← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Airport Chaos as Dems Sacrifice TSA Workers & Flying Public to Protect Illegal Aliens plus Trump Ultimatum on Iran
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Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And, Senator, we've got a lot to talk about on today's show, including chaos and anarchy at airports all over the country. Democrats continuing to hold the American people hostage even after we've paid our taxes and all of these services should be provided.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Well, we're three weeks into a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Thousands and thousands of employees continue not to be paid, including especially TSA agents. TSA agents have now missed two paychecks, and as a consequence, a number of them are quitting their jobs. A number of them are not showing up. And the burden on them is enormous. And people are seeing it. If you're flying, we're seeing lines at airports two, three, as many as four and five hours long. People are missing their flights. People are missing spring break. And what is infuriating this is all manmade. This is all the Democrats, they have forced this shutdown, and they're forcing the shutdown because they hate ice. They're forcing the shutdown because the Democrat Party is entirely about illegal aliens. Now, instead of American citizens, we're gonna break down exactly what's going on, what the impasse is and how this is eventually gonna come to resolution. We're also gonna talk about the latest of what's happening in Iran, and in particular, Iran. President Trump has given Iran an ultimatum, 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz. We're gonna explain that we're also going to lay out how Iran has been firing missiles at Diego Garcia, a US British military base, and how that escalation may be bringing the Brits into being more active participants in this military conflict.
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Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it's certainly going to be very interesting to see how that breaks down. And we're going to talk a lot about it in a moment. Want to also talk to you real quick about the people in Israel. They are under siege and they are in desperate need of all of our help. And there's a way that you can get involved and have a real impact right now, today, and that is with working with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Representative
A sacred season is approaching, Passover, when we remember God's deliverance, the night he brought his people out of bondage and into freedom. This year, many of God's people will observe in darkness under the shadow of war. Across Israel, red alert sirens pierce the air. Families run to shelters with seconds to spare. Elderly men and women fear they'll be left behind. And parents are comforting their frightened children as explosions shake the night. Sleeplessness and uncertainty have become daily life in Israel. And Passover reminds us that God hears the cries of his people and answers with love and compassion. And that's why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground in Israel right now. They're providing food and emergency supplies, equipping bomb shelters and caring for elderly Holocaust survivors. Just as his people once cried out for deliverance, vulnerable Israelis need your help today with your generous Passover gift. It shows you stand with God's people. And if you are ready to stand with the people of Israel, then stand with the IFCJ and help. You can call them 888488, IFCJ. That's 888488, IFCJ to rush your gift right now, or you can give online@ifcj.org that's ifcj.org all right, center.
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Ben Ferguson
So let's break down kind of where we are with this chaos at airports. I think the media has been very disingenuous about this. Republicans, you voted now how many times to fully fund DHS?
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Senator Ted Cruz
7 different times. And so look, the way federal funding works is that every cabinet agency either has to have an appropriation, which is Congress voting to give it the money to spend its budget, or there has to be what's called a continuing resolution, which is just kind of maintaining the status quo. Without one or the other, you have a shutdown. Now, we previously managed to pass appropriations for every cabinet agency in the federal government, except dhs. And the Democrats held DHS out. And it's because, look, they are the open border party. And so we funded the rest of the government. So the good news in this shutdown is our military, they're getting their paycheck. Our FBI agents, they're getting their paycheck. Everyone in the other parts of the federal government are getting paid. But at the Department of Homeland Security there are hundreds of thousands of employees, many of whom are going into work but are not getting their paycheck. So for example, the Coast Guard, they're still required to keep us safe. Or female disaster relief, the guys at FEMA are not getting paid. And the one that is most citizen facing is tsa, because anytime you go to an airport, you see tsa. Now if you remember back in, right before November, the Schumer shutdown, which was the 43 day shutdown, the longest shutdown ever that had a massive impact on airports. And in fact that that was one of the things that caused the Democrats to cave at the end and finally allow the government to be funded there. You had TSA agents not getting paid and you had air traffic controllers not getting paid.
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Ben Ferguson
Yep.
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Senator Ted Cruz
One bit of good news here. The air traffic controllers are getting paid this time. So we're not facing massive shortage of air traffic controllers, but the tsa, they're housed within DHS and they've now missed two paychecks in a row. And look, most TSA agents are not rolling in the cash. They are living.
