The Battle for Kilmar Garcia, Trump's EPA Slashing Billions & Harvard's Federal Funding Freeze

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Episode: The Battle for Kilmar Garcia, Trump's EPA Slashing Billions & Harvard's Federal Funding Freeze
Release Date: April 16, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson delves into three pressing issues affecting America: the Democrats' effort to secure the release of Kilmar Garcia, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) unprecedented deregulation under Lee Zeldin, and the Trump administration's suspension of federal funding to Harvard University. Ferguson provides in-depth analysis, exclusive insights, and critical commentary on these topics, enriched with notable quotes and perspectives from key figures involved.

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1. The Battle for Kilmar Garcia

Democratic Efforts to Secure Garcia's Release

Ben starts the discussion by highlighting the Democratic Party's intensified campaign to secure the release of Kilmar Alberrego Garcia, a Maryland resident deported to El Salvador and currently detained in a high-security terrorism confinement center. Senator Chris Van Hollen spearheads this initiative, planning a trip to El Salvador to advocate for Garcia's release, which Ferguson critiques as a mere "photo op."

Key Points:

• Garcia's Background: Identified as a member of the MS-13 gang, a group declared a terrorist organization, raising concerns about his safety and intentions if released.
• Democratic Motives: Ferguson argues that Democrats are prioritizing political gains over national security by defending Garcia, who poses a threat due to his gang affiliations.
• Propaganda Concerns: Ferguson labels the Democrats' narrative as propaganda, emphasizing that Garcia's location and status are clear, contrary to his wife's public statements of his "disappearance."

Notable Quotes:

• Senator Chris Van Hollen (01:19 – 04:03): "We are not releasing him," emphasizing El Salvador's authority over domestic judgments regarding Garcia.
• Garcia's Wife (04:03 – 04:57): "Today is 34 days after his disappearance... I pray for the day I tell them the time and date that you'll return." Ferguson uses this to illustrate the emotional appeal versus the factual situation.
• Ben Ferguson (05:51 – 07:50): "If you're in our country illegally, you're a criminal. Illegal immigration is illegal. Duh." Criticizing the Democrats for not supporting law enforcement and public safety.

Analysis: Ferguson contends that the Democrats' push to release Garcia undermines U.S. border security and law enforcement efforts. He underscores the omission of Garcia's MS-13 affiliation in media narratives as a deliberate attempt to sway public opinion. Additionally, Ferguson highlights Republican responses defending the administration's stance on illegal immigration and emphasizing public safety.

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2. Trump's EPA Slashing Billions

EPA's Massive Deregulatory Actions Under Lee Zeldin

Transitioning to environmental policy, Ferguson discusses EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's announcement of the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history. Zeldin claims these measures will slash government waste, fraud, and abuse, potentially saving "billions and billions."

Key Points:

• Deregulation Scale: Zeldin is canceling over $22 billion in contracts and environmental justice grants, part of Trump's broader initiative to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
• Economic Impact: These cuts are projected to free up $22 billion from the EPA's $10 billion annual operating budget, with plans for trillions in deregulation throughout 2025.
• Job Creation and Economic Growth: Zeldin asserts that deregulation will create jobs, particularly in the auto sector, and make it easier for Americans to buy and heat homes.

Notable Quotes:

• Lee Zeldin (05:44 – 07:15): "We are going back to the basics, to the core mission at EPA. It is protecting human health and the environment and we are going to power the great American comeback."
• Ben Ferguson (07:15 – 15:19): "The EPA administrator... has now moved to cancel over 22 billion in contracts... This is exactly what the American people voted for when they said we want Donald Trump back in the White House."

Analysis: Ferguson praises the EPA's aggressive deregulatory stance as a fulfillment of Trump's promises to eliminate government waste and foster economic growth. He criticizes the Biden administration for prioritizing ideological pursuits over the EPA's fundamental mission. Ferguson emphasizes that these actions align with voter intentions for reduced government intervention and increased economic opportunities, portraying Zeldin's efforts as pivotal for America's resurgence.

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3. Harvard's Federal Funding Freeze

Trump Administration Freezes Grants Over Non-Compliance

The final segment addresses the Trump administration's decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard University. This move follows Harvard's refusal to comply with federal demands to reform its policies to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination on campus.

