US-Russia Seek Peace & DC’s Housing Market Chaos | 2.19.25

Summary

Morning Wire Episode Summary: "US-Russia Seek Peace & DC’s Housing Market Chaos"
Released February 19, 2025 | Presented by The Daily Wire

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Introduction

In this episode of Morning Wire, hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe delve into two dominant stories shaping the national landscape: the recent peace talks between the United States and Russia, and the escalating chaos in Washington, D.C.'s housing market. The discussion is enriched with expert insights, notable quotes, and a thorough analysis of the implications for both domestic and international affairs.

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1. US-Russia Peace Negotiations in Saudi Arabia

Overview of the Talks

The episode opens with significant diplomatic developments as the United States and Russia engage in peace negotiations in Saudi Arabia, marking the first earnest meeting between the two nations in three years. John Bickley introduces the topic:

John Bickley (00:03): "Significant talks between Russia and the US take place in Saudi Arabia. With the end of the Ukraine war on the table, the five of us."

Georgia Howe adds:

Georgia Howe (00:11): "That who were here today are going to remain engaged in this process to make sure that it's moving along in a productive way."

Detailed Analysis by Cabot Phillips

Cabot Phillips, Daily Wire senior editor, provides a comprehensive breakdown of the negotiations:

Cabot Phillips (01:40): "Some major diplomatic developments out of Saudi Arabia, where the US and Russia met in earnest for the first time in three years."

He explains that both nations agreed to appoint special teams of negotiators to formalize a peace deal in Ukraine and are working towards arranging a face-to-face meeting between former President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's Role and Strategic Moves

Georgia Howe emphasizes Trump's unique position in facilitating these talks:

Georgia Howe (02:18): "No one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can."

Phillips highlights the swift progress made, contrasting it with the typically prolonged nature of such negotiations:

Cabot Phillips (02:32): "Usually these things take much longer, months to work out."

Objectives of Each Side

Phillips outlines the primary objectives driving each nation:

Cabot Phillips (03:51): "Trump wants Russia to withdraw their troops and end the invasion... Putin desperately wants to avoid coming back empty handed and has made clear that he will keep fighting if a deal does not include that land."

The discussion touches upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's likely position, suggesting he may have to concede some territories to preserve national integrity publicly.

Exclusion of European Allies

The talks have sparked criticism for excluding European allies and Ukrainian representatives. Trump responds by shifting the responsibility to Europe:

Donald Trump (04:56): "They've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily."

Phillips notes the White House's stance that European leaders need to increase their support for Ukraine to gain a seat at future negotiation tables.

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2. New York City's Mayor Eric Adams Faces Potential Removal

Background of the Situation

The focus shifts to New York City, where Mayor Eric Adams is under scrutiny following the DOJ's dismissal of a corruption case against him. Governor Kathy Hochul is contemplating removing Adams from office, a move unprecedented in New York's 235-year history.

John Bickley (06:39): "New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing potential removal from office by New York Governor Kathy Hochul."

Governor Hochul's Position

Governor Hochul explains the pressures leading to this consideration:

Kathy Hochul (07:08): "Since the DOJ moved to have the corruption case against Adams dismissed...there have been calls for Adams to step down."

Despite associating with Democratic pressures, Hochul maintains:

Kathy Hochul (08:30): "I cannot... have a knee jerk, politically motivated reaction."

Mayor Adams' Response and Political Implications

Mayor Adams stands firm against removal:

Eric Adams (07:25): "Not going to step down. I'm going to step up."

Former President Trump criticizes Governor Hochul:

Donald Trump (07:55): "Why she doesn't get that guy out of their plateau, I have no idea."

Phillips discusses the potential political fallout, suggesting that removing Adams could pave the way for former Governor Andrew Cuomo's return to the mayoral race, despite similar support bases between Cuomo and Adams.

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3. Washington D.C.'s Housing Market in Turmoil

Impact of Federal Workforce Reductions

The episode explores the destabilizing effects of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce on Washington D.C.'s housing market. With 75,000 federal workers taking buyouts and 10,000 terminated, there is a significant exodus impacting real estate dynamics.

Megan Basham (10:40): "In the D.C. metro itself, around 4,000 new homes have been listed for sale in the last 30 days, which is well above average by nearly 25%."

Market Indicators of Chaos

Megan Basham reports alarming statistics:

Megan Basham (12:31): "Homes don't move as much in this quarter. But even if you look back at last January compared to this January, you still find that the median price is down nearly 9%."

