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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Babbel. Let's get you talking in a new language. Babbel is gifting our listeners 60% off subscriptions at babbel.com slash wire. Again, that's babbel.com slash wire. Rules and restrictions may apply.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI Director, Mitch McConnell won't seek re-election, and taxpayers may get a Doge dividend. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, February 20th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cash Patel was confirmed as director of the FBI today. The Senate voted mostly along party lines, 51 to 49, to confirm President Trump's pick to head the bureau. Only two GOP senators voted no, Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. Patel will serve a 10-year term, replacing Christopher Wray.
--:-- John Bickley: Morning Wire spoke to Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, who believes Patel is the perfect choice to reform the FBI. He's not there to destroy the FBI. He's there to get them back on mission focus. He's there to support the field agents, to put them back on mission focus of protecting the American people, not taking directive orders from a Democrat party that's want to investigate students for showing up to school board meetings or classifying Catholics and I not joking when I say this as a possible terrorist because they disagreed with the Democrat agenda
--:-- Georgia Howe: This morning, Hamas released the bodies of four hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement. Daily Wire reporter [unidentified speaker] has more on the exchange.
--:-- [Unidentified speaker]: Israel received the bodies of four hostages held by Hamas today after the terror group paraded them on stage in front of cheering crowds and upbeat music. The hostages included 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, 31-year-old Shiri Vibas, and her two young children, four-year-old Ariel and Kafir, who was only nine months old when he was kidnapped. On stage was a picture of the four fallen hostages with an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a vampire and a missile with a sign stating they were killed by USA bombs.
--:-- [Unidentified speaker]: The coffins were received by Red Cross representatives who transported them to the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza, where they were checked for hidden explosives. They were wrapped with Israeli flags in a small ceremony where a rabbi recited Psalm 83. Once the bodies are officially identified, families will be given the final confirmation and can proceed with burying their loved ones.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Kentucky Senator and former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not seek re-election. The powerful senator got a standing ovation after announcing his decision in a short speech on the Senate floor this morning. Today is his 83rd birthday.
--:-- John Bickley: McConnell stepped down from his leadership role last year after encountering some health challenges. McConnell is the longest serving Kentucky senator, having served seven terms in the upper chamber after being first elected back in 1985.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has announced he will run for McConnell's seat.
--:-- John Bickley: Vice President J.D. Vance kicked off the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC today just outside D Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips reports
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The vice president took questions on a variety of topics including immigration the economy and foreign policy where he received a standing ovation for his high speech in Munich Germany last week, in which he called out Europeans for censorship. Later, he warned drug dealers to get out of our country and had a message of support for young men.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: My message to young men is don't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends, or because you're competitive. The cultural message, and I think the president's and mine is the exact opposite, but our cultural message is I think that it wants to turn everybody, whether male or female, into androgynous idiots who think the same, talk the same, and act the same. We actually think God made male and female for a purpose, And we want you guys to thrive as young men and as young women. And we're going to help with our public policy to make it possible to do that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Elon Musk is also scheduled to speak at CPAC later this afternoon.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Could American taxpayers receive a Doge dividend? Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice has details.
--:-- Tim Rice: President Trump announced Wednesday night that he's considering giving taxpayers 20% of the money being saved by Doge as a tax break. Speaking in an investment conference in Miami Trump praised Doge efforts under Elon Musk highlighting billion in savings already achieved The proposed plan would allocate another 20 of these savings to reduce the national debt Details on the feasibility of this proposal and whether congressional approval is required have not been disclosed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Trump is cutting all federal funds directed to illegal immigrants. Daily Wire investigative reporter Spencer Lindquist has more on Trump's new executive order.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: The president signed an order late Wednesday to ensure that, quote, taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens. The order directs all federal departments and agencies to end any programs that provide any financial benefits to those illegally in the country. It also bars the use of any taxpayer money to support so-called sanctuary policies, and it designates criminal organizations such as MS-13 and Trendy Aragua as terrorist organizations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the IRS is set to lay off as many as 6,000 employees today. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the numbers.
--:-- Tim Pierce: IRS employees received an email Wednesday ordering them to the office today with all of their government-issued equipment. These layoffs are part of Trump's efforts to reduce the federal workforce. Today's firings target probationary employees who have less than one to two years of service and have fewer job protections. The Biden administration hired thousands of new agents, many in customer service and compliance, bringing the total number of employees at the agency up to 100,000. Those being reduced are not deemed critical to filing season.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including RFK's big changes to health and human services and the war of words between Trump and Zelensky. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
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