Here’s What Could Come Of Trump’s Whirlwind Middle Eastern Tour thumbnail

Here’s What Could Come Of Trump’s Whirlwind Middle Eastern Tour

By The Daily Caller

President Donald Trump’s week-long trip to the Middle East is expected to result in several economic and business deals as he attempts to shore up relationships with Gulf states in one of the first major international trips of his second term.

Trump’s trip will take him to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, and the president is expected to pursue major deals and investments. Trump’s arrival in the region also mirrors his 2017 visit to the region, a trip that resulted in later diplomatic wins, such as the 2020 Abraham Accords that normalized ties between Israel and several nations in the Arab world.

“There will be some economic announcements that will take place. I can’t divulge what they will include now, but I can say that they have to do with aviation, defense and a lot have to do with security,” Dr. Majed al-Ansari, advisor to the Qatari Prime Minister and official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Gulf states have enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Trump administration so far, and the president is reportedly aiming to score a massive $1 trillion investment deal with Saudi Arabia as the first win in his blitz across the Arabian Peninsula. Trump will arrive in the UAE on the heels of a massive $1.4 trillion investment from the nation finalized in March, targeting energy, artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

“These kinds of visits are always the catalyst, and states use it as a way of pushing business deals, economic deals, pushing things that will take a long time,” al-Ansari told the DCNF. “Visits can facilitate these things, making their bureaucratic schedules in order to get things done.”

Qatar made headlines recently by their reported offering of a $400 million Boeing jet intended to serve as a replacement for the aging Air Force One. However, al-Ansari told the DCNF that the deal was not finalized yet and its fate remains unclear.

Trump defended the deal, saying he would be “stupid” not to take the gift as Boeing continues to push back its schedule for delivering a new Air Force One. Some critics have questioned the legality and ethics of the gift, but Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly determined that the arrangement is legal.

Additionally, Qatar has also been a mediator in the Israel-Hamas war, putting forward multiple ceasefire deals with other Arab partners, with mixed success.

“We spent over 20 years engaging with both sides,” al-Ansari told the DCNF. “We know the Israelis very well. We know the Palestinians, especially Hamas, very well. And we have went through countless mediations. So we’re working non-stop on this issue to try to create some kind of sustainable peace in that region.”

In the backdrop of the visit, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will lead a fourth round of negotiations with Iran in Oman on Sunday over its nuclear program, according to CNN. The Gulf states are a key ally aligned against Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) slowly shifting towards the U.S. to act as a bulwark against Iranian aggression.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have found themselves on opposite sides of multiple conflicts in the Middle East, such as the Houthi rebellion in Yemen and the Syrian civil war. The Trump administration has shown interest in normalizing ties with Syria while also aiming to contain the Houthi’s threat to global shipping lanes and U.S. naval vessels.

The GCC has enjoyed close economic relations with the U.S. in the past, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launching the U.S.-GCC Business Initiative in 2014 to further foster business ties with the Gulf states.

AUTHOR

Wallace White

Contributor.

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RELATED VIDEO: Trump Snaps At ABC News Reporter Confronting Him On Accepting Gift From Qatar

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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TEXAS: Department of Justice Announces Investigation of Muslim EPIC City thumbnail

TEXAS: Department of Justice Announces Investigation of Muslim EPIC City

By Jihad Watch

There are serious concerns about the application of Sharia in this place, and so the investigation is entirely warranted, although it is not at all clear that the investigators will know what danger signs to look for. In any case, the fact that any investigation is being conducted at all is a tribute to the heroic efforts of the great Amy Mek.

“Department of Justice announces investigation of Muslim EPIC City,” by Caroline Love and Penelope Rivera, KERA, May 9, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

The U.S. Department of Justice is opening an investigation into a proposed Muslim development of a North Texas mosque.

Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon last month asking them to to investigate potential “religious discrimination” at the East Plano Islamic Center’s EPIC City, a proposed housing development that would be located in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties.

Cornyn said in a press release on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation in response to his concerns.

“I am grateful to Attorney General Bondi and the Department of Justice for hearing my concerns and opening an investigation into the proposed EPIC City development in North Texas,” Cornyn said. “Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no place in the Lone Star State. Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under the Trump administration, they will be.”

Dan Cogdell, the attorney for EPIC, said the North Texas mosque will cooperate with the investigation.

“EPIC will cooperate fully with any and all investigations — regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are,” Cogdell said.

EPIC City is a proposed 402-acre development associated with the East Plano Islamic Center mosque. It would be roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near the city of Josephine. The mixed-use development would include a new mosque, more than 1,000 single- and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and a community college.

Yasir Qadhi, a resident scholar at the East Plano Islamic Center and one of the people involved in the project planning, told KERA in an interview last year EPIC City is not exclusive to Muslim residents.

“It’s an open community,” Qadhi said. “Anybody can come in. We’re welcoming people of all backgrounds and diversity and we’re offering them facilities that we think would be very, very useful.”…

Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth office of the Council of American Islamic relations, said at a press conference in April that Abbott and Paxton have abused their power by launching groundless investigations into the East Plano Islamic Center and its project and violating their rights to religious expression….

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Public Trust in Churches Has Fallen. Is There Hope for Change in 2025? thumbnail

Public Trust in Churches Has Fallen. Is There Hope for Change in 2025?

By John Droz, Jr.

What’s a Critical Thinking analysis? 

I recently read a thought-provoking piece. It starts off by observing that people have lost confidence in the Government and the Media. Then it wraps up by discussing that US citizens are also losing faith in Churches — an even more serious matter.

Considering that the Catholic Church has a new leader (Pope Leo XIV), maybe this is a good time to give this some critical thought.

[Note: following the quoted part, I’ll share my own experience on this topic.]


The following is an excerpt of the good article:

[ … ]

“There’s one more notable area where people seem to be losing trust, Jody Hice observed. “I hate to even bring this up, but there’s also seemingly … an increasing distrust for churches, a lack of trust. What do you think this next year holds for the church? Is there anything that they can do to become a greater influence in our culture?”

“It’s interesting,” Dr. George Barna replied, “because when you look at what’s going on with churches, in some ways it’s very similar to what’s happening with government, where people have less and less trust in the leadership of their churches.”

Additionally, he explained how many Christians “feel like they’re not getting real value from their churches. And as we’ve been evaluating that, one of the things that’s become clear is that, often, that’s because they feel they’re not being given practical advice, practical guidance — real, tangible value for their life. … This comes from preaching God’s word on a consistent basis and breaking it down for people so that they know how to apply God’s truth principles in their personal life.”

But if churchgoers feel that church is not serving them, the question becomes why is that the case?

Barna contended that a lot of it boils down to how churches “evaluate their success in ministry … which is based on how many people show uphow many programs they offer, how many … people they’ve hired, how much money they’re raising, and how much square footage they’ve built out.” This is problematic, Barna argued, because “if you think about those five objectives that most churches in America consistently measure to evaluate their ministry effectiveness, one conclusion we can come to is … that they’re bound to fail as a set of measures.”*

“Why?” he asked. “Because Jesus didn’t die for any of those. That’s not what His life, His ministry, or His teaching is all about.”

At the heart of the matter, Barna contended, is that “we’ve gotten away from the Bible not only in what we’re teaching, but even in how we’re measuring success and impact in ministry. … In the last five years … half of all adults in America attending a church at least once a month on average has gone down to roughly one third of Americans. That’s a huge drop in a short period of time. And … the reason is they’re not getting biblical value from churches.”

“Wow,” Hice sighed. “This is an extremely important issue because the well-being of our whole culture ultimately comes down to the spiritual health of the culture, which ultimately obviously rests upon the health of the church. What does the church need to do to get people to come back to church? What kind of changes need to be taking place within a church body to fulfill the mission that God has given them to do?”

According to Barna, “it comes back to the whole issue of worldview. Why is it that young people in particular would say that they often are struggling with fear, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts? …

It comes back to their perspectives about how life works. When you’ve got a young adult who doesn’t believe that there’s a God who’s all knowing, all powerful … merciful … just … involved and engaged in their lives, and when you’ve got generations of people who say that they don’t believe that there’s anything that happens after they die, it’s imperative that if … churches or families want to be uplifting and … a source of strength and hope and optimism, particularly for younger adults, well, then they’ve got to get back to God’s word.”

“Our entire culture is moving in the wrong direction,” Barna warned, “and it’s up to churches and parents to raise their children up, to understand the truths of Scripture … to trust the Bible, to know God, to trust Jesus personally, and to understand that we’re sinners.”

People must understand that “success in life isn’t by your material goods. … It’s not by your fame. It’s not by your popularity. It’s not even by feeling good. It’s about consistent obedience to God.” Another part of this issue is due to a lack of discipleship, he argued, and disciples who aren’t properly equipping themselves.

For anyone grappling with fear, anxiety, or depression, Barna concluded that “Jesus is the antidote. … The Bible shows us an alternative way of living,” and “the more that we can address worldview issues, the more that we can not only rebuild the church, but we can bring back a sense of life and hope and optimism to all Americans.


*I relate to this as it is what we experienced in our NC Catholic Church.

FYI, I went to Catholic grammar school, high school, and college (Boston College), and had a good relationship with nuns, brothers, and priests. Subsequently, as an active, practicing parishioner, I’ve dealt with something like a hundred parish priests, with no significant problems.

A few years ago, we were assigned a new pastor — not a big deal. Right out of the gate, he made some major (and problematic) changes. For example, he terminated the sixth grade of our K-6 Catholic School. (I had been on the school board for years, and knew the whole situation intimately.) The new pastor never even bothered to attend any of the monthly school board meetings. When the School Board politely questioned some of his changes to our successful school, he fired all 12± Board members!

There were so many other issues (most outside of the school) that several parishioners decided to give the pastor a petition of concerns. It listed thirty (30!) items. He refused to meet with this group to discuss anything.

I was nominated to speak to the Diocesan person who oversees parishes. I called this priest and outlined our thirty problematic concerns.

Without addressing a single one of the parishioners’ concerns, he asked me: “Have the collections decreased?” I was stunned that this clergy person’s primary interest was financial, not spiritual. We immediately changed parishes and stopped all contributions to the Diocese (and told them why).

©2025   All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Over 7,750 Baptized at Huntington Beach in Largest Single-Day Baptism in U.S. History


Here is other information from this scientist that you might find interesting:

I am now offering incentives for you to sign up new subscribers!

I also consider reader submissions on Critical Thinking on my topics of interest.

Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.

WiseEnergy.orgdiscusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.

C19Science.infocovers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.

Election-Integrity.infomultiple major reports on the election integrity issue.

Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2025 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?

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4 Inspirational Pro-Life Moms thumbnail

4 Inspirational Pro-Life Moms

By Family Research Council

Mother’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the gift of life, an especially important endeavor since we live in a culture that continues to reject it in a multitude of ways, not only through abortion but in the increasingly common decision of many to intentionally not have children. In the spirit of celebrating the gift of life that mothers have given us all, here are four beautiful examples of moms who are not only championing the preciousness of every life in the culture but are also selflessly mothering their own children.

Melissa Ohden

Melissa, who was adopted as an infant, was 14 when she found out that she was the survivor of a botched abortion. In 1977, her biological mother was 19 when she was forced to go through with a saline abortion by her family. Even though Melissa was soaked in a toxic solution in her mother’s womb for five days, she entered the world alive. Melissa survived due to the heroic actions of a nurse who rushed her to the NICU.

Melissa went on to found the Abortion Survivors Network, which seeks to “share stories and data to humanize survivors’ experiences” and “promote policies that protect and serve abortion survivors, their families and friends.”

