Trump Conquers Colombia, CIA Comes Clean on COVID & Confirmations Accelerate

Summary

Summary of "Trump Conquers Colombia, CIA Comes Clean on COVID & Confirmations Accelerate"
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Release Date: January 27, 2025

In this impactful episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson, host Ben Ferguson engages in a compelling discussion with Senator Ted Cruz, focusing on President Trump's aggressive policies on immigration, recent diplomatic confrontations with Colombia, significant developments from the CIA regarding COVID-19 origins, and the swift progression of cabinet confirmations under the Trump administration. The conversation is rich with insights, detailed analyses, and notable quotes that shed light on the current political landscape.

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1. Trump's Decisive Action on Border Security and Colombia Conflict

Time Stamp: [00:01] - [12:23]

The episode opens with Senator Ted Cruz highlighting a dramatic shift in U.S. border policy following President Trump's inauguration. Cruz contrasts the previous administration's lax approach to immigration with the current administration's stringent measures:

Senator Ted Cruz ([00:17]):
"Joe Biden was still president. Now, just seven days later, Marines are on our southern border. Catch and release is over. We are deporting illegal immigrants."

Cruz underscores the administration's swift actions, including the deployment of Marines to the southern border and the halt of the "catch and release" policy. He emphasizes the administration's commitment to deporting illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal backgrounds, labeling it an "incredible victory for President Trump" achieved within hours.

The discussion transitions to the contentious relationship with Colombia. Cruz details an incident where Colombia initially resisted returning illegal immigrants, leading to President Trump's immediate retaliation through threats of tariffs and sanctions. This standoff culminated in Colombia's capitulation within hours, demonstrating the U.S.'s enhanced diplomatic leverage under Trump's leadership:

Senator Ted Cruz ([12:07]):
"It is indeed. And I got to say, the timing of it... is stunning. So Columbia backed down."

This section highlights Trump's strategic use of economic and diplomatic pressure to enforce border security, contrasting sharply with the previous administration's perceived ineffectiveness.

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2. Rapid Deportations of Violent Criminals

Time Stamp: [03:40] - [07:18]

Senator Cruz provides a detailed account of the successful deportations of numerous violent criminals from the U.S., attributing the efficiency of these operations to the Trump administration's policies:

Senator Ted Cruz ([05:23]):
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not care that murderers and rapists were allowed to wander free. They would not arrest them."

He lists specific cases, including the arrests of convicted child rapists, suspected ISIS affiliates, gang members, and individuals with drug trafficking offenses across various cities such as Seattle, Buffalo, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. This comprehensive crackdown is presented as a direct response to the previous administration's failure to act, showcasing the Trump administration's commitment to national security and public safety.

Ben Ferguson echoes these sentiments, questioning the previous administration's inaction and the subsequent impact on American lives:

Ben Ferguson ([05:46]):
"They knew that where they were and they didn't take go get them. They didn't deport them, something that they've done in less than a week."

The conversation emphasizes the administration's ability to swiftly identify and deport dangerous individuals, attributing this success to renewed political leadership and a stark departure from prior lenient policies.

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3. Conflict with Colombia and Diplomatic Leverage

Time Stamp: [07:44] - [17:38]

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the U.S.'s confrontational stance with Colombia regarding the acceptance of illegal immigrants. Senator Cruz details President Trump's strategic response to Colombia’s initial refusal to accept deported individuals:

Senator Ted Cruz ([07:44]):
"President Trump sent out the following truth social... 'I have directed my administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.'"

Cruz enumerates the retaliatory measures, including emergency tariffs on Colombian goods, travel bans, visa sanctions, and enhanced inspections. These measures were swiftly enacted following Colombia's refusal to accept deported individuals, leading to Colombia's rapid capitulation within eight hours:

Senator Ted Cruz ([12:22]):
"So less than eight hours later, that's how long it took for the Colombian president. He didn't just say, okay, nevermind, you can let everyone in. He said, I'll send my damn presidential plane to pick him up."

This incident is portrayed as a testament to the Trump administration's effective use of economic and diplomatic leverage, reinforcing the U.S.'s sovereignty and its capacity to enforce immigration laws robustly.

