SEKULOW

Announcer: The clock is ticking again, a government shutdown to begin at midnight. Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever, this is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Sekulow. It's Friday. Not only is it Friday, it's Friday the 13th. How apropos as another government shutdown is looming tonight at midnight. Technically, Valentine's Day is when that government shutdown will occur. Now, a lot of you are going to be asking the big questions. What does it mean to me? How is this going to impact my life? As we know what happened with the last government shutdown. Now, this one is a partial government shutdown. Within this segment and the next segment, we're going to break down exactly what it means, who it affects. Of course, it does affect quite a bit of people negatively, not necessarily who the Democrats that are holding this up probably want you to believe are actually going to be affected by this.

We're going to discuss this quite a bit because some of the big-ticket items, if you will, are things you would love to continue to be funded. And of course, the things that they're going to tell you is the reason are not going to be defunded. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. I'm just going to walk you through this. And then a little bit later, we'll be joined by Ben Ferguson. You know him, political commentator, been one of our friends for decades, one of our close friends. Of course, you may know him from the Ted Cruz podcast or whatever it may be. CNN, Fox News, he's been around for years and years. So he's going to be joining us to talk about election integrity. The ACLJ has a big update on that as well.

Continue to be a part of the show for this Friday the 13th. Let's break down this government shutdown. Again, a partial government shutdown. I've got these papers here in front of me, so I'm going to make sure that I give you exactly the facts here that our team put together. No stone will be left unturned. Partial government shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security will begin February 14th at 12:01 AM. Who will be impacted? Let's go through some of the big ones first. One of the big ones, and of course, this is after weeks of rejected offers from the Democrats, mainly saying that they would not budge if there was not major reform and really the dismantling of ICE programs.

Here's what will actually though be impacted. Transportation and Security Administration, that's right, the TSA. Once again, 95% of the 61,000 employees, 58,000 people are essential and will work, but will work without pay. Again, of course, that is going to cause a potential for disruption. You know, people stop showing up. Paychecks due March 3rd could be reduced, and full paychecks will be at risk by the 17th. Here's another big one when we're dealing with what's going on in our border security because this is the only armed force branch under the Department of Homeland Security. That would be the U.S. Coast Guard. I don't know, something I think that we would love to continue funding. All 56,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel will go without pay.

That is kind of terrifying, to be honest, if we're talking about where our vulnerabilities are. I mean, this is essentially our military again. They are essential, but they will go without pay. And what does that look like? We know the ramifications of that. Here's another one. Let's say there's another big storm. We just had this here in Nashville, Tennessee. We had a big ice storm that even now you drive around, it may be 60 degrees outside, but it looks like a tornado went through the entire city. Well, guess what? FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will go to reduced operations and will be defunded quite a bit.

You also have the Secret Service, which of course their core functions will remain unaffected, but 94% of that 8,000 employees, about 8,000 employees, will work without pay. It keeps going, everyone. There's a lot more to cover. We only got 57 seconds. This is what happens when you start playing politics with people's lives and people's livelihoods. Guess what is not going to be nearly as affected what they want you to believe is Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. Because it is deemed essential work. Now, some will be deemed to not be paid, but there was prior funding from what? The big beautiful bill. $75 billion over four years of the core functions, so that's taken care of.

And I'm not even to the end of the list of who's going to be affected by this. What do you feel about this? 1-800-684-3110. Also going to be taking calls on election integrity, 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back on Sekulow. I want you to take a moment now though, if you can, support our incredible work. You heard about our fight for those street preachers and the big wins that we had out of Chicago. That only happens because of you. So I want you to go to ACLJ.org right now, become a champion if you can. That's what I'm asking this week. Become a monthly supporter. Be right back.

Announcer: The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedom, defending your rights in court, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedom. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.

Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered. Download today.

