Morning Wire - Medicine Rebuffs Gender Transitions & Troubled Tehran Talks | 2.5.26

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

The so-called consensus surrounding “gender transitions” for minors begins to unravel, Border Czar Tom Homan announces a drawdown of federal immigration officers from Minneapolis, and talks teeter between Washington and Tehran while tensions with Beijing appear to be calming. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. - - -Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacymorning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American Medical Association, once a staunch supporter of gender procedures for minors, reverses course on the issue. It's the old dominoes falling analogy where, you know, the first domino drops, and pretty soon the entire, you know, line of dominoes is falling. Has the dam now fully broken on medically transitioning kids? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, February 5th, and this is Morning Wire. Borders are Tom Homan pulls hundreds of federal.

agents off the streets of Minneapolis, setting a move towards smarter enforcement. We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets. And Trump says talks with Iran have nearly collapsed after a recent conflict in the Arabian Sea, while tensions with China appear to ease. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This episode is sponsored by Brickhouse Nutrition. You've probably heard about those weight injections that everyone's been talking about and for good reason the results can be pretty

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20% off and free rush shipping so you can add Lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com and enter Wire for your discount. That's promo code wire at takelein.com today. In the wake of a landmark detransitioner verdict, the supposed consensus in support of transgender surgeries for minors appears to be crumbling. with more as Daily Wire reporter, Amanda Prestige Acommo. So Amanda, just in the past week, we saw a noticeable shift from the medical establishment. It started with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and then later with the American Medical Association changing their stance on medical transition for minors. So what did they say? Yeah, I mean, the dam is certainly breaking Georgia. The ASPS, which is the largest association of plastic surgeons in the world, they said that available evidence does not support. support trans surgeries for gender confused kids. And they also said that there's insufficient evidence for putting kids on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. Now, this is a very big deal. Basically, every medical group or association has been in support of these surgeries for minors. And that's

despite all the mounting evidence that these can be harmful and irreversible. So this statement broke the mold. I was able to speak to Dr. Richard Bossheart about this reversal. He's a senior fellow at Do No Harm. And he's been a member of the ASPS for Debt. He said the ASPS actually told members back in 2024 that they could not endorse gender-affirming care for minors based on new evidence. Now, at the time, that was really out of step with the establishment, so they were ahead of the curve, relatively speaking. Here's Boss Hart. I just hope they take a stronger stance. I think this is great, the position statement, but I think it doesn't go far enough because surgery is the last step.

They have really taken a lot of trouble to provide for a reasoned position that is based on medical evidence. And on that basis alone, I'm very, very happy with that. I just hope they take an even stronger chance and totally, you know, denunciate gender affirming care once and for all. And following the ASPS, we have the AMA, which wields major influence as the nation's largest medical association. They reversed course, too. The AMA told National Review that it agrees with the ASPS that, quote, surgical interventions and minors should be generally deferred to adulthood. Now, some hedging there, but this is a huge shift for the AMA,

which has been rabidly in favor of these procedures for minors. So, for example, the AMA's president said just last year that it's not for him or anyone else to question the so-called experts on trans care. The association also made it a point to bash a Supreme Court ruling from this summer that effectively allows states to ban these procedures for minors. We have to note the timing of these changes in stances very conspicuous. Megan Basham recently reported on the landmark $2 million judgment out of New York State concerning a detransitioner. How does that case factor in here? Is that at the root of these changes?

Yeah, I mean, that's very likely beginning to influence medical organizations. vaccinations. Foxvarian was the first detransitioner to get a verdict in her legal battle against the medical professionals who facilitated and then performed the removal of her healthy breast at just 16 years old, again, you know, in the name of trans care. As you mentioned, that was a $2 million judgment. So, you know, certainly some worry about liability now, it seems. Here's Boss Hart talking about this change and specifically the more than two dozen detransitioner cases that are currently pending. not in the business of making predictions, but if I had to, I would say that every one of these individuals probably has a case, and I suspect they're all going to win their judgments.

I'll be surprised if they don't. Given the way this has been carried out with very poor informed consent and addressing long-term issues and not even addressing the underlying problems that so many of these children have. So I would predict there's going to be a wave of judgments in favor of the plaintiffs in all these cases. And I think it's fantastic. Well, he's not alone in thinking that this is going to be a major turn of tide. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome.

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the change on the ground there in Minneapolis. First, what motivated this decision from Homan? Right. So Homan came out Wednesday morning and said there's been progress in his, you know, leadership down there in Minneapolis saying that they're drawing down 700 of those federal agents that have been deployed. So it's about a little less than a third of the force that has been there. So leaving about 2,000 agents and officers on the ground. And this was a result of deals that he said have been brokered between the federal government and local sheriffs who have agreed to now cooperate with ICE and let them into jails to take inmates who are here illegally into ICE custody in the hopes of deporting those people. This is something he said is being done at an unprecedented level.

So we're trying to figure out how this is all developing. But it sounds like with, within just nine days of Holman touching down there. There's been a lot of progress. That sounds like a massive shift. In fact, a reversal of some of these sanctuary city policies. Have we heard from any local leaders about this agreement? So I spoke with the head of the Minnesota Sheriff's Association about this, about those conversations that those sheriffs, those local sheriffs have been having with the federal authorities. And he told me that the vast majority of those sheriffs want better communication with ICE, and that's what they've been working towards.

They are willing to work with ICE and Border Patrol, but they really want to only do so in a lot of cases if there's a drawdown of federal authorities, which seems to be consistent with what Holman was saying this week. But he said a formal agreement could take weeks or months. Now, Homan said it took one phone call to the Minneapolis Police Chief when he learned about these roadblocks that have been erected by anti-ice protesters in the streets of Minneapolis. trying to docks ice, take their license plates. They've even been seen assaulting journalists. He made a phone call to that police chief. He said this needs to be disbanded. And that one phone call actually resulted in that.

And he talked about that during the press conference. When I was away to wear the roadblocks there, I called the chief of police. And he went and disbanded them after I got off the phone web. He has promised to take enforcement actions. It's illegal. You can't do that. And again, a message those folks. What are you doing?

You really think he will stop an ICE and CVP and doing the job? It's a joke. Only people you're hurting is your own community who wants to go and get groceries, pick up to dry cleaning or go to work, whatever. You're just hindering them. Clearly sounds like some big changes or at least in the works since Homan's arrival. Does this mean ICE arrests will slow down? You know, Homan made clear during the press conference that this does not mean that the Trump administration is, quote, surrendering their

mass deportation effort. He said that really it's about getting ice into those jails. That's the best way to get the worst criminals, which has been his priority and what he's wanted ICE and Border Patrol to go out and get in Minneapolis. And so he said this is going to continue. They're going to continue to go through their target list and get those people. He said illegal immigrants whose sole crime is just being in the country illegally. They're not off the list. So they should feel that they are also under scrutiny that ICE will come and get them to. Here's what he had to say about how enforcement efforts will proceed from here. This is efficient, requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target

rather than eight or ten officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat. This frees up more officers to arrest or remove criminal aliens. More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails means less offers on the street doing criminal operations. This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement. It's certainly fascinating to watch Homan try to thread the needle on this very complex political situation. Ginny, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

Talks between Washington and Tehran may be on the verge of collapse after Iranian attacks on U.S. ships. Meanwhile, tensions with Beijing appear to be cooling off. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce, is here to talk about all the international news so far this week. So, Tim, let's start with Iran. Where do things stand there? Well, talks seem to be somewhat teetering. However, Washington and Tehran are still on track for a meeting on Friday. But it's been a messy ride. According to the Trump administration, Tehran initially reached out to talk after the U.S. move the USS Abraham Lincoln and a lot of heavy firepower into the region. The two sides were supposed to meet in Turkey,

but Iran apparently wanted a different venue. And its foreign minister said Wednesday, talks will now take place in Oman. But there still seem to be major questions over the scope of the talks. According to reports, Iran is ready to talk about its nuclear program, but not much else when these talks are supposed to be all-encompassing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that in order for talks to lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things. Those things included the nuclear program, but also ballistic missiles, Iran's sponsorship of terror groups across the region, and the treatment of the Iranian people. So that is an enormous amount that Iran wants off the table.

So what's the alternative plan if they don't want to have these talks? Trump has never taken off the table the use of force. Trump reminded Iran of that in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday. Should the Supreme Leader in Iran be worried right now? I would say he should be very worried, yeah. And it's worth noting that Iran may have attempted a first strike already. The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it shot down an Iranian drone after it, quote, aggressively approached the Lincoln.

though the military did say in that statement that the drone's intent wasn't clear. But then just hours later, two boats and a drone with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S. flagged oil tanker. The U.S. military said Iranian forces approached the tanker at high speeds and threatened to board it. So a very high-stakes gamble for Iran, if nothing else. Now, moving on to China, President Trump had a call with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. How did that go? According to Trump, the call was, quote, excellent.

He posted about it on true social, and he said him and Xi talked about a wide range of issues from trade to Taiwan to the war in Ukraine. Trump said that the United States relationship with China is extremely good and that, quote, there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my presidency having to do with President Xi and the People's Republic of China. Now, the backdrop to this, of course, is some very significant dysfunction at the highest levels of the Chinese government. Tell us about these recent investigations and what kind of threats they might pose to, Yeah, it is serious. Some analysts have called it unprecedented in the context of China's current communist regime. But it's hard to know what exactly is going on since the inner workings of Beijing is a black box to the rest of the world. But what we found out last month is that

she's number two, someone she has known since childhood and whom she personally elevated is being investigated for corruption. In a state like China, the announcement of an investigation is tantamount to a guilty verdict. General Zhang Yu-Shah has been to suspended from his role as the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission that controls the armed forces. The commission is a seven-person board, counting Xi, but she has now removed all but one of the generals he appointed to it in 2022. Trump was asked about the turnover over the weekend. Here's what he said. As far as I'm concerned, there's one boss in China that's President Xi. That's the person I'm dealing. Are there any concerns about stability or with regard to Taiwan?

I think President Xi is the boss. I, I watch it very closely. He's highly respected in China. He's the boss. So it's hard to know what this means exactly for Xi, but it does appear like his hold on power is more secure, though he may be more isolated. Well, like you said, the CCP is like a black box, so it's really hard to know. Tim, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're listening to the show, you can now watch the show free on Daily Wire Plus. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.