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4. CIA's Revelation on COVID-19 Origins

Time Stamp: [18:16] - [22:16]

Transitioning from immigration, the conversation delves into a pivotal revelation from the CIA concerning the origins of COVID-19. Senator Cruz discusses CIA Director John Ratcliffe's public statement affirming the intelligence community's assessment that COVID-19 likely originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China:

Senator Ted Cruz ([19:09]):
"The CIA had already concluded this some time ago. It's just under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They didn't bother to tell the American people."

Cruz criticizes the previous administration for concealing this intelligence, framing Ratcliffe's transparency as a significant step towards restoring trust in U.S. institutions. He underscores the importance of releasing such information to the public to maintain accountability and integrity within the intelligence community.

Ben Ferguson adds to the discussion, questioning the administration's prior transparency and the implications of the CIA's newfound openness:

Ben Ferguson ([22:08]):
"This is all intel that we already had that they hid and lied to the American people about."

The segment highlights the administration's shift towards greater transparency and the potential ramifications of acknowledging previously withheld intelligence, positioning it as a move to rebuild public trust.

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5. Cabinet Confirmations and Senate Dynamics

Time Stamp: [26:03] - [31:57]

A substantial focus of the episode is the expedited confirmation of key cabinet members under the Trump administration. Senator Cruz outlines the successful confirmations, noting significant bipartisan support for nominees like Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and John Ratcliffe as CIA Director:

Senator Ted Cruz ([26:03]):
"So right now, four cabinet members have been confirmed... The vote was 99 to nothing."

He details the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, highlighting the contentious nature of his confirmation which narrowly passed with a 51-50 vote, aided by Vice President J.D. Vance's tie-breaking vote:

Senator Ted Cruz ([29:47]):
"The vote ended up being 50-50 on the floor of the Senate, which meant The Vice President, J.D. Vance came late Friday night and he cast the tie-breaking vote. So Pete Hegseth is now the Defense Secretary."

Cruz attributes the administration's success in confirmations to persistent efforts to overcome Democratic opposition, emphasizing the tactical moves to secure votes by keeping senators engaged through weekends. He also addresses the unexpected no votes from traditionally Republican senators, providing insights into internal Senate dynamics and future implications.

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6. Future Cabinet Confirmations

Time Stamp: [27:25] - [32:08]

Looking ahead, Senator Cruz outlines the remaining cabinet positions slated for confirmation, expressing confidence in their forthcoming approvals. He mentions nominees for the Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, and Secretary of the Interior, all of whom are out of committee and poised for swift confirmation:

Senator Ted Cruz ([26:03]):
"We have Scott Besant for Secretary of Treasury, Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation, Chris Wright for Secretary of Energy, and Doug Burgum for Secretary of the Interior. All of them are out of committee. All of them are teed up."

Cruz asserts that all Trump cabinet nominees will be confirmed within 30 days, projecting a pattern of efficiency and momentum in the confirmation process. He also anticipates continued pressure on Democratic senators to prevent further obstructions, maintaining that the administration will proceed expeditiously despite potential delays.

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7. Senate Procedure and Future Expectations

Time Stamp: [32:08] - [33:07]

Senator Cruz elaborates on the Senate's procedural adaptations under the current administration, highlighting efforts to streamline confirmations by adjusting voting schedules and leveraging procedural rules to minimize Democratic obstruction:

Senator Ted Cruz ([32:08]):
"So we're going to move expeditiously and confirm these nominees. The Democrats, if they want, they can abuse the procedural rules, they can drag things out, but that means they're going to be there on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays, and they're not going home."

He anticipates that if Democrats continue to employ obstructionist tactics, the Senate will adopt a more rigorous voting schedule, staying through weekends to apply continuous pressure. Conversely, he remains optimistic that with reduced opposition, the Senate can adhere to a more traditional schedule, concluding confirmations by Thursday afternoons.

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8. Humorous Exchanges

Time Stamp: [24:04] - [25:35]

Interspersed within the serious discussions are lighthearted moments that showcase the rapport between Ferguson and Cruz. A recurring joke centers on Senator Cruz's playful association with the Zodiac Killer meme, highlighting his quick wit and ability to engage in humor despite the gravity of topics discussed:

Senator Ted Cruz ([24:14]):
"During 2016, Trump accused my father of killing JFK, which, for the record, no, my dad did not kill JFK. He did kill Jimmy Hoffa."

Senator Ted Cruz ([25:08]):
"Given that the Zodiac Killer killed a number of people in Northern California in the 1960s before I was born, that's an amazing talent."