We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand-new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button, and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ, and click install. It's that simple.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. Of course, again, we are talking about the partial government shutdown that will go into effect at midnight. Really looking like there's unlikely that that won't happen as Democrats and Republicans just can't seem to work together to get this kind of thing done. Who does it hurt? Does it hurt them? Of course not. It doesn't hurt your politicians in Washington, D.C. It ends up hurting the American people. And this one specifically, the Department of Homeland Security, which look, after we had that airspace shutdown in Texas, after we've had all of the attacks that have happened in and around the United States. Of all the things that I don't want defunded right now, the Department of Homeland Security, including our TSA and many things like that in terms of our travel safety, that is not one of the ones that I would love to see affected right now.

And of course, they're going to say because the Republicans will not bend at all on ICE protocols. With that, guess what's not being changed in this with the shutdown? Any of ICE. They have $75 million or billion dollars, excuse me, $75 billion in funding that has already been approved. So nothing's going to change for that. So you're going to hear the spin that comes out of Washington, D.C. But remember exactly what it is, which is spin to all of a sudden hurt the American people to start pushing forward the potential midterm elections in just a few months. I hate to be that person that feels all doom and gloom, but I've seen behind the curtain too many times in Washington, D.C. to pretend it's not how it works. And that it's all about votes and it's all about getting people riled up right before an election to secure their own job.

We've even heard sources are saying the proposal again of all of this, because Democratic leaders said this week they were underwhelmed by any of the counter-proposals that came from the White House to their demands on ICE reforms. But look what's going on in Minnesota. The response, the American people kind of spoke out and said maybe things were getting out of hand, maybe they thought it went too far. And look, they switched up the leadership. You brought in Tom Homan. He was essentially said, yeah, maybe it is going a little too far. Mix some things up, wrapped up one of the operations there, and seems to have done a pretty good job of calming it down. There are also sources that say the proposal was being penned internally by Democrats as insufficient.

This is just part of what's going on. And again, it's hard to predict when a shutdown may end. Typically, I would have told you a couple days, maybe a week. But after the last one, which went historically long, I think all bets are off. What do you think about this? We told you this was coming. You know, when the original shutdown was solved, we said, you know what? In a few months, we're going to be talking about this again. Just watch. And here we are. And again, who's being defunded this time? FEMA, the Coast Guard, the TSA, the Secret Service.

These are not things that we need to be playing with right now in America when our safety feels as insecure as ever. Border security, customs and border protection, cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies. These are the ones that will be really affected. Not the Democrat leadership. These people, these hundreds of thousands it seems like of human beings who are also just trying to do their job, who are now going to be asked to do their job either without pay or told not to come into work. And we know that a lot of times they just stop going into work. And why would you when you feel like your job, your livelihood is a pawn in a political swamp?

Now, a huge also update came from the SAVE Act, which would require a voter ID. That's something that happened yesterday and we talked about it, discussed it, as it passed the House and moved its way to the Senate. Now we know that the uphill battle in the Senate is exactly that. It's an uphill battle. We're going to get Ben Ferguson on in our next segment to talk a bit about that, but also about how the ACLJ is getting involved in a different way and helping out some of our friends in Congress to uphold some of the election day protocols that are going in. We got a call coming in about the SAVE Act. I want to take it. Let's go to Donald in Kentucky. Donald, are you there?

Donald: Hey guys, thanks for taking my call. Yeah, I am very concerned about what's going on in the Senate. I very much want the SAVE Act to pass, but I'm very concerned about them going nuclear, them altering the filibuster. Because the moment that the trifecta is on the other foot, which one day it will be, this is going to be used maliciously. We're going to have—

Logan Sekulow: Absolutely, Donald. Donald, I'm only cutting you off because we're having some sound connection problems. Sounds like you're in a bit of a wind tunnel and I think you got someone else trying to call you. So it's like the best of all worlds is happening for you, Donald. But no, I say this all the time. You have to think about the impact beyond today. What happens is those in power don't. They do know, by the way. They know this will impact the future. Democrats knew when they threw out impeachment so willy-nilly last time that now it devalued what impeachment is, the standard of impeachment. So now impeachment can be thrown out so easily. And you better believe they are working towards how they're going to do that again.

