Planned Parenthood&#8217;s annual report looks different this year.
Not only does this report lack the rainbow pride flare of its predecessors — it also omits the most innovative moneymaker from its list of services reported. But did Planned Parenthood simply forget to mention “gender-affirming care,&#8221; or are they trying to push their skeletons deeper into the closet while their funding hangs in limbo?
In past reports, Planned Parenthood lumped “transgender services” in the “other procedures” subcategory. This unassuming breakdown actually triggered high levels of scrutiny after its tally leapt from 15,902 services in the 2020-2021 <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/40/8f/408fc2ad-c8c2-48da-ad87-be5cc257d370/211214-ppfa-annualreport-20-21-c3-digital.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/40/8f/408fc2ad-c8c2-48da-ad87-be5cc257d370/211214-ppfa-annualreport-20-21-c3-digital.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jpqIKazkCRJZgLqNQioyL">report</a> to 256,550 services <a href="https://cdn.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/25/ed/25ed2675-fbbc-453b-8b35-f8ddaa025b57/281222-ppfa-annualreport-c3-digital.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cdn.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/25/ed/25ed2675-fbbc-453b-8b35-f8ddaa025b57/281222-ppfa-annualreport-c3-digital.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1nJQ2awIJdIsrdoueYgxZU">a year later</a>. Though their total services did reflect a 5% general increase, likely due to COVID, the subcategory specifically reporting “transgender services” outpaced the increase, marking an unprecedented 1,514% increase.
This hike garnered the attention of national conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation, which <a href="https://www.heritage.org/life/commentary/planned-parenthood-taxpayer-funding-abortion-and-transgender-services-high" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.heritage.org/life/commentary/planned-parenthood-taxpayer-funding-abortion-and-transgender-services-high&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Oq-ZeDgxbFM1hVimhF-8R">said</a> this “so-called gender-affirming care” was the abortion giant’s “game plan” after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. While states exercise freedom to evaluate standards for harmful abortion procedures, Planned Parenthood appears to guarantee a profit nonetheless. Exploiting and promoting modern trans agendas through cross-sex hormone distribution locks in patient dependency, rather than their historic and unstable in-and-out abortion mill business model.
In its 2023-2024 report, Planned Parenthood appears to have shied away from its new radical gender agenda that you would expect to plaster nearly every page. In fact, there are few mentions of “transgender” outside of its small hiding place in the “other procedures” footnote.
That’s where the real mystery begins.
Over the past year, the &#8220;other procedures&#8221; category dropped 56%, down from 177,237 to 77,858. Everyone who lives within 25 miles of a Planned Parenthood knows they have not taken their foot off the transgender gas, so this drop does not pass the simple smell test.
According to the report, this subcategory accounts for WIC services, pediatric care, transgender services, other adult preventative care, and high complexity visits, including infertility services. But even assuming this entire subcategory is composed entirely of transgender services, the numbers still don&#8217;t add up.
The Planned Parenthood Annual Report aggregates the data from local affiliates, some of whom release their own annual reports and are not so shy about their trans involvement.
This is where we see Planned Parenthood’s true ground game in action. Local clinic numbers have continued to skyrocket. For example, in <a href="https://pppswimpactreport.org/archive/2023/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pppswimpactreport.org/archive/2023/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw29ggnnUGuXI5FmZzrMnEDP">2023</a>, Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest boasted an 85% increase in “gender affirming hormone therapy” (GAHT), reporting 2,549 services in the year. However, they managed another significant increase the following year, racking up <a href="https://pppswimpactreport.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pppswimpactreport.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw28OPbcgt8ApKI5EJ8bzeZT">3,433</a> services.
These affiliates report upwards of <a href="https://www.ppmmimpactreport.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ppmmimpactreport.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3AZ1D04ojiCRuzYnpytSEK">10,174</a>, <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/84/35/843512f4-65f6-4b75-9a88-262ebb571267/2023_impact_report.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/84/35/843512f4-65f6-4b75-9a88-262ebb571267/2023_impact_report.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw019wgHaQ1sspZcwKFHTZpi">11,134</a>, and even <a href="https://publuu.com/flip-book/654838/1460126/page/4" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://publuu.com/flip-book/654838/1460126/page/4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3pxAzRYNhqfA_HXVZAlLsv">17,270</a> “gender-affirming care” (GAC) or GAHT visits each in their areas. Reports <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/d0/9c/d09c416e-dbc3-4ab5-919a-3b6f65ac6740/2024_annual_report_digital.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/d0/9c/d09c416e-dbc3-4ab5-919a-3b6f65ac6740/2024_annual_report_digital.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0iqOtGoSH6DWoGTaMfYIeu">clarify</a> “many patients receive multiple services in a single visit.” Further, some clinics report the total number of GAC/GAHT patients. For example, <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/35/12/35125771-82dd-4e1d-b081-c916350fe174/2025_gratitude_report_final.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/35/12/35125771-82dd-4e1d-b081-c916350fe174/2025_gratitude_report_final.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1TNsuKFQaG5RHp1q9CjYgI">North Central</a> region reports 5,796 GAHT patients, but likely had significantly more total visits and services.
Only about half of Planned Parenthood’s total affiliates have released 2024 GAC/GAHT numbers, and by the most conservative summation, they outpace Planned Parenthood&#8217;s entire “other services” category on a national level. The available reports categorize 11,680 patients, 8,399 services, and 71,924 visits. Even if you only count “patients” and “visits” once, that totals 87,668. That is almost 10,000 more than the entire category supposedly aggregating transgender services, infertility services, WIC services, and more.
Why won’t Planned Parenthood honestly disclose their involvement with “gender affirming care”?
Planned Parenthood has cashed in <a href="https://lozierinstitute.org/funding-the-nations-largest-abortion-provider-an-investigation-into-public-and-private-support-of-planned-parenthood/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://lozierinstitute.org/funding-the-nations-largest-abortion-provider-an-investigation-into-public-and-private-support-of-planned-parenthood/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ARXcyqVF0o8HHVYUuT3rf">billions</a> of dollars from the American taxpayer, and their funding stream seemed like it would always grow — that is, until Congress finally cut them off for a year in the One Big Beautiful Bill. But before that, they received $792.2 million last year, according to the recent annual report. Washington Stand’s Ben Johnson <a href="https://washingtonstand.com/news/planned-parenthood-committed-402230-abortions-received-7922-million-in-taxpayer-funding-in-2024" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://washingtonstand.com/news/planned-parenthood-committed-402230-abortions-received-7922-million-in-taxpayer-funding-in-2024&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Vb9aIg54lEmWgzy0rijpw">reported</a>, “U.S. taxpayers became Planned Parenthood’s largest financial contributor, supplying 39% of the organization’s $2 billion in revenue — up from 34% in the last report.”
Planned Parenthood knows its dealing of cross-sex hormones to <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-california-central-coast/patient-resources/gender-affirming-care" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-california-central-coast/patient-resources/gender-affirming-care&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3AgriE7fHtBz-nJM9GawJ5">kids</a> violates the will of its financial base, taxpayers. In <a href="https://concernedwomen.org/concerned-women-for-america-applauds-supreme-court-decision-upholding-south-carolinas-medicaid-funding-law-in-medina-v-planned-parenthood-south-atlantic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://concernedwomen.org/concerned-women-for-america-applauds-supreme-court-decision-upholding-south-carolinas-medicaid-funding-law-in-medina-v-planned-parenthood-south-atlantic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3d-MLHFrlVJxZd19i1hkMo">Medina v. Planned Parenthood</a>, the Supreme Court affirmed a state’s discretion to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid recipient. If Planned Parenthood plans to make a case to keep funding, they will need to address their transparency issues; their recent report clearly hides gender affirming care in the dark.
But federal representatives are exposing the light. DOGE Subcommittee Chair Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) launched an <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/doge-subcommittee-chairwoman-greene-investigates-planned-parenthoods-misuse-of-federal-funds/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://oversight.house.gov/release/doge-subcommittee-chairwoman-greene-investigates-planned-parenthoods-misuse-of-federal-funds/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753288184589000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0rAGxXED9KHicKzssd8pVZ">investigation</a> into Planned Parenthood’s “misuse of federal funds,” requesting “ financial statements, federal funding, and documents pertaining to its abortion and &#8216;gender affirming&#8217; medical and surgical interventions on children.”
Greene wrote Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill, requesting financial statements, guidance for “gender affirming care” compliance, records concerning the collection or donation of aborted fetal tissue for research/experimentation, and more.
The Subcommittee’s deadline was June 27, 2025. They have not publicly acknowledged any response from Planned Parenthood.
It’s time for reckoning. The American people demand answers for how Planned Parenthood spent their money, and it may take a subpoena from Congress to get an honest answer.
Macy Petty is Legislative Strategist for the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee dedicated to promoting Biblical values and Constitutional principles in public policy.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Last Abortion Clinic In Missouri Forced To Close At End Of May

