Congress has officially passed legislation honoring the team that gave the United States one of its greatest Cold War victories — not in the halls of diplomacy, but on a sheet of ice.
The Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act, championed by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), has cleared both chambers of Congress and now awaits a final signature from President Donald Trump. The bill awards three Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team — a group of college kids headed by legendary coach Herb Brooks — for their historic 4-3 triumph over the Soviet Union, an act of athletic defiance that echoed far beyond Lake Placid. The Soviet Union hockey team was regarded as invincible, having trounced a team of NHL All-Stars before the Olympics.
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The game was named the greatest sports moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.
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“It is an incredible honor to represent Lake Placid, where the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team pulled off one of the greatest sports upsets in world history,” Stefanik <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/2025/9/stefanik-s-miracle-on-ice-congressional-gold-medal-passes-the-house">declared</a> following the House’s September 15 vote. “The American defeat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War was a triumph of perseverance, unity, and spirit, not only for the athletes on the ice but for all Americans.”
Indeed, it wasn’t just a game — it was a symbolic haymaker thrown by a group of college kids against the professional behemoth of Soviet communism. It was America at its best: scrappy, underestimated, and absolutely unwilling to quit.
The medals will be enshrined at three symbolic institutions:
<ol>
<li data-start="1590" data-end="1663">The Lake Placid Olympic Center in New York, where history was made.</li>
<li data-start="1667" data-end="1763">The United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota — hockey’s spiritual homeland.</li>
<li data-start="1767" data-end="1875">The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, commemorating Olympic greatness.</li>
</ol>
This isn’t just about medals — it’s about memory. And as Stefanik noted, it comes as the 50th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice approaches in 2030.
Backed by a chorus of support from the National Hockey League, USA Hockey, and both sides of the aisle in Congress, the legislation recognizes what the American people have long known: that Herb Brooks’ squad didn’t just win a game — they delivered a gut punch to Soviet dominance at a time when America desperately needed a win. The U.S. had last won the gold medal in 1960; the Soviets had won every gold medal after that, in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976.
The bill pays homage to that historic moment, noting that the victory aired to more than 34 million Americans, inspired a generation of athletes, and forever changed the game of hockey in the U.S.
Since 1980, American hockey registrations have jumped from 136,000 to more than 564,000, and the number of U.S.-born NHL players has more than tripled. The ripple effects of “the Miracle” are still being felt today — on NHL ice, in youth leagues, and now in the annals of congressional history.
Perhaps most powerful are the words of the late Coach Brooks, who famously told his team before facing the Soviets: “You were born to be hockey players … and you were meant to be here.”
They were. And now, thanks to this bill, Congress has said they were also meant to be remembered.
The timing couldn’t be more poignant. The 1980 team played against the backdrop of stagflation, gas shortages, a hostage crisis in Iran, and a demoralized national mood. The Cold War was peaking, the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan, and Americans were wondering whether their best days were behind them.
Then came a puck drop, a roar in Lake Placid, and a stunned Soviet squad skating off the ice. In that moment, American grit beat Soviet strength.
Now the bill — which had near-unanimous support in the House and Senate — lands on President Trump’s desk, where it is widely expected to be signed without delay.

