Deportations Cure Rent Inflation, When We Have No Evidence meets Do It Anyway plus the Final 3 Historic Victories of 2025 Week In Review

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Deportations Cure Rent Inflation, When We Have No Evidence meets Do It Anyway plus the Final 3 Historic Victories of 2025 Week In Review"

Verdict with Ted Cruz | Premiere Networks
Date: December 20, 2025
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz & Ben Ferguson

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Overview

In this Week in Review episode, Senator Ted Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson explore three major storylines:

1. The impact of mass deportations on rent and home prices.
2. Revelations that the FBI lacked probable cause for the Mar-a-Lago raid.
3. A roundup of "historic victories" in 2025 including NASA funding, CAFE standards rollback, and new online privacy legislation.

In their signature blend of political analysis and conservative commentary, they connect current events to broader trends in government accountability, economic affordability, and American innovation.

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1. Deportations and Their Economic Impact

[02:59–10:43]

Key Points

• Ben Ferguson opens with the assertion that current deportations—over 2 million illegal immigrants this year—are causing a notable decline in rental and housing prices.
• He highlights that the median age for first-time homebuyers is now over 40, the highest since World War I, attributing this to record-high competition with "tens of millions of illegal immigrants."
• Senator Cruz explains the economics: "Economics 101, you learn that prices are determined by two factors—supply and demand... When you bring in 12 million people, that's 12 million people that are trying to rent" (04:55).
• Cruz references Scott Bessant’s report showing a 1.1% year-over-year drop in apartment rents and a 5.2% drop from the 2022 peak.
• A Wharton School study is cited: every 1% increase in population led to a 1% rent rise.
• Cruz credits Trump’s stringent border enforcement and mass deportations for the downturn in rents and mortgage rates:

  “If we deport the illegal aliens that Joe Biden's open borders brought into this country, the result is going to be rents are going to come down and housing is going to be more affordable. We now have the data backing that up.” (07:48)

• Ferguson links these trends with 2025 conservative tax reforms: no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security for seniors—set to be implemented in 2026.

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz [04:55]:
  “What did Joe Biden do? Joe Biden imported, allowed more than 12 million illegal aliens to come into this country... And when demand goes up a lot, you end up having prices go up.”
• Ben Ferguson [07:48]:
  “No tax on tips is coming in this new year. No tax on overtime is coming this year. And no tax on Social Security for seniors is coming. Those are three massive victories...”

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2. FBI's Mar-a-Lago Raid & Evidence of Political Weaponization

[14:40–27:36]

Key Points

• Ben Ferguson details new documents showing the FBI lacked probable cause to raid Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022.
• Senator Cruz summarizes findings from emails between the FBI and DOJ—Field Office staff had misgivings:

  "Very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents, an FBI official wrote."
  "The FBI Washington field office... did not believe and has articulated to the DOJ CES that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified records at Mar-a-Lago." (15:01-17:41)

• Cruz frames the raid as a politically motivated abuse of power, stating,

  “If you don’t have probable cause for a search warrant, but you nonetheless engage in the search, the search is illegal... Their objective was not to actually prosecute a crime. Their objective was to stop the American people from voting for Donald Trump.” (19:09)

• Discussion turns to accountability and the lack of whistleblowers or internal dissent within DOJ/FBI, blaming an entrenched culture of partisanship.
• Cruz points to the Obama-era origins of DOJ/FBI “weaponization,” citing the IRS targeting conservative groups and noting many partisan actors were promoted or "burrowed" into position.
• Senate hearings and further oversight, led by Senator Chuck Grassley, are suggested as next steps.

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz [19:09]:
  “The optics they wanted was President Trump in a mugshot. They got that optic, but it backfired on them. Backfired bigly, as President Trump might have said in the first term.”
• Ben Ferguson [20:08]:
  “It’s clear. Abuse of power. Where’s the accountability?... Why would there be an incentive for them not to abuse their power and go after any other conservatives in the same way?”
• Ted Cruz [22:43]:
  “There are far too many extreme partisans who burrowed into both agencies, the FBI and the Department of Justice... they waged war on Donald Trump from within the agency.”

