Iran Deal—Don’t Give Billions to Lunatics who want to Kill us plus College Sports bill Gets BIG Bipartisan Vote

Summary

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The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson — Episode Summary

Date: June 19, 2026
Episode Title: "Iran Deal—Don’t Give Billions to Lunatics who want to Kill us plus College Sports bill Gets BIG Bipartisan Vote"
Host: Ben Ferguson
Main Guest: Senator Ted Cruz

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Overview

This episode focuses on two major topics: the controversial Iran nuclear deal, with sharp criticism of the administration’s decision to potentially provide Iran with up to $300 billion for reconstruction—a move both Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz argue will fund terrorism—and the passage of a significant bipartisan college sports bill designed to save non-revenue sports and stabilize the chaos currently threatening college athletics. The episode also touches on a foiled terror attack at the White House UFC event, underscoring national security risks associated with U.S. immigration policies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Iran Nuclear Deal and $300 Billion Controversy

• Main Concern:
  The administration’s newly released memo of understanding (MOU) potentially commits the U.S. and "regional partners" to funnel $300 billion to Iran, ostensibly for reconstruction and economic development.
• Senator Cruz’s Critique:
  • The rumors about the deal are true—the MOU does indeed commit to this level of funding.
  • “Giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a very, very bad idea.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 03:31)
  • The deal does not clarify where the funds will ultimately come from—U.S. taxpayers or otherwise—but mandates U.S. facilitation regardless.
  • Historical context raises alarm: Previous U.S. policy already contributed over $100 billion to Iran, funding terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and, per Cruz, indirectly supporting attacks like those on October 7.
  • Comparison to the Marshall Plan for post-WWII Europe is deemed inappropriate and dangerous for Iran.
• Unfreezing of Iranian Assets:
  The deal includes an immediate unfreezing of $10-30 billion in Iranian assets before Iran commits to nuclear restrictions.
• Strait of Hormuz Control:
  • The MOU grants Iran (with Oman) control over the Strait, including the prospect of collecting shipping tolls after 60 days.
  • Potential “oil-like” revenue from these tolls with zero cost to Iran—could further fund terror activities.
  • “It’s not even a toll or a fee. It’s more like pirates charging a bounty.” (Cruz, 13:44)
• Security Concerns:
  • Monies are routed through the IRGC-controlled Bank of Iran.
  • “If the Islamic regime remains in power...I believe the Ayatollah, with $300 billion, would use that to develop nuclear weapons and kill Americans.” (16:24, Cruz)
  • The deal includes early protections for groups like Hezbollah, which Cruz notes not only threaten Israel but also U.S. interests.

Memorable Quotes

• “Wherever it comes from, giving the Ayatollah that money, I believe it is 100% certainty if they get $300 billion, they will spend that trying to kill Americans.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (10:40)
• “Iran has been the number one funder of terrorism worldwide...That money...is anticipated being deposited in the bank of Iran, which is controlled by the IRGC.” — Cruz (15:42)

Key Segment Timestamps:

• Iran Deal Introduction & Hostility (03:10–05:00)
• Reading the Deal Text, Funding Breakdown (07:37–09:35)
• Strait of Hormuz Details & Revenue Risks (12:22–15:25)
• IRGC & U.S. Security Risks, Hezbollah Clause (16:19–19:38)

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2. Bipartisan College Sports Bill

• Background:
  College sports are in “crisis” due to transfer chaos, lack of regulations, and unsustainable financial losses—putting many non-revenue sports and scholarships at risk.
• Legislative Progress:
  The Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Cruz, passed his bill with a strong bipartisan vote (19–9), signaling momentum for passage.
• Major talking points:
  • Without action, only 30–50 top programs will survive, essentially becoming mini-NFL franchises; all other college programs (and the majority of college athletes) will lose opportunities.
  • Non-football/basketball athletes account for the overwhelming majority (~98–99%) of all college athletes—these are the most at risk.
  • College sports, especially non-revenue sports, are critical pathways for college access for disadvantaged students.
  • Congress needs to act because only it can revise the federal laws that resulted in the regulatory vacuum.
• Widespread Industry Support:
  “The NFL endorsed the bill. The NBA endorsed the bill. Major League Baseball endorsed the bill... Nick Saban has endorsed it. John Calipari led over 100 college coaches who've endorsed the bill.” (Cruz, 32:12)
• Opposition: Some Big Ten and SEC leaders opposed, allegedly to set up exclusive "super leagues.”

