The Justice Department told the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court</a> on Friday that it was dropping its challenge to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a>’s law shielding children from transgender medical procedures.
In a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-477/342223/20250207133625781_Letter%2023-477.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the clerk of the Supreme Court, Deputy Solicitor General Curtis Gannon said that the DOJ no longer took the position that Tennessee’s SB 1, which banned transgender medical procedures on minors, violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/proponents-of-transgender-procedures-make-shocking-admissions-before-scotus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heard a challenge</a> to the law in December from both the Biden administration and the ACLU. 
“Following the change in Administration, the Department of Justice has reconsidered the United States’ position in this case,” Gannon wrote. “The purpose of this letter is to notify the Court that the government’s previously stated views no longer represent the United States’ position.”
Tennessee’s law bans procedures like giving minors puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and performing surgeries like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys. 
The law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge after it was passed in 2023 before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect. 
“The Department has now determined that SB1 does not deny equal protection on account of sex or any other characteristic. Accordingly, the new Administration would not have intervened to challenge SB1 — let alone sought this Court’s review of the court of appeals’ decision reversing the preliminary injunction against SB1,” Gannon wrote. 
While the DOJ&#8217;s challenge to the law may now be moot, the ACLU’s suit against it still stands. Additionally, the DOJ said that it is not seeking to dismiss the case, saying that a “prompt resolution of the question presented will bear on many cases pending in the lower courts.”
After oral arguments on the case in December, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-appears-poised-to-uphold-tennessee-law-protecting-kids-from-trans-procedures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appears poised</a> to rule in Tennessee’s favor. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, and Amy Coney Barrett all seemed skeptical of the claims made by the ACLU and the previous Biden administration. 
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti <a href="https://x.com/AGTennessee/status/1887999361633894663/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> the DOJ for dropping its opposition and noted that the state also welcomed a decision from the court. 
“We commend President Trump for abandoning the previous administration&#8217;s effort to enshrine gender ideology into the Constitution and prevent the people&#8217;s elected officials from resolving these important and contentious issues,” Skrmetti said. “We look forward to receiving much-needed clarity when the Court issues its decision.”

Supreme Court Considers Tennessee’s Ban On Treatments For Transgender Minors

DOJ Ends Challenge To Tennessee’s Law Shielding Kids From Transgender Procedures

ACLU

Biden Administration

Courts

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Fourteenth Amendment

Politics

Supreme Court

Tennessee

Transgender

transgender surgery

Transgenders

The Department of Justice (DOJ) ripped a sweeping court order that ostensibly blocked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from accessing much of his department’s records and systems.
Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, issued a broad <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609.6.0.pdf">order</a> Saturday temporarily blocking “political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department” access to vast swaths of Treasury data. The DOJ filed its <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609.12.0.pdf">response</a> Sunday, blasting the order as overly broad and unconstitutional.
“On its face, the Order could be read to cover all political leadership within Treasury—including even Secretary Bessent. This is a remarkable intrusion on the Executive Branch that is in direct conflict with Article II of the Constitution, and the unitary structure it provides,” the DOJ filing said.
“A federal court, consistent with the separation of powers, cannot insulate any portion of that work from the specter of political accountability. No court can issue an injunction that directly severs the clear line of supervision Article II requires,” the filing continues.
“There is no sound reason that it should extend to Treasury’s leadership, who are charged with overseeing and administering the Department without interruption. To the extent the Order applies to senior political appointees at Treasury, it is an extraordinary and unprecedented judicial interference with a Cabinet Secretary’s ability to oversee the Department he was constitutionally appointed to lead,” the filing says.
Despite the strenuous objections to the order’s legality, the Trump administration’s filing makes clear that the Treasury Department is abiding by it. The department has shut off access to Treasury data containing personal information from all but career staff who have passed all background checks and security clearances.
Judge Engelmayer issued the injunction against the Treasury Department at the request of 19 Democratic attorneys general. The blue-state prosecutors filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over an audit of the department being conducted by Treasury officials in conjunction with allies of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency program.
A different judge had already limited the access of outsiders to Treasury Department data, but Engelmayer’s order took the injunction a step further. It will remain in place until February 14, when a hearing is scheduled on the issue in another court.
Trump officials publicly ripped the order over the weekend.
“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that&#8217;s also illegal. Judges aren&#8217;t allowed to control the executive&#8217;s legitimate power,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.
If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that&#39;s also illegal. 
Judges aren&#39;t allowed to control the executive&#39;s legitimate power.
&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1888607143030391287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Scott Bessent

