House Votes to Limit Trump & Kirk Family Takes Legal Action | 9.17.26

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Georgia Howe (0:34)

Things heat up in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia intercepts strikes intended for Mecca while Iran hits a ship with US personnel.

SPEAKER_3 (0:42)

Hopefully we're toward the end of the war.

SPEAKER_4 (0:46)

Do they want to make the deal?

Lynden Blake (0:47)

We'll see how that works out.

Georgia Howe (0:48)

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, September 17th, and this is Morning Wire.

John Bickley (1:02)

The family of Charlie Kirk takes legal action against Utah Valley University for what they say is negligence in his death.

SPEAKER_7 (1:09)

It is just a series of egregious failures. The basic blocking and tackling of an event this size just simply didn't happen.

Georgia Howe (1:19)

The House votes to curb Trump's abilities under the War Powers Act. What does this mean for the conflict with Iran? Plus, how does the Fed raising rates for the first time in years impact the midterms?

John Bickley (1:30)

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned with the news you need to know.

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John Bickley (2:07)

The Iranian regime is continuing to attack American allies in the region. Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors to fight Iran-backed Houthi terrorists, and the regime struck an American contracted ship with US personnel on board.

Georgia Howe (2:22)

Here with more is Wired In host Cabot Phillips. So a lot happened over the past week, particularly in the last 24 hours. First, let's start with the Saudis. What happened there?

Cabot Phillips (2:31)

Yeah, a lot going on. Saudi Arabia has been getting hit from multiple directions since the war first broke out in February. But things are really ramping up and this is an important aspect of this conflict for the US, as Saudi Arabia is one of our closest allies in the region. Two regional officials told the AP on Tuesday that the Saudi military is running low on missile interceptors, and has now asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to send air defense support. You might notice that the US is absent from that list, and it's important to note that American interceptor stockpiles have also been significantly depleted over the past six months for similar reasons, fighting off a lot of Iranian-backed attacks. The Saudis are getting increasingly desperate for answers to the drone and missile attacks coming their way from not just Iran, but also Houthi terrorists who were backed by Iran on their southern border with Yemen. On Tuesday night, Saudi air defenses shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca, which is Islam's holiest city, so a lot on the line there. It's the first attempted strike on Mecca since 2017

The kingdom called it a, quote, red line. The Houthis, of course, have denied targeting the city, but Houthi strikes did injure 13 people in nearby cities that same day. They've also recently seized multiple islands near the Red Sea, setting up what one Pentagon official called a, quote, kill box for shipping traffic heading in and out of the nearby Suez Canal.

That, combined with the Iranian-backed terrorists in Iraq knocking out Saudi pipelines last week, means there will likely be little relief for Americans when it comes to prices at the pump in the near future. Oil is still trading at above $100 a barrel, and also diesel prices well above $6 now. That is a record high in the US.

John Bickley (4:04)

Right, we've all seen those prices going up. Are the Saudis getting any help?

Cabot Phillips (4:09)

So to this point, it's been a lot more words than action. Despite having just signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, neither country has offered to provide the Saudis with any military support. And the US appears to be doing its best to stay out of the situation ahead of the midterms and also amid their own shortage that we discussed earlier. VP Vance did say that the administration is in quote, constant contact with the Saudis and has directly talked with the Houthis at a summit in Oman last week, but to little success. State Department has also put all of Saudi Arabia under a level three quote, reconsider travel advisory given the ongoing Houthi strikes. But again, remember the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, very important right now. They are a very critical ally in the region.