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Ben Ferguson
In fact, one of them said to me, I made a point when I was at the airport, you and I fly out all the time in Hobby. And I was flying out and I looked at every one of those like, hey, thanks for showing up for today. Like, I really appreciate it. Like, you're keeping America going. And one of the guys recognized me from TV and he was like, hey, man, he's like, can you please let whoever know that they're screwing my whole family? He goes like, I'll tell you, I make 50. I think he said 55 or 57,000 a year. He's like, I can't miss a paycheck, man.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah.
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Ben Ferguson
And I was like, thank you for telling me that. I will absolutely relay your message anywhere and everywhere I can to the point you're making when you're making 55, 57, 58,000 a year. He's got a family. He literally cannot miss a paycheck and it not have a major consequence on his life.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah. And for many of these agents, it means they can't pay their rent. They can't pay their mortgage. They're having trouble putting food on the table. The numbers of TSA agents going to food banks to get food just so they can have dinner for their kids. We've had more than 300 TSA agents just resign, say, look, I can't do a job where I don't get paid. I need to go find something else where I can bring home a paycheck and feed my family. Those numbers are only going to get worse. Now, look, what is driving this? And what's driving this is the Democrat Party has decided they hate ice. And this is all about. ICE is evil. We must stop ice. Now. Can I tell you the most crazy, ridiculous irony of the shutdown?
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Ben Ferguson
What's that?
- [11:16]
Senator Ted Cruz
ICE is getting paid.
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Ben Ferguson
Yeah. Through the whole thing. Through the whole thing.
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Senator Ted Cruz
It's not failed to shut down ice. Because last year when we passed the reconciliation bill, we could see that the Democrats were getting more and more unreasonable on border security. So we funded ice. We funded ICE for several years going forward. So the ICE agents are getting paid. And by the way, the Democrats know this. So understand if you're waiting four hours at an airport. The Democrats aren't doing this because they want to defund ice. They're doing it just because they want to show their base they hate ICE so much that they're gonna shut down the tsa and it has zero impact on ICE whatsoever. But look, I gotta tell you the amazing thing. The Democrats don't seem to be concerned at all. And there's a big reason for that, which is the media is broken in this country. They don't report facts. And so the media is not explaining people. In fact, the Democrats are out there claiming they wanna fund the tsa. I mean. I mean, they're just gaslighting like crazy. And when the corporate media goes along with it, it means that Democrat senators face no consequences for behaving recklessly.
- [12:31]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, no, you're right. And one of the things I thought was interesting was Sean Duffy was on TV talking about this on Sunday morning. And he was saying, like, this is getting to the point now where you have to worry. It's a dangerous factor here. You have a lot of irritated people. You have a lot of people gathering. You have a lot of people gathering outside. I worry about the soft target aspect of this. We know about soft targets. I worry about that many people gathering outside of an airport. You gotta worry about. About tensions rising. And then you also have to worry about the other issue, and that is what is this doing to the economy? It's going to start hurting the economy. You and I, before the show today, we both are speaking at an event this week. We had the conversation about is it better to drive because it's just so insane what everybody's having to deal with right now. How many people are gonna cancel trips, not spend money, not go to events, Tourism, spring break, the list goes on and on.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Well, that's right. And again, the Democrats are doing this because they know their base is acutely attuned to anything that is attacking ice, anything that is attacking Trump, anything that is fighting for open borders. And they feel confident that the press will be their praetorian guard, will protect them from the voters know what done so, for example, I went on Greta Van Sustern show on Newsmax this week. Now Greta, Newsmax is not some left wing outlet. But Greta did her entire opening monologue saying Congress has failed and the TSA is defunded because Congress has failed. Congress is not doing its job. And she says it like eight times that it's Congress as a whole that has failed. Never once does she say that it's the Democrats who are voting no on funding and the Republicans who are trying desperately to get it funded. I push back pretty hard. Give a listen to the back and forth between Greta and me.
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Greta Van Susteren
Outreach. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz joins me. Nice to see you, sir. You're going to say what we do about TSA not getting paid.
