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Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as well. And we have a lot to talk about on this episode, including Zelensky coming to Washington begging for more money that involves Ukraine funding, which involves funding at the border, which involves funding with Israel. And if that's not enough for you, we also have an update on impeachment moving its way through the House. Senator, let's go back to the very beginning and it was a wild day on Capitol Hill. You've got Zelinsky who comes to town, he's asking for money. The, the, the thread that we've seen of, of kind of headlines here from the Democrats is you must stand with them no matter what, forever in pertuity. Amen. And you can't ask questions about where the money's going or transparency. We've just got to write them this blank check. And how dare you Republicans tie this to border security. Give me your initial reaction to that.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, Zelensky's coming to Washington yesterday was designed, it's a manifestation of the Democrats not living in reality. Chuck Schumer does not believe that Republicans are serious about securing the border. He's in absolute denial. And I gotta say, the supplemental bill on Ukraine, the border and Israel, the entire thing is in a stalemate. And I think it is very possible this thing will not pass for a long time because Schumer and the Democrats, they're living in an alternate reality and they're just assuming Republicans will cave. Now, sadly, that is a reasonable assumption in a lot of instances. Senate Republicans in particular are pretty quick to cave. I don't think that's going to happen in this instance. And Schumer and the Democrats don't believe it. And so Zelensky came this week to Washington because they're trying to bludgeon Republicans into saying Ukraine really, really, really needs the money rather than, look, there have been a lot of Republicans, House Republicans have made very clear there will be no Ukraine bill without serious strong border security. And right now the Democrats are saying we won't do border security but give us the Ukraine money anyway. That ain't going anywhere.
Ben Ferguson
It was also saying that the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson referred to. He said, look, they basically went silent when referring to negotiations with Republicans on this U.S. border security package. Take a listen to what he had to say on Fox News.
Senator Ted Cruz
Significant steps that are happening, negotiations still going on. Secretary Mayorkas and others in the administration about changes.
Mike Johnson
Well, I hope so. Look, I've been crystal clear about this. You know, if we're going to have a national security package of spending. National security begins at our own border. This is about our own sovereignty. These are policy changes that could be easily made. But the White House has been very reluctant. They really went silent on us all of this time. Now, I've been the speaker for a little over six weeks, almost seven weeks, and since the day I was handed the gavel, I've been saying that this was the condition that we had to do this first. And. And we passed HR2. The house passed our six months ago. It's been sitting on the desk of Chuck Schumer ever since. They've not taken us seriously. And here we are at the end of the year, and now they're saying we've run out of time. It's not the House's fault.
Senator Ted Cruz
Yes, Here is Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell on the timing of all this. Take a listen.
Mike Johnson
They're leaving at the end of the week. So all I have said is practically impossible. Even though we reach an agreement to.
Senator Ted Cruz
Craft it, get it through the Senate.
Ben Ferguson
Get it through the House before Christmas.
Mike Johnson
That doesn't mean it's not important.
Senator Ted Cruz
And even though we've been emphasizing the.
Mike Johnson
Border, I want to remind everybody of the importance of Ukraine.
Mitch McConnell
So just logistically, is it.
Senator Ted Cruz
Would you send the House home and then call them back if there's a deal or just punt everything to January?
Mike Johnson
Look, the House will do its work if there was a deal, but it has not materialized. And as of tonight, they have given us the cold shoulders. So they're ignoring this, what I believe is the top priority of the American people. It doesn't matter where I've been in the country over the last few weeks, Brett, whether I'm in New York or the Southeast or out west, they all say the same thing. They're deeply concerned about what's happening. We had 12,000 people come over that border one day last week and Wednesday. If you look at the statistics from October, November and so far in December, more people have crossed that border illegally since any entire year during the Obama administration. It is not a sustainable situation. It is harming our country in ways that are hard to describe, and we have to get on top.
