It was a busy 2025 for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who took the reins from Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell in November 2024.
The Daily Wire’s Washington Bureau Chief Tim Rice spoke with the Republican leader for Thursday&#8217;s episode of “Morning Wire” and reflected on what the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has looked like in the upper congressional chamber. Thune also looked ahead to the big debate on Capitol Hill around health insurance, as some Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire on Wednesday.
As the Obamacare issue looms, Thune gave some insight into what he would be looking for in a health care plan.
“What we do believe makes sense is a model that a creates for an expansion of health savings accounts and putting the money back in the pockets of people in this country, incentivizing them to buy the insurance that makes sense for them, rather than buying the insurance the government tells &#8217;em they have to buy,” Thune said.
“And so they get a better rate, lower premium and better access to coverage. And I think those are things, those are elements of healthcare policy that we think makes sense, and none of which were included in what the Democrats voted on last week or what the Democrats in the House are trying to get done over there now,” he continued.
The health care debate focuses on whether the Obamacare subsidies should continue to keep premiums down. The lengthy federal government shutdown in the fall centered around the Obamacare debate, and it could strike Washington once <a href="https://www.livenowfox.com/news/government-could-shut-down-again-january-what-we-know">again</a> if lawmakers do not pass a bill to continue funding the government after January 30. Many conservatives argue that the program was unsustainable to begin with.
Thune said that 2025 was a &#8220;very productive&#8221; year thanks to President Donald Trump&#8217;s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,&#8221; which was passed by Congress and signed into law in July.
“In fact, the president&#8217;s agenda, for the most part, was all accomplished in that &#8216;One Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8217; Whether it&#8217;s national security or the border, energy, tax policy, school choice have been a priority for the movement for a long time, newborn accounts, childcare,” Thune said, also noting the farm bill and “the biggest spending reduction literally in history.”
However, he noted that being able to get the bill passed and to the president’s desk in July “was a Herculean task.”
“If you&#8217;d spread that out, you know, these things over a long period of time, like we would normally do, then it would look like a lot of stuff,&#8221; Thune continued. He also highlighted different Trump administration nominees making their way through the chamber, as well as cutting red tape, especially on energy.
“So it&#8217;s been busy, just in terms of volume of votes and time, and then in session and all that too. But I think also, I would argue very productive. But doing it all in one big, a lot of that one big package, then it gets the peanut gallery going, like, &#8216;Why aren&#8217;t you guys doing anything this week?&#8217;” the Republican said.
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The majority leader also addressed national security concerns, as well as threats abroad, like the recent antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi Beach, Australia.
“His investment in securing the border, working with us, his investment in America&#8217;s national security and projecting a policy of peace through strength around the world are all things that contribute to keeping people in this country safe,” the Republican said regarding Trump’s agenda on public safety.
“But when you see things like what happened in Australia, or even things that some of these horrible incidents here in the United States, they&#8217;re really tragic,” he said.
“I think that the best thing we can do is try to put in place the things that our law enforcement needs, that our military needs to deter bad behavior. And then, of course, obviously, when it happens make sure that people are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And I think the president&#8217;s focus on law enforcement and on security is in a clear-eyed way, focused on that,” the majority leader later continued.

Senators Hold Their Policy Luncheons At The Capitol

Thune Previews Major Hurdle To Start 2026 After Momentous First Year As Majority Leader