February 22,1980: Oylympics: USA Hockey v Russia, February 22, 1980

‘Do You Believe in Miracles?’: Trump Set To Honor 1980 Olympic Hockey Team

Congress

Elise Stefanik

Hockey

Miracle on Ice

Olympics

Politics

Russia

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is eyeing a 2026 run for New York governor, tore into sitting Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul for endorsing far-left NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — branding the frontrunner as a “raging antisemite communist” and accusing Hochul of enabling policies that are wrecking the Empire State.
Appearing on Fox &amp; Friends on Monday morning, Stefanik launched a fiery attack, stating, “Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America, and it was only a matter of time before she bent the knee for this raging antisemite communist.” She added that Hochul now “owns” Mamdani’s extreme agenda, which includes stances of defunding the police, abolishing prisons, eliminating private health insurance, and legalizing prostitution.
Stefanik didn’t hold back on the consequences of Hochul’s hard-left pivot, saying the governor has “embraced communism” and “put jet fuel on commie Mamdani.” She blasted Hochul for pandering to her radical base while ignoring the will of New Yorkers, the majority of whom Stefanik says reject Mamdani’s views and want “common sense” leadership.
“She owns all of his heinous positions that will make New York less affordable and more dangerous,” Stefanik said, pointing to skyrocketing taxes, collapsing public safety, and mass outmigration. “They’re not leaving because of the weather,” she noted. “They’re leaving because of the policies.”
Stefanik’s remarks follow her formation of the “Save New York” PAC, which aims to elect Republicans statewide in 2025 and lay the groundwork for her expected gubernatorial bid. With potential GOP challengers like Rep. Mike Lawler stepping aside, Stefanik is increasingly seen as the frontrunner should she decide to enter the race.
Slamming Hochul’s alignment with Mamdani’s radical proposals, Stefanik said the governor has “embraced tax hikes, defunding the police, government-run grocery stores, and decriminalizing sex work,” warning that such policies will “further destroy New York.”
Stefanik pointed to recent polling to bolster her case, noting that Hochul is hemorrhaging support among independents and on Long Island. “Sixty percent of voters on Long Island want someone new,” she said, adding that “no state moved more to the Republican direction than New York in 2024.”
The congresswoman argued that New Yorkers — regardless of party — are waking up to the extremism of the state’s Democratic leadership. “The vast majority of New York City and New York residents do not want communism. They do not want antisemitism,” she said.
As the state gears up for a volatile 2026 cycle, Stefanik is positioning herself as the GOP’s answer to what she calls a collapsing Democrat Party that’s been hijacked by the radical left.

Stefanik Rips Hochul For Backing ‘Raging Antisemite Communist’ Zohran Mamdani

Kathy Hochul

Zohran Mamdani

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rep-jasmine-crockett-refers-young-woman-murdered-ms-13-illegal-migrant-random-dead-person">ignited outrage</a> during a House Judiciary Committee markup when she referred to Kayla Hamilton — a 20-year-old autistic woman raped and murdered by an MS-13 gang member who entered the country as an unaccompanied minor — as a “random dead person.”
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🚨 DISGUSTING BEHAVIOR: Rep. Jasmine Crockett just called Kayla Hamilton, a young girl murdered by an illegal alien, a “random dead person.” <a href="https://t.co/pSqBF0RAc5">pic.twitter.com/pSqBF0RAc5</a>
&mdash; House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1965819922069762125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jasmine Crockett just called Kayla Hamilton who was m*rdered by an illegal a “random dead person”
No words.
This is absolutely sickening. <a href="https://t.co/rIdkyRrbG3">https://t.co/rIdkyRrbG3</a> <a href="https://t.co/p5UV7ha2gK">pic.twitter.com/p5UV7ha2gK</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1965828151692636453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The committee was debating the Kayla Hamilton Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) that would require background checks on Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) before releasing them into U.S. communities. The bill is named in honor of Hamilton, who was brutally murdered in 2022 by Walter Javier Martinez, a 17-year-old illegal immigrant with known gang ties who had been placed in the U.S. without vetting.
Crockett, rather than focusing on the substance of the bill, lashed out at Republicans, accusing them of exploiting tragedies. “Stop just throwing a random dead person’s name on something for your own political expediency,” she said, in reference to Hamilton. Crockett didn’t stop there — she also accused the GOP of ignoring victims like those tied to Jeffrey Epstein and claimed Republicans only use tragic deaths when politically convenient.
Rep. Fry fired back, calling Crockett’s comments “disgusting rhetoric” and “shameful behavior.”
“Let me be clear: Kayla Hamilton was not just a random person,” Fry told Fox Digital. “She was a young woman with a family and a future.”
“Sadly, this is what we’ve come to expect from Democrats, who will take any opportunity to downplay the tragedy of Americans killed by criminal illegal aliens,” Fry continued. “I expect Mrs. Crockett to issue a full, public apology to Kayla’s family and to every American who has suffered because of her party’s reckless, open-borders agenda.”
Kayla’s mother, Tammy Nobles, voiced support for the bill, stating clearly: “The Kayla Hamilton Act is necessary to ensure background checks of unaccompanied alien children occur before they are released. If that had happened in the case of Kayla’s murderer, authorities would have known he was an MS-13 gang member.”
Martinez, who was sentenced to 70 years in prison, had a criminal history in El Salvador and MS-13 tattoos — details the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed to uncover or ignored before releasing him into the country. Later, he reportedly confessed to multiple additional murders and rapes.
The Kayla Hamilton Act aims to close these loopholes by <a href="https://fry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=905">mandating</a>:
<ul>
<li data-start="2250" data-end="2310">Background checks of UACs aged 12+ via their home countries.</li>
<li data-start="2313" data-end="2340">Screening for gang tattoos.</li>
<li data-start="2343" data-end="2395">Housing gang-affiliated minors in secure facilities.</li>
<li data-start="2398" data-end="2446">Banning illegal immigrants from sponsoring UACs.</li>
<li data-start="2449" data-end="2502">Full sharing of background data on sponsors with DHS.</li>
</ul>