Ben Ferguson
So what's so. So here's my question. You hear the Senate majority leader there, obviously, Mitch McConnell, implying like, hey, there's no deal. So if they think this is going to get done before Christmas, that's just not reality. Then you have the speaker saying, the White House went silent on us on border package. And he said the policy change is easily made, but the White House has been very reluctant to do this. So read us in behind the scenes. Why is it this much of a hell bent answer from the Democrats not to secure our southern border? Knowing these numbers? You talked about 12,000 coming across just last Wednesday alone.
Senator Ted Cruz
Because the Democrats right now are in a state of denial. Let's rewind. A couple of weeks ago, two weeks ago, we had a classified briefing in the Senate, had every senator in there. It was on Ukraine. It, it had the Secretary of State, it had the Secretary of Defense. It, it had the intelligence agencies there. And the entire purpose of the briefing was to say Ukraine really, really, really needs the money. Now on the Republican side, the Republican position for a long time has been this bill will not move without real border security. And so right at the outset, when we got to the questions, most of the briefing is questions from the senators, Republicans began to make clear, all right, well, where are we on border security? And Chuck Schumer, what happened is something I've never seen before. There was a screaming match down in the skiff, down in the secure facility where we're having the classified briefing where senators are screaming at the top of their lungs at each other and several senators stormed out. I've never seen that. And what precipitated it is Schumer sat back and crossed his arms and he was defiant. He was like, no, we are not doing border security. This is not a part of it. It's not going to happen. That's not what this briefing is about and we're not even going to talk about it. And a whole lot of Republicans got now that was the defiance two weeks ago. And Schumer bizarrely believes that that is a reasonable and viable negotiating position. Now last week, David Cameron was in town. David Cameron, you'll remember, was the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He's now the Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom. So he's back in the government. This time he's foreign Minister instead of Prime Minister. And so he came to Washington D.C. and often when you have heads of state or senior officials from foreign countries, they will sit down and meet for coffee with the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And so I'm on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And so I went to that coffee. And so we're sitting, it's in a very cool, it's a ceremonial room in the Capitol that is the Foreign Relations Committee room and we have it there. They put a tablecloth on this table that's 100 plus years old and they serve tea in China. It's kind of very old school. And you sit around talking with the head of state, or in this case, the British foreign minister. And he was there talking about Ukraine. He was part of the lobbying effort to say, you gotta give money to Ukraine. You gotta give money to Ukraine. And I got to the coffee a few minutes late, so I was near the end of the order of the senators who were commenting or speaking. And so I heard senator after senator, mostly Democrats, just say, and everything is wonderful in Peachy Keen, and we're gonna vote out more Ukraine funding and it's gonna happen. And at one point, Bob Menendez, Democrat from New Jersey, he was talking about. He mentioned the border briefly, and he said, look, the border, the problem there is there's a lot of poverty in Latin America, and that's really. We're never going to fix this until. Until we cure poverty in Central and South America. So that's what we need to do, is make them rich countries, and we won't have that problem. So it got to me, and I said to Cameron, I said, listen, number one, it's not your job to try to resolve our border security problems. You're here representing the government of the United Kingdom. However, you should know, because you have a distinct interest in knowing this, that right now this Ukraine bill is going nowhere. It is dead. And the reason you just heard, you just heard a bunch of Democrats blowing smoke up your rear end. They're just telling you everything is fine. And. And so I actually relayed the story to Cameron about what had happened the preceding week in the classified briefing where Schumer had defiantly said, we'll do nothing, and people had screamed and stormed out. And I said, I said to Cameron, listen, I don't know what is wrong with my Democrat