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--:-- John Bickley: The Biden administration released multiple documents Thursday offering a robust endorsement of medical gender transition for minors. What are government officials recommending for children? And why are some parents concerned? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, April 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new government report says the Biden administration is holding illegal immigrants in conditions so bad everyone should be evacuated immediately. But officials say the administration lied about the conditions. We'll sort through the competing claims.
--:-- John Bickley: And the NFL is now requiring teams to hire a minority or a female to their offensive coaching staffs. We have the details on the league's new diverse person policy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: On Thursday, the Biden administration published multiple documents that strongly endorse gender transition treatment for minors. The Department of Health and Human Services released two documents backing gender transition up to and including surgery for minors. Daily Wire investigative reporter [Mairead Elordi] is here with the details for us.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi, Georgia. So Biden's HHS released these two documents about, quote, gender affirming care, which provides some of the clearest messaging of the administration's stance on the issue. Most controversially, the agency affirms the use of cross-sex hormones and in some cases surgery for kids.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While the agency does not recommend surgery for young children, for adolescents, the HHS says care may include surgery.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: According to the documents, that can be top surgery, which entails removing the breasts of females or constructing breasts for males. Or it may include bottom surgery, which entails altering or removing the genitals or reproductive organs. The document also mentions facial feminization surgery or other plastic surgery procedures.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the HHS is recommending medical intervention for kids who experience gender dysphoria.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yes, but the HHS also says that gender-affirming care goes beyond medical procedures. They say it also includes access to opportunities like playing team sports on the preferred gender team and using their preferred bathroom in schools and public places.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Basically, affirmative gender care is an all-encompassing effort to align the outside with what the minor is feeling on the inside.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Now, that's a pretty controversial stance. It is, and the most controversial aspect is that HHS is very clear that they are talking about children. These documents also repeatedly claim that children are at risk of depression, homelessness, and even suicide if their new gender identity is not affirmed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At multiple points, the document states that using a minor's preferred pronouns is crucial to prevent suicidality. So they do not recommend parents ask questions or push back at all when their kids claim to be trans.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Exactly. They say that could increase the chances of suicide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now the HHS also makes very specific claims about the efficacy of these treatments. What are those claims?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Among the laundry list of claims it makes, the HHS documents say that there's no evidence that medical transition has any negative impacts. They also claim that putting a child on puberty blockers to pause the progression of puberty is fully reversible, and that cross-sex hormone treatments are partially reversible for adolescents.
--:-- Georgia Howe: However, studies have shown that these treatments are not always reversible, and side effects include permanent infertility, among other things.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Studies not included in this HHS document show the risk of infertility is greater if hormone therapy is started before puberty.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so why is the administration pushing for gender transition for these kids? What's the benefit?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Well, they're appealing to recommendations from approved gender experts who say this is essential for the well-being of these kids.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On that note, on multiple occasions, the document advocates that Americans get information about these issues from specific approved sources rather than relying on other sources which may spread misinformation.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The document also advises that people seek out information from gender-diverse experts and even organize gender trainings in their local communities. They also emphasize on multiple occasions that the community should remember to financially compensate those gender-diverse experts for sharing their expertise.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So HHS is asking individuals to host their own gender trainings in their community.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: That's right. They advocate bringing this information to schools and other organizations that work with kids. They also talk about challenging colleagues in adult workplaces to engage with these ideas.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One interesting note here is that the HHS seems to be sensitive to the possibility of child abuse claims against parents of kids who undergo medical transition.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The agency advises parents preempt these child abuse claims by creating a safe folder with letters from experts and community members to prove their child is benefiting from gender affirming treatment.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, the handling of gender and discussions around gender in schools has been a really hot topic lately. How do parents feel about this?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Well, it's possible the document was released in response to parents' concerns as an effort to get parents and the community more comfortable and on board with these ideas. But there's still a lot of skepticism out there in the parent community.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Well, Mairead, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi. Coming up, accusations of inhumane conditions at the border.
--:-- Ben Johnson: I'm here with Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson. Thanks for joining us, Ben.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Anytime. So let's start at the beginning. What does this report say about the conditions of detainees at this facility?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, the DHS Office of Inspector General issued a report on March 16th saying the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, New Mexico, is holding its 505 detainees in revolting conditions.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The report features pictures of moldy floors, broken sinks with no hot water, and toilets clogged with human waste. Inspectors told ICE quote we recommend the immediate relocation of all detainees from the facility.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The office told CNN this is the first time it's ever made such a recommendation in its history. Despite its historic nature, the report got less media coverage than lesser allegations about detention facilities under President Donald Trump.
--:-- Ben Johnson: It's certainly a troubling report. How did the Biden administration respond?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's what's so remarkable. One part of the Biden administration accused another part of the Biden administration of lying.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Acting ICE chief of staff Jason Hauser said in a letter, quote, it appears OIG, the Office of Inspector General, has falsified or mischaracterized evidence and has ignored facts presented to it to achieve preconceived conclusions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Falsified evidence, that's an explosive charge.
