Pete Hegseth (2:53)

The security force will remove members.

Ben Shapiro (3:00)

No bye Getting carried out like the babies they are. I haven't seen a person carried like that since I had to schlep my 4 year old into her room last night for screaming during dinner a lot. In any case, Pete Hegseth's opening statement was exactly what you'd expect from Pete Hegseth, which is to say it was excellent, it was articulate, and it had all the right principles. Here was Hegseth praising the Lord for.

Pete Hegseth (3:20)

His nomination as Jenny and I pray together every morning. All glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abounds each day. May his will be done.

Ben Shapiro (3:38)

You can see Democrats heads exploding because he mentioned Jesus. Oh, no, this is good. Okay, this is a good thing that you have a man of faith who is actually leading the Department of Defense. I think that's a very good thing. Here was Hegseth getting choked up about his nomination of respecting people, being professional.

Pete Hegseth (3:54)

That is the balance of mind. I'm not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged, saved by the grace of God, by Jesus and Jenny. I'm not a perfect person, but redemption is real. And God forged me in ways that I know I'm prepared for. And I'm honored by the people standing and sitting behind me. And I look forward to leading this Pentagon on behalf of the war fighters.

Ben Shapiro (4:19)

And then Hegseth proceeded to talk about some of his policy prescriptions. Here was Pete Hegseth, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, blasting the Afghanistan withdrawal and saying, hey, listen, if you are involved, you need to lose your job.

Pete Hegseth (4:31)

There's been no accountability for the disaster of the withdrawal in Afghanistan, and that's precisely why we're here today. Excuse me, is that leadership has been unwilling to take accountability. It's the time to restore that to our most senior ranks.

Ben Shapiro (4:45)

You can hear some of the senators on the Democrat. No, no, no, we did a great. No, you didn't do a great job and all those people should be fired. Hegseth also talked about getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion as a priority at the DoD. It needs to be a lethal war fighting machine, not an initiative for making people feel better about their woke HR choices. Here was the nominee, Pete Heath.

Pete Hegseth (5:05)

Our standards will be high and they will be equal, not equitable. That's a very different word. We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system. Every pilot's fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership or promotion purely based on performance. Readiness and merit. Leaders at all levels will be held accountable. And war fighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus.

Ben Shapiro (5:46)

Again, all this should be non controversial, but the left has made it somehow controversial. Other things that Hegseth suggested. He said our top priority is avoiding nuclear war. Again, pretty obvious. Also he said, quote, I support Israel killing every last member of Hamas. Sounds good to me and should sound good to civilized people everywhere. There are some other interesting moments. One of the interesting moments in the early going was Senator Jack Reid questioning Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth at one point referred to someone as a JAG off. And apparently Senator Reid was confused by this particular nomenclature. Well, by the way, would you explain what a JAG off is?

Pete Hegseth (6:25)

I don't think I need to, sir.

Ben Shapiro (6:27)

Why not?

Pete Hegseth (6:28)

Because the men and women watching understand.

Ben Shapiro (6:31)

Well, perhaps my colleagues don't understand.

Pete Hegseth (6:35)

It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the war fighters, their promotions, their medals in front of having the backs that those are making the tough calls on the front lines.

Ben Shapiro (6:47)

I love that Reid thought that that was like a killer question. Oh my God, I'm going to catch him on this one. Nope. And by the way, great answer because guess what? Pete Hegseth was an infantry officer. We need people who are actually in frontline war fighting positions at DoD, not these career political bureaucrats who somehow made their way up the ranks by pleasing all of the right politically correct folks. That is the difference. Hegseth needs to be confirmed. He needs to be confirmed yesterday. We have serious issues on the table. We have continued war in Ukraine. We have Iran that is still making moves in the Middle East. We have Turkey that is now incursioning in into Syria. But we also have possibilities, right? We have the possibility of protecting Taiwan from Chinese predations and containing Chinese predations. We have the possibility of standing up to the Iranian terror fighting nexus and to Turkish predations. This is a moment of opportunity for the United States military. If we can seize it, if we can change our procurement processes, if we can change how we actually recruit, if we can change how the American war machine works, which I think Pete Hexath is. I think he's gonna go in there with a chainsaw, Javier Milei style. I think he's gonna cut a lot of the dead wood. And I think that he is going to change how things are done at dod. I think that's why he's a threat to the system, which is precisely why he deserves the support. And Pete Hegseth, if you think you're gonna get the best of him in this hearing, you are out of your damned mind. And meanwhile, again, those nomination hearings have begun. It is absolutely necessary that we get the precise reverse of what Joe Biden did. So Joe Biden gave a press conference yesterday that was sort of bizarre, retrospective, an attempt to rewrite his own history yesterday at the White House. And it was just lie after lie after lie after lie. If people wonder how Donald Trump became president again, the answer is Joseph R. Biden, the worst president of the modern era. The only possible challenger to his terrible presidency would be Jimmy Carter. And it was just lie after lie. Here was, for example, Joe Biden suggesting that illegal crossings went way down under his presidency, which is a lie. We let in somewhere between 8 and 10 million illegal immigrants while he was President of the United States.

Joe Biden (8:55)

Let's get something in mind about the border. When I became president, the numbers came way down, number one. Number two, we had a circumstance where I pushed very hard for a bipartisan agreement to put more on the border, more Secret Service agents. And guess what? He's on the phone saying, don't do it.

