Explosive documents reveal that President Biden’s FBI snooped on GOP senators, The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh uncovers shocking new details about the early prison release of a Kentucky killer, and America’s leading evangelical magazine takes seven-figure donations from one of the nation&#8217;s biggest abortion funders.
It’s Wednesday, October 8, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Revealed: Biden FBI Snooped On GOP Lawmakers</h2>
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Topline: As the government shutdown continues, Washington has been rocked by new revelations that the Biden DOJ snooped on several Republican Congress members as part of its January 6 probe.
This week, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a document showing that President Joe Biden’s FBI obtained and analyzed phone metadata of eight sitting Republican senators and one Republican House member.
The move came as part of the DOJ’s previously undisclosed Arctic Frost investigation, which went after Republicans for alleged election meddling following the 2020 election. Grassley released a statement along with that document, where he said, “Based on the evidence to date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate.”
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The Republican lawmakers targeted by the FBI were Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
Democrats’ response: Democrats have sought to downplay the story, saying the FBI was simply doing its job to investigate election meddling — and reminding folks that agents were not listening in on phone calls, and were only looking at who they called, and when. 
That has done little to alleviate Republican outrage. Blackburn excoriated the FBI in an interview with Morning Wire: “It is a violation of our civil rights. It’s a violation of our privacy rights. No one can find a time when … the FBI has done this.”
What Republicans want: Republicans have demanded an investigation to determine the extent of the scheme and who was responsible for it.
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland would have had to approve the operation. Republicans want to know if President Biden was also involved. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Most Violent ‘Nonviolent’ Convict Secures Parole</h2>
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Topline: More details are coming out about the early prison release of a Kentucky man convicted in the brutal slaying of a young boy. He has shockingly been deemed a nonviolent offender.
What happened: Ronald Exantus broke into a family’s home and stabbed multiple people with a kitchen knife, including a 6-year-old boy who later died from those injuries. These crimes occurred in Woodford County, Kentucky, located just west of Lexington.
Exantus was tried in 2018 and found not guilty of that murder by reason of insanity. He was convicted for the lesser charge of assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but he was released in early October – 13 years early – and placed on just eight months of supervised probation.
Hmmm: According to the parole board, Exantus qualifies as nonviolent under Kentucky state law. The board has faced major criticism over the release, but it says that its members repeatedly voted for Exantus to remain in prison. 
In a statement to The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, the board said, “Every time it had the opportunity, the Parole Board recommended Ronald Exantus stay in prison.”
After a review for parole on September 30, the board announced that it had issued a decision to keep the criminal in prison for the remainder of his sentence. The board added, “Despite this decision, Kentucky law required the Department of Corrections to release the inmate on Mandatory Reentry Supervision.”
In short, state law required Exantus to be released because he wasn’t convicted of a capital offense related to the killing of Logan Tipton. He was only convicted on lesser charges of second-degree assault for attacking Logan’s sibling and father.
What happens now: Exantus is not quite a free man. He enters a state of parole, which means that he must abide by conditions. Those exact terms are still unknown, but in most cases, if the conditions are broken, the parolee could be sent back to prison.
The case could also come under federal scrutiny, as the White House has weighed in on the issue. On Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted one of Walsh’s social media posts and said that the administration is looking into the situation. The White House said it is “wholly unacceptable for a child killer to walk free after just several years in prison.” 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Christianity Today Funded By Abortion Backer</h2>
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Topline: America’s most prominent evangelical magazine, Christianity Today, is under fire for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evangelical-magazine-christianity-today-takes-over-1-million-from-abortion-funder">accepting</a> financial support from a major abortion funder. Readers also accuse the publication of softening its pro-life stance in recent years.
Since 2022, Christianity Today has received more than one million dollars from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. That includes $600,000 for election coverage.
What makes this controversial is Hewlett’s history. The foundation is the second-largest private funder of Planned Parenthood in the United States. It gave the abortion provider more than $100 million between 2000 and 2023. 
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Hewlett announced it was increasing its “reproductive equity” budget by 30% – essentially doubling down on supporting abortion access and securing Hewlett’s spot as one of the country’s largest abortion funders.
Influence on CT? Christianity Today has always maintained that it upholds a pro-life ethic. However, since Hewlett’s donations began, the magazine has started publishing articles that advocate for a broader definition of “pro-life.”
Instead of focusing solely on protecting unborn babies, these pieces have argued that the term should also include fighting racial injustice, supporting new federal entitlements like paid family leave, and supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Many pro-life leaders say that redefining the term in this way waters down its meaning. Seth Gruber, founder of the pro-life organization White Rose Resistance, told The Daily Wire that he believes leftists are deliberately working to redefine the term “pro-life” in an effort to advance progressive political priorities under its banner.
Also, in the run-up to the 2024 election, Christianity Today published articles arguing that the issue of abortion was not necessarily a good enough reason to vote and that Christians should consider sitting out. And their board chair took on the role of spokesperson for Evangelicals for Biden.
Step back: Christianity Today has become more reliant on grants and donations over the past five years. In 2020, only about 20 percent of its revenue came from grants. Today, it’s more than half. Over the past few years, it has also received $8 million from the Lilly Endowment, the foundation established by the Eli Lilly family, known for its pharmaceuticals.
Experts warn that when an outlet grows dependent on foundations with their own ideological agendas, it risks aligning with those priorities — even if that means softening its historic Christian commitments.
Part of why the controversy stings is that evangelist Billy Graham founded Christianity Today in 1956 to be a theologically conservative alternative to The Christian Century, which was considered liberal.
Critics have long contended that the outlet has drifted to the left in both tone and substance. The Hewlett Foundation’s funding, particularly the grants marked for “covering elections,” has struck many observers as confirmation of that gradual ideological shift.