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3. Year-End Conservative Wins & Legislative Changes

[31:25–39:21]

The remainder of the episode highlights victories celebrated by Cruz and Ferguson as wins for conservatives in 2025:

a. NASA & Space Race Funding

• A $10 billion investment in NASA and commercial space, targeting a U.S. return to the moon by 2028—beating China’s stated goal of 2030.
• Cruz frames space leadership as an economic and strategic imperative:

  "The first trillionaire is going to be made in space. That may well be Elon Musk... The mining that we’re gonna see on the moon and ultimately on Mars is gonna generate enormous economic activity." (34:17)

• Emphasis on inspiration for children and the economic benefits for Texas:
  "There are over 50,000 high paying jobs in Texas that are directly connected to space." (33:34)

b. Rolling Back CAFE Standards

• CAFE standards, which previously increased costs and forced automakers to produce lighter, less robust cars, are repealed.
• Cruz argues this will significantly drop car prices and improve vehicle safety:

  "We zeroed it out. The effect... is gonna be to lower the cost... by thousands of dollars. That's another victory that is in the bill. And it also is gonna save lives, just as you said, because you'll be able to make cars that are safer with more steel and less plastic." (36:25, 37:21)

c. “Take It Down” Act: Online Privacy & AI Deepfakes

• New legislation makes it a felony to post non-consensual intimate images (including AI-generated deepfakes).
• Victims gain a statutory right to demand platforms take down such content immediately.
• Cruz celebrates bipartisan support, especially from Former First Lady Melania Trump:

  "We passed that through the Senate, we passed that through the House. The first lady, Melania Trump, was a big champion... protecting kids, protecting teenage girls, teenage boys, women, protecting everyone." (37:31–39:21)

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Additional Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz [24:17]:
  On JFK’s Rice University speech:
  “He said 'Why does Rice play the University of Texas? ...not because it is easy, but because it is hard.' That was his explanation for why are we going to the moon.”
• Ted Cruz [32:17]:
  “If we lose the race to the moon, I think the impact of seeing the Chinese on the moon before we could get there would be a bigger blow to the country than Sputnik was.”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:59] Opening and overview, rental price discussion begins
• [04:55] Cruz details supply/demand effects of immigration on rents
• [07:48] Discussion of tax reforms and their 2026 impact
• [10:43] HUD report on immigration and housing affordability
• [14:40] FBI/DOJ and Mar-a-Lago probable cause revelations
• [19:09] Implications of illegal search and political weaponization
• [22:43] Obama-era origins of DOJ/FBI politicization
• [26:53] Calls for Congressional oversight and hearings
• [31:25] Space/NASA funding and competition with China
• [35:35] Repeal of CAFE standards
• [37:31] “Take It Down Act” on intimate imagery and AI deepfakes

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Memorable Moments

• Senator Cruz invokes classic economic theory—bananas and supply/demand—as a way to explain rent inflation, bringing his characteristic wonkiness to the discussion. (04:55)
• The episode’s tone captures both outrage (over DOJ/FBI actions) and celebratory energy (legislative “victories”). Ferguson’s incredulity and Cruz’s analytical style play off each other throughout.
• The Rice University/JFK anecdote is used to tie U.S. space ambitions to national character and legacy. (34:17)

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Conclusion

This episode distills a week’s worth of conservative talking points into a three-part narrative: enforcing the immigration laws benefits all Americans economically, government agencies must be held accountable for overreach, and 2025 was a year of historic right-leaning policy victories. The hosts blend economic analysis, legislative detail, and ideological critique, aiming to inform and rally their base for the upcoming electoral cycle.

