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--:-- Host: John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels and music are made for each other. They share a rhythm in the craft of making something timeless while being a part of legendary nights, from backyard jams to sold-out arenas. There's a song in every toast. Please drink responsibly. Responsibility.org. Jack Daniels and Old Number 7 are registered trademarks. Tennessee Whiskey, 40% alcohol by volume. Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Trump's big, beautiful bill heads back to the House after a marathon Senate session and a tie-breaking vote from J.D. Vance. It is rich to hear Democrats all of a sudden concerned about debt and deficits. I'm Daily Wire, executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, July 2nd, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Trump and Governor DeSantis put aside past differences at Alligator Alcatraz, touting the power of their federal-state alliance. Ron and I have had a really great relationship for a long time. We had a little off period for a couple of days, but it didn't last long.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: And Brian Koberger avoids the death penalty, pleading guilty to murdering four Idaho students. Life without possibility of parole, no appeals, is the deal that's on the table right now. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host: John Bickley: America's energy advantage, building a brighter future right here at home. Visit chevron.com slash America to discover more.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: After a marathon vote in Congress, the Senate narrowly passed Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill, pushing his sweeping policy agenda toward the finish line. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with the details.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot, so quite the saga in Washington. We've been tracking this now for weeks. What happened yesterday?
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Well, the real breaking news, D.C. now facing a coffee shortage after senators and their staff spent the last 48 hours holed up debating this legislation nonstop in what Washington calls a voterama where members submit last-minute amendments before a final vote. In this case, there were votes held on everything from Medicare cuts and electric car subsidies to health care for legal immigrants and Planned Parenthood funding.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: When all was said and done, this ended up being the longest voterama in history with 45 separate amendments voted on. That process went all night Monday and well into Tuesday afternoon. Democrats made clear that they viewed this voterama as a means of forcing Republicans to go on the record with their views. But more importantly, as we've discussed earlier, to stall.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: That tactic angered Republicans and even some Democrats who opposed the bill, including Pennsylvania's John Fetterman. Oh my God, I just want to go home. I've already, I've missed our entire trip to the beach. I don't think it's really helpful to put people here till some ungodly hour.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: But ultimately, Democrats could only stall for so long before that final vote was held. Right. And when that vote came, it was as razor thin as you get. Tell us about that.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Well, given their slim majority, the GOP coming in could only afford to lose three Republican votes. And with Senators Rand Paul, Tom Tillis, and Susan Collins definite no's, in many ways, it all came down to Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. Ultimately, GOP leadership won her over by offering some major concessions.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: They exempted Alaska from a number of key funding cuts for the bill and that ultimately was enough to get her on board. That meant the final vote tally was 50 allowing Vice President Vance to swoop in as the tie vote and give a major victory to his boss. The yeas are 50. The nays are 50. The Senate being evenly divided the Vice President votes in the affirmative. The bill as amended is passed.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: And in a really extraordinary moment Tuesday, we actually got to see President Trump hear in real time that his bill had passed when a staffer alerted him during a separate news conference. Oh, thank you. Wow. Thank you. You know, I'm waiting, listening to these wonderful words, and they are music to my ears, but I was also wondering how we're doing, because I know this is prime time.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: So what comes next? So the bill will now go back to the House where it is expected to pass, but not without some difficulty. There are a number of hardline conservatives who've already expressed concerns about some of the changes that happened in the Senate. There are some serious issues with it, we think.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: I'll name just three. First of all, it defunds Planned Parenthood abortion services for only one year. It leaves illegals on Medicaid. And frankly, the language that was added at the very last minute seems to put the entire Green News scam back into play. Those are all serious issues that we see with the bill.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: And it's worth noting, given the delay from Senate Democrats, this bill might not be voted on before President Trump's deadline of July 4th. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he would honor the customary 72-hour period to allow members three days to review legislation. So it's going to be tight.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Now, we mostly heard from Democrats criticizing the bill, but there's another familiar voice that's really laid into it in the last couple of days. Tell us about Elon Musk.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Yeah, once again, Musk going on the record to slam President Trump's signature legislation. This feud had seemed to cool off in recent weeks, but in the last 24 hours, Musk renewed the fight, threatening again to start a third party and fund it as well if this bill passed, claiming it would, quote, bankrupt America.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: For his part, President Trump said the real reason that Musk opposes this legislation is that it'll cut federal subsidies for electric vehicles. And then later on at the White House, Trump went a step further. Listen to this response when asked if he would consider deporting Elon Musk.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: I don't know. I think we'll have to take a look. We might have to put Doge on Elon. You know what Doge is? Doge is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible?
