Best of the Program | Guests: Chad Wolf & Jenn Pellegrino | 1/21/25

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Glenn Beck Program – Best of the Program Featuring Chad Wolf & Jenn Pellegrino

Episode Details:

• Title: Best of the Program
• Guests: Chad Wolf, Jenn Pellegrino
• Release Date: January 21, 2025
• Hosted by: The Glenn Beck Program, Blaze Podcast Network

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Glenn Beck Program, host Glenn Beck engages in a robust discussion with notable guests Chad Wolf and Jenn Pellegrino from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). The conversation delves deep into the recent actions of the Trump administration, the strategic shifts in American policies, and the ongoing challenges within Washington, D.C. The episode offers listeners a comprehensive look into the political maneuvers shaping America's future, all while maintaining Glenn Beck's signature candidness and insightful commentary.

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Administration Overhaul and Policy Changes

Chad Wolf, formerly the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and now the Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer of AFPI, provides an insider's perspective on the transformative changes initiated by the Trump administration. He underscores the meticulous groundwork laid over the past three and a half years to implement the "America First" policies that culminated in a significant policy shift on the day of Trump’s inauguration.

• Foundation of America First: Chad emphasizes the strategic planning that preceded Trump's presidency, stating, "A lot of what we've been doing over these three and a half years was to lay the groundwork for what occurred yesterday" (02:24).

• Implementation of Executive Actions: The administration swiftly enacted over 200 executive actions aimed at realigning federal policies with the America First agenda. Chad highlights the focus on immediate action within agencies, noting, "You're coming in and you're trying to get your hands around major decisions that have to be made" (03:03).

Glenn Beck probes into the practicalities of these changes, questioning the feasibility of reversing longstanding administrative decisions and staffing choices. Chad responds by detailing the challenges posed by entrenched bureaucratic structures, often referred to as the "deep state," and the legal protections that make mass firings difficult.

• Challenges in Removing Federal Employees: Chad explains, "Unfortunately, I would say that there's a lot in law that makes that difficult. Just protections that Congress has passed for the civil service team overall" (04:41). He elaborates on strategic personnel shifts to mitigate underperformance without mass terminations.

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Handling of Drug Cartels

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the administration's aggressive stance against drug cartels, reflecting a broader commitment to national security and law enforcement.

• Designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Chad reveals plans to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, sending a clear message of zero tolerance. He states, "We're gonna start the process of designating them as a foreign terrorist organization" (07:50).

• Impact of Human Trafficking and Border Security: The conversation delves into the financial empowerment of cartels through human trafficking, highlighting the economic incentives that bolster their operations. Chad mentions, "Every single one of them paid anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000... that all goes into the pockets of the cartels" (08:32).

Glenn Beck voices his frustration with past administrations' handling of cartel issues, asserting, "It's almost as if our government has been working with them at least in the last four years. We're enabling that" (08:22).

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DC Home Rule and Pardons

Senator Mike Lee joins the conversation to address the complexities surrounding Washington, D.C.'s home rule and the recent pardons issued by President Trump. The discussion highlights systemic issues within the D.C. government and the executive branch's challenges in enforcing presidential directives.

• Repealing DC Home Rule: Mike Lee passionately advocates for the repeal of D.C.'s home rule, arguing that Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority. He asserts, "Congress shouldn't have delegated its lawmaking authority over DC. It's time to take it back" (16:18).

• Pardons and Compliance Issues: The conversation turns to the administration's efforts to release pardoned individuals, with Mike pointing out the lack of compliance from D.C. officials. He remarks, "Trump's directive was that they were to be released immediately... but they haven't complied with it yet" (18:07).

Glenn Beck expresses skepticism about the efficiency and integrity of D.C.'s administration, questioning their ability to manage law enforcement and public safety effectively.

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Media Relations and Future Changes

A critical analysis of the current media landscape forms a substantial part of the episode. Both Chad Wolf and Jenn Pellegrino discuss the adversarial relationship between the administration and mainstream media outlets, emphasizing the need for reform and transparency.

• Hostility Towards the Press: Jenn Pellegrino shares her experiences as a White House correspondent, highlighting the challenges faced by conservative media in gaining access and fair treatment. She recounts, "They would do all kinds of things to try to make your life difficult" (33:02).

• Shift Towards Independent Media: The guests anticipate a future where mainstream media struggles to adapt, with audiences increasingly turning to independent outlets and podcasts for unbiased reporting. Jen notes, "I think we are going to see the shift more toward the podcast space... because Americans are fed up with it" (35:22).

Glenn Beck underscores the importance of diversifying media consumption, advocating for more balanced representation in press rooms and the dismissal of traditional White House correspondents.

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Contributions from America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

Jenn Pellegrino, as the Senior Director and Chief Spokesperson for AFPI, elaborates on the institute's pivotal role in shaping the administration's policy framework. She credits AFPI’s research and strategic planning for the successful implementation of America First initiatives.

• Strategic Leadership: Jenn acknowledges the foresight of AFPI’s leadership, particularly Brooke Rollins, whose vision was instrumental during challenging political climates. She states, "Brooke had this vision. I mean, it was the start of a dark time in this country... and it's amazing to see how that transforms where we are" (30:11).

