--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A targeted attack on an ICE facility in Dallas leaves several people dead. Early evidence that we've seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, September 25th, and this is Morning Wire. A COVID-era bailout is under heavy fire for prioritizing payouts to homeowners based on race. And Senate Democrats are risking a government shutdown after rejecting a House-passed funding bill that would keep the lights on in Washington. This is a short-term extension of existing funding, current funding. The Democrats are trying to hijack it to get a trillion dollars in new spending. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by American Beverage, representing the local and many family-owned bottlers and distributors of Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi products operating in all 50 states. These are drinks we've all loved for generations. These iconic brands are part of the American story and have been for over 100 years. With all the talks about American jobs lately, American beverage companies have been delivering on that promise all along. They always have been and always will be American companies making American products with American workers in American hometowns. 275,000 men and women in all 50 states show up every day, do the work and deliver for our economy and our communities. Learn more about America's beverage companies at wedeliverforamerica.org.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A shooter opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas Wednesday, killing multiple immigrant detainees. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Tehr joins us now with the latest.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: So, Jenny, can you fill us in? What exactly happened yesterday morning?
--:-- Jenny Tehr: So, we had a shooter who was actually at the vantage point of a rooftop nearby an ICE detention center that he opened fire on. That resulted in at least two fatalities who happened to be illegal immigrants that ICE was loading into the facility. We know that he was up high on that rooftop. He was later found dead there as well after a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: And what do we know so far about the shooter? Do we have any kind of possible motive?
--:-- Jenny Tehr: Well, Fox News is reporting that his name is Joshua John. He's a 29-year-old. We don't know necessarily everything about him at this point. What we do know is from the FBI, Director Kash Patel, he revealed a photo of shell casings that were left at the scene by the alleged shooter that showed a message anti-ICE that was on them. That revealed what he believes is an ideological motive.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: And meanwhile, he does say there's an ongoing investigation into this, but many have already tagged this as a left-wing attack as part of just a string of those that we're seeing across the country against ICE, against law enforcement. There's been similar attacks carried out, including at this very facility Wednesday where the attack occurred. Just weeks ago, you had an individual who showed up, was luckily arrested, but he had a... he said he had a bomb in his backpack and a detonator on his wrist, and he told the ICE officer that.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: Luckily a bomb squad responded and the facility was put on lockdown. There been similar attacks. This is something also that Senator Ted Cruz spoke about at a press conference with the federal law enforcement and the Dallas Police Department on Wednesday where they revealed more information about this. He actually called for his colleagues on the other side of the aisle to lower the temperature when it comes to their rhetoric out in the public. To every politician who is using rhetoric, demonizing ICE and demonizing CBP, stop. To every politician demanding that ICE agents be doxed and calling for people to go after their families, stop.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: This has very real consequences. Look, in America, we disagree. That's fine. That's the democratic process. But your political opponents are not Nazis. We need to learn to work together without demonizing each other, without attacking each other.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: Now, what are you hearing from your sources on the ground about this shooting? Is ICE on high alert at this point because of this? Is this pattern of violence going to affect their operations at all?
--:-- Jenny Tehr: Right. So we know already that ICE has been operating amid a 1,000 percent increase in assaults. So they see it every day when they're carrying out arrests and their normal operations. Today, unfortunately, this is a continued part of that. You know, this is an egregious example of it, but it was actually the intent of the shooter. According to authorities, they believe that the shooter was targeting ICE officers on Wednesday morning and saw an unmarked van pull into the facility and noticed people coming out and shot at them.