- [14:36]
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, we need to fund them and we need to fund them now. Heard a minute ago what you said. I would respectfully suggest that your remarks should should be edited slightly. I agree with every sentiment you said except one. You said Congress isn't paying them. Congress isn't paying them. Congress isn't paying them. To be accurate, what you should should say is Democrats aren't paying them because Republicans have now voted six consecutive times. I voted two hours ago to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security. I voted over and over and over again. Why are they not funded? There is over only one reason. Because the Democrats on a party line vote are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland security. It takes 60 votes to pass the funding legislation. We only have 53 Republicans. So saying Congress is not doing its job is inaccurate. The Republicans, we are here. We are voting. And the reason this shutdown is happening is because Chuck Schumer and the Democrats care more about the radical open border extremists than they do about doing their job. And it's resulting in a lot of people hurting right now.
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Greta Van Susteren
All right, I considered saying that, but I'll tell you why I didn't. Because part of the job being a Republican or Democrat in a Congress is you've got to figure out a way to resolve things with your opposition. It can't just be that they're obnoxious or they're obstinate. There's got to be some way to get them to do that. That's just part of the job. And it's. Of course you're going to, of course you're going to run into these walls a lot. There's got to be something to be done. I mean, I mean, it just, you can't just, you can't, can't just let these people starve.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Greta, you're assuming that, that the two parties are reasonable. The Democrats want a shutdown. And I'll tell you candidly, I think they're happy to shut down the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the year. We had just, just a week ago, Brian Schatz is considered the Democrat leader in waiting. He told a reporter, he said we are serene. That's the word he used, serene, about the DHS shutdown. And mind you, we have had four terror attacks from radical Islamic terrorists in the last two weeks. We have a heightened risk of terror attacks right now. And the Democrats keep voting to defund the agency that is designed to prevent terror attacks. It is reckless, irresponsible from the Republican side. Do you know that for two and a half weeks, the Democrats refused even to sit down and talk with the White House? They just voted no, no, no. And their position is, we won't talk to you. We're not interested in a compromise. Our answer is no. Shut it down. We don't care. It is not. This is, this is the equivalent of political terrorism. And by the way, Greta, if you look to the last shutdown, the last shutdown was right before, before the election last year. It was the Schumer shutdown. It was 43 days. It was the longest shutdown in American history. Do you know what one, what one Democrat aide told a reporter during that shutdown? That Democrat aide said, we will keep the government shut down until airplanes begin falling from the skies. Look, that is wildly irresponsible and reckless. And you know why they get away with it? They get away with it because they're confident that the press will do. Greta, with respect, what you just did. Well, it's Congress who's doing it. No, it is, but. No, no. I mean, Republicans are voting to fund it and Democrats are Voting not to. And the reason Democrats keep doing this is because they don't get held to account if I vote against funding. Hold me to account. But when they're the ones shutting it down, we need to be very clear. Telling the American people that is Chuck Schedule Schumer and the Democrats, the White House has given them a ton. Have you seen what the White House has given them?
- [18:14]
Greta Van Susteren
Yeah. No. No. But is there anything.
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Senator Ted Cruz
So here.
- [18:16]
Greta Van Susteren
Because this is the. I'll tell you what's going to happen, by the way.
- [18:19]
Ben Ferguson
Let's just stop there and go back. She's like, can you give them anything? Like, it's. You're the one holding this up. That is the part that frustrates me the most sender is that she's like, well, is there anything you can do? Go go over the list of what has already been given as you're being held. I say, as you.
- [18:35]
Greta Van Susteren
As.
- [18:35]
Ben Ferguson
As the American people, as the Travelers are being held hostage.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and let's take more fundamentally, the DHS appropriations bill was a bipartisan bill negotiated between Republicans and Democrats that came out of the Appropriations Committee with bipartisan support. So the Democrats had all of these different reforms that they put into DHS that Republicans agreed to. By the way, none of those reforms have happened because they won't allow it to be funded.
- [19:04]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
The White House has been trying to negotiate with Democrats, although, as I said, for more than two weeks, the Democrats wouldn't even meet. They had nothing to say. This was while TSA was not getting paid. While DHS was not getting paid. The Democrats position was, nope, we won't even sit and talk. And it's why I said, well.
- [19:23]
Ben Ferguson
And that's how, you know it's premeditated. The point that you made earlier, like, this is clearly, they decided we are. This is the issue we're gonna go on. And we are premeditating this, and we want it to hurt.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah. It's actually even different from premeditated. I think, to some extent. They're in a box.
