CA Wildfires Fuel Tensions & DHS Blocks Deportations | 1.13.25

Summary

Morning Wire Episode Summary: CA Wildfires Fuel Tensions & DHS Blocks Deportations | 1.13.25

Release Date: January 13, 2025

In this episode of Morning Wire, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and co-host Georgia Howe delve into pressing issues impacting the United States, including the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the Biden administration's immigration policies, the shaping of Trump's incoming administration, and the contentious debate surrounding gender-affirming care for children. The discussion is enriched with expert insights, firsthand accounts, and notable quotes from key contributors.

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1. California Wildfires: Escalating Crisis and Budgetary Blame

Overview: The episode opens with an in-depth analysis of the ongoing wildfires ravaging Los Angeles. Host John Bickley highlights the increasing death toll and extensive property damage, attributing the crisis in part to budget cuts faced by the LA Fire Department.

Key Points:

• Current Status of Fires: Three out of six main fires remain uncontained, having destroyed over 40,000 acres and 12,000 structures. The death toll has risen to 24, with numerous missing persons reported. Meteorologists warn of returning Santa Ana winds, potentially exacerbating the situation [03:51].

• Looting Amidst the Crisis: Kristin Crowley reports a surge in looting activities, including organized gangs masquerading as residents and even individuals dressed as firefighters committing burglaries. Notably, a group stole military-grade equipment from an Army Reserve warehouse [03:01].

• Budget Cuts Controversy: The LA Fire Department experienced a $17 million budget cut the previous year, the second-largest among city departments. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley asserts that these cuts severely limited the department's emergency response capabilities, a claim denied by Mayor Karen Bass [03:51]. A confrontation ensues between Bass and Crowley, ultimately leading President Trump to criticize the administration's handling of the fires [05:10].

Notable Quotes:

• John Bickley [00:03]: "The impact of our budget really did not impact what we've been going through over the last few days."
• Kristin Crowley [04:00]: "The budget cuts had severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies."
• President Trump [05:28]: "The incompetent polls have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone and many more will soon be lost."

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2. Biden Administration Blocks Deportations: Implications for Trump's Policies

Overview: The discussion shifts to immigration, focusing on the Biden administration's recent extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 900,000 immigrants from countries including El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela. This move complicates Trump's agenda for mass deportations as his administration takes office.

Key Points:

• TPS Extension Details: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas extended TPS, allowing recipients to remain and work in the U.S. for up to 18 months. This extension stems from a law signed by former President George H.W. Bush, targeting nationals from countries experiencing war, natural disasters, or other crises [06:23].

• Controversy Over Covered Nationals: Venezuela receives particular scrutiny due to issues with violent gangs, raising concerns about the effectiveness of TPS in preventing the sheltering of criminals [07:09].

• Trump and Attorney General Vance's Stance: Both figures criticize TPS, advocating for its reduction or elimination. They emphasize a commitment to mass deportations, despite limited immediate options to counteract the Biden administration's extensions [07:57].

• Administrative Prospects: Confirmation hearings for Trump's top nominees are projected to proceed smoothly, with sufficient Senate support, despite opposition from legacy media and political adversaries [08:34].

Notable Quotes:

• John Bickley [06:11]: "The Biden administration shielded hundreds of thousands of immigrants from deportation just days before President Biden will leave office."
• Georgia Howe [07:57]: "If you come into this country illegally, you need to go back home. You need to have basic law enforcement."
• Tim Pierce [08:57]: "After some early trouble with Trump's first attorney general pick, his administration appears to be shaping up nicely."

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3. Gender-Affirming Care and Its Societal Impact: A Critical Examination

Overview: A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the controversial topic of gender-affirming care for children. The hosts discuss a new documentary, Identity Crisis, which scrutinizes the effects of gender ideology on American families amidst ongoing Supreme Court deliberations on banning transgender procedures for minors.

Key Points:

• Documentary Insights: Identity Crisis, featuring insights from Dr. James Lindsay, exposes the harsh realities and potential long-term harms of transitioning for minors. The film presents testimonies from detransitioners who express regret and highlight the psychological toll of such procedures [09:23].

• Dramatic Personal Stories: Cabot Phillips shares a poignant account of a 2-year-old boy coerced into clothing against his natural gender identity, leading to severe psychological distress when attempts were made to reverse the transition [09:21]. This underscores the emotional and familial conflicts arising from gender-affirming policies.

