Morning Wire - Evening Wire: The Epstein MAGA Mutiny & Trump's Clawback Nears Passage | 7.16.25

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

President Trump says Fed Chair Jerome Powell will likely keep his job— despite reports to the contrary, backlash continues on both sides of the Epstein files debate, and assaults on ICE agents hit unbelievable highs. Get the facts first with Evening Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump says Fed Chair Jerome Powell will likely keep his job, despite reports to the contrary. Backlash continues on both sides of the Epstein Files debate and assaults on ICE agents hit unbelievable highs. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, July 16th, and this is Evening Wire. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's future is on the mind of President Trump. Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips, has more. Speaking from the White House, President Trump says it's, quote, highly unlikely that he'll fire Jerome Powell, but he did not completely rule out the idea. Unless he has to leave fraud, I mean, it's possible there's fraud involved with the $2.5, $2.7 billion renovation.

So you know that's going on. So there could be something to that, but I think he's not doing a good job. He's got a very easy job to do. You know what he has to do? Lower interest rates. This comes after reports that President Trump had drafted a termination. nation letter, which he showed Republican lawmakers at an Oval Office meeting yesterday. Many of them were reportedly on board. While some advisors had warned the move could backfire, others say Trump

may just be testing the waters to pressure Powell. The White House has not confirmed any action. Powell's term as chair ends in eight months, and Trump hinted that he'll make a change then. The Epstein Files fallout continues as President Trump lashed out at critics on the right today over what he calls the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. Daily Wire, Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice has the latest. In a fiery truth social post this morning, Trump called some of those in his base weaklings for buying into what he called Democrat-driven BS and added that he doesn't want their support anymore. This follows backlash from MAGA figures upset over the administration's handling of the Epstein files. It also comes amid similar criticism from close allies of the president,

like House Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson told Benny Johnson he's all for transparency. Look, Reagan used to tell us we should trust the American people. I believe in that principle. I know President Trump does this well. I mean, this isn't my lane. I haven't been involved in that. But I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there. While Trump has swiped at his critics, he's also calling on Bondi to release whatever evidence she deems credible.

Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release. Congressman Thomas Massey plans a procedural push to force a vote in the House to release the Epstein files. While the DOJ continues to insist no client. list exists. The family of Gylane Maxwell and her legal team say critical evidence is still being withheld. The Senate cleared the final hurdle for President Trump's $9 billion spending clawback bill last night, with Vice President Jady Vance breaking the tie. On this vote, the Yays are 50 and the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided. The Vice President votes in the affirmative and the motion is agreed to. The package passed with near-unanimous GOP support except for Senators Murkowski,

Collins and McConnell. Democrats are preparing a last-ditch fight during today's 10 hours of debate, blasting cuts for foreign aid and public broadcasting. A GOP amendment will preserve $400 million for HIV-AIDS relief after pushback, though House Speaker Mike Johnson warned the Senate not to alter the bill. Anthony Bernal, a former White House aide and chief of staff to Jill Biden, pled the fifth today in a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee. Bernal, a close ally of the Bidens, who is dubbed the leader of the loyalty police by other Biden staffers, was questioned about President Biden's mental fitness and the use of the president's autopen by other White House staffers. Bernal is the fourth Biden aide to be questioned by the House in the ongoing investigation of the former president's cognitive decline.

Syria's government and leaders of the Drew's religious minority have announced a ceasefire deal. This comes after Syrian Muslim militants reportedly launched brutal attacks on the Drew's. Dru's minority community in Sweda. Over 300 people were killed with reports of executions, looting, and civilians being trapped in basements. The attacks on the minority group prompted Israeli air strikes on Damascus. Israel's military says it's defending the Drews minority who have deep ties to the Jewish state, including military service. Amid the bloodshed, Drews and Sweda flew Israeli flags in gratitude. A fragile ceasefire has been announced, but fears remain high as Syrian HTS forces continue to threaten the region. So-called sanctuary policies may soon leave states on the hook for

covering the cost of National Guard deployments to enforce immigration law. Tennessee Senator Marcia Blackburn introduced a bill today that would require states to pay back the federal government if U.S. military resources were used in response to civil disturbances triggered by a state's refusal to cooperate with lawful federal immigration enforcement. The recent deployment of the National Guard to California to quell anti-ice riots cost more than $130 million. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Jody Arrington of Texas. The Portland City Council is looking into ways to remove ICE from its detention center in the South Waterfront neighborhood. Local lawmakers raise concerns about detainee hold time, which is a condition of ICE's permit to operate in the city.