--:-- Jenny Tehr: They happen to be illegal immigrants that were being loaded in for processing instead of his intended targets of ICE officers. So they happen to be collateral damage. This is something that the Department of Homeland Security has emphasized that anti-ICE agitators want to target ICE officers. They want to go after law enforcement, but they are putting these illegal immigrant detainees who they advocate for at risk.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Jenny, thank you so much for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You know, I'm the kind of guy who really enjoys cooking. I take pride in what I put on my plate. So when I learned that over 4 billion pounds of meat were imported into the U.S. last year and can still be labeled like it's from here, I just couldn't get it out of my head. That's what led me to Good Ranchers. All their meat is 100% American, sourced from right here from local farms and ranches. I can taste it in every bite. Personally, I love to give my Good Rancher steak a good dry rub before sautéing it in butter, giving it a great taste. There's no better way to make it. I've been subscribing for months now and I love the whole experience. I get $25 off every box, free shipping, and they throw in a free gift for life. I've gotten their chicken thighs, bacon, and even Italian sausage, which was phenomenal. Plus, if I'm traveling for work or I just need a break, I can pause or delay my delivery anytime. No hassle and no commitment pressure. Right now, if you use our code WIRE, you'll get $40 off your first box plus free meat for life when you subscribe. Support American farms and families all while eating better. That's WIRE for $40 off plus free meat for life. GoodRanchers.com.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to the table. A COVID-era housing bailout spent $10 billion paying Americans mortgages and even their HOA dues. But 40% of the funds went to Black Americans due to the program including explicit racial preferences. Now, some white residents are suing their states, saying the government illegally withheld assistance from them based on race. Here with more is Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak, who broke this story.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: So, Luke, what did you find here?
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Hey, guys. So this is really probably one of the largest race-based wealth transfers in the history of the U.S. government. And it really happened because it came, number one, during COVID when we were just hemorrhaging billions of dollars, and number two, during that height of racial insanity a couple years ago. So this is a program called the Homeowner Assistance Fund and it gave people up to $50,000 to pay housing bills. It was passed by Congress and required about half the money to go to homeowners who are at or below the median income while the remainder could go to wealthier people but with priority being given to, quote, socially disadvantaged homeowners.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: So these socially disadvantaged people who have more money than most, literally, go straight to the front of the line for these huge payments, which essentially excludes everyone else because there's going to be no money left over after that. So the key here is that term socially disadvantaged. How exactly is that defined?
--:-- Luke Rosiak: That's where it gets interesting. Congress never defined it. And the program was actually run separately by each state. The states got the money after submitting plans to the feds. But the Biden administration heavily suggested a definition for those states to include in those plans. Quoting here, those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias. The presumption is the following individuals are socially disadvantaged, black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Now, the result was stark. In Alabama, 85% of those funds went to black residents. In Georgia, it was 82%. So one minority group got the vast majority of the funds in those states. Yeah, and that's especially surprising because just based on the fact that half the money was supposed to be doled out based on income, you should have seen more people of various races. Only about half of Georgians below the median income are black.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Plaintiffs in a lawsuit said that's because Georgia deliberately ensured that white people didn't even know it existed. The state's plan included texting residents to let them know about this opportunity for $50,000, but it only texted residents of counties with heavy minority populations. So this was a state program in a state with a Republican governor.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Were the states required to use race as a criteria?
