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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, August 21st, and this is Morning Wire. 88 ayes, 52 nays, House Bill 4 passes to engrossment. Texas adds five GOP seats to Congress with its new redistricting map, but California is hitting back. And Democrats are losing millions of registered voters nationwide. What's causing the political exodus?
--:-- John Bickley: If you're the Dems and you're losing in every single state, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, that's a big problem for you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced yesterday a massive overhaul of the intelligence community. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, Gabbard said that she's refocusing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to aggressively execute its national security mission. And that's going to include shrinking the ODNI by nearly 50 percent, a move that Gabbard says will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
--:-- John Bickley: We were able to get an inside look at these coming changes from Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan. She was in the room for that announcement.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Olihan said Gabbard described the changes as ODNI 2.0. She said the shift is the start of a new era, and that's going to focus on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.
--:-- John Bickley: And these changes are all happening very quickly. ODNI will be reduced by almost 50% by the end of this fiscal year, and that will include a 30 to 40% reduction in personnel. Agency employees were told yesterday about these changes, and they found out if their position will be eliminated, which will take effect by September 30th.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Ultimately, DNI officials say these changes will save $700 million every year. Senior ODNI officials also confirmed to Olihan that all of President Donald Trump priorities are reflected in ODNI 2 and that it was created in accordance with the president executive orders and it was greenlit personally by Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: So some massive changes are coming very quickly it sounds like. Now shifting gears a bit Gabbard also announced this week that she stripped dozens of intel officers of their security clearances.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Right. Gabbard has revoked clearances from 37 current and former intelligence officials who she says have abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence or leaking classified intelligence without authorization in addition to other violations.
--:-- John Bickley: As we recently covered here, Gabbard released information last month exposing what she called a treasonous conspiracy by the Obama administration to falsely claim Russia interfered in the 2016 election to undermine Trump's victory. Basically, they terry-picked or manipulated intelligence to push this narrative in favor of Clinton.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, of those 37 you mentioned, some of them are still working in the government. Do you know if they're going to be terminated?
--:-- John Bickley: Yes, they will be terminated. The memo said that all 37 individuals have lost access to classified systems and other materials effective immediately. And any contracts or employment that those people currently have with the U.S. government, those have been terminated.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: OK, now last Gabbard update. She was able to get the U.K. to back down over some stipulations with Apple.
--:-- John Bickley: What exactly did she pull off there?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, so Gabbard announced this week that the UK has dropped its demand for Apple to provide a backdoor that would have allowed access to protected encrypted data of American citizens.
--:-- John Bickley: Gabbard has been working with Trump and VP J.D. Vance for months now with our partners in the UK to get this deal locked. And she finally announced that on Monday. She said that this move will ensure that Americans' private data remains private and that our constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Texas House of Representatives passed a newly redistricted congressional map on Wednesday. The map is designed to give Republicans an edge in five more House races and to help the GOP retain control of the House after midterm elections. Here to talk about the map and the antics in and around the Texas Capitol this week is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, after Democrats ended their two-week walkout, Republicans are finally on the verge of getting their new map. The vote was delayed late into Wednesday as lawmakers fought over various proposed amendments, but it doesn't have much further to go. The Texas Senate actually passed it last week, and so all that's left is Governor Abbott's signature.
--:-- John Bickley: But there was quite a bit of chaos leading up to that vote. Tell us about that.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. It was quite an eventful week at the Texas state capitol. Dozens of Democrats showed back up on Monday after they fled the state to break quorum and racked up hefty fines in the process. After they returned, the House actually made each of them sign what was essentially an adult hall pass to leave the chamber again. Each was assigned a Texas Department of Public Safety officer to make sure they returned on time each day for each session.
--:-- John Bickley: In protest a few lawmakers made a show of sleeping in the House chamber instead of accepting their chaperones.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Texas Democrats later posted a video of one of them State Representative Nicole Collier getting a call from former Vice President Kamala Harris.
--:-- John Bickley: In a moment in the history of our country where it is so lacking in those who should have it, and you really are inspiring so many people. And I just want you to know that you are among those who history will reveal to have been heroes of this moment.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So you just stay strong and do what you are doing.
--:-- John Bickley: Every day this week, protesters have crowded into the Capitol and the House gallery. They've cheered for Democrats, taunted Republicans, but it's been all optics. Except there was a scary moment this week on Tuesday when parts of the Capitol were evacuated over an active shooter threat.
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to the Department of Public Safety, an unidentified person on social media urged people to, quote, take action by shooting and killing those who will not allow lawmakers to leave.
--:-- John Bickley: That means presumably Republican lawmakers.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, I think it's clear who the target was in that threat. Meanwhile, a pretty frightening moment at the Capitol.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. And meanwhile, Democrats have continued to ratchet up their rhetoric over this. Even on Wednesday, after that active shooter threat, they continued to frame this political fight as a threat to democracy.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Republican State Representative Brian Harrison hit Democrats over their antics on Wednesday morning.