Through God’s grace, Melissa was eventually able to connect with “a maternal cousin, my two maternal half-sisters, a maternal aunt — and yes, even my biological mother!” She now has two daughters of her own with her husband Ryan.

Abby Johnson

Abby spent eight years working for Planned Parenthood, America’s leading abortion supplier. As she rose through the ranks of the business, however, she became “increasingly disturbed by what she witnessed.” In 2009, she was asked to assist with an ultrasound-guided abortion. “She watched in horror as a 13 week baby fought for, and ultimately lost, its life at the hand of the abortionist.” Abby soon quit her job and vowed to “begin to advocate for life in the womb and expose abortion for what it truly is.”

Abby went on to write the memoir of her experience at Planned Parenthood and her subsequent conversion to the pro-life cause in “Unplanned,” in which she revealed that she had two abortions before the birth of her first child. “Unplanned” was later made into a film, earning $21 million at the box office on a $6 million budget. Abby also founded And Then There Were None, a pro-life organization that seeks to “help people in the abortion industry leave their jobs and rediscover the peace and joy they’ve been missing.” As a result of ATTWN’s work, over 700 abortion workers have quit, and 48 abortion facilities have closed after these workers left.

Abby now has eight children with her husband Doug, one of whom is adopted.

Lila Rose

At the age of 15, Lila founded the pro-life organization Live Action, which began by giving presentations on the tragedy of abortion to schools and youth groups. Beginning in 2006, she conducted numerous undercover sting operations at Planned Parenthood facilities, posing as an underage girl seeking an abortion. In multiple instances, the Planned Parenthood staff was caught on video encouraging her to lie about her age in order to cover up possible statutory rape and to get an abortion.

Lila has since become one of the leading voices in the pro-life movement through her numerous media appearances and through the work of Live Action, which continues to uncover illegal activity by abortion businesses and produce cutting edge pro-life media content, resulting in “the largest online impact among pro-life and pro-abortion groups reaching over 46 million per month and over 2 billion lifetime video views.”

Lila now has three children with her husband Joe.

Bethany Bomberger

Bethany and her husband Ryan founded the Radiance Foundation, a pro-life organization that seeks to educate and motivate the culture “to put truth and love into action.” She is the author of three children’s books, which focus on the unique gift that each child is as well as the unchangeable and beautiful truth of being either male or female.

After becoming pregnant in her early 20s, Bethany made the courageous decision to choose life. During an interview on CBN, she described a life-changing moment she experienced:

“I had a defining moment. I look back and I think of February 14th, which was Valentine’s Day. It was a Saturday morning at 9 o’clock, and I had my first ultrasound. I walk into this empty room, just by myself, with the ultrasound tech, and I saw for the first time my daughter’s little beating heart. I had this defining moment as I saw in the emptiness of the room, I felt the fullness of the love of God for me, and I just felt that he wrapped my heart and her heart and his heart and just called me back to himself. And that night, I went home and God gave my Psalm 34:5, which says, ‘They looked to him, and were radiant, and their faces were never covered with shame.’ And actually that’s what the Radiance Foundation is predicated upon. But for me it was so personal, because it didn’t matter the shame of my yesterday decisions, ungodly and selfish as they were, but when God infuses you with his glory, his glory becomes what people see, and it’s not shame anymore. I always wanted for my child and for my life to walk in that.”

Bethany has since become the mother of four children with her husband Ryan, including some by adoption, and “loves to celebrate courageous birthmoms and the beauty of adoption.”

Of course, every mother is an inspiring witness to the pro-life cause for a simple reason: they said yes to life and endured hours of pain and labor — in some cases even risking or giving up their own lives — to deliver a child into the world. May our hearts be grateful this Mother’s Day for every mother who has cooperated in God’s plan for humanity to “fill the earth,” with a simple yet profound “yes” to love, self-sacrifice, and new life.

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

The post 4 Inspirational Pro-Life Moms appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

‘Our Revenue Hit a Cliff’: Radical LGBT Groups See Mass Layoffs in Trump Era thumbnail

‘Our Revenue Hit a Cliff’: Radical LGBT Groups See Mass Layoffs in Trump Era

By Family Research Council

As the legacy media highlight questionable polls and short-term economic dislocations to portray President Donald Trump as uniquely unpopular with the American people, some of the main financial and political movements of the Democratic Party have engaged in a series of mass layoffs — especially groups focused on promoting LGBT ideology.

GLSEN — founded by Kevin Jennings in 1990 as the “Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network” to promote extreme transgender ideology in public schools — announced in February it would lay off 60% of its workforce. The announcement came one day before the nation’s leading LGBTQIA+ pressure group, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), announced it would cut 20% of its staff in February, laying off about 50 people.

GLSEN’s leader “says that the business decision was painful and necessary in response to mounting financial pressures and coordinated right-wing attacks,” which the LGBT lobby is apparently losing, reported The Advocate. GLSEN Executive Director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, whom the outlet describes as “the first [b]lack and nonbinary person to lead the organization,” announced the LGBT pressure group fired 18 employees on February 3. “We are not an injured version of the GLSEN we were before Monday. We are a new organization,” the director insisted.

But Willingham-Jaggers admitted the lack of corporate support blew a hole in the organization’s bottom line. “We hit a ceiling — and then our revenue hit a cliff because of right-wing attacks … [T]otal revenue is down,” said Willingham-Jaggers. “They saw Target back off, and then they came for us even harder.” Willingham-Jaggers chided donors that they “need to fund us like they want us to win.” In the same vein, HRC President Kelley Robinson said “the last several years” have presented “historic challenges to our progress,” specifically from “historical softening’ of HRC’s support “in institutions, out of fear.”

These moves underline “the broader financial strain facing LGBTQ+ advocacy groups amid a shifting political and philanthropic landscape,” reported The Advocate.

According to the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent financial disclosures, HRC raised $75 million in its 2024 fiscal year — a $10 million decrease from the previous year — but spent $88.9 million, cutting its total assets by $12.6 million. (HRC still had robust total net assets totaling $45.7 million as of March 31, 2024.) With HRC, too, the largest funding decreases came from “Corporate & foundation grants & contracts” (down $5 million year over year) and “planned giving” ($1.9 million).

GLSEN’s ‘Rainbow Library’ and HRC’s ‘Gender Snowperson’ Meet the DNC

Both GLSEN and HRC have long sought to indoctrinate public school students with extreme LGBT ideology. The nation’s largest public schools union, the National Education Association (NEA), instructed teachers in 33 states how they can obtain a free “Rainbow Library” from which GLSEN describes as “an initiative that provides LGBTQ+ affirming text sets to schools free of charge. We have already sent Rainbow Library sets to 8,100 schools and libraries.”

GLSEN encouraged teachers to insert transgender ideology into math problems. For instance, in one of GLSEN’s suggested word problems, teachers would ask math students to calculate how long it will take to “spread the use of the singular they/them/their pronoun” used by individuals who identify as “nonbinary.” Since “any encounter will lead to a percent of the population adopting the they/them/their pronouns as part of regular use, the students can determine how long it will take for the entire population to adopt the use.”

GLSEN also suggested inserting multiple gender identities into student surveys that traditionally ask for a student’s sex. “[T]eachers need to be sure they include both intersex and other as choices,” and if “the students want to include data for gender, a variety of choices need to be included, such as agender, genderfluid, female, male, nonbinary, transman, transwoman, and other,” insisted GLSEN.

As this author has detailed at The Washington Stand:

“HRC’s ‘Welcoming Schools” program instructs teachers to read the book ‘They, She, He, Easy as ABC’ to children in preschool or kindergarten. Its pre-Klesson plan defines ‘gender identity’ as ‘How you feel. Girl, boy, both or neither. Everyone has a gender identity,’ conducts school trainings, and creates lesson plans for teachers beginning in ‘pre-K.’ By third grade, it encourages students to use the ‘Gender Snowperson’ exercise to ‘understand the differences between gender identity, sexual orientation and sex assigned at birth.’

“The HRC … opposes laws protecting minors from transgender procedures and has denounced laws ‘allowing misgendering of transgender students’ or regulating ‘drag performances.’”

Ironically, Robinson has accused conservatives who resist the forced insertion of LGBT ideology into their children’s curriculum of “launching a culture war against our kids.”

Both also have ties to the Democratic Party. HRC has crossed into the partisan sphere, hosting Jill Biden and dedicating $15 million to the 2024 presidential election. Shortly before election day, Robinson reassured her followers Republican ads highlighting Democrats’ extremism on the transgender issue “would fall flat again in 2024.”

GLSEN, too, has enjoyed ties to the Democratic Party since President Barack Obama nominated its controversial founder, Kevin Jennings, to serve as his “Safe Schools Czar.”

Yet corporations which accurately forecasted President Trump’s victory in 2024 have backed off support for his ideological, and political, foes in the LGBT movement. The president has taken swift action to defund, and at times prosecute, those who impose transgenderism in the schools. In his first 100 days in office, Trump has signed executive orders defining sex as a biological reality, protecting women’s sports, and prosecuting states that force girls to change in front of trans-identifying males for Title IX violations.

GLSEN, HRC to Focus on Schools, Workplace Policies, and Redefining Religion

Yet both groups insist they will double-down on propagandizing our nation’s youth in the schools — and changing their views of what the Bible teaches about sexual morality issues.

GLSEN’s plans for the future include a focus on young people and teachers, described as “supporting educators and students in local communities, amplifying youth voices” by The Advocate. Similarly, going forward, The Advocate reported, “HRC officials said schools and workplaces will be a primary area of emphasis.”

HRC will also attempt to redefine the position of the Christian religion on LGBTQ ideology. The Advocate reports that HRC plans to launch new “storytelling initiatives,” one of which will ask Mariann Edgar Budde — the cleric whom The Episcopal Church considers a bishop, who confronted President Trump in a service at the National Cathedral shortly after his inauguration — to provide “moral clarity on LGBTQ+ rights from a religious vantage point.”

In the future, both groups will have to implement their agenda with decimated workforces, thanks to the cultural winds ushered in by last November’s election.

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Trans Is Out’: DOD Begins Removing Trans-Identifying Military Members

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

The post ‘Our Revenue Hit a Cliff’: Radical LGBT Groups See Mass Layoffs in Trump Era appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Netanyahu on Trump: “We speak every few days!” thumbnail

Netanyahu on Trump: “We speak every few days!”

By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Netanyahu appeared in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee spoke about the media chatter that Trump doesn’t like him. 

“I heard in the media that Trump and I are parting ways. Ambassador Huckabee pointed it out. Trump and I talk every few days. He said himself that we see eye to eye. I don’t think you’re going to hear about a Palestinian state, the talk of a rupture is for political reasons.

We didn’t ask for permission to attack the Houthis, and we’re not asking for permission for our war plans in Gaza.

The Americans volunteered to get involved with the Houthis and said they would leave when it stops.”

Israel’s war is a beacon for all Middle East minorities

In the Middle East, all minorities bleed — Israel gives them hope.

It is often said that the Jewish people are hated in the Middle East. That is true — but it is only part of the story.

In truth, hatred for minorities of all kinds is woven into the fabric of many regimes and societies across the region. From the Yazidis slaughtered by ISIS to the Christians driven from their ancestral homelands, from the Kurds betrayed time and again, to the Baha’i persecuted in Iran — the Middle East has long been a graveyard for its minorities.