MoveOn Won’t Back Down Tour

Jasmine Crockett Dismisses MS-13 Murder Victim As ‘Random Dead Person’

Jasmine Crockett

Kayla Hamilton

MS-13

Newly-released emails suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci went out of his way to hide information during the COVID-19 pandemic — and then lied about doing so when questioned about it by members of Congress.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) shared screenshots of two separate emails, both of which contained information that Fauci apparently did not want to see the light of day — in both cases, Fauci had clearly instructed the recipient to &#8220;delete&#8221; the message once it had been read. Paul also shared a copy of a letter addressed to Fauci on September 9, referencing the emails in conjunction with his prior testimony — during which he claimed several times that he had not attempted to hide or delete any relevant information regarding the pandemic from Congress — and calling for him to testify again.
&#8220;Newly released emails show Fauci directed colleagues to &#8216;delete this after you read it&#8217; — dating back to Feb. 2020,&#8221; Paul wrote. &#8220;He denied it under oath. These documents are now public, and Fauci will finally testify before Chairman Rand Paul.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨BREAKING: Newly released emails show Fauci directed colleagues to “delete this after you read it”—dating back to Feb. 2020.
He denied it under oath. These documents are now public, and Fauci will finally testify before Chairman Rand Paul. <a href="https://t.co/kHrUDjfRXI">pic.twitter.com/kHrUDjfRXI</a>
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1965766261918630136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Paul included in the letter a list of documents that Fauci, 84, was to provide within two weeks, no later than 5 pm on September 23. In addition to emails, attachments, calls, texts, and voicemails, Paul requested all telephone numbers, messaging app usernames, and email addresses — whether government or private — that Fauci used between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2023.
He followed the letter with additional X posts showing the emails in question.
&#8220;Freshly released emails expose another layer of the Fauci COVID Coverup. In April 2020, his staff flagged my post on NYC’s soaring death rate. Fauci’s reply? Call me &#8216;full of s**t,&#8217; spin the numbers, and order your staff to &#8216;delete this after you read it.&#8217; He knew the reckoning was eventually coming.&#8221;
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The coverup began while the virus was barely on America’s radar. Just one day after the Feb. 1, 2020 Proximal Origins call, Fauci, Francis Collins, and Jeremy Farrar plotted how to “get ahead of the science and the narrative” under WHO.
Fauci ended with: “Please delete this… <a href="https://t.co/lAVuPB8mZJ">pic.twitter.com/lAVuPB8mZJ</a>
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1965766267580580311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The coverup began while the virus was barely on America’s radar,&#8221; Paul wrote on X. &#8220;Just one day after the Feb. 1, 2020 Proximal Origins call, Fauci, Francis Collins, and Jeremy Farrar plotted how to &#8216;get ahead of the science and the narrative&#8217; under WHO. Fauci ended with: &#8216;Please delete this after you read it.'&#8221;

Leading Health Officials Testify On Federal Government’s Response To Monkeypox Outbreak

‘Delete This After You Read It’: Fauci Ordered Staff To Cover Up Email Defending COVID Lockdowns

'Delete This After You Read It': Fauci Ordered Staff To Cover Up Email Defending COVID Lockdowns