Memorable Quotes

• “99% of college athletes will never play in the NFL, will never play in the NBA, but yet athletics is their ticket to college.” — Cruz (29:04)
• “Congress created the problem, which means only Congress can fix it, because only Congress can alter that federal law.” — Cruz (30:38)

Key Segment Timestamps:

• College Sports Bill Overview & Crisis (23:41–24:49)
• Scope of the Crisis, Impact on Students (26:47–29:20)
• Industry Support & Super League Concerns (32:12–33:20)

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3. White House UFC Fight & Foiled Terror Plot

• Event Recap:
  Senator Cruz and other dignitaries attended a historic UFC fight on the White House lawn, an event that “was absolutely surreal.” (Cruz, 35:33)
  • Notable attendees: Mark Zuckerberg, Jim Jordan, Dave McCormick, Dana White.
  • “The fighters are coming out of the White House...that was the part on TV that I think everybody, every time was like, wait, their dressing room is like the White House?” (Ferguson, 36:14)
• Security Incident:
  A day after the event, news broke that the FBI had thwarted a plot by an illegal immigrant, Abraham Alvarez, to use drone explosives and sniper attacks on attendees. - The plot aimed to kill “capitalists, billionaires, and people who received donations from AIPAC.” (36:47) - The would-be attackers were only stopped because the ringleader’s mother alerted authorities—a fact both host and guest lauded as courageous. - “If you are a parent and [turn in your own kid], you are a hero, in my opinion, in that moment.” (Ferguson, 39:08)
• Policy Implications:
  Cruz used the incident to critique U.S. border security and the dangers of “open borders,” noting that lax immigration enforcement enables threats.

Memorable Quotes

• “It was number one. I mean, it was great fights...the athletes are really skilled...The whole thing was surreal.” — Cruz (35:42)
• “This illegal alien from Mexico should never have been allowed into our country. He was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.” — DHS official, read by Cruz (40:05)
• “When you have open borders and you flow tens of millions of illegal immigrants into the country. You bring in among them people that hate us… This is yet another example of how it makes all of us less safe.” — Cruz (41:10)

Key Segment Timestamps:

• UFC Event Details (35:13–36:22)
• Terror Plot Discovery and Response (36:22–39:38)
• Immigration Policy Critique (40:05–42:18)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On the Iran Deal:
  “The idea that we would have effectively a Marshall Plan for Iran is not remotely in America's interest.” — Cruz (10:13)

• On College Sports:
  “If congress doesn't act, I think five years from now there will be 30 to 50 competitive college football programs. Basically a mini NFL.” — Cruz (25:57)

• On the White House UFC Event:
  “The fighters are coming out of the White House...that was the part on TV that I think everybody, every time was like, wait, their dressing room is like the White House?” — Ferguson (36:14)

• On Crisis Parenting:
  “If you are a parent and you're dealing with a kid...and you do that to your own kid, knowing that your child...you're sending them to prison for probably a very long time...you are a hero, in my opinion, in that moment.” — Ferguson (39:08)

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Episode Structure with Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamps | |-------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Iran Deal: Details and Criticism | 03:10–19:38 | | College Sports Bill & Bipartisan Support | 23:41–33:20 | | White House UFC Event & Terror Plot | 35:13–42:18 |

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Tone & Style

Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz maintain a combative, urgent, and sometimes incredulous tone throughout, especially when dissecting the Iran deal and critiquing U.S. security policy. The section on college sports is passionate and personal, with both hosts reflecting on how athletics shape opportunities for American youth.

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For Listeners New to the Episode

This episode delivers robust, critical analysis of pressing policy issues (Iran, college sports, and domestic security). It features direct excerpts and highlights from the Iran deal, well-articulated reasoning on the importance of college sports, and a vivid behind-the-scenes look at a headline-making event at the White House. The hosts connect policy debates to personal and national stakes, interweaving anecdotes, data, and pointed critiques.

If you missed the full episode, this summary captures all the substantive discussions, memorable speaker moments, and the broader implications debated by the hosts and their guest.

Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you as well. And if you're listening on the radio, it's so nice to have you with us around the country, wherever you are. Senator, we've got a lot to talk about on the show and obviously we're going to start with that big issue, Iran and the nuclear deal. Slash agreement, slash memo of understanding, slash whatever everybody wants it to be at this point.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, our last podcast we talked about

the rumors that were swirling about what might be in the Iran deal. The administration has now released the memorandum of understanding that that has been signed and so we know text of it.

And as we said in the last

podcast, it was highly concerning. And it turns out every bit of those, those rumors were, were accurate. And, and, and what was being circulated was in fact what was in it. I, I believe the President is, is getting very poor advice on this. And, and, and history teaches a very simple proposition which is that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a very, very bad idea. This deal envisions funneling $300 billion to the Ayatollah and the Islamic regime in Iran. I think that is, that would be a very serious mistake. I think if the Ayatollah gets $300

billion, that money will be used to

fund terrorism and to murder Americans. And so it is very much my hope that the administration goes down a different path, that they choose not to send money to the Ayatollah. In my view, we shouldn't send a penny to the AYATOLLAH. And sending $300 billion would be, I think enormously dangerous.

[Ben Ferguson]

But before we get to all that, I do want to take a moment and talk to you about how you can get involved and help with an amazing Americans United for Life. And if you are pro life and

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[Ben Ferguson]

And that is where you come in

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[Ben Ferguson]

All right, I, I want to make sure, Senator, that we're extremely clear on the show you're going to say that there's a chance we could send 300 billion that they could get their hands on in Iran. The pushback I've already seen, I've had to debate this on TV is we're

not writing that check.

So it's not accurate. Can you explain how they're getting their hands on that amount of money potentially here in this deal so that people understand because the argument is well, Obama sent pallet to cash. We're not sending any cash from American taxpayers. So therefore that that argument so and void explain this out so people understand why this is a concerning moment.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, the folks trying to defend the deal, that is the talking point they're using is they're saying that that cash would not be US Taxpayer money. Let me just read to you.

I'm going to read verbatim from the agreement.

Paragraph 6 begins as follows. The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually

agreed plan with at least $300 billion

for the reconstruction and economic development of

the Islamic Republic of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of

a final deal within 60 days.

All requested licenses, waivers, and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be

granted by the United States of America.

That is a commitment to ensure that Iran receives $300 billion. You know what? I don't care where it comes from. I don't want a lunatic religious fanatic who chants death to America to receive $300 billion. Whether it comes from us or it comes from some other regional partners. I don't care where it comes from. Giving people who want to kill you the billions and billions of dollars from

any source historically has proven an enormous mistake.

And I will say, look, to put it in context, the biggest foreign policy mistake that Biden and Kamala Harris did

is they flowed over $100 billion to Iran.

Iran took that money and they used it to fund terrorism across the globe to attack and kill Americans. And in a very real sense, Biden and Kamala Harris paid for the October 7 terror attacks through the money. They flowed into Iran.

The number this agreement is talking about

is three times as large as what Biden and Harris flowed into Iran. That makes no sense whatsoever. And look, if you look, the single

most consequential decision President Trump has made was the decision to initiate military attacks on Iran.

And we have completely devastated their military. We've taken out their air defenses, their

ballistic missiles, their drones, their manufacturing capability for ballistic missiles and drones.

We destroyed their air force. We've sunk their navy. It doesn't make any sense at all for us to now go and build everything back. What was the point of blowing it up if we're going to build it back? And the idea that we would have effectively a Marshall Plan for Iran is not remotely in America's interest. You know, the Marshall Plan, we came in and rebuilt Europe after World War II.

Look, if the administration wants to leave, we should leave.