Planned Parenthood Is Hiding ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ In Its Annual Report

Heritage Foundation

LGBTQ

Planned Parenthood

Transgender

The conservative movement lost one of its founding fathers this week.
Dr. Edwin J. Feulner built the intellectual foundation upon which modern conservatism stands, and gave us the institutions — like the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Study Committee — that work tirelessly to defend it.
As the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, I stand on the shoulders of this giant. Ed Feulner didn&#8217;t just participate in the conservative revolution — he engineered it, fundamentally transforming how conservative ideas reach the halls of power and become the policies that strengthen families and communities across America.
Ed understood something that too many in Washington forget: people are policy. This was more than just a phrase to him, it was at the center of everything he built. He knew that lasting change doesn&#8217;t come from eloquent speeches but from developing principled leaders who will fight for American values year after year.
The Republican Study Committee exists today because Ed saw what was needed before anyone else did. Working as a congressional aide in the early 1970s, he recognized that conservative members of Congress needed an organizational home. A place to develop policy, coordinate strategy, and advance the principles that make America exceptional. As the Republican Study Committee’s founder, Ed created what became the largest caucus in Congress and the intellectual engine of the House conservative movement.
His influence on the Republican Study Committee and Capitol Hill at large cannot be overstated. Every bill we produce, every strategy session we hold, and every fight we wage bears his fingerprints. The Study Committee’s current membership of 189 House Republicans stands as a testament to his vision.
But Ed&#8217;s vision reached far beyond Congress. When he founded the Heritage Foundation in 1973, he built a beacon for truth in a city too often corrupted by power. Under his leadership, Heritage rapidly evolved into the strategic braintrust that would fuel Ronald Reagan&#8217;s conservative revolution. Ed transformed how conservative ideas move from theory to reality, creating an intellectual machine that could produce policy solutions at the speed of politics rather than the pace of academia.
What made Ed truly exceptional wasn&#8217;t just his strategic brilliance. It was his unwavering optimism and absolute refusal to be discouraged. He lived by another favorite saying: &#8220;In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats.&#8221; This recognition that the fight for freedom requires constant vigilance drove everything he did.
Ed embodied the best of American conservatism: principled without being rigid, strategic without being calculating, and always focused on mission over personal glory. He understood that our movement wins through multiplication and addition, not division and subtraction. He brought together diverse voices around shared principles, building lasting coalitions that could govern.
The bond between the Republican Study Committee and the Heritage Foundation remains strong today because of the foundations Ed laid. Both institutions continue advancing the conservative principles he championed, working hand-in-hand to develop policy solutions and train the next generation of leaders. The Republican Study Committee’s members regularly benefit from Heritage research, just as Heritage benefits from the committee’s legislative expertise. This is precisely the kind of mutually-beneficial relationship Ed envisioned.
Even in his later years, Ed remained actively engaged in the conservative cause. His continued involvement in preparing conservative policy blueprints demonstrated that his commitment never wavered. He understood that each generation must be equipped to carry the torch of freedom forward.
The institutions Ed built will endure, but more importantly, the leaders he mentored will continue his work. From the Republican Study Committee to the Heritage Foundation, from state capitals to corporate boardrooms, the men and women Ed influenced are advancing conservative principles with the same courage and determination he modeled.
As President Reagan once stated, Ed was &#8220;a combination of many things: intellectual, administrator, politician, diplomat, but most of all, dreamer and darer.&#8221; That combination of the ability to dream big and dare to make those dreams reality is what made Ed irreplaceable to our movement.
Ed&#8217;s legacy extends far beyond any accomplishment. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Linda, and a beloved father and grandfather. In his life and work, he showed us that devotion to limited government and freedom can build institutions that outlast any single generation.
The conservative movement will honor Ed&#8217;s memory by advancing his vision with unwavering commitment to the founding ideals that make America exceptional. The Republican Study Committee will continue the work he started, developing conservative policy and leaders for generations to come.
Feulner’s work lives on in all of us who believe America&#8217;s best days lie ahead. We will continue to fight for the values he espoused and the movement he built. As he was so fond of saying:
&#8220;Onward. Always.&#8221;
Congressman August Pfluger represents Texas&#8217;s 11th district in the House of Representatives, where he chairs the Republican Study Committee.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

