380 mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who Biden appointed to an export council.
00:21:00.020 Andres and Bottoms said they, quote unquote, had already quit their post before Trump's inauguration.
00:21:05.620 Trump's post said his personal office is, quote, actively in the process of identifying
00:21:10.840 and removing over 1,000 presidential appointees from the Biden administration who are, quote,
00:21:17.960 not aligned with our vision to make America great again.
00:21:22.520 Donald Trump wasn't done there when it came to changing things very quickly.
00:21:27.320 He also decided to move to another issue.
00:21:30.240 Trump ordered all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion employees placed on paid leave
00:21:36.800 starting on Wednesday.
00:21:39.220 Yes, NBC News reporting that the Trump administration also directed government agencies to draw plans
00:21:45.920 for firing workers in DEI roles.
00:21:49.900 The Trump administration is ordering all federal employees the White House announced in these
00:21:55.440 roles on paid leave by Wednesday evening at five o'clock.
00:21:58.920 That according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
00:22:03.520 The memo issued Tuesday to heads of departments and government agencies set that deadline of
00:22:09.260 no later than 5 p.m.
00:22:10.740 Eastern time Wednesday to inform the employees that they will be put on paid administrative leave
00:22:16.040 as the agencies prepare to close all diversity, equity, and inclusion related offices and programs
00:22:24.280 and to also remove all websites and social media accounts for such offices immediately.
00:22:32.280 This is another promise Donald Trump made to the American people,
00:22:36.300 and he's seeing it through clearly starting in his very first week in office.
00:22:41.000 Now story number two.
00:22:42.340 In major breaking news coming from the Oval Office,
00:22:45.280 President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced Stargate Project.
00:22:48.680 Now what is that?
00:22:49.920 It is a new American company which will invest $500 billion over the next four years building
00:22:58.580 a new AI infrastructure specifically in the United States of America.
00:23:04.680 The president also asked Oracle's Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO, and OpenAI Sam Altman to the
00:23:13.620 White House for this major announcement where President Trump explained it this way.
00:23:18.040 It's my honor to welcome three of the world's leading technology CEOs.
00:23:22.180 And in the case of Larry, Larry Ellison, it's well beyond technology.
00:23:27.560 He's sort of CEO of everything.
00:23:30.620 He's an amazing man and an amazing business person.
00:23:35.000 But to announce the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history,
00:23:39.940 and it's all taking place right here in America.
00:23:44.100 As you know, there's great competition for AI and other things, and they're coming in at
00:23:50.940 the highest level.
00:23:51.900 We're joined by Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO, my friend Masa,
00:23:59.140 Masa Yoshisan, and CEO of OpenAI, and I would say by far the leading expert based on everything
00:24:08.340 I read, Sam Altman.
00:24:10.620 So that's great that you're coming in together.
00:24:13.720 That's a massive group of talent and money.
00:24:17.260 Together, these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate.
00:24:23.940 So put that name down in your books, because I think you're going to hear a lot about it
00:24:28.240 in the future, a new American company that will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure
00:24:36.060 in the United States, and very quickly moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000 American
00:24:42.780 jobs almost immediately.
00:24:44.520 This massive project is going to create, as you heard the president just say there, over
00:24:49.400 100,000 high-quality jobs, and it will catapult America in front of China in the AI race.
00:24:58.920 Not only will this create more than 100,000 American jobs and significantly advance AI applications,
00:25:05.820 particularly, and this is the part that many Americans should be the most excited about,
00:25:10.300 in health care, such as early disease detection and personalized treatments.
00:25:15.460 Key figures from the private sector putting this all together, joining President Trump
00:25:21.240 with this announcement at the White House, is proof yet again, as Donald Trump has put
00:25:25.680 it, that if we want to fix the biggest problems in the world, we should be looking to the private
00:25:30.220 sector and not the U.S. government to do it.
00:25:33.180 And lastly, story number three.
00:25:35.200 Promises made, promises kept, when it comes to national security and the southern border.
00:25:40.380 The man who's in charge of securing the southern border, Tom Homan, said today that ice deportation
00:25:47.720 operations have already begun.
00:25:50.760 These teams are out there as of today.
00:25:53.180 We gave them the direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for, that
00:25:58.240 we've been working on the target list.
00:25:59.980 There was some discussion about Chicago because a specific operational plan was released.
00:26:04.960 So we had to look at and reevaluate, does this raise off-the-safety concerns?
00:26:09.700 It does, and it does, but we've addressed that, and teams are out there today.
00:26:14.480 Teams are out there today.
00:26:16.380 So what exactly has happened since Donald Trump was sworn in?
00:26:19.820 I have the list for you now.
00:26:21.720 It is a list that the media is not wanting to talk about because it's actually a very extensive
00:26:27.820 list of promises made and promises kept.
00:26:31.920 So let's go through it so you know exactly where we are in the process of securing the border.
00:26:37.640 On January the 21st, Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at strengthening border security.
00:26:45.780 Number one, a national emergency declaration, declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border,
00:26:53.420 enabling the deployment of federal troops to assist in border enforcement.
00:26:58.380 There was another promise that was made, and that dealt with the Remain in Mexico policy.
00:27:02.860 Well, Donald Trump paid off on that promise, reinstating the policy requiring asylum seekers
00:27:08.700 to wait in Mexico during U.S. immigration proceedings, which will have a massive impact
00:27:14.760 on stopping the flow of illegal immigrants across the border.
00:27:18.980 One of the other major issues Donald Trump talked about back in the campaign in 2016 for
00:27:24.320 president was building a border wall.
00:27:26.220 Well, Donald Trump has ordered the resumption and now the completion of the border wall along
00:27:32.000 the southern border as fast as humanly possible.
00:27:36.060 Also, in another major move, and the media lost their minds over this, Donald Trump decided
00:27:41.480 to terminate birthright citizenship, signing an order to end automatic U.S. citizenship for
00:27:48.360 a child born in the U.S. to an undocumented immigrant.
00:27:52.520 This move is likely going to face major legal challenges due to the 14th Amendment.
00:27:58.460 That doesn't mean that Donald Trump isn't willing to have that conversation.
00:28:03.320 Now, Donald Trump also took a major action which shocked the world, especially those that
00:28:08.580 advocate for illegal immigrants.
00:28:10.340 He decided to suspend the CBP-1 app.
00:28:14.220 Now, disabling this app, which allows migrants to schedule legal entry appointments, resulted in
00:28:21.860 cancellations for thousands and thousands of applicants, sending a very clear message that
00:28:28.080 you can't just come across a wide open southern border and think we are going to let you stay
00:28:33.220 here.
00:28:33.780 The app right now does not work.
00:28:36.580 And also, in what is being described as the biggest and boldest move of all of these actions,
00:28:42.320 is the president's decision to designate cartels as terrorist organizations.
00:28:48.680 Classifying certain drug cartels and gangs, such as MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations,
00:28:54.920 would allow for aggressive actions to be taken against them, including using the U.S. military.
00:29:02.440 You combine all of this together, and this marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy,
00:29:10.940 reflecting a return to an expansion of measures from President Donald Trump's first term.
00:29:16.220 In translation, Donald Trump made a lot of promises, and he is keeping them, especially
00:29:22.700 when it comes to securing the southern border.
00:29:25.140 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:29:29.600 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:29:34.940 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you
00:29:40.320 back here tomorrow.
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