colleagues, but number one, the chances of a bill that funds Ukraine and doesn't secure the border, the chances of that passing the house are 0.00%. There is no way. Mike Johnson's been saying that from the day he became Speaker. Zero chance. And Schumer and the Democrats are just in complete denial. And I said, let me be clear. I think the chances are exceptionally slim it would pass the Senate. I can tell you the Senate Republican Conference is as unified on this issue as I've ever seen it. You played a minute ago the clip from Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell may be the biggest Ukraine hawk among the Republicans. He wants to fund Ukraine, and even Mitch is holding firm on this. We don't have any defectors on the Republican side. And the bizarre thing is Schumer is just in utter denial. And the other Democrats are as well. And by the way, I pointed out, you know, Menendez said, well, gosh, it's just poverty in Latin America. I said, with all due respect to what Bob said, you know what, there's been poverty in Latin America a long time. That's not the cause of this crisis. When Biden came into power, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. You know what? There was poverty in Latin America then, too. The reason for the crisis is Joe Biden and his administration refused to follow the law. They've implemented, catch and release, and the numbers have skyrocketed. 9.6 million illegal aliens have crossed under Joe Biden. And what I said at this, this coffee with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I said, listen, Eric Adams, the liberal Democrat mayor of New York city, says that 110,000 illegal immigrants in New York City are a crisis and they are destroying New York City. Now, he's right about that. Yeah, but if 110,000 are doing that to New York City, what in the hell do you think 9.6 million are doing to Texas and the other states on the southern border? And so I made that point to Cameron. And the bizarre thing is, listen, I had multiple conversations with my Democrat colleagues today. They still believe, oh, we'll reach a deal on this. You know, just some reasonable compromise. You know, one. One Democrat senator suggested to me, well, well, maybe the White House will agree to reinstate Title 42. Well, no, forget it. That is not. When Title 42 was in place, we still had the worst illegal immigration in history.
Ben Ferguson
And remind me of Title 42, what that was, because some of you may not remember.
Senator Ted Cruz
So Title 42 was a law that allowed individuals to be sent back because of COVID And so it was the one area where Biden was not practicing catch and release, where there was some limited deportation. And then they ended title 42 and they decided, okay, everyone gets to stay. Basically, the problem that goes right to the heart of this, why do we have a border crisis? Three words, catch and release. Joe Biden unilaterally ended the remain in Mexico agreement and began. When people got apprehended, they released them. As long as we do catch and release, the border will not be secure. And by the way, you could build a hundred foot tall wall and put 10 million troops on the southern border. If you did catch and release, you'd still have a border crisis. Why? Because when the people crossed and turn themselves into the 10 million soldiers, Joe Biden would then release them so they'd keep coming. It doesn't matter how many Border patrol agents or how much military you have if the administration releases whoever they apprehend. Because as long as that happens, more and more and more keep coming.
Ben Ferguson
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Raphael Warnock
Take helpful to have a pastor around. Even better if they're also a senator. And joining me now is Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Senior Pastor at Dr. King's Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Happy holidays in advance. Merry Christmas in Advance.
Mitch McConnell
Happy holidays. Great to be with you.
Raphael Warnock
Thank you. It is good to see you.
Mitch McConnell
You see something that's taking the preacher's voice, but I'll do my best.
Raphael Warnock
That's okay. Look, a preacher can always find their voice. That's one thing I know about a pastor. But let's talk about all of the. Let's go through a few other things. I want to start with Ukraine in the House, as well as some in the United States Senate. There is this resistance to providing funding for Ukraine, which is still suffering this attack from Russia, trying to trade things like border, border policy, border security for funding. JD Vance saying basically that Ukraine should cede land and cut a deal. What in the world is going on on the other side of the aisle?