AP-FEULNER

A Tribute To Ed Feulner, Founding Father Of American Conservatism

Congress

Conservatism

House Republicans

So far, Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year old who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, is still just a candidate. But in heavily Democratic New York, the Republican, radio host Curtis Sliwa, has little chance of winning. A recent <a href="https://www.racetothewh.com/nycmayorpolling">poll</a> puts Mamdani at 36.4% compared to Sliwa’s 16.3%.
That means the only man standing between Mamdani and the mayor’s office is Eric Adams, a Democrat who last year was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-charged-bribery-and-campaign-finance-offenses">charged</a> with bribery and campaign finance violations. He has also angered his own party by failing to oppose immigration enforcement as much as other “sanctuary city” mayors like Chicago’s Brandon Johnson or Los Angeles’s Karen Bass.
New Yorkers have heard some of Mamdani’s proposals: rent control, free buses, higher taxes on higher earners, city-owned grocery stores, freeing criminal suspects without bail, legalizing prostitution, and replacing some police with social workers.
If one is unfamiliar with history, these promises might sound good. As the Babylon Bee put it, “<a href="https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-discover-innovative-strategy-of-promising-free-stuff-to-stupid-people">Democrats Discover Innovative Strategy of Promising Free Stuff to Stupid People</a>.” This is funny, but unfair. There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. New Yorkers aren’t stupid. And plenty of smart people are ignorant – meaning they just don’t know certain things.
Like how New York was back in the 1980s. Those of us who remember the city when Times Square was a den of squalor will know that Sliwa also founded the Guardian Angels, the red-beret sporting extended neighborhood watch that rode the subway to fight crime.
But that was 40 years ago. Most New Yorkers today have no direct experience with that era. At least half of them weren’t educated in New York; they came from abroad or from other states. Nationally, only 13% of U.S. eighth graders are <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=1160">proficient</a> in American history. I doubt they know much more about world history, or how “<a href="https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/we-must-educate-future-generations-the-myths-and-realities-socialism">true socialism</a>” worked when tried.
Those who were raised in New York mostly went through a public school system where, a <a href="https://medium.com/@newyorkteacher/update-guess-all-bs-on-nys-january-regents-exam-3dd8f2a0a713">researcher found</a>, students could pass a math exam by just guessing answer “C” every time.
Some New Yorkers may not know what Mamdani means by “socialism,” “Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS),” and “owning the means of production,” which he talked about in this short clip <a href="https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1939516740909621286">posted</a> to X by @EndWokeness. Let me briefly explain.
“Socialism” is how communists describe themselves. Look at the now-defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the current communist countries, the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the Lao People’s Republic – none of them mentions “communism” in its name or its official description of itself.
The only thing that makes the American version “Democratic,” as in the “Democratic Socialists of America” organization that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Summer Lee belong to, is that they seek to come to power through elections, rather than violent revolution.
The “BDS” Mamdani wants is about Israel. The <a href="https://bdsmovement.net/what-bds">BDS movement</a> is a “Palestinian-led movement” that seeks to force Israel to accept a Palestinian state on dictated terms by pressuring governments and private companies to boycott (meaning not buy) Israeli goods and services; divest (meaning pull out all investments in Israel and Israeli companies); and sanction (meaning bans on business, finance, travel, etc.).
When he says he wants to “raise class consciousness,” Mamdani is talking about Karl Marx’s vision for how capitalist societies turn communist. Once the worker masses realize they are being exploited, Marxist theory goes, they will overthrow capitalism, take over the government, and “establish a more equitable society.” (Yes, that’s the same “equity” as in DEI, the ideology that captured Western <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7524478/">governments</a>, <a href="https://www.ie.edu/insights/articles/education-for-a-more-equitable-society/">education</a>, <a href="https://www.unitedwaygcr.org/news/together-we-can-build-more-just-and-equitable-society">NGOs</a>, and <a href="https://www.unilever.com/news/news-search/2021/how-we-will-help-build-a-more-equitable-and-inclusive-society/">companies</a>).
Mamdani said the “end goal” of socialism is “seizing the means of production,” by which he means the government taking over factories, companies, mines, energy producers, farms, restaurants, service providers, your aunt’s Etsy page – anything or anyone that creates value, from a Barbie doll to an F-150 truck. The core idea of socialism is that all of it should be taken from private ownership and given to the government to run.
The government will then decide what each of us needs to live on – “<a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch01.htm">from each, according to his abilities; to each, according to his needs</a>.” If this sounds familiar, it&#8217;s because it has been tried before – first in the USSR, then in China, Cuba, North Korea, and in various countries in between in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. And with a 100% failure rate.
Every time, once the coveted “means of production” got into the hands of government functionaries — who inevitably grew corrupt — they ceased to produce efficiently and were run into the ground. Under socialism, instead of markets efficiently allocating capital to industry to produce what people need and want, bureaucrats do it through central planning, resulting in starvation, poverty, and misery.
China might be seen as a slight exception to the rule, but that’s only because it ditched much of communism’s economic orthodoxy and let favored people make money, while keeping the corrupt, nepotistic structure of the Communist Party and its social control machinery.
Mamdani reminds us “we need to remember what the stakes are.” He’s right. He’s smart, charming, and media savvy, which makes it all the more important that New Yorkers closely scrutinize his past and current comments and policy positions.
If Mamdani makes it to Gracie Mansion and keeps his promises, he will bring socialism to New York City, good and hard. It will work just as well as it ever did. And some of Manhattan’s wealthy residents will react just like Havana’s did in 1959 – they’ll go to Miami.
* * *
Simon Hankinson is a Senior Research Fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, and author of the forthcoming book “The Woke Ten Commandments (You Must Not Obey)” from Academica Press.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-POLITICS-NEW YORK-MAMDANI

Socialism In A Designer Suit: NYC Is In For A Hard Lesson If Mamdani Is Elected

Communism

Democratic Socialism

New York City

Opinion

Zohran Mamdani

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s latest opinion pitted her against her fellow liberals on the bench and revealed her to be far less prepared for her weighty role than her peers, according to a legal expert.
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, said Jackson’s dissent in a Wednesday court opinion showed her as unserious and unfit for the role of Supreme Court justice.
“What it tells me is that Brown Jackson is really at the far end of the spectrum and that the other justices are getting tired of her,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Wire.
Jackson was the lone dissenter in a court opinion that cleared the way for the Trump administration to begin crafting plans to downsize the federal workforce. The junior justice wrote that the majority opinion is “not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another liberal on the high court, wrote a concurrence siding with the majority
“I agree with Justice Jackson that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent with congressional mandates,” wrote Sotomayor. “Here, however, the relevant Executive Order directs agencies to plan reorganizations and reductions in force ‘consistent with applicable law’ … and the resulting joint memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management reiterates as much.”
The court opinion and the split on the bench suggests that Jackson is ill-equipped to handle the intellectual rigors of the Supreme Court, according to von Spakovsky.
“This case was eight-to-one. Even justices Sotomayor and [Elena] Kagan joined with the majority because they didn&#8217;t want a dissent in this particular case,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Wire. “Only the lone dissenter, Brown Jackson, was once again, you know, engaging in an emotional tirade about the idea that — horror, shock — federal employees might actually lose their jobs.”
Jackson has been singled out in other cases as well. In a court decision last month over “birthright citizenship,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-amy-coney-barrett-lays-the-legal-smackdown-on-justice-ketanji-brown-jackson">suggested</a> that Jackson’s dissenting argument was vacuous, or at least not motivated by any serious legal theory.
“The principal dissent focuses on conventional legal terrain, like the Judiciary Act of 1789 and our cases on equity,” wrote Barrett. “JUSTICE JACKSON, however, chooses a startling line of attack that is tethered neither to these sources nor, frankly, to any doctrine whatsoever. Waving away attention to the limits on judicial power as a ‘mind-numbingly technical query … she offers a vision of the judicial role that would make even the most ardent defender of judicial supremacy blush.”
“I disagree often with what Justice Kagan and Sotomayor put in their decisions, but they at least try to have a legal basis for what they’re saying,” von Spakovsky said.
Jackson claims Trump’s plans to downsize the federal government is &#8220;needless&#8221; and &#8220;there’s no need for getting rid of federal employees,&#8221; von Spakovsky added. “That&#8217;s a policy decision. That&#8217;s got nothing to do with the law. That’s got nothing to do with the constitutional authority of the president to run the executive branch.&#8221;
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s just another sign that, frankly, she was a big mistake getting put on the court, and that she just doesn&#8217;t have the legal acumen to be on the court,&#8221; von Spakovsky said. &#8220;Sotomayor, Kagan, they do, even though I think they&#8217;re often wrong, but I don&#8217;t think [Jackson] does.&#8221;

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Even Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Liberal SCOTUS Colleagues Tire Of Her Weak Arguments