The Druze, Assyrians, Copts, Maronites, Armenians — they have all endured massacres, exile, and systemic discrimination. In nearly every Arab or Islamic state, minorities live in fear, silence, or exile. Their houses of worship are bombed, their languages erased, their communities scattered.

But one country stands apart: Israel.

Israel, the only Jewish state, is also the only Middle Eastern country where minorities can live freely, vote, speak their language, and serve in government and the military. Israeli Druze and Christians sit in the Knesset. Arab Israelis serve on the Supreme Court.

The Baha’i faith, banned and persecuted in its birthplace Iran, finds sanctuary and its world center in Haifa. Kurds, whose dream of independence is crushed across the region, look to Israel with admiration and solidarity.

Israel’s victory against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s proxies is not just a win for the Jewish people. It is a win for every minority fighting to survive in a region dominated by oppressive majorities. Every time Israel stands strong, it sends a message: You can be a minority and not be a victim. You can be free, proud, and armed with moral clarity.

Israel’s light shines not only for the Jews — but for every people who dreams of dignity, freedom, and a future in the Middle East.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Newsrael News Desk column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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What Starts With The Jews Doesn’t Always End With The Jews thumbnail

What Starts With The Jews Doesn’t Always End With The Jews

By Matthew Hausman, J.D.

Because radicalized students and agitators have been able to target Jews with little or no pushback, it should come as no surprise that progressive activists have broadened their scope to harass and abuse others with differing ideologies or political affiliations. 

I was asked during a reception at a recent speaking engagement whether I was shocked at the rise of political violence in the US – where elected officials incite it with words or condone it by silence. I responded that violence masquerading as political expression is neither new nor rare and that the current trend was presaged by the rise in violent antisemitism against Jewish university students, businesses and institutions, and by the acceptance of genocidal rhetoric as virtuous over the last couple of decades – and especially since October 7th.

Those who chant “free Palestine” are not seeking independence for a nation that does not exist, but the destruction of one that does. Indeed, the slogan is a call for extermination; and yet is tolerated with blasé acceptance – and often encouraged – by the progressive mainstream.

And these are often the same people who scream “death to America,” thus illustrating that Jews are still the proverbial canary in the coal mine when it comes to attracting frontline extremist hatred. While prominent conservative voices have condemned the recent wave of violence against Jews, many were nonetheless surprised when it spread to other targets, including Tesla owners and dealers, Republican party offices and officials, and corporate executives like UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, whose murder by a progressive extremist has been lauded by many on the left.

When purveyors of hate discovered they could harass Jews without consequence (and with the approval of many in the progressive political, academic and media establishments), they knew they could attack anybody perceived as ideologically or culturally divergent (usually conservative or anti-woke) without fear of consequence. And when anti-Jewish violence drew neither censure nor punishment from radical prosecutors or prominent Democrats, there was nothing to restrain leftist brownshirts from assaulting anyone they chose to vilify and dehumanize – even as they employed Orwellian doublespeak to accuse their victims of fascism for asserting the right to speak freely, advocating democratic principles, or condemning antisemitism.

Irony is entirely lost on useful idiots who demonstrate little capacity for moral clarity or logical consistency. And they advertise their idiocy whenever they scream “intifada now” or “death to America,” lobby in support of Hamas, or perpetrate antisemitic violence on university campuses across North America – all in the service of Islamists who hate everything these moral dilletantes stand for.

It is the height of absurdity when progressives who denounce their own religious traditions as evil turn around and embrace a radical faith-based hatred of all things Jewish and western – and all the more so when they glorify murder, rape, and kidnapping as noble acts of “resistance.”

Those who justify antisemitism, call for the destruction of Israel and western society, and endorse revisionist Palestinian Arab mythology include socialists, radical feminists, “queers for Palestine,” communist wannabes, and other extremist activists who blindly channel the rejectionist tropes of militant Islam. Without a hint of self-awareness, they legitimize religious doctrines under which they would be oppressed, subjugated, beheaded, or thrown off buildings by the same savage terrorists they regard as ideological confederates. Though they may share a common hatred of Jews and Israel, they would be among the first casualties in any Sharia state.

More frightening than the violence and unrest that have become so pervasive is the refusal of many liberals, including prominent Democratic politicians, to condemn violence against conservatives and others who oppose the woke agenda (despite its resounding rejection by the American electorate last November). In interview after interview, Congressional Democrats have refused to condemn brazen acts of arson, vandalism, or physical assault against perceived enemies of the left or violence against Jewish students and faculty that has continued unabated on college campuses.

It seems liberals have no problem condemning right-wing extremists for racism while giving leftist antisemites a free pass on faux constitutional grounds. Indeed, many invoke the First Amendment to shield progressives who spew hatred against Israel; riot in support of Hamas; call for the Jews’ extermination; repackage ancient blood libels as false claims of genocide in Gaza; harass Jewish university students without fear of arrest; or spout antisemitic rhetoric in the halls of Congress without serious rebuke by party hierarchy.

This double standard is tantamount to saying, “your bigots must be silenced, but ours have the right express themselves through words and violent deeds.”

Not only is this chutzpah, but it also mischaracterizes the First Amendment, especially when asserted to protect institutions that encourage antisemitic excess while simultaneously curtailing any speech they find disagreeable. Many (if not most) liberal universities have codes of conduct restricting speech that might offend progressive sensibilities regarding race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, pronoun usage, or any other social flashpoint of identity politics. Such restrictions are based on priorities held sacrosanct by progressives and designed to silence opposing viewpoints. Under many such policies, students and faculty can be penalized for stating simple scientific truths (e.g., that there are only two biological sexes), expressing conservative values, or defending Israel’s right to exist.

Though antisemitic demonstrators who engage in campus violence claim the benefit of Constitutional safeguards, the First Amendment does not protect incitement or criminality. This principle was firmly articulated by the US Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio, which upheld restrictions against speech likely to incite “imminent lawless action.”

Given that incitement is not protected speech – and that the Constitution has never been interpreted to shield acts of lawlessness or violence – the Trump administration was within its rights to withhold federal funds from universities that permit antisemitic activism on campus and fail or refuse to protect Jewish students. The receipt of federal funds by private universities is not a fundamental right, but rather a discretionary, conditional entitlement bestowed by the executive branch; and if recipient institutions permit violent antisemitism and deny Jewish students equal protection, the President certainly has the authority to stop the flow of funding.

It seems, however, that many Democrats disagree, as they are circling the wagons and exhorting these institutions to resist the Trump administration – and implicitly by extension, its Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Perhaps most prominently, Harvard University rebuffed Trump’s demands aimed at eliminating campus antisemitism (among other things) – despite the threat of a multibillion-dollar funding freeze.

Rather than concede the reality of antisemitism, liberal champions of Harvard and similar institutions are urging resistance, including Barack Obama, who posted the following statement on X:

“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”

Such statements beg the question of how demanding the cessation of campus antisemitism and protection of Jewish students could in any way “stifle academic freedom.”

How does allowing calls to exterminate the Jewish nation contribute to “an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect”? Would Obama and others who advocate resistance against President Trump’s efforts to eradicate campus hate be concerned about stifling academic freedom if the victims were black, Hispanic, female, gay, trans, Arab, or Muslim?

It is hypocritical to claim that Trump is somehow threatening academic integrity at universities which for years have used conduct codes and threats of probation, suspension, or expulsion to stifle speech they find disagreeable when it contradicts progressive dogma. Rather than encourage the free exchange of ideas, many institutions have become incubators of intolerance, narrow-mindedness and hatred, where dissent is quashed by systemic bullying and indoctrination that evokes totalitarian excess.

Those who passionately exhort universities to resist Trump’s efforts to eliminate campus antisemitism are not defending academic freedom. In fact, they are enabling extremism, excusing incitement and violence, legitimizing anti-Jewish and anti-western hatred, and reinforcing dictatorial impulses.

Given the influence such institutions have on society and in grooming future leaders, it should come as little surprise that their role in enabling or failing to curb Jew-hatred has normalized intolerance against all. And because radicalized students and agitators have been able to target Jews with little or no pushback, it should likewise come as no surprise that progressive activists have broadened their scope to harass and abuse others with differing ideologies or political affiliations.

Similar radicalization occurred in pre-war Nazi Germany, where institutions of higher learning were often cesspools of antisemitic indoctrination and the philosophy of dehumanization provided an intellectual predicate for genocide. Perhaps not surprisingly, many American universities at the time provided fertile ground for nurturing and disseminating similar loathsome views.

Only a dullard could fail to see the symmetry between then and now; and only a fool could fail to understand that what starts with the Jews doesn’t always end with the Jews.

©2025 All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: The blindness of the west

The post What Starts With The Jews Doesn’t Always End With The Jews appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Every Step Forward in the Middle East is Thanks to Israel’s Fight Against Extremism thumbnail

Every Step Forward in the Middle East is Thanks to Israel’s Fight Against Extremism

By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Peace, progress, and even basic stability in the Middle East aren’t the result of diplomacy alone—they’re earned through strength and sacrifice. And more than any other nation, Israel has been the one standing between the region and a flood of violent extremism. 

From Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to Iran’s terror proxies across Syria and Iraq, Israel has consistently taken bold and necessary action to push back the forces of chaos and destruction. While others talk, Israel acts.

Take Lebanon. For the first time in decades, the Lebanese government is beginning to push back against Hezbollah. Why? Because after Israel’s relentless and punishing response to Hezbollah’s aggression in recent months, Beirut realizes that shielding a terror army could mean national collapse. Israel’s decisive action created a new political reality—one where even Hezbollah’s traditional protectors are forced to think twice.

This pattern is not new. When the Abraham Accords were signed, the world celebrated peace between Israel and Arab states. But that peace wasn’t born of goodwill alone—it came from a shared recognition that Israel was the only force capable of containing Iran. Gulf states saw that Israel fights terror with determination, not appeasement.

Israel’s technological edge and intelligence capabilities have helped neutralize terror threats far beyond its borders. Iranian weapons shipments have been intercepted, ISIS cells dismantled, and extremist plots in Africa and Europe traced back to Iranian agents—all thanks to Israeli vigilance.

Some critics call Israel’s wars against terror obstacles to peace. But without defeating extremism, peace has no foundation. Israel defends not just itself—it defends the possibility of a future where Middle Eastern nations cooperate, grow, and thrive.

Every time Hamas is degraded, every time Iran is checked, every time Hezbollah is pushed back, the region becomes a little more hopeful. And that’s not just good for Israel—it’s good for Arabs, for Christians, and for all people who dream of a freer, safer Middle East.

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EDITORS NOTE: This NEWSRAEL Editor editorial is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


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The post Every Step Forward in the Middle East is Thanks to Israel’s Fight Against Extremism appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Trump Officials Talk to Israel about U.S. Ruling Gaza After the War thumbnail

Trump Officials Talk to Israel about U.S. Ruling Gaza After the War

By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

The U.S. insists that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will be in charge of the Gaza Strip. 

Trump administration officials are currently discussing with Israel the possibility of a U.S.-led temporary post-war government in Gaza, five sources told Reuters.

The high-level consultations have focused on a transitional governing body to ensure that Gaza remains stable and demilitarized.

The government has no established timeline, according to the report, but officials indicated it would last as long as needed.

U.S. officials have likened the proposal to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq that Washington established in 2003 after the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

Other countries may participate in the temporary government, but there was no indication as to which ones.

The U.S. insists that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority would be in charge of Gaza. Instead, a likely scenario is that Palestinian technocrats would rule the Strip.

Sources did not indicate the likelihood that the proposal would come to fruition and said core roles had not yet been assigned.