Ben Shapiro (9:17)

What in the world is he talking about? He's just babbling nonsensically because this is what Joe Biden is and was. He wanted more Secret Service agents on the. What is he talking. That's not even what the Secret Service does. We want more Secret Service agents on the American border. You ran a senile left winger, and then you lost. This is why Trump guys give the man his nominees. Joe Biden says illegal crossings went way down, but the truth is, he let criminality flourish. And here's the thing. If you're a homeowner the way I am, when is the last time you checked the title to your home? That is the legal document that proves your ownership. If the answer is never, you need to know about an alarming crime the FBI calls house stealing. I previously learned how the scam works. It is really, really disturbingly simple. It all comes down to a single document called a quit claim deed. Criminals can forge these documents using your information, add a fake signature, and obtain a notary seal online for just a few bucks. Once filed with county officials, your home can be transferred out of your name without your knowledge. But here's what's really happening. These scammers aren't after your house. They're actually after your equity. They use your property as collateral for loans, and then they vanish, leaving you with a devastating financial and legal mess. To clean up. Fortunately, there is a solution. Home Title Lock offers Triple lock protection, which includes 247 monitoring of your title, immediate alerts if anyone attempts to modify it, and comprehensive restoration service if fraud occurs, all at no extra cost. Our own senior video editor Adam, trusts them to protect his home. You can do the same. Start 2025 off right with the peace of mind Home Title Lock can bring. The first step is to check on your home's title to make sure you're not already a victim. You can get a free title history report and a 30 day free trial of triple lock protection. Today, head on over to hometitlelock.com, use promo code Shapiro or click on the link in the description that's hometitlelock.com promo code Shapiro. Don't wait until it's too late. Also with the New Year upon us, I've been thinking about how my approach to planning has evolved. These days it's not just about setting career goals or making resolutions, is about making the smart moves you need to make to protect what matters most. Your family. And that's why I need to tell you about PolicyGenius. They're not an insurance company. They're actually the country's leading online insurance marketplace, making it incredibly simple to find and buy life insurance that gives your loved ones a financial safety net. If you're a homeowner the way I am, mortgage payments are a common cost that could be covered by life insurance. And Policy Genius helps you find and compare all the plans that fit your priorities the best. Here's what I love about policygenius. They combine easy to use digital tools with real licensed experts who help you every step of the way. Their team answers all your questions, handles the paperwork, advocates for you throughout the process. You can compare quotes from top insurers side by side, completely free, no hidden fees. And here's something you should know with Policygenius you can find life insurance policies starting at just 292 bucks per year for a million dollars in coverage. Some options are 100% online and let you avoid unnecessary medical exams. Even if you have life insurance through work might not cover all your family's needs or follow you to your next job. That's why thousands of happy customers have left five star views on Google and trustpilot. Secure your families tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Head over to policygenius.com Shapiro or click the link in the description. Get your free life insurance quotes. See how much you could save. That's policygenius.com Shapiro Meanwhile, Joe Biden was actually taunting Putin about saying that he would visit Kyiv in a matter of days. We should note at this point that Joe Biden's initial response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was to offer a plane ride out of Ukraine to Vladimir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.

Joe Biden (12:19)

Just consider Russia. When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he'd conquer Kyiv in a matter of days. The truth is, since that war began, I'm the only one that stood in the center of Kyiv, not him. Putin never has. Think about it. There's a long train ride, but I'm the only commander commander chiefs to visit a war zone not controlled by US Forces.

Ben Shapiro (12:51)

Wow, what a hero.

Joe Biden (12:52)

Help Ukrainians stop Putin. And now, nearly three. Three years later, Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives. He has failed thus far to subjugate Ukraine, failed to break the. Break the unity of NATO, and failed to make large territorial gains.

Ben Shapiro (13:10)

Okay, except for the reality, which is that your failures of policy in Ukraine have led to an interminably long war that has not moved the borders for three years. A deal was available in August of 2022. You did not take it. And not only that, you stopped pushing for a deal. You stopped attempting to even be in line with reality on any of this stuff. I do love it when Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrats sort of tout their travel history as a reason why they were good. I took a long train ride to Ukraine and then visited a war zone where we weren't actually like, who gives it? The American people certainly didn't. But the rewriting of history continued to pace. Here was Joe Biden yesterday talking about what an amazing job we did in Afghanistan, which is incredible because there are 13 dead American service people thanks to his botched pullout from Afghanistan. The Taliban took over. The Taliban are running it with an iron fist. They have subjugated everyone in the country back to primitive caveman rule. And here's Joe Biden touting it.

Joe Biden (14:06)

I saw no reason to keep thousands of servicemen in Afghanistan. I think I have my schedule with me. And I keep on my. I don't here, I don't have. But I keep on the back of my card the actual number of dead and wounded that occurred in our longest war to remind myself, keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars a day. We're no longer doing that. In my view, it was time to end the war and bring our troops home. And we did okay.

Ben Shapiro (14:36)

And. And it went amazing. As it turns out that that went absolutely, incredibly well. The fact is the pullout from Afghanistan was the single worst botched American moment in military foreign policy history. Perhaps turning over that country back to the Taliban. The full scale collapse of our allies in Afghanistan due to the Joe Biden deliberately pulling back air support for any of our allies in Afghanistan. By the way, no one, no American troops are dying in Afghanistan at the time. Zero. Zero. And Joe Biden somehow managed the signal feat of turning the entire country back over to people who harbor Al Qaeda and getting American troops killed in the process. And he's touting it like the genius that he is. And then he takes credit for stuff that Donald Trump did during his first term here. He was taking credit for NATO allies spending 2% on defense. It was Donald Trump who leveraged our NATO allies into spending 2% on defense, not Joe Biden.

