Trump, Elon & DOGE-20 Incredible Days Cause Dems' Heads to Explode

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Episode: Trump, Elon & DOGE-20 Incredible Days Cause Dems' Heads to Explode
Release Date: February 10, 2025

In this compelling episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson, host Ben Ferguson engages in a dynamic conversation with Senator Ted Cruz and other Republican senators. The discussion navigates through recent political events, media reactions, government spending reforms spearheaded by Elon Musk’s DOGE-20 initiative, and the ongoing battle against Democratic-led government corruption. Here's a detailed breakdown of the episode's key discussions, insights, and conclusions.

---

1. Super Bowl Analysis and Presidential Presence

The episode opens with reflections on the recent Super Bowl, which, despite being anticipated as a major event, turned out to be a blowout. Senator Ted Cruz remarks:

“It was a sleeper of a Super Bowl does just say the least. It wasn't that great of a game, but all of America, I'm sure was watching.”
[00:01]

Ben Ferguson concurs, highlighting the dominant performance of the Eagles:

“Well, it was a blowout. And congratulations to the Eagles for, for a dominating night.”
[00:13]

A significant point of discussion is President Donald Trump's presence at the game, which sparked a media frenzy. Senator Cruz points out:

“What was also crazy was the fact that we had the President, United States of America. That was a center point of being at this game. And the media didn't like it. They're having a meltdown about that as they're also melting down about Doge.”
[00:55]

2. Media’s Reaction to Trump and Elon Musk

The conversation shifts to the media's increasingly hostile attitude towards Trump and Elon Musk. Senator Cruz introduces the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and extends it to “Elon Derangement Syndrome”, emphasizing the media's intensified focus on these figures:

“There is, and that's what's been happening. It happened at egregious levels under the Biden administration. And I think that's what Trump's working very hard to turn around.”
[09:55]

He further criticizes the media's simplistic analysis, citing an interaction where reporters questioned Musk's involvement in air traffic control modernization:

“And you're telling me that one of the world's greatest technology CEOs who has ever lived is willing to work for free to modernize the technology for air traffic control… They’re just like, no, no, Elon bad, Trump bad. That's the extent of analysis they're capable of.”
[11:27]

3. Elon Musk’s DOGE-20 Initiative and Government Spending Reform

A significant portion of the episode delves into Elon Musk’s DOGE-20 initiative, aimed at tackling government waste, fraud, and abuse. Senator Cruz lauds Musk’s efforts:

“Elon has been able to affect such significant change simply by starting with saying, where is the money going? Show me the flow of cash going out the door. I want to see it dollar by dollar.”
[17:19]

They discuss how DOGE-20 requires all outgoing government payments to include categorization codes and rationales, measures that have been long overdue:

“All payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field… and just keep listening because this is so simple that for government it's shocking.”
[13:49]

4. Government Spending Abuses and Fraud

The duo highlights alarming statistics regarding federal financial mismanagement, including over $100 billion annually in entitlement payments to individuals lacking proper identification:

“Currently over a hundred billion dollars a year of entitlement payments to individuals with no Social Security numbers or even a temporary ID number… this is extremely suspicious.”
[15:04]

Senator Cruz emphasizes the urgency to address such issues to prevent taxpayers from bearing unnecessary financial burdens:

“If you are a taxpayer, I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, you should want to know where your money's going and want to know if there's waste, fraud and abuse.”
[15:44]

5. Historical Context of Impoundment and Presidential Powers

The discussion transitions to the concept of impoundment, the President’s authority to withhold spending of appropriated funds. Senator Cruz provides a historical overview:

“Impoundment has been around for more than 200 years. The first president to exercise impoundment was Thomas Jefferson, and he did so in 1801.”
[24:53]

They explore the legislative attempts to curb this power, citing the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, both of which were ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court.

“Now, what Elon is doing and what Trump is doing… is designed to go to the Supreme Court and to restore the power of impoundment to the President.”
[28:39]

6. Legislative Actions Against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

A crucial segment addresses the recent directive to halt the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency created under Dodd-Frank and championed by Elizabeth Warren. Senator Cruz criticizes the CFPB's overreach and its funding structure:

“Congress does not appropriate money to the CFPB, which is weird… Dodd Frank instead has the CFPB funded with money from the Federal Reserve that flows automatically.”
[36:32]

He celebrates the recent appointment of Russ Vogt, who has ordered the CFPB to cease its activities, marking a significant victory in reducing governmental overreach:

“Eliminating the CFP would be a major victory for lowering inflation, for lowering burdensome regulation, for lowering the nanny state control of big government.”
[37:43]

7. Corruption and Misallocation of Funds Under the Biden Administration

The conversation intensifies as Senator Cruz exposes the Biden administration’s misallocation of over $1.3 billion to organizations like UNWRA, which he alleges are linked to terrorism:

“More than $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds from the Biden administration ended up helping groups that sponsored or committed terrorism.”
[20:17]

He underscores the irony of the administration continuously funneling funds despite clear signs of corruption and abuse, highlighting the media's failure to address these issues effectively.

