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--:-- Host John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm your host, John Bickley.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Doge continues its cost-cutting mandate saying they've already saved $100 billion. That's 800 bucks per taxpayer. The sheer amount of waste and fraud in the government. It is astonishing. It's mind-blowing.
--:-- Host John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, March 28th.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And this is Morning Wire. Trump takes presidential action against the elite law firms that targeted him.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We've taken action against a number of law firms that have participated either in the weaponization of government, the weaponization of the legal system for political ends, or have otherwise engaged in illegal or inappropriate activities.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And voters in Maine overwhelmingly support taking men out of women's sports. But the state's governor is still defying Trump's order.
--:-- Host John Bickley: You can't create laws by thinking them, by tweeting them, by issuing press releases, by issuing executive orders. Congress makes the laws.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That's shopbeam.com slash wire and use code wire for up to 40% off.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Trump administration and Doge are continuing their efforts to slash federal spending, with major cuts to the health department announced Thursday.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with the latest.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So it's full steam ahead for Doge. This time it's RFK making some very significant cuts. What are we seeing from him and his department?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, we just saw one of the largest cuts to the federal workforce since Donald Trump took office. This time it was the Department of Health and Human Services on the chopping block.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Secretary Kennedy announced Thursday morning that they'd be cutting 10,000 jobs from across the department. When all is said and done, that'll be 20% of the entire HHS workforce.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Among others, the FDA will let go 3,500 employees. Though Kennedy did stress that the cuts would not impact inspectors looking at drugs, medical devices, and food.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The NIH will lose 1,200 workers, the CMS 300, and the CDC 2,400. The list goes on.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The overhaul will also eliminate 13 of the department's 28 existing divisions and create a new administration for a healthy America.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to Kennedy, the cuts will save taxpayer money and force health agencies to become more efficient.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: When I arrived, I found that over half of our employees don't even come to work. As part of President Trump's Doge Workforce Reduction Initiative, we're going to streamline HHS and make our agency more efficient and more effective.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America or AHA
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Daily Wire Michael Knowles spoke with Kennedy at the White House yesterday. Here he is with an example of just some of the wasteful spending he says he encountered within the agency.
--:-- Michael Knowles: Putting the money and the personnel in there is not alone going to solve the problem. And what I found when I came to HHS was really a sprawling bureaucracy.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: We have over 100 communications departments. We should have won.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And it's worth noting, according to Kennedy, a lack of funding is not the problem with American public health. He noted how America ranks last in health among 40 developed nations, but actually spends two to three times more per capita on each patient.
--:-- Michael Knowles: He went on to describe how certain agencies were selling patients medical data for profit, colluding with the very drug companies they were supposed to be regulating, and even withholding information from the secretary himself in an effort to slow his efforts at reform.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He also noted that HHS funding increased by nearly 40 percent under the Biden administration as staffing went up nearly 20 percent during that time.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So he's arguing that this week's cuts will simply reduce the workforce to where it was pre-pandemic.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So we've heard MAGA, then we have MAHA, and now we've got AHA. The list grows, yeah.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And these weren't the only cuts this week, right?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. Far from it.
--:-- Host John Bickley: A day earlier, Kennedy moved to pull nearly $12 billion in COVID funding that had been allocated to state health departments, NGOs, and a variety of international groups.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Those funds were being used for COVID testing, COVID vaccines, etc.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: According to a DHS spokesman, quote, the COVID-19 pandemic is over and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Instead, they say, quote, HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump's mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And epidemic is the key word there. Remember, according to the CDC, six in 10 Americans suffer from a chronic disease. Four in 10 suffer from at least two.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Kennedy says the HHS must focus not just on treating existing illnesses, but addressing the actual root causes of those illnesses and hopefully preventing them before they happen.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So major changes at HHS and Doge continues to leave its mark on the federal government.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've got to hear a little bit from the Doge team last night. What did we hear from them?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, Elon Musk appeared on Fox with seven members of Doge to talk about their process for eliminating federal waste.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He says the agency has already saved taxpayers more than $100 billion and that his team routinely uncovers wasteful expenditures exceeding a billion dollars.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: According to Musk, his agency is focused heavily on eliminating fraud within Social Security.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: One Doge engineer, for example, said 40% of calls to the agency are fraudulent.