Congress

Health Care

John Thune

Senate

House Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota accused the state&#8217;s Democratic Governor Tim Walz and leftist Attorney General Keith Ellison of covering up massive fraud committed by Somali immigrants so that they could retain that community&#8217;s vote in future elections.
In an interview with The Daily Wire&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-260102-member-exclusive?elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+For+You&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Morning Wire</a>&#8221; on Wednesday, Emmer said that the best way to address rampant fraud in Minnesota would be to remove Walz, Ellison, and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from office. He argued that under Walz, the state government would continue to cover up fraud, a large percentage of which is allegedly committed by residents of Somali descent.
&#8220;Today there are roughly, by some estimates, about 80,000 Somali immigrants that are living in Minnesota,&#8221; Emmer told &#8220;Morning Wire.&#8221; &#8220;The vast majority of them live in Minneapolis or Hennepin County, an area called Riverside. There&#8217;s probably 50,000 to 60,000 of them right there.&#8221;
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW BELOW:
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The Republican congressman said that the large Somali community, which typically votes heavily for Democrats, is key to Walz&#8217;s and Ellison&#8217;s hopes of winning reelection, since they struggle to win votes in rural Minnesota. Walz and Ellison are nearing the end of their second terms, and both announced they will seek a third in 2026.
&#8220;So what is this about?&#8221; Emmer asked. &#8220;This is about the fact that when he and Keith Ellison took office, Keith Ellison instantly set up a policy in his attorney general&#8217;s office that required his approval before any further investigations into fraud could go forward. Guess what? He&#8217;s never approved one of them.&#8221;
&#8220;They need that 60,000 to 80,000 Somali population. They need them to be voting for them. That&#8217;s what this is all about,&#8221; Emmer added. &#8220;And what ends up happening because they refuse to deal with the problem.&#8221;
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One of the recent Minnesota fraud scandals involved the &#8220;Feeding Our Future&#8221; program, which received federal funds and claimed to distribute meals to hungry children during the COVID pandemic but allegedly never did so. The vast majority of those charged in the fraud scheme were of Somali descent. A federal prosecutor said earlier this month that Minnesota&#8217;s social programs have lost at least $9 billion to fraud since 2018, a timeline that spans all of Walz&#8217;s two terms as governor.
Daycare and learning centers linked to Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis area have also come under <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-daycare-fraud-has-been-going-on-at-least-a-decade-and-theres-video-to-prove-it">scrutiny</a> for suspected fraud after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video last week, showing him visiting numerous daycares that have received state funding, but don&#8217;t appear to be serving any children. The Trump administration vowed to investigate the alleged fraud and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-conduct-door-to-door-checks-at-suspected-minneapolis-fraud-sites">deployed</a> federal agents to Minneapolis earlier this week to conduct door-to-door checks on suspected fraud sites.
The Department of Health and Human Services also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-freezes-all-child-care-payments-to-minnesota-amid-daycare-fraud-scandal?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Freezes+%E2%80%98All+Child+Care+Payments%E2%80%99+To+Minnesota+Amid+Daycare+Fraud+Scandal">froze</a> all child care payments to Minnesota over the fraud allegations.
Emmer said that fraud is &#8220;everywhere&#8221; in the Walz administration.
&#8220;I want to make it clear, I&#8217;m very grateful for [President Donald Trump] raising this issue, because we&#8217;ve been trying to get people to notice for the last three years,&#8221; he added. &#8220;It&#8217;s only because of what he has done that now all of a sudden people are stepping back in horror as to what&#8217;s been going on in Minnesota.&#8221;
Three Republican Minnesota representatives sent a letter to Walz on Wednesday, asking if he would commit to cooperating with federal investigations into alleged fraud.
&#8220;Minnesotans, and the American people at large, deserve answers. What has happened in our state is nothing short of an illegal transfer of money from hardworking taxpayers to criminal actors, many of whom entered our country as foreign nationals and repaid our hospitality with absolute contempt for our laws and values,&#8221; said Reps. Brad Finstad, Pete Stauber, and Michelle Fischbach.

Tom Emmer/Tim Walz and Keith Ellison

Minnesota Congressman Says Walz Administration Squashed Fraud Probe To Appease Somali Voting Bloc

Fraud

Keith Ellison

Minnesota

Politics

Somalis

Tim Walz

Congress might soon be getting a Gen Z conservative shakeup.
Michael Alfonso, 25, is seeking to replace Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District, as Tiffany is running for governor in 2026. The deep red seat was previously held by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is Alfonso’s father-in-law.
Alfonso explained what it’s like being a Gen Z candidate to The Daily Wire’s AmericaFest pre-show earlier this month.
“It&#8217;s going really well. I think everyone was worried about a 25-year-old running for Congress and everyone we&#8217;ve met, no matter how old or young, they&#8217;re excited to see someone that shows them that when the older generation is no longer here, there is still hope for the country,” he said.
He also said that Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September has served as a motivator for him to get politically active in a more direct way.
“I’ve heard it put that it was like seeing a family member die when Charlie got shot. And I think it changed a lot of paths in life. It’s the reason why I’m running for Congress sitting here, and I couldn’t be more appreciative to Turning Point for everything they do and bringing me to this event,” the Republican added, as he also spoke on a panel at the event with other Congressional candidates.
His campaign comes as multiple reports have shown that Gen Z is <a href="https://www.theupandup.us/p/gen-z-teens-conservative-shift-gallup-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more conservative</a> than their parents&#8217; generation, in addition to other research showing that young people are paving the way for increased church attendance, according to the <a href="https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barna Group</a>.
On the issues, he said that immigration and inflation are his top concerns.
“We need to make sure the government isn’t wasting our money on every single thing they do, and we need to make sure that the only people that are here in the United States being a burden or taking tax dollars from the system are United States citizens,” he said.
His wife, Evita Duffy-Alfonso, specifically pointed out that her decision to get married young, as well as coming from a large family, is uniquely counter-cultural.
“So we met for the first time in middle school, so we’ve known each other for a very long time, and I don’t know, I just think, why delay happiness? Why wait?” she said about meeting Alfonso. Her parents famously met on the MTV reality show “The Real World” in the 90s, and now have nine children together.
“If you find someone who you love, who shares your values, why delay that?” she continued.
“&#8217;I need to build my career or get a master’s degree before.&#8217; You put all these restrictions on yourself, and the greatest joys in your life really are your family. It’s your husband, it’s your children,” Duffy-Alfonso added. “I know this because go what my parents demonstrated for me and my siblings… I think a lot of people think that they are going to be happier replaying life, and delaying marriage, and that’s usually not the case.”

