Republicans are roasting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for suggesting on Saturday evening that President Donald Trump should be impeached for ordering strikes on three facilities in Iran to prevent that country from achieving nuclear weapons.
&#8220;The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,&#8221; the high-profile member of the leftist &#8220;Squad&#8221; declared in a <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/1936600627221565468" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X. &#8220;He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.&#8221;
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly shot back at Ocasio-Cortez.
&#8220;Shut up you pathetic little hypocrite,&#8221; Greene <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1936615639621288028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;YOU fully supported our military and IC running the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. And you VOTED to fund the Ukraine war under your President with dementia. You don’t get to play anti-war and moral outrage anymore.&#8221;
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) <a href="https://x.com/NRCC/status/1936758140760129890" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contended</a> on Fox News that Democrats did call for impeachment after former President Barack Obama attacked Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen during his tenure.
&#8220;For my colleagues that are now demanding impeachment, it’s absolutely absurd &#8230; these folks are truly reaching new levels of Trump derangement in the aftermath of yesterday&#8217;s decision,&#8221; he added, alluding to what has become widely known as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/trump-derangement-syndrome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Trump Derangement Syndrome.&#8221;</a>
Dan Turrentine, who worked for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she was serving as a Senator from New York, agreed that the action was not impeachable — and decried his Democratic colleagues who were asserting that it was.
&#8220;It was too depressing to write this last night, after we got off air, so I went to bed. But, it needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama did not when striking Bin Laden,&#8221; he posted early on Sunday. &#8220;Why can’t our Party just say it’s great we achieved the objective and destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites, God bless the soldiers who carried this out and made it home safely, God bless our country, military, allies, and we look forward to a full intel briefing.&#8221; 
&#8220;If one must then assert Congressional authority at the moment, add that any escalation will require congressional approval. And if you must, express concern for where this may go and what might come next. But, for so many in my Party to knee jerk with unhinged calls for impeachment — and sadly omit in their statement support for Iran not having nuclear weapons, which has been a principle of our Party for 40 years — is truly TDS,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It was too depressing to write this last night, after we got off air, so I went to bed. But, it needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama…
— dan turrentine (@danturrentine) <a href="https://twitter.com/danturrentine/status/1936724740644749574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
During his first term, Trump was impeached twice when the Democrats commanded the House. One inquiry dealt with Ukraine, and the other with January 6. Both efforts ended in acquittal by a GOP-led Senate.
Some Democrats have already been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressional-black-caucus-leader-impeachable-trump-los-angeles-deployment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing</a> for Trump to be impeached in his second administration, including for &#8220;dastardly deeds,&#8221; but they are powerless to press ahead because Republicans control both chambers of Congress. However, that could change after next year&#8217;s midterm elections, as noted by Sen. James Lankford (R-LA) during an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHXweWk6SNQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; with anchor Shannon Bream.
&#8220;If Democrats get control of Congress, we are most certainly headed towards impeachment again. That has been the playbook that they&#8217;ve played twice on President Trump. So, certainly, if they get control of Congress in this next election, they will work towards impeachment. That&#8217;s their favorite play to be able to do,&#8221; Lankford said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

Republicans Torch AOC For Suggesting Trump Be Impeached For Iran Strikes

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Congress

Donald Trump

Impeachment

Iran

James Lankford

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Nuclear Weapons

U.S.

