Airport Chaos ENDING, DHS Partially Funded—the Inside Story plus Save America Act & Artic Frost

Summary

Verdict with Ted Cruz Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Airport Chaos ENDING, DHS Partially Funded—the Inside Story plus Save America Act & Arctic Frost
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz & Ben Ferguson
Date: March 27, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this high-stakes, late-night episode, Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson dive into the breaking details of America’s recent airport chaos, the partial funding resolution for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the legislative maneuvers behind the scenes. They unpack how President Trump’s emergency order has moved to pay TSA agents, what it means for the reopening of airports, and how legislative gridlock with Democrats led to this crisis. The hosts also discuss the status and political gamesmanship around the Save America Act and dig into explosive new revelations from the Senate Judiciary’s Arctic Frost investigation—framing it as a scandal bigger than Watergate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Airport Chaos and Emergency DHS Funding

• Background:
  Ongoing DHS funding standoff led to TSA agents, Coast Guard, Secret Service, and FEMA officials not receiving pay. This caused severe airport delays and operational chaos nationwide, particularly in Houston and Atlanta.

• Breaking News:
  As the episode is recorded at 2:24 AM in D.C., Cruz reveals that the Senate has just passed funding—by voice vote—that should promptly end the airport crisis. The bill funds DHS, except ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection, reflecting exactly the strategy he advocated two weeks prior.
  “It is fantastic news. The TSA agents are going to be paid. We should see the chaos at the airport subside.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 03:44)

• Democrats’ Negotiation Tactics:
  Cruz asserts Democrats repeatedly moved the goalposts and are now so radical on immigration that they’re fine keeping DHS agencies closed indefinitely. “Our Democrat colleagues are nuts... captured by the radical left wing... open border radicals who hate Donald Trump.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 04:20)

• Behind the Scenes:
  Cruz details real-time efforts to advocate for the emergency action and the political urgency driven by threats of a nationwide TSA walkout, which would have shut down all major U.S. airports.

• Notable Moment:
  Cruz notes that his own daughter, Catherine, missed her flight due to Houston's 4+ hour TSA lines:
  “My youngest daughter, Catherine... was over four hours in the line. She ended up missing her flight.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 15:40)

• What the Funding Covers:
  The emergency bill pays TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and Secret Service—but ICE is left unfunded in the short-term, setting up a reconciliation process for long-term funding.

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2. ICE and Immigration Enforcement Funding Standoff

• Democrats’ Conditions:
  Schumer and Senate Democrats insisted on zero funding for ICE, including both ERO (removal operations) and HSI (Homeland Security Investigations), which targets crimes like terrorism, child exploitation, and human trafficking. “Every Democrat said we will not vote to fund the folks catching terrorists and catching human traffickers. That's where the Democrats are.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 18:58)

• Cruz’s Strategy:
  Cruz explains his proposed solution: immediately fund what Democrats allow, then use reconciliation (which bypasses the filibuster) to fund ICE and CBP for 10 years—locking in increased enforcement budgets. “What I suggested is increase [ICE’s budget] by 10% so that we can say to Elizabeth Warren and the other crazies, congratulations, your entire temper tantrum... increased the funding for ICE by 10%.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 09:14)

• Real-Time Update:
  During the episode, the Senate passes the partial DHS funding bill (16:29). Cruz notes the irony that ICE remained funded throughout most of the crisis, due to advanced appropriations from the previous year.

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3. Political Dynamics and Partisanship

• Democrats’ Alleged Extremism:
  Cruz argues that Democrats have become an “open border party,” voting to defund immigration enforcement, which he says is outside the mainstream (31:04).

• Republican Challenges:
  Frustration is voiced over lack of total Republican unity to push a “talking filibuster” strategy on immigration and border security bills.

• Media Accountability:
  Cruz calls out the media for failing to hold Democrats accountable, pointing out a rare example of CBS News reporting honestly about the photo ID vote for elections: “You mean Schumer lied? And there's a reason. There's a reason you have a Pinocchio emoji.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 28:51)

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4. The Save America Act and Voter ID Showdown

• Overview:
  The Save America Act would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote—policies Cruz says enjoy overwhelming public support.