The center has seen a major increase in violence against officers. According to DHS, rioters on July 4th attacked law enforcement with rocks and fireworks and burned an American flag. They also cut internet cables and damage the facility's sprinkler system. Borders are Tom Homan promised last week to visit the city personally. Assaults on ICE agents are up 830% over last year, according to a report released this week. Daily Wire reporter Virginia Cruta has more on the story. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, ladies. the blame at the feet of Democrats in a statement that she made yesterday. Ice law enforcement are

succeeding to remove terrorists, murderers, pedophiles, and the most depraved among us from America's communities, even as crazed rhetoric from gutter politicians are inspiring a massive increase in assaults against them. Just one day earlier, President Donald Trump's rapid response team had shared a series of comments made by elected Democrats that the administration believes have put a target on the backs of federal agents. The Trump administration has deposition has deported five illegal migrants to a new third country, the tiny nation of Eswatini in southern Africa. The migrants reportedly carry serious criminal convictions, including child rape and murder, and their home countries of Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen would not take

them back. This comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month to enable DHS to resume third country deportations of migrants. The alleged Minnesota assassin claims Governor Tim Walz told him, to murder two Democratic lawmakers. Daily Wire reporter Marade Allorty has more. Vance Bolter allegedly sent a confession to the FBI director. In the letter, Bolter said he had worked for the U.S. military off the books on missions around the world. He said Waltz contacted him to kill Minnesota's two U.S. senators, but Bolter declined and threatened to go public with Waltz's request. Bolter was recently indicted for the murder of a state representative and her husband. He also allegedly shot a state senator and his wife, but both survived.

His letter did not say why he targeted the two couples. An American Idol executive and her husband were found shot dead in their home after an apparent break-in. Police discovered their bodies during a welfare check and they were found in separate rooms with gunshot wounds. The weeks before the murders, the executive reached out to a private security firm after feeling threatened by somebody, though she did not end up hiring the firm. A suspect was arrested yesterday, but officials say the motive is not yet known. Right now, it is an apparent random attack. The house did not appear to be ransacked.

So we're looking into multiple avenues on what the motive may be there. Wholesale inflation remained unchanged in June. The measure defied economists who expected an increase of at least 0.2%. Month over month, the core producer price index, which does not include food and energy, also remained unchanged. Vice President Bance celebrated the news on social media, saying it's almost like the economic profession doesn't fully understand tariffs. The news comes before tariffs against countries around the world are set to take effect August 1st. A heat advisory is now in place across the northeast from Maryland all the way to Maine. Residents are preparing for temperatures that may

rise as much as 15 degrees above average. The humidity may make temperatures in both New York City and Boston feel much worse than they really are. Further up north, the heat could swing into the upper 90s in areas like Syracuse and Burlington. Down south, temperatures might hit a searing 105 to 109 degrees in areas like New Orleans, Memphis, and Little Rock. A heat advisory is also in place for various places along the West Coast. Meanwhile, a tropical threat on the Gulf Coast has a 40% chance of turning into a tropical depression over the next 48 hours. The storm is likely to bring heavy rain, especially in Louisiana to the central Gulf Coast over multiple days. The closer the storm stays to the shore, the less chance it has to grow into a tropical

depression. A flood watch will still take effect today for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. In total, rainfall is expected to be between two to six inches. If it does develop into a depression, it will be named Dexter. Those are your drive home updates this evening. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories. including Gavin Newsom hitting the campaign trail while downplaying his radical record,

Trump's touting of economic strength amid new inflation numbers, and the latest step in the shutdown of the Department of Education. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.