“Affordability” and Illegal Immigration are Mutually-Exclusive: It’s the Math, Stupid

By Beverly Newman, Ed. D.

One key cause of elevated worst case needs is immigration. Between 2021 and 2024, the foreign-born population of the United States increased by more than 6 million—the largest such increase over such a short period in American history. The foreign-born population now stands at more than 53 million individuals, making up the highest share of the American population in history. This immigration-driven increase in households has contributed to a significant increase in housing demand, thus driving up housing prices. In fact, in some markets, immigration has accounted for nearly all of the increase in housing demand in recent years. This year’s report shows two realities. The first is that economic growth has been insufficient to lift the wages of low-income renting families high enough to make rent affordable. The second is that national macroeconomic policies, such as record immigration, have combined to drive sustained high rental demand, which has continued to place upward pressure on rent prices. As a result, in 2023, only 59 affordable units were available per 100 very low-income renter households, and only 38 units were available per 100 extremely low-income renter households. Worst case needs were common in every region and metropolitan category across the nation but most prevalent in the West, the South, and urban suburbs.

“AFFORDABILITY” IS THE CATCHY SLOGAN THAT IS SUPPOSED TO CONVINCE VOTERS THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE CARE OF THE “FORGOTTEN MAN” WHO STRUGGLES DAILY TO PAY HIS BILLS AND TRY TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIS FAMILY. THIS IS A FRONT AND AN AFFRONT TO ALL OF US IN THE RUBRIC OF THE “FORGOTTEN MAN”; FOR OUR COSTS EXCEED OUR REVENUE UNLESS WE ARE SCRUPULOUS WITH EVERY EXPENSE, WITH NO UNANTICIPATED PROBLEMS ARISING.

EVEN AT GOODWILL, WHERE THE “FORGOTTEN MAN” MAKES INNUMERABLE PURCHASES OF NECESSARY ITEMS FOR THE FAMILY AND HOME FROM CLOTHING TO FURNITURE, PRICES HAVE DOUBLED! FOR INSTANCE, INFANTS’ CLOTHES HAVE HIKED FROM $.99 FOR A PAIR OF PANTS TO $1.99; PAJAMAS HAVE INCREASED FROM $1.99 TO $2.99; AND TOYS ONCE SELLING FOR $1.99 HAVE JUMPED TO $2.99 AND MORE. ALTHOUGH MANY BLAME THE “TARIFFS” FOR PRICE HIKES, GOODWILL’S ITEMS FOR SALE ARE DONATIONS, NOT SUBJECT TO TARIFFS BUT SUBJECT TO MORE-MONEY MOTIVES.

BEFORE THE VAST INFLUX OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, GOODWILL HAD REGULAR SALES THAT OFFERED POOR AMERICAN FAMILIES RELIEF FROM MONETARY BURDENS. AFTER COUNTLESS CARTS PILED HIGH WITH GOODWILL SALES GOODS BY NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, ALL THE SALES AND DISCOUNT DAYS WERE DISCONTINUED.

The same politicians promising “affordability” for the struggling “forgotten” American family are simultaneously protesting against removals of illegal aliens from this country without regard to the overwhelming financial burdens on the “forgotten” Americans. When there is competition for affordable goods and services, the poor Americans lose!

At Wal-Mart, after-Christmas sales reduce costs by 75 percent, but non-English speakers flood the aisles, piling their carts with goods also needed by poor Americans. Again, when there is competition for affordable goods and services, the “forgotten” American loses. Likewise, for affordable housing, which becomes less affordable and less available for the “forgotten” American.

When there is competition for medical care, the “forgotten” poor American waits much longer for health services to be provided. When there is competition for medical supplies, the supplies run out or run low for “forgotten” poor Americans.
Our insurance costs rise due to an influx of uninsured persons requiring medical care or government-paid medical care. Likewise, vehicle insurance costs escalate when uninsured drivers are involved in collisions.

In our schools, the influx of illegal alien children has caused costs to rise precipitously as well as communicable diseases in our classrooms. On the streets, rising crime rates cost the poor “forgotten” Americans money, health, and lives due to criminals who should never have been here with full access to hurt children whose lives were ended or harmed irreparably.

Key diseases reported in illegal immigrants include:

  • Tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, measles, scabies, and other bacterial infections.
  • The CDC traced 76% of TB cases in 2023 to non-U.S. born individuals.

Key Communicable Disease Concerns:

  • Tuberculosis (TB): Frequently cited as a significant concern, with reported increases in cases linked to international migration.
    Skin Infections & Parasites: Scabies, chickenpox, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been reported, particularly in crowded, unsanitary conditions.
  • Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: Measles, polio, diphtheria, and pertussis.
  • Blood-borne Pathogens: HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
  • Other Infections: Syphilis, gonorrhea, leprosy, typhoid, cholera, and malaria.

The costs of illegal immigration to the poor “forgotten” American family of all ages and locations across this nation are immeasurable and infinite in terms of generations of citizens who are impacted by massive illegal influxes of persons competing for the same finite goods, services, and money. The infinite economic, medical, and societal costs are incompatible with the slogan of “affordability.”

The American pie only has a set finite size, and the more pieces consumed, the smaller the size of each piece for the “forgotten” poor Americans who should have the rights to which they are Constitutionally-entitled. Unchecked competition against the rights of poor “forgotten” Americans are undemocratic, unfair, and unAmerican.

HUD chief blames ‘unchecked illegal immigration’ pricing-out families amid new housing report

HUD secretary’s exclusive comments come as agency releases damning report on housing market strain

By Charles CreitzFox News

EXCLUSIVE: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner slammed the Biden administration for what he called an illegal immigration and refugee crisis that rattled the housing market – particularly for low-income renters – though some analysts dispute the findings.

Every two years, HUD releases its “Worst Case Housing Needs Report” – considered the agency’s flagship assessment of the state of the housing market for low-income Americans – and how many lack affordable and adequate housing. The report serves as a nationwide barometer of housing stress and shows whether the availability of affordable housing is improving or worsening, and who may be being hurt by the current conditions, which Congress can then use to craft policy.

Policymakers use it to gauge gaps in the supply of low-cost rentals, target federal housing programs, and understand trends in who is being left behind. In short, it’s HUD’s way of tracking the renters in the greatest need — and how the U.S. housing system is failing to meet them.

Turner told Fox News Digital there are damning findings in this year’s assessment that he places right on the policies of former President Joe Biden’s immigration crisis.

“The unchecked illegal immigration and open borders policies allowed by the Biden administration continue to put significant strain on housing, pricing out American families,” Turner said.

“These policies have plagued America’s housing market, but in President Trump, Americans finally have a leader fighting to restore sanity to American immigration policy.”

Continue reading.

©2026 All rights reserved.

Billions in Tax Dollars Pay for Empty Federal Buildings

By The Daily Signal

FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL—Selling off unused or underused federal property could save taxpayers $3 billion in deferred maintenance costs, and more than $100 million in operation costs each year, according to one government report.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus, introduced legislation to expedite the sales of these properties.

“Why should taxpayers be stuck with billion-dollar bills for bureaucrats to hold onto empty buildings when they are keeping the roofs over their own homes? That’s why I’ve worked to eliminate Washington’s bloated real estate portfolio,” Ernst told The Daily Signal in a statement.

The DOGE Caucus supports the mission started by the White House Department of Government Efficiency that sought cost-cutting measures in the federal government.

Ernst’s bill is the Disposing of Inactive Structures and Properties by Offering for Sale And Lease Act, or the DISPOSAL Act.

It calls for the General Services Administration to sell buildings with regulatory and procedural exemptions, such as environmental reviews, historic preservation reviews, and other matters.

“By fast-tracking basic maintenance and construction projects, my new legislation will play a critical role in ending the entrenched bureaucracy’s excessive regulations and pointless red tape to take empty, expensive buildings off the taxpayer’s dime,” Ernst said.

A December report by the Government Accountability Office noted the burden for taxpayers of the properties targeted for sale.

“In March 2025, GSA announced it would begin disposing of federally owned office buildings using what it described as an accelerated approach,” the GAO report says.

“As of November 2025, GSA had identified 45 federal properties—many of which were previously identified for disposal—for this accelerated approach,” the GAO report continues. “GSA estimates that disposing of these properties will reduce the federal government’s real property inventory by 14.6 million square feet and save $106 million in annual operations and $3 billion in deferred maintenance costs.”

The government has a total of 23.28 million square feet of underused office space it owns with annual operating and maintenance costs of $67.1 million, according to an August 2024 report from the Office of Management and Budget.