• Democratic Double-Speak on Voter ID:
  Cruz lists numerous direct quotes from Democratic senators publicly supporting voter ID, but notes that every single one voted against it on the Senate floor: “Every single Democrat voted no...all the ones that say, ‘Oh, I support voter id,’ they all voted no. I mean, it is...just a flat up lie.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 28:22)

• Political Implications:
  Cruz and Ferguson argue Democrats’ opposition to popular voter integrity laws may backfire in upcoming midterms due to public frustration over perceived hypocrisy.

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5. Arctic Frost Scandal: “Bigger than Watergate”

• Scope:
  Cruz frames Arctic Frost—a wide-ranging DOJ subpoena and surveillance operation targeting Trump allies, conservative organizations, and Republican senators—as a scandal of greater magnitude than Watergate. “Watergate was about a handful of files in a single office. This reached into tens of thousands of private communications...relating to every major conservative organization were subpoenaed.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 35:38)

• Phone Records and Donor Lists:
  Nearly 200 subpoenas targeted over 400 individuals and organizations, including the phone records of 20% of Senate Republicans. Cruz himself was a target, and he accuses the DOJ and Judge Boasberg of violating federal law by preventing disclosure to affected senators. “There is zero basis in fact to make that finding...There's also a federal statute prohibiting non disclosure orders for Senate records. And yet Judge Boasberg violated the law.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 41:01)

• Contrast with Watergate:
  Cruz laments the lack of Democratic concern about the abuse of power—contrasting it with the bipartisan response that forced Nixon from office. “Where is even a single Democrat Senator who has said one word about this abuse of power?” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 37:58)

• Witness Testimony:
  Cruz cross-examines a former FBI agent, challenging the notion that DOJ/FBI remains nonpartisan after the extent of Arctic Frost. “Would you be troubled if tomorrow the Trump Department of Justice issued a subpoena for the phone records of every Democrat that sits on the Judiciary Committee?...Well, let me be clear. I'd be damn troubled. And that would be an abuse of power.” (Sen. Ted Cruz & Witness, 40:44-40:59)

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6. Memorable Quotes and Moments

• On the Late Hour & Real-Time News:
  “It is 2:23 in the morning D.C. time. Now it's 2:24 D.C. time...We still do not know for certain what the final resolution of this is going to be.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 04:09)
• Cruz on Leadership:
  “You elected us to be the adults and I'm being the adult. Every TSA agent is gonna get his or her paycheck. They're back on the jobs, the airports are open. And the Democrats temper tantrum has failed.” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 21:17)
• Watergate vs. Arctic Frost:
  “What Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama and now Joe Biden succeeded in doing...there are no Democrats willing to [stand up].” (Sen. Ted Cruz, 38:16)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:20–05:47 — Initial rundown of DHS shutdown, late-night atmosphere, and Democrats’ negotiation tactics.
• 07:58–11:56 — Cruz’s take on national security ramifications of DHS shutdown and Republican strategy.
• 15:10–16:29 — Personal stories of airport chaos and real-time passage of funding bill in the Senate.
• 18:58–20:22 — Details on ICE, HSI, and CBP funding, plus the “Pyrrhic victory” for Democrats.
• 24:11–28:18 — Discussion of Save America Act and photo ID bill, including direct quotes from Democratic senators.
• 35:38–43:26 — Introduction and deep dive into Arctic Frost controversy, including comparisons to Watergate and cross-examination of expert witness.

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Episode Takeaways

• The immediate airport crisis is resolving due to emergency funding, which will restore pay to critical DHS workers, especially TSA.
• Political polarization, especially around immigration enforcement and election security, is at an all-time high, with both parties accusing each other of extremism and dishonesty.
• The Arctic Frost DOJ investigation represents, in Cruz’s words, a historic abuse of government power against political opponents, with little current accountability.
• Public frustration with these issues, especially the apparent disconnect between politicians’ public statements and their votes, may influence the upcoming elections.

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Tone:
The tone is urgent, combative, and highly partisan, with Cruz and Ferguson positioning Republicans as practical, common-sense defenders of security and transparency, and Democrats as radical, inconsistent, and hypocritical.

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For listeners seeking the inside scoop on the shutdown, the battles over border security, voter ID, and government surveillance, this episode delivers a detailed, real-time look at political brinksmanship and what the hosts cast as defining issues for 2026.

Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you. It's so nice to have you with us. If you're listening on the radio around the country, we've got a to cover in the show. And Senator, let's start with the big story first. The airport chaos in theory could be coming to an end as President Trump signs an order, an emergency declaration to pay the TSA agents.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, it is fantastic news. The TSA agents are going to be paid. We should see the chaos at the airport subside. I hope it subsides very quickly as you and I are recording this podcast. It is right now 2:23 in the morning D.C. time late Thursday night, early Friday morning. And the amazing thing is, let's just

[Ben Ferguson]

say that time again. This is your commitment, by the way, to the show. Let's say that time again. This is a new record for us.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It is 2:23 in the morning D.C. time. Now it's 2:24 D.C. time late Thursday night, early Friday morning. And at this point, the reason I'm having to timestamp this is we still do not know for certain what the final resolution of this is going to be. We think we know, but it could change. So right now, the entire day, they've been trying to negotiate a deal with the Democrats and the Democrats have repeatedly moved the goalposts. And I will say where we ended up is actually where I urged the Republican conference to be two weeks ago. Two weeks ago I stood up and I told my colleagues, I said, and I talked about this on the podcast as well. But I stood up and told my colleagues, I said, listen, our Democrat colleagues are nuts. They have lost their mind. They are captured by the radical left wing and their base. And they are simply open border radicals who hate Donald Trump. Now what does that mean? At that point, we'd had a shutdown of DHS for a couple of weeks. We'd had TSA agents who hadn't been paid, coast guardsmen who hadn't been paid, Secret Service officers who hadn't been paid, female officials who hadn't been paid, over 200,000 federal workers at DHS who were not being paid. And what I told my Republican colleagues is I said, I think if it's up to the Democrats, they'll leave everything shut down forever. They'll literally for the rest of the year, they'll be fine. Never opening the Department of Homeland Security. Now start with a basic point.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, number one, we have had four major terrorist attacks in the last three weeks, all four by radical Islamic terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security exists to prevent terror attacks. There's obviously military conflict in the Middle East. The terror threat is heightened. And yet every Democrat but one, every Democrat but John Fetterman has voted now eight times to defund the entire Department of Homeland Security. The purpose of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, was created in the wake of 911 to prepare for and prevent terror attacks. And I think the Democrats would. Would have left it shut the entire year. They don't care. It was the most reckless, irresponsible action we've ever seen. You look at what was happening at the airports. The chaos at the airports was out of control. And here's what I told my colleagues. I said, in my view, the Democrats in the Senate will never, ever vote to fund ICE again. They've just lost their minds. They are an open border party, so they are willing to defund the Border Patrol and defund ice, and that's who they are. And I said there's not going to be any wearing them down on this because they're going to be that today, they're going to be that next week, they're going to be that next month, they're going to be that next year. That is where the Democrats are. They've gone to crazy town. And so I told my colleagues, here's what we should do. We should fund as much of DHS as the Democrats are willing to do. And that probably is going to mean pulling out ICE and maybe cbp, Customs and Border Patrol. So we should fund it. We should fund tsa. We should open up the airports. We should end the chaos. Now, the immediate response to that will be, the Democrats have succeeded in defunding ice. Well, no, they haven't, because we're the majority, damn it. So let's act like it. The instant we do that and we do that, we turn on the lights on dhs, we get TSA agents paid again, we start a reconciliation process. Now, as regular listeners of this POD knows, reconciliation is the major exception to the filibuster rule. And to ordinarily fund government, you need 60 votes, which means we need seven Democrats. That's how Democrats have been able to force this shutdown for 42 days. However, reconciliation, you only need 50 votes. And what I argue to my colleagues, we had to take up reconciliation and we ought to fund ICE and cbp. And I said, listen, I don't think the Democrats will ever again fund dice. So in my view we should fund them for 10 years. 10 years is the maximum budget window that you can do under reconciliation. I said, let's put 10 years of funding in place right now because these lunatics would say we're not arresting murderers anymore. We're not arresting gang bangers or child rapists anymore. That's where their party is. And then I said, we also need to show them that their obstructionism, their political terrorism doesn't yield rewards. So Elizabeth Warren, I'm sure is going to be running out crowing that she succeeded in defunding ice. So what I've argued to my colleagues on reconciliation, we need to up the ICE budget. What I suggested is increase it by 10% so that we can say to Elizabeth Warren and the other crazies, congratulations, your entire temper tantrum. Here's what you accomplished. You increased the funding for ICE by 10% and we now have 10 years of funding locked in. At this point, at now 2:30 in the morning, it appears that's exactly what we're doing. There is a proposal that's circulating. It hasn't yet passed, but it's expected to pass any moment. That will do exactly that. Fund all of DHS except for ICE and much of cbp. That's what I suggested two weeks ago. We're going to break down more of it in just a minute.