Pending sales are down, and housing supply has surged to levels not seen in six years:

Megan Basham (13:44): "There's some evidence suggesting that it's quite a number of the highly paid ones."

Differing Perspectives on Market Drivers

While some analysts attribute the housing market shifts directly to federal job cuts, local real estate agents express skepticism:

Megan Basham (13:38): "Some local real estate agents telling outlets that they don't believe that anything unusual is happening here and that it's too soon to tell that Trump's layoffs are driving these market shifts."

Broader Geographic Implications

The trend may extend beyond D.C., with states like California, Texas, and Florida also housing significant numbers of federal employees potentially impacting their local real estate markets.

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Conclusion

This episode of Morning Wire provides a thorough examination of pivotal events affecting both international relations and domestic politics in the United States. From the groundbreaking US-Russia peace talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict, to the unprecedented political challenges facing New York City's Mayor Eric Adams, and the cascading effects of federal workforce reductions on the D.C. housing market, the hosts present a detailed narrative of the current socio-political climate. Notable quotes and expert analyses ensure that listeners gain a nuanced understanding of these complex issues.

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Notable Quotes:

• John Bickley (00:03): "Significant talks between Russia and the US take place in Saudi Arabia."
• Georgia Howe (02:18): "No one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can."
• Eric Adams (07:25): "Not going to step down. I'm going to step up."
• Donald Trump (07:55): "Why she doesn't get that guy out of their plateau, I have no idea."
• Megan Basham (12:31): "Homes don't move as much in this quarter. But even if you look back at last January compared to this January, you still find that the median price is down nearly 9%."

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Transcript

[John Bickley]

Significant talks between Russia and the US Take place in Saudi Arabia. With the end of the Ukraine war on the table, the five of us.

[Georgia Howe]

That were here today are going to remain engaged in this process to make sure that it's moving along in a productive way.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Editor in Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 19th, and this is Morning Wire. The future of New York City's mayor is in question as the governor considers removing him.

[Eric Adams]

Go back and do an analysis. From the day that I was indicted to what we have accomplished, that is my ability to lead through turmoil and I'm going to continue to do that.

[Tim Pierce]

And is the swamp drying up? Thousands of homes go up for sale in the Washington, D.C. area.

[John Bickley]

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

[Brandon]

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[Tim Pierce]

The United States and Russia inched towards normalizing relations and ending the war in Ukraine following high stakes meetings Tuesday.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here to break down what comes next and what each side is looking to gain. Hey, Cabot, so get us up to speed here.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. Some major diplomatic developments out of Saudi Arabia, where the US And Russia met in earnest for the first time in three years. The two sides agreed Tuesday to appoint special teams of negotiators who would begin formal negotiations on a peace deal in Ukraine and worked on arranging a face to face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. European allies and Volodymyr Zelensky decried the meeting as an affront to Ukraine. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Trump is doing what no one else can do and what he was elected to do.

[Georgia Howe]

No one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can. So no one is being sidelined here. But President Trump is in a position that he campaigned on to initiate a process that could bring about an end to this conflict.

[Cabot Phillips]

And to Rubio's point, it's certainly remarkable just how quickly these peace talks have come about. Trump and Putin had their first call of Trump's second term last week, and now, seven days later, their top deputies are meeting face to face. Usually these things take much longer, months to work out.

[John Bickley]

Sure, yeah.

[Cabot Phillips]

The White House says it's proof that Trump is a swift mover when it comes to negotiating peace.

[John Bickley]

Now, the big question, just how productive was this meeting?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, we're still a ways off from any substantive movement on the war itself, though. The US did call for a ceasefire on attacks on energy facilities from both sides while the talks moved forward. But zooming out, the most consequential development was simply the normalization of relations between the US And Russia. US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff called the meeting, quote, positive, upbeat and constructive, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was, quote, very useful. So they were positive coming out. As a sort of sign of goodwill, the two countries agreed Tuesday to allow staff to return to their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington. Rubio also made sure to remind Russia that if they agreed to a deal, the US Would be willing to engage in new economic partnerships. He also suggested Trump would be willing to lift sanctions on Moscow. So, trying to sweeten the pot there?

[John Bickley]

Yeah, indeed. Now, as we look ahead to formal negotiations, what exactly is each side looking for?

