The Philip DeFranco Show - The Trump Oil Prices Situation is Crazy, Iran War Updates, & The ISIS-Inspired Gracie Mansion Attack

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

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A seventh American service member has now been killed and the civilian death toll continues to rise in Iran and across the region. Also you have new video adding to the evidence that the United States is responsible for killing 175 people, most of them children at an Iranian's girls school on the first day of the war. And then of course we're gonna have to talk about Iran officially naming its new supreme leader, oil prices reaching their highest levels in years, and Donald Trump now demanding total surrender. But where we'll start is with this new video, though, is published by a semi-official Iranian news agency, though it has also been verified by outlets like the New York Times and Bellingcat. Right in the video, it shows a Tamaha cruise missile striking a naval base,

beside the school on February 28th, with a camera then panning to the ground and showing what was left to the school. And the reason this is such crucial evidence is that the United States is the only force in this war that uses Tomahawk missiles. But it's already launched dozens of them over the course of the conflict starting from the very first day that it began. That's also, according to videos published by US Central Command, as well as statements by General Dan Kane, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, who set at a press briefing on March 2nd. The first shooters at sea were Tomahawks unleashed by the United States Navy, closed in on Iranian naval forces, and began to that conduct strikes across the southern flank in Iran. But also, before this new video was released,

evidence pointing to US responsibility, it's been piling up. The Times, for example, had already looked, satellite imagery, social media posts, and other verified videos conclude that the strike appeared to have been part of an American attack on the naval base. You also had other outlets figuring the same, and there have also been reports

that the US military's own investigation is approaching the same conclusion, although it notes that it didn't target the school on purpose. Instead, it may have been hit by accident, possibly thanks to faulty intelligence wrongly identifying the school building as part of an Iranian military installation. And actually with that, satellite images show that the building had been part of the naval base as late as 2013, but that by 2016, it had been walled off from the installation.

But with that change happening more than a decade ago, it still leaves open the question of how do the US possibly rely on such outdated intelligence? So then also, none of this explains why Trump, despite officials saying that the investigation's ongoing and despite having no evidence, is telling reporters that actually Iran was responsible. We think it was done by Iran. Because they're very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. was done by Iran.

75 people. Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran. But then you have the question of, well, how accurate is the U.S. with its weapons? Right, because in addition to the school strike, you have the Iranian Red Crescent Society saying that roughly 10,000 civilian structures across the country have been damaged, including homes, schools, and almost three dozen health facilities. And while right now, no outside organization has been able to verify that, you did have the World Health Organization confirming more than a dozen attacks on health infrastructure, leading to the

deaths of at least four healthcare workers. Also, you have the BBC documenting damage during U.S. and Israeli strikes on at least two schools, a hospital, and even a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You've also got the group human rights activists in Iran reporting that the civilian tolls past 1,200 compared to only 187 in the military with more than 300 deaths still unclassified. But in the face of all this, you've had the Defense Department defending itself, with, for example, U.S. Central Command issuing what it called a warning to Iranian civilian yesterday on social media, saying that it comes as Iran's terrorist regime blatantly disregards the safety

of innocent people and adding. The Iranian regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations, including launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. And saying, this dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran, since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law. But to be clear there, right, just being military targets in civilian areas, it doesn't give an attacker free reign to just let loose.

International law is more complicated than that. And that's also, as you have Iran now accusing the United States of attacking civilian infrastructure with no military purpose. For the country's foreign minister writing a statement on Saturday that the US committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant and claiming the water supply in 30 villages has been impacted and adding attacking iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences the u.s set this precedent not iran and then with that the next day bahrain announced that an iranian drone

had caused material damage to a desalination plant there although there was reportedly no impact on water supplies or water network capacity but the potential impact if there was more damage there it's massive with one expert telling the times in the gulf desalination facilities are not merely infrastructure. They are essential lifelines to supply drinking water to millions, striking them risks turning a military confrontation into a direct threat to civilian survival. And so that situation is definitely one we're going to have to keep an eye on, but for now, Iran's focus mostly seems to be on other targets. So today, for example, you had NATO air defenses shooting down what Turkey said was an Iranian missile heading its way, with this being

the second time that's happened. So again, that's raised concerns about the possibility of NATO getting roped into all this. But then also, as far as other Iranian strikes, some today reportedly wounded more than 30 people in Bahrain and sparked a fire near a petroleum refinery. Also, at least one person was killed in Israel, and Saudi Arabia actually reported its first deaths recently. They said that a military projectile fell onto a residential area and killed two people of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality. And overall, the hundreds of missiles and drones that Iran has fired at not only military targets, but also civilian infrastructure, including airports, hotels, and energy facilities in nearly a dozen countries, has killed at least