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[Ben Ferguson]

One of the worst in the country center has been the airport you and I fly out of all the time. I actually drove because I knew it was going to be faster than waiting in that line to head to Sepac. You actually drove today somewhere far away because it was easier than dealing with the airports. I'M assuming that's why you did it as well. And thank goodness. Now, nearly 500 TSA agents that have already quit because they weren't being paid, that number was going to get a lot higher if the President didn't act and do what he just did.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, that's right. Bush Airport in Houston had the worst delays in the country. Bush and the Atlanta airport were the two worst. At Bush, they were reporting callout rates for TSA agents of 40%. And the lines were four, four and a half hours, actually. My youngest daughter, Catherine was at Bush. She was supposed to fly out to visit a friend. It was over four hours in the line. She ended up missing her flight. And so she's going to try to fly out again tomorrow, but she ended up not getting out to see her friend and have a few days hanging out with a good friend of hers. Look, it was madness. But I will tell you, this is one of the things about doing this real time. So it is now 2:33 in the morning. And what has happened since this podcast started recording? You know what's happened?

[Ben Ferguson]

What's that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The Senate just passed the funding. So I said I didn't know if we were gonna fund it, that it was circulating after we started the podcast. The Senate passed it. They passed it by voice vote. So that means there. There was one or two senators on the floor by voice vote. Most of the senators have gone to sleep. And so what it meant is nobody objected. That means the funding is now out of the Senate. It will go to the House. The House will take it up and pass it. But it means we're going to end up having Coast Guard getting their paychecks, we're going to end up having FEMA getting their paychecks, we're going to end up having DHS getting their paychecks, we're going to end up having Secret Service getting their paychecks. So that's good. That funding is good. Now, here's what the Democrats insisted upon. It's actually amazing because a few days ago, Chuck Schumer went on tv, he went on Joe Scarborough and he said the Democrats were willing to fund everything except for ice, ero. Now, what does that mean? ICE is Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ERO are the agents that go and find illegal aliens and arrest them and deport them. And so that's about half of ISIS budget. And so Schumer said if we agreed to fund everything but ERO at ice, the Democrats would be fine. We ended up, President Trump agreed to that deal and Then Schumer and the Democrats all backed out and said nope, nope, nevermind, we didn't mean it. We understand, we offered that deal, we lied, we can't do it. Which delayed things for several days because they just backed out of the deal. They had what they insisted upon. What just passed is ICE is entirely defunded. So there's zero funding for ice. Now the good news is ICE is not in fact defunded because when we passed the reconciliation bill last year, we plussed up a ton of funding for ice. We funded ICE for the next three years because we anticipated that the Democrats were going to be extreme and radical. And so ICE is gonna. The irony is during this shutdown, ICE was funded the whole time. The Democrats were hurting everybody else because they were mad about ice. So. But what just passed has zero funding for ice. Which means not only did they insist they weren't going to going to put funding for ero, they also didn't put funding for Homeland Security investigations. Hsi. Hsi. Do you know what the responsibility of HSI is?

[Ben Ferguson]

What's that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Investigating transnational crime, terrorism, human trafficking, smuggling, cybercrime, financial fraud, child exploitation. That's what HSI does. It's like out catching terrorists. And every Democrat said we will not vote to fund the folks catching terrorists and catching human traffickers. That's where the Democrats are. And then on customs and border patrol they insisted that the funding be reduced about $6 billion. Reduced from 17.7 billion to 11 billion. So those were their demands. They ended up getting their demands. But it is the most short term Pyrrhic victory because we're gonna do a reconciliation. Takes about six weeks to do a reconciliation. So it's not a, it's not an immediate process. Cuz you've gotta have. The House has to pass a budget resolution, the Senate has to pass a budget resolution. But we will get it done and I believe what will happen is we'll pass a 10 year budget that pluses up both of them. And I will say it was exactly what I had urged two weeks ago, is where we ended up right now. Now I will tell you, let's go back to what you said a minute ago, which is the President signed the order saying he was going to fund tsa. Do you know why he did so and why there was an urgency to do so tonight?

