The Daily Signal - Biden, Trump Visit the Southern Border, House Passes Continuing Resolution Ahead of Friday Deadline, Missouri AG Sues Planned Parenthood | Feb. 29

Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Thursday, February 29th. Here are today's headlines. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill today that will authorize the release of certain documents related to financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Before signing the bill that is titled Disclosure of Grand Jury testimony, DeSantis said that there needs to be a mechanism in some of these rare circumstances. where people can get the truth. The Daily Signals, Tyler O'Neill, reports that the bill will amend a Florida statute to give court discretion to authorize disclosure of grand jury testimony in some cases

Starting point is 00:00:57 where it furthers a public interest. For example, the Epstein case involving underage girls. The Florida House and Florida Senate unanimously passed the measure earlier this month. The legislation is limited to cases in which assessment, is dead, and the crimes involve sexual behavior with minors. Authorities found Epstein dead in his New York prison cell in August of 2019, where he was in custody after his arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, but family members contested that claim.

Starting point is 00:01:35 He previously pled guilty to lesser charges in 2008. The grand jury materials in question revolve around a plea deal. in 2008, Epstein pled guilty to Florida State charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to avert a possible life sentence. He served 13 months in a work release program, paid his victims, and registered as a sex offender. For more on this story, check out Tyler O'Neill's full report in today's show notes. Well, it appears that there will be no government shutdown this weekend. A bipartisan spending deal that was put forward by congressional leaders on Wednesday

Starting point is 00:02:22 overwhelmingly passed in the House earlier today. The House passed the continuing resolution in a vote of 320 to 99, with two Democrats and 97 Republicans voting no, according to Punchable News, Jake Sherman. Sherman said on X that the plan is to take it up in the state. Senate tonight and that the new funding deadlines are March 8th and March 22nd. However, not all members are happy with the spending agreement, specifically House Freedom Caucus chairman Bob Good, who's a Republican from Virginia. The Hill reported that Good said on Wednesday night,

Starting point is 00:02:59 I would do a continuing resolution through September 30th. That triggers the FRA's caps that would cut about $1 billion from the deal. The FRA stands for fiscal responsibility. Act. Good also said I'd attach border security to it. I would attach the Israel pay for, and I'd attach foreign intelligence surveillance act reforms. That's what I'd like to see happen, according to Good. And Good added, we ought to be willing to have a shutdown fight to force it to happen. President Biden previously met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York on Tuesday to discuss a

Starting point is 00:03:48 government spending agreement. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared before the House Armed Services Committee for a hearing earlier today. The hearing was titled A Review of Defense Secretary Austin's unannounced absence. The Daily Caller exclusively reported ahead of that hearing that it would be time limited because of ongoing health issues, a member of Congress with direct knowledge of the situation, first told the outlet.

Starting point is 00:04:17 The member told the Daily Caller that the Secretary of Defense can't sit for two hours and the president can't remember what he had for breakfast. So who is actually running our military? It's terrifying to realize how vulnerable we are and our adversaries know it. 2024 can't come soon enough, according to the member that the Daily Caller spoke with.

Starting point is 00:04:40 As we reported previously, Austin was hospitalized on January 1st following complications after an elective surgery. But the reason for the surgery was unknown initially. Austin reportedly was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December. He had been working from the hospital following the complications with his surgery. Austin faced questions from lawmakers, including South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace, who asked the secretary what happens when a soldier goes. AWOL. Take a listen to the exchange. If any American worker did what you did, they would be fired. And they aren't the number two in the chain of command of the greatest and most lethal fighting

Starting point is 00:05:22 force in the world. And here you are. You're not informing anybody on your staff that this is happening, let alone the President of the United States, let alone the delay to the joint Chiefs of Staff, let alone to the delay to the Deputy Secretary. What happens? Now, I didn't serve most of my family has served. So can you please tell me in just a few seconds when a soldier goes AWOL, when they wear the uniform, when they put their lives on the line for our nation for you, what happens when they go a well? What is the punishment? Well I wouldn't equate my going to the hospital and receiving treatment. Being incapacitated as a secretary here, yes,

Starting point is 00:06:02 is going AWOL. So you don't equate disappearing, being incapacitated with being a wall. I didn't disappear. I was in a military medical facility in Washington D.C. You just testified you didn't tell your staff. Did you not? You just testified. What happens when a soldier goes AWOL? I have 20 seconds. What happens? We have to realize that, you know, I have a large, a fairly large community of communicator. Are they honorably discharged? Are they put into the break? Are they, what happens? Seriously, you're not even answering the questions. I'm not going to rest until someone, we should not rest until someone is held accountable.

Starting point is 00:06:36 During the hearing, Austin told lawmakers that we did have a breakdown in notifications during my January stay at Walter Reed. That is, sharing my location and why I was there. He added, and back in December, I should have promptly informed the president, my team, and Congress, and the American people of my cancer diagnosis, and subsequent treatment. Austin also noted, as you know, I apologized, including directly to the president, and I take full responsibility. The Attorney General of Missouri is suing Planned Parenthood. Attorney General Andrew Bailey says the largest abortion provider in the United States is guilty of trafficking minors out of state to obtain abortions without parental consent. Specifically, the suit seeks a court order to block Planned Parenthood Great Plains.

Starting point is 00:07:33 from taking children out of state to get abortions without their parents' knowledge. The suit also accuses the organization of showing a pattern of statutory violations. For example, in 2018, the suit says Planned Parenthood's facility in Columbia, Missouri, was shut down when staff admitted to using moldy abortion equipment for months. The lawsuit also states that Planned Parenthood physicians admitted in 2018 that they had failed to comply with the state's laws requiring abortionists to file reports of medical complications resulting from an abortion. Bailey called the lawsuit the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in the state of Missouri. Planned Parenthood did not respond to the Daily Signals request for comment.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Well, now we go to the southern border where both Biden and former president Donald Trump were today in dueling visits. Biden was there for his second time since being in office. Biden was in Brownsville, Texas, which is in South Texas, and in the Rio Grande Valley border sector. Trump was about 300 miles north in Eagle Pass, Texas, which is in the Del Rio sector. Trump delivered public remarks from the border and criticized Biden for his border policies. Trump also pledged that if he is president again, he will secure the border. Take a listen. But this is a Joe Biden invasion. This is a Biden invasion over the the past three years. I call him Crooked Joe because he's crooked. He's a terrible president,

Starting point is 00:09:10 the worst president in our country's ever had, probably the most incompetent president we've ever had. But it's allowing thousands and thousands of people to come in from China, Iran, Yemen, the Congo, Syria, and a lot of other nations, many nations are not very friendly to us. Meanwhile, in Brownsville, Texas, Biden gave remarks and was critical of Republicans. Republicans dismissal of the Senate border bill. I want the people to understand clearly what happened here. This bill was in the United States Senate. It was on its way to being passed.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Then it was derailed by rank and file politics, ranked partisan politics. The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill. And those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it's going to benefit one party or benefit the other party. Biden had backed the bill that was originally touted as bipartisan, but GOP lawmakers were very clear that they were not going to back it.

Starting point is 00:10:12 The bill would have allowed 5,000 illegal aliens to enter the country every single day. The trips of the current and former president come nine months before the presidential election on November 5th. Recent polling does indicate that the border crisis is a leading issue for Americans ahead of the election. In a recent Pew Research poll, 77% of Americans said that the situation on the border is either a crisis or major problem. And a recent Gallup poll also shows that 28% of Americans believe that immigration is the most important problem facing the country, outpacing even concerns over government and the economy in general. For more on Biden and Trump's visits to the southern border today, you can check out the Daily Signal website, DailySignal.com. But with that, that is going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for being

Starting point is 00:11:05 with us today. Tomorrow morning, make sure to catch our interview edition. Tyler O'Neill is sitting down with Lucas Miles. He's the pastor of Influence Church, and they discuss the mission of rooting wokeism out of the Christian church. Be sure to catch the conversation. Also, take a minute if you haven't done so already to subscribe to the Daily Signal podcast, wherever you like to listen. And leave us a five-star rating. and review. Thanks again for being with us today. Have a great night. We'll see you right back here tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Luey and Kate Trinko.

Starting point is 00:11:53 Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visitdailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Biden, Trump Visit the Southern Border, House Passes Continuing Resolution Ahead of Friday Deadline, Missouri AG Sues Planned Parenthood | Feb. 29

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