It has another 766,000 square feet of underused leased space with an annual lease cost of $13.6 million and annual operating and maintenance costs of $481,000. That brings the total annual cost for all of these properties to $81.3 million, according to the Office of Management and Budget report.

Ernst has already introduced legislation that calls for several specific federal properties to be auctioned off.

This bill continues that effort. Targeted properties include: the 1 million-square-foot Hubert H. Humphrey Federal Building, which houses the Department of Health and Human Services; the 1.8 million-square-foot Frances Perkins Federal Building for the Department of Labor; the 1.8 million-square-foot James V. Forrestal Building for the Department of Energy; and the 810,834-square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building that houses the Office of Personnel Management.

The measurements are according to the federal Public Building Reform Board.

AUTHOR

Fred Lucas

Fred Lucas is chief news correspondent and manager of the Investigative Reporting Project for The Daily Signal. He is the author of The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left’s Assault on Clean Elections.” Send an email to Fred. Fred on X: @FredLucasWH.

New Analysis Cites 4 Ways CBO’s Budget Baseline Always Favors Increased Federal Spending

By Family Research Council

Four key assumptions in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) analytical tool for projecting federal spending and revenue trends heavily distort its results in favor of continually increasing outlays and expanding government regulation, according to a new Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) analysis.

“The CBO baseline is important because it is used as the official benchmark against which legislative proposals are scored. The biases in the baseline allow the true costs of legislation to stay hidden from the public and members of Congress,” according to EPIC’s director of Budget Policy. Dickerson’s analysis was first delivered as part of the R Street Institute’s recent Virtual Federal Budget Reform Forum: Recommendations for Congress.

Dickerson points to four flaws in the baseline, three of which, in effect, make projected spending look much higher than it could otherwise be, and one of which makes tax revenues coming into the U.S. Treasury Department appear to be bigger than they actually are if Congress makes no changes in outlays or current law. The four flaws, according to Dickerson, include:

  • Discretionary appropriations are assumed to continue and grow with inflation each year. The result is a spending level authorized for one year for a specific program or agency which is assumed by CBO to continue throughout the 10-year period covered by the baseline.
  • Certain direct spending programs larger than $50 million are assumed to be extended beyond their statutory expiration. This means a program with an annual budget greater than $50 million is assumed by CBO to go on indefinitely until Congress acts to the contrary.
  • Entitlement programs are assumed to make all scheduled benefit payments, even if a program’s trust fundand financing are inadequate to do so. This means a program like Social Security and Medicare, which depend in great part upon trust funds — taxes paid into the system by employers, workers, and the self-employed — will continue paying full benefits using general revenues.
  • Excise taxes dedicated to a trust fund are assumed to be continued beyond their statutory expiration. Under current law, the federal government receives between $75 and $100 billion annually from excise levies on alcohol, gasoline, and tobacco products.

Together, the resulting bias “hides tens of trillions of dollars in spending in the baseline,” Dickerson contends. For example, of the $85 trillion in total spending the baseline projected for the 2025-2034 period, nearly 30%, or $25.5 trillion, is made up of spending not specifically authorized by Congress.

The EPIC analysis comes as Congress and Trump confront the reality that federal spending has increased more than 80% since 2015, zooming up from $5.01 trillion that year to $7.01 trillion in 2025. Entitlement spending on programs like Social Security and emergency spending related to the COVID-19 pandemic were the major drivers of the explosion in outlays.

The four flaws are included in CBO’s baseline budget tool due to requirements included in the 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control that was adopted in the first year of the second term of then-President Ronald Reagan. Legislation introduced in the 118th Congress by Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) — the No Bias in the Baseline Act — would eliminate all four of the flaws. The Virginia Republican is a member of the House Budget Committee.

Being in the center of controversy is a familiar position for CBO staffers. Most recently, House Republicans harshly criticized what they view as CBO’s chronically low projections of the positive economic impact of tax, regulation, and spending cuts at the federal level.

In its Concurrent Resolution on the 2025 Budget, for example, House Republicans noted one of the flaws pointed out by the EPIC analysis, noting that CBO “is obligated to produce an economic forecast that assumes an indefinite extension of current law, including the explosion of deficit and debt levels over the next decade. This is partly why CBO is forecasting average real Gross Domestic Policy (GDP) growth of just 2.0 percent over the next 10 years, well below the long-term trend of 3.1 percent in the United States.”

Similarly, in May 2025, when CBO released two analyses requested by House Democrats evaluating aspects of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) issued a sharply worded refutation.

“This is a smoke and mirrors tactic to try to deceive the American people into thinking that the One Big Beautiful Bill will benefit the top 10 percent at the expense of the bottom 10 percent. Ironically, the only thing Democrats are proving is that our policies are a massive success,” Arrington said.

“First, they’re not measuring economic benefits to low-income earners; they’re measuring federal resources distributed. For instance, there are fewer transfer payments to people on welfare if you prohibit illegal immigrants from accessing these programs and enact common sense work requirements to stop trapping people in dependence,” he continued.

“Second, when you allow Americans from every walk of life to keep more of their income, you lift millions out of poverty, just as we witnessed in President Trump’s first term. Democrats measure success by how many people are stuck on the welfare rolls; Republicans measure success by how many Americans are lifted off of them,” Arrington explained.

And Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is also the number three ranking GOP member of the Senate Budget Committee, told the Senate in an April 2025 floor speech during debate on the OBBB that CBO’s baseline budget analysis incorrectly evaluates tax policies.

“There’s an inherent bias in Congress’s scoring process where tax policy is treated differently than spending policy. If tax rates are scheduled to increase, like they are right now if we don’t act, preventing that tax hike is counted as a ‘cost’ in uncollected future revenue. But many spending programs are assumed to be extended beyond their expiration, so the spending just continues and continues, unabated, which the budget rules say do not have any cost,” Crapo told colleagues on the Senate floor.

Spokesmen for Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chairman Arrington (did not respond to The Washington Stand’s request for comment. Also not responding were spokesmen for Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrats on the two congressional budget panels.

For all the controversy, Dickerson expressed optimism to TWS that needed changes are coming. “The CBO is an important resource for lawmakers. It can also be a source of frustration, particularly when CBO fails to be transparent about its scoring, assumptions, and biases. While Director Swagel has taken steps to improve CBO, more work remains to be done,” he said.

“There is significant interest on both sides of the aisle in addressing the shortcomings at CBO. The House Budget Committee has signaled that CBO oversight will be a major focus, including conducting regular oversight hearings and advancing the first-ever audit of CBO’s operations,” he added.

AUTHOR

Mark Tapscott

Mark Tapscott is senior congressional analyst at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 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.

Here Are The Traitorous Republicans Who Sided With Democrats to Fund Corrupt, Criminal USADF

By The Geller Report

Traitorous Senate Republicans joined Democrats to keep funding the U.S. African Development Foundation, even after the agency’s own leadership acknowledged corruption and DOGE flagged it for fraud.

“The USADF Director of Financial Management’s fraudulent acts betrayed the trust of the American people,” said Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean M. Bottary. “As the Inspector General with continued oversight jurisdiction over U.S.-funded foreign assistance, we will utilize our global investigative reach to aggressively detect and disrupt those who defraud taxpayer dollars programmed overseas.”

Senator Mike Lee Lee warned the vote would funnel billions in taxpayer dollars into earmarks for priorities voters never approved—ranging from aid tied to illegal immigration to controversial social programs—while GOP lawmakers who once boasted about backing DOGE quietly reversed course. The effort to defund USADF was backed by the agency’s acting chairman and CEO themselves, yet a bloc of Republican senators broke ranks to kill it. Critics argue the episode exposes how entrenched NGO funding pipelines—long fueled by U.S. aid dollars—prop up activist networks and Democratic fundraising, and why attempts to shut them down trigger fierce resistance from both parties’ establishments.

Senator Mike Lee FUMES after Senate Republicans vote to FUND the US African Development Foundation despite its leader admitting to CORRUPTION, and DOGE confirming it’s fraud

“This vote to defund USADF was supported by the acting chairman and CEO of USADF itself and his

The Senate is about to throw 7 billion dollars of your money at earmarks for aid to illegals, puberty blockers for kids, and charging stations for electric vehicles, among other things.

Remember when every Republican bragged about supporting DOGE?

As soon as USAID was shutdown, the Democrats started having difficulty raising money.

All of those billions of tax dollars funding their NGO networks and their thousands of activists … they can’t donate any more to their Democrats.