But sending. And the agreement is silent, by the way, on whether that money is from taxpayer money or not. It doesn't say one way or the other. It just says the United States will work with regional partners to make sure they get 300 billion. But wherever it comes from, giving the ayatollah that money, I believe it is 100% certainty if they get $300 billion, they will spend that trying to kill Americans.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. As one person said to me, in the foreign policy world, they Said, if you would have gone to Iran's leadership and said, have a scuffle with America, but they'll give you 300 million afterwards. Excuse me, 300 billion afterwards. They will take that deal every single year because cash flow is everything to them in that part of the world. And what they use it for, as you mentioned, terrorism, Hamas, Hezbollah, the list goes on and on. This is an insane amount of cash that they're getting their hands on.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And understand the way this MOU is structured, there is an immediate unfreezing of Iranian assets. So. So what appears to be contemplated is somewhere between 10 billion and 30 billion cash immediately flows to them. Now, mind you, that's before they've made any commitment at all on nuclear weapons. All they've committed to do is talk about nuclear weapons. That's the only commitment. There's no promise on enrichment. There's nothing. Well, they say they're not gonna develop nuclear weapons, but there's no meat to that other than we will sit down and discuss that. And the agreement sends somewhere between 10 and 30 billion dollars to them immediately up front. I think that is. That is a really foolish idea.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, Senator, let's talk about the Strait of Hormuz. This is the part for me that I actually think was the most frustrating. This is international. It is not supposed to be governed or owned by certainly a terrorist organization like the IRGC in Iran. But this deal now sets up that Iran and, quote, Oman will be in charge of the Strait. There's nothing in this deal, from what. And I've read it, unless I just completely misunderstood it, that says eventually they can't start taking tolls on this and using it and weaponizing the straight the same way they did when they. At the beginning of this conflict. That is something else in this deal that was shocking to me. Break that down for everyone.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

The Memorandum of Understanding contemplates that Iran would have ongoing control of the Strait of Hormuz.

And. And it says that Iran won't charge

tolls or fees for the first 60 days, but it clearly contemplates that Iran will be able to charge tolls to go through the Strait of Hormuz in the future. Iran has never been able to do that before.

That is a major geostrategic shift that

would be a major revenue source for Iran and for the Ayatollah.

And listen, I don't think the Ayatollah should be able to collect one penny

for the free navigation of the seas.

Iran does not have. This is not Iran's Territorial waters. This is free and open seas. And it is simply they're engaging in terrorism. You know, it's not even a toll or a fee. It's more like pirates charging a bounty. And look, I. If there were voices in the administration who, number one, opposed the military conflict with Iran from day one, but number two, once it started, immediately wanted to get out, if they wanted to get out, they're better off just leaving than just pouring cash into the ayatollah. And I will say, look, and by

[Ben Ferguson]

the way, let's be clear. In Iran, I want people to understand. I was talking to a shipping maritime economist earlier today.

He said the amount of money that

they could get from tolls could fund terrorism. And almost, he said, the way he described it, because there's no cost for them to do this, give them revenue at a oil like stature. Because he said, look, with oil you have to actually explore. You have to drill, you have to get out of the ground, you have to put on boats, you got to ship it, you got to pay for all that.

He said a toll cost you nothing.

This is pure profit. Every time a boat pulls up and says, okay, you want safe passage, we're. Or we're going to terrorize you, give us money that's no different than a checkpoint down in Mexico by a cartel.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And Let me say $300 billion flows into Iran. That's what's contemplated under this agreement. Iran has the power to collect tolls in perpetuity. That would be billions more that would flow into Iran as long as the

regime remains the ayatollah and the mullahs. They have not changed. They still chant death to America. They still want to kill us. And they will use that money. So for 47 years, the Islamic regime

in Iran has been waging war with America. They've been the number one funder of terrorism worldwide.

90% of the funds to Hamas, 90% of the funds to the Houthis, 90% of the funds to Hezbollah, all come from Iran. That money, if we send that money, and by the way, the money is anticipated being deposited in the bank of Iran, which is controlled by the irgc. The IRGC is a terrorist group. It is designated as a terrorist group. And now this agreement contemplates billions of dollars flowing into the IRGC's coffers. And I'll say something else also, can

[Ben Ferguson]

I also just say this too, that people don't understand irgc. They're basically running the country right now.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, if the Islamic regime remains in power, that regime, I believe will continue to threaten President Trump and his family forever.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That is, they've twice hired hitmen to try to murder the President. I believe The Ayatollah, with $300 billion, I think the result of that would be more Americans killed in terrorism. And I also, this regime, they lie. So, yes, they've promised not to develop nuclear weapons. If they get $300 billion, they will use that money to develop nuclear weapons. And to be clear, the reason, the reason I don't want them to have nuclear weapons is I think the odds are unacceptably high they would use those nuclear weapons. The Ayatollah, the risk is that hundreds of thousands of Americans would be killed in a flash of an eye by detonating a nuclear weapon in New York City or Los Angeles. And I believe if the Ayatollah were able to do so, he would. That's the danger. And President Trump. Look, a lot of the reporters have been asking, well, gosh, isn't President Trump just like Obama? And not remotely. Look, President Trump made a heroic decision as commander in chief to take out the military to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. That made America safer. That was the right decision. Obama just flooded cash into Iran. And the Obama nuclear deal inevitably would have led to Iran getting nuclear weapons. But I think now President Trump is receiving bad advice, and I'm hopeful that he will choose to go down a different course and not, not give billions of dollars, either American money or anybody else's money. I don't want people who want to kill us to have the means to be able to do so.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

