The Daily Signal

Andrew Cuomo left the New York governor's mansion in disgrace this week after multiple controversies, including his poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as credible allegations that he sexually harassed 11 female state employees.Cuomo, who was in his third term, resigned before facing near-certain impeachment in the New York State Assembly and a likely humiliating removal after a trial held by members of the state Senate and judiciary.However, throughout U.S. history, other governors chose to stay and fight—sometimes with success, such as the legendary Louisiana Gov. Huey Long, and sometimes not, such as Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.The first governors of Nebraska and Kansas both were impeached. In the 1920s, Oklahoma saw two governors impeached and removed. In Cuomo's state of New York, one governor has been impeached and ousted from office: William Sulzer in 1913.On today's episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast," Fred Lucas and Jarrett Stepman talk about the nation's 15 impeached governors going back to the very first in 1862, when the country itself was at war.We also cover these stories: Efforts continue to ensure no Americans or local allies are left stranded in Afghanistan. A Supreme Court ruling reinstates tighter controls over immigration at the southern border. Delta Air Lines announces that it will charge unvaccinated employees an extra $200 per month for health insurance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden is moving ahead with plans to evacuate all U.S. citizens and troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, providing the Taliban do not interfere with the evacuation. But Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a combat veteran, says she does not see how it’s possible to meet that deadline. The notion that Americans and our Afghan partners can be evacuated by the end of the month “is a fantasyland that has been developed by President Biden, by the administration,” Ernst says. “I don't see how we have everyone out by Aug. 31 and honor those commitments we've made to our own citizens and our Afghan partners.”Ernst served in the military for more than 23 years. In 2003, she was a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, and led 150 Iowa Army National Guardsmen during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ernst was the first female combat veteran to be elected to the Senate. The current situation in Afghanistan is an “international embarrassment” that puts both “Americans and our allies in harm's way,” the Iowa senator says.Ernst joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan could mean for America, and what the Biden administration needs to do to prevent further disaster. We also cover these stories:  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., calls on the Biden administration to rethink its original Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Vice President Kamala Harris rebukes China for its "coercion" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea.  The University of Notre Dame leprechaun mascot comes under fire for supposedly being "offensive.”  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House Rules Committee voted Monday on rules governing debate on election legislation known as HR 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The controversial bill now goes to the House for a vote. After Democrats failed to pass HR 1, a partisan piece of election law, they crafted HR 4, which Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky says is a danger to states' election rights. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)HR 4 “gives federal bureaucrats control over all these state [election] rules all over the country,” says von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission. “It is an unbelievable invasion of state sovereignty.” The bill is likely to pass along party lines in the House, but faces a battle in the evenly divided Senate, he says. Von Spakovsky joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why the left is advocating for federal control of elections, and how HR 4 would affect the nation if it were to become law. We also cover these stories: The Food and Drug Administration formally approves the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The Pentagon plans to mandate that all U.S. military personnel be vaccinated. Monday was Andrew Cuomo's last day serving as governor of New York. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School is back in session—or will be soon—for students across America. As they head back to the classroom, many students will encounter a different environment this year.With debates about mask mandates and critical race theory garnering headlines, there’s another underreported story reshaping American education. Corey DeAngelis, national research director for the American Federation for Children, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share the good news for parents and students alike.DeAngelis calls 2021 the “year of school choice” with upwards of 17 states giving parents more options to make decisions that benefit their kids. These new school choice programs fund students, giving them the educational freedom to learn in an environment best for them.In addition to being a prolific school choice advocate at the American Federation for Children, DeAngelis is also executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at Reason Foundation. Following his work on Twitter: @DeAngelisCorey.Listen to our interview or read a lightly edited transcript at DailySignal.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mixed messages about COVID-19 from the media, politicians, and public heath officials have left many Americans questioning what information they can trust. Across the nation, some political leaders and health experts continue to push for individuals to be vaccinated. We now know, however, that those who are vaccinated still may be infected by the coronavirus and contract COVID-19, although they remain far less likely to be hospitalized or die than those who are unvaccinated and contract COVID-19.Vaccination data tells a positive story and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should relay all the facts to Americans, says Kevin Dayaratna, who is principal statistician, data scientist, and research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, parent organization of The Daily Signal.