• Policy Execution: The institute's methodical approach to policy execution is highlighted as a key factor in the administration’s ability to rapidly implement changes. Jenn remarks, "AFPI has been a great leader in that space and getting the messaging out there" (31:55).

Glenn Beck commends the heightened organizational efforts of AFPI, noting, "You never seem to come in with a schematic... We're building a machine" (31:11).

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a resounding optimism about the future of American policies under the Trump administration. Both Chad Wolf and Jenn Pellegrino express confidence in the sustained momentum of the America First agenda, emphasizing the importance of continued grassroots support and strategic policy implementation.

• Restoring Constitutional Principles: Mike Lee underscores the necessity of returning to constitutional fundamentals, advocating for federalism and separation of powers to prevent governmental overreach (25:55).

• Public Engagement: Glenn Beck encourages listeners to engage in grassroots movements, urging them to "repeal DC home rule" and support initiatives that align with the America First vision (24:05).

Final Remarks: The episode wraps up with a reminder of AFPI’s ongoing efforts and an invitation for listeners to visit their website for more information, reinforcing the collaborative spirit aimed at shaping a better America.

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Notable Quotes:

• Chad Wolf on Laying the Groundwork:

  "A lot of what we've been doing over these three and a half years was to lay the groundwork for what occurred yesterday." (02:24)

• Mike Lee on Repealing DC Home Rule:

  "Congress shouldn't have delegated its lawmaking authority over DC. It's time to take it back." (16:18)

• Jenn Pellegrino on Media Challenges:

  "They would do all kinds of things to try to make your life difficult." (33:02)

• Chad Wolf on Drug Cartels as Terrorist Organizations:

  "We're gonna start the process of designating them as a foreign terrorist organization." (07:50)

• Glenn Beck on Media Shift:

  "I don't see them changing. I don't see them, you know, obviously reporting the truth." (35:46)

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Key Takeaways:

1. Strategic Policy Implementation: The Trump administration, supported by AFPI, has executed a series of executive actions aimed at realigning federal policies with the America First agenda, focusing on immediate and impactful changes across various departments.

2. Aggressive Stance on National Security: A key focus is the aggressive crackdown on drug cartels, including designating them as foreign terrorist organizations to enhance law enforcement efforts and disrupt their financial networks.

3. Reform of Washington, D.C.: Senator Mike Lee advocates for repealing DC’s home rule, emphasizing the need for Congress to reclaim constitutional authority and address systemic inefficiencies within the city’s administration.

4. Media Landscape Transformation: The discussion highlights a growing distrust in mainstream media, with a predicted shift towards independent news sources and podcasts as Americans seek more transparent and unbiased reporting.

5. Grassroots and Organizational Support: AFPI plays a crucial role in supporting the administration’s policies through strategic planning and research, demonstrating the effectiveness of organized, behind-the-scenes work in achieving political victories.

6. Constitutional Restoration: Emphasis on returning to constitutional principles such as federalism and separation of powers to prevent governmental overreach and ensure accountability within the federal system.

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This episode of The Glenn Beck Program provides an in-depth analysis of the current political climate, the challenges faced by the new administration, and the strategic responses being employed to navigate and reshape American policies. With insightful contributions from Chad Wolf and Jenn Pellegrino, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the shifts occurring within the federal government and the broader implications for American society.

Transcript

[Glenn Beck]

Hey, welcome to the podcast. A great one for you. On day number two of Trump, we have Chad Wolf, Jen Pellegrino on with us. Also Mike Lee and Alan Dershowitz. You don't want to miss everything that is going on in Washington. We're talking about it here in today's podcast. When Frequent Pain has you backed up against the ropes, our sponsor Relief Factor is there. It's time to come out swinging. When I was dealing with some of the worst and most frequent pain in my life, that meant taking Relief Factor. And to say it worked for me is an understatement. I got my life back and I, I really, I wouldn't have taken this stuff. I'm probably so much like you. You're like, yeah, yeah, my wife made me take it and I did. And I was shocked. I denied it, you know, for like the first couple of weeks, I'm like, yeah, I'm feeling better, but it's just me feeling better. Then after three weeks, I stopped taking it. I'm like, okay, all right, maybe it wasn't just me. If you're living with pain, do yourself a huge favor and give it a try. It's a daily supplement that helps fight pain by fighting inflammation. It's not something you take when you have a headache. You take it all the time. 100% drug free. Developed by doctors to help reduce or eliminate pain by helping strengthening your body's own system. Million people have tried it. Relief factors quick start kit. 70% of them go on to order it more month after month. Make 2025 the year of feeling good and living. Great. Get the three week quick start for $19.99 less than a dollar a day. Call 800 for relief 800, the number four relief or go to relieffactor.com that's relieffactor.com you're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program. Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. Glad you're here. We're at the America First Policy Institute, which is kind of ground zero for everything that happened yesterday and is coming. Chad Wolf is with us. He was the DHS Acting secretary for, for a while and he's also the American First Policy Institute Executive director and Chief Strategy Officer. Great job on yesterday. Whatever, whatever role you guys played yesterday, that was impressive.

