Morning Wire - Ukraine’s New Deal & Christian Colleges Snub TPUSA? | 11.25.25

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

Negotiations continue as a deal for peace in Ukraine takes shape, the surge of new TPUSA chapter requests hits a surprising stonewall, and the Trump Administration reverses a longstanding approach to handling homelessness. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 - - - Today's Sponsors: Chevron - Build a brighter future right here at home. Visit https://Chevron.com/America to discover more. Brickhouse Nutrition - Get 30% off at https://Brickhousesale.com Shopify - Go to https://Shopify.com/morningwire to sign up for your $1-per-month trial period and upgrade your selling today. - - - Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacy morning 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

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Russia and Ukraine appear to be closing in on a deal, but one major concession has Zelenskyy, Like any final agreement, they'll have to be agreed upon by the presidents. And there are a couple issues that we need to continue to work on. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, executive editor John Bickley. It's Tuesday, November 25th, and this is Morning Wire. Turning Point USA sees a surge of new chapter requests, but also faces some unexpected headwinds. The reason they gave for denying the chapter is that Turning Point USA promotes problematic rhetoric,

which of course is very vague. And the Trump administration makes a huge change in how it's handling homelessness, sparking praise and consternation. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. America is built on hard work and powered by American energy. Chevron has spent $44 billion with local businesses across all 50 states since 2022,

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So just to recap, this week, the White House presented both sides with a 28-point peace plan that, as we mentioned yesterday, does include significant concessions from Ukraine in exchange for peace. Initially, it appeared that plan was sort of a final offer. Trump went as far as giving a Thanksgiving deadline. And then there were even reports the Trump administration would cut off all military and financial aid if Ukraine turned it down. But now it appears that all or nothing language from the White House was nothing more than

a sort of negotiating tactic from Trump, call it an anchoring technique. After strong pushback from Ukraine and the EU, the White House now says the plan is meant as a starting point. A secretary of state Rubio put it, quote, just because it's printed on a piece of paper doesn't indicate finality. You get input and you make adjustments. And that strategy seems to have gotten things moving as Ukrainian diplomats have shown a new sense of urgency and willingness to make some compromises. Leaders from Ukraine and across Europe

met over the last 48 hours in Geneva with American diplomats, including Rubio, and he came out of those talks with a smile. It is probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement, but certainly in a very long time. For his part, the president displayed some cautious optimism, writing on Truth Social Monday, quote, Is it really possible that big progress is being made in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine? Don't believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. And then hours after that post, a number of reports claimed that the U.S. and Ukraine had in fact agreed to the outlines of a new 19-point peace plan instead of 28. This version includes more favorable terms for Zelensky.

For example, it removes limits on the Ukrainian military in the future. The original version said their military personnel would be capped at 600,000. It also reportedly stripped out the language that offered blanket amnesty for acts committed during the war. That means Russian forces could still theoretically be charged with war crimes. But it is worth noting this new proposal still appears to be a draft, and it does not address a number of the topics where Ukraine and Russia have the most disagreements. All right. So like you said, a lot of optimism here. What are the biggest hurdles at this point? Well, the main issue for Zelensky is that the current plan would require Ukraine to surrender large portions of land in the east that would then be recognized as Russian territory.

That is a red line for Ukraine. And Zelensky pushed back publicly on that demand Monday, saying, quote, it is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands, that borders cannot be changed by force. Zolensky also wants to see more concrete security guarantees from the U.S. that would put on paper assurances of European and U.S. military support if Russia were to relaunch their invasion. Right. Now, switching gears for one final foreign policy note before we go, this one involving the Muslim Brotherhood. What's the latest there? Yeah, we reported last week how the state of Texas designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization.