Key Points:

• Federal Demands: Harvard was instructed to adopt merit-based hiring, cease all identity-based discrimination in admissions and hiring, and reform its recruitment of international students to exclude those supportive of terrorism or anti-Semitism.
• University's Response: Harvard criticized the administration's demands as invasive of academic freedom and insufficient in addressing actual efforts to combat hate and bias on campus.
• Funding Suspension: In retaliation, the administration suspended $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in contracts, signaling a significant escalation in enforcing policy compliance.

Notable Quotes:

• Claudine Gay (15:19 – 16:44): "When it comes to Harvard, the President's position on this is grounded in common sense... We are not going to tolerate illegal harassment and anti-Semitism taking place."
• Ben Ferguson (16:44 – 17:10): "It is very clear the Trump administration is saying we're going to save you money. And we're also going to make sure that places like Harvard have to follow the federal law. And if they don't, there's going to be consequences."

Analysis: Ferguson frames the Trump administration's actions as a necessary enforcement of federal law against discriminatory practices, highlighting Harvard's significant financial endowment contrasted with its reliance on federal grants. He underscores the administration's commitment to ensuring educational institutions adhere to federal standards on non-discrimination. Ferguson also points out the perceived hypocrisy in taxpayer funds supporting a wealthy university that allegedly harbors anti-Semitic sentiments, reinforcing the administration's stance on accountability and legal compliance.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Ben Ferguson provides a comprehensive overview of three significant national issues, combining factual reporting with critical analysis. He emphasizes the importance of national security in the case of Kilmar Garcia, lauds the EPA's deregulation efforts as a catalyst for economic growth, and supports the Trump administration's stringent measures against Harvard University for non-compliance with federal anti-discrimination mandates. Throughout the discussion, Ferguson reinforces the narrative of prioritizing American interests, law enforcement, and economic prosperity over political correctness and ideological agendas.

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Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Caroline Levitt]

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[Clay]

Hey Clay, if there was a summer camp for critical thinking, we'd be the chief counselors.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Those jelly heads in June would be.

[Ben Ferguson]

Intellectual warriors by August.

[Clay]

Be a lot of fun too. Some Bill and Ted's excellent adventure references.

[Ben Ferguson]

Thrown in this podcast like a daily dose of that. Minus the campfires, archery and pranking, the girls.

[Clay]

The bonafide boot camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Just search our names Clay and Balk. Listen and subscribe Today I'm proud to announce that In February, the US Navy had its best recruiting numbers since 2002. That's a long time ago, and under my administration, the Navy is on track to have the best recruiting year since the start of the war on terror. But going back further than that, probably 25 to 30 years.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Good Wednesday morning, Ben Ferguson with you. It's nice to have you on the 47 Morning Update, and here are the three big stories you need to know about. First up, Democrats. Democrats are now putting together a team to travel to El Salvador to demand the release of a man who broke into America, who's apparently a member of the MS.13 gang, which has been declared a terrorist organization. That's who the Democrats are defending. And I'll give you all the details in just a moment. Also, EPA Chief Lee Zeldin is now leading the largest deregulation action in the history of this country. How much money is it going to save you? Billions and billions. And I'll have that story for you as well. And finally, the money. It's being cut off as Harvard refuses to comply with federal law and the Trump administration is saying, well, good luck because you're not getting the money from the United States government. It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. 1 so this is not a joke. Democrats right now are going all in and, quote, intensifying their efforts to secure the release of Kilmar Alberrego Garcia. He is that man from Maryland who was deported to El Salvador and currently being detained in the country's high security terrorism confinement center. Senator Chris Van Hollen is leading the way with Democrats who think somehow this is going to be a winning issue with the American people. He has announced plans to travel to El Salvador for what is nothing but a photo op. Because we just heard from the president of El Salvador and he's like, we're not releasing him. And why is he going to, quote, advocate for the man's release, stating his intent to meet with the Salvadorian officials and visit the detention facility to, quote, check on Garcia's well being. Now, I am glad to know that they know where he is because in another photo op, his wife said, we don't know where he is, hours after the center said we're going to see him in the prison. Take a listen to the propaganda from MSNBC as they have also decided to go all in to back the illegal immigrant over the American people. The wife of Kilmar Abreco Garcia just spoke outside of a courthouse in Maryland ahead of a hearing about his wrongful deportation. His mistaken deportation to El Salvador.

