RFK Jr & Gabbard Advance & Netanyahu Visit | 2.5.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary Episode: RFK Jr & Gabbard Advance & Netanyahu Visit | 2.5.25 Release Date: February 5, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Morning Wire, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and co-host Georgia Howe delve into significant political developments, including the advancement of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in their Senate confirmation processes, President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the administration's latest executive orders targeting education and women's sports. The discussion also covers Trump's bold proposals for the Middle East and the administration's approach to immigration enforcement.

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1. Cabinet Confirmations: Gabbard and RFK Jr. Make Progress

Timestamp: 02:02 - 04:30

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips provides an in-depth analysis of President Trump's Cabinet confirmation hearings. Both Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have successfully navigated significant hurdles, moving closer to their Senate confirmations.

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Kennedy secured approval from the Senate Finance Committee with a 14-13 party-line vote. Despite initial concerns over his vaccine skepticism, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was persuaded by the administration's commitments. Phillips states, “Kennedy will now head to the Senate floor for a full vote, where he can afford to lose just three Republicans.”

• Tulsi Gabbard: Gabbard overcame fierce scrutiny from Senators Susan Collins, James Lankford, and Todd Young during her confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence. Legislator assurances, such as targeting whistleblowers and refraining from lobbying for Edward Snowden's pardon, were pivotal. Phillips remarks, “The looming confirmations... are further proof of just how united the GOP is right now behind Donald Trump.”

The successful confirmations underscore the Republican Party's cohesion and President Trump's effective leadership in securing key Cabinet positions.

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2. Executive Order on Education: Dismantling the Department of Education

Timestamp: 04:30 - 05:25

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump is preparing an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE). This move aims to eliminate DOE programs not explicitly outlined in law and proposes transferring education funding directly to the states.

• Trump's Vision: “We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world and we're ranked at the bottom of the list. We're ranked very badly. And what I want to do is let the states run schools.” (05:15)

Phillips notes that abolishing the DOE entirely would require congressional approval with 60 Senate votes, indicating a challenging path ahead despite Trump's determination.

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3. Deportation Flights to Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador

Timestamp: 05:33 - 06:14

The Trump administration has initiated deportation flights carrying illegal immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, designated for those deemed the "worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people." Additionally, El Salvador has offered to accept certain deportees, including American citizens, for a "small fee."

• Secretary Rubio's Statement: “No country has ever made an offer of friendship such as this.” (06:08)

This strategy reflects the administration's stringent immigration policies and efforts to address illegal immigration through unconventional means.

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4. Trump and Netanyahu's Strategic Meeting

Timestamp: 07:18 - 10:30

In a high-profile meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the volatile situation in Gaza. Key points include:

• Gaza Ceasefire: Only 13 of 33 hostages have been released under the first phase, with 59 still held, including seven Americans. Trump expressed optimism despite initial reservations.

• Radical Proposal: Trump announced plans to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, including taking over the Gaza Strip. “We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs...” (08:44)

Netanyahu extended his U.S. visit to accommodate further discussions, potentially meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance and congressional allies to solidify support for Trump's Middle East initiatives.

Phillips emphasizes that the united front between Trump and Netanyahu signals strong GOP support and strategic alignment on Middle Eastern policies.

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5. Executive Order on Women's Sports: Banning Transgender Athletes

Timestamp: 10:43 - 14:08

President Trump is set to sign an executive order banning males who identify as transgender from participating in girls' and women's sports at schools and colleges. This move aligns with Trump's broader agenda on gender policies.

• Details of the Order: The ban targets transgender males in female sports categories, enforcing compliance through the Department of Education based on Title IX regulations. Non-compliant schools may face investigations.

• Advocacy and Testimony: Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer, passionately testified against transgender inclusion in female sports. “We were not asked for our consent to this exposure and to be exploited,” she stated. (12:44)

• Additional Actions: Trump has previously signed orders defining only two genders, banning taxpayer-funded gender transitions for minors, and halting federal funding for K-12 schools promoting gender ideology.