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Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, the Week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And these are the stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, deportations. They're happening at record pace. More than 2 million illegal immigrants have been deported from this country this year and it's having a major effect now on rental prices of homes and housing prices. So what could happen going into 2026? It could be very big news for you if you're looking to rent or buy a new home. We'll have that for you in a moment. Also, we found out in writing that there was no cause to raid Donald Trump's home at Mar a Lago. So how did the FBI get away with doing it and who actually ordered it knowing that those in the field were saying there is no probable cause? And finally, three big wins in the last year that affect all Americans. We go through those wins and what it means for you. It's the Weekend Review and it starts right now. Finally, I want to move to another shocking breaking news story and that is if you get rid of people in this country, they're here illegally, then you don't have to compete for them. Center for Housing. We have seen the medium age of first time homebuyers, the Number skyrocket to 40 plus years old depending on where you live. It's the highest we've seen and certainly in my lifetime and the highest we've seen since World War I. I think if I looked at the data correctly that that was something that should be very eye opening. Rental prices have also skyrocketed because, well, you're competing when it comes to renting a home, especially those entry level homes with tens of millions of illegal immigrants. We are now finally seeing Donald Trump's deportations and the shutting down of the southern border completely turning into guess what, lower rent and lower home prices for American.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And look, this is at the end of the day, very simple economics. And in Economics 101, you learn that prices, prices are determined by two factors, supply and demand. And they're graphed and where they intersect is where the price is. So supply, it's pretty simple to understand. The more of something there is, the lower the price is. If they're are a whole bunch of houses the price of housing goes down. If there are a whole bunch of bananas, the price of bananas go down. But the other thing that determines price is demand. If there are a ton of people that want to buy houses or bananas, the price goes up. And so those two counterbalance each other. And actually rising prices typically are a market signal that we need more supply. And so if banana prices skyrocket because suddenly people decide they really, really like bananas, you know what's gonna happen? People are gonna plant more bananas and grow more bananas to meet the demand, and the price will fall. Well, what did Joe Biden do? Joe Biden imported, allowed more than 12 million illegal aliens to come into this country. Now, when they came into this country, most of those illegal aliens didn't live in a tent. They didn't sleep on a park bench. They didn't. They went and rented an apartment, or they rented a house, or they bought a house. And you bring in 12 million people, that's 12 million people that are trying to rent. And when demand goes up a lot, you end up having prices go up. Now, now, now, here's, here's what Scott Besant reported. Scott Besson said that last month, apartment rents fell 1.1% compared to the same time last year, and they dropped 5.2% compared to the same time period in 2022 when rents had peaked under Joe Biden. And, and Bessant did an interview on, on Fox Business Channel where he said rents are down. And the story the Biden administration doesn't want to talk about the mass unfettered immigration that pushed up rents, especially for working Americans. And he continued to say, there's a recent study out from the Wharton School that shows every 1% increase in population rents went up 1%. So President Trump, by enforcing the border and sending home more than 2 million illegals, we're now seeing rents coming down substantially. I think that will continue for the rest of the year. We brought down interest rates, and so we brought mortgage rates down. And I think everything else will follow that. That is a major victory. And by the way, it's exactly what President Trump said on the campaign trail, which is that if we deport the illegal aliens that Joe Biden's open borders brought into this country, the result is going to be rents are going to come down and housing is going to be more affordable. We now have the data backing that up.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, messaging, I think center is going to be so important going into the midterms. And one of the things I do think we have not messaged well Enough on the, on our side is what is about to happen in 2026 and there are laws that were passed in 2025 that are enacted in 2026. You combine what you just said about home prices and what the treasury secretary was talking about there with something that's going to have a huge impact on our economy. No tax on tips is coming in this new year. No tax on overtime is coming this year. And no tax on Social Security for seniors is coming. Those are three massive victories that I think many Americans have actually kind of forgotten about that are going to be implemented this year. That's going to have a very big impact on our economy. But also affordability and living.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No, that's exactly right. And I got to say, by the way, for, for people that make substantial tipped wages or overtime, millions of Americans are going to be entitled to a refund from the IRS starting in January. Starting in just a couple of weeks, they'll be entitled to a refund because of those tax cuts, because of the working family tax cut. And look, the latest mantra of both Democrats and the media, because in many instances they're one in the same, is affordability. Now, affordability, I am certain that came from a focus group the Democrats put on that, that was a word they could blame on Trump. Affordability about 12 minutes ago used to be called two things, jobs and inflation. That's how we used to talk about it, jobs. We're seeing economic growth and that is coming from the historic tax cut we passed. And it's coming from President Trump's incredible leadership. Cutting job killing regulation and then inflation. We are seeing inflation coming down. And this is interesting. The HUD department, the Housing and Urban Development Department published this month a report, an investigation that concluded Biden's importing of millions of migrants drove up prices for Americans who are low income but who do not receive public assistance. And here's what the report concluded. Quote, one key cause of elevated worst case needs is immigration. Between 2021 and 2024, the foreign born population of the United States increased more than 6 million, the largest such increase over such a short period in American history. This immigration driven increase in households has contributed to a significant increase in housing housing demand, thus driving up housing prices. In fact, in some markets, immigration has accounted for nearly all of the increase in housing demand in recent years. That is hurting affordability. All.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nearly all. What else do you need to know?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, that's Democrat policies killed jobs and drove up inflation. And right now under common sense conservative policies, we're seeing jobs come back and we're making progress, turning around and driving down the Biden inflation that hurts so many Americans.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. I want you to just pause what you're doing for the next 60 seconds and I want you to imagine Lucy, a 7 year old. Her stomach often aches with hunger. Her small hands, instead of holding crayons, know only the struggle of survival on dusty streets. School is a distant dream, medical care a forgotten hope. Lucy's potential is overshadowed. Her future is dim. But what if someone stepped in? What if there was a way to ignite hope for children just like Lucy? Well, there is. And that is with Compassion International Partners and the local churches that provide children holistic support. More than just food, they receive critical medical care, life changing education, vital skills training and spiritual development all in Jesus's name. And you can empower a child just like Lucy to break free from poverty. I want you to do what I've done and sponsor a child. Today you can visit compassion.com that's compassion.com.