--:-- Host John Bickley: What happens is they call in, they claim to be a retiree, then they convince the social security person on the phone to change where the money's flowing.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It actually goes to some fraudster. This is happening all day, every day.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, no signs of slowing down from the Doge team, that's for sure.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Kevin, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Anytime.
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--:-- Brandon: Good Ranchers, American meat delivered.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Public universities in Maine are backing down from their transgender policies but Democrat Governor Janet Mills is still refusing to comply with Trump order on girls sports.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Here with the details is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So Amanda what did Governor Mills say this week about Trump order?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Hey, Georgia. Yeah, she said that order has no power and it's not law, and she also said that she just won't comply.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Here she is speaking to reporters on Monday.
--:-- [Audio clip of Governor Mills speaking]
--:-- Host John Bickley: My issue is about the rule of law, pure and simple. It's not about transgender sports. It's about who makes the laws and who enforces the laws.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I read the Constitution. It doesn't allow him to make laws out of whole cloth.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, it is true that congressional Republicans have been slow to codify Trump's order on girls' sports.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: However, Title IX separates sports based on sex to ensure equal opportunity.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And it was only during the Biden administration that the federal government decided to interpret Title IX through the lens of so-called gender identity.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And Trump, of course, is very much not on board with that.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Additionally, a total of eight public universities in Maine have said that they will comply with Trump's order.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: That change was made in response to the Department of Agriculture threatening to withhold federal funding over this issue.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, other investigations have been opened by different departments into these transgender policies in Maine.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And Health and Human Services said that they actually did find Title IX violations and they gave the state 10 days to comply with Trump's order.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That letter was sent on March 19th.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I spoke to MaineWire's editor-in-chief, Steve Robinson, about potential consequences over all of this noncompliance, and here's what he told me.
--:-- [Audio clip of Steve Robinson speaking]
--:-- Host John Bickley: The letter stipulated that if there is no voluntary compliance on the part of Maine, it's going to be referred to the Justice Department for Prosecution, which could mean that you see indictments come out for the commissioner of education in Maine, Pender Macon, maybe the governor, the head of the Maine Principals Association.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I don't know. Pam Bondi was pretty aggressive in New York when the state was giving away driver's licenses to non-citizens.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So the ramifications for the people of Maine, I don't think, have been totally contemplated by the people who are making these decisions.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I think there's a lot of ego and stubbornness here. They're not used to being told that they're wrong or that they don't have the authority to do something.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, we know the majority of Americans disapprove of having boys and girls sports, but Maine is a more liberal state.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Do we know how they feel there? Yeah, we do.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: New polling from the American Parents Coalition, which was exclusively shared with the Daily Wire, shows that Maine residents side with Trump on this issue.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: 63% said that school sports participation should be based on biological sex.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And 60% said that they would support a ballot measure to protect girls' sports, including 64% of independents.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Here's what Robinson told me about what he's personally seeing in Maine.
--:-- [Audio clip of Steve Robinson speaking]
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, I would say all the activism has been in favor of Representative Laurel Libby, in favor of Trump, in favor of keeping boys out of girls sports.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I don't think you've seen any counter demonstrations.