Joe Biden (15:30)

Our alliances are stronger than they've been in decades. NATO is more capable than it's ever been. And many more of our allies are paying their fair share. Before I took office, nine NATO allies are spending 2% of their GDP on defense. Now 23 are spending 2%.

Ben Shapiro (15:52)

That is because of the Ukraine war and because they knew that Donald Trump wanted them to pay their fair share. And Joe Biden is there taking credit for. He didn't stop with the lies. I mean, just. He said that he. We reinvigorated faith in America as a reliable ally. Are you kidding me? Not to the Israelis, not to the Saudis, and not to the Ukrainians, not to the Kurds. Please name an American ally that feels stronger because of Joe Biden today.

Joe Biden (16:16)

And we have strengthened partnerships all across the Americas, defending democracy, targeting corruption, addressing migration, increasing prosperity, and protecting Amazon rainforest, which captures billions of tons, billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year. Overall, we've reinvigorated people's faith in the United States as a true, true partner.

Ben Shapiro (16:43)

By the way, the allies that he has supposedly supported in South America are people like Lula da Silva in Brazil, who's basically a left wing authoritarian. The guy is off his rocker. He's just off his rocker. I can't imagine why you get Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump. This is why. This is the exact reason the outgoing National Security advisor, thank God, Jake Sullivan, who is an Obama holdover. I mean, this is a guy who thinks that some of the main concerns for the United States would be like AI misidentifying people of color as a national security concern. These are what in the world. That's who this administration was. And this is why you get walloped with Donald Trump.

Jake Sullivan (17:21)

Is there Concern about how it does not AI is on the national security front is not accurately depicting or scanning people of color, because we are understanding civil rights groups are very upset about that. How it's misidentifying. Is that a concern with the national security, security as well?

Ilya Shapiro (17:40)

Yes, it is. Of course, if you think about the series of concerns that are raised by the advent of artificial intelligence, they range across economic, military, and social risks. One of those is bias. And there have been a lot of studies to show that bias is a genuine challenge when it comes to artificial intelligence. And the ways in which. Which that could undermine social cohesion in the United States and globally has national security, and terrorism has national security implications.

Ben Shapiro (18:16)

You know what actually has some pretty significant national security implications? You guys surrendering to terrorists and handing them billions of dollars in American military equipment. That seems like a lot worse. But you know what? Jake Sullivan characterizes that at challenges and difficulties, he says, you know, when it comes to that Afghanistan pullout, which, by the way, was the turning point of the Biden presidency, he says that, yeah, we had some challenges, a few difficulties. You mean how you abjectly surrender to some of the worst people on planet Earth and got American troops killed in the process. Would those be the challenges and difficulties? Jake?

Ilya Shapiro (18:47)

America's better off today that we are not entering now our 25th year of war, of Americans fighting and dying of billions and billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan. And what we have been able to do instead is refocus that effort and energy and attention on the challenges of the future. Now, when you end a war after 20 years, with all of the decisions that have piled up over that time, there are going to be challenges and difficulties, and there were challenges and difficulties in the period of the drawdown. But people predicted once we left Afghanistan, it would harm our alliances. Our alliances are at historic highs. They predicted that we would have a safe haven in Afghanistan for plotting terrorist attacks against the American homeland. Terrorism remains a very real concern. But President Biden pointed out before he pulled out that it's a more diffuse and metastasized threat, including the kind of homegrown violent extremism that we saw on display in New Orleans in January. In fact, over the course of these four years, we have seen President Biden that was the first terrorist attack that has happened on American soil. It was not connected to Afghanistan, as far as we know. It was connected to inspiration from isis.

Ben Shapiro (20:03)

And so I love that he's bragging about that.

Ilya Shapiro (20:06)

The decision he took has left America in a profoundly stronger position.

Ben Shapiro (20:10)