Charlie Kirk

How Charlie Kirk Is Inspiring A 25-Year-Old Republican Through His Congressional Bid

Generation Z

Turning Point USA

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) is running to succeed outgoing Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in the United States Senate.
“We must keep up this fight, and that’s why today, I’m announcing my campaign for United States Senate,” the Republican said in a campaign video on Tuesday, which featured her 102-year-old mother, Marion Hageman.
“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” she added.
Hageman gained nationwide attention in 2022 for defeating former Rep. Liz Cheney in the Republican primary after an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Hageman blew past Cheney with 66% of the vote to Cheney’s 29%. Cheney, formerly the chair of the House Republican Conference, became a staunch opponent of Trump and campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Wyoming has a singular at-large House district, and Trump campaigned for Hageman in May 2022 in Casper.
“I spoke with Harriet yesterday— She will be one of the best US Senators in the country. No question. We need her in there!” Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action, posted to X on Tuesday. It’s unclear if any other major candidates will enter the Republican field at this point.
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The seat is considered to be solidly Republican, according to the Cook Political Report. Lummis won in 2020 with nearly 73% of the vote, and Trump won the state in 2024 with nearly 72% of the vote. Wyoming has a population of under 600,000 people.
As for Lummis, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-republican-senator-announces-retirement-ahead-of-2026-midterms">announced</a> that she would not be seeking a second term in the upper chamber on Friday. The senator was known as a leader on cryptocurrency policy as well as energy.
“Deciding not to run for reelection does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I&#8217;ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me. I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon. The energy required doesn&#8217;t match up,” Lummis, 71, stated.
“I am honored to have earned the support of President Trump and to have the opportunity to work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming. I look forward to continuing this partnership and throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the U.S. Senate. Thank you, Wyoming!” she continued.
If elected, Hageman would be serving alongside Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, who was re-elected in 2024.

Harriet Hageman

Congresswoman Who Defeated Liz Cheney Launches Senate Bid

2026 election

Wyoming

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) are <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/17/us-news/elise-stefanik-demands-answers-from-kathy-hochul-about-qatar-funded-curriculum-in-nyc/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_social_handle_id=17469289&amp;utm_social_post_id=626155842&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost">pressing</a> New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to explain why New York City public schools are using curriculum and instructional materials funded by Qatar and what they describe as “malign domestic actors.” The GOP lawmakers argue that the New York City Department of Education has refused to release materials related to the September 11 attacks and the October 7 Hamas massacre, leaving Hochul as the only authority able to compel transparency.
“The [NYC] DOE has refused to provide copies of teaching materials that twist the narratives of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, in Israel,” Stefanik and Comer wrote in a letter obtained by the New York Post.
The lawmakers zeroed in on $1 million from Qatar Foundation International flowing to P.S. 261 in Cobble Hill and P.S./I.S. 30 in Bay Ridge, as well as on materials from Bridging Cultures, run by Dr. Debbie Almontaser, who is also the head of the Muslim Community Network (MCN). Stefanik and Comer allege MCN has a history of downplaying Islamist violence, opposing funding for the National 9/11 Memorial &amp; Museum, and vilifying anyone highlighting radical Islam’s role in the attacks. Bridging Cultures has conducted workshops on the Hamas attacks, which the lawmakers say “erases Israeli suffering.” Combined, MCN and Bridging Cultures have collected at least $14.7 million from New York City since 2014.
“The NYC DOE partnered with Bridging Cultures to train teachers on how to speak to students about 10/7, the war in Gaza, and the anti-Israel protest movement,” Stefanik and Comer said.
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Stefanik and Comer demanded that Hochul provide contracts, copies of the curriculum, and explanations for these partnerships. Hochul’s office dismissed the letter, saying Stefanik “misunderstand[s] how New York’s education system and mayoral control operate.”
The row escalates Stefanik’s attack line against Hochul ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial race. She has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stefanik-slams-hochuls-cowardly-silence-after-mamdanis-endorsement-of-9-11-apologist">slammed</a> Hochul for supporting incoming NYC Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who endorsed Palestinian activist Aber Kawas for the State Assembly.
“Kathy Hochul endorsed Mamdani and now owns his latest public endorsement of radical activist Aber Kawas for New York State Assembly, a proud terrorist sympathizer and denigrator of the United States,” Stefanik said in a statement. “Kawas notoriously blamed America for 9/11 that claimed the lives of thousands of New Yorkers, citing the United States&#8217; ‘system of capitalism,’ ‘racism,’ ‘white supremacy,’ and ‘Islamophobia’ as justification for the terrorist attacks that killed New Yorkers. It is clear that Mamdani owns and controls the Worst Governor in America, Kathy Hochul, as she cowardly remains silent on the anti-American and antisemitic filth spewed by the incoming Mayor and his endorsed candidates. Kathy Hochul must condemn Mamdani’s endorsement of Kawas immediately.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)