These exchanges provide a moment of levity, balancing the intense political discussions with moments of camaraderie and humor.

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9. Conclusion and Future Outlook

Time Stamp: [33:07] - [End]

As the episode wraps up, Senator Cruz reinforces the administration's determination to continue advancing its agenda despite anticipated Democratic resistance. He reiterates the commitment to swiftly confirming remaining cabinet nominees and maintaining the administration's strategic momentum:

Senator Ted Cruz ([32:08]):
"I think if the Democrats agree to collapse time and to move a little faster, I think we may go home Thursday afternoons as well so we can be back in the state on Friday."

Ben Ferguson concludes by encouraging listeners to stay informed through the podcast and upcoming episodes, ensuring continuous coverage of unfolding political events.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Senator Ted Cruz ([05:23]):
  "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not care that murderers and rapists were allowed to wander free."

• Senator Ted Cruz ([07:44]):
  "President Trump sent out the following truth social... 'I have directed my administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.'"

• Senator Ted Cruz ([12:22]):
  "They revoked the authorization midair... It is simply unimaginable that Biden or Harris would have had the backbone to do anything other than to meekly back down."

• Senator Ted Cruz ([19:09]):
  "The CIA had already concluded this some time ago. It's just under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They didn't bother to tell the American people."

• Senator Ted Cruz ([29:47]):
  "Pete Hegseth is now the Defense Secretary."

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This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the Trump administration's recent actions on immigration, foreign policy, intelligence transparency, and the procedural advancements within the Senate to secure key cabinet positions. Through detailed discussions and incisive commentary, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz offer listeners an in-depth analysis of the strategies and implications shaping the current political environment.

Transcript

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Welcome.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you. Senator, nice to be with you on this Monday. And my, oh my, do we have some fun things to talk about, including a very quick war with the US And Colombia over illegal immigrants.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

What a difference a week wit makes. A week ago, Joe Biden was still president. Now, just seven days later, Marines are on our southern border. Catch and release is over. We are deporting illegal immigrants. We are arresting thousands of criminal illegal immigrants, including murderers, including child molesters, including gang members. And the nation of Columbia tried to stand up and say, we will not allow Colombians to come back. Trump immediately retaliated, threatening tariffs. And within hours, Columbia backed down. It went so far, the president of Colombia, a radical socialist, said he would send his presidential plane to America to pick up the Colombian illegal immigrants. It is an incredible victory for President Trump, for the nation, for securing the border in just hours. That is a big, big deal. But that's not all that's going on. We also have the CIA has confirmed its own judgment that the COVID virus originated in China. That's something you and I have talked about. We've talked about on Verdict for a long time. Within hours of John Ratcliffe being confirmed as the director of the C, he made that public. We're going to talk about that as well. And finally, we're going to talk about confirmation. The cabinet members that have already been confirmed who's on deck. I've told you, within 30 days, every single Trump Cabinet member will be confirmed. We'll walk you through exactly where that stands.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's going to be a really fun show today. I also want to remind you about something really important, and that is that today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we remember the great evil of the Holocaust, when millions of Jews were slaughtered during the Nazis reign of terror. Today, the rise in global anti Semitism and the constant attacks on Israel show us that it's more important than ever to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and to ensure that it never happens again. That's why I partnered with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. They provide food, shelter and safety to Jews in Israel and around the world, including those remaining Holocaust survivors. Now, your donation today will help provide food, water, medicine and other basic necessities to the Jewish communities in need. And through your gift, you will stand with the Jewish people and against this growing anti Semitism and hatred that we're witnessing around the world. So give a gift to show your support of the Jewish people today by visiting supportifcj.org that's one word. Support. IFCJ.org you can also call to make a donation. 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888-488-IFCj or [e-mail] so, Senator, before we get into the big war with Colombia, I want to start with the incredible news of the deportations that are taking place with violent rapists, murderers, gang members, drug traffickers that ICE is picking up not just in one city, but all over the country. People that could have been picked up that were walking among us by the Biden Harris administration and they refused to do it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not care that murderers and rapists were allowed to wander free. They would not arrest them. They would not pick them up. In just a week, thousands of illegal immigrants have already been arrested. Here are a few of the examples the White House has put out that they've arrested. Edgar Dela Cruz Monzo, a convicted child rapist, was arrested by ICE in Seattle on January 25th. Or a Jordanian national with suspected ties to ISIS was arrested in Buffalo on January 24th. An MS.13 gang member from El Salvador wanted for aggravated homicide was arrested in Los angeles. Also on January 24th. A Mexican national wanted for murder was arrested in Los Angeles on January 24. A Honduran national was found with coke, cocaine, fentanyl and a firearm. He was arrested in Seattle on January 24. A Ethiopian national who's a convicted sex offender was arrested in New Orleans on January 24th. A Honduran national with convictions for driving while impaired and pending charges including assault and firearms offenses was arrested in Atlanta on January 25. A Brazilian national convicted of vehicular manslaughter was arrested in Boston on January 25th. A Mexican national convicted of three counts of aggravated DUI was arrested in Phoenix on January 24th. Those are just a few of the examples. And let me ask you something, Ben. Why the hell were none of them arrested when Joe Biden and the Democrats were in charge?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's the question that every American should be asking is why were they purposely allowing them to stay and walk among us? And how many people's lives were affected? How many people's lives were lost? How many children were abused because of people like this in this country? They knew that where they were and they didn't take go get them. They didn't deport them, something that they've done in less than a week.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Notice ICE was able to find them and arrest them within days. Many of those were January 24, January 25. Which means we had the information, we knew how to get them. What was missing was the political leadership. It's not that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the Democrats couldn't find these murderers, couldn't find these rapists, couldn't find these terrorists, couldn't find these gang members, couldn't find these child molesters. They could find them. It was actually pretty easy and straightforward for ICE to do. So the reason they weren't arresting them is the Democrats didn't want to arrest them. And understand it's not just Biden and Harris. It is every Senate Democrat who over and over and over again, when we tried to vote and say, let's go after the criminals, they voted no, no, no. Straight party line. I want you to listen to Tom Homan, the new border control czar, talking about what they're doing on the border and what they intend to keep doing.