A State Department spokesperson would not confirm whether a proposal for a U.S.-led interim Gaza government has been offered, adding that they could not comment on ongoing negotiations.

“We want peace, and the immediate release of the hostages,” the spokesperson said. “The pillars of our approach remain resolute: stand with Israel, stand for peace.”

In February, shortly after Trump assumed office, he announced that the United States would be “buying” and “owning” the Gaza Strip. At the time, he emphasized that while America’s Middle Eastern allies could play a role in Gaza’s rehabilitation and reconstruction, the U.S. would retain ownership of the territory.

“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. would ensure Hamas does not attempt to return to the coastal enclave.

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EDITORS NOTE: This World Israel News column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Election of Pope Leo XIV Is a Clear Sign Our Lord Never Abandons His Church thumbnail

Election of Pope Leo XIV Is a Clear Sign Our Lord Never Abandons His Church

By The Daily Signal

In the days leading up to the announcement of a new pope, among all the hypotheses, maneuvers, fears, and attempts at prediction, no one truly seemed to imagine who could come out of the College of Cardinals as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit most of the time lets us wander in our thoughts and projects. But then he intervenes. And he does it with a strength that can nearly knock us over but then he grabs us by the hair to recover us before we fall completely.

Toward the end of last week, while I was in Rome, the name of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost started emerging vigorously as “papabile” along with the narrative that it would be a fast conclave to choose a new pope.

I confess I was a little skeptical at first (an American pope? Nah.) But the more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself it could actually be a good thing. “He is doctrinally correct in the line of St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, he will maintain the warmth of Pope Francis, and he could bridge the divide in the church while serving in humility and strength,” a prelate friend told me.

And yesterday, sure enough, on the second day and on the fourth ballot, white smoke rose from the chimney of St. Peter’s Basilica at 6:07 p.m. Rome time. An hour later, the new pope, now the former Cardinal Prevost, appeared on the “loggia centrale” of the basilica as Pope Leo XIV.

He greeted the faithful with his hand waving and then remained in silence for a considerable amount of time, clearly deeply moved while the hundred thousand people gathered in the piazza below applauded and the Swiss Guards, along with the Italian armed forces, presented their respects.

“La pace sia con tutti voi (peace be with all of you),” were his first words. He introduced himself as “son of St. Augustine,” a member of the order of St. Augustine (not an insignificant detail); spoke of peace, dialogue, and church unity; and then he prayed the Hail Mary in Italian, commemorating the feast day of Our Lady of Pompei and invoking the intercession of the Mother of God. He immediately entrusted his ministry to Our Lady, a gesture that speaks of a faith that kneels and that he lives in everyday life.

A shy character; a meek man; a religious; a pastor who knows the needs of his priests; and a canon lawyer, therefore, a man of justice, of moderation, and of fidelity to the ecclesial form.

He was head of the Dicastery of Bishops since 2023, in charge of identifying and vetting potential new bishops to be appointed by the pope, but with a past as a missionary in Peru. His father was of Italian and French origin, and his mother was Spanish. He is the first North American Pope and also the first Augustinian pope in history.

His love for Jesus, his missionary experience, his role in the formation of clergy, and his work in the Roman Curia have built a broad ecclesial profile, capable of holding together pastoral rigor, doctrinal balance, and intercultural sensitivity.

His beacon is Leo XIII, the pontiff who wrote “Rerum Novarum,” the first social encyclical in the history of the church, written in 1891. It was from there that Catholics began to speak of social doctrine, of attention to the weakest in society, and their commitment as Catholics in the world of work and in politics.

This choice of the College of Cardinals at a time marked by strong internal and external challenges in the Catholic Church seems to be oriented toward guaranteeing a pontificate of reconstruction and discernment, capable of giving new impetus to the evangelical mission of the church and of addressing the ambiguities that have emerged in recent years.

Today, we can say with certainty the church is in God’s hands. The election of Leo XIV reminds us of this with candor and gentleness at the same time. It seems like a gift from the Lord, who does not make us lack what we need.

And the church is alive because Jesus is alive and present and will continue guiding it through fragile disciples willing to disappear to ultimately find their fulfillment with God so that, according to the teachings of St. Augustine, “He, and He alone, may remain.”

AUTHOR

Mario Enzler

Mario Enzler is a senior adviser to the president of The Heritage Foundation and the author of “I Served a Saint.”

‘Meet the new pope, same as the old pope…’ Will we get fooled again? And what’s really going on that they don’t want us to know about? thumbnail

‘Meet the new pope, same as the old pope…’ Will we get fooled again? And what’s really going on that they don’t want us to know about?

By Leo Hohmann

Famed constitutional attorney and civil liberties advocate John Whitehead sounds off on Trump’s bizarre executive order signed April 28th. 

The big news today is that Donald Trump has signed a trade deal with the United Kingdom.

Can you believe it? That was Trump’s “big announcement?” A trade deal with America’s ninth largest trading partner? Whoopee. I personally have never bought anything in any store that said “made in the UK” that I can remember.

Spare me. This is not news.

Those in the news business (they’re really professional propagandists) are also wanting us to have our eyes on the Vatican and who the next pope will be. Wow, an American liberal from Obama’s Chicago stomping grounds.

Here’s all you need to know about the new pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, from The Hill:

“The new pope is considered an ally of Francis, who made him the cardinal in charge of selecting and managing bishops around the world… Francis named Prevost in 2023 to be prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The role involves recommending candidates for bishops to the pope and overseeing the commission that studies the Catholic church in Latin America, according to the Catholic News Service.”

This confirms that the new pope will be as liberal and antagonistic to biblical truth as the previous pope. End of story. It reminds me of the 1971 song by The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

The entire lyrics, written by Pete Townsend, are prophetic for our times, concluding with “Meet the new boss…Same as the old boss”



So, if it’s not the pope, what is the really big story we should be focused on this week? The one almost nobody is looking at?

Keep the lyrics in the song above in mind as we pivot from the pope to the president.

I’m looking at what the Trump administration is doing behind the scenes, behind all of the daily tweets, pressers and Truth Social posts, beyond all the comments about annexing Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, re-opening Alcatraz or jokes about him becoming the next pope. While taking up a copious amount of time and space on news outlets of the left and right, this frivolous chatter is carefully designed to keep us entertained and distracted.

Here’s what they don’t want you to know.

Last week, on April 28, President Trump signed a disturbing executive order which you can read at WhiteHouse.gov titled “Strengthening and Unleashing Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.”

When I read it, my first thought was: I wonder what John Whitehead thinks of this document?

Over the last 45 years, there has been nobody as consistently in the government’s face, holding it accountable for violating Americans’ civil liberties than John Whitehead. He has litigated countless important cases, some of them all the way to the Supreme Court, and he’s also a prolific author, having written books such as Battlefield AmericaThe Eric Blair Diaries, and A Government of Wolves.

So I called him and the legendary constitutional expert and founder of the Rutherford Institute granted me a 20-minute interview.

The rest of this article will be focused on what Whitehead told me.

When I asked him to share his initial thoughts as he had read Trump’s executive order, here’s what he said:

“The first thing that hit me was George Washington’s statement, do not have a large standing army on American soil. It began with Obama and some of the other presidents. We began arming of the Department of Homeland Security, and all of their agents with all their military equipment, the MRAP (armored vehicles), the grenade launchers and all the various things they have. The final stage would have to be blending the local police into that process and connecting them (with the feds). And that’s exactly what this order does.”

If it gets implemented, this executive order “is basically martial law to enforce the president’s so-called priorities,” Whitehead said.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prevents presidents from using the American military for a domestic police force, and Whitehead believes that’s exactly where our country is heading with this executive order, combined with previous executive orders by past presidents.

The groundwork has already been laid and the Hegelian Dialectic set.

First, we had Joe Biden who opened up the borders, invited every type of violent criminal imaginable into the country, while collaborating with liberal prosecutors funded by George Soros.

Naturally, crime has spiked dramatically in and around major U.S. cities over the last five years.

Americans are begging for relief.

Along comes the next president, Trump, and he brings an answer to the problem that is as extreme as the original, opposite action by Biden.

Biden basically wanted no police. Trump wants to expand law enforcement and empower police in ways never seen previously in America. His executive order calls for investing in new prisons, and minimizing due process rights. Trump said in an interview with Kristen Welker of NBC News this past Sunday that he does not know who in America is eligible for the due process rights written in the 5th and 14th Amendments.

In his rhetoric, Trump routinely heroizes and idolizes tough militarized police tactics.

“We’ve done so many cases over the years on how to hold police accountable for their crimes. Under this executive order, it would be very difficult to hold anyone accountable in a police uniform …so this (executive order) will allow police to do anything they want to do basically if the community allows it to happen.”

What if you disagree with a police officer who gives an unreasonable and unconstitutional order? Can you question him?

Well, the new executive order indicates you had better not risk it. Those who do can be slapped with “enhanced sentences” for committing “crimes against law enforcement officers.” Such crimes are left undefined.

“Originally, police were there to protect the people against criminals but also against invasions from federal authorities, but basically that’s all gone now,” Whitehead said.

He sees an ongoing “blending” of federal law enforcement with the state and local police forces, a concept heavily fortified by Trump’s April 28 executive order.

“It’s been moving in that direction but this thing finalizes it. I’ve talked with plenty of police chiefs over the years and they’ve been working really closely with the FBI, having them occupy spaces in their offices and stuff. There’s this idea that they have to get ready for an immediate crackdown,” he said. “Homeland Security is working with the local police and instructing them. Again, it’s a form of martial law.”

Whitehead points to a 5-minute video put out by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2016 titled “Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexities.”

The video has been used for training at the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations University. It predicts that by 2030 the population is not going to be able to sustain itself economically and everything is going to implode.

All that stands between the coming criminal chaos and the good people in major U.S. cities, the video suggests, is the U.S. Army.

Whitehead said it’s to the point where the American citizenry “has a very short window to push back on this. And the 10th amendment allows for this.”

The problem he sees, however, is how easily people are indoctrinated by President Trump.

“He starts off by saying how great and heroic the police are. I understand that and I’ve worked with (good cops) so much over the years, but there are also some with mental health problems and some are on drugs…. He refers to the police as the greatest of heroes. The actual heroes are the American people who pay the bills and often end up on the wrong side of these kind of operations.”

The EO also allows for more surveillance. Advanced AI-powered technology will allow cops to “predict” where the next crime will be committed and by whom. Throw in the Real ID, a biometric national ID card that Trump’s administration is pushing every state to comply with, and you have the makings for a future dictatorship already in place.

“Basically, it will all be algorithms and they can swoop in, knock your door down, and arrest you based on what they think you might do. It’s basically martial law implemented from Washington, DC. And the Trump administration is acting like the police are going to be the saviors.”

Trump has previously stated that he wants to give immunity to police and this executive order appears to do exactly that, stating in Section 3 that it will: “Strengthen and expand legal protections for law enforcement officers.”

Police already enjoy what’s called “qualified immunity” so exactly what Trump is offering them in expanded protections is unclear.

“The point is, he’s saying basically the police are going to be the gods ruling over us now. And they have an amazing amount of equipment and technology to do it,” Whitehead said. “The Democrats and Republicans both are deeply committed to this type of thing. They’re afraid to push back.”

“If you read over the founding fathers, they were very clear,” he added. “What kinds of rights do we have? When police come in what are they able to do to you?

