--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm Georgia Howe.
--:-- John Bickley: And I'm John Bickley, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Tensions escalate as President Trump and Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky feud over peace negotiations. I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land and no people would have been killed, but they chose not to do it that way. What's driving the wedge between the two leaders and how will Trump's new economic deal play into the talks?
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, February 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Trump's Labor Department pick sails through her confirmation hearing, despite Republican concerns over her past. In every role, my priority has been clear. To fight for the American worker and the business that drive our economy. And RFK and the Make America Healthy Again Commission are already heavily influencing the food industry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, things appear to really be coming to a head between these two. First, give us a little timeline. How did all of this start?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it's no secret Donald Trump is not the biggest fan of Zelensky. Throughout the campaign, he accused the Ukrainian president of corruption and taking advantage of American generosity. But things really escalated when the White House excluded Ukraine from those initial peace talks with Moscow this week. And while Trump said that they would be brought in once negotiations got more serious, Zelensky expressed outrage, saying he would not accept any deal unless he had a seat at the table.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, Trump responded by saying they've had a seat at the table for the last three years and that they could have ended the war a long time ago. And that brings us to yesterday when things heated up even more. Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, Zelensky accused Donald Trump of spreading Russian propaganda and, quote, living in a disinformation space.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that prompted a very significant response from the president. What did Trump say?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes, it did. Trump lit into Zelensky hours later with a long post on Truth Social that reads in part, quote, Zelensky talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion to go into a war that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a war that he, without the U.S. and Trump, will never be able to settle. Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is missing. He went on to call Zelensky a, quote, dictator without elections.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Trump is drawing attention to the lack of elections in Ukraine since the war began. Right Zelensky presidential term technically expired last year but because the country is under martial law they have not held an election to replace him allowing him to stay in power indefinitely
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now Zelensky and his supporters say an election is not feasible given the conflict and that Ukrainians overwhelmingly support him, so an election is not necessary in the first place. Here he is Wednesday speaking through a translator. First of all, we have 58% confidence in me. I have seen this in various opinion surveys. So if anyone wants to replace me right now, that won't work.
--:-- Georgia Howe: VP Vance offered his own advice for Zelensky, telling the Daily Mail, quote, the idea that Zelensky is going to change the president's mind by badmouthing him in public media. Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For their part, Democrats on the Hill slammed Trump's comments, echoing Zelensky's claims of Russian disinformation. Here's former Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor. It's shameful to hear the president repeat Putin's propaganda while laying the groundwork for negotiations that favor Russia at Ukraine's expense.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And there were some Republican lawmakers who did push back on Trump's claims as well. South Dakota's Mike Rounds defended Zelensky, calling him, quote, a key component in the fact that they've been able to withstand the Russian attacks.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: More broadly, though, the GOP certainly is backing Trump's rhetoric on this issue. Now, all of this comes as President Trump has floated a new economic deal for Ukraine. What would that look like?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. So last year, Zelensky laid out a so-called victory plan aimed at convincing Western allies to continue supporting the war effort. As part of that plan, he floated allowing the U.S. to develop Ukrainian natural resources after the war, including vast reserves of rare earth minerals. And now Trump is proposing his own version of that idea, saying he wants access to Ukrainian ports, oil and gas reserves, and minerals after the war.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to The Telegraph, Trump sent a memo to Ukraine calling for 50 percent of recurring revenues on those resources, as well as 50 percent of the value from, quote, all new licenses issued to third parties. Zelensky has publicly bristled at that plan, though, saying, quote, I cannot sell our country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But it's very clear Trump is expecting some form of payback for all the U.S. tax dollars that have gone to Ukraine. Well, and amazing if half of it really is unaccounted for.
--:-- Tim Rice: Yeah, that's exactly right, Sean. Yesterday was the big day for Lori Chavez de Reamer. And while the former Oregon congresswoman hasn't gotten as much attention as some of Trump's other cabinet nominees, she's been pretty controversial in her own right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Republicans said she was too friendly with labor unions. And the fact that she quickly earned vocal support from Teamsters head Sean O'Brien and teachers union boss Randy Weingarten only heightened that fear.
--:-- Tim Rice: But the biggest issue Republicans had was her support of the PRO Act a labor backed bill that union leaders say would level the playing field between workers and businesses Now Republicans largely oppose the bill which they say would give unions too much power Among other things they say the PRO Act would have overturned state laws allowing workers to not be forced to join a union or pay union dues to be employed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was a major sticking point for Rand Paul, who said he would not vote to confirm Chavez de Reamer. Here's Paul pushing her on that point. The PRO Act wasn't just about organizing or enabling unions to organize, which they already have the right to do. The PRO Act was about overturning right-to-work laws in 26 states, half of the country. Most of these states would argue that this would be a horrendous invasion of their prerogatives.