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Morning Brief: Biden’s GOP Spy Games, A Child Killer Set Free, & Christianity Today’s Abortion-Tied Donor

Abortion

Christianity Today

Chuck Grassley

Joe Biden

Kentucky

Marsha Blackburn

Media

Morning Wire

Politics

The FBI has been caught rifling through the phone records of nearly a dozen Republican members of Congress — all swept up in special counsel Jack Smith’s relentless pursuit of President Donald Trump.
Records released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Monday show that the FBI analyzed the metadata of phone calls from Sens. Marsha Blackburn (TN), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Ron Johnson (WI), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Dan Sullivan (AK), Josh Hawley (MO) Bill Hagerty (TN), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Rep. Mike Kelly (PA.). The records were part of Smith’s “Arctic Frost” investigation, which led to Trump being charged in Washington, D.C., over accusations that he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 
“This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into ‘election conspiracy.’ Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith&#8217;s elector case against Trump,” Grassley posed on X. “BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into &#8220;election conspiracy&#8221; Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith&#8217;s elector case against Trump
BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE <a href="https://t.co/V2JyiVlX48">pic.twitter.com/V2JyiVlX48</a>
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1975297712712262100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The document Grassley shared showed that the FBI obtained the toll data of the GOP lawmakers&#8217; calls, meaning they gathered basic information, such as the date and time of certain phone calls. The agency did not monitor the content of the communications, the senators said. 
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FBI Director Kash Patel stated on Tuesday that agents had been fired as a result of the revelations and noted that the CR-15 squad, a public corruption unit within the FBI that assisted Smith’s investigation, had been disbanded. 
“Transparency is important and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like. This FBI is delivering,” Patel <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1975506285656207664">said</a>. “As a result of our latest disclosure about the baseless monitoring of members of Congress by the prior leadership team of the FBI, we have already taken the following actions: We terminated employees, we abolished the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we initiated an ongoing investigation with more accountability measures ahead.”
President Donald Trump slammed Smith in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social.
&#8220;Deranged Jack Smith got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A real sleazebag!!!&#8221; he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115332808536869094">wrote</a>.
Sen. Johnson <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1975506285656207664">said</a> the revelation did not &#8220;surprise&#8221; him, but added that it should “shock every American.” He said he was briefed by FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on the FBI’s actions. 
“We were surveilled simply for being Republicans,” he said. “What the Biden Administration has done is an outrageous abuse of power — it is blatant political persecution. Those responsible must be held fully accountable.”
Sen. Hawley <a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/1975305232071487986">called</a> for a full investigation into the FBI&#8217;s handling of the tracking.
“This is an abuse of power beyond Watergate, beyond J. Edgar Hoover, one that directly strikes at the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the First Amendment,” he said. “We need a full investigation of all involved: who knew about it, who ordered it, and who approved it.”

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith addresses reporters after his grand jury has issued more indictments of former President Donald Trump on August 01 in Washington, DC.

‘Beyond Watergate’: Biden’s FBI Snooped On Phone Records From GOP Lawmakers In Trump Investigation