[Kilmar Abreco Garcia's Wife]

Today is 34 days of after his disappearance. And I stand before you filled with spirit that refuses to bring down. I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn't forgotten about you. Our children are asking, when would you come home? And I pray for the day I tell them the time and date that you'll return. As we continue through Holy Week, my heart aches for my husband who should have been here leading our Easter prayers. Instead, I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmer.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, this is clearly propaganda. You heard the wife there say today is 34 days of after his disappearance. Well, you know where he is. He hasn't actually been disappeared because he was arrested. And you know where he has been sent. And there are centers saying they're going to check on him. Now, if you think that Democrats are going to give up on this, you are wrong. Even the Trump borders are talking about how all of this went down and how El Salvador, he's saying, look, they can give him back if they want to. It's pretty clear that the El Salvador president said we're not sending him back because why? He's our citizen. Tom, how do you Respond to these Democratic lawmakers, including Van Hollen, who say.

[Caroline Levitt]

They'Re going to now ask for a.

[Ben Ferguson]

Meeting with the president there in El Salvador. They're going to travel there and demand his release.

[Tom]

Well, good luck with that. Caroline Levin is exactly right. Every time I read a story about this as Maryland father, Maryland father, they don't mention he's a member of Ms. 13, who is not a designated terrorist group, one of the most violent gangs in the world. They don't mention he's ms.13 member. They don't mention he's an El Salvadoran citizen being held by the country of El Salvador. El Salvador makes that decision. Now, the court said we got to facilitate. Will facilitate, but El Salvador has full authority on this. Again, a terrorist threat. Now, if somehow he comes back and that happens, he's going to be detained and removed. Again, he's an Ms. 13 gang member. Based on our intelligence and El Salvador's intelligence, he will be detained and he will be deported. What's the sense of bringing someone back to simply go and face deportation? Again, he's a public safety threat. He's a gang member, and he's a designated terrorist. We should not be bringing any of those people back to the United States. That's my opinion.

[Ben Ferguson]

Isn't it amazing that the wife doesn't tell you that her husband's a member of the Ms. 13 gang, which is also a terrorist organization? Isn't it amazing that MSNBC also refuses to tell you why he was actually deported from this country? Senator Kennedy, however, was on msnbc. Just kidding. No, he wasn't. He was on Fox News Channel, where the same people are. He was asked about this entire issue. Take a listen.

[Caroline Levitt]

I think the President's right. If you're in our country illegally, you're a criminal. Illegal immigration is illegal. Duh. And I think there are plenty of laws which President Biden ignored that allow us to deport you. I mean, to me, it's just straightforward. And people who oppose that approach, it seems to me, are not being intellectually honest. They just ought to go ahead and admit they support open borders.

