Trump Reverses Course on DNI Pick, Shock California LGBT Contract Bias Reporting: AM Update 6/18

0:00Small business owners, listen up. Payroll benefits and global hiring can get complicated fast, but with JustWorks, you don't have to figure it all out on your own. JustWorks helps simplify the behind-the-scenes stuff that keeps your business running with 24-7 support from real people whenever you need it, so you can spend less time worrying about admin and more time focusing on the parts of running your business that actually excite you. You don't have to worry when it just works. Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly wrap-up show on Sirius XM Channel 111.

0:36It's Thursday, June 18th, 2026, and this is your AM update. All of a sudden it was like a rush act by the Democrats, and they said they were going to approve Pfizer. President Trump pulling the plug on his own nominee. For now, keeping housing official Bill Pulte in line to take over as acting director of national intelligence tomorrow. So we're definitely looking into what can be done about it by the Department of Justice. It's nonsense and it needs to stop and it's illegal. California reportedly giving LGBT-owned businesses special access to utility contracts for those who can prove they're actually gay.

1:10A Colorado teacher fired after students accused her of making girls kiss during classroom skits. And younger brother of NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman sentenced after using his car to firebomb a California post office. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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2:19If you are looking to take back control of your health from the inside out, consider Armra. And they have a special deal for you. Go to armra.com slash Megan or enter Megan to get 30 % off your first subscription order. That's A-R-M-R-A dot com slash Megan. President Trump unexpectedly calling off yesterday's confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, his nominee to permanently lead the nation's intelligence community. The move keeping Bill Pulte, the 38-year-old housing official with no intelligence background, in line to take over as Acting Director of National Intelligence, or DNI, tomorrow. Mr.

2:57Trump tapping Pulte to temporarily replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, placing him atop the U.S. intelligence structure, where the DNI coordinates work across 18 agencies. According to the New York Times, the president wants Pulte to continue shrinking the DNI's office, following major cuts already carried out under Gabbard. The selection drawing resistance from Democrats and some Republicans, citing Pulte's lack of national security experience. Democrats then refusing to support an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as long as Pulte was set to take over, increasing pressure on the president to name a permanent director.

3:34Mr. Trump announcing Clayton only hours before the surveillance authority expired, too late for Congress to act with the House already away on recess. Senate Republicans then racing to move Clayton through confirmation. scheduling his hearing within days and preparing for a committee vote as soon as today. Mr. Trump announcing the decision to postpone Clayton's nomination in a lengthy Truth Social post early yesterday morning while attending the G7 summit in France. The president arguing Republicans moved too quickly on Clayton's nomination, putting Pulte on track to leave before Democrats were required to deliver their votes, renewing FISA.

4:08Mr. Trump writing, quote, Now the Democrats are saying they will vote against FISA. So the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Democrats broke the deal. The president now insisting Clayton remain in his current position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York until the Senate confirms his proposed replacement. President Trump expressing concern that nominee Jamie McDonald could be blocked under the Senate's blue slip tradition, which allows home state senators to object to certain U.S. attorney and judicial nominees. The president then upping the anti, quote, to add a slight bit of intrigue, but for the good of the nation and the people of our country, I will not approve FISA without the Save America Act going along with it.

4:50The overnight announcement catching Senate Republicans off guard. Senator Tom Cotton, the Arkansas Republican, who chairs the Intelligence Committee, responding, quote, it's regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today. Senate Majority Leader John Thune telling CBS News he had not received any clarity from the White House. Thune later telling reporters, quote, I can only do what I can do here. President Trump yesterday defending Pulte and the decision to halt Clayton's confirmation. How long do you expect Bill Pulte to be acting DNI? Well, as long as it takes to get everybody else approved.

