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James Robison

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The Brew: From Daily Wire Drama to California’s Fool’s Gold, Whistleblower Wins, and Florida’s ICE-y Tears — Buckle Up for the Wild Ride!

Jeremy Boreing attends the Mr. Birchum Series Premiere on May 07, 2024 in LA. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+)

By Gayle McQueary Published on March 20, 2025

What happens when a media mogul steps back, California’s dark secrets spill out, IRS whistleblowers rise up, and a city’s tears ignite a showdown between a city council and state authorities? Hold on to your coffee cups, because today’s Brew is full of hop.

Things At The Daily Wire Definitely Aren’t Boreing

In a bit of shocking news, Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing announced Tuesday that he is stepping down to focus on creative projects for the company.

Boreing has been with The Daily Wire since its creation in 2015; he’s the one who provided the $4.7 million in seed money to grow the tiny startup into the major news outlet it is today. Caleb Robinson, the founding CEO, has been appointed full-time CEO once again as Boreing steps aside.

Boreing plans to remain with the company in an advisory role, and will continue hosting its monthly show, Daily Wire Backstage, featuring Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles, and Andrew Klavan. Plans haven’t changed for the company to seek growth investments from outside sources as a way to expand The Daily Wire’s already impressive reach with audiences in a move to pivot from social media to its own channels. The company has well over a million subscribers on its streaming service, Daily Wire+.

Questions abound, however, about this leadership shake-up, with rumors of internal strife circulating in the wake of the departures of prominent talent like Candace Owens and Brett Cooper. Many are wondering if the internal dynamics and high-profile exits will impact the public perception of The Daily Wire’s influence among conservatives.

It would be a shame to see an outlet that has become known for excellent conservative reporting and even some faith-friendly content tainted solely by rumor and hearsay. Nevertheless, if there is more going on at The Daily Wire than has been made public yet, we wouldn’t mind a few of their incredibly talented personalities jumping into The Stream, if you know what we mean. Come on over; the water’s fine.

California’s Dirty Little Secrets Spill Out in Fool’s Gold

It’s time to head west to soak in the rays. Ever wonder how California went from being paradise to a punchline for crime and homelessness?

The Golden State might be known for its sun-soaked beaches and Hollywood glamour, but a juicy new book is peeling back it shiny exterior to reveal a wild underbelly of political shenanigans, shady deals, and eyebrow-raising connections — particularly where some of its most well-known politicians are concerned.

Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All, released on March 11, dishes out the dirt on how the state’s progressive bigwigs — like Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Adam Schiff, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — allegedly turned the California Dream into a bureaucratic nightmare. Written by award-winning journalist Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter of the Government Accountability Institute, this exposé is packed with jaw-dropping claims that read like a political thriller.

Crabtree and McFatter don’t stop at name-dropping, though: They bring the receipts for their claims. For instance, a whole chapter is devoted to detailing the way Newsom started a nonprofit organization as a kind of gateway for corrupt Chinese officials and businessmen to exploit the state (pages 57-76). And if that’s not quirky enough, the authors claim Newsom even lied about attending college on a baseball scholarship (pages 42-45); his classmates don’t remember him being on the team. Who knew politics could be this creative?

Fool’s Gold isn’t just a California roast, though — it’s also a warning. The authors argue that the state’s progressive leaders aren’t content with their local sandbox; they want to export the chaos they’ve engineered nationwide. With foreign gangsters, intellectual property thieves, and CCP influence allegedly in the mix, the book paints a picture of a state whose leadership is more interested in cashing in than cleaning up. It’s meticulously documented with the help of the investigative team behind bestsellers including Blood Money, Red Handed, Profiles in Corruption, and Clinton Cash.

This book comes at a perfect time: California is wrestling with rising crime, economic woes, whispers of foreign meddling, and Newsom all but coming out to say he’s running for president in 2028. Whether you buy the whole story or just enjoy the wild ride, it’s safe to say California’s political scene just got a lot more entertaining.

All that glitters isn’t always gold. Sometimes it’s just pyrite … wielded by pirates.

IRS Whistleblowers Promoted

Speaking of government accountability, here’s a story that will warm your justice-seeking little heart: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dropped by Mornings with Maria on the Fox Business Network earlier this week to say that two IRS whistleblowers who’ve been making waves since 2023 are finally getting a pat on the back instead of a shove out the door.

Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who’ve been persecuted by the higher-ups at the IRS for the last two years for calling out the shady way the agency handled Hunter Biden’s tax troubles, are now being promoted above the people who’ve been persecuting them into leadership roles within the Treasury Department. In fact, Shapley’s new title will be Deputy Chief of IRS Criminal Investigations, while Ziegler will be working as the senior advisor for IRS reform.

No one would know better what reforms are needed in the agency than these two. The picaresque justice of it all is just wonderful.

Bessent was clearly impressed after meeting them both in person. That “really brought it home for me,” he said. “I decided I would bring them into the Treasury and give them a year to investigate the wrongdoing that’s going on at the IRS.”

We love a good justice story.

Tears on ICE

On Monday, the Fort Myers (Florida) City Council turned a routine vote into a tearful show, splitting 3-3 on whether their police should join the 287(g) program — a federal rule that trains local cops to team up with ICE to enforce immigration laws. The tie vote meant a big “nope,” and now the city’s catching some serious side-eye from Florida’s leaders and viewers on social media.

On one side, council members Darla Bonk, Diana Giraldo, and Terolyn Watson put on an emotional show, complete with tears and hand-holding, saying, “Not in our city!” to the program. Giraldo, herself a naturalized citizen, argued that most newcomers aren’t here to cause trouble; meanwhile, Bonk said she didn’t want the city strong-armed into being part of the program just to maintain its funding. Mayor Kevin Anderson, along with council members Fred Burson and Liston Bochette, pushed back, saying the program is just a tool to nab lawbreakers — not a dragnet to deport even immigrants who don’t already have warrants out for their arrest — and warned that the city is now flirting with breaking state law.

During the tearfest, Anderson reminded the council members the measure was not memorandum for creating a group of new officers to “kick in doors and actively seek out immigrants,” but rather a process toward getting ICE backing when they are already arresting illegal criminals.

Watch for yourselves:

Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier aren’t laughing. They’re threatening to sue the city, pull state funding, and even remove council members from their seats.

Yesterday, Uthmeier sent a letter to the council stating, “Fix this or face consequences” because sanctuary policies are illegal in Florida.

Every sheriff and plenty of towns statewide are already on board with the program, but the Fort Myers council members’ holdout is like a green light for criminals and a detriment to public safety. The council members might’ve just painted a target on their own backs, because DeSantis won’t back down from the fight.

And he brings superior firepower to it.

Along The Stream…

Later this morning, Carlos Whittaker, author of Reconnected, shares the deep truths he learned by removing the distractions of technology and being still in “How 7 Weeks Away from Screens Restored His Connection to God.”

Later, look for another brilliant piece from Jules Gomes explores an explosive report by Dr. Jordan Peterson and Rutgers University, revealing how Catholic influencers like Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes have twisted “Christ Is King” — a slogan from Pope Pius XI’s anti-Nazi stance — into an antisemitic weapon, with X mentions of it surging fivefold since 2021.

 

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of city council members using crocodile tears to get out of following state law.