20 people so far. And among those killed have been American service members. And actually with that, you had Trump attending what's known as a dignified transfer ceremony for six of them on Saturday. All of which were killed after an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait just a day after the war began. But also with this, you had Trump pissing some people off for keeping his hat on during the ceremony, with, for example, the California governor writing, Take your hat off, you disgusting a little man, and former R&C chairman Michael Steele adding, This fool has absolutely no sense of dignity of appreciation for the moment. But what then sparked even more backlash was Fox News' apparent attempt to hide it.

Or because Fox News viewers, they were shown an old video of Trump at a similar ceremony back in December, when notably he did not wear a hat to salute troops who had died in Syria. And even then, when the network finally aired a report that included footage from Saturday, it was edited to avoid showing Trump wearing his hat. A hat that notably he was also photographed wearing while golfing yesterday in Florida and is also sold by the Trump Organization for $55. But also with this, getting back to the death toll, yesterday you had the Pentagon revealing that a 7th U.S. service members now been killed. And while they haven't been publicly identified yet, he or she was reportedly seriously injured on March 1st when Iran struck a Saudi military base where American troops were stationed. But that person then dying from those injuries on Saturday night while officials were preparing a transfer for more advanced medical care at an American military hospital in Germany.

And at the same time, interestingly, Israel only reported its first soldier deaths this weekend, saying that two were killed in fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Where were hundreds of thousands have been displaced, the death tolls approaching 500, and Israel has now been accused of illegally using white phosphorus over residential areas. A move that's considered illegal because of the indiscriminate and long-lasting harm that it can cause to civilians. And notably, that's happening as people in Iran may also be getting exposed to dangerous chemicals thanks to Israel. And that's because it hit 30 Iranian fuel depots on Saturday, including four in and around Tehran, sparking a massive fire that could be seen throughout the city and blanketing the city in heavy smoke. And with that you had the Iranian Red Crescent Society warning that the toxic chemicals now in the air could lead to acid rain. And that is you had a UK-based doctor telling the guardian that the toxic gases and fine particulate matter could irritate the eyes and airways worse and asthma,

pulmonary conditions and heart disease and increase the risks of some cancers. And also notably here, the Israeli strikes reportedly sparked the first significant disagreement between Israel and the United States since the war began. Or with sources telling Axios that the US is worried that Israeli strikes an infrastructure that Serb ordinary Iranians could backfire strategically, rallying them around the regime and even driving up oil prices. Of course, oil prices are already being driven up. Prices have been climbing since the war broke out, and Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transits 20% of the world's oil and natural gas by threatening to attack tankers that travel through the essential waterway. But in the past 24 hours, the situation escalated dramatically.

Or with oil prices surging to nearly $120 per barrel overnight, before then falling to around $100 early, I mean, we're talking about the highest prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Oil's almost 50% more expensive than it was before Israel and the United States started attacking Iran less than two weeks ago. And already you have Americans paying higher prices at the pump. According to AAA, average gas prices have jumped 50 cents per gallon just in the last week alone, surging from 298 to 3.45. And you have analysts predicting that gas will reach $4 per gallon this week, which is the price you can usually expect to see when the cost per barrel reaches around $100. So we also understand it could go even higher than that if barrel costs continue to rise. I mean, you have some experts warning that we could actually see oil prices hitting an all-time high of $148 this week.

That would break the previous record that was set in 2008. And then, those surging prices can set off a chain reaction of sweeping economic consequences. But rising fuel costs, it impacts the entire global supply chain. And when operating becomes more expensive for businesses, they pass those costs on to the consumer. And while the effects will mostly be felt in Asia and Europe, which rely more heavily on the Middle East for oil and natural gas, this is still very much a global issue, which is already clearly evidenced by the skyrocketing prices we're seeing worldwide today. And so with this, you have the managing director of the IMF also warning that a prolonged conflict in Iran could push global inflation higher. And then at the same time, you have analysts in the U.S., specifically raising concerns about stagflation as inflation increases and growth slows.