Mitch McConnell
That's a very good question. I'll tell you that. This is politics in the worst sense of the word. There is no replacement for American leadership in the world. I have had occasion now on a few opportunities to hear President Zelensky, to meet him. And I think he's just a very impressive person who is standing up in a critical moment, not only for his country, but in terms of the world order. And it's unfortunate that I've got colleagues who are reducing such an important geopolitical crisis to typical political horse trading. Look, there are issues at the border, and they need to be addressed. I, for one, am open to any reasonable bipartisan proposal that will get there on the way to. What we really need is comprehensive immigration reform. But this is one of the most fraught issues in our political system. And so, unfortunately, not everybody, not all the Republicans, but on the other side, you have some Republicans who are not willing to support Ukraine no matter what. And so they're just using this issue of the border, which is very serious in the most cynical way. I hope that at the end of the day, cooler heads will prevail. Certainly, we don't want to see American soldiers on the ground as Putin continues his aggressive move across Europe. I think it. It only makes sense for us to support our friends in Ukraine.
Raphael Warnock
Yeah.
Ben Ferguson
By the way, I just have to go to the very end part there. When he says, well, it's almost like a weird threat. And this is like the third or fourth time I've heard this this week from Democrats. Well, if you guys don't give the funding, you may see American troops over there, so you should really give this funding, because if you don't, then it's your fault that we have to send American troops. That is the most messed up negotiating I've ever seen from Democrats. And I've seen a lot of pretty crappy stuff. You've seen more being in Washington Center. But that's a whole nother level of vile politics that I just don't. I can't believe they're even trying it.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, look, you got to understand that those comments that Raphael Wardock made were filled with hypocrisy and, sadly, with dishonesty. You know, it started right at the beginning by emphasizing that he's a pastor. It's true. Although, I'll tell you, I've never seen a pastor that refuses to say Merry Christmas, that he insists on saying Happy Holidays because it turns out more important than being a pastor is he's a Democrat. And Merry Christmas is not allowed for Democrats to say. But then when he gets into the substance, he gets very moralistic about American leadership on Ukraine. You know what? Raphael Warnock didn't mention that it was Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer that caused the war in Ukraine. When they refused to vote in favor of my sanctions to sanction Nord Stream 2, I had shut down Nord Stream 2. I had passed legislation that shut it down. And on the day of the vote, Joe Biden came personally to Capitol Hill and lobbied the Democrat senators. Now, actually, Raphael Wardock voted with me. But 44 Democrats flipped their votes at Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer's behest and voted in favor of Russia and Putin and against sanctioning the pipeline. And weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine. So he admitted no responsibility for his own party in causing this war. He also admitted no responsibility of the Biden administration for funding both sides of this war, for sending billions of dollars to Iran that is used to make drones that Russia is using to kill Ukrainian soldiers that right now Biden is literally funding both sides of the war. He admits no fault there. Instead, he moralizes and he says on the border, he's open to reasonable, quote, bipartisan solutions. Well, baloney. Raphael Warnock and the rest of the Democrats have voted every single time over and over and over again in favor of open borders, against anything to secure the border. They have not budged even once. And I will say, I will invite Rafael. I will invite any of my Democratic colleagues. Come with me to the border. See the dead bodies that Texas farmers and ranchers find every day. Look in the eyes of the children who are being sexually assaulted and brutalized by the human traffickers. Look in the eyes of the women who've been violently raped. Look in the eyes of the parents who've had kids who they've lost to fentanyl and drug overdoses because of the drug traffickers. This is an existential crisis. And you hear him saying, well, it's just playing politics. Listen, the position of Republicans, quite reasonably, is that we're not going to focus on securing Ukraine's border until we secure our own border. Because right now, Joe Biden and the Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have an open invitation to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists to cross our southern border. And, Ben, we are living on borrowed time. I think it is only a matter of time before we see, tragically, another major terrorist attack, because this administration is doing nothing to prevent terrorists from coming in. And they've sat by and allowed 9.6 million to come into this country.
Ben Ferguson
You know, the other day, and this is a clip we played a moment ago. There was. I think it was, what do you say, 12,000, 13,000 legal immigrants that came across the border?
Senator Ted Cruz
12,000 in one day?
