--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Why shop at Burlington? Maybe it's the deals that are new each time you drop by. Maybe it's the brand names you'll be shocked Burlington has in store. Or maybe it's the quality of the items, the amazing selection, and the newest trends. If you like to save, but also like to stay in style, Burlington is your answer. And the question you'll be asking yourself is, why go anywhere else? Burlington. Deals. Brands. Wow.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The U.S. economy comes roaring back in the second quarter. But the Fed is holding steady on interest rates. We have a lot of money coming in, and we have no inflation, and we're very strong, and we should be lowering the rate. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: It's Thursday, July 31st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Trump's EPA radically revises the rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and energy producers are cheering. There are people who then, in the name of climate change, are willing to bankrupt the country. And flush with cash from the big, beautiful bill, ICE launches a massive recruitment campaign. Thousands of agents who already wanted to come back from the Borb Cho and from ICE without a signing bonus. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- Announcer (SelectQuote): With everything going on in the world lately, it's no wonder people are focused on protecting their financial future. One option you may not have considered recently is life insurance, which gets significantly more expensive as you age. That's why it's time to look into SelectQuote. SelectQuote has been helping people like you and me for over 40 years, finding the right coverage at the best price from top-rated companies.
--:-- Announcer (SelectQuote): Here's how it works. Their agents do all the heavy lifting. They'll compare plans that fit your health, lifestyle, and budget all completely free. You can even get coverage that same day up to $2 million with no medical exam required. Got preexisting conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure? No problem. SelectQuote works with companies that cover people with health conditions. Just head to selectquote.com and an agent will call you with options tailored specifically to you. They shop, you save. Life insurance is never cheaper than it is today. Get the right life insurance for you for less and save more than 50% at selectquote.com slash morning.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: As the world prepares for President Trump's tariff deadline, new data shows the U.S. economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace last quarter. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has more.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, some very encouraging news on the economy. What did we learn?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so throughout this quarter, we've seen inflation continue to defy expectations, coming in well below what economists have projected. And now Trump is getting another piece of good news on the economic front. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. GDP grew annually by 3% last quarter. That was well above the 2.3% economists had predicted and a significant turnaround from Q1, when the GDP actually shrank by half a percent over fears of Trump's new tariffs.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The latest report seems to indicate, though, that American businesses have not taken nearly the hit that economists and experts had predicted when Trump launched his trade reset. Here's National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett reacting to the good news yesterday.
--:-- Kevin Hassett: It's really one of the best GDP announcements or releases that you could imagine because there's blockbuster growth way above expectation. And there's also a real, real almost collapse in inflation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And it's worth noting, it's not just the GDP growth that has the White House excited. Consumer spending also went up nearly a percent and a half, while consumer confidence also increased last month after falling significantly back in April. That seems to be yet more proof that consumers themselves are not nearly as worried about these tariffs as they were back in the spring.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now all of this comes amid the Fed meeting to discuss cutting rates. Do we know what they planning to do?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, after meeting all day Tuesday and into Wednesday, the Fed as expected chose not to cut interest rates, holding their benchmark number in the 4.25 to 4.5 range. This now marks the fifth straight meeting where they have held interest rates steady, despite very public pleas from President Trump.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here's Chair Jerome Powell announcing his decision and what went into it.
--:-- Jerome Powell: Despite heightened uncertainty, the economy is still in a solid position. The unemployment rate remains low, and the labor market is at or near maximum employment. Inflation has come down a great deal, but has been running somewhat above our 2% longer-run objective.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged. The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation appear to have risen, and we believe that the current stance of monetary policy leaves us well-positioned to respond in a timely way to potential economic developments.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And one interesting nugget here, again, it's not just Trump who is disagreeing with Powell's strategy. In a rare example of dissent within Fed leadership, we saw Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman each cast votes in favor of cuts, so going against Powell. That is the first time since 1993 where multiple Fed governors dissented with the Fed chair on a vote like this.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, you touched on Trump's frustration that they were holding these rates steady. What's his reaction been?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, historically, the Fed lowers interest rates when inflation is low. But despite month after month where inflation has come in below expectations, under 3%, they refuse to cut them. Powell is urging patience, saying that he wants to see more proof that Trump's tariffs will not drive inflation higher. But President Trump is convinced that his decision ultimately comes down to politics and that he's trying to hurt the economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Writing on Truth Social, Trump wrote, quote, Second quarter GDP just out. Three percent, way better than expected. Too late, that's the nickname he gave Powell, must now lower the rate. No inflation. Let people buy and refinance their homes.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And here he is elaborating on the topic from the White House yesterday.