[Ben Ferguson]

Why is that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, let me bring you in what was happening. So at lunch today on Thursday the Democrats were saying they may cut a deal. So we had a vote at 1:30pm that at our Lunch. We were like, the Democrats may vote yes, we may have a deal and this might be done. It turned out we waited all afternoon and the Democrats just couldn't vote yes. They were not able to get to a vote.

[Ben Ferguson]

Shocker, right. Shocker there.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And here's the problem. We'd been seeing wait times increase at airports all across the country. There were serious, incredible threats from the TSA union that tomorrow, Friday there was going to be a nationwide walkout that all of the TSA agents were going to stay home. I don't know if that's right. I can tell you I talked to the airlines and they believed it was right. And if every TSA agent in the country stayed home on Friday, every major airport in America would shut down. And I will tell you, I stood up to my colleagues and said, we are blithering idiots. If we let every major airport shut down, that would be a catastrophe. And in terms of understanding, look, one of the things we try to do in verdict is take you inside. How the sausage is made. I spent much of yesterday talking with senior White House officials and urging the President to do what he did today. Urging the President to issue an order and say, I'm funding tsa. The Democrats are petulant children throwing a temper tantrum. You elected us to be the adults and I'm being the adult. Every TSA agent is gonna get his or her paycheck. They're back on the jobs, the airports are open. And the Democrats temper tantrum has failed. And this afternoon, as we didn't know if there's gonna be a deal or not, that's exactly what the President did. I wanna say, Mr. President, thank you. Congratulations. It was the right thing to do. And today President Trump showed leadership while the Democrats showed complete recklessness and irresponsibility.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Help.

[Ben Ferguson]

You can call them 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888488 IFCJ to rush your gift right now. Or you can give [e-mail] that's ifcj.org let's give an update on the latest of the SAVE act and Chuck Schumer. The Democrats, they said they supported voter id, but then they immediately blocked you guys and your amendment to require it. Welcome to Democrats. You know, do as I say, not as I do.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, that's exactly right. So I'm an original sponsor of the Save America Act. I've been helping lead the fight to pass the Save America Act. We should be passing it. The only way to get it passed is we need to stand together and force the Democrats to do a talking filibuster. Unfortunately, to do that, we need 50 Republicans who are willing to stand and fight and be all unified together. We don't have those votes right now. I have been been making that case for weeks on ends to my colleagues. We're not there yet and it is frustrating. By the way, we did a podcast two weeks ago. We broke down the details of exactly how a talking filibuster would work, how using the existing Senate rules to force the Democrats to do like Jimmy Stewart and Mr. Smith goes to Washington to force the Democrats to do like I did when I filibustered for 21 hours talking continuously against Obamacare in 2013. We have not done that yet, but I will say so. The Save America act has two major elements. Number one, it requires people to show proof of American citizenship, to register to vote. A basic common sense step. Number two, it requires photo ID to vote. Well, the Democrats defense, they really hate provision one showing proof of citizenship. And they argued, oh, some people can't do it, some people can't do it. It's nonsense. But that's what they argued. And in the course of it, a whole lot of them said, we're okay with photo ID, which at some level is not surprising because photo ID 83% of Americans support photo ID to vote. 81% of Hispanics support photo ID to vote. 81 percent of Democrats support photo ID to vote. 75% of African Americans support photo ID to vote. It's Overwhelmingly popular. So the Democrats all said they supported it, but they didn't like the other elements of the SAVE Act. So one thing we did this week is we said, okay, we'll call your bluff, and we put up just a very simple bill that required photo ID to vote. It's what they all said they supported. Now, let me tell you, I want to read you some quotes from Democrats. Here's Chuck Schumer, quote, democrats support voter id. Here's Chuck Schumer. Again, our objection as Democrats is not to photo id. Here's Dick Durbin, quote, they say it show a voter id. I'm not opposed to that. They ask you for an ID at the airport, don't they? That's reasonable. All right, here's Caitlin Collins at CNN asking Cory Booker, quote, if it was just a clean vote on voter ID specifically. Is that something you would support? Cory Booker, Yes. And New Jersey has voter ID laws. I've got to show my driver's license. Chris Coons, Democrat from Delaware, quote, who could be against requiring ID to vote? Raphael Warnock, Democrat from Georgia, quote, I think you should have to prove that you are who you say you are before you vote. I support voter id. Alyssa Slotkin from Michigan, quote, voter id, which hopefully all Americans are in agreement about. Kirsten Gillibrand from New York, quote, the IDs that we all have in our wallets should be good enough to vote. They always have been. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode island, quote, well, the voter ID part is probably fine. We have voter ID here in Rhode Island. Reuben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona, quote, if people want to adopt the Arizona way, which is strict voter id, I think that would be fine. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats from Virginia, quote, we support reasonable steps that help maintain trust in our elections, including the voter identification requirements we already have in Virginia. Jack Reed, Democrat from Rhode island, quote, if the polls simply required every American to show an ID at the polls, then I would not be ringing such a loud alarm. So that's what they all said. Yeah. So Republicans said, all right, we'll call your bluff and we put a vote on just photo ID to vote. You know what happened?