[Chad Wolf]

Well, I appreciate it. I think we played a role as well as many other groups and individuals. A lot of what we've been doing over these three and a half years was to lay the groundwork for what occurred yesterday, both from talking about what does it mean to be America First. What does it mean to bring America first policies into public policy? And then a lot of work we did to help the transition, to get to where they were in order to sign over 200 executive actions yesterday and to really hit the ground running, as hopefully they're doing in every department, in every agency today to move forward.

[Glenn Beck]

What is today like? What is happening today?

[Chad Wolf]

If you're a Trump political appointee and you're inside. So I'll talk about two different ways. If you're inside an agency like DHS or the Department of Ed or State Department, it's drinking from a fire hose. Right. Because there's a limited number of you coming in on day one, and then they slowly start to populate those agencies over a period of time. You're coming in and you're trying to get your hands around major decisions that have to be made, get your hands around the budget, budget drives priorities in a lot of these agencies and departments. Getting your hands around that, getting your hands around hiring decisions, all of these things matter because all of these turn into policy.

[Glenn Beck]

Couldn't you look at the budget before you got in? Is there anybody? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Chad Wolf]

I mean, you can get a sense of the overall budget, but what have they spent in the last two weeks? And where have they spent that? And what are their priorities for spending that? Or who have they appointed to lead certain agencies? Career, sorry, not agencies, but departments within an agency. And did they appoint them in the last two weeks? Right. To slow down the agenda. When I came into DHS in 2017, I started asking for. Let me see the list of ses, which is the Senior Executive Service. Well, finally I got it after a lot of delay. And almost a third of them were appointed in the last two weeks before President Trump took office. Right. And so it gave you a sense of, well, they didn't let us pick them because they could have easily just delayed some of those selections and made some recommendations. They didn't do that. They made the appointments, and they did that for a reason. So the president talks about the deep state, you can call them the administrative state or whatever it might be. I think that's a challenge. I think that appointees coming in today, they're trying to get their hands around.

[Glenn Beck]

So what has the administration found or what is the tact that they're going to use on just firing people? I mean, mass firings have got to happen.

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah, absolutely. Unfortunately, I would say that there's a lot in law that makes that difficult. Just protections that Congress has passed for the civil service team overall. But what you can do is you can identify who the problems are. Right. You can look at their past performance. My sense is from serving for the last, the previous four years, the team has a good sense of who those are. You can move them out of the way. Right. So move them from one agency, or, sorry, one, to one office to another. Right. So if you have. They're in an office, it's critical to the operations of that department and they're not on the team and they're a problem. They're underperformers. Well, you can start the process of removing them by moving them to another office that maybe is not as important. And you just kind of move them out of the way until you can start the whole process. Because what they do is they'll throw a EEO complaint in, they'll throw a whistleblower complaint in, all designed to slow down the process of their removal.

[Glenn Beck]

Right. I gotta tell you, I mean, if you could get them and move them, you know, you'd have the biggest department in America, you know, Department of Deadbeats. You just. I mean, it's like the teachers union in New York. You can molest a kid and they don't fire you. They just move you into a place where you just show up every day and sit in classroom.

[Chad Wolf]

Now you can remove federal employees. It's just difficult. It's hard. But who do they work process?

[Glenn Beck]

I mean, you know, it's crazy. If the administrator is not in charge of the hiring and firing, they're not.

[Chad Wolf]

In charge of the agency, he's not.

[Glenn Beck]

In charge of anything. Three of any percent. Is that going to be challenged?

[Chad Wolf]

I'm sure it will, but I think it's pretty good. You know, there's pretty good case law that allows them to remove individuals. The question is whether you can speed it up. Not. My guess is the team is looking at ways to do that.

[Glenn Beck]

So he came in yesterday and I love this like a wrecking ball. When is the average person going to start to see any of the effects of what's happening here? In the first week?

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah, I'm hopeful soon. It's hard to give you an exact timeline. Right. Just depends on where you are. Right. If you start to see changes in your school system or in the schools that you're in, or your DEI programs, if you work in a large corporation, perhaps they're getting rid of those on day one or very soon if you're along the border. Hopefully you're seeing some real changes very, very quickly. Almost every community is impacted by fentanyl. Hopefully at some point, that starts to turn as well. And I'm very hopeful that it will. So it just depends on, you know, how do you view as an American, changes to your life, you know, depending on what you care about, the taxes, the inflation, that might take a little bit longer, but that's gonna come with relief as well.

[Glenn Beck]

How do you look at. Or how will the drug cartels look at what he did yesterday? What are you expecting? I mean, I would love to actually have a war on drugs and just annihilate those people.

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah. I think they were put on notice. They were put on notice. Obviously, there's a lot of changes, but saying that we're gonna start the process of designating them as a foreign terrorist organization that is shot across the bow. Right. I mean, that's to say you're a target now.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Chad Wolf]

And I give them a lot of credit. I mean, we've talked about this for a long time, and we've talked about the issue of cartels. We've admired the problem for years and decades, and we've treated as a law enforcement issue, primarily with ATF and DEA and others. And we've had some wins from time to time, but it's not getting any better.

[Glenn Beck]

I have to tell you. It's almost as if our government has been working with them at least in the last four years. We're enabling that. We're empowering them.