[Ben Ferguson]

To deport all of those people.

[Tom Homan]

Well, I'll leave up the Congress. You know, I think Congress President has a mandate. This was the number one issue that people voted on. I think Congress has a mandate to give us money. We need. What price you put on national security?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

More detention.

[Tom Homan]

What price you put on all these young ladies have been raped and murdered and burned alive. What price you put on that? What price you find Lincoln Riley's life? What price you put on national security? Like I just explained, when you have a surge that is, we don't secure that border, that's when national security threats enter the country. That's when sex trafficking goes up. That's when, you know, that's when the fentanyl comes in. That killed a quarter million Americans. I don't put a price in that.

[Ben Ferguson]

And on those detention centers, it's amazing in the media keeps arguing a quarter million Americans die from fentanyl. As he described it. He also mentioned Lake and Riley and the Lake and Riley act was finally passed because Republicans are in charge now. And it's going to go, you know, to the President. This is one of those moments where it should have been completely bipartisan. But these are all the things that the Biden Harris administration stopped.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, they blocked it. And by the way, one of their excuses for not deporting people, the real reason they didn't deport people is they want the illegals here. But one of their excuses is they say, well, some countries wouldn't take them back. I gotta say, what we saw with Colombia in the last two days has been stunning. So the Trump administration was flying two different plane loads of Colombian illegal immigrants to Colombia. And the head of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who is a hardcore socialist, radical, anti American, he. He decided, he announced, we're not going to let the planes land. We're not going to take them back. Now. President Trump sent out the following truth social. I just want to read you what the President says. I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States with a large number of illegal criminals were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia's socialist president, Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro's denial of these flights has jeopardized the national security and public safety of the United States. So I have directed my administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures. Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%. A travel ban and immediate revocations on the Colombian government officials and all allies and supporters. Visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government. Enhance Customs and Border Protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds IA treasury, banking and financial sanctions to be fully imposed. These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States. Now that truth was posted on January 26th at 1:28pm within hours, Columbia completely caved. The White House press secretary put out a statement that read as follows, quote, the government of Columbia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US Military aircraft, without limitation or delay. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve and not signed unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement. The visa sanctions issued by the State Department and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection will remain in effect until the first plane loan of Colombian deportees is successfully returned. Today's events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation's sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's amazing how fast this happened, and also the backstory. So this tweet that went out went out apparently while Donald Trump was playing golf. And he was clearly focused on this at the same time he's been all over the country, from North Carolina all the way out to la, then to Vegas and back to Miami. And you look at the timeline here, it is incredible. This man doesn't stop. And he was ready for this fight. His team was ready for this fight. That is, I think, maybe the biggest blessing of him not getting reelected in 2020 is he had time to think about, hey, if I go back, what would I do differently? They're clearly operating at a different level of efficiency this time compared to 2016, and it's paying off big.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It is indeed. And I got to say, the timing of it, As I mentioned, 1:28pm was when Trump's Truth Social came out on January 26th. Do you know when the press secretary sent out her statement that Columbia had caved?

[Ben Ferguson]

What time?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

At 9:20pm on 1 26. So less than eight hours later, that's how long it took for the Colombian president. He didn't just say, okay, nevermind, you can let everyone in. He said, I'll send my damn presidential plane to pick him up. And that capitulation, and this is from a hardcore leftist who hates America. It illustrates the strength and leverage the United States has. Every country in the world wants to trade, wants access to the US Market. That gives us leverage. It's one of the things we've talked about a lot concerning tariffs, which is that President Trump uses them as leverage. Now, he likes tariffs generally, so we may see tariffs as a broader policy, but he especially likes them as leverage to change conduct that is hurting America. And Ben, I want to ask you a simple question. Can you imagine any universe in which Joe Biden or Kamala Harris would do this?

[Ben Ferguson]

No. No chance in hell.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, number one, you have to imagine a universe in which they're actually willing to deport someone. And that's a big hypothetical. But let's assume they sent two planes to Colombia and the Colombian president did what he did to Trump, he would have done it to them, too. Say, we won't take them. It is simply unimaginable that Biden or Harris would have had the backbone to do anything other than to meekly back down and say, okay, we'll take the criminals back. Like this is. It is a simple illustration that America always had the power to enforce our borders. If we had a president who gave a damn about it and was willing to do what was necessary, and thank God, finally we do, it also sends.

[Ben Ferguson]

A bigger message to other countries that we're gonna have to deal with, because there's a lot of other countries, I think, simplistically, A lot of people think, well, okay, the southern border, we have an issue with Mexico. Let's be very clear. There are millions of people that are in America illegally from countries all over the world. And these types of flights are going to need to land in many other countries. The precedent for what Donald Trump put out and saying it's not just going to be a tariff of 25%, but in a week it's going to go to 50%. It's not just that. We're going to make sure that anybody in your country, in your government, family, allies, friends, can't come to America. We're going to get rid of the business.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, that, that piece, listen, if you're the foreign minister and your wife wants to go to New York to go shopping, that's a real problem. If she's not allowed to go to New York to go shopping. You want to talk about that? That's one of the areas of leverage that actually causes foreign leaders to freak out when they're not allowed to access America for many reasons. People travel from all over the world and want to come to America and it's using leverage. And we've talked on this pod a lot about the enormous damage that was done to America under Joe Biden because he was so weak. Nobody was afraid of him.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No enemies are terrified of Donald Trump. That is very, very good.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, and it goes back to this now. Every country that we're going to need to take these planes and just so people understand, they had agreed that these plans could land in Colombia. It wasn't like Donald Trump randomly just had two plans headed towards Colombia. This had been prearranged. The President said yes. Then in the air, he said no.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

They revoke the authorization midair. And I gotta say, look, look, there's an online meme that is FA fo. And because this is a family friendly podcast, I'm not going to spell it out, but I'm going to say to speak euphemistically, screw around and find out.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And Donald Trump tweeted that out like, okay, that, that's just pretty damn funny.

[Ben Ferguson]

So every other country now that we've got to deal with, wasn't this clearly a, I would argue probably a pre planned. Any country that messes with us here is what we're going to do back to them. And now every country knows you're going to get the same treatment.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I'll tell you, I met a week ago with a senior government official from Canada who was very concerned about the threat and Tariffs on Canada was saying, okay, what do we do? And I basically said, listen, he's not bluffing. What I would advise you do is lean in vigorously and aggressively to do everything humanly possible to help us secure the borders. Because if you don't, you're gonna see those tariffs, and no matter how aggressive you were thinking of being to secure the border, triple down on that. Because this is not a bluff. It is a real incredible promise. And I gotta say, as we saw in less than eight hours, it can spur incredible change of conduct. By the way, in the first Trump term, we saw the same thing prompt the remain in Mexico agreement with Mexico for the same reasons.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, and now it seems like he's willing to double down even more than he was back then. And if anyone was doubting his resolve on securing the southern border, just call Columbia's Petro and say, hey, how'd it work out for you? Because when you have to send the presidential plane to pick up migrants after Trump announced the sanctions, that is the biggest failure I've ever witnessed in a political gamesmanship like this in modern political history.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And look, I'll say within an hour of Colombia refusing the planes to land and Trump announcing the consequences. Here's what I tweeted out. I tweeted out, colombian President Petro is playing with fire. After he took over Colombia in the summer of 2022, I worried this would happen. I introduced the Caution act, which required suspending aid to Colombia unless they cooperated to reduce illegal immigration. That is child's play compared to what will happen now if Petro doesn't reverse course. And about six hours later, he did.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to move to this other big headline, and that deals with the CIA and releasing new analysis on the COVID origins. Uh, doesn't matter where you read the headline, whether it's Fox News, Politico, ap, BBC, Wall Street Journal, they're all writing the same article now. And I'll go to POLITICO. CIA now says COVID 19, is more likely to have originated from a lab leak. Now, the most interesting part about this transparency that we're getting from the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, a friend of both of ours, is the fact that he made it clear, hey, I'm releasing information that they had already come to a conclusion on, Senator. When Biden and Harris were in charge, they just didn't want the American people to know it. So if you think I'm the one giving you this intel, it's not me. This is intel from Biden and Harris that they Hid from you?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. So the CIA had already come to this conclusion. And for, for a number of years the CIA's public position was it could not conclude with certainty where the pandemic started. And yet two days after John Radcliffe was sworn in as the new director of the CIA, they issued a public statement that said, quote, we have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open source information that could change CIA's assessment. And by the way, low confidence, typically when the intelligence community has a conclusion that they will report it with low confidence, with moderate confidence or with high confidence. So they're saying that they're not convinced it's absolutely right, but, but they think it's correct. But, but it's at the lowest confidence level. And they did note CIA continues to assess that both research related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID pandemic remain plausible. It is striking, striking, however, that as, as you just said a second ago, the CIA had concluded this some time ago. It's just under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They didn't bother to tell the American people. Listen to John Radcliffe explaining this.

[John Ratcliffe]

Part of what we have to do is we have to restore Americans trust in our own institutions like the intelligence community and law enforcement, and that includes the CIA. And you know, one of the things the President stressed, you know, the purpose of the CIA is, is to protect Americans, to keep us safe from foreign threats and foreign adversaries. But we also need to be truthful with Americans. And he has stressed to me and others that, you know, these aren't mutually exclusive missions. We can do both. And so in the case of the CIA, which is the best foreign intelligence service in the world, after five years, to not have a public assessment to be honest with the American people about where the likely source of a pandemic that, that killed millions around the world, including a million Americans, and really impacted all 345 million Americans in some way. People lost jobs, they lost houses, they lost their health, they lost their businesses, all of that. And so I had the opportunity on my first day to make public an assessment that actually took place in the Biden administration so it can't be accused of being political. And it, and it does assess, the CIA has assessed that the most likely cause of this pandemic that has wrought so much devastation around the world was because of a lab related incident in Wuhan. And so we'll continue to investigate that moving forward. But I think it was important for the American people to see an institution like the CIA, get off the sidelines and be truthful about what our intelligence shows at the same time of protecting us from adversaries like China. If they caused or contributed to this.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, Senator, wow. What else can you say? This is all intel that we already had that they hid and lied to the American people about.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, listen, and I know John Ratcliffe well. He's a good friend of mine. He is someone I sat and spent about an hour talking with him a week ago before his confirmation. And I'll tell you, one of the things I urged John to do is bring maximum transparency. That's possible. Look, the nature of the CIA, you can't be transparent in everything. Obviously, we don't want the public to know the identity of COVID agents or, you know, secret wiretaps or things that would jeopardize national security. But the consequences of the politicization and weaponization of both law enforcement and the intelligence community is that the public's trust in those institutions has been severely diminished. That's what John was talking about in that clip you just played. And so I urged him. By the way, it's the same thing I've urged Pam Bondi, who's been nominated to be Attorney General. It's the same thing I've urged Cash Patel, who's been nominated to be FBI Director, is have the maximum transparency possible. And in particular, I've urged them with respect to Covid and the origins of COVID and by the way, any US Government complicity in terms of funding the Chinese research and the gain of function research that may have created the COVID virus, that we need maximum transparency concerning that in particular. And I think John Ratcliffe is following through with that. I've also urged maximum transparency concerning January 6th and any US government informants who may have been involved who may have enticed or entrapped people into conduct on that day to make that public as well. And I'm hopeful. And by the way, I'll mention Trump is also releasing the files on JFK and RFK and Martin Luther King's assassinations. I will note, Ben, when Trump said he was releasing the JFK files.