[Ben Ferguson]

What happened? I know the answer, but it makes me laugh.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Every single Democrat voted no. All of them. Every one of them. Everyone that I just read those quotes from, all the ones that say, oh, I support voter id, they all voted no. I mean, it is a flat up, it's just a flat up lie. And part of the reason, part of the reason that they do that is because they know the media won't call them on it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

They know that they can lie over and over and over again and there will be no consequences. Now, I will say an exception to that. So CBS News, David Ellison bought CBS News. And so now suddenly CBS News is owned by someone who says he has a commitment to making it balanced and not having it be a partisan left wing network. I'll tell you what CBS News tweeted out earlier today, quote, an amendment that would require voters to show photo identification to cast a ballot failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday, despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying last week that Democrats were not opposed to such an amendment requirement. So CBS actually reported straight out. I actually had some fun with that and tweeted and said, you mean Schumer lied? And there's a reason. There's a reason you have a Pinocchio emoji. And I used it. But part of the reason they're willing to lie so brazenly is what CBS did. There is the exception. Cnn, msnbc, abc, NBC, they don't call them to account. The Washington Post, the New York Times, they don't call them to account. And so the Democrats all lie. And then when you say, oh, you support that, do you? All right, well, do you want to vote for it? They all say no. They get almost no accountability for doing so.

[Ben Ferguson]

It really is incredible. And look, I do think this is going to be very interesting going into the midterms, and I want to get your reaction to this, because I actually think the American people are paying attention. They were very frustrated by the Democrats constantly making their life harder on these basic type issues, just like the airport. I think those are things, when you combine these issues together, the SAVE act, which is overwhelming American support, like, it's probably one of the most bipartisan things you're polling right now in this country, if not the very top one. And yet you have this type of divide. I actually think this plays in the hands of Republicans if we do it the right way. Your thoughts?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I think that's right. And I think calling out Democrats for hypocrisy and lying and for just really aggressive partisanship. You know, I will say there are people who say both sides are too extreme. And I gotta say that that feels very reasonable and even handed. Gosh, one side's too extreme, so's the other. I just don't think it's accurate. If you look at where we are now, the policy positions of the Democratic Party objectively are extreme. On, on immigration, they're an open border party. They just refuse to fund even a penny for immigration enforcement and they slashed funding for customs and border patrol. They are an open border party that opposes arresting murderers and gang bangers and child rapists on issues of sexuality. Every Democrat, all of them support boys and girls sports, men and women's sports. They support sterilization and surgical mutilation of kids. Those are extreme positions. Those are on the 10 side of 9010 issues. They support abolishing the police. They all just voted to effectively abolish the police in the immigration context. What are the Republicans supporting policy wise? The Republicans are supporting common sense principles. Low taxes, low regulations, lots and lots of jobs, small businesses doing well, securing the border, supporting law enforcement, protecting our families. Those are common sense position. Look, the Democrats on foreign policy are embrace Hamas. There is a real pro Hamas contingent in the Democrat party that is objectively extreme. And so I think saying the two sides are kind of both too extreme, I don't think that describes where the policy debate is. Now I will concede this on the rhetoric. There is a fair point to be made that both sides can use overheated rhetoric.