And these new fears, they're coming at a time when many Americans are already worried about the economy and rising prices. And all of these worries, we saw that being reflected in global stock markets today, which absolutely tanked when they opened this morning. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all went down about a percent as a recording. Japan's index fell a whopping 5 percent in European markets shed one to two percent. But in addition to the economic impacts, the rising oil prices are also significant because of the signal they send about the war itself. Right, while prices have been rising since the war broke out, they were more modest because traders calculated that markets could easily absorb a short disruption. The searches that we're seeing today, it indicates that the traders are worried that the war is going to drag on. With the same time, you have Trump repeatedly seeking to downplay those concerns telling reporters last week that he isn't concerned and that prices will go up, but promising that they will come down very fast.

But at least so far, prices have continued to do the exact opposite. And yesterday you had Trump trying to address those concerns, but basically, Basically saying that anyone who's concerned about the price of oil is an idiot writing on truth social Short-term oil prices which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over is a very small price to pay for USA and world safety and peace only fools would think differently and with that he then told CBS today that he thinks the war is very complete pretty much and that led oil prices to drop down again But of course you've many saying that Trump might just be saying that so the market will react Especially as it contradicts repeated claims from top officials who have said that what we're seeing now is just the beginning of the offensive

You know, if that's the case, you have experts saying that there's not much that'll help as long as the straight remains closed. And actually to that point, you had Macron saying that France will launch a joint effort to escort container ships in the street of Hormuz once the initial conflict has calmed down some. Right, you've had Trump as well, also previously floating the idea of dispatching the U.S. Navy to do the same. Though also at that, I have to note that administration officials have downplayed that possibility, at least for now. But also Trump and other members of the administration have been so inconsistent and out of step with one another throughout this whole thing that who really knows what they're going to do. Right. Trump first suggested that the attack was meant to create the conditions for the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government. But then Marco Rubio argued that the strike had been necessary because Iran posed an imminent threat suggesting that Israel was going to attack with or without the United States and Iran would retaliate against American forces. But then there's also reason to believe that the administration could have held Israel back, but chose not to.

The U.S. actually actively took part in planning the attack and Trump himself said that if anything, he might have forced Israel's hand, not the other way around. And so Rubio backtracked while both he and Pete Hegseth downplayed Trump's initial suggestion that regime change has been an objective. With him arguing of the real goal was to permanently destroy a Iran's nuclear program and eliminate its ability to launch missiles at Israel, nearby Arab countries, in the United States in the future. Though of course, notably, American intelligence is assessed within the past year that Iran was not actively building nuclear weapons and is years away from developing missiles capable of reaching the United States. And in any case, while his cronies make that argument, you've just had Trump going back to the regime change argument. When on Friday, you had him telling CNN that he's not worried about whether Iran becomes a democracy, but he is going to get someone of his choosing in power, saying it's going to work very easily. It's going to work like

in Venezuela. And that's even as those around him have reportedly told, told him repeatedly that this is an entirely different situation and has been since before it began. And with those here, the Washington Post reporting on a classified intelligence report completed about a week before the war that even a large-scale assault would be unlikely to get rid of the regime. And to that point, Iran is now officially named its new Supreme Leader. With Iran's assembly of experts electing the 56-year-old son of the previous Supreme Leader who was killed in the initial strikes. So now the new leader will have final say over matters of state, serving as commander-in-chief of the military and powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. He'll also have authority over a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon at some point. But then also beyond his official role and title, he's kind of a relative unknown even within Iran.

That said though, according to reports, he's been an influential figure operating in the shadows, coordinating military and intelligence operations for his father. He's also a hardliner with very close ties to the Revolutionary Guard Corps and was reportedly considered to be their candidate of choice. But while this new leader has largely remained somewhat of a mystery, you have Vladimir Putin offering his unwavering support for the new leader. Israel's already threatened to kill him. and Trump has previously said that this person would be unacceptable to him as supreme leader. You also had Trump making more comments recently suggesting that he'll do whatever it takes to get his way, writing on social media on Friday. There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.

