The Philip DeFranco Show - The Moment Pete Hegseth’s Story Fell Apart

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Starting point is 00:00:19 Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home. From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Defense Secretary Pete Heggseth just faced public questioning from lawmakers for the first time since the war against Iran began. And he cannot tell you how or when this war will end, but you should definitely take his word that it's just going great. Even as Trump just rejected Iran's latest offer, there's no sign that negotiations are moving forward and the economic fallout only continues to grow. Right, but starting with Heggsett, you had of appearing alongside chairman of the Joint Chiefs's staff, General Dan Kane, and Pentagon Comptroller J. Hurst before the House Armed Services Committee to discuss the administration's 2027 military budget proposal. A proposal that would boost defense spending to a record

Starting point is 00:00:58 $1.5 trillion. And in connection to that, you had members of Congress grilling Heggzeth on topics including the massive cost of the war against Iran, the military's dwindling stockpiles, a key munitions, and it's alleged bombing of a girl school in Iran that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 children. And so we'll start with the first one. How much has this war cost the American taxpayer so far? Well, you had Hearst, finally giving an answer, which was the first time that the Pentagon has publicly provided a cost estimate for the war. So approximately at this day, we're spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. You also had Kane revealing that 14 U.S. service members have died during the war,

Starting point is 00:01:29 which is very notable because the Pentagon's own official tally shows only 13 deaths as a recording. But really, a lot of the attention was on Hegsa, who came out swinging in his opening statements. The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans. You also had Hegesat taking aim at defense companies for not making various munitions fast enough, that he ignored the fact that under his leadership, the militaries used record numbers of these munitions over the past eight weeks. And then also it wasn't long before he had him taking on Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee,

Starting point is 00:02:04 over the administration's logic for starting this war. Well, their nuclear facilities have been obliterated, underground, they're buried, and we're watching them 24-7. So we know where any nuclear material might be. We're claiming my time for a quick second here. We had to start this war, you just said, 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated.

Starting point is 00:02:28 They had not given up their nuclear ambitions, and they had a conventional shield of thousands of... So Operation Midnight Hammer or a common moment, nothing of substance. It left us at exactly the same place we were before. And actually on that note, you had Democrat John Garamendi, accusing Hggseth of misleading the public and describing the administration strategy as an outstanding example of incompetence, saying...

Starting point is 00:02:48 You have been lying to the American public about this war for... from day one, and so has the president. With all this, you had Hexseth claiming that the American people support the war, despite all the evidence to the contrary. And then, as you've seen him do before, he cast criticism of the war as just anti-American. And he took a particular issue with Garumendi's characterization of the war as a quagmire.

Starting point is 00:03:07 The way you stain the troops when you tell them two months in, two months in, Congressman, you should know better. Shame on you. Calling this a quagmire, two months in. The effort, what they've undertaken, what they've succeeded, the success on the battlefield, that creates strategic opportunities, the courage of a president to confront a nuclear Iran, and you call it a quagmire handing propaganda to our enemies, shame on you for that statement.

Starting point is 00:03:31 It undermines the mission. Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission. But then with all that, Hegzath ultimately refused to answer how many more months he thinks that the war is going to continue. Though I will say, notably, it's going to reach the official 60-day mark this week, which is technically the legal deadline for the president to begin to withdraw troops or get congressional authorization to keep engaging in hostilities. And actually with that, he also deflected when answering other questions about ways that this war could violate the law. Congressman Seth Moulton, for example, asked about Hegset's past comments calling for no quarter and no mercy. In order for no quarter

Starting point is 00:04:03 or no survivors is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. You understand that's murder. Do you stand by that statement? The Department of War fights to win. And we ensure that our war fighters have the rules of engagement necessary to be as effective as humanly possible. You called They are. They are. They are. ...to be tried for sedition for reminding our troops to follow the law. But when you tell them to commit a war crime, you stand by yourself.

Starting point is 00:04:26 And then on the subject of war crimes, you had Rokana asking about that strike on the girls' school, which is widely believed to have been the fault of the U.S., despite the lack of an official admission. How much did it cost American taxpayers in terms of the strike to the Iranian school, where kids were killed? Do you have that number? In terms of the missiles we used? As I've said, that unfortunate situation remains under investigation. You don't know how much it could cost the tax, but I wouldn't tie a cost to that.