Stefanik Demands Hochul Explain Qatar-Funded NYC School Curriculum

Elementary Schools

Elise Stefanik

James Comer

Kathy Hochul

New York City

Qatar

When Democrats want to slam their political opponents, they resort to a kind of linguistic reductionism. Everyone to their right is a neocon, or alt right, or MAGA, or a Christian nationalist, or whatever the popular term of art is at the moment.
Republicans have the opposite problem. For years, they’ve used “liberal,” “leftist,” and progressive” interchangeably. Today things are even further obfuscated by more specific but still somewhat vague concepts like “DEI,” and of course, the ever-evocative but incredibly diffuse “woke.”
This isn’t a good rhetorical strategy. Liberal hasn’t meant what it really means in a century, and it’s such a useless term that even the liberals don’t want to claim it. Leftist is probably the most accurate, but it’s still so dripping with the blood of 1968 that Democrats will sooner call themselves socialists before they proclaim themselves leftists.
That leaves progressive, which has more or less been the go-to epithet for partisan Democrats since Barack Obama.
But what is progressivism, and why is it bad? Progress in and of itself seems like a good thing: we like that our cars are safer and our phones are faster, and that we no longer have lead in our paint or children in our factories. Those on the Right, of course, know that “progress” as a political concept is something altogether more sinister, a Hegelian tidal wave that if left unchecked will wipe out the nuclear family and Judeo-Christian values in one fell swoop.
What relevance does any of this have, though, for contemporary politics?
If ever there were a man who could answer this question, it’s Ronald J. Pestritto. A graduate dean and professor of politics at Hillsdale College, Pestritto has been writing, researching, and teaching about progressivism throughout his career, which began at Claremont McKenna College in 1990 and continued through his graduate work at Claremont Graduate University, where he earned his Ph.D in 1996.
I&#8217;ve had the pleasure of hearing Pestritto lecture on the progressives, by which he means the early 20th-century American political movement defined by presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and thinkers like John Dewey and Herbert Croly. Unlike some of his colleagues at both Hillsdale and Claremont, who — due respect — love to sound off on contemporary political debates, Pestritto is a thinker and teacher through and through.
This is reflected not just in his engaging classroom demeanor and professorial aesthetic, but in his body of work. His first book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woodrow-Liberalism-American-Intellectual-Culture/dp/0742515176/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y0zFGAtuwQqPwDeNJuKGfVWPvluFeMoF5qWn89yfGZy4hrvGVUDju8aQhN-S92NE1HYjCNZgxbKQscvrjc9p6AaoUpqGOyHPer3AK54SupWi8HfFj2yx6hCmB_bcxmlGD-1vyALpgLAnsi28K0Maeg.T_1I2viGooACkQVFk8PNtFp8BvjbKajD1b6VBkL4KGQ&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1766077924&amp;refinements=p_27%3ARonald+J.+Pestritto&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism,</a> is a sustained engagement with the controversial progressive president. He has edited a fine collection of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woodrow-Wilson-Essential-Political-Writings-ebook/dp/B00EJKJGXY/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y0zFGAtuwQqPwDeNJuKGfVWPvluFeMoF5qWn89yfGZx3BcY0ba2YCzmoLq3MaDTFr09KNZ88X8pJlfkXNS5D0sqb2136e2O-z3mgoE5tPt12NjeAipXXr0ODTrHeO6V_helDXyECIovH12fQYsgluA.a0cCKFHfONuUQoSeQ_RpaFfNqExHJe0n0fHNi1hZypQ&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1766078016&amp;refinements=p_27%3ARonald+J.+Pestritto&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-6&amp;text=Ronald+J.+Pestritto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wilson’s political writings</a> as well as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Progressivism-Ronald-J-Pestritto/dp/0739123033/ref=sr_1_5?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y0zFGAtuwQqPwDeNJuKGfVWPvluFeMoF5qWn89yfGZy4hrvGVUDju8aQhN-S92NE1HYjCNZgxbKQscvrjc9p6AaoUpqGOyHPer3AK54SupWi8HfFj2yx6hCmB_bcxmlGD-1vyALpgLAnsi28K0Maeg.T_1I2viGooACkQVFk8PNtFp8BvjbKajD1b6VBkL4KGQ&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1766077924&amp;refinements=p_27%3ARonald+J.+Pestritto&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Progressivism: A Reader,</a> both indispensable volumes for anyone interested in progressivism or turn-of-the-century American political history.
It is precisely these academic bona fides that make it all the more exciting when Pestritto starts talking about contemporary politics — which he did in a wide-ranging interview with The Daily Wire.
The occasion of our conversation was the publication of Pestritto’s latest offering, “Government by the Unelected: How It Happened, and How It Might Be Tamed.” The ninth installment in the Claremont Institute&#8217;s <a href="https://dc.claremont.org/provocations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Provocations” series</a>, Pestritto describes it alternately as a long essay or a small book.
It is, according to the précis, &#8220;a comprehensive, historically-grounded account of how America moved from the founders’ vision of republican self-government to a regime governed by a permanent, unaccountable class of administrators.”
But the book&#8217;s goal is less lofty than that makes it sound. Pestritto says he wrote it with the 2026 midterm elections firmly in view, and in the hopes of providing Americans with a deeper understanding of precisely what is at stake when they go to the polls.
“The point is to help people understand the current controversies, because the way that they&#8217;re explained in the press is often not useful,” he says. “These are things that have been boiling for 80, 90 years, and we&#8217;re now finally at a point where there&#8217;s going be a fight over it. So, that background is necessary to hopefully help explain what&#8217;s been going on legally to bring us to this point.”
By this, Pestritto means the administrative state and its discontents. Better known as the bureaucracy or the “deep state,” this unelected leviathan is both the outgrowth and steward of American progressivism. Now a popular conservative bugaboo, the administrative state, as Pestritto admits, “something that most folks did not pay much attention to until probably Obama.”
If Mr. “Pen and Phone” raised hackles about the deep state, it was his onetime vice president who really laid bare what was at stake. From mandating coronavirus vaccines to banning gas-powered stoves, Joe Biden’s administration made clear to Americans what happened when elected officials ceded all authority to government bureaucrats.