Even if they don't have the votes to remove someone from the White House. We knew they didn't last time, but it didn't stop the pain and it is a pain to go through. It's nothing fun. I don't want anyone to think that these are fun. They are putting you through a lot because when the shoe is on the other foot, it will be weaponized again and you will be weaponized against typically because this is always what seems to happen. And look, maybe I feel good about this and also you have to start wondering whether two should play at the same game. It was like confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court of the United States. Historically, if you were qualified, even if you disagreed with the political bend of a Supreme Court justice, typically they would get through pretty well if they were qualified.

Lindsey Graham historically always would say, you know, I'm not here to necessarily judge you on your beliefs. It's more are you up for the job and are you qualified? Does your background qualify you to be someone who can judge this way? We learned that that doesn't happen anymore. That all of that got turned upside down last time. And then they did affect who President Trump put up. It also affected who President Biden put up, how they're going to deal with it. Like I said, no one impeached President Biden. I wouldn't be surprised if he had gone to the second term that you would have gotten to that point. And I am sure they're trying to use it as a tool.

So you're right, when it comes to breaking the filibuster, you have to be very careful. You have to be very careful when you start playing a political game that you know, as you said, the pendulum will swing. And I think that we are a bit ignorant if you start thinking—and I think the Democrats are this way, and I think this is honestly how the Democrats have lost time and again—they start thinking the American people are on their side fully and how could they possibly vote in Donald Trump again for a second time after he lost the last one? How could that possibly happen? Well, it happens because the American people aren't easily as manipulated as you think they are.

They're not as tribal as you think they are either. There's a good chunk of the country, and I think this is going to actually change significantly when it's not President Trump. I think you're actually going to have a tightening of this to where now you're going to have a very small majority of people or minority of people that are going to be deciding who wins this election. Because I do think you're going to have a smaller group that are no longer feel like they are loyal to against Trump or feel loyal to be for Trump. So what does that look like in an election coming up in just a few years? And midterms coming up in just a few months. And we know what the midterm elections often do in these moments. They often switch everything up. Why? Because the American people maybe not always the most happy of what's going on regardless of who's in leadership and they decide it's time for a change.

Happens in the presidency, happens in the midterms as well. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. But again, another shutdown looming. What does it look like? What does it mean? Of course, what it means is that you are going to have to deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of people, often those who really we don't want to see defunded, including the TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, Secret Service, cybersecurity specialists, immigration—though that will be a lot of the ICE operations will be funded still—border security and I mean, again, just even the Coast Guard alone should be a wake-up call to a lot of people here. Let's take a call. Let's go to Michael who's calling from Florida on line three. Michael, go ahead.

Michael: Gentlemen, I remember Congress and the Senate back in the day when a government shutdown was the absolute last thing you would want to get to. You would do anything to avoid it. And now, anytime that I hear that the left has all of a sudden decided that they're going to try and force a shutdown, all I hear is I'm not getting my way.

Logan Sekulow: You are right, Michael, that it feels like again, it's been trivialized. It would be something that they know would hurt the American people and hurt their potential voters and they would vote accordingly. And it was not necessarily as partisan as it is now. Now, you're right, now it is they're mad that Republicans won't budge on certain things. Therefore, let's shut it all down and let's go on our European vacation. That's what it feels like. Let's get out of Washington, D.C. It's cold up here right now. We don't want to be here. Let's get back to our home states, not have to worry about it again. Let's go to Europe and go complain about our country.

When we get back though, there are elections and elections have consequences. And we also know that there's a lot of election rules that are being moved around continually. We have had an interesting decade of elections, two decades. Let's start with 2000 maybe. Let's start with George Bush and the hanging chads. Remember all that? Were you old enough to remember it? A lot of you were. Many of you probably aren't, which makes me feel very old. But phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. But the ACLJ has filed amicus brief at the United States Supreme Court and you're not going to want to miss this one. We're going to give you an update of how it is and what it has to do with election day and election security, election integrity. Be a part of that conversation though as well. Ben Ferguson will be joining us. And you can support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. Get in line to get on the air, 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back.