On the same day the DOJ announced U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) CFO pleaded guilty to kickbacks via Kenyan shell companies & lying to feds, Senate voted DOWN Senator Mike Lee’s amendment to defund this fraud-ridden “trash” agency (per its own CEO).

CFO pleaded guilty to two felonies for kickbacks (by Zelle):

  • Refused President Trump’s authority.
  • Bragged about blocking DOGE from entry.
  • Hired firms to attack whistleblowers.
  • Sent money to non-existent offices.

IS YOUR SENATOR ON THE LIST?

List of Republicans that killed Mike Lee’s effort to defund the United States African Development Foundation which was plagued by waste, fraud, and abuse.

Boozman (AR)
Britt (AL)
Capito (WV)
Collins (ME)
Cotton (AR)
Fischer (NE)
Graham (SC)
Husted (OH)
Hyde-Smith (MS)
Kennedy (LA)
McConnell (KY)
Moran (KS)
Mullin (OK)
Murkowski (AK)
Rounds (SD)
Sheehy (MT)
Sullivan (AK)
Thune (SD)
Tillis (NC)
Wicker (MS)

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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

Senator Josh Hawley reveals the Biden Admin was secretly funneling millions of dollars to The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR)

By Jihad Watch

Senator Josh Hawley reveals the Biden Admin was secretly funneling millions of dollars to The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) into states like California and Washington.

They hid the money so it couldn’t be tracked and used it to bring in Muslims, even terrorists.

WATCH: Senator Josh Hawley reveals the Biden Admin was secretly funneling millions of dollars to The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR)

TRANSCRIPT

“We found over 30,000 that did not have formal identification. Say that number one more time. I believe the number is actually 36,000. That’s astounding.

The Council of American Islamic Relations, CAIR, the wiretap from the 1993 meeting in which CAIR was founded, they specifically stated that they are going to present themselves as a legitimate civil rights organization while furthering the mission of Hamas.

How much money did they get from the federal government to shepherd Afghan paroles?

I can say with certainty that in California, they received $15 million

In the state of Washington, they received more than a million dollars.

Now, when I look at the federal databases to see if there’s any reference to CAIR, I don’t see anything.

Because the money did not go directly from the federal government to CAIR, but rather a intermediary and that is how they’ve hidden the money.

We need to find out where this money has gone. This is a scandal. This is corruption. And we’ve got to figure out how taxpayer money has ended up in the hands of yet another organization with terrorist ties.”

The legitimization of such an obviously subversive group as the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an indication of how deep and all-pervasive the rot is in Washington, and how extensive the power of the traitor class that is still working to consolidate its power over the nation. The likelihood that no one will pay any political price for this is more evidence of the same corruption.

AUTHOR

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

Lying Mamdani Invents Budget Emergency to Justify Massive Tax Hikes

By The Geller Report

In Michael Bloomberg’s final year as mayor in 2013, New York City actually had a balanced budget. However, under the Marxist mayor Bill De Blasio, New York City’s budget deficit exploded. And continued under Mayor Eric Adams.

Now the Communist Zohran Mamdani is in charge of New York City. And he want’s to do what every Communist does. Steal money from the producers. Be prepared for New York City’s to eventually go bankrupt, since Mayor Mamdani will drive out the individuals and corporations that generate the tax revenue.

Horrible.

Lying Mamdani’s phony budget crisis is cover to raise taxes on New Yorkers to pay for his ‘free stuff’ agenda

Mayor Zohran Mamdani assembled the City Hall press corps Wednesday to announce his shock at finding a $12 billion budget hole . . . that everyone worth his salt has been flagging for a year.

Heck, a hole that Mayor Eric Adams warned about in 2023 at the height of, and as a result of, the migrant crisis.

Mamdani’s pretend budget crisis (more threatening than the Great Recession, he claims) is designed purely to gin up support for soak-the-rich tax hikes to fund his promised billions in new spending.

(Or, if the city’s lucky enough, to give him an excuse for failing to deliver on his promises.)

He’s trying to avoid an outright break with Gov. Kathy Hochul, but wants his allies in the Legislature to bully her into OK’ing state corporate and personal-income tax hikes even though she knows that could threaten her re-election hopes.

Read more.

New York Mayor Mamdani says city must hike taxes on wealthy to fill $12 billion deficit

  • New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the Big Apple’s wealthiest residents must pay more in taxes to help close a looming budget deficit that tops $12 billion.
  • Mamdani, a Democrat, downplayed fears from some of the city’s business elite that tax hikes will lead to capital flight.
  • He pointed to potential budget savings, citing the Adams administration launching a “basically unusable” AI chatbot that reportedly cost about $600,000 to develop.

By CNBC, Jan 28th, 2025

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday said the city’s wealthiest must pay more in taxes to help fill the staggering budget deficit of more than $12 billion that he was left by his predecessor.

“This is at a scale that’s actually greater than what we saw here in New York City during the Great Recession,” Mamdani said of that budget hole during an interview with CNBC “Squawk Box” co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin at City Hall.

Read more.

AUTHOR

Geller Report Staff

POSTS ON X:

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

BREAKING: Republicans Defect as Senate Funding Vote Fails, Making Shutdown Likely

By The Daily Signal

Eight Senate Republicans joined Democrats in blocking a six-bill funding package Thursday, greatly increasing the probability of a partial government shutdown.

The Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to end debate on a package which would fund the State Department and financial regulators, as well as agencies overseeing homeland security, war, education, labor, health, and housing.

All Senate Democrats opposed ending debate on the bill, as leaders demanded restraints on federal immigration enforcement.

Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Mike Lee of Utah criticized earmarks in the package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., voted no in order to make a motion to reconsider.

Passage would have approved the federal government’s discretionary funding for fiscal year 2026. The government’s spending authority for these areas expires at midnight on Jan. 30.

On Wednesday, Schumer and leading Democrats demanded a separate vote on the homeland security funding bill while pledging support for the remaining five bills funding other federal agencies.

Leading Democrats had previously granted their blessing to the homeland security bill, which was written by a bicameral, bipartisan group. However, they have rescinded their support since the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis during an interaction with federal officers.

Schumer also requested negotiations to insert new policies into the homeland security bill, such as requirements that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers obtain warrants for deportations and show their faces.

On Thursday morning, Politico and The Hill, citing anonymous sources, reported that Democrats were in negotiations with the White House about averting a shutdown.

Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for confirmation of the negotiations.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday morning that, instead of seeking amendments to the homeland security bill passed by the House, Democrats should negotiate with the White House.

“I think right now the conversation should be between the White House and Democrats,” Thune said.

“If there’s a way that the Democrats have things that they want, the White House could accommodate short of modifying the bill, that’s the best way to do what we need to do here, which is to make sure the government is funded.”

When asked to confirm or deny the reporting of negotiations, a White House official told The Daily Signal, “President Trump has been consistent – he wants the government to remain open, and the Administration has been working with both parties to ensure the American people don’t have to endure another shutdown. A shutdown would risk disaster response funding and more vital resources for the American people.”

After the vote, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., argued his decision to vote against cloture was consistent with his principle of never shutting down the government, saying Thursday’s defections were “part of a conversation.”

Fetterman said he believes “most people want to see” a deal involving a five-bill spending package and a funding extension for DHS.

Asked by The Daily Signal if he thought Congress could reach a deal in 24 hours, Fetterman replied, “Geez, I mean, this is the Senate. Are you crazy? I mean, I would love that, but that would be a new experience for my three years here when something normal could happen.”

AUTHOR

Democrats Plan To Shutdown ICE Funding Has Already Been Foiled

By The Daily Caller

The Democrats’ effort to block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations fight has so far failed to derail ICE funding.

In July, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, setting aside roughly $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security, including about $75  billion in supplemental funding for ICE, making it one of the most heavily funded federal law enforcement agencies.

Even if parts of the federal government shut down at the end of the week, ICE and CBP operations in Minneapolis and across the country are expected to continue uninterrupted. ICE agents are classified as “excepted” workers, allowing them to remain on duty during a funding lapse, and the agency still has substantial carryover funds from last year’s Trump-backed appropriations.

Although Democrats’ attempt to curtail ICE funding has not prevailed, outrage over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti — a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse killed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis over the weekend — has escalated tensions in Congress.