Anthony Fauci

COVID-19

Francis Collins

Rand Paul

Pro-gun organizations are suing the federal government to challenge regulations on silencers and short-barreled firearms in an attempt to parlay a legal change in the Big Beautiful Bill into a complete overhaul of longstanding restrictions on guns.
Dubbed the “Big Beautiful Lawsuit,” the suit from the <a href="https://ssf.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silencer Shop Foundation</a>, Gun Owners of America, Palmetto State Armory, and other pro-gun organizations argues that the regulation of the items by the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) is unconstitutional in the wake of a legislative change.
The lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms comes in the wake of the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, which will eliminate the $200 tax on silencers, short-barreled rifles, and other firearms regulated through the National Firearms Act beginning in 2026.
The suit contends that the elimination of the tax on silencers, short barreled rifles and shotguns, and a third category referred to as “any other weapon,” removes the Constitutional justification for their inclusion in the act.
The NFA has allowed the federal government to maintain a registry of those purchasing items covered by the 1934 law for the purposes of ensuring tax compliance, but now with the tax set to be sunsetted, the justification for the federal list becomes increasingly legally flimsy.
“This lawsuit isn’t about picking a fight — it’s about ending one that started in 1934. For nearly a century, Americans have been told they need to beg for permission to protect their own hearing,&#8221; asserts Dave Matheny, the CEO and founder of Silencer Shop. “That’s not safety. That’s government inertia. We’re fighting to restore the kind of common sense our grandparents took for granted — where you could enjoy your rights without a calendar and a checkbook standing in the way.”
The <a href="https://ssf.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silencer Shop Foundation</a>, the legal advocacy arm of the Silencer Shop, says that a win against the ATF would not only remove a deterrent that Americans face when they attempt to exercise their rights, but that would also guard against politicians attempting to <a href="https://www.guns.com/news/2025/07/23/democrat-senator-pushes-for-4-700-tax-stamps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impose even greater costs</a> on suppressor purchases.
Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America Erich Pratt highlighted the monumental opportunity presented by the elimination of the tax.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dismantle one of the most abusive federal gun control laws on the books. With the tax struck down by Congress, the rest of the NFA is standing on air,” Pratt <a href="https://www.gunowners.org/goa-to-file-one-big-beautiful-lawsuit-against-nfa-registry-as-one-big-beautiful-bill-heads-to-presidents-desk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contends</a>. “We’re ready to take this fight to the courts and finally end the federal registry once and for all.”

SSF-Legal-Photos-5-a

Gun Rights Advocates Launch ‘Big Beautiful Lawsuit’ To Gut National Firearms Act

Donald Trump

Guns

Second Amendment

Tuesday’s Congressional hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection,” featured extraordinary testimony — including personal encounters with airborne objects of unknown origin.
Perhaps the most striking moment came not from spoken testimony, but from a newly revealed video presented by Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO). The footage shows what appears to be an AGM-114 Hellfire missile fired from an MQ-9 Reaper drone at an orb-shaped UFO. Shockingly, the missile appears to bounce off the object, causing little to no damage, as the orb continues traveling. The video was reportedly recorded in October 2024 off the coast of Yemen.
Burlison noted that he had been “given” the video.
Witnesses included U.S. Air Force veterans Jeffrey Nuccetelli and Dylan Borland, Chief Alexandro Wiggins, and investigative journalist George Knapp.
Knapp added that while he had discussed the footage on a podcast, he had not seen it before the hearing. He claimed, “There are servers where there’s a whole bank of these kinds of videos that Congress has not been allowed to see, that the public hasn’t been allowed to see.”
“That’s a Hellfire missile smacking into that UFO, and just bounced right off — and it kept going,” he said.
Burlison replied: “It kept going, and it looks like the debris was taken with it.” The congressman added that while he wasn’t going “to speculate” on the exact nature of the object, he wondered why such information is being withheld from Congress.
Later in the hearing, Chair Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) asked the witnesses — while the missile video played in the background — whether they were “aware of anything in the United States government arsenal that can split a Hellfire missile like this?”
Two witnesses responded in the negative, while Borland stated he would prefer to answer that question in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). Luna then followed up, asking if the video “scared” any of them. Three witnesses answered “yes,” though Borland began to caveat before being cut off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING:
New UAP video shows an MQ-9 Reaper drone firing an AGM-114 Hellfire missile at an unknown object.
-The Hellfire impacts the object, which subsequently continues traveling
-*The U.S. military, apparently, cleared *kinetic action* against a UAP* <a href="https://t.co/PFxvgwTduI">pic.twitter.com/PFxvgwTduI</a>
— MarikvR (@MvonRen) <a href="https://twitter.com/MvonRen/status/1965442985660961073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The most compelling testimony from the hearing came from former Military Police Officer Jeffrey Nuccetelli and former Geospatial Intelligence Specialist Dylan Borland. Nuccetelli described multiple UFO incursions at Vandenberg Air Force Base, as well as his own personal sighting.
“Each incident was witnessed by multiple personnel, documented, investigated, and reported up the chain of command,” Nuccetelli said. He noted that official Air Force records pertaining to a 2003 sighting by Boeing contractors of a “massive, glowing red square silently hovering above two missile defense sites” are held by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and the FBI.
Among several incidents, Nuccetelli described one involving a “massive triangular craft, larger than a football field that hovered silently” before accelerating away “at impossible speed.”
He also detailed a personal encounter: “I was off-duty, sitting in my backyard with two other police officers, and we noticed what first appeared to be a satellite in orbit — but it wasn’t acting like a satellite.”
The object, he said, maneuvered oddly before “reappeared 200 feet over my house.” He described it as a “30-foot diameter sphere of light” that soon flew away and vanished into the night sky.
Borland testified about a 2012 encounter in which he saw “an approximately 100-foot equilateral triangle take off from near the NASA hangar on the base.” He said the object interfered with his cell phone, made no sound, and “the material it was made of appeared fluid or dynamic.”
According to Borland, the craft hovered for several minutes before ascending rapidly to “commercial jet level in seconds, displaying zero kinetic disturbance, sound, or wind displacement.”
He also revealed that years later, he was made privy to “classified information from the UAP legacy crash retrieval program through a sensitive position I held within a Special Access Program.”
Borland claimed he has faced severe retaliation, including “denial of work,” “forged and manipulated employment documents, workplace harassment,” and “manipulation of my security clearance by certain agencies, blocking, delaying, and ultimately removing my ability to be employed within the IC.” He said the retaliation he and others experienced drove him to become a whistleblower.
Several lawmakers highlighted the importance of Rep. Tim Burchett’s proposed legislation, the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act (H.R. 5060), as well as the broader UAP Disclosure Act, which has repeatedly been stymied in Congress.
While perhaps not as headline-grabbing as the July 2023 testimony of whistleblower David Grusch, Tuesday’s hearing is likely to sustain public interest and continue to build momentum for UAP transparency in the political arena.
You can watch the entire hearing below:
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UAP Hearing