8. The Role of Free Speech and Social Media in Politics

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X) is lauded as a pivotal move for free speech. Senator Cruz asserts:

“I believe Elon Musk's buying Twitter was the most important development for free speech in modern times because it turned around the rampant censorship from big tech.”
[31:30]

They emphasize the platform’s role in disseminating truth and countering media suppression, which has been instrumental in bolstering Trump’s political resurgence.

9. Conclusion and Future Implications

As the episode wraps up, Senator Cruz reflects on the unique historical moment, emphasizing the critical role of Republicans in reversing years of Democratic-led corruption and inefficiency:

“We have a unique opportunity right now… it's fun and exciting, but there's also a seriousness to this. We can't screw it up. I think failure is not an option.”
[19:53]

The hosts underscore the ongoing legal battles and legislative efforts that will shape the next few years, positioning Republicans as the vanguards against government waste and abuse.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Media Bias: The episode criticizes mainstream media for its hostile stance towards Trump and Elon Musk, labeling it as a source of political destabilization.

• Government Reform: Elon Musk’s DOGE-20 initiative is highlighted as a revolutionary approach to curbing government waste, fraud, and abuse by enforcing transparency in federal spending.

• Impoundment Powers: A historical analysis of presidential impoundment powers underscores the ongoing struggle between the executive and legislative branches, with current efforts aiming to restore these powers to the presidency.

• CFPB Shutdown: The halting of the CFPB marks a significant step towards reducing regulatory overreach, with anticipated legislative actions to permanently eliminate the agency.

• Corruption Under Biden: Extensive mismanagement and corruption under the Biden administration are spotlighted, particularly concerning foreign aid and support for contentious organizations.

• Free Speech Advocacy: Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is celebrated as a triumph for free speech, providing a platform to challenge media censorship and bolster democratic discourse.

This episode serves as a clarion call for accountability and reform within the U.S. government, leveraging influential figures like Trump and Elon Musk to spearhead significant political and financial changes. Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and engaged as these pivotal battles unfold in shaping America's future.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

Good Monday morning. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you, Senator. It was a sleeper of a Super bowl does just say the least. It wasn't that great of a game, but all of America, I'm sure was watching.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, it was a blowout. And congratulations to the Eagles for, for a dominating night.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

All of the hopes of Kansas City having a three peat, those were dashed.

[Ben Ferguson]

Almost from, from the kickoff. The Eagles dominated the game.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

It was, it was impressive to watch. Although I got to say the guy.

[Ben Ferguson]

On that field sure didn't look like Patrick Mahomes.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Not the one we've, we've come to expect.

[Ben Ferguson]

And listen, the Eagles were expected to come in with a run game. Their run game didn't materialize, but Kansas.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

City spent so much time trying to stop the run game that, that the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Kind of short and short and medium pass game was there the entire night.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And they owned the game from the beginning to the end.

[Ted Cruz]

It was, it was truly incredible. What was also crazy was the fact that we had the President, United States of America. That was a center point of being at this game. And the media didn't like it. They're having a meltdown about that as they're also melting down about Doge.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, that's right.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And we're going to talk about that. So I had, I had dinner with.

[Ben Ferguson]

President Trump Friday night, along with a.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Number of other Republican senators. We're going to talk about that. We're also going to talk about doge.

[Ben Ferguson]

We are 20 days into the administration.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Less than three weeks, and the media.

[Ben Ferguson]

And the Democrats are losing their mind.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Over Elon Musk's efforts to cut government spending. We're gonna break that down. We're gonna talk about some of the egregious abuses that are being uncovered.

[Ben Ferguson]

We're also gonna walk you through what.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

To expect, how this is gonna play.

[Ben Ferguson]

Out in the days and weeks ahead.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

We're also gonna talk to you about the cfpb, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is being ordered to halt all of their efforts right now and being.

[Ben Ferguson]

Ordered to halt that by their new acting head.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

We're going to break that down for you as well.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, really important story and it's going to affect a lot of people's lives. Want to tell you real quick about the ifcj. After more than a year of war, terror and pain in Israel, there is still a great demand for basic humanitarian aid. That is where the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has supported and continues to support those in the Holy Land still facing the lingering horrors of war and, and those who are in desperate need right now. Your ongoing monthly gift of $45 will provide critically needed aid to communities in the north and the south devastated by the ongoing war. And your generous donation each month will deliver help to those in need, including evacuees and refugees from the war torn areas, also first responders and volunteers, wounded soldiers and elderly Holocaust survivors, families who have lost everything and so many more. You can provide hope during a time of great uncertainty and the need is real. So to give a gift to bless Israel and her people, you can do that by visiting supportifcj.org that's one word, support. IFCJ.org you can also call to give 888-488-IFCJ. That's triple 8488- IFCJ 888-488-4325 or supportifcj.org so I let, let's just enjoy for a moment just how different this super bowl was than a year ago from a political standpoint. Uh, the President went, a lot of other conservatives showed up, other elected officials were there. Uh, the media was covering Donald Trump. He was talking at the, before the super bowl and, and during the flight and tweeting out about the government working for you and Doge and, and one of those at cnn, Brian Skelter came out with an interesting tweet. Uh, I think you saw it as well where he said, I think, think about it, a year ago you could go days without seeing or thinking about Joe Biden. Now you're lucky if you can go hours without thinking about President Trump. Uh, his point is he's controlling everything. And now he says the super bowl is also the Trump Bowl. I think it's amazing to watch this meltdown.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, listen, the media is melting down, the Democrats are melting down.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

I gotta tell you, this past week I enjoyed a number of times turning to my Democrat colleague and colleagues and just deadpatting, well, three years and 50 weeks to go.

[Ted Cruz]

What's the response? Cause I mean, some of them you're.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Friendly with, they start twitching with no affect at all. I just say those words and I've.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yet to see a Democrat who doesn't.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Start shaking at that thought. I mean, listen, there has never been in the history of a country a two weeks like this.

[Ben Ferguson]

And as I mentioned, I had dinner.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

With President Trump on Friday. We had a retreat of Republican senators down in Florida and we went to, 43 of us went and had dinner with President Trump in Mar? A Lago Friday night. I gotta tell you, the President was In great mood. He was happy, he was energized. And there's never been shock and awe. You know, actually, I have a theory about this, and I have a theory about the speed and volume of what's coming, which is that the media, I believe, has a specific quantum of outrage. And that quantum I call the arsenic quantum of outrage. Now, what does that mean, Ben?

[Ben Ferguson]

If you remember back to the first term of George W. Bush In 2000.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

One of the first things Bush did is the EPA rescinded a rule concerning arsenic, and it regulated how many parts per million of arsenic could be in water. And the media for weeks lit their.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hair on fire about how evil Republicans want to poison all our children with arsenic.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And they just went on and on and on, arsenic, arsenic, arsenic. It was on the 6 o'clock news night after night. Well, my theory is that is the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Amount of outrage they have. And When Trump does 100 things or 200 things or 300 things, they have.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That same quantum of outrage.

[Ben Ferguson]

But, but they have to divide it up among everything.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And so instead they just, just light their hair on fire and begin running in circles.

[Ted Cruz]

It is weird. And I, I was talking to a colleague of mine who worked in the first Trump administration, and he's now working the second. And the way he described it to me on Friday, he said, Ben, in 2016, he goes, go ask any senator, any congressman that met with the president. The meetings revolved around, around, okay, what are we going to do or what do we want to do? He said, this time, it's all right. This is what we are doing, and this is how we're going to do it. He said, it's a completely different mindset. Have you found that when you're having dinner, it's more of like, hey, we're in charge. Let's go down the field. Let's use a Super bowl analogy. Throw the long ball, and let's, let's make the pass and let's get the points on the board.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, listen, in 2017, when President Trump.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Came into the White House, I don't think he was expecting to win. I don't think his team was expecting him to win.

[Ben Ferguson]

And they came in and he'd never.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Worked in the federal government.

[Ben Ferguson]

Virtually every senior official in the Trump White House had never worked in the federal government. And so they came in and did.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Not know how the agencies operated. They did not understand the machinery they were attempting to turn around.

[Ben Ferguson]

And they didn't understand the deep state. They didn't understand the embedded career bureaucra.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Who were gonna fight against them tooth and nail. One of the results is they made some real mistakes when it came to personnel.

[Ben Ferguson]

They appointed people to senior positions, to cabinet positions, who ended up fighting against.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

The President from day one. This time around, I think they've done a much better job with cabinet nominees.

[Ben Ferguson]

And they've hit the ground running. The level of preparation, the executive orders.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

They'Ve rolled out one after the other after the other.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is clear that they have had.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Teams working on these orders for months, if not years, that they came in with a fundamentally different level of understanding and sophistication about how the government operates, about what are the levers of power and authority within the government and how you turn the machine and understand they're.

[Ben Ferguson]

Dealing with four years of Joe Biden.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

The Democrats, weaponizing every aspect of the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Federal government, not just DOJ and FBI.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

We've talked a lot about that.

[Ben Ferguson]

But weaponizing every grant they give, weaponizing.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Every program, weaponizing from agency to agency to agency the holistic approach that the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Biden administration did, that every dollar they.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Had was there to reward their political allies or to punish their political enemies. And sadly, it was all politics all the time.

[Ben Ferguson]

And I think that's a big part.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Of the reason why. If you look at what Elon Musk.

[Ben Ferguson]

Is doing at Doge, he's going in and he's working around the clock.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And I know Elon well, he does not sleep much and he works and he is going at the federal government. And it's a remarkable thing, man, I gotta say. So Trump Derangements Syndrome has been a thing for a long time. Democrats in the media going nuts.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, there's now a new phenomena, a.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

New disease has come to Washington and that's called Elon Derangement Syndrome.

[Ted Cruz]

It's almost worse in some ways. I mean, this man has become like more hated in some circles than even Trump. And that's hard to do.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

So I'll tell you an exchange I had last week with several reporters, but it was following. So I had a closed door briefing from the FAA and the National Traffic Safety Board on the horrific crash outside Reagan Airport. And as I came out, the reporters, we were talking about the accident and where the investigation is going. And reporters were asking, well, aren't you worried that Elon Musk is going to.

[Ben Ferguson]

Be involved in updating the technology for air traffic control?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And I just started laughing and I said, look, our air traffic control system is desperately in need of modernization.

[Ben Ferguson]

We are literally using 1950s technology.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

We use radar, we use and little slips of paper. That's how they do it. And you're telling me that one of.

[Ben Ferguson]

The world's greatest technology CEOs who has.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Ever lived is willing to work for free to modernize the technology for air.

[Ben Ferguson]

Traffic control, to use GPS and current.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Technology rather than 1950s technology to take.

[Ben Ferguson]

Us into the 21st century?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And you somehow think that is a bad thing? And I gotta say, the reporters were just bewildered.

[Ben Ferguson]

They're just like, no, no, Elon bad, Trump bad.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That's the extent of analysis they're capable of.

[Ted Cruz]

You look at the access that he's also gained, and it is to 15 different government agencies. The President has made it very clear now he believes this is part of his mandate, why the American people sent him to Washington. And he said this in an interview on Sunday for Super Bowl Sunday with Brett Baer, where there's some people trying to undermine. And I think this is the machine going after Elon Musk. They're trying to undermine and they're trying to, to somehow get him kicked out of this or to have some sort of press conference where Elon Musk is no longer with us and working in, you know, in the government. We've dismissed him. That's what they're clearly, it's like a way of impeaching him, in essence. And, and, and Brett asked the question, like, do you. Does he have your full faith? Because this is where the media is going, right? And so he's like, does, does he still have your full support? And I want everybody here. This is what Trump said.

[Donald Trump]

I don't know if it's kickbacks or what's going on, but the people. Look, I ran on this and the people want me to find it. And I've had a great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific. Bottom line, you say you trust him, Trust Elon. Oh, he's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He's so into it. But I told him do that. Then I'm going to tell him very soon, like maybe in 24 hours to go check the Department of Education. He's going to find the same thing. Then I'm going to go, go to the military. Let's check the military. We're going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse. And you know, the people elected me on that.

[Ted Cruz]

People elected me. He's listening to the people. And that's why his populated right now is above 50%. It's at 53% in one of the.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Polls today well and understand what Elon is doing. So so Elon this weekend he tweeted the following quote to be clear, what.

[Ben Ferguson]

The DOGE team and the US treasury.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Team have jointly agreed makes sense is the following Require that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code which is necessary in order to pass financial audits. This is frequently left blank, making audits almost impossible.

[Ben Ferguson]

All payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Which is currently left blank. Importantly, we are not yet applying any.

[Ben Ferguson]

Judgment to this rationale, but simply requiring.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That some attempt be made to explain the payment. More than nothing the okay, and just.

[Ben Ferguson]

Just keep listening because this is so.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Simple that for government it's shocking. The do not pay list of entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match congressional appropriations must actually be implemented and not ignored. Also, it concurrently take up to a year to get on this list, which is far too long.

[Ben Ferguson]

This list should be updated at least.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Weekly if not daily. The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing longtime career government employees, not anyone from doge. It is ridiculous that these changes didn't exist already.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yesterday I was told that there are.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Currently over a hundred billion dollars a year of entitlement payments to individuals with no Social Security numbers or even a temporary ID number if accurate. This is extremely suspicious. When I asked if anyone at treasury had a rough guess for what percentage.

[Ben Ferguson]

Of that number is unequivocal and obvious.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Fraud, the consensus in the room was about half. So 50 billion a year or $1 billion a week. This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.

[Ted Cruz]

Why would anyone be angry at that? And I say that look as a rhetorical question. The people that don't want you to find this out are clearly the ones that are abusing the system for whether it's their corruption, family, friends, terrorists, the list goes on and on. That has been mentioned there. But if you are a taxpayer, I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, you should want to know where your money's going and want to know if there's waste, fraud and abuse. So we get rid of it because it could mean that we're all paying way more in taxes than we ever could have imagined. We should be able to pay to get great services at a much lower rate because you get rid of all the fraud and abuse.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Well, I'll give you another interesting data. Do you know what has what what.

[Ben Ferguson]

The median household income is in Washington.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

D.C. it's 121,000 a year. That's the median.

[Ben Ferguson]

The national median is $82,000 a year.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

So Washington D.C. is 50% greater. And by the way, compare that to the only place higher is California's Bay area.

[Ben Ferguson]

So Washington D.C. has a higher median income than New York.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

95,000 Bridgeport 111,000 Chicago 87,000 Dallas 86,000.

[Ben Ferguson]

Baltimore 94,000 New Orleans 61,000 Boston 110,000 Raleigh 96,000 San Diego 103,000 Los Angeles.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

91,000 Honolulu 103,000 Washington D.C. 121,000.

[Ted Cruz]

Right at the top question you gotta ask yourself is, I wonder why could it be there's so many people there that are getting hookups with the government and jobs and making sure money is spent and going to the right places that they get compensated very well for that?

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, there are a ton of people.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

A in senior government jobs that are making six figure incomes and many of the government buildings are empty.

[Ben Ferguson]

The average across the federal government right.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Now for showing up to work is.

[Ben Ferguson]

5 to 8% of the employees. And they're adamant that they have an entitlement to do this, that it is.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Horrific to expect them to show up to work.

[Ben Ferguson]

There are also armies of lobbyists and.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Contractors and people getting rich off government.

[Ben Ferguson]

And so those two together are operating powerfully. And it's interesting that Elon has been.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Able to affect such significant change simply by starting with saying, where is the money going?

[Ben Ferguson]

Show me the flow of cash going out the door. I want to see it dollar by dollar. That is a threat right to the.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Heart of the deep state and the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Corruption machine the Democrats have had for a long time.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, let me ask you another question about dinner. And you are one of those, this is a compliment if you've ever had dinner with you. You're a working dinner guy. You're one of those that just likes to get stuff done. I think that's probably one of the reasons why you and Elon get along so well. You're having these dinners now where you're getting stuff done and in government that's not always the case. How happy and how much fun is it for you personally to know now that when you're going into these meetings with Trump and these other senators, like you guys are actually getting to do your job? Because I know that's driven you, driven you crazy over the years when you just feel like you're just spinning your wheels because government's spinning their wheels and not getting stuff done. Is this like, is this what made you want to get into politics and to serve.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Listen, it is fun and it is exciting because we have a unique opportunity right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

You look at the mandate from November.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Obviously, the people reelected Donald Trump. They elected a Republican Senate, not just a Republican Senate.

[Ben Ferguson]

With a relatively big majority. 53 Republicans is sizable in the Senate. They gave us a majority in the.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

House, albeit a very narrow one.

[Ben Ferguson]

We have an opportunity to accomplish an enormous amount.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And I'll tell you, Ben, it's fun and exciting, but there's also a seriousness to this. We can't screw it up. I think failure is not an option. And so I'm jumping out of bed every day. I am excited to go. And you look at the work, all right. And you see everything Elon's doing.

[Ben Ferguson]

Here's a story that broke that gives you the sense of why there's so.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Much work to be done. Headline from the weekend. Biden admin filled terrorist coffers with over $1,300,000,000 before Trump took wrecking ball to foreign aid. And I'm just gonna just start with that article.

[Ben Ferguson]

More than $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds from the Biden administration ended up helping.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Groups that sponsored or committed terrorism. And the biggest part of that was to unwra, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency work agency. The Biden administration gave $1,053,000,000,000 and $400,000 in U.S. taxpayer money to UNWRA and UNRA, remember?

[Ben Ferguson]

But by the way, under Trump, initially there was a ban on UNRA funding.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Because they have been so intertwined with.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hamas and Hamas terrorists. We now know that in the wake of October 7th, you had Hamas terrorists on the UNWRA payroll.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And yet.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, that's a fact, by the way. We need to make that clear. That is 100% confirmed. It is a fact.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Here is intelligence. This is also from the article.

[Ben Ferguson]

Quote, intelligence officials later revealed that more.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Than 1,000 UNWRA employees, or around 10%, were linked to the group's Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to documents found on the bodies of dead terrorists and other evidence, 10% of their employees were linked to Hamas.

[Ben Ferguson]

And Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And the Biden administration, right up till the last day, was shoveling cash.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And I gotta say, it's one of the things that I think is most.

[Ben Ferguson]

Offensive about what Biden and the Democrats.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Did is they didn't just spend four years pushing a radical agenda, but after.

[Ben Ferguson]

Election Day, when the voters made clear, we don't like this agenda, we want to change course. Right up until the moment Trump was sworn in, they did everything they could to frustrate the ability of the new administration to turn things around.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

I've never seen a president do that. We, to the best of my knowledge, we've never had one do that.

[Ben Ferguson]

And it really demonstrates a contempt for the voters.

[Ted Cruz]

This goes back, you just mentioned contempt of the voters. Democrats now trying to figure out their footing. They had alum Omar who went on, on TV today saying that Trump has decided he will not abide by the Constitution. Just throwing it out there. And then she says, by the way, every executive order that's been to court now has been shut down by the court. That's a lie. Not true. But. But it even face the nation tried to softly correct her because they want this to be true. Right? And then there's this new threat of like, all right, we'll just shut down the government. I kind of laugh because for many concerns, like, great, let's shut it down and save some money for a while. I wish it worked that way. I wish it was that simple. It's obviously not, but this is the new temper tantrum of the left. They're saying, if, if we aren't in charge, then we want to destroy what the government does. Well, we want to hurt people and we want to shut down the government to hurt people. So you'll blame Donald Trump. That's what this is really all about. Am I wrong?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Well, look, understand there's a battle going back and forth.

[Ben Ferguson]

And at some level, this battle is.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Inherent in the structure of our government. It's inherent in the Constitution.

[Ben Ferguson]

Congress.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Under Article 1, all legislative power is vested in the Congress of the United States. Congress passes the laws that the President signs into law and that are then binding federal law.

[Ben Ferguson]

The executive, all executive power is vested in the President of the United States.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That's under Article 2 of the Constitution.

[Ben Ferguson]

And the president is charged with, has given the authority to, and also the.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Responsibility to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. That's the Constitution's language. And so a lot of, you know, it's interesting, as I travel around and talk to people back home in Texas or around the country, they ask, okay, so is what Elon's doing is what Trump is doing cutting off funding at usaid, pausing other funding, is that gonna stick? And this is a battle back and forth between the executive and legislature that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Has occurred since the very first days of the republic. And one of the things right at.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

The heart of this battle is, is.

[Ben Ferguson]

About something called impoundment. Now, what does impoundment mean? Impoundment is when the President of the United States decides not to spend money that has been appropriated by the U.S. congress.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Now, you might ask, okay, is impoundment.

[Ben Ferguson]

Some crazy theory that Donald Trump cooked up or Elon Musk cooked up?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Well, no.

[Ben Ferguson]

No. Impoundment has been around for more than 200 years.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

The first president to exercise impoundment was Thomas Jefferson, and he did so in 1801.

[Ben Ferguson]

And if you look at what Thomas.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Jefferson did, the first use of impoundment involved a refusal to spend $50,000, which.

[Ben Ferguson]

$50,000 in 20, $23 is about 1.24.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Million in funds that were appropriated for the acquisition of gunboats for the United States Navy.

[Ben Ferguson]

And Thomas Jefferson said in 1803 that.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Quote, the sum of $50,000 appropriated by.

[Ben Ferguson]

Congress for providing gunboats remains unexpended. The favorable and peaceful turn of affairs.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

On the Mississippi rendered an immediate execution of that law unnecessary. Now, Jefferson did so, and in the years that went on, presidents did so for 200 years.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, what happened?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Well, in the 1970s, Richard Nixon had a battle with Congress, and Congress got.

[Ben Ferguson]

Got angry with Richard Nixon and felt.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

He was using impoundment too aggressively. And. And Congress passed a law called the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Congressional Budget and Impoundment control act of.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

1974 that purported to remove the power of impoundment or at least to severely curtail it. And the Supreme Court heard a decision. It was a decision called Train versus City of New York, where the Supreme Court upheld the Impoundment Control act and significantly reduced the President's power to exercise impoundment. Now, by the way, there was a.