Sonia Sotomayor

Supreme Court

Dying civilizations reveal themselves in familiar ways. Faith is abandoned, culture is drained of meaning, and the will to defend the home is eroded. But there are two unmistakable signs that a civilization is in mortal danger: when its people cease to build families — and when it tolerates invasion without resistance.
In 2006, Pat Buchanan raised a warning to the American people: “We are entered upon the final act of our civilization. The last scene is the deconstruction of the nations. The penultimate scene, now well underway, is the invasion unresisted.”
What the American people are witnessing in Los Angeles is that penultimate scene. Flying the flags of foreign lands, the barbarians have stormed the gates. They bear no loyalty to America, no reverence for her inheritance, and no desire to become part of her family.
Millions of deportable aliens fill American cities and hold American jobs, but they are strangers in our midst. Not because sanctuary cities like Los Angeles have failed to welcome them, but because they intend to tear down the permanent things that make this nation worth belonging to.
The Republic has been invaded. We need mass deportations. Not someday. Now.
Mass deportations are fiscally responsible, morally just, and <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/poll-trump-deportation-program-nets-positive-approval-contrasting-views-on-scope/ar-AA1GjePH?ocid=BingNewsSerp">politically popular</a>. Flying someone safely home is possibly the most merciful consequence for violating our laws. Mass deportation is not extreme — it is the moderate, moral alternative to chaos that any serious nation would take to defend its borders. And while some might criticize the amount of funding that this endeavor requires, you can’t put a price on the safety and well-being of the American people.
Approximately <a href="https://www.fairus.org/issue/how-many-illegal-aliens-are-united-states-2025-update">18.6 million</a> illegal aliens reside in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a backlog of more than nine million pending immigration benefit applications. Another 3.5 million cases are backlogged in the DOJ immigration court system. To restore our immigration system (both legal and illegal), we should <a href="https://static.heritage.org/-2025/NewAmericanImmigration_Booklet.pdf?_gl=1*tgx60l*_gcl_au*Nzg2MzEyMDc1LjE3NDIzMTI3MjU.*_ga*MTgxNTg1ODk1MS4xNzM0NDUwMTI4*_ga_W14BT6YQ87*czE3NDk1MjMzMzckbzE0MCRnMSR0MTc0OTUyMzM0MSRqNTYkbDAkaDA.">pause intake</a> of additional applications, including employment authorization documents. In the meantime, the administration can work to remove all deportable aliens between now and January 19, 2029.
This will take both resources and courage — but the American people support the goal. Six months into the Trump administration, the President’s <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1932107479976128956">approval rating</a> on immigration is “surging like a rocket,” according to CNN.
Now, Congress must act — and pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with urgency.
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, is <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1931834653889134879">calling for protests</a> in the United States and threatening mobilizations over a minuscule 3.5% tax on remittances. In response to such threats, Congress should use reconciliation to increase the remittance tax to at least 15% — as Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has rightfully <a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1931880241188024476">proposed</a>. It is immoral for foreigners to break our laws, only to then wire dollars that ultimately fund the regimes and networks undermining us.
Congress must also do its job and deliver all the resources necessary to enforce our laws and restore order: expanded ICE funding for detention beds, agents, transportation, and legal support; the permanent codification of President Trump’s proven border policies; and the end of legal gamesmanship that allows illegal aliens to exploit endless appeals and paralyze the system.
Deportable aliens who are put into removal proceedings should not be granted endless chances to delay justice. They previously had due process opportunities to apply for a visa or refugee protection to lawfully enter the U.S. and, once in the U.S., to seek a lawful benefit, including asylum, with DHS. Once an alien is in removal proceedings, the only question should be: is the alien deportable as charged?
The days of surrendering our sovereignty to process lawyers and activist judges must end.
We must institute mandatory E-Verify. No work permits should be granted unless — and until — an immigration benefit has been lawfully approved. Simply filing an application must not become a backdoor pass to employment in the United States. The rule must be simple: no approval, no work.
Asylum fraud is the Trojan horse of the current crisis. We must close it.
And we must <a href="https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/birthright-citizenship-fundamental-misunderstanding-the-14th-amendment">end</a> universal birthright citizenship and chain migration. Only the children of American citizens should have automatic birthright citizenship. And family-based immigration means nuclear family only. Gone will be the days of migration chains that allow aliens, not Americans, to decide who comes here permanently.
Mass deportations are necessary not only to bring back law and order and protect the working class, but also to restore the full political rights of every American. While the Trump administration has rightfully prioritized the deportations of violent criminals, mass deportations require extending far beyond that. Allowing any illegal alien to stay not only erodes law and order but undermines the blessings of American citizenship — especially for those in deep-blue states.
The American people are ready. The President is ready. Now Congress must be ready.
We will not witness the end of the American Republic — unless we choose to.
* * *
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Protests Erupt In L.A. County Sparked By Federal Immigration Raids

Why America Needs Mass Deportations Now

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Years ago, my husband and I were on a family trip in the Bahamas, staying at the Atlantis resort. One afternoon, we wandered through their underground aquarium caves, marveling at the marine life. A little girl stood transfixed by a tank of moray eels, their jagged teeth gleaming ominously. Her mother shuddered, remarking, “Those are scary, aren’t they?” Undeterred, the girl darted to the next exhibit — a tank of barracudas — and exclaimed, “There’s something more awful than that, Mummy!”
Her innocent quest for the next frightful spectacle stuck with me, and lately, it’s become a metaphor for the conservative movement’s obsession with outrage.
On platforms like X, I see a similar pattern unfolding daily. A post about a classroom poster in Wisconsin — declaring, “If your parents aren’t accepting of your identity, I’m your mom now,” with rainbow flags and cartoon bears — ignites a firestorm. Commenters pile on, each trying to outdo the last: “This is grooming!” “It’s a cult!” “Wait until you hear about what’s happening in another district!”
The refrain echoes that little girl’s cry: There’s something more awful than that. We’re trapped in an outrage cycle, endlessly seeking the next shocking story about what’s happening to our kids, from controversial school policies to perceived overreaches by educators. But this one-upmanship isn’t moving us forward — it’s keeping us stuck.
The conservative movement has mastered the art of highlighting what’s wrong, and that awareness is crucial. Parents need to know when their rights are being undermined, whether by schools, government policies, or cultural shifts. But awareness alone isn’t enough. We can’t keep pointing to the next “awful” thing without channeling that energy into action.
Outrage may grab attention, but it’s the steps we take afterward that create change. It’s time to shift our focus from amplifying the problem to building solutions — and that’s exactly what we’re doing at the Heritage Foundation.
I’m thrilled to lead the newly launched Parental Rights Network at Heritage, and I’m joined by Pat Blackburn, a passionate advocate who brings invaluable experience to this fight. Together, we’re taking the lessons we learned from our time at Moms for Liberty — where we saw the power of grassroots organizing and the hunger parents have to protect their role in their children’s lives — and using them to create real momentum in the parental rights and family empowerment movement.
The Parental Rights Network is designed to foster collaboration and create momentum by connecting individuals and groups across the country. Anyone can join the Network through a link on our landing page, opening the door to a community dedicated to strengthening parental rights.
Our mission is clear: we want to move beyond the outrage cycle and toward tangible outcomes. That means equipping parents with the tools to advocate for their rights, connecting them with like-minded communities, and pushing for policies that prioritize parental authority over government overreach.
To make this happen, we’re hosting weekly calls where members can share resources, tools, and information, and connect with others across the country to build a stronger, unified movement. We’ll also send out a weekly newsletter recapping key updates, insights, and opportunities to stay engaged. Instead of just sharing the next alarming story, we’re encouraging parents to take action — attend a school board meeting, engage with local lawmakers, or join forces with other families to demand transparency and accountability in every aspect when it comes to their kids.
The Network isn’t just about pointing out what’s wrong. It’s about building a coalition that can right those wrongs.
The conservative movement has a choice. We can keep chasing “something more awful than that,” letting outrage define our response, or we can harness that energy to create a future where parents are empowered and respected as the primary decision-makers for their children. At the Parental Rights Network, we’re choosing the latter. Join us by signing up through our landing page, participating in our weekly calls, and staying informed with our newsletter.
Together, we can move from outrage to action — because our kids deserve more than a cycle of anger; they deserve a movement that delivers real change.
* * *
Tiffany Justice is the chair of the Parental Rights Initiative at the Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Correction: A previous subheading to this article read &#8220;Moms for Liberty joins forces with The Heritage Foundation to create real momentum for parental rights.&#8221; Moms for Liberty, however, is not working directly with the Heritage Foundation. We regret the error.