[Chad Wolf]

They being the cartels, had made more money, they had more power, more territory, and more weapons than they have ever had before because of the human trafficking that occurred over the last four years and the amount of money that they made off of that. Right. It's important to remember of the millions of folks that came across that border, every single one of them paid anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000, depending on where they came from in the world. That all goes into the pockets of the cartels. And so you can imagine what that does.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, yeah, yeah. The. The outcry from deporting. You know, President Trump said yesterday, this is more than even Eisenhower did. Who Was the number one? No, he wasn't. It was Bill Clinton. 11 million people were deported under Bill Clinton one way or another.

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

And I never heard word one of any whining about it under Bill Clinton. What are you. How are we going to combat the media just losing their mind about these poor people?

[Chad Wolf]

Well, no whining under Bill Clinton. No whining when Hillary Clinton signed the Secure Fence Act.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Chad Wolf]

And whenever that was, that said, hey, you've got to build physical infrastructure along that wall. And now people are like, the wall's racist. Right, Right. It just depends on the politics. I think that the left is gonna work overtime. And we already saw this in the Washington Post yesterday because they canceled the CBP1 app at 12 noon. Right. Washington Post had a story up probably about four hours later about how this family had been waiting for months to get their CBP1 app, and it was canceled at the last minute. And you're sort of like, yeah, elections have consequences, and this is what occurs. So, yeah, they're already working overtime. They're gonna find the most sympathetic story, and their goal is not to fight on the policy. They know that the American people like the policy that President Trump is implementing. They're gonna try to pull on the heartstrings.

[Glenn Beck]

Yes.

[Chad Wolf]

And they're just gonna try to do that and do that over time to where it just wears them down. And so every time I hear a sympathetic story, I think about, you know, Lincoln Riley, I think about Rachel Morin. I think about those families that will never have their children back because of what the Biden administration did over the last four years.

[Glenn Beck]

So let me talk to you about security in a different way. We know a lot of people have come across the border that wish us ill. You know, you don't have to comment on this. I would love to hear it. But, you know, I wonder how much of gee, it's cold outside was also, you know, protection for the president. Let's not put him out in harm's way needlessly. Now that we have CNN saying we're gonna take over Greenland and we're gonna march our troops into Greenland, the world is on fire enough. What are you seeing for security here in America?

[Chad Wolf]

Well, I don't have access to any classified information, but what I could probably imagine is definitely the chatter was up. Right. And so you saw a number of security measures that we haven't seen before during inauguration. But you saw that, I mean, during the campaign. I mean, he was targeted twice, and his threat profile during that campaign was much higher than President Biden's was. Right.

[Glenn Beck]

Well, you have to be significant.

[Chad Wolf]

Right. Point taken. But coming into office, that's only going to increase. And so this is a president that tells you exactly what he thinks and is going to advocate, as he did yesterday, and will continue to what is to the benefit of the American people. And that's gonna piss off a lot of people, gonna piss off a lot of special interest and others that like the status quo. The way it is, whether it's the cartels. We were just talking about it. They like the status quo the way it is. They wanna coexist in this, like, harmony to where they can do what they do, and the US does what it does. And President Trump's saying, no, that's not the way I'm gonna do it. And so I'm gonna challenge that status quo. And in doing so, he's going to make enemies.

[Glenn Beck]

Does the administration still remember? Do they have a long enough memory? I know Trump does, but do they have a long enough memory on who these people are that are all coming in? You know, you saw Bezos and everybody else, and you know, the media hated those people. I mean, loved those people. Now they hate them. But they were their best friends. They were calling each other at night, hey, can you suppress this? Can you suppress that? Now they're all in bed with Donald Trump, and I know exactly who they are. I mean, you know. Is a rattle. Does a rattlesnake make a good pet?

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

Yes. As long as you always remember it's a rattlesnake and not a cute little puppy dog. These are rattlesnakes that have just folded their fangs back for a little while. I'm concerned about the people that are now coming in going, hey, buddy, here we are. Do we have a long enough memory on the right?

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah, I think we do. I agree with you. President Trump certainly does. I think he knows that. I think at the same time, they're always trying to figure out, we hear this term a lot, growing the tent. Whether you grow the tent with those folks or not, I think they're probably interested in their self interest in what's best for their companies.

[Glenn Beck]

And I understand that there's a place for that as long as you always remember there are rapids.

[Chad Wolf]

And so if that coincides with what the President and his team want to do, great. But I agree with you. I mean, you've got to understand that for the longest time, definitely four years during his term and almost four years during Biden, they were on the other side of a lot of these issues. Dei, right?

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, yeah.

[Chad Wolf]

I mean, they were happy to put these things in place, and only now are they canceling it. And does that change?