- [19:41]
IFLAG Sponsor
Okay.
- [19:41]
Senator Ted Cruz
Their base hates ice. If you're a Democrat, Senator. Look here, I'm gonna tell you what John Fetterman tweeted this weekend. Elon Musk stepped in and said, I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is so negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans. Was incredibly generous. Elon is a patriot. Here's what John Fetterman said. This is incredibly generous. TSA agents across the country are relying on food pantries and community donations just to get by. I remain the lone Democrat to vote with my Republican colleagues to fully fund DHS and get people paid. It should never come to this point. So, Fetterman, speaking the truth.
- [20:28]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Here's the problem. Most of the rest of the Democrat senators, they're in a situation where they feel if they vote to fund ice, their angry open border activists will never forgive them. And I think a lot of them are engaged in political cowardice. They're unwilling to vote to fund ice. Mind you, that literally means that they don't want murderers arrested, they don't want child rapists arrested, they don't want gang bangers arrested. Isis, drug dealers, the list goes on and on. Narco terrorists, I mean, ISIS who is arresting criminals in the interior of the United States.
- [21:05]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
The Democrat political reality is their angry base hates them so much. Look, these are the same people that are abolished the police. These are the same people that are abolish ice. And so I'll tell you this week, Republican senators, when we're in session, we have lunch together every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And then actually we were here throughout the weekend. We were in D.C. so we had lunch Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well. And what I'm arguing to my colleagues, I said, listen, I think the Democrats are so wildly unreasonable that they may be content to leave DHS defunded for the entire year.
- [21:46]
Ben Ferguson
Really?
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Senator Ted Cruz
They don't care about the consequences of what they're doing. They don't care about the fact that every TSA agent would have to quit and you would literally shut down every airport in the country like it's there. They believe we can blame it on Trump and the Republicans. And they are. There's not a common ground of reasonableness.
- [22:09]
Ben Ferguson
Well, let me ask you a Sean Duffy said on, I think it was Face the Nation Sunday morning that he said, if you, if you think it's bad now, wait till this coming week when you miss another check. It's going to be worse. And his point was you will have so many people quit that now you've got a problem that you don't have a big enough workforce even when you get back to being funded. How concerned are you about that? Is that part of the Democrats plan? Like, yeah, like it's kind of the, the way that they did with defund the police. Well, if we can't directly do it, we'll just drive them so crazy they quit their jobs. They don't want to be police anymore.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, look, I think plan is giving them too much credit. They don't have A plan. They're just obeying their angry activists who are just screaming. They're just engaged in a primal scream. And so what I told my colleagues is, listen, if we are working with people who are objectively unreasonable.
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Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
And who may well say we will never vote to fund ICE again. Here's what I've suggested. All right, fine. If that's the reality, we should get the Democrats to fund all of DHS except ice. Carve ICE out. Now, you might say, okay, that's a terrible idea, because then ICE doesn't get funded. Remember, we've already funded ICE for four years.
- [23:22]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
So agree to fund everything except ice. And then what I urge my colleagues is if they force us to do that, we should immediately take up a reconciliation bill and fund ICE for the next 10 years. And what I advocated for. And we should increase ISIS budget by 10%. So if that's going to be their price, we Democrats will never again vote for border security. We will never again vote for ice.
- [23:48]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
Then at the end of the day, the only way I see to solve this problem. Reconciliation. Remember, we've talked about this before. It is the one procedural mechanism the Senate can use that does not require 60 votes.
- [24:03]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
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Senator Ted Cruz
That just. Republicans can pass it. And so if the Democrats would agree, we'll fund all of DHS except ice, the next week, we should come back and do a reconciliation and fund ICE for a decade. Because I'm not convinced that these. These loons are going to change their mind in the next 10 years.
- [24:21]
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 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 for people that are going to be traveling this week. What is your gut? Do you think there's a. What are the chances that we could actually get something done here where then things could start to go back to normal instead of going in the direction they're going now, which is these two, three and four hour plus waits?
- [26:03]
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, I don't know. I think there is a real urgency in the Senate to try to get this resolved before the Easter holiday.