One of the other things in this memorandum of understanding deals with Israel and Lebanon. There are a lot of people that are really concerned that this would neuter our ally who is actually going after terrorists organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah. Terrorist fighters. I want to get your reaction to that part of this deal as well.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Look, the, the deal. Do you, you want to know Iran's priorities? The very first thing they negotiate in this deal is stop attacking Hezbollah, the terrorists that are murdering civilians. Understand Hezbollah. Hezbollah is not a government organization. It's not a legitimate organization. It is purely a terrorist organization. They target citizens. They target civilians. They target women and children. They fire rockets into Israel routinely. And the very first thing is a protection for Hezbollah in Lebanon. That, and understand Hezbollah, yes, it's a threat to Israel. Hezbollah is also a threat to, to America. Hezbollah has murdered many Americans. And so protecting Hezbollah in this agreement, I, I, I think is also counter to US national security interests.

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[Ben Ferguson]

And somewhere in the back of your heart, you've always known there was a place where it would all make sense in a way nothing else ever could.

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Hey, it's Ben Ferguson, and I want

you to pause what you're doing for

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[Ben Ferguson]

All right, so Senator, let's move into. This is something you've been really working on. This is the most like jock bro I've ever seen you since I've known you. And it's really been fun for me because usually you're geeking out over like Supreme Court stuff.

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I feel like our friendship has moved

[Ben Ferguson]

to another level because now we've got to talk sports and nil so much. And the college sports bill, it is now reality. Let's walk us through how this was done and what it means for sports fans and saving many sports that were getting canceled around the country that were non money making sports.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So this week was a very, very

big week for college sports because the Senate Commerce Committee, which I chair, passed my legislation to protect college sports and

it passed with a big bipartisan vote.

The vote was 19 to 9.

So we got a bunch of Republicans, bunch of Democrats.

We got more than two thirds of the committee voted for it.

That's really important.

It has momentum now going to the Senate floor.

I think it's going to pass on the Senate with a big bipartisan vote and it's going to go to the House and President Trump is eager to sign it. Now, what's going on in college sports? Listen, college sports is in crisis right now. Every week you see another story about

a program being canceled, women's sports being canceled, track and field being canceled, Olympic sports being canceled, non revenue sports, tennis being canceled.

And what is happening is you've got total chaos with the transfer portal. You've got athletes transferring two, three, four, five times. You have essentially no rules on eligibility. They're all being decided by lawsuits. It got so ludicrous. You had the Brendan Sorsby case where even though he was gambling on his own games, you had a hometown judge say, no, he can still play anyway. Now, thankfully, Texas Tech backed away from that decision. I'm glad Tech made that decision to back away. That was an indefensible decision. But it illustrated the chaos we have. You have people that are 26, 27 years old still playing college sports and 28 year olds playing against 18 year olds, which is not fair, not right. And athletic programs, they're almost all losing millions of dollars. Many of them are losing tens of millions of dollars because the cost keeps spiraling out of control. And Ben, if congress doesn't act, I think five years from now there will be 30 to 50 competitive college football programs. Basically a mini NFL.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

And I think it'll be a franchise. If you're an SEC school, you'll own a franchise.

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I think all of the other programs go under.

And what that means, by the way, that's not just college football going under. The way athletics works in colleges is football pays for everything else. And so if football goes under, it means those schools, they lose women's sports, they lose, they lose their entire athletic program. It means our Olympic athletes are just devastated and the college programs where they develop their skills right now go away. And I think that would be a terrible outcome. And it would also be a terrible outcome. Do you know right now there are more than 500,000 college athletes competing at. Yeah. At any given time.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yep.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

If we allow this chaos to continue to play out, hundreds of thousands of

those slots will disappear, Those scholarships will disappear.

