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Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed & Cartel Drug Tunnels | Afternoon Update | 2.12.25
Wed, 12 Feb 2025
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Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, February 12th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. The Senate has confirmed former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as President Trump's Director of National Intelligence.
Chapter 2: Why was Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as Director of National Intelligence?
Yeaser 52, Naser 48 nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered, made, and laid upon the table, and the President will immediately notify of the Senate's actions.
Gabbard was voted through despite strong opposition from Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Gabbard faced heated questioning over her past views on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and U.S. intelligence operations. Supporters say she will focus on cutting bureaucracy and strengthening national security, while critics question her stance on surveillance and foreign policy.
The Senate also voted to invoke cloture for nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary. He now heads for a final confirmation vote.
Chapter 3: What are the latest developments in government efficiency?
The Delivery of Government Efficiency Subcommittee held its first hearing today, which got heated at some points. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest.
Subcommittee chair Marjorie Taylor Greene opened the hearing by saying, quote, the American people are in debt slavery to everyone who owns our debt. The issue of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has very much become a partisan issue, with Democrats saying it's wrong to let him access databases like the U.S. Treasury payment system.
Meanwhile, Republicans say government spending is out of control and long overdue for an audit. Here's Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett criticizing what Doge is suggesting.
We know that they are trying to get rid of the Department of Education, USAID, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They're laying off FAA workers. They are going after the FDA, the CDC, the HHS, the FBI agents.
But Republicans like Rep. Eric Burleson of Missouri argue the cuts are necessary, saying we face an existential debt crisis.
We're nearing $37 trillion in national debt. What does that mean? That means when the EPIC, which is the Economic Policy Innovation Center, says we have $18 trillion left, that's it, $18 trillion left to take out, and we're spending $2 trillion in debt every year, we are literally at a point in which the dollar will be worth nothing.
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Chapter 4: How was Mark Fogel released from Russian detention?
Late last night, President Trump welcomed Mark Fogel to the White House. Fogel is an American teacher who was wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for over three years. Daily Wire reporter Cassie Akiva, who's been in touch with the Fogel family during the saga, has the story.
The three and a half year nightmare for the Fogle family that started during the Biden administration has finally ended. After watching the previous administration prioritize more famous detainees like Brittany Griner, the Fogle family clung to hope that he would be released. The main source of that enduring hope was Donald Trump.
who famously met with Mark's 95-year-old mother, Malfeen, at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally. She was actually set to take the stage until the would-be assassin began shooting. President Trump did indeed remember Mark's name and welcomed him to the White House late last night.
Chapter 5: What are the implications of U.S.-Russia relations on the Ukraine conflict?
I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes.
In exchange for Fogle, the U.S. released Russian prisoner Alexander Vinik, who pled guilty to money laundering $4 billion through a cryptocurrency exchange platform that he operated. He had been facing a 20-year prison sentence.
President Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin, quote, negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. This comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine in his first address before the alliance. Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice has more.
In a social media post today, Trump disclosed a call between the two leaders, saying they would work together very closely. Trump said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to inform him of the conversation with Putin.
The announcement follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's address to NATO, in which he said restoring Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is unrealistic, and that President Trump is prioritizing diplomacy to end the war. Speaking to the Ukraine Defense Contract Group in Brussels, Hegseth emphasized the need for a negotiated peace, not prolonged conflict. Here's the defense secretary.
Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and they should not be covered under Article 5.
Hegseth warned that the U.S. is shifting focus to border security and deterring threats from China. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant met with Ukraine's President Zelensky to discuss a rare earth investment deal. Zelensky is reviewing the proposal and will likely respond Friday when he meets with Vice President J.D. Vance.
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Mexican drug cartels are using sophisticated tunnels with rail systems to smuggle drugs into the US. The hidden tunnel entrances, often below storefronts and warehouses, are making the Trump administration's crackdown on drug smuggling more difficult. As former DEA agent Michael Brown told Fox, these tunnels are very elaborate and lead to several questions.
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