- [26:12]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [26:13]
Senator Ted Cruz
The question is, are the Democrats going to budge? There are a few of the kind of the Democrats who occasionally will reach a deal who are making noises like they want to, but Chuck Schumer doesn't care. Chuck Schumer is terrified of being primaried from the left. And in fact, I want to read a little bit from a story in the Wall Street Journal about Chuck Schumer. So he has been wildly left wing, so much so that he's now done the longest shutdown in government history and then he's turned around and turned around and has shut the TSA down and refused to pay them. Here's a story that just came out in the Wall Street Journal. Growing frustration with Chuck Schumer spurs talk of replacing him. And you might say, oh, thank God, maybe some Democrats are saying this is too obstructionist, you're too unreasonable. Nope, nope. You know who wants to replace him? The left wing, because he's not. Burn it down enough.
- [27:19]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [27:19]
Senator Ted Cruz
And let me read the beginning of this article. Senator Chris Murphy was dining with progressive activists at a French restaurant in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood. Could you be more cliche as a Democrat than that? I suppose, you know, maybe a vegan French restaurant would make it even better. When their conversation about how to advance their legislative priorities turned to a thorny question, what to do about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer? To the surprise of some attendees, the Connecticut Democrat, a rising star in the party's left flank, responded that some lawmakers had been doing informal counts to see whether enough votes existed to remove the New York Democrat from his leadership position. According to people familiar with the mid February dinner, Murphy explained that Schumer had enough backing to remain as leader. But the disclosure stood out nonetheless because it revealed the frustration inside the Senate had reached a high enough level that some Democrats were actively contemplating how to owe Schumer.
- [28:20]
Ben Ferguson
Wow.
- [28:21]
Senator Ted Cruz
Murphy is among a group of senators and top advisers who have grown increasingly dissatisfied with Schumer's leadership According to people familiar with the conversation. Who else? That group includes Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has been initiated conversations with other senators to gauge frustrations with Schumer. Some of the people said Senator Timoth Tina Smith of Minnesota has also been active in discussions with her frustration with Schumer. In an interview, Murphy said he's frequently asked about Senate leadership, but he doesn't have a count of who would vote to remove Schumer and doesn't recall mentioning one. In more than four dozen interviews with Democrats senators and others, many said the concern about Schumer's leadership was widespread. But what are they mad at? And this is where it's amazing. Murphy, Warren and Smith are part of a batch of senators dubbed Fight Club, who are particularly incensed by Schumer's approach to the midterms. This group of progressives believes that Schumer favors centrist candidates in some key races. So their whole argument, even though Schumer is just saying let it burn. I mean, he reminds me of Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight as Batman, just saying let it burn. Who cares what happens if their terror attacks? Not Chuck Schumer's problem. If every airport is shut down, Not Chuck Schumer's problem. If people can't pay their rent or mortgage. Not Chuck Schumer's problem. And yet the Elizabeth Warrens of the party say not enough. You need to do more. I don't even know what more would look like. But that is the reality of where Democrats are. And as long as the media does what Greta did and what so many other CNN does and MSNBC does, as long as they keep covering it up and pretending no, no, no, it's not the Democrats who are shutting it down. They'll keep doing the exact same thing.
- [30:20]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, they really will. I gotta ask you an audible question real quick cause you mentioned you're in D.C. over the weekend. Give us a 30 second update on where we are with the SAVE Act.
- [30:29]
Senator Ted Cruz
We are continuing to debate it, but right now every Democrat votes no. And we are not doing a talking filibuster. We are not requiring the Democrats do a talking filibuster. So I think the expectation is we're going to vote on it this week and if nothing changes, the vote is going to go down. President Trump is deeply frustrated. As you know, as I talked about and we did an earlier podcast, which if folks want a deep dive on the Save America act, you could have. We have an entire podcast last week devoted to explaining what was going on. I think we should use the procedural rules to force the Democrats to stand and talk and talk and talk and do a full talking filibuster. But we're not right now.
- [31:11]
Ben Ferguson
So has Trump weighed in on that idea, by the way? I mean. Oh, yeah. What does he say?
- [31:16]
Senator Ted Cruz
He's vocally in favor of it. But in order to do it, we have to have 50 Republicans stand together, and we don't have 50. That's the fundamental problem.
- [31:26]
Ben Ferguson
How close are we? Is it two or three or more?