[Ben Ferguson]

Rhetoric.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I think the Democrats do so routinely when they call ice, for example Nazis and Gestapo and they call for doxxing and going after the families of law enforcement officers. I mean, I think that's grotesque. But there are Republicans who use overheated rhetoric as well and I wish they did not. You know, I get that question a lot as I travel around Texas and around the country and I say, listen, I don't have the ability to change the language other people use. I can control what I say. You know, Ben, you and me in verdict. I try not to demonize people personally, but I do try to talk about policies and say it is an objectively unreasonable policy to support open borders and to just take away the paychecks of law enforcement officers forever. And that is the position of the Democrat party. I think that's the way we ought to have political discussions on substance and merits rather than making it personal.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to be honest with you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple of years ago I made the choice to partner with an amazing organization called Compassion International. Why? Because I wanted to sponsor a child in need. It was a nice idea, sure, but I had no idea just how much that simple act would change my life as well. I sponsored Nadia and got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes. Going from starving literally alone on the streets to getting the health care and education. She needs to reach her God given full potential. I got to be a part of that change. And the light of that compassion not only illuminates in her, it illuminates now in me. That is the power of compassion. The light of Christ shines on all of us. Feel it for yourself and change, literally a child's life. Change the world and you also change yourself. You can sponsor a child today. Visit compassion.com that's compassion.com Senator, I want to finish the show with a really important subject, and you've described it as bigger than Watergate. It's a modern day Watergate, certainly. But we now have a dive into the bombshell Senate Judiciary hearing on Arctic Frost. And you had a great statement, Senator, and I want to play it for everybody. This is how you kind of described what's happening.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Watergate was about a handful of files in a single office. This reached into tens of thousands of private communications, emails, records and personal data. Toll records, bank records, donor lists, law firm records, and other personal files relating to every major conservative organization were subpoenaed.

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator, that sums it up. This was a 100% weaponization of our Department of Justice to go after Donald Trump and anyone they thought was important to him that could help him win the White House again.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, that clip was from a hearing I chaired this week of the Senate Judiciary Committee that was examining Arctic Frost. And it was released yet more documents that showed the massive scope of the abuse of power. Look, Watergate at the end of the day was a handful of Cuban burglars who broke into an office of the dnc. And it was a failed burglary. They didn't even succeed. And it resulted in the President of the United States resigning in disgrace. It resulted in more than 40 people being criminally prosecuted, many of them going to jail. By any measure, Arctic Frost was orders of magnitude worse. You had nearly 200 subpoenas. You had more than 400 individuals and groups that were targeted. The Biden Department of Justice issued subpoenas to get the phone records for more than 20% of the Republicans in the Senate, including yours truly. Yeah, it was a massive abuse of power. And the amazing thing is the Democrats don't care at all. And one of the points I made at the hearing, there are a bunch of Democrat senators sitting there at the hearing, and I pointed out not a one of them is going to say a word. They don't care about abuse of power. For them, partisanship and partisan control is all that mattered. And I contrasted it with what happened At Watergate. Here, listen to what I had to say. Fifty years ago, this nation was confronted with an abuse of power. And it responded not with indifference, but with, but with accountability. I'll tell you one of the big differences of Watergate versus Arctic Frost. When Richard Nixon and his corrupt Attorney general and his corrupt administration abused their law enforcement powers to go after their political opponents, Republican senators stood up to the President of their own party and defended the rule of law. Where is even a single Democrat Senator who has said one word about this abuse of power?