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It’s not an exaggeration to say that conservative shareholder engagement is changing the corporate game. For years, Left-wing activists controlled the agendas at our largest companies, using not only their leverage as stockholders but their perpetual devotion to activism to get in the ear of America’s boards and directors. The result? Leftward drift in virtually every major company. But now conservative shareholders, from ordinary investors to major conservative nonprofits, are stepping into the game — and their engagements are bearing major fruit. The latest proof? IBM.
IBM’s track record on corporate bias and activism is notorious. The company was a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a group created by the World Federation of Advertisers that worked to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-daily-wire-addresses-the-ad-industry-following-the-fall-of-garm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keep ad revenue away</a> from conservative news sites like the Daily Wire to free speech-centric platforms like X. And that’s before all the DEI concerns surfaced. After IBM CEO Arvind Krishna was caught on a <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1734374423124176944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1734374423124176944%7Ctwgr%5E42e55266e59ec08d85550be6ab044097866bd072%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdallasexpress.com%2Fbusiness-markets%2Fceo-of-tech-corp-ibm-enshrines-dei-hiring%2F">hot mic</a> discussing how the company uses quotas of ‘underrepresented’ minorities in determining their executive pay — in Krishna’s words, execs have “got to move both [race and gender] forward by a percentage point” in order to get a higher bonus. That means DEI. That means quotas. Following these snafus, the reputational, ethical, and (in the case of the Missouri AG who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/missouri-attorney-general-sues-tech-giant-ibm-alleging-discrimination-against-whites-asians-men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> IBM) legal scrutiny was swift in coming.
IBM’s motto since its early years has been “THINK,” referring to the innovative spirit with which the company solves problems. Yet when it came to political bias, that motto was missing in action — and shareholders took notice. In January, the firm I work for, Bowyer Research, began <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-expands-efforts-hold-corporate-america-accountable-end-its-discriminatory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">work</a> with the Heritage Foundation to hold IBM accountable for the DEI quotas that Krishna described. The argument? Simple — use of non-meritocratic quotas based on race and gender aren’t just bad for reputation, but illegal on their face and bad for business. Shareholders, from major nonprofits to ordinary mom-and-pop investors, shouldn’t have their business returns impacted by IBM’s belief in identity politics.
As the shareholder engagement heated up on the internal front, pressure from <a href="https://lunduke.locals.com/post/5515346/the-ibm-red-hat-leaks-what-weve-learned-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">journalists</a> and <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1910425361034383545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">influencers</a> like Robby Starbuck increased on the external front. That pressure built and built — and the release began earlier this month, when IBM announced the end of many of its DEI initiatives and related goals, including the elimination of its diversity council, the phaseout of its supplier diversity initiatives, and no longer participating in surveys put out by radical corporate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-radical-intolerance-behind-woke-corporate-activism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">activist groups</a> like the Human Rights Campaign, which pressures companies to cover puberty blocker access for employees’ children in the name of “health care access.”
That would have been news enough — until several days ago, when IBM also <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-secures-commitment-viewpoint-neutrality-ibm-encourages-company" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to include viewpoint neutrality as part of its advertising policy in response to Heritage’s shareholder engagement. That means that biased, activist-driven, political censorship that ad cartels like GARM perpetuate is now explicitly banned under IBM corporate policy. IBM listened to its shareholders, its employees, and its customers — and the result is another company willing to make commitments to political neutrality. This is what happens when authentic shareholder advocacy, championing political neutrality, merges with external pressure to drop corporate bias: change happens, and happens in the form of concrete policy commitments, not just boilerplate PR statements. It’s a praiseworthy step.
But is the scrutiny over? Absolutely not. IBM needs to demonstrate that they’re committed to actually staying the course on being politically-neutral and quota-free. Outstanding questions remain. During our engagement on behalf of Heritage, the company <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/corpfin/no-action/14a-8/heritageibm3325-14a8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notably claimed</a> to the SEC that they couldn’t give a definition of DEI as grounds to ignore shareholder concerns — so how did they go from not knowing what DEI is to getting rid of it? (You can probably guess how.) The company holds its annual meeting of shareholders today, and if they’re savvy will make a point of focusing their messaging on business, not activism.
Achieving the commitment to neutrality at IBM was the result of a myriad of groups, from shareholders like Heritage to <a href="https://adflegal.org/press-release/sec-sides-with-adf-denies-absurd-attempt-from-govt-contractor-ibm-to-hide-from-shareholders-on-dei-proposal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legal giants</a> like Alliance Defending Freedom to the courageous IBM employees willing to speak out about the bias behind the scenes. And it’s going to take all of those groups to be vigilant now — not paying attention to our boardrooms is what got us into the woke mess in the first place.
This is the next phase of rooting out bias and wokeness from corporate America — watching tirelessly to see whether companies that commit to ditching DEI are actually willing to put their messaging and money where their mouths are. Smart companies will be willing to commit to change. Foolish ones will hope to either avoid scrutiny altogether or reintroduce the same tired DEI policies under the guise of <a href="https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/time-to-add-b-for-belonging-to-workplace-dei-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phrases</a> like “belonging.” It’s our job, as shareholders, as customers, and as Americans, to keep up the pressure for accountability with the leverage that we’ve been given. And above all, to make the case for what truly makes every company successful: the courage to resist activism and the fortitude to focus on business.
* * *
Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacWillour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@IsaacWillour</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Traders On The Floor Of The New York Stock Exchange As Fed Chair Powell Holds New Conference