--:-- Luke Rosiak: No, although that wasn't made quite clear by the Biden administration. One example that proves that it wasn't required is California, actually. They defined socially disadvantaged in a way that had nothing to do with race. They defined it as people who lived in census tracts with historically high foreclosure rates, which makes sense for a program intended to stave off foreclosures due to COVID. But a lot of states did end up using this Biden administration definition.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: And now Georgia, Missouri, and Oklahoma are all being sued by residents for going along with it, even though politicians there say they oppose DEI.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Right. So tell us about those lawsuits in those states. In Missouri, the program was administered by a housing commission where the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are commissioners. Missouri partnered with the Black Chamber of Commerce to advertise the program. And 44 percent of the money went to blacks, who make up less than 12 percent of the population of that state.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: A spokeswoman for Missouri Governor Mike Cahill declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, but called him a, quote, strong advocate for removing DEI. In Oklahoma, plaintiffs include a massage therapist who was forced out of a job by COVID policies and her disabled veteran husband. They point out that the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency said prominently on its website that African American, Hispanic, Latino, Native American, LGBTQ plus residents would get preference for this government money. All of Oklahoma's top officials are Republican and the housing agency is run by a board appointed by the governor.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: The board's chair was appointed in 2019 to a five-year term by Governor Kevin Stitt. Stitt then reappointed that chair after he created this race-based program. Stitt didn't return my request for comment.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Sounds like a lot of questions still to be answered about these programs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Luke, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Trump canceled a meeting this week with Democratic congressional leaders to discuss government funding. The president blasted Democrats' demands as, quote, unserious and ridiculous as government funding is set to expire at the end of the month. Here to discuss the looming shutdown is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, where do negotiations stand right now?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown is September 30th. That gives lawmakers less than a week. House Republicans have already passed a clean seven-week funding extension. It's in the Senate where things are getting sticky. Even though the GOP holds a majority, Republicans need 60 votes, which means they need some Democrats.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The White House had planned to meet this week with Democratic leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. But Trump scrapped that over Democratic demands. He doubled down on Wednesday, writing on Truth Social that Democratic demands include free health care for illegal aliens, half a billion dollars for radical left news outlets, leaving dead people on Medicaid and Social Security rolls, and men playing in women's sports.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So a bunch of non-starters there, but I imagine Democrats are packaging things differently. What are they saying?
--:-- Tim Pierce: They're saying that they won't back down. Schumer and Jeffries have been on a media blitz this week after the meeting fell apart. Here's Schumer on MSNBC yesterday morning. We're asking something very simple, Joe, for the president to sit down and talk with us. You know, he's not the king. He can't just dictate what happened. He said he doesn't need Democrats. Well, then he doesn't know how to count because there are 60 votes in this Senate that you need to pass this, and he's got 53.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The main line of attack from Democrats appears to be over health care. Here's Jeffries. Republicans have engaged in an unprecedented assault on the health care of the American people throughout this year. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Millions of people are going to lose coverage because of what Republicans have done.
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to some reports, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Trump to cancel the meeting this week. Congressional Republicans thought that Democrats were unserious and that the meeting would erode their leverage. Johnson sent the House into recess after it passed its seven-week extension, and he said that he won't recall lawmakers to D.C. until after the September 30th deadline.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So if Democrats don't agree to a clean bill, it'll be a fight over who takes the blame for the shutdown. So what's the most likely outcome? Do we think the Democrats are going to follow through and force a shutdown?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, for that morning, I spoke to Richard Stern. He's the director of the Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation. His guess is that the Democrats ultimately cave, at least in the short term, and pass the House's clean extension. But if they don't, Democrats are likely to take the brunt of the blame for a government shutdown.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I think at the end of the day, they're probably going to be the ones that really take on the political odium of having, you know, stopped the entire government, put our defense on the line, border security, just to get some funding for D.I.I. and climate stuff.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So I think they probably end up taking the blame for this. Stern said that this funding battle is unlike any in recent history in that it actually involves real cuts being made to the federal budget. So Congress is used to, Democrats are used to bidding up how much government money, how much the government spends.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And what happened this time, and this is quite unprecedented, is the president and Republicans were actually willing to pass a bill clawing back spending after it got passed. And so I think Democrats understand that whatever they negotiate in a funding bill, it's not set in stone. That they're now looking at a Republican party that is united in the use of Congress and the White House to remove spending after the approach bills are done.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So I think it has them a little more gunshot. I think it has them feeling a little more chaotic about it and feeling like they have to put up more of a fight than they would otherwise do. I think that's the other wrinkle that's that's actually unique to this funding fight.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The fight will likely come down to the last second. So we probably won't know about a partial shutdown until next week. Well, the American people really dislike when this happens. So it is a gamble for Democrats.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me on.