2020 Election

Congress

Donald Trump

Jack Smith

kash patel

A newly declassified document from former Special Counsel John Durham&#8217;s report suggests the Obama-era FBI ignored intelligence that indicated Hillary Clinton&#8217;s campaign or Russian disinformation fueled allegations of collusion between President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign and Russia.
The disclosure of the <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/declassified_durham_annex_released_by_chairman_grassley.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annex</a>, which still has some redactions, comes more than two years after Durham completed his investigation and heavily criticized the FBI&#8217;s Crossfire Hurricane probe into alleged links between Trump&#8217;s campaign and Russia. Trump&#8217;s second administration declassified the section as the president and members of his team <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/time-to-go-after-people-trump-wants-severe-consequences-for-dems-who-pushed-russia-hoax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded accountability</a> for what they deemed to be a Russia collusion hoax.
One key section of the classified addendum to the Durham Report says the &#8220;FBI was fully alerted to the possibility that at least some of the information it was receiving about the Trump campaign might have its origin either with the Clinton campaign or its supporters, or alternatively, was the product of Russian disinformation. Despite this awareness, the FBI appears to have dismissed the [intelligence information] as not credible without any investigative steps actually having been taken to either corroborate or disprove the allegations.&#8221;
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a lead Russiagate investigator who pushed for the declassification of the annex, released the document on Thursday.
&#8220;Based on the Durham annex, the Obama FBI failed to adequately review and investigate intelligence reports showing the Clinton campaign may have been ginning up the fake Trump-Russia narrative for Clinton&#8217;s political gain, which was ultimately done through the Steele Dossier and other means,&#8221; Grassley said in a statement. &#8220;These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years. History will show that the Obama and Biden administrations&#8217; law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump. This political weaponization has caused critical damage to our institutions and is one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history. The new Trump administration has a tremendous responsibility to the American people to fix the damage done and do so with maximum speed and transparency.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hillary-clinton-greenlit-russia-hoax-to-hide-email-scandal-declassified-docs-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Hillary Clinton Greenlit Russia Hoax To Hide Email Scandal, Declassified Docs Reveal</a>
In 2020, when he served as director of national intelligence, now-CIA Director John Ratcliffe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-feds-referred-hillary-to-fbi-for-probe-after-allegedly-approving-plan-to-create-trump-russia-scandal-to-distract-from-email-scandal-odni-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> documents that showed federal officials referred Clinton to the FBI for investigation after obtaining &#8220;insight&#8221; into a Russian intelligence analysis that alleged she approved a campaign plan to link Trump to Russia&#8217;s hacking operations to distract from the controversy over her unauthorized use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.
The annex in Durham&#8217;s report says FBI personnel, including then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, shared the intelligence regarding the potential Clinton campaign plan with high-ranking career officials at Department of Justice on March 31, 2016, and affirms that &#8220;multiple high-ranking&#8221; U.S. officials were apprised of the situation, including an August 3, 2016, briefing in the White House by CIA Director John Brennan to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director Comey, among others. It says notes from Brennan show the CIA sent an investigative referral to the FBI in September of 2016 that included the &#8220;purported Clinton campaign plan.&#8221;
One of the most heavily redacted parts of the annex says the CIA prepared a written assessment in 2017 on the &#8220;authenticity and veracity&#8221; of the intelligence described in the referral memo. &#8220;The CIA stated that it did not assess that the above [redacted] memoranda, or [redacted] hacked U.S. communications, to be the product of Russian fabrications,&#8221; it adds.
Durham <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-durham-affirms-crossfire-hurricane-investigators-kept-in-dark-about-alleged-clinton-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> to Congress in 2023 that agents on the FBI&#8217;s Crossfire Hurricane team were not made aware of the intelligence, and his report indicated the &#8220;Clinton Plan intelligence&#8221; could have been helpful to them. The report pointed to British ex-spy Christopher Steele&#8217;s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/us/trump-russia-investigation-dossier.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">now-discredited</a> anti-Trump dossier, stemming from research funded by Clinton&#8217;s campaign and the Democratic National Committee, that the FBI was <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doj-inspector-general-finds-17-significant-errors-or-omissions-in-carter-page-fisa-applications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> to have improperly used to secure FISA surveillance warrants against onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. It also referenced the unfounded secret <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/durham-finds-researcher-felt-threatened-by-schiff-staffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backchannel</a> between the Trump Organization and Russia&#8217;s Alfa Bank that Clinton and her team <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/793250312119263233">promoted</a> in the run-up to the 2016 election.
&#8220;Whether or not the Clinton Plan intelligence was based on reliable or unreliable information, or was ultimately true or false, it should have prompted FBI personnel to immediately undertake an analysis of the information and to act with far greater care and caution when receiving, analyzing, and relying upon materials of partisan origins, such as the Steele Reports and the Alfa Bank allegations,&#8221; Durham&#8217;s report said. &#8220;The FBI also should have disseminated the Clinton Plan intelligence more widely among those responsible for the Crossfire Hurricane investigation so that they could effectively incorporate it into their analysis and decision-making, and their representations to the OI attorneys and, ultimately, the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court].&#8221;
During an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-director-says-classified-docs-will-blow-lid-off-russiagate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on Fox News over the weekend, Ratcliffe told &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; host Maria Bartiromo that he had been working to secure the release of a classified section from Durham&#8217;s <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/media/1381211/dl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>.
&#8220;What hasn&#8217;t come out yet and what&#8217;s going to come out is the underlying intelligence that I have spent the last few months making recommendations about final declassification and sent that to the Department of Justice,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That will come out in the John Durham report classified annex. And what that intelligence shows, Maria, is that part of this was a Hillary Clinton plan, but part of it was an FBI plan to be an accelerant to that fake Steele dossier, to those fake Russia collusion claims by pouring oil on the fire, by amplifying the lie and burying the truth of what Hillary Clinton was up to.&#8221;
Ratcliffe went on to explain that &#8220;much of&#8221; the testimony that Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and Brennan provided to Durham or Congress in the past five years &#8220;is, frankly, completely inconsistent with what our underlying intelligence that is about to be declassified in the Durham annex, what that reflects.&#8221;
Acknowledging how Attorney General Pam Bondi has a new &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-to-form-strike-force-to-assess-weaponization-of-intel-community" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strike force</a>&#8221; tasked with evaluating the evidence relating the Obama administration&#8217;s efforts to drive the Russia collusion allegations, the CIA director added, &#8220;It is a different Department of Justice, a different FBI, and an opportunity to look at how these people really did conspire to run a hoax, a fraud on the American people and against Donald Trump&#8217;s presidency.&#8221;
Comey <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spKHw3IFUVc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before the Senate in 2020, claiming, &#8220;In the main, it was done by the book, it was appropriate, and it was essential that it be done.&#8221; He also conceded there &#8220;were parts of it that were concerning.&#8221;
In an op-ed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/opinion/trump-obama-treason-russia-miller.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> by The New York Times this week, Brennan and Clapper made a brief mention of Durham as they pushed back on Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gabbard-obama-launched-years-long-coup-treasonous-conspiracy-against-american-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that members of the Obama administration waged a &#8220;treasonous conspiracy&#8221; to undermine Trump.
&#8220;The special counsel John Durham, who was appointed during Mr. Trump&#8217;s first term to investigate how the Russia probe was conducted, similarly found no evidence of an Obama administration conspiracy against Mr. Trump,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;But he affirmed the findings of the special counsel Robert Mueller, who conducted a separate investigation into the allegations, which found ample evidence of Russian interference in the election.&#8221;