Totally insane, Totally Insane. By the way, the withdrawal from Afghanistan led to two obviously predictable responses. One, Russia thinking that America was weak and thus invading Ukraine, and two, Iran thinking that America and its allies were weak and thus prompting Hamas to invade Israel on October 7, 2023. These people cannot go soon enough and they need to be replaced by people who are going to clean house. Clean house in 60 minutes over the weekend did an awful interview with the former State Department staffer who quit the Biden administration because the Biden administration, according to this crazed, pro terrorist former State Department staffer for like 20 years, was too pro Israel. Which is a wild misapprehension of exactly what Joe Biden had been doing with the Israel situation since like late 2023. That department needs to be cleansed. So does with fire. Okay, so too does the Department of Defense. There are too many people in careerist positions at these departments who need to be cleaned out. That is precisely why Donald Trump is nominating outsiders for all of these positions and whoever ends up running these departments, and I think Pete Hegseth will be confirmed, I think Rubio will be confirmed, I think Tulsi Gabbard will be confirmed. I think all these people will be confirmed and should be. They need to go into their various departments with a chainsaw like Javier Milei and start cutting staff immediately and replacing them with people who are not actual globalists. People who believe that American priorities come first. That would be the key. So Trump deserves his nominees. Well folks, the federal government is filled with people who are absolutely useless. It needs to get its fiscal house in order. And here's the thing. So do you Looking back, can you recall a time when your financial habits weren't serving you well? Whether it was keeping your money in low interest accounts or making purchases you later regretted? Or were there barriers that kept you from starting to invest earlier? Perhaps it was limited funds, a busy schedule, feeling uncertain about where to begin. That's why I want to tell you about Acorns. Acorns is a financial wellness app that makes it easy to start saving and investing for your future. Acorns diversified portfolios let you invest for the long term in a huge chunk of the American economy. That way you're better prepared to ride the swings in the market. Get exposure to well known stocks like Apple and Nvidia, Tesla and more. You can even invest in a Bitcoin linked ETF as well, all while maintaining a well balanced portfolio. The best part? Acorns lets you get started with the spare money you've got right now. Even if all you've got is spare change. The app makes it simple to begin investing in just minutes with clear guidance every step of the way so you can give your money a chance to grow behind the scenes with those everyday purchases you'd be making anyway. Sign up right now. Join the over 13 million all time customers who've already saved and invested over $22 billion with Acorns. Plus Acorns will boost your new account with a $20 bonus investment offer available at acorns.com Shapiro that's acorns.com S H A P I R O to get your $20 bonus investment today paid non Client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Tier 2 compensation provided investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important disclosures@acorns.com Shapiro Also, we all take supplements. Or at least we probably know we should. Have you noticed how many supplement companies charge premium prices for ordinary products? Well, this is why I want to introduce you to Livegood, a brand that's revolutionizing the supplement industry. LiveGood believes everyone deserves access to high quality supplements at reasonable prices. They offer premium products formulated by an industry leading team of natural health experts and by cutting out the middleman, they deliver them at unbeatable prices. Some members of my team recently tried their multivitamins and protein powder because this year they really wanted to stay on top of health and wellness. So since taking them and getting all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body typically needs, it's clear it makes a big difference in your overall health and day to day life. Their extensive product line includes everything from organic super greens and multivitamins to collagen, weight loss solutions, protein powder, even skin care products. All premium quality at prices that actually make sense. It's no surprise they've become the fastest growing supplement brand with over 1.5 million satisfied customers and counting. Ready to make the switch and start saving. We'll make it even easier for you. Use our link. You can save an additional 10% off your first order on top of their already low prices. Just go to livegood.com ben to save 10% on your first order. That's livegood.com Ben don't miss out on this opportunity to invest in your health without overspending. Meanwhile, the media is evolving to meet the threat of Trump. Rachel Maddow announced yesterday that she would be returning to her full time show. You excited all three of you viewers over at msnbc. Apparently, according to Mediaite, MSNBC will bring Rachel Maddow back five nights a week to cover the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term. She's literally the only host on that network who really has any draw at all. In 2024, Maddow raked in 2.5 million average viewers, which quadrupled her CNN competition. At 9pm Sean Hannity led the time slot, as always at fox news with 2.8 million average viewers. Alex Wagner, who hosts Maddow's hour the other four nights a week right now will be hitting the road for the network. Maddow's taking the helm. Starting on January 20, Maddow is making $30 million a year over at MSNBC, which may in fact be their entire gross receipts at MSNBC at this point given their low viewership. But I think the big media move of the moment, the one that matters most to me, because it's the most hilarious, is Jennifer Rubin. So Jennifer Rubin is a former pseudo conservative columnist for the Washington Post. She's not been a conservative for, I don't know, 15 years at this point, but they kept calling her the conservative columnist for the Washington Post. She could be reliably counted upon to write the dumbest tripe available. She quit the Washington Post yesterday and slammed Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post. She is now launching a brand new subscription outlet called the Contrarian. The Contrarian. I am sure that all two of her readers will be absolutely energized by this new announcement. She'll be joined in this prospect by a person named Norm Eisen, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and CNN legal analyst. Wow, a constellation of stars happening right here. So both of them looked into a camera and then talked and it was terrible for everyone. Hi, I'm Jen Rubin. And I'm Norm Eisen. I am here to announce I am.

Kristen Crowley (26:02)

Leaving the Washington Post in order to.

Ben Shapiro (26:04)

Co found with Norm an exciting new online platform, the Contrarian.

Kristen Crowley (26:10)

We are gonna bring you written material.

Ben Shapiro (26:12)

