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Morning Wire

Shutdown Hits Travelers & Trump Deploys Diplomacy | 3.25.26

25 Mar 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What impact does the DHS funding showdown have on travelers?

4.317 - 10.606 John Bickley

Passengers pay the price with long airport lines as lawmakers work to nail down a deal to end the DHS shutdown.

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10.946 - 20.079 Donald Trump

We would open up everything at DHS except ICE, including TSA, which the Democrats have already agreed to.

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20.62 - 27.169 John Bickley

I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howell. It's Wednesday, March 25th. This is Morning Wire.

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33.848 - 40.634 Georgia Howe

President Trump sends an elite paratrooper force to the Middle East as negotiators try to hammer out the terms for a peace deal.

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Chapter 2: How is President Trump seeking a diplomatic solution in Iran?

40.994 - 43.697 Donald Trump

Because they're going to make a deal. They're going to make a deal.

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44.357 - 52.765 John Bickley

And as the president continues the push for election integrity through the SAVE Act, the Supreme Court weighs a case that could reshape voting nationwide.

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52.785 - 62.033 Unknown

Independence Day, birthday, and election day. And they're all particular days.

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62.232 - 66.488 Georgia Howe

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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69.337 - 83.291 Unknown

Let me tell you about one of the most concerning threats to your free speech, one that our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom are tackling right now. It's called the Digital Services Act. It's an EU censorship law, but it's having real consequences for free speech all over the globe, including in the US.

83.931 - 100.09 Unknown

The DSA essentially gives European bureaucrats the power to shut down online speech, including Americans' online speech, in the name of fighting hate speech and misinformation. It coerces American tech platforms like X to censor you, or else face crushing fines and penalties. Alliance Defending Freedom is sounding the alarm on the DSA.

100.491 - 119.401 Unknown

ADF is also supporting a historic lawsuit from X that challenges the DSA in court. Your gift to ADF now helps fight the growing threat of censorship and advance your free speech. For a limited time, your gift will be matched. Visit joinadf.com slash wire or text wire to 83848 to have your gift to protect free speech doubled.

119.742 - 128.135 Unknown

That's joinadf.com slash wire or text wire to 83848 to have your gift matched.

128.155 - 138.19 Georgia Howe

The showdown on Capitol Hill over DHS funding is now having a dramatic impact on Americans across the country, ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers to come to terms.

Chapter 3: What are the implications of the Supreme Court's mail-in ballot case?

187.019 - 204.053 Unknown

They hold majorities, narrow majorities in both houses of Congress. So it's always easy when you're the party out of power to lay the blame on the people who hold the power. Republicans, of course, are pushing back on this narrative, saying that it's Democrats' fault for keeping TSA defunded by refusing to vote to fund the remainder of the Department of Homeland Security.

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204.313 - 214.735 Unknown

Meanwhile, Americans face up to four-hour waits at airports across the country. Our colleague Jenny Tehr walked the TSA line at George Bush International Airport in Houston, and it was a lot.

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214.833 - 224.103 John Bickley

Right, as her footage shows, the lines really extend for hours and hours, as you said. Now, who stands to lose the most the longer this drags on?

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224.123 - 241.644 Unknown

Conventional wisdom here in D.C. for a little bit was that it would be Republicans. Throw in the fact that Mark Wayne Mullen just started as the new DHS secretary yesterday, coming on the heels of another DHS scandal, and it kind of looks like a perfect disaster for Republicans. But things are actually starting to shift in Republicans' favor.

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242.025 - 258.21 Unknown

The president deployed ICE agents to airports to assist with TSA this week, and we keep seeing footage of grateful passengers thanking ICE agents for their service, thanking them for helping out. We see ICE agents handing out bottles of water in these long TSA lines. So that's obviously a win for the president.

258.571 - 277.262 Unknown

And over on Capitol Hill, it seems like lawmakers are close to reaching a deal that would fund everything about DHS except for the one part of ICE that handles deportations. So that might seem like a win for Democrats, but it's actually way closer to what Republicans have been pushing for. Our colleague Cameron Arcand has been covering this legislative battle for weeks now.

277.302 - 280.648 Unknown

We talked to him today about the latest developments in negotiations.

280.628 - 303.21 Tim Rice

White House boarders are Tom Holman has been part of those talks. And from what I heard from sources, some moderate Democrats who voted to end the shutdown last fall, they could be pivotal here in these next few days. Now, another element of this I heard from another GOP source is that the Democrats might even be open to making some concessions, like not using judicial warrants

303.19 - 325.165 Tim Rice

or pushing for the end of masking for agents. In exchange, they would not fund ICE through the next round of appropriations. Instead, the Senate would go through a more partisan reconciliation process. And that's something that Republicans would be okay with, because keep in mind, ICE has already largely been funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.

Chapter 4: What are the current challenges faced by Americans at airports?

629.787 - 646.454 Cabot Phillips

So there is a lot of confusion about who is actually in charge to make a deal. According to numerous reports, the White House is losing confidence that the regime in Tehran is going to collapse. And they're now looking for a more pragmatic, moderate insider to cut a deal with and potentially back as the country's leader in the future.

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646.735 - 660.977 Cabot Phillips

That would be very similar to the roadmap employed in Venezuela, where Nicolas Maduro was replaced not by the country's opposition leader, but by Delce Rodriguez, who worked closely with Maduro, but has been much more willing to cooperate with the U.S. Trump acknowledged as much this week.

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661.312 - 678.392 Donald Trump

We're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are. They're very respectful. And maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for. Look at Venezuela, how well that's working.

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678.575 - 697.388 Cabot Phillips

It's interesting, the Trump administration is reportedly now eyeing Mohammad Ghalibaf, that's Speaker of Iran's Parliament, as a potential peace partner. Ghalibaf is hardly a moderate by Western standards, but has in the past expressed a desire to build relationships with Europe and the U.S., And in his words in 2008, quote, advance issues through dialogue.

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697.909 - 717.13 Cabot Phillips

The White House says that they're in the process of, quote, testing potential partners as they look for the best option for making a deal. As one official put it to Politico, quote, it's all about installing someone like a Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela that we say we're going to keep you there. We're going to not take you out. You're going to work with us. You're going to give us a good deal.

717.531 - 722.376 Georgia Howe

Well, an extremely complicated context within which to make a deal. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

722.576 - 723.297 Cabot Phillips

Absolutely.

725.74 - 737.036 Georgia Howe

As President Trump has hammered the importance of election integrity efforts through his focus on the SAVE Act, the Supreme Court this week heard a mail-in ballot case that could have sweeping implications for the midterms.

737.336 - 742.944 John Bickley

Joining us now to discuss is Alliance Defending Freedom President and CEO Kristen Wagoner. Kristen, good to have you back on.

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