And then adding, after that, in the selection of a great and acceptable leader, we and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners will work tirelessly, getting Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. Iran will have a great future, make Iran great again. And when he had reporters on Air Force One asking him what he meant by this, he said, It's where they cry uncle or when they can't fight any longer, there's nobody around to cry uncle. That could happen too. Because we've wiped out their leadership numerous times already.

But with that, you've had White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, as usual, trying to qualify Trump's statement. They're saying that when Trump determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goal of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender. But others have also interpreted unconditional surrender as meaning something very different, including Tucker Carlson. Unconditional surrender means foreign troops get to rape your wife and daughter if they want. And everyone knows that. And that has been, if there's one consistent lesson of history, it means unconditional surrender

means foreign troops get to rape your wife and daughter. Everyone can feel that. That's like the most atavistic instinct there is. And so to avoid that, people will do anything. And so that's why it requires that level of force. to get a population subdued to the point of unconditional surrender. That's why. And so in this case, of course, we don't have the ground force necessary.

I don't think Americans would voluntarily participate in it. I just don't think we can do that. It would require weapons of mass destruction. It would require presumably nuclear weapons in order to do that. And let's stop, let's not lie to ourselves. We're moving toward that. And, well, you know, there is a lot that Carlson is saying there was very wild, is that there is some logic hidden there and that Trump has presented the only

acceptable outcome as the end of the regime, and that means that they have no reason to compromise. And despite the U.S. and Israel's military advantage, it may take them more than three to four weeks to take down a government that has been fighting for its life and may only be opening the door to further escalation. But of course, everything is developing in real time, so I'd love to know your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to everything we're seeing so far in those comments. And in the meantime, of course, we have our eyes glued on this. 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, small business life, it means hustling and figuring it all out. And payroll day, it's

It shouldn't feel like you're diffusing a bomb. Right, well, Slack pings you and your bank app judges. And today's sponsor, Gusto, it's online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses, simple, remote friendly, and actually easy to use. Gusto puts payroll, hiring, onboarding, and support all in one place, and it automates taxes and direct deposits so you're not trapped in spreadsheet help. They also handle benefits like health coverage, commuter perks, workers' comp, even 401k options. And its unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price, no surprise, you have clicked run too many times fees.

Built in tools for offer letters and onboarding docs, help you stop chasing signatures, like it's your full-time job. And you can also get access to certified HR experts if things get a little weird, aka an adultier adult to guide you through tough situation. And switching, it's designed to be quick. Transfer your existing data, get set up fast, and you don't pay a cent until you run your first payroll. And Gusto, it's used by hundreds of thousands of businesses and it's consistently rated a top payroll solution. So try it today at gusto.com slash DeFranco to get three months free when you run your first payroll. And just one more time for fun, gusto.com slash DeFranco. Then diving right back into the news, someone tried to set off a bomb right outside of

Mumdani's residence. And I don't mean like a firework or a smoke bomb stunt. The FBI confirmed that one of the devices contained TATP, which is a highly volatile homemade Explosive that's been used in terrorist attacks around the world. It had shrapnel in it. It luckily failed to go off But if it hadn't, we'd be talking about a mass casualty event outside of Gracie Mansion. And this whole thing that we're talking about it traces back to a January 6th rioter Pardoned by Trump who organized an anti-Muslim rally specifically targeting mayor Zoran Mamdani the first Muslim mayor of New York City. Yeah, there's a lot we've got to unpack Starting with the event that seemed to be the target of this attack, right? That was organized by Jake Lang, who's been described in the media as a right-wing provocateur. And it sounds like J6, which was the most American thing in history. So, you know, we have the power, we are the people.

And if we want to get somebody out of prison, this is our country. We have the right to self-determination. And you actually, you might remember this guy from a previous demonstration just a few months ago, where he got his ass handed to him by counter-protesters. Fucking shit! Fuck you, man, shit! But then we fast forward to this last Saturday, where you had Lang organizing what he called and Americans against Islamification demonstration outside of Gracie Mansion, which of course is the mayor's official residence.