Starting point is 00:04:51 You then also had Hegsef dismissing questions from Kana and other Democrats on the rise in gas and food prices as gotcha questions asking. What would you pay to ensure Iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb? And then, of course, there are a lot of other issues that were brought up over the hours long. Hearing from Hegsef is doing away with the military's annual flu shot requirement to his firing atop generals. But also, as, you know, all this was going on, time wasn't standing still. The war remained technically on pause, but the U.S. and Iran's dueling blockades remained in effect. the consequences of this, it continues to be felt all around the world. And as we've talked about, the US recently got an offer from Iran to have both countries

Starting point is 00:05:22 immediately lift their blockades while postponing talks regarding Iran's nuclear program. Well, today you had Trump telling Axios that he's rejecting the offer and keeping the US blockade in place. With that, coming after you also had him threatening Iran in a post on social media today, writing, Iran can't get their act together, they don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They better get smart soon. With that post being accompanied by an AI-generated image, a Trump holding a gun with explosions in the background in the words, no more Mr. Nice Guy. But also, at least based on the available reporting, it looks like Trump's not actually all that enthusiastic about going back to fight it.

Starting point is 00:05:50 With Reuters reporting that American intelligence agencies have actually been studying how Iran would respond if Trump just declared victory and walked away. With that, I would stress that is just one option being looked at and there are various military options reportedly remaining on the table. But also, you had some sources telling the outlet that escalation, including a ground invasion of the Iranian mainland, that appears to be less likely than it did a few weeks ago. But then also, you had sources telling Axios that U.S. Central Command has prepared a plan for a short and powerful wave of strikes on targets in Iran. including infrastructure targets and the hope that it would bring the country back to the negotiating table on the administration's terms. But then also at the same time, Trump reportedly sees economic pressure as his primary source of leverage. And with that, you with the Wall Street Journal reporting that he's instructed aides to prepare for the block aid to last a while. With them reportedly concluding after meetings this week with top national security and military officials that this option carried less risk than either resuming bombing or walking away from the conflict.

Starting point is 00:06:35 That said, though, really no options without risk. But at this point, it's just trying to limit or mitigate the downside because Trump put his finger in the finger trap. Trump's blockade in combination with Iran's restrictions on the strait, it's already led to the number of ships transiting the waterway to fall to the lowest level since the warp began. And its continuation, it makes it even more likely the gas prices are going to continue to rise as we get closer and closer to the midterms. All while, Trump's approval ratings now sunk into the lowest level of his current term. According to a new Reuters-Ips poll, it showed only 34% of Americans approved of his performance in the White House. But again, Trump believes that the economic pressure is going to break Iran first, though a potential problem there is that Iran believes the same about the United States. Or with an expert at the Brookings Institution explaining, Iran is calculating

Starting point is 00:07:12 that its ability to withstand and circumvent the blockade outstrips the U.S. interest in preventing a wider energy crisis and potentially a global recession. And saying, a regime that slaughtered its own citizens to silence protests in January is fully prepared to impose economic hardships on them now. Then of course, with that, it's not just Iran. People in so many parts of the world are now facing economic hardship because of this war. At the closure of the strait, along with extreme weather, it's now led to crop prices reaching the highest point since 2023. And it's also a trend that might continue with one analyst telling Bloomberg, if the conflict persists, it could add several percentage points to food inflation over the next six to 18 months. That's also as this could have

Starting point is 00:07:44 major political implications in countries all around the world, especially in the hardest hit regions. The Philippines, for example, America's closest ally in Southeast Asia and Indonesia, they recently agreed to a major defense partnership with the U.S. But both countries have faced massive demonstrations over corruption in the rising cost of living last year, and it's believed that rising food prices could breathe a new life back into the protests. You had one analyst telling the Wall Street Journal, the possibility of parts of the population slipping back into poverty will only further raise the risk of mounting domestic unrest. And then of course with all of this, one of the most obvious things is that people are gonna go hungry. And in fact, as we've talked about, the world food programs estimated that 45 million more people might go hungry because of this war. That's on top of the 318 million people already considered food insecure before the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Today, you actually had the agency reporting that more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face acute hunger this year due to what they call conflict, displacement, and economic pressures. Of course, while those are projections, it's also clear that these effects they're already being experienced. Not only in Lebanon, but everywhere. You've had the International Rescue Committee, a major humanitarian organization, for example,