“I’ve had an opportunity to know a number of really good police who’ve had training in the academy. They say it’s so militarized now. We’re dealing with a military police. It was never supposed to be like that in America. This is not Russia or China. They’re not supposed to be able to drag us off the streets and stuff like that. That’s definitely in our future. They may think you’re mentally insane, and now that may be just because you went on the internet and said something like ‘cops stink’ or ‘cops are stupid.’ And then they put you in a mental institution and you can’t contact anyone. We’ve had some of those cases. It’s very difficult what we’re seeing.

“Once people get used to seeing this, which they tend to do, the tanks coming down the street. At that point, there isn’t any hope, in my opinion.”

He said the bottom line for Americans can be boiled down to one question:

“Do we have rights or do we have privileges? That’s the important point.”

He believes that until we the people start to honestly look into that question, the tide will not turn in favor of freedom.

“I’ve argued for several decades now that before any public official takes office, they should have to take a test on the Constitution. And Trump, when he was talking about the Declaration of Independence, he made no sense. I was like, where in the world did he get that information from?”

Whitehead said the Declaration of Independence clearly states that we, the people, have sovereign rights, granted by our Creator.

“You can’t take them away, they’re there. He actually says (in this executive order) that the only people who have rights are in the government, and they’re able to dictate and tell us what to do. We’re supposed to say heil Hitler and move on.”

Whitehead, who has practiced law and fought for liberty for more than 45 years, isn’t ready to move on, or give up.

“I’m telling you it’s one of the most dangerous periods I’ve ever seen in this country. I’ve tried to warn people—the police community have the equipment to blast some communities away,” he said.

“I think his administration is going to move forward on it. And the police chiefs are, when you see them…there’s this idea that they’re a special class. They are supposed to be our servants. We the people are the government…They put out these executive orders and it’s the type of thing you would see in another country, not in America.”

The order talks about “protecting innocent citizens,” but who is that?

“It’s going to be the people with money, the people in government, the people who line up” and do what they’re told, Whitehead said.

So then, what is the answer?

“I encourage local communities to get together and start to say we’re not going to put up with this,” he said. But don’t count on your local politicians to help organize the pushback.

“I see so many local politicians who are ready to go along with whatever the federal government says and especially what this president says,” he said. “These types of executive orders make the Constitution look like a worthless piece of paper. And why is that? Because the American people, I talk to a lot of people, school kids, average adults, even lawyers, and they aren’t educated about our Constitution.”

“If he (Trump) was a good president, he would make sure the public schools are teaching the Constitution. Because countries that have done these sorts of things in the past, as you know, have headed into doom.”

In his final analysis about Trump’s April 28 executive order, Whitehead said:

“There are some people who are not going to like this when it gets implemented and they’re going to be in trouble. This is going to be overwhelming when AI and all this technology is given to police; the Department of Homeland Security has already done threat assessments on homes across America, so they’re already doing that creepy stuff that George Orwell warned about in 1984.”

©2025  All rights reserved.

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Please visit LeoHohmann.com: Investigative reporting on globalism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and where politics, culture and religion intersect.

The post ‘Meet the new pope, same as the old pope…’ Will we get fooled again? And what’s really going on that they don’t want us to know about? appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Explainer: How Trump ’s Proposed 2026 Budget Impacts Transgenderism, Abortion, Education, Immigration, and More thumbnail

Explainer: How Trump ’s Proposed 2026 Budget Impacts Transgenderism, Abortion, Education, Immigration, and More

By Family Research Council

President Donald Trump won the 2024 election with a promise to end divisive, taxpayer-funded programs, and his proposed budget for the next fiscal year proves he is willing to save your money where his mouth is. The president’s budget specifically asks Congress to cut billions of dollars from government programs promoting “radical transgender ideology,” “LGBTQIA+” programs, and government “targeting [of] peaceful pro-life protesters” while transferring power back to the states and increasing federal funding for national defense, border security, and public safety.

President Trump detailed his proposed FY 2026 budget in a 46-page overview of major discretionary funding changes, revealing a fiscal and ideological break with his Democratic predecessors. In all, Trump would spend $1.69 trillion, including requesting more than $1 trillion in defense spending for the first time in U.S. history to assist in “repelling the invasion of our border” and “to clean up the mess President Trump inherited from the prior administration.”

Yet the White House refers to the spending guidelines as the “skinny budget,” since it offsets significant spending hikes with $136 billion in reductions that slash 22.6% from non-defense discretionary spending. “Savings come from eliminating radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory programs, Green New Scam funding, large swaths of the Federal Government weaponized against the American people, and moving programs that are better suited for States and localities to provide,” according to a White House fact sheet that accompanied the budget release.

If the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed FY 2025 budget sought to insert equity into every program through a whole-of-government approach, the second Trump administration has set out to uproot every vestige of compulsory taxpayer funding of the radical Left. “Over the last four years, Government spending aggressively turned against the American people and trillions of our dollars were used to fund cultural Marxism … and even our own invasion” by illegal immigrants, said Russ Vought, director of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB). “No agency was spared in the Left’s taxpayer-funded cultural revolution.” The administration cited $315 million the Biden administration spent on grant programs “to push ‘intersectionality,’ ‘racial equity,’ and LGBTQIA+ programming for preschoolers,” adding that the FY 2026 budget “ends all of that.”

The budget also promises to advance “the Administration’s goal of restoring federalism,” tying the well-being of families to the U.S. government’s respect for states’ rights and constitutional order. “Just as the Federal Government has intruded on matters best left to American families, it has intruded on matters best left to the levels of government closest to the people,” writes Vought in a letter transmitting the budget.

Here are the specific cuts and dollar amounts removed from the federal budget.

Abortion and the Right-to-Life Movement

President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget slashes or eliminates abortion funding while protecting pro-life advocates’ constitutional rights. Specifically, the budget would cut $6.2 billion from Global Health Programs and Family Planning initiatives. “The United States is the largest global contributor to programs that provide so-called family planning services through liberal NGOs, and have funded abortions. This stands in direct conflict with the President’s action reinstating the ‘Mexico City Policy.’ The Budget protects life and prevents a pro-abortion agenda from being promoted abroad with taxpayer dollars.” The president reinstated his 2017 Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) policy, which bars any group that receives taxpayer funding from carrying out or advocating for abortion overseas. But the budget maintains funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for current recipients.

The proposed budget also safeguards pro-life advocates’ rights by eliminating $545 million from Biden-Harris administration policies that charged the FBI with “targeting peaceful pro-life protesters, concerned parents at school board meetings, and citizens opposed to radical transgender ideology,” as well as erasing “DEI programs.” The budget also reestablishes fairness by cutting $193 million from General Legal Activities at the Justice Department, prioritizing criminal prosecutions but reducing the budget of the Civil Rights Division, “which the previous administration weaponized against States implementing election integrity measures, local police departments, and pro-life Americans.”

Slashing LGBTQ Radicalism and DEI Programs

President Trump made eliminating DEI, critical race theory, and government-sponsored racism and sexism a focus of his successful 2024 campaign, cementing the approach through a series of executive actions that prosecute race-based discrimination. Similarly, the Republican Party spent $65 million on ads highlighting the Democratic Party’s extremism on transgender ideology, making it the top reason swing voters decided not to vote for Kamala Harris, according to the Democratic polling firm Blueprint. The proposed FY 2026 budget cuts tens of billions of dollars in DEI and LGBTQIA+ funding, as well as climate change ideology.

The proposed budget cuts $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to restore “accountability, public trust, and transparency at the NIH. NIH has broken the trust of the American people with wasteful spending, misleading information, risky research, and the promotion of dangerous ideologies that undermine public health” by denying the likely lab leak origin of COVID-19 and promoting gain-of-function research, which the president recently banned by executive order. Yet “NIH has also promoted radical gender ideology to the detriment of America’s youth. For example, the NIH funded a study titled ‘Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones,’ in which two participants tragically committed suicide,” the budget notes. The president also cuts $3.6 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a blueprint that “eliminates duplicative, DEI, or simply unnecessary programs.”

The president would cut $8.3 billion from Economic Support Fund, Development Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia, as part of a broader foreign policy to place American interests first and save Europe from itself, but also because “U.S. economic and development aid has been funneled to radical, leftist priorities, including climate change, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and LGBTQ activities around the world.”

The budget cuts $3.5 billion from the National Science Foundation’s grants and research on “climate; clean energy; woke social, behavioral, and economic sciences.” That comes in addition to another $1.1 billion cut to NSF’s Broadening Participation activities, which have underwritten such programs as “Reimagining Educator Learning Pathways Through Storywork for Racial Equity in STEM”; “addressing White Supremacy in the STEM profession”; and preparing “the next generation of DEI leaders to promote long-term, sustainable racial equity initiatives.”

The president moved dramatically against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after taking office: exposing their radical grants before firing most of their staff and placing the agency under the authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The FY 2026 budget cuts $2.5 billion from USAID and “eliminates non-essential staff that were hired based on DEI and preferencing practices” while implementing executive orders 14169 to realign foreign aid and 14151 to eliminate DEI programs.

The budget cuts more than $1 billion in grants nestled under the Department of Justice, such as “$1 million to the National Opinion Research Center to ‘investigate the social ecological context of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime reporting.’ Further, the Budget realigns Violence Against Women Act funding with its original core mission to combat violence against women and directly serve victims — eliminating extraneous programs that divert resources from these core functions. For example, grant funding from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) had been offered for biological men. In addition, OVW’s Rural Program grants were sent to train community-based Fa’afafine advocates — an organization of biological men that describes themselves as a ‘third-gender.’”

Pro-family experts singled out the VAWA proposal as a welcome gesture. “VAWA programs are intended to help women who are the victims of abuse and in recent years it has been invaded by gender ideology. Currently, women who escape abuse in a VAWA funded shelter could be forced to share private spaces with a man,” Mary Beth Waddell, director of Federal Affairs for Family and Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “We are grateful that the president is calling out this injustice.”

The budget cuts $4.5 billion from the Department of Education while maintaining full federal funding for K-12 schools, consolidating 18 programs into one formula grant that allows the DOE to do as much work with fewer employees. “The new approach allows States and districts to focus on the core subjects — math, reading, science, and history — without the distractions of DEI and weaponization from the previous administration,” notes the budget. It also saves $127 million in administrative costs.

At the college level, the budget cuts $195 million from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Ed (FIPSE), noting that Congress has “abused FIPSE by using it to fund initiatives unrelated to students or institutional reforms, including earmarking $1.2 million for San Diego Community College’s LGBTQIA+ PRIDE Center staffing.” It also cuts $1.6 billion from TRIO and GEAR UP, two programs that incentivized colleges to engage low-income students. The administration argues that economic incentives have eliminated the need for the federal government to continue underwriting colleges and universities’ outreach. “A renewed focus on academics and scholastic accomplishment by [Institutions of Higher Education], rather than engaging in woke ideology with Federal taxpayer subsidies, would be a welcome change for students and the future of the Nation.” The budget also removes $691 million in cultural exchanges for foreign exchange students that prevent American students from acquiring high-demand skills, which the foreign students then take back to their home countries.

The budget cuts $1.6 billion by consolidating the Labor Department’s Make America Skilled Again (MASA) grants, defunding nonprofits promoting DEI, and “the hiring of illegal aliens and migrants; sometimes providing them subsidized housing in addition to a job.”

It cuts $1.3 billion from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), scrutinizing NOAA grants for “George Mason University’s ‘Policy Experience in Equity Climate and Health’ fellowship, a workshop for ‘transgender women, and those who identify as nonbinary.’”