[Ben Ferguson]

Subsequent wrinkle in this, in that Congress.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Came back afterwards and passed a bill called the Line Item Veto act of 1996. This happened after the Republican takeover of Congress. Newt Gingrich came in and the Line.

[Ben Ferguson]

Item Veto act gave the President the power of line item veto, which Bill.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Clinton used on the federal budget 82 times. However, that law was struck down in.

[Ben Ferguson]

1998 by the Supreme Court.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

It was a 5, 4 vote.

[Ben Ferguson]

Actually. My former boss and very good friend.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Chuck Cooper, the man who taught me how to be a lawyer, argued that case.

[Ben Ferguson]

Unfortunately, he was on the losing side.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Of that case and lost 5, 4. The point, what Elon is doing and.

[Ben Ferguson]

What Trump is doing, there's a long.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

History of President saying, I don't want to spend money that is wasteful and.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm not going to.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Now, there's also a history of Congress pushing back what's likely to happen.

[Ben Ferguson]

There is already, and there will be.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

More, a crap ton of Litigation challenging these actions. We're seeing Democrat attorneys general bringing lawsuits. We're going to see Democrat interest groups.

[Ben Ferguson]

Being lost bringing lawsuits.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

We're going to see activist judges striking down actions, executive orders, and this is.

[Ben Ferguson]

Going to test the legal boundaries.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

At the end of the day, part.

[Ben Ferguson]

Of what is going on is this.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Is designed to go to the Supreme Court and to restore the power of.

[Ben Ferguson]

Impoundment to the President.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

I think that would be a very good thing. I think it is consistent.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is an inherent authority of the president to exercise the authority of. Of impoundment.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

But understand, we're going to see a litigation battle royale, and it'll take in all likelihood.

[Ted Cruz]

So this is that you're saying this is a fight that we want to go to the Supreme Court. And if it does go to the Supreme Court and it plays to our advantage, the way that you're describing it with the law, how long is it going to take us to get it there?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Probably a couple of years, two to three years.

[Ted Cruz]

So. So in the next two or three years, we're going to be just dealing with pure fights with the media, Democrats coming after and trying to stop everything that they're trying to cut with waste, fraud and abuse.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes. And understand, Elon and Doge, they're embodying.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Right now the Silicon Valley mantra of move fast and break things. I mean, that's what they're doing. Not everything that they do is going to be upheld. There will be injunctions issued.

[Ben Ferguson]

And I think they understand that, and.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

I think they're trying to.

[Ben Ferguson]

They're trying to implement the mandate that.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Came from the voters as rapidly and effectively as possible. Listen, I for one, am excited about that. And I think if you look at.

[Ben Ferguson]

Some of the egregious abuses that have.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Been uncovered so far, it gives an illustration of just how important this is.

[Ted Cruz]

Before we move on to the federal financial watchdog order to cease activity. And that's important. We're gonna deal with that in a second. One final question on this. We could go back, I think, whenever the sale was a year and a half. Whatever it was when Elon Musk took over Twitter and we saw the Twitter files and then we saw the corruption. I actually think you can trace this all the way back to there, when people really start paying attention to saying, I don't trust the government. You add Covid in there and the lies of the vaccine and the two weeks stopped the spread and the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then the lies over the Hunter Biden laptop and there started to be these moments that were big where people like, okay, maybe I shouldn't be so trusting of the news. Maybe I shouldn't be trusting of the government, the deep state, the president and. And then you have him take over X right at Twitter now. X. Part of the reason why I think Donald Trump's having so much success now is because we're getting the word out about the waste and the fraud and getting the line item. And people are seeing it because before you go back, 2016 center, big tree falls in the forest, no one's around. Does it make a sound? Right. The answer is no. But now what we're getting in the info that we're getting, and it's getting out because big tech can't suppress it on X. How valuable is that to saving our democracy?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Look, I think it's incredibly valuable. I believe Elon Musk's buying Twitter was the most important development for free speech in modern times because it turned around the rampant censorship from big tech. It put positive pressure on the rest of big tech, and it created a vehicle for the truth to get out.

[Ben Ferguson]

So, you know, we've gone through in.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Previous podcasts, all the examples, or not.

[Ben Ferguson]

All the examples, but a number of.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Examples of abuse of spending $2 million for sex changes in Guatemala.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, who the hell can defend that? Why US Taxpayers are paying for sex changes in Guatemala money to the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, by the way.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That why the hell are American taxpayers.

[Ben Ferguson]

Paying for the BBC? The last I checked, the United Kingdom is a major developed country. They can pay for their own damn television station.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

What, what do we need? What do we need to pay for that?

[Ben Ferguson]

And what's amazing is the Democrats are just digging in.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Give a listen to Senator Chris coons defending spending $20 million on American taxpayer money for Sesame street in Iraq. Give a listen.

