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--:-- Host (John Bickley): A deal has been struck to raise the United States debt ceiling just days before the economic situation turned dire. No one got everything they want. I believe this is an agreement in principle that's worthy of the American people. What Republican provisions were kept in the deal and which ones were cut? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's Tuesday, May 30th, and this is Morning Wire. The Texas House of Representatives has made an unprecedented move. It's impeached the state's attorney general amid dueling accusations of illegal behavior. The evidence is substantial. We discussed the dramatic turn of events and what's next for the embattled AG. And a wave of violence struck Chicago over Memorial Day weekend with dozens of people shot and at least nine dead. The tragedies come despite the governor's peacekeepers plan and the city's new mayor taking over. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): After weeks of high-stakes negotiations, lawmakers in Washington reached an agreement over the weekend to raise the debt limit. Now the measure must gain approval in the divided House and Senate. Here were the details of the deal and how it came about as Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot. So a lot of scrutiny on what's been hashed out here. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, all eyes have been on Washington and it looks like they finally got a deal. After weeks of back and forth between Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden, the two sides came to an agreement that will raise the debt ceiling, which again is the limit set by Congress that controls how much debt the federal government is allowed to accrue. Remember, Republicans have said they'd only raise the limit if Democrats agree to federal spending cuts. While President Biden wanted it raised without any concessions. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, without a deal, the U.S. would default on its debt for the first time on June 5th. So this really came down to the wire.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Yeah, it did. But we are not out of the woods yet despite that verbal agreement. The deal must now gain the approval of Congress, which is no small task. On Wednesday, the GOP-controlled House will vote on the bill. And if passed, it will then head to the Democrat-controlled Senate where it needs 60 votes.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: All right, so the big question, what is in this deal?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes. So on Sunday night, we got our first look at the legislative text of the agreement, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and it's substantial. Most importantly for Democrats, rather than raising the limit to an arbitrary number, it suspends the limit for two years, basically giving the federal government unlimited latitude to borrow as much money as it wants. Under the agreement, the new debt limit will be set at whatever number the government hits once that two-year suspension expires. Now, that is important for President Biden from a political standpoint, because it means the debt limit will not be an issue again until 2025 after his reelection bid. Democrats were also able to avoid any cuts to their climate and energy plan that were passed under the Inflation Reduction Act. So essentially, no limit for two years and no worries for Biden over another battle until the election.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Exactly. What did Republicans get?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Speaker McCarthy has touted the deal as a success, saying it, quote, secured a historic series of wins worthy of the American people. But it's worth noting, It does not include the sort of spending cuts that Republicans had initially demanded. The text states that federal spending must remain flat in the fiscal year 2024 and then increase by no more than 1 in 2025 McCarthy says that might not be a budget cut on paper but in his view it a cut in theory because the budget will grow at a rate slower than inflation. And while the deal technically limits federal spending growth at 1% over the next six years, after 2025, that provision is not enforceable. So it's more symbolic than anything. Republicans did, however, secure expanded work requirements for those receiving government aid, new funding for a massive natural gas pipeline in West Virginia, and $20 billion in cuts to the IRS, which had received $80 billion in new funding under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The deal would also reallocate $30 billion in unused COVID relief funds and also end the COVID-era pause on student loan payments. And it'll now require loan holders to begin making payments by the end of the summer.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, this has been a rather bruising battle over the last few weeks. How has each side responded to this deal?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, rank-and-file members on both sides have expressed frustration that they'll only have a few days to debate the measure before holding a vote. While moderate Democrats in both chambers do appear open to supporting the deal right now, far-left progressives are not happy with President Biden, especially over the welfare work requirements and pipeline funding. For example, here's Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on CNN this Sunday. Terrible policy. Absolutely terrible policy. Does not reduce spending. Actually, by some estimates, creates a burden on administrative spending that is actually worse for, you know, for the overall cost of a program like that.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Over the weekend, White House officials were trying to win over skeptical Democrat members, essentially telling them the deal could have been a lot worse. And that's more or less what we've seen from Republican leadership as well. Publicly, they've celebrated the deal as a victory, but behind closed doors, they're reportedly telling members that no deal will have everything they want and to get on board.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now the question becomes if that's enough to secure support from more conservative members who, like I said, are frustrated the deal only includes two years of spending caps. They initially called for 10 years, so this is quite a bit less. For example, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said the deal provides Democrats with a, quote, blank check, while the powerful conservative representative, Chip Roy, said, quote, the more I learn about this debt ceiling deal, the more I think it's bad news.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So we'll be closely watching the debate in Congress ahead of tomorrow's vote. Yeah, we'll expect that to be heated.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was temporarily thrown out of office on Saturday when the state House voted to impeach him. The Senate will now decide whether to make his removal permanent. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about Paxton's upcoming impeachment trial and what this saga means for the Republican Party in Texas.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, Paxton was impeached on Saturday in a 121 to 23 vote, with 60 Republicans joining every Democrat in favor of impeachment. The vote came less than a week after the House General Investigating Committee accused Paxton of years-long misconduct and corruption and recommended he be pushed from office.