This is just narrative building. ICE is funded through the OBBBA. If Ds make demands in DHS they’ll be threatening airline travel and storm clean-up. “Democrats support ice,” will be the line. If they want “significant policy changes,” they’ll need to give on sanctuary cities. https://t.co/eP7FvUE7gx

— Mike Fragoso (@mike_frags) January 26, 2026

Pretti’s death incident has sparked intensified scrutiny of ICE and CBP operations nationwide, with Senate Democrats warning they will oppose the DHS funding bill unless it is reworked to include meaningful limits on immigration enforcement — a standoff that could help trigger a partial government shutdown as the funding deadline looms. (RELATED: Minnesota Judge Threatens To Hold ICE Head In Contempt)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Saturday in a post on X that Democrats will withhold the votes needed to advance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding measure unless it is revised to address concerns over ICE and other immigration enforcement practices, highlighting growing resistance within his party to including DHS funding in the broader appropriations package.

What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling—and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to…

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 24, 2026

Although ICE would continue operating during a shutdown, Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Texas Rep. Greg Casar, have argued since the fatal Alex Pretti shooting that the funding bill goes beyond immigration enforcement and have demanded changes to DHS and ICE policies as a condition for their support.

On Jan. 13, Casar, urged Senate Democrats to insist on reforms to ICE before they vote for a major spending bill.

Casar laid out a series of nonnegotiable demands for changes to ICE’s operations as part of any DHS funding bill, calling for federal immigration agents to withdraw from Minneapolis and halt similar operations in other cities and for independent investigations into any deaths involving federal agents, according to an interview with The Guardian.

This week, the Senate will debate whether to appropriate $10 billion for ICE. Keep in mind the BBB gave ICE about $18.7 billion per year for 4 years. So, even if we don’t vote to provide ICE with additional funding, ICE would still have 87% more funding this year than last year.

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 26, 2026

The White House and Republicans both contacted Senate Democrats late Sunday, but no realistic solutions have been proposed so far, according to a PBS News report, citing an anonymous Senate Democratic leadership aide.

Although the shooting has sharply escalated tensions in Congress, Republicans have resisted separating DHS funding from the larger spending package, and operations by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are still expected to continue uninterrupted — in part because both agencies are funded as “essential” through carryover appropriations.

The legislation also provides funding for agencies like Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — especially important as 12 states remain under disaster declarations — and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is already grappling with major travel disruptions. As a result, failing to pass the bill could have serious consequences for essential government services unrelated to immigration.

A spokesperson for Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, when asked about the ongoing talks with Democrat leadership, told the Daily Caller that Democrats have already acknowledged ICE would continue operating even if part of the government shuts down. He reiterated that the funding covers more than just immigration enforcement.

“Democrats themselves have said for weeks that ICE would still continue its operations during a shutdown. But the DHS bill includes so much more than that — FEMA, with 12 states under disaster declarations, and TSA, while airports are dealing with the most cancellations since the Schumer shutdown, will be greatly impacted. What Democrats want are policy changes, yet they themselves negotiated these appropriations bills, and there were House Democrats who supported homeland security appropriations in the House even after the Renee Good shooting,” the spokesperson said.

The Caller reached out to Schumer’s office to ask whether he has had any discussions with the White House or Senate GOP leadership, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

AUTHOR

Ashley Brasfield

Reporter

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RELATED VIDEO: President Trump Delivers Remarks, Jan. 27, 2026

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

Instant Multi-Millionaire Ilhan Omar’s $5 Million Fake Winery

By The Geller Report

Omar’s 2024 disclosure lists her spouse Tim Mynett’s eStCru LLC stake in Santa Rosa, California, valued between $1 million and $5 million, up sharply from $15,001-$50,000 the year before. The winery shows signs of inactivity—no working phone, empty parking lot, dormant social media—while Mynett faced a settled investor fraud lawsuit and a separate debt claim. House Oversight Chairman James Comer launched a review of her wealth rise from near-zero to $6-30 million, tying it to Minnesota fraud reports, as Trump called for DOJ scrutiny; Omar calls the claims misreadings of broad disclosure ranges.

One of their fake wine labels was called “The Devil’s Lie.”

If it walks like a thief and steals like a thief, innocence becomes a performance—and the contempt unmistakable.

President Donald Trump said the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar over the Minnesota Democrat’s personal wealth, escalating his attacks against a political rival he has said should be deported.

Trump announced the move in a Jan. 26 post on Truth Social, saying the Justice Department and Congress “are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”

All who are watching the Somali fraud are more than a little bit suspicious.

New York Post: President Trump confirmed Monday that the Department of Justice and Congress are investigating “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s skyrocketing net worth — after The Post revealed House Republicans would be taking a look at the Minnesota Democrat and her investor husband’s finances. The president — who has previously called for Omar to be jailed or deported to her birth country of Somalia — revealed the federal and congressional inquiries after dispatching border czar Tom Homan to ease tensions in Minnesota related to Saturday’s fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by a federal immigration officer.

New York Post: An earlier piece quantifies the growth: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) reported a net worth of up to $30 million in her latest financial disclosure — a document filed just months after the congresswoman dismissed claims she was a millionaire as “ridiculous” and “categorically false.” The disclosure, filed in May, shows the far-left “Squad” lawmaker and her husband, Tim Mynett, experienced a roughly 3,500% increase in net worth last year, compared to 2023.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

RELATED ARTICLES:

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

Led by Johnson, House Completes Improbable Budgeting Sweep

By Family Research Council

Greenland, Venezuela, and the president’s spat with Canada may have stolen the world’s attention, but the real revelation may be what’s happening here at home. With the snow on its way and no time to spare, House Republicans accomplished what hasn’t been done since America’s top movie was “Titanic” and dial-up AOL was still cutting-edge technology: they finished a federal budget — just like House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) promised they would.

For the Louisiana leader, witnessing history that hasn’t been made since 1997 had to be one of the most gratifying milestones of his speakership. With a majority as wide as a blade of grass, the idea that anyone — let alone this divided chamber — could put their heads down and unite long enough to do their most basic job is a colossal feat.

Johnson, the perennial underdog, cheered the achievement at a press conference Friday before members hit the road to beat the winter storm. “The naysayers said it couldn’t be done, but they were wrong. House Republicans just finished passing all 12 appropriations bills — restoring regular order, cutting spending, locking in Trump-era priorities, and ending Biden-era budgets. No omnibus. No backroom deals. Just hard work and results. Americans sent us here to fix Washington — and this is how it gets done. Huge credit to [Appropriations Chairman] Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and the House Appropriations team,” he said.

Holding signs that read “12 of 12!” the conservative crew that drove the effort took a victory lap. “We aren’t here for another stopgap or temporary fix,” Cole had insisted on the House floor before the final vote. “We are here to finish the job by providing full-year funding and closing out all 12 bills with certainty and direction. …These bills were written with those priorities in mind.”

When the herculean task was complete, something no oddsmaker would have predicted with Congress’s track record, Cole heaped praise on Johnson. “This speaker is the reason that these 12 bills happened,” Cole declared.

For Johnson, the vindication only builds on his already impressive legacy — not that the humble attorney would admit it. “This is a monumental achievement,” he agreed. “Despite the noise, despite our slim margins, despite the fact that most members in the House have never gone through a regular, member-driven appropriations process before, this team got it done,” he said.

Cole also touted the lower price tag of this year’s basket of funding. “Republicans set out to spend less — and total FY26 funding does just that.We committed to codifying DOGE cuts — and these bills cut waste and rein in government bloat.” He paused and added, “This is what responsible governance looks like. This measure is the product of sustained engagement and serious legislating. It advances reforms, delivers full-year funding, and reflects a Congress doing its job.”

In a rare spirit of compromise, several Democrats also joined the unlikely return to governing, supporting most packages by a surprising margin, messaging that they, too, had secured some wins. Even Democrat Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), ranking appropriator, cheered the passage. “We got the bills done, and we came out very well, and that should be proof enough that we need to make the process work,” she said.

For both sides, the eagerness to avoid another government shutdown was a powerful motivator after the political pain of last year’s. But they aren’t out of the woods yet.

The Senate, which spent the last 10 days in recess, will come back to a pile of work — and very little time to do it. Six of the 12 appropriations bills still need the chamber’s approval — including some of the most contentious budgets. But, as The Washington Times points out, Johnson did everything he could to lighten the load by splitting the six bills into two more manageable packages. With the January 30 deadline breathing down Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) neck, “Senators will have to take a big swing at passing all six bills before sending them to President Donald Trump’s desk,” Politico explains. But the fact that we’re even talking about that prospect, the outlet acknowledged, “would be a stunning feat for lawmakers and leadership — especially in such a bitterly divided Congress.”