John Durham

New Durham Bombshell: Obama-Era FBI Allowed Trump-Russia Hoax To Fester

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Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says he was &#8220;offended&#8221; by President Donald Trump&#8217;s call for him to scrap the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition in which home-state senators can effectively block nominees they do not support.
The rebuke from Grassley, whose panel has been advancing Trump’s picks for U.S. attorney and judge positions, came as Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thune-warns-dems-are-setting-dangerous-and-ugly-precedent-with-trumps-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressures</a> the Senate to cancel its plans for a summer recess and confirm more of his nominees.
&#8220;Last night, I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the &#8216;blue slip,'&#8221; Grassley announced at the beginning of a nominations hearing.
&#8220;Now, to people in the real America — not here in this Washington, D.C., an island surrounded by reality — the people in real America don’t care about what the &#8216;blue slip&#8217; is, but, in fact, it impacts in their states the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. attorneys who ensure law and order is enforced,&#8221; Grassley said.
He continued, &#8220;I was offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rips-unconstitutional-senate-custom-that-allows-democrat-sleazebags-to-stall-judicial-noms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> Grassley to do away with the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; custom in a post on Truth Social, contending that any of his nominees from states with Democrat senators would keep getting shut down because of it.
&#8220;Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the &#8216;Blue Slip&#8217; problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114938820270436889" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a>.
The president also said the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition was &#8220;probably&#8221; unconstitutional while pushing Grassley to &#8220;step up&#8221; and &#8220;not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective.&#8221; He called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and others &#8220;SLEAZEBAGS.&#8221;
Democrats have already used the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition against Trump&#8217;s nominees in the first six months of his second term.
Schumer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-intervenes-block-trumps-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> he would block two picks for federal prosecutor roles earlier this year, but Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-outmaneuvers-schumer-on-pick-for-top-federal-prosecutor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sidestepped</a> the process the Democrat sought to jam by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/nyregion/nocella-edny-us-attorney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointing</a> his nominees to be interim U.S. attorneys — a designation that lasts only 120 days.
Grassley has voiced support for Trump’s call for the Senate to cancel its August recess to combat tactics by the Democrats to hinder the confirmation process.
“If Pres Trump asks us to not take [an August recess, I’m with] him. Democrats [have] been slow walking nominations,” Grassley <a href="https://x.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1949630801978495084" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a Sunday post on X written with a lot of short-hand. “We [have] to make up for their wasted time, he went on, &#8220;Trump needs his administration in place.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who <a href="https://x.com/jordainc/status/1950568488650859007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> backs Grassley on the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; issue, warned Democrats on Tuesday that they were setting a &#8220;dangerous and ugly precedent&#8221; with their &#8220;historic level of obstruction.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rips-unconstitutional-senate-custom-that-allows-democrat-sleazebags-to-stall-judicial-noms">Trump Rips &#8216;Unconstitutional&#8217; Senate Custom That Allows Democrat &#8216;SLEAZEBAGS&#8217; To Stall Judicial Noms</a>

Senator Chuck Grassley,

Republican Chairman ‘Offended’ As Trump Pushes Him To Nuke Senate Custom

Presidential nomination

U.S. Senate

The Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted to confirm a Justice Department official who previously defended President Donald Trump during his criminal trials to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Overcoming vigorous Democrat opposition, the Republican-led Senate confirmed acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove to the lifetime judicial position in a 50-49 vote. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) joined Democrats in voting against his appointment. 
“Congratulations to our dear friend Emil Bove on his confirmation to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals! This is a GREAT day for our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1950363578646544696">said</a> on X. “I cannot thank Emil enough for his tireless work and support at [the Justice Department]. He will be missed — and he will be an outstanding judge.”
Bove previously worked as Trump’s lawyer when the Biden administration prosecuted him over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and alleged election interference in the 2020 election. Bove also worked with Trump on the New York hush money case, where Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records but given an unconditional discharge. Before working for Trump, Bove was a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, working on drug and terrorism cases.
In the weeks after Trump nominated him to the judgeship, Democrats have pointed to numerous complaints against Bove from whistleblowers claiming that he instructed Justice Department officials to ignore judicial orders. Democrats were also critical of Bove’s role in the firing of some of the Justice Department lawyers who led the January 6 prosecutions and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-orders-charges-to-be-dismissed-against-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-on-certain-conditions">dismissal</a> of the federal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 
Ahead of the confirmation vote, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-exhaustive-efforts-to-vet-emil-boves-nomination-prove-hes-fit-for-the-job">defended</a> Bove, accusing Democrats of trying to “weaponize” the whistleblower process. 
“He has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be a diligent, capable, and fair jurist,&#8221; Grassley said. “It’s no surprise to anyone who’s followed this nomination that I have serious concerns with how my Democratic colleagues have conducted themselves. The vicious rhetoric, unfair accusations and abuse directed at Mr. Bove by some on this Committee has crossed the line.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://apnews.com/article/emil-bove-confirmation-whistleblowers-trump-republicans-democrats-71f92822cb2e8d57387748c2451fa724">claimed</a> that the confirmation was a “dark day” for the country. 
“It’s unfathomable that just over four years after the insurrection at the Capitol, when rioters smashed windows, ransacked offices, desecrated this chamber, Senate Republicans are willingly putting someone on the bench who shielded these rioters from facing justice, who said their prosecution was a grave national injustice,” he said.

Jury Continues Deliberations In Trump Hush Money Trial

Republicans Push Past Democrat Obstruction To Confirm Trump-Aligned Judge

Chuck Schumer

Department of Justice

Judges

Lisa Murkowski

Senate

Susan Collins

President Donald Trump pushed Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday to toss a Senate tradition that has empowered Democratic senators to unilaterally block the president’s judicial nominees.
Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees judicial nominations. The “blue slip” custom on the committee is not required, but was adopted as an internal vetting procedure to encourage communication between the White House and the senators of the state in which the nominee will serve, giving senators influence over appointments in their states.
Democrats have stalled Trump’s nominees by refusing to give their assent with “blue slips,” a blue-colored form given to senators where a federal judicial nominee would serve. If the senator withholds or returns a negative blue slip expressing disapproval, they can use the custom as a tool for obstruction. The tradition&#8217;s enforcement is controlled by the chair&#8217;s discretion.
“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114938820270436889">said</a> Trump. “Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others, SLEAZEBAGS ALL, have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates.”
“Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM,’ that if you have, even one person in the opposite Party serving in the U.S. Senate, he/she must give consent, thereby completely stopping the opposite Party’s Nomination,” he added.
The president said that in states with Democratic senators, his own judicial nominees would have to either be a Democrat or “a weak and ineffective Republican” to receive blue slip approvals.
“I would never be able to appoint Great Judges or U.S. Attorneys in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, and other places, where there is, coincidentally, the highest level of crime and corruption — The places where fantastic people are most needed!” the president said.
Trump said that former President Joe Biden broke the blue slip custom at least twice during his term, and that previous presidents have also worked around the Senate tradition.
A Grassley spokesman suggested in a statement on Tuesday that, despite the president’s pressure, the Judiciary Committee chair would retain the blue slip custom.
“Chairman Grassley has already successfully moved U.S. Attorneys through committee who have received blue slips from Democrats, including Senators Warner and Kaine of Virginia and Klobuchar and Smith of Minnesota,” the spokesman said, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/29/congress/trump-hits-grassley-00483005">Politico</a>. “When a nominee comes out of committee all 100 senators have a say on the nomination and part of their consideration is based on the home state senators’ input.”