5:25I mean, they were doing a rush act and we didn't get anything for it. Look, he's a very legitimate guy. He's very smart. He's a brilliant guy. So we put him there. But all of a sudden, it was like a rush act by the Democrats. and they said they were going to approve Pfizer. And I said, but we want Pfizer approved, but we want the Save America Act approved. Voter ID, proof of citizenship, no mail-in ballots, with exceptions, like for the military, sick, you're sick, you're traveling, disabled. We also want no men playing in women's sports, so we want no transgender mutilization of our children.

6:04None. And those are five things that are 99 percent. I mean, that's all we want. It's not a lot. The Save America Act. And that can be passed any way they want to pass it. But I'm not going to sign Pfizer. California reportedly offering special access to utility contracts for gay owned businesses for those who can prove they are actually gay. According to City Journal, the program operating through the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPOC, which regulates privately owned utilities across the state. Those companies spending more than$43 billion on contractors in 2024, hiring fuel suppliers, engineers, surveyors, and other businesses involved in delivering water, gas, electricity, and internet service to nearly 40 million Californians.

6:52The Supplier Diversity Program, dating back to the 1980s, originally designed to increase contracting with businesses owned by women and racial minorities. A series of Democratic governors later broadening the program to include gay-owned businesses. Governor Gavin Newsom expanding the initiative again in 2019, encouraging other companies in the energy industry to award contracts to gay-owned firms. By 2022, CPAC setting specific targets for utilities with annual revenues above$25 million to purchase from, quote, state-certified LGBT businesses. City Journal calculating that large utilities would have directed roughly$633 million to LGBT-owned businesses in 2024 if every company met the commission's target.

7:37So how exactly does a business prove it is gay? Bureaucracy, of course. The supplier clearinghouse, which certifies businesses for the commission's program, providing applicants with several options. A business owner can submit a letter from an LGBT organization attesting to his or her sexual orientation. A newspaper article identifying the owner as LGBT also qualifies. So do three letters from personal contacts. Applicants can also seek certification through the National LGBTQ Plus and Allied Chamber of Commerce, that organization accepting other forms of documentation, including human resources complaints or police records involving alleged LGBT discrimination.

8:20California utilities even producing training materials to help employees find these officially approved companies. A 2022 video for San Diego Gas and Electric featuring an animated character known as the Ambassador for Excellence. I can show you exactly how to source diverse vendors. Using my handy dandy tablet, let's go to the supplierclearinghouse.com. This is the perfect place to find every classification of diverse vendors that you can imagine. Let's take a look. Diverse businesses are easy to search for and engage. Now, to the rather important question, is any of this legal? City Journal arguing the program conflicts with the spirit of California law.

9:07Voters approving Proposition 209 in 1996, banning the state from granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, or ethnicity in public employment, education, and contracting. Californians rejecting an effort to repeal that ban in 2020. City Journal arguing the commission skirts the spirit of those restrictions by labeling its contracting targets for minority women, disabled veteran, and LGBT-owned businesses as voluntary goals rather than quotas. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dillon yesterday on Glenn Beck's program reacting to the report. I agree that it's illegal. It's actually a much bigger problem than what you just described.

9:44Everyone's kind of lampooning. You have to get three friends to sign up and agree that you're gay and then you get certified as gay. But actually, this is part of a broader DEI initiative where they have minority set-asides based on race, based on gender, based on other factors. And we're definitely looking into what can be done about it by the Department of Justice. But the other people who could do something about it, in some instances, can be private parties who weren't picked for a contract because they don't have the correct boxes checked. I don't know how who somebody sleeps with is relevant to their provision of utility-related support services.

10:20That's rhetorical. I think we know it isn't. It's nonsense, and it needs to stop, and it's illegal. Coming up, a Colorado teacher fired after students accused her of pressuring girls to kiss during classroom skits. And the younger brother of NFL star turned Army soldier Pat Tillman, sentenced to five years in federal prison after firebombing a post office.