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G.K. Chesterton <a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/43811/stfrancisproblem.htm">wrote</a> of St. Francis of Assisi, “But after all, this man was a man and not half a dozen men. What seems inconsistency to you did not seem inconsistency to him.”
We should keep this same principle in mind today as we continue to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’s soul — and assess what we can learn from his legacy, both good and bad.
Much like the great saint whom he chose as his namesake and clearly intended to emulate, Pope Francis confounded caricature and was often misunderstood. In his life, and especially over the course of his pontificate, this quality often led to confusion for the faithful. No doubt, that pattern of confusion will be one hallmark of Francis’s papacy.
If we hope to learn from the life of Pope Francis, however, we must start by rejecting the mainstream media’s depiction of him as a “liberal” pope. Since his death, the New York Times has been filled with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/opinion/pope-francis-gay-muddle.html'" target="_blank" rel="noopener">headlines</a> regarding his perspective on “LGBTQ people,” women deacons, or the Church’s teaching on birth control. But while these may be important issues to the opinion writers of the New York Times, they were not central to Pope Francis’s work.
A much better place to begin is, well, the beginning: those early years of the pontificate when an energetic and vigorous Pope Francis set out to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and put an emphasis on serving the poor and taking care of the sick.
<div id="attachment_913279" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913279" class="size-large wp-image-913279" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg" alt="VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 31: Pope Francis embraces a boy prior to his first 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica during Easter Mass on March 31, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis delivered his message to the gathered faithful from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in St. Peter's Square after his first Holy week as Pontiff. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Franco Origlia/Getty Images</div>
I will never forget when the Pope, in 2013, reached down and kissed a man suffering from neurofibromatosis, a rare disease which had left him disfigured with boils all over his head. And this was far from the only example. In his first year in the seat of St. Peter, Pope Francis made a point of <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26889/pope-francis-to-offer-hope-by-washing-young-inmates-feet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">washing the feet</a> of 12 young people at a juvenile detention center, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27588/pope-francis-invites-homeless-to-dine-at-vatican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inviting</a> 200 homeless people to dine at the Vatican, and living in a modest guest house rather than the Apostolic Palace.
With this radical humility, Pope Francis — the first Pope from the global South, where the Church continues to grow — reminded the decadent old continent that the cultural inheritance of Christendom is not in attending U.N. Conferences, but the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor.
Yet as much as Pope Francis loved the poor, he was not a humble Franciscan friar but a savvy Jesuit political operator whose initial attention to the corporal works of mercy — though never entirely lost — soon gave way to practical considerations about what would secure his power over the Church. And unfortunately, as he aged and became more entangled in the politics of the Vatican, Pope Francis became vulnerable to manipulation by his advisers as well as the media and indeed made many missteps that confused and divided his flock.
Examples abound. One week he would promote the blessing of “unions of persons of the same sex.” The next he would say that marriage will always be the union of one man and one woman. On one occasion, he declared that abortion was akin to “hiring a hitman,” while nevertheless appointing a pro-abortion economist to the Pontifical Academy for Life.
And because of his excessive reliance on the likes of Cardinal Blase Cupich — the radical progressive archbishop of Chicago whom he appropriately dubbed “the little woman” — Pope Francis was especially misguided in his approach to more conservative segments of the Church. He imposed serious restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, which is growing rapidly in the United States. And despite his frequent denunciation of “clericalism,” he upended, for no apparent reason, the constitution of Opus Dei, a prelature distinguished for promoting the role of the laity in the Church’s mission.
In short, rather than working with the young, vibrant, and faithful segments of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis attacked them, choosing instead to champion progressive prelates and priests like Father James Martin, a Jesuit who pushes the Catholic church to abandon the traditional definition of marriage.
<div id="attachment_720181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-720181" class="size-large wp-image-720181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg" alt="MALMO, SWEDEN - OCTOBER 31: Pope Francis gives a speech during the 'Together in Hope' event at Malmo Arena on October 31, 2016 in Malmo, Sweden. The Pope is on 2 days visit attending Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration in Lund and Malmo. (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Michael Campanella/Getty Images</div>
In spite of his own opposition to these groups, however, Pope Francis’s pontificate witnessed a surge of conservative young people converting to Catholicism, in America and around the world. This Easter, dioceses across the United States <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/easter-converts-2024-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> 30%, 40%, 50%, and even 70% increases in the number of converts coming into the Church on Easter Vigil. Young people seeking stability and rootedness account for most of these conversions, and the same phenomenon is happening in <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263349/france-sees-record-10384-adult-baptisms-in-2025-45-percent-increase-as-young-catholics-lead-revival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a> and <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263329/surge-in-adults-entering-church-in-england-this-easter-prompted-by-internet-tradition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">England</a>, where a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggestshttps:/www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> shows that Gen Z Catholics now outnumber Anglicans two to one.
Amid this renewed interest in the Catholic Church, one of the great tragedies of Pope Francis’s papacy is that his misguided opposition to traditional religious communities and conservative political policies may have given many of these young Catholics the impression that a focus on serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and carrying out the other corporal works of mercy is somehow at odds with tradition and orthodoxy.
Let me be clear: this is not and never has been the case.
Christ tells his disciples in Matthew 25, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” The corporal works of mercy are essential for all Christians, regardless of denomination or political party. And beyond informing our personal faith, they also must guide our efforts to reclaim our institutions and restore our country.
Moreover, Pope Francis’s liberal posturing on things like the environment may obscure his urgent message to modernity. Consider the late Pope’s 2015 “global warming” encyclical, Laudato Si. While it did include entire sections on “pollution and climate change” which the liberal media fawned over and promoted, its deeper argument — that we have failed to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology” — was profoundly conservative and largely ignored.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis beautifully lays out how a “technocratic paradigm” has led us to accept “every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings.” And in pursuit of this “unlimited human power,” he argues, we have undermined the various conditions that help us flourish: destroyed God’s majestic creation, contracepted our God-given gift to create life, and dishonored God’s plan for men and women to be different.
This message — not misguided one-off statements on airplane interviews or liberal media headlines about hot button political issues — is what we should take away from Pope Francis’s papacy.
Modernity, despite all its advances, has robbed us of many of the most basic spiritual and moral resources we need to flourish and be truly happy. To recover them, we don’t need complex coding or advanced AI, but rather, as Pope Francis sought to remind us, simply to follow the lessons Jesus taught us about serving our fellow man.
Much like the early parts of his pontificate, Pope Francis’s final days reflected this message.
On Sunday, the Pope’s last day on Earth, he met with Vice President JD Vance, squashing their public spat. He used his Easter message to make an appeal for peace in the world&#8217;s most war-torn regions. And finally, he made one last loop through St. Peter’s square, stopping several times to bless babies brought up to him and wish all his “brothers and sisters” a “Happy Easter.”
May he rest in peace, mixed legacy and all — and may his brother cardinals be inspired to choose a successor capable of combining Pope Francis’s initial emphasis on the corporal works with a steadfast commitment to tradition, both of which were sorely lacking in the final years of the Holy Father’s life.
* * *
Kevin Roberts is the President of The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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What Can We Learn From Pope Francis?