Trump’s budget cuts $646 million from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s non-disaster grant programs, seeking to curtail such FEMA activities as “webinars promoting the distribution of disaster aid based on ‘intersectional’ factors like sexual orientation and prioritizing ‘investment in diversity and inclusion efforts … and multicultural training’ over disaster prevention and response.” Under the Trump administration, “FEMA will no longer ‘instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.’” The document rightly notes that “FEMA discriminated against Americans who voted for the President in the wake of recent hurricanes, skipping over their homes when providing aid. This activity will no longer be tolerated.”

The budget cuts $624 million from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), specifically citing an EDA grant “constructing a ‘Pride Plaza’ in Portland, Oregon.”

It cuts $602 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), effectively eliminating “wasteful, woke programming in NIFA, such as activities related to climate change, renewable energy, and promoting DEI in education that were prioritized under the Biden Administration.”

The Trump administration aims to gut federally funded woke programs aimed at Americans at both ends of life. The proposed FY 2026 budget eliminates $405 million from the Labor Department’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which is supposed to subsidize jobs and employment for poor senior citizens but “is effectively an earmark to leftist, DEI-promoting entities like the National Urban League, the Center for Workforce Inclusion, and Easter Seals.” At the same time, it cuts $315 million from Preschool Development Grants (PDG), which was “weaponized by the Biden-Harris Administration to extend the Federal reach and push DEI policies on to toddlers.” For instance, the “guiding principles” implemented by the Minnesota Department of Education for its PDG program include “intersectionality” and “racial equity.”

The budget cuts roughly $19 billion from programs promoting what the White House calls the “Green New Scam.”

The government’s proposed budget generally reins in government grants flowing to radical causes:

  • It cuts $167 million by consolidating the Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs (EDP), deleting such programs as SCORE, “which in 2023 posted ‘Six Ways to Support LGBTQIA-Owned Businesses.’”
  • It cuts $129 million from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which “pushed radical gender ideology onto children, funding a project at the Seattle Children’s Hospital titled, ‘Using Telehealth to Improve Access to Gender-Affirming Care for BIPOC and Rural Gender-Diverse Youth.’”
  • It cuts $112 million from programs aimed at “Strengthening Institutions,” noting, “It is not the responsibility of Federal taxpayers to support a new ‘Guided Pathways Village, expanding the current Learning Communities and creating a new Ethnic and Pride Inclusion Center for historically underserved students, including LGBTQ+ students.’”
  • It cuts $100 million in “divisive racial discrimination and environmental justice grants that were destined to go to organizations that advance radical ideologies.”
  • It cuts $70 million from Teacher Quality Partnerships, which field grants indoctrinating teachers to begin “acknowledging and responding to systemic forms of oppression and inequity, including racism, ableism, ‘gender-based’ discrimination, homophobia, and ageism.”
  • It cuts $55 million from Complex Crisis Fund, “a catch-all slush fund for nation-building projects and political interference” which “has been weaponized to mandate DEI and LGBTQ policies be implemented in recipient countries as a condition of aid to small businesses.”
  • It cuts $49 million from the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, a 35% strategic reduction to “refocus away from DEI and Title IX transgender cases … while removing their ability to push DEI programs and promote radical transgender ideology.”

The proposed FY 2026 budget also cuts a total of $19.2 billion from Energy Department initiatives it describes as part of the “Green New Scam.”

Getting the Government Out of the ‘Disinformation’ Business

The proposed FY 2026 budget cuts $491 million from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as part of its efforts to eliminate “weaponization and waste.” The budget “eliminates programs focused on so-called misinformation and propaganda as well as external engagement offices such as international affairs. These programs and offices were used as a hub in the Censorship Industrial Complex to violate the First Amendment.”

It also cuts $315 million for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which supported Ukrainian government efforts to brand critics as exponents of Russian disinformation and “funded the now-infamous Disinformation Index Foundation that targeted and blacklisted conservative media outlets like Federalist, Newsmax, TAC, the Blaze,” and others.

Restoring National Sovereignty

President Trump has identified himself with the words “America First,” and his budget stakes out similar priorities. It cuts $1.7 billion from the United Nations, UNESCO, and World Health Organization dues, implementing executive order 14199. However, the president may fund these organizations out of a separate funding source “to preserve maximum negotiating leverage.” It also eliminates $1.6 billion from United Nations “peacekeeping” missions that wage war under the U.N.’s blue-helmeted auspices. And it cuts $1.5 billion from Food for Peace, recognizing the waste and abuse of foreign aid transfers from U.S. taxpayers to foreign oligarchs.

The budget also acknowledges that the free market and local business development create sustainable prosperity, not foreign aid. “The program also distorts and undermines local and regional markets where the aid often could be purchased for less and with less waste,” says the budget. Similarly, it cuts $75 million from Transition Initiatives, a program that leads to “further destabilization” around the world and “funds a wasteful tangle of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and partisan cutouts pushing a leftist agenda around the world.”

Borders, Patriotism, National Unity

The budget increases funding for the Department of Homeland Security — which oversees many border enforcement and deportation efforts — by a whopping 65%, or $43.8 billion in additional funds. It cuts nearly $2 billion from programs for refugees and Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs), funds which “were weaponized by the Biden-Harris Administration to give cash handouts, medical services, and job training to illegal immigrants” and to release children in the custody of “insufficiently vetted sponsors,” effectively making the government complicit in child trafficking.

It cuts $650 million from the Shelter and Services Program earmarked for “non-citizen migrants,” tax payments which “funded radical leftist NGOs, who spent funding to facilitate mass illegal migration into the interior of the Nation … weakening the United States from within, taking resources away from American citizens, and promoting crime and decay in America’s cities.” And it cuts $247 million from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which the Biden administration used “to facilitate mass illegal migration by allowing illegal migrants to fly into the interior without proper documentation.”

Yet the budget radically increases funding for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to hire more air traffic controllers; for Rail Safety and Infrastructure grants to prevent tragedies such as the train derailment and intentional detonation of a train in East Palestine, Ohio; for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to intercept fentanyl; and for stronger trade enforcement against technological and competitiveness threats from the People’s Republic of China.

“Linking proposed decreases in funding to areas of egregious mismanagement of taxpayer dollars and reorienting these dollars to their intended purpose, as opposed to ideological ones, sends a strong message that taxpayers deserve respect, and the use of their hard-earned money should be stewarded well,” Waddell told TWS.

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

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Senate Dems Use ‘Jim Crow’ Filibuster Fourth Time To Block Major Bipartisan Bill

New Database Exposes Extent Of Federal Thought Control Money Machine

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

The post Explainer: How Trump ’s Proposed 2026 Budget Impacts Transgenderism, Abortion, Education, Immigration, and More appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Columbia University Lays off 180 in Wake of Federal Funding Cuts Over Anti-Semitism thumbnail

Columbia University Lays off 180 in Wake of Federal Funding Cuts Over Anti-Semitism

By Family Research Council

Columbia University, once a symbol of academic excellence, now finds itself at the heart of a national debate over campus anti-Semitism.

In March, President Donald Trump launched the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, focusing on Ivy League schools, including Columbia. Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated, “Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them.” The Trump administration acted decisively, stripping Columbia of $400 million in federal funding for its “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

This financial penalty led to the layoffs of 180 employees, or “about 20% of the individuals who are funded in some manner by the terminated grants.” A Columbia spokesperson initially claimed the university was working with federal officials to restore funding, stating, “We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is,” and emphasizing a commitment to “combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”

After meeting with Columbia’s president, McMahon posted on X, expressing hope for collaboration to “protect all students on their campus.” However, she reiterated that “the Trump Administration will not allow the continued harassment and threats of violence against students.” No funding has been restored, and as The Daily Wire noted, “The Columbia decision represents one of the most significant financial penalties imposed on a university over the handling of campus protests, potentially setting a precedent for how the federal government addresses similar situations at other institutions.”

Columbia’s leadership responded to the circumstances, saying, “Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid.” They acknowledged, “We are working on and planning for every eventuality, but the strain in the meantime, financially and on our research mission, is intense.”

The university had briefly covered salaries for some affected researchers, but the layoffs signal the end of this approach. Columbia now faces significant financial and operational challenges. Meanwhile, experts point to the university’s long-standing issues with anti-Semitism.

Chris Gacek, senior fellow for Regulatory Affairs at Family Research Council, offered a sharp critique of Columbia’s history and the broader crisis in higher education. Dismissing the university’s claims of progress, he stated, “Columbia is claiming that they’ve gotten rid of anti-Semitism.” But in reality, “They have a serious problem.”

Gacek cited the Amcha Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to combating anti-Semitism in higher education. Its “Student Voices” resource documents experiences of Jewish students from 2014 to the present. In September 2024, a Columbia student reported: “Walking through campus, I notice fliers being handed out to visibly Jewish students — basically, fliers telling them that they’re complicit in genocide. And I just feel like there’s a target on my back simply for being Jewish.”

Gacek noted that in 2016, Columbia was ranked the worst school for Jewish students regarding anti-Semitism. He argued that student testimonies from 2016 to today show Columbia “didn’t shed being the worst school [for Jews] in America overnight.” He urged the university’s leadership to confront this history to grasp the true campus environment.

Gacek also emphasized that Columbia’s problems reflect a broader issue, stating, “University of Michigan is horrible. A bunch of the [California] schools are horrible,” and “a bunch of the Ivy Leagues” as well. He praised databases like Student Voices for providing a “snapshot in time for every school,” countering claims that “Trump is making this up” or that “some MAGA supporter is putting this stuff in there.”

Regarding the funding cuts, Gacek showed little sympathy, saying, “I’m not shedding any tears for these 180 people.” He argued that Columbia is now facing the consequences of deep-rooted anti-Semitism, a problem predating the Trump administration’s intervention. Gacek recommended that those investigating anti-Semitism, including Trump’s team, use resources like the Amcha Initiative, “because there is a lot of anti-Semitism now.”

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Explainer: How Trump ’s Proposed 2026 Budget Impacts Transgenderism, Abortion, Education, Immigration, and More

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘From the River to the Sea’ Jewish Genocide Must Never Be! thumbnail

‘From the River to the Sea’ Jewish Genocide Must Never Be!

By Beverly Newman, Ed. D.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you ….” — Ezekiel 36:26


As the daughter and granddaughter of Jewish slaves in the Holocaust and Jewish peasants in pre-WWI Europe, I understand slavery and poverty from the inside. I understand governmental injustice from extreme personal experiences across time. And I understand that, during my family’s suffering of antisemitism for decades, we have been abandoned by the self-same signatories to the “Letter on the Immoral Use of Law.”

Where were the 500+ clergy zealously protesting our decades of classic antisemitic accusations and discriminations against us? Where was even one clergy member crying out for Jewish justice as numerous articles were printed and media coverage aired about our repeated vandalism attacks on and near Jewish Holy Days, threats to our safety, grand thefts of our property, refusals of officials to prosecute falsified records like a fraudulent lien, and judicial antisemitism at its finest, with a litany of descriptors against us as “bizarre,” “contumacious,” “abusive,” “callous,” “vindictive,” “”egregious,” and “vindictive”?

Where were the 500+ clergy vociferously and publicly protesting the antisemitic legal brief of a Florida-licensed attorney denouncing our family for documenting years of antisemitic crimes against us as “religious-based nonsense”? Who amongst the 500+ clergy raised even a whisper against the Lakeland, Florida, appellate court that twice unanimously “Affirmed” dozens of crimes and antisemitic hate crimes committed against us like grand theft of thousands of Jewish items stolen from our family and our Jewish charity?