And now Donald Trump is following suit after months of hinting that he would do so. He told just the news this week that, quote, final plans are being drawn. Remember, a terror designation from the federal government would make it illegal for Americans to offer material support to the group. It could also lead to the freezing of the group's assets and open the door for potential military action against them. The group has also grown in prominence in the West in recent years,

which obviously is concerning for the Trump administration. Well, a move that falls in line with the administration's national security priorities for sure. Kappet, thanks so much for reporting. Absolutely. Here's something you don't see every day. Doctors running a Black Friday sale. But that's exactly what's happening at Brickhouse Nutrition. And honestly, it's kind of a big deal.

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Head over to BrickhouseSale.com and grab 30% off while it's still available. Again, that's BrickhouseSale.com for 30% off. TPPUSA chapters are exploding across the higher ed landscape in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination with 44,000 new applications on college campuses. But a surprising number of Christian colleges and universities have rejected the organization, telling students they aren't allowed to start new clubs. Joining us to explain what's going on is Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham, Hey Megan. So I think most people would consider TPUSA, which is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, heavily staffed by Christians, a sort of natural fit for Christian colleges.

Which schools are rejecting them? Yeah, John, you know, it's actually a surprisingly long list. So I started looking into this story after the news broke that Point Loma Nazarene in California had rejected students' request for a TPP USA chapter for the third time. And then I also spoke to students at Biola, which is one of the largest evangelical universities in the country. And they told me their first request for a chapter was denied in 2023. So in September, after Charlie's assassination, they tried again, and they said they still aren't getting an answer. And then another Christian school, Concordia University in Wisconsin, initially rejected TPSA. But then a student posted about it. It went

viral and they ultimately reversed course. All told about 20 different Christian colleges and universities have said that TPSA is not welcome on their campuses. And that includes some pretty big, well-known schools like Bob Jones University, Asbury, Oral Roberts, and Loyola, New Orleans. What reason are they giving for rejecting the clubs? Yeah, that varies by school. And the students and alum who want to see new TPSA chapters at their schools don't always buy. these reasons that they're being given. So Point Loma said its board of directors rejected TPSA largely because of this professor watch list that exposes and documents professors who discriminate against conservative students. Now, even though Point Loma students agreed not to use or contribute

to that list, the board still felt TPSA doesn't represent the kind of, quote-unquote, constructive communication that they require from their official clubs. However, the school has approved left-leaning clubs like one called Break that focuses on issues like gender equality and gender justice, sounds like a little bit of a feminist club, and the Center for Justice and Reconciliation, which focuses on immigration and racial justice. Also probably noteworthy that the administration removed a Charlie Kirk Memorial that had been put up on campus after his death. Now, Lydia Harvey is a Point Loma alum who met with the school's president about TPSA. She actually believes that its rejection is really just overall part of the leftward drift the school is experiencing.

I think those are just nicely worded statements to cover the real reason. I think that they do not want for conservative students to find their voice. And then similar situation at Biola. Biola approved the left-leaning club Students for Justice and Liberation, which says on its website that it stands for progressive values, the same semester that they applied, yet the verdict on TPSA is still being drug out. Now, in its first rejection, that decision once again went all the way to the board of directors, and they said at that time that they take issue with TPSA's quote-unquote narrative and tactics.

Biola Sr., Estella Bacera, who knew Charlie Kirk and has been spearheading this effort, told me she's worried that Biola is now just buying time before the board rejects her application again. The fact that he died through political violence was really heartbreaking, and it was heartbreaking for my generation, and for Biola not to see that and be so disconnected from the student body, it's really frustrating. Biola's administration, however, told me that they are following the standard approval process and timeline. It sounds like students, parents, others writing the checks for these schools are often more

conservative than the faculty in administrations. Is that fair to say? Yeah, I would say that it is, because as a... I'm talking to these parents, students about TPSA, they're pointing out a lot of other issues that they're starting to notice because of this. Things like faculty members who, in spite of statements of faith that should actually bar this, they're openly LGBTQ affirming. Parents are also pointing out that these same campuses that wouldn't allow a Charlie Kirk Memorial will allow BLM protests. So these kind of showdowns over TPSA, I think, are revealing to a lot of

people just how far apart they are. I certainly got our attention here. Megan, thanks so much for reporting. Yep, my pleasure. The Trump administration has recently announced major changes to how the federal government funds housing for the homeless. The administration says the changes will encourage more self-sufficiency and reduced drug abuse, while opponents say it could lead to almost 200,000 people being kicked out of their homes. Here to talk with us about the administration's announcement is Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute. Judge, thanks so much for coming on.