A quick refresher for anyone who fell asleep in Deep State 101: federal agencies like the EPA, CDC, FCC — pretty much anything with a three-letter acronym — aren’t in the Constitution. They were largely created by congressional action, and the idea was that Congress would fund them, the president would control them (as part of the Executive Branch), and the courts would intervene when necessary.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the system of checks and balances most of us had drilled into our heads in school. But things changed in 1984, when the Supreme Court ruled in a case called Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The result of the case was, in short, that administrative agencies were allowed to interpret and enforce federal guidance about themselves however they saw fit.
In other words: screw the branches, we can do whatever we want.
The result of that case, which came to be called “Chevron Deference,” led to a bloated and powerful administrative apparatus with no fear of legislative or executive oversight. It also fueled the neutering of Congress, and, until the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, made it seem like the rule of unelected bureaucrats over the United States was simply a forgone conclusion.
That, to Pestritto, is unacceptable.
“Government by bureaucracy contradict our principles of law and constitutionalism,” he says, in addition to violating “the basic democratic idea, that the people are supposed to govern themselves.”
“We have guards against majority tyranny, but basically you have people making rules, you have people governing who aren&#8217;t accountable to voters, and that&#8217;s not kosher in a republic.”
This is not merely a partisan gripe. It’s not that the federal bureaucracy is often staffed with liberals because liberals tend to gravitate toward government work. No, the liberal bias is built into the machinery — a machinery that seeks to shred the foundations of the country.
The original progressive idea, he notes, was that “the circumstances are different today than they were at the Founding. Progress means new circumstances, and requires a new kind of government.”
In other words, “our constitution&#8217;s outdated.” This, more than anything, Pestritto sees as the progressives’ lasting legacy.
“I would say the main way in which, uh, you see the Progressive legacy today is in the deference to the administrative state,” he says. “I am not naive enough to think that contemporary Democrats who call themselves progressives are true believers in the way that the original progressives were.”
While the original progressives at least had some kind of political program — workplace safety protections, things like that — “the contemporary Left is all about power.”
But that doesn’t mean that the bureaucracy the progressives built isn’t a useful tool for the Left.
“The bureaucracy, given the nature of what it does, is inherently Left ideologically,” Pestritto tells The Daily Wire. “It&#8217;s not conducive to conservative priorities.”
Here, Pestritto sounds increasingly like the odd man out among conservatives. It’s popular on the Right these days to say that the problem with the federal bureaucracy is simply that the wrong people are running it. Put patriots in charge, the argument goes, and things will turn around.
Pestritto isn’t buying it.
“You&#8217;re never gonna get an entity like the Federal Trade Commission but conservative, or the EPA but conservative,” he says. “That&#8217;s where I get off the bus.”
But this hardly means Pestritto is the kind of conservative intellectual who waxes poetic about Congress reasserting itself as a coequal branch of government — quite the contrary.
“Congress has basically ceased to become a legislative body,” he says. “It&#8217;s not a legislative institution anymore. It&#8217;s a kind of public media company.”
Asked how he would rate congressional efforts to rein in the administrative state, he pulls no punches.
“I&#8217;d give the congressional Republicans an F,” he says, noting that lawmakers are “failing to take advantage of a historic opportunity.”
That opportunity, of course, is the re-election of Trump, who has made “draining the swamp” one of his top priorities. On this front, the president is succeeding, Pestritto says.
“Trump&#8217;s really trying to go after the kind of inherent ideological bias in the federal government that&#8217;s sort of seated there in the bureaucracy, and that’s why they&#8217;re fighting like hell right now,” he says.
While Congress gets an F, “The current Trump administration I would give almost an A+,” Pestritto says, “because they are peddle to the floor trying to take advantage of every opening to rein in the bureaucracy, with the agency firings, with DOGE, and with a lot of the executive orders pertaining to rescinding regulations pertaining to bringing the independent agencies under the control of the president.”
Pestritto is quick to distinguish between his kind of robust executive authority and an effort to make the bureaucracy conservative.
“I’m much more an advocate of making the agencies directly accountable to the president by a total removal of power that he has, and then by paring back their authority and returning governing to actual elected officials, not so much in the federal government but probably in the state governments.”
Trump isn’t the only reason Pestritto is optimistic about the future of representative government. The Supreme Court, he says, has over the past decade begun “to try to turn the tables on the bureaucracy.”
The Court took a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-seems-likely-to-give-trump-power-to-remove-independent-agency-heads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major step</a> in this direction earlier this month during oral arguments for Trump v. Slaughter, which deals with the president’s ability to remove independent agency heads. The Court’s conservative majority appeared to side with President Trump, who contends he had the ability to remove Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission.
In January, the Court will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Cook, a similar case that hinges on Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/appeals-court-protects-biden-appointed-fed-governor-lisa-cook-from-trump-ouster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempt to remove</a> Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
“This stuff is kind of filtering up to the grownups in the judicial system,” Pestritto says.
Though Pestritto is optimistic about all of these developments, he is clear that we never should have gotten to this point.
The best way to dismantle the administrative state, he says, “would be for Congress to reverse all of the discretionary authority it has delegated to bureaucratic executive agencies.”
But of course, “they&#8217;re not going to do that — that ship has sailed.”
“Congress is never going to be what it should be,” he says. That’s a pity, because in the not-so-distant past, congressional appropriators from both parties (he names Democrat John Dingell as one example) were so bullish about protecting their own power that they would fight the bureaucracy if only for territory.
“Nowadays, ideology has transcended all of that,” he says. “So the Democrats in Congress essentially know that the bureaucrats are their proxy.”
“And so, they are perfectly happy to let the bureaucrats disparage and ignore and resist congressional efforts for oversight,&#8221; he adds. &#8220;Because they understand that the bureaucracy will do the hard legislative work of legislating for the Left.”