[Cabot Phillips]

So, Trump's goal is fairly simple. He wants Russia to withdraw their troops and end the invasion. But it's likely that'll only happen if Putin is allowed to hold on to some Ukrainian territory he's already taken, specifically in Crimea and the Donbass. Putin desperately wants to avoid coming back empty handed and has made clear that he will keep fighting if a deal does not include that land. Now, for his part, Zelensky has previously said he would not agree to any deal that allowed Putin to keep territory, but he likely won't have much choice. And there are those in the White House who believe that Zelensky is well aware of that fact, but wants to save face. Trump's assertiveness here could be a way to do that, as Zelensky can essentially tell his people, look, I tried to get all our land back, but the US Forced this on me. At least I kept us from being conquered.

[Brandon]

Right.

[John Bickley]

Trump could be his excuse, in a sense. Now, much has been made in Europe over the fact that these meetings did not include anyone but the US And Russia. Tell us about those complaints.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. Again, the White House says Ukraine will be given a seat at the table once the negotiations begin more formally. But Trump had a message for Zelensky when asked about the matter yesterday.

[Donald Trump]

They've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily. A half baked negotiator could have settled this years ago without, I think, without the loss of much land, very little land, without the loss of any lives and without the loss of cities that are just laying on their side.

[Cabot Phillips]

But while Trump said he's willing to allow Ukraine in on negotiations, he still says European leaders will not be taking part. Trump has long argued they've not done enough to fund the war effort on their own continent. And he's basically saying if you want a seat at the table, you've got to ante up. And he's giving them that chance. In the last week, the White House sent out questionnaires to European leaders asking them to lay out just how much money they'd commit to Ukrainian security moving forward and if they'd be willing to put boots on the ground after the war, as the State Department spokesman put it. The administration, quote, has been clear that we expect European partners to take the lead in establishing a durable security framework and look forward to their proposals.

[John Bickley]

All right, so Trump really holding their feet to the fire there. Kevin, thanks so much for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Anytime.

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[John Bickley]

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing potential removal from office by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The questions over Adams future follow the DOJ's decision to dismiss a corruption case filed against him.

[Tim Pierce]

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the fallout in New York. So, Tim, the New York governor technically has the power to remove an elected mayor, but it's never been done in the state's 235 year history. So why is Hochul considering it now?

[Kathy Hochul]

Right. Well, since the DOJ moved to have the corruption case against Adams Dismissed. Hochul has been under pressure from Democrats to act. Recently, there have been calls for Adams to step down, even from Hochul's lieutenant governor, which puts more pressure on her to act if Adams refused, refuses. And so far, Adams is staying in.

[Eric Adams]

I just find it so amazing. The most sanctified among us are calling for me to step down. Not going to step down. I'm going to step up.

[Kathy Hochul]

Democrats say that Adam's corruption case has merit and the DOJ is only letting him off so he can be a pawn for Trump. So far, four of his top deputies have resigned in protest, suggesting he's been too cooperative with Trump. Here's Democratic strategist James Carville on MSNBC on Monday.

[Donald Trump]

We've had four deputy mayors resign. We've had four people, many of them dedicated conservatives, resign from the Southern District of New York. I'm sorry, the governor of New York is a dope. Why she doesn't get that guy out of their plateau, I have no idea.

[Kathy Hochul]

Now, Hochul has worked relatively well with Adams up until this point, and she's got her own reelection next year. To think about ousting a sitting mayor and potentially angering his voters may not be in her political interest, but in the middle of all the pressure on her, she won't rule out forcing Adams out. Here she was on MSNBC last week.

[John Bickley]

I cannot, as the governor of this.

[Cabot Phillips]

State, have a knee jerk, politically motivated reaction. Like a lot of other people are.

[John Bickley]

Saying right now, I have to do.

[Cabot Phillips]

What'S smart, what's right, and I'm consulting with other leaders in government at this time.

[Tim Pierce]

So she's being cautious. It sounds like. What charges is Adam faced with? And why is the DOJ deciding not to pursue them?

[Kathy Hochul]

Adams was charged with accepting about $100,000 in illegal gifts from Turkey. The Justice Department under Trump has decided to drop the charges, though, because it says Adams was another target of the Biden DOJ's political weaponization. The Justice Department also says that the case was needlessly interfering with Trump's immigration agenda. It's that latter point that has caused some critics to accuse the Trump administration of striking an agreement with Adams to drop the charges in return for his help on deportations. Border czar Tom Homan. And Adams went on Fox News and pushed back against that. Here's Adams.

[Eric Adams]

You know, people want to hijack this narrative and turn into a political narrative where we're saying we need to have public safety. I requested the meeting. I reached out to his team and said we want to sit down. This has been an issue I was talking about before the election.