Starting point is 00:08:42 claiming that shipping disruptions have prevented them from accessing $130,000 to supplies stuck in Dubai that are needed by 20,000 people in Sudan. You also have saved the children estimating that every $5 increase in the price of oil leads to them spending an extra $340,000 a month on shipping, fuel, food, and medical supplies. Meaning this war could cost the charity an extra $27 million by the end of this year. You now have these and other aid organizations calling for a humanitarian corridor to be open through the Strait of Hormuz, so that supplies can be delivered to millions of people in desperate need of them. But at least for now, it's not clear that there's any real momentum behind that proposal. But the next step from that really quick, you know, while Iran, it's dominated the conversation nationally. Trump, he's been quietly telling cameras that Cuba's next. And yesterday, the Senate voted 51 to 47 to make sure that he doesn't need anyone's permission before he goes.

Starting point is 00:09:24 Right, because Democrats forced a war powers resolution that would have required congressional sign-off before any U.S. military action against Cuba. And then it died with John Federer crossing over to vote with Republicans, while Susan Collins and Rand Paul crossed the other way to vote with Democrats. And so this is now the sixth the war powers resolution that Democrats have forced this month. With the first five being on Iran, all of those failed, and actually there's another Iran vote incoming. But that then brings us to the question of, well, why does Cuba need its own war powers resolution all of a sudden? And well, there's two reasons. The first is that the President of the United States keeps saying the quiet part out loud with him saying last month.

Starting point is 00:09:52 They built this great military. I said you'll never have to use it. But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba's next, by the way, but pretend I didn't say that, please. Pretend I did. Please, please, please, media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba's next.

Starting point is 00:10:11 And he has said similar things multiple times now. And so Democrats argued that by the time that Trump actually launches a surprise invasion, it's going to be too late to stop him. Or it's the time to require congressional sign-off, it's right now. And then the second reason is the one that most Americans really haven't heard about, because for several months now, the U.S. has imposed a near total blockade on energy imports to Cuba. Oring, the island's almost entirely dependent on imports for fuel. So the consequences have been devastating. Power cuts run 12 to 20 hours, sometimes stretching past 72.

Starting point is 00:10:37 Also nearly 100,000 surgeries went uncompleted between January and March, more than a third, a Cubans don't have reliable access to clean water, trash, it's just piling up in the streets because there's no fuel for garbage trucks. Food prices are up more than 13%. And short cycle crop yields are projected to drop 40%. All of which is why you'd Virginia Senator Tim Kane pointing out that under any other framing, this would be considered war. But then, as far as the Republicans, they killed this mostly on procedural grounds. They argued that it's unnecessary. because the US is not currently engaged in active hostilities with Cuba. But then also, Florida Senator Rick Scott went further, accusing Democrats of being soft on the Cuban regime.

Starting point is 00:11:09 And then even taking a specific shot at streamer Hassan Piker, who recently traveled to Cuba with some progressive groups to deliver aid and document conditions on the ground. Many Democrats summoned this chamber embracing socialism and even embracing a violent socialist leader, Hassan Piker, that wants me murdered. Some Democrats have even gone to Cuba, the Piker, attempting to whitewash the atroces of the illegitimate communist regime. Now, Democrats say they're the party of democracy. So where is their concern for the anti-democratic dictator operating 90 miles from the shore of Florida? But then with all this, you had Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen countering. Of course we want democracy and fundamental freedoms for the people of Cuba.