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. That's Chad Wolfe. He's from the America First Policy Institute. He's the executive director. These are the people that are putting a lot of the power players into place, and they've done it quietly and done it the right way, just keeping their head down and Working hard. So you and I have to be the change we want to see in society. We celebrated when Roe vs. Wade was overturned. But the national stain of abortion continues, and we have to keep working to end it by changing the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters. One great way to do that is by donating to Preborn. Today, the abortion pill accounts for over 60% of all abortions, and it's available pretty much 24 7. This is why preborn is so important. Preborn has rescued over 300,000 babies from abortion. And every day, on average, they rescue 200 more. And they care about the mom just as much about the baby. They're not just saving lives, they're saving people from misery. There's. They're saving souls. It's, it's amazing thing when you aim to heal everyone involved in this, if you have the means, would you consider a leadership gift to save babies in a big way? I'm going to host their. Their annual fundraiser. I think it's in Naples tomorrow. I'm on my way to Florida today. Deductible donation tax deductible donation of $5,000 would sponsor the entire country's network for 24 hours. Just go to £250, keyword baby. £250 keyword baby or preborn.com Beck now back to the podcast. You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program. All right, let me go to Mike Lee. Senator, how are you, sir?

[Mike Lee]

Doing great. It's good to be with you, as always.

[Glenn Beck]

So I wanted to ask you. You tweeted something last night. Is D.C. ignoring Trump's pardons? If it is, then this is definitely a time to repeal DC home rule. You had me at the word repeal. DC's government has no right to exist constitutionally. Congress shouldn't have delegated its lawmaking authority over dc. It's time to take it back. I love you. Okay, tell me what this means.

[Mike Lee]

What this means is that Congress needs to do its job. We've had a problem for a long time with Congress delegating its lawmaking power to unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. We've got a corresponding problem in that we're supposed to be the lawmaker for the District of Columbia. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, sometimes known as the Enclave Clause, gives us that power. We've been delegating that to the D.C. government for about a half century. The results have been disastrous. Results have been a government that doesn't serve the interest of the people. Well, it's A radical leftist regime that runs it. Their schools are failing, crime rates are soaring. And last night, from what we can tell, after Trump issued pardon for a number of prisoners involved with January 6th, there were only two released last night. And I spoke to someone last night who had gone down personally to the D.C. jail, saw that only two of them had been released, and jail officials of the D.C. jail announced that they wouldn't be releasing any more last night. Now, this is not hard, Glenn. They have names and they have pardons. They can identify those prisoners who have been pardoned.

[Chad Wolf]

They can.

[Mike Lee]

Trump's directive was that they were to be released immediately, as one should when one sees that somebody's been pardoned and they still weren't out. So we're still trying to get names, numbers, and verify that this is how this is happening. But from what we can tell, they haven't complied with it yet. It's yet another reason to revisit DC's home rule, which I think should be repealed.

[Glenn Beck]

That's extraordinary that they would be that bold and say because everybody was watching them last night. I haven't heard this reported. I mean, CNN is the only thing I can get in this stupid hotel. By the way, if anybody on my staff books me at a hipster hotel one more time, heads will roll. I want actual furniture, not beanbags. Thank you. The hipster hotel feels exactly the same.

[Chad Wolf]

Way, by the way.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, they were really, what'd you say?

[Mike Lee]

In the 70s?

[Glenn Beck]

So, you know, oh, very popular. And I. Who doesn't love them? I'm not 18 years old anymore. Please book me in an adult room. Anyway, I was watching CNN last night and they had, you know, people stationed out there and they were just complaining that, you know, criminals that had killed police officers on January 6th were just being released. You're saying that there's only two that were released last night and nothing yet this morning that you know of?

[Mike Lee]

That's right, that's right. My former staffer, Sean Peterson, was down at the D.C. jail and he said that they released two of them through a back door. And then a jail official said, we're not releasing anymore tonight, even though there were apparently many more to be released. Now, again, Glenn, these are people who have been pardoned. And this is a government that has done things like this for a long time. I've got story after story of horrible things they've done. You know, DC allows non citizen voting in their local elections. You know how difficult that can be to disentangle the people who were casting votes in local elections? From those who were voting in true federal elections. That is a problem in and of itself. You've also got the fact that they've just, time after time, they've taken positions that harm the people of D.C. make everything more expensive. These guys have high tax rates, they spend like crazy in education, yet they've got one of the most failing school systems in the entire country. You want to know something interesting? Four years ago, an elite unit from the Utah National Guard was out here in D.C. protecting D.C. protecting the White House from the violence that was erupting in the summer of 2020 in this city in the middle of the night after they'd gone through like a 36 hour shift. None of these guys had slept in 36 hours. They had worked all night and all day and all day the next day and they were evicted by the office of the mayor of the D.C. government. These are the kind of people these are. And they've been begging for a Royal of D.C. home Rule for a long time. We need it now. They've been begging for it by the terrible things they do.

[Glenn Beck]

I want to cut the mayor of D.C. some slack because they might have been high on crack. And, and I think that, I mean, because that is a tradition, isn't it, Stu, for the DC mayors to be high on crack?

[Chad Wolf]

Yeah, I think it's part of the.

[Glenn Beck]

Job description, part of the deal. You have to. You have to at least be high on crack occasionally. I believe so. Mike, is this going to gain any traction? What are you going to do?

[Mike Lee]

Well, the first thing we've got to do is make sure that these prisoners who have been pardoned are in fact released. But I think the word needs to spread. Obviously, this is a niche issue, period, is a local issue, and it's an issue that's very emotional for many of the people who live in and around the area. But I think more and more residents of D.C. are getting wise to the fact that something's not working right and increasingly on the Hill.

