In September 2022, The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh released shocking video of a doctor referring to gender transition surgeries as “huge money makers.” The footage revealed Dr. Shayne Sebold Taylor, a physician, discussing how a “gender-affirming” double mastectomy could bring in around $40,000, and a female-to-male transition could bring in more than $100,000. These revelations raised ethical questions and prompted an investigation into the Pediatric Transgender Clinic where she worked. Alarm bells went off when we heard “Pediatric Transgender Clinic.” As a society, we recognize that young people do not have the intellectual or emotional maturity to make big, life-altering decisions. That is why you cannot vote until you turn 18. You cannot get a tattoo until you turn 18. Your frontal lobe does not fully develop until you are 25. Yet a hospital in the state was performing irreversible gender transition treatments on vulnerable children because those procedures were lucrative. There is no place for the exploitation of children in our state. Immediately after Walsh brought this to light, Tennesseans united in a call to action. In October 2022, responding to concerns raised by Walsh, lawmakers, and Tennesseans, all pediatric gender transitions were paused for a review while they completed a review. Thousands gathered at the capitol later that month in Nashville for a rally to end child mutilation. We stood alongside Walsh, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and other state and national leaders to call for an end to this unethical practice. Notably, Chloe Cole, who was 18 at the time, shared her experience de-transitioning after undergoing “gender-affirming care” as a minor. She began taking puberty blockers and underwent “top surgery” at age 13 as a part of her transition from a female to a male. Cole, now 20, draws on her personal journey to advocate against transgender procedures for minors. In response, we filed Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1, the first bills of the 113th General Assembly in each chamber, which banned gender transition procedures on minors in Tennessee. This issue centers on children making adult decisions with lifelong consequences. The Tennessee General Assembly decisively passed the legislation in February of 2023, signifying a major step forward in protecting children in the Volunteer State. Of course, we expected challenges to the new law from the far-Left. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and his exceptional team led a skillful defense through months of court challenges from Liberal groups. As public servants, we have a responsibility to listen to the people we represent and legislate according to their priorities. The people of Tennessee spoke loud and clear on this issue. We believe strongly in the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1. Now, we look ahead to Dec. 4, when the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Senate Bill 1. We pray that this case sets a national precedent for safeguarding vulnerable young people from irreversible and unproven medical procedures. No matter what happens in Washington D.C., here in Tennessee, we will always prioritize our children’s safety and well-being first.  * * * Jack Johnson serves as the Tennessee Senate Majority Leader and represents Senate District 27. William Lamberth serves as the Tennessee House Majority Leader and represents House District 44. They jointly sponsored Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1 in their respective chambers. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Erik and Lyle Menendez made their first court appearance in years on Monday as they hope to be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents due to possible new evidence, but the judge pushed back the hearing until January.  The brothers, who were convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 in their second trial, were in the courtroom virtually for a status hearing on a habeas corpus petition their attorneys filed last year, per CBS News. The document states that key evidence was not presented during their trials, which could help prove sexual abuse claims the Menendezes made against their father, which was used as a motive for the killings. No cameras were allowed in court, and the brothers couldn’t be seen on screen due to technical difficulties, per CNN. Their attorney, Mark Geragos, said two of the brothers’ aunts spoke in court. “It was quite a moving experience, at least where we sit, to listen to Aunt Terry [Baralt] and Aunt Joan [VanderMolen], who are respectively, Jose and Kitty’s older sisters,” Geragos said. “Both made impassioned pleas with the judge to send the brothers home.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “I want them home,” VanderMolen, 92, said in the courtroom on Monday. “They should have never been in such situations. What can a kid do when his father’s — I can’t stand it.” “No child should have to endure what Erik and Lyle did,” she continued. “No children should have to live in fear day by day that their dad would come and rape them.” “Thirty-five years is a long time,” Baralt, 85, agreed, saying she would like to “hug them and see them.” Geragos said the Menendez brothers’ hearing, initially scheduled for December 11, has been pushed back to the end of January. “We’re hoping that by the end of that, or sometime sooner, that we will, in fact, get the brothers released,” the attorney added. Current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who was just voted out of office, recommended the resentencing, which could lead to the brothers’ release from prison. District Attorney-elect Nathan Hochman takes office on December 2. Hochman said the resentencing hearing delay would give him time to review the case and “consult with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel, and victim family members.” The brothers are currently incarcerated in San Diego. Their first trial ended with two deadlocked juries. In the second, both were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Not all family members believe that the Menendez brothers should be released, however. Milton Anderson, Kitty Menendez’s brother, said they should remain incarcerated.

Top aides of the failed Kamala Harris presidential campaign appeared this week on “Pod Save America,” where they discussed what went wrong, including why Harris never appeared on the most popular podcast in the world, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” after an invite. Senior campaign adviser David Plouffe shockingly suggested host Joe Rogan did not have pure intentions and was using the invite as “leverage” so now-President-elect Donald Trump would appear in the Austin-based studio. “So what’s clear is we offered to do it in Austin, people should know that,” Plouffe said. “It didn’t work out. Maybe they leveraged that to get Trump in studio, I don’t know.” Stephanie Cutter, another senior Harris campaign adviser, claimed the team just couldn’t make a date work for the extremely popular podcast. “We had discussions with Joe Rogan’s team, they were great, they wanted us to come on, we wanted to come on, we tried to get a date to make it work and, ultimately, we just weren’t able to find a date. We did go to Houston and she gave a great speech at an amazing event,” Cutter said, according to Fox News. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “We were hoping to fit it in around that but ultimately weren’t able to do it,” she continued. “As it turns out, that was the day that Trump was taping his Joe Rogan [appearance], which they had never confirmed to us. We just kind of figured that out in the lead-up to it. You know, she was ready, willing to go on Joe Rogan.” Despite evidence that shows Trump’s Rogan appearance helped him with younger males, Cutter insisted that keeping Harris off the podcast didn’t make a difference in the election. “It didn’t ultimately impact the outcome one way or another, but she (Harris) was willing to do whatever it takes,” Cutter said. However, Jennifer Palmieri, senior adviser to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, gave another reason for skipping the podcast. She told The Financial Times that the appearance didn’t work out “because of concerns at how the interview would be perceived within the Democratic Party.” “There was a backlash with some of our progressive staff that didn’t want her to be on it, and how there would be a backlash,” she said. On social media platform X, politicos were not convinced by the explanations. Some pointed out that Harris decided to make time for the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live,” which has much lower ratings than “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “Kamala Harris ‘left the battleground’ to appear on SNL… which has far fewer viewers/listeners than Joe Rogan,” one comment read. “I don’t know who is more incompetent, Kamala Harris the candidate or her campaign team that blew through more than a $1 billion and got crushed,” Steve Cortes wrote. “Her campaign is now claiming ‘Kamala didn’t have time’ to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast but they really wanted to!” “It’s the #1 podcast in the world, and they couldn’t make time,” he said. I don’t know who is more incompetent, Kamala Harris the candidate or her campaign team that blew through more than a $1 billion and got crushed. Her campaign is now claiming “Kamala didn’t have time” to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast but they really wanted to! It’s the #1 podcast in… pic.twitter.com/nZ7MNLmmIQ — Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) November 26, 2024 Jeff Carlson called out the Harris team for “lying.” “Even during the post-mortem of her campaign,” he wrote, “the Harris people blatantly lie.” Even during the post-mortem of her campaign the Harris people blatantly lie — Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) November 26, 2024 Related: Joe Rogan Reveals Kamala’s Podcast Demands. Rogan Doesn’t Agree

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