Trump Rips ‘Unconstitutional’ Senate Custom That Allows Democrat ‘SLEAZEBAGS’ To Stall Judicial Noms

Executive

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) voiced support for President Donald Trump&#8217;s call for the upper chamber to cancel its August recess and confirm more of his nominees.
The Iowa Republican, whose panel has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-benchmark-of-excellence-senate-confirms-first-judge-of-trumps-second-term" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advancing</a> Trump&#8217;s picks for U.S. attorney and judge positions, shared his stance on Sunday. He alluded to how Democrats have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-erupt-over-dem-stalling-of-trump-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impeding</a> the process with such moves as forcing procedural votes.
&#8220;If Pres Trump asks us to not take [an August recess, I&#8217;m with] him. Democrats [have] been slow walking nominations,&#8221; Grassley said in a <a href="https://x.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1949630801978495084">post</a> on X written with a lot of short-hand. &#8220;We [have] to make up for their wasted time Trump needs his administration in place.&#8221;
Earlier this month, after Congress passed the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; and a $9 billion rescissions package, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-on-senate-to-cancel-long-weekends-and-get-his-people-confirmed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to keep the Senate busy cementing his second-term priorities.
&#8220;Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114882283904953607" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;We need them badly!!! DJT.&#8221;
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) proposed a benchmark for lawmakers to reach before going into a recess or, as an alternative, an off-period without <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-how-recess-appointments-work-and-how-they-could-help-trump-fill-his-cabinet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pro forma sessions</a> that prevent the president from making appointments in their absence.
&#8220;The Senate shouldn’t recess before clearing the 135-nominee confirmation backlog,&#8221; Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1948955024136307064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;If the Senate recesses anyway, it should *actually* recess—NO PRO FORMA SESSIONS, as their only purpose is to prevent Trump from making recess appointments.&#8221; He added: &#8220;The Senate can’t have it both ways.&#8221;
Trump seemed to like the proposal.
&#8220;Very Important,&#8221; the president <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114920864979561533" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Truth Social, along with a screenshot of Lee&#8217;s post. &#8220;Republicans must play to win. Clear the 135. So badly needed!&#8221;
The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5412770-senate-gop-trump-recess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week that Thune, who is also overseeing efforts to pass appropriations bills ahead of a potential government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thune-warns-schumer-may-cave-to-far-left-push-for-govt-shutdown-in-coming-weeks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shutdown</a> in September, was open to the idea of nixing the August recess.
&#8220;We’re thinking about it. We want to get as many [nominations] through the pipeline as we can,&#8221; he said, according to the news outlet.
The Senate has already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-last-of-trump-2-0-cabinet-secretaries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> Trump&#8217;s Cabinet secretaries and other nominees over the past six months.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) <a href="https://x.com/SenMullin/status/1949868977976463795" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> on Monday how 107 of Trump&#8217;s nominees have been confirmed so far in 2025 compared to the 55 picks confirmed half a year into his first term in 2017.
&#8220;After confirming the President&#8217;s entire cabinet at record pace, [the Senate GOP] is working [with the White House] to prioritize all remaining confirmations,&#8221; Mullin said on X. &#8220;Like I&#8217;ve said, I&#8217;m in it. Let&#8217;s get it done.&#8221;
The GOP-led House has already begun its August recess.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-a-vacation-house-leaders-unveil-rival-game-plans-for-most-important-work-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a press conference last week that August is &#8220;arguably the most important work month on our calendar&#8221; because House Republicans would return to their districts to meet voters and promote the &#8220;One, Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has knocked the House GOP over leaving for what he calls the <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1949165466078924822" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Epstein recess&#8221;</a> in a supposed bid to dodge the latest controversy rocking Washington, D.C.

Senator Chuck Grassley

Key Senator Backs Trump On Nixing Summer Recess

U.S.