[Glenn Beck]

Hang on, just what does this mean? What would this mean for the judicial system? Because you can't get a fair trial here in Washington, D.C. and you know, anything goes wrong in Washington D.C. anybody commits any crimes in the Capitol or in the White House, it's all tried here in Washington D.C. and it's so corrupt it's gotta stop. What would this mean for that system?

[Mike Lee]

Well, look, at least for the system of deciding who's going to be prosecuted, who would be running the city would change and you'd start to see people prosecuted for more things like property crimes, there's sort of the Soros funded prosecutor mentality has infected this city and it shows. I've lost count of how many members of Congress and how many staff members of members of Congress people I interact with most when I'm in Washington, of course, have been assaulted, have been carjacked, have been stabbed, have been robbed, often in broad daylight, often within a block or two of the U.S. capitol, which is one of the more heavily policed, heavily secured locations anywhere in America. And yet this happens here because there is an environment of lawlessness. The more this happens, the more members of Congress are saying that this isn't working. This is our capital city. It should be a shining city on a hill. We can't let it slip into this state of disrepair and utter lawlessness.

[Glenn Beck]

It would be, it would be helpful if people started tweeting and started calling their senator or House member and started some grassroot effort to repeal D.C. home rule. It might gather some attention if people started doing that today. Mike, let me ask you about.

[Mike Lee]

I've been tweeting from Mykelee account over and over again. Repeat, repeal D.C. home rule. So if people want to join in this, you can retweet me, you can tweet on your own, send out posts on, on X, on any other social media platform, contact your members of Congress and tell them the message is very simple. Repeat, repeal D.C. home Rule.

[Glenn Beck]

Mike, the. The idea that we can no longer go after Fauci or any of the people on January 6, what does that mean to you?

[Mike Lee]

Well, what it means to me, first of all, is that these guys are going to have a hard time, perhaps an impossible time, invoking the Fifth Amendment not if, but when they're subpoenaed to testify in congressional hearings. Because if they've been pardoned, then one can rationally, logically conclude that there's no risk of prosecution. And if that's the case, I don't think they can invoke their Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent and we can finally get to the bottom of exactly what happened. It also means that there was an understanding that some things happened, some things happened that would otherwise likely be likely to lead to an investigation, if not criminal charges to be brought against some of these people.

[Glenn Beck]

But what do you. Because I watched enough CNN yesterday, I watched CNN enough yesterday to know that they're spinning this as they're just doing this as preemptive against Trump because he's going to go after these poor people.

[Mike Lee]

Yep. So if you believe that, then you're likely somebody who believed Foushee in the first place. And you're quite possibly somebody who, even after Anthony Fauci was caught repeatedly lying, in some cases under oath to Rand Paul and others who asked him questions. But remember, Rand Paul was raising the question very early on about gain of function research. Tony Fauci repeatedly denied that there was gain of research funding happening. And of course, it was all the time they were covering it up. They tried to use a different name to characterize it, but it was still gain of function research. Tony Fauci also spread the false rumor that this was the result of, I don't know, a pangolin and a monkey holding hands in a park somewhere in Wuhan. And that produced Survivor. And, you know, a lot of people were harmed as a result of this. The COVID deaths and illnesses in and of themselves were bad enough. And the predictable foreseeable outcome of the US Government funding gain of research activities in places like Wuhan, a place that was known to have a horrible hygiene record. And that's how things like this happen. People get hurt, and then the country overreacts and more bad things happen all over the place. Yeah, this has got to be investigated. And yeah, President Biden, Tony Fauci faced real problems here. That's why Trump needed to act. And I'm glad that that Trump is going to see to it the truth comes out. Biden may well be able to pardon him, and he in fact did. But in some ways, that helps us get to the bottom of the truth. We've got to subpoena the heck out of these guys and get the truth out of them.

[Glenn Beck]

Because if they, if they tell a lie on the witness stand, if they deny what we now know because of documents to be the truth, they can be prosecuted for that lie, can they not?

[Mike Lee]

Yes, yes, of course, of course. And of course, the whole point here is not we can't undo the damage these guys did. And the point isn't to torment them for the sake of tormenting them. The point here, Glenn, is that we've got to get to the bottom of the truth, because otherwise this kind of pattern of abusive government continues to happen. And I will flag here the fact that if we understood the nature of the federal government, if we read the Constitution and understood the twin structural protections at the heart of it, the vertical protection that we call federalism, the horizontal protection that we call separation of powers, this crap would end. And so we've got to restore the movement in America, getting people to read and understand the Constitution. Particularly the structural Constitution, which has been bad, badly neglected and bastardized over the last 80 years.

[Chad Wolf]

You're streaming the Best of Glenn Beck.

[Jen Pellegrino]

To hear more of this interview and.

[Chad Wolf]

Others, download the full show podcasts. Wherever you get podcasts.

[Glenn Beck]

Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program and Jen Pellegrino, who is America First Policy Institute Senior director. She is also American First Policy Institute Chief spokesperson. If you don't know anything about America First Policy Institute, I kind of say good, really, because they kind of kept everything under wraps, and they were just putting their head down, not looking to score points or become famous or anything. They wanted to make sure that they could actually get in and do the hard work once this administration started. And a lot of the people that have been working with America first are now in cabinet level and just under the cabinet level. So there's a lot of planning that happened here that was started to execute yesterday, right?

