Public Broadcast Clawback & Biden Aides Stonewall | 7.18.25

Summary

Morning Wire Episode Summary: Public Broadcast Clawback & Biden Aides Stonewall | 07.18.25

Release Date: July 18, 2025
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Podcast: Morning Wire by The Daily Wire

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1. Senate Moves to Defund NPR and PBS

The episode opens with a significant development in Washington as the Senate narrowly approves a measure to rescind over $1 billion in taxpayer funding allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS.

Cabot Phillips, Daily Wire’s senior editor, provides an in-depth analysis:

“For decades now, Republicans have promised on the campaign trail to defund NPR and PBS, viewing them as apparatuses of the Democratic Party that shouldn’t receive taxpayer funding. This time, with President Trump emphasizing it as a priority, the Senate voted 51-48 in favor of the measure” (02:19).

Democratic Perspective: Democrats argue that public broadcasting is essential for maintaining a free press and providing vital services, especially in rural areas. Chuck Schumer emphasized:

“When a flood happens, when a tornado touches down, when a hurricane makes landfall, people need immediate up-to-date alerts to stay safe. It’s a matter of life and death” (03:31).

Republican Counterarguments: Republicans contend that the necessity of NPR and PBS in emergency situations is overstated given the multiple available alert systems today. Tim Graham counters:

“All broadcasters are required to broadcast emergency alerts. Today, everybody's going to get emergency alerts on their cell phone. The idea that you need NPR to learn of a flash flood alert is redundant” (04:04).

Furthermore, Republicans highlight the perceived left-leaning bias of NPR and PBS, arguing that public funding should not support partisan media. Tim Graham presented data showing:

“The PBS NewsHour had a ratio of 42 to 1 in using far-right labels compared to far-left ones, indicating a clear bias” (04:44).

Impact on NPR and PBS: With the Senate's approval, the measure now moves to the House, where it is expected to pass. Cabot Phillips notes:

“Even without the rescinded funds, NPR and PBS will survive as taxpayer dollars account for less than half of their overall funding. However, they will need to rely more on private donations” (05:41).

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2. Congressional Investigation into Biden’s Competency: Aides Plead the Fifth

The episode shifts focus to the ongoing congressional investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental fitness for office. Anthony Bernal, a top aide to First Lady Jill Biden, recently testified before the House Oversight Committee but invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times, refusing to answer critical questions.

Bernal’s Testimony: During his testimony, Bernal consistently declined to respond to inquiries about President Biden’s competency:

“I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution” (07:36).

This marks the second instance of a White House official pleading the Fifth in this investigation, following Dr. Kevin O'Connor's similar refusal last week.

Georgia Howe elaborates on the implications:

“If Bernal refused to answer questions about Biden's mental decline, it raises significant concerns and skepticism about the President’s fitness” (10:28).

Influence of Anthony Bernal: Bernal has been a central figure in the Biden administration, serving as the chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden. Alex Thompson of Axios and Jake Tapper of CNN describe Bernal as:

“A keeper of the flame, Biden's eyes and ears, a protector of myth” (09:04).

His influence extends to critical decision-making processes, making his refusal to testify particularly impactful.

Potential for Compelling Testimony: The Oversight Committee has the option to compel Bernal and Dr. O'Connor to testify by offering immunity from prosecution, which would prevent them from invoking the Fifth Amendment.

Committee Leadership’s Stance: James Comer, Oversight Committee Chairman, expressed determination to uncover the truth:

“If he said under oath that Joe Biden was not in mental decline, then there's a very good likelihood that he's lying” (10:28).

There is also consideration to subpoena Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which could significantly escalate the investigation.

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3. Federal Reserve’s Interest Rate Decision Amid Trump-Powell Tensions

The final segment delves into the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate vote, set against a backdrop of tension between President Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Interview with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee:

Economic Overview: Goolsbee discusses the latest economic indicators, noting that inflation remains relatively steady with minor fluctuations:

“Inflation is a bit of a mixed bag. While we’ve had mild readings recently, tariffs might slightly increase prices on physical goods” (11:35).

He remains optimistic about the economic trajectory, highlighting strong employment figures and steady growth despite some warning signs.

Trump-Powell Feud: The contentious relationship between President Trump and Jerome Powell centers on the President’s calls for interest rate cuts. Goolsbee emphasizes the importance of Federal Reserve independence:

“The reason all rich countries have an independent central bank is to avoid higher inflation and unemployment. Questioning the Fed’s independence can lead to negative economic outcomes” (12:37).

Interest Rate Outlook: When asked about potential rate cuts, Goolsbee cautiously anticipates:

“Before April 2, my view was that we are close to stable full employment and 2% inflation. Rates could go down more over the next year, despite some policy challenges” (14:35).

Georgia Howe’s Perspective: She underscores the necessity of the Fed adhering to its dual mandate of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment:

“Decisions about interest rates should be rooted in economic conditions, not political pressure” (13:35).

Fed’s Communication Policy: Goolsbee mentions that the Fed will release minutes and transcripts post-meeting, which will provide transparency into their decision-making process.

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Conclusion

In this episode of Morning Wire, John Bickley and Georgia Howe cover pivotal issues shaping the national landscape:

1. The Senate's decisive move to defund NPR and PBS reflects long-standing Republican efforts to curb what they perceive as partisan media influence. The outcome could significantly alter the funding and operation of these public broadcasters.

2. The ongoing congressional investigation into President Biden’s mental fitness continues to gain momentum as top aides like Anthony Bernal invoke the Fifth Amendment, raising questions about transparency and accountability within the administration.

3. Economic policies and Federal Reserve decisions remain in the spotlight amid political pressures, particularly the strained relationship between President Trump and Jerome Powell. The insights from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee provide a nuanced view of potential interest rate adjustments and the importance of maintaining central bank independence.

This comprehensive coverage ensures listeners are well-informed about the latest developments in politics, governance, and economic policy.

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Notable Quotes:

• "All broadcasters are required to broadcast emergency alerts. Today, everybody's going to get emergency alerts on their cell phone." — Tim Graham (04:04)

• "If you plead the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination, and you say a president is fit when evidence suggests otherwise, it raises serious doubts." — Georgia Howe (10:28)

• "The Fed's independence is crucial to prevent higher inflation and unemployment." — Georgia Howe (12:37)

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This summary captures the essential discussions and insights from the July 18, 2025 episode of Morning Wire, providing a comprehensive overview for those who have not listened to the episode.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

The Senate pulls the plug on NPR and PBS in a late night funding fight.

[Tim Graham]

If you want to watch left wing propaganda, turn on msnbc, but the taxpayers.

[Georgia Howe]

Should not be forced to subsidize it.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, July 18th, and this is Morning Wire.

[Tim Pierce]

Another top Biden aide pleads the fifth in a congressional hearing about the former president's competency. Will Jill Biden and Kamala Harris be subpoenaed?

[Georgia Howe]

Look, this isn't getting any better for the Bidens. This isn't going to go away for the Bidens.

[John Bickley]

And we talked to the president of the Chicago Fed about the upcoming interest rate vote and the feud between Trump and Powell.

[Tim Pierce]

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

[Brandon]

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[Tim Pierce]

On Wednesday, the Senate narrowly passed a measure that would strip NPR and PBS of a billion plus dollars in taxpayer funding.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips is here to break down the debate for us and what it means for the network. Say, Cabot. So, a significant moment in Washington yesterday, years in the making. Get us up to speed.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. For decades now, Republicans have promised on the campaign trail to defund NPR and pbs, which they feel are essentially an apparatus of the Democratic Party and thus should not receive taxpayer funding. But in the past, whenever a vote has come up. Democrats vote against it, Republicans end up fracturing, and not enough votes are there to actually do it. But this time around, President Trump made clear to Congress that this was a priority of his, and they followed through. Back in June, the White House formally requested that Congress rescind $1.1 billion in funding that had already been allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They fund PBS and npr. And early Thursday morning, after hours of debate over whether Trump should even have the authority to tell Congress how to spend money, The Senate voted 5148 to approve the measure. It'll now head to the House for a final vote, where it is expected to pass.

[John Bickley]

All right, so it's now in the hands of the House. So walk us through this debate. What have both sides said?

[Cabot Phillips]

So Democrats say that PBS and NPR represent America's commitment to a free press and provide essential services for all people, particularly those in rural communities. They also argue that public broadcasting plays a significant role in emergency preparedness and community safety. Here's Democrat leader Chuck Schumer making that case from the Senate floor.

[Brandon]

When a flood happens, when a tornado touches down, when a hurricane makes landfall, people need immediate up to date alerts to stay safe. And sometimes, all too often, public broadcasting is the only way for people to hear what's going on. It's a matter of, of life and death.

[Cabot Phillips]

And for their part, Republicans say that that's a ridiculous argument given how many different ways people can now receive warnings about natural disasters and other emergencies. For more on that, I spoke with one of the biggest supporters of cutting funding, Tim Graham, host of NewsBusters at the Conservative Media Research Center.

[Tim Graham]

All broadcasters are required to broadcast emergency alerts. And today everybody's going to get emergency alerts on their cell phone. So the idea that you need NPR to learn of a flash flood alert, I mean, first of all, you have to assume that there's a huge number of people listening to NPR at 10pm at night.

[Cabot Phillips]

But look more broadly. For Republicans, this issue comes down to political bias. It's not exactly a secret for anyone who has listened to NPR or watched PBS's political programming that they lean left. That's putting it lightly. Folks on the right say if these networks want public funding, they can't be advocating for one specific party. Here's Graham speaking to that bias.

[Tim Graham]

Recently we counted labels how many times they use far right and far left or variants of that like extreme right, ultra conservative. And the PBS NewsHour really stood out because they had a ratio of 42 to 1. They used far right labels 42 times as often as the used far left. And the interesting thing here was that Donald Trump got elected with a Republican Congress. They could see the writing on the wall. And PBS and NPR made no attempt to move to the center to try to be fairer, to try to be more balanced. If anything, they have doubled down in 2025. They were basically suggesting they didn't care what the Republican opinion was on their product.

[John Bickley]

42 to 1.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, it's staggering.

[John Bickley]

The numbers never lie, I guess. So what does this all mean for these outlets going forward?

[Cabot Phillips]

So there is a chance they could again apply for more funding in the fall and recoup at least some of that money. But even without it, NPR and PBS will still survive. Taxpayer dollars currently account for less than half of their overall funding, but they'll certainly have to get leaner and rely on more private donations. Some Republicans say the move could actually result in their funding increasing because listeners and left wing organizations will feel incentivized to support them with their own dollars. Which folks on the right is a lot more palatable than taxpayer dollars, just.

[John Bickley]

So long as taxpayers aren't foot for them. Kevin, thanks so much for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

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[John Bickley]

Former first lady Jill Biden's top aide testified to Congress on Wednesday. Anthony Bernal, who has been close to the Biden family since 2008, pleaded the fifth seven times in response to investigators questions.

[Tim Pierce]

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the congressional investigation into former President Biden's fitness for office. So Tim, what happened on Wednesday?

[Austan Goolsbee]

Well, a lot of refusing to answer. Bernal refused to answer a slate of questions around former President Biden's health, instead pleading the Fifth. In legal jargon, pleading the Fifth protects a person from self incrimination. Bernal was a top trusted aide in the Biden White House. Jill often referred to him as her work husband. Here he is sitting for questions in front of the House Oversight Committee.

[Georgia Howe]

Mr. Bernal, was President Joe Biden fit to exercise the duties of the President?

[Austan Goolsbee]

On the advice of counsel? I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.

[Georgia Howe]

Let the record reflect that Mr. Bernal has invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. Mr. Bernal, please be very clear. Are you declining to answer the question put to you solely on the ground that you believe the answer will incriminate you?

[Austan Goolsbee]

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.

[Georgia Howe]

Mr. Bernal, did any unelected official or family member of President Joe Biden execute the duties of the presidency on the advice of counsel?

[John Bickley]

I respectfully declined to answer the question.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution. And it went on like that for a bit. That's the second time a White House official has pleaded the Fifth in this investigation. Listeners will remember last week when Biden's White House Dr. Kevin O' Connor refused to answer questions on his Fifth Amendment rights and doctor patient privilege. There's a trend developing where top Biden aides refused to answer questions on Biden's mental decline and that's caused more than a bit of skepticism on the right. For his part, Bernal's attorney has said that his use of the Fifth Amendment should not be taken to be an admission of guilt. Worth noting that the story on Biden's health was covered on the right for years, but Democrats and the legacy media mostly ignored it until Biden's disastrous debate with President Trump blew up any pretense that Biden was mentally fit.

[Tim Pierce]

So who is Anthony Bernal and how much influence did he have in the administration?

[Austan Goolsbee]

A lot. During Biden's presidency, he served the first lady as chief of staff. Here's Axios's Alex Thompson, who co wrote a book on President Biden with CNN's Jake Tapper talking about Bernal's influence on the Megyn Kelly show in May. Then there's this other sort of group that aren't the politburo but are just as powerful. And they were the ones that kept the schedule, affected personnel and really built the bubble. And that would be Annie Tomasini, who was deputy chief of staff and previously Oval Office operations. And then Anthony Bernal, who was the top aidenforcer for First Lady Jill Biden and had incredible influence to the point that even people in the Biden White House would refer to her as one of the most powerful first ladies in history. In their book Original Sin, Thompson and Tapper described Bernal as a keeper of the flame, Biden's eyes and ears, a protector of myth. They went on to write, quote, as we researched this book, it was difficult to find many Bernald offenders. He freely trash talked senior, mid level and junior aides. Some described him as the worst person they had ever met.

[Tim Pierce]

Now, is there any way he can be compelled to speak?

[Austan Goolsbee]

Yeah, the Oversight Committee has an option here. They could compel testimony from Bernal and o' Connor by giving them immunity from prosecution. That would negate their need to invoke the Fifth. And Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer thinks there's more here. Here's his reaction to Bernal's testimony on Fox News.

[Georgia Howe]

You plead the Fifth to avoid self incrimination. If he said under oath that Joe Biden was not in mental decline, then there's a very good likelihood that he's lying. And he knows he's lying. And that can be proven in a court of law that he's lying. That's why they're pleading the Fifth and.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Potentially bearing the lead here. Comer also says he wants Jill Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris to potentially testify in front of the committee.

[Tim Pierce]

Well, that would be a blockbuster. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Thanks for having me.

[Tim Pierce]

As President Trump ramps up pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed is preparing for their big meeting at the end of the month to decide whether to cut the interest rate as the president is demanding.

[John Bickley]

Joining us just before the Fed's communications blackout period is a man who will be in that meeting and has a crucial vote, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee. First, thank you so much for coming on.

[Georgia Howe]

You bet.

[John Bickley]

Now we've just gotten the latest economic numbers that are looking pretty good. Things are holding steady in terms of inflation up just maybe a tick. From your perspective, what are some of the key takeaways from the latest economic reports?

[Georgia Howe]

I thought with the inflation is a little bit of a mixed bag. I've been heartened by the last two to three months. We got really mild readings and I was hoping that maybe this is all there was going to be coming from tariffs on the services and on the housing inflation. It's still looking pretty good. But on actual physical goods in this report, you started to see, oh, maybe tariffs are going to increase the prices a bit. So we're just a little wary. I'm still hopeful that, that we're in a pretty solid place on the economy. We've been growing. We've got close to full employment. But there were a couple warning signs.

[John Bickley]

Now we've had a very public feud between President Trump and Jerome Powell, the Fed chair. I'm interested in your perspective on what's taking place there. I Don't know how much you can actually weigh in on this. Is this helpful, harmful, or do you guys just sort of tune this out in terms of your roles?

[Georgia Howe]

I'm not allowed. The rules of the, of the Fed say that the members of the FOMC can only speak for themselves. I don't know what's going through anybody else's head or, or, or what the Fed thinks. It pains me seeing arguments about Fed and central bank independence. The reason that all the rich countries of the world have an independent central bank that's independent of political interference is precisely because if you look at places where they don't have central bank independence, inflation is higher, unemployment is higher, growth is worse. And we, we do, we would not want to get in that circumstance. I, I don't know that that's what this is, but it, it, it makes me uneasy if we're going to get into an environment where people are literally questioning whether the, the Fed should be independent or should have to do what the, what the administration is telling them when, when setting the interest rate.

[John Bickley]

What about the criticism coming the other direction from Trump? Can you say with confidence and you're not thinking in terms of political calculations?

[Georgia Howe]

Yes. All I will tell you is we release minutes and then eventually we will release word for word transcripts of, you can see for yourself what is on people's mind and what they're thinking about. And I think that it's imperative that when we make decisions about interest rates, it should be rooted in that dual mandate, stabilizing prices and maximizing employment. That's the critical element. It should be economic conditions that, that drive the decisions and everybody should hold the Fed to that. And, and I think if you look at the minutes and transcripts, you can see that is what's, what's on their mind.

[John Bickley]

Before we go to put you on the spot here a little bit, do you expect to cut interest rates in the near future? Do you see that coming?

[Georgia Howe]

You know me, I don't like tying our hands before the meetings when we're still going to get a bunch of data. But I will say that before April 2, my view was we got pretty close to stable full employment. We got inflation trending down to 2%. And in an environment like that, I think rates can go down a fair bit more than from where they are today. And we got a little bit of kick up the dirt in the air aspect from extended policy changes that might kick us off of the, of the path back to 2% inflation. But overall, I still think that what's under there could lead to rates to be fair, bit lower, you know, over, over the next year kind of time frame.

[John Bickley]

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, especially before this blackout. We just got you in. We appreciate your perspective.

[Georgia Howe]

Yeah. Hey, it's a pleasure and anytime. I love talking to you.

[John Bickley]

That was Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee.

[Tim Pierce]

Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe. We'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.