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator Kennedy is absolutely right. He said it the same way I would have. The President is right. And if you're in this country illegally, you're a criminal. Illegal immigration is illegal. Duh. And I think there's plenty of laws which President Biden ignored that allowed us to deport you. That is exactly why we are seeing law and order now. And we're also seeing the Democrats choosing sides. They are not in favor of keeping you safe. They are not in favor of going after Ms. 13 gang members. They're not in favor of deporting people that are a danger to your family. And that's why President Trump is doing it. Now, as for these Democrats, they're going all in to protect the people that aren't even citizens of this country that broke in. So let that sit in and decide which side of the aisle you're going to sit on on this issue. Next story number two, saving you money. It is a promise that Donald Trump said he was going to make good on when it came to government waste, fraud and abuse. We know what Doge has been doing, but we now have found out other ways that the president is helping make Americans more money. And this is coming from the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin. He said in an interview that he is, quote, shocked by how much money we are able to save with, quote, the largest deregulatory action ever, slashing, quote, trillions of dollars in deregulation. The Environmental Protection Agency chief, Zeldin spoke during a roundtable with Breitbart News editor in chief about what all is happening and the agency's efforts to slash government waste, fraud and abuse. The EPA administrator, a former congressman, has now moved to cancel over 22 billion in contracts as part of President Donald Trump's initiative to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies, known as dei. He also has said that they are canceling environmental justice grants and canceling other government spending. That is basically just straight up waste and fraud. Zeldin emphasized the degree to which the administration has been able to make significant savings by cutting. Zeldin said the agency's annual operating budget is $10 billion while they have been able to cut 22 billion in grants alone. Yes, 22 billion in grants. Now the leader of the agency said, quote, one month ago we announced that it amounts to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States of America. One agency will do more deregulation in 2025 than entire federal government wide deregulatory efforts ever of any administration. He went on to say, we're going to have trillions of dollars of deregulation just in the EPA, just in 2025. We're going to do all this while creating jobs, including in the auto sector. We're going to make it easier to buy a home, make it easier to be able to heat your home. This is the mandate. This is the term mandate. This is what people voted for last November and we're going to follow through to get it done. He went on to say so if you're asking what is the future of these terms like environmental justice or climate change, we're going back to the basics, to the core mission at epa. It is protecting human health and the environment and we are going to power the great American comeback. Now Zeldin announced in mid March that he would move to clear hundreds of backlog cases to clean air, saying that the Biden administration focused on partisan ideological pursuits rather than the agency's core mission, saying, we're going to go back to those basics and the core mission at the EPA is protecting you the environment, and we're going to make sure that we do that. Pillar one, he said, is clean air and water for all Americans to unleash energy dominance. He said, it's important that we make sure that the American people understand that the government is on their side. Zeldin also made it clear that the total goal of his job and his department is to make it easier for Americans to succeed in business while also giving us protection for the basics at the core of the epa, not a partisan political green ideology or green religion. And this is exactly what the American people voted for when they said we want Donald Trump back in the White House. And now they're getting it. And finally, story number three. In a major move, the Trump administration has just frozen 2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University after the elite university announced it would not comply with demands for reform to stop anti Semitism and other forms of discrimination. Harvard University revealed that it will not comply with the Trump administration's list of demands for the university to make changes to its policies regarding hiring, governance, student admission and antisemitism. In a letter issued on Monday, lawyers for the university criticized an earlier letter from the Trump administration as disregarding Harvard's efforts to make changes to its campus use policies to address and combat hate and bias on campus and enhance campus safety and security measures, among other efforts. The university added that the demands from the administration invade university freedom long recognized by the Supreme Court. Now, the requests from the Trump administration were actually very simple. They asked for Harvard to, quote, adopt and implement merit based hiring policies and cease all performances based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin throughout its hiring, promotion and compensation, the related practices among faculty, staff and leadership. By August 2025, quote, the university must reform its recruitment, its screening and admissions of international students to prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the U.S. constitution and Declaration of Independence. Including students supportive of terrorism or anti Semitism is one of the other things that was Written by the administration. Now in response, the Trump administration to Harvard saying we're not playing ball. Well, they now have suspended some 2.2 billion of the nearly 9 billion in federal grants that are at risk. The Harvard Crimson, the university student run newspaper reported this way saying, quote, the Trump administration paused 2.2 billion in multi year grants and 60 million and multi year contracts to Harvard over its decision earlier today to reject the White House's demand. A dramatic escalation in its crusade against the university. Now, if you want to know what the White House says about this, take a listen to Caroline Levitt speaking to the media on this issue.

[Claudine Gay]

When it comes to Harvard, the President's position on this is grounded in common sense, in the basic principle that Jewish American students or students of any faith should not be illegally harassed and targeted on our nation's college campuses. And we unfortunately saw that illegal discrimination take place on the campus of Harvard. There are countless examples to prove it. Particularly with the stunning confession by then Harvard President Claudine Gay, who said that bullying and harassment depended on the context. The President at that time made it clear to the American public he was not going to tolerate illegal harassment and anti Semitism taking place and violations of federal law. So the President made it clear to Harvard, follow federal law, no longer break Title six, which was passed by Congress to ensure no student can be discriminated against on the basis of race and you will receive federal funding. Unfortunately, Harvard has not taken the President, the administration's demands seriously. All the president is asking, don't break federal law and then you can have your federal funding. I think the President is also begging a good question. More than $2 billion out the door to Harvard when they have a more than $50 billion endowment. Why are the American taxpayers subsidizing a university that has billions of dollars in the bank already? And we certainly should not be funding a place where such grave anti Semitism exists.

[Ben Ferguson]

At the end of the day, it is very clear the Trump administration is saying we're going to save you money. And we're also going to make sure that places like Harvard have to follow the federal law. And if they don't, there's going to be consequences. 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.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Clay]

Hey Clay, if there was a summer camp for critical thinking, we'd be the chief counselors.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Those jelly heads in June would be.

[Ben Ferguson]

Intellectual warriors by August.

[Clay]

Be a lot of fun too. Some Bill and Ted's excellent adventure reference princess thrown in this podcast like a.

[Ben Ferguson]

Daily dose of that minus the campfires, archery and pranking the girls.

[Clay]

The bona fide boot camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Just search our names Clay and Bach Listen and subscribe.