Democrats Busted Spending 59 MILL to House Illegals in Luxury Hotels

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson – Episode Summary

Title: Democrats Busted Spending 59 MILL to House Illegals in Luxury Hotels
Release Date: February 11, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson
Produced by: Premiere Networks

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Introduction

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson, host Ben Ferguson delves into three pressing issues dominating the national conversation. From allegations of governmental financial mismanagement to high-stakes international diplomacy, Ferguson provides incisive analysis backed by exclusive quotes and insider information. This summary captures the essence of the discussions, highlighting key points, notable quotes, and the broader implications of each topic.

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1. Democrats Busted Spending $59 Million on Luxury Hotels for Illegal Immigrants

Ben Ferguson opens the episode by exposing what he describes as massive financial waste perpetrated by Democratic officials. According to Ferguson, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) allocated a staggering $59 million in payments solely to luxury hotels in New York City for housing illegal immigrants. This revelation challenges previous statements by the Biden administration, which had consistently denied diverting FEMA funds to support illegal immigrants.

• Financial Mismanagement and Corruption: Ferguson emphasizes the irony of FEMA, an agency meant to provide disaster relief, allegedly prioritizing high-end accommodations for illegal immigrants over American citizens affected by natural disasters. He states, “The payments come after the Biden administration had claimed that FEMA was not using funds to support illegal immigrants. It is not true.” (Transcript Timestamp: 00:49)

• Elon Musk and DOGE Team's Involvement: Highlighting the efforts of Elon Musk and the DOGE initiative, Ferguson underscores their role in uncovering this financial misconduct. Musk is quoted saying, “The DOGE team just discovered that the FEMA payments were sent last week, $59 million in total, to luxury hotels in New York City to specifically house illegal immigrants. Sending this money violated the law and is a gross insubordination to the President's executive order.” (Transcript Timestamp: 03:25)

• President Trump's Response: President Donald Trump’s administration is depicted as actively seeking to rectify this misuse of funds. Ferguson notes Musk’s intention to make a “clawback demand” to recover the misappropriated taxpayer money. Additionally, Trump’s executive order aimed at overhauling FEMA is discussed, with Ferguson questioning the administration’s next steps in potentially shutting down FEMA in response to these revelations.

• Broader Implications: Ferguson raises critical questions regarding accountability and the integrity of federal agencies. “The other question everyone should be asking now is who's getting the kickbacks and who got these hotels hooked up with these massive payments,” he asserts, urging listeners to consider the deeper layers of corruption and the long-term financial impact on taxpayers.

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2. President Trump Issues Ultimatum to Hamas Over Hostage Release

The second major topic Ferguson addresses is President Donald Trump’s stern ultimatum to Hamas concerning the release of hostages held in Gaza. Trump has publicly threatened severe consequences if Hamas fails to comply with the deadline, showcasing a more aggressive stance compared to previous administrations.

• Ultimatum Details: Trump issued a clear deadline for the release of all hostages: “If all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.” (Transcript Timestamp: 00:00) This declaration underscores his commitment to securing the safe return of hostages without further delay.

• Comparison with Biden Administration: Ferguson contrasts Trump’s direct approach with that of President Joe Biden, highlighting the absence of such stark warnings in the current administration’s strategy. “This is a threat that President Donald Trump has made that Joe Biden didn't make in well over a year,” Ferguson points out, emphasizing the difference in handling hostage negotiations.

• Context of the Ceasefire Deal: The ultimatum comes in the wake of Hamas delaying the release of hostages, citing breaches of the ceasefire agreement. Trump’s declaration serves as a political signal of unwavering support for Israel and a no-tolerance policy towards hostage-taking entities like Hamas.

• Implications for U.S.-Israel Relations: By taking a hardline stance, Trump reinforces the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security. Ferguson remarks, “The president is saying I am supporting Israel fighting back and unleashing holy hell on you,” indicating a potential escalation in rhetoric and policy to support Israeli defense measures.

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3. President Trump's Foreign Policy Shift: Seeking a Deal with Iran

In the final segment, Ferguson explores President Trump's evolving foreign policy, particularly his approach towards Iran. Departing from typical hardline postures, Trump expresses a willingness to negotiate, aiming to prevent further escalation into conflict.

• Willingness to Negotiate: Trump outlines his readiness to engage in diplomatic negotiations with Iran, stating, “I think we're going to make a deal in Iran. I think I would rather… make a deal than go to war.” (Transcript Timestamp: 09:37) This marks a significant shift towards seeking peaceful resolutions over military intervention.

• Concerns Over Iran’s Nuclear Program: Despite his openness to negotiation, Trump remains firm on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He critiques the previous Obama-era nuclear deal, calling it “the dumbest deal” and emphasizing the need for a more effective agreement that ensures Iran's non-proliferation. “You can't allow them to have a nuclear weapon,” he asserts. (Transcript Timestamp: 10:33)

• Military Strength and Deterrence: Trump's strategy balances diplomatic efforts with a display of military strength. He emphasizes the United States' military capabilities and readiness, suggesting that a strong defense posture complements his negotiation strategy. “We rebuilt our military. People forget I rebuilt our mind,” Trump claims, highlighting his administration’s focus on both physical and psychological deterrence.