Reflecting on last week, the speaker took his usual humble, future-looking posture. Sitting down with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Saturday’s “This Week on Capitol Hill,” he pointed to the high stakes of the election. “We must continue what we’ve been working on, continue to move forward. … We passed the House appropriations bills through the House … [in] regular order. [It’s the] first time in many years that’s happened,” he noted. “We’re rebuilding the muscle memory, as I like to say, and it’s a great advancement to returning power to the people and being better stewards of taxpayer funds.”

And yet, with 11 months until a very significant election, it’s still a daunting task to lead this group, Perkins noted. True, the speaker nodded. “But you know, Scripture says you don’t worry about tomorrow. You focus on the troubles of today because the day has enough. And we do that hour by hour, day by day, in faith and in prayer. We walk forward, we advance these priorities. … And we demonstrate day by day that we’re doing the right thing for the right reason. And I think the voters are going to reward that,” he predicted. “I don’t think they want the chaos and the communism that comes with today’s Democrat[ic] Party. I think they want us to continue to fulfill our promises. And that’s what we’ve done so far. That’s what we’ll do this year. And that will be rewarded at the ballot box.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Defense Watchdog’s Audit Finds 245% Increase in Remote DOD Workers after Biden Ordered Their Return to Offices

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 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.

Leadership Needed Not Positional Holders

By Lyle J. Rapacki, Ph.D.

We are facing a time of great change and uncertainty in our nation; so much so that the very fabric of our beloved country stands the chance of unraveling. One reason for concern is the lack of true leadership throughout the strata of our country – from local arenas to boardrooms, from the halls of capitals to the halls of education, a vacuum now stands where once the giant leaders of our society kept vigil.

We are experiencing a generation coming of age that was raised on materialism and selfish gain. These folks are positioning themselves at a time in their lives when they will be assuming the mantels of leadership. What follows them (and already evident) is their personal philosophy of leadership. What we may very well be receiving from them is a form of leadership that historically contributes to the unraveling of a society’s fabric.

“Healthy” leaders strive to accomplish a mission, and in doing so, recognize that selfish and personal agendas are a poison to the mission – unless that mission is to perpetuate the leader. Healthy leaders develop a vision with an eye on a mission that brings others into that mission and eventually allows them to share in the vision. By working toward a mutual vision, the leader has invited the followers to be partakers in the fruits of the labor. Historically, and in every society, there are leaders and then there are followers. This is a fact and reality of human nature. A follower wants to know they can trust the leader, believe in his goals and values, and be a part of a mission that makes a genuine positive difference.

Peter Drucker, leadership observer and writer taught, “the foundation of effective leadership is thinking through the mission, defining and establishing it clearly and visibly. What distinguishes a true leader from a manager in a leadership role are his goals. Whether the compromise he makes with the constraints of reality are compatible with his mission and goals or lead away from them, this will help determine an effective leader. Whether he holds fast to a few basic standards (exemplifying them in his own conduct), or whether ‘standards’ for him are what he can get away with. This helps determine whether the leader has true followers or mere hypocritical time servers waiting for their own slice of the pie.”

People are desperately looking to follow a leader with principles. They want to again believe in the leader who makes personal integrity a product of his vision. When a person in a leadership role no longer thinks of what’s best for the greater good, what’s best for the workers and those for whom they work, then commitment breaks down, and people consider only what’s in their personal interest, no longer the best interest of the organization or the customer, or in the matter of elected service, the best interest of the citizens whom the elected official represents – even those who did not vote for the elected official.

We are at a pivotal point in our nation. We need leaders with whom we feel confident that they care about their vision and goals, but those visions and goals include WE THE PEOPLE and our welfare.

I have been taught that what I do matters less than who I am as a person. How I do things matters as much as for whom I do them. I think our nation is ready for leaders who are genuine. I think we are ready for leaders who are not afraid of being real and vulnerable, who we can trust, and who align themselves with truth and pay the price of living lives of integrity. I think we are ready for leaders who are willing to build an authentic environment of grace from which followers can succeed – even when they mess up.

©2026 All rights reserved.


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German Chancellor Admits Europe ‘Wasted Incredible Potential’ By Bureaucracy, Over-Regulation

By The Daily Caller

German Chancellor Freidrich Merz told the World Economic Forum (WEF) that Germany and the European Union (EU) have “wasted incredible potential” during his speech Thursday.

Merz, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the EU has wasted its potential for growth by curtailing freedom and responsibility.

“Both Germany and Europe have wasted incredible potential for growth in recent years by dragging feet on reforms and unnecessarily and excessively curtailing entrepreneurial freedoms and personal responsibility,” the Chancellor stated in his remarks to the WEF in Davos, Switzerland. “We are going to change that now.”

“We must reduce bureaucracy substantially in Europe,” Merz continued. “The single market was once created to form the most competitive economic area in the world. Instead, we have become the world champion of over-regulation. That has to end.”

German Chancellor Merz admits:

Both Germany and Europe have wasted incredible potential for growth in recent years by dragging their feet on reforms and by unnecessarily and excessively curtailing entrepreneurial freedom and personal responsibility.

We must substantially… pic.twitter.com/BSQib4BWqZ

— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 22, 2026

“Security and predictability take precedence over excessive regulation and misplaced perfection,” he added.

Merz also stated in his speech that Europe “is not at the mercy” of what he described as a “new world order.”

“The old world order is unraveling at breathtaking pace. We have entered an era where only power counts, a dangerous place,” the chancellor said, according to multiple outlets. “We [Europe] do not have to accept this new reality as fate.”

Merz recently admitted the country’s shutdown of nuclear power plants was a “serious strategic mistake” in a speech to the German Chamber of Industry.

The chancellor said in November 2025 that he would “begin discussing repatriation of Syrians in Germany,” after previously refusing to work with a right-wing party advocating for the policy.

AUTHOR

Jack Cowhick

Contributor

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


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WATCH LIVE: President Trump Addresses Davos

By The Geller Report

He’s killing it. President Trump is addressing the World Economic Forum, the exclusive annual gathering of world leaders, policymakers and business figures in Davos, Switzerland.

WATCH: President Trump Delivers a Special Address to the World Economic Forum

CBS: The crowd of world leaders, business executives and others in Davos remained silent during the beginning of Mr. Trump’s address to the World Economic Forum, without clapping, as he described his transformation of the U.S. federal government and relations with Europe.

Trump took the stage at Davos, addressing, “so many friends, a few enemies,” he said.

“It’s a who’s who, I will say that,” he said.

Mr. Trump spoke in a measured tone as he described the “miracle taking place,” touting a long list of what he framed as his administration’s economic successes.

Economy:

“The United States is in the midst of the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in country’s history.”

Mr. Trump began his speech by touting the completion of his first year in office, and a “booming” economy. He noted stock market highs, economic growth and strong 401(k) growth.

“People are doing very well, they’re very happy with me,” he said.

Core inflation last 3 months: 1.6%

Q4 GDP projected: +5.4%

Trump: “Far greater than anyone other than myself predicted.”

Trump on the burgeoning US economy in Davos ‘Instead of hiring bureaucrats we’re firing them”

In 12 months, the Trump administration has removed 270K+ bureaucrats from the payroll, cut federal spending by $100B, slashed the federal budget deficit by 27%, cut 129 regulations for every ONE new regulation approved, passed the largest tax cuts in history, and so much more.

Tariffs:

Live blogging highlights:

“The USA is the economic engine of the planet, and when America booms, the entire world booms.

History shows that when America goes bad, the whole world goes bad.

When we go down, you follow us down. When we go up, you follow us up”

“I ended eight wars … and without trade and tariffs you wouldn’t have been able to end any of them … But they’ve brought hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into the United States Treasury…”

On Europe:

“Frankly, many parts of our world are being destroyed and the leaders don’t even UNDERSTAND what’s happening! And the ones that DO understand won’t do

“Certain places in Europe are not even recognizable anymore. And that’s not in a positive way. That’s in a very negative way. And I love Europe, and I want to see Europe go good. But it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Mr. Trump said he wanted to discuss in Davos, “how we want to raise living standards for our citizens,” and how European countries could emulate the U.S., because “certain places in Europe are not even recognizable.”

“I don’t want to insult anybody, and I say I don’t recognize it, and that’s not in a positive way. That’s in a very negative way. And I love Europe and I want to see Europe do good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Mr. Trump said many Western governments had turned their back on, “everything that makes nations rich and powerful and strong.”

“Quite frankly, many parts of our world are being destroyed before our very eyes, and the leaders don’t even understand what’s happening, and the ones that do understand aren’t doing anything about it.”