WATCH: Lawmakers Reveal Video Of Hellfire Missile That Struck UFO With Little Effect

UFO Hearing Reveals Video Of Hellfire Missile Striking Flying Object, Barely Making A Dent

Outer Space

U.S.

Washington D.C.

With just three weeks to go before the federal government runs out of money, Senate Republicans have taken steps toward a rule change that would at least allow them to navigate around Democratic roadblocks and push through a number of stalled federal nominations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), as <a href="https://punchbowl.news/article/house/gop-need-shutdown-plan/">reported</a> by Punchbowl News, kick-started the process on Monday that would allow for an unlimited number of federal nominations to be approved “en bloc” — simultaneously — so long as they were not judicial or cabinet-level positions.
The outlet’s Andrew Desiderio explained on Monday, “Thune will file a resolution tonight that’ll include dozens of bipartisan noms awaiting confirmation. He’ll file cloture tomorrow, setting up Thurs vote at 60-vote threshold which will fail, at which point R’s will vote to overrule the chair. Vote on the res next Monday &#8230; Once the resolution is passed, Thune will file cloture on the bloc of nominees, setting up the first vote for next Wednesday. That’ll be the first time R’s will use the new rules to confirm a huge batch of Trump nominees simultaneously.”
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Once the resolution is passed, Thune will file cloture on the bloc of nominees, setting up the first vote for next Wednesday. That’ll be the first time R’s will use the new rules to confirm a huge batch of Trump nominees simultaneously.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1965146114929414512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Desiderio then shared the list of 48 nominees named in Thune’s resolution — which included eleven War Department positions, five ambassadorships, and a host of other positions across multiple departments — and noted that all of them had already passed with bipartisan support in their respective committees.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here are the 48 (!) nominees listed in Thune’s resolution. Includes Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was nominated for U.S. ambassador to Greece
All of these were approved w/ bipartisan support in committee <a href="https://t.co/pVu7XPwn1d">https://t.co/pVu7XPwn1d</a> <a href="https://t.co/tbN3oBiIVg">pic.twitter.com/tbN3oBiIVg</a>
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1965205928271376659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Thune called out the Democrats for stonewalling President Donald Trump’s nominees from the Senate floor on Monday before filing the resolution, arguing that as former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had previously said, nominees should only be held up or blocked for “legitimate” purposes.
Noting that Democrats were supporting the nominees in committee and on the final votes, they were intentionally stalling the process by refusing to allow the nominees to be confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent, as is traditionally done with civilian nominees.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Democrats have destroyed Senate precedent, and we’re going to fix it.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenateGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenateGOP</a> will ensure that in the future, duly elected presidents are able to get their teams in places without unnecessary delay so that they can fulfill their responsibilities to the American people. <a href="https://t.co/wYw7l2XNjd">pic.twitter.com/wYw7l2XNjd</a>
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaderJohnThune/status/1965140905100513469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Republican Lawmakers Work To Pass Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” On Capitol Hill