• Implications for Global Stability: Ferguson discusses the potential impact of Trump’s approach on international relations, noting that some foreign policy experts believe Iran may be more amenable to long-term stability agreements under this new strategy. “There are many in the foreign policy arena that believe that Iran is willing to now make a real deal for long-term stability with an Iran nuclear program,” he explains, suggesting that this could pave the way for more sustainable peace in the region.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Ben Ferguson provides a comprehensive analysis of significant political developments, from alleged fiscal mismanagement by Democratic leaders to President Trump's assertive foreign policy maneuvers. By incorporating direct quotes and detailed explanations, Ferguson ensures that listeners gain a nuanced understanding of each issue. Whether scrutinizing government expenditures or navigating international diplomacy, The 47 Morning Update delivers timely and relevant insights into the forces shaping America today.

For those seeking to stay informed and ahead of the news cycle, subscribing to The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson on the iHeartRadio app or your preferred podcast platform is highly recommended.

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Note: All quotes and timestamps are sourced directly from the podcast transcript provided.

Transcript

[Donald Trump]

As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned By Saturday at 12 o'clock, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. All of them not in drips and drabs, not 2 and 1 and 3 and 4 and 2. All hell is going to break out.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Good Tuesday morning, Ben Ferguson with you. And here are the big stories we're covering today on the 47 Morning Update. First up, Elon Musk and Doge have found massive waste when it comes to your tax dollars going to luxury hotels that are housing illegal immigrants. How much money? I'll tell you in just a moment. Also, Donald Trump has come out with a new warning that if the hostages are not released by Saturday, there will be hell to pay for those that took the hostages in Israel. And finally, Donald Trump says it's time to make a deal with Iran. He would rather make that deal well, go to war. I'll have the latest on the threat against Iran, especially with their nuclear program. It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. Cutting waste, fraud and abuse is clearly a theme of the Trump administration. Exposing it is the hard part. But it seems that Elon Musk and Doge are having success every single day. Their latest success comes as an even bigger shock to American taxpayers. We have now found out that Doge says that FEMA sent $59 million in payments just last week to hotels in New York City that are housing illegal aliens. The Department of Government efficiency uncovering that 59 million dollar FEMA payment from just last week to house all of these illegal aliens and what they described as, quote, luxury hotels in New York City. Now, to be clear, there are quite a few Americans that are suffering from natural disasters. They are not receiving $59 million from FEMA for luxury hotels, whether it's in California with the wildfires or the flooding that we saw after a hurricane hit the east coast all the way down to Tennessee. Now, this is what we've also found out about these payments and serious corruption involved with them. The payments come after the Biden administration had claimed that FEMA was not using funds to support illegal immigran. Quote, it's just categorically false. It is not true. That was the statement from the former White House press secretary Jean Pierre that she said over and over again, including in October when she was asked about our FEMA funds going to support illegal aliens. Republicans have argued that FEMA did not have enough money in the fall to help victims of the hurricane in North Carolina and in Tennessee. But President Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security claimed those reports were completely false and noted the agency had enough money to fund relief efforts. And the FEMA Emergency Food and shelter program, which the Biden administration authorized in late 2022 to respond to the migrant crisis. Well, now we know they were lying to every single American, every taxpayer. Musk, who is leading the DOGE initiative to cut waste, fraud and abuse, said the FEMA payment violated the law and quote, a clawback demand will be made today to recoup those taxpayer funds. Now, he also tweeted out more about exactly how this went down, saying the DOGE team just discovered that the FEMA payments were sent last week, 59 million in total, to, quote, luxury hotels in New York City to specifically house illegal immigrants. Sending this money violated the law and is a gross insubordination to the President's executive order. What this means is the Deep State is still fighting back against President Donald Trump. They knew they were not allowed to make this payment and they did it anyway. He then said that money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals. The other question everyone should be asking now is who's getting the kickbacks and who got these hotels hooked up with these massive payments and how long have they been receiving the payments and how much money are we talking about overall that went to illegal immigrants? Now, President Donald Trump announced this executive order to improve FEMA's efficiency, priorities and competence, including evaluating whether FEMA's bureaucracy in disaster response ultimately harms the agency's ability to successfully respond, the executive order reads. It has lost mission focus and diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens, the order added Trump suggested on January 24, just four days after he was sworn in, that quote, maybe getting rid of FEMA and instead permitting the federal government to send funds to the state to deploy to disaster relief would be a better use of our tax dollars. The President then said, I also will be signing executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling fema or maybe getting rid of fema. I think frankly FEMA is not good. Well, now we know that FEMA said, we don't care what you say, Mr. President, we are going to send to people that own these hotels massive payments of 59 million to house illegal immigrants, putting illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens. Question now is how Quick, will the president move to shut down FEMA in response to this? We'll keep you posted.

Now, story number two, if there's anything.