On Crytpo:

“I’m also working to ensure America remains the Crypto Capital of the World… Congress is working very hard on Crypto market structure legislation, which I hope to sign very soon, unlocking new pathways for Americans to reach financial freedom.”

On windmills:

President Trump calld out the “stupid people” who support wind energy in Davos

“China is smart. They make windmills, sell ’em for a fortune, and sell ’em to the STUPID PEOPLE that buy them!”

Trump said, China builds them, sells them but they don’t use them. They don’t use windmill energy.

“Windmills all over Europe, all over the place, and they are LOSERS. One thing I’ve learned: the more windmills a country has, the more money that country LOSES. CHINA makes almost all the windmills, and yet I haven’t been able to find any wind farms in China!”

“The greatest HOAX in history, the Green New Scam. Windmills, destroy your land! Every time that goes around you lose $1,000. You’re supposed to MAKE money with energy, not LOSE money!”

Trump lauds his tariffs and says Venezuela will do “fantastically well”

Trump says his tariffs have enabled U.S. to “radically reduce our ballooning trade deficit”

The president touted his administration’s trade agreements with other countries, including European nations, Japan and South Korea, and said they “raise growth and cause stock markets to boom, not only in the U.S., but in virtually every country that came to make a deal. Because as you’ve learned, when the United States goes up, you follow.”

He said Venezuela has “got problems, but we’re helping them,” claiming that after the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela will “be making more money than they’ve made in a long time. Venezuela is going to do fantastically well.”

“The attack ended and they said: ‘let’s make a deal,” Mr. Trump said.

Greenland:

Greenland is a vast, almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped territory. It is sitting undefended in a key strategic location between the U.S., Russia, and China.

This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America — on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere.

It is a core national security interest of the U.S. — and in fact, has been our policy for hundreds of years to prevent outside threats from entering our hemisphere.

Donald J. Trump said that no country—and no alliance of countries—has the capacity to defend Greenland except the United States, arguing that the island’s security is inseparable from America’s own.

Speaking to a crowd, Trump opened with a light moment—joking about whether he should address Greenland—before turning serious. He said he holds “tremendous respect” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, but stressed that every NATO ally must be capable of defending its territory, something Greenland cannot do on its own.

Trump warned that the world is far more dangerous than it was in the past, citing advanced missile systems, nuclear threats, and emerging weapons “I can’t even talk about,” and argued that Greenland’s vulnerability makes it a strategic liability.

He rejected claims that U.S. interest in Greenland is about rare earth minerals, insisting instead that geography and security are decisive. Greenland, he said, is “an enormous, unsecured island” on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere—effectively part of North America—and therefore falls within America’s strategic responsibility.

“This isn’t about resources,” Trump made clear. “It’s about security.”

“This would not be a threat to NATO – this would greatly enhance the security of the entire alliance.”

“You need the ownership to defend it,” the president said. “You can’t defend it on a lease. Number one, legally it’s not defensible in that way, totally. And psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?”

“All we want from Denmark for national and international security and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay is this land on which we’re going to build the greatest golden dome ever built,” he said, referring to his plans for a missile defense system.

He then lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying the U.S. would use ownership of Greenland to defend the neighboring country.

“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful, but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful.”

Trump to Carney: “Canada lives because of us. Mark, remember that before you make those speeches.”

NATO:

President Trump says the US gives “so much” to NATO and gets “so little” in return.

Trump has said the US annexation of Greenland would “greatly enhance the security” of NATO.

He said the US was “treated very unfairly by NATO”.

“We give so much and we get so little in return,” he said.

Trump says NATO has never given America anything and now he’s calling in the debt.

“The problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them, 100%, but I’m not sure they’ll be there for us,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re not there for us on Iceland [Greenland],” the president said, “I can tell you, our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland [Greenland].”

Mr. Trump said the U.S. had “never asked for anything else” apart from Greenland.

“You can say yes and we’ll be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember. A strong and secure America means a strong NATO, and that’s one reason why I’m working every day to ensure our military is very powerful, our borders are very strong, and above all our economy is strong, because national security requires economic security and economic prosperity.”

On credit card interest rates:

“The profit margin for credit card companies now exceeds 50%, and they charge Americans interest rates of 28%… So, to help our citizens recover from the Biden disaster… I’m asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.”

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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

Trump and America

By Lyle J. Rapacki, Ph.D.

One year ago, Donald Trump took the Oath of Office to become the 47th President of the United States. There was an acute mixture of loathing and pure hatred along with hope and relief in that room. There were those present working to neuter Trump so they could collapse America into the global community and eliminate the strength America has represented for nearly 250 years since the Revolution gaining our independence and sovereignty. There were those present whose hearts beat with joy and hope that this man would restore American greatness (not American arrogance); hope that nations who chose could follow and even submit (cooperate) to America’s ideals; hope that Americans from coast-to-coast could once again celebrate the goodness, gifts and blessings this exceptional nation was granted by the Lord at our founding and rising to become the light on a hill other nations could emulate.

The picture above is that of the American eagle, our flag and two powerful military jets. This is a picture of strength and determination; not a wavering merely pretty picture but beautiful in addition to the power and majesty presented. Trump took the podium on his inauguration to state clearly to friend and foe alike, America is back! America’s strength, resolve, perseverance, depth of endurance is back! The establishment and globalists in that audience and across the world watching were angry beyond description. Their efforts to destroy this man and prevent his inauguration were temporarily sidelined, and they were seething behind smiles and public gestures of politeness. The past year has proven my point. The less than formal civil war to which we are engaged in is the planned ruination of America and minimizing President’s Trump’s influence, and there is more to come, even more brazenly and harmfully.

Let me be candid. Donald Trump does not walk on water; he is not perfect nor is he without presenting frustrations. But I strongly believe, like the men who sat in Independence Hall who debated, and formed our exceptional nation, they would not consider themselves heroes, but men placed in extraordinary circumstances that required extraordinary cooperation with what God was calling them to accomplish. Today in America, we need an army of such men and women willing to submit (cooperate) with the founding principles, not the present-day diluting and erasing taking place. We need people who will stand for truth as servant leaders with great courage and conviction to defend the documents and ideals that made this nation exceptional, unlike any other across the globe. We need ordinary heroes who are willing to pay the price to bring this nation back to our foundational principles.

One year ago today a businessman, not a life-long politician, was sworn into public office with the promise he would return American sovereignty, American stability financially and culturally. He swore to uphold the very Constitution our Forefathers fought for and gave so much for including their lives, their fortunes and their families. He asked if we would come along? Would we stand firm and resolute to allow the eagle to fly high representing strength and fierce determination? Would we fly our American Flag representing the union of states; the red stripes symbolizing valor, white stripes purity, the blue background representing vigilance, perseverance and justice? Would we pause and give thanks for the magnificent jets and military our nation produces giving assurance that we shall stand against evil no matter where, no matter whom, no matter when?

Then stand!

©2026 All rights reserved.


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4 Ways Trump Has Dismantled the ‘Deep State’ Since Inauguration

By The Daily Signal

On the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second term inauguration, here are four ways he has dismantled the deep state in Washington.

1. Reinstating ‘Schedule F’

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to reinstate Schedule F, which makes it easier for the president to fire bureaucrats.

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This reclassified about 50,000 career civil servants in “policy-influencing” roles as at-will employees.

The executive order said that accountability was lacking in the federal bureaucracy.

“In recent years, however, there have been numerous and well-documented cases of career Federal employees resisting and undermining the policies and directives of their executive leadership,” the order said.

“Principles of good administration, therefore, necessitate action to restore accountability to the career civil service, beginning with positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.”

2. DOGE

The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly reduced federal employment by about 271,000 jobs.

DOGE also provided a list of 9,474 contracts and vehicles that have been terminated by the department.

In the spirit of DOGE, the Trump administration cut off the funding streams for immigration groups that moved illegal aliens across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency clawed back extravagant grants to climate alarmist groups. The State Department shuttered the U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentCongress finally cut off funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

3. Shutdown Cuts

During the recent government shutdown, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought cut $8 billion of blue-state energy projects.

“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” Vought said.

In addition, the Department of Transportation sent letters to the Chicago Transit Authority informing it that two projects receiving a total of $2.1 billion in federal funding were under administrative review, for race and sex-based contracting practices that potentially violated the Constitution.