- [31:30]
Senator Ted Cruz
It's hard to tell. We have 53 Republicans, which means we can lose at most three. There are at least four and potentially more that are nos. And the problem is you have in particular Republicans who are retiring. So they're not going to be on the ballot. That makes it very hard for the White House to pressure them if they're not up for reelection. There's not a whole lot, there's not a whole lot of leverage there.
- [31:54]
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
- [33:22]
Public Investing Sponsor
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- [34:23]
Podcast Host
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- [35:23]
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- [35:54]
Martha Stewart
to make hosting look effortless? Here's a secret Getting ahead of the mess with new Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper. Just lightly wet the counter beforehand so the paper grips and stays in place. Then lay down the Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper so drips and spills stay on the paper, not all over your kitchen counter. You can roll out dough, prep a party spread or cook alongside family. When you're done, cleanup is as simple as as lifting the paper and revealing that clean counter underneath. Effortless. You can use it for cooking and baking, prep and even crafting, especially when you need extra working space. Because when the mess is already handled, you can focus on what matters. The food, the people, and the moment. It may look effortless, but now you know, it's Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper. Take a tip from me. Wet it, set it, prep it, done. Make it easy. Make it with Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper, available now in the Reynolds wrap aisle and Walmart.
- [37:03]
Ben Ferguson
All right, I want to move to what's happening in Iran right now. And some new developments have taken place. You have a new threat from the President of the United States of America giving Iran, and I'm quoting, 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the US will obliterate Iran's power plants. Explain why that has not already been done. I've actually had a lot of people ask me, they're like, well, why didn't we hit those right away? There's a lot of people that understand the nuance of that. One reason is when you do these types of attacks in war, you don't want to punish innocent people. And so many times you won't go after those power plants unless those power plants are directly being used by terrorists or by the enemy to harm you. That's when it can come into an XYZ kind of debate. But explain now why the President has ratcheted this up. And look, every time he gives a timeline, he doesn't ever bluff. It seems like there's one thing that's consistent. You got 10 days to figure something out or 48 hours. You better listen. The President.
- [38:01]
Senator Ted Cruz
So what the President put out on Truth Social, he said if Iran doesn't fully open without threat the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first. That's a very specific commitment. The timeframe is exact. And you're right, there is a long pattern of those who test President Trump's timeframe ending up on the losing end of things. This military conflict to date, in the three weeks that we've been engaged in it, the US Military has been focused on military targets. It's been focused on air defense systems. It's been focused on short and medium term ballistic missiles. It's been focused on launchers for missiles. It's been focused on factories and production facilities for missiles. Same thing for drones. It's been focused also on Navy ships. It's been focused on top personnel and many of the top personnel have been taken out. Look, in military conflict, it is a significant thing if you destroy the economic infrastructure of a country, because when this military conflict ends, presumably Iran is going to be able to need to function as a country. And if its ability to provide power, if its ability to. Its main source of revenue is selling oil, if we take out the ability to generate oil production, that would have a devastating impact on the economy of Iran, much more so than it has already happened if all of that infrastructure is taken out. And once it's taken out, it can take years and years and years to rebuild. And one of the challenges. Look, with ordinary leaders, cost benefit analysis can work.
- [39:53]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [39:54]
Senator Ted Cruz
Here you've got radical Islamist clerics who frankly don't give a damn if the people suffer. And so I'm not sure if this threat will produce different consequences. I think everything that has unfolded over the last three weeks was reasonably able to be anticipated. And yet the Ayatollah and the mullahs, they charged down the road anyway. But I think the President is frustrated with the Strait of Hormuz being shut down. That's having significant effect on oil prices and gasoline prices. I will say, also, if you look at what we have done in the Navy, here's what the chief of CENTCOM said. More than 8,000 Iranian targets have been hit. 130 vessels have been destroyed, which is the largest elimination of a navy since World War II. And that was from Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper. This is incredible. Staggering.
- [41:09]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [41:10]
Senator Ted Cruz
And yet. And much of the Iranian military leadership is no longer with us, so those effects are quite significant. We have degraded their ability to wage war massively. But the question is, what is it going to take to bring this to an end? And I think the objective from the very beginning should be to collapse this regime. I don't particularly care who runs Iran after the Ayatollah. I just would like to see Iran led by a leader who is not a radical theocratic Islamist who wants to murder Americans and who is murdering Americans. The reason President Trump launched this attack is because Iran has murdered nearly a thousand Americans. They've been actively funding terrorism, attacking Americans, and this is an opportunity to put that to an end.