--:-- Donald Trump: What you do is you lower them and let's see if there's inflation. Right now, there's no inflation. We're keeping the rates high, and it's hurting people from buying houses, and we don't want that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And as you heard there, the president also mentioned the housing market, which, as we've talked about on the show, has been sluggish all year, in large part due to those interest rates remaining high. At that point, new data yesterday showed that pending home sales fell by nearly a percent in June. The projection was that they would actually go up by 0.2%. Overall, home sales are now at their lowest pace in nine months, which is especially concerning given that the spring and summer months are typically the hottest time of the year for the housing market.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The White House certainly hoping that rates will come down and that homebuyers waiting on the sidelines will jump into the market. Well, I know a lot of people who are waiting for those rates to come down to buy a home.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Absolutely.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you run a small business, you know there's nothing small about it. Even the smallest decisions can feel massive. That's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is the e-commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world, from household names to brands that are just getting started.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You can tackle all the important tasks all in one place from inventory to payments to analytics and more. Even marketing becomes a breeze thanks to their built-in tools for running social media and email campaigns, helping you find new customers and keep them coming back.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Plus, Shopify's global selling tools have you covered internationally in over 150 countries, and their award-winning point of sale connects your online and offline sales all in the same place. With an impressive 99.99 uptime and the highest converting checkout experience on the planet, you'll never miss another sale. That's the Shopify advantage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period and start selling today at shopify.com slash morningwire. Head over to shopify.com slash morningwire. Again, that's shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- Announcer (Shopify): Shopify is the e-commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world, from household names to brands that are just getting started. You can tackle all the important tasks all in one place from inventory to payments to analytics and more.
--:-- Announcer (Shopify): Even marketing becomes a breeze thanks to their built-in tools for running social media and email campaigns, helping you find new customers and keep them coming back. Plus, Shopify's global selling tools have you covered internationally in over 150 countries, and their award-winning point of sale connects your online and offline sales all in the same place.
--:-- Announcer (Shopify): With an impressive 99.99 uptime and the highest converting checkout experience on the planet, you'll never miss another sale. That's the Shopify advantage. Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period and start selling today at shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Trump administration has taken aim at the EPA endangerment finding what Scientific American has called the legal backbone of U climate policy. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the latest on the Trump administration's environmental agenda.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, Tim. So the EPA proposed to repeal the endangerment finding this week. First, what is an endangerment finding?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, the endangerment finding is a 2009 determination from the EPA that basically says the Clean Air Act can be extended to justify regulation of not just noxious pollutants, but also common natural gases like carbon dioxide and methane. It dates back to a 2007 Supreme Court decision that mandated the EPA control gases that are found to endanger human health.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So in light of that ruling, the Obama administration found that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, and climate change endangers human health, so therefore the EPA has a mandate to regulate them. Now, many critics said at the time that that was a big stretch of the Clean Air Act, but the Supreme Court had given the agency the green light to do it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As for why it matters now, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin spoke about that on the Ruthless podcast earlier this week.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So they created this endangerment finding, and then they're able to put all these regulations on vehicles. Repealing it will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America. The scope of the regulatory authority under the endangerment finding is massive.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are found pretty much everywhere in nature. And there's a key distinction between them and the toxic pollutants the Clean Air Act was designed to address. A Department of Energy report released this week makes that clear. It says pollutants are regulated because they cause, quote, local problems depending on concentrations that include nuisances such as odor invisibility, damage to plants, and at high enough exposure levels, toxicological effects in humans.