Senate Republicans Implement Plan To Push Through Federal Nominees As Shutdown Looms

Senate Republicans Implement Plan To Push Federal Nominees As Shutdown Looms

Government Shutdown

John Thune

Senate Republicans

U.S. Senate

A Tuesday hearing on UFOs falls in the shadow of the blockbuster testimony delivered in July 2023 by whistleblower David Grusch.
Grusch claimed that, according to numerous sources he interviewed, both the U.S. government and private aerospace firms are in possession of exotic craft and materials. These public and private entities have even recovered “biologics,” non-human organisms, according to Grusch.
The September 9 <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/">congressional hearing</a> on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena — more commonly known as UFOs — is titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection.”
Ahead of the event, The Daily Wire spoke with Congressman Eric Burlison, a Republican representing Missouri’s 7th Congressional District, who has emerged as a key figure in the House’s disclosure efforts.
When asked what this hearing could achieve, Burlison shared that at least two witnesses have had firsthand encounters, marking a departure from previous hearings where the most sensational claims were based on secondhand accounts.
The witnesses, identified by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, include U.S. Air Force veterans Jeffrey Nuccetelli and Dylan Borland, Chief Alexandro Wiggins, and investigative journalist George Knapp.
While none of the witnesses are believed to have worked directly for “The Program” — a term referring to alleged Special Access Programs handling recovered exotic materials — Burlison said he is actively seeking individuals who have. He noted, however, that some potential witnesses are fearful about coming forward publicly.
Although Burlison has not faced direct threats or intimidation from lawmakers or members of the Intelligence Community, he said he has been cautioned by allies regarding &#8220;specific people to watch out for.&#8221;
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, another key figure in the disclosure movement, recently introduced the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5060/text?s=1&amp;r=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">H.R. 5060</a>). The bill aims to “provide whistleblower protections to Federal personnel for disclosing the use of Federal taxpayer funds to evaluate or research unidentified anomalous phenomenon material, and for other purposes.”
Burlison noted that the bill is part of a broader effort being made to “grant amnesty to people who are willing to come forward just so long as they&#8217;re speaking the truth,” which would “create an atmosphere that provides safety.”
“Because, from what I&#8217;ve heard, some of the reasons why people are not willing to come forward is because they would be admitting to criminal activity,” Burlison said.
Beyond the hearing itself, Burlison emphasized the importance of a series of official letters being prepared with the assistance of David Grusch &#8212; who now works for the congressman. These interrogatory letters, which carry “significant weight,” will be sent to “different entities to get further information.”
“I want people to know, regardless of how the hearing goes, to me, the most important thing that&#8217;s going to come out of it is the interrogatory letters that we will be dropping at the time of the hearing.”
The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 9, and will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Bipartisan House Oversight Members

Blockbuster UFO Hearing To Feature ‘Firsthand’ Witnesses

Defense

Lockheed Martin

National Intelligence

Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) took Thursday&#8217;s Senate Finance Committee hearing in a bizarre direction when he claimed that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was not &#8220;worthy&#8221; of a starfish pin he claimed he&#8217;d received from someone in his home state.
Lujan claimed that he&#8217;d been given the pin at a town hall in New Mexico, and said that it was supposed to stand for the idea that even the smallest thing – or the smallest action — could make a difference in the world. Kennedy, he then argued, was not &#8220;worthy&#8221; of wearing such a symbol.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry you are not worthy of this nice little pin.&#8221;
&#8220;I was going to give it to you today, but I don&#8217;t think you deserve it.&#8221;
Senator Ben Ray Luján makes a fool of himself in bizarre moment with starfish pin during hearing. Not sure how RFK Jr. will survive this. <a href="https://t.co/iMXdKR153O">pic.twitter.com/iMXdKR153O</a>
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasMHern/status/1963648186414735533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Look, two young ladies in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at a town hall recently gave me this starfish pin,&#8221; he said, removing it from his lapel and holding it up. &#8220;I was going to give it to you today, but after your questioning today, I don&#8217;t think you deserve it.&#8221;
&#8220;Because what this represents is to remember that every one of us can make a difference, sir,&#8221; Lujan continued. &#8220;Something as small as a starfish on a beach that maybe got washed up, you throw it back in the ocean. You might not save them all, but you can save one.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry that you&#8217;re not worthy of this nice little pin, sir, as a nice reminder,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to pray for you, Secretary Kennedy, I hope we do better. I want you to do better. But today was a failure for you, man.&#8221;
Kennedy spent the majority of Thursday&#8217;s hearing listening as the committee&#8217;s Democrats testified in his place, asking only a few <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-deserve-the-truth-rfk-jr-squares-off-with-colorado-senator-in-testy-hearing">contentious questions</a> before talking over him and refusing to let him answer.