Ben Ferguson
Yeah. On Wednesday, when you have 12,000 people coming across the border in one day. Terrorists are not stupid. They understand that that means there's a very good chance that you'll be able to get terrorists in, because a lot of the 12,000 are people that want to be. Are turning themselves into the US Government because of all the free stuff they get. They're not afraid of Border patrol.
Senator Ted Cruz
They're seeking them out. And, Ben, that 12,000 doesn't include the gotaways. So as concerning as the 12,000 is, the number that is more concerning are the gotaways or the people that run. Those are the ones that are likely to be the criminals, that are likely to be the terrorists that are on the terror watch list, that are the. That are the gang members. Those are the ones that are really dangerous. And we have no idea. What we do know and what. What this podcast has covered is the Border Patrol agents have been instructed to be on guard for Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists coming in. What we do know is Chris Wray, the director of the FBI, has suddenly discovered that there's a risk at our southern border. And. And his testimony in Congress has changed dramatically in recent months about the risk of terrorism for the southern border. And the only reasonable explanation for that is the FBI is seeing more and more that has them worried about what's coming because this administration won't secure the border.
Ben Ferguson
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Raphael Warnock
Take a listen to hear from President Zelensky today. Say that the Ukrainian economy has grown 5% this year. This after now its second year in brutal war with Russia. That obviously sending a message to lawmakers here that their help has been effective and warranted and welcomed. You know we talk a lot about Republicans not wanting to continue funding Ukraine at least without getting something in return. The president making clear last week that he is willing to negotiate on border security and take that issue seriously with more investments. How is that sitting with some members of your own party who may be worried, as has been reported, that he's conceding too much on this front?
Seth Moulton
Well, here's the concern. I think there are a lot of members of my Democratic Party that recognize we have to do more on the border, that we need to strengthen the border, but we don't want to scuttle what we fundamentally need when it comes to immigration policy in the United States, which is a full immigration deal. A deal that not only includes what Republicans want, which is increased border security, but also what Democrats want, which is a pathway to citizenship. Some hope for all the kids, for example, who were brought here years ago by their parents and yet are sitting in legal limbo through no fault of their own. They go to American schools, they participate in the American economy, and yet they're not technically legal citizens. The vast majority of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, want a fix for that problem as well, but Republicans in Congress aren't willing to do it unless it's paired with border security. So the concern is that if the president bargains away what the Republicans want on border security just to get aid on Ukraine, then it imperils the chances of what we really need on immigration, which is full, comprehensive reforms.
Raphael Warnock
And a reminder for our viewers, this isn't just about aid to Ukraine. Obviously, this bill includes funding for Israel and Taiwan as well.
Ben Ferguson
I mean, you just gotta laugh like, it's like, all right, well, at least that guy was willing to tell you the truth. This is all about pathways to citizenship. Oh, and then we'll get to the issue of funding for Israel at the very end of the conversation, which, by the way, you and I need to talk about in linked in a second. But give me your reaction to this. I mean, this is at least a Democrat saying, yeah, we're all in favor of illegals coming across the border at these rates and we need to give them a pathway to citizenship, and we're willing to make a trade on that.