--:-- Host John Bickley: It really seems like the national attitude of basically 80-20, 90-10 is reflected here in Maine, even if Maine is a blue state.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Robinson mentioned State Representative Laurel Libby there.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: She was actually censured by state Democrats for her Facebook post that drew attention to this issue.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: She posted public images of a male taking first place in girls' pole vaulting at states after he formally competed with boys.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, despite Maine residents being clearly opposed to allowing males in girls' sports, Maine Democrats just voted on Tuesday to continue Libby's censure.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: That means she's still barred from speaking on the House floor.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And just last week, Maine Democrats pushed a bill that would effectively install tampons in middle and high school boys' bathrooms.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So as of now, Democrats in Maine are digging in on this issue despite its unpopularity.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, a risky move for them.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: You're welcome.
--:-- Host John Bickley: President Trump is taking action against top law firms that have ties to people who drove investigation and litigation against him.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Here to talk about the chaos breaking out among elite law firms is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So Trump targeted another law firm on Monday. His executive orders are really a source of some distress for these legal elites, if you will. What's going on here?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, at some level, it's legal payback. So on Monday, Trump signed an executive order targeting the law firm Jenner & Block.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The order is similar to a few others he signed in recent weeks. It blocks the firm from entering federal buildings and revokes its attorney's security clearances.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: It also bars federal agencies from contracting with the firm.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The president spoke about these orders this week.
--:-- [Audio clip of President Trump speaking]
--:-- Host John Bickley: I just think that the law firms have to behave themselves. And we've proven that. We have others that want to make a settlement also. Having to do with the election and other things, they behave very badly.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Our elections are very dishonest, very corrupt.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: A federal judge blocked one of these Trump orders earlier this month.
--:-- Tim Pierce: That one targeted Perkins Coie, the Clinton-tied law firm at the center of the Russian collusion conspiracy in 2016.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The judge in that case is Beryl Howell. She was appointed by Barack Obama, and she called Trump's order unlawful and a violation of the First Amendment.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So what's behind this? Why is the president going after these particular firms?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, they all have deep ties to the Democratic Party and Trump's top antagonists.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In fact, Trump's latest order singles out Andrew Weissman.
--:-- Host John Bickley: He was a partner at Jenner and Block from 2021 to 2022. But before that, he was a top deputy for special counsel Robert Mueller.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Weissman was suspected to have really driven forward the investigation into the bogus Russia collusion narrative.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, these orders don't appear to be final, as in Trump will negotiate with the law firms if they come to the table.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Trump last week.
--:-- [Audio clip of President Trump speaking]
--:-- Host John Bickley: What do you say to critics who say that your actions towards law firms amount to coercion?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, the law firms all want to make deals. You mean the law firms that we're going after that went after me for four years ruthlessly, violently, illegally?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: You mean, are those the law firms you're talking about?
--:-- Tim Pierce: They're not babies. They're very sophisticated people. And make a deal is what Paul Weiss did.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That's another law firm with deep ties to the Democratic Party. To avoid sanctions, Paul Weiss agreed to make several commitments, including $40 million worth of pro bono work for causes the White House supports.
--:-- Tim Pierce: A lot of free labor right there.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Before we let you go, we've got some more legal news. We have Republicans in Congress trying to limit the power of district judges who have really tripped Trump's administration up to this point.
--:-- Tim Pierce: What's the latest there?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, they think judicial overreach is a real problem here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Repeatedly since Trump took office, a district court judge has used the case of one or several plaintiffs to issue these sweeping nationwide injunctions.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Those rulings have really stifled Trump's agenda.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's GOP Senator Chuck Grassley on Fox News.
--:-- [Audio clip of Senator Grassley speaking]
--:-- Host John Bickley: We've had Democrats speak out about this in the past and Republicans speak out about it. So I would hope we would get a bipartisan agreement to a piece of legislation.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And then I think the professor you had on previous to me said how even Justice Kagan said that this is abused.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So I don't know how much better you can get from both sides of the aisle that we got a problem we have to deal with.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And it's really exploded since Trump's become president of the United States.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Grassley needs Democrats to get on board for this to beat a potential filibuster and stop district court judges from derailing the president's agenda.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It would really seem to throw wrenches in Trump's plans to this point.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Tim, thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Good to be on. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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