4. Investigating ‘Deep State’ Abuses

In July, a CIA report found that John Brennan, the agency’s director in the Obama administration, overrode internal concerns to claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

The agency’s current director John Ratcliffe ordered the review. It found that evidence used by Brennan to show that Russian President Vladimir Putin was aiding Trump in the 2016 election was rushed, restricted in its access, and disseminated too widely for a highly classified report.

“Central to the judgment that Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win was one highly classified CIA report,” the report said. “Brennan had tightly restricted access to this information within CIA; it had been collected in July but not disseminated in CIA serialized reporting until the week of 19 December.”

The review notes that “media leaks” indicated intelligence agencies “had already reached definitive conclusions risked creating an anchoring bias” before “work on the assessment even began.”

AUTHOR

Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell

Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell is the White House Correspondent for “The Daily Signal.” Send her an email. Elizabeth on X: @TheElizMitchell.

Schumer Vows to Reverse DOGE Cuts and Expand Spending if They Win Midterms

By The Geller Report

Chuck Schumer announces Democrats will reverse all DOGE cuts made under President Trump if they win the 2026 midterms.

What rational American, hell, what rational human being would vote for waste, fraud and corruption? If they win, it’s election fraud.

Senate Minority Leader Schumer targets Transportation, Housing and Urban Development programs in spending talks

By Leo Briceno, Fox News, anuary 16, 2026 7:19pm EST

Chuck Schumer says he aims to undo DOGE cuts to HUD programs and even expand them

The Senate minority Leader aims to implement his plan through bipartisan negotiations on future funding packages. (Credit: Center For American Progress)

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would press to restore funding cut by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and even add to the original amounts.

Schumer made the comments when he was asked Thursday if he would work to replenish funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at a forum held by the Center for American Progress.

“If you look at the budget we’re working on right now, we restore most of the cuts. And even go higher than previous years on many of the programs that DOGE slashed,” Schumer said.

“We have worked really hard and gotten bipartisan support to increase these amounts and undo a lot of the cuts which are essential.”

He did not describe which specific programs he hopes to supplement.

Lawmakers have not yet released a final text for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill for 2026. The Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed a plan that would increase its fiscal year 2026 funding by $5 billion over fiscal 2025 levels.

Since the Trump administration began making cuts through DOGE, Democrats like Schumer have largely condemned them, calling them an attack on government resources and services.

Republicans, by contrast, have framed the effort as a way to remove waste, fraud and abuse. According to the DOGE website, the group believes it has eliminated $215 billion in waste.

Republicans made $115 billion of those spending reductions official through a bill passed last year.

Since then, lawmakers have not advanced another rescissions package, a bill that helps lawmakers fast-track spending reductions at the request of the president.

Republicans like Aaron Bean, R-Fla., chairman of the House DOGE Caucus, say the GOP’s cost-cutting efforts are still ongoing in the background.

“DOGE is still alive,” Bean told Fox News Digital in December. “We’re going to get it rocking. I think that will come down the road.”

Bean noted that several pressing issues have captured Congress’ attention in the last few months.

“I think, you know, the shutdown set everybody back a little bit. These credits, with the budget, with everything,” Bean said, referring to the COVID-era Obamacare tax credits that were at the heart of the 2025 government shutdown.

Continue reading.

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

Donalds Has Commanding Lead in Vital Florida Race, Poll Shows

By The Daily Signal

A new poll on Florida’s gubernatorial race shows Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., ahead of his primary challengers by 30% or more.

The Mason-Dixon poll released on Wednesday showed the South-West Florida congressman counting on the support of 37% of Republican voters. Donalds’ closest opponent, current Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, polled at 7%. His other two opponents, former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and businessman James Fishback, polled in at less than 4%.

“Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds is the only proven conservative fighter who can unite Republicans, deliver on the president’s ‘America First’ agenda, crush the Democrats, and make Florida more affordable,” Ryan Smith, chief strategist of the Byron Donalds for Governor campaign, told The Daily Signal. “Anyone running against Byron is an anti-Trump RINO and will be soundly defeated in the Republican primary.”

Donalds has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and a large number of Florida’s elected officials.

“There’s no changing the race, Byron is the Republican nominee and the next governor,” Florida City of Sweetwater Commissioner Ian Vallecillo, who endorsed Donalds early in his campaign, told The Daily Signal.

“This late in the race, there’s no way these guys will make up for lost time,” he added. “And another thing to point out is that whoever Trump backs, is going to win. Especially in Florida, Florida is Trump country. People like Byron. He’s tough, he’s decisive, and he gets the job done. He will have around 60-70% of the vote in the August primary,” Vallecillo added.

Nevertheless, the Mason-Dixie poll found that 49% of Republicans remain undecided.

Fishback, who polled in at 3%, told The Daily Signal he remains optimistic despite the recent polling results.

“This time last year Zohran Mamdani was polling in the single digits. Now he is Mayor of New York,” Fishback said. “I will beat Byron Donalds, not by outspending him, but by out-working him.”

Fishback stated he plans on visiting all of Florida’s 67 counties, something Donalds “refuses to do.”

“No county is too big or too small for me to visit and hear from Floridians about what keeps them up at night and gets them out of bed in the morning,” Fishback added.

Fishback, who is 1% behind Renner, hinted that the former Florida speaker of the House from 2022 to 2024 could soon resign from the race.

“Voters and voters alone will decide the future of my opponents.”

Collins and Renner did not reply to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Pedro Rodriguez

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a 2026 journalism fellow at The Daily Signal.

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


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Where is Messaging and Support from Republicans in Congress About Violence Against ICE in Minneapolis?

By Royal A. Brown III

U.S. Republican Representatives and Senators,

  • What would you do and say if so called “peaceful protestors” were smashing into your vehicles and stealing contents like documents and even legal weapons and ammunition?
  • What would you do if attacked and injured by “peaceful protestors” with snow shovels and broom sticks?
  • What would you do if attacked and injured by “peaceful protestors” with their 2 ton vehicle?
  • What would you do if your lawful actions were constantly interrupted by screaming protestors blowing whistles in your face; standing in your way and blocking public roads?
  • What would you do if an elected state Governor and Mayor are fomenting violence against you with their angry and expletive laced remarks to the public?
  • What should you do if US taxpayer funds are being defrauded to the tune of billions thru Medicaid paid to NGOs, so called non-profits, learing centers for children, etc.

All of these unlawful actions above are being taken by “peaceful” demonstrators in Minneapolis; against ICE, DHS and FBI agents lawfully conducting their duties by Gov Walz and Mayor Frey and by the large (90,000) Somali community which block votes for Democrats. These unlawful actions have been documented with videos and are 100% factual.

So where is the messaging against all this and in favor of ICE, DHS and FBI actions in Minnesota from you – the Republicans in US Congress?

Is it now necessary for President Trump to use the “Insurrection Act” to federalize the Minnesota National Guard and/or bring in U.S. military?

Your lack of support thru silence in messaging for POTUS Trump, DHS Secretary Noem, and ICE actions in Minnesota is not what the law abiding, hard working, tax paying, US Citizens are expecting.

Thank God for brave whistle blowers David Hoch and Nick Shirley.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

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HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE: Blue State Mass Migration, Mass Fraud and Spending, Permanent Control

By Amil Imani

The Blue State Hegemony and the Systematic Siphoning of America

 The American political landscape is not shifting by accident; it is being terraformed. While mainstream media pundits discuss “swing voters” and “campaign strategies,” a much more calculated and cold-blooded operation is underway. Every major Blue State stronghold — from the decaying urban cores of the Northeast to the Pacific coast — has secured a permanent Democratic hegemony through a two-pronged assault: the strategic importation of millions of foreigners and the systematic siphoning of billions in taxpayer wealth to fund them.

This isn’t a “humanitarian crisis.” It is a structural coup.

The primary objective of any political machine is self-preservation. For the modern Democratic Party, the traditional American voter — invested in property rights, border security, and fiscal restraint — has become an obstacle. To bypass this, Blue States have turned to a “replacement strategy.”

By maintaining “Sanctuary” status, these jurisdictions have effectively signaled that federal immigration law does not apply within their borders. This creates a massive “pull factor,” drawing in millions of individuals who are entirely dependent on the administrative state from the moment they cross the threshold.

The immediate political payoff is found in Census Apportionment. The U.S. Constitution mandates that congressional seats be allocated based on total population, not citizen population. By packing millions of non-citizens into states like California and New York, Blue States have artificially inflated their number of House seats and Electoral College votes. This is a direct theft of political representation from Red States. For every million illegal arrivals, a Blue State gains a legislative hammer they can use to smash the interests of the American interior.