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[Ben Ferguson]

Now on to story number two. New files are revealing that the Department of Justice and the FBI, quote, did not have cause to raid Mar A Lago. Hold on a second. You're telling me the people in charge, the government center under the Biden regime, knew that they were going after Donald Trump for political reasons and not because they thought he broke a law? Can't. I could not imagine this.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You know, it really is astonishing. So the Department of Justice and FBI handed documents over to the Senate Judiciary Committee and here's what Fox News has reported about those documents. FBI doubted probable cause for Mar A Lago raid, but pushed forward amid pressure from Biden. DOJ emails reveal, quote, very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents, an FBI official wrote. The FBI did not believe it had probable cause to raid President Donald Trump's Mar a Lago home in 2022, but move forward amid pressure from the Biden Justice Department document, with an official saying he didn't, quote, give a about the optics of the search. Newly declassified documents reveal uh, and you have emails between the FBI and the Justice Department in the months leading up to the August 2022 raid in Mar A Lago and FBI officials explicitly express concern about a lack of probable cause to execute the search warrant on on the president's residence. Quote, very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents. This is written by an FBI agent serving as the assistant special agent in charge to another FBI official. Quote, from the interviews The Washington Field Office has gathered information suggesting that there may be additional boxes presumably of the same type as were sent back to NARA in January. At Mar? A Lago, the Washington Field Office has been drafting a search warrant affidavit related to those potential boxes, but has some concerns that the information is single source, has not been corroborated and may be dated. DOJ CES opines, however, that the search warrant meets the probable cause standard. Quote, even as we continue down a path towards a search warrant, the Washington field office believes that a reasonable conversation with the former President's attorney stating that the FBI and DOJ are readying a search warrant and developed information there may be more documents at Mar? A Lago ought not to be discounted. At a minimum, even if the former President's attorney is correct and the documents were all declassified or believed to be disc classified, it can be reasonably argued that the documents remain sensitive and should be properly secured until the matter of classification is sorted out. This conversation could easily be accomplished at the same time that the Washington Field Office presses forward with the investigation and continues building out the search warrants it weeks later an FBI agent writes in a new email, quote, this is stunning. We haven't generated any new facts but keep being given draft after draft after draft, absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site. At what point is it fair to table this? The agent writes, it is time consuming for the team and not productive if there are no new facts supporting probable cause. Another email revealed that the Wash. The Washington the FBI's Washington Field Office quote, did not believe and as articulated a DOJ CES that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified records at Mar? A Lago. Let me read that again. The FBI Washington field office, this is in writing, quote, did not believe and has articulated to the DOJ CES that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified weapons of classified records at Mar? A Lago. And the response, Quote, doj has opined that they do have probable cause requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space. And the FBI also said a raid would be, quote, counterproductive and suggested, quote, alternative, less intrusive and likely quicker options for resolution to reclaim any potential classified records. This is stunning because I don't think.

[Ben Ferguson]