[Jen Pellegrino]

Exactly. A lot of planning. And we're so proud of the work that's been done here. Glenn. I've been only on the team for a little over a month now, but I look back to my career as a journalist and interviewing a number of experts and leaders from AFPI over the years. It's really been incredible to watch the work that they've done that have led us to this place where we have this mandate, this massive victory, this new day in America that is largely thanks to the work, the research, the policy that AFPI has developed. And you think back to 2021, when Brooke Rollins, who had worked in the Trump administration the first time around, had this vision. I mean, it was the start of a dark time in this country, the dark winter, as Joe Biden called it back then. Right. And you know, when so many conservatives were out there feeling defeated, feeling like it was over for us, and it only got worse as the years went on. Brooks had a vision and thought we could have a great comeback. And it's amazing to see how that transforms where we are.

[Glenn Beck]

This is the first time, and I know it's happened with every president, but this is the first time that I felt we stepped up our game so much. We were at least competitive with the left on once you win, you know, the left comes in and they've done so much homework that they're building a machine, and they've been building this machine forever. And we never seem to come in with a schematic and go, no, no, no. That part has to be removed. And that part has to. And we're building a machine. And here are the new parts I feel like we've done that this time for the first time in a dramatically significant way. Would you agree with that?

[Jen Pellegrino]

I would agree with that, Glenn. And you know, it's been a process, right? I think that the left, in my opinion, it goes back to 2020, when our cities were burning. And I think Americans were sick and tired of seeing it. I remember being in the middle of it in D.C. and on the weekends, having to get out of town because I couldn't think about what was happening. It was stressing me out personally. And I think so many Americans watching that they said, we're done sitting back and being quiet. We have to speak louder, we have to have a backbone. We have to push back a little bit more because they were doing it on the left. And so it's been really remarkable to see how year by year, slowly but surely we're starting to kind of pull back a little bit to regain that control. And obviously AFPI has been a great leader in that space and getting the messaging out there. But I think Americans have just gotten fed up. They're sick of being lied to by administrations, by themselves, media. And they said, we're not going to have it anymore.

[Glenn Beck]

So why do we have the White House correspondent? I mean, I know the history, but the White House correspondents, they control the press room. Why?

[Jen Pellegrino]

Great question.

[Glenn Beck]

Why don't we just get rid of that?

[Jen Pellegrino]

We should. We should. I'll tell you, as when I was a White House correspondent during the last Trump administration, it was brutal. You know, they did not want conservative outlets in there, aside from kind of the big names that we all know, the smaller outlets that a lot of people watch, that they look to, that they feel are more truthful in delivering the news, more transparent. The White House Correspondents association was threatened by. It was in the way they treated me every day when I was in that room, when, you know, the Trump administration said, we want you in there to report. I had to stand off to the side. I'd get blocked with a ladder. They tried all the.

[Glenn Beck]

What do you mean blocked by a ladder?

[Jen Pellegrino]

Blocked by a ladder. So photographers that would be in there put a ladder in front of where I'd be standing off to the side so that I couldn't see the podium, so that the president who would call on me, wouldn't see me. So they would do all kinds of things to try to make your life difficult from putting notes on your station down in the basement at the White House there, the press basement, really kind of some passive aggressive action and trying to you know, prevent you from doing your job, because they were certainly threatened by it. And so I really hope, you know, given the way President Trump and his team have handled the media so well, especially this last election cycle, I really hope, given all that they've learned and experienced, that they transform that briefing room.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Have the right people in there. Because you know what? Americans are sick and tired of being lied to, Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. I don't have a problem with, you know, the left being in there. Just an equal share of right should be in there as well. You shouldn't have a hostile press room every time the press secretary walks out on either side. You know, you should be able to call on the people that people are actually listening to. And I have to tell you, people are not listening to cnn. And I mean, those days are over. It's over. And the White House press corps should be dismissed. Your time, you know, you had, you know, from Woodrow Wilson till now, congratulations on that cute little idea. But things have changed, and you no longer can pull all the strings.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Exactly. And you look at how the media landscape is changing. Right. I mean, look at your success, Glenn. So many others that are outside of that legacy media space. That's what people are turning to now.

[Mike Lee]

Yes.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Because they're so tired of being lied to. It was so out there and open that they lied to us again and again. I mean, look at going into the 2024 election. You know how many Americans thought Kamala Harris had it. She. She had it in the bag. She was winning. Look at all these celebrity endorsements.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, yeah.

[Jen Pellegrino]

And yet they weren't doing real reporting. What was actually going on. So a lot of people were surprised that we won in such a landslide.

[Glenn Beck]

How much you going to miss, Green? John? John.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Oh, man. You know, I'll miss making fun of those exchanges. That was always entertaining, but it was such an embarrassment. I mean, you think about how we look on the world stage as these briefings are taking place. Place. You know, they love to say how the adults were back in charge when they came to Washington, and it was the exact opposite.