Texas Senator John Cornyn introduced a bill Tuesday that would end all federal funding for transgender procedures on both children and adults.
The Stop Funding Genital Mutilation Act would ensure that no dollars from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) pay for transgender medical procedures, like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys, or the administration of cross-sex hormones.
“Texas taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for dangerous and often debilitating ‘gender transition’ procedures that are driven by radical ideology masquerading as health care,” Cornyn told The Daily Wire.
The text of the proposal, also sponsored by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), follows the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/long-overdue-house-republicans-vote-to-end-federal-funding-for-transgender-procedures?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Long+Overdue%E2%80%99%3A+House+Republicans+Vote+To+End+Federal+Funding+For+Transgender+Procedures">same lines</a> as the “one, big, beautiful” bill passed by the House, which also ends all funding for transgender procedures. 
Cornyn said that he would fight to ensure that the Senate’s version of the reconciliation spending bill would cut funding for transgender procedures like the House. His introduction of the bill comes as he faces a contentious primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a firm opponent of transgender procedures. 
President Donald Trump made opposing transgender ideology a key plank of his 2024 platform, a position that proved popular with both Republicans and independents. In January, he signed an executive order slashing federal funding for entities that perform transgender procedures on minors. 
A recent review by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the arguments for transgender procedures on minors were not backed by scientific evidence. 
“The ‘gender-affirming’ model of care includes irreversible endocrine and surgical interventions on minors with no physical pathology,” the review summary <a href="https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/gender-dysphoria-report-exec-summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “These interventions carry risk of significant harms including infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret.”
Over two dozen states, including Texas and Oklahoma, have enacted laws protecting kids from transgender procedures.
“Before they can vote, drive, or get a tattoo, some children are pushed into irreversible gender-transition procedures with no proven long-term health benefit,” Lankford said. “These treatments can cause lasting harm, and taxpayers should not be forced to fund them.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-sen-marshall-urges-gop-to-end-funding-for-trans-surgeries">introduced</a> a similar bill last month that would also defund transgender procedures by amending the IRS code to no longer consider the life-altering procedures as health care.

US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)

EXCLUSIVE: Senate GOP Proposal Would End Federal Funding For ‘Genital Mutilation’ Procedures

John Cornyn

Senate

Texas

transgender surgery

North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris is leading a push to protect pastors who make political statements from being punished by the IRS, he told The Daily Wire. 
Harris on Monday will introduce the “Free Speech Fairness Act,” to make it clear in law that religious leaders can make statements about political candidates and not have to worry about their churches losing tax-exempt status. The bill is specifically aimed at countering the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which restricts churches and other non-profits from endorsing or opposing political candidates. 
“The whole idea was in contrast to Americans’ inalienable rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion,” Harris told The Daily Wire. “It currently puts the IRS in a position of judge and jury on comments that are going to be made by ministers from the pulpit and all speech from non-profits.”
Harris, a Baptist minister, said that the Johnson Amendment had been used as a “tool to silence religious leaders and churches.” He said his legislation would restore free speech to religious leaders and non-profits. 
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) will introduce a companion measure co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate. 
“The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to freedom of speech and religious freedom without the threat of interference from Congress,&#8221; Lankford told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Fundamental American values must extend to everyone, including pastors, social workers, or non-profit employees and volunteers. Everyone should have their constitutional rights to assembly, free speech, freedom of religion and free press protected.”
The bill would “allow charitable organizations to make statements relating to political campaigns if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose” and if no meaningful expenses are incurred. For example, a pastor could comment on a political candidate during a sermon, or the president of a crisis pregnancy center could point to a candidate&#8217;s record on abortion in a newsletter. 
The legislation would not allow churches or non-profits to become political action committees, Harris said. 
”We’re not looking for churches to become super PACS, that is certainly not the purpose of this,” he told The Daily Wire. “But it is to really restore free speech to the pulpits of America without any threat of our tax code.” 
In the House, the bill has already picked up 14 co-sponsors, including Reps. Michael Guest (MS), Randy Weber (TX), Barry Moore (AL), Clay Higgins (LA), Glenn Grothman (WI), Keith Self (TX), Michael Baumgartner (WA), Mark Messmer (IN), Tim Walberg (MI), Marlin Stutzman (IN), David Rouzer (NC), Doug LaMalfa (CA), Andy Ogles (TN), Abe Hamadeh (AZ), and Mary Miller (IL). 
House Speaker Mike Johnson <a href="https://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-hice-johnson-lankford-reintroduce-free-speech-fairness-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> similar legislation in 2019 alongside House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
The proposal is also backed by over a dozen conservative groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Catholic Vote, the America First Policy Institute, and others.
Back in 2017, President Donald Trump promised to &#8220;destroy&#8221; the Johnson Amendment to &#8220;allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.&#8221; To that effect, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/09/2017-09574/promoting-free-speech-and-religious-liberty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> in May 2017 to explicitly protect religious leaders speaking out on politics.