- [42:04]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it really is. Final question on this. You have the real prospect now the UK could be brought into this. I actually think that's a good thing. If they're brought in, we need more people involved than just US and Israel in a big way. Your reaction to that? After this base has been attacked, that
- [42:22]
Senator Ted Cruz
is a joint base well, Diego Garcia is a military base that is in the Indian Ocean. And it has a prime location to project power throughout the Middle east and throughout much of Asia. It is a base of the United Kingdom, a British base, but they share it with the United States. So we both have access and use it. I will tell you, by the way, I've been very active concerning Diego Garcia because unfortunately, Kyle Starmer, the very left wing Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is talking about entering into an agreement to give Diego Garcia to give the Chagos Islands. The Chagos Islands are a series of islands in the Indian Ocean. Give them to Mauritius, a country that is very close to China.
- [43:12]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
- [43:13]
Senator Ted Cruz
And give them the ability to significantly limit our ability to use Diego Garcia. I've laid out that that is a direct violation of the treaty the United Kingdom has with the United States, where under that treaty the UK Committed that Diego Garcia would remain under British control, that it would not be given to the control of anyone else. And so what happened, I've been pressing back very hard, by the way, President Trump has been pressing back very hard, saying for the UK to give this away is lunacy, is madness. What happened now is Iran has fired missiles at Diego Garcia and put that base in jeopardy. And the Brits, remember at the outset of this military conflict, Starmer said they would not participate in any way as a consequence of Iran attacking Diego Garcia. Starmer has now said that British forces will assist in defensive efforts to fight back against missiles coming out of Iran. So they're still not assisting in the offensive activity, but at least the Brits are coming somewhat to the table. And I gotta say that's an improvement. But it's also very disappointing to see the United Kingdom not there at the outset in this military action.
- [44:35]
Ben Ferguson
Well, and it may be their Kumbayasm isn't working out for them. So now they're having to deal with reality.
- [44:39]
Senator Ted Cruz
We're going to keep. And by the way, Starmer's. Starmer's tenure in office is every bit as imperiled as Chuck Schumer's. The British people are very, very unhappy with Starmer. He will almost certainly lose the next election in the uk. Chuck Schumer. Everyone is very, very unhappy with Chuck Schumer. And I think he will almost certainly lose his next election. I don't think he can win a Democrat primary. And I think there's a real chance he's on the ballot in 2028. I think there's a real chance Chuck Schumer doesn't even run for reelection.
- [45:10]
Ben Ferguson
Yeah you may. You may absolutely be right on that one. I think that the writing starting to appear on the wall there for sure. Don't forget we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday so hit that subscriber auto download button. Wherever you get your podcast, you can also watch it on YouTube. If you like to watch the show do it there. You can see it on Facebook as well and the center. I will see you back here Wednesday morning.
- [45:31]
Podcast Host
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- [46:32]
IFLAG Sponsor
Flag Football is exploding and iflag is leading the way as the Guinness World Record Holder, iflag hosts premier flag football tournaments nationwide for boys, girls, high school girls and adults. From first time players to elite competitors, iflag delivers top level competition, unforgettable experiences and a community built around the game. Ready to be part of it? Join the movement, find your tournament and learn more@iflag.org that's iflag.org this is Martha
- [47:03]
Martha Stewart
Stewart from the Martha Stewart Podcast. Ever wonder how to make hosting look effortless? Here's a secret Getting ahead of the mess with new Reynolds kitchens and countertop prep paper. Just lightly wet the counter beforehand so the paper grips and stays in place. Then lay down the Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper so drips and spills stay on the paper, not all over your kitchen counter. You can roll out dough, prep a party spread or cook alongside family when you're done. Cleanup is as simple as lifting the paper and revealing that clean counter underneath. Effortless. You can use it for cooking and baking, prep and even crafting, especially when you need extra working space because when the mess is already handled, you can focus on what matters the food, the people, and the moment. It may look effortless, but now you know it's Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper. Take a tip from me. Wet it, set it, prep it. Done. Make it easy. Make it with Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper, available now in the Reynolds Wrap aisle in Walmart.
- [48:15]
Senator Ted Cruz
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