We're gonna make sure that American knows this is a white Christian country and we're gonna keep it that way. God bless America. We're gonna make sure Mandami knows and he is not welcome in New York. And the promo material for this thing, it was let's call it flagrant. Right imagery that a lot of people recognized as dog whistles, calling back to the clan, aimed directly at Mamdani, who, Lang described as the number one Muslim worldwide. With Lang showing up with about 20 followers and counter protesters grew to over a hundred. And so his Both sides are phasing off things start escalating. Rewan Lange's followers, Bray made made made a group of counter protesters, fist fights broke out and then two smoking objects

were thrown into the crowd. You had 18 year old Amir Balak and 19 year old Ebrahim Nick, who's also been named in reports as Ibrahim Kuyumi, charged for the attack as well. Both were arrested Saturday and luckily and thankfully there were no injuries reported. Now with this on Sunday, you had officials ripping off an area a few blocks

from Gracie Mansion where they found a car belonged to one of the suspects. One source told the New York Times that they didn't recover additional devices from the car, but another source says that there were materials to make another one inside. And it was reported today that there was in fact, another device in the car, but it didn't contain explosive materials.

They were improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death. And our analysis showed that one of the devices deployed by the subjects contained the substance, triacetone, triproxide, known as TATP. Now TATP is a dangerous and highly volatile, homemade explosive that has been used in IED attacks around the world. And with us, you have the FBI, NYPD, Joint Terrorism Task Corps, a leading, the investigation along with federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York. I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism. With the report saying that at least one of the suspects expressed sympathy for ISIS content

that he'd seen online and that the attack was at least partially motivated by the kind of hatred that Lang's been directing at the Muslim community. With many now pointing to clips like this. There are 53 Muslim majority countries and in all of them it is tyranny, destruction, it is shithole living. We have to call it what it is. You guys don't live like we do. We don't want you in our country.

We will come and eat your shwarma in Somalia. We don't want you here. Respectfully, get the fuck out of my country. Also with the situation, as things are developing, we're receiving updates like today. We got updates that both suspects reportedly said that religion was in fact the motivation for the attack. The FBI also adding that the man wanted to make this attack

deadlier than the Boston Marathon bombing. Also, as far as Mom Dani, you had him making his position clear that no matter the demonstration, it should never end in this type of attack. This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy. I'm the first Muslim mayor of our city. Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me, nor is it anything new for the one million or so

Muslim New Yorkers who know this city as our home. While I found this protest appalling, I will not waver in my belief that it should be allowed to happen. And today you had Mumdani adding that this was a heinous act of terrorism and regarding the two suspects that they should be held fully accountable for their actions. You know, one of the things that you have people saying

that's gonna make this even more frustrating and concern, is that the bombing's gonna make Maldani's job harder to do. His approval ratings at an all-time high. He's organizing programs like the citywide shoveling program that Doug New York got some genuinely dangerous winter storms this year. And in addition to a number of things, he's somehow managed to keep the president relatively cooperative on things like affordable housing.

You know, that's also not to say that everyone loves a guy over 60% of New York, Republicans are still not on board. But the city so far seems to be getting some real results outside of this insanity. On one side, you have what are often right-wingers convinced that there's some black or brown boogeyman coming to destroy their way of life. And then on the other side of various cultures feeling ostracized and cornered,

which is leading to more concerning reports of people deciding to take things into their own hands and going to extreme measures to, in their eyes, fight back, but make no mistake, if someone was killed here, that's just murder. And all of these flames, they're constantly being fanned by an administration who has continued to skew facts and fearmonger as a war that they're also not calling a war continues. And actually on that note, the selling of the Trump administration's story about the war and Iran, it might be harder than ever, both at home and abroad thanks to Carrie Lake. That is, unless a federal judge in D.C. gets his way. where because Judge Royce Lamberth just ruled that Kerry Lake's leadership at the U.S. Agency for Global Media is unlawful. With this ruling, Lamberthson validated everything that Lake's done during her time, including laying up hundreds of people and the cuts to broadcasters both here and the states and around the world. And so now one of the biggest questions is whether this ruling's actually going to stick.