‘Extraordinary And Unprecedented’: Trump Admin Blasts Judge’s Order Blocking Treasury Audit

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Manhattan

Treasury Department

Trump Administration

A pro-life woman who faced imprisonment until July 2027 before President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-should-not-have-been-prosecuted-trump-pardons-23-pro-lifers-targeted-by-biden-doj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardoned</a> her said Thursday that she was &#8220;shocked&#8221; to hear of her pardon — and didn&#8217;t believe it at first.
Lauren Handy, 31, said she was on the phone with a loved one when the news came down last month that Trump had pardoned her and 22 other pro-lifers prosecuted by the Biden administration. At the time, Handy was in federal prison in Tallahassee after being convicted over a sit-in at a notorious late-term abortion facility in Washington, D.C., and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-life-activist-sentenced-to-over-four-years-in-prison-over-protest-at-d-c-abortion-facility" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to 57 months behind bars.  
After a loved one told her on January 23 that Trump had pardoned her, Handy said that she was in “complete disbelief.” 
“And I was like, ‘no, that’s an AI video. That’s not true. I’m not being pardoned,’” she said during a video call on Thursday hosted by the Thomas More Society, which defended her and other pro-life activists. 
She said that she had told her family not to expect a pardon because she didn’t want to raise any false hopes. 
“I didn’t want to be disappointed. I didn’t want my family to be disappointed. And so it was complete shock. I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t know what to think,” she said. “But it was real. So there was a lot of joy and a lot of celebration, but also a lot of sadness because I was leaving my friends.” 
Recounting her time in prison, Handy says that some days she would receive upwards of 20 letters from around the world. She said this gave her an opportunity to share her faith with fellow prisoners who had “vastly different” values and talk to people who had committed “extreme” acts of violence. 
“And so the question is: how do I love them? How do I love these people in the moment right now? How would Jesus love this person in front of me?” she said. 
Paul Vaughn, another pro-lifer pardoned by Trump, also spoke during the video call, revealing when he found out the news about the pardon. Vaughn was sentenced to six months of house arrest and three years of supervised release over a pro-life sit-in at an abortion facility in Tennessee. The Biden administration had asked for the father of 11 to be given one year in prison. 
Vaughn said that he was participating on a panel in D.C. with the Thomas More Society when they got the news that Trump had issued the pardons. They were able to announce the news live from the panel. 
In December, Vaughn <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kidnapped-at-gunpoint-pro-life-activist-testifies-about-harrowing-fbi-raid-of-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> about the unannounced armed FBI raid of his home in rural Centerville, Tennessee.  
“The raid wasn’t just meant to persecute us and intimidate us, it was really a message from the Biden administration and those that hate God and hate life,” he said Thursday. 
On Sunday, Vaughn celebrated the pardons with his community at Heritage Church in Centerville alongside Paul Place, another pro-lifer targeted by Biden’s Justice Department and pardoned by Trump. 
Steve Crampton, a lawyer with the Thomas More Society who defended Vaughn and others, praised Trump for the pardons and his announcement this week to form a task force to look into anti-Christian bias. 
“You know to make America great, it must first be good. In order to be good, we need people like Paul and Lauren and Chet Gallagher and Cal Zastrow, Heather Idoni, Paul Place, and all these others on the street not rotting in some dark prison cell somewhere,” he said Thursday.

Reactions to the Supreme Courts opinion on Roe v. Wade

Pro-Lifer Says She Was ‘Shocked’ When Trump Pardoned Her

Christianity

Pro-Life Movement

Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON — Conservative and pro-life groups are calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate reports that pro-life activists imprisoned by the Biden Justice Department were neglected, while trans-identifying prisoners were given special treatment.
In a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire, the coalition highlighted former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany&#8217;s interview with the pro-life prisoners, who Donald Trump pardoned on his fourth day in office. William Goodman, one of the prisoners, alleged to McEnany that he was mistreated while in prison on Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act charges brought by the Biden Justice Department.
&#8220;William Goodman, unjustly sentenced to 27 months in prison, alleges that he was kept in a condemned unit and suffered from neglect while in prison, going two weeks without toilet paper,&#8221; reads the letter, led by Advancing American Freedom&#8217;s Paul Teller. &#8220;Meanwhile, Mr. Goodman alleges that other prisoners, suffering from gender dysphoria, were provided with dresses, mascara, lipstick, and perfume, as requested.&#8221;
&#8220;While Mr. Goodman’s allegations are shocking, they are not unsurprising given the Biden Administration&#8217;s gross mistreatment of pro-life Americans,&#8221; the letter continues. &#8220;We request that you conduct a full investigation into these, and other allegations of mistreatment made by FACE Act prisoners.&#8221;
CatholicVote, Live Action founder Lila Rose, Students for Life, and Liberty Counsel also signed onto the missive, sent Friday to Bondi.
<div id="attachment_872535" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/?attachment_id=872535" rel="attachment wp-att-872535"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-872535" class="wp-image-872535 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2197231132-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2197231132-864x576.jpg 864w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2197231132-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2197231132-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2197231132-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>(Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;We went over two weeks without toilet paper,&#8221; Goodman <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/pardoned-trump-pro-life-activists-break-silence-after-being-sentenced-prison-during-biden-admin">told McEnany in the interview</a>. &#8220;And some of the guys mentioned that some of the men who were there with gender dysphoria, wearing dresses, could get mascara, lipstick, and perfume — but we couldn’t even get toilet paper or basic needs. So there was a lot of neglect.&#8221;
Last year, Goodman suffered a serious head injury while he was imprisoned in Danbury, Connecticut’s Federal Correctional Institution. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-life-activist-targeted-by-biden-doj-suffers-serious-head-injury-in-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Wire that he fell off the top bunk in his cell, which did not have guard rails, and landed on his head.
After a trip to the emergency room where he found out he had fractured his skull, he said that he was sent back to prison overnight even though he said he was still feeling severely dizzy and nauseous. Goodman said that he was only given Tylenol and some anti-nausea medication.
“I just feel dizzy and abandoned and sore and sick. But it could be worse…mostly I stay in bed and drink water and take meds and try to sleep,&#8221; Goodman said. &#8220;But I can’t sleep. It is like a cruel torture. My left side of my head is like a constant migraine that seems to bang all night. Plus the loud prison noise and bright lights add to the turmoil. And the uncomfortable beds and no pillow.”
Heather Idoni, another former pro-life prisoner freed by Trump, also said that she was mistreated by federal agents during her time in custody. Idoni, 60, was convicted in three FACE Act cases across the country, including one in Washington, D.C., for which she was sentenced to two years in prison.
When she was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/59-year-old-grandma-in-prison-over-pro-life-protest-says-she-just-wants-to-hold-my-new-grandson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> in Nashville over a peaceful sit-in at a Tennessee abortion facility, she said the U.S. Marshals who had been bussing her from prison to prison had treated her cruelly. In one instance, Idoni said that some marshals had put chains so tight around her waist that she struggled to breathe when she sat down, and that one marshal told her she would tighten it more if she complained again.
During her time in federal custody, Idoni had three stents put into her heart, which was complicated by the fact that she was ferried around to at least eight different prisons.
The treatment of the imprisoned pro-lifers has already received <a href="https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2024-05-16_-_member_letter_on_healthcare_for_marshall_and_idoni.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutiny</a> from federal lawmakers, including Republicans in the House Pro-Life Caucus. Led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Andy Harris (R-MD). They wrote to the U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Prisons demanding answers on the treatment of Idoni and Jean Marshall, 77, who was also imprisoned over the D.C. protest.
Marshall was reportedly denied hip surgery, despite increasing pain in her right leg and difficulty in walking.
Lawmakers also hope to probe whether the Justice Department and FBI violated the First Amendment rights of pro-life protests. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-chip-roy-demands-fbi-doj-retain-records-of-pro-life-prosecutions-as-biden-leaves-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly demanded</a> that the two entities keep all records of the prosecutions.

Pam Bondi Sworn In As Attorney General

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Orgs Ask Bondi To Investigate Neglect Of Pro-Lifers Imprisoned By Biden

