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- [00:00]
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Tim Pierce
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Georgia Howe
50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for three months, $90 for six month or $180 for a 12 month plan. Taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy see terms. The immigration showdown in Minnesota could be entering a new phase as border czar Tom Homan vows to crack down on organized anti ICE saboteurs while the organization.
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Tom Homan
And the funding of the attacks on ice. I'm not going to answer a lot about that, but they'll be held accountable. Justice is coming.
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Georgia Howe
I'm Georgia Howe. Jon Bickley is off today. It's Friday, January 30th. It's great to be back on video. And this is morningwire. Senate Democrats reach a deal with the White House to keep the government open. But could we still see a shutdown?
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Tom Homan
The Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for ice, will be considered a separate occasion.
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Georgia Howe
And a quarter of minority owned 8A contracted businesses are banned from the federal minority contracting program after failing to prove they did any work. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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Georgia Howe
Border czar Tom Homan is putting anti ICE activists on notice that they will be held accountable for obstructing law enforcement. Meanwhile, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is entering the race for governor. Here with the latest on all the developments in the North Star State is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So, Megan, it seems like the key development was Homan's press conference in Minnesota. Can you walk us through what he said and how it's affecting things in the state?
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Megan Basham
Yeah, Georgia. So this was really the first time that Homan stepped up to the podium since he was first sent to Minnesota to, let's say, clean up a little bit of a mess there. And he really made it clear that his aims here are twofold. So first he said that he wants to be absolutely crystal clear that law and order are going to be restored and he pledged to remain on the ground until, quote, the problem is gone. So presumably referring to illegal immigration in that city, so clearly putting Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on notice there that his insistence that Minneapolis is going to remain a sanctuary city is not going to stand as far as Homan is concerned. And then Homan also made it clear that despite the bad press that has come from the deaths of anti ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Preddy, he's not going to be deterred from investigating those activist networks. Homan also made it clear that while he doesn't feel that the strategy of federal authorities has been perfect, and he does believe that there are improvements needed on the ground, he's putting the blame for the bloodshed at the feet of the agitators.
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Tom Homan
If you want certain laws reformed, then take it up with Congress. I'm just asking to keep it peaceful. You interfere, impede assault and ICE officers, you will be arrested.
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Georgia Howe
So Mayor Jacob Frey has been digging in, it looks like, but it seems like Governor Walls and Attorney General Keith Ellison are actually bending somewhat. Is that accurate?
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Megan Basham
Yeah, I think it is. And that's something else that Homan covered in this press conference. He said that he is reaching out across the aisle. And he said he has already received a loose pledge, at least from AG Ellison to start allowing ICE officers to access those county jails. And Ellison also promised that police will now respond to 911 calls when these agents are assault. So that's a pretty big concession. And then along with that, we're finally Seeing Minneapolis PD starting to arrest some of those agitators out on the streets. So, you know, maybe some attempt here to start to cooperate.
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Georgia Howe
Now, politically, this has some pretty significant ripple effects, particularly walls pulling out of the governor's race. Which brings us to Senator Amy Klobuchar's big announcement yesterday that she is jumping into that race for governor. Why do you think she's announcing now with all of this going on?
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Megan Basham
Yeah, I mean, we know that she's probably been planning this for a while. She did file her papers last week, but didn't announce until this week. And I think probably because she's looking at the chaos that's happening in Minneapolis and in Minnesota at large, and she's seeing a pretty opportune moment here because clearly there are incredibly bad optics coming out of Minneapolis. When we look at this, we see that it is the same city that experienced this exact same kind of chaos back in 2020 during those black Lives Matter riots. And I think this gives Klobuchar a chance to showc herself as a moderate who is going to be interested in restoring order. So this was from her campaign launch video.
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Amy Klobuchar
Just yesterday, I was ranked number one in the Senate for bipartisan bills and number three out of 100 for getting bills passed into law. I'm ready to work with leaders from both parties in our state. I don't like fraud or waste in government. I will make sure the people who steal taxpayer money go to jail and root out the fraud. By changing the way state government works.
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Megan Basham
She cuts a very different figure than Walz. Much more moderate, much more focused on the middle class and those kitchen table issues, much more warm and approachable. And I think that governor's office could potentially put her in an even better position to run for president again in 2028.
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Georgia Howe
Well, and certainly we have seen her name floated around in that capacity. Megan, thanks for reporting.
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Megan Basham
Yes, my pleasure.
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Georgia Howe
The White House and Senate Democrats say they've reached a deal to avert a government shutdown as the Friday deadline inches closer. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here now with more. So, Tim, funding for Homeland Security was at the center of this standoff that lasted for several days. What were the demands from Democrats that made this deal so hard to pass?
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Tim Pierce
Yeah, so most of the focus here is on ice. Democrats are asking for an end to what they call roving patrols of ICE agents. They also want no more masks for agents. They want clear identification in how these officers present themselves to the public when they're conducting these operations. Obviously, we've seen some rising tensions regarding immigration enforcement, particularly in Minneapolis. All of this is now making its way to Washington. Here's what Chuck Schumer had to say.
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Chuck Schumer
Saturday in the streets of Minneapolis was a moral abomination. Federal agents shot and killed Alex Preddy, an American citizen, in broad daylight. And it was the second time that agents killed a US Citizen in two weeks after the tragic killing also of Renee Goode. Enough is enough.
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Georgia Howe
So what kind of a deal were they able to land on?