Untitled design (84)

Could Donald Trump Finally Dismantle The Deep State? Ronald Pestritto Thinks So.

Donald Trump

Hillsdale College

Progressivism

Supreme Court

The House on Wednesday approved a bill that would prohibit doctors across the country from performing transgender surgeries on minors or giving gender-confused kids puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.
The legislation, introduced by outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), passed 216-211. Under Greene&#8217;s proposal, doctors who provide transgender procedures to children could face steep fines or up to 10 years in prison. 
“One of the most serious responsibilities we have is adults and particularly those of us who are elected and hold power when it comes to legislating and making laws is to protect children. Today, the House is delivering on what the American people voted for,” Greene said from the House floor. “Most Americans agree that kids just need to grow up before they do anything radical, like a mastectomy on a 15-year-old girl, castrate themselves through surgery, or even take dangerous drugs that have lifelong effects.”
Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Donald Davis (North Carolina), and Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) joined 213 Republicans in backing the measure. Four Republicans, including Reps. Gabe Evans (Colorado), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Mike Kennedy (Utah), and Mike Lawler (New York) voted against the bill. 
More than three dozen Republicans co-sponsored the proposal, known as the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act.” 
The procedures prohibited in the bill include giving males who identify as girls estrogen and females who identify as boys testosterone. Cross-sex hormones given to children can have profound impacts on fertility, sexual function, and heart health. The law also blocks doctors from giving kids puberty blockers, which can significantly harm bone development. 
It would also ban genital surgeries and the removal of the breasts of girls who identify as boys. 
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American Principles Project President Terry Schilling praised the bill&#8217;s passage. 
“Republicans showed today that they are as committed to protecting children as Democrats are to disfiguring them,” he told The Daily Wire. “Bipartisan supermajorities support commonsense protections for at-risk children, and yet only three Democrats had the moral courage to stand up to a multi-billion-dollar industry that profits off of the misery of American kids. Democrats have been captured by an ideology that is as poisonous as it is profitable.”
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have previously introduced similar proposals. In September, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-new-blackburn-bill-would-end-barbaric-transgender-procedures-nationwide">introduced</a> legislation to ban transgender procedures nationwide, a measure the Trump administration quickly endorsed. The bill has not advanced since its introduction and has not yet received a committee hearing or vote.
More than two dozen states have moved to enact similar bans on transgender procedures over the last few years.

House Oversight Committee Holds Biden Impeachment Hearing

House Passes Nationwide Ban On Trans Procedures For Gender-Confused Children

House of Representatives

Marjorie Taylor Greene

transgender surgery

A new bill from Republican Senator Tom Cotton would protect National Guard troops from “deranged individuals” who attack or spit on them while they are on duty.
Cotton’s bill would create a 15-foot buffer zone around any National Guard member performing official duties, his office told The Daily Wire. The intent would be to shield troops from people trying to intimidate, harass, touch, or spit on them.
“The brave Arkansans who serve in our National Guard should be protected from deranged individuals. My bill ensures that anyone who attempts to intimidate or harass a Guardsmen will face the full force of the law,” Cotton told The Daily Wire.
Cotton’s legislation comes as President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops to cities across the country from Memphis to Los Angeles to assist in federal operations.
The bill, known as the ‘‘National Guard Protective Zone Act,” would create a federal misdemeanor for those who enter the protective zone to intimidate, harass, or impede a troop. It would also create a felony for anyone who spits on or throws an object at a National Guard member while on duty. That would be punishable by up to five years in prison.
“Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit activity protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that is conducted outside a posted protective zone,” the legislation reads.
Since being deployed to Washington, D.C., National Guard troops have faced protests and violence. Just before Thanksgiving, two National Guard troops were shot, with one dying while another was critically injured. The man suspected of shooting the troops was an Afghan refugee who entered the country under former President Joe Biden.
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In another high-profile incident, a man threw a subway sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol officer during part of the Trump administration’s law enforcement surge to the nation’s capital.
On Wednesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Trump administration could keep the National Guard deployed to the district while litigation plays out.
“Another important court victory for President Trump’s agenda: today, the D.C. Circuit unanimously issued a stay in favor of our National Guard deployment to Washington, DC,” Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2001375227465322966">said</a>. “Our federal surge in DC has saved countless lives, removed hundreds of illegal guns off the streets, and led to a dramatic drop in crime in our nation’s capital city.”