Abortion

FACE Act

Joe Biden

Pam Bondi

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice Department</a> said Wednesday that it will not file criminal charges against employees of Project Veritas who were investigated after they obtained a copy of Ashley Biden’s diary. 
The Biden administration first launched a probe into the conservative organization in November 2021, after it purchased a copy of Joe Biden&#8217;s daughter&#8217;s diary in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Project Veritas decided not to publish the diary and instead handed it over to authorities.
As part of its investigation, the FBI conducted armed raids on the homes of O’Keefe and other Project Veritas employees, taking battering rams to their doors. The tactics used by the Biden administration even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aclu-lawyers-pen-letter-in-defense-of-first-amendment-over-project-veritas-ashley-biden-diary-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised concerns</a> from liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, who said the investigation raised First Amendment concerns. 
The <a href="https://x.com/Project_Veritas/status/1887250002470133788/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcemen</a>t from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York means that Project Veritas Founder James O’Keefe and former employees Spencer Meads and Eric Cochran will no longer face criminal charges over the diary. 
“Based on information currently available to the Government, no additional criminal charges are forthcoming,” the Justice Department wrote to Federal Judge Analisa Torres. 
Paul Calli, a lawyer for Project Veritas who defended the organization during the Biden administration’s probe, told The Daily Wire that he was thankful for the DOJ’s decision. 
“This meek letter from the United States Attorney&#8217;s office for the Southern District of New York ends their attack on the First Amendment,” he told The Daily Wire. “I am grateful that our effort to protect the freedom of the press was successful.”
The DOJ also requested Torres to terminate the special master Calli appointed to go through the devices that were confiscated for the case. 
“As the New York Times reporters giddily carried water for the so-called ‘sovereign district’ as that office sought to desecrate the First Amendment for partisan political reasons, the ACLU and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press zealously guarded the First Amendment,” Calli said. “Those organizations should be lauded and are on the right side of history.”
O’Keefe, who now runs his own media group, <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1887257370083885544/photo/3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that the Justice Department told Torres it would have no issues with releasing the documentation used to justify the heavy-handed FBI raids
“The Government has no objection to unsealing the Search Warrant Materials with redactions to protect third party privacy and law enforcement interests,” a separate letter on Wednesday from the DOJ to Torres says. This would include unsealing “the search warrant application, supporting affidavit, return, and any other judicial documents filed in connection with the November 5, 2021 search warrant.”
O’Keefe said that this unsealing would shed light on how the government justified the raids, adding that he might end up suing the government over the investigation. 
“We’re finally going to understand what possible justification they had for taking battering rams to journalist homes, hopefully never again in the United States of America shall the U.S. government use the politics of fear to try to intimidate, coerce, and chill out the First Amendment just because you don’t like the journalists and the stories they do,” he said. 
Last April, a woman was sentenced to a month in prison after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property after she and an associate sold the diary to Project Veritas. While some outlets questioned the authenticity of the diary after excerpts started being published online, the diary was later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snopes-changes-fact-check-rating-on-contents-of-ashley-bidens-diary-from-unproven-to-true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> to belong to Ashley Biden.

Turning Point Inaugural-Eve Ball Held In Washington, D.C.

Justice Department Ends Investigation Into Project Veritas Over Ashley Biden Diary

James O'Keefe

New York

Project Veritas

The Trump administration reportedly filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the city of Chicago, Cook County, and the state of Illinois over their sanctuary laws that shield illegal aliens from deportation, arguing that they interfere with federal law enforcement’s operations.
The <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/06/us-news/trump-administration-sues-chicago-state-of-illinois-over-sanctuary-laws-and-vows-more-lawsuits-to-come/">lawsuit</a> argues that the jurisdictions have adopted policies that inhibit the federal government’s ability to enforce federal immigration law.
“We’ve identified Illinois, the city of Chicago and Cook County as all having laws and ordinances on the books that impede federal immigration enforcement, in particular the Chicago Welcoming ordinance, the Illinois Trust Act,” one unnamed Department of Justice official told the New York Post.
President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi explained the significance of the suit and accused the municipal, county, and state governments of prioritizing illegal aliens over Americans.
“For too long, leaders in Illinois and Chicago have abused their power by putting the comfort of illegal aliens over the safety and welfare of their own citizens. This ends today,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/06/us-news/trump-administration-sues-chicago-state-of-illinois-over-sanctuary-laws-and-vows-more-lawsuits-to-come/">she said</a>. “The Department of Justice will no longer stand by as state and local leaders obstruct federal law enforcement efforts, endangering their citizens and the brave men and women in uniform.”
One of the laws targeted by the suit, the Illinois Trust Act, which was signed into law in 2017, states: “State law does not currently grant State or local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws.”
There’s also Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits city officials from detaining people on the basis of their status as illegal aliens. “No agency or agent shall: arrest, detain or continue to detain a person solely on the belief that the person is not present legally in the United States,” reads the ordinance.
The suit specified how these policies interfere with federal law enforcement agent’s ability to enforce immigration law, noting that the jurisdictions “refuse to cooperate with detainers” lodged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “So instead of handing over people who are in prison or in jail to federal immigration authorities they will just let folks go,” the lawsuit states.
“This lawsuit will put the spotlight on obstruction by state and local officials and their refusal to support the administration and compliance with the law. The law says people who are here illegally are not allowed to stay here, they should be deported. So we want to make sure those impediments are taken away,” a DOJ official told the Post.
“These states and localities advertise themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions. They are inviting people here who are illegal, and they’re promising to protect them from federal law enforcement,” the official went on to say, noting that the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
The DOJ official charged that the laws currently “need to be struck from the books because they’re incentivizing illegal immigration into the country.”
The suit comes just one day after AG Bondi was sworn into office. Bondi addressed sanctuary cities in her day one directives, ordering the federal government to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-directs-doj-to-halt-federal-funding-for-sanctuary-cities">halt funding</a> to sanctuary cities.
“She is right out of the gate sending a clear message to other sanctuary jurisdictions,” another unnamed DOJ official said.

ICE agents

Trump Admin Sues Chicago, State Of Illinois Over Illegal Alien Sanctuary Laws

Border

Chicago

deportation

Illegal Immigration

Illinois

President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pam-bondi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pam Bondi</a> has directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to halt federal funding to sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents.
The move from Bondi was one of her <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bondis-day-one-doj-directives-renew-focus-death-penalty-combat-weaponization-justice-cartels">day-one directives</a> and comes alongside a slate of policies and executive orders from the Trump administration as it seeks to secure the southern border and deport illegal aliens already present within the United States.
Trump alluded to plans to defund sanctuary cities in an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/live-blog/trump-administration-executive-orders-presidential-agenda-live-updates-rcna188605">interview</a> with Fox News two days after he was inaugurated, stating that he “might have to” cut federal funding to cities that shield illegal aliens from deportation. A <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/court-rules-trump-administration-can-withhold-grants-sanctuary-cities-n1143511">court ruled</a> in Trump’s favor in 2020, finding that his DOJ was legally allowed to deny grants to cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents.
A <a href="https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States">map of sanctuary cities</a> compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that various cities across the country, including Lansing, Michigan, New York, New York, Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and numerous others, refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Entire states, such as California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado have also adopted sanctuary policies to protect illegal aliens from deportations. Counties in conservative states like Tennessee, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nebraska have adopted the policies as well, while some regional jail systems have similarly refused to comply with ICE detainer requests for illegal aliens who have been charged with a crime.
Multiple Democratic leaders of sanctuary jurisdictions spoke out against President Donald Trump’s plan to deport illegal aliens in the immediate aftermath of his November election victory, doubling down on their refusal to cooperate with ICE as the federal agents work to deport criminal illegal aliens.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she would “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-gov-refuses-to-help-deportations-as-ice-busts-alleged-illegal-alien-child-rapists-in-her-state">absolutely not</a>” assist with federal deportation efforts just days after ICE agents located and arrested multiple illegal aliens who are accused of raping children.
Denver’s Democrat Mayor Mike Johnston indicated that he would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-alien-charged-with-raping-14-year-old-girl-in-denver-as-mayor-opposes-deportation-effort">use police</a> to keep federal immigration enforcement agents out of the city. “More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston said.
An illegal alien from Venezuela was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year old girl in Denver shortly after Johnston <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-alien-charged-with-raping-14-year-old-girl-in-denver-as-mayor-opposes-deportation-effort">blustered</a> against Trump’s planned deportation operations.
Bondi’s move to cut federal funding from sanctuary cities was one of her day-one directives, which also included establishing a “Weaponization Working Group” to review instances of &#8220;politicized justice,” urging prosecutors to seek the death penalty under certain circumstances, and working alongside the Department of Homeland Security to “completely eliminate” the cartels, which Trump designated as foreign terror organizations during his first day in office.

Pam Bondi with Trump

Attorney General Pam Bondi Directs DOJ To Halt Federal Funding For Sanctuary Cities

Immigration

U.S.

On Tuesday, the GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> confirmed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pam-bondi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pam Bondi</a> to become U.S. Attorney General in President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s second-term administration.
The final vote was 54-46. Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-fetterman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Fetterman</a> (D-PA) was the sole Democrat to break ranks and join with Republicans in supporting the Cabinet nominee.
&#8220;With Pam Bondi leading the Department of Justice, Americans can be certain the rule of law will be enforced,&#8221; Senate Judiciary Republicans <a href="https://x.com/SenJudiciaryGOP/status/1886951927260250368" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X.
Bondi was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-taps-pam-bondi-for-u-s-attorney-general" target="_blank" rel="noopener">picked</a> to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) in November after Trump&#8217;s prior nominee, former Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/matt-gaetz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Gaetz</a> (R-FL), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-matt-gaetz-withdraws-name-from-ag-consideration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">withdrew</a> from consideration.
Trump touted Bondi&#8217;s work prosecuting violent criminals and combating drug trafficking. He added the DOJ would no longer be &#8220;weaponized&#8221; against Republicans like himself.
&#8220;Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-taps-pam-bondi-for-u-s-attorney-general" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in a statement.
Bondi, a former GOP attorney general of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a> who helped defend Trump during his first impeachment trial, endured one of the more hotly-contested nominations.
Democrats who oppose the pick have raised concerns about Bondi siding with wealthy special interests and doing Trump&#8217;s bidding for political purposes.
They <a href="https://x.com/JudiciaryDems/status/1886542403122717161" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> records from Bondi, FBI director nominee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kash-patel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kash Patel</a>, and acting leaders in response to the reassignment or removal of senior DOJ officials.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chuck-grassley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chuck Grassley</a> (R-IA) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUSC-Qr2MEc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Tuesday that Bondi&#8217;s record showed that she is &#8220;highly qualified&#8221; to serve as U.S. Attorney General.
Bondi is &#8220;ready and able to serve our country well, and I know she’ll work with President Trump to restore faith in the Justice Department,&#8221; he declared.
During her confirmation hearing earlier this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi <a href="https://x.com/SenJudiciaryGOP/status/1879569942150058288" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> about prioritizing a revival of trust in the DOJ.
&#8220;I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879549046958047285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone.&#8221;
Bondi also made waves when she clashed with some of the committee’s Democrat members, including Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/adam-schiff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Schiff</a> (D-CA), a high-profile Trump critic.
&#8220;I will never play politics,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKJhkeTp6I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Schiff</a> at one point. &#8220;You’re trying to engage me in a &#8216;gotcha.&#8217; I won’t play politics with any ongoing investigation like you did.&#8221;
After Democrats placed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-democrats-put-arbitrary-hold-on-pam-bondi-nomination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one-week hold</a> on the nomination, Bondi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-democrats-delay-ag-nom-pam-bondi-advances-to-full-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> out of committee by a 12-10 vote <a href="https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1884610844035621168" target="_blank" rel="noopener">along party lines</a>. The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-breaks-filibuster-on-pam-bondi-nomination-for-attorney-general" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke</a> the filibuster on Monday.
Several Trump Cabinet nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, including Doug Collins, who <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1886840099251376534" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> the nod to become Veterans Affairs secretary on Tuesday.
Others are still making their way through the upper chamber, including Patel and Russell Vought, Trump&#8217;s pick to once again lead the Office of Management and Budget.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tulsi-gabbard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, Trump&#8217;s nominee to be director of national intelligence; and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/robert-f-kennedy-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert F. Kennedy</a>, the pick to be HHS secretary, both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gabbard-approved-by-intelligence-committee-moves-forward-to-senate-confirmation-vote?topStoryPosition=undefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> out of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-clears-major-confirmation-hurdle-advances-out-of-committee-in-partisan-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committee</a> on Tuesday.
Following Bondi&#8217;s confirmation, the Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-taps-former-nfl-star-for-hud-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to break the filibuster and proceed with the nomination of former NFL player Scott Turner to become HUD secretary.