Starting point is 00:11:46 But we've seen over decades that economic strangulation does not work. And we have learned the hard way in Afghanistan and now Iran that bombs don't turn dictatorships into democracy. And so look, even though there's not a whole lot, the Democrats can do to actually stop any of this in a Republican-controlled Senate, this is a fight that you should know is happening. Because the blockade is real, the humanitarian suffering is real, and the president has now said that Cuba is next enough times that you have to take them at face value. And then there's more that we've got to dive into in just a minute, but really quick, two things. One, of course, I've got to sneak in a little self-promo because I'm going on tour. I'm taking my

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Starting point is 00:13:26 Click that link in the description or scan the QR code and get hooked up today. But then, I mean, right back Back into the news, James Comey has once again been indicted by Trump's DOJ and this time over a picture of seashells on a beach from a year ago. Because Comey posted this photo on Instagram back in May that read 86 47. And he added the caption, cool shell formation on my beachwalk. Now 86, that's kind of slang typically meant to get rid of something or toss something out. Right, I worked in a few restaurants myself when I was younger. If you've worked it, you've heard 86 of that. Some even use 86 like as a way to say refuse service to someone. Then, you know, 47 appears to

Starting point is 00:13:57 reference the 47th president, Trump. And so the message was interpreted by many to mean get rid of Trump. That was specifically, the immediate response for many of Trump's loyalists was that it was a call to violence. And so within a day, the post went down with Comey saying that he stumbled upon the seashells and assumed that it was a political message. Writing in a follow-up post,

Starting point is 00:14:11 I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence and I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down. But that didn't stop the accusations from rolling in. In fact, Trump administration officials, like former DHS secretary, Christy Nome, accused him of calling for Trump's assassination and Comey was quickly interviewed by the Secret Service.

Starting point is 00:14:24 Hell, even Trump himself leaned into it, saying on Fox News, he knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what. that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear. But many people were also quick to say that Republicans were overreaching and that the Republican outrage was hypocritical. And as far as why hypocritical, because you have big names in the magas space sharing 8646 in reference to Biden. Even Donald

Starting point is 00:14:50 Trump himself shared a video of a truck with a decal showing Biden tied up and gagged on the tailgate. Opposed that, by the way, is just still up. But yeah, today we're talking about seashells, dangerous, dangerous seashells. And while this whole thing, you know, it kicked off an investigation. It kind of faded into the background as more insane shit just kept happening over and over. That is until now. I mean, well, insane shit is still happening. But we also got an update here because you had a new interim attorney general trying to prove that he'll be a good lap dog for Trump.

Starting point is 00:15:14 Are you at acting AG Todd Blanche announcing the indictment in a press conference yesterday? The first count is at honor about May 15th of last year. He knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States. While this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and regularly prosecute. Now, despite Blanche's assurance that this is totally normal, it's totally routine, there's absolutely no doubt that this case is a long shot at best. Where you've got a wide variety of experts saying it, this is just dead in the water.

Starting point is 00:15:53 Putting out that this is clearly free speech protected by the First Amendment and noting that it's going to be nearly impossible to prove that Comey intended the siege. shells as a threat. But still, you have Trump trying to use the DOJ to handle his personal beef with Comey, and that's not new. In fact, it was a serious issue that he had with Pam Bondi while she was Attorney General, saying she wasn't being aggressive enough against him and Trump's other perceived enemies. So also, like, if you don't remember, Trump's DOJ had their first indictment against Comey thrown out by a federal judge who concluded that the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed. And then there's the fact that Trump fired Comey's daughter from her position as a high-profile New York federal prosecutor.

Starting point is 00:16:24 And so there's a chance that Comey's defense looks to get this case thrown out on selective and indicted prosecution. But arguing at the Trump administration, they're just trying to make something, anything, stick against him to appease their boss. And that is now also fueling the Republican's concerns that Trump's focus. It's less on things that got him elected and more on him just settling years old beef. For example, a GOP strategist in Arizona, Barrett Morrison saying, there is no doubt that the vast majority of non-Maga voters want Trump to focus on anything but his personal animus toward a wide variety of people. Something that was echoed by another Republican strategist and Trump critic who said, that's exactly the opposite of what most Americans would like to see the president and the Department of Justice focused on.

Starting point is 00:16:56 They're worried about inflation and the economy, and many of them are worried about how the war in Iran will end. Spending time re-litigating old disputes is exactly the opposite of what most Americans want. And then as far as Comey's take on all this, he didn't really seem too concerned in his response video on substation. Well, they're back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it. But nothing has changed with me. I'm still innocent.