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12:05Wouldn't it be nice to have a little hand holding as you go through this crazy process? Paid for by SuperSure Insurance Agency, LLC, a licensed insurance agency. A Colorado public high school teacher fired last month after female students accused her of pressuring them to kiss one another during classroom skits. The Denver Public Schools board voted unanimously to dismiss Jennifer Honka, a French teacher who spent eight years at Northeast Early College. That moment here. I move that the board hereby accepts both the evidentiary and ultimate findings of fact of the hearing officer, the recommendation of the hearing officer that Ms.

12:46Jennifer Honka be dismissed on the grounds of incompetence and neglect of duty and that the board enter its written order as required by TACDA that Ms. Honka be dismissed with immediate effect. CBS Colorado reporting the firing followed student complaints dating back to the 2023-2024 school year. Denver Public Schools launching an investigation into those allegations. During that investigation, the school's principal collecting statements from three students and filing a report with Denver police, though no criminal charges resulted. At the conclusion of its investigation, the district recommending that Honka be fired, Honka appealing that recommendation, sending the case to Colorado administrative law judge Keith Kerchubel for an independent review.

13:32According to the independent review obtained by CBS Colorado, one student testified that Honka regularly selected girls to perform the French language skits, despite the class being divided nearly evenly between boys and girls, several of the scripts requiring the characters to kiss. The review recounting how another student told a chemistry teacher she felt deeply uncomfortable, but kissed a female classmate at Honka's direction anyway. One student describing a rule posted in Honka's classroom reading, quote, The answer is always yes, which the student says the teacher invoked, while encouraging participation in the skits.

14:07The review also finding that Honka openly discussed being a lesbian and her involvement in LGBTQ advocacy with her students. Honka attributing the outcry over the skits to the students' strong Christian backgrounds. The judge responding, quote, for all of her asserted interest in a diverse and accepting environment at school, it was Honka who attributed the outcry by the students to their strong Christian backgrounds. That statement had its own discriminatory ring. Honka denies forcing anyone to kiss, testifying that uncomfortable students could pretend, blow a kiss, or substitute a fist bump.

14:39The review noting that no staff member witnessed the alleged kissing. Kertubel ultimately siding with the district, concluding that even if Honka allegedly offered alternatives to kissing, the assignment still placed students in an inappropriate position. The school board voting 7-0 on May 20th to accept the findings and fire Honka immediately. The younger brother of late NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman heading to federal prison for firebombing a post office in San Jose, California. Richard Tillman sentenced Monday to five years behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. A judge also ordering the 45-year-old to pay more than$2.3 million in restitution to the U.S.

15:19Postal Service, according to NBC Bay Area. Tillman pleading guilty in February to malicious destruction of government property by fire. Federal prosecutors say Tillman purchased fire logs and lighter fluid before driving to the post office last July. Tillman then crashing his car through the building's front entrance, pouring lighter fluid throughout the vehicle, setting it on fire, and running away. The fire quickly spreading through the lobby around 3 a.m., destroying the retail area and post office boxes inside. Federal officials revealing Tillman carried out the attack to, quote, make a point to the United States government.

15:52ABC7 previously reporting that Tillman's since-deleted YouTube channel featured videos describing what he portrayed as a mission to dismantle the government. In one video posted five days before the attack, Tillman declaring that he planned to, quote, take down the whole system, including the U.S. and what he called the world government. Tillman immediately taken into custody following Monday's sentencing. Richard is the youngest brother of Pat Tillman, who walked away from his NFL career following the September 11th terrorist attacks to enlist in the Army. Pat completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before he was killed by friendly fire in April 2004 at the age of 27.

16:28He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Richard Tillman, then 23 years old, drawing national attention during his brother's memorial service, taking the stage in a plain white t-shirt with a beer in his hand, bluntly rejecting the religious messages offered by some of the speakers. He's not with God, he's fucking dead, he's not religious, so thanks for your thoughts, but he's fucking dead. Following last year's attack, the Tillman family expressing relief that no one was physically injured, while revealing Richard had struggled with severe mental health problems for years.

17:01That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party. Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's, the Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.

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