Senate Confirms Pam Bondi For Attorney General

Congress

Presidential nomination

U.S. Senate

On Monday, the GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> voted to break the filibuster on President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s nomination of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pam-bondi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pam Bondi</a> to become U.S. Attorney General.
The vote to invoke cloture on the Cabinet nominee was 52-46 along party lines. Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1886568030265545027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> did not vote.
A final confirmation vote is expected to take place in the next day or two. A simple majority will be needed for Bondi to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Bondi, a former GOP attorney general of Florida, has endured one of the more hotly-contested  nominations from Trump in his second term.
Democrats who oppose the pick have raised concerns about Bondi siding with wealthy special interests and doing Trump&#8217;s bidding for political purposes.
They have <a href="https://x.com/JudiciaryDems/status/1886542403122717161" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> records from Bondi, FBI director nominee Kash Patel, and acting leaders in response to the reassignment or removal of senior DOJ officials.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) argued there was &#8220;no doubt&#8221; Bondi is &#8220;highly qualified,&#8221; citing her work as Florida attorney general.
&#8220;If my colleagues won’t cross the aisle for this qualified nominee, they’ll show that they’re intent on opposing President Trump’s picks for purely partisan reasons,&#8221; he said.
During a confirmation hearing earlier this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi <a href="https://x.com/SenJudiciaryGOP/status/1879569942150058288" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> about prioritizing a revival of trust in the DOJ.
&#8220;I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879549046958047285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone.&#8221;
After Democrats placed a one-week hold on the nomination, which was allowed under the rules, Bondi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-democrats-delay-ag-nom-pam-bondi-advances-to-full-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> out of committee by a 12-10 <a href="https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1884610844035621168" target="_blank" rel="noopener">along party lines</a>.
Several other Trump nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, including Christopher Wright, who <a href="https://x.com/SenatePPG/status/1886559279689118168" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> the nod to become energy secretary on Monday.
The Senate also <a href="https://x.com/SenatePress/status/1886553367721222246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to proceed with the nomination of Russell Vought, Trump&#8217;s pick to once again serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Doug Collins, Trump&#8217;s pick to lead the Department of Veteran Affairs, may soon get a confirmation vote after cloture was <a href="https://x.com/SenatePPG/status/1885128624543551728" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invoked</a> on his nomination last week.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence nominee; and Robert F. Kennedy, the pick to lead HHS; and Patel <a href="https://x.com/SenMullin/status/1886547470793990620" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face committee votes</a> in the coming days.
Like with Bondi, if the remaining nominees advance out of committee, leadership will then be expected to move toward a final confirmation vote for each of them.

Pam Bondi Attends Confirmation Hearing To Be Attorney General

Senate Breaks Filibuster On Pam Bondi Nomination For Attorney General

Cabinet

The Trump administration has reportedly told top FBI officials that they should resign or expect to be fired by Monday.
The dismissal would come as President Donald Trump has promised dramatic reforms to the FBI and the Justice Department, which he says were weaponized against him and his supporters during the Biden administration. Kash Patel, his pick to head the bureau, promised lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would seek to “de-weaponize” the FBI. 
NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/several-top-fbi-officials-are-told-resign-face-demotion-trump-continue-rcna190095" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that those asked to leave were “executive assistant directors” promoted by previous FBI Director Christopher Wray. One of the FBI officials received an email informing him he might be removed “from the rolls of the FBI” by Monday morning, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/us/politics/trump-fbi-firing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
“I was given no rationale for this decision, which, as you might imagine, has come as a shock,” the unnamed official said. 
The move comes as significant changes could come to the FBI if the Senate votes to confirm Patel. Patel, who served as the Deputy Director of National Intelligence during Trump&#8217;s first term, has been a frequent critic of FBI leadership. He played a major role in investigating the FBI&#8217;s discredited probe of alleged ties between Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign and Russia. 
“The only way to truly remove weaponization and politicization from law enforcement is to follow the Constitution,” Patel said during his Judiciary Committee hearing, saying the bureau should focus on violent crime and drug overdoses. 
Democrat senators repeatedly asked Patel if he had plans to go after Wray or other Biden allies, such as retired Army General Mark Milley. Patel replied that he wasn’t interested in going backward and would emphasize violent crime if confirmed. 
&#8220;America deserves a better brand of justice and I&#8217;m going give it to them,&#8221; Patel said, saying that he would not target political opponents if confirmed. Patel also told Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) that he was unaware of any plans to fire any agents involved in the bureau&#8217;s investigations into Trump. 
Aside from cuts at the FBI, the Trump administration has also worked to curtail the size of the federal workforce across the entire government. On Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management sent an <a href="https://www.opm.gov/fork" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email</a> to two million federal workers offering to pay them until September 30 if they resign by February 6. The message from OPM suggested that significant cuts were on the horizon and that it could not guarantee that everyone’s position would still be in place with incoming reforms.