But also, before we look ahead, we need to back up a bit because the U.S. Agency for Global Media is the umbrella for many news outlets, including Voice of America. And that actually began broadcasting back in 1942 during World War II to combat Nazi and Japanese propaganda. And it also included Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, which kicked off in the 50s as a part of a CIA-backed initiative to stir up dissent against communism and the Soviet Union. There was also the CIA reportedly stopped being involved in the 70s. There's also radio and television Marti a network established in 1983 to break through Cuban censorship and Radio Free Asia aimed at a response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. And then there's the Middle Eastern Broadcasting Networks which were created in 2004. And that notably includes Radio Farda as the Iranian branch. Right all of these. They're fully funded by the USAGM delivering the news in

dozens of languages and reaching hundreds of millions of people around the world. You know, they brought news to places with incredibly limited press freedoms, and despite, you know, how they started, they had full editorial independence for decades. The agency's charter requires journalists to deliver actual news and information rather than just being a government mouthpiece. And you had the so-called firewall referring to policies that insulate them, their content, and their staff from political influence. But that firewall, it came under attack during Trump's first administration, with Trump's handpick leader doing his best to chip away at the agency's editorial independence

by punishing journalists who wouldn't fall in line to back Trump. A move that naturally led to some lengthy court battles and eventually a federal inquiry that found Trump's handpicked leader had, at least in some cases, violated the law. And I guess because history and the Trump administration repeat itself were back to the same place again, though this time with Kerry Lake is Trump's chosen. Right, Carrie Lake, she's a former television anchor who unsuccessfully ran for both a U.S. Senate seat and for governor in Arizona. She is very much a diehard Trump believer. And because Trump rewards loyalty like that, Trump placed her in charge of the USAGM when he came back into office and he charged her with bringing it down. Right a year ago, he issued an executive order demanding the drawdown of the age. agency which prompted Lake to put most staffers on administrative leave and cut hundreds of contractors.

And so that, along with other actions, it led to her largely dismantling Voice of America, which is then in turn led to several legal challenges and even defeats for the Trump administration. In fact, Judge Lamberth's ruling, it came from a case brought against Lake and the USAGM by several employees who were laid off, including Voice of America's White House Bureau Chief and other journalists. And he had a statement from the plaintiff's reading, the judge's ruling that Carrie Lake's action shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she is inflicted on this American institution that we love. And adding, even as we work through what this ruling means for colleagues harmed by her actions, it brings renewed hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight. Restoring VOA's global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda.

Now with this, an important thing to note is that Lake does not technically hold the position of CEO of USHEM, which is the part that requires congressional approval. Technically, she was named senior advisor to Acting Chief Executive Victor Morales, who then delegated his authorities to her. Though she is also repeatedly referred to herself as acting CEO or deputy CEO, which has led to some confusion about what title she actually has. But that also wasn't enough for Lambert. He rejected the argument saying, quote, allowing the president to circumvent

Congress's carefully crafted limitations through delegations would violate the spirit of the Constitution. Now, as you can imagine, Lake was not exactly thrilled with Lamberth's ruling saying in her response, the American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government, and saying an activist judge is trying to stand

in the way of those efforts at USAGM. We strongly disagree with this decision and will appeal. So now it's just a matter of, you know, whether or not this is gonna, gonna live through the appeals process, especially if it makes it all the way to the top. But if it is upheld, it would allow more than a thousand journalists and support staff members to go back to their jobs. But then also, another question is what exactly Kerry's going to be doing from now to whenever this gets resolved? And if not her, who's going to be in charge?

And with that, we might actually get an answer later this week, with Lamberth requesting the government provide clarity on who the acting CEO actually is by March 11th as well as provide a succession plan for the position. But then actually, from that, it brings us to the final bit of news we need to talk about today. And that is that Trump is threatening to not sign any legislation until the SAVE Act becomes law. With him writing yesterday, it must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. Must go to the front of the line. I as president will not sign other bills until this is passed. And the SAVE Act, as you likely know, because we've been talking about it so much, it mandates stricter voting registration and ID policies. It requires voters to approve their citizenship

with documents like a passport or birth certificate, even though it's already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. And again, no matter how much Trump tries to peddle conspiracies about it, non-citizen voting is incredibly rare. So, you know, some fear that this isn't really going to help with election integrity and instead it's actually gonna hurt it. Right, because in a number of ways, it would actually make it harder for eligible citizens to vote. Among other things, only half of Americans have a passport and the process to get one can be lengthy and costly. There's also the huge crackdown on mail-in voting. But still, it passed the Republican-controlled House last month and now it sits in the Senate's hands.