Senator Ted Cruz
You know, there's an old line that a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth in Washington and he just let the cat out of the bag. It's interesting. He says, well, it's Republicans that want to secure the border, not us. Not us Democrats. You know, Democrats occasionally claim they do. In fact, you just played Warnock, claiming he did, but Moulton is admitting, no, we don't care about that. We don't care about that at all. What do we care about amnesty? What do we care about a path to citizenship? What do we care about turning every illegal alien we can into a Democrat voter? It's only politics. You know what's striking Seth Molten is someone who holds himself out as one of the more moderate Democrats. So he, he typically is not lumped in with the crazies on the left. And even a so called moderate Democrat, he's like we don't care about border security. And by the way, he says he wants hope for the kids. Well what about hope for the little boys and the little girls who are being brutalized who are being sexually assaulted Today, right now, today there are children being assaulted by human traffickers. The Democrats literally, Ben, do not care why there's a political objective. What do they care about? They want citizenship. And if a bunch of children have to be violated, that is a perfectly acceptable price. It is cynical, it is cruel, it is evil. And I've seen too many of these kids, I've looked in their eyes. I talked about on Vertical last time we were down there, the 10 year old girl that had an adult man who claimed to be her father and obviously wasn't. And, and when you've seen children being abused day after day, you can't turn a blind eye to it. The entire Democrat party, that is their position and they're simply in denial. And right at the end, the CNN host, I loved it. Through it, through it. Well don't forget this is also about Israel funding without mentioning because of course cnn, they're not actual journalists, they are propagandists. They are propagandists for the left wing of the Democrat Party. You know what she didn't mention? The House of Representatives passed funding for Israel separate, completely separate from this. And the Senate. As we talked about in length on on Verdict on a previous podcast, I and several other senators forced a vote on the Senate floor to pass Israel funding separate from all of this. And every single Democrat voted no. Chuck Schumer whipped against military funding for Israel. And by the way, he did this after several Democrat senators had just come from the National Mall on the march for Israel. They went, walked onto the Senate floor and voted against military funding for Israel. And you know part of why they did that? Because they knew the useful idiots at CNN and at the Washington Post and the New York Times would not report on it. They would tell nobody. So yes, it is true. We don't have military aid to Israel that has passed yet. And the reason is Chuck Schumer and the Democrats blocked it. And if they hadn't, that bill would have been on Joe Biden's desk weeks ago.
Ben Ferguson
Let's talk about that Israeli funding because this is really important. Obviously as you mentioned, Democrats said hell no to it. No one, not a single Democrat would go with you. Guys, what does it look like now moving forward and how desperate is the need from Israel at this point? It's amazing that Democrats are going all in with Ukraine and the corruption there, asking no questions, whereas in Israel there's none of those questions that need to be asked. And, and, and there's transparency and we know what's going on and yet they're saying not so much. And even the White House now is starting to distance themselves from Israel, changing their tune a little bit over the last couple of days, which is, is what I expected. But it's also incre. Disheartening.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, look, the one word I disagree with that you said there is, you said even the White House. Listen, we've outlined at length on this podcast how this White House is the most anti Israel White House we've ever had.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
Senator Ted Cruz
And Joe Biden and this White House have been undermining Israel from the day Biden was sworn in as president, repeatedly. And we've outlined from the very first minutes of this attack on October 7th, this White House has been undermining Israel, has been urging Israel do not retaliate, do not attack Hamas, do not kill the terrorists. From day one. The State Department, the State Department literally tweeted that out on the night of October 7th while people were still being murdered, while women and children were being raped. The State Department is tweeting out Israel, do not respond militarily. Do not kill the terrorists. And so yes, you're right, the White House doesn't really care about the Israel funding. In fact, we know they don't, because if they cared about it, we'd pass it as a freestanding bill. It has the votes to pass as a freestanding bill, but their only interest on Israel funding is to use it as a sweetener to try to convince Republicans to fund the rest of the Democrats priorities. And I think that's incredibly cynical. I think it's wrong and their focus is on Ukraine. But it's interesting if you want to take away from what we've seen over the last six weeks in Washington, it's the Democrats are much, much more committed to open borders than they are to the war in Ukraine. And they're willing to abandon funding for Ukraine in order to keep the tragedy of open borders at our southern border. That is a higher priority for them. And it's incredibly revealing because they, they self righteously claim otherwise. And, and, and look, you look at why Zelensky came this week, it's Chuck Schumer trying to browbeat Republicans into saying give us what we want even though we will do nothing on the border. And I think that has zero chance of success.