And sports has been an avenue, by

[Ben Ferguson]

the way, millions of young men and

[Senator Ted Cruz]

women to go to school.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, let's be clear, the 500,000 you just mentioned, this is the part I want people to understand. The majority of college athletes like 90s, I think I saw a study, you

may know the number.

I want to say it was 98 or 99% of college athletes do not play football or basketball. So if you think about college sports, it is all the other sports, the majority of them are not revenue making sports. Football barely is on most cambuses sometimes. And depending on what school you're at, if you're at a basketball school, then that will be your revenue sport. Outside that, almost all the others lose money. If you don't fix this, everything goes away. And then many of those football programs, that 1% of the student body, or basketball, which is, I mean most basketball teams, they have, I think scholarships. I want to say it's nine in D1, maybe it's 11 scholarships, I can't remember. They're always moving it around. But for men like, that's not many people.

[Americans United for Life Announcer]

Folks, if you don't fix this, you

[Ben Ferguson]

have a university that now doesn't even have an identity in sports.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, look, my philosophy in addressing this was. Was number one, I didn't worry too much about the.

The powerhouse programs, the big, big programs. Listen, in Texas, University of Texas and Texas A and M, I love them both. I go to games every year. I cheer them on. They're incredible institutions, to be honest. UT&A& M, they are going to survive and thrive regardless of what happens. They would survive the mini NFL and they'd continue to win national championships. But I worried about all of the other programs. To be honest, if we don't act, I'm not convinced any other program in Texas survives. And if you can imagine a Texas without smu, without tcu, without Baylor, without Texas Tech, without Rice, without University of Houston, that would be a tragic outcome. And so my focus was on maintaining the entire ecosystem. But secondly, my focus was not on the superstar athletes. If you're Michael Jordan, if you're Arch Manning, you know what?

You're gonna get millions of dollars, you're

gonna be on the Wheaties box. You're gonna do great.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

99% of college athletes will never play in the NFL, will never play in the NBA, but yet athletics is their ticket to college. Look, it was for you. Playing tennis is how you went to Ole Miss.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure I would have gone to college if it wasn't for having the scholarship which came through tennis to pay for college. My family did not have a lot of means, and my dad was the first to admit. And it was like, if you want to go to college, if you want to go to a good school, you're going to have to get there and earn it. Sports was my way in. It wasn't going to be the academic road, and that's another avenue you can go. But. But sports was. And for many of my friends, it was a savior to a better life afterwards, a better member of society. By the way, we pay a lot more taxes when you're successful, so it's a great reinvestment in the country from that standpoint as well. You want your kids to go to college, but for so many.

I had roommates.

They would have never gotten into college if it wasn't and gotten their family many. I had two different roommates. They were the first kid in their families to ever go to college. It completely changed the trajectory of their family tree. And it was because of athletics.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and some people have said, well,

why is Congress getting involved in college sports?

And the reason is it's federal laws that Congress has passed that created this chaos. It's why all of the rules got thrown out, because they're being sued under existing federal law, and every rule keeps getting thrown out. And so Congress created the problem, which means only Congress can fix it, because

only Congress can alter that federal law.

And if we don't act, we can see the crisis unfolding around us. And for millions of young men and women, many college athletes are coming from economically disadvantaged circumstances. Many of them are African American or Hispanic over years and decades. We're talking about millions of young men and women who this may be their only pat to go to, A, going to college and getting an education, but B, learning the disciplines that come from