Before any voice can be legitimately raised against those trying to protect us Jews, our clergy and our fellow Jews must vigorously protest antisemitic acts all around us, in our homes, our neighborhoods and communities, schools, universities, and the streets of America. We must protect each other before we dare to defend those who avowedly hate us and proclaim genocide against the Jewish People and yearn for our end “from the river to the sea.”


Antisemitic incidents reaches record high across the country

The Anti-Defamation League reports a surge in antisemitic incidents, with over 9,000 cases nationwide following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Author: Bridget Chavez

SEATTLE — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is reporting a record number of antisemitic incidents across the United States with cases of harassment, assault, and vandalism surging — especially after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The annual audit found antisemitism in America reached a record high in 2024, with more than 9,000 cases of assault, harassment and vandalism reported nationwide. You can access the report here.

The record-breaking numbers reflect a national a statewide crisis. Two families in western Washington said the hate is hitting close to home.

“For us, it’s not just data,” said Aviad Benzikry. “There was a hate crime at our home as a result of us having a sign in our window that said, ‘Seattle Stands with Israel.’”

Benzikry shared surveillance footage that shows a man throwing rocks at their home last May, shattering a window. The incident happened in broad daylight and no one was home at the time.

“That action, that response to something, shows just how far it goes in terms of the hatred,” he said. “To this day, our eldest asks every night if the door is locked—and as parents, that’s something you fight. You want your kids to feel safe in their home.”

“The numbers are going up, the incidents are going up,” said Karen Treiger. “And it’s very sad, but it’s been going up for some time.”

Treiger’s synagogue has been targeted several times in recent years. In one incident, hateful flyers were posted on the synagogue’s fence. “I don’t remember what they said, but the implication was like, ‘Go home,’” she recalled.

Her synagogue was also one of four in the Seattle area that received suspicious letters lined with white powder in November 2023—about a month after the Oct. 7 attack.

Continue reading.

©2025 All rights reserved.

Is It Time to Amend the Constitution to Stop Satanism in Our Schools? thumbnail

Is It Time to Amend the Constitution to Stop Satanism in Our Schools?

By Majority Report

Satan is Out in the Open — And Daring Us to Fight

At Edgewood Elementary School in Marysville, Ohio, children are now being excused from class during school hours to attend a religious program run by The Satanic Temple.

The name of the program?

HAIL — short for Hellion Academy of Independent Learning.

That’s not parody or a fringe internet group. That’s a legally protected religious program operating inside a public school in the United States.

Moreover, The Satanic Temple wants to expand the program across the nation.

And this is all happening under the full protection of the First Amendment — the very same amendment that was meant to secure religious freedom for Christians, Jews, and others who worship the one true God.

And that’s exactly the problem.

What Satanists Are Teaching Children

According to The Satanic Temple, their school programs promote “empathy” and “critical thinking.”

But in practice, they’ve created:

  • Coloring books that feature inverted pentagrams and black magic
  • Activities where students connect the dots to form Satanic symbols
  • Videos that claim Satan seeks truth and hell doesn’t exist
  • Ritual reenactments where cartoon children use occult “magic” in the classroom

And in Chesapeake, Virginia, one of their self-proclaimed Satanic Ministers posted a meme of a baby stuffed in an oven — and called the roasting child “lunch.”

But this isn’t just a spiritual threat — it’s a legal one.

They are not breaking the law.

Instead, they are using it.

They are invoking “religious liberty” to spread darkness under the banner of constitutional protection.

What Can Be Done?

Christians, understandably, are asking:

“How is this possible? What can we do?”

Here’s my answer:

We must amend the Constitution.

Not to suppress private belief. Not to shut down free expression. But to restore moral boundaries around what can and cannot be taught — especially in our public schools.

Here’s My Proposed Constitutional Amendment

Save Our Schools Amendment

Section 1: No institution of the federal government, state government, or public education system shall promote, endorse, teach, or fund the religious practices or beliefs of Satanism, witchcraft, or paganism, nor grant these belief systems legal status as protected religions under the First Amendment in the context of public institutions.

Section 2: Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to prohibit individuals from privately practicing their personal beliefs so long as such practices do not occur within public institutions, nor shall this amendment limit academic instruction about these belief systems in comparative religion or history courses that do not promote their practices.

Section 3: This amendment reaffirms the original intent of the First Amendment as a safeguard for the free exercise of conscience and religious freedom, while protecting the public sphere from government promotion of anti-Christian or anti-Jewish belief systems that undermine public moral order.

Do You Agree?

Should we amend the Constitution to stop Satanism, witchcraft, and paganism from being protected and promoted in America’s public schools? I want to hear from you.

Why It Matters

The Satanic Temple isn’t just attacking public education. They are attacking:

  • God Himself
  • The next generation of children
  • And the future of America’s moral and spiritual foundation

For 37 years, I’ve fought to defend faith, family, and freedom at Christian Action Network. But let me be clear: this may be the most urgent battle we’ve ever faced.

Satan isn’t lurking in the shadows anymore. He’s not bothering with the sheep costume. No — he’s strutting down Main Street in broad daylight, flipping the Church the bird and daring us to do something about it.

And what are most pastors doing? Smiling politely. Talking about peace, unity, and self-care. Anything but the uncomfortable truth.

But Scripture doesn’t flinch. It tells us exactly why Christ came into this world — and it wasn’t to hand out participation trophies.

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” – 1 John 3:8

Not to tolerate the devil, mind you. Not to negotiate with him. But to DESTROY his works.

So the question is not what Christ came to do. That’s settled.

The question is whether we have the courage to follow Him into battle.

If your answer is yes, then prove it. Take 30 seconds to answer the one-question survey above. I need to know who’s standing with me.

For the fight.

©2025 . All rights reserved.


Please visit the Majority Report substack.

The post Is It Time to Amend the Constitution to Stop Satanism in Our Schools? appeared first on Dr. Rich Swier.

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost Elected 267th Supreme Pontiff Of Roman Catholic Church thumbnail

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost Elected 267th Supreme Pontiff Of Roman Catholic Church

By The Daily Caller

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Robert F. Prevost was elected the 267th supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday by the College of Cardinals during a two-day conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.

He will go by Pope Leo XIV.

The sight of white smoke billowing out from arguably the world’s most famous chimney delighted the crowd of over 45,000 observers keeping vigil in Saint Peter’s Square, which immediately expanded to a global audience of billions as the news broke.

The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica, which joyously rang to commemorate the Easter Sunday resurrection of Jesus Christ before solemnly announcing the death of Pope Francis, 88, a day later, rang once again to celebrate the newest successor to Saint Peter.

As the senior cardinal deacon participating in the papal conclave, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, announced the ancient “Habemus papam” proclamation from the central loggia (balcony) of the basilica:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; | I announce to you a great joy:
habemus Papam: | we have a pope:

Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, | The most eminent and most reverend lord,
Dominum [first name] | Lord [first name]
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem [surname] | Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname]
qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name]. | who has taken the name [papal name].

Moments after the acceptance of the grave responsibility entrusted to him by his colleagues, the new pope announced a Petrine name and moved to an antechamber of the Sistine Chapel, the historic “Room of Tears,” to gather his thoughts and vest for his new ministry. The new Vicar of Christ is then introduced to the cheering crowd of onlookers and the world before offering the tradition Urbi et Orbi (“for the city and for the world”) blessing.

The term “conclave” is derived from the Latin cum (“with”) and clavis (“key”).

After the 1268 papal vacancy continued for a year before the waiting citizens of Viterbo, Italy took matters into their own hands. They locked the then-19 cardinal electors in the Palace of the Popes with only bread and water to pressure them to fill the vacancy; Gregory X was finally elected in 1271. He would later issue Ubi periculum, an Apostolic Constitution to formalize the rules for selecting a pope, which formed the basis for the modern-day, secretive process.



The conclave, which formally began Wednesday, made history as the largest in Church history. Out of the 235 members of the uppermost echelon of Catholic clergy, 133 participated as eligible cardinal electors — under 80 years of age at the time of the death of the reigning pope —which exceeds the previously defined limit of 120. The late Pope Francis created 108, or 80%, of them. To elect his successor required a two-thirds majority, at least 89 votes.

In addition, the cardinal electors represented 71 countries across six continents, making the conclave among the most geographically diverse to convene, another legacy of Pope Francis, who desired a Church which welcomes “everyone, everyone, everyone.” The largest national voting blocs represented Italy (17), the United States (10, which is one fewer than its showing in the 2013 and 2005 conclaves) and Brazil (seven). Europe’s share of the vote, 52, was less than half of the electorate; the representation of Asia (20) and Africa (18) increased from the 2013 conclave by 10 and seven, respectively. Canada sent four cardinals; Mexico sent two. The Catholic Church, however, is not a representative democracy — the papacy is Europe’s last absolute monarchy — with each cardinal considering their own ecclesiastical priorities when voting in the conclave.

Countries enjoying a first-time delegation to the conclave include Bangladesh, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, East Timor, El Salvador, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, South Sudan, Sweden and Tonga, according to Catholic News Agency.

Many of the cardinals had never met, but were able to be introduced to each other — and draw support and influence — over the course of twelve general congregation meetings ahead of the conclave to discuss matters affecting the Church.

The new pope inherits a spiritual flock of 1.39 billion Catholics and will likely need to address an increasingly secularized world, clerical sex abuses of minors and the fallout, as well as global conflicts, both armed and rhetorical.

AUTHOR

Thomas Wong

Associate Weekend Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: Catholic Church Warns Of ‘Government Overreach’ With New State Law Forcing Priests To Violate Sacrament

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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How Close Are We To Nuclear Breakout In Iran? Is Tehran About To Reset The Table? thumbnail

How Close Are We To Nuclear Breakout In Iran? Is Tehran About To Reset The Table?

By Center For Security Policy

If you have spent time down range or in the field face to face with our nation’s adversaries, you know “the enemy gets a vote”. You can plan all you want. You can predict all you want. Ultimately, the enemy is under no compulsion to behave the way you want him to, or you think he will. He is perfectly free to change the game at any time and reset the board.

The Japanese were supposed to modify their behavior and come to the negotiating table in 1941. They chose instead to bomb Pearl Harbor.

Al-Qaida was supposed to continue to limit itself to attacks in the Middle East in 2001. It decided instead to take the fight onto our soil and kill almost 3000 Americans while we watched in horror.

The Russians were supposed to line their troops up on the Ukrainian border, rattle some sabers, and then accept the status quo. They opted to launch a lightning attack on Ukraine and gamble they could take Kiev before the West could react.

As we try to dig out from the wreckage of the Biden administration, we would do well to remember these lessons. Our enemies, who are legion, do not have to respond to our alternating overtures and threats by agreeing to see reason and talk. They are perfectly free to decide that it is time to jump.

A case in point is Iran.

The Iranians are a great people. They are heirs to one of the world’s great civilizations. I have worked with many Iranian patriots over the years. They were, to a man and a woman, educated, cultured, and yearning to breathe free again.

The men who control Iran today, the mullahs and the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), exhibit none of these qualities. They subscribe to a dark, twisted form of Islam, and they yearn for Armageddon. They believe absolutely that we are in the end times and that they will emerge victorious from a final battle. For them, the Madhi, a mythical Islamic superman, is absolutely real. His return is imminent. The final victory is at hand.

“As a Shi’a Islamist force the IRGC’s worldview hinges on Mahdism: the return of the 12th divinely ordained Shi’a imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (or the Hidden Imam), whom Shi’a Muslims believe was withdrawn into a miraculous state of occultation (hiddenness) by God in 874 CE. The concept of Mahdism is rooted in the belief that Imam Mahdi will one day return to rid the world of evil and injustice. His coming will bring about “one final apocalyptic battle” between two armies, in which Shi’as believe that Mahdi and his forces will prevail over evil.”