--:-- Tim Pierce: God help us with the harms that will come to all Texans if he is allowed to stay the top cop on the take. If millions of Texans can't trust us to do the right thing right here right now And what are we here for
--:-- Tim Pierce: This investigation kicked off in March after Paxton asked the legislature to pay a million settlement which was denied to a group of former senior officials to the AG who accused Paxton of retaliation. But the impeachment articles brought forward consisted of allegations that have dogged the attorney general for years. For instance, Paxton allegedly traded favors with one of his supporters, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. Paxton asked Paul to hire a woman that Paxton allegedly had an affair with. The attorney general allegedly came to Paul's aid when Paul was under investigation by the FBI.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, what's Paxton saying about the allegations? He's denied all of it and accused his opponents of illegality of their own while attempting to overturn the results of last year's election. Paxton said he wasn't allowed to defend himself to the committee with favorable evidence. The attorney general called the impeachment a political hit job orchestrated by Democrats and their friends in the Republican Party.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Early last week, Paxton called for Republican House Speaker Dave Phelan, a moderate, to resign after Phelan appeared, quote, in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication while leading the House. Former President Donald Trump has weighed in on Paxton's side, calling Phelan barely a Republican at all. And Senator Ted Cruz said that the effort to sink Paxton comes from the swamp in Austin in retaliation for Paxton's conservative record. Cruz also pointed out that voters knew all the charges against Paxton before he was elected to a third term as attorney general last year.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, legally speaking, who replaces Paxton if he's removed? Well, Paxton has already been temporarily removed and replaced by his top deputy, Brent Webster. Governor Greg Abbott, who has remained noticeably quiet on this saga so far, could appoint an interim attorney general, but that carries some risk as being seen as coming out against Paxton. The attorney general will face trial in the Senate and be removed from office if two-thirds of senators vote against him. And there's some more drama here. Paxton's wife serves in the Texas Senate. Already, there's been a lot of speculation on how his wife will vote or if she'll recuse herself from the proceedings. Angela Paxton has stood with the attorney general through a lot already, so her choice could be a major indication of where her husband's political future is headed.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, a lot of drama in the Texas House last week. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Violence surged over Memorial Day weekend in crime-plagued Chicago, where dozens were shot and at least nine people were killed. Here to discuss this weekend's tragic carnage and Chicago's ongoing violence issues is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, John. So a particularly alarming weekend in Chicago. What do we know about the violence that took place in the city?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, John. Well, at least 43 people were shot over the Memorial Day weekend with nine deaths. This was right on par with last Memorial Day weekend, which was the deadliest in years for the city. 50 people were shot and nine were killed. These fatal incidents varied, but in one case, a 35-year-old named William Hare was gunned down while standing on the sidewalk. A vehicle pulled up on Saturday and someone started shooting. The victim's father, Bill Hare, spoke to ABC7 about the tragedy. His best friend, thank God, was with him and valiantly tried to save his life, performed CPR helped him breathe My son fought for his life but he was warned
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now Memorial Day weekend is especially violent in Chicago but the city deals with high fatal crime all year long Just in the month of May, there have been 54 homicide victims. And so far this year, there have been 224 homicides in the city. Last year, there was a recorded 695 homicides, which was eclipsed by the violence in 2021 when there was a record 739 homicides.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, this violence over the weekend happened despite a new safety plan from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, which included the deployment of peacekeepers. Tell us about that plan.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Yeah, that's right. The governor deployed 30 of these trained peacekeepers into the city in anticipation for this, unfortunately, expected violent Memorial Day weekend. A reported $750,000 has been allocated for this effort. These peacekeepers were supposed to help with de-escalation and conflict resolution, basically trying to stop violence before it starts. This has sort of been thought of as a form of community policing that we've heard calls for from BLM protesters and critics of law enforcement. Unfortunately, these numbers from this weekend indicate that that really didn't have that desired effect.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Right. Now, Chicago has a new mayor, Brandon Johnson, and there was some hope that he'd get this violence in check since the ouster of former mayor Lori Lightfoot. What efforts have we seen so far from Johnson?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, Mayor Johnson's safety program includes having more police on the ground and funding events and programs for Chicago's youth. Johnson was sworn in as mayor a couple weeks ago, so time will tell on that front. I will say, though, Johnson faced a lot of criticism last month when he seemed to dismiss rioting and the brutal assault of an elderly couple by teenagers as just youthful shenanigans. Here's some audio of Johnson discussing that. Look, demonizing children is wrong. We have to keep them safe as well. Have you ever taught middle school? I have. Have you ever raised young people? Do you understand the risk that young people take just because they're young?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, I think the counter there is that this isn't about demonizing anyone. It's about holding criminals accountable.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Another story we're tracking this week. Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Republican from South Carolina noted that the Russians are dying and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as, quote, the best money we've ever spent. The video caused outrage in Russia.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Before we go, we have a big announcement. Like the rest of the Daily Wire podcast, Morning Wire is now officially on Twitter. That includes the show, most of its regular contributors, and its two beloved hosts. That's me and Georgia, just to be clear. You'll get all our episodes, links to related articles, posts, and comments from our team. So follow Morning Wire, Georgia, me, and the rest of the crew on Twitter. Our handles are in the description of this episode to make life easier.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): As always, thank you so much for listening to Morning Wire. We get to make this show because you tune in and we are truly grateful that you do. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