Mark Harris wont face state charges in N.C. 9th District ballot fraud case

EXCLUSIVE: North Carolina Republican Leads Effort To ‘Restore’ Free Speech For Pastors, Churches

First Amendment

Free Speech

North Carolina

Religious Liberty

Sen. James Lankford (R-LA), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that he does not believe there is an &#8220;issue of leadership&#8221; with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following the leak of a Signal group chat in which Trump administration officials discussed plans for airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
During an interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; anchor Dana Bash asked Lankford if Hegseth should take responsibility after noting that the defense secretary &#8220;shared the specific information about the timing and aircraft being used&#8221; in the Signal chat.
&#8220;I think he just joined into an encrypted app,&#8221; Lankford said, adding that he did not &#8220;see it as much of an issue&#8221; because &#8220;they all believed that this was a closed circle of conversation&#8221; and Hegseth was trying to give them &#8220;a heads up&#8221; of the attack plan &#8220;as we had given a heads-up to our foreign partners overseas as well.&#8221;
The White House has <a href="https://x.com/PressSec/status/1904512527699968437" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who publicized the contents of the conversation, was &#8220;inadvertently added&#8221; to the Signal chat and the breach would be investigated by the National Security Council.
In response to the Signal controversy, Hegseth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseth-fires-back-at-the-media-over-signalgate-reporting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> his &#8220;job&#8221; was to &#8220;provide updates in real time, general updates in real time, keep everybody informed.&#8221; Meanwhile, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg12ewv7xyo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken</a> &#8220;full responsibility&#8221; for the leak, noting that he built the Signal group.
Lankford said the Signal app was being used for &#8220;normal communication&#8221; and what was &#8220;not normal&#8221; was having a reporter &#8220;in the middle of the&#8221; conversation.
When Bash pressed Lankford on whether he had any doubts about Hegseth&#8217;s leadership, the senator <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1906336511341064491" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;No, I don&#8217;t see this as an issue of leadership.&#8221;
Lankford, who had earlier said an inspector general inquiry into the leak would be appropriate, went on to say that people calling for Hegseth for Hegseth to resign was &#8220;way overkill.&#8221;
Hegseth &#8220;is stepping in and has actually led a very successful first attack here on somebody that had attacked the United States over and over again,&#8221; Lankford said. &#8220;During the Biden administration, they had very limited response. Pete Hegseth has actually organized and coordinated an initial response to pushback and make them stop.&#8221;
Lankford also <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1906334416953114725" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>: &#8220;The story behind the story here is that Houthis have attacked American ships 170-some-odd times. So, for the Trump administration to push back on them is an entirely appropriate thing to be able to do. And they are pushing back on them strong to be able to stop their attack on American warships.&#8221;

