The Daily Signal - Trump Makes Big Deal in Qatar, RFK Hearing Interrupted, California Rethinks Healthcare for Illegal Aliens | May 15, 2025

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Starting point is 00:00:25 We'd love to talk. Business. President Trump has secured another big deal in the Middle East, this time with Qatar. The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's interrupted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while the HHS Secretary testified before members of Congress on Capitol Hill. And California Governor Gavin Newsom is blaming Trump for the state's budget deficit. No, I am not Bradley Devlin, nor am I Tony Kennett. Virginia Allen here with you today, filling in, of course, for Tony. I'm the host. of problematic women. And thank you for being with us today this Thursday, May 15th for

Starting point is 00:01:06 The Daily Signals, Top News in 10. President Donald Trump continues to make deals in the Middle East and stress the importance of economic opportunities in the region. Trump was in Qatar yesterday and announced a major deal with the nation. According to the White House, Trump signed an agreement with Qatar to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion. Plus, the president announced economic deals totaling more than $243 billion between the United States and Qatar. This includes Qatar signing an agreement with Boeing to purchase 160 aircraft. But before Trump flew to Qatar on Wednesday, the president met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia. Trump urged the leader to normalize relations with Israel.

Starting point is 00:01:57 The president of Turkey also joined that meeting via phone. according to White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt, Trump urged the president of Syria to sign on to the Abraham Accords with Israel, tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help the United States prevent the resurgence of ISIS, and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in northern Syria. Trump was asked on Air Force One how he found the president of Syria, and here's what he had to say. How did you find the Syrian president? Right. I think very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy. You know, strong pass or a strong pass fighter. But he's got a real shot at pulling it together.

Starting point is 00:02:45 Trump made even bigger headlines by announcing the end of sanctions on Syria. Next, Trump is headed to the United Arab Emirates for the final leg of his Middle East trip. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testified, before Congress on Wednesday. The hearing was on the HHS budget for the fiscal year, 2026, and while that might sound a little bit dry, the hearing was anything but boring. Multiple pro-Palestine protesters

Starting point is 00:03:13 were removed from the hearing room, including Ben and Jerry's co-founder, Ben Cohen. During his opening statement, RFK said funding for legacy programs will be maintained within HHS, but funding changes are coming. And he outlined some of those coming changes in his opening statement. Let me be clear. We intend to make the Trump HHS not just the most effective, but also the most compassionate in U.S. history. Our official budget statement outlines many priorities, but I will highlight a few. First, we will consolidate programs to better tackle mental health and addiction.

Starting point is 00:04:01 These issues now rival chronic disease and their impact. HHS will aggressively combat the opioid crisis, especially the spread of synthetic drugs like fentanyl. We will empower state, local, and tribal leaders to create effective solutions. Second, we will address nutrition, physical activity, and healthy lifestyles. the present budget requests $94 billion in discretionary funds to support these priorities, including the administration for Healthy America. We will emphasize healthy eating and head start and ensure the program continues to serve

Starting point is 00:04:39 its 750,000 children and parents effectively. Kennedy faced questions from lawmakers on cuts to health agencies and, of course, on vaccine policies. Connecticut Democrat Senator Chris Murphy accused Kennedy of undermining the efficiency of the vaccine. The two men went back and forth, but Kennedy said he is not going to just tell people everything is safe and effective if I know that there's issues. To catch more on that hearing, you can check out George Caldwell's reporting at the Daily Signal.com. California Governor Gavin Newsom is changing his tune on health care for illegal aliens. Newsom has proposed budgetary changes that include freezing enrollment for full-scale Medi-Cal for illegal aliens.

Starting point is 00:05:24 That's according to reporting from Fox News. If the California legislature approves, the budget changes will also change California's Medicaid program. Newsom's office is in part blaming these cuts on President Trump, saying Trump's pendulum swings on tariffs have slowed the economy and weakened state revenues by a staggering $16 billion. Speaking about California's budget, Newsom said his state is under assault. That said, we don't live in Plato's Republic. California is under assault. The United States of America in many respects is under assault because we have a president that's been reckless in terms of assaulting those growth engines.

Starting point is 00:06:06 It has created a climate of deep uncertainty and certainly has California in his sights. California faces a $12 billion budget deficit. Many of the budget cuts Newsom has proposed do fall under health care spending. With that, we're going to leave it right there for today. Thanks for joining us here on the Daily Signal's Top News in 10. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on brand new shows. And be sure to check out some of our other podcasts here at The Daily Signal, whether Bradley Devlin's The Signal Sitdown or my show Problematic Women, or of course check out Tony Kennett's podcast, the Tony Kennett cast,

Starting point is 00:06:46 that comes out every weekday evening.

The Daily Signal - Trump Makes Big Deal in Qatar, RFK Hearing Interrupted, California Rethinks Healthcare for Illegal Aliens | May 15, 2025

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