“The safety and the efficacy of the vaccines was tested last year. And we are continuing to see data and there are overall overwhelmingly no serious effects,” he says.Dayaratna and Norbert Michel, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, just released a new report examining the effectiveness of the vaccines against the delta variant. The report, “A Statistical Analysis of COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections and Deaths,” dives deep into the data and facts about the spread of the virus and the efficacy of the vaccines. Dayaratna joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what you need to know. We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden defended his handling of Afghanistan in a new interview. Dozens of senators are calling on the Biden administration to move faster to evacuate Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan. The Department of Education announced it was cancelling student loans for over 300,000 disabled Americans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Afghanistan continues to dominate the news cycle, we learn more about what led to the end of America’s longest war. But sometimes lost in the discussions about strategy and tactics is the human element of the story.Retired U.S. Army Gen. Don Bolduc served 10 tours in Afghanistan and knows what daily life was like for our troops."This was lost at the higher levels ... unfortunately the Afghan government and military and national police have responsibility here, but not the men and women that served in our military for 20 years and went over there repeatedly," says Bolduc. "They did their job, they did it well, they did it with honor and the sacrifice out there. Their friends and family members did not go in vain despite what you're seeing today."Bolduc joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss his experiences on the ground, and what we can do for our troops coming home.We also cover these news stories: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says there will be many congressional inquiries into what happened in Afghanistan.  Afghanistan’s deposed president Ashraf Ghani is currently sheltering in the United Arab Emirates on humanitarian grounds. The Texas Democrats who fled the state capital to block the vote on an election bill could now be arrested for doing so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bible and the Torah have served as sources of inspiration and guidance throughout the ages. Accounts in the Book of Genesis of the Tower of Babel and the Garden of Eden are among those that have helped people from ancient times to understand God and to navigate personal issues.Michael Eisenberg, an Israeli venture capitalist and author of the upcoming book “The Tree of Life and Prosperity: 21st Century Business Principles from the Book of Genesis,” says he believes these stories contain nuggets of wisdom just as applicable today as they were back then."Wow, this is super-relevant for modern times and modern challenges, this kind of timeless wisdom," Eisenberg says about the Torah, which encompasses the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. "It has a modern feel to it, despite its nature as an ancient text."Eisenberg joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about his book and some of the lessons we can take from the Book of Genesis.We also cover these news stories: At a Pentagon briefing, Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor says the U.S. military expects that one flight per hour will leave Afghanistan's Kabul airport as the evacuation continues. The Biden administration will recommend Americans get a COVID-19 booster shot eight months after they were fully vaccinated, government sources tell CBS News. A California city councilman and five others are charged with election fraud. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Afghanistan War appears to be over. After nearly 20 years of fighting, America's longest conflict has come to a bitter conclusion. Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, fell to the Taliban in fewer than 72 hours. This came on the heels of a weeklong blitz that saw city after city capitulate to the Taliban.How did this happen?"This was an insurgency that for the past two decades was unable to capture even one of the 34 provincial capital cities in Afghanistan, but then out of nowhere, they sweep across the whole country and they're setting in the presidential palace in Kabul," says Luke Coffey, a veteran of the Afghanistan War who directs The Heritage Foundation's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy. "It's an utter disgrace and an extreme loss of prestige [for] the United States that President Biden allowed this to happen."Coffey joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to help explain how the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated so quickly and what the implications are.We also cover these news stories:  President Biden briefly returns to the White House from his vacation at Camp David to address the nation on Afghanistan. Taliban leaders declare “the war is over,” just short of 20 years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. At least seven are dead amid chaos at the international airport in Kabul when thousands of Afghan citizens desperately attempt to escape the invading Taliban forces. About 1,000 American paratroopers will be deployed to the airport to assist in evacuation efforts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is going to try to advance the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the separate $3.5 trillion spending bill together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vivek Ramaswamy calls himself a proud father, a loyal husband, and a grateful son. His parents emigrated to America from India. A Hindu, he made his mark as a successful biotech entrepreneur.Ramaswamy has joined forces with the Philanthropy Roundtable to narrate a compelling video as part of the organization’s True Diversity campaign—pushing back against the left’s narrow and divisive view of diversity and inclusion.Debi Ghate, vice president of strategy and programs at the Philanthropy Roundtable and host of the "Can We Talk About It?" podcast, joins me on “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the real meaning of diversity."At the Roundtable, we believe an individualized approach is better for achieving true diversity," Ghate says. "What we mean by that is looking for the strengths that each person brings to the table, their values, their passions, their experiences, their background, their skills, and even more."Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans have felt the effects of ballooning inflation as a direct result of government-mandated shutdowns of the economy. Prices on essential goods, including food and gas, have risen steadily over the past few months, leaving many wondering about the economic health of the nation."This past year and a half, we also saw a very sharp economic decline, larger in a single quarter than we have seen in any of our lifetimes, unless you were around back in the 1930s," says Joel Griffith, research fellow in financial regulations at The Heritage Foundation.Griffith joins us today on "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the latest inflation numbers and how good fiscal policy can help us right the ship.We also cover these news stories:  The Taliban capture the strategically significant cities of Ghazni and Herat, marking the fall of 11 out of 34 provincial capitals after a weeklong blitz of fighting. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton push back on Dallas County's new mask mandate.  A recent report details how Oregon Gov. Kate Brown quietly signed into law a measure ending graduation requirements for students to prove they can read, write, and do math at a high school level.  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is going to step down, but Republicans and Democrats alike call for him to be held accountable for his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices