Shutdown Breakdown: Ferguson & Cruz on What’s Really Happening

The Ben Ferguson Podcast

iHeartPodcasts

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.9 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1. 🏛️ Government Shutdown Status

The government had been shut down for 40 days, the longest in U.S. history.
A Senate vote secured 60 votes (including 8 Democrats) to begin the reopening process.
The continuing resolution (CR) will fund the government through January 30, avoiding a holiday-season funding crisis.

2. ⚙️ Reopening Process

Despite the vote, procedural delays (e.g., Senate rules requiring 60 votes and time gaps between votes) mean the government may not fully reopen until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Unanimous consent could have expedited the process, but some Democrats (e.g., Bernie Sanders) were accused of obstructing.

3. ✈️ Impact on Travel and Public Services

TSA agents and air traffic controllers were working without pay, leading to sick-outs and flight delays.
Even after reopening, normal operations may take several days to resume.

4. 📜 Legislation Introduced

Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2025:
- Would make welfare fraud by illegal immigrants a deportable offense.
- Cites statistics on non-citizens receiving SNAP and WIC benefits.
- Claims a 10-year cost of $15 billion due to illegal immigrant access to benefits.
Obamacare Subsidies Debate:
- Discussion on expiring subsidies for health insurance companies.
- Republicans agreed to a vote in early December on whether to extend these subsidies.
- Cruz and Trump oppose the subsidies, calling them corporate welfare, and advocate for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) instead.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:06.5	Welcome, it is Vertiquist Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
0:10.3	And this episode will be a dual episode, my show, and Senator Cruz as well here,
0:14.2	because we're trying to figure out what the hell's going on, just like every other American
0:18.2	when it comes to is the government open?
0:21.8	Is it closed? Senator, as we are doing this 10 o'clock eastern we're recording on Sunday night you've just
0:27.2	left the Senate floor so where the hell are we now because there were some reports like
0:32.1	the government's reopened then it's not reopened we're heading towards reopening
0:36.3	what is right what's wrong well we have really're heading towards reopening. What is right?
0:38.0	What's wrong?
0:42.8	Well, we have really good news, which is the government is in the process of reopening.
0:48.5	It's not going to be reopened on Monday, but we got the votes tonight that will start the process of reopening.
0:56.0	We're going to explain exactly what that means, what the deal was, and what the timing is going to be and how that's likely to impact you, whether it is going to a national park or going to the Smithsonian or flying
1:01.9	on an airplane, what the timing is likely to be. We're also going to talk to you about a bill
1:07.3	that I introduced this past week, the deporting fraudsters bill, that is going after
1:12.1	illegal immigrants who are fraudulently getting welfare benefits. And right now, fraudulently taking
1:18.9	welfare benefits is not a statutory ground for deportation. I'm introducing legislation to change that.
1:24.7	We'll explain that all to you. All right. So, Senator, there was a lot of excitement earlier Sunday evening.
1:30.6	My phone blew up. I'm assuming you were getting the text. It's like, oh, great, the government's
1:34.8	wide open again. It's going to go back to normal. I wish that was true. You just described it
1:41.7	as we've got the votes to move forward.
1:49.8	Explain the process because, I mean, even on social media, it was like the government's reopened.
	...

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