Verdict with Ted Cruz
Bonus Pod: Trump Pushes for Keystone Pipeline & Backs Elon's Email to Government Workers
Tue, 25 Feb 2025
1. Directive to Federal Employees - Elon Musk sent an email to all federal employees asking them to submit a list of five accomplishments from the previous week by Monday night. - Non-responses would be considered resignations, leading to confusion and resistance across various federal agencies. 2. Purpose and Reactions - The directive aimed to identify employees who were actually working and eliminate those who were not. - Some agency heads instructed their employees to ignore the email, waiting for further guidance. - Musk's tweet reiterated that failure to respond would be taken as a resignation. 3. Public and Media Response - The directive was seen as a way to streamline government operations and reduce inefficiency. - A Harvard Harris poll indicated strong public support for Trump's administration and its policies, including the efforts of DOGE. 4. Keystone XL Pipeline - We also discuss Trump's ongoing efforts to revive the Keystone XL pipeline project, which was halted by President Biden. - Trump emphasized the importance of energy independence and criticized the Democrats for opposing the project. 5. UN Resolution on Ukraine - We cover the United States' vote against a Europe-led resolution at the United Nations to condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. - Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the vote aimed to encourage peace talks rather than antagonize either side. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Show Podcast and Verdict with Ted Cruz Wherever You get You're PodcastsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What are the highlights of today's 47 Morning Update?
Good Tuesday morning. It's Ben Ferguson with you. It's nice to have you on the 47 Morning Update. And here are the big stories we're talking about today. First up, Donald Trump not taking the bait from the media. Backing Elon Musk's email to government employees asked him, what did you do in the last week at work? I'll have the details on that in a moment.
Also, you may remember the Keystone Pipeline. Democrats did everything they could do to shut it down, and it cost countless people their jobs in this country. Well, now Donald Trump has a plan to bring the Keystone Pipeline back.
And finally, Marco Rubio says enough already, ripping the United Nations and many of the war hawks that are obsessed with keeping the war going between Russia and Ukraine. It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now. Story number one.
On Saturday, Elon Musk, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, issued an email to all federal employees with the subject line, what did you do last week? Now, the email requested that employees submit a list of five accomplishments from the previous week by 11.59 p.m. on Monday night.
Chapter 2: What was the content of Elon's email to federal employees?
Musk stated that non-responses would be considered resignations. This directive led to, quote, widespread confusion, the media states, and resistance across various federal agencies trying to find a crack in the armor with Donald Trump and Elon Musk to start a war between the two men. Well, the president made it pretty clear he wants to know who's even reading their emails.
Well, I'm pushing back on you, not on Elon Musk or his email.
Doge said... Do you think that Doge could benefit from more streamlined communications? There was that email telling employees to give five things that they've done last week. Agency heads then told people to ignore it.
The last email that was sent where he wanted to know what you did this week. You know why he wanted that, by the way? I thought it was great because we have people that don't show up to work and nobody even knows if they work for the government. So by asking the question, tell us what you did this week. What he's doing is saying, are you actually working?
Chapter 3: Why is there controversy over Elon's directive to federal employees?
And then if you don't answer, like you're sort of semi fired or you're fired because a lot of people are not answering because they don't even exist. They're trying to find that's how badly various parts of our government were run by and especially by this last group. So what they're doing is they're trying to find out who's working for the government.
Are we paying other people that aren't working? And, you know, where is all this? Where's the money going? So I think it was actually, there was a lot of genius in sending it. We're trying to find out if people are working. And so we're sending a letter to people, please tell us what you did last week. If people don't respond, it's very possible that there is no such person or they're not working.
Some of the agency heads instructed their employees not to respond because they were waiting on further guidance, but Elon Musk's tweet said a failure to respond would be taken as a resignation, so there's been a disconnect in communications.
Are you concerned at all about that? No, no, no. That was done in a friendly manner. Only things such as perhaps Marco at State Department where they have very confidential things, or the FBI, where they're working on confidential things. And they don't mean that in any way combatively with Elon.
Chapter 4: How did the public react to the government's efficiency efforts?
They're just saying there are some people that you don't want to really have them tell you what they're working on. But other than that, I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. We have to find out where these people are. Who are they? And we said, if you don't respond, we assume You're not around.
And that holds. That stands.
Chapter 5: What is Trump's plan for the Keystone XL Pipeline?
And you're not getting paid anymore, too. So, you know, we're doing a real job. And we just had a poll come out, I guess the Harvard poll, saying that it's massively popular what we're doing.
The polls are saying that Donald Trump has the support of the American people. How do we know this? A new Harvard-Harris poll has come out saying that 58% of Americans say that Donald Trump is doing a better job than Biden. 81% say they support deporting criminal aliens. 76% support eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in our government. 76% support closing the U.S. border.
70% support merit-based hiring instead of just government quotas. 61% support reciprocal tariffs. And 60% think that Doge is helping tremendously in this country.
So if you were thinking the president was going to back down or Elon Musk was going to back down or there's some sort of war between the two, well, the media keeps lying to you and they keep getting busted lying to you each and every day by this administration. Now, story number two. Seven years ago, Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office.
Chapter 6: How has the Keystone XL Pipeline project evolved under Trump?
and promised that the Keystone XL pipeline was going to be built to lower costs for American families and also so that we would have energy independence. Fast forward seven years later, and the president is still working on the project that Democrats have done everything they can do to stop it. So what did the president say seven years ago? Here he is in his own words.
Canada will finally be allowed to complete this long-overdue project with efficiency and with speed. We're working out the final details as we speak. It's going to be an incredible pipeline, greatest technology known to man or woman, and frankly, we're very proud of it. Russ Gerling, president of TransCanada, is right behind me. And I'm going to have to say a few words.
I know, Russ, you've been waiting for a long, long time. And I hope you don't pay your consultants anything because they have nothing to do with the approval. In fact, you should ask for the hundreds of millions of dollars back that you paid them because they didn't do a damn thing except give you a no vote, right? It's a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America.
and energy independence. This announcement is part of a new era of American energy policy that will lower costs for American families.
Seven years ago, the president made that statement. Democrats did everything they could, as I mentioned earlier, to stop it. So what is the president saying now? Donald Trump putting out a statement on Monday that he wants the Keystone XL pipeline, which was opposed for years by activists fighting against climate change, to be built.
The pipeline, which was proposed in 08 to bring oil from Canada's western tar sands to U.S. refiners and was halted in 2021 by the owner, TC Energy Corp, after Democratic senators President Joe Biden revoked a key permit needed for a U.S. stretch of the project. Our country's doing really well.
And today, I was just thinking that the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline that was viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden administration should come back to America and get it built. Now, I know they were treated very badly by sleepy Joe Biden, but the Trump administration is very different. Easy approvals, almost immediate start. If not them, perhaps another pipeline company.
We want the Keystone XL pipeline built, Trump said on Truth Social. Now, the president has said yet again that he believes that energy independence is one of the most important things to lowering inflation and helping the American family. be able to survive day to day. This is something the Democrats didn't care about, how much you suffered, and they wanted you to pay a lot for gas at the pump.
They wanted you to pay a lot for natural gas. They wanted you to suffer and to bow to their wishes for a Green New Deal. Donald Trump making it clear now, America is open for business, including the Keystone XL pipeline.
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