Pete Hegseth

No ‘Issue Of Leadership’ With Hegseth After Signal Leak: Senate Intel Republican

Houthis

National Security

U.S. Senate

Yemen

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford urged his colleagues to permanently overturn an “absurd” Biden-era regulation that requires small business owners to report personal information to the federal government. 
Lankford told The Daily Wire that the Senate should <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-wont-enforce-outrageous-biden-era-small-business-reporting-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s lead and prohibit enforcement of the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements for American companies. The rule, as promulgated by the Biden administration, required people who had direct or indirect control of a company to report their name, birthdate, address, and a unique identifying number to the Treasury Department.
“There is no way anyone is going to ever tell me and convince me that the Constitution allows the federal government to go to every small business and say, ‘tell me who your influences are and send me that in a form’. That is not the job of the federal government to go do that,” Lankford told The Daily Wire. 
The Trump administration announced on Sunday that it would stop enforcing the rule for domestic businesses and that it would be promulgating a new rule only applicable to foreign companies. 
Lankford said that the Biden administration had taken a statute that was “snuck” into a National Defense Authorization Act to supposedly combat money laundering and created an “over-burdensome” and “quasi-Orwellian” unconstitutional rule that did more to harm honest small business owners than illicit companies. 
He said the rule made a massive &#8220;assumption that companies that are laundering drug money will suddenly at that moment become honest and report that they are actually being controlled by a drug kingpin. The practical effect of the rule was to force small business owners to prove that they were laundering drug money,&#8221; Lankford said. 
Consequences for not complying with the form, which Lankford said many small businesses were unaware of, could include a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison. 
“Small businesses don’t get up every day and read the federal register to be able to find out what it is the federal government is now imposing on them as a new regulation for a new piece of paper to be able to get in or face jail,” he said. “They’re getting up and turning lights on, cleaning toilets, and doing all the things they need to do to get their business going that day.”
Senate Republicans have previously introduced multiple bills to challenge the rule and Lankford said that the Senate Banking Committee is expected to hear one of the proposals in light of the decision from the Trump administration. Recently, Republicans on the committee <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/majority/scott-leads-effort-to-ease-burdens-on-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a measure that would have bumped the deadline for small businesses to report the required information. 
Last month, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to extend the deadline for businesses to respond to the Treasury Department, which had previously been scheduled for March 21. 
“This is one of those things that every small business just wants this gone so that they don’t have to think about it all the time and be worried about if they are going to go to jail tomorrow because of a form not being filled out,” Lankford told The Daily Wire.

Congressional Lawmakers React To The Expiration Of The Title 42 Border Policy

Lankford Urges Senate To Permanently Overturn ‘Absurd’ Biden Small Business Reporting Rule

Biden Administration

Small Businesses

Treasury Department

Trump Administration

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said during an interview over the weekend that China would be misreading the room if it took what happened between President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday as a green light for it to invade Taiwan.
Lankford made the remark during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; with Kristen Welker while recapping the Oval Office spat between the two world leaders.
&#8220;If China somehow receives that, they&#8217;re receiving the exact wrong message that the United States stands with our ally Taiwan, and we, like the rest of the world, want to see peace in that region and to continue to be able to have relationships all across that region,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But China should not misread this at all. What President Trump is trying to do is trying to get both sides to the table.&#8221;
He said that the United States was not turning its back on Ukraine and that the United States views Putin as &#8220;a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen his aggression. Countries around him have seen that,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Obviously the Ukrainian people have seen that. The challenge is now we&#8217;re at a stalemate. This is a World War I-like trench warfare, and it is best to be able to get to at least a pause. And what I hear President Trump saying over and over again is, &#8216;We need to get to a stop in fighting, find some resolution.'&#8221;
&#8220;I understand Zelensky is rightfully concerned that Putin has violated every single agreement he&#8217;s ever signed and that he can&#8217;t be trusted,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;He&#8217;s looking for some kind of security guarantees, which the French and the U.K. are saying they want to put troops in. But we need to get these two folks at the table, get to some kind of resolution to something that may look like North and South Korea for a long time, and have a line where people are looking at each other, but not an active war.&#8221;
He added that he does not agree with those who are calling on Zelensky to resign, and that if Zelensky were to do so, it would &#8220;spiral Ukraine into chaos right now.&#8221;
&#8220;If you remember, in that press conference in the Oval Office just on Friday, it began with President Trump saying that he is a friend of Zelensky. He is interested,&#8221; Lankford added. &#8220;They&#8217;ve had good conversations. I think they understand each other and that, obviously, there are differences whereas Zelensky wants more in the way of some kind of security guarantees. The United States is not willing to be able to put troops on the ground. We&#8217;re not willing to do that.&#8221;
&#8220;But President Trump obviously met with Zelensky first,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Everybody was talking about Trump is going to work with Putin. He had foreign ministers working with the Russians. He wanted to meet personally with Zelensky first. I think that&#8217;s a very clear sign of where he is and where he stands on this. But he wants to get both sides of the table and get an end to the fighting and the death.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Sen. James Lankford