You can overstate how stunning this is. The field office, they're saying this is stupid. This is abuse of power in essence and to the point where they're putting.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It in writing and by the way, what it means if you don't have probable cause. For a search warrant, but you nonetheless engage in the search. The search is illegal without probable cause. You don't have a basis for the search that is justified. And if the FBI is saying it would be illegal to search President Trump's home, apparently the Biden Department of Justice, they were so partisan, their objective was not to actually prosecute a crime. Their objective was to stop the American people from voting for Donald Trump. They were acting as political operatives. And so their view, as one of the officials said, they don't give a damn about the optics. The optics they wanted was President Trump in a mugshot. They got that optic, but it backfired on them. Backfired bigly, as President Trump might have said in the first term. But this was a political persecution. And what's stunning is they knew it at the time.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, let's go to accountability. And this is where so many people listening and watching this on. On Facebook or on. On YouTube are gonna want to ask the question that I'm gonna ask you now. It's clear. Abuse of power. Where's the accountability? Because at this point, it's like, we know they did it. We've got the information. We know that they were breaking the law or the rules, and no one seems to be held accountable for this. So in the rest of my lifetime, I have a feeling there's gonna be a Democrat that's gonna get back in the White House. What then? Why would there be an incentive for them not to abuse their power and go after any other conservatives in the same way?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So there wouldn't be an incentive. And look, who knows? It may not be a Democrat in the White House. The Democrat Party may have radicalized so much that maybe the next nominee will be a member of the Turtle Island Liberation Front. I mean, that's how extreme these guys are getting. Look, there has to be accountability. There has to be. People who engage in the abuse of power need to be fired. Now, the Trump Department of Justice and FBI have fired a number of people. That's moving in the right direction. But anyone who knew they were participating in an abuse of justice and abuse of power, and anyone who knew that it was illegal. Let me ask, why was there not anyone who stood up and said, this is not right at the Department of Justice to abuse our power? Why were there no whistleblowers? Why was there no. No pushback from within doj?

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, let me ask you that question. There's a lot of appointees. So that. And I want to get in the weeds here on this, because I do Think it's important to paint the picture. When I was in the Bush administration, there are political appointees and there's non political, there's lifers, there's people that stay in certain positions at the doj, for example, at the FBI, they don't change based on the election or who is in the White House or who's in charge of the House or the Senate or Congress in general, that those individuals are the ones that you would hope would stand up here. The problem seems to be that there's either massive fear when the Democrats were in charge that their careers would be over A, or B, that they just put in so many of their liberal friends that the entire DOJ leadership and those below them that were supposed to be the non political appointees were actually incredibly partisan. I go back to Peter Strzok and Lisa Page or whatever the hell their names were. I mean, there's two examples of, quote, non political people that were absolutely political.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

There are far too many extreme partisans who burrowed into both agencies, the FBI and the Department of Justice. As you know, a book I wrote a few years ago was called justice how the Left has Weaponized Our Legal System. And I detail this was written at the beginning of the Biden administration. So I did not cover the prosecutions of Trump or the Mar a Lago raid because it hadn't happened.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, how right were you on writing that book? I mean, knowing what happened afterwards. Good grief.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And the book starts, chapter one is actually about Watergate. It's about Nixon. And I am not a Richard Nixon fan. I think he was corrupt and dishonest and he abused power. But, but if you look at one of the things Nixon tried to do is get the Department of Justice and the FBI to go after his political enemies. But at the time, DOJ and the FBI and the irs, they all resisted, they pushed back and said, no, that's an abuse of our power. We're not going to do that. And what Richard Nixon tried to do, Joe Biden succeeded in doing. Why? Because nobody not a political, not careers, nobody pushed back effectively and stopped it. And we saw that started with Barack Obama. Barack Obama weaponized the Department of Justice, the FBI, the irs, and then when Trump became president, slicker about it.

[Ben Ferguson]

I do want people to understand that he was very smart about it compared to the blaze and abuse of power by the Biden administration. But there were, and I want to remind just a couple examples of the abuse of power under Barack Obama. Give us a couple of those highlights so people remember what they did do. And how this started a long time ago. And the reason why is, Senator, there were a lot of people that got into the DOJ and the FBI then that were lower in rank who are now running the damn place. When if you fast forward to the Biden years.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. You look at, I mean, one, one of the classic examples is Lois Lerner at the irs. And the IRS deliberately targeted conservative groups. It targeted Tea Party groups, it went after them, it persecuted them. And the search words they were among things they were looking for is any group dedicated to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And mind you, they didn't mean the aclu, they didn't mean leftist groups. They meant anyone that was conservative pro Israel groups they targeted. I mean, it was an ideological purge and it was an ideological purge that the political officials did everything they could to cover up. And ultimately, you know, you look at Eric Holder, who was Attorney general, described himself as Barack Obama's wingman, and he ended up being held in contempt of Congress, which was stunning. But it began during the Obama administration when Trump became president. Many of those partisans, they burrowed into senior career positions at the agency. And for four years of the first Trump term, they waged war on Donald Trump from within the agency, trying to overturn the duly elected president, trying to overturn an election. And then when Biden got into power, they came out in the open and they were brazen. And part of the reason Biden was so much worse than Obama is they saw there were no consequences when it happened under Obama, that it worked, that they were able to weaponize the system. And I suspect many good people just left the agencies. And those, many of those who remained were either they were afraid or they were willing to go along with it. But it's why one of the most important obligations, responsibilities that the Trump DOJ and the Trump FBI have is to restore integrity to those agencies, to go after criminals and bad guys like terrorists planning to set up bomb, set off bombs in Los Angeles rather than using it to target political opponents.