--:-- Ben Johnson: It certainly is. The private corporation that runs the facility, CoreCivic, says the unsavory conditions listed in the report were in areas that didn't house any detainees.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They were empty units. It also accused the inspectors responsible for this report for acting, quote, in a deeply unethical manner, including misrepresenting evidence.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The local sheriff has defended the facility and its congressional representative, Melanie Stansberry, who's a Democrat and an opponent of private prisons, made an unannounced visit on March 21st, and she gave the facility a clean bill of health.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I want to be completely clear about that. The sinks were working. We did not see mold. The facilities were clean.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The only problem she found was, in fact, in an area that's not currently in use. But then, two days later, she walked back her comments and said she hadn't seen the full facility.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Exactly. How did the inspector general respond to that accusation?
--:-- Ben Johnson: The OIG says it stands by its report 100%. It admits that it asked one detainee to reenact the way he got drinking water from a cleaning sink because of the facility's plumbing problems.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But inspectors say he had just done that before the cameras were ready. They didn't put him up to it for their report.
--:-- Ben Johnson: They also cite ICE's own recent complaints about the facility, although ICE said the facility passed a recent inspection.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As of now, ICE has not removed anyone from the New Mexico facility.
--:-- Ben Johnson: It's also important to note that the DHS Office of Inspector General is currently under investigation for undisclosed reasons having to do with retaliation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Really? We'll have to follow up on that.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Now, some Republicans have accused the Biden administration of effectively cracking down on detention facilities to undermine border security as well, right?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Last week, ICE announced it would stop using two detention facilities in Alabama and Florida, and it would reduce the number of beds in two more facilities in North Carolina and Louisiana.
--:-- Ben Johnson: And President Biden's $5.8 trillion proposed budget would cut the number of detention beds by 25 percent nationally.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Representative Kat Kamik of Florida said the budget's intended to erode border security.
--:-- Ben Johnson: When you really dig into what this proposed budget is all about, it's about supporting the illegals here, continuing that magnet, but doing nothing in the way of helping construct the wall or give the resources that our Border Patrol agents need to do their job.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it sounds like there's a lot more digging to be done on some of these facility claims.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Definitely. Ben, thanks for bringing us that report.
--:-- Georgia Howe: My pleasure. That's Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
--:-- Joe Morgan: I'm here with Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan. Thanks for joining us, Joe.
--:-- Joe Morgan: All right, Joe, the NFL has implemented a pretty sweeping change here related to minority hires. First, what brought about this rule?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, really, this all stems from the Brian Flores lawsuit. For those who haven't followed that, it started in February when former Miami Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores sued the NFL and several teams, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants, and the Dolphins, for racial discrimination in the hiring process.
--:-- Joe Morgan: In the suit, Flores alleges that the Giants and Broncos brought him in for, quote, sham interviews only in order to satisfy the Rooney rule.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's the league's existing rule that stipulates that each team must interview at least two minority candidates for prominent positions within the organization.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Okay, and so the NFL has responded in part by examining their policies and now issuing this new requirement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Correct. On Monday, the league announced that every team will be required to hire a minority assistant coach on the offensive staff.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The individual can be either a minority or a female and must be signed to a one-year deal, which will be partially paid from a league-wide fund.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The coach is required to work closely with the head coach and offensive staff.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The reason for the hire needing to be on the offensive side of the football is that the majority of recent head coaching hires have come from offensive coaches.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the NFL feels that there are not enough minority offensive coordinators in the ranks.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And as you've said, a team can hire actually a female rather than a minority coach.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, that's right. And the NFL also added women to the Rooney Rule, meaning that interviewing two women for an open position will satisfy that rule.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Due to this change, a team could theoretically interview two white women without interviewing a minority candidate, which would obviously defeat the purpose of the rule.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In addition to these changes, the league announced the creation of the NFL Diversity Advisory Committee, which will be a six-member committee that will, and I'm quoting here, lend its expert external perspective on industry best practices and will evaluate league and club diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and initiatives.
--:-- Joe Morgan: That includes, again, quoting, all hiring processes, policies, and procedures with a primary focus on senior-level coach and front office personnel positions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Any pushback so far?
--:-- Joe Morgan: So far, the response has been pretty muted, but look, I wouldn't be surprised if this new policy doesn't spark some serious debate in the coming weeks and months.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, you mentioned the Brian Flores lawsuit. Has there been any new developments there?
--:-- Joe Morgan: There has. Earlier this week, it was reported that two additional defendants will be added to the suit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to Pro Football Talk, the two plaintiffs will allege discriminatory bias in their failure to be hired for head coaching jobs.
--:-- Joe Morgan: This will reportedly target the owners of the teams directly. In other words, two additional NFL teams will be added to that lawsuit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, we'll see if these new policies have their intended effect.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah. Thanks, Joe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You got it. That's Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
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--:-- John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week, the State Department announced that American citizens will soon be able to list their sex on their passport as X.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The change goes into effect April 11th. The announcement was made on March 31st in honor of Trans Visibility Day.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, subscribe, leave us a five-star rating, and most importantly, share our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