Podcasts, interviews, social media, all in defense of democracy. Our intent is to combat the authoritarian force that we all face. Okay, nervous looking woman on the left with the beaded necklace and dorky lawyer who couldn't even hack it on cnn, the same network that hires Jeffrey Toobin. Really congrats to both of you on your brand new venture that I'm sure will earn you dozens of dollars. Really well done. You'll bring your vast audience of anti authoritarian subscribers over to Substack and we wish you nothing but the best. Speaking of people who have some regerts, Jack Smith, who quit his job after it turns out that the person he was attempting to prosecute was elected President of the United States and was sentenced to four years in the White House. Special counsel Jack Smith, according to the Wall Street Journal, has defended his decision to bring charges against Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election election loss. He wrote in a report made public early Tuesday, prosecutors believe they had enough evidence to convict Trump had they not been forced to drop the case after his reelection in November. Well, I'm sure he did believe that, considering that he could have gotten a Washington, D.C. jury to convict Donald Trump on pretty much anything. I think it's important for Americans to note what a bullet we all dodged by Donald Trump actually being reelected. Because the prospect of Donald Trump facing down actual prison time thanks to an out of control DOJ presided over by Democrats would have broken so many more institutions in the country that have already been broken. Jack Smith's prosecution was a joke, okay? These prosecutions that Smith brought went so far beyond the statutory requirements that they were not just bending the law, they were effectively breaking the law. So of course Smith is now going to claim that if it hadn't been for those darn kids, then he definitely would have gotten away with it. If it hadn't been for those darn American people electing Donald Trump to a second term, then he definitely would have gotten gotten Donald Trump. It's like the end of every Scooby Doo episode. But you can expect that from Jack Smith, who went after Donald Trump with a blowtorch and ended up coming away with what, A contract in MSNBC or cnn? Meanwhile, the wildfires in California are still raging. Joe Biden has now pledged a massive, a massive federal subsidy to each resident affected by the LA wildfires. Get ready for it. You ready? You ready? $770 to every resident affected by L A wildfires. Now, far be it for me, a small government conservative, to think that the federal government ought to pass out checks in large numbers to people. I actually don't think that they should. I don't understand why taxpayers in Kentucky should be subsidizing people in California when California is a very large state with an incredibly large tax base that taxes its residents at exorbitantly high rates and then proceeds to mismanage fire management. With that said, if Joe Biden is going to toss $7 trillion out the window every year, it seems to me he can do better than 770 bucks to each resident affected by the LA wildfires, which is going to last under his inflation ridden economy precisely two grocery cycles. According to News Nation. Biden announced Monday federal aid is flowing to LA as California battles its worst wildfires in state history. Biden said, quote, we are not waiting until the fires are over to help victims, helping them all. Right now, people impacted by these fires are going to receive a one time payment of $770. Ooh boy, boy howdy. I mean that's, that's certainly going to pay for like a bag of arugula at the Whole Foods so they can quickly purchase things like water, baby formula and prescriptions. The federal government will cover all firefighting costs for the next 180 days. Nearly 5.1 million in immediate aid has been distributed with effective residents eligible for that one time payment again of $770. Wow. Come on down. It's the worst episode of the Price is Right literally ever. As it turns out, the state of California really should be footing the bill considering how they botched this on behalf of all of their residents. Good piece in the Wall Street Journal today by Alicia Finley talking about California's policy and here's what she says. The LA Department of Water and Power in 2019 sought to widen a fire access road and replace old wooden utility poles in the Topanga Canyon abutting the Palisades with steel ones to make power lines fire and wind resistant. In the process, crews removed an estimated 182 Braun milk vetch plants and endangered species. The utility then halted the project as state officials investigating the plant's destruction. More than a year later, the California Coastal Commission issued a cease and desist order, fined the utility $2 million and required mitigation for the project's impact on the species. This involved replacing non native vegetation with plants native to the state. So basically to protect the milk vetch, they let all of the power lines remain vulnerable to fire. Since the milk vetch requires wildfires to propagate, the only way to boost its numbers is to let the land burn. Meanwhile, Louisiana Fire Department Chief Kristen Crowley complains the city cut her budget by $17 million last spring, which she says reduced overtime comp and interfered with wildfire preparation. But in truth, the fire budget didn't actually shrink because city leaders last autumn approved a new union contract that boosted pay and benefits by $76 million. That's 20 grand per firefighter. Before that raise, firefighters in LA on average earned $200,000 plus $90,000 in benefits. Many retire at 55 with pensions equaling 90% of their final salaries. So it turns out that maybe the spending Wasn't the problem with the firefighters, except for the fact that these public sector unions are, are able to pry gigantic contracts out of these cities and then they're wildly understaffed. LA spent $350 million this year on firefighter pensions and benefits alone. It feels like that money could have been better used on fire prevention, which made up 5% of the fire department's budget. Bloated union contracts in DEI may not have directly hampered the fire response. They illustrate the government's wrong headed priorities. It's the same with water. According to Alicia Finley, President Trump blamed dry fire hydrants in LA on protections for the delta smelt. The real culprit was an overwhelmed water system. But both reflect government mismanagement. Those smelt protections don't allow water to flow from north to south, which means billions of gallons of water being flushed out to the Pacific Ocean every year. Meanwhile, the state has decided that basically crime and homelessness are now legal. And so we still don't know how these fires started. There is a very good shot that because many of the wildfires in California have started this way, that you basically had homeless people living in the woods and burning things and that starts wildfires. Good Samaritans on Thursday actually detained a homeless man, an illegal immigrant as it turns out, who they said used a flamethrower to incinerate Christmas trees and garbage cans around the same time as a major fire erupted. Meanwhile, when it comes to insurance, the insurance commissioners keep attempting to quash the fire insurance business in the state of California. They say we want the prices low and won't allow you to raise the prices. So insurance companies are like, well then we can't make money so we're not gonna do it. Which means everybody just falls back on the state insurance plan. Which means that now all the taxpayers get to pay for all of this. It is no wonder that you have Speaker Johnson saying, listen, if we're gonna give aid on a federal level to California, they're gonna need to restructure some of their fire policies because otherwise you're just flushing money down the toilet. Here's Speaker Johnson yesterday.