• Parental and Societal Backlash: The episode highlights growing resistance from parents, particularly fathers, who find themselves battling against ex-spouses and institutions over their children's gender identity. Cases where parents lose custody for opposing transitions are cited as examples of institutional overreach [11:57].

• Economic and Legislative Drivers: Megan Basham discusses the lucrative nature of the gender reassignment industry, projected to grow from $2.94 billion in 2018 to an expected $7.5 billion by 2030. The intertwining of financial incentives with healthcare policies raises concerns about the motivations behind the rapid expansion of gender-affirming care [13:11].

Notable Quotes:

• John Bickley [09:31]: "When did this become an issue to get engaged about? Is when it stopped being a thing for adults to deal with whatever issues."
• Megan Basham [10:48]: "I was suicidal, by that point, severely suicidal on the day of the surgery."
• John Bickley [13:11]: "Sales of sex reassignment surgeries and the pharmaceutical products in 2018 was $2.94 billion. By 2022, that figure had risen to $4.18 billion."

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4. Conclusion and Forward Look

Morning Wire wraps up the episode by emphasizing the critical nature of the issues discussed. John Bickley assures listeners that the Morning Wire team will continue to provide essential news coverage, promising more in-depth reports on the unfolding political and social landscapes.

Notable Closing Quote:

• John Bickley [14:12]: "Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know."

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This episode of Morning Wire provides a comprehensive and critical examination of some of the most pressing issues facing the United States in early 2025. Through detailed reporting and candid discussions, hosts Bickley and Howe offer listeners valuable insights into the challenges of managing natural disasters, navigating complex immigration policies, shaping a new administration, and addressing the societal implications of gender-affirming care.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

The death toll continues to rise in LA as the fires burn on. While officials blame each other for catastrophic failures, the impact of our budget really did not impact what we've been going through over the last few days. What I can tell you is we.

[Georgia Howe]

Are still understaffed, we're still under resourced.

[John Bickley]

And we're still underfunded.

[Cabot Phillips]

How contained are the fires now and why do some fear they may get worse in the coming days?

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Editor in chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, January 13th and this is Morning Wire. The Biden administration shields hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, making deportation more difficult for Trump.

[Cabot Phillips]

And as the Supreme Court considers the issue of so called gender affirming care, a new documentary from TPUSA and the Daily Wire exposes its harsh reality.

[Kristin Crowley]

This goes deep into the severity and the graphic brutality of what transitioning actually is.

[John Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with MORNING wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

[Georgia Howe]

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[Cabot Phillips]

The death toll and property damage continues to rise in Los Angeles as wildfires rage on nearly a week after they started.

[John Bickley]

Here, the latest on the ongoing disaster is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips, a Cabot so the nightmare continues for the people of Los Angeles. Where do things stand now?

[Kristin Crowley]

Well, three of the six main fires continue to rage. They've now destroyed more than 40,000 acres and 12,000 structures as the death toll continues to rise. At latest count, that number stands at 24. But the LAPD says they've received dozens of missing person reports. So the obvious fear is that the final count will be far higher. At the moment, though, most resources are being devot to actually stopping the fire. So recovery efforts, as you can imagine, are taking a bit more of a backseat. By Sunday, the largest blaze, the Palisades fire, continued to burn. It was just 11% contained in the Eaton fire. The second largest was just 27% contained. Meteorologists warn that strong Santa Ana winds are likely to return Tuesday. They're expecting gusts up to 60 miles per hour, which obviously could exacerbate the problem even further.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, the last thing residents need now. We're also sadly seeing even more reports of widespread looting in this time. Tell us about that.

[Kristin Crowley]

Yeah. The LAPD continues to make dozens of arrests related to looting. A number of residents have posted just shocking videos showing what they say are organized gangs of burglars posing as residents ransacking abandoned homes in a number of luxury neighborhoods. Police even arrested two men who were, get this, dressed as firefighters but burglarizing properties. And in perhaps the most infuriating case, a group of apparent looters broke into an Army Reserve warehouse in Santa Ana, stealing three Humvees, machine gun mounts and other gear like bayonets and binoculars. Meanwhile, investigators continue to probe the location where the fires first broke out, looking for signs of arson.

[John Bickley]

Sounds like total chaos. Now, much has been made about the budget cuts to the LA Fire Department last year. There's been some debate about that. Talk to us about that.