In a decisive victory for President Donald Trump, the GOP-led Senate confirmed on Monday the first judicial nominee of his second term.
Whitney Hermandorfer, of Tennessee, prevailed in her bid to become a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit by a 46-42 <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00384.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a> along party lines. She is poised to replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, an <a href="https://www.congress.gov/nomination/119th-congress/150/3#:~:text=Description-,Whitney%20D.,vice%20Jane%20Branstetter%20Stranch%2C%20retiring." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Obama pick</a>. A dozen members of the upper chamber did not vote.
The confirmation of Hermandorfer to join the Cincinnati-based bench that hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee is &#8220;a boon to the federal judiciary,&#8221; Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said in a statement.
&#8220;As the Director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in Tennessee, she’s led major cases on civil rights and the separation of powers and is widely praised for her legal mind, impeccable qualifications, collegial nature and constitutionalist philosophy,&#8221; Grassley added. &#8220;I was proud to lead Ms. Hermandorfer’s nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee and am confident she will be an excellent federal judge.&#8221;
When Trump nominated Hermandorfer earlier this year, the White House <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/white-house-press-release-president-donald-j-trump-announces-judicial-candidate-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that she was the director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, had previously served as an associate at Williams &amp; Connolly, LLP in Washington, D.C., and boasted experience working as a law clerk to Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett of the Supreme Court, now-Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh when he was a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The White House also noted that Hermandorfer earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Princeton University, where she was co-captain of the women’s varsity basketball team, earned her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, where she graduated summa cum laude and first in her class, and was editor-in-chief of the George Washington University Law Review.
&#8220;I am pleased to announce the nomination of Whitney Hermandorfer to serve as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@Hua341/posts/114455316115570433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on Truth Social in May. &#8220;Whitney has been serving the Great People of Tennessee, in the Attorney General’s Office, where she has strongly litigated in Court to protect Citizens from Federal Government Overreach. A former Co-Captain of the Princeton University Women’s Basketball Team, Whitney is a staunch defender of Girls’ and Women’s Sports. She has a long history of working for Judges and Justices who respect the RULE OF LAW, and protect our Constitution, including Justice Samuel Alito and two fine Supreme Court Justices I appointed in my First Term. Whitney is a Fighter who will inspire confidence in our Legal System. Thank you Whitney!&#8221;
Democrats warned that Hermandorfer was too green and might give into politics.
&#8220;Senate Republicans just confirmed their first judicial nominee of Trump 2.0,&#8221; Senate Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) <a href="https://x.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1944882255635026248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Whitney Hermandorfer is inexperienced and partisan – with a record that repeatedly put Donald Trump ahead of the law. This is the playbook we must watch for, call out, and vote down.&#8221;
When Hermandorfer testified during her confirmation hearing last month, she contended that judges should adhere to boundaries established under the Constitution. That came as Republicans had been pushing for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/impeachathon-ensnares-growing-number-of-get-trump-judges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impeachment</a> of some members of the federal judiciary who were ruling against some of Trump&#8217;s actions in a way they believed had waded into activism.
&#8220;It is an extraordinary power, the Article III power, to decide cases &#8230; With that power, again, comes great responsibility and humility to understand the proper role of a judge is to interpret the law and not make the law or bend the law to whatever policy preferences the judge might have individually,&#8221; Hermandorfer <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1930290647715455172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Hermandorfer later advanced out of the Judiciary Committee by a 12-10 <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/judiciary-committee-advances-judicial-nominations-for-sixth-circuit-and-missouri-district-courts-us-attorney-nominations-for-idaho-and-pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a>. Other Trump nominees for judgeships were also reported favorably to the full Senate and could be confirmed in the days and weeks to come. If Trump&#8217;s second term is like his first, he still has more than a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">couple hundred</a> judicial appointments to go.
&#8220;Tennessee native — Judge Whitney Hermandorfer — is the first judicial nominee confirmed by the Senate in [Trump&#8217;s] second term,&#8221; Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) <a href="https://x.com/SenatorHagerty/status/1944889075892093034" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X after the final vote on Monday. &#8220;She will set a benchmark of excellence for future judicial nominees — President Trump could not have made a better choice. Congratulations, Judge Hermandorfer!&#8221;
Grassley&#8217;s team <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/senate-builds-on-record-setting-confirmation-pace-with-first-judicial-confirmation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that during the first six months of Trumps&#8217; second term, the Senate has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-gop-breaks-through-dem-obstruction-on-trump-2-0-civilian-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> 21 members of Trump&#8217;s Cabinet, &#8220;putting his team in place faster than the last three incoming administrations.&#8221; It also pointed out that the upper chamber has so far confirmed 89 of his civilian nominees, &#8220;outpacing the first Trump administration,&#8221; and confirmed 12 ambassador nominees, &#8220;which is more than the incoming Biden, first Trump and George W. Bush administrations.&#8221;

Whitney Hermandorfer

‘A Benchmark Of Excellence’: Senate Confirms First Judge Of Trump’s Second Term

Bill Hagerty

Courts

Dick Durbin

Tennessee

The Biden administration ignored tens of thousands of concerning reports involving unaccompanied migrant children, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
Grassley looked into Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) records at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and found over 65,000 ignored or dismissed reports concerning migrant children. Nearly 7,000 of those reports were cases of suspected human trafficking and nearly 2,000 others were related to fraud.
Since President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, HHS has worked through over a quarter of those cases left over from the Biden administration and made dozens of arrests, according to Grassley.
“My oversight exposed the Biden-Harris administration for placing unaccompanied migrant children with dangerous sponsors and actively obstructing law enforcement and Congress’ efforts to rescue vulnerable kids. I applaud the Trump administration for its swift action to protect unaccompanied migrant children by addressing the concerning reports the Biden-Harris administration shelved,” said Grassley in a <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-exposes-biden-harris-backlog-of-criminal-complaints-in-migrant-children-program">statement</a>. “I look forward to working with Secretary Kennedy to ensure justice is served.”
Back in April, HHS confirmed that tens of thousands of cases had been ignored and that it was working to clear the “backlog” left by the previous administration.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday&amp;_gl=1*1qdq03s*_gcl_au*MTYyNDg0MTE0OS4xNzQxODk4NTMz*_ga*MTEzOTk1NjkxNi4xNzI2MzI1MDQz*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NDgzNzg2NDgkbzEwMDMkZzEkdDE3NDgzODEwMTckajU4JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
“ORR is digging through nearly 65,000 reports of concern about unaccompanied alien children — most ignored, many dismissed — each one a missed chance to protect a child. This isn’t just paperwork. This is a systemic failure of the Biden administration. It is children&#8217;s lives put at risk,” HHS said in a statement posted to social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ORR is digging through nearly 65,000 reports of concern about unaccompanied alien children — most ignored, many dismissed — each one a missed chance to protect a child. This isn’t just paperwork. This is a systemic failure of the Biden administration. It is children&#39;s lives put…
&mdash; HHS.gov (@HHSGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/1914698523762639067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At least 500,000 children entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s tenure. Those children were often flown in or bused to the homes of strangers after the Biden administration relaxed rules on background checks for sponsors of the children.
At least 85,000 of those children who crossed as unaccompanied minors were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whistleblowers-detail-how-85000-unaccompanied-minors-went-missing-after-biden-admin-dropped-them-off-with-sponsors">lost</a> by the administration. HHS officials under the Biden administration failed to locate the children again after leaving them with sponsors.
Grassley wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ripping the previous administration for stonewalling the senator’s demands for information on unaccompanied alien minors (UAC).
“The purpose of my inquiry is clear: to determine the scope and severity of child trafficking and exploitation through the UAC program nationwide. After I made this urgent inquiry, HHS under Secretary Becerra obstructed my investigation and instructed contractors and grantees not to answer, and to instead send my inquiry to the Assistant Secretary for Legislation, who of course also failed to provide any requested information,” Grassley wrote in a Tuesday <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_to_hhs_-_backlog_of_unaccompanied_migrant_children_reports.pdf">letter</a>.

Chuck Grassley: Biden Admin Ignored 65,000 Troubling Reports About Unaccompanied Alien Children

Department of Health and Human Services

Illegal Immigration

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

President Donald Trump signaled over the weekend that he is seriously weighing tougher sanctions on Russia over its years-long war against Ukraine, a potential move backed by a bipartisan Senate supermajority eager to force Moscow’s hand, as peace negotiations falter.
In a Sunday exchange with reporters, Trump <a href="https://x.com/Acyn/status/1926772105401549062" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he is “absolutely” considering new sanctions on Russia. Hours later, he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114571369956761390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media, calling him “CRAZY” for “needlessly killing a lot of people” with continued fighting between soldiers, as well as missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. &#8220;I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!&#8221; he added.
The rebuke stretched into Tuesday, with Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114580564427808609" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning</a> that Putin is “playing with fire” and claiming that “really bad things” would have already struck Russia without his restraint.
A coalition of 81 senators, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), has rallied behind a <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1241/text?s=1&amp;r=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> to slam Russia with fresh sanctions if Moscow refuses genuine peace talks with Ukraine or launches new attacks threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty post-agreement. The legislation also <a href="https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=3D495158-CF7D-4833-A2DB-9E5558843F1B" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposes</a> a 500% tariff on goods from nations buying Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other commodities.
&#8220;While we yearn for peace, it is increasingly clear to us – and a supermajority of the Senate – that Putin is playing games,&#8221; Graham and Blumenthal declared in a joint <a href="https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-grahams-hard-hitting-sanctions-bill-has-over-80-cosponsors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> last week. &#8220;The United States Senate stands ready to act if these games continue.&#8221;
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-putin-has-gone-absolutely-crazy-risks-the-downfall-of-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that after a two-hour call with Putin last week, Trump declared that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine would &#8220;immediately start,&#8221; only for the Kremlin to deny any such plans. The week prior, Putin snubbed scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey, prompting Trump to insist that “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Day Sale &#8211; Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a co-signer of the Graham-Blumenthal bill, argued Tuesday that sanctions are now critical. &#8220;I believe president trump was sincere when he thought his friendship w Putin wld end the war,&#8221; Grassley <a href="https://x.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1927369150529171572" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X. &#8220;Now that being the case ITS TIME FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS &#8216;game over.'&#8221;
Trump also took aim at Zelensky and former President Joe Biden.
&#8220;President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114571369956761390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social over the weekend. “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.&#8221;

Trump and Senate Republicans

Trump Eyes Stinging Russia Sanctions. This Bipartisan Proposal Could Bring The Pain.

Global Politics

Lindsey Graham

Sanctions

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

World

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice is taking funds that it formerly granted to groups supporting transgender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and using these funds to support United States law enforcement, documents obtained by The Daily Wire show.
The move is reflective of President Donald Trump&#8217;s aggressive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-transportation-department-learns-its-funding-54-million-in-woke-grants-and-ends-them?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Transportation+Department+Learns+It%E2%80%99s+Funding+%2454+Million+In+Woke+Grants+%E2%80%94+And+Ends+Them">push to weed out</a> government use of taxpayer funding for woke or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-hegseth-makes-monumental-change-to-admissions-at-military-academies?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Hegseth+Makes+Monumental+Change+To+Admissions+At+Military+Academies">ideological purposes</a>. That&#8217;s particularly significant in the Department of Justice, where, under President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration, Americans were targeted and investigated for practicing their faith, participating in peaceful pro-life protests, or pushing back against explicit gender ideology and sex education in schools.
After news broke that the Justice Department <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-grant-cuts-valued-811-million-people-familiar-say-2025-04-24/">was slashing $811 million in grants</a>, legacy media outlets <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-grants-halted-justice-department-hate-crime-sex-trafficking-refugees/">fear-mongered</a> that the department was targeting victims of &#8220;hate crimes, child abuse, school violence, and more.&#8221; Curious about the Justice Department&#8217;s large-scale review of its federal grant programs — and what grants the department had been funding — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, first obtained by The Daily Wire, asking Bondi to explain the Justice Department&#8217;s grant review and appeals process.
The department&#8217;s response, also first reported by The Daily Wire, reveals that the vast majority of grants the Justice Department has cut were grants awarded to non-governmental entities — &#8220;not to states or local jurisdictions that directly serve our communities.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_920029" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-justice-department-cuts-transgender-grants-will-use-money-to-fund-law-enforcement/pam-bondi-candidate-to-be-next-us-attorney-general" rel="attachment wp-att-920029"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-920029" class="wp-image-920029 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2187407000-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2187407000-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2187407000-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2187407000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2187407000.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Senator Chuck Grassley and Attorney General Pam Bondi (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
A sample of terminated grants reviewed by The Daily Wire shows that the Justice Department had previously awarded grants explicitly tied to ideological causes misaligned with the priorities of the current administration.
For example, the Diversity Center of Oklahoma was awarded $200,000 &#8220;to provide culturally responsive services&#8221; to marginalized groups, specifically &#8220;Black and Brown women, including Black transgender women,&#8221; in the Oklahoma City and Folsom Metro areas. The grant specifically mentions that it will fund services including &#8220;gender affirming medical care,&#8221; which is a common euphemism for transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers.
Another of the Justice Department grants funneled over $700,000 to the Wisconsin-based F.O.R.G.E. INC., to be used to address &#8220;major types of violence/crime&#8221; against trans-identifying individuals and to &#8220;add a particular focus on the experience of trans women and girls of color&#8221; — meaning men and boys who identify as females. Part of this effort would mean &#8220;convening 23 listening sessions of trans survivors&#8221; and a &#8220;stakeholders advisory group&#8221; made up of &#8220;providers and trans community members.&#8221;
The Justice Department also awarded $50,000 to the Texas-based Civic Heart Community Services to create a &#8220;youth-led anti-gun violence mural art&#8221; as well as a &#8220;launch&#8221; of that mural &#8220;celebrated by a song and creative arts expression.&#8221;
And, perhaps most significantly, a fourth Justice Department grant awarded $250,000 to the Washington State Department of Corrections in 2022, during the Biden administration, to promote transgenderism within the state&#8217;s prisons, where men who identify as women are housed with female prisoners. The Biden administration kept the grant alive even after female inmate Mozzy Clark filed a lawsuit in December 2024 accusing a male prisoner who identifies as a female of repeatedly sexually assaulting her in a Washington State prison.
The grant&#8217;s deliverables include &#8220;hiring a Transgender Housing and Program Manager&#8221; and pushing to reduce &#8220;misconceptions among staff and incarcerated individuals about transgender and non-binary individuals.&#8221;
&#8220;This grant is intended to foster an environment that promotes sexual safety for all transgender and non-binary individuals remanded to the custody of DOC and serve as a change model for the rest of the nation to follow,&#8221; the grant stated.
Meanwhile, Clark <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2025/05/08/exclusive-male-transgender-inmate-who-allegedly-terrorized-female-cellmate-long-history-prison-violence/">was imprisoned</a> with Christopher Scott Williams, a “6 foot, 4 inch biological male who was known to be a violent, convicted sexual predator,” in the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Williams requested a transfer to the women&#8217;s prison in 2021 and was granted one, even though he had a lengthy history of violence and serious violations in male prisons, as <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2025/05/08/exclusive-male-transgender-inmate-who-allegedly-terrorized-female-cellmate-long-history-prison-violence/">The Daily Caller News Foundation reported</a>.
Clark&#8217;s story is not the only one of its kind. Across the country, hundreds of men identifying as women have moved to women&#8217;s facilities despite their history of violent crimes against women and children. In California, a two-time baby killer identifying as a transgender woman successfully transferred to a women’s prison where the mother of his child was housed. And the Wisconsin Department of Corrections <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/02/26/exclusive-female-inmate-forced-to-bunk-with-masturbating-transgender-prisoner-who-raped-daughter-messages-claim/">housed a trans-identifying man</a> who raped his own daughter with women, forcing a female prisoner to bunk with him despite the inmate&#8217;s sexually aggressive comments, constant masturbating, and aggressive behavior.
The Justice Department will reallocate the funds that were going to these types of grants to future awards that align with the Trump administration&#8217;s goals, such as “supporting law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and enhancing coordination among law enforcement at all levels of government,&#8221; the attorney general&#8217;s office told Grassley in a letter late last week.
The Justice Department&#8217;s former grant recipients who have been given termination notices won&#8217;t have to return any of the funds they had been given, but they will not continue to receive funding in the future. And they can appeal their grant termination within 30 days of receiving the termination notice if they believe their grant should not have been cancelled.
&#8220;If an appeal is deemed successful upon review by the Department, the Department will rescind the notice of termination and promptly reinstate the award,&#8221; the Justice Department told Grassley. Some have already been restored, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-grant-cuts-valued-811-million-people-familiar-say-2025-04-24/">as Reuters reported.</a>
The reallocation of funding to law enforcement operations matches the Trump administration&#8217;s emphasis on simultaneously beefing up American defense while cutting down ideological priorities, in contrast to the previous administration.
Earlier this month, the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-budget-features-historic-increases-in-defense-spending-slashes-woke-funding?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=9&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Budget+Features+%E2%80%98Historic%E2%80%99+Increases+In+Defense+Spending%2C+Slashes+Woke+Funding">released Trump’s discretionary budget request</a> for the fiscal year 2026, showing big increases in border and defense spending as well as massive cuts to woke funding priorities instituted by the Biden administration. Defense spending will be increased by 13% under the proposed budget, and appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security will be increased by almost 65% “to ensure that our military and other agencies repelling the invasion of our border have the resources they need to complete the mission.&#8221;

Attorney General Bondi Speaks On Immigration Enforcement Actions

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Justice Department Cuts Transgender Grants, Will Use Money To Fund Law Enforcement

Transgender

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Wednesday that he intended to stop two of President Donald Trump&#8217;s nominees for U.S. attorney positions in New York.
The move hinges on the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition in which home-state senators can effectively block a nominee if they do not support the individual.
&#8220;Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,&#8221; Schumer said in a <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-uses-blue-slip-to-block-trump-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
He added, &#8220;Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of the [sic] Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions. For that reason, I will not return the blue slip for the U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.&#8221;
The affected nominees are former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, picked to become U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Joseph Nocella Jr., a Long Island judge chosen for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
If Republicans on the Judiciary Committee choose to disregard Schumer, they could advance the nominees. However, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) appears unwilling to depart from the norm.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/schumer-trump-new-york-prosecutors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Grassley affirming, &#8220;The answer is yes,&#8221; when asked about adhering to the blue slip tradition. &#8220;If they are from the state the nomination comes from.&#8221;
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the judiciary panel, told the news outlet that the blue slip tradition &#8220;serves a useful purpose even when in Democratic hands.&#8221; He added, &#8220;Obviously we value the ability to, appropriately, stop some nominees.&#8221;
Democrats have employed another tactic to stymie a different U.S. attorney nominee.
Earlier this month, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) <a href="https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/statement-sen-schiff-announces-hold-on-d-c-u-s-attorney-nominee-ed-martin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> that he would place a hold on the nomination of Ed Martin to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a role he currently serves in an interim capacity.
A hold requires Senate majority leadership to schedule a floor vote for a nominee, bypassing the faster unanimous consent process.
Trump allies have sounded the alarm.
Responding to a post on X about Senate Democrats obstructing Trump&#8217;s picks for top prosecutor roles, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., <a href="https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1912490445818511451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;We can&#8217;t let the swamp block my father&#8217;s picks for US Attorney!!!&#8221;

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