Yeah, no problem. Always a pleasure. So all of this revolves around federal funding for homelessness. But first, how does the federal government actually distribute money for this issue? So every year, the feds announce how nonprofits and other groups can apply for what are known as continuum of care grants or COC grants. These grants total about $3.5 billion a year, and they mainly go to nonprofits that provide housing. And I should just say that homeless nonprofits read this yearly announcement like it's the Talmud or the Bible or something, because it says what they have to do to compete for the federal money, what sort of programs they can fund, and what sort of things are forbidden.

Got it. Now, the administration's announcement this year said that the federal government would no longer support what it calls the failed housing first ideology. Can you first explain a little bit about what housing first means? The housing first idea is the only way to, quote unquote, solve homelessness is to give the homeless subsidize and permanent housing without any conditions before entering the housing. or strings attach afterwards. The basic idea is that you provide both housing and services, but it's all voluntary. And for a little over a decade, including I might add through the first Trump administration, these annual funding announcements said the federal money would be given almost exclusively to groups that practice housing first.

Right. So that made it a nationwide policy. What does this announcement actually change? Well, the biggest change is there's no more housing first mandate. Instead, the administration says nonprofits must provide treatment, for underlying issues instead of just focusing on housing. So the Housing First program was supposed to provide treatment, but it said people just kind of had to come to it on their own.

The problem was it's often impossible people in the midst of, say, a heroin addiction or a schizophrenic episode to really pursue treatment. So this new policy will mandate some treatment services for those in housing units and require more housing to be transitional, meaning limited time until people can get back on their feet. Now, what do you make of the claims that these changes could kick about 200,000 people out of their homes. Is there any merit to that claim?

That concern is a little overblown, to say the least. The whole idea of the COC grant is it's supposed to be a competition, where the best programs and nonprofits won more funding than the ones that didn't work, lost it. But in the past, the government has said explicitly that about 90% of the funding, she rewarded to the same groups every single year. This new announcement brought that down to less than a third of funding, meaning more nonprofits will have to show they work and compete for that money.

Advocates say that without that guaranteed renewal, all of those previous housing programs that were going to get the money will lose it and tens of thousands of people could be thrown in the streets. But in reality, that money will still go somewhere, either to those same nonprofits that will now have to adopt a different model or to these new transitional housing units. So there might be some changes, but about the same amount of total housing for the homeless will be available. Now, the other complaint from advocates is that the program is only for the homeless and disabled.

So it doesn't make sense to focus on things like treatment leading to work or self-sufficiency. Is that a valid point? It's true that the usual permanent supportive housing program and the continuum of care is for what the law terms the disabled. But it's very important to note that the definition of disability in the law includes addiction to drugs or alcohol. So to many people, including myself, people struggling with addiction are certainly capable of undergoing treatment and ideally at some point returning to work. And that's what the announcement is trying to encourage. Well, clearly the Trump administration agrees with you. Judge, thanks so much for coming on the show.

It's always a pleasure. Thanks for waking up with us. And before you go, quick programming note, we will not have evening wired this week. But don't worry, we will have a new show every morning and this weekend, even on Thanksgiving. So keep tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow with a special edition of Morning Wire. Running a small business is anything but small. For business owners, it's all consuming from day one. Every decision feels massive and new challenges arise daily. What makes the biggest difference, though, is having the right platform with all the tools needed for success, one that grows the business

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