[Ben Ferguson]

What will accountability look like specifically on these emails and the people there? And will Congress get involved in this now, seeing this letter, Grassley, et cetera?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I would certainly expect we'll see hearings in Congress. I'd like to see the Senate Judiciary Committee hold hearings on this and engage in oversight. This was released by Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. So that's beneficial. And, you know, look, I want to commend the Trump Justice Department for handing these emails over part of the reason that the Biden DOJ wrote these is because they thought no one would ever know that they thought Biden was going to be reelected or Kamala Harris was going to be elected and so this would remain hidden forever. What changed the rules is is you have a new attorney General and a new FBI director who decided we're going to give this to we're going to show the American people exactly what was going on that was the right thing to do.

[Ben Ferguson]

As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing. For the next 60 seconds, can you hit pause on your life and just think about this? Every day millions of children face a crushing reality. A constant defeating message echoes and their empty stomachs and their desperate eyes. It is that you don't matter. Poverty doesn't just steal food and shelter. It steals hope, dignity and the fundamental belief that they are loved. But there's another message, one of boundless love and hope. Through Compassion International, you can change the child's story forever. You can sponsor a child just like I do. You can introduce them to a loving Heavenly Father. You can equip them with education, health care and the support to overcome poverty. This isn't just about one child. It's about transforming families, revitalizing communities and changing nations. It's about proving that every child truly matters. So help give a child a future. Give them hope. Visit compassion.com today. That's compassion.com 10 athletes will face the.

[Trainer Games Host]

Toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Host]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Podcast Announcer]

Pressure is coming down.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Podcast Announcer]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here, and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more take the court and redefine the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO.

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Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously on public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosure [e-mail] Disclosures do you like free money?

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[Ben Ferguson]

I want to get back to the big story number three of the week. You may have missed center as we're doing our year review. I I love getting to say this one. We had a big win on the issue of space. We're not talking about you finding aliens or anything, but we do have an update on space that's near and dear to your heart. With NASA and Houston, of course. Talk about the big victory there.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, in the Working Families Tax tax cut, we invested $10 billion in NASA and commercial space and in particular in going back to the moon. And again, because that falls within the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee, I wrote this provision and we are in a race to go back to the moon. We're in a race with China. China has said publicly they are going to go to the moon by 2030 and they're trying to get back there. And it's also a race not just to get there, but to also to build sustained human habitation on the surface of the moon, to begin mining on the surface of the moon. That's the next challenge that we're moving towards. China is moving full speed ahead and we did major investments to say America is going to beat China back to the moon. We are going to have sustained human habitation on the lunar surface or in CIS lunar orbit. And that investment, it is in the bill, it is critically important and the objective is for us to land on the moon by 2028, two years before China, with President Trump still in the Oval Office. And that investment will make it. And I'll tell you, this is a point I made. If we lose, if we were to lose the race to the moon, I think the impact of seeing the Chinese on the moon before we could get there, I think it would be a big bigger blow to the country than Sputnik was. Sputnik, when the Russians launched the first satellite Sputnik around, around the Earth, it was a massive blow. It started the space race. And I think losing the moon to China would be orders of magnitude worse. That investment is in there. It matters. And it matters also enormously. There are over 50,000 high paying jobs in Texas that are directly connected to space. So it's big for jobs, jobs in the economy as well.

[Ben Ferguson]

Selfishly, I just think it would be so cool for kids minds to be blown to see in HD people walking on the moon. Just the wonder and the, and the inspiration that would come from that for an entire generation, you know, with everything that's AI and technology driven, like just to have a moment of pause where we're like, we went to the moon and you can see it hd. I can't imagine what that does for kids that are dreamers for their futures and their education as well.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I spend a lot of time at Johnson Space Center. I spend a lot of time with NASA and like the inspiration that astronauts provide. Now, do you know the connection that Rice University has to us going to the moon the first time?