President Trump Speaks At The House GOP Conference In Doral, Florida

Top FBI Officials Asked To Resign Or Be Fired As Trump Promises Reform

Executive

General

kash patel

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pam-bondi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pam Bondi</a>, who is President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s pick to be U.S. attorney general, cleared a key hurdle in the Senate confirmation process after Democrats placed a temporary hold on her nomination last week.
On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 <a href="https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1884610844035621168" target="_blank" rel="noopener">along party lines</a> to favorably report Bondi to the full <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a>. Leadership may now move toward a final confirmation vote, for which Bondi will need a simple majority.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably reported Pam Bondi’s nomination for Attorney General. Next stop: the Senate floor! ⚖️ <a href="https://t.co/D2TqRUyO5r">pic.twitter.com/D2TqRUyO5r</a>
&mdash; Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJudiciaryGOP/status/1884611334035181721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Congrats to my good friend [Pam Bondi]!&#8221; Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott/status/1884633093878816840" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to X, responding to the panel&#8217;s vote. &#8220;She will do an incredible job, and I look forward to voting yes on her confirmation on the Senate floor.&#8221;
Judiciary Democrats said, &#8220;Republicans just advanced Trump’s attorney general nominee to the full Senate, despite her clear intent to side with wealthy special interests and Donald Trump over the American people.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Senate Judiciary Republicans just advanced Trump’s attorney general nominee to the full Senate, despite her clear intent to side with wealthy special interests and Donald Trump over the American people.
&mdash; Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryDems) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryDems/status/1884611206524109274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Senate Judiciary Committee had planned to meet on Bondi&#8217;s nomination last week, but the panel announced that its Democrat members <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-democrats-put-arbitrary-hold-on-pam-bondi-nomination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">instituted</a> a seven-day hold — a move allowed under the rules.
Bondi, a former GOP attorney general of Florida, <a href="https://x.com/SenJudiciaryGOP/status/1879569942150058288" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before the panel in a confirmation hearing earlier this month and discussed her priorities if she were confirmed to lead the Department of Justice.
&#8220;I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879549046958047285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.&#8221;
Also during her confirmation hearing, Bondi made waves when she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKJhkeTp6I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clashed</a> with some of the Senate Judiciary Committee&#8217;s Democrat members, including Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA).
&#8220;Senator, what I can tell you is that I will never play politics,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-demolishes-schiff-when-he-taunts-her" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in an exchange with Schiff. &#8220;You’re trying to engage me in a &#8216;gotcha.&#8217; I won’t play politics with any ongoing investigation like you did.&#8221;
The GOP-led Senate has so far confirmed six Cabinet nominees for Trump&#8217;s second term despite efforts by the Democrats to impede the process, such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-erupt-over-dem-stalling-of-trump-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forcing procedural votes</a>, and has several more under consideration.
Bondi&#8217;s nomination advanced to the full Senate as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump&#8217;s pick to become Secretary of Health and Human Services, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-kicks-off-the-next-round-of-confirmation-hearings-for-trump-noms-live-updates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> for a confirmation hearing before the Finance Committee.

After Democrats Delay, AG Nom Pam Bondi Advances To Full Senate

Although Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump’s choice for U.S. Attorney General, has not yet been confirmed, the Trump Justice Department is wasting no time in weeding out members of the Department of Justice whom they think cannot be trusted to implement Trump’s agenda.
Acting Attorney General James McHenry <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-fires-more-than-a-dozen-doj-employees-you-played-a-significant-role-in-prosecuting-president-trump/">sent a letter</a> to more than a dozen officials connected to the Biden administration’s DOJ investigations into Trump informing them that they had been fired.
McHenry wrote:
<blockquote>
As President Trump declared on his first day in office, “The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies &#8230; against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions.” Nowhere was that effort more salient than in the unprecedented prosecutions the Department of Justice vigorously pursued against President Trump himself.
</blockquote>
“You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” he continued. “The proper functioning of government critically depends on the trust superior officials place in their subordinates. Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.”
The Biden DOJ investigated Trump repeatedly. In June 2022, federal agents went to Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago to search for more documents they thought Trump had taken from the White House after the National Archives had claimed it had obtained 15 boxes of presidential records Trump had taken there. In August 2022, FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago to search for more documents.
In mid-November 2022, after Trump announced he would run for president in 2024, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to supervise the Justice Department&#8217;s criminal investigation into Trump’s alleged retention of national defense information and also an investigation into the attempts by some people to reverse the 2020 election.
In June 2023, Smith’s office issued a 37-count indictment against Trump regarding his alleged mishandling of classified documents. On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump was entitled to presumptive immunity from prosecution for official acts he took while in office. In mid-July, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case on the grounds that Jack Smith&#8217;s appointment was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress. Smith then appealed the decision, but after Trump was elected president in November 2024, Smith asked the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to pause his appeal, later asking them to dismiss it entirely.

US-POLITICS-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP

DOJ Fires Officials Who ‘Played A Significant Role In Prosecuting President Trump’

Investigation

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