Starting point is 00:17:21 I'm still not afraid. and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go. So definitely something we're gonna have to keep eyes on, but also definitely not the only high-profile case we have to talk about today. Because the Supreme Court just effectively gutted what was left to the Voting Rights Act while also potentially giving Republicans nearly 20 more seats in the House for all future elections. Because this morning, the Supreme Court ruled six to three along ideological lines to strike down Louisiana's congressional map, arguing that it amounted to an illegal racial gerrymandering. And notably, this case was started back in 2022 when black voters and civil rights groups sued Louisiana over a post-20,

Starting point is 00:17:53 2020 census voting map that had only outlined one majority black district despite the fact that one third of the state's population is a black. Anyway, these groups arguing at the map violated section two of the historic voting rights act, which bans gerrymandering that undermines the power of minority voters. You know, there are two ways that racial gerrymandering's done. Either by one, concentrating targeted voters or that they compose the majority in just one district, when it really should maybe be two, or two, dividing up large groups minority voters among multiple districts to prevent them from really ever having a majority of the vote in any single boundary. This also, it requires states to be very careful when drawing maps, right? They need to consider race to a certain degree in order to ensure that minority voters have a say in electing the candidates of their choosing. But, maps that are drawn too explicitly along racial lines violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment's ban on racial discrimination and voting. And, at least until today, courts have used Section 2 to strike down district maps that weaken minority voting power.

Starting point is 00:18:41 Even without proof that maps were intentionally designed to discriminate against minority groups. That's been the standard for four decades. And so under that logic, a federal court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Louisiana and order the state legislature to draw a new map that added a second majority black congressional district. So as a result, lawmakers created a map that allowed voters to elect representative Cleo Fields, a black Democrat, to flip the new district. Then at the same time, the Republican-controlled legislature drew the district lines in a very janky way.

Starting point is 00:19:04 They did it in part so it could create the majority black district while still protecting the seats of key Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. So as a result, a group of self-described non-black voters backed by powerful conservative groups filed a lawsuit, claiming that the new map was itself a racial gerrymander because lawmakers had relied too much on race when they drew it. With lawyers for the plaintiffs arguing in court that the wonky shape was clear evidence that race had been the main factor in drawing the district.

Starting point is 00:19:27 And in its decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana's map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. But this ruling, it goes way beyond just Louisiana. Because the court was considering Section 2 more broadly, the decision effectively undercuts decades of precedent aimed at ensuring minority voters have an equal opportunity to participate in elections. Because like I noted earlier, for the last 40 years, district maps could be struck down if they diluted minority voting power, regardless of intent.

Starting point is 00:19:48 But in the majority opinion, you had Justice Samuel Alito writing that challengers must show that a state intentionally drew district lines to discriminate against minority voters. But then also with this, you had Justice Kagan hitting back in her dissent. Where would she actually read from the bench in a rare move to show just how much she disagreed with the majority? And in it, you had Kagan arguing that in practice, the decision makes it nearly impossible to consider race at all when drawing up voting maps and claiming that the court's decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality and electoral opportunity. Now, all that said, very notably, the court did not strike down section two entirely. which was a very real concern for many advocates. But still, you have experts saying that this ruling effectively guts the VRA and makes it entirely toothless.

Starting point is 00:20:25 And you've had many kind of expecting this since for the last decade, the Supreme Court's been chipping away at key parts of the law. I'm slowly weakening it bit by bit. And in their dissent, you know, the liberal justices arguing that today's decision it removes the last remaining pillar that gave real power to a historic law

Starting point is 00:20:38 that has dramatically helped increase minority representation in both state and federal offices. Right now, the big question on everyone's mind is, what will this mean for elections? And what we do know for a fact that this is going to be incredibly consequential But one of the big unknowns is how long it's going to take before we actually see the impacts. Right, because many majority, minority districts across the country have been redrawn over the last

Starting point is 00:20:55 four decades to comply with Section 2 of the VRA, though most are currently concentrated in the south. But now, states can challenge those maps based on the new Supreme Court ruling. So as a result, we can see new maps with fewer districts who are minority voters form a majority. And because those districts are more likely to elect Democrats, splitting them up, could shift those seats towards Republicans. And we're not talking about a few districts here or there. I mean, one analysis found that by gutting Section 2, the Supreme Court could effectively give Republicans as many as 19 more seats in the house. And you can bet your ass that Republicans have already been contingency planning for this outcome for a while now. But one of the questions is whether they could pull this off before the

Starting point is 00:21:24 midterms. And while many states, they can't swing changes to their maps right now because their primaries have already happened, there are still plenty of others that could take action. I mean, for one, Louisiana's likely going to have to redraw this maps before the midterms because of this ruling. Though notably, the state attorney general said she would defer to the legislature, which she believes is enough time to act before November. But then beyond that, you had the New York Times reporting that there are several other states that still have time to redraw their maps, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and Florida. And all of those states, with the exception of Maryland, are controlled by Republican legislatures.