Middle East Institute

We want to continue nuclear talks with the Iranians. They just announced that the next round of those talks will not take place. It is unclear if this is just a hiccup or if the negotiations are dead.

Meanwhile video on Iranian state TV recently showed Iran unveiling a new ballistic missile. To add emphasis, Iran’s proxies in Yemen, the Houthis, just hit Israel with a ballistic missile of their own. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh is warning that “If war is initiated by the U.S. or Israel, Iran will strike their interests, bases and forces wherever they are and whenever necessary.”

The new missile, called “Qassem Basir,” is solid-fueled and reportedly includes enhancements in maneuverability and guidance systems, allowing it to evade defenses. Iranian outlets claim it has a range of 1,200 kilometers and can strike targets with pinpoint accuracy without using GPS. The fact that it is intended to be used without the aid of GPS is of note, particularly since there has been voluminous reporting for years regarding Iran’s capacity to interfere with GPS navigation and targeting systems in the Middle East.

This is occurring against the backdrop of the uncertainty concerning the exact status of the Iranian nuclear program. It is worth clarifying, I think, exactly where we stand in that regard:

  • The Iranians have had a nuclear weapons program for many years. They are not trying to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. They want a nuclear arsenal.
  • They are at most weeks away from having enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) to build several nuclear weapons. More to the point, our intelligence collection is not good enough to allow us to refine that estimate. In layman’s terms, that means they could very well already have enough HEU for several weapons, and they may well already have taken the steps necessary to put that HEU into the form necessary for use in a weapon.
  • We know that years ago, the Iranians were working on the engineering aspects of building a device. They may have completed that work. It would be logical and consistent with what we have seen in other programs for the Iranians to have built the actual bombs concurrent with the refinement of uranium.
  • Based on what we know about the Chinese program that resulted in them acquiring nuclear weapons, from the time the HEU is available in its final usable form, assembly of a device probably would take no more than 72 hours.

So, if our entire plan is based on the assumption that the Iranians cannot possibly already have nuclear weapons, it may well turn out to be a bad plan.

We can, of course, add additional layers of bad news to this picture. Once the Iranians have nuclear weapons, they can disperse them to a wide variety of locations. Via their worldwide terror network, they can move them, likely undetected, to locations across the globe, including in this hemisphere. They have, via their unconventional and conventional assets, many different ways to deliver such weapons and dramatically complicate the job of locating them and intercepting them.

Does this mean we have no options or that we are doomed? No, not at all. What it does mean, however, is that if we are assuming that we still have the option of bombing some centrifuges and calling it a day, we may want to revisit our assumptions. We may want to start taking a very hard look at:

  • The state of our intelligence collection. Let’s get down to brass tacks. How good are our “assessments”? What do we really know about deliberations inside the top levels of Iranian leadership? And, once we face up to the fact that we don’t know nearly enough, what are we going to do to improve things?
  • Our ability to intercept any Iranian efforts to move and hide pieces of their nuclear weapons program. Can we do that? How? If not, how do we fix that in a hurry?
  • What exactly is our plan for responding to an Iranian declaration that they have gone nuclear? If they detonate a nuke in the desert tomorrow and announce they have five more dispersed throughout the country and ready to launch, do we have a plan?
  • – And, if it comes down to us having to hit Iran and disarm it, how exactly do we plan to do that? What are we bombing? The goal cannot be just to blow things up. It has to be to remove the threat.

The bottom line has to be this. We cannot just assume that all we have to do is bomb some targets in Iran and call it a day. We have to plan for the day when the Iranians dare to act contrary to our expectations. We have to plan for the day, which may be much closer than we think, when they achieve nuclear breakout and reset the board.

Originally published by AND Magazine.

AUTHOR

Sam Faddis

Senior Fellow.

RELATED ARTICLE: Huckabee: Giving Iran a Nuke Is Like Handing a 16-Year-Old a ‘Lamborghini and a Bottle of Whiskey’

EDITORS NOTE: This Center for Security Policy column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The Conclave Crew #2 thumbnail

The Conclave Crew #2

By The Catholic Thing

Friends: The Conclave Crew is back! And it’s the Papal Posse you know and love: TCT’s Robert Royal and Fr. Gerald Murray— now on host Raymond Arroyo’s new ‘Arroyo Grande’ podcast. The Crew will be meeting in Rome until a new pope is chosen in the upcoming conclave. Episode #2: The Future of the Church: Papal Candidates’ Visions.

Look for ‘The Conclave Crew’ under EVENTS at thecatholicthing.org and in your email when each new episode is released.



EDITORS NOTE: This Catholic Thing video is republished with permission. © 2025 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.org. The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.

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FAFO: Joint Israel-US Force Strikes Yemen in Retaliation for Houthi Attack on Israeli Airport thumbnail

FAFO: Joint Israel-US Force Strikes Yemen in Retaliation for Houthi Attack on Israeli Airport

By The Geller Report

Military says Houthi infrastructure, including Hodeidah port, concrete factory, targeted in Yemen strikes.

The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes in Yemen a short while ago, saying it comes as a response to the Houthis ballistic missile attack yesterday on Ben Gurion Airport and other previous attacks.

According to the military, the strikes carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Houthi infrastructure along the coast of Yemen, including at the Hodeidah port and a concrete factory near the nearby city of Bajil, some 2,000 kilometers from Israel.

The IDF says the Hodeidah port is used by the Houthis “for the transfer of Iranian weapons, equipment for military needs, and other terror purposes.”

The Bajil concrete factory “serves as an important economic resource for the Houthi terror regime and is used for building tunnels and military infrastructure,” the military says, adding that the strikes “constitute a blow to the regime’s economy and its military buildup.”

Harder! Faster!

WATCH: Joint Israel-US Force Strikes Yemen in Retaliation for Houthi Attack on Israeli Airport

Joint Israel-US force strikes Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attack on Israeli airport

The Houthis have officially acknowledged the attacks, claiming both Israeli and American forces are involved.

By JNS, May 5, 2025:

A senior Israeli official confirmed to N12 News on Monday night that Israel is conducting joint airstrikes with the United States against Houthi targets in Yemen, following Sunday’s ballistic missile attack near Ben Gurion Airport.

According to Arabic media reports cited by N12, over 30 Israeli fighter jets are participating in the strikes on the port city of Hudaydah.

The Houthis have officially acknowledged the attacks, claiming both Israeli and American forces are involved.

The Houthi missile strike injured six people and temporarily grounded flights at Israel’s main international airport.

According to an initial Israeli Air Force inquiry, the missile was likely not intercepted due to a technical malfunction in the interceptor itself.

The investigation found no issues with the detection systems or alert protocols.

Officials stressed that the incident was isolated, noting that Israel has maintained a 95% success rate in intercepting missiles launched from Yemen since the war began.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation, stating: “We have acted and will act again. There will be blows.”

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Major HHS Report Cites Lack of Evidence Supporting ‘Gender-Affirming Care,’ Failure of Medical Establishment thumbnail

Major HHS Report Cites Lack of Evidence Supporting ‘Gender-Affirming Care,’ Failure of Medical Establishment

By Family Research Council

A comprehensive new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has concluded that there is no strong evidence to support “gender-affirming” procedures that block puberty, mutilate the sexual organs of, and sterilize children for life. Experts say the report is a welcome affirmation of the grievous harms that gender transition procedures inflict on minors — which much of Europe has already acknowledged, marking a stark reversal of the pro-gender transitions for minors position of the previous Biden administration.

The five-part, 409-page report, entitled “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices,” presents an exhaustive study of the issues surrounding diagnosing children with gender dysphoria and subjecting them to gender transition procedures. The first part covers the background, noting that medical treatments are typically “first established as safe and effective in adults before being extended to pediatric populations. In this case, however, the opposite occurred: clinician-researchers developed the pediatric medical transition protocol in response to disappointing psychosocial outcomes in adults who underwent medical transition.”

The report went on to note that gender transition protocols were “adopted internationally” before proper studies were conducted to examine the health outcomes of pediatric patients. But after evidence of outcomes began accumulating, “health authorities in an increasing number of countries have restricted access to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and, in the rare cases where they were offered, surgeries for minors. These authorities now recommend psychosocial approaches, rather than hormonal or surgical interventions, as the primary treatment.”

The second part of the report highlighted a general lack of reliable evidence analyzing the effects of gender transition procedures. However, it emphasized that the risks of the procedures that have been established “include infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret.”

Despite these documented risks, the report’s third part noted that the most influential U.S. bodies for recommending health protocols for gender transition procedures, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Endocrine Society, went ahead with guidelines recommending the procedures for children, which were characterized by international reviewers as “lack[ing] developmental rigour and transparency.” The report pointed to countries like Sweden, Finland, and the U.K. who are encouraging mental health approaches over medical interventions.

The authors (whose names have not yet been released) further observe that the “‘gender-affirming’ model of care, as practiced in U.S. clinics, is characterized by a child-led process in which comprehensive mental health assessments are often minimized or omitted.” In addition, the concerns of whistleblowers and detransitioners “have been discounted, dismissed, or ignored by prominent advocates and practitioners of pediatric medical transition.”

The report goes on to detail the ethical concerns involved in establishing protocols for gender transition procedures without sufficient clinical evidence to support them, as well as ethical concerns about involving children in “randomized controlled trials on pubertal suppression or hormone therapy.” The final part points out that behavioral comorbidities such as suicidal ideation associated with gender dysphoria in children “have known psychotherapeutic management strategies.” The report argues for more research to be conducted on psychotherapy as a way to treat gender dysphoria, since psychotherapy “is a noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria.”

The HHS report concludes by stating that “[w]hile no clinician or medical association intends to fail their patients — particularly those who are most vulnerable — the preceding chapters demonstrate that this is precisely what has occurred.”

Clinical experts like Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, who serves as director of the Center for Family Studies at Family Research Council, say the new HHS report is a welcome change in direction away from the blind promotion of gender transition procedures for minors that occurred under the previous administration.

“[O]ur government under the Biden administration was falsely using research to scaffold the ‘gender-affirming care,’” she pointed out during Thursday’s “Washington Watch.” “And really, what this report showed in the bottom line is [that] basically everything that has come from Europe and what we have been talking about, that the science is just not there to support it. And in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It says, ‘Run from these procedures and … protect children.’”

Bauwens, a clinical psychologist and licensed therapist who has provided trauma-focused treatment to children, went on to highlight how the new report delved into data coming out of Europe on mental health outcomes of children who have undergone transgender procedures, including the U.K.’s groundbreaking Cass Review.

“[W]hat it found [after] looking at the science, just the methods … used to cause a reduction in distress, is [there’s] no question you have to scrap this so-called ‘intervention’ because it’s not making a difference in what it purports to do,” she explained. “It’s not causing psychological distress to be reduced. In some cases, as other reports have found in Sweden, the rate of suicide was much higher.”

Bauwens concluded by expressing gratitude to the Trump administration for taking an ideology-free approach to the issue of gender transition procedures for minors.

“I’m so grateful that we are living during an administration that has courage and is doing what they said they would do, looking at all of the science but also looking at the ideology and saying, ‘How can someone suddenly claim to be … the opposite sex?’ They’re looking at it with common sense, and that’s really the heart behind this administration. … And I think we can get a lot done by just adhering to those basic principles.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

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