Kristen Crowley (33:09)

Obviously there's been water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems. And it does come down to leadership. And it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects. So that's something that has to be factored in. I think there should probably be conditions on that date. That's my personal view. We'll see what the consensus is.

Ben Shapiro (33:34)

And again, that ain't wrong. If the federal taxpayer is going to be subsidizing California, perhaps California should actually, you know, pursue the measures that might mitigate wildfires like this one. The good news is that, as always, Governor Gavin Newsom right on top of it. He says one of his top priorities, he doesn't want land speculators buying a property in the Palisades or Malibu. That's not what he wants. Just like in Hawaii after the big fires, they were afraid that speculators would buy up the land. Here's the thing. If you are a person who just had your house burned down, maybe you need some quick access to capital, and maybe it might be a kind of godsend if somebody came in with a couple million bucks and paid you for your land. But Gavin Newsom was like, no, no, there will be none of that. No free market activity in my part of the globe. I was just talking to Josh Green.

Kristen Crowley (34:16)

The governor of down in Hawaii, who.

Ben Shapiro (34:19)

Had some ideas around some land use.

Kristen Crowley (34:22)

Concerns he has around speculators buying up.

Ben Shapiro (34:25)

Properties and the like. So we're already working with our legal teams to. To move those things forward, and we'll be presenting those in a matter of days, not just weeks. I mean, he's now just basically doing these memes, right? What is he doing? What is he. How did they ever consider this person a presidential possibility? How? How? I think the big issue here, however, is the obvious racism against Karen Bass, the mayor of la, who has botched this thing beyond recognition. The good news is actresses Yvette Nicole Brown and Kim Whitley are on the case and they say they will hear no racism against the elected mayor of Los Angeles.

Jake Sullivan (34:59)

Let me tell you something. She's got a spine of steel.

Ben Shapiro (35:01)

Yes.

Jake Sullivan (35:02)

And she's also been a black woman in America a very long time. So none of this is new to her. We're mad because we're tired of it. We're tired for her. We're mad for her and we're going to stand. Listen, I don't know how you here, but I'm happy you're here because somebody needs to say, stand, you know, behind her and support her. Because how is she handling? You can see it in her face. She stays calm. But think about this. She has the city to take care of. She's had a great response so far into the fire. Absolutely. She has done what she's had to do. She's jumped in there and she's got.

Ben Shapiro (35:36)

Let me tell this.

Jake Sullivan (35:37)

We have fires every year, and I don't remember in the 30 years almost that I've lived in LA. I've never seen somebody, everybody react like this to the man and blame one person for a natural disaster. Yes. I've never seen it. Now, what's different this time? Interesting, isn't it? I said that. Amen, sister.

Ben Shapiro (35:54)