[Glenn Beck]

I have never seen anybody less prepared for a job, even at the end of her job, than kjp.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Everybody, you could say, out of just about anybody in the Biden administration. I mean, such an embarrassment again. I mean, you look at Jen Psaki, some say she did all right when peddling the lies.

[Glenn Beck]

Sure.

[Jen Pellegrino]

But KJP just was buying into it and thought we did, too. She had no clue. Half the time she had to bring in somebody else to do her work because she couldn't explain the questions that were being asked by the press.

[Glenn Beck]

And she never got her nose out of that book.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Never, Never.

[Glenn Beck]

I mean, it was like you're not talking to a real person. I mean, why not just have AI in there answering the questions?

[Jen Pellegrino]

Why not have the cheat sheet like Joe Biden always carried around? Right. I mean, it was. Everything was so choreographed and down to. I'm calling on this outlet first. This is the question, and then there's the back of his head.

[Glenn Beck]

So what are your feelings about actually being able to change the game? What have you guys done here that we can actually reduce the size of this government? How confident are you that we're going to be able to do that?

[Jen Pellegrino]

Listen, I think it's going to take some work. It's obviously a massive undertaking, but we've got a lot of momentum right now. We've look at how many people from the America First Policy Institute have gone into the new administration. At some point, a lot of them will come back here as we see transitions. But I think there's a lot of effective leaders that the president has brought around him. When you look at this new cabinet and you look at other staffers in the West Wing. So I think that they're going to be ready to get to work. You saw that in the actions he took yesterday. You know, he said in one of his rally speeches, yeah, somebody told me to kind of release these orders, you know, a few at a time. And he said, heck, I will. You know, we're getting to work today because that's what the American people have asked for. We've suffered long enough.

[Glenn Beck]

And he really changed the paradigm, I think. I mean, I just the idea of the transparency of signing, explaining and signing all of those in front of people. And then last night, he goes back to the White House and he's signing more executive orders with the press in the room, and he's holding this impromptu press conference, which was. You would have never seen that. Nobody does that.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Nobody does that. And you wouldn't see a fraction of that work out of this last administration in a week. Right. I mean, it was early on. Obviously, they reversed all of Trump's work. But, you know, it was. Aside from that, how often was Joe Biden in Rehoboth laying on the beach? And now President Trump is getting to work and getting us back to where we were in an even better place than where we were four years ago.

[Glenn Beck]

And at least we know who the president is now. Yes, you know, it was.

[Jen Pellegrino]

We know who the President is. Now we know that there are two genders now. I mean, President Trump said it yesterday. We're back to common sense.

[Glenn Beck]

So what do you think of the press? Just their survival rate. I was watching CNN last night because they weren't carrying Fox. I know they weren't carrying Fox and I had nothing else. But I'm watching them and it's almost as if they're insane. I mean, they are so riddled with derangement and their hypnosis of themselves, they just didn't make any sense at all. It was so crazy to watch. But the rest of the world is watching, you know, and they're seeing glimpses, what they're allowed to see. How does the mainstream media survive this period? Cuz they're not gonna learn.

[Jen Pellegrino]

They're not gonna learn, Glenn. I mean, you look at how Americans are tuning them out, you look at some of the top talent at these networks that are having to, you know, either take a massive cut in their salary or end up exiting and going out on their own. It's gonna be really tough. And you think, you know, common sense would say, oh, for the last four years, they had no access, you know, they didn't get any transparency. They had nothing from this administration. Now you've got a president that's ready to speak directly to you, you know, ask all the questions you want. He's ready to go in the lion's den with any network. So you would think they'd be grateful because not only do they have that access, but it's great for the ratings when Trump is on. But I don't see them changing. I don't see them, you know, obviously reporting the truth, aligning with, you know, the vision that President Trump has had and reporting on it accurately. So I think we are going to see the shift more toward the podcast space, more toward the work like you do, because Americans are fed up with it. There was a poll out in December from AP that 2/3 of Americans had to tune out the media. They were tired of politics and news because again, it was all lies. And for that election they said, wow, wow, we were misled for how long?

[Glenn Beck]

And the only time they actually change their minds is when somebody actually who they used to love signs up and says, you know what? I'm gonna stand with Donald Trump, then that changes them overnight. They hate those people. What do you think about all of these people that are playing kissy butt with Donald Trump? That are all these executives, Bezos, Zuckerberg, everybody else? I mean, I'd just like to hear your opinion first.

[Jen Pellegrino]

I don't trust them, Glenn. I don't trust them. I hate to say that. You know, I know the president obviously has good judgment. He's got a great team around him. But I really have a lot of concerns seeing some of these individuals knowing the things that they've said, the actions they've taken in the past and suddenly because they're backed in a corner, their support, they're fans of President Trump. The American people don't buy that.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, good. I hope he doesn't buy that. Nor does anybody else. Always remember their rattlesnakes. They just tuck their fangs back for a while but they will strike again given a chance.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Exactly.

[Glenn Beck]

I hope we remember that. Thank you so much, Jen.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Thank you, Glenn. Pleasure.

[Glenn Beck]

Good work here. Really good work.

[Jen Pellegrino]

Thank you so much.

[Glenn Beck]

If you'd like to find out more, just go to the website america first policy.com americafirstpolicy.com nana.