Starting point is 00:21:53 We are now literally already seeing movement on this front. Just hours after the Supreme Court decision was released, both chambers of the Florida legislature approved a new map that could give Republicans as many as four new seats. We're in a huge victory for Ronda Sanders, who's led the redistricting campaign and used the likely dismantling of Section 2 as the main justification for his effort. Also, the governor of Mississippi, he's vowed to call lawmakers for a special session to redraw the state's map after the Supreme Court made its decision. And in a statement today, you had Alabama's Attorney General promising that the state would act quickly to ensure that our congressional maps reflect the will of the people, not a racial quota system the Constitution forbids.

Starting point is 00:22:22 And that, it's just the start. All over the country, we are seeing Republican leaders calling for viable states to act before the midterms. Right, but also, even if some states can't get together new maps before November, it's really just a matter of time. Very likely, they'll have them ready by 2028. So the implications here for future elections, it's very scary for anyone that was kind of hoping to have a representative democracy. And very likely, we're just going to see states gerrymandering like crazy for power. Because as we've seen with other things, if some states do it, then others have to respond, and it just keeps going. But then also today, the Supreme Court hearing arguments that could determine the fate of

Starting point is 00:22:52 1.3 million immigrants with temporary protected status known as TPS. And while the attorneys, they specifically argued for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, there were really two key questions in front of the court. First, did DHS Secretary Christine Nome followed the right legal process to end their protections? And second, does anyone even have the right to question her decision in court? Because you see, the TPS program, it was created without any built-in way to challenge decisions about who gets protected or who has their protection revoked. So to even bring this case,

Starting point is 00:23:15 the attorneys had to argue not just about the substance of the decision, but about how Nome made it. I would argue, Your Honor, that in a context where there's no review on the substantive determination, the procedural rules are all the more important then to ensure that we have appropriate government decision-making. Right, Nome, she was supposed to take at least 60 days working with the State Department to discuss

Starting point is 00:23:33 whether these countries were safe before making her decision. But attorneys, they argued she didn't do that, and according to reports, there's only a two-sentence email between DHS and the State Department before the terminations were announced, So two sentences and neither of those sentences had anything to do with conditions on the ground in any of those countries. And so in today's hearing, even Supreme Court justices openly questioned whether Nome actually did her due diligence. What the statute says is, look, she shall review country conditions after consultation.

Starting point is 00:23:58 And if she decides, I don't feel like consulting, and more to the point, I don't even feel like reviewing country conditions. Is it really feasible that Congress meant for those decisions? decisions to be unreviewable. And that matters because Noam cleared Syria for deportation almost a year after their civil war officially ended. But three months after she made that decision, the State Department itself was still warning

Starting point is 00:24:23 about serious threats of terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict in Syria. Her own administration's State Department was contradicting her in real time. And then you had the same story for Haiti. She claimed that they had fixed the issues stemming from the 2010 earthquake that originally led to their protected status.

Starting point is 00:24:35 But Haiti is currently drowning in gang violence. You had the Washington Post speaking to one immigrant who said, they are going to kill me. kill me. That's what happens in Haiti. And you had another woman paying a monthly bribe to a gang so they don't burn her parents house down. Another said that he doesn't know if he'll have reliable health care, if he's deported because his own doctor fled Haiti for the same reasons he did. Right, and these are just random abstract risks. These are people who fled a country then built lives here and now might be sent back to be killed. The DHS officials, they keep saying that these protections are