I mean, the thing that's different this time is that you, you have a Palisades fire that has burned 23,000 acres, has been burning for seven days, and is 17% contained, and your mayor was out of town in Ghana. I mean, I feel like there are a few distinctions. By the way, the fire warnings are now extending pretty much all the way up the coast through Malibu, all the way towards Santa Barbara at this point because the winds are still picking up. They're gonna pick up again today, and there's a lot of dry tinder in those particular areas. Mayor Bass, for her part, she issued an executive order Monday that seeks to expedite rebuilding efforts. Executive Order 1 requires city departments to complete project reviews within 30 days from when a complete application is submitted. It's hilarious how they all become Republicans when they actually want to build something. Until then, however, they will continue to quash actual livability in the state of California on behalf of trees and the homeless. All right, in just one second, we'll get to Israel and Hamas, supposedly on the verge of a quote, unquote, ceasefire deal. First, history is about to be made. The Daily Wire will be live from Washington, D.C. to bring you every moment as Donald Trump is sworn in as 47th President of the United States. It's not just an event, it's a movement. We're making sure you're front and center for all of it. To celebrate, we're giving you 25% off new daily Wire, plus annual memberships. With your membership, you'll get exclusive access to our ad, free uncensored shows, plus a growing library of hit movies, original series and groundbreaking documentaries that are reshaping culture. Join the fight today. Use code DW25@DailyWire.com subscribe for 25% off right now. Meanwhile, with President Trump entering the White House, it appears that Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group that is currently holding 100 hostages, about 70 of those are supposedly alive and they're holding the bodies of 30 others. There is a deal that is going to release hostages. It's being characterized by some as a cease fire deal. It's being characterized by others as a hostage release deal. There's no question that President Trump's threats of all hell breaking loose on Hamas are leading Hamas to try to Make a deal before Trump enters office with, with the Biden administration acting as broker. There's also no question that President Trump and his team would like a headline that says that hostages walk out of Gaza because of President Trump during the first week of his brand new administration. And so pressure has been brought on Israel without a doubt, to come to the table and make some sort of deal. The way that this deal stacks up is not something that I particularly like. I think the deal is not good. But that is because my belief is that if Israel does not in fact make the Strip quiescent, if Israel does not retain control over the Gaza Strip, then they are setting themselves up for further failure. I also think that the generalized math in which Israel has participated, this is Israel's own fault for decades, which basically says they will trade terrorists, like living, actual murderous terrorists for innocent people who are taken hostage, leads Israel's enemies to take hostages. That is just the logic of hostage deals. So with all of that said, the following premises lead to a deal. One, Israel was always going to make some sort of deal to try and get its hostages out because Israel sees it as paramount to get those hostages out alive. Two, Hamas was never going to allow all the hostages out because if they do, they lose their leverage and they know it. So essentially, by taking hostages, Hamas always to a certain extent, had Israel over the barrel. And the only question was gonna be how many terrorists did Israel have to give up to get some of his hostages back. Right now the calculus seems to be 33 live hostages coming out over the course of the next six weeks, led by women and children. Again, Hamas is perhaps the most evil terrorist group on the planet. They're literally holding a one year old hostage. This is what Hamas does. And then the goal would be, if you're Hamas, to get to phase two, which would be a further negotiation that would allow for, quote, unquote, the end of the war, which would mean Israel would withdraw most of its troops, if not all of its troops, from the Gaza Strip. And Hamas would like to then reconstitute inside Gaza. Israel is not going to allow that. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he's not going to allow that. From the Trump administration's point of view, what they want is the hostages out as soon as possible. And so the question as to whether this deal is good or whether it is bad is really a question of what happens after phase one. And this is very much like what happened very early on in the war. There was a hostage deal that delayed further Israeli action by Something like three weeks before it broke down and Israel went back into the Gaza Strip to continue mopping up Hamas, the same thing could happen right here. Hostages could be released. There are a bunch of things that Israel is called upon to do that are very negative militarily. That would include withdrawal from the so called Netzarim corridor, which is a corridor, a land corridor that goes basically bisects the Gaza Strip in an east west direction and allows for Israel to break up movement from terrorists from the south to the north where there are more weapons stockpiles. This deal would also limit Israel and their ability to police the so called Philadelphia Corridor, which is the smuggling corridor between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which is how Hamas got all of its weapons. Terrorists would be released. Those terrorists are supposedly going to be released to Qatar and Turkey, both of which hate Israel and are perfectly willing to allow those terrorists to move back into the Gaza Strip at first available opportunity. So this is a serious security danger to Israel. If it weren't, Hamas wouldn't be doing the deal. That is why Hamas is going to the table. And yes, they're also going to the table because they fear that if they don't, they'll get a much worse deal under President Trump who will come in and then quote, unquote, unleash all hell, which would presumably mean allowing Israel to to participate in much more severe fashion in mop up operations in the Gaza Strip. According to Reuters, negotiators are meeting in Qatar hoping to finalize details of a plan to end the war in Gaza. Steve Witkoff is the Middle east envoy. He seems to be working very closely with the Qataris. That's not something I'm perfectly comfortable with since Qatar has very often acted as a sort of cutout for Iran. With that said, some sort of deal was probably going to get cut here. The only question was just how bad for Israel. There's been some talk about the possibility that the Netanyahu government is going to fall. That appears very unlikely. So Netanyahu does have to get a majority of his government of the Knesset to actually go along with the hostage deal. That would include his own coalition. If his own coalition drops off the hostage deal and decides to walk out of the government, then his government falls and new elections are called in Israel. Netanyahu is betting that won't happen. He appears to be correct in that bet. So he has two parties that are to the right of him in his coalition in Israel. One of them is the party Otzma Yehudit, which is led by it'sMar Ben Gvir, who's probably the furthest right person in the Israeli government. The other is led by Batshel Al Smotrich. Bazal Al Smotrich has a smaller party than Ben Gavir. Smotrich represents a lot of the so called settlers, people who are living in Judea and Samaria who really don't like the deal. A disproportionate share of Israeli soldiers who've been killed in this war come from Judea and Samaria, are coming from the areas that have elected but tell us Motric so they don't like the deal. Smotrich is hesitant to topple the government because he recognizes that if that happens, he's probably not likely to sit in the next coalition government in Israel. Ben GVIR could single handedly topple the government, but instead he seems to be demagoguing the issue. He's basically saying I'll only walk out if Smotrich walks out, which is a great way for him to avoid walking out of the government. So it appears right now as though some sort of deal is going to go through before President Trump becomes president. Trump will get the headline correctly that says that his presidency brought about the release of of these hostages. And then the question as to whether this is a livable deal for Israel or whether it threatens Israel and other American allies because reconstitution of Hamas in the Gaza Strip would be quite bad, that question is going to come down to further implementation of the deal, apparently. According to Reuters, Hamas is accepting verbal agreements to possibly talk to agree about a ceasefire nearing the end of the war. And what that seems to me is Hamas operating from a position of absolute weakness. According to the Wall Street Journal, both sides seem galvanized by the prospect of Trump's return to office. The incoming president said a week ago all hell will break out in the Middle east if the hostages aren't released by the time he takes office on Monday, repeating a threat he had made earlier. He hasn't explained what he means. Last week he said it wouldn't be good for Hamas or frankly for anyone. Trump said on Monday to Newsmax that his deal was very close to get to getting done. He said there's been a handshake. They're getting it finished maybe by the end of the week. Asked what turned the tide in recent days, an Israeli official said, quote, the Trump effect. And that official said Trump's gonna get credit no matter what if the deal actually gets done. Now, again, the fact that the Biden administration is working well with Steve Witkoff makes me think this is not a particularly amazing deal for the west or for Israel generally. But once again, it was Israel that made a priority to get back its hostages and was willing to trade terrorists for those hostages. If Israel had taken the position for from the get go that they were not going to sacrifice military priorities in favor of the hostages, that would've changed the math. But as long as they need to get the hostages back, terrorists were gonna go free. And Israel's gonna have to make moves that compromise its own national security. That's just sort of the reality of the situation. Again, this had all been forecast a little bit earlier this week. J.D. vance on the Sunday shows had suggested that all hell means that basically Israel will be given a freer hand. Hamas knows that's coming, and that's one of the reasons they're being pushed to the table. They're getting a better deal under Biden than they would under Trump.