[Ben Ferguson]

I know where you're going with this.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I did at least tweet. Just wondering, what are the non extradition countries? Again, I'm asking for a friend.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right. You can't say that without telling the backstory on this one. Right. Can you remind people the humor here on this?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Sure. During 2016, Trump accused my father of killing JFK, which, for the record, no, my dad did not kill jfk. He did kill Jimmy Hoffa. Jimmy Hoffa's buried my dad's backyard, but he didn't kill jfk. And so it's a thing. And so if he's releasing the JFK files, I gotta tell you, I'm buying a plane ticket for my dad to go to Bolivia right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

Between that and the Zodiac Killer, you just making headlines, my friend.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And it is amazing. So, Ben, there is actually a real poll that I have seen that show, this was a few years ago, that 28% of Floridians believe I may well be the Zodiac Killer.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's one I would frame and put on my desk. I'm not gonna lie.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It really is. And given that the Zodiac Killer killed a number of people in Northern California in the 1960s before I was born, that's an amazing talent. To be able to murder in utero, to reach, like, back in time. That. That's. That. That. That's just. You know, I'm kind of proud of that.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, if liberals need another reason to be afraid of you, just know that Senator Cruz can time travel, per per Internet reports.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, as the meme says, fafo.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love it. All right, let's talk about the last thing on our list, and it is one. Were you right in your prediction? When did you get home? Uh, we. If. If you listen to our last show, we were talking about our Democrats gonna hold out through the weekend. Are you gonna have to stay in D.C. all weekend? Are you gonna get to come home? Uh, they were holding up the nominations yet again. So tell us how that went down. When did you get back? Were you right?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So I was right. Um, I said I thought we'd get back Saturday. Uh, I thought the Democrats would fight tooth and nail to try to beat Pete Hegseth. I said they'd lose, and I said when they lost, they'd give in. And they want to get out of town because they want to get home, just like we do. So that's exactly what happened. So we were there. We were there late Friday night, and. And then we ended up finishing the vote Saturday morning, and we all flew out Saturday afternoon. So. So I'm. You and I are recording. It is 12:11 in the morning right now. Sunday night. Monday morning, I'm in Houston, and tomorrow morning, I'll fly back to DC to go back to the Senate tomorrow. So we did get out. And. And where are we on the confirmations? So right now, four cabinet members have been confirmed. The first to be confirmed was Marco Rubio. As Secretary of State, he was confirmed on January 20. The vote was 99 to nothing. The second to be confirmed was the guy that you just played that clip from, John Ratcliffe at CIA Director. The vote was 72 to 26. So, big bipartisan vote. And it's striking, though, that the Democrats delayed that several days, even though there was clear bipartisan support for him. Ratcliffe should have been confirmed on January 20 also. In fact, we thought he was going to. And the Democrats delayed it several days just because they're engaged in obstruction. They're trying to delay everything.

[Ben Ferguson]