Starting point is 00:25:01 contrary to our national interests and that TPS is meant to be temporary. Which yeah, that is technically true. TPS is not permanent residency. It is a temporary protection from deportation while a country and crisis. And with all this, the argument from the immigrant's attorney is that even if Biden over-extended the program by adding countries like Syria, Cameroon, and Venezuela to the list, you can't just deport people back to active war zones, gang-controlled neighborhoods, or famine-ravaged regions just because the policy is supposed to be temporary. And as far as known, she's been very clear about her position from the start. I think it's about restoring the integrity of TPS, and she's openly criticized Biden for what she called abusing and manipulating the program by

Starting point is 00:25:32 extending protections to countries and crisis. But also, key things here, Trump's own people, including Marco Rubio, they supported some of those Biden-era extensions. for the same humanitarian reasons. So really, this isn't about whether the program was overextended. It is about whether the US is going to send people back to die. Right, and the second part of the argument today is that the decision to end these protections may have been racially motivated. You had justices bringing up the fact that Trump is on record calling some of these countries

Starting point is 00:25:54 shithole countries. He's called them filthy, he's called them disgusting, he's repeated debunk claims that immigrants from these countries have AIDS or eat pets. He complained that the United States takes people from such countries Instead of people from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark, I don't see how that one statement is not a prime example of the Arlington example at work and showing that a discriminatory purpose

Starting point is 00:26:24 may have played a part in this decision. And again, it's not just Haiti and Syria. There's more. She cut 11 other countries from the TPS list last year. I mean, with Venezuelans alone, around 350,000 immigrants lost protections. Reports have called it the large, single action stripping any group of non-citizens of immigration status in modern U.S. history.

Starting point is 00:26:40 When you look at the reasoning, you have a lot of experts saying it doesn't seem solid. More and more saying that the questions about racial motivation, it starts looking less like an accusation and more like a reasonable hypothesis the longer you look at. I've also announced a permanent pause on third world migration including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, and many other countries. I didn't say shit all you did. These TPS recipients, they're not recent arrivals. Some have been in the United States for decades. Many CPS holders, they built lives here, careers, families, mortgages, kids in American schools. They work in every aspect of the country, whether it is in the community, in the school district and a hospital, in the factories.

Starting point is 00:27:24 When we come here, we are asking for nothing else to find a safe place to work. Some have been here so long, they don't really have meaningful ties to the countries they're being sent back to. For now, all of us, we have to wait for the Supreme Court decision. And really, whatever they decide, the next question that becomes how Trump and DHS Secretary of Mark Wayne Mullen, they respond. Because even if the court rules in favor of the immigrants, this administration is shown a pattern of pushing back against rulings that don't go their way. And it's a ruling that will shape the lives of more than a million people overnight, and

Starting point is 00:27:50 it's the kind of ruling that it's going to affect immigration policy for decades. And then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute, but first, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, you ever notice everything's getting more expensive except maybe your tolerance for it? Because yeah, with all that, your phone bill shouldn't be one of the things getting worse. There are better options now, which is why today's sponsor MintMobil just makes sense. Mint Mobile gives you premium wireless plans starting at 15 bucks a month, which sounds fake, but it's not.

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Starting point is 00:28:47 Again, that's mintmobile.com slash defranco. But then... This episode is brought to you by Defender. With its 626 horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine, the Defender Octa is taking on the Dakar rally. The ultimate off-road challenge. Learn more at Land Rover.com. Amazon presents Jeff versus Taco Truck Salsa

Starting point is 00:29:14 Whether it's Verde, Roja, or the orange one. For Jeff, trying any salsa is like playing Russian roulette with a flamethrower. Luckily, Jeff saved with Amazon and stocked up on antacids, ginger tea, and milk. Habaniero? More like habanier, yes. Save the everyday with Amazon. And diving right back into the news, we should talk about how the White House just fired all 22 members of the National Science Board.

Starting point is 00:29:44 Every single one of them, effective immediately. And this is a board that's existed since 1950, right? Its job is to oversee the National Science Foundation, which funds research and science, math, engineering, and other fields at colleges, universities, and research institutions across the country. Its board members are appointed by the president and staggered six-year terms by design so that no single administration can clear out the entire board at once, but the Trump administration just did it anyway. Right. And this is a board that exists because Harry Truman, when he created it, said, our ability to survive and grow as a nation depends to a very large degree upon our scientific progress. And the idea was actually a pretty simple one. America's health, economy, national security, and global standing all depend on staying at the front of scientific research. And so this board, it was built to be insulated from political pressure.