Budget, Nominee Hurdles Sow Senate Frustration

Dem Makes A Mockery Of Capitol Hill Hearing, Says RFK Jr. Does Not ‘Deserve’ His Starfish Pin

Dem Makes A Mockery Of Capitol Hill Hearing, Says RFK Jr. Does Not 'Deserve' His Starfish Pin

Democrats

Department of Health and Human Services

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) read Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) the riot act after his colleague claimed that it was &#8220;extremely troubling&#8221; to hear a nominee for a federal post claim that rights were given by God, not governments.
The nominee in question was Riley Barnes, who previously worked in the U.S. State Department and has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Barnes said that he agreed with his boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently said &#8220;that all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our Creator; not from our laws, not from our governments.&#8221;
Kaine took issue with Barnes&#8217; statement, and argued that only a theocratic government — such as the one in Iran — would attribute the source of rights to God rather than the law.
&#8220;The notion that rights don&#8217;t come from laws and don&#8217;t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that&#8217;s what the Iranian government believes. It&#8217;s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Sharia law and targets Sunnis, Bahá&#8217;ís, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities,&#8221; Kaine claimed. &#8220;And they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator. So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.&#8221;
&#8220;I think the the motto over the Supreme Court is &#8216;equal justice under law,&#8217; — the oath that you and I take pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not arbitrarily defined natural rights,&#8221; Kaine continued.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our rights don’t come from government or the DNC.
They come from God. <a href="https://twitter.com/timkaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timkaine</a>, I suggest the Dems go back and read the words of our Founding Fathers. <a href="https://t.co/QRmhTcbbOH">pic.twitter.com/QRmhTcbbOH</a>
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1963299914034663825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cruz pushed back on Kaine&#8217;s claims a short time later in the hearing, saying that it was the Virginia Senator&#8217;s comments that were of concern rather than Barnes&#8217;.
&#8220;I just walked into the hearing as he was saying that, and I almost fell out of my chair, because that &#8216;radical and dangerous notion&#8217; — in his words — is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created,&#8221; said Cruz.
Quoting former President Thomas Jefferson&#8217;s words from the Declaration of Independence, Cruz added, &#8220;&#8216;We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator&#8217; — not by government, not by the Democratic National Committee, but by God — &#8216;with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'&#8221;

Senate DCA Crash Hearing

‘Stunning’: Ted Cruz Reads Tim Kaine The Riot Act Over Claim That Rights Aren’t God-Given

'Stunning': Ted Cruz Reads Tim Kaine The Riot Act Over Claim That Rights Aren't God-Given