[Ben Ferguson]

You're right, by the way. They're all silent on it because they don't care as long as it was spying on you. Literally.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And look, I will say what happened in Watergate, what actually ended it and when Richard Nixon resigned is it was a group of senior Republican senators that drove the 16 blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and sat in the Oval Office and they said, Mr. President, you have a choice. You either resign or. Or we will impeach you, convict you and remove you from office. And it was a moment of real political courage for those senators to do that. I'm not a Richard Nixon fan. I think he was utterly corrupt. As you know, Ben, I've written four books. The third book I wrote was called justice how the Left has Weaponized the Legal System. And the opening chapter of that book is a deep dive into Watergate. And it details the just absolute corruption and abuse of power what Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama and now Joe Biden succeeded in doing. And one of the real differences is Republicans were willing to stand up and say, no, this goes too far, there are no Democrats willing to do so. And all right, so there was a witness that the Democrats had called who was a former senior agent of the FBI. And he gave this whole testimony about how the FBI is utterly beyond politics and it's impartial and it has no partisan agenda at all. And I actually cross examined him quite a bit. And I said, look, I agree with what you're saying. That's what the FBI is supposed to be and that's what DOJ is supposed to be. And I'm an alumnus of the Department of Justice, I served in the George W. Bush Department of Justice and it has a more than century long tradition of being outside of politics, not partisan at all. And I said one of the worst things that Barack Obama and especially Joe Biden did is they corrupted it and turned DOJ and the FBI into partisan tools. And this witness didn't want to admit it, but here's one question I asked him. Give a listen. Menendez is currently incarcerated in prison for corruption. And if you've got evidence of criminal conduct of one individual, the Department of Justice has an obligation to investigate that. Would you agree that's qualitatively different than a fishing expedition targeting 20% of the Republicans in the Senate? Would you agree that's qualitatively different? I'm not familiar with the details of

[IFLAG Announcer]

either investigation, so I wouldn't want to speculate.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, let me ask you this. Would you be troubled if tomorrow the Trump Department of Justice issued a subpoena for the phone records of every Democrat that sits on the Judiciary Committee?

[Public Investing Announcer]

Not if it was based on factual

[IFLAG Announcer]

evidence, specific and articulable facts.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, let me be clear. I'd be damn troubled. And that would be an abuse of power. And I'm going to predict not a single Democrat's going to say even a word about the abuse of power on their side. And that double standard is troubling. Senator Lee.

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator, you're absolutely right there in the point that you were making.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it really is amazing that nobody. And by the way, the entire hearing, the Democrats were completely silent. Like, when it came their turn to question, they just said, orange man bad. They just said, we hate Donald Trump. They didn't acknowledge it. Look, one of the things that happened in Arctic Frost is not only did you have Jack Smith getting subpoenas for the phone records of 20% of the Republicans in the Senate, and by the way, also getting subpoenas and. And wiretapping cash. Patel, who was then a private citizen, now is the director of the FBI. They tapped the phones of Susie Wiles, who was then the campaign manager. She was running Donald Trump's campaign. I mean, this was a political opposition effort. And by the way, they taped her conversations with her lawyer, which is illegal on any level if you look at the subpoenas they issued for the senators, they also went to Judge Boasberg, who is an extraordinarily partisan left wing judge. He's the favorite judge for these radical groups that have been getting nationwide injunctions against various Trump policies. I chaired a hearing several months ago calling for Judge Boasberg to be impeached and removed from office because he is so extreme. In Arctic Frost, for every single senator that Jack Smith subpoenaed, he signed an order ordering the phone companies not to disclose to us that they were subpoenaed in our phone record. And in that order, he concluded, the court finds that we will destroy evidence if we know about it now there is zero basis in fact to make that finding. Look, I'm a member of the Bar. I'm I my integrity matters a great deal to me. I'm not going to destroy evidence and there are no facts that could be introduced that would suggest I could. There's also a federal statute prohibiting non disclosure orders for Senate records. And yet Judge Boasberg violated the law. That was the kind of abuse of power we saw in Arctic Frost and it was truly unprecedented. It makes Watergate seem mild by comparison.

[Ben Ferguson]

No doubt we're gonna keep covering this. Don't forget Download Verdict with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcast. And if you're listening to this radio show, we do it Monday, Wednesday, Friday if you're listening on the radio right now. Thank you for joining us and we'll see you back here on this station as well next week. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz. We'll see you on the podcast all week long. Can you buy real Bitcoin in your retirement account? If not, it's time to upgrade to Bitcoin ira. You can buy and sell Bitcoin with major tax advantages. Visit bitcoin ira.com or call 866-679-7871 now.

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