Senate Confirmation Held To Consider John Ratcliffe To Be CIA Director

National Guard Under Attack From ‘Deranged Individuals’ In U.S. Cities, Senator Says

Arkansas

National Guard

Tom Cotton

Washington D.C.

Democratic Rep. Josh Riley canceled an informal discussion with local Democrats last-minute after taking credit for federal funding for his district that he voted against.
The New York congressman is one of about a dozen House Democrats who have touted funding flowing to their districts as part of a spending package they voted against, but that ended the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States. After a flurry of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/shutdown-earmarks-democrats.html">critical</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-tout-projects-government-shutdown-funding-bill-opposed-rcna248441">news</a> <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-score/2025/12/15/dems-are-taking-some-credit-for-bills-they-voted-against-00690142">coverage</a>, Riley last week canceled a meeting with the Green County Democrats the day before it was set to take place.
“We are writing to let you know that tomorrow&#8217;s scheduled gathering with Congressman Josh Riley will need to be postponed to a date and time to be determined,” said a Friday email from the local Democratic group obtained by The Daily Wire.
“Unfortunately Congressman Riley&#8217;s team has decided to cancel their meeting with us tomorrow over concerns regarding safety and other groups disrupting the event,” it continued. “We will be in touch as soon as a new date – hopefully in January – is confirmed. Thank you, as always, for your continued engagement and commitment to Greene County Democrats.”
Riley’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
Riley last month touted three different projects in his district that will receive federal funding because of the bill.
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“It means Guilford’s volunteer firefighters will finally have a safe station to work from, families in Margaretville will have better access to care close to home, and South Fallsburg will get the permanent clinic it’s needed for years,” said Riley in a <a href="https://riley.house.gov/media/press-releases/riley-schumer-gillibrand-deliver-2634-million-upstate-new-york-fire-safety-and">statement</a>.
“I’ll keep pushing to make sure rural communities in Upstate New York get the resources they deserve,” he added, taking credit for the funds that he voted against.
Like the other Democrats who are touting funding for their particular districts, Riley had a hand in attaching his pet projects to the final spending bill. But after his requests were acceded to, he voted against the final version of the legislation.
Republicans have taken the opportunity to clobber Riley.
“Out of touch Democrat Josh Riley voted against funding that improves health care access for his constituents and facilities for first responders in his own district. Now that he’s been exposed, he’s refusing to face the very people he tried to hurt with his vote. Riley is a fraud and a coward,” said Maureen O’Toole, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Riley is facing a challenging 2026 reelection campaign. His district, New York’s 19th, is a competitive swing district that was last won by a Republican in 2022, a race that Riley lost. Riley unseated former Rep. Marc Molinaro in 2024, winning that race by just two points. The Cook Political Report <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/house/race/483666">ranks</a> NY19 as a “Lean D” race in 2026, but only by one point.

Democrats

NY Dem Bails On Event After He Was Caught Touting Bill He Voted Against

Government Shutdown

New York

The House will vote on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies after 218 lawmakers – all Democrats and four Republicans – signed a discharge petition on Wednesday.
The move comes after Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not personally allow a floor vote, saying, “In the end, there was not an agreement,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/12/16/congress/mike-johnson-aca-vote-00692703">according</a> to POLITICO.
The subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year as a longer-term solution continues to be debated. Most Democrats have argued that the subsidies must continue to avoid insurance premiums from spiking. Many Republicans have argued that the dependency on subsidies to keep premiums low demonstrates that the Obama-era program is unsustainable.
“This morning I signed the discharge for the clean 3-year extension of the enhanced premium tax credit. While I have been working for a bipartisan compromise with reforms, the failure of leadership to allow a vote on the floor left me with no choice but to sign the Democrats discharge petition,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) <a href="https://x.com/lawler4ny/status/2001309363571425600">posted to X</a>. “With [Brian Fitzpatrick], [Rob Bresnahan] and [Ryan Mackenzie] joining me in signing, it now has 218 signatures.”
“The Speaker should immediately bring it to the floor for an up or down vote and let the House do the work of the American people,” Lawler continued.
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A vote following the petition could occur today if a specific procedural action is taken, but the vote is more likely to happen in January.
“To get this done TODAY, we need to defeat the previous question on the House Floor. And we need them to vote with us to do it,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) <a href="https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2001312688765382927">posted to X</a>. “To be clear, that vote on my amendment to the rule is the exact same language they already signed on to today.”
“It’s our last chance before Congress goes out of session since the discharge petition they signed takes 7 legislative days to ripen,” the congressman added.
If the House votes to extend the subsidies, it will then go to the Senate.
“Obviously, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune said amid news of the discharge petition, according to Semafor. &#8220;Even if they have a sufficient number of signatures, I doubt they would vote this week.&#8221;
Trump has railed against the Affordable Care Act, suggesting during the government shutdown in November that “the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE.”
&#8220;Somebody said I want to extend it for two years. I don&#8217;t want to extend it for two years. I&#8217;d rather not extend them at all,&#8221; Trump said in November, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-extend-obamacare-subsidies/story?id=127900310&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>, adding that “some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the unaffordable care act has been a disaster. It&#8217;s a disaster.&#8221;