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It’s hard to keep track of all the immigration cases that blew up once President Trump started securing our borders and enforcing U.S. immigration law only three months ago.
The latest <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25897170-chnvparole041425/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a> by Massachusetts District Court judge Indira Talwani was an unjustified and baseless nationwide injunction blocking Trump’s decision last month to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-pulling-legal-status-more-than-530k-migrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">end the parole status</a> for half a million Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals.
Nationwide injunctions by federal judges are based on dubious authority and threaten the separation of powers doctrine in the Constitution – the checks and balances that hold this nation together. The sooner Congress and the Supreme Court implement and enforce clear limits on this, the better.
But it’s not just the sweeping executive power that Judge Talwani, an Obama appointee, asserts is the problem. It’s also the bewildering double-standard applied to the Biden and Trump administrations on immigration.
Americans want to believe that once appointed, judges do their best to follow the Constitution and the law. But it gets harder each time we see a ruling that stretches logic and law to reach a conclusion that aligns with politics. We’ve seen so many in the past few years, including the many “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/wonder-land-henninger/wsj-opinion-the-high-price-of-democrats-anti-trump-lawfare/04D0426F-2196-433D-B6FF-56BCA3688D79?mod=bizbuysell_trending_now_video_pos1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawfare</a>” cases brought against President Trump since his first term.
Let’s get our heads around immigration parole. Aliens who want to come to the U.S. need a visa. In exceptional cases, Congress provided a <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1182&amp;num=0&amp;edition=prelim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limited power</a> for the executive (exercised by the President through his Secretary of Homeland Security) to parole aliens for limited periods. When that period ends, they go back to whatever status they had before.
In 1996, Congress tightened the rules, clarifying that parole could only be granted on a “case-by-case basis,” and strictly “for urgent humanitarian reasons” or a “significant public benefit.” Parole isn’t a path to permanent status.
Blatantly violating the clear limits set by Congress, Biden perverted parole to invent a slew of “McVisa” programs to benefit groups he liked and to bypass numerical caps.
Biden’s DHS started paroling illegal aliens caught at the border, arguing that they didn’t have room to detain them. This <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/Federal-Judge-Vacates-Bidens-ParoleATD-Border-Release-Policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Parole+ATD”</a> was shut down by a federal judge who <a href="https://legacy.myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/GPEY-CPQPAB/%24file/final%20order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> the president didn’t have the authority to give illegal aliens a free pass into the country.
In August 2021, Biden invented Operation Allies Welcome to let in thousands of Afghans. In theory, these were supposed to be the ones who’d helped the U.S. and whose lives might be in danger under the Taliban, but in practice, many got in through fraud or had nothing to do with our efforts in their country. Some were even criminals and suspected terrorists.
Then in April 2022, Biden <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a> a Uniting for Ukraine program to bring people in from that country, even though (a) you might wonder why the men weren’t home fighting Russia, and (b) why they could not have claimed asylum in neighboring European countries instead of the U.S.
In January 2023, Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/05/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-border-enforcement-actions/">rolled out</a> a Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan Parole program allowing up to 30,000 nationals from those four countries per month to enter the U.S.
Then he added up to 1,400 appointments a day for nationals of any country to schedule their illegal entry into the U.S. using the <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/Whats-Biden-Doing-Migrants-Ports-Entry">CBP One</a> phone app, as long as they claimed to be in Mexico. Nearly all of them ended up getting <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/958-Percent-Illegal-Migrants-Who-Preschedule-Their-Illegal-Entries-Are-Allowed">paroled</a> once they showed up at a U.S. port of entry.
Finally, in June 2024, Biden tried but failed to give a de facto amnesty via parole to over a million illegal aliens who were married to American citizens. Who knows how far a “President Harris” could have continued with parole-a-palooza, had she won.
All told, Biden used bogus parole programs to bring in over 1.5 million inadmissible illegal aliens.
Even though the law specifically says a president can’t use parole to bypass the U.S. official refugee program, that was clearly the intent. The Biden administration expected them all to claim asylum and live here while their cases dragged on for years or decades. But not all of them bothered to make that claim, figuring parole would just be extended. Bad bet.
Trump revoked the CHNV parole – as was his rightful power as president – in March. What Biden did, even if it wasn’t right, Trump had the power to undo.
For Judge Talwani to now tell Trump he can’t revoke parole for 530,000 paroled CHNV nationals without a “case-by-case” review is rich indeed. Does she seriously think that every one of the 30,000 CHNV applicants Biden let in per month was examined and approved on a “case-by-case” basis? Sure, if we say every fan let into Yankee Stadium for a game has been admitted “case-by-case.” If it simply means ‘one-by-one’, then Secretary of Homeland Security Noem can certify that, and it will be just as true as it was when former Secretary Mayorkas did.
Federal immigration law is very clear that the president has wide discretion to deny or revoke visas and remove aliens on national security or discretionary grounds. He can do or undo parole as well.
Joe Biden violated the law when he provided mass parole to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. No judge should be able to stop a successor president from undoing the harm a prior president has done, particularly harm that was done by ignoring, twisting, and breaking the law.
* * *
Simon Hankinson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

White House Homeland Security Advisor And Deputy Chief Of Staff Stephen Miller Speaks To The Media At The White House

Liberal Judge Tries To Block Trump Over Bogus Biden-Era Parole For Countless Illegals

Biden Administration

Constitution

illegal immigrants

Judges

Massachusetts

Migrants

Obama Administration

Venezuela

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck is joining the Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow, where he’ll lead an effort encouraging corporations to drop left-wing ideologies, and instead, prioritize merit.
Starbuck, who has led successful <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pure-lunacy-robby-starbuck-on-exposing-dei-in-corporate-america">campaigns</a> to get corporations like Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Harley Davidson, John Deere, Jack Daniels, and even Walmart to ditch the left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, explained how he will continue the fight at the Heritage Foundation.
“I am thrilled to join The Heritage Foundation to help lead the charge in pushing back against the dangerous rise of woke DEI and ESG policies that undermine American values,” Starbuck said. “These harmful initiatives have no place in our businesses or institutions, and I’m committed to advancing policies that prioritize merit, free enterprise, and individual freedom over divisive ideologies.&#8221;
Starbuck will lead Heritage’s capital markets initiative, which the organization says will be dedicated to encouraging aligned organizations to reshape corporate America, encouraging corporations to prioritize ethics and merit while dropping left-wing ideologies like DEI.
“It’s time to restore common sense and accountability to the workplace, and I’m excited to continue to lead that movement from Heritage,” the conservative activist added.
Andrew Olivastro, the Heritage Foundation’s chief advancement officer, celebrated the announcement that Starbuck is joining the conservative organization. “Robby Starbuck is a trailblazer for our times, and we are thrilled he is joining us at Heritage. Robby has played a leading role helping Americans find their voice and reclaim their rights as shareowners, employees, and customers,” Olivastro said. “Our combined efforts will both set the agenda for the business community and save the private sector for future prosperity.&#8221;
John Backiel, vice president of finance and accounting at Heritage, also celebrated Starbuck’s move and further explained the goals of the effort.
“Heritage is leaning into the coalition of organizations, businesses, and individuals who desire to put their capital to work as a force multiplier by investing in companies and organizations building a better American future,” Backiel noted. “Through our corporate engagement we will help bring an end to corporate progressive indoctrination of the workforce and engage in constructive dialogue that rewards good businesses and products.&#8221;
“Heritage and our allies won’t stop until we break the imminent tyranny of a technocratic modern state and its corporate satellites stripping ordinary people of their God-given individual sovereignty,&#8221; the Heritage vice president said.

EXCLUSIVE: Robby Starbuck Joins Heritage Foundation To Continue Fight Against Woke Corporations

General

U.S.