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: Now, highly unlikely, President Trump is serious about that, but gives an idea of how intense this feud has once again become. In response, Musk wrote, quote, so tempting to escalate this, so, so tempting, but I will refrain for now.
--:-- Guest: Cabot Phillips: In the meantime, President Trump heads into the 4th of July with his agenda fast approaching the finish line. Boy, a bruising battle to get this thing done.
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--:-- Host: John Bickley: Summer's finally here, and if you're like me, you're firing up the grill every chance you get. But here's something that might shock you. Over 85% of grass-fed beef in your grocery store is important. And while you're planning the perfect backyard barbecue, you could be serving meat from overseas with questionable safety standards and unknown quality.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: That's exactly why I switched to GoodRanchers.com. When I'm grilling for friends and family, I want to know my steak, burgers, and chicken are 100% American, born, raised, and harvested right here from local farms. No antibiotics ever, no added hormones, and best of all, no seed oils.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Just pure, clean meat that tastes incredible on the grill. That's precisely what Good Ranchers delivers. And speaking of delivering, Good Ranchers delivers it all straight to my door, so no more last-minute grocery runs or wondering if I'm getting the best quality for my summer cookouts.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Right now if you subscribe to any Good Ranchers box you get your choice of free meat for life free Wagyu burgers hot dogs bacon or chicken wings in every single box. Plus use our exclusive code WIRE and save an extra off your first order. Visit GoodRanchers and use our code WIRE for free meat for life and off.
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--:-- Host: John Bickley: President Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference down at the state's new alligator Alcatraz on Tuesday. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about what Trump and DeSantis have planned for the near future.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: So Tim, these two campaigned pretty hard against each other for the GOP nomination, but it sounds like no bad blood anymore. What do these two have planned?
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Right. Trump and DeSantis have reconciled since that pretty lively presidential primary fight last year. And Trump's win in November pushed the two even closer, especially on immigration, but also on other issues as well.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Here's Trump commenting on that yesterday. Ron, I'd like to thank you personally. You are my friend and you'll always be my friend. And we may have some skirmishes even in the future. I doubt it, but I will always come back because we just seem to, We have blood that seems to match pretty well.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: We have a relationship that's been a very strong one. Some important context here. DeSantis is term limited as Florida's governor, and he has made some signs that his wife, Casey, may jump into the 2026 race to replace him. An endorsement from Trump would be a huge boon in a Republican primary that has the potential to be extraordinarily competitive.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Right, an endorsement from Trump would be huge for any gubernatorial candidate in Florida. Now, DeSantis has emerged as a major ally on the immigration front for Trump. What did they discuss?
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Yeah, DeSantis has been at the forefront of pushing Trump's immigration agenda. The reason for the press conference yesterday was a visit to Alligator Alcatraz. We told you about the new immigration facility being built in the Everglades yesterday. It could hold thousands of illegal aliens slated for deportation.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: But in addition to the new detention facility, Trump also plans to deputize Florida National Guardsmen as immigration judges. This could massively cut down the time it takes to schedule immigration hearings from a matter of years to just a few days.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Here's DeSantis on that. We're offering up our National Guard and other folks in Florida to be deputized to be immigration judges. We're working with the Department of Justice for the approvals. I'm sure Pam will approve.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: But then you have I'll have a National Guard judge advocate here. Someone has a notice to appear. Biden would tell him to come back in three years and appear. Now you'll be able to appear in like a day or two. So they're not going to be detained, hopefully, for all that long.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Now, the White House has to be excited about this because detention capacity has been a big constraint on Trump's immigration agenda. That's why we've seen the Trump administration partner with El Salvador, for instance, to hold illegal aliens or ship them to Guantanamo Bay.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now arresting hundreds of illegal aliens a day. And Trump is doing whatever he can to make sure none of them are released back into the public after they've been caught.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Now, a topic related to immigration that has to do with the upcoming midterms is the census. Trump and DeSantis discussed that. What did they say?