being in organized sports of teamwork and

hard work and discipline and sportsmanship. And look, I didn't have the skills to play college sports. I would have loved to, but I played high school sports. And it was, you know, being on. I played basketball and football and soccer and being on a team in high school. Those are really important skills. And it's amazing. I actually asked this at our Senate Republican lunch. I said, all right, how many people around this table played college sports? And I would say about 20% of the Republicans in the Senate raised their hand, and they were college athletes. I mean, that's true. And that's true. You find that with CEOs, you find that the discipline and nobody in the Senate played professional sports, but the discipline and the skills you learn set you up for success in life.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me ask you one final question on this. Who was behind this that surprised you the most? Nick Saban was one that I was excited to see. African American University of Memphis, my hometown football coach. He got behind this and had some great testimony there in front of you guys. I was proud of that as well. But who shocked you that was behind this.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So the support we've seen has been overwhelming. 24 conferences have endorsed this bill. They represent. Those conferences represent over 200 different colleges and universities are enthusiastically supporting the bill. The NFL endorsed the bill. The NBA endorsed the bill. Major League Baseball endorsed the bill. The NFL Players association endorsed the bill. The NBA Players association endorsed the bill. The College Football association endorsed the bill. We've had Nick Saban has endorsed it. John Calipari led over 100 college coaches who've endorsed the bill. The U.S. olympic Committee endorsed the bill. So we've seen just enormous support. And I will say the primary opposition came from the leadership of the Big Ten and the SEC. And look, the SEC is really important in Texas, obviously. UT A&M, I think they're great if Congress doesn't act. I believe the SEC and Big Ten wanna create a super league where they're the only football that exists and everyone else goes out of business.

[Ben Ferguson]

Billion dollar franchise organizations. That's what they would have.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And that is a terrible outcome. We explicitly prohibit a super league in the bill because I want to keep all the other programs alive. Yeah, that's where the resistance has come from. I think we're going to end up having a big, big bipartisan vote on the Senate floor. My objective is to do this, get it done, get it passed. The president's eager to sign it and do all of that before school starts this fall.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want you to pause what you're

doing for just one minute, and I want you to hear about Alejandra. She lives in a remote community with very few resources and little to no health care. So when Alejandra gets sick, her parents have no real options. No doctors in their community, and no money for real medical care. By the third day, her body was shutting down. She woke up and just long enough to tell her mom, I can't take the pain anymore. I can't keep going. Her parents drove hours to find a doctor who tried everything, but she needed a private hospital, and that was impossible for her family to afford. And that is when Compassion International stepped in. Now, through Compassion, Alejandra was treated. And against all odds, she survived. She lived. Because someone just like you took action. Right now, unfortunately, there are children just like Alejandra who won't survive unless someone like you steps in. Compassion International partners with local churches, providing children with the support that they need. Critical medical care, plus food, education, and the hope of the gospel, all in Jesus name. So help a child just like Alejandra. Today you can visit compassion.com that's compassion.com

Senator, we've been talking about sports. You got it. You had a really amazing experience this last week. You got to go to the UFC fight at the White House. That fight was incredible. It's also turned into a national security issue that we found out about after that fight, which is really interesting. And some of the people that are getting arrested, they were illegal immigrants. Shocker there.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, look, I will say Sunday, the

UFC fight at the White House was absolutely surreal. It was an amazing day.

I was there for the fight. The president invited me.

I appreciated the President inviting me.

It was number one. I mean, it was great fights. And UFC fight. I've been to one previously, which I went with President Trump, and in Miami, and that was. It's amazing. It's incredibly violent. But. But the. The athletes are really skilled. The fight. The fighters are, like, unbelievably skilled. And there were a whole bunch of fights throughout the night. I gotta admit, the whole thing was surreal. As you're looking around going, wait, we're on the South Lawn of the White House. The White House was there, right there. We're, like, looking over, and it was.

[Ben Ferguson]

The fighters are coming out of the White House. That was the part on TV that I think everybody, every time was like, wait, their dressing room is like the White House? It was. Which is pretty awesome.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, no, it was really, really cool. It was also interesting. Like, you know, the people watching there was. Was very interesting. Like, Mark Zuckerberg was sitting not far from me, and it was interesting. He knows many of the fighters. Like, like, like, they would come in and they bear hug because he's into mma, but that was kind of interesting. And I was also sitting near Jim Jordan and near Dave McCormick, and they knew a number of the fighters because, you know, look, Jim is a Hall of Fame college wrestler, and McCormick was captain of the wrestling team at West Point. So both of them know the wrestling world. That was. I don't know the fighters, but it was interesting to see that those three guys did the whole thing. Was an amazing night. And by the way, there's like, an 80% chance of rain.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And miraculously, we did not get rained out. I talked to Dana White, who's a buddy of mine, who put the whole thing on. And by the way, we had Dana White on Verdict, so you can go listen to the podcast we did with him. But there was a huge storm that was going, and I called Dana afterwards and congratulated him. He said, yeah, it was like the hand of God just parted the storm. And it went both sides of the White House, went around the White House, and it was a gorgeous night. So it was a wonderful. And to have the fighter jets flying over the White House, I mean, it was a great celebration of America's 250th birthday. It was really cool. But then afterwards, the day later, the news broke that the FBI stopped a terror plot, a really elaborate terror plot that had been planning to use drones with explosives to kill people at the fight and then to drive people out into a public square where they were going to have snipers with Rifles to just shoot the people there. And one of the participants said that his objective was to kill capitalists, billionaires, and people who received donations from aipac. And I will say one of my colleagues, a Republican who, who is quite wealthy, I mentioned that to him and he's like, oh, crap, I'm over three.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, that's funny.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But look, this could have been a horrific terror attack and it was stopped because the mom of one of these would be criminals called the FBI. And, and, and so, by the way,