Wokeness

If 2014 was a “<a href="https://manhattan.institute/event/the-great-awokening" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Awokening</a>,” then 2020 was the start of a second wave – a movement that’s led the entire nation to wrestle with questions around race, diversity, and our origin story.
But what will 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence – bring? Some hope it’ll be a time to celebrate and commemorate the American story. But others – including many influential organizations – stand in opposition, seeking instead to fundamentally transform Americans’ understanding of our history.
Foremost among these activist organizations is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, our <a href="https://monumentlab.com/monumentlab-nationalmonumentaudit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“nation’s largest supporter of the arts and the humanities.”</a>
In 2020, Mellon placed <a href="https://www.mellon.org/news/mellon-foundation-announces-transformation-its-strategic-direction-and-new-focus-social-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social justice at the center of its grant-making initiatives</a>. Since then, it’s issued <a href="https://www.heritage.org/american-history/commentary/the-mellon-foundations-assault-american-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">numerous and sizeable</a> grants supporting anti-racist and pro-LGBTQ+ programs.
Notably, it gave <a href="https://www.mellon.org/grant-details/gender-and-lgbtq+-history-20450131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$150,000 to the New-York Historical Society</a> in 2021 to support a “Gender and LGBTQ+ History Fellow.” In 2023, that same society <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/06/somethings-queer-colonial-williamsburg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered with Colonial Williamsburg</a> to host a teacher chat on “Queer History and Methodologies” and a workshop on “Best Practices for Teaching Queer History.” This course, open to educators from preschool to college level, was officially approved by New York state as qualifying toward public educators’ continuing education requirements.
In 2023, the Mellon Foundation joined the Alice Walton Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Pilot Philanthropy in a “<a href="https://www.mellon.org/news/new-investments-for-more-diverse-leadership-in-art-museums" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leadership in Art Museums” initiative</a> that committed over “$11M in funding to museums to increase racial equity in leadership roles…” at museums.
This program is in addition to the <a href="https://www.nationalparks.org/news-and-updates/press-releases/mellon-foundation-grants-over-13m-to-the-national-park-foundation-to-support-thirty-postdoctoral-fellowships-in-the-humanities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service Mellon Humanities Fellowship</a>,” which funds postdoctoral fellows at national parks to research “how the parks are impacted and/or informed by issues related to gender and sexuality equality, the legacy of the civil rights movement, and the history of labor and productivity.”
One of these fellows, placed at James Monroe’s Highlands (his home from 1799 to 1823), wrote <a href="https://clioandthecontemporary.com/2023/10/31/engaging-different-communities-highland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that 2020 marked</a> a “racial and social” reckoning at museums, which she described as “preservers of white supremacist versions of the past.”
In 2022, Mellon <a href="https://www.nationalparks.org/news-and-updates/press-releases/mellon-foundation-grants-over-13m-to-the-national-park-foundation-to-support-thirty-postdoctoral-fellowships-in-the-humanities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expanded this post-doctoral program</a>, committing over $13 million for 30 new fellows at our national parks. Another Mellon fellow remarked that this program “has the potential to transform the stories told at many of the country’s national parks.”
Words like “transform” and “reimagine” are often indicators of post-modernist mischief.
For example, the Mellon Foundation has committed <a href="https://www.mellon.org/article/the-monuments-project-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$500 million to transforming</a> our nation’s monuments landscape, in part because it saw a lack of “U.S.-born Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, or self-identified LGBTQ+ people” in the list of top 50 individuals most frequently memorialized.
This sort of transformation seeks primarily to achieve equity of identity characteristics rather than recognition for meritorious deeds that all Americans can claim as part of our history. Ultimately, this approach favors inclusivity over accuracy.
As was previously noted, the Mellon Foundation has been partnering with the National Park Service on some of its initiatives. The National Park Service and Foundation are currently making changes to the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, to be completed by this spring and the 250th anniversary, respectively.
Work at the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/thjework.htm?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=experience_more&amp;utm_content=small" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jefferson Memorial will include</a> “expanded and reimagined exhibit space” and “new state-of-the-art exhibits” that will provide “more perspectives as it shares Thomas Jefferson’s multi-faceted story.”
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/wamo/planyourvisit/undercroft.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">At the Lincoln Memorial</a>, new exhibits “will highlight the construction history of the memorial and discuss how the Lincoln Memorial has become the nation’s foremost backdrop for civil rights demonstrations.”
Both of these efforts have been enabled by donations from philanthropist and businessman David M. Rubenstein, who funded the exhibits on slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and <a href="https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/understand-montpeliers-leftist-turn-follow-the-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Madison’s Montpelier</a>.
Americans can hope that the new exhibits at two of our foremost national memorials will be informative, balanced, and accurate. But the ones funded by Rubenstein at Montpelier are decidedly not.
There are currently <a href="https://www.montpelier.org/visit/galleries-and-exhibits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no exhibits at Montpelier focused on James Madison</a> and his contributions. And the ones on offer contain <a href="https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/report/tale-three-presidential-houses-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many distortions, “gotcha” efforts, and at least one factual error</a>.
This raises concerns for the memorials both of Thomas Jefferson, Madison’s close friend and ally in the cause for human freedom, and for Abraham Lincoln, who urged us to give all honor to Jefferson—to the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce into a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times.
Today, a visible divide exists between those who want to commemorate our first 250 years of history and dedication to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and those who want to transform and reject it.
In this moment, perhaps we should turn to Abraham Lincoln, who began his famous <a href="https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/house-divided-speech-3/">House Divided speech</a>, “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.”
Anniversaries are times to reflect, assess, and resolve a way forward. More, they are cause to celebrate, remember, and demonstrate gratitude.
America is indeed exceptional. This free country has granted us, its current posterity, the opportunity to continue in the work we are in, to prove to ourselves, and the world, that the noble ambition of a self-governing nation can indeed be kept.
* * *
Brenda M. Hafera is the Assistant Director and Senior Policy Analyst at The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s Simon Center for American Studies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Note: This article has been edited for clarity.

New Dawn over Washington

Post-Modern Mischief At America’s National Parks And Museums

Post-Modern Mischief At America's National Parks And Museums

Equity

Founding Fathers

Leftists

Museum

National Park Service

Turns out that it’s easy to make people move out of your state: Just raise taxes.
Recently, residents of high-tax states such as California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey have been on the move. Specifically, they’ve been flocking to low-tax destinations such as Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Tennessee.
Between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023, high-tax states lost net 2.8 million residents to low-tax states. That’s more people than could be seated in all 30 NFL stadiums and 29 NBA arenas combined.
Zero-income tax Florida and Texas were the top two destinations for interstate movers, gaining 819,000 and 656,000 net residents respectively. Americans in the northeastern U.S. and the upper Midwest poured into Florida, while Texas was the destination of choice for many people living west of the Mississippi.
North Carolina (310,000), South Carolina (248,000), Arizona (218,000), and Tennessee (207,000) ranked third through sixth in net population gain from interstate migration. Each of them is a low-tax state (except South Carolina, which stands in the middle of the pack). Tennessee, like Florida and Texas, is one of the seven states with zero income tax.
It’s no coincidence that former Californians led the exodus out of high-tax states. California has the highest state income tax rate in the country at 13.3%, and it lost 1.2 million residents to interstate migration in a little more than three years.
Incredibly, California was the leading source of net domestic migration into every state within 1,000 miles of either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
The most popular destinations for Californians were Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Texas and Nevada have no income tax, and Arizona has the lowest non-zero income tax rate.
New York state has the second highest income tax rate at 10.9%, and it had the second highest level of net outmigration during the roughly three-year period – a net loss of about 883,000 people. Counting both local and state taxes, nobody faces higher tax rates than do New York City residents.
Frank Sinatra once sang that if you could make it in New York, you could make it anywhere. These days, more and more people have been trying to make it somewhere else.
New Yorkers have been gravitating to greener pastures in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina. Low overall taxes and non-existent income tax play an important role in attracting New Yorkers to Florida and Texas (North Carolina is also among the lowest-tax states in the country).
Other New Yorkers fled to neighboring states like Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey – states which have lower taxes than New York, but which certainly can’t be considered low-tax states.
Each of these states lost population to interstate migration overall, despite all the people flowing in from New York. In fact, New Jersey had the fourth highest population loss from interstate migration – about 153,000, behind only California, New York, and Illinois (364,000).
Other factors besides taxes also contribute to population flows. But the pattern of high-tax states losing residents to low-tax states is too strong to chalk up as a coincidence. The pattern holds year after year, between neighboring states, and across regions.
The pattern also holds across the income spectrum. Even low-income Americans (who may themselves pay a small amount of taxes) tend to move from high-tax states to low-tax states. If high taxes are supposed to pay for government services that improve the lives of low- and middle-income residents, well, it’s not working. 
The highest-income residents are especially sensitive to differences in tax rates, but that just shows why it’s so counterproductive for state lawmakers to try to soak the rich. Driving up tax rates drives out the people who pay the most in taxes.
State lawmakers eager to harvest more tax revenues must be careful lest they cause the geese with the golden eggs to fly away to somewhere they’re appreciated more and taxed less: states like Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Tennessee.
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Preston Brashers is a Research Fellow for <a href="https://www.heritage.org/taxes/report/if-you-tax-them-they-will-run-millions-americans-flee-california-and-new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax policy</a> in The Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Read his new report: <a href="https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/BG3896.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;If You Tax Them, They Will Run: Millions of Americans Flee California And New York.&#8221;</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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