The Daily Signal - Democrats’ DOGE Tantrum, Hegseth’s Ukraine Conditions, Trump v. Judges | Feb. 12, 2025

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Starting point is 00:00:25 We'd love to talk, business. Congress's first hearing on Doge was full of fireworks and theatrics. I'm your host, Rob Bluey, and this is the Daily Signal Top News in 10 for Wednesday, February 12th, 2025. The House of Representatives's newly created Doge subcommittee held its first hearing Wednesday with a focus on the war on waste. Officially known in Congress as delivering on government efficiency, the subcommittee is running parallel to President Trump and Elon Musk's audit of the federal government. The Daily Signals, George Caldwell, reports that chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Green opened the hearing by emphasizing the Trump administration's government efficiency initiatives as tools to address the ever-increasing national debt.

Starting point is 00:01:20 We as a country are $36 trillion in debt. That is such a stunning amount of money. It's absolutely staggering to even comprehend how we as a people, we as a country, found ourselves here. This is not a Democrat problem. This is not a Republican problem. This is an American problem. The committee assembled four witnesses to speak under oath about fraudulent payments and waste in entitlement programs. Harry Wood Telcob, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solution, said that since 2003, federal agencies have reported approximately $2.7 trillion in cumulative improper payments.

Starting point is 00:02:05 He called it a staggering figure that underscores the persistent vulnerabilities across government programs. He also said that ghosts from federal countries use fake identities to rob money from U.S. taxpayers. Democrats indicated their desire to root out waste, but used the hearing to attack Trump and Musk. Congressman Robert Garcia went on a rant about Musk's influence making a crude joke at one point. But Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett stole the show. He sat there in the Oval Office yesterday, and he admitted that he was lying and he was using his propaganda machine to do it when he said that we sent millions of dollars to Gaza for condoms. That was a lie. So let me tell you something.

Starting point is 00:02:49 The gentle ladies' time has expired. The gentle ladies' time has expired. The gentlelady's time has expired. You can read George Caldwell's full report on the hearing at daily signal.com. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent Wednesday in Brussels where he told members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to have a dose of realism about the outcome for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Hegsteth outlined several conditions which are a sharp break from the Biden administration's approach. We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014,

Starting point is 00:03:33 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering. A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again. This must not be Minsk 3.0. That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article 5.

Starting point is 00:04:32 Adams reports for the Daily Signal that the war in Ukraine has led to about 500,000 casualties and displaced more than 3 million people. The United States has provided about $175 billion in aid to Ukraine, and yet the country seems no closer to driving the Russians out of its territory. Jacob now joins me in studio to talk about Hexseth's trips. Jacob, thanks for joining the Daily Signal. Thank you for having me, Rob. Now, this conflict is more than 10 years old, dating to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. What can you tell us about the current state of the war? Well, Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, and there are 400,000 Russians facing 250,000 Ukrainians on the front lines. But right now it's a war of attrition and doesn't seem like

Starting point is 00:05:18 any side is going to win anytime soon. So that has obviously led to a situation where Ukraine continues to ask for more support and aid from the United States and other European allies, Pete Hankseth made clear that this cannot continue forever. What was most significant about his remarks today? Well, I think the fact that he conveyed those remarks, you know, he represented President Trump. He said this is what President Trump thinks, and the new administration is going to be making those decisions, so it's a real change from the past.

Starting point is 00:05:52 It certainly is. And, you know, his comments about Ukraine's NATO membership provided really that stark contrast from what has happened in the past. Russia, as we know, has said for years that Ukraine joining NATO would be a bridge too far when it comes to that organization. Do you think this might bring Russia to the negotiating table? I think so. I think you see Russia releasing Mark Fogel in the last 24 hours shows that they're

Starting point is 00:06:19 willing to make some concessions for negotiations. And Trump today said he had a call with Russia's president, Vladimir. Putin, so I think things are moving along in that direction. Is there any indication of what Putin and Trump discussed? Well, it seemed like they discussed ending the conflict, and Trump also said that he had had a phone call with President Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, after that phone call with Putin. And right now, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Ruby are set to meet with

Starting point is 00:06:53 Zelensky this Friday in Munich during the security conference. Well, we'll keep a close eye on that meeting. Jacob, we appreciate your coverage of this issue. Thanks. The White House is turning up the pressure on federal judges who have blocked many of President Trump's executive actions. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt spoke at the start of Wednesday's press briefing about the so-called constitutional crisis between the two branches of government. Many outlets in this room have been fearmongering the American people into believing there is a constitutional crisis.

Starting point is 00:07:27 taking place here at the White House. I've been hearing those words a lot lately. But in fact, the real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch where district court judges and liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block

Starting point is 00:07:44 President Trump's basic executive authority. We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law. The Daily signals Elizabeth Mitchell who attended Wednesday's press briefing says there have been more than 40 complaints issued against Trump's executive actions. Those include his directives limiting birthright citizenship, freezing federal spending,

Starting point is 00:08:09 prohibiting transgender identifying people from serving in the military, requiring inmates to house prisoners based on their biological sex, rolling back DEI initiatives, and more. Over the weekend, federal judge Paul Engelmeyer issued an order temporarily blocking the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing. Treasury Department records containing sensitive data. Congressman Andrew Clyde announced Wednesday that he's drafting articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. Clyde wrote on X, he's a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump's funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending. You can subscribe to the DailySignals email newsletters

Starting point is 00:08:51 at dailysignal.com slash email to get our latest news and analysis about this topic and more. Today's news flash is up next. The U.S. Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence in a 52-48 vote Wednesday. Gabbard previously served in the House of Representatives as a Democrat from 2013 to 2021 before becoming a key proponent of the MAGA coalition that delivered President Trump his victory in November. Gabbard had faced a tough confirmation hearing from some Democrats who alleged that she was unduly sympathetic to foreign powers. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who previously voted against Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, was the lone Republican senator who voted against Gabbard. Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. military who argues that trust in the intelligence community is at an all-time low, and she traced that failure in confidence to the invasion of Iraq.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Gabbard received several medals for her service in the Army, which included time in Iraq. The Trump administration has retrieved the fifth. $59 million that the federal emergency management agency allocated last week to house illegal aliens in New York City. The Daily Signals, Virginia Allen, reports. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem wrote on X Wednesday, I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to New York City migrant hotels. On Monday morning, Elon Musk shared that the Department of Government Efficiency discovered that FEMA spent $59 million just last week on luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.

Starting point is 00:10:30 And that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to Top News & 10. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new episodes each weekday. Plus, our weekend Deep Dive Interview Edition. Each morning, you'll get Victor Davis Hanson's latest commentary in your feet as well. At just five minutes, it's a quick way to get his take on current events. Today's episode was produced by John Pop. Thanks again for listening and have a great night.

Starting point is 00:10:56 Thank you.

The Daily Signal - Democrats’ DOGE Tantrum, Hegseth’s Ukraine Conditions, Trump v. Judges | Feb. 12, 2025

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