[Kristin Crowley]

So last year, LA Democratic Mayor Karen bass did direct $17 million in cuts for the Fire Department's overall budget. That was the second largest cut for any department in the city, while simultaneously reallocating tens of millions of dollars towards programs for LA's growing homeless population. In response last month, LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley sent a memo to the city warning that those budget cuts were already impacting her department's ability to respond to emergencies and also their preparedness for wildfires. In Crowley's words, the budget cuts had, quote, severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large scale emergencies. For example, she said a $7 million reduction in overtime pay had reduced the amount of hours spent on brush clearance and residential inspections over the last few months. For her part, though, Mayor Bass this weekend strongly denied that the budget cuts had any impact on the fire response.

[John Bickley]

I think if you go back and look at the reductions that were made, there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days.

[Kristin Crowley]

But LA's fire chief herself came out Saturday in an interview with Fox 11 and reiterated that budget cuts did indeed impact her department's preparedness and response to these latest fires.

[Cabot Phillips]

Was the budget cut?

[John Bickley]

Yes, it was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service.

[Cabot Phillips]

Did they fail you?

[John Bickley]

Yes. When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there's going to be water.

[Kristin Crowley]

We don't control the water supply.

[John Bickley]

Our firefighters are there to protect lives and property and to make sure that we're properly trained and equipped.

[Kristin Crowley]

For his part, President Trump issued a statement on Truth Social saying, quote, the fires are still raging in la. The incompetent polls have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. They just can't put out the fires. What is wrong with them? California officials, including Governor Newsom, have invited Trump to visit the city, tour the damage for himself. We'll see if he takes them up on that offer.

[John Bickley]

Right, and let's hope in the meantime, first responders are able to get more of these fires contained. Yeah. Kevin, thanks for reporting.

[Kristin Crowley]

Anytime.

[Cabot Phillips]

The Biden administration on Friday shielded hundreds of thousands of immigrants from deportation just days before President Biden will leave office.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about those protections and what impact they'll have on Trump's agenda. Hey, Tim. So another significant 11th hour move here by the Biden administration. What did they just do?

[Tim Pierce]

Yeah. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas issued a sweeping extension of what's called the temporary Protected Status for immigrants. The extension covered nearly 900,000 people in the US from El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela. This means that from for roughly the first year and a half of Trump's administration, those aliens under the order are free to stay and work in the U.S. biden was able to do this under a law signed by former President George H.W. bush, which gave the president authority to protect certain nationalities from deportation in 6 to 18 month increments. So here, the Biden administration went with the longest possible extension. And these protections can only apply to aliens whose home countries are deemed too dangerous to go back to, whether that's from war, natural disaster, or for some other reason.

[John Bickley]

Now, some of these immigrants are from some pretty controversial groups. Venezuela really stands out because of the problems many states have had with violent gang members in trend. Will this order actually shield gang members?

[Tim Pierce]

It shouldn't. Anyone who doesn't qualify for asylum can't qualify for tps. That includes aliens with a serious criminal background or those deemed to be national security threats. But as we've seen many times, officials often have trouble identifying and catching many of these people. For their part, Trump and Vance have been highly critical of the temporary protected staff and want to drastically reduce it or phase it out. And while there isn't much they can likely do about the extensions, they remain committed to mass deportations. Here's Vance on FOX News Sunday, already pushing back against accusations about separating families.

[Georgia Howe]

If you say, for example, in the United States we have a guy who's convicted of a violent crime and has to go to prison, we want that guy to go to prison. But yes, it does mean that that guy is going to be separated from his family. That is the consequence of committing violence upon your fellow citizens. If you come into this country illegally, you need to go back home. You need to have basic law enforcement. And what the Democrats are going to do is they're going to hide behind this. They're going to say that this is all about compassion for families.

[John Bickley]

Now it looks like Trump and Vance want to hit the ground running next week. How is the administration shaping up in D.C. so far?

[Tim Pierce]

It looks good. Confirmation hearings on some of Trump's top nominees are scheduled to start this week. And Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas appeared on FOX News Sunday MORNING Futures to say it looks like all of Trump's nominees have enough votes in the Senate to be confirmed.

[Kristin Crowley]

I think that they need to go.

[John Bickley]

Through the hearing process.

[Kristin Crowley]

They're gonna get beat up by the.