Announcer: Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered. Download today.

We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand-new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button, and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ, and click install. It's that simple.

The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedom, defending your rights in court, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedom. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. We are talking about a lot of different topics. One of course, the government shutdown that is impending for tonight at midnight. Another is election integrity and election security and how the ACLJ is getting involved. We just filed at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 29 members of Congress to uphold Election Day and protect election integrity. Of course, this is a moment where you go, okay, we know in 2020—look, we've even back to 2000 even—but we know back to 2020, things got chaotic with how votes were counted, when they were allowed to be counted. Some were counting weeks later as mail-in balloting was happening in the chaos that erupted over it. This is to really make a standard that ballots postmarked by November 3rd, which we knew last time continued to arrive after November 3rd, were counted on that 2020 Election Day. What this move would safeguard the integrity of those elections. The ACLJ again has filed this. The brief was not only filed for all of our ACLJ members in support of them but on behalf of 29 like I said members of the United States Congress where the stakes are pretty high and integrity of security of our nation's pretty high. Ben Ferguson is joining us. Ben, a man with as many jobs I feel like as I have. Ben, welcome back. Good to see you just a couple days ago here in Nashville and now we're doing this once again. What are your thoughts on this? Election integrity, election security always starts to pop up, it starts to bubble up especially as we head now into the midterms.

Ben Ferguson: Look, I think this is insane that we're even having to have the conversation. You and I should not be able to look at an election result and then if we are bad actors decide that maybe we're going to figure out a way to keep the counting going for days and weeks until we get to the number that we need to overturn an election. Now, let's say that that doesn't happen 99.9% of the time. There is still a very big fear in the world, and I would argue on both sides of this, that you shouldn't have to wait a week to get results from an election. Like we are the greatest nation in the world. Why on earth are we waiting days or weeks to find out who the next president or mayor or governor or congressman, city councilman is?

This is not hard with what we have in technology in 2026. So bad actors know how to use this to their advantage. We saw this during COVID. I think we can all agree the Democrats were brilliant in the way that they basically legaled up to figure out how can we change and alter the way we do the elections in the name of COVID, an emergency. And Democrats are like, that worked out really well for us where we did this in Pennsylvania or in Georgia in specific areas. Remember, it wasn't statewide, it was specific Democrat areas, and they exploited what they described as a loophole. Now, you and I both know I want every person's vote count the same. If you're canceling out my vote voting for Hillary Clinton or for Bill Clinton or for Barack Obama, the list goes on and on, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, that's fine as long as it's a legal ballot and it's done the right way.

So I got to say to the ACLJ, thank you guys for leading on this and filing this with the Supreme Court. It's vitally important for integrity of elections. And if you look at polling, Logan, I think this is also something else that's really important. Data among Americans right now is extremely low when it comes to do you believe that your vote matters, is it counted, or is there fraud or abuse? We need to get rid of that. I want people to be inspired to go vote because they think their vote actually matters, that their vote means something. And why do we have such low voter turnout and participation? It is because there's a lot of people that believe well, the system's rigged anyway. So let's have it where that major piece of the pie is gone.

Logan Sekulow: Let's not give them the reason to at least believe that it feels that way. I think when you bring up also these elections, you know, I think we were maybe blessed in the last election that it was a pretty clear winner up front for the president. Now, I think when you don't have Trump on the ballot in three years, or even with what's going on in the midterms, you're going to see once again a very—I mean, if the world is the way it is today—a very, very tight election because it feels like a giant landslide of Reagan-level landslide just maybe happens electorally but maybe won't happen vote-wise. So we do need to figure this out to make sure these don't go on for weeks and weeks and weeks especially as we know in a lot of these elections it's going to be incredibly tight. So when they're incredibly tight, we got to figure it out.