James Lankford: Would Be Mistake For China To Think It Has Green Light To Invade Taiwan

Media

Politics

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) continued his push to reform <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fema" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FEMA</a> on Tuesday when he introduced a bill to prohibit political discrimination in disaster relief, according to a copy of the bill first shared with The Daily Wire. 
Lankford <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/FINAL-TEXT-Stopping-Political-Discrimination-in-Disaster-Assistance-Act.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put forth</a> the &#8220;Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act&#8221; to add &#8220;political affiliation&#8221; as a protected class for emergency relief. The bill comes as FEMA faces criticism over its handling of recent hurricanes, including an incident in Florida where a supervisor told workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
The Oklahoma Republican introduced similar legislation in November before Republicans had officially regained control of the Senate. He also asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/noem-promises-to-keep-politics-out-of-dhs-when-asked-about-fema-scandal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to commit</a> to prohibiting political discrimination during one of her confirmation hearings. 
Other sponsors of the legislation included Republican Senators Roger Marshall (KS), Rick Scott (FL), Ted Budd (NC), Josh Hawley (MO), Marsha Blackburn (TN), and Thom Tillis (NC). 
Lankford introduced three other disaster bills on Tuesday, including one that would <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/FINAL-TEXT-Direct-Property-Acquisitions-Act.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establish</a> a pilot program for communities to “directly apply to the Administrator for hazard mitigation assistance for the purposes of property acquisition and structure demolition or relocation assistance.”
Another bill would streamline approvals for hazard mitigation projects, and the third would encourage communities to be better prepared for natural disasters. 
Lankford introduced the measures at the same time he sent a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/02.04.25-Letter-to-President-Trump-re-FEMA-Review-Council.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to President Donald Trump commending the president’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-fema-executive-order-takes-aim-at-supervisor-who-told-workers-to-skip-his-supporters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">creation</a> of a 20-person council to conduct a full review of FEMA’s activities. 
“The current federal framework for responding to disasters is insufficient, and major reforms are necessary to ensure Americans are best supported in times of need,” Lankford wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. “The federal government’s labyrinthine disaster response and recovery programs have not been subject to the scrutiny needed to assess whether it is achieving its goals or whether its funding would be better spent with limited strings attached at the state and local levels.”
“I ask that your Council consider whether more federal emergency response capabilities should be consolidated under FEMA, which would reduce the number of agencies constituents need to work through when seeking federal disaster assistance, and whether other, current responsibilities should be placed elsewhere,” he added. 
Lankford added that all levels of government, not just the federal government, should have “skin in the game” when it comes to emergency response. 
Trump has floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether and leaving disaster relief to the states, with some percentage of funding still coming from the federal government. In his executive order calling for an evaluation of the agency, Trump cited concerns of political bias as one of the reasons needed for reform. 
“Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President,” Trump wrote, referring to The Daily Wire&#8217;s report reporting on supervisor Marn’i Washington’s instructions for workers to skip Trump homes in Lake Placid, Florida.

Los Angeles Recovers From Historically Devastating Wildfires

EXCLUSIVE: Lankford Bill Bars FEMA From Discriminating Based On ‘Political Affiliation’

