Mamdani Sues Trump Admin & Trump Backs AI Development | 9.15.26

Morning Wire

Morning Wire covers major political developments on September 15th, including Mayor Zorhan Mamdani's lawsuit against the Trump administration over expanded

Key takeaways

• Mamdani's lawsuit challenges a sweeping expansion of the public charge rule that could impact up to 4 million people, potentially leading to deportations and loss of healthcare access.
• Trump's border czar confirmed an ICE investigation into Ilhan Omar over allegations she married her brother for immigration benefits, though deportation would require denaturalization through a lengthy legal process.

Main topics

• Immigration policy and public charge rule expansion
• Ilhan Omar investigation into alleged immigration fraud

Notable quotes

"The toll of this new rule cannot be overstated. It is estimated that up to 4 million people from across the country could unenroll from their health care alone, including 1.8 million children. None of this is abstract. People could die." - Mayor Zorhan Mamdani

Conclusion

The episode underscores escalating tensions around immigration policy, national

Transcript preview

Speaker 7 (0:00) What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire day? With Pray.com, you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers, inspiring Bible stories, and messages created to strengthen your faith. Whether you need peace, encouragement, or a fresh start, Pray.com helps you make prayer part of your everyday life. Download the Pray.com app today. Speaker 5 (0:33) Mayor Zoran Mamdani leads a lawsuit against the Trump administration over immigration, while Trump's border czar confirms a very serious investigation into Ilhan Omar. Speaker 8 (0:44) We have the latest on the immigration front. Speaker 5 (0:46) I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Tuesday, September 15th, and this is Morning Wire. Speaker 8 (1:00) President Trump responds to calls for federal AI regulation as China barrels full steam ahead on the technology. Speaker 7 (1:07) And I'm telling you it's all a hoax. The data centers are great. They're just playing right into the hands of a lot of people that don't want to see it happen. Speaker 5 (1:16) And new developments in the Hayden-Penetier investigation, plus the latest on the controversial Teja fortune case. Speaker 8 (1:23) Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Speaker 8 (1:29) Freedom is given to us by God, not government, but its ability to endure rests with the people. We're seeing our God-given rights tested, threatened, and violated right now, and we must stop it before it's too late. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom are fighting some of the most critical legal battles of our generation, upholding biological truth, defending free speech, preserving religious liberty. But they depend on friends like you to keep up this work. Your gift today powers the very legal battles that are defining freedom's future. Every dollar you give today will be matched by a special grant while funds last. Visit joinadf.com slash wire or text wire to 83848 to make twice the impact for freedom today. That's joinadf.com slash wire or text wire to 83848. Speaker 8 (2:17) New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani has announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration to shield immigrants who are on welfare. Speaker 5 (2:24) Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Taer joins us now to discuss. So, Jenny, President Trump wants to alter this longtime policy. First, can you describe what this policy is and what Mamdani wants to challenge Speaker 2 (2:37) here? Speaker 5 (2:38) The Speaker 2 (2:38) Trump administration is looking to expand the definition of what is known as a public charge. So these are green card applicants or visa applicants who immigration officers. Deem unlikely to, quote, be self-sufficient and actually more likely to be dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits. So this new expansion of the rule will go into effect Friday, adding more public benefits to the list that include health care and food assistance. They're also broadening the definition of those deemed as public charges. And what they're saying is that immigration officers can determine that someone is a public charge. Based on any means-tested public benefits. So a lot of questions from immigration advocates and lawyers about what this really means. They're concerned that the definition is too broad and will mean that a lot of people will be swept up under this. And is the idea that people would Speaker 5 (3:34) be more likely deported if they are deemed to be a public charge? Speaker 2 (3:39) Yes, that's exactly why Mamdani is taking action here. Now, he is unsurprisingly doing this. He's a sanctuary city mayor. He's a democratic socialist. But he did express during a press conference on Monday this exact thing, that the Trump administration is likely to deport more people because this definition is being expanded. that more individuals will be considered public charges, that they will be a burden on taxpayer-funded welfare programs. He also claimed that up to 4 million people would be affected by this and went so far as to say that people could die, in his own words, as a result of losing their health care. Listen here. Speaker 1 (4:20) The toll of this new rule cannot be overstated. It is estimated that up to 4 million people from across the country could unenroll from their health care alone, including 1.8 million children. None of this is abstract. People could die. Speaker 2 (4:37) We should note that Mamdani is not the only one suing to stop this. New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James also filed a separate legal challenge with 21 other Democratic-run states against these changes. They don't just want a temporary pause from a judge. They want this completely scrapped. Speaker 5 (4:56) Now, before you go, we also have an update on the Ilhan Omar investigation. For a long time, we weren't we didn't have any real confirmation that the investigation Speaker 2 (5:05) even existed. Now we do. What do we know? Yeah. So over the weekend, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, broke a. bombshell on Fox News that ICE has opened an investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman over her alleged immigration fraud over claims that she married her brother in order for him to obtain a green card. We previously learned that the Justice