Ben Ferguson: No, we got to figure it out and the American people deserve answers. You don't want delayed answers that then you think, well, maybe there was fraud or abuse, or maybe they found a batch of ballots, or maybe all of a sudden someone randomly drops off 2,000 ballots at a polling station that just randomly show up or at a mailbox. These are the problems that we have right now. I was talking to a CEO of a bank the other day and we were talking about this issue. He goes, how many times, Ben, have you gone to an ATM and you've never gotten less or more than the amount of money that you wanted to take out? And I'm like, it's never happened, right? If I want $100 out, I get $100. If I put $100 in, it shows up $100 on my thing.

How is it that we live in a world where we're so secure in everything else we do, but our elections are still 50 years old? Like it doesn't make sense. So why would politicians who you could also argue have unlimited funds, right? We print money. We have trillions of dollars in a deficit. Are you telling me that we can't fix this problem overnight if we wanted to? I believe the reason why it's not fixed is because it's deliberate and it's being done on purpose. There are bad actors that want areas that are gray and loopholes and ways that you can change and alter an election if it doesn't go your way. We've seen that and we've seen proof of it. I also think there's another big part of this. Democrats want to make sure the illegal immigrants have the ability to somehow try to vote.

Logan Sekulow: Right, I mean, we got to get to that. We got to get to that which we talked about it yesterday. Obviously the SAVE Act, very popular. We've seen the polling from CNN. We've seen the polling even. Democrats, 70% approve of some kind of voter ID, a photo ID. So the arguments, there's never been one convincing argument. No one has ever given me even a moment to think of why we don't need this kind of security.

Ben Ferguson: No, it's bipartisan. There isn't an issue out there, Logan, that's as bipartisan as the SAVE Act is, which is a real simple question. Do you or do you not show an ID to vote? Do we make sure you are who you say you are when you go to vote? This is not controversial. Liberals, moderates, and conservatives all agree unanimously on this issue, probably more than any other issue in America right now. When you've got that level of a consensus, right? And it is a big consensus. That would be a landslide beyond landslides. Yeah, so why are Democrats against it? Right, that's the only people holding this up because you got to get to 60 votes, remember, in the Senate. And people are like, well, Republicans need to fight harder. I want to be clear, Republicans are fighting as hard as they can. You got to know how Washington works, unfortunately. Came out of the House, right? Goes to the Senate. You got to have 60. It's not 50 plus one, it is 60. And why are Democrats hellbent on not doing this? It is for one reason. They know that they have a better chance of winning in certain areas if you don't have to show an ID to vote. Every other major country that you would compare the United States to has voter ID laws because my vote should not be canceled out by a dead voter or someone lying about who they are, or someone that goes into a nursing home and grabs a bunch of ballots and takes advantage of the elderly and seniors and votes on their behalf. All of these things the American people overwhelmingly agree with and yet not one Democrat in the Senate right now is saying that they're going to go along with this because the Democratic leadership has said do not do this to us. It will hurt us on Election Day. The only way it hurts someone on Election Day is if there is fraud that they know about that they're now sanctioning with this vote.

Logan Sekulow: Well, Ben, I appreciate you coming on, popping up, helping me out here when I'm flying solo. So I appreciate it today. Hey, we got about a minute left, plug away. Where can people find you? Obviously, you do again, you're on, you're everywhere.

Ben Ferguson: No, no, if I do a podcast called The 47 Morning Update, it's about 10 minutes long if you want to know what's coming out of the White House, grab The 47 Morning Update. I do another long form, it's called The Ben Ferguson Podcast. It's like my radio show, but as a podcast. And then also I co-host three days a week a podcast with Senator Ted Cruz called Verdict with Ted Cruz. You can get all of those for free wherever you get your podcasts.

Logan Sekulow: Fantastic, Ben. Always the again, a man of so many different careers. Always great to follow you and always great to have you on here. Hey, we got a second half hour coming up. Phone lines are open, 1-800-684-3110. I want to hear from you. Always good to have Ben on. Always great insights. We're going to continue this conversation though. If you want to be a part of the broadcast, easy way to do it. Go to ACLJ.org. If you don't get us on your local station, however you get your podcasts, you can find our show at ACLJ.org, YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcasts. We're there, but we're live right now for another half hour.

Announcer: For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedom, defending your rights in court, in Congress, and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.