Ben Ferguson
Let me talk to you about your IRA and your 401k. It has been a crazy year with our economy. It's been a crazy year on Wall Street. And if you are in retirement or getting close to retirement planning for it, then you know the stress of of what happens when you see those dollars disappear and you know that there's not a lot of time left to make up those losses. That is where people turn to gold to help diversify their portfolio. Now there are a lot of companies that sell gold. The one that I use is Augusta Precious Metals because they help me protect my retirement. They help me diversify and they answer all of my questions and have a plan that's right just for me. Now here's the other thing about Augusta Precious Metals. They do a one on one web conference with each and every person so that you can ask them and they answer every question that you have because they understand everybody's goals, everybody's portfolio, everybody's retirement account is different. So they shouldn't be treated like they're all the same. That's what makes Augusta Precious Metals so unique is a company you can call them and you can sit down with them and do a one on one web conference and you can also get the free investors guide on gold. They'll answer your questions and talk to you about how to protect your hard earned dollars by using gold in your IRA or your 401K. The number 8774 the number 4 Gold IRA that's 877 the number 4 Gold IRA or online at Augusta Precious Metals.com that's Augusta Precious Metals.com or 877 the number 4 Gold IRA. Senator, I want to also move to one other subject real quick that I think is obviously an important one and that is to give an update on what's going on now with impeachment. We've seen the House committee is going to vote on impeachment. The House Speaker Mike Johnson says the White House is impeding the investigation to President Joe Biden. Biden and the next step will be a vote to formalize an impeachment inquiry. This also as Fox News is reporting that Hunter Biden received $250,000 wires originating in Beijing with a beneficiary address listed as Joe Biden's home. This is all about the as the House Oversight Committee put the Biden's influence peddling and and what they have been doing this vote center is a very important vote and it's also going to give Republicans more power. Explain why this vote is important.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, the House has scheduled the vote today. It is a vote on a resolution formalizing the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. And previously the House had not scheduled that vote because it wasn't clear that they had the votes to pass it. And so Kevin McCarthy, when he was speaker, he didn't schedule it because it looked like the votes weren't there. What Republicans are telling the press at least is it looks like the votes are there. And so a number of the Republicans who are in blue districts that Biden carried are now moving forward. So, for example, Mike Garcia in California said, quote, there is enough substantiation to move forward and, quote, the executive branch made clear they're not going to cooperate with the inquiry unless we formalize it. So let's formalize it. Another one, Mark Molinaro, who's a Republican from New York, again in a district Biden carried, said, quote, congress has every responsibility to provide oversight. There are serious questions of impropriety. The White House and the president have yet to comply with requests for information and subpoenas, adding that he is, quote, inclined to support the measure. And another Republican from New York, again in a district, and in fact the most Democrat leaning district of any Republican, Anthony Desposito, said that he will vote to authorize the inquiry. And so what we are hearing is the votes are there. It's scheduled for a vote today. And the resolution directs the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees to, quote, continue their ongoing investigations as a part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist to impeach Biden. And so formally voting this for this is a significant step forward and I'm glad they're going to do that. I hope they pass it. And we will discuss on the next verdict what happens when the vote happens later today.
Ben Ferguson
Don't forget, you can listen to the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday, plus our week in review on Saturdays. Make sure if you're listening on Apple, you check and hit that follow button if you're listening on an iPhone right now as the algorithms have changed or whatever, wherever you're listening. This podcast also something really cool. We just put up a full episode on Twitter or I should say on X now. You can now watch on X the entire video pod that we put out. It's on YouTube as well. We put up on Facebook, but it's also now on X. We did that on yesterday for the this episode that came out on Monday. It's really cool to see a lot of you guys get to interact with that, so make sure you check that out if you haven't as well. Also, on those in between dates, don't forget I will keep you updated with what's going on in the world with the Ben Ferguson Podcast. So make sure you subscribe or download the Ben Ferguson Podcast as well. And the Senator and I will see you back here on Friday morning.