FEMA

Kristi Noem

Natural Disaster

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-lankford" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Lankford</a> (R-OK) on Tuesday introduced a bill to mandate a full review of the federal government’s handling of natural disasters as agencies like FEMA face <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rips-into-fema-says-it-is-getting-in-the-way-of-everything" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a> over their response to recent hurricanes. 
Lankford <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/ALL250752.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put forth</a> the ‘‘Natural Disaster Resilience and Recovery Accountability Act” to create a new commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the efficiency of the government&#8217;s natural disaster programs. The commission would examine how the government is using taxpayer dollars and devise policy recommendations to improve the federal response to natural disasters. 
“Oklahomans know the federal disaster system isn’t working,” Lankford told The Daily Wire. “President Trump is taking quick action to fix it, and my legislation builds on that by reviewing how federal tax dollars are spent on disasters and finding ways to make government more efficient.”
President Donald Trump has slammed FEMA over its sluggish response to aid flooded communities in North Carolina and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-fema-executive-order-takes-aim-at-supervisor-who-told-workers-to-skip-his-supporters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised concerns</a> about political bias at the agency pointing to a Daily Wire report showing how one supervisor ordered relief workers to skip homes with Trump flags. 
The legislation from Lankford, first shared with The Daily Wire, would create a 15-member commission composed of federal and state officials, relief workers, and other experts to “examine and recommend administrative and legislative reforms to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and budget funding of programs and activities of Federal agencies supporting natural disaster resilience and recovery.”
Trump on Friday signed an executive order that would create a 20-person council to conduct a full review of FEMA. The commission created by Lankford’s bill would follow that proposal and look at the full federal handling of and spending on disasters. Each federal program related to natural disasters would be put under the microscope of the commission for evaluation. 
Once assembled, the commission would have two years to produce a report with recommendations to improve the efficiency of the government’s response by evaluating all related federally funded activities. The report would be sent to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and the House Oversight Committee. 
The commission would work with a variety of departments, including the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The commission would consider “potential administrative changes to the roles and responsibilities of the various Federal agencies involved in natural disaster resilience and recovery.”
Trump has promised to fundamentally reform FEMA and has floated the idea of getting rid of the agency altogether. He suggested handing over the responsibility of emergency responses to the states with funding from the federal government.
“I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it,” Trump said last week. “And then the federal government can help them out with the money.”
Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vance-calls-out-bureaucracy-slowing-federal-emergency-response-in-visit-to-virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reiterated</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s approach on Monday during a visit to flood-ravaged Virginia, saying that they would work to slash the bureaucracy from multiple federal departments holding up emergency relief.

U.S. Senate Meets To Vote On Proposed Continuing Resolution

EXCLUSIVE: Lankford Pushes For Full Probe Into The Government’s Disaster Response

Oklahoma

South Dakota Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kristi-noem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristi Noem</a> promised during her confirmation hearing on Friday that, if confirmed, the Department of Homeland Security would not be politicized when asked about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fema" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FEMA</a> scandal in Florida where relief workers were ordered to skip homes with Trump flags or yard signs. 
Noem was also asked about securing the border, the state of the Secret Service, and FEMA’s response to natural disasters. 
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) asked Noem about an incident <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first reported</a> by The Daily Wire in Lake Placid, Florida, when FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington ordered Hurricane Milton relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
“Last year FEMA employees during disaster relief were instructed by one of their supervisors that if they see a Trump sign or a Trump flag flying to skip that house, to not stop by there, and tell them what their federal government can do for them,” Lankford said. “Will you allow FEMA employees or any within DHS to politicize their role or pick and choose who gets help and who doesn’t as an American?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) asks Trump Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem about my exclusive Daily Wire report revealing that FEMA skipped at least 20 homes during hurricane relief operations in Florida because of Trump flags or signs. <a href="https://t.co/MmadHBPSME">pic.twitter.com/MmadHBPSME</a>
— Leif Le Mahieu (@leif_lemahieu) <a href="https://twitter.com/leif_lemahieu/status/1880327357233525164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The instructions from Washington, given verbally and in a group chat, led to FEMA workers skipping some 20 homes from late October into early November when they canvassed Lake Placid. FEMA workers later visited those homes a day after The Daily Wire published its report. 
“Under President Trump’s administration, disaster and emergency relief will not be handed out with political bias,” Noem told Lankford. “Every American will be responded to and treated equally.”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has maintained that Washington’s guidance was an isolated incident that violated agency policies. In subsequent interviews, Washington claimed that her orders were based on widespread “avoidance” policies approved by FEMA in cases of political “hostility.” 
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Multiple investigations, including from the inspector general, are ongoing, probing claims of similar misconduct in North Carolina. 
Specifically, DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-inspector-general-confirms-fema-probe-says-aid-should-not-be-politically-based" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looking into</a> claims made to lawmakers on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that entire neighborhoods were skipped in North Carolina if more than three signs displayed support for Trump. 
Various names have been floated around for who Trump might task with replacing Criswell at FEMA, but no official decision has been announced yet.