Starting point is 00:30:22 Again, you had bipartisan appointments, staggered terms, right? The whole structure, though, it just got blown up. And the way it went down is that the 22 members just got an email with one paragraph saying, on behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I'm writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service. That was it. No explanation, no explanation, no advance notice, no transition plan, no interview, just thank you for your service, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Though the Trump White House has since tried to explain itself to the press, citing a 2021 Supreme Court decision that, in their words, raised constitutional questions about whether non-Senate-confirmed appointees can exercise the authorities that Congress gave the National Science

Starting point is 00:30:55 Board. With a spokesperson adding, we look forward to working with the Hill to update the statute and ensure the NSB can perform its duties as Congress intended. The National Science Foundation's work continues uninterrupted. Now that legal argument, it might have some merit, depending on how you read the case, But the way you handle a constitutional question about an entire scientific oversight body is usually not by emailing 22 people and just saying, hey, you fired. There are supposed to be processes for this. Hearings, reviews, coordination with Congress. I know they don't do anything right now, but that's what's supposed to happen. But none of it appears to have happened.

Starting point is 00:31:23 And so one of the things that we're seeing is that the people who got fired, they're not being quiet. Or you had one former board member saying at a moment when the United States faces intensifying global competition in science and technology, when other nations are investing aggressively in the research and the STEM workforce that will underpin innovation for the next century. We are systematically undermining the institutions and the people dedicated to keeping our country at the leading head. And you had another former member saying it's not difficult to understand why the administration would want to remove any layers of governance that might get in the way, saying the administration wants to exert control in ways that don't necessarily align with congressional intent. And then on the congressional side, you had Representative Zoh Loftgren, for example, who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology saying, Will the President filled the board with Maga Loyalists who won't stand up to him as he hands over our leadership and science to our adversaries?

Starting point is 00:32:05 A real Bozo the Clown move. And one of the biggest concerns from former members and lawmakers is that this board, which is supposed to be independent, all of a sudden it becomes partisan. Right, then instead of overseeing scientific research based on the merit or the reality, it becomes another body that just takes orders from the White House. And really, that's exactly what these firings open the door to. And while shocking, it's also not shocking because, you know, this is in an isolated move. It's a part of Trump's ongoing assault on science across the federal government. Right, this administration's fired staff and made major budget cuts at the EPA, the FDA, the CDC, plus a long list of additional research and regulatory agencies.

Starting point is 00:32:35 It's why you've been seeing these now former members telling reporters are not surprised they've been expecting this for a while. But also, just it not being surprising doesn't make it okay, especially because the overarching effect of all this is it puts America in a worse position. We're dismantling America's scientific research infrastructure. Meanwhile, China, they're pouring billions into theirs. Well, of course, it's always important to look toward the next election. This is in a situation that you recover from in months. Top people and researchers leave, funding pipelines collapse, promising scientists go to other countries that are investing, universities lose grant capacity, the damage compounds. And unfortunately with things like this, by the time that anyone truly realizes how bad it's gotten, you have 75 years of progress just gone. But that right there, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Wednesday, Philip DeFranco show.

Starting point is 00:33:15 Though, some final things. Again, I'm going on tour. I would love to see. You can get tickets at crashingout tour.com. 12 dates, 12 cities, going to be fantastic. But then also, in the meantime, you can watch today's brand new episode of crashing out. A new episode went out today, like always on Wednesday. It's a great time, a cathartic time.

Starting point is 00:33:29 I'd love to have you there. You can click or tap. I got links in the description. But of course, as always, thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow. Alex, it happened again. Someone tried to kill the president of the United States. Out of how many presidents we've had,

Starting point is 00:33:42 none of them else have ever had to look directly into the camera and say, I'm not a pedophile. Hash Patel's girlfriend was hiding in a room with another man who is holding her hand. He looked like he was waiting for an Uber. Louise Lucas. Everything is her going for a haymaker. She posted a picture that just said, I fill my bong with Republican tears.

Starting point is 00:33:59 How the fuck do you cheat on Megan the Stalian? We just do a PowerPoint presentation about why we hate Clayton. and crashing out new episodes every wednesday

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Moment Pete Hegseth’s Story Fell Apart

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