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Yeah, this would put Republicans in a much better position in the 2026 midterms. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has a proposal to redo the 2020 census, and it has Trump support. The main gripe among Republicans is that the census data doesn't differentiate between American citizens and illegal immigrants.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: So the current allotments of representatives by state aren't accurate. Here's DeSantis. California would lose like five seats if they did a fair census. And even beyond that, the Biden census gypped Florida of at least one seat. We only got one seat in the last census. Are you trying to tell me that Florida only had one seat in that?
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: We should have had at least two. Texas should have had another one. That could be the difference in the House of Representatives and the majority. But as it's right now, this country is not fairly apportioned.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Well, and as we can see with the current Congress, just a few seats can make a huge difference. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest: Tim Pierce: Good to be on.
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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: The man accused of the 2022 Idaho murders has accepted a plea deal. The death penalty trial was originally set to begin on August 18th but now there won't be a trial at all. So Georgia, you've been following the story very closely like a lot of people across the country. What did we see this week?
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: Right, so Brian Koberger will accept a plea deal. The charges include four counts of murder and one count of burglary. And in exchange, they have taken the death penalty off the table. He will be serving four consecutive life sentences. He has waived the right to appeal and there is no possibility of parole.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: There will be a change of plea hearing today and hopefully that will bring some closure for the families. Remember, we are talking about the death of four college students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogan, Zana Kernodel, and Ethan Chapin. And the family of Kaylee Goncalves, at least, has expressed serious disappointment with this plea deal.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: They're calling it shocking and cruel. They posted a statement on social media. They said, we are beyond furious at the state of Idaho. They have failed us.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: And was this a surprise move? It was a surprise because Koberger's defense has maintained his complete innocence since the very beginning. And that was despite some very difficult evidence against Koberger.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: So, for example, we had surveillance footage of his white Elantra going to and from the crime scene. There was cell phone data that was consistent with him traveling to and from the crime scene on the night of. And also cell phone data showing him hanging out outside around the vicinity of the crime scene about a dozen times late at night before this crime occurred.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: Now, probably most damning was his DNA was found on the knife sheath. And remember, that knife was the murder weapon in this case. And the sheath to the knife was found at the murder scene. There was also his purchase history that showed he purchased a black ski mask that was very similar to the one described by the witness.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: That was the surviving roommate. Then just some contextual information. He was a criminology student who showed interest in serial killers. And he discussed on Reddit forums how it feels to commit a crime. So there was just a lot stacked against Koberger in this case.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: But that said, his defense attorney, Ann Taylor, did a pretty spectacular job of dredging up any possible doubt she could. So, for example, she filed a motion to have the DNA evidence thrown out because it was obtained, according to her, through an illegal genealogy search.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: Now, the defense was planning to bring out an alternative suspect theory. And all they had to do is convince one juror that there was possibly some doubt. And even if they failed to do that, the other things that Ann Taylor brought up provided pretty fertile ground for appeals down the road.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: But despite all that, they decided they didn't want to risk it at trial. Right. Well, they had some major setbacks just in the past week and month. So the judge dismissed the defense's attempt to introduce the alternative suspect theory. They said that was completely speculative.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: Defense attorney Ann Taylor pursued this plea deal for Brian. So there's still a lot about this case we don't know. Without a trial, will we ever get to the bottom of some of these details?
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: You know, we don't know because for the past two years, everyone involved has been under a strict gag order. So there's a lot of evidence that hasn't come out. It's possible now it will, once he takes this plea and that gag order is lifted.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: It's also possible that Brian will want to come out and talk about it. He has nothing left to lose. And we do know from his history, he likes crime. He likes talking about crime. So really, we don't know if we'll ever find out the truth.
--:-- Guest: Georgia Howe: We've seen a lot of frustration from the families because of this plea deal, but at least this does put this case to rest. Right. And from what we've heard, that's what the community and the state of Idaho is ready to do.
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--:-- Host: John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe. We'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.