And we're way behind schedule compared to other administrations, just so people understand that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Way behind is strong, but they're dragging their feet. And that's why. That's why we rammed through, forced them to stay through the weekend, kept them late Friday night, kept them there Saturday to make clear, listen, if you delay, we'll just motor through and so you can decide do you want it to be unpleasant or. Or do you want to move forward? We're going to move expeditiously and confirm these nominees. The Democrats, if they want, they can abuse the procedural rules, they can drag things out, but that means they're going to be there on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays, and they're not going home. And that's the most effective way to get them to cave in, which is what they did. And so Friday night, the third Cabinet member was confirmed. That was Pete Hegseth. That vote was 51 to 50. More on that in a second. I'll come back to that. And then on Saturday, we confirmed the fourth Cabinet member, which is Kristi Noem for Secretary of Homeland Security. She was confirmed 5934. So a respectable bipartisan vote. Not overwhelming, but she got six Democrats. And next week, we have teed up Scott Besant for Secretary of Treasury, Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation, Chris Wright for Secretary of Energy, and Doug Burgum for Secretary of the Interior. All of them are out of committee. All of them are teed up. I think all four of them will be confirmed next week. We may have some others confirmed next week as well, but we're moving expeditiously. And as I said, my prediction is that we will confirm all of Trump's cabinet nominees within 30 days. We also have next week in Judiciary, we will vote Pam Bondi out of committee and we'll have the hearing on Cash Patel. And by the way, one of the things I did last week is participated in a moot preparation with Cash Patel, which was very productive. Cash, I think is going to do a good job. The Democrats are going to go hard after Cash Patel, they're going to go hard after Tulsi Gabbard. Those are their top two targets. And then Pete Hegseth. So Pete Hegseth, they fired everything they could at him. They really wanted to defeat Pete. And, and the vote ended up being 5050 on the floor of the Senate. So three Republicans voted no. Susan Collins, which was not a surprise. Lisa Murkowski, again, not a big surprise. And Mitch McConnell, who, I have to admit I was not surprised that Mitch voted no. But that was the more surprising of the three.

[Ben Ferguson]

I will say Friday I was surprised by that one. So explain why you say you weren't surprised. I just, I was shocked knowing who he had voted to confirm in the past on the Democrat sides. Was it more of an inside baseball in D.C. everybody thought, yeah, he'd probably do this, explain why.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So several things. One, I think it's fair to say Mitch is not a fan of Donald Trump, to put that mildly. I think both of them can't stand each other. I think, secondly, Mitch, listen, the odds are overwhelming. Mitch is not gonna run for reelection, which means he's got two years and his term is up in 2026. I think for his final two years, Mitch has decided he wants to be basically John McCain. He wants to fight for a bigger military. He wants to fight for an aggressive interventionist foreign policy. And I think he views many of Trump's foreign policy nominees. Many of his foreign policy positions Mitch passionately disagrees with. And I think in Mitch's mind, he put Hegseth into that category. And so just given where Mitch is coming from, I wasn't surprised that he voted no. And I think you could see Mitch vote no. I think those three, Collins, Murkowski and McConnell could vote no on a couple of other nominees. On most of them they'll be yeses, but those three. Now the good thing about a 53 vote majority is we can afford to lose three. We can afford to lose three and win. So it was 50, 50 on the floor of the Senate, which meant The Vice President, J.D. vance came late Friday night and he cast the tie breaking vote. So Pete Hegseth is now the Defense Secretary. But that was a battle and there was some real drama in particular because Thom Tillis from North Carolina had raised real issues during the day whether he would be a yes or a no. And I can tell you there were a lot of intense conversations with Tom, with Pete Hegseth, with the White House back and forth. Look, if one more Republican had voted no, it would have taken Hegseth down. But at the end of the day, I was confident Tillis would vote yes. And he did vote yes. In fact, I, I offered to several of my colleagues, I said, I'll bet you 100 bucks he's a yes. And nobody would take my bet. That's a shame because I would have liked to have won the hundred dollars.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, no doubt about it. All right, so lastly this week, what do you think's going to happen? Is it going to be a long week or are you guys going to get a lot of this done and get out of there on Thursday like normal, or the Democrats going to keep playing the games?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, listen, normal Senate schedule is you come in Monday night. Your first vote is typically 5:30pm the reason it's 5:30, that's called the comeback vote. And you've got senators flying in from all over the country. So even from the west coast, you can fly in and land in D.C. and get to a 5:30 vote. So that's why we start Monday night, so everyone could come back to town that day. The normal Senate schedule is you wrap up voting Thursday afternoon, you fly home to your state, and then you're in your state. You're traveling your state on Friday and the weekends. What John Thune has announced is, is the schedule right now, every week we're going to be there through Fridays. I think part of that is to put pressure on the Democrats not to be obstructionist. I think if the Democrats agree to collapse time and to move a little faster, I think we may go home Thursday afternoons as well so we can be back in the state on Friday. But if the Democrats delay are an obstructionist, I expect us to be there every Friday.

[Ben Ferguson]

Incredible. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We're gonna give you a blueprint for what's happening, especially during these confirmation hearings, just like we talked about. So hit that subscribe or that auto download button. And on those in between days, grab my podcast, the Ben Ferguson Podcast. I'll keep you updated on the latest breaking news as well on those days. And the center and I will see you back here Wednesday morning.