• Legislative Support: Republicans are pushing for the Protection of Women and Girls Act, with Senator Tommy Tuberville advocating for its passage in the Senate. (13:30)

Georgia Howe highlights ongoing legislative efforts to solidify these executive actions into law, reflecting robust Republican commitment to Trump's gender policy initiatives.

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6. Protests and Public Reaction

Timestamp: 09:16 - 10:01

Anti-Israel groups, including Americans for Justice in Palest and the Council on American Islamic Relations, organized protests in Washington, D.C., opposing Trump's support for Netanyahu and his Middle East policies.

• National Security Adviser Mike Waltz defended Trump's approach, emphasizing humanitarian concerns: “...how do you rebuild Gaza?” (09:42)

Despite the protests, the administration maintains that Trump's strategies are grounded in realistic solutions for rebuilding and securing Gaza.

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Conclusion

This episode of Morning Wire presents a comprehensive overview of President Trump's ongoing efforts to reshape the political landscape through strategic Cabinet appointments, bold foreign policy initiatives, and definitive actions on education and gender policies. The unified Republican support and legislative backing underscore the administration's momentum, while public protests reflect the contentious nature of these changes. As the episode unfolds, listeners gain insight into the intricate balance between policy execution and political maneuvering within the current U.S. political climate.

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For more detailed discussions and updates, tune in to future episodes of Morning Wire.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

Mr. Cassidy.

[Georgia Howe]

Aye.

[Cabot Phillips]

Mr. Lankford. Mr. Lankford.

[Brandon]

Aye.

[John Bickley]

Mr. Daines.

[Cabot Phillips]

Mr. Daines.

[John Bickley]

Aye. Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. Clear a critical hurdle on their paths to Senate confirmation.

[Cabot Phillips]

I believe she's committed to strengthening our national security.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Editor in Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 5th, and this is Morning Wire. Trump welcomes Israel's leader to the White House and proposes a major shakeup in the Middle East.

[Donald Trump]

The US Will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

And is the contentious chapter of Men in women's Sports coming to a close?

[Donald Trump]

We should not allow men to play in women's sports.

[John Bickley]

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

[Cabot Phillips]

Know.

[Brandon]

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[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

On Tuesday, three of President Trump's most controversial cabinet picks inched closer to confirmation. Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed his choice for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, last night, 54 to 46.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has been on top of all the latest developments and joins us now. Hey, Cabot. So let's start with these all important Cabinet confirmation hearings. What's the latest from the Hill?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, back in November, when Trump announced his Cabinet appointments, a few names jumped out as facing the toughest roads to confirmation, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. But on Tuesday, both appointees cleared a major hurdle and now appear well on their way to confirmation. First, Kennedy won approval from the Senate Finance committee by a 1413 party line vote. The White House had been concerned that his nomination would be killed by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who really grilled Kennedy last week on his vaccine skepticism, specifically his past claims that vaccines were related to increased rates of autism in children. But ultimately, Cassidy came around saying on X quote, with the serious commitments I've received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issue we agree on, like healthy foods and a pro American agenda. I will vote yes. Cassidy added that the, quote, honest counsel of JD Vance helped win him over. Kennedy will now head to the Senate floor for a full vote, where he can afford to lose just three Republicans. But so far, none have said they'll oppose him. So it appears RFK will be the next Health Secretary.

[John Bickley]

Then there's Tulsi Gabbard, who also had a strong day yesterday. How did that play out?

[Cabot Phillips]

Right, so like Kennedy, Gabbard could only afford to lose one Republican vote to pass the Senate Intelligence Committee, which seemed like a tall order. Three Republicans on that committee, including Susan Collins, James Lankford, and Todd Young, had all grilled her during her confirmation hearing and expressed major reservations about her appointment to Director of National Intelligence. But all three fell in line Tuesday, allowing her to pass the committee by another 98 party line vote. For his part, Senator Young released a list of assurances that Gabbard had given him, which he said helped to win him over, including her promise to go after whistleblowers in the intel community who illegally disclosed confidential information, along with commitments to refrain from lobbying President Trump for the pardon of NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

[John Bickley]

Right. Lots of viral clips of her being pressed on Snowden in the hearing. So at this point, we can say that it appears Trump will get two more nominees in his Cabinet. Yeah.

[Cabot Phillips]

The looming confirmations of Gabbard and Kennedy and the relatively easy confirmation late yesterday of Pam Bondi for Attorney General are further proof of just how united the GOP is right now behind Donald Trump. Over the last 30 years, the average president had three cabinet appointments failed to win confirmation. His original pick for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz. Here's how CNN described Trump's Cabinet confirmation. So far, Trump's picks have been doing better than the average in terms of getting through the United States Senate. Simply put, in a word, he's winning.

[John Bickley]

So, big news for Trump on Capitol Hill. And we also had some major developments from the White House regarding an executive order on education. Correct?

[Cabot Phillips]

Right. A lot to keep up with from the White House. So the Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Trump is preparing an executive order that would dismantle the Department of Education, slashing any programs or functions within the department that are not explicitly laid out in the law. The order will also go a step further and reportedly include calls for legislation to abolish the DOE entirely, with education funding going directly to states. Since the department's creation under Jimmy Carter, Republicans have been calling for its abolishment, saying it's unnecessary and makes the education system less efficient and more expensive. But we haven't seen action like this.

[John Bickley]

Yeah.

[Cabot Phillips]

Here is Trump speaking on the matter yesterday.

[Donald Trump]

We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world and we're ranked at the bottom of the list. We're ranked very badly. And what I want to do is let the states run schools.

[Cabot Phillips]

Ultimately, though, abolition of the DOE must go through Congress where 60 votes would be needed in the Senate. So it will be very much an uphill battle.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, steep one for sure. And one final story before you go, this one regarding deportation flights. What are we seeing on that front?

[Cabot Phillips]

So on Tuesday, the Trump administration began sending flights full of illegal immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. The White House says the base will be used for, quote, the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Other criminal legals could also end up in El Salvador. During a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukali announced that his country would be willing to accept criminal aliens and even US Citizens for a, quote, small fee. It's unclear if Trump will take him up on that offer, but Secretary Rubio said, quote, no country has ever made an offer of friendship such as this.

[John Bickley]

It's a unique one. Trump's team really hammering out very significant deals right and left here. Kevin, thanks for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Anytime.

[Brandon]

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[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump yesterday where the US Proposed some radical changes for Gaza.

[John Bickley]

Here were the rundown of the meeting is Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice. Tim, so a very significant meeting here. Lots of attention for for good reason. First, what did the two leaders talk about?

[Tim Rice]

Yeah, good morning, John. Well, Trump and Netanyahu hit all the notes we expected them to. Unsurprisingly, they discussed the situation in Gaza, particularly the second stage of the ongoing ceasefire agreement. So far, 13 of the 33 hostages slated to be released under the first phase of the deal have been freed. There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, including seven Americans. Trump had previously expressed some concern about the deal, saying he had no assurances that it'll hold. But yesterday he took a more optimistic tone, praising Netanyahu and expressing confidence that the situation in Gaza will be resolved. But Trump's most talked about remarks will likely be his comments on resettling the Palestinians currently living in Gaza.

[Donald Trump]

I would like to see Jordan, I'd like to see Egypt take some look. The Gaza thing has not worked. It's never worked. And I feel very differently about Gaza than a lot of people. I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we get some people to put up the money to build it and make it nice and make it habitable and enjoyable, make it a whole. Don't want to leave, though.

[John Bickley]

Palestinians say they don't want to leave.

[Donald Trump]

I don't know how they could want to stay. It's a demolition site.

[Tim Rice]

Trump went even further during the joint press conference the leaders held after their meeting, saying that he wanted to resettle all Gazans and have the United States take over the Gaza Strip.

[Donald Trump]

We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

[John Bickley]

Unsurprisingly, that statement generated a lot of buzz, and we'll be following up on Trump's proposals for sure. Now, we also had some protests, as expected, in D.C. what did we see on that front?

[Tim Rice]

Yeah, things were a little less warm outside the Oval Office, where anti Israel groups like Americans for Justice in Palest and the Council on American Islamic Relations organized a protest ahead of the meeting. They claimed in a statement that Trump risks undermining prospects for peace by supporting Netanyahu's actions in Gaza. But National Security Adviser Mike Waltz pushed back on that idea. Here he is outside the White House yesterday.

[Cabot Phillips]

I think President Trump is looking at.

[Tim Rice]

This from a humanitarian standpoint.

[Cabot Phillips]

You have these people that are sitting with literally thousands of unexploded ordinance and piles of rubble. At some point, we have to look realistically, how do you rebuild Gaza?

[Tim Rice]

What's the timeline?

[Cabot Phillips]

We're talking 10, 15 years now.

[John Bickley]

We got word yesterday that Netanyahu has extended his US Visit through Saturday. What else is he going to do? While he's here?

[Tim Rice]

Well, it's not entirely clear yet, though. We're hearing that he extended the visit simply to accommodate all the requests for meetings from Trump administration officials. It's very likely that he'll meet with Vice President J.D. vance as early as today, and I wouldn't be surprised if he met with some of his allies in Congress again. There's plenty for Netanyahu to talk about, from Hamas and Gaza to Syria and Iran and more.

[John Bickley]

Indeed. And meanwhile, strong signals of solidarity yesterday between Trump and Netanyahu will be tracking the rest of his visit as it goes on. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Tim Rice]

Anytime.

[John Bickley]

The Daily Wire has learned that President Trump will sign an executive order later today that's expected to focus on keeping males out of female sports.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Here to lay out the details of the measure is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presto Giacomo. So, Amanda, this was a huge campaign promise for Trump. What do we know at this point about this specific order?

[Georgia Howe]

Yeah, it was. The order will reportedly ban males who identify as transgender from participating in girls and women's sports at schools and colleges. Sources believe that Trump could direct his education department to enforce those standards based on Title IX rules. And if schools don't comply, they could be investigated. Trump is expected to sign the order at 3pm Eastern time today, which happens to be the 39th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. He'll be surrounded by advocates who've been fighting for female sports and female spaces. Riley Gaines has confirmed to us that she'll be in attendance as well. The Daily Wire reported this week that Gaines is slated to speak at a members lunch for the Republican Study Committee on Wednesday, just hours before Trump is scheduled to sign that order on women's sports. For those who aren't aware, Gaines swam for the University of Kentucky and during the 2022 NCAA Women's Championships, she and other girls were forced to compete against a male swimmer named Leah Thomas. Thomas previously competed as a D1 male swimmer before requesting to switch to the female league. Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth place, but the trophy was given only to Thomas at the awards ceremony. Gaines has since dedicated herself to advocating for female sports and athletes, and she even testified before Congress. Here's some audio of that. It was clear to me, my teammates and my competitors that they had reduced everything we had worked our entire lives for down to a photo op to validate the feelings and the identity of a male. We also had to share a locker room and change in front of this six foot four, fully intact naked male. We were not forewarned of this arrangement. We were not asked for our consent and we did not give our consent to this exposure and to be exploited.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Still shocking to hear that testimony. Now, this was a major issue for Trump on the campaign trail and he's addressed it in a few ways since taking office. Can you remind us of what he's done so far?

[Georgia Howe]

Yeah, Trump really hit the ground running here on day one. He signed an executive order stipulating that it's the official policy of the United States government that there were only two genders. Additionally, Trump signed an order banning taxpayer funded gender transitions for minors which has already stopped some hospitals from performing those often irreversible procedures. And just last week he said signed an executive order which seeks to stop federal funding for K through 12 schools that teach radical ideologies, including gender ideology.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Now, these have been executive actions, but are Republicans in Congress also willing to back them up with legislation?

[Georgia Howe]

Yeah, that appears to be the plan. The House passed the Protection of Women and Girls act last month, but the Senate, which is also narrowly controlled by the gop, has yet to vote on the bill. Here's Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville on the Megyn Kelly show urging Republican senior to get that bill passed or at least get lawmakers on the record.

[Brandon]

Now it's time to put up or shut up. If it's not gonna pass, we'll do it again. But we've gotta get people on the record because this is something that is very dear to the heart of all parents across this country and is dead wrong.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Well, we will be following for sure. Amanda, thanks for reporting.

[Georgia Howe]

You're welcome.

[John Bickley]

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