Ted Cruz

Thomas Jefferson

Tim Kaine

Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said Wednesday they plan to release their own client list after the Justice Department in July announced it found no evidence of one.
At a rally on Capitol Hill, Epstein victim Lisa Phillips said she and other survivors of Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell plan to release a list of those involved in the abuse.
“Epstein was not just a serial predator; he was an international human trafficker,” Phillips said. “And many around him knew this, many participated, and many profited, and yet, he was protected. I know what it’s like to be trafficked to others, and I know the files contain the names of powerful men who have been shielded because of their fame or fortune.”
“And let me announce now, several of us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list of names,” she added to the cheers of the crowd. “We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know were regularly in the Epstein world, and it will be done by survivors and for survivors.”
After the rally, the Epstein victims and their supporters joined some Republican and Democratic lawmakers for a press conference just outside the Capitol Building. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spoke, calling on the federal government to release more information on the Epstein investigation.
“[The] Washington establishment is asking the American public to believe something that is not believable,” Massie said. “They’re asking you to believe that two individuals created hundreds of victims and they acted alone and that the DOJ has no idea of who else might have been involved that nobody else did anything that rose to a criminal enterprise. The American people know that’s not true.”
The DOJ said that it did not find evidence that Epstein had a client list or that powerful co-conspirators were involved in his child sex crimes. The DOJ also noted that the evidence showed that Epstein committed suicide in his jail cell in August 2019. President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-epstein-story-is-kept-alive-by-pretty-bad-people-including-fake-news">blasted</a> those focusing on the Epstein files, arguing that the issue is being pushed by the “Fake News” and “success-starved Dems.”
During the press conference, Epstein accuser Jena-Lisa Jones said, “I remembered crying the entire way home, thinking about how I couldn’t ever tell anyone about what actually happened in that house. This guy was so rich and had so many pictures with so many famous people and no one would have ever believed me if I told them.” Jones told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/us/jeffrey-epstein-survivors-interview">CNN</a> that she met Epstein when she was just 14, and that he was her first sexual experience.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-led-oversight-committee-drops-massive-trove-of-over-33000-epstein-docs?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Republican-Led+Oversight+Committee+Drops+Massive+Trove+Of+Over+33%2C000+Epstein+Docs">released</a> more than 33,000 pages of Epstein documents, but critics blasted the heavily redacted document trove.
“What people are waking up and discovering right now is — the folks who stayed up all night to go through the 34,000 individual pages have found that they’re so redacted as to be useless,” Massie said.
Khanna said during the press conference that less than 1% of the Epstein files had been released.
“A nation that allows rich and powerful men to traffic and abuse young girls without consequence is a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual core,” he said.
Wednesday’s rally and press conference was the largest gathering of Epstein’s accusers since a 2019 court hearing following the sex abuser’s death, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/03/house-epstein-files-victims-news-conference/#link-QMGSRWQ7GJFM3F6G2WVO222RZE">reported</a>. House lawmakers met with Epstein victims on Tuesday to discuss releasing more documents.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who supports a limited release of Epstein documents, praised the Tuesday document dump, saying, “There’s 33,000 documents that were released because of this administration. When we met with victims yesterday, they said that they don’t want their personal information to be out there, and they actually asked us to not put it out there, so obviously that was information that was withheld from that document release.”
Massie also <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thomas-massie-epstein-files-discharge-petition-house-vote/">filed</a> a discharge petition on Tuesday in an attempt to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. The discharge petition must receive 218 votes, a majority of the House, to move a vote forward.
Khanna believes that all House Democrats would sign the petition, and is hopeful that at least six Republicans would also sign. Massie said he is two Republicans away from passing the discharge petition, along with Massie and Greene, Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado are the only Republicans to sign the petition.

House Members Introduce Epstein Files Transparency Act

‘We Know The Names’: Epstein Victims Say They Will Release Their Own Client List

Jeffrey Epstein

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Republicans

Thomas Massie

Trump Administration

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of documents related to the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday.
The Department of Justice provided the <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-epstein-records-provided-by-the-department-of-justice/">records</a> under subpoena from committee chairman James Comer of Kentucky. The document dump consisted of 33,295 pages.
Speaking to reporters following the release, Comer <a href="https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1963011925358608801">said</a> that the committee continues to expand its investigation into notable figures, such as former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who, as a prosecutor, negotiated a controversial plea deal with Epstein in 2008. The committee is working on releasing other records, as well.
“We&#8217;re gonna continue to bring in more people. We learned of some additional names today,” said Comer. “We&#8217;re gonna do everything we can to give the American public the transparency they seek, as well as provide accountability in memory of the victims who have already passed away, as well as those that were in the room, and many others who haven&#8217;t come forward.”
Comer thanked the White House for working with House lawmakers to make the documents available for release.
“The White House is working with us. I wanna publicly thank the White House for turning over so many documents thus far,” said Comer.
The committee has subpoenaed a number of high-profile figures already, including former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Comer <a href="https://x.com/DailyCaller/status/1962989269351309574">added</a> that the committee plans to subpoena Epstein’s madam Ghislaine Maxwell, as well.
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-reveals-whether-she-believes-epstein-committed-suicide">interviewed</a> Maxwell and released the tapes of that interview last month. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted the interview, and Maxwell’s testimony backs up some of what the Justice Department has said about Epstein’s case, such as the lack of an Epstein “client list.”
Maxwell also told Blanche that she never saw any man, including President Donald Trump nor Clinton, behave inappropriately around Epstein.
“I never, ever saw any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age. I never saw inappropriate habits,” Maxwell told Blanche. “Now somebody’s inappropriate and mine may be different.”
“Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me,” she added. “And I just want to say that I find — I — I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the president now. And I like him, and I’ve always liked him. So that is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him.”

James Comer

Republican-Led Oversight Committee Drops Massive Trove Of Over 33,000 Epstein Docs

Ghislaine Maxwell

House Oversight Committee

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