Senate Confirmation Hearing Considers Kristi Noem For DHS Secretary

Noem Promises To Keep Politics Out Of DHS When Asked About FEMA Scandal

Department of Homeland Security

Florida

Republican lawmakers are again introducing legislation to protect babies born alive in botched abortions, The Daily Wire can first report.
Led by Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, lawmakers will introduce the &#8220;Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act&#8221; on Thursday. The legislation would &#8220;prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.&#8221;
It&#8217;s a piece of legislation that Republicans have introduced repeatedly in the past, arguing that it is both common sense to support it and inhumane to vote against it. Yet every year, Democrats vote against the protections for born-alive babies, arguing that the legislation is a secret attempt to restrict women&#8217;s access to so-called reproductive healthcare.
“No child should be denied medical care simply because they are ‘unwanted,'&#8221; Lankford told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Today, if an abortion procedure fails and a child is born alive, doctors can just ignore the crying baby on the table and watch them slowly die of neglect.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s not an abortion,&#8221; he added, &#8220;that’s infanticide.”
The Oklahoma senator is joined by 38 of his Republican colleagues, including Jim Banks of Indiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa,  Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Mike Lee of Utah. The legislation is also backed by a host of conservative organizations, including Concerned Women for America, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and more.
<div id="attachment_858987" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-gop-lawmakers-introduce-born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-act/gop-senators-hold-press-conference-on-laken-riley-act" rel="attachment wp-att-858987"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-858987" class="wp-image-858987 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2192522530-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2192522530-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2192522530-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2192522530-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2192522530-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>(Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)</div>
Protections for unborn babies, limits on abortion, and federal abortion legislation are controversial topics within the Republican Party at the moment. But protections for born-alive babies have strong support from most, if not all, Republican lawmakers.
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly highlighted Democratic support for laws that allow abortionists to end the lives of babies who survive abortions. Vice President Kamala Harris — who shook her head at Trump during their presidential debate and indicated he was lying as he discussed Democratic abortion extremism — <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1162/vote_116_2_00058.htm">voted against</a> the Born Alive Infant Survivors Protection Act in 2020.
Given the controversial nature of abortion in the United States, it would seem that Americans should have access to quality reporting and statistics on the topic. But only eight states publicly report or respond to requests for statistics on babies who were born alive during abortion procedures, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas.
A Daily Wire review <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-democrats-support-ending-the-lives-of-babies-who-survive-abortions">found that most of these states are not transparent</a> with their reporting on whether the babies were given care after they were born alive following botched abortions. Minnesota appears to be the only state providing reasons — and Tim Walz, the state’s Democratic governor, did away with the state’s reporting requirement in May 2023.
Lankford&#8217;s legislation would require not only that abortionists &#8220;exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,&#8221; but also that the abortionist ensures that &#8220;the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.&#8221;
It would also mandate that health care practitioners, hospital staff, or abortion clinic staff report any knowledge of violations of this law, and states that anyone who intentionally &#8220;performs or attempts to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive&#8230;shall be punished&#8230;for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.&#8221;
Mothers of babies born alive may not be prosecuted under the law.