And Trump has made it incredibly clear that he wants the Senate to move, telling the chamber to focus exclusively on this act if necessary. He even previously said that he'd close the government over the Save Act because it's such a high priority. And he added yesterday, and not the watered-down version. Go for the goal. Must show voter ID and proof of citizenship. No mail-in balance except for military, illness, disability, travel. And then saying for this thing that's supposed to be about election integrity, no men and women's sports, no transgender mutilization for children do not fail.

And those last provisions there regarding trans athletes and gender reassignment surgery, they were notably not even in the version signed by the House, so he's asking for even more to go in a new bill. Which many see is an incredibly big ass considering the odds in the Senator tough. Right, Democrats largely don't support it, and Republicans only have a razor-thin majority, and they need six And while Trump's previously urged his party to get rid of the filibuster to pass it, Majority Leader John Thune has pushed back on those calls.

Right, then on top of that, some Republicans have even spoken out against the act saying that they're unwilling to pass it in its current form. And so you had Minority Leader Chuck Schumer seeing Trump's legislative threat in writing, the Save Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people. If Trump is saying he won't sign any bills until the Save Act has passed, then so be it. There will be total gridlock in the Senate. Senate Democrats will not help pass the Save Act under any circumstances. With another lawmakers is slamming Trump for putting this so

high on his to do list, arguing. Nothing to lower grocery prices, nothing to lower gas bills, nothing to lower housing prices. The president says he won't make life easier until he makes it harder for you to vote. And then some arguing that Trump's pose could mean a longer shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security. You may have forgotten because it feels like it's faded to like a background sea plot, but there's been a partial government shutdown impacting DHS for a few weeks now. Funding ran out in mid-February as Democrats refused to line the department's pockets anymore until there are meaningful reforms to ISIS operations. But with that, TSA also falls under the DHS.

umbrella. And while TSA staff are considered essential and they work during the shutdown, they're not getting paid. And so this weekend, we saw tons of travel issues tied to shortages of security staff and major airports reporting incredibly long lines. As of this morning, New Orleans said that wait times could be up to two hours. Houston's website estimates that its security line is about three hours. And so, you know, some people have missed their flights because of the chaos and airports are warning passengers to get to the airports incredibly early to handle these wait times. Now, for its part, the Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the shutdown and any effects it has. accusing what they call the radical left, a playing politics with their homeland security.

But one, Democrats have defended their choice saying that it's on Republicans to agree to ICE reforms, which American citizens largely support. And two, you also have people arguing that Trump and Republicans are playing politics just the same, especially now that Trump's threatening to not sign any legislation until the SAVE Act passes. And so you have some wondering where Trump actually draws the line there. Right, would he go so far as to not sign any potential future DHS funding if the SAVE Act is still sitting in the Senate? And you know, as the shutdowns lingered, we've seen the travel industry urging both sides to get back to negotiating, arguing that, TSA should not have to work without pay so soon after the nation's longest government shutdown. Especially, since so many of them can't afford to miss paychecks,

which is then forcing them to call out so they can get other gigs to pay their bills in the meantime. So you have people like the CEO of the US Travel Association saying, it's not just unfair, it's reckless. You can't run an industry with $3 trillion in economic impact on IOUs. And also the CEO of Airlines for America arguing, we are in spring break travel season and expecting record numbers of people to take to the skies. Airlines have done their part to prepare, now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach a deal

that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown. America's transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage. But for now, we'll have to wait to see if all these travel disruptions force Congress to negotiate further, if Republicans will agree to any ICE reforms and how long Democrats are going to hold out.

And then also, if a deal is reached between both parties for funding, will he sign it if the SAVE Act has not been signed? You know, with so many unknowns, we move our eyes forward to the week ahead. Because yes, while we're getting to the end of today's Philip DeFranco show, I'm going to see you right back here tomorrow.

And in the meantime, you should check out another video I put out for you today, and that is my in good faith podcast with John Favro. It went out just before this. I think you'll love it. I got links in the description and things you can click. But no matter what, I'll see you right back here tomorrow.