[Tim Pierce]

Now, Adams says that politics doesn't have anything to do with his relationship with Homan, but obviously there are political implications if Adams is removed.

[Kathy Hochul]

So who would benefit most if Hochul removes Adams? Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo may benefit the most. He's seen as the favorite if he jumps into the mayoral race. But he and Adams pull a lot of the same base of support. So getting Adams out of the way would ease Cuomo's comeback after he resigned as governor amid sexual harassment allegations.

[Tim Pierce]

All right. Well, that would be a very significant twist if Cuomo has his comeback. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Kathy Hochul]

Thanks for having me.

[Tim Pierce]

Judge Tanya Chutkin ruled in favor Tuesday of Doge having access to key federal data, meaning its cost saving cuts are poised to continue. Meanwhile, the efforts to reduce the size of the federal government are reportedly causing a sell off in the D.C. housing market.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with more. Hey, Megan. So we're seeing reports of chaos in the D.C. area. What exactly is happening with this real estate there?

[Megan Basham]

Well, you know, there's a number of data points driving this story, and I think we should start with the fact that since Trump took office, 75,000 federal workers have already taken the buyout that he was offering and around 10,000 have been directly terminated. And then, of course, Trump has tasked Elon Musk with eliminating many more government jobs through Doge. So a lot more cuts are expected.

[John Bickley]

Yeah.

[Megan Basham]

And in that time, real estate watchers say that a huge number of new homes have flooded the market in and around D.C. where a high concentration of these federal workers live. So in the D.C. metro itself, around 4,000 new homes have been listed for sale in the last 30 days, and that's well above average by nearly 25%. Now, if you drill down on the Virginia suburbs, that picture is even more striking there. Some areas like Fairfax and Alexandria are even seeing a 60 to 70% increase in year over year listings. And you have to keep in mind. Yeah. That this is during the winter months in a housing market that has historically seen low supply. So according to Redfin data, the median selling price in the area is down 20% from November to February. Now, of course, some experts will say that that is cyclical. Homes don't move as much in this quarter. But even if you look back at last January compared to this January, you still find that the median price is down nearly 9%. And Redfin has also found that buyers in D.C. are tending to sit on the sidelines. So for the first month of 2025, pending sales were down 6%. And there's now more than five months of housing supply in D.C. which is the most that that market's seen in six years, since before the pandemic, in other words. And overall, you've got Redfin agents saying that the D.C. market is in chaos right now.

[Cabot Phillips]

Right.

[John Bickley]

We've been hearing that word a lot in relation to this. How can we tell, though, that this increase in listings is a result of the Trump administration has been making to cut waste?

[Megan Basham]

Well, you know, a lot of it is anecdotal. We have Redfin agents reporting that this is what clients are telling them, and then also looking at the timing of these market changes. And that's what has a lot of investing companies paying attention. Market analysts with the Kobese Letter, for example, have said that what they're seeing in D.C. is an unprecedented level of selling in a generally strong housing market. And because of that, they noted that Trump's plans to further cut waste are likely to ramp this trend up. And then you also have another research firm, John Burns Research and Consulting, which specializes in housing data, and it's advising its clients that the D.C. housing market is already showing signs of hesitancy, and they, too, are citing those federal layoffs. Now, of course, that said, you do have some local real estate agents telling outlets that they don't believe that anything unusual is happening here and that it's too soon to tell that Trump's layoffs are driving these market shifts.

[John Bickley]

So some differing views on this. Do we have a sense of which federal workers are pulling up stakes?

[Megan Basham]

Well, there's some evidence suggesting that it's quite a number of the highly paid ones. So the Kobese letter also noted a surge in new listings above a million dollars. And maybe a related data point right after Trump's election. WikiLeaks found that Google searches in D.C. for terms like Swiss bank and offshore bank skyrocketed. So I don't know about you, John, but I have personally never been in the earnings bracket where I needed to look for information like that.

[John Bickley]

Not quite there yet. Now, federal workers don't only live in D.C. there's other areas that are being impacted by this. Correct?

[Megan Basham]

You know, it's not clear yet, but certainly researchers like it. John Burns are on the lookout for that. They particularly pointed to California, Texas and Florida because those are areas that also have a high number of federal work.

[John Bickley]

Right. We'll see how far the Doge effect reaches there. Megan, thanks for reporting.

[Megan Basham]

Anytime.

[John Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with us. And if you liked what you heard this morning, share this episode with a friend.