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Tim Pierce
So the deal would fund most government departments through September 30, while funding the Department of Homeland Security in the short term via a continuing resolution due to run out after two weeks. In that two weeks, lawmakers are expected to negotiate over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump took to Truth Social, saying, I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the government without delay. He went on to say that he hopes both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed bipartisan yes vote, even though the White House and Senate Democrats were able to come to an agreement last night. Another problem has come up. The House is in recess and not scheduled to return until Monday. Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday it will take days to bring his members back into town, though Trump's endorsement could speed things along.
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Georgia Howe
So what happens now? Could we still see a shutdown?
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Tim Pierce
Likely, yes. But the better question is, will anyone feel it? The answer to that is not many. The House will be back in session on Monday to pass the updated spending package and then Trump can sign it into law. Even though the government will partially shut down over the weekend. Most government workers don't work weekends anyway. And while there are more agencies than just ICE under Homeland Security, such as tsa, TSA workers and many others are considered essential and have to report for work even during shutdowns. But now, in past government shutdowns, some have declined to show up for work anyway. They call in sick or give other reasons. But even so, the impact on Americans lives will likely be minimal. Assuming we make it to Monday, the vast majority of the government, something like 96% of it, will be funded through September. If the spending package can make it through the House, there could be some problems there as Speaker Johnson has to wrestle with House conservatives to get it passed. The speaker was optimistic about that happening at the Melania premiere in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night, and maybe that optimism is warranted. And if it is, expect the House Freedom Caucus to come up with its own list of demands. In the two week fight over homeland security funding. Lawmakers will have to negotiate over that final piece of government funding under the continuing resolution. We'll have to see where Congress is after all that funding dries up.
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Georgia Howe
All right, well, we're going to keep tabs on this. Tim, thanks for reporting.
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Tim Pierce
Good to be on.
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Georgia Howe
1,000 companies were banned from the federal minority contracting program on Wednesday when they declined to provide records that would show whether they were actually doing the work or simply keeping a cut while passing the contract to a larger company. Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak testified to the Senate last month about just how common this kind of pass through fraud is in the program known as 8A. The program lets women and minority owned businesses get federal contracts with no competition. Luke, this program now is decades old. You've reported on it on this show. But it sounds like now we're finally seeing some attention paid to this type of fraud.
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Luke Rosiak
Hey, Georgia. Yeah, that's right. And this is a program that certainly conservatives object to because it is dei. But there's also the presumably bipartisan concern that this has really just enabled a lot of fraud by giving out contracts with no competition. And it's driven up costs without even fulfilling the goals that it was intended to achieve. So last month, Kelly Loeffler, who's head of the Small Business Administration, that's the agency that certifies these companies to have this eight designation, she demanded that the firms provide pretty detailed records, all their bank account statements and their Payroll records. And so I can tell you the payroll records alone would have been enough to get a lot of people in trouble because there are companies that are getting millions of dollars in contracts for work that's pretty labor intensive and they only have like one or two people in the, in the company. Now one of the things I thought when this first happened last month is it actually would be a lot of work to go through all these bank statements and figure out who, who is a pass through. But a funny thing happened. You actually don't have to look at the record. All it turns out a lot of these purported fraudsters have seemingly self identified by just refusing to cooperate. So they, they get all this money from the federal government, but they won't tell the government what they actually spent it on. And so these a thousand companies, collectively they amount to a quarter of all eight contractors. And they, they brought in $5 billion in contracts, just the non compliant ones over the last couple of years because.
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Georgia Howe
They didn't turn in that documentation. Does that mean they are not eligible in the future for any more contracts?
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Luke Rosiak
Yeah, exactly. And earlier this month, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon is definitely the biggest spender on these eight contracts. He said that because of eight, a $100 million contracts were going out the door without competition, literally nearly every single day, believe it or not. And he pledged reforms. You can hear him talking about it here.
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Pete Hegseth
In many, many instances, these socially disadvantaged businesses, they don't even do work. They take a 10%, 20%, sometimes 50% fee off the top and then pass the contract off to a giant consulting firm commonly known as Beltway Bandits. For decades, this program 8A has been a breeding ground for fraud. And this administration is finally doing something about it.
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Luke Rosiak
And we at the Daily Wire actually just published a pretty wild story that illustrates this exact situation. Years ago, the military paid a homeless lesbian $19 million to manufacture training uniforms after she established an LLC and got it certified as a woman owned Hispanic disadvantaged business. Her name is Rhonda Valez, a California aspiring musician. And she got the designation because her father was German, Irish and Spanish and she didn't even have any ability to actually produce clothes. I spoke to a factory owner, a white male, who wound up actually doing the work for that contract. He said she told him, quote, I got this government contract. Do you know anybody with a factory who can help me perform it? He said she never owned a machine. And he said this whole 8A thing is a farce. So in this case I actually obtained a contract that's more explicit than you usually see it. It puts the scheme right in black and white.
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Georgia Howe
I mean, just on its face, it seems like this is a pretty reckless way for the military to go about getting clothes, Right?
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Luke Rosiak
Yeah. I mean, to get anything because they don't know. It takes the decision away from the government official and goes through this third party and we don't really know who they are passing it off to. So I asked Rhonda Vales why this program is good for taxpayers, and she sent me 10 emails that railed against evil Jews and said I had demonic male energy. She said male energy is heavy and warlike and long overdue for reduction and complained about evil war profiteers.
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Georgia Howe
Well, Luke, we've been meaning to talk to you about your demonic male energy, so thank you for bringing it up for me.
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Luke Rosiak
I'll try to hold my demonic energy in better next time. Thank you for having me, Georgia.
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Georgia Howe
Thanks for reporting. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're listening to the show now, you can watch for free on Daily Wire. Plus, we'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.