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

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.

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...”

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.”

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)

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.”

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

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)

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.