The second phase of this operation is the “Fiscal Siphon.” To maintain a permanent client class, Blue States must provide an endless stream of “benefits.” This is not charity; it is a transfer of wealth from the productive middle class to a foreign-born population that serves as the party’s future voting base.

The numbers are staggering: in states like Illinois and New York, billions of dollars are diverted from crumbling infrastructure, veteran services, and public safety to fuel a multi-front fiscal siphon. Major cities have moved beyond mere shelters, seizing luxury hotels and issuing direct cash assistance to migrants through programs like New York’s prepaid debit card initiative, often at rates that critics argue rival or exceed the Social Security checks of American seniors.

Simultaneously, California has led the charge in healthcare expansion by opening state-funded Medicaid (Medi-Cal) to all low-income residents regardless of status, a move that the U.S. House Committee on the Budget estimates will cost taxpayers billions annually. This financial burden extends heavily into the classroom, where local school districts are being crushed by the cost of English as a Second Language (ESL) programs and specialized administrative burdens, a reality the Congressional Budget Office acknowledges places a significant strain on state and local outlays. This massive redirection of wealth effectively forces property taxes through the roof, pricing native-born families out of their own neighborhoods to fund a system that prioritizes foreign nationals over its own citizens.

This fiscal drain serves a dual purpose: it sustains the new arrivals while simultaneously driving out the dissenting middle class. As the tax-paying “opposition” flees for the South or the Heartland, the Blue State hegemony becomes even more concentrated and unchallenged.

To facilitate this hegemony, the legal system itself has been weaponized. Blue State prosecutors and governors have created a two-tiered justice system. On one hand, the citizen is burdened with every regulation, tax code, and statute on the books. On the other, the “imported” class is shielded from deportation, even when committing violent crimes, under the guise of “equity” and “sanctuary.”

This lawlessness is a feature, not a bug. It demoralizes the citizenry and creates an environment where the state is the only source of order and provision. When the government controls the housing, the food, and the legal status of a massive, concentrated population, it doesn’t need to win arguments; it simply needs to maintain the dependency.

The ultimate goal is the creation of a “Client State.” This is a society where the government no longer serves the people, but rather the people serve the government’s need for power. By importing millions of individuals who have no historical or cultural ties to American constitutionalism, Blue States are building a population that views the government not as a protector of rights, but as a provider of “stuff.”

Once these populations are granted amnesty — which is the inevitable “Phase 3” of the Democratic plan — the electoral map will be permanently locked. There will be no “swing states” left. The billions siphoned from taxpayers today are the down payment on a one-party socialist future.

The evidence is undeniable. The “Blue State Model” is a parasite-host relationship where the taxpayer is drained to fund a demographic transformation that will eventually disenfranchise them entirely. This is not a conspiracy theory; it is the stated policy of mayors and governors from Los Angeles to Manhattan.

The billions of dollars being siphoned are not “going to waste” — they are being used to build a political fortress that is designed to be impregnable. If the American taxpayer does not demand an immediate halt to the importation of this foreign client class and a total cessation of taxpayer-funded incentives, the hegemony will be complete.

The choice is simple: either restore the border and the budget, or accept a future as a second-class citizen in a country your taxes built for someone else.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

White House Creates DOJ Anti-Fraud Task Force to Protect Taxpayer Dollars

By Family Research Council

Decades of lax immigration policy have resulted in widespread welfare fraud in the U.S., robbing taxpayers of billions of dollars, but President Donald Trump is equipping the Justice Department to target abuse and protect Americans’ investments in state and federal programs. Vice President J.D. Vance announced Thursday that the White House is creating a new role in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), an assistant attorney general (AAG) responsible for investigating and prosecuting fraud across the country, answering directly to the president and vice president.

“We are creating a new assistant attorney general position who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud,” Vance shared in a press conference. “That person’s efforts will start and focus primarily in Minnesota, but it is going to be a nationwide effort, because, unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way.”

“If you’re a young parent struggling to afford child care in the United States of America, there are programs that we have to make it easier for your kids to get in day care, for your kids to get in preschool,” Vance explained. “Those programs should go to American citizens, not be defrauded by Somali immigrants and others, making it hard for you to get the access to the resources you need,” he continued.

Minnesota’s large Somali immigrant community has become the focal point for fraud investigations in recent months, but the vice president noted that bad actors across the nation have defrauded the federal government and various state governments of billions of dollars through abuse of welfare programs. “We know that the fraud isn’t just happening in Minneapolis. It’s also happening in states like Ohio, it’s happening in states like California.”

In a recent example, Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warning of potential fraud affecting child care and nutrition programs in his state. “Washington families deserve to know their tax dollars are paying for real meals and real care, not padding the pockets of scammers,” Baumgartner wrote.

“Minnesota is a cautionary tale for every state: when state authorities fast-track welfare payments with weak front-end controls and lax enforcement, fraudsters will pounce,” he continued. The congressman clarified that he is not alleging wrongdoing on the part of Washington’s state government, but is seeking “independent confirmation that Washington’s safeguards are working, and if they are not, fix the problems now rather than after a headline-grabbing scandal.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who was involved in prosecuting the Feeding Our Future fraud cases in Minnesota, lauded the creation of a new fraud division as “a great idea.” He added, “It’s sad that it’s necessary, but I applaud President Trump and his administration for coming up with that idea.” He continued, “It’s really a shame that hard-earned taxpayer money was just wasted on these fraudsters who just spent millions and millions of dollars to support their lavish lifestyles and took money that was meant to go to feed hungry kids and support people finding housing and such.”

“The fraud in Minnesota was widespread. It was a deep rot. It is a deep rot,” Teirab observed, relying on his four years of experience as an assistant U.S. attorney in Minnesota. “The checks and balances in these programs didn’t work. They were designed to be based on the honor system, and a lot of folks had no virtue and so [they] just stole money. It has to stop, so it’s good that there’s now this new anti-fraud unit,” he continued.

Teirab pointed to the Feeding Our Future case as an example of the rampant fraud committed in Minnesota. “That was the big investigation and prosecution of — now it’s over 70 individuals who stole money from the federal child nutrition program, basically said that they were feeding kids, and it was all a lie. They stole over $250 million,” he recounted. “Now we know that was really just the tip of the iceberg. Now, there [are] all other kinds of fraud that the federal government has charged individuals for.”

A White House fact sheet released Thursday detailed the purpose and responsibilities of the DOJ’s new anti-fraud division. “To combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud in the United States, the DOJ’s new division for national fraud enforcement will enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide,” the White House clarified. “The Assistant Attorney General for this new division will be responsible for leading the Department’s efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government, Federally funded programs, and private citizens.”

The anti-fraud AAG will be responsible for managing multi-district and multi-district fraud investigations, aiding other federal prosecutors with fraud cases, and working with multiple law enforcement agencies and federal entities “to identify, disrupt, and dismantle organized and sophisticated fraud schemes across jurisdictions.”

“They’re going to investigate fraud where it should be investigated. So you’re going to have wrongdoers being held accountable and, hopefully, taxpayer money going back into public coffers. That’s a good thing,” Teirab commented of the anti-fraud division’s responsibilities. He also noted that the resources available to the anti-fraud division will effectively supercharge fraud investigations and prosecutions nationwide. “This is way more ability for the federal government to investigate and prosecute widespread fraud and other kinds of crimes,” Teirab noted. “I was a state prosecutor for a while and then a federal prosecutor, and there’s just a big difference in the amount of resources that you can bring to bear in these investigations and prosecutions. So you’re going to deter crime and fraud.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and state Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) have both been implicated in the Somali immigrant-run fraud schemes fleecing Minnesota’s welfare programs and federal tax dollars. Numerous reports and witnesses have charged Walz and other Minnesota Democrats with knowingly and willingly turning a blind eye to fraud, refusing to investigate or prosecute fraud, and even silencing and threatening whistleblowers, auditors, and investigators.

Teirab expressed his hope that the federal anti-fraud unit is “going to incentivize state actors to get off their butts and actually do something to stop fraud.” He continued, “So now Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, instead of sitting on their hands, they might have a little bit more of an incentive, hopefully politically and literally, to actually do something if they know that the federal government might come in and make them look bad for not getting the job done.” Teirab added, “That’s clearly what’s happened here. I mean, they don’t look good because they didn’t do a good job.”

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

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Johnson: Tax Dollars ‘Will Never Be Used to Pay for Abortion. Period. Full Stop. End of Sentence.’

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 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.