Federal Government Shuts Down After Congress Fails To Pass Funding Bill

House To Force Vote On Obamacare Funding

Obamacare Subsidies Vote Will Be Forced In House After Successful Discharge Petition

Healthcare

Mike Johnson

Obamacare

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claimed during a Sunday interview that her son had been &#8220;pulled over&#8221; by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after a trip to Target — but ICE has no record of any such stop.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ilhan-omar-says-her-son-was-pulled-over-by-ice-agents">reported</a>, Omar told interviewer Esme Murphy — with local CBS News affiliate WCCO — that her son had been &#8220;pulled over&#8221; by immigration agents and that he&#8217;d only been released because he always carries his passport in case of just such a situation.
But as Newsmax reporter James Rosen said in a Monday evening X post, ICE has no record of Omar&#8217;s son being stopped.
&#8220;Officials ⁦@ICEgov⁩ tell @NEWSMAX the agency has no record of stopping a car driven by the son of ⁦⁦@Ilhan⁩, as the congresswoman claimed,&#8221; Rosen posted, adding, &#8220;Acting Director Lyons called the charge a &#8216;ridiculous effort to unfairly demonize our law enforcement officers.'&#8221;
Omar&#8217;s claim came on the heels of increased ICE activity in her home state of Minnesota as the Department of Homeland Security steps up efforts to detain and deport illegal aliens across the United States.
The Minnesota Democrat claims that the Somali immigrants in her community in particular are being targeted by President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration. She wrote a letter on Friday addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, demanding answers about ICE activities in her home state and claiming that they were driven by President Donald Trump’s “racist comments.”
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“Constituents, advocates, and local officials have documented blatant racial profiling, an egregious level of unnecessary force, and activity that appears designed for social media rather than befitting a law enforcement agency,” she wrote in part. “I am demanding answers on behalf of my constituents whose constitutional rights are being violated on a daily basis.”
“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular. Earlier this month, Trump called Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ and ranted that he does not want us in this country,” she added.
The surge in Minnesota follows the news that broke in previous weeks about a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minnesotas-somali-welfare-fraud-taxpayer-cash-funneled-to-terrorist-group">massive fraud</a> scheme in which billions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled through non-profits into the pockets of wealthy executives and into the hands of Al-Qaida-linked Al Shabaab terrorists. The majority of those arrested and convicted thus far in the fraud investigation have been Somalis.
&#8220;What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never-ending,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said of the scope of the case. “I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away.&#8221;

Congressional Lawmakers Continue Budget Reconciliation Process On The Hill

Ilhan Omar Claims Her Son Was Pulled Over By ICE Agents. ICE Says Otherwise.

Ilhan Omar

Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The Department of War has escalated a review of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly to an “official Command Investigation.”
“The Office of the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Department of War&#8217;s Office of the General Counsel, is escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation. Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct. Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings,” a department official told The Daily Wire.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofWar</a> official tells <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> that DOW is escalating its preliminary review of Senator Mark Kelly to an “official Command Investigation.”
“Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” official says. “Further…
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2000709725726347348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Last week, the U.S. Navy sent a report to War Secretary Pete Hegseth on a review of Kelly’s actions warning military members against following “illegal orders.” The Office of General Counsel for the War Department is providing advice and legal review of the investigation into Kelly.
The department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/war-department-reviewing-serious-allegations-against-sen-mark-kelly-after-dem-military-message">initiated</a> a review of Kelly, a U.S. Navy combat veteran and retired astronaut, in November after the senator joined five other Democratic lawmakers in a video urging military members to disobey “illegal orders.” The Arizona Democrat is under consideration to be recalled to active duty to undergo “court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”
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“The Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject to the [Uniform Code of Military Justice] for applicable offenses, and federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 2387 prohibit actions intended to interfere with the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces. Any violations will be addressed through appropriate legal channels,” the department said in a statement at the time.
At the time of the video, Hegseth denounced it in a <a href="https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/1993008532187148582">post</a> on X, saying that message put out by the “seditious six” lawmakers is “despicable, reckless, and false.”
“Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger,” said Hegseth.

Mark Kelly

Hegseth’s War Department Escalates Review Of Mark Kelly Over ‘Seditious Six’ Video

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