[Ben Ferguson]

God bless any parent that is in their own kid. Like I, that is such a. I just, I mean this as a parent, and I think that we should, we should praise any parent. We've had parents have stopped their kids from doing school shootings. Yeah, we've had parents. And this is a terrorist attack. We've had other parents have done the same thing. I, I mean this so sincerely. If you are a parent and you're

dealing with a kid, whether it's mental health issues or just pure hatred in this way, and you do that to your own kid, knowing that your child, you're sending them to prison for probably a very long time by whistleblowing and warning law enforcement, you are a hero, in my opinion, in that moment.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, it's a horrible situation for any parent to be in.

You know, the dad of the monster

who killed our friend Charlie Kirk turned his son in.

Well, convinced his son to turn himself in. So. But look, it's a nightmare for any parent, but in this instance, the mom saw her son buying guns and ammunition and planning a mass killing event and she acted. And that alerted the FBI to this entire plot. Now the news is broken. I'm gonna read the headline from Fox News. White House UFC terror plot Ringleader is Mexican Illegal immigrant DHS confirmed.

And.

And here, here's what Fox reported. Abraham Alvarez, identified in federal documents as the alleged ringleader of a plot to carry out a mass casualty event at the UFC White House event on June 14, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who overstayed his visa. According to Homeland Security information, Alvarez came to the United States as a child and was granted by the Obama administration in 2014 deportation relief through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival DACA program after he failed to leave the country when his B2 visa expired in 2001. Five co conspirators were arrested so far this month for allegedly planning with others to use drones equipped with explosives to find force. An evacuation from the White House event on Sunday and in the ensuing chaos, a team of Snipers would allegedly set to open fire on the crowds. Federal investigators claim Alvarez was responsible for planning, organizing and directing the planned attack. Court records ousted Alvarez as a foreign national, considering he consented to a consular notification after his arrest this weekend, though the documents provided no information on the specific immigration status nor his country of origin. ICE lodged a detainer for Alvarez following the FBI's arrest. Alvarez was arrested by the FBI on the day of the fight in Omaha, Nebraska. The White House and the FBI declined to comment, but DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Laura Biss said in a statement, quote, this illegal alien from Mexico should never have been allowed into our country. He was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting USC Freedom 250 at the White House. He will face justice and swiftly be removed from our country. Look, this is when you have open borders and you flow tens of millions of illegal immigrants into the country. You bring in among them people that hate us, criminals, murderers, rapists and terrorists. And this is yet another example of how it makes all of us less safe.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, it also goes back to the issue, and I think this is an important point to make. People that hate this country, and yes, some of them in that hate this country, this is what they do. And we see it time and time again where these stories keep breaking that people that are committing heinous, horrific crimes against Americans, and this would have been

trying to kill a president, vice president,

cabinet members, members of Congress, the list goes on to billionaires. This was someone that had disdain for the United States of America and everyone in it that has been successful. That is something I think people need to really, really get their head around.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And it was, it was indiscriminate. They were going to kill as many people as they possibly could. And thank God for law enforcement stopping it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Amen to that. Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

So if you're listening on the radio

right now, thanks for joining us. We'll be back on this radio station next week.

But also grab your phone right now

you have a podcast app on your phone. Just doing your little search bar podcast.

It's purple.

If you have an iPhone, click on it and you can subscribe to Verdict with Ted Cruz and get every single episode for free. So make sure you do that also on YouTube and the Center. And I will see you back here on this radio station next week and on the podcast all week long.

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