You can take away from the Trump administration, it's that very clearly they are working 247 for the American people, whether it's protecting your tax dollars or dealing with issues of national security and foreign policy. Donald Trump has a very new and very real demand when it comes to Hamas. He is demanding that they free all the hostages by Saturday noon or the ceasefire deal is off and Israel can unleash holy hell. The president in his own words saying this from the Oval Office.

[Donald Trump]

Well, I would say this and I'm going to let that because that's Israel's decision. But as far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned By Saturday at 12:00, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I'd say they ought to be returned by 12 o'clock on Saturday. And if they're not returned, all of them not in drips and drabs, not 2 and 1 and 3 and 4 and 2, Saturday at 12 o'clock and after that, I would say all hell is going to break out.

[Ben Ferguson]

All hell is going to break out. President Trump issuing this ultimatum to Hamas saying you got a week or less. He said it on Monday, you must release all the remaining Israeli hostages and American hostages from Gaza by noon on Saturday or the ceasefire deal is over. This is a threat that President Donald Trump has made that Joe Biden didn't make in well over a year when he says all bets are off, let hell break out. It's very clear that the president is saying I am supporting Israel fighting back and unleashing holy hell on you. The president made his announcement why? After Hamas said it would delay the release of the hostages in the first phase of the six week ceasefire deal, citing supported Israeli violations they claim of the deal. Many Israelis speculated that Hamas had been badly stung by the global reaction to the site of an emancipated Israeli hostage being released on Saturday. The president himself said that they reminded him of Holocaust survivors after the Second World War. Times of Israel report it this way. US President Donald Trump says the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal should be canceled if all the hostages are not released by 12 on Saturday noon. Trump said in December that there would be all hell to pay if Hamas did not release the hostages by January 20th. The current hostage deal was reached in January and Trump appeared to accept the Biden administration's plan to have the hostages released in a multi phase process. There are 73 hostages still in Gaza, 17 of whom are still slated to be released in the first phase. Not all of them are alive and dozens would have remained in captivity until a second phase of the agreement. Now the president saying I want them all home now. We'll have to wait and see what the next move is by Hamas, but it's clear that the President is not willing to wait any longer.

And lastly, story number three.

It is very clear that Donald Trump's foreign policy is one that he is willing to make changes, especially when it comes to different countries. The way he treats Hamas, for example, is very different than the way he's talking about Iran right now. How do we know this? Because of a sit down interview that the President has done talking about Iran and saying he's ready to make a deal. It's also very clear that, that the President is not going to let Iran get a nuclear weapon. Take a listen.

[Donald Trump]

They were down to nothing. Now they are up to a tremendous amount of money.

You think there's a deal there in Iran?

Yeah, I think we're going to make a deal in Iran. I think I would rather. Okay. And you know there are a lot of people think that we are going to attack or Israel with our blessing, or Israel. But Israel needs us. Everybody needs us. We have the weapons, we have the strength. We're very strong. I rebuilt our military. People forget I rebuilt our mind. Now they shouldn't have given a lot to Afghanistan, which they did. They gave a lot. There was no reason for that. But we're very strong. We have things that nobody else has. So they need us. But everyone thinks Israel, with our help or our approval will go in and bomb the hell out of them. I would prefer that not happen. I'd much rather see a deal with Iran where we can do a deal, supervise, check it, inspect it and then blow it up or just make sure that there's no more nuclear, that we.

Just a better deal than the Obama nuclear deal.

Well, that was the, that was the dumbest deal by the way. That would have expired by now. That was a road to a nuclear weapon. It was a short term deal. You can make a deal with just a few years on it. That deal would be expired by now. Think of it. And they would have a legal right to have a nuclear weapon. You can't allow them to have a nuclear weapon. But there's two ways of stopping them. With bombs or with a written piece of paper. And I'd much rather do a deal that's a deal that's not going to hurt them. And I think they wanted to. I think that Iran is very concerned. I think that Iran is very frightened, to be honest with you, because their defense is pretty much gone. Maybe they get to try to get new defense as we speak. You know, they're meaning air defense, but their defense is largely gone. They've had some very bad moments. The whole thing with the pagers was a disaster for them, the pagers, you know what I'm talking about. It was a horrible thing, but it was, you know, it knocked out a lot of leadership like nobody's ever seen before. But I think Iran is very nervous. I think they're scared. I think Iran would love to make a deal and I would love to make a deal with them without bombing them.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is making liberals heads explode. They want to blame Donald Trump as a guy that's going to get us into World War Three. But it's very clear the President's willing to make a deal. That's the question that everyone asked at the very beginning, could Donald Trump make a deal? Well, he's walking up to Iran right now saying let's make a deal instead of us having a major war. The President says he believes he will get that deal done. And there's many in the foreign policy arena that believe that Iran is willing to now make a real deal for long term stability with an Iran nuclear program. And if it doesn't happen, the President's also saying he is going to make sure they don't get a nuclear weapon. So it's up to Iran now what happens. But the President clearly is saying, let's talk.

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.