US-POLITICS-CAPITOL

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmakers Introduce Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Abortion

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) signaled during an interview on Sunday that after some hesitation, he has now firmly decided to back former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to be President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s Director of National Intelligence.
Lankford made the remarks during an interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; with Kristen Welker when confronted over his previous concerns about where Gabbard stood on the issue of FISA Section 702, a &#8220;critical intelligence collection authority that enables the Intelligence Community (IC) to collect, analyze, and appropriately share foreign intelligence information about national security threats,&#8221; according to the U.S. government.
When asked if Gabbard&#8217;s assurances were enough for him and whether he was now a &#8220;yes&#8221; on her being confirmed to the position, Lankford responded: &#8220;Yeah, I am.&#8221;
&#8220;And that was a very important piece for me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Obviously she voted against 702 authority. And just to clarify that, that authority is for actually trying to be able to track terrorists overseas. That has nothing to do with American citizens or anything that&#8217;s happening in the United States. It is if someone&#8217;s planning to attack us overseas, we find out about that.&#8221;
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&#8220;That&#8217;s what 702 authority allows us to be able to do,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is to be able to track international individuals overseas before they come and actually attack us. She voted against that in the House when she was a member of the House of Representatives and then said she wanted changes. She&#8217;s now coming in and saying, &#8216;Those changes have been done.&#8217; Because even since she was in Congress, there have been quite a few changes that we&#8217;ve made in Congress to make sure we&#8217;re protecting the civil rights of Americans.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Senator Lankford is a YES on <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TulsiGabbard</a> for DNI! ✅ 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/JHHMQofh5c">pic.twitter.com/JHHMQofh5c</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1878462995522572701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></blockquote>

Screen Shot 2022-04-15 at 12.30.10 PM

Sen. Lankford Signals Support For Tulsi Gabbard Ahead Of Confirmation Hearings

Tulsi Gabbard

The United States is suffering from a &#8220;low-grade fever,&#8221; Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/raphael-warnock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raphael Warnock</a> (D-GA) said on Sunday when describing the political climate.
Warnock sat alongside Sen.  James Lankford (R-OK) during a joint interview on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; for a conversation that focused a great deal on bipartisanship. At one point, moderator Kristen Welker asked Warnock if he feels like there is a &#8220;public anger and almost mistrust of people&#8221; working across the aisle.
&#8220;I think the whole country has what I call a low-grade fever,&#8221; Warnock said. &#8220;You know some mornings you wake up and you just don&#8217;t feel really well. You can&#8217;t even put your finger on it. We&#8217;ve been through four years of COVID. And people — you know, the early years of that, the early months of that, having to shelter in, all the trauma around that. Twenty years of what felt like an endless war, and then demagogues who make — you know, who exploit this moment through exacerbating the fault lines, the cultural fault lines of division in our country. And I think people just feel the full weight and the trauma of all of that.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sens. Warnock and Lankford tell families to do ‘hard work,’ bridge political divides: Full Interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s0WiwpQ2Dy8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Warnock said he would encourage people, &#8220;especially in this season, is to look toward one another rather than to figure out — you know, rather than thinking about how we can hurt one another, how we can pray with one another rather than prey on one another.&#8221;
The senator went on to declare that he still has &#8220;great hope&#8221; for the U.S.
&#8220;Our ideals of unity, of inclusion, of equality,&#8221; Warnock said. &#8220;And the American story is about pushing us closer towards those ideals. And there have been moments when the — the democracy has expanded. There have been moments when it&#8217;s contracted. But any woman will tell you that even contractions are necessary for birth. And so I remain hopeful even in this moment. But it&#8217;s going to be hard work.&#8221;
Warnock also shared what his message is to Democrats on what they can do to improve heading into the new year after Republicans retained the House and won back control of the Senate and the White House in the 2024 election.
&#8220;Well, look, you&#8217;ve got to listen to the people,&#8221; Warnock said. &#8220;We just had an election and I think we have to take some time to listen to what the folks are saying, what the people are saying, everyday people are saying, and continue to build on our values. Look, I&#8217;ve had success doing bipartisan work, working with people like Ted Cruz and I did legislation together. I&#8217;ve worked with Republican senators in Alabama to defend and support farmers. A lot more bipartisan work happens very often than you think. Sometimes it&#8217;s not talked about because that doesn&#8217;t necessarily fit.&#8221;

US Senator Raphael Warnock

Democrat Senator Says U.S. Has ‘Low-Grade Fever’

Raphael Warnock

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