[Ben Ferguson]

No, I do not.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it was at Rice University, at the Rice Stadium. You've been to that football stadium that JFK gave the speech where he committed we will go to the moon within a decade. And in fact what he said, he said, why does Rice play the University of Texas? They do so not because it is easy, but because it is hard. And that was, that was his explanation for why are we going to the moon? We're going to the moon for the same reason Rice plays ut, not because it easy, because it's hard. And it inspired millions of Kids, we're gonna do that again. But it's also critical. Listen, there are major economic benefits I predicted for a long time. The first trillionaire is gonna be made in space. That may well be Elon Musk. He's already halfway there. I think the mining that we're gonna see on the moon and ultimately on Mars is gonna generate enormous economic activity. And it also matters from national security and from a military perspective. Controlling what is quite literally the high ground is really important for keeping America safe.

[Ben Ferguson]

CAFE standards. I want to make sure we get this in there before the end of the show. Let's talk about that victory as well.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Another provision I wrote in the bill, we zeroed out CAFE standards. Now, what are CAFE standards? There, the rules the Biden administration put in place to drive up the cost of your car and drive up the cost of your truck. And what they did is they jacked up the mileage it had to get to what were unsustainable levels. And they were doing that because they wanted to ban the internal combustion engine. They wanted to make it impossible for you to buy a gasoline car. They wanted to force you to buy an electric vehicle.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, let's be clear, it also put you and your family at risk because of, of having to be forced to make the cars lighter. They had to get rid of the steel in cars that made them so safe, like tanks. And that's the reason why everything's now in plastic and the bumpers. And we've had a small wreck. You see how things just shatter. It's because they're trying to meet those standards.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Look, my, my first car was a 1978 Ford Fairmont. It was my grandfather's car that he gave it to me. It was, we called it the green bomb.

[Ben Ferguson]

When you were younger. I knew it. That was confirmation, right?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Are you kidding? That was the coolest car. We called it the green bomb. And it was a tank. And if you got a 16 year old boy, all 16 year old boys are idiots. And I, for the teenagers listening, I apologize, but I was there. I was an idiot. And I promise you, when you get older, you understand it's just part of life, growing up. And like putting your kids in a car that is big enough that if they hit something like an idiot, that they're not gonna be badly hurt or killed. That matters. We zeroed it out. The effect of that is gonna be to lower the cost of you getting a car or a truck, lower it by thousands of dollars. That's another victory that is in the bill. And it also is gonna save lives, just as you said, because you'll be able to make cars that are safer with more steel and less plastic.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it really is incredible. Finally, one last thing I do want to hit and it's important one to end the show. Take it down act, something that you worked so hard on, became a reality as well this year and it keeps kids safe.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's a great victory. Look, there is a growing problem with what's called non consensual intimate imagery. And we're talking both real world so called revenge porn where you have boyfriend or girlfriend, they have an intimate relationship, they take explicit pictures or videos of each other, and then they have a breakup and they get one, one of them is ticked off and decides, all right, I'm gonna stick it to you and I'm gonna release this to the world. And it is a grotesque violation of privacy. Nobody has a right to do that to somebody else. There is secondly, a more recent aspect of that which is deep fakes. And, and people are using AI to create deep fakes where they take pictures of real people and they use AI to make it appear that they're naked or in explicit in sexual situations. More than 95% of the victims of this are women or teenage girls. And, and so I drafted a bill that's called the Take it Down act, that number one, makes it a crime, makes it a felony to post non consensual intimate imagery, either real pictures or fake pictures. And secondly, it gives you the right, if, God forbid, you're the victim of this, any tech platform that is displaying that content, you have a federal statutory right to demand they take it down. And they have to take it down immediately. And we passed that through the Senate, we passed that through the House. The first lady, Melania Trump, was a big champion. She joined with me and I was in the Rose Garden right next to the President and right next to the first lady when he signed that legislation protecting kids, protecting teenage girls, teenage boys, women, protecting everyone, and, and also standing up to the abuse of AI, creating deep fakes and, and, and victimizing people.

[Ben Ferguson]

As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here on Monday morning.

[Trainer Games Host]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Host]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Podcast Announcer]

Pressure is coming down.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Podcast Announcer]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Becker, Snafeeza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more. Take the court and redefine the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball season two, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO.

[Public Investing Ad Narrator]

Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra, SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] disclosures not everyone can.

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