--:-- Tim Rice: Do you still support the PRO Act or don't you support the PRO Act? In response, Chavez de Reamer assured Paul that her past support of the PRO Act would not inform her actions as labor secretary. I signed on to the PRO Act because I was representing Oregon's fifth district. But I also signed on to the PRO Act because I wanted to be at that table and have those conversations. But I fully, fairly, and support states who want to protect their right to work.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I have said that to every senator that I have visited. So you no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would have overturned state right to work laws? Yeah. There were so many parts. That's a yes? Yes.
--:-- Tim Rice: That seems to have been good enough for Paul, who said he had no further questions and told reporters he would reconsider his no vote. That's a pretty big turnaround there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Republicans did have some other concerns. What other questions did we hear from them?
--:-- Tim Rice: Yeah, the other main concern came from Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who grilled her on abortion, noting that she once worked at Planned Parenthood. Chavez de Reamer stressed that she had a, quote, 100% pro-life voting record in Congress and would continue to support the America First agenda, which we know includes life.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it sounds like she may have sewn up Republican support. What about Democrats? What did they say?
--:-- Tim Rice: Well, they mostly asked her about their big topic these days, Doge, which has really become the Democrats boogeyman. Chris Murphy asked her to pledge that she would deny Elon Musk and his team access to the Labor Department. And Tammy Baldwin asked if she would stop Doge from pulling down the Labor Department's publicly available wage information.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Chavez de Reamer demurred on all the Doge questions, saying she wasn't familiar with what that team was doing and saying that she would ask for a briefing on their activities if she were confirmed.
--:-- Tim Rice: All right. So before we let you go, what other confirmation news do we need to have on our radar?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, yesterday, the Senate confirmed former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration, and they're expected to vote on Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, sometime today.
--:-- Tim Rice: So another crucial piece of the president's revamped Justice Department could soon fall into place. Yeah. Meanwhile, we're finally nearing the end of these confirmation hearings. Thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You bet. With HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm, President Trump has established the ambitious Make America Healthy Again Commission, which is already impacting the food industry. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So Amanda, the Maha Commission aims to address the spike in chronic disease rates specifically for children, and they're focusing on processed food. So what do we know about the changes coming down the pike?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so the commission has 180 days from the day the order was signed to submit a strategy to make our children healthy again. But changes from the private sector already seem to be in motion. According to Robert Mosco, who's a food industry analyst for investment bank TD Cowan, food and beverage brands will proactively start to remove artificial flavors and preservatives that they believe won't pass new standards.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Some big name restaurants have already publicized their health swaps. Fast food chain Steak and Shake famously announced last month that they'll start cooking their fries in beef tallow. RFK has promoted beef tallow over vegetable and seed oils Sweet Green and Blue Collar Restaurant Group have also replaced seed oils We also see changes at Mondel International which is one of the largest companies in the world and owns brands like Oreo Ritz Chips Ahoy Cliff Bar Cadbury and others Mondelēz CEO Dirk Vandeput said on Tuesday that the company will swap out ingredients and food dyes it currently uses by basically switching over to its European recipes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Europe has stricter standards for their food. Vandiput did say, though, that consumers will see price hikes. On that note, it is generally expected that we will see a strong push from the food industry to keep seed oils and foods since they are so inexpensive.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Moscow said constituents of the agribusiness industry will likely present studies at upcoming hearings to make that case. So we can expect a fight over seed oils, it sounds like.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what about school lunches and SNAP? Have they signaled any changes coming there?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, so with SNAP, government-funded food benefits, Trump's agriculture secretary, Brooke Rawlings, said last week that she will work with RFK to reform those benefits. Here she is talking to the press on Friday. When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?
--:-- Georgia Howe: RFK has also signaled that SNAP will be reformed, as well as federally subsidized school lunches. We shouldn't be giving 60% of the kids in school processed food that is making them sick. In fiscal year 2023, the government spent more than $112 billion on SNAP and about $17 billion on the national school lunch program.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Also relating to school policy, HHS now officially recognizes only two genders, which is in line with previous executive orders regulating female sports and medical policy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now wrapping up here, RFK addressed HHS staff on Tuesday. Did he give any insight into how the department will operate?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, Kennedy really stressed that his goal is to earn back the public's trust and accomplish that through transparency. Trust in institutions and even scientists have significantly dropped since COVID. And again, Kennedy says HHS will focus on root causes of chronic illnesses instead of only focusing on treating symptoms with drugs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He cited some shocking statistics to give a general look at what we're up against. In the U.S., six out of every 10 adults have at least one chronic disease and four in 10 have two or more. The U.S. has the highest age standardized cancer incident rate among 204 countries in the world. Asthma and autoimmune diseases are far more common in the U.S. than in any other part of the world. Autism now affects one in every 36 kids, a more than fourfold increase over past decades. Sperm counts and testosterone are down about 50 percent in American boys. And our girls are reaching puberty six years earlier than historical generations.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, no doubt we are dealing with a health crisis. Let's hope Kennedy can turn things around.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you liked what you heard this morning, share this episode with a friend.
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