--:-- John Bickley: I mean, these crocodile tears and bad, bad kabuki theater coming from the Democrats right now is just pathetic. I mean, quite frankly, my fourth graders' production of Streck last year had better acting. These Democrats are pretending they don't like redrawing maps for partisan political purposes. But the reality is Democrat state after Democrat state has been doing this for decades.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The dirty little secret is they're only objecting now because it's Republican states that are finally doing it.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, as far as redistricting in Texas goes, it's pretty much wrapped up. But expect similar scenes to play out this week in a few more states as Republicans and Democrats try to gain an edge ahead of midterms.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Republicans in California have already filed a lawsuit to stop Governor Newsom's ballot proposal to gerrymander that state's map. And the White House is reportedly looking into a slate of GOP-controlled states to pick up a few more seats in as well.
--:-- John Bickley: It looks like a busy season for congressional map makers ahead.
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--:-- John Bickley: With midterms starting to loom large for both parties, new voter data shows alarming signs for Democrats. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest on Democratic efforts to regroup and rebound with elections fast approaching.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, they're worried right now and for good reason. Typically, the party out of power enjoys a surge in enthusiasm and popularity and is basically licking their chops at the chance for midterms. But as we've discussed on this show, the party right now is really in turmoil, with three separate polls showing their favorability ratings in the high 20s and low 30s. That is the worst mark on record.
--:-- John Bickley: For context, the Wall Street Journal found that nationwide, the GOP had a minus 11 net favorability rating. Doesn't sound so great, but if you look at Democrats, they're at minus 30. Minus 30 nationwide.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Minus 30 nationwide. That same poll showed that some of the most common that voters associated with the Democrats right now were woke weak and out of touch.
--:-- John Bickley: And even more concerning that dip in popularity has coincided with a significant shift in party registration around the country Right. So the New York Times just put out a dire warning for Democrats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Looking at some of those numbers, what did they find?
--:-- John Bickley: So they compiled the voter registration numbers from the 30 states around the country that track party affiliation. And they found that from 2020 to 2024, Republicans added more voters than Democrats in every single state. All 30, some of the largest gains for the GOP came in important battlegrounds like Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But we even saw big swings against Democrats in deep blue states like New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Democratic losses were most pronounced among men and young voters, but were noticeable among nearly every single age range and demographic.
--:-- John Bickley: All told, over the last four years, Republicans added 2.4 million new voters. With that same time frame, Democrats lost 2.1 million. We're talking about a 4.5 million vote swing.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In 2020, Democrats held an 11-point advantage in registered voters across those 30 states. Today, that number is just 6%. So their lead's been nearly cut in half in the last four years alone, and that trend is only continuing.
--:-- John Bickley: It's actually picked up in the last year. So did the Times offer any diagnosis for what's causing the shift?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there's a few reasons. First, Republicans have dramatically increased the amount of money that they're pushing towards voter registration efforts. President Trump's gains with traditionally liberal voting blocs have also played a major role.
--:-- John Bickley: Democratic strategists say that typically they could set up registration drives in heavily minority or heavily working class neighborhoods and be confident that the people who signed up would sign on for Democrats. But right now, more and more of those folks are aligning with the GOP.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Democrats are hoping that national backlash against Donald Trump will help fuel a comeback next year. But the big problem for them is they can't seem to agree on just how to take him on.
--:-- John Bickley: So what are the different factions saying?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the party's far left base wants to go all in on stopping Trump at every single turn. But that strategy is less appealing to more moderate Dems who still support at least some of his policies.
--:-- John Bickley: The best example right now of that strategy divide is in California with Governor Gavin Newsom. After the November election, he spent a few months embracing the more moderate approach, hosting conservatives on his podcast and denouncing far-left woke social policies that he had previously endorsed.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in recent months, he has gone the exact opposite route, picking a fight with Trump wherever he can. First, he attempted to block the president's mobilizing of the National Guard during those anti-Trump riots in Los Angeles and all across the state.
--:-- John Bickley: And now he's launched a social media account explicitly aimed at trolling the White House.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And also, it's important to note, mimicking President Trump's no-holds-barred attack style. In recent days, he's posted Trump-like memes of himself being preyed over by Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock, and Hulk Hogan.
--:-- John Bickley: He's added photoshopped images of himself on Mount Rushmore, others of him wearing a crown, sitting on a throne. And of course, in Trumpian fashion, all caps insults directed at Republicans.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: As Newsom put it, quote, I've changed, the facts have changed, Democrats need to change. So he wants the party to go all in against Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: So no doubt he's gearing up for 2028.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, speaking of that race, Elon Musk is also switching up his strategy.
--:-- John Bickley: Tell us about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, this is really interesting. So after his very public falling out with President Trump, Musk said that he would launch a third party and financially back candidates who were disillusioned with the two-party system.
--:-- John Bickley: But according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday, Musk is now pumping the brakes on that plan, telling confidants that he's worried about alienating Republican leaders and saying that he wants to stay out of politics to focus on his many companies.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And importantly, he's reportedly looking to shore up relations with J.D. Vance in particular, whom he and many others view as the heir apparent to Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: If that report is accurate, it'll be a major relief to Republicans and yet another gut punch to Democrats who were hoping that he was going to siphon off Republicans in the future.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So a lot of tailwinds for Republicans, but, you know, midterms are always going to be hard for the party in charge.
--:-- John Bickley: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Absolutely. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And if you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