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson: Episode Summary
Episode Title: Dems Make Clear: They Support Open Borders MUCH More than They Care about Ukraine
Release Date: December 13, 2023
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz
Overview:
The episode opens with Ben Ferguson introducing Senator Ted Cruz to discuss recent developments involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington. Zelensky's mission was to secure additional funding for Ukraine, which Cruz argues is intrinsically linked to broader issues such as U.S. border security and aid to Israel.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
Ben Ferguson [00:02]: "And you can't ask questions about where the money's going or transparency. We've just got to write them this blank check."
Overview:
Ferguson and Cruz delve into the impasse between Democrats and Republicans regarding the integration of border security measures into Ukraine funding packages. They highlight Speaker Mike Johnson's frustration with the White House's reluctance to negotiate on border security.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
Mike Johnson [02:37]: "This is about our own sovereignty. These are policy changes that could be easily made. But the White House has been very reluctant."
Senator Ted Cruz [02:22]: "Schumer and the Democrats are living in an alternate reality and they're just assuming Republicans will cave. Now, sadly, that is a reasonable assumption in a lot of instances."
Overview:
Cruz discusses the internal dynamics within the Democratic Party, particularly their denial regarding the severity of the border crisis. He recounts a classified Senate briefing where Democratic leaders, including Schumer, dismissed Republican concerns about border security.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
Senator Ted Cruz [05:22]: "Schumer bizarrely believes that that is a reasonable and viable negotiating position. Now last week, David Cameron was in town... and I said to Cameron... the chances of a bill that funds Ukraine and doesn't secure the border, the chances of that passing the house are 0.00%."
Overview:
The discussion shifts to Senator Raphael Warnock’s recent comments on Ukraine funding and immigration. Warnock suggests that Democrats are open to negotiating border security in exchange for continued aid to Ukraine, a stance Cruz vehemently opposes.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
Raphael Warnock [16:06]: "A full immigration deal... includes what Republicans want, which is increased border security, but also what Democrats want, which is a pathway to citizenship."
Senator Ted Cruz [27:36]: "What do we care about amnesty? What do we care about a path to citizenship?... The Democrats literally, Ben, do not care why there's a political objective."
Overview:
Cruz elaborates on the Biden administration's border policies, specifically the termination of Title 42 and the implementation of "catch and release" practices, which he argues have exacerbated the border crisis.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
Senator Ted Cruz [12:00]: "Joe Biden and the Democrats... refused to follow the law. They've implemented, catch and release, and the numbers have skyrocketed. 9.6 million illegal aliens have crossed under Joe Biden."
Overview:
The conversation transitions to U.S. military aid to Israel, wherein Cruz accuses Democrats of hypocritically supporting Ukraine while obstructing funding for Israel.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [31:20]: "The Democrats are much, much more committed to open borders than they are to the war in Ukraine. They’re willing to abandon funding for Ukraine in order to keep the tragedy of open borders at our southern border."
Raphael Warnock [27:03]: "A pathway to citizenship... the vast majority of Americans... want a fix for that problem... Republicans in Congress aren't willing to do it unless it’s paired with border security."
Overview:
Towards the end of the episode, Cruz addresses the impending impeachment vote against President Joe Biden, underscoring its significance in the current political landscape.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [36:01]: "The House has scheduled the vote today... a significant step forward and I'm glad they're going to do that. I hope they pass it."
Ben Ferguson [36:01]: "This also as Fox News is reporting that Hunter Biden received $250,000 wires originating in Beijing with a beneficiary address listed as Joe Biden's home."
In this episode, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz passionately dissect the Democratic Party's stance on key national issues, particularly highlighting perceived hypocrisies in their foreign aid and immigration policies. They argue that Democrats prioritize open borders and unconditional support for Ukraine over essential border security measures and steadfast international alliances, such as with Israel. Additionally, the upcoming impeachment vote against President Biden is presented as a crucial moment for Republican oversight and accountability.
Note: The above summary omits advertisements and promotional segments present in the transcript to focus solely on the substantive discussions between Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz.