The Fight Over Medicaid Fraud & Why Can’t California Count Votes? | 6.4.26

Summary

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Morning Wire – June 4, 2026

Episode Title: "The Fight Over Medicaid Fraud & Why Can’t California Count Votes?"

Episode Overview

This Morning Wire episode, hosted by John Bickley, tackles several major current affairs: the protracted vote counting process in California and what it says about electoral integrity, new allegations and Congressional wrangling over Medicaid fraud, and the contentious issue of males competing in female sports—with a focus on a recent championship in California. A series of expert guests break down the key facts, controversies, and implications for listeners in a fast-moving and details-rich episode.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. California’s Long Vote Count & Political Landscape

Guests: Ben Domenech (Daily Wire opinion editor)

• Why Does California Take So Long to Count Votes?

  • Lax procedures and systemic inefficiency:
    "They have a system that essentially allows the widest latitude of any state when it comes to sending your ballot in, having it work through the mail system and end up still counting. And they just keep going and going and going." — Ben Domenech [04:08]
  • Broader consequence:
    "Frankly, it undermines any kind of faith in the electoral process... This is a third world country type thing and we shouldn't do it anymore. California needs to reform it." — Ben Domenech [04:30]

• Candidate Dynamics and Voter Sentiment:

  • Anti-establishment surge:
    • Both Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton are resonating as political outsiders, capitalizing on frustration with California’s status quo.
    • Voter anger stems more from mismanagement, mass migration out of state, and business exodus than traditional partisan divides.

• Broader Primary Takeaways:

  • Unusual defeat for Trump-endorsed candidate in Iowa; signals not all GOP races are predictable [06:33]
  • New Jersey Democratic primary spotlights underlying left-wing radicalism, raising concerns even within Democratic circles
    — "You have these people actually winning elections and winning nominations within their own party." — Ben Domenech [07:01]

Memorable Quote:

"If Karen Bass was a competent mayor of Los Angeles, she would be running away with this thing just given the demographics of that city. But she isn't, because she's been totally incompetent."
— Ben Domenech [05:21]

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2. Medicaid Fraud on Capitol Hill: Heated Testimony

Guests: Investigative reporter Luke Rosiak; Congressman Brandon Gill (R-TX)

• Hearing Turns Combative:

  • Disruption by Democratic lawmaker:
    • “She wasn't even on the committee. I mean, she literally crashed the hearing and then interrupted the opening statement.” — Luke Rosiak [09:52]

• Core Allegations:

  • Disproportionate Medicaid billing in certain neighborhoods; link to immigrant communities:
    • “Two zip codes in the state of Ohio are getting 15% of home health care funding... which just so happens to be the Somali neighborhood.” — Luke Rosiak [12:20]

• Partisan Divide:

  • Republicans claim Democrats refused to engage on the substance, instead objecting on racial or immigration grounds.
    • "Waste, fraud and abuse should be something that's a bipartisan issue... But unfortunately, what we've seen is Democrats opposing us every single step of the way." — Rep. Brandon Gill [11:03]

• Unanswered Questions:

  • Inter-state coordination among fraudulent providers (Somali networks in Minnesota and Ohio) are still being mapped out.

Memorable Quotes:

"I had just talked about how many hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this dubious Medicaid services in some instances where people had prior criminal records and were still being paid. And for some reason she objected to the American people hearing about that."
— Luke Rosiak [09:52]

"When Brandon Gill asked, has Somali immigration been good or bad, I have never seen somebody's brain just start short circuiting like that woman started to do. She just went into a tailspin."
— Luke Rosiak [12:20]

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3. Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports: California Podium Controversy

Guest: Jim Campbell (Chief Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom)

• Recent Incident:

  • AB Hernandez, a transgender-identifying male, wins girls’ state track and field medals; viral podium footage spurs new outrage.
  • California Federation’s new podium policy: allows girls supposed to be winners to share top spot with trans competitor.

• Legal and Cultural Backlash:

  • “You can only ignore reality for so long before the truth comes out... By allowing the highest placing female athlete to stand atop the podium alongside AB, they are acknowledging that what's going on here is not actually AB winning, but AB is interloping into an event that should be reserved for women.” — Jim Campbell [14:32]

• National Trend:

  • Ongoing lawsuits (e.g., West Virginia’s 'Save Women Sports Law'), rising complaints about privacy (locker rooms) and fairness nationwide.

• Safety & Privacy Issues:

  • Serious harms cited:
    • “A 17 year old girl named Peyton McNabb suffered partial paralysis after competing against a male volleyball player who spiked the ball so hard that it caused her severe head and neck injuries.” — Jim Campbell [17:09]

• Legal Momentum:

  • Jim Campbell predicts courts are increasingly siding with girls and women:
    • “The legal winds are blowing squarely in favor of the girls... We're looking very, very closely for the incoming Supreme Court decision that should come by the end of the month.” [18:02]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• California Voting Dysfunction & Political Analysis

  • 03:32 – 08:14

• Fiery Congressional Hearing on Medicaid Fraud

  • 09:37 – 13:45

• Trans Athlete California Controversy & Lawfare

  • 13:48 – 18:41

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Notable Quotes

• “This is a third world country type thing and we shouldn't do it anymore. California needs to reform it.” — Ben Domenech [04:30]
• “She wasn't even on the committee. I mean, she literally crashed the hearing and then interrupted the opening statement.” — Luke Rosiak [09:52]
• “Waste, fraud and abuse should be something that's a bipartisan issue that both sides of the aisle can get behind eliminating. But unfortunately, what we've seen is Democrats opposing us every single step of the way.” — Rep. Brandon Gill [11:03]
• “By allowing the highest placing female athlete to stand atop the podium alongside AB, they are acknowledging that what's going on here is not actually AB winning, but AB is interloping into an event that should be reserved for women.” — Jim Campbell [14:32]
• “The legal winds are blowing squarely in favor of the girls... We're looking very, very closely for the incoming Supreme Court decision that should come by the end of the month.” — Jim Campbell [18:02]

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode’s tenor is critical, urgent, and pointed. The hosts and guests highlight systemic failures in election procedures, raise alarms about alleged large-scale Medicaid fraud linked to immigration patterns, and argue strongly for maintaining sex-based categories in women’s sports—with legal strategies playing out nationwide. As midyear elections approach and SCOTUS weighs in on trans participation, the stakes and rhetoric remain high. The listener leaves with a sense that these debates are not just political, but cultural and existential for many Americans.

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Transcript

[Alliance Defending Freedom Representative]

Colorado is at it again, trying to silence free speech. A law in Colorado forces businesses to use customers preferred pronouns even if they're biologically inaccurate and even if using those incorrect pronouns would violate a person's religious beliefs or conscience. That's a violation of free speech. But as Colorado has proved time and time again, it has little concern for the First Amendment. At Alliance Defending Freedom, we're challenging the law on behalf of a Christian bookstore and a Colorado based sports apparel company, but a court recently ruled against them with ADF's help. They appealed the ruling and they'll continue fighting to ensure Colorado doesn't get away with this next attempt to skirt the First Amendment. Your gift helps protect free speech in cases like this all over the country. And for a limited time, your first gift ADF is doubled by a special matching grant while funds last Text Wire to 83848 or go to join ADF.com Wired have your gift doubled. Colorado is trying to silence free speech again. A state law forces businesses to use customers preferred pronouns even if they're biologically inaccurate. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian bookstore and a sports apparel company are challenging the law, but a court recently ruled against them. They appealed the ruling, and with ADF's help, they'll keep fighting another attempt by Colorado to skirt the First Amendment. Learn more about how you can support free speech by Texting Wire to 83848 or going to joinadf.com wire.

[John Bickley]

Another round of bruising primaries sharpens the focus for both parties, but also presents some new headaches ahead of November. I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. Georgia's on vacation this morning, but soon to return. It's Thursday, June 4th. This is Morning Wire. More fraud revelations prompt a combative hearing on Capitol Hill. We talked to the investigative reporter whose testimony lit a fire in Congress and a lawmaker calling for a fraud crackdown.

[Luke Rosiak]

That's a criminal enterprise that I think regular order.

[Unidentified Commentator]

I mean, I know I'm not waved

[Ben Domenech]

onto the committee, but this is ridiculous.

[Unidentified Commentator]

As a person from Ohio, as a

[John Bickley]

person from and fresh outrage erupts over males competing in female sports focused particularly on California.

[Unidentified Commentator]

California restructured the entire podium for this boy so that he could stand up there and get a medal, which I would say he did not come by honestly.

[John Bickley]

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

[Unidentified Commentator]

There's a reason so many Americans feel called to stand up for children right now. Because in a culture that moves incredibly fast, kids deserve protection guidance and the chance to grow up without being pushed toward irreversible decisions before they're ready to fully understand the consequences. That's why organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom are stepping in. ADF is working to encourage major corporations to reconsider policies that provide coverage for so called gender transition procedures for minors through employee health care plans. This conversation is bigger than politics. It's about whether our culture is willing to slow down, protect childhood and support families navigating difficult decisions with care and wisdom. And the reality is public pressure matters. When everyday Americans speak up together, companies listen. That's why Alliance Defending Freedom is inviting people across the country to make their voices heard by signing their petition to corporate America. If you believe children deserve compassion, protection and thoughtful care, this is an opportunity to take action. Visit joinadf.comwire to sign the petition today. Again, that's joinadf.com wire.

[John Bickley]

More pieces have fallen into place this week for the elections that will determine who controls Congress and key state and local offices. Joining us as the dust settles from another round of primaries is Ben Domenech, Daily Wire opinion editor and host of the Big Ben Show. Ben, great to have you back on.

[Ben Domenech]

Great to be with you.

[John Bickley]

So as we record this ballot counting hasn't finished yet in California, but it does appear Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton are in for the November election. We'll see if that holds. Regardless, how do you assess their performance? And then why does California take so long to count votes?

[Ben Domenech]

Well, the reason that California takes so long to count votes, depending on who you ask, is either because they're inherently corrupt as a state or also because they have a system that essentially allows the widest latitude of any state when it comes to sending your ballot in, having it work through the mail system and end up still counting. And they just keep going and going and going.

[John Bickley]

Yeah.

[Ben Domenech]

And look, it's ridiculous and frankly, it undermines any kind of faith in the electoral process. And by the way, Nate Silver, who is a respected sort of independent, middle of the road guy, even lean Democrat, is someone who came out and basically said this is unacceptable. This is a third world country type thing and we shouldn't do it anymore. California needs to reform it. When it comes to Pratt and when it comes to Hilton, they both, I think, tapped into voter frustration at a higher scale than we've seen in California for a very long time. They also did so by being political outsiders, people who were not, you know, with part of this existing elite machine seen either on the Republican or the Democratic side and the Democrats who have been in charge into California, have really run it into the ground to such a degree that you've seen this mass migration away from the state, something that accelerated during COVID but was already happening. It's also seen businesses flee the state. The joke that they even make in award shows now is that they don't make movies anymore in Hollywood. And the reason for that, of course, is that it's a very high tax state. It's one that has enormous regulations. Those regulations are in place in a lot of different safety ism kind of ways that are preventing the rebuilding of the Palisades, the fires of which, of course, inspired Pratt's campaign to begin with. He tapped into that voter frustration. It's not based on Republican ideology, conservative beliefs or the like. It's based out of voter frustration with what they see around them. If Karen Bass was a competent mayor of Los Angeles, she would be running away with this thing just given the demographics of that city. But she isn't, because she's been totally incompetent. And in the Steve Hilton race, the fact that he's going to go up against a machine politician and Javier Becerra, who's basically done nothing to earn this kind of faith from the people of California, has to give him hope that he can at least score some real points, win some arguments against this Democratic machine that's been in control of a great American state for far too long.

[John Bickley]

Both of those guys really good at messaging. Six states voted this week. What's the biggest takeaway most people are missing from some of these other elections?

[Ben Domenech]

Well, two things that I think really stand out to me. One is this situation in Iowa where you saw this rare rejection of Donald Trump's endorsed candidate. You had a situation there where the gubernatorial election was playing out in such a way that you could have someone who was a little bit more in touch with the Maha movement, you know, prevail there. That's one that's interesting just because it's one of the rare moments when the President's endorsement didn't go the way that he and his political team expected.

[John Bickley]

Right.

[Ben Domenech]

The other one that I think is really interesting is the situation that's played out in New Jersey where you have a candidate there in Hanaway who's won this Democratic primary, who is actually someone who was a witness, you know, involved in the defense of the blind sheik from the original World Trade center bombing. The idea that New Jersey would have a Democratic candidate for Congress who wasn't just, you know, someone who had worked in the past for an al Qaeda affiliate who had, you know, defended things that were really, you know, beyond the pale that they would actually pick someone like that. I just think it speaks to this underlying radicalism on the left that's very different than it is on the right. On the right, you have problems with communicators and podcasters and people who have opinions. On the left, you have these people actually winning elections and winning nominations within their own party. You know, and it's not just Graham Platner. It goes a long way beyond that. It's not just, you know, the sort of a bad apple in the barrel. There's a lot more going around that I think Democrats in Washington are increasingly concerned about.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, I think a lot of people are really shocked about the results out of New Jersey and the implications of those results. Thank you so much, Ben, for joining us.

[Ben Domenech]

Great to be with you, as always.

[John Bickley]

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[Congressman Brandon Gill]

Thanks for having me.

[John Bickley]

So, Luke, I wanted to start with you. An angry Democratic lawmaker interrupted your testimony. It was striking how quickly the conversation shifted from Medicaid fraud to immigration and ethnicity. What do you think happened there?

[Luke Rosiak]

She wasn't even on the committee. I mean, she literally crashed the hearing and then interrupted the opening statement. And nobody had said anything that it could even reasonably be interpreted as offensive. The hearing was just getting underway. And so really, I had just talked about how many hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this dubious Medicaid services in some instances where people had prior criminal records and were still being paid. And for some reason she objected to the American people hearing about that. So she basically tried to drown me out and filibuster.

[John Bickley]

Yeah. And to be clear, so your claims that you presented, we've been reporting on your series, this stems from those reports, correct?

[Luke Rosiak]

Well, the Department of Health and Human Services released the data about which companies they're paying with Medicaid and they are the ones writing the checks. So that's certainly accurate information. They know who they're paying. And, you know, I basically just looked up the owners of these LLCs and found all kinds of crazy stuff in their backgrounds. And that's all I said. Right.

[John Bickley]

But this is racist, Luke. Congressman Gill, did Democrats agree with any of what was presented at the hearing? And then where specifically did they disagree with your task force findings or approach?

[Congressman Brandon Gill]

No, they didn't. And it's unfortunate because waste, fraud and abuse should be something that's a bipartisan issue that both sides of the aisle can get behind eliminating. But unfortunately, what we've seen is Democrats opposing us every single step of the way. Where you do see the biggest pushback and the most aggressive pushback is on immigration. You know, we had an excellent testimony from Luke where he laid out the fact that in his own words, 100% of this fraud that he has found has come from either Somalia, Bhutanese or other African origin names. And that is something that just grinds on the left because it is a very clear case against mass migration. Whenever you ask them basic questions, as I did in the hearing, like mass migration or has immigration from Somalia been good for Ohio Democrats do not want to answer. In fact, the state rep claims that she was tearing up whenever I asked that question because in her words, it's so hateful.

[John Bickley]

Luke, for the listeners who haven't read all of your reporting, what's the strongest piece of evidence that convinced you that these were actually bad actors? And there was also something systemic going on here.

[Luke Rosiak]

So the simplest way to look at it is just two zip codes in the state of Ohio are getting 15% of home health care funding. That's wildly disproportionate. That means that there's basically the claim that some horrible disease came and crippled half the people in society. But it only, it only stayed in that one neighborhood, which just so happens to be the Somali neighborhood. When Brandon Gill asked, has Somali immigration been good or bad, I have never seen somebody's brain just start short circuiting like that woman started to do. She just went into a tailspin.

[John Bickley]

Congressman, what's the biggest unanswered question that still needs to be investigated?

[Congressman Brandon Gill]

I think one thing that we learned from this hearing, thanks to Luke's work and y' all's work at the Daily Wire, is the coordination amongst the Somali community. The Somali fraudsters in Minnesota and the Somali fraudsters and Bhutanese fraudsters in Ohio. I think that that connection is something that we need to better understand and continue digging in on because what we're finding is that, and again, thanks to your work here, what we're finding is that this is a much larger scheme and it's costing taxpayers billions of dollars. And I think that we're really at the tip of the iceberg. Even still.

[John Bickley]

Meanwhile, you have a Trump administration that's very sympathetic to these kinds of investigations and action being taken on this front. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

[Luke Rosiak]

Thank you.

[Congressman Brandon Gill]

Thanks for having us.

[John Bickley]

Trans identifying male athlete AB Hernandez dominated girls high school track and field state championship events in California over weekend. He took first place medals in the high jump and triple jump and then a third place in long jump. Joining us now to discuss this from a legal perspective is Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom. Jim, great to have you on.

[Jim Campbell]

Great to be with you.

[John Bickley]

So there's been a fresh wave of outrage over this and a lot of viral footage of the podium medal presentations in particular. Let's actually start there. The California Interscholastic Federation has rolled out this new podium policy. They call this fair and inclusive. What's going on there? And was that an issue in these championships?

[Jim Campbell]

It certainly was. So California's approach is to allow the actual female athlete that won the event to stand side by side at the top of the podium with ab. But to me, this highlights that you can only ignore reality for so long before the truth comes out. And even what California's doing here recognizes that this isn't fair. By allowing the highest placing female athlete to stand atop the podium alongside AB they are acknowledging that what's going on here is not actually AB winning, but AB is interloping into an event that should be reserved for women.

[John Bickley]

Have we seen some of the female athletes speaking out specifically about this? Who's pushing back on this?

[Jim Campbell]

There have been a number of voices that have come out. There have been female athletes, there have been politicians that have been speaking out on this issue. But what we know from looking around the country is that this is not an isolated incident. So we're involved in a case right now where we're defending West Virginia's Save Women Sports Law, which ensures that women and girls have an equal playing field and that they have their right to compete in their own events. And the plaintiff in that case, named bpj, just a few weeks ago took first place in the state championship in shot put as a sophomore. And so we're seeing this time and time again that male athletes who identify as female are taking opportunities away from girls.

[John Bickley]

Are we seeing any movement on the legal front, particularly in California?

[Jim Campbell]

We haven't seen any legal action regarding what's going on right now with ab but this is something that is definitely a moving situation and we see lawsuits all around the country. A recent circumstance that we found out about out of the state of Washington involved a young female wrestler who was forced to compete against a male and to wrestle against a male in a tournament setting. That's another example that we see on the West Coast. We see many complaints that have been filed with the Trump administration. The Department of Justice, specifically including the Department of Education and the Trump administration is doing a lot of investigations into the lack of fairness and the violations of Title IX that are happening when boys are allowed to compete against girls.

[John Bickley]

Now, I know at least one of your cases involves locker room behavior, shared spaces and travel. Both raise all kinds of privacy issues for girls. Is that an angle that other litigation is taking?

[Jim Campbell]

Absolutely. There are serious privacy concerns. We have a client that we represent in the state of West Virginia named Adelaia Cross. She has been forced to share locker rooms with a male athlete, and she has been forced to endure vile sexual comments while in those settings from that same male athlete. So this is not an isolated incident. It's not just confined to fairness. It also includes privacy. It also includes safety. We've seen serious safety concerns in North Carolina. A 17 year old girl named Peyton McNabb suffered partial paralysis after competing against a male volleyball player who spiked the ball so hard that it caused her severe head and neck injuries.

[John Bickley]

Big picture. The legal wins. Which way are they blowing? Are they blowing in the direction of the trans identifying athletes or the girls?

[Jim Campbell]

The legal winds are blowing squarely in favor of the girls. And that's because you can only ignore reality for so long. And when you build policies on a lie, which is what policies that allow boys to compete against girls do, it's only a matter of time until the truth comes out. We're looking very, very closely for the incoming Supreme Court decision that should come by the end of the month that will ask. That will answer the question whether states can protect women's sports and ensure that boys aren't allowed to compete in them.

[John Bickley]

A major decision looming for the high court. And that decision is coming soon. Like you said, Jim, thank you so much for joining us.

[Jim Campbell]

My pleasure.

[John Bickley]

Thank you for waking up with us. The reporting that fuels this show is only possible because you tune in every day and because of all of our Daily Wire subscribers. To enjoy the show ad free and join our mission, become a [e-mail] we'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.

[Alliance Defending Freedom Representative]

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[John Bickley]

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