--:-- Tim Pierce: By contrast, CO2 is odorless, does not affect visibility, and has no toxicological effects at ambient levels. In other words, it doesn't make you sick.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As you said, major distinctions there and really sweeping powers given to the EPA through this interpretation of the law. Now, the question here is how permanent are these changes? Can this be undone by another administration?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Probably not, thanks to a few Supreme Court decisions. Zeldin addressed that in an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There's going to be a lot of hyperbole, scare tactics, extreme rhetoric that will come from climate zealots. Here's the thing. The Supreme Court ruled in Loper Bright and overturned the Chevron Doctrine in West Virginia versus EPA, Michigan versus EPA, and other cases that an agency like EPA can't just decide on our own that we are going to get creative with law.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And where there's a vacuum and missing language, we're just going to make it up ourselves. We're not going to ignore the major policy doctrine. We're not going to go along with applying extreme economic pain on Americans who can least afford it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Point being, the legal landscape has changed a lot since the endangerment finding was put into place in 2009. And there's good reason to think that it may be found unconstitutional today. And it just highlights once again how important Trump's nominees for the Supreme Court have been, really changing the court altogether.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, Trump outlined a new approach to energy while he was in Scotland this week. Unpack that for us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, the president devised a simple test, and the test happens to rule out wind energy. Here he is.
--:-- Donald Trump: In all fairness, Germany tried it, and wind doesn't work. You need subsidy for wind, and energy should not need subsidy. With energy, you make money. You don't lose money.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He also said that the United States would not build a single additional wind turbine while he's in office. So no room for wind energy in his energy dominance agenda. It appears Trump is not a fan of wind energy, to say the least. A lot more focused on fossil fuels and nuclear.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Department of Homeland Security is launching a big campaign to recruit new ICE agents as well as new attorneys to process immigration cases. Here to discuss is Daily Wire investigative reporter Spencer Lindquist.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: So Spencer, tell us about this push to hire more ICE agents.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Sure thing. So the Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new website this week and encourages Americans to, quote, choose your mission and apply for one of three roles, deportation officer, criminal investigator, or general attorney.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: The site slams the Biden administration's record in immigration and reaffirms President Trump's support for members of law enforcement. The site reads, quote, your country is calling upon you to serve. Due to the prior administration's disastrous immigration policies, the men and women of ICE now face unprecedented challenges.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: And it goes on to say, the Trump administration is fully committed to supporting the dedicated law enforcement professionals who secure our borders, shield our communities, and protect our national security.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The administration also released promotional materials, including pictures of President Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and an ICE agent with the words, defend the homeland and join ICE.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Trisha McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, also issued a call for Americans to join ICE in a post on X, which read, terrorists, pedophiles, MS-13 gang members, investigators murderers rapists drug traffickers human traffickers we need you to get them out.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And so far, there is at least one early indication that the recruiting push could end up paying off. Border czar Tom Homan said in an appearance on Newsmax that he had to shut down his LinkedIn account because so many people were reaching out about how to become an ICE agent.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: We had thousands of people uh contacted me their recruiting offices swamp they got more people they can handle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This big recruiting push is coming right after the Big Beautiful Bill was passed. What was it in that legislation that set the stage for all of this?
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: So arguably one of the most notable portions of the Big Beautiful Bill was the massive increase in funding that it secures for ICE. More than $165 billion is allocated to the Department of Homeland Security over the next several years.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: And much of that is specifically earmarked for ICE. About $75 billion will go to ICE on top of its existing annual budget of roughly $10 billion per year. And of that sum, $30 billion will be allocated for the hiring and training of new ICE agents, as well as the retention of those who take the job.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The bill also funds drastically increased detention space for illegal aliens. And proponents of the legislation said that it was critical in ICE's attempt to deport its target of 1 million illegal aliens per year. And it also paved the way for lucrative sign-on bonuses for new agents. Certain agents can receive a maximum of $50,000 in sign-on bonuses.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Now, you also spoke to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday. What did she say?
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: That's right. We published a report detailing many of the operations across the country that ICE and its partners like Homeland Security Investigations have been running to counter human trafficking, smuggling operations, and sexual abuse.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Noam told me that the brave men and women of DHS are the best in the world at going after traffickers and that they are always able to track down those who are trafficking individuals, find the ringleaders, and rip that evil off by its head.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, we'll see if this recruitment push pays off. Spencer, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Thank you for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Wake up with Morning Wire in more ways than one. The new Morning Wire coffee mug is now available at dailywire.com slash shop. Check out the whole Morning Wire collection, the merch you need to get, and the news you need to know. Head over to dailywire.com slash shop today. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- [Music transitions to a closing theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: And if you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