J.D. Vance (44:32)

I think the president, if you talk to world leaders, it's very clear that President Trump threatening Hamas and making it clear that there is going to be hell to pay is part of the reason why we've made progress on getting some hostages out. We're hopeful there's going to be a deal that's struck towards the very end of Biden's administration, maybe the last day or two. But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas. Now, what does that look like? I think, number one, it means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership.

Ben Shapiro (45:17)

Okay. And again, I think that Hamas sees that and they know that's coming. Whether this deal ends up being catastrophically bad or just sort of as bad as it needs to be in order to get the hostages out, that's going to be up to the sort of next iteration of the deal, meaning after Hamas violates the deal, which they absolutely will. I mean, they're currently holding hostages. Once that happens, Israel says, listen, we are not going to hand over the Strip back to Hamas after the sacrifices in soldiers and materiel that we've made. If Israel says that and then goes back in, is the Trump administration going to object? My guess is probably not very much, considering that the hostages will, will be out at that point. Joining us online is Ilya Shapiro, senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies at Manhattan Institute he has a brand new book out today titled the Miseducation of America's Elites. Ilya, thanks so much for joining the show. Really appreciate it.

Kristen Crowley (46:04)

Great to be back with you, Ben.

Ben Shapiro (46:05)

So let's talk about the situation in sort of legal academia right now. First of all, why does this matter given the fact that America probably has too many lawyers already?

Kristen Crowley (46:16)

Well, as we've learned, there's a crisis in higher education more broadly which has certainly come to the fore since October 7 and revealed the pathologies of various kinds. This is particularly dangerous for legal education because while it's sad for humanity if English and sociology departments go off the rails, law schools train the next generation of the gatekeepers of our legal and political institutions, our judges disproportionately, our politicians, other leaders of various kinds. If the law is subverted, if the rules of the game, such basic values as due process, equality under the law, free speech, if these are thrown out the window, we're in big trouble.

Ben Shapiro (47:00)

So you obviously have some personal experiences with regard to the law schools and how they have treated people who differ in viewpoint. Maybe you can talk a little bit about what it's like. I mean, you've taught at some of these law schools, right?

Kristen Crowley (47:13)

Well, three years ago I was about to start a job at Georgetown Law School and I was commenting in the media about the Supreme Court. That was the subject of my last book, Supreme Disorder, Judicial Politics. And I tweeted, I in artfully phrased a criticism of Joe Biden for restricting his Supreme Court nominees by race and sex, a view I maintain to this day and that overwhelming majority of Americans agree as well. Anyway, this, this, this badly phrased tweet led to a four month long investigation by the DEI office at Georgetown as to whether I was discriminating against or harassing someone, at the end of which I was led off on the technicality that I wasn't employed when I tweeted. And so the rules didn't apply. But I got this big long report from the HR and DEI office saying anytime I offended someone, I would be back in the star Chamber would create a hostile educational environment. So I quit. I said I couldn't work under these conditions and so I quit. And I shone all I've been using this platform to shine a light on the rot in academia and especially in legal education.

Ben Shapiro (48:17)

So, Ilya, obviously the Trump administration is set to take over next week. There are going to be some significant changes in places like the Department of Education. Federal policy does have some impact on how these operations actually run. Let's say that you were advising Linda McMahon over at the Department of Education. What kind of stuff would you be telling her with regard to legal academia?

Kristen Crowley (48:36)

I'm for all of the above. You know, we're not gonna have reforms internally. The leaders of these institutions have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing, not because it's the right thing, but because it's in their interest. And that includes the shocks from federal and state governments. The Office of Civil Rights at Education should investigate and in conjunction with, with the Justice Department, withhold funds from schools that violate students civil rights, whether in the context of free speech, anti Semitism or so many other things that these schools are doing that are improper. State attorneys general should investigate these places, employ private employers, as they did after October 7th. Writing Law School dean saying, why are you having a culture where Hamas supporters are flourishing? All of these kinds of exogenous shocks I think are important and shining a light, you know, just one op ed can, as we're seeing now with Texas A and M, for example, with their people of color only conference or whatever it is that they're, that they're having. Just shining a bit of a light makes it obvious that to mix metaphors in some cases, these are Potemkin villages guarded by paper tigers.

Ben Shapiro (49:44)

Well, the book is the Miseducation of America's Elites. The author is Ilya Shapiro. Go check out that book. It is available today. Ilya, really appreciate the time. Good luck with the book.

Kristen Crowley (49:52)

Thank you, Ben. Take care already.

Ben Shapiro (49:54)

Coming up, we'll get to Joe Biden who is spending his days now attacking all of his enemies. If you're not a member, become a member. Use code Shapiro. Check out for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us. Inauguration Day, January 20th. Watch it on Daily Wire with Ben.

Ilya Shapiro (50:09)

Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles, Andrew Clavin.

Ben Shapiro (50:12)

And Jeremy bore live from D.C. donald Trump's historic second term officially begins. Coverage starts at 10:50aM Eastern. Watch live on Daily Wire.