[John Bickley]

Legacy media and the left as well. But I think the votes are there.

[Tim Pierce]

So after some early trouble with Trump's first attorney general pick, his administration appears to be shaping up nicely.

[John Bickley]

We'll definitely have a more in depth report on those confirmation hearings up tomorrow. Tim, thanks for joining us.

[Tim Pierce]

Good to be on.

[Kristin Crowley]

I think this is the kind of universal answer of when did this become an issue to get engaged about? Is when it stopped being a thing for adults to deal with whatever issues.

[John Bickley]

They have going on.

[Kristin Crowley]

And it started to be a let's teach this to kids. Let's tell kids that it may be that they can be the opposite sex.

[John Bickley]

That was best selling author Dr. James Lindsay in the new documentary Identity Crisis, which scrutinizes how gender ideology has impacted ordinary Americans and their families. The film from TPUSA and the Daily Wire comes on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court case determining whether states may ban transgender procedures on children.

[Cabot Phillips]

Here with more is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So, Megan, we've seen a rapid sea change when it comes to public opinion about transgenderism, particularly as it relates to children. Only a couple of years ago, it was an expanding field within the medical establishment. But since then, 25 states have moved to outlaw these practices and we're actually well behind Europe in that regard. Several countries, including the UK Most recently have banned the use of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria. Why is the sentiment shifting now?

[Megan Basham]

Well, I think it's a combination of factors, but one of the biggest is that enough time has now passed, that a lot of those kids who were given puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, surgeries, all of those things to ostensibly change their gender, well, they've now grown up and they're telling stories of regret, and they're sounding the alarm about the long term and irreversible harms of transgender procedures. Here's one example.

[Cabot Phillips]

The surgeon asked me to go off of the testosterone for the mastectomy. And because I had no one really helping me or overseeing my care in.

[Megan Basham]

Any way, I was naive enough to.

[Cabot Phillips]

Go cold turkey off of a high dose. And I had a mental breakdown from quitting testosterone.

[Megan Basham]

And so I was suicidal, that by.

[Cabot Phillips]

That point, severely suicidal on the day of the surgery. And I told the surgeon, but we proceeded anyway with the double mastectomy, and I had my breasts removed and nipple grafts placed back on. And after the surgery, I didn't really feel any better.

[Megan Basham]

And then beyond the detransitioners, we're also hearing from family members who are speaking out about how this issue has created havoc and pain in their lives. For instance, we're now hearing from parents, particularly men, about how gender ideology has been wielded as a weapon in divorce cases. Essentially what you have is one parent who wants to proceed with the transition for the child and the other parent is against it.

[John Bickley]

I think one of the turning points was when I received a text message when he was 2 years old of my son in a dress. I remember going to my dad and showing him the picture and telling my dad, how could she do this to my son? Why would she do this to my son? And then I text her and I said, please stop. He's a boy, not a girl. Boys don't wear girls clothes. And that was when he was 2.

[Megan Basham]

Now, that was just one case in California where the father tried to stop the ex wife from transitioning the child, and the state responded by removing his custody. In other cases, you have schools and doctors framing both parents who don't agree to facilitate gender transitions for their children as guilty of quote, unquote, abuse.

[Cabot Phillips]

Now, 20 years ago, there was virtually no parents transitioning their kids. How did this happen so fast and what was driving it?

[Megan Basham]

Well, I think that's a complex issue. As you might imagine. It involves a lot of societal pressure from dominant institutions like academia, from the political world, things like that. But it does seem pretty clear that at least part of the answer resides in that old axiom Follow the money.

[John Bickley]

Sales of sex reassignment surgeries and the pharmaceutical products in 2018 was 2.94 billion. By 2022, that that figure had rose to $4.18 billion. And by 2030, our analysis indicates that that would increase to $7.5 billion, which represents an 8 1/2% compound annual growth rate, which is relatively significant within a health care vertical.

[Megan Basham]

So this has become an incredibly lucrative field, as the film does illustrate. And what makes it so lucrative is that these kids will need a lifetime drug therapy. But depending on how SCOTUS rules and how some detransition or lawsuits proceed, those financial incentives might start to disappear. And a decision is expected to come down this spring.

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, that is going to be absolutely a landmark decision. Megan, thanks for reporting.

[Megan Basham]

Anytime.

[John Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.

[Georgia Howe]

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