[Unnamed Democrat Senator]

Is funding Sesame Street a judicious use of soft power? Well, Michael, the way you put it is the way I hope folks considering your poll today will think about it. This isn't just funding a kid show for children, millions of children in countries like Iraq. It's a show that helps teach values, helps teach public health, helps prevent kids from dying from dysentery and disease, and helps push values like collaboration, peacefulness, cooperation in a society where the alternative is isis, extremism and terrorism. And to your point, it's pennies on the dollar. The U.S. department of Defense has an annual budget of about $850 billion. USAID was spending about $30 billion. It is a small proportion of our total federal spending and as Joe Nye would often say, it's not just soft power, it's smart power. Let me leave you with one other quote, Michael, if I could. Jim Mattis, who is a four star Marine Corps general and Trump's Secretary of defense in his first term in a hearing back then said, if you slash development and aid spending, then I'm going to need more bullets for our troops.

[Ted Cruz]

I mean, you want to talk about stretching? He's saying sesame seeds gonna save us from extremism. Are we kidding ourselves?

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, look, the Democrats are dug in to defending everything, to defending all of the money that was just flat flowing out with no checks whatsoever. And I think these examples are having a real effect of pissing people off.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Saying, why is my money going to that, by the way? If Democrats think that's such a good.

[Ben Ferguson]

Idea, let them give their own money for that. But what right do they have to take your money that you're working hard to provide for your kids and your family, to take it and spend it on every radical agenda item they want to push?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

That's what's been happening. It happened at egregious levels under the Biden administration. And I think that's what Trump's working very hard to turn around.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, great point. Finally, I want to ask you about this because I think it should be on listeners radar screen. It's an important issue. The New York Times is coming out talking about this. The federal financial watchdog has been ordered to cease activity known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why is this happening and what does this mean?

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Well, the cfpb, the Consumer Financial Protection.

[Ben Ferguson]

Bureau was created by the Dodd Frank law.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

This is a creation of Elizabeth Warren. And it has descended like locusts, putting.

[Ben Ferguson]

All sorts of regulations and costs. It brings abusive litigation.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

It is an avenue for left wing bureaucrats to try to control community banks.

[Ben Ferguson]

Smaller financial institutions and to drive up costs.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And the cfpb.

[Ben Ferguson]

I've introduced repeatedly legislation to eliminate the cfpb.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

What happened this week is Russ Vote.

[Ben Ferguson]

Was confirmed to lead the Office of Management and Budget. And Russ is a good friend.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

He's a good guy.

[Ben Ferguson]

He ran OMB under Trump during the.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

First term and Russ was just confirmed.

[Ben Ferguson]

We just confirmed him this past week to run OMB again. And on Friday he was also named.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

The acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the cfpb.

[Ben Ferguson]

And as a result, he issued an.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Order for them to halt what they're doing.

[Ben Ferguson]

So one chunk of it. So the way Elizabeth Warren structured it, Congress does not appropriate money to the cfpb. Which is weird, by the way, if.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

You look at virtually every federal agency.

[Ben Ferguson]

Congress appropriates money for them. That's, that's part of the checks and.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Balances of how the federal government is set up. Well, Dodd Frank instead has the CFPB.

[Ben Ferguson]

Funded with money from the Federal Reserve that flows automatically.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

So Congress doesn't get to appropriate and engage in the oversight that comes with that. Um, so as a result, on Saturday, Russ Vote.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wrote that he had notified the Federal Reserve that the cfpb, quote, will not be taking its next draw.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Of unappropriated funding because it is not reasonably necessary to carry out its duties.

[Ben Ferguson]

The Bureau's current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment. This spigot, long contributing to CFPB's unaccountability.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Is now being turned off.

[Ben Ferguson]

That is fantastic.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

And I'll tell you what, I've introduced legislation that will zero out the cfpb, that will shut it down permanently.

[Ben Ferguson]

I believe we will get that done.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

As part of budget reconciliation. And so eliminating the CFP would be a major victory for lowering inflation, for lowering burdensome regulation, for lowering the nanny.

[Ben Ferguson]

State control of big government. And if we get that done, that's a huge victory.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

I'll tell you, Russ Vogt taking over.

[Ben Ferguson]

As acting director in the past few.

[Unnamed Republican Senator]

Days was a major step forward in that regard.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, incredible. Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button so you don't miss an episode. Please write us a five star review. It helps us reach more people. And tell your family and friends again about this show as it continues to grow, especially with all the news we're giving you